2023 YEAR END REVIEW:
Another installment of the AKG Year End Review is upon us. Exciting news as Dripping Dagger Tattoo started hosting occasional all-ages Sunday matinees a little while ago. We hope this continues into 2024... We are of course thankful that we have still have great venues such as Xeroz, Tide & Boar, The Caveau and the Laundromat booking live acts performing original music... Isn't it still weird when punk rock infiltrates the mainstream? On August 5, Guns n Roses drew an estimated 20 000 people at the Croix Bleue Medevaie Stadium at U de M. Most in attendance had no clue when the L.A. rockers covered TV Eye by the Stooges or Down On The Farm by the U.K. Subs. Props to bassist Duff McKagan for continuously flying the flag by wearing a black L.A.M.F. vest and to current drummer Frank Ferrer for sporting the NY Dolls shirt. It should also be noted that opener Carrie Underwood covered Bad Reputation (Joan Jett) and Ace of Spades (Motorhead) with her eight-piece band (including 4 guitar players). Strange days indeed... Speaking of strange and perhaps sad is how mainstream the Acadie Rock festival has become. To be clear, it was never as street level as its predecessor Quinze août des fous, but it seems to have hit a new level of wannabe-corporate. There was the tepid roster and inexplicably banning my 15 year old workhorse Nikon D-90 camera while 50% of the crowd had cell phones that had better image quality. I watched Cedric Watson's set from the sidewalk and then went home...and sadly we report that local rock n roller Françoise Surette aka Franco who was often the life of the party passed away after a long bout with cancer. Her enthusiasm and passion for the music will be missed...
BANDS: The Tidal Bores, featuring ex-members of the Phone Jerks, Impulse Items and The Disasterbaters, play an entertaining brand of garage-influenced punk. They are threatening to record soon... Tea 4 Three are a young trio bashing out 90's influenced grunge alt-rock and seem to be keen to travel so props to them... East End Rivals have been gigging steadily and are set to release their vinyl debut sometime in 2024 reportedly on a well-known California label... Split Zipper are a pop-punk Ramonescore quartet featuring members of the
Traits and Three Speed. They are proof that drummers make great
guitarists and vice-versa... The much beloved Impulse Items have been rehearsing again at a secret location according to reliable sources... Nineties local rock legends The Monoxides aren't very busy gigging these days, but they did play alongside Sloan and Billy Talent this summer and also managed to get their 1997 album Galaxy of Stooges reissued on wax for the first time... He/She/They, a self-described Queer Broadway Punk trio with impressive musicianship and vocal acrobatics, are also set to record something soon. They have been busy playing all over the region... The Real Rejects, the stage band assembled by TJ Cabot, are currently working in their home studio. Features members of Ghostown Belle, Nerve Button, Sonic HZ and Feral Trash... Killing Time, a local punk band whose sole release was a live cassette from 1985 recently played their first show in decades. Stay tuned... And finally, the Dirt Brothers are a trio of well-known faces who destined to a stage near you....
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| Split Zipper in action during their live debut. |
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| Tidal Bores are another new band making the rounds. |
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| The Real Rejects. New band. Heavy pedigree. |
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| He/She/They |
2023 Release Roundup:
Jono - Party chenous LP
Monoxides - Galaxy of Stooges LP (vinyl reissue)
Eric's Trip - 1990 Demo LP (vinyl reissue)
Francine McClure - La ballade de John Milne 12" EP
Our annual tradition of bugging people is alive and well. We asked our friends to give us their faves of 2023. So without further ado...
Ray 13 (editor AKG)
Top Ten Albums of new amusic in alphabetical order...
Civic - Taken By Force LP
The Damned - Darkadelic LP
Forbidden Dimension - Midnight Stew LP
Joan Jett - Mindsets LP
Old - Old LP
Iggy Pop - Every Loser LP
Sleaford Mods - UK Grim LP
Voivod - Morgoth Tales LP
Warkrusher - Armistice LP
Rick White - De-Evolution LP
Top Ten reissues/live/compilations etc in alphabetical order
Civic - New Vietnam + Singles LP
Da Slyme - If There's No Rubble, You Haven't Played: Collected Recordings 1977-1989 LP
The Donnas (4 albums reissued by the Real Gone label)
Eric's Trip - 1990 Demo LP
The Pogues - Stiff Records B-Sides (1984-1987) 2LP
The Ramones - Pleasant Dreams: The New York Mixes LP
Red Rockers - Condition Red LP
Teenage Head - Teenage Head With Marky Ramone LP
Voivod - Periscope (Nothingface This) LP
Youth Youth Youth - Sin LP (with 9 bonus tracks)
Top Five Singles or EP's in alphabetical order...
