Their rather Lo-Fi 2024 Demo was pure bliss already and now we get to behold the first more polished recordings of the NYC group on this new digital 2-track single, presenting them in a somewhat different light with less of a pronounced garage vibe, instead being more reminiscent of the more indie rock-ish, melodic leaning ends of the '80s SST Records spectrum and loosely related shit, somewhere inbetween the likes of mid-career Hüsker Dü, early Dinosaur Jr., Man Sized Action, a hint of Angst maybe too. In that regard, and especially strongly in the undeniable über-hit Combat Zone (Left For Dead), these tunes remind me a lot of the incredible first Milk Music EP.
Big Break of Sheffield, UK previously made some waves with two excellent EPs of both pissed and quirky garage punk in 2021/'22, later compiled and expanded into a full LP in 2023. Their newest EP now consolidates that strong impression with another neat grab bag of tunes of an overall slightly more quirky and uplifting quality. While the opening track Prototype excells as a straightforward no-frills punk tune, The Goon is pretty much the opposite, having a bit of an egg-ish vibe goin' on. Wearing a Wire then reminds me of the garage punk minimalism of acts like The UV Race, Eddy Current Supprission Ring, Sauna Youth and Tyvek. Then at last, the closing track The Eunuch, with its sleazy growls right at the beginning and some ultra cheesy synth action feels kinda like a quirked-up Ex-Cult gone gloriously off the rails.
Darius Denominator Spectral Youth Les Robots Robo Diddley Power Pants Can't Afford That Wayne Pain and the Shit Stains Baby , I Hate You Civil War I Want Like A Superpunk The MFC Piss On A Tesla Glitterfast Glitterfast Meng Zhu Meng I Hate Schoolpunk Stray Dogs To Good Homes Intruder Deebeat Ramone Marked Pipi 1,1,1,1! Røntgen Dicke Luft Returners Queen Of Dirt Busted Head Racket & Billiam Have A Panic Attack Psychic Pigs Masochist Amex Mememe Big Bopper Skynet Blues Lamictal Nothing New Ideal Victim Eraser Terror Advocate Sick Of It The Cosmosians Liquify Me
Tracklist
Sexfaces S.C.U.M Good Ramen Puberty Bruise Science Man Puzzle Hoax Clamm Bear The Brunt Rhoads No Justice SIKM Pocket Theft Eye Ball All Dogs Look Like They're Smiling When They're Pissed Shooting Losers Coming To You Jah Hell Descend Reckless Randy New Boots The Slads Funny Kids Patient Zero Yeux Fermés Pleaser Ride Jolana Star Combat Zone (Left For Dead)
Toronto group Eye Ball had made myself - and probably everyone else listening - hungry for more of their shit with their two digital 2-track singles last year, which then got compiled into a four-track tape pretty soon after that. Now we get their first full LP worth of material and the previous comparisons to the likes of Marked Men, Radioactivity, Sonic Avenues and maybe early Sweet Reaper still hold mostly true, but there's so much more going on here too with most of these tunes having a lot more grit and a rougher edge to them, a more determined attack. Don't worry, there's still plenty of hooks and melodies to go around and the thing is packed with hits, but you know something's cooking when right out of the gate the album greets us with a pretty hardcore-ish title tune and subsequently, sometimes seems to channel the the vigorous thrust of previous-decade garage punk acts like Sauna Youth and early Tyvek. The one-two punch consisting of Road Pig and Bruise for a Birthmark almost has a bit of a Cruelster-esque energy and of even more recent stuff, these sogs had me thinking of The Dumpies a lot. Quality shit, no doubt!
