Another excellent EP by Rhode Island's Germ House, a solo project of Justin Hubbard who also happens to be playing in Far Corners. These three songs once again sparkle with his familiar stripped-down lo-fi charme and a sonic range that stretches from abrasive post- and art punk - which surely owes a thing or two to The Fall or Desperate Bicycles - to classic garage rock and contemporary garage punk, while also revealing a surprising catchyness, deep melancholy and a playful vibe reminiscent of The Woolen Men.
A fresh batch of fucked up lo-fi DIY garage punk jewels by some barcelona group, reminding me of so much that's good right now in the genre. Like a weird mix of R.M.F.C., Neo Neos, Erik Nervous, Alien Nosejob in hardcore mode… also, there's a striking similarity to fellow barcelonians Prison Affair. Wait, are these the same band?
This Melbourne group has been around before. That was sometime during the 90's and back then, their sound could be described as your typical, slightly emo-fied postcore style of that period with echoes of Chavez, Slint and Polvo. Their first new songs in a quarter-century however are quite far from a nostalgic retread of their earlier tunes. Instead, we get presented an all-new and slick post punk sound clearly belonging into the present day, which doesn't look out of place among acts like say, Sleepies, Gotobeds or Drahla, at the same time sounding rather timeless and mature in all the best ways, at times also evoking a subtle Moving Targets or Volcano Suns vibe.
It's been a few years since i last heard of London group Sarcasm. On their latest and, apparently, last EP their ultra-minimalist post punk with strong hints of Crass and more recent bands like Marbled Eye, Rank/Xerox or Labor still sounds pretty much as if not a minute has gone by since then, which is totally fine with me. Quite possibly, these songs were recorded not long after their 2017 Malarial Bog EP.
Brussels group Warm Exit has a new EP out and just as i suspected that thing fuckin' rules. Four new high voltage garage-/synth punk smashers somewhere in the neighborhood of Powerplant, Ausmuteants or whatever the Warttman empire is up to right now.
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.
Here's a holdover from last week by a single Milwaukee dude (i guess) that i first planned to omit here but on closer listening turned out to be much stronger than i initially thought. A catchy, dreamy, melancholic blend of lo-fi noise pop, organ-and-synth punk unfolds on these tapes that also radiates a good deal of oldschool Flying Nun-type psychedelia.
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.
Following last year's somewhat more refined full-length debut, the second LP by Atlanta dark-/post punk group Nag feels more like a throwback to their earlier EPs - and i mean that in all the best ways. These songs are raw as fuck, the arrangements almost as sparse as you can possibly stretch the genre before it's gonna collapse. Why write a goddamn novel when all you need to get across is a single but rather desperate sentence?