Dogma - Disarm Or Die 10"
Hammered Satin - Rock n' Roller 7"
Minor Threat - Out of Step Out Takes 7"
Outtacontroller - Just a Scratch 7"
Victims - Girls Don't Go For Punks 7"
Voivod - Chaotic Harmony 7"
Top Magazines
Ugly Things
Vive Le Rock
Maggot Barin
Big Takeover
Top Ten Shows in chronological order...
Sloan @ Capitol Theatre (Moncton NB) Jan 29, 2023
Outtacontroller @ Xeroz Arcade/Bar (Moncton NB) April 15, 2023
Which Witch Is Which @ Xeroz Arcade/Bar (Moncton) March 11, 2023
Mononegatives @ The Caveau (Moncton NB) April 21, 2023
MVLL Crimes @ Xeroz Arcade/Bar (Moncton NB) May 24, 2023
Prowl @ Xeroz Arcade/Bar (Moncton NB) Aug 25, 2023
E-Force @ Riverview Lion's Club (Riverview NB) Sept 1, 2023
Joel Plaskett @ Casino NB (Moncton NB) Oct 5, 2023
Bruce Cockburn @ Capitol Theatre (Moncton NB) Oct 19, 2023
G.B.H / Niis @ Anti Bar (Quebec City) Oct 26 & 27, 2023
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| E-Force blowing the roof off the Riverview Lion's Club |
Tyler Boutilier (CEO @ The Real Rejects)
Top Ten Albums...
10. The Unknowns – East Coast Low
9. Angel Face – s/t
8. Retail Simps – Live On Cool Street
7. Heavy Mother- Comical Uncertainty cassette
6. The Hives – Death of Randy Fitzsimmons
5. Chinese Junk – Fly Spray
4. Kuken – III
3. Mononegatives – Crossing Visual Field
2. The Shirks – Talk to Action: Singles and Unreleased 2008-2013
1. The Ramones – Pleasant Dreams: The New York Mixes
Favourite discovery of the year: TIDE AND BOAR DETROIT PIZZA
New Years Resolution for Music:
gonna stop going to bed at 10 every weekend and ultimately attend more shows.
Daryl Buote (Port City Correspondent)
Top Ten Albums...
Norma MacDonald - In Waves CD
Carol Hodge - Vertiginous Drops CD
Warkrusher - Armistice LP
Various Artists - Screaming Death (4 way split) LP
Chain Whip - Call of The Knife LP
Lucero- Should've Learned By Now LP
Dead Bob - Liffe Like LP
Civic- Taken By Force LP
Home Front - Games of Power LP
The Damned - Darkadelic LP
Top Five Seven Inchers...
The Massacred - Post=Mortem 7" EP
The People's Temple - I'm With The People's Temple 7" EP H.O.P.E? - Your perception is not my reality 7" EP
Kinetic Orbital Strike - s/t 7" EP
Heavenly Blue - s/t 7" Fave Ten Inchers...
Nō - Punk Is a Message 10" Dogma - Disarm Or Die 10"
Top Gigs...
Matt Mays
Donovan Woods
G.B.H. & Niis
Jeff Cheyne (hyperthymesiac, budding haberdasher)
Top Ten Albums...
Fever Ray - Radical Romantics mp3
Andy Shauf - Norm LP
Fucked Up - One Day LP
Protomartyr - Formal Growth In The Desert LP
Yo La Tengo - This Stupid World mp3
FACS - Still Life in Decay mp3
Zoon -Bekka Ma'iingan LP
Mitski - The Land is Inhostpitable and So Are We LP
PJ Harvey - I Inside The Old Year Dying LP
Priors- Daffodil LP
Top Five Shows..
