DESCRIPTION:
"a bunch of investment bankers who met at a conference in Zurich and discovered they all loved Sham 69. put down a mortgage on a house in London they now all share a bedroom in. one person is allowed to leave weekly to collect rations."

...and that's all I've got. No, seriously, that's all a member of the band (who labeled themselves as “Severin”, though knowing the sort of things he’s told me, that could very well be a load of horseshit) had to say about his own project. I mean, there was some talk about rations, lentils, and a Turkish man yelling “meow” at an egg, but aside from that, there wasn’t much else said about the band itself. Based off of the few things I was able to gather from our emails, Revenue is a “hot new punk band” from London that is, supposedly, made up from a handful of investment bankers; four of ‘em, assuming that the tape’s insert holds any weight. Courtesy of “Severin” and three days’ worth of lentils (y’know, to exchange for postage stamps. At the post office. In London. I dunno, “Severin” told me that Londoners can cover the costs of shipping with rations. I’ll take his word for it), I had a physical copy of this group’s debut five-track EP – released by the newly-founded Whipping Boy Records – arrive at my doorstep sometime last week. But unfortunately, the tape ended up raising more questions than it answered. All that came alongside the tape was a small, rectangular slip of paper that featured pictures of four different people wearing sunglasses – who’re presumably the band members – along with some information found on a separate piece of paper glued on the backside: “Recorded by Time Sketchley, Art by James Burgess, whippingboyrecords@gmail.com”. I’m afraid that’s all I know about this band.

Well, barring the fact that they’re fuckin’ phenomenal, of course. I initially set my sights low for this group’s tape, especially once I took note of the files that “Severin” sent me: Revenue’s self-titled EP was instead labeled as a demo from a fake band called “Jamesburg”, with the song titles being replaced with tasteful substitutes such as “Bitch Boyz”, “Fast Daddy”, “Slow Daddy”, and “Love Gun” – when paired with his talk of rations and Turkish men, it’s clear that “Severin” has a real knack for underselling himself and his band. Regardless, I managed to see through Severin’s bullshit to see the oodles of talent that lied beneath, consequently discovering that this tape makes for one hell of a ripper, despite the musical elements that may make the band seem broodier than most. Revenue is a post-punk-like hardcore band that administers a hearty dosage of anxiety and angst through the music’s tangible sense of dread; beyond the impenetrable layers of feedback and reverb lie an abundance of worn vocal chants and dissonant, frantic riffage, occasionally filling the gaps between the two with squelching feedback and metallic moans. All of these components envelop themselves within a sea of resounding bass tones, effectively furthering the foreboding sensation of something dismal, something cheerless and morose; but no. Rather than submitting to the mirthless atmosphere they’ve established for themselves, the group instead chooses to amp the intensity and remain audibly energized, boasting rhythms and tempos that are more in line with what you’d expect from a hardcore group. This is best exemplified in “White Walls”, a track that completely plows through its minute-long duration with an unbelievably-impactful rhythm section, somehow managing to make room for false stop towards the latter-half of the song, only for it to lurch itself back into its frenzied state, complete with noodling guitars and vicarious basslines. It’s honestly surprising to hear how consistently potent Revenue is; despite their eerie post-punk elements, they certainly know how to make use of thumping rhythms and an unrestrained cadence. This tape comes highly recommended, because it’s rare to find an aggressive, broody band of this nature that doesn’t needlessly relish in its own jittery, anxiety-fueled rhythms. Revenue says what they want to say and promptly gets the fuck out. Meow!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRsWk4JZa5k

TRACK LIST:
Desire & Disorder - 0:00
Transition – 1:47
White Walls – 4:25
Black Line – 5:30
Bloom – 7:36

SUPPORT: https://whippingboyrecords.bandcamp.com/
DOWNLOAD: http://www.mediafire.com/file/yih3dmxop0p3776/Revenue.zip