At first listen, i can't help but think of the texan (neo) no wave/chaotic noise rock connection around bands like Flesh Narc, Gay Cum Daddies and a few other projects sharing much of the same personnel. However, this band is from Philadelphia, making any association with those rather unlikely. Also, on closer inspection, their sound and songs come across a lot more structured, compared with the kinda semi-improvised feel of the Denton scene's output. Soundwise, this is somewhat less in the no wave camp, leaning more into the noise rock side of things and now that i'm thinking of it… I also see quite some similarities to their geographically much closer New York contemporaries