Gilla Band, Bambara - Bar le Ritz (Montreal)
Andy Shauf - Wilmot United Church (Fredericton NB)
Dusted - The Cottage (Kingston ON)
Whoregasms, Mononegatives, Taxi Girls, The Real Rejects - The Caveau (Moncton NB)
The Mones, Allumette - XEROZ (Moncton NB)
Marc Doucet (drummer The Robins, Killing Time)
Top Ten (In no particular order...)
The Hives - The Death of Randy Fitzsimmons LP
The Damned - Darkadelic LP
Old - Old LP
Rick White - De-Evolution 12"EP
The Pogues - Stiff Records B-Sides (1984-1987) 2LP
Voivod - Periscope (Nothingface This) LP
Sloan - Alive & Alright 2LP
Voivod - Morgoth Tales LP
Sloan - Never Heard The Demo of It 2x7"
Trans-Canada Highwaymen - Explosive Hits Vol. 1 LP
Mark Eveleigh (local music supporter / full-time dad)
Top Ten Albums...
1. Metallica-72 Seasons (CD)
2. Snooper - Super Snooper (Digital)
3. Teenage Halloween - Till You Return (CD)
4. Dollar Signs - Legend Tripping (Digital)
5. Rid Of Me - Access To The Lonely (Digital)
6. Old - Old (LP)
7. Pussy Gillette - Permanent Trash (Digital)
8. Public Animal - Sun Won't Wait (Digital)
9. Death Pose - Midnight Society (Digital)
10. Grocery Bag - Break You (Digital)
Top Five EP's
1. Rick White - De-evolution 12" EP (Vinyl)
2. Die Spitz - Teeth (Digital)
3. OFF - FLSD 12" EP (Digital)
4. Fu Manchu - A Million Miles Away 10" (Vinyl)
5. Taxi Girls - Coming Up Roses (Digital)
Grant Forsythe (vocalist at Neighbourhood Watch)
Top Ten New Stuff in Alphabetical Order:
Dayglo Abortions - Hate Speech LP (Unrest Records)
Dogma - Disarm or Die 10" EP (Grow Your Own Records)
Fang - No Warning Shots Fired LP (self released)
Forbidden Dimension - Midnight Stew LP (Wastex Wax)
Old - Old LP (Blue Fog)
The Unwanted - The 1983 Demo LP (Puke N Vomit)
Warkrusher - Armistice LP (Agipunk)
Various Artists - Punk Canada Vol 2 LP (En Guard Records)
Various Artists - The Horrors of Bedlam LP (Mystic Records)
Various Artists - Screaming Death LP (Bunker Punks Discs & Tapes)
Reissued Stuff
Circle Jerks - Live At The House of Blues 2LP (Kung Fu Records)
Forbidden Dimension - It's A Morbid Morbid Morbid World LP (Wasted Wax)
Ill Repute - What Happens Next? 12" LP (It's Alive Records)
RKL - Keep Laughing...The Best of RKL LP (Mystic Records)
SCUM - Born Too Soon LP (Porterhouse Records)
Mark Gaudet (Purple Knight, The Robins, Killing Time)
1- The Damned – Darkadelic LP
2 – Metallica – 72 Seasons 2LP
3 – Voivod – Morgoth Tales LP
4 – Voivod – Periscope (Nothingface This) LP
5 – Allumette – Joyeuse Fêtes cassette
6 – Rick White – De-Evolution 12” EP
7 – Vartious Artists – Moncton’s Burning LP
8 – Old – Old LP
9 – Sloan – Alive & Alright 2LP
10 – Rick White – 2- Golden Greats of The 60’s digital download
Ren Gaudet (Spin-It Records)
Top Ten Albums in alphabetical order
Aesop Rock - Integrated Tech Solutions
Black Market Brass - Hox
Jayda G - Guy
Muriel Grossmann - Devotion
Gunship - Unicorn
Carly Rae Jepsen - Loveliest Time
Kimbra - A Reckoning
Slayyyter - Starfucker
Snooper - Super Snooper
Wormhole - Almost Human
Mike Gerber (bookman)
1. Betty Davis – Betty Davis reissue (CD)
2. The Fall - Futures And Pasts (digital download)
3. Jon Savage's 1980-1982: Art Of Things To Come (CD boxset)
4. ABC - Lexicon of Love reissue (CD)
5. Dream The Dream: UK Techno, House And Breakbeat 1990-1994 (CD)
6. Little Feat - Sailin' Shoes reissue (CD)
7. New Order - Substance reissue (CD)
8. Godflesh - Purge (digital download)
9. Cardiacs – A Little Man And A House And The Whole World Window reissue (digital download)
10. The Hidden Cameras - The Smell of Our own reissue (digital download)
Brian LaManna (singer at Tidal Bores)
Top Ten Bands at Gonerfest 20
10) Alien Nosejob
9) Morgan And The Organ Donors
8) The Cool Jerks
7) King Louie Bankston Memorial Family Band
6) The Kids
5) The Exbats
4) Civic
3) The Marked Men
2) The Mummies
1) The Gories
Peter Leger (Bagtown Correspondent)
Top Ten Albums...
