Mentira - "Demo" Stream

Ricardo Flores of Mentira

The lineup of Mentira is a somewhat unlikely cast. Guitarist Dakota Shipp and bassist Josh Holloway are currently in noise rock band Bluehealer and both have a history in Kansas City's DIY scene. Drummer Anthony Manganaro (also of Phantom Head -- a staple of gritty Kansas City garage rock) moved to the area less than two years ago. Even more recently, vocalist/guitarist Ricardo Flores moved to Kansas City from Mexico, where he played in another hardcore punk band called Niégalo Todo. While its members come from different different areas (musically and geographically), the group's work together sounds as seamless as a punk band that has been together for years.

The six songs that make up Mentira's demo are as cold and anxiety-ridden as they come. The band's style of punk is an even mix of speed-obsessed modern Spanish hardcore and ruthless, ripping d-beat, similar to that of local groups like AGENT. Many bands choose to craft songs to sound more like particular influences than others, but Mentira's approach involves welding their two main influences together on every cut. Each track plays likes a sort of punk rock Frankenstein's monster -- d-beat gallops and boot-stomping, mid-paced slam parts expertly sewn into blistering hardcore freakouts. The only period of respite that the band mercifully grants to the listener comes at the tape's conclusion -- over a minute of rippling, glitched-out feedback that slowly disappears into the void.

Stream the demo below.