What we got here is twelve minutes worth of minimalistic, uncompromising DIY industrial noise/-punk shit by some duo from River Falls, Wisconsin. Being more of a clueless idiot tourist in this particular field, i'd describe this as what a fully electronic variant of Big Black might have sounded like. Or maybe draw parallels to the more recent but comparably minimalistic noise by Black Pus.
Just like its predecessor, the second EP by this band from Buffalo, NY turns out to be another highly concentrated dose of unconventional, inventive and at times strikingly melodic hardcore fun, also expanding its stylistic tentacles into places of garage-, fuzz- and KBD style punk.
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.