I haven't got the slightest clue where these folks hail from and also how this EP, having been released a year ago apparently, could go unnoticed for so long. 'Cos this certainly ain't your typical average boring post punk record. Their sound of equal parts post punk and -core equipped with some excellent garage propulsion kinda bridges the gaps between a wide range of stuff of early Protomartyr or Constant Mongrel caliber on the Post Punk side of things, more garage-leaning acts in the Tyvek, Parquet Courts or Gotobeds vein, plenty of Hot Snakes-/Drive Like Jehu-esque postcore vibes and even the occasional hint of Mission Of Burma or Moving Targets can be found in there.
Canadian garage dude TJ Cabot's output only grows stronger with each new release and this one ain't no exception in once again hitting every single nail on the head, hammering home a catchy-as-fuck mix of power pop and garage punk that doesn't need to shy away from comparisons to greats such as The Marked Men, Erik Nervous, Tommy & The Commies, Andy Human & The Reptoids, Liquids, Bad Sports or Nick Normal.
The full length debut of this London group is a perfect storm of delightfully off-the-rails hard- and postcore, often permeated with unexpectedly melodic subcurrents and at first glance kinda playing out like a middle ground between weirdcore powerhouse Warm Bodies and fellow someone-and-the-somethings group Judy and the Jerks… but theres more than just that going on here with moments reminiscent of an eclectic cluster of ambitious hardcore groups á la Acrylics, Crisis Man, Murderer, Kaleidoscope or Straw Man Army.
The debut cassingle (?) of this Seattle group delivers a way too short yet altogether exciting synth- and garage punk freakout, the A-side HTCM in Block City bursting with an energy not too distant from acts like Liquid Face, Klint, Mononegatives, Ghoulies or Slimex. As for the B-Side Jerk Squad… Is krautwave an actual genre? 'Cos that's exactly what i'd describe this stuff as.
Now this is a kickass, impressively confident longplaying debut assembled by some dude from Brasília, Brazil out of only the finest bits and pieces contemporary DIY garage punk has to offer with acts like Andy Human and the Reptoids, Erik Nervous, Spodee Boy, Nick Normal or Belly Jelly particularly coming to mind, spiced up with occasional outbursts of Skull Cult-esque pandemonium. Even some psychedelic vibes á la Mononegatives, Osees or Pow! get mixed in, culminating in the monolithic acid punk one-two punch of Dddelirium and Plague V.
Don't expect too many surprises from the newest Vintage Crop LP but expect plenty of goodness nonetheless, following that certain garage punk formula the Melbourne group certainly did their part to establish in tandem with fellow acts such as Pinch Points, Dumb, Uranium Club and Aborted Tortoise, of which they deliver a slightly more straightforward and catchy variant here, also containing some occational traces of stuff like Patti, Parquet Courts or Institute. The two standouts here are the slower jams Impact of Wisdom and The Bloody War in which their songwriting qualities really get to shine, the latter one also carrying a melancholy, distinctly wire-esque vibe.
From some uncertain place in Bavaria, Germany comes this beauty of an EP meddling in a fittingly nebulous, fuzz-laden genre spectrum between garage- and acid punk, psych- and space rock. A required listen for, among others, connoisseurs of noise in the vein of Destruction Unit, Osees, Super-X, Hamer, Ounce, Faux Ferocious or Draggs.
I rarely get too exited about the current generation of shoegaze-related groups, who for the most part seem perfectly content with just creating a pleasant soundscape to fall asleep to and soon forget about. This Paris group, however, does not only have the sonics, but also the drive and the hooks to make it stick, finding kind of a workable middle ground between the obvious golden-era Shoegaze acts (especially a strong Bailter Space vibe going on here), some early Sarah Records pop and more recent noise pop examples of the Gold Bears, Seablite or Flyying Colours variety.
The newest EP of Rhode Island one-man-band Germ House aka Justin Hubbard carries another strong batch of songs in their trademark juxtaposition of rustic post punk abstraction and a folky undercurrent. Especially in the first half, these songs feel a tad more developed than usual this time while still retaining their overall quirkiness and their minimalist, fragmentary charme.
Seven more inches of undiluted greatness from Berlin post punk stalwarts Pigeon. The a-side is a turbocharged stremroller just as catchy as it's abrasive while the b-side track goes a more cumbersome, slow and stubborn route to a no less pulverizing effect.
