ZOUNDS: Can't Cheat Karma Vinyl LP

The anarcho-punk scene produced a lot of righteous anger and a lot of badly recorded demos. Zounds produced something rarer, tunes you couldn't shake, delivered with the same political conviction but none of the aesthetic self-punishment.

Reading's Zounds were always the odd ones out on Crass Records, too melodic for the purists, too spiky for anyone else. Can't Cheat Karma collects their essential early material including the 1980 single that gave the comp its name, and it's a reminder that post-punk and anarcho-punk were never mutually exclusive. Steve Lake wrote songs that stuck around long after the slogans faded. This is punk with actual pop instincts and the integrity to be uncomfortable about that. A key document in the alternative and dark music underground that doesn't get nearly enough credit.

Vinyl LP compilation, UK pressing. Tracks span original releases from 1980. Genre: anarcho-punk, post-punk.

Fans of: Crass, The Mob, Poison Girls, The Raincoats.