A thorougly mesmerizing load of monotonously pulsing psychedelic post punk bliss with echoes of the proto- and early art punk eras, this new cassette of Paris group Jazz V.O.S.T. comes across a bit like an unholy alliance of Métal Urbain, MX-80 and Chrome, maybe a bit of Swell Maps for good measure… or possibly even a couple of old japanese psychedelic and post punk acts like The Rabbits and early High Rise. All of this gets transferred into some vague semblance of a cold wave context while thankfully eschewing the overly mechanical, formulaic uniformity of what i might consider one of the least creative genres in recent years. No, the pulses, twitches and rumbles on this record aren’t caused by the cold rotations of some interchangeable machine but rather the joy of free expression and humanity of defiant spirits refusing to let themselves get crushed by harsh realities.
Having previously come into my view with a fun and quirky debut EP in 2021 as well as a somewhat strained sounding second one in 2023, the group from Krakow, Poland now delivers some of their most well-rounded and beefy blasts of moderately insane, always unpredictable garage- and eggpunk goodness which at one point or another evokes comparisons to such genre greats as Prison Affair, Finale, Beer, Goblin Daycare, Autobahns and even a hint of Snooper is hiding beneath all the the clutter and mayhem.
Quality shit as usual from the ever-reliable spanish post punk stronghold Flexidiscos. On their debut LP, this Valencia group conjures up quite the storm of smart and angular, yet never tiresome noise that comes across like an amalagamation of the No Wave-ish noise rock / post punk abstractions of Spray Paint with a number of similarly genre-fluid crossover acts like the contorted, interlocking garage punk grooves of Uranium Club, Reality Group and Vintage Crop on one hand, the eccentric post punk constructions of acts á la Rolex, Knowso, Meal, Exit Group, early Marbled Eye and Patti on the other. All of it feels way less grating and catchier than you’d expect, propelled ahead with unrestrained drive and concentrated, punctually applied energy.
A bit of a paradox, this record by a Berlin group which, on one hand, feels probably the most quintessentially Berlin-like of anything i’ve heard this year, yet eludes any straight comparison i could draw to any more-or-less contemporary group of that scene. The best of which that i could come up with are Hyäne, who put out two incredible singles and an equally good LP between 2016-2018, although this shit here feels even more rough, oldschool and primitive, rooted in more of an ’80s punk and hardcore background. All of that notwithstanding, i’d also say that fans of groups such as Die Verlierer, Kalte Hand, Maske, Pigeon and Gesture just might get a kick out of this, as there’s undeniably at least some sort of a common thread running through all of that stuff.
*edit* In the time-honored tradition of me writing ill-informed stupid fucking shit, it turns out this group ain’t from Berlin at all (only their label is) but not too far from my own doorstep instead, somewhere in the wider Ruhr area. No wonder they’re this pissed then. Thrilling shit. How am i gonna fuck up next? Stay tuned!
In case the previous LP of this Leipzig/Berlin-based group was a bit too tidy, conventional and well-produced for your taste, then rejoice!… ‘cos that new cassette may be right up your alley as a hyperactive and noisy, glorious mess showcasing a band just following their creative whims wherever they may take them in thirty minutes comprised of found-sound interludes, zany bits and jokes and plenty of certified bangers along the way, once again approaching the weirdness and fun of their admittedly kinda hard-to-beat 2022 Estray LP.
I never came across this Copenhagen group before, although they’ve apparently been around for well over a decade by now. Right out of the gate, their third LP radiates an eerily familiar vibe yet looking a bit closer, there’s more goin’ on with this record than meets the eye at first glance. While the slight folk- and cowpunk vibes of the openening track call to mind the folk-ish post punk acts Dead Finks, Optic Nerve and the nervous garage punk twitch of Hank Wood & The Hammerheads, i’d say that subsequently, this record settles into an aesthetic blurring the line between straight-up catchy punk rock and a darker post punk feel, similar in one way or another to such groups like Xetas, Red Dons, later Naked Raygun, Warp Lines, Dead Years and Telecult. Also, there’s some neat Leatherface-esque guitar work going on here and a melancholic quality that reminds me of shit like The Misanthropes and early The Estranged.
No unpleasant surprises here, the newest EP of West Palm Beach, Florida group Rude Television is yet another high caliber projectile of catchy, egg-ish garage punk excellence and highly recommended for friends similar shit á la Gee Tee, Erik Nervous, Set-Top Box, Satanic Togas, Power Pants or Tommy Cossack & The Degenerators. Hell, that closing track Rat Bastard may well come to be regarded among the genre’s all-time greats in retrospect.
Like a rougher companion piece to the Demo Rally LP i’m gonna be postin’ about in just a minute, the debut LP of this Leeds group from late summer – now given a cassette release by french label Discos Peroquébien – delivers more of that excellent noisy and no wave-ish post punk eccentricity, the possible influences of which alternating between such agents of dissonant chaos as Spray Paint, Brandy, Rolex, Lumpy and the Dumpers, Cutie and Soupcans, while comparatively slow and disciplined tracks like Bog Witch even exude a bit of a classic ’90s Chicago-style math-/postcore energy.
The debut tape via Goodbye Boozy of this Haarlem, Netherlands group is yet another quality release of egg-adjacent, unwieldy garage punk chaos that kinda sounds like a synth-infused Uranium Club in its more streamlined and restrained moments while at other points reaching a level of weirdness akin to infamous garage punk bafflers and headscratchers á la Checkpoint, Pressure Pin, Liquid Face, Skull Cult and Belly Jelly.
Just like on their debut EP, the Ottawa, Ontario group delivers a quick batch of oddball eggpunk chaos which at first glance appears to fit squarely into the genre’s established tropes and parameters with groups such as Clarko, Prison Affair, Beer, Beta Maximo and Smirk being some of the obvious comparisons. On closer inspection though, this shit reveals many deeper qualities not least thanks to some pieces of top-notch songcraft, tons unexpectedly catchy hooks and plenty of novel ideas sprinkled throughout. This group is successfully punching way above its proposed weight with tons of musical substance in here to anchor the quirky aesthetics – way more effort under the hood than would be deemed necessary for your average egg artifact.
