The smart thing to do would have been to stop repairing cassette decks. It’s a filthy habit that serves no useful purpose in these digital days and, no matter what cappuccino drinking liberals might tell you, it leads on to all sorts of other related depravities like buying cassettes just so you can justify having a dozen cassette decks. That said, there are times when you just have to feed the habit and get something magnetic like Bleaks' album.
To tell the truth, I had never heard of Bleaks. That’s probably just as well as they are a band that thrives on brutality. Subtlety is not in their dictionary and these seven songs reflect their hardcore origins with everything fuelled with anger and adrenaline and duly accelerated far into maximum volume overdrive. And that’s the best way to appreciate Bleaks. Hit yourself with the volume sledgehammer until it all starts to make sense. You’ll get bruises from the resultant force of impact and cuts from the many, many rough edges yet there is something invigorating here that transcends anything Red Bull could ever do for you.
The cassette is a limited edition and is available from GoldMold, Struggletown or Negative Hope Records.