Whoa… gotta say i wasn't prepared for the kind of storm this group from Milan, Italy lets loose on their first longplayer. On a surface level this is some variety of vaguely oldschool hardcore punk with strong anarcho influences, some traces of crust - you know, the kind of stuff we've had no shortage of in recent years. But then again, this record is characterislzed by an endless string of colorful, unconventional decisions and flourishes, making what could have been a rather cookie-cutter, decent genre effort into an ambitious, thrilling beauty to behold. Also helped by a production which strikes the perfect balance between relentless propulsion and blown out Lo-Fi scuzz. As far as contemporary hardcore goes, this shit stands completely on its own and simply hits evey single nail on its head.
Man, do i not wanna live in England right now. Well, Cool Jerks still do and their first full length effort paints a convincingly grim picture while excelling on the sonic front once again, ridding their sound of their first EP's garage elements in favor of a simple, modern blend of punchy postcore with noisy textures, comparable to a simplified version of Bad Breeding, Ascot Stabber or Acrylics.
Portland's Public Eye already were one of the more interesting and adventurous post punk groups of our time to begin with and i always felt we hadn't quite heard their best yet. Turns out i was right about something for a change… On Music For Leisure their sound has evolved pretty much into its own thing. Imagine the works of some 2010's post punk standouts like Diät, Marbled Eye, The Estranged, Institute, Rank Xerox, Creative Adult and Bruised rolled into one. Then add a fair amount of garage punk of the early Teenanger, Sauna Youth, Flat Worms variety, sprinkle in a hint of Wire and some jangly folk influences á la Volcano Suns. Public Eye bundle all of that, then slow it down to a comfortable strolling pace while tackling the whole thing with a decidedly song-based approach. The result is one of the most mature, consistant, well-constructed post punk records i've heard in a good while.
This Melbourne group's debut 7" is a concentrated blast of highly flammable garagecore spiked with additional noise- & postcore accelerants, achieving a resolute punch akin to ADVLTS, Bad Breeding while their unruly garage & oldschool hardcore riot leaves a trail of destruction not unlike Fried E/M, Electric Chair or Modern Needs.
Respected Los Angeles garage powerhouse Vinny Vaguess keeps things interesting. While his previous two longplayers turned out a bit mellower, leaning quite heavily into powerpop melodicity, his newest EP mixes things up again in somewhat unexpected ways by introducing quirky post punk elements, often making generous use of vaguely devo-esque synths. Speaking of the devil… with Lesser Of Two we even get a full-blown synth pop hymn, not dissimilar to some stuff Alien Nosejob did recently. Other points of reference might be Nick Normal, Andy Human and the Reptoids, Teenanger, occasional flashes of Ausmuteants. Everything works admirably here, in no small part thanks to the kind of excellent songcraft we've come to expect from this dude.
Some chicago dude's latest EP delivers four and a half short & sweet bursts of extra blown-out krauty spacerockin' psychedelic garage fuzz ecstasy. Destruction Unit-meet-Chrome, Draggs collide with Dr. Mix & The Remix. Turn on, tune in and… run to your stereo and hit play again 'cos the whole thing is only nine minutes long.
I tried hard to dismiss this Orlando, Florida project as just another cookie cutter DIY synth punk/-garage artifact of our times… with the first EP that was. The second one was able to sow some mistrust in my own judgement. Number three finally served as a reminder on how full of runny shit my dysfunctional lump of grey matter can be sometimes - so bad i wish someone would transplant an anus onto my head. Evolution, you're such a terrible disappointment… These twelve songs are an incredibly fun synth punk ride overall, the kinda pop oriented variety, just getting progressively better with each new EP. Take a juicy bite if you can stand stuff like Trashdog, Warm Exit, Dot.com, Set Top Box, Power Plant, T.L.B.M., Spyroids.
New tunes by Sudbury, Canada's Tommy and the Commies. You should know what to expect by now: A bright and colorful spectacle made up of top notch quality power pop, a bit of garage and a whole truckload of buzzcocks-style straight and melodic punk rock, elevated by a punchy performance as well as some unerring songwriting skill.
Promising and fun shit, this first digital single by some San Francisco group. Post-/art punk of the particularly quirky, playful kind that admirers of bands like Patti, Rolex, Reality Group or Emergency Contact will surely appreciate.
Already having a bunch of strong EPs under their belt, Mini Skirt of Byron Bay, Australia are now delivering their first LP. Of course they do have a few more bones to pick, finding expression in some of their most pissed off lyrics to date, while on the musical side of things, we get all the goodness familiar from their EPs and more… Garage Punk/Pub Rock somewhat similar to Dumb Punts, Pissed Idiots or WOD, that counterbalances its comparatively relaxed pace with a vigorous performance, this time even reluctantly expanding their stylistic palette with occasional flashes of oldschool late 80's/early 90s indie rock.
