A four-song split 7” with two bands from Southern California contributing a song on each side. The A side consists of two Negative Trend covers—hence the title of this release—with both being well executed, although the out-of-tune backing vocals on La Corde’s version of “Atomic Lawn” sort of detracts from their offering. The B side features an original song by each of the bands that have a sound consistent with the Rik L Rik theme. Both are well-written post punk with a very dark early ‘80s sound and gothy-sounding vocals. No dis to the late Rik L Rik, but I actually liked both of these bands original compositions better than the covers. Overall, a successful split 7”.
–Jake Shut (Resurrection, getresurrected.com)