Reagan's In

In the early 1980's, Los Angeles was the city with probably the most flourishing hardcore scene. It gave birth to such heavy weights as the Circle Jerks, Black Flag, Bad Religion, Suicidal Tendencies, and countless more. In the case though as with any other form of music, there are always those bands that tend to slip through the cracks, such as the case with Wasted Youth. While they were a quality group, they lacked a sort of distinctness that their more well known peers such as Black Flag had, but still are memorable to those of us familiar with the scene. Wasted Youth would later join many other of their peers in the crossover movement, but in 1981 they were strictly a hardcore band.

The music here is very typical hardcore punk. The vocals are often either spoken or yelled, the guitar and bass are very distorted, noisy, and fast, and the drumming is simple and frantic. The lyrics are also very typical of hardcore punk, often sticking to political and social issues. The lyrics do deviate from such topics though, as is the case with the songs "We Were On Heroin", and "Punk For A Day". The overall production here is rather raw, which adds to the chaotic nature of the recording. The overall length of the EP is very short too.

While Wasted Youth didn't have the musical chops of the Bad Brains, the influence of Black Flag, or the staying power of Bad Religion, they managed to put out some very good music in their relatively short career, spanning two EPs and one full length album. I wouldn't exactly call them an entry level band for someone new to the hardcore scene, but anyone who is already a fan of this music will more than likely love this.