Okay... if i'm not mistaken this new Melbourne-based project is one dude who's also in Dr. Sure's Unusual Practice and Kitchen People and on his debut LP under the JJ Sizza moniker he creates a garage-/synth punk sound that feels like a perfect middle ground inbetween the olschool Ausmuteants playbook and a more contemporaneous-feeling eggpunk-ish vibe. This shit sticks 'cos it simply has all the catchy song goodnes on board needed to make that happen. Nothing new under the sun but plenty of intoxicating quality shit goin' on here nonetheless!
After an already thoroughly enjoyable debut EP in 2023, this Kansas City group's newest LP turns out to be even more up my freakin' alley with its surprisingly flexible, shapeshifting noise attacks in which some amount of oldschool US west coast style meets hints of early Minutemen and such (proto-) postcore and (proto-) noise rock acts like Flipper, Really Red and Saccharine Trust, whose unconventional styles get mutated here into some kind of KBD-drenched garage punk vibe that may be just as well described using a number of more contemporary references of the Launcher, Mystic Inane, Cutup, Fugitive Bubble, Rolex, Cucuy and Flea Collar type.
In recent years, french Oi! has come to stand for an unlikely level of excellence in a genre that i wouldn't have put much stock in just over a decade ago. Admittedly, the overall parameters of its current incarnation can still feel a bit samey and formulaic but that's certainly not an attribute i'd pin on this group from Nantes, whose second full length effort starts out kinda oldschool-ish with a somewhat Gun Club-esque garage vibe and another great but kinda genre-standard punk tune before their songs subsequently take on a more independent and unique quality, more thoroughly exploring - and eking just enough variety out of - the (to be fair, not exactly unlimited) possibilities of the contemporary garage-/Oi!-/post punk framework with enough song-based oomph under the hood to never get tedious for a second.
Quality german language garage punk sure ain't the most abundant thing around but this Ludwigsburg dude or group pulls of this unlikely marvel effortlessly on their new digital 2-track single, each tune an instant hit and future genre classic in their own right with the first one having some ever-so-subtle egg-ish quality while the vocal harmonies and guitar work remind me positively of the most recent Dumpies and Eye Ball records, while the more melancholy second tune embeds those same qualities in an overall vibe highly reminiscent of Marked Men and Radioactivity. No kidding, that's exactly how good this shit really is.
Outdoorsmen When They Bury You Down Jumbo XL The Flag Power Pants PP10 Balloon Thief Cease & Desist Tvo Burning Glueman Born Loser Cruelster Stalked Leche Miracle Whip-It Piss Wizard If I Should Fall From Grace With God Jean Mignon Won't Put Him Down Havana Syndrome Dirt Machine Annual Report Bitch on a Leash Irreversible Defacement Track One Cutup Black Hole Rosary Crucifetish User Dodge Technique The Karens You Stole My Mail Smash Your Face Yuki No Kakera
Tracklist
Eddy Current Suppression Ring Oh No Yuasa-Exide Subvocalization The Wind-Ups Keep Away Powerplant Empty Telephone Big & Heavy Grift Useless Eaters Ego Shell Glas Nost Thief Fatherfigures Church Burned Down Dissenting Voices Dave Nul Quan Ja Hagi Passat Sympos Welcome to Ballybricken Dark Thoughts So Alone Screaming Target Screaming Target Xanny Stars Symmetry Outtacontroller Hold It Out
