With 119, Trash Talk is at a pivotal point in their career, and somewhat of a paradox. The band have reached the top of the pile as far as Hardcore goes, teetering between too much fame to stay underground and just enough notoriety to spread the word.  They’re constantly stirring up controversy, all the while preserving tradition, to the point that their act is practically canned.  Trash Talk have mainstream clout, but Lee Spielman’s screamed vocals make it loud and clear that he isn’t looking to welcome the uninitiated into the club.

After signing to Odd Future’s record label (Trash Talk have contributed to some Odd Future tracks in the past), they’ve become an apt symbol of Internet-age fame. Now, the importance of having an ‘in’ with punk hero Keith Morris and being tied to a group of skate-rats with meme status are of comparable importance. On 119, Trash Talk manages to live up to both legacies: that of the original DIY rebels, and their tumblr-bred offspring.

“Exile on Broadway” is a blitzkrieg manifesto, decrying city filth with thrown-to-the-gutter gusto. “Blossom and Burn,” featuring Hodgy and Tyler of Odd Future, is a slow-burning, gut-churning haunter, with gruesome rhetoric to match its haunted house arrangement. “Uncivil Disobedience” and its call to occupy, as well as songs like “For the Lesser Good,” reinterpret Punk’s ‘burn-it-down’ battle cry while including the addendum ‘build-it-up.’ Punk may be dead, but if Trash Talk has any say in it, Hardcore will stay alive and kickin’.