As manifestos go, its difficult to argue with a statement as darkly straightforward as: Things get shittier every week / No hope for the future in this era bleak. Thats from the opening verse to Era Bleaks theme song, which also happens to open up their debut album its as accurate a summary of 2020 as youre likely to find, made all the more emphatic by a frantic spasm of nervy guitar jerks and a 100mph rhythm section that knows the best way to get you there. Whether youre looking for a soundtrack or antidote to or even simply a distraction from the horrors of the age, this record has most assuredly got your back.

Comprising members of Dark/Light, Piss Test and other punk/post-punk outfits who really should be filling out your record shelves right now, Era Bleak are one of those bands where every ingredient is key. If you really wanted to, you could draw comparisons with present-day heroes like Nots, Nylex or White Lung, but this Portland, Oregon quartet are comfortably and confidently ploughing their own furrow, pulling as many tricks from 1980s hardcore as they do from the awkward crunch of the weirdos who defined the Ron Johnson label. Its a helluva racket, and itll make you feel like dancing drunk at a foam party inside a vat of toxic waste. (For clarity, OF FUCKING COURSE thats a good thing).

Maybe youll feel energised as singer Candy yells, Weve all got something to say / Weve all got nothing to say on the vapid-slogan-bashing Opinions. Maybe youll want to punch the air with a bulldozer when Mind Control Tower reaches its gloriously Adolescents-esque coda. Maybe the pulverising crunch of Burning Sky will cause your adrenaline to surge like a blindfold slalom down a vertical drop straight into a pool of lava. Ultimately, this record gathers ten tracks worth of thrills, spills and hundred-dollar bills, and the results make for one of the finest punk records of the year.