Brilliant new shit from folks who've previously been playing, among others, in Melbourne's infamously abrasive post punk act Sewers as well as the somewhat more accessible, indie rock-leaning outfit Love Of Diagrams. What we get here is once again pretty much off the beaten path, a heavily folk-infused melange in which the americana-drenched punk of, say, Angst collides with some 80s Scientists, a hint of british psychedelia and plenty of paisley underground jangleness - a deep melancholia, at times a little reminiscent of Brisbane's Kitchen's Floor finding its outlet in nonetheless catchy-as-fuck melodies, embedded into a kinda fuzzy, nebulous soundscape. Other times, the melodic post punk of The Estranged comes to mind or the relaxed psychedelic garage- and power pop of White Fence, The Cairo Gang. Other plausible references include more or less recent groups á la Damak, earlier Chronophage, Dead Finks, Refedex and The Molds.
On this record, every new song kinda reminds me of a different bunch of groups which is great really, many of those being australian which is also rarely a bad sign! The opening track, for example contains echoes of The Estranged, Red Dons, Xetas, Civic, a touch of Saints and Birdman. True Method has the sleazy rockin' qualities of Golden Pelicans and something else i can't really put my finger on right now. Throttle has some dumb straight-ahead Feedtime energy to it and the subsequent stretch of songs then has straightforward garage punk á la Ex-Cult, Sauna Youth blending into more melodic garage and power pop shit á la Radioacticity, Bad Sports, Mind Spiders, Bed Wettin' Bad Boys. Potential to Ride shares a similar vibe with psychedelically inclined post punk acts á la Public Eye, Waste Man or Marbled Eye. Finally, the two closing tracks remind me of the simple, undiluted impact of australian powerhouses Split System, Polute, Jackson Reid Briggs and the Heaters. All of this is grounded in unfailing, confident songcraft and compacted into an incredibly tight, certified all-killer LP.
A simply delightful debut LP by this Philadelphia group, brought to us via local label SRA Records. I wanna describe this shit as a mixed bag in the best sense possible, an eccentric repository of slightly cowpunk-infused art punk hovering somewhere between garage- and noise-heavy hardcore shit with a certain KBD-extension somewhat reminiscent of early Electric Chair plus a touch of Soupcans on one hand, and then on the other, there are some ubiquitous echoes to be found of old acts on the intersection of '80s noise rock and proto-grunge like, say, U-Men, Scratch Acid, Volcano Suns, Butthole Surfers, Minutemen, Saccharine Trust, Feedtime and very early Meat Puppets, just to name a couple of the most obvious references.
The debut EP of this New York group frequently conjures up a melancholy vibe not quite unlike what we've heard on the recent Shop Talk EP, backed by similarly flawless songcraft. This stuff has a more pronounced post punk feel to it though, bringing to mind - aside from the inevitable Wipers comparisons - the likes of early The Estranged, Nervosas, or Piss Test.
For our weekly dose of egg-related brainfuck, some dude or group from Charleston, South Carolina is volunteering and they've brought beer with them, nice! Though not exactly reinventing the wheel here, this is another rock solid new package of quirky funky lo-fi garage pop goodness that fans of shit á la Prison Affair, Set-Top Box, Nuts, Eugh or Pringue are guaranteed to have a massive ball with.
Portland label Spared Flesh Records has established itself as a real treasure chest of quirky, unconventional garage- and post punk goodness over the course of just over two years and the newest cassette is no exception. Society is a solo project of Sims Hardin who you might have also heard as part of Philadelphia groups Mesh and Toe Ring. Having already made a great impression with last year's All Flies Go To Hell EP, the second one seamlessly continues the scrappy charm of his sound hovering somewhere inbetween the strange worlds of '80s cassette culture and other artifacts on the fringes of garage-, proto-, post- and art punk. Think of a fusion of Modern Lovers, early Mekons, The Fall and Desperate Bicycles and you're roughly on the right track. Or you might compare them to more recent groups like the rustic jams of Honey Radar, Far Corners, Germ House and earlier Woolen Men, the proto-meets-post-punk experiments of Shark Toys and NY's Peace de Résistance.
More weird-ass shit, as perverted and loveable as ever, by that garage dungeon blues duo from Karlsruhe, Germany who so far have made a dent or two with a couple of EPs approaching that whole "dungeon" aesthetic with a pronounced acid rock bent. Kinda like oldschool Oh Sees jamminess being spiked with a generous dose of early Strange Attractor depravity in what ultimately amounts to pretty much their own type of surreal fever dream.
Montreal garage punks Priors follow up their rather playful recent NEWNEWNEW EP with yet another smasher of a mini-LP, often taking their sound into kinda unexpected territory in what is hands down their most versatile release so far. Right out of the gate you can sense a certain quirky vibe calling to mind the likes of Andy Human and the Reptoids, Nick Normal, Erik Nervous and the Beta Blockers while in other moments, you might find some echoes of, say, Vaguess, Proto Idiot, Freak Genes, early Teenanger, Mind Spiders or Sauna Youth… and let's not forget Sonic Avenues as another helpful reference, of whom at least two members are taking part here as well.
It's a new LP by the Detroit group and as you might already suspect, there's not a whole lot in the way of surprises here, which is totally fine for their particular local flavour of garage mayhem. As far as fairly traditional, heavily Stooges-/MC5-informed garage punk (and just maybe, a hint of Feedtime?) goes, it doesn't get much better in terms of raw, primal energy. This is the kind of record which convinces almost exclusively by virtue of brute force and boy do i feel saved now, which is to say: Ouch!
Lately it appears as if barely ever a couple of weeks go by without a new release by synth punk sensation Klint from Schleswig, Germany. No introductions necessary at this point i guess! Following the pretty rough split EP with Repulsion Switch, here we get another strong batch of tunes predominantly on the rather catchy, often viciously danceable end of the spectrum.
