Bringing back the tape in mixtape. I didn't do a great job this year at keeping a steady supply of these going. To make up for it, here's a whole bunch of those things before the year ends. One with your usual standardized 12XU fare. One full of warm and cozy power pop. And as an antidote to the latter, a kinda gruff one, leaning towards the hardcore side of things. So at least i can say i made four mixes this year.
In case you wonder what verspannungskassette means… Keep wondering because it's a pretty much untranslatable play on words.
Proto Idiot - Sit Back, Relax, Enjoy Neutrals - I Can Do That Human Beat - Punctual Punks Austerity - Herded Overtime - Dehydration Basic Human - Shame Sandré - Potu Kumusta - Car 2 Stroke - Crisis, Crisis Emergency Contact - Buildings Rank/Xerox - Cradle of Life Spray Paint - Looking For Work Bigpig - Eyes Trashdog - ADHDEMON The Nico Missile - Put It On The Table Dennis - Knives Cat Scan - Commodities Uranium Club - Two Things At Once (Part 1) The Cowboy - Swimming with the Fishies Pist Idiots - Motor Runnin
Penance Hall - Covered In Shit Nick Normal - Windows Painted Shut Isolation - Shift Mini Skirt - Pretty Patti - Color Kill Ukryte Zalety Systemu - Swiat Ma Ksztalt Lost System - State Of Reality Gamma World - Midnight Sniper Acrylics - Haze Arse - Pressure Test John (timestwo) - Dog Walker The Missed - Tellurian Mistake Dee Bee Rich - Vomit Prison Affair - Masturbation Crown Moulding - On The House Civic - Velvet Casino B Boys - On Repeat Ex-Gold - Red Light Eddy Current Suppression Ring - Human Race
Mick Trouble - He's Frank Sob Stories - Danny Reed Lost Balloons - Feed the Pain Scupper - Pass Me By Opossums - Promises Woolen Men - Brick Horizon Legendary Wings - Weather Advisory Bed Wettin' Bad Boys - Plastic Tears Warm Soda - I Don't Wanna Grow Up Vaguess - A Long Time Vital Idles - Seconds Chronophage - Wedding
The Resonars - The Golden Age Alien Nosejob - People Stairs Chook Race - At Your Door Seablite - Heart Mountain Omi Palone - Void The Lovebirds - Streets of Rage The Persian Leaps - About Your Record Landlines - Signs Of Life EggS - I Fell In Love Radioactivity - Sleep Wireheads - The Overview Effect
Neotypes - Banned in Hammond (Live) Expose - Motive Skeleton Glove - Gimme Gimme Chocolate The Dorks - Sycophant (The) Liquid Assets (of Ottawa) - Murderer Cells - My Gun Raxil - Unknown Title Miedo - Bájate de tu nube. Optic Nerve - Sniper Sick Head - Pis Foster Care - Rack Brain Dregs - Marfa Creep Ubik - John Wayne (is A Cowboy (and Is On Twitter) ) Xenu & The Thetans - No Es Tu Causa Lux - Action Warp - Sheet Cake Speed Plans - Hell House Goon - Ain't Rite
Fried e/M - Untitled 2 Dots - Dethroned Big Hog - Big Hog Rinse - Pest Control (song For Hellstrom) Dry Insides - Dawn Of The Skull Lead - The Bad Sleep Well Glue - Disgrace Alien Nosejob - Bond Clean The Uglies - Tone Deaf Gutter Knife - Abuse of Power Physique - The Rhythm Of Brutality Das Drip - Gym Rat Temple Dogs - Rabies Hwanza - 인간공장 Blueprint - Disgust Hologram - Simulation Rat-Nip - NC Ztuped - Threat of Death Consolation - Head Down Années Zéro - Rupture Fuckin' Lovers - Control
Basically, this Falmouth, UK band's line up consists of local punks Internal Credit minus one dude. Compared to the latter's rather straightforward garage punk, Isolation roll out a somewhat more rigid sound on their debut EP, expanding their solid garage foundation by a certain postcore edge, bringing to mind Hot Snakes or Youth Avoiders, as well as melodic post punk acts like Red Dons, Daylight Robbery, Anxious Living, Nervosas and maybe some tiny traces of Wipers. What's not to like about that?
Okay… this is an easy one to explain. You just put equal amounts of MC5 and Bad Brains into a blender and the result will have a taste similar to whatever this group from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania does on its third not-quite-an-LP. As simple as that and every bit as electrifying as you might hope for.
This Philadelphia band's debut tape via State Champion Records already makes an excellent first impression. Distinctly 90's indie rock vibes akin to Breeders or more recent stuff by Melkbelly collide with rather contemporary sounding post punk elements, somwhat comparable to WALL or The Baby, radiating a wonderfully crude, off-kilter charme throughout.
Cleveland's The Cowboy are back! Two years after their explosive debut album, the group featuring members of Pleasure Leftists and Homostupids haven't lost their ability to kick ass with a sound oscillating between garage- and post punk, noise rock overtones, an abrasive surface combined with disarming catchyness. All this reminds me of bands like Plax, Ex-Cult, Shark Toys and Flat Worms. Also, in a rather unexpected turn of events, we get exposed to a laid back indierockin' instrumental tune on the b-side.
Here's an ultra neat attack made of noise-drenched hard-/postcore by a band from Denver, Colorado. Think of a curious mixture of Lumpy & The Dumpers, Anxiety, Cülo or their quasi-successors Tarantüla.
Shit Giver's 2017 debut album left quite an impression on me with its ambitious and versatile vision of post punk, bursting with excentric ideas and unpredictable song structures. The L.A. group's first new music in almost three years doesn't fail to amaze and surprise once again. It's their melodic songwriting abilities that come into sharp focus here, taking shape as an irresistible mix of post punk, power- and goth pop, developing a catchyness i wasn't prepared for. Meaningless ignites some unexpectedly straightforward pop fireworks, complete with a borderline-cheesy sax solo, the kind of which a lesser song wouldn't survive, but in this case i can't help but percieve it as a well-deserved climax. Transition seamlessly continues their newfound love for gloomy pop, but also proves that Shit Giver haven't lost their taste for elaborate structures, either.
This Vancouver outfit's second tape is such a massive load of fun. Their playful style of post punk balances with ease between its rough edged textures and highly danceable grooves, which puts their sound right in the middle between the excentric punk rock of acts like Negative Scanner or Twisted on one hand, the infectious rhythms of Slumb Party or Rapid Tan on the other.
This excellent Debut EP by Liverpool's Sallow Pillow easily wins me over with its flavor of straight and effective, slightly surf-infused garage punk right in the vein of Black Lips, early Ty Segall or Debate Club. You can also sense a consistent Gun Club vibe as well as a certain post punk edge similar to Luxury or scandinavian acts like Holograms and RA. And to make things complete, when they roll out some americana influences like in Wear Out The Rope i can't help but feel positively reminded of Vaguess.
With their third Album, Chicago's Luggage deliver a seamless continuation of the qualities established on their 2017 effort Three, even double down on those. Fittingly and unmistakably recorded at Electrical Audio, a brittle, often crawling sound in the rough area of Noise- and Math Rock, Post- and Slowcore allows itself ample time to unfold and sounds a lot like their hometown in the late 80s to 90s. Or, at different points, like a more straightforward Shellac, slow motion Tar, much louder Slint or an even more bleak variant of Codeine.
