F-Minus

For a band hailing from mall punk's ground zero, F-Minus sure knows hardcore. Hailing from Orange County, CA, this two-guy, two-girl combo has a sound devoid of the melody that made many of their label-mates so popular. But the blandness and conformity of the suburbia is clearly what drives them and it shows on this 20-song follow-up to last year's self-titled debut. This one was produced by the band, who all share vocal duties. The sound is pure 1980s hardcore, with a bleak outlook on the sad state of affairs in which we live.