It takes soul to play punk rock properly - you can't hear it, but you know it's there and in the case of Jerkstore's Language Barrier you can feel it burning through each note like a shot of paint-stripper through the lining of your stomach and throat (in a good way, obviously).
The Canberra, Austraila band utilise an 80s hardcore aesthetic with contemporary intensity, their short and punchy songs lasting around one to two minutes each. The album runs from one to the next without any gaps in a relentless 15-minute fury workout - and there are few vocalists who sound as genuinely furious as frontwoman Naomi, whose rabid shouting electrifies the music with a palpable rage that goes far beyond just following genre convention. This aspect contributes much of what sets Jerkstore apart, but it's also the powerful yet jagged riffing that gives their sound a life of its own, each instrument's tone stripped down to raw basics for maximum impact.
The best thing about Language Barrier is that listening to it feels about as close to being at a live show as you're likely to get in recorded format. Even with headphones on it almost seems like the band are playing directly in front of you in some tiny, packed-out venue, and (in my opinion) the ability to capture this sensation on tape is one of the greatest things recorded music can achieve.
Language Barrier is available on cassette from Eat A Book records (http://eatabookrecords.blogspot.com/), and can also be downloaded here: http://eatabookrecords.bandcamp.com/album/language-barrier
