A new Warttman Inc. release by a group made up of some of the usual suspects known from bands such as Research Reactor Corp., Satanic Togas and The Gobs, so you already kinda know what to expect. Needless to say, this is some gloriously dumb and rippin' shit.
Orlando's Cherry Cheeks aka some dude by the name Kyle Harms has already made some waves last year with a string of four increasingly awesome EPs, yet his debut full length on Total Punk feels a bit unexpected as it, for the most part, departs from the heavily synth-based garage- and power pop sound of its predecessors for a somewhat more conventional, guitar-centric DIY garage punk aesthetic. That certainly doesn't mean these new songs were lacking any of the earlier releases' thrills - this shit's a rather inventive and unpredictable affair once again, quirky and catchy as fuck, bearing some similaritiy to acts like Freak Genes, Powerplant or Set-Top Box.
Doesn't look like these texans are gonna run out of tunes anytime soon, having just cranked out their second album over the course of just a few months. Thankfully the mix is a bit less tinnitus-inducing this time while the new songs seamlessly continue the wonderful chaos Big Bopper established earier this year, made up of post- and garage punk, noise- and math rock elements roughly in the vein of Patti, Rolex, Cutie, Mystic Inane or Brandy, plus some traces of early Minutemen.
In an act of criminal negligence i somehow failed to post any of the previous EPs by Smirk, the solo Project of Nick Vicario whose other groups Public Eye, Crisis Man and Cemento might ring a bell with regular visitors of this blog. After both EPs were compiled into an LP by Drunken Sailor Records earlier this year, we already get to enjoy his newest extended play via Total Punk / Iron Lung Records on which his ultra laid-back though never sleepy take on sample-backed garage punk sounds the most mature yet, more to the point and catchier than ever before.
Perfectly exhilerating shit, the first crumbs of noise we get from some group or project that might or might not be based in Los Angeles. The first two tracks deliver a flavor of electrically driven garage punk taking cues from acts like Mononegatives, Useless Eaters, Powerplant, RRC or Alien Nosejob while the closing track ups the weirdness considerably, going all-in on pure synth punk mayhem.
María en Drogas Bulldog Big Jar Of Mayo Shit City Spit Kink Get It Tommy Cossack Anti Mold Paint Frvits Your Shopping Cart Misses You Gluer The Room AJ Cortes And The Burglars Energy Blast Lafff Box Master Fix Sinn Silikon Armes Tier Pork Belly Scab Picker Coax Tenement The Q-Tips Idiot Savant Gorilla Knifefight You Won't Forget Milwaukee Again Cyborg 1-12 Pissing On The Pavement Abandoned Planets Dumpster Cosmetics Badge Grabber Men In Black The Gobs Friends With Joan Jett Bad Anxiety No Shit Spodee Boy Dark Days Motor Corp Twice As Violent As I Was (Revisited) The Freak Fractures Personal Damage Control of You Antibodies Boat Burner P.S.Y.W.A.R. His Masters Voice Imploders Shoot To Kill Precipice In The Depth Of Well Stunted Youth Stunted Youth Strong Boys Pink Death Zhoop Who? Fright Eye Glad I´m Not You Chubby and the Gang It's Me Who'll Pay
Side B
Tracklist:
Amyl and The Sniffers Security Elephant Rifle A Bird, A Plane, A Stupid Man Ilusión Metiche Pist Idiots Deadshit Sex Work Secrets Cere Uncanny Valley Macros Iron Fucker Power Balance Hola Escoliosis Stuck Serf the Web Fashion Pimps And The Glamazons V.R. Yes I'm Leaving Swamp Heavy Metal I Am Something Deck In The Pit Click (And They Go Clack) TV Dust Good For you Elastic Heads Pariah Death Gang Remains Chain Cult We're Not Alone Oi Boys 200km/h Raw Plastic Handle With Care Crescent Ridge Wrong Number Tough Cuffs Do It On Your Own
Now that's what i call kidpunk… It's the most heartwarming beautiful kickass thing i've heard in a while and i'm way too soft to withstand that kind of shit anyway. Nuff said.
Following their 2018 album Hunk, which somehow didn't really click with me, the Reno, Nevada group's newest EP manages to hit all the right spots this time while never repeating itself, covering a sonic range spanning from oldschool AmRep- and Touch & Go-style noise rock, hardcore punk reminiscent of early Die Kreuzen and in its closing track, some Drive Like Jehu-esque Postcore.