Deseos Primitivos

***Oakland, California’s Deseos Primitivos return with the Lineas de Muerte 12", their first new material since their self-titled full-length in 2020. While Lineas de Muerte offers a crisper, leaner sound than Deseos Primitivos’ earlier releases, the band hasn’t changed much, continuing to meld hardcore punk’s energy and power with the memorable hooks of classic 70s punk. The first two tracks, “Cadenas” and “No Soy Yo,” are 90-second rippers that wallop you right out of the gate with furious, driving drums, jagged riffs, and mile-a-minute vocals. Beginning with the third track, though, Lineas de Muerte spreads out a little, making room for more delicate touches like the bubbly bass line in “Animal Nocturno,” the brooding guitar intro to “No Nacimos,” and the title track’s big vocal hook. You can compare Deseos Primitivos to any number of bands across punk’s history who combined melody with intensity—the Avengers, the Adolescents, Vulpess, and Tožibabe, to name a few—but thankfully they don’t get bogged down in context, instead tapping into the timeless ecstasy of a room full of sweaty punks singing along with fists in the air.