Whoa, what an excellent debut EP by a Memphis, Tennessee group! The opener plays out kinda like Drive Like Jehu or Hot Snakes in creative overdrive mode, also being somewhat reminiscent of contemporary bands like Meat Wave, Mystic Inane, Tunic or Wymyns Prysyn. Next they change gear entirely and come up with a mid-tempo post punk tune in which a pulsing beat collides with some serious Flying Nun-style psychedelia and a certain Sauna Youth vibe. The latter also permeates the subsequent two garage punk smashers with echoes of Ex-Cult, early Teenanger or Dumb Punts, gradually shapeshifting into more of a post punk and indie rock style not unlike Gotobeds, Sleepies or B-Boys, which in the closing track once again morphs into kind of a Swervedriver-esque slow jam. There's not a single weak spot to be found on this record!
As a counterbalance to my last post, here's kind of a musical shitpost created by some seattle dude who also happened to play in one or the other local legend you might have heard of. A fourteen-act rock opera of 7"-sized proportions that kinda plays out like an odd fusion of 80's Nomeansno, early Minutemen and Saccharine Trust… chances are i'm already overthinking this though.
Plenty of goodness on this split 7" by two australian bands. Last Quokka's side showcases some of their best material to date and their familiar, heavily garage-boosted postcore sound with traces of Hot Snakes and early Jawbox, as well as more recent groups like Video, Bad Breeding and Ascot Stabber.
This marks the first time i hear about False Cobra. Some of the above comparisons may also apply to their songs, though overall they lean a lot heavier into the garage and classic punk side of things, having a bit of a Ruts or X (L.A.) vibe and also some vague siminarity to The Living Eyes, Mini Skirt or early Teenanger.
Dollhouse's 2019 demo already was a thoroughly respectable blast of forward-thinking noise and even more so is their new EP that came out recently via Toxic State Records, thanks to a comparatively slick production putting their sound emanating from a gray area between modern hardcore, post punk and postcore in just the right light, balancing abrasive scuzz with sheer force. The whole thing calls to mind a refreshingly diverse cluster of groups like Mystic Inane, Hot Snakes, Wymyns Prysyn, Launcher, Cement Shoes or Liquid Assets.
More quality shit courtesey of Deluxe Bias. This absurdly short cassingle of noise in the realm of KBD-informed weirdcore, garage- and post punk will sure be a delight to folks who've already developed a huge boner for Mystic Inane, Rolex or Fried E/M.
On their second LP, noise rock/postcore trio Trigger Cut considerably raise the energy level without sacrificing much of the precision work, sophisticated structures and arrangements we've already witnessed on their debut album. Especially in the first half there are some serious Jawbox and Bastro vibes going on. In the past i'd have told you that Ralf Schaarschmidt's current and past bands are among the very best the german noise rock scene has to offer but honestly, at this point, even worldwide there aren't that many groups operating at their level.
Man, this has been a lame week as far as new music is concerned. I don't wanna withhold from you one standout release though, this little gem operating right in the middle between garage punk, hard- and postcore - kinda like a mix between Fried E/M, Modern Needs, Mystic Inane… with a spoonful of Drive Like Jehu thrown in at the right moments.
Excellent post punk of the moderately dark variety with some traces of postcore, math- and noise rock is what we get on this australian group's first EP, kinda like a Fusion of B-Boys, Girls In Synthesis and Rank/Xerox… but also not entirely dissimilar to stuff like Video, Public Eye, Tunic or The Estranged.
Third longplayer by this Oakland group and of course it's some pretty amazing shit once again. I still find it kinda hard to believe how what started out as sort of a Hüsker Dü soundalike has developed into one of the most powerful, original and instantly regognizable bands of recent years, effortlessly channeling the raw energies of hard- & postcore, noise rock and garage punk into a rowdy, unpredictable force.
Broken Vessels are a group from Santa Ana, California featuring members of Grimly Forming and Rolex (whose incredible debut album/compilation/re-recording thingy i didn't post here as far as i remember, so give that one a spin if you haven't yet). Their debut EP sounds a lot like a somewhat dumbed down version of Rolex, while Mystic Inane comes to mind as another valid and wholly flattering comparison.
