Label: Ebullition

Released 1990

There was a moment in the evolution of California punk and hardcore when the music took a hard turn toward politics and DIY ethics. This was a push against the restrictions of the previous decade– against the jock ideas about who could belong to punk, and about what punk could be. Love could be placed with anger. Sensitivity with frustration. Concerns about inclusion, sexual identity, privilege, and racial violence were better illustrated by really hard music. Most important to the whole stance: Poses don’t fucking matter. Just be real. Be human. In the middle of this moment, the California band Downcast put out a few records, played almost 200 shows over four years, and then was gone. Live, when everything connected, they left audiences standing quietly, sometimes crying.

Track listing:

1. Hate Comes Easy
2. Schedule
3. Lie
4. Force