Before the waters closed over Mendeku Diskak and the label put its activities on hold, it managed to release a whole bunch of interesting records. I still hope this is only temporary and that the label will eventually come back to life, but in the meantime I picked up a few records from its final period. One of them is an LP by Massachusetts hardcore outfit Restraining Order, collecting material recorded between 2017 and 2021.

Restraining Order deliver clearly defined hardcore punk in the style of the late ’80s and early ’90s. They’re not trying to be the fastest or hardest band around, nor are they chasing an intentionally dirty lo-fi sound. Instead, they rely on a clear stylistic direction, straightforward songwriting and pure energy, with a few tracks showing a slightly different side of the band. Thanks to that, even with twenty songs, the record never feels monotonous.

Side A feels a little more energetic to me and definitely more suited for a party. There are completely straightforward bangers like We Can’t Lose, Check Off The List and What Can I Do, all following the simple but perfectly effective formula of hardcore punk. It’s like locking your keys inside your car – you just throw a brick through the window, hot-wire the thing and drive. No warning lights, electronic controls or unnecessary systems. Just a good old engine screaming at full revs and your foot on the gas. That’s exactly how this part of the record feels to me: direct, simple and packed with energy that doesn’t need anything fancy to make it work.

On some tracks, however, the band puts a little more thought into the song structures, backed up by strong choruses. You can hear it clearly on tracks like On My Way or the killer Something For The Youth. Here the band shows that alongside short, sharp hardcore attacks, they can also write memorable songs that stick in your head after just a few spins.

On Side B, punk bangers alternate with a slightly more playful side of the band. Tracks like Worst Enemy, Keep On Running and the excellent cover of We Got The Beat represent this side particularly well. But even here, the basic character of the record never disappears. Hardcore riffs, driving rhythms and music that never wastes time remain at the centre of everything. It simply shows that Restraining Order know how to bend their basic formula here and there and add something extra without losing their identity.

The record contains twenty songs in total, so you definitely get a solid amount of music for your money. Three of them are covers, originally by The Fix, The Monkees and The Go-Go’s. The choice of covers also shows that the band’s musical horizons reach beyond classic hardcore punk.

This should hit the spot especially for fans of hardcore punk that isn’t interested in complicated genre fusions but simply gets straight to the point and throws a well-played, intense batch of songs at the listener with solid production to back it up. Restraining Order know exactly what they want to play, stick to it, and still have enough ideas to stop twenty tracks from eventually blending into one. The record also includes all the lyrics, which earns another plus from me.