IDIOTEQ.com

The person behind Amnezia says they used to play protest songs on a regular acoustic guitar. They no longer do that at home because somebody on the other side of a wall might hear the words. “I had to abandon my acoustic guitar completely because the atmosphere of fear and surveillance is so thick that even my neighbors could easily report me to the FSB if they heard protest lyr...

Italy is praised around the world for its landscapes, food, culture, style and everything else that seems to make life here a little better. I consider myself lucky to live by the sea in Apulia, filling these hot weeks with as many things as possible. Still, if there is one thing I will always make time for, it is live music. There is something special about finally seeing the m...

The quickest songs on “Circles” are full of people going nowhere. They run around town, replay old memories, wait too long and keep returning to the same thoughts until whatever comfort was there has worn off. Radio Weekend put all of that into six compact guitar songs built around immediate choruses. The band keep moving while their narrators remain stuck. The Seattle four-piec...

One side of Trashxstrike’s first 12-inch holds seven hardcore songs. The other belongs to Mama, vocalist Jake’s cat, drawn with X marks on her paws by a kid from a local band who also makes show flyers. The Philadelphia band did not arrive at this plan through label meetings or any great knowledge of pressing records. Guitarist Joe typed “record pressing Philadelphia” into Googl...

Looking for different points of view, and peering into corners of music scenes that can appear deceptively similar from a distance, has always been part of our job and mission here on IDIOTEQ.com. After a run of multi-band conversations around several festivals this year, we are pleased to turn towards CNHC Fest, a gathering that opens a direct window onto Chinese hardcore throu...