Crawling out of the seemingly endless river of moods that is the Portland post-punk scene comes Steel Chains. The refreshingly melodic and melancholy quintet brings back driving ’77 vibes to an audience still desperate for female representation. Everyone perfectly serves their role as the veterans keep the newbies in line

Often compared to “Queen of Siam” or “13.13”-era Lydia Lunch, San Antonio, Texas’s Guilty Strangers appeared on CVLTNation’s “Deathrock 2013 Mixtape, Part 2” earlier this year. Their 2012 “Oracle” LP evinced a mix of no-wave, deathrock, and postpunk along the lines of bands like Lung Overcoat, Executive Slacks, 45 Grave,

The first “Deathrock 2012” mixtape (which is here) was so popular I thought we’d do it again! Included here are some new bands I overlooked last time (The Now Dead, Funeral Parade, Population), some different tracks by bands already featured (Crimson Scarlet, Arctic Flowers, Cemetery), and, still continuing with the

Vancouver, British Columbia’s Spectres released one of the finest LPs of 2010, Last Days. “[T]he dark side of 80’s anarcho punk and the coldness of early 4AD and Factory records releases,” Interpunk says of the album, not inaccurately. Likewise, the Spectres’ 2007 “Cold War” EP opened a lot of eyes