Jrdn and the Switchblades – Landmine
Lawn – Sports Gun
Orchid Club – Three Alarm Fire
Not too long after their brilliant debut EP we already get to hear the first full LP of this Minneapolis group which still delights with a pleasantly old-fashioned genre mixture that primarily appears to take inspiration from the more left-field and melancholy edges of ’80s -’90s post punk, hard- and postcore history, although the influences are a lot more varied here with the opening song Hello World having a strong ’90s Dischord vibe somewhat reminiscent of the likes of Jawbox, Crownhate Ruin, Bluetip, Smart Went Crazy or Kerosene 454 while Tectonic Plates comes across like a curious mixture of Rapeman, Brainiac and Mule. Kick Geneva and Steve remind me a lot of Angst and Moving Targets, BDFI has some Butthole Surfers-esque doominess and it’s not before the second-to-last track, the instrumental What Happens Next and the subsequent Mantle, that those Mission Of Burma influences – which were more strongly present on the EP – kick into full gear once again. Anyway, through much of the record, there’s a slightly folk-ish undercurrent goin’ on aswell that further calls to mind such eighties US groups like The Proletariat, Volcano Suns, M.I.A. and My Dad Is Dead.
Album-Stream →Elvis 2 – Thank You Very Much
Three incredible tracks dumped on bandcamp over the course of the past one-and-a-half years made us hungry for more tunes of this Melbourne group and i’m pleased to say that this new probably-not-quite-an-LP’s worth material (including the aforementioned singles) fulfills all of the pretty high expectations. What Steröid do to eighties Metal, this group pulls off with regards to ’70s hard-, southern rock, a couple of other dad rock-ish vibes and transforms it into an only slightly egg-ish, maximally fuzzed-out aesthetic of ultra-catchy garage punk and power pop with an unusual knack for infectious guitar leads – a glorious non-stop barrage of captivating riffs, resilient hooks and stubborn earworms, in an unlikely way combining some of the traits of, say, Sheer Mag’s early EPs and more recent shit by Satanic Togas.
Album-Stream →No Victim – No Victim
An insanely appealing cassette full of rough-as-fuck oldschool hardcore punk by this Richmond, Virginia group playing a reluctantly melodic variant of the genre with some distinct KBD- and garage punk additives while also being clearly influenced by early US west coast groups that hadn’t yet completely stripped themselves of their catchy ’77 vibes. On top of it all, there’s also a noisy vibe á la Flipper or Broken Talent goin’ on here, all of it being conserved in an absolutely perfect and appropriate Lo-Fi aesthetic that would also fit in neatly next to the Deluxe Bias or Impotent Fetus discographies so far. What a fucking blast!
Album-Stream →Curta’n Wall – Georgie and the Dragon
The californian label Grime Stone Records has long been way ahead of the curve when it comes to the more quirky ends of blackened- and dungeon punk releases and even if the musical merits of the bands and projects featured didn’t always manage to keep up with their lofty ambitions, these folks have also brought us some undeniable contemporary classics by the likes of Bloody Keep and Drýsildjöfull. The newest cassette by Curta’n Wall is yet another strong contender for the latter category, being a prime example of the more playful and egg-ish – though also in a way quite traditionally dungeon synth-inspired – end of the genre spectrum, drawing on some of the strongest tunes in their already quite prolific discography as a rock-solid basis for their insane sonic escapades while toning down some of the cheesiest (previously often unbearably so) aspects of their sound just enough to hit a certain sweet spot with me. While parts of their previous work have struck me as more novelty than substance, this record has finally grown a healthy amount of real meat around its bones.
Album-Stream →Bart and the Brats – Missed Hits
It seems for as little as France’s de-facto garage punk ambassadors Bart and the Brats tend to evolve stylistically – always staying true to some of the most basic instincts and impulses of oldschool garage punk – their simple ’77-flavored three-chord punk tunes always appear to keep upping their game in terms of sheer infectious catchyness and combustive potential. About six short- and four long-playing releases into their discography, it’s still hard to ever get tired of their shit ‘cos every song on here hits the mark effortlessly and perfectly with even a cover of The Kids’ euro cult classic Fascist Cops not feeling out of place in the slightest.
Album-Stream →Meng Zhu Meng – Social Reintegration Demos 1 & 2
One of the things i absolutely adore about the ongoing egg punk explosion is what an incredibly international affair the whole thing has grown into over time and the most recent case in point would be this group from Chengdu, China playing a quirky and synth-heavy addition to the genre, bearing particular similarities to such groups as Italy’s Prison Affair, the United States’ Beer, Ukraine’s Завірюга, Turkey’s Goblin Daycare, Israel’s Paulo Vicious, Australia’s The Gobs, Germany’s Egg Idiot and Brazil’s Cool Sorcery among many others.
Album-Stream →The Sick Man Of Europe – Obsolete
The Sick Man Of Europe releases June 20th via The Leaf Label.
