Just as i think i'm done blogging for the week and while i least expect it, a new Neo Neos record materializes pretty much out of thin air! Now that's always a major event in the 12XU microverse anyway but the occasion is made all the more special as this is the first new release in a couple years (not counting the Hard Drive Experiments outtakes comps) by garage punk overlord and alternate-dimension guitar god Connie Voltaire. This shit has me feeling right at home from the start, unmistakably Neo Neos in all its depraved glory and absolutely up there with the best of his material. In case you prefer slabs of PVC, Under The Gun Records has you covered with a new LP compiling this thing on one side as well as the 2018 opus Get The Neo Neos on the other.
Britain's most awesome DIY melodic post punk / power pop group of our time has yet another digital single out and you already guessed it: It's the greatest thing in the world ever - six-and-a-half minutes of pure ecstatic bliss and by the way, what have y'all been doing all the fucking time because in a just world, these folks would be on top of everything selling out fucking arenas. Also, why the hell hasn't there been some compilation LP on Drunken Sailor or Erste Theke or Total Punk or whatever yet? It's about fucking time i'd say. Argh, everyone out there can be so goddamn useless sometimes…
This Madison, Wisconsin duo's second LP delivers more of their very own brand of moderately Devo-fied, catchy little Garage-, Post Punk and Power Pop constructs with some added Wire-esque moments. What still came across as a bit samey and overpowering on the first record has gained a lot in class and maturity on this one - not least thanks to tons more variety - calling to mind groups as diverse as Powerplant, Andy Human & The Reptoids, Nick Normal, Smirk, Deletions, Why Bother?, Isotope Soap and Erik Nervous.
A kickass mixture of straightforward, melancholy post- and garage punk melodicism on this Minneapolis group's debut tape. Most of all this reminds me of a mix between early Nervosas, Red Dons, The Estranged and Daylight Robbery, but even a hint of Volcano Suns, Moving Targets and the occasional smidge of Clumsy-era Samiam can be found in here. Also friends of Telecult, Short Days and Cheap Whine will sure get a kick out of this!
The long-playing debut of this group from Marseille, France - originally self-released in 2021 and recently reissued by Lyon label Echo Canyon - is a bottomless well of outrageously catchy power pop gems brought to the next level by rock-solid songwriting chops. I'm reminded of a full wealth of contemporary household names like Tommy and the Commies, Warm Soda, Radioactivity, Mr. Teenage, Corner Boys, Bad Sports or Patsy's Rats.
Excellent shit, this recorded-live-on-tour debut album by a group from Metz, France. This stuff can be roughly classified as (neo-) no wave funk with, just maybe, a slight added touch of eggpunk and occasional moments of '90s Dischord universe. Maybe think of a more energetic, direct, danceable and minimalist, less artsy variant of groups á la D.U.D.S., Pill or N0V3L.
An impeccable run of catchy-as-fuck melodic garage- and synth punk tunes on this neat cassette by a group of unknown origin. This has more than just a little of a Lost Sounds vibe to it with further bits and pieces evoking such goodness as Stalins Of Sounds, Teledrome, Kid Chrome, Sex Mex, Jean Mignon and Silicone Values.
A strong batch of new tunes by this Amherst, Massachusetts group having nothing to prove at this point… and it only took them as little as eight years to follow up their 2015 debut EP! Sound-wise, this is still mostly the same timeless brand of concise, song-based, quite dark and moody post punk, sure to get the approval of friends of shit á la Criminal Code, VHS, Sievehead, Video, Schedule 1, Sievehead, Pyrex or Clock Of Time.
Our weekly taste of catchy & funky, egg-related Lo-Fi garage-/synth punk weirdness comes courtesy of some Melbourne dude or group and might be compared in only the most fovorable fashion to the likes of Prison Affair, Nuts, Set-Top Box and Beer. Love it!
Hyperactive, quirky and chaotic yet equally smart and elaborate, slightly no wave-ish post punk from Bandung, Indonesia! This is essential new fodder for fans of shit in the vein of, say, Patti, Reality Group, Big Bopper and Exit Group.
