G.U.N.

***Nashville, Tennessee’s G.U.N. roars onto vinyl with their debut full-length for Sorry State. Hearkening back to the glory days of the early No Way, Grave Mistake, and Sorry State catalogs—the band features two members of No Way Records’ Life Trap—G.U.N. lives where the hardcore underground meets the criminal underworld. While G.U.N.’s music evokes Koro’s lightning-speed intricacy and the Adolescents’ surfy hooks, the lyrics describe a sick, sad world that takes Black Flag’s “No Values” as philosophical truth, imbuing G.U.N.’s sound with a palpable sense of desperation. Charismatic vocalist Nico Arambatzis can summon Damaged-era Henry’s primal howl one second, then in the next hit a magical note that transforms a song into an anthem, pushing standout tracks like “A Prisoner’s Tale,” “Sadist Faction,” and the epic closer “Sick Sad World” well beyond your standard bash-and-crash. Guitarist Connor Cummins (whom you might know from his other projects Snooper and Spodee Boy) is similarly dynamic, crafting whirlwind riffs and leads that are as powerful and as unpredictable as afternoon thunderstorms in the sticky southern summer. It all adds up to a classic-sounding hardcore punk record bursting with energy and dripping with hooks.