1 - Lucinda Williams - Stories From a Rock N Roll Heart
2 - Rolling Stones - Hackney Diamonds
3 - Joanna Stormberg - I've Got Me
4 - Palehound - Eye On The Bat
5 - Blur - The Ballad of Darren
6 - Bonnie Doon - Let There Be Music
7 - I Rain - I Killed Your Dog
8 - Water From Your Eyes - Everyone's Crushed
9 - Wednesday - Rat Saw God
10 - Jason Isbell - Weather Vanes
Gavin MacNeil (worker bee)
1 - Sun Ra Arkestra @ Halifax Central Library (July 16, 2023)
2 - Hammered Hulls - Careening LP
3 - Protomartyr - Formal Growth In The Desert LP
4 - Old - Old LP
5 - Killing Time, Tidal Bores, Ghostown Belle, If I Was A Mirror To The Stars @ Xeroz Arcade/Bar, Celebrationn of Françoise Surette (Dec 16, 2023)
6 - Allumette, Sex Drivex @ Xeroz Arcade/Bar (March 3, 2023)
7 - Minor Threat - Out of Step Out Takes 7"
8 - Da Slyme - If There's No Rubble, You Haven't Played: Collected Recordings 1977-1989 LP
9 - Sappy Fest 18 (August 2-4, 2023 / Sackville NB)
10 - Iggy Pop - Every Loser LP
Shane Mazerolle (singer, bassist, guitarist and drum programmer at Expired)
Top Ten Albums...
10. Zulu - A New Tomorrow
9. Enforced - War Remains
8. Hellripper - Warlock Grim and Withered Hags
7. Primordial - How it Ends
6. Asinhell - Impii Hora
5. Enslaved - Heimdal
4. Obituary - Dying of Everything
3. Sermon - Of Golden Verse
2. The Lions Daughter - Bath House
1. Sadus - The Shadow Inside
Kyle McDons (Superbob Records)
Top Ten Releases...
The Scratch - Mind Yourself (LP)
Sunn O))) - Evil Chuck (7”)
The Damned - Darkadelic LP
Public Image Ltd - End Of The World (LP)
Scream - DC Special Sha La La (LP)
Voivod - Morgöth Tales (LP)
Foo Fighters - But Here We Are (LP)
Crosses - Goodnight, God Bless, I Love U, Delete. (LP)
Lockhart - No Chance (Tape)
Fu Manchu - Fu 30 Volume I-III (LP)
Sonia Noel (Spare Room Tunes)
Top Ten Albums...
1. Rick White - De-Evolution LP
2. The Hives - The Death of Randy Fitzsimmons LP
3. Andy Shauf - Norm LP
4. Bry Webb - Run With Me LP
5. Trans-Canada Highwaymen - Explosive Hits Volume 1 LP
6. Spider Bite - The Rainbow and the Dove LP
7. Tough Age - Waiting Here LP
8. Doctor Mother Father - Feelin’ Fine LP
9. Nico Paulo s/t CD
10. Jill Barber - Homemaker CD
Mat O'Blenis (Rotting Head Distro, Spin-It Records)
Top Ten Albums...
