Here's your obligatory weekly fix of melodic garage-/egg-/synth punk shit, this time coming from a Winchester, Virginia outfit whose quirky noises will surely satisfy the needs of afficinados primarily of the austalian scene including acts such as Ausmuteants, Research Reactor Corp., R.M.F.C., Set-Top Box, Tee Vee Repairman, Eugh, Daughter Bat & The Lip Stings… as well as some US acts á la Eric Nervous, Sex Mex and Liquids.
Punter came up with an excellent demo in 2020. Their new EP on Drunken Sailor Records elevates their sound to a whole different level though, combining the strengths of "heavy" metal- and hard rock-infused garage acts á la Polute, Cheap Heat, Cement Shoes or Stiff Richards, the hard rockin' hardcore attack of, say, Cutters and Cülo, postcore of the Dollhouse, Acrylics, Flea Collar variety and all the drama, rage and melancholy of Pist Idiots, Jackson Reid Briggs & The Heaters.
Garage Punk with a weird thematic fixation on mopeds and buttholes by some New York dude which sounds a lot like his city ca. '73-'77, inhabiting a sonic space somewhere inbetween the proto- and early punk of the NY Dolls, Modern Lovers and Dead Boys, with further echoes of the wider early US scene á la Pagans, Black Randy and the Metrosquad on the more relaxed side of things as well some serious early australian Saints- and Birdman energy in its wilder moments.
Simple and straightforward-as-fuck Garage Punk by a London group which, if you ask me, doesn't sound much like London at all, rather reminding me of a bunch of continental european acts of late like Italy's Dadar, Shitty Life and The Dirtiest, Belgium's Mitraille and Itches as well as american acts á la Sore Points, Big Baby, maybe a hint of Sick Thoughts or (early) Hank Wood & The Hammerheads.
Not long after the recent 7" on Goodbye Boozy Records we get the first LP of Sydney's Tee Vee Repairman on that other garage punk powerhouse label Total Punk. As you might've guessed this is another juicy treat of simple and stupid melodic garage punk and power pop delight well suited for fans of shit like Bad Sports, Tommy and the Commies and Bed Wettin' Bad Boys while of the dude's own other projects, you might be most reminded of a sugar-coated version of Satanic Togas or recent R.M.F.C..
More awesome shit courtesy of Painters Tapes by a Detroit group having a strong proto-grunge vibe to them that wouldn't seem out of place next to early Mudhoney, U-Men, Feedtime, X (the australian group) or 80s Scientists. Also you might find some traces of american proto noise rock á la Flipper, Broken Talent just as well as more recent groups roughly in the orbit of TVO or Vexx in there.
Class from Tucson, Arizona deliver their strongest release so far via the seemingly infallible Feel It Records. Their whereabouts certainly make The Resonars come to mind and indeed their mastermind Matt Rendon has been involved in the production and further similarities can be drawn in their somewhat british invasion-fueled brand of slightly psychedelic brand of garage rock, jangle- and power pop. Class, however, deal in a way more straightforward and rougher-edged garage punk sound - the overall vibe of Burning Cash wouldn't feel out of place on the recent Strange Attractor LP.
A beautifully out-of-fashion 7" by a Leeds group creating a sound located amidst the rough coordinates of math rock, postcore and noise rock, obviously paying trubute primarily to the 90s-to-2000s era of Dischord Records and in particular to groups of the Jawbox, Autoclave, Hoover, Lungfish, Q and not U variety.
More beautiful delightful garage punk mayhem by the dungeon-dwellers from Karlsruhe, Germany, this time in a slightly less lo-fi yet perfectly potent sound aesthetic. Once again you might be remembered of acts like Strange Attractor, Salamirecorder and, most of all, various incarnations of Thee Oh Sees over the years. My Spell, then again, sounds a bit as if the latter had been crossbred with the no-wave infused drones of noise rockers Spray Paint.
Oh look, one of my favorite pieces of punk rock vaporware finally got released! How long has it been… two years at the very least since this thing has first been teased in form of the (digital) Uncontrol single. Ultimately it was worth the wait though as the australian group's first LP packs the same kind of savage garage punk assault we've witnessed on their previous EPs while expanding on it further, carrying an unexpectedly melancholic vibe throughout, best exemplified by the melodic pop smasher Strange Motel while Work and Military Boy remind me of Jackson Reid Briggs & The Heaters both in terms of vibe and energy levels. This is also required listening for fans of shit like Civic, S.U.G.A.R., Lysol, Split System, Mini Skirt, Institute and Living Eyes.