Just weeks after their recent tape on Iron Lung Records here’s a new one already by this, presumably, icelandic group, this time again coming to us courtesy of dungeon-/blackened-/experimental specialist label Grime Stone Records and it’s their strongest, most fully realized one so far if you ask me. Take the rough specs and traits of black metal, noisy synth-, hardcore- and electro punk, complement that unrelenting force with a slightly eggpunk-y aesthetic that just seems a little too cute and quirky in face of all that grimness and you just might end up with something similar to what these folks are going for.
These folks have been around for a good bit longer than this blog and also have been a constant part of my life’s background hum all the way, although things have gone a bit quiet around them in recent years. Their first new LP in five years once again presents the Seattle group in peak form though. Their secret weapons have always been their simplicity, tons of quirky charm and a unique knack for churning out catchy-as-fuck little slacker hymns that just grow on you, presented in an unpretentious, straightforward garage punk and fuzz pop sound.
Shit is happening in my life right now and i’m not quite sure yet if it’s of the good, bad or questionable kind. Anyway, my usual schedule is gonna be screwed up for the next couple weeks so all you get this weekend is another mixtape and i’ll try to do some more blog posts later this week… fingers crossed.
Zero Bars Heist Wesley & The Boys Jail, Again Lackey I Think I’ve Had It Crache Homme Chain Whip Re-Decapitated Headcheese Who’s Got The Milk El Nucli Budells Charlie Tangos Dont Get Caught Pleasure Twist Golpe Diritto Di Obbedire Mother Nature Weights In The Basement
Ankle Grabber Vile Hands Reaching Drýsildjöfull Skelfir Cacogens Corpse Eater Ninja Sword He conquers… Alone! Media Puzzle Real Man O.R.C Goid Maggot House Mutant Pub Satanic Togas Split Personality Checkpoint Ice Summit Robbie Thunder Rock N Roll Bedtime
Cuticles Mattress 2 Wimps Mind Reader Canned Snakes 1k Cuts Erik Nervous Went Deaf Cherry Cheeks Hard Stancing New Vogue Illusions Sick Thoughts (I’m A) Hellraiser
Onyon Dogman Síntesis Bomba al Parlament Armin Doorbell Choncy Default Pepetapia Escupos Con Tierra Lounge Tourist F.C. Institute Where’s It Go?
On their second LP – once again brought to us by the tasteful folks of Total Punk Records – Orlando group Cherry Cheeks present themselves at their straightest and simplest, dumbest and catchiest so far making for yet another gloriously fuzzy lump of joyful high-calory power pop, garage- and synth punk fluff with abundant echoes of classy shit á la Smirk, Set-Top Box, Prison Affair, Gee Tee, Ghoulies and ISS.
This Kaloomps, British Columbia group’s second LP now sees their kickass 2022 EP Best Before 2022 expanded into a full length, carrying more of that same kind of unpredictable chaotic hardcore mayhem – often rather simplistic at first glance but rich in elaborate detail once you take a closer look, enhanced with some appropriately rowdy garage- and KBD vibes which i’d say place them in relative proximity to such groups as, say, Cement Shoes, Fried E/m, Mystic Inane, Tarantüla, G.U.N., Cheap Heat or Imploders.
A new EP by Drew Owen aka Sick Thoughts and if you didn’t expect sheer garage punk excellence at this point, better think again ‘cos this record fucking delivers! The opening salvo Sick Thoughts is kind of a hardcore smasher suddenly taking a sharp turn into some distinct Ramones-meet-Cheap Trick territory. Hellraiser is pure ’77-drenched power pop ecstasy with a thin icing of Hüsker Dü or Moving Targets on top. The seventy-seven-ish vibes then reach their apex in Schoolgirls in Chains, while My Heart is Breaking Over You is exactly the kind of unhealthy sugar rush that might just become a bit too much of everything in the hands of lesser songwriters and performers but shines here all the brighter by virtue of the rock-solid songcraft evident.
Montreal group New Vogue follow-up their excellent self-titled 2020 mini LP with another batch of kickass tunes – way more synth-heavy this time yet every bit as infectious as before, radiating a constantly shapeshifting kind of vibe calling to mind bits and pieces of Freak Genes, Useless Eaters, Powerplant, Andy Human and The Reptoids, Lost Sounds, Mononegatives and Alien Nosejob, to name just a few high-profile references.