1. Warhawk – Dambuster (LP)
2. Swordwielder – Wielding Metal Massacre (Mini Album)
3. Warkrusher – Armistice (LP)
4. Svaveldioxid – Varldselande (LP)
5. Castillo – Pleasure And Pain (Mini Album)
6. Enzyme – Golden Dystopian Age (Mini Album)
7. Home Front – Games Of Power (LP)
8. Poison Ruin – Harvest (LP)
9. Naut – Hunt (LP)
10. Curta’n Wall – Siege Ubsessed! (LP)
Top Ten EP's...
1. Paranoid – S.C.U.M. (7” euro/1 sided 12” US)
2. Crow – Eye (12”)
3. Genogeist – Technophobia (7”)
4. Fugitive – Maniac (12”)
5. Kinetic Orbital Strike – The True Disaster (7”)
6. People’s Temple – We Are The… (7”)
7. No! - Punk Is A Message (10”)
8. HOPE? - Your Perception Is Not My Reality (7”)
9. Dogma – Disarm Or Die (10”)
10. Phane – Police System (7”)
Remi Vienneau LeClair (Thee Comic Hunter)
Top Ten Albums...
1. King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - PetroDragonic Apocalypse; or, Dawn of Eternal Night: An Annihilation of Planet Earth and the Beginning of Merciless Damnation
2. Haken - Fauna
3. Witch Ripper - The Flight After The Fall
4. Kambodsja - Resilient
5. Domkraft - Sonic Moons
6. Green Lung - This Heathen Land
7. Leonov - Procession
8. Howling Giant - Glass Future
9. Shipwreck Karpathos - Being Human
10. Spidergawd - Spidergawd VII
Those who have served, those we have lost...
Mark Adams (Saint Vitus), Sebastian Agnello (Lords of London, Spuff, S.C.A.B.), John Albert (Bad Religion, DFL, Christian Death), Dave Alcock (Chixdiggit, Falconhawk), Chad Allan (Chad Allan & The Expressions, The Guess Who, Brave Belt), Jarbas "Jabá"Alves (Ratos De Porao), Robert "Stewkey" Antoni (Sick Man of Europe, The Nazz),
Burt Bacharach, Robbie Bachman (Bachman-Turner Overdrive, Brave Belt), Tim Bachman (Bachman-Turner Overdrive), Guy Bailey (London Quireboys), Artie Barnes aka Robert Haimer (Barnes & Barnes), Doug
Barron (Phollop Willing PA), Otis Bathoulameu (Fluf, Olivelawn),
David Baxter (The Sharks), Robert Becerra (The Stains), Jeff Beck (Yardbirds), Seamus Begley, Harry Belafonte, Tony Bennett, Jane Birkin, Carla Bley, Ben Brennan (Weed Thief, GEIL, Word On The Street), Peter Brotzman, Dennis Budimir (guitarist for the wrecking crew), Jimmy Buffet, Colin Burgess (Masters Apprentices, AC/DC), Alex Butler (Junkbomb, Drybrain, The Thing That Always Explodes), Daryl Cail (The Gemtones), Greg Cannon (Florida Razors), Big Jeff Cherep (Submachine, Doomwatch, Plasterd Bastards), Yusuke Chiba (Thee Michelle Gun Elephant), Van Conner (screaming Trees), Justine Covault (Justine & The Unclean), David Crosby (the Byrds, Crosy, Stills, Nash & Young), Dix Denney (The Weirdos), Lou Deprijck, Travis Dopp (Small Brown Bike), Jorg Evers (The Pack, Amon Duul II), Rob Fallon aka Rab Fae Beith (The Pack, The Wall, UK Subs), Bob Feldman (The Strangeloves), Valeria Fellini (cub), Ian Ferrier, Stanley Frank, Rick Froberg (Drive Like Jehu, Hot Snakes), Astrud Gilberto, Mark Gilligan (Urban Voodoo Machine), Mark Goodwin (Second Thoughts, Conning Tower), Myles Goodwyn (April Wine), Bruce Guthro, Tommy Hansen (The Fartz), Dickie Harrell (Blue Caps), Clarence Eugene "Fuzzy' Haskins (Parliament-Funkadelic), Steve Harwell (Smash Mouth), Dot Holmer (Thotcrime), Jayson Hoover (Trials of Jayson Hoover, The Epics), Greg Horn (Dow Jones & The Industrials), Petr Hosek (Plexis), Mark Howell (Foreign Legion), Don Isler (Dad & The Boys), Rich Jacovina (Silent Majority), Ahmad Jamal, Terry Juric (Moxy), Caroline Kawa aka Care Failure (Die Mannequin), Seán Keane (Chietains), Scott Kempner (The Dictators, Del-Lords), John Kezdy (The Effigies), Beer Klaasse (Q65),
