The Bobby Lees – Hollywood Junkyard
Hollywood Junkyard releases June 17th via Ipecac Records.
Gripe – No Me Importa
Como Acabar Contigo Mismo releases May 15th via Neon Taste Records.
Bad Breeding – Human Capital
Human Capital releases July 8th via Iron Lung Records.
TV Cult – Hong Kong Song
Liquids – 2
Snooper – Powerball
Reckless Randy – Reckless Randy
Somehow i must've overlooked this Ocean City, NJ dude so far. His long playing debut and third release altoghether hits my nerve dead-on though, with a variety of simple & stupid garage-/electro- and, occasionally, synth punk, often with a distinct 77-ish bent calling to mind old pioneers à la Screamers, MX-80, Metal Urbain/Dr. Mix & The Remix as well as a slight hint of Chrome. In Country Girls, quite fittingly, we even get a touch of Gun Club-esque americana-/cowpunk while of the more recent scene, you might draw comparisons to groups like S.B.F., Kid Chrome, Zoids or Mateo Manic.
Album-Stream →Neutrals – Bus Stop Nights 7″
Nothing short of pure brilliance is what we get once again from that weirdly british sounding Oakland, California group. Their newest EP might be their least post punk, most power pop sounding record so far, bristling with tons of masterfully crafted, endlessly charming Television Personalities worship plus a touch of Mekons or Desperate Bicycles.
Album-Stream →Canadian Rifle – I’m Just Like You 7″
Uh... these folks appear to have been at it for ages now, yet this is the first time i've ever stumbled upon their music. The Chicago group's latest EP is one hell of a treat made up of melodic punk rock with a certain rough 80's SST-era alt rock edge - the specific breed that became kind of a thing again for a short period in the early 2010s but has since then been an increasingly rare ocurrence once again. Think of a mix between early Milk Music, Needles//Pins, California X, Commander Keen or Happy Diving.
Weak Signal – War and War
Wow, i didn't really expect that much enjoyment out of the most recent LP by this New York group... in fact, these folks have completely evaded my radar so far. What we get is a heavily Velvet Underground and Jesus and Mary Chain-inspired melange of fuzz-/power-/noise-/dream pop that convinces by sheer strength of the underlying song substance while in terms of sonics, they sure like to slow-cook their songs at low-to-moderate heat - the results are fucking delicious, just totally melting in your mouth as you relish every single hook, every speck of low-level texture in their rich sonic landscape.
Album-Stream →Feed – Western Fun // Djinn – Relapse // Zhoop – Top Shelf
I don't think i've ever given this dude from Hammond, Indiana the full spotlight he deserves here, although you might've encountered his shit on some Verspannungskassette mixtapes, where his various alter egos have been a regular occurrence in recent months. Now here are three of his latest batches of minimalist hardcore punk, each of his projects sounding pretty similar if you account for some slight variation in tempo and intensity... as well as some added bottom-of-the-barrel-end electronic reenforcement in the case of Feed, which should've rightfully earned him the title of greatest stylophone player in hardcore punk by now.
Album-Streams →The Neuros – The Neuros 7″
This Melbourne group delivers some of the most straight-the-fuck-ahead, no-frills ancient-school '77 style (garage-) punk imaginable on their debut EP, kinda like a way, way more traditional sounding incarnation of Amyl and the Sniffers. The fact they're able to pull this thing off without sounding the least bit stale and dusty speaks for their chops as a band as much as the raw strength of their songcraft.
Exwhite – Estray
Estray releases April 9th via Turbo Discos.
Rough Gutts – See the Light
Rough Gutts EP Part 1 & 2 releases June 3rd via Boss Tuneage Records.
Crime of Passing – Tender Fixation
Crime of Passing releases April 22nd via Future Shock Recordings.