The Leipzig scene delivers reliable quality once again with this EP made up of hyperactive garage-/post punk bastardizations calling to mind a cluster of groups á la Onyon, Patti, Big Bopper, Warm Red, Cat Scan, Rogue… a bit of Ex-Cult & Constant Mongrel, maybe??
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The debut Album of this Philadelphia group is, in a word, fucking impressive. Versatile, inventive post punk this is, moving about somwhere inbetween the repetitive abstraction of Nots, the no-bullshit direct attack of Lié, grooves, noise eruptions and melodic textures reminiscent of early Protomartyr, some sparkling Sonic Youth-esque walls of noise and the relentless propulsion of Nervosas, then closing out the album with a jam enveloped in a thick psychedelic haze.
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Damn, i thought i was done blogging for the week and then this unexpected little gem of crude and shambolic noise by a Budapest group crops up last minute, their sound striking me as a peculiar fusion of oddball garage punk in the Eddy Current Suppression Ring and UV Race vein with similarly weird acts in the post punk and oldschool indie rock field such as Treehouse, Kitchen's Floor, The Molds and City Yelps.
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Here's another one i almost missed. The newest LP by New York's Wilful Boys delivers ten tight blows of noise rock obviously pulling lots of inspiration from the classic sludge-heavy AmRep era - Cows, especially - plus maybe a few touches of U-Men, Feedtime and 80's Scientists… while sounding perfectly contemporary at the same time, sometimes striking a similar chord to groups such as Help!, Tunic, John (Timestwo), USA Nails or Death Panels.
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I almost overlooked this beauty which appears to have been out for a couple months already. Knoxville's Ex-Gold had put out a delightful debut EP in 2018, a couple of whose songs have also been re-recorded for this new one while the new tracks seamlessly continue the excellence of their debut. That means more quirky powerpop and garage punk with both a slight '77- and an oldschool indie rock touch. The best comparison i can come up with right now are UK wisecrackers Proto Idiot but fans of stuff like Tommy and the Commies, Bad Sports, Radioactivity, Sweet Reaper, Corner Boys or Steve Adamyk Band should also get a kick out of this.
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An exquisite jet-propelled racket, the second longplayer by Athens, Georgia group McQQeen - now proudly carrying the Big Neck Records seal of quality. What kinda starts out a bit in the vein of bands á la Flat Worms, The Cowboy and Fashion Pimps & The Glamazons with a conspicuous Psychedelic/Space Rock undercurrent then expands into a quite comprehensive sweep through much of what is and has been great on the intersection of garage punk, noise rock, post punk and -core including contemporary acts of the Metz, John (Timestwo) or Spray Paint kind as well as the occasional flourish of Destruction Unit's space punk excess, the fuzz punk orgies of early The Men, even some slight touches of U-Men or McLusky are to be found in there.
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Some familiar faces at work here, although it takes some detective work to untangle the nebulous web of connections especially of guitar player and vocalist Robert Pawliczek. That dude has played in a lot of groups although i can't exactly confirm all of them. So he seems to have had a hand at, among others, Heavy Metal, Bobby Would, Needle Exchange, Itchy Bugger, Pitva… also, possibly, Diät and Idiota Civilizzato? Of those two i'm the least sure. On bass duty, we appear to have the same Bill Gray known of Bands like Shark Toys, Rearranged Face. And this being a Refry Records release, of course they've got Vinny "Vaguess" Earley completing the line-up on drums. As you might have suspected, the music fuckin' rips too, their post punk with some garage overtones striking me kinda like a super brittle and dry version of Rank/Xerok or the aforementioned Diät.
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Consisting of a mix of previously released songs, some re-recordings, a couple new tunes and a Misfits cover, this tape is so far the most accomplished release of this dude from Concord, California who's operating comfortably within some well-established contemporary garage punk parameters of the clearly eggy kind - fans of (solo) Erik Nervous, Nuts, Prison Affair, Set-Top Box or Metdog will surely approve of this shit.
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While i couldn't quite warm up to the previous EP of Sydney's Nasty Party, with their newest release they really hit the spot once again just like their did with their brilliant debut EP. Treading in somewhat similar territory to Mekons- and Television Personalities-worshipping groups á la Suburban Homes, Silicone Values or Proto Idiot, they round things off with a strong Buzzcocks flavor.
Just like its predecessor, this new tape by Cosme from Ciudad López Mateos, Mexico is a thoroughly joyful ride. While the opening track goes all-in with its synth wave vibes and the closer dabbles in a bit of hardcore, the two middle tracks continue the first tape's approach of garage- and fuzz punk with that sugary synthesizer coating on top. All of that works out just beautifully.
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