Erkin
Koray
(Underground Quadruple, Super Group), Frank Kozik, Rob Laakso (Swirlies, Kurt Vile & The Violators), David LaFlamme (It's A Beautiful Day), Denny Laine (Moody Blues, Wings), Andrew Laing (Leatherface, Cockney Rejects), Neil Langford (The Shins), John LaPlante (Simply Saucer), Richard Laviolette, Dano LeBlanc (Great Balancing Act, Sunset Industry), Jack Lee (The Nerves), Rita Lee (Os Mutantes), Martin Lewd (Krotch Wrott), Gordon Lightfoot, Bob Lewis (Devo), David Lindley, Peter Linzell (The Fleshtones), Jack Lipton (The Penetrators), David Livingstone (God Bullies), Robin Lumley (Brand X), Shane MacGowan (The Nips, The Pogues), Steve Mackey (Pulp), Philippe Marcade (The Senders), John Marshall (Soft Machine), Manny Martinez (Misfits), Pete Martinez (Murphy's Law), Mike Martt (Tex & The Horseheads, Thelonious Monster, Low and Sweet Orchestra, Funeral), Maynard (Fleas & Lice), Brian McBride (Stars of The Lid), Paul "Harvey" McGurn (The Disturbed, Last Rites), Bedford Mclean (Intoxicide, Sex Wrzd), Tony McPhee (Groundhogs), Mendelson Joe (McKenna Mendelson Mainline), Anthony Meo (Biohazard), Jae Monroe (A.P.P.L.E.), Roy Morgan (Lazy Cowgirls, The Waldos, Texas Terri), Arlie Neaville aka Dean Carter, Mike Novak (Rainbow Gun Show), Sinéad O'Connor, Blackie Onassis (Urge Overkill), Heni Paul aka Henri-Paul Tortosa (Les Intouchables, Johnny Thunders), Ron Peno (Died Pretty, The 31st, Darling Downs), John Povey (Pretty Things), Johnny Powers, Alan Rankine (The Associates), Jamie Reid, Andy Rourke (The Smiths),
Robbie Robertson (The Hawks, The Band), Stepehn Rouse (Age of Tyranny, Self-Inflicted), Norman
Roy
(Amos Landry Quintet), Sixto Rodriguez, Cayle Sain (Twitching Tongues), Ryuichi Sakamoto (Yellow Magic Orchestra), Bob Segarini (The Wackers), Gabe Serbian (The Locust, Cattle Decapitation), Wayne Shorter, Ray Shulman (Gnetle Giant), Ben Sir (Worst Days Down), Mick Slattery (Hawkwind), Tony Slug (BGK, The Hydromatics), Huey Piano Smith, Jack Sonni (Dire Straits), Phil Spalding (Original Mirrors, Toyah), Lou Sparks (Hollywood Brats), SPOT, Bennett Kent Stacks (Scream), Charles Steck (High Back Chair), Seymour Stein, Lester Sterling (Skatalites), Tom Stephen (Jeff Healey Band), John "Rambo" Stevens (4B2), Mark Stewart (Pop Group), Matthew Stewart (Streetlight Manifesto), Yukihiro Takahashi (Yellow Magic Orchestra), Teresa Taylor (Butthole Surfers), Louis Tillett (Wet Taxis), Top Topham (yardbirds, Vivian Trimble (Luscious Jackson), Akira Tsuneoka (Hi-Standard), Tina Turner, Dwight Twilley, Tom Verlaine (Television), John Waddington (Pop Group), Geordie Walker (Killing Joke), Babel Wallace (Empire), Algy Ward (The Saints, The Damned, Tank), Mars Williams (The Waitresses, Psychedelic Furs), Sakevi Yokoyama (G.I.S.M.), Gary Young (Pavement).
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