This EP by Kyoto group LLRR is a real treat! Post punk that's simultaneously catchy and abrasive, often danceable, sometimes leaning towards math rock structures and oldschool no-wave-funky in other places. A rock-solid rhythm section creates the ideal space for guitarist Yuzuru Sano's unruly yet often quite melodic eruptions of noise to unfold as well as the hypnotic chants by vocalist Minami Yokota, the latter being interwoven into the rhythmic foundation to a degree seldem heard from contemporary groups.
Gotta tell you about this Super Cheap EP i got super cheap from Painters Tapes! It's a weird little lump of blown-out noise - it's fast and wild, it's pleasantly short. Kinda like a mix between Soupcans, Lumpy and the Dumpers, Stinkhole and Connie Voltaire's more hardcore-centric projects.
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!
Having released four EPs on Neon Taste so far, Vancouver's Bootlicker have hit the bull's eye every single time, so why change anything now? They haven't. Accordingly, on their first longplayer, their brand of no-frills oldschool hardcore attack once more manages to be mostly unsurprising yet perfectly gripping from start to finish.
Chunklet Industries is killing it again with this debut 7" by a noise rock/post punk supergroup, kind of an unholy trinity made up of members of Wilful Boys, Spray Paint and Brandy whose sound incorporates familiar elements of all three aforementioned groups yet eschews predictability - with the A-Side giving off that distinct Spray Paint vibe and the other track veering a bit stronger towards the other two bands' sonic hallmarks. To make things even better, we're also promised a full length sometime this fall!
With the Berlin group's 2018 self-titled full length being their most varied, playful record and the subsequent Bug EP their loudest, most uncompromising one, their second long player recently released via adagio830 certainly showcases their most concise, effective and elaborate bundle of songs so far. Once again i'm reminded of pretty much any great post punk act of recent years both in- and outside Berlin. Think Negative Space, Pretty Hurts, Rank/Xerox, Diät, Public Eye, Exit Group, Nag… the list could go on and on. In other words: First rate shit!
In a week already pretty heavy on egg-related releases, all that's left for me to say about this debut EP is that the good egghead gospel seems to have reached the righteous people of Chile at last and that fact alone fills my heart with so much joy - of course also helped by this being such a fun little record.
Yet another Goodbye Boozy 7" by a trio whose lineup is the stuff wet dreams of today's distinguished garage-, synth- and eggpunk connoisseur are made of, including connections to Skull Cult and roughly half of the Warttman empire. The results are rather unsurprising…ly awesome!
Speaking of the naughty one's favorite garments… they're also half the subject of a nice new split 7" on Goodbye Boozy, delivering two short and sweet rippers with Strange Attraction giving off a strong Buck Biloxi & The Fucks vibe. The songs by Zoids complement this perfectly, operating within similar parameters manifest in both a straightforward rockin' opening track and a delightfully twisted follow-up.
My carefully tuned anomaly-detecting instruments are sensing some curious egghead activity coming from Belgium, more specifically from some Brussels one-man-act. And what a neat little quality batch of songs has resulted from this. Fans of acts like Warm Exit, Set-Top Box, R.M.F.C. or Satanic Togas, rejoyce! Put a subliminal dungeon smell on top and this is roughly where you'll end up. Also, there's some kind of an unexpected Spray Paint-goes-garage punk vibe going on in Horse Power.
