When this New York dude's enchanting and bewildering 2020 debut EP Hedgemakers hit, i didn't have the slightest clue who's the mastermind behind Peace De Résistance. Turns out it's none other than Institute vocalist Moses Brown - yeah, kinda makes sense in retrospect, i guess. Dunno how i missed that. His first longplayer now unfolds a somewhat more elaborate, yet still pretty minimalist soundscape that once again feels out of place in all the best ways - a time capsule of hazy false memories weaving early strains of proto-, art- and post punk into a vivid, semi-plausible case of the Mandela effect.
The second longplayer (ignoring last year's Her Majesty's Ship OST) by this Kaleidoscope-adjacent New York duo sees their sonics shifting into a comparatively downbeat, darker and more cumbersome, yet equally rewarding direction. There's simply no other group quite like them in the current post punk/-core landscape and these chaps clearly maintain their position on the cutting edge of contemporary (art-/post-)punk while simultaneously being perfectly aware of its rich history, culminating in what to me is the crowning achievement of this album - the slow-burning, sprawling Beware, which kinda sounds like classic landmark records of the Chairs Missing and The Argument caliber boiled down to their very essence.
Another excellent EP by that band from Graz, Austria with a sound more akin to some random Berlin group, members of whom are also playing in whatever other group you might also have heard of… i don't remember exactly and can't be bothered to look that shit up right now, okay? Post punk with an ever-so-slight death rock undercurrent. Yeah, Berlin-esque as i already mentioned, think like… Diät, Pigeon, Clock Of Time but also with some similarity to powerhouse US acts á la Rank Xerox or Institute.
I'm kinda blown away right now by the strength of that latest EP by a group probably based somewhere around the Leipzig/Berlin/Halle axis of garage- and post punk. What we get is simply first rate melodic garage shit recorded in appropriately rough fidelity, simple and stupid, stunningly effective and completely endearing. A feast for admirers of, say, Booji Boys, Sweet Reaper, Telecult… even some hint of Radioactivity / Marked Men is evident here.
Gear up for some completely unsanitized, garage-infested oldschool hardcore mayhem, just as rough as it's catchy and fun, on this EP by a Kansas City group that appears to consist of the same folks otherwise known as Dye. Fans of groups á la Fried E/m and Modern Needs are surely gonna approve of this, as will those of slightly more garage-leaning bands like Launcher, Liquid Assets or Mystic Inane.
A yummy new EP by Montreal punks Priors delivering three new infectious smashers starting off with some garage-meets-hardcore energy akin to sped-up Useless Eaters or Mononegatives, followed by a super effective midtempo post punk stomper with a hint of Wire. The closing track, then, has a bit of a Screamers and Devo vibe to it and also bears some similarity to more recent stuff by Isotope Soap.
Okay, so it appears egg metal is a real thing now? Kinda makes sense if you think about it, like the cutesy, garage band-fueled lo-fi flipside to the current dungeon punk craze. This shit sounds a bit as if if a particularly lo-fi incarnation of Sheer Mag at their semi-recent hair metal pivot had kept at least a healthy minimum of self awareness.
Not sure where these folks are based - La Vida Es Un Mus Discos' bandcamp page mentions uruguayan bands as an inspiration so maybe that's where the good shit is happening? Their facebook profile might clarify things but these days, i'd rather stay in the dark forever than logging onto that stinking heap of crap one more time (speaking of which… C'mon fuckers, what are all of you still doing over there? Move your punk asses over to the open, independent, non-corporate fediverse! Bring your friends over too!). Well, whether that's the case or not, their style of post punk reminds me quite a bit of Barcelona punks Algara for more than just their spanish vocals, albeit with a nice melodic street punk vibe and a slight touch of The Estranged on top.
Pretty fucking amazing shit, the second long player of this group from Tournai, Belgium. Right out of the gate i'm reminded of so much good stuff both ancient and contemporary on the intersection of art-, post- and garage punk, rounded out by a distinctly dissonant no wave-ish, noise rock-y edge. Sometimes they sound a bit like as if the americana-infused post punk of Angst were to collide with the simplistic beat of Man Sized Action and a good measure of early The Fall strumminess. Other moments, i imagine to hear echos of Membranes, Gordons or Swell Maps, while you might just as well draw comparisons to more recent acts such as Honey Radar, Toe Ring, Lithics, Germ House, Shark Toys and Subtle Turnhips.
Now what kind of black death is this shit supposed to be again? The Bandcamp-bred dungeon punk (micro-)genre rarely fails to amaze when its over-the-top absurdity collides with such top-notch performances and quality songcraft repeatedly. What kinda starts out like an oldschool black metal-infused bastardization of Chubby and the Gang and early Sheer Mag subsequently throws quite a bit of (neo-?)folk punk RNA into the mix, dares to build up kinda elaborate and flexible song structures while never neglecting its pop qualities, making for a both dread- and joy-inducing soundtrack for a doomed humanity on its way towards the new post-apocalyptic dark ages.
