Sounds of Subterrania

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One could summarize the introduction of this 7-inch very, very briefly: "The perfect punk rock record." These four words are enough to fully inform you about "I Was Here."

But of course, I don't want to make it quite that simple, so let's start 20 years ago, in 2006, when Numbertwo was founded. Two years later came their first demo, and in 2009 they toured the West Coast. Over the years, they released an album, a 7-inch, and a split 7-inch. Almost all, as you might expect, on their own label. And so it's no surprise that they would have completely passed me by if Hiroshi and Homma from Smallspeaker hadn't raved about the four-piece from Tokyo. Intrigued by their praise, I immediately searched online, found what I was looking for, and was blown away from the very first song. The fact that I'm not alone in this assessment is proven by the fact that the record is already sold out in Japan on its second pressing.

Musically, they delivered a raw and wild punk rock sound reminiscent of '77. It is as if the Stitches, Pagans, Dead Boys, and countless Killed By Death favorites had fused into one ferocious and explosive band. The energy, power, and passion practically leapt from the turntable speakers, but knew as well that the roll element is factor no.1 to make some asses shake.

Every song makes you want to tap your foot along and you immediately wish you were in front of the band in the middle of a pogo crowd. No stage! The room is no bigger than 4x5 meters. The crowd keeps pushing towards the band as they play. Sweat drips from the ceiling, mingling with the smell of spilled beer. You know exactly what I mean, because this is punk rock as it should be. Loud, raw, full of energy. You just can't wipe the grin off your face. And that's exactly how Numbertwo sound on "I was here“.

As you can see, I'm thrilled! But I'm sure that if people had known about the existence of this record, we would already be at the 20th pressing, and I'm all the happier that the band allowed me to press a small run for Europe.