Pacific Northwest hardcore upstarts, Punitive Damage, have released their debut full-length, This Is The Blackout, that is out now via Atomic Action! Records. Flying by in just 18 minutes, the album is a blast of concentrated fury that demands the listener’s attention and never lets go. Vocalist Jerkova brings an uncompromising worldview that lends a palpable urgency to the band’s sound, creating a connection between the songs and real life stakes. The result is a brutal hardcore record that manages to be as deeply lived in and personal as it is unrelenting and aggressive. “A lot of hardcore stuff tends to have some trite bullshit about ‘my brotherhood’ or ‘don’t disrespect me,’ but those things just aren’t super relevant to me. I wante...