Full of passion and youthful energy, Blade has packed issue one of their eponymous zine with a little bit of everything: articles on British politics and moral panics, playlists, essays, poems, song lyrics, reviews, art, and even an interview. My favorite parts were the reviews, because they bleed with passion; I’ve never listened to Wargasm, but after reading Blade describe them as a mix of “electro-punk, hardcore, heavy metal, riot grrrl, dubstep, hip hop, and nu-metal”, I’m totally intrigued and they’ve shot to the top of my “purgatory box” listening playlist. This zine remindsme so much of the zines I made as a teen, in the very best of ways (case in point, the essay “Wheres My Fucking Teenage Dream?? It isn’t real!!” which felt extra-relatable and made me feel super nostalgic). I also really appreciated their article about treating workers with respect, as well as the flyer reminding folks to purchase zines (in addition to trading them) so that the creators’ can keep on self-publishing their work (which, hint hint, you can pick up Blade Issue 1 on their Big Cartel page.)