Another lovely treat from Austin label Digital Hotdogs. The rather quirky kind, rough around the edges and full of sweetness inside, strange and familiar at the same time. Just like you've probably come to expect of anything released by this outlet. There's barely any info on the actual band in question. I found two bands of this name listed on bandcamp, but i don't think we're dealing with either of those here. What we get instead is a sheer wealth of catchy as fuck tunes wrapped into dreamy, yet powerful soundscapes somewhere in the realm of post punk, noise pop, shoegaze and 90s Indie Rock, somewhat reminiscent of the early Lo-Fi adventures by Eric's Trip, Guided By Voices, Flying Saucer Attack, maybe even a bit of Sebadoh. Or you may choose to draw comparisons to more contemporary acts in the vein of The Molds, Treehouse, Pardoner, Rat Columns or Teardrop Factory. Whatever your viewpoint on this, you've got impeccable taste, sir. You are made for this record.
I've already failed to mention this group at least two times and feel kinda bad about that - although you might have heard them already on some of my "Verspannungskassette" mixtapes. So, if you haven't been acquainted with this Ottawa group's chemically unstable garage-/hardcore-/KBD-style punk extravaganza yet, here's your next chance. This tape, brought to us by malasyan punk stronghold Pissed Off! Recs, contains pretty much every note of their demo tape and 7" released last year in, as it appears to me, mostly re-recorded and extra explosive renditions.
Thorougly enjoyable shit, this split LP on Big Neck Records. Blood Bags from Auckland, New Zeeland sure know how to trigger a deliciously blown out garage-/fuzz-/stoner punk riot evoking comparisons to The Cowboy and early The Men, completing the fun with some raw stooges power, strong Funhouse-esque propulsion. Salt Lake City's Brain Bagz then produce a Sound that feels closely related in spirit and in its primal energy, but casts a much wider net in its choice of influences - starting off with a kinda Cramps-meet-Scratch Acid vibe and subsequently taking many cues from the 80s proto noise rock complex including the likes of No Trend, Flipper, Live Skull.
From the same boutique New York noise manufacture that has brought us, among other things, the vigorous and smart hard-/postcore of Kaleidoscope, we're given another force of nature to deal with. The debut album by Tower 7 sure bears some resemblance to the aforementioned Kaleidoscope but, by also taking more than just a few cues from ancient UK crust tradition, manages to deliver a bunch of blows even more relentless. Their tools of choice are obviously a bit more blunt, though equally effective.
Glen Schenau, otherwise probably best known as the Frontman of Brisbane group Kitchen's Floor, has so far released two EPs of borderline-avant garde art rock, convincing by virtue of its sheer weirdness, marked by dissonant, hyperactive guitar strumming - kinda like an out-of-tune funky alternate reality version of The Wedding Present - complemented by crude pots-and-pans style percussion. On his newest 7", the latter gives way to an actual drum kit as well as a full band sound and as a whole this takes on a slightly less experimental, way more tangible form on the fringes of post punk, noise rock and 90s indie rock while retaining the quirky, inventive qualities of its predecessors. Melkbelly-meets-Live Skull? Nah, not quite… but not too far off either.
A flawless debut EP by a Philadelphia Duo, delivering four precision blows of a quite smart and versatile mixture located somewhere in the contemporary postcore-/noise rock-/post punk neighborhood and reminiscent of such diverse acts as Dasher, Cutie, Donors, Little Ugly Girls, Hit Bargain, Street Eaters, Xetas.
Somewhat unexpectedly on this London band's new 7", their sound takes a strong turn towards early 2010's scandinavian post punk, pretty much in between the uncompromising early Copenhagen school (Lower, Iceage, Echo People…) and way more accessible Acts like Holograms, RA. Also, Australia's Low Life might be a viable comparison. Then, on the B-Side they inject Cure's Grinding Halt with a slight hint of New Order, which also works quite admirably.
After having churned out an excellent Demo and a no less amazing EP in '16/'17, it took a while for Melbourne's Reality Group to come up with their first full length, which makes up for the long wait with a noticeably matured - although, thankfully, in no way or form sanitized - set of tunes. This album is everything you might have have hoped for from this band; a deliciously quirky frankenstein brew made up of garage-, art- and post punk you simply shoudn't miss out on if you have any affinity for shit in the vein of Pinch Points, Uranium Club, Andy Human & The Reptoids, Erik Nervous, Lithics or even earlier Teenanger.
As you probably already know, i'm a total sucker for pretty much any weird chunk of noise Minneapolis dude awesome Connie Voltaire releases into the wild, so while we're still waiting for new stuff of his best-known project Neo Neos (or maybe its actual flesh-and-bones full-band incarnation Neotypes), another batch of raw and blown-out farts released under his hardcore punk alter ego Cells does an admirable job at satisfying my addiction in the meantime.
After last year's debut LP with his Beta Blockers pretty much blew everyone's socks and pants off, there's some new stuff out by one of contemporary garage punk's most blazing figures. First, there's been a tape earlier this year under the Psykik Vylence moniker, which sees him messing around with a properly raw assortment of hardcore punk sounds - the results of which are just plain gorgeous. And then, there's a new digital EP with him going it solo again, just as was the case with Psykik Vylence. But with or without Beta Blockers - he's doing what he's best known and loved for: Quirky and inventive Garage Punk with built-in earworm guarantee, this time also including a pretty obscure choice for a cover version (no, i indeed never heard of Taste Test before…) and an unfinished - though totally smashing - instrumental closing track with the promise of actual vocals for it in the near future. Gotta adore the shit out of this!
