An exquisite jet-propelled racket, the second longplayer by Athens, Georgia group McQQeen - now proudly carrying the Big Neck Records seal of quality. What kinda starts out a bit in the vein of bands á la Flat Worms, The Cowboy and Fashion Pimps & The Glamazons with a conspicuous Psychedelic/Space Rock undercurrent then expands into a quite comprehensive sweep through much of what is and has been great on the intersection of garage punk, noise rock, post punk and -core including contemporary acts of the Metz, John (Timestwo) or Spray Paint kind as well as the occasional flourish of Destruction Unit's space punk excess, the fuzz punk orgies of early The Men, even some slight touches of U-Men or McLusky are to be found in there.
Some familiar faces at work here, although it takes some detective work to untangle the nebulous web of connections especially of guitar player and vocalist Robert Pawliczek. That dude has played in a lot of groups although i can't exactly confirm all of them. So he seems to have had a hand at, among others, Heavy Metal, Bobby Would, Needle Exchange, Itchy Bugger, Pitva… also, possibly, Diät and Idiota Civilizzato? Of those two i'm the least sure. On bass duty, we appear to have the same Bill Gray known of Bands like Shark Toys, Rearranged Face. And this being a Refry Records release, of course they've got Vinny "Vaguess" Earley completing the line-up on drums. As you might have suspected, the music fuckin' rips too, their post punk with some garage overtones striking me kinda like a super brittle and dry version of Rank/Xerok or the aforementioned Diät.
Consisting of a mix of previously released songs, some re-recordings, a couple new tunes and a Misfits cover, this tape is so far the most accomplished release of this dude from Concord, California who's operating comfortably within some well-established contemporary garage punk parameters of the clearly eggy kind - fans of (solo) Erik Nervous, Nuts, Prison Affair, Set-Top Box or Metdog will surely approve of this shit.
While i couldn't quite warm up to the previous EP of Sydney's Nasty Party, with their newest release they really hit the spot once again just like their did with their brilliant debut EP. Treading in somewhat similar territory to Mekons- and Television Personalities-worshipping groups á la Suburban Homes, Silicone Values or Proto Idiot, they round things off with a strong Buzzcocks flavor.
Just like its predecessor, this new tape by Cosme from Ciudad López Mateos, Mexico is a thoroughly joyful ride. While the opening track goes all-in with its synth wave vibes and the closer dabbles in a bit of hardcore, the two middle tracks continue the first tape's approach of garage- and fuzz punk with that sugary synthesizer coating on top. All of that works out just beautifully.
After their more power pop-leaning debut EP, the first full length of this Cleveland group featuring Nervosas' Mickey Marie on guitar and vocals, while not a exactly departure from their previous record, expands their color palette quite a bit. Overall the vibe here is more grim and melancholy, steering closer to moody yet melodic post punk territory with a distinct Wipers influence while once again proving their stunning ability at crafting catchy and unique hooks. Of more recent bands, you might consider them in a loosely related Orbit to groups like The Estranged and Daylight Robbery.
These Nashville garage punks' latest EP continues the strong cowpunk vibes that took center stage roughly since their Rides Again EP, this time making a much stronger case for their vision though, thanks to a much improved song substance and a super tight performance, which ain't all that surprising once you learn that at least in their current incarnation, these appear to be the exact same dudes otherwise known as Safety Net. The two middle tracks Barn Burner and The Plan then again have a bit of a Flat Worms or - quite fittingly - The Cowboy feel to them.
