Scene Report: Göteborg Hardcore 2010
Cat and Tofuboy tell us about the state of hardcore punk in Gothenburg
Gothenburg (Göteborg) is Sweden’s second-largest city, with around 500,000 residents. It has traditionally been a working-class city, shaped by early industrialization led by English industrialists and its important harbor, the largest in Scandinavia. Gothenburg is also known as one of Sweden’s most segregated cities. The city became a major arena for the protests and riots surrounding the 2001 EU summit and the visit of US President George W. Bush, during which one demonstrator was shot in the back and wounded. The riots were followed by a harsh state crackdown and heavy sentences that drew international criticism, dealing a serious blow to the Swedish activist scene.
The main venues for punk and hardcore shows (alongside commercial spaces and others that host shows less regularly) are Nordengarden and Underjorden. Nordengarden hosts all-ages, drug- and alcohol-free shows in a cellar beneath a building owned by the temperance movement. Underjorden is a rented social center fairly close to the city center that puts on shows regularly. In our opinion, there is a divide between Gothenburg’s traditional punk scene and its hardcore straight edge scene. The former serves alcohol at shows, while the latter does not, and bands tied to the two different venues seldom share a stage, though it does happen. This is also the case in Malmö, in the far south of Sweden. Hopefully, bands, organizers, and participants can overcome this divide by focusing on what the scenes have in common rather than their differences, while maintaining a tolerant attitude.
Two of the newest bands to emerge from the local hardcore scene are Royal Rumble and Lose The Life. The former are a four-piece playing catchy, positive hardcore. They recorded a demo during the summer of 2010, with another recording due to be finished in early autumn.
Lose The Life have already put out two recordings, one of them released as a 7-inch by Law & Order Records. The records are stuck in customs, and nobody wants to bail them out. Both their music and attitude are heavily influenced by the Cleveland hardcore scene in the US.
On the punk side of Gothenburg’s underground, you’ll find Dörrterror. They play trashy hardcore with Swedish lyrics about riding the trams for free and shoplifting. They are great. Further along the punk spectrum is the fairly new band Contorture, probably the most important crust band in Gothenburg right now. Unfortunately, they haven’t released anything yet. Vicious Irene are a very active punk ’n’ roll band also worth mentioning.
Besides releasing records, Gothenburg-based Law & Order Records also publishes a great zine called… Law & Order! The label released the first recording by local heroes Stay Hungry. Actually, only two members of Stay Hungry live in Gothenburg, while the other two live in Linköping on Sweden’s east coast. The band also released an LP on Reflection Records in 2009 and have a new LP on the way.
Another band whose members are split between different cities is the vegan straight edge outfit Anchor. Half of the members are based in Gothenburg, which is considered the band’s home base. They are currently writing a new LP as a follow-up to their 2008 album, The Quiet Dance.
Members of Anchor can also be found playing bass and singing in the entirely local band The Eight Arms (formerly Eight Arms Around You). The band have recorded some expressive contemporary hardcore that has yet to be released.
The Eight Arms share a few members with Young Ones. Young Ones play melodic contemporary hardcore and have a DIY-released CD/LP under their belt. On the outskirts of the local scene, you’ll find The Process, who are also worth mentioning. They play Refused-inspired hardcore and occasionally throw in some Swedish lyrics. They have released two MCDs and a 7-inch. Repoman play fast, technical hardcore and have released an MCD on Monument Records, based in the neighboring city of Trollhättan.
Commitment Crew are almost legendary. Their home base is on the other side of the harbor, in a part of Gothenburg called Hisingen. The neighborhood also gave its name to the band’s debut 7-inch, released by Crucial Response Records in 2007. They have since released an LP as well. Commitment Crew are known for their tightly performed early ’80s hardcore sets.
Fredag den 13:e have a newly released LP and two 7-inches in their back catalog. They describe their music as sing-along d-beat, which seems pretty accurate to us. Some of their lyrics are in Swedish. We Live In Trenches are loved by Swedish music critics. About a year ago, they released an LP titled Modern Hex. They play punk hardcore and have even received airplay on national radio.
Some of the shows in town are organized by Punk Illegal, who put on great events and donate the proceeds directly to the Ingen manniska illegal / No Human Is Illegal network. The network helps and supports people whose asylum claims have been denied but who remain in Sweden without access to basic rights and services, such as healthcare and employment. Punk Illegal also organizes a large festival a few hours north of the city every summer. You should come and check it out next summer!
There are more bands and venues, but these are the ones we find most interesting right now. Maybe our next scene report will look different. We hope you’ll come to our town and hang out. We can eat vegan food at the fast-food diner Jonsborg and take the tram to the ocean. We also hope more punx and hardcore punx will become good friends this winter, leading to more good shows and new connections.
Peace out
by Tofuboy & the Cat
