ILLITERATES - DOES NOT COMPUTE

The “dumbest band in hardcore” returns with twelve more rampaging tracks. While Illiterates’ last record, 2023’s No Experts, trimmed their compositions to the bone, Does Not Compute widens the scope just a hair, making room for anthemic mid-paced parts (see “Remember When” and the epic title track), blazing Straight Ahead-esque crossover rippage (“Sustainability”), and even a touch of trad youth crew (the Can’t Close My Eyes influences were all over No Experts, but “No One Wants To” is pure Revelation Records circa 1988). Illiterates have also added a new guitarist since the last record, which they’re so excited about they wrote a song about it (“Hig Champion”), though they tastefully limit themselves to just a few eruptions of fret-melting lead licks. And while Illiterates insist they’re dumb, their lyrics are full of wisdom you don’t get at the library, like the anti-pretension anthem “Read the Room” (my favorite lyric: “one thing school didn’t teach you is how to read the fucking room”). Hair-splitting aside, Does Not Compute is another great hardcore record from one of the best bands in the game right now.