S.C.U.M.

Resurrected on CD for the first time, Born Too Soon… is Montreal-based S.C.U.M.’s sole album that has been long out of print until now. The band first formed in 1979 as a garage punk outfit. Once founding members were out of high school, S.C.U.M. took over a live-in practice space that became a fixture on the scene and the band eventually began to shape their style and sound more around American hardcore than UK punk. Released in 1985, Born Too Soon… is an arresting, intense look into Montreal’s early hardcore scene and one of Canada’s hidden gems. Although the album has been digitally remastered, it still carries a grainy, bare bones quality that lends to the overall sound and energy found here. Anthony Mark’s singing/shouting mirrors the politically-charged, non-conformist issues that fuelled the band’s songwriting, while the haphazard, full-on arrangements remain simple but still carry the heavy weight of the noise involved here.