DOWNPOUR #5, $10, 5¾” x 8¼”, 82 pgs.

Jan 18, 2017

An extremely well made punk zine out of Germany: small, perfect bound, and featuring good photography and nice paper (it looks and feels almost like an issue of Hamburger Eyes or Wax Poetics). I will say I would like it more if wasn’t thirty interviews in a row with an interchangeable roster of white pop punk dudes. I think the makers of this zine mean well, and it looks like the next issue will feature Martha, which is good. A punk zine in 2016 that makes no obvious effort towards inclusion and does not seem to offer a space for different voices is a little tone deaf and, frankly, misrepresentative of the punk scene at large. I guess I’ll also say that! The accompanying 7”, featuring a few of the bands interviewed in this issue, is melodic and anthemic and fine for what it is. I like the interview set during a whiskey tasting. I like the “bands identifying songs on a mystery mixtape” thing. I like the high quality paper stock and professional aesthetic. I want to see what they do next. –Matt Werts (downpourfanzine.de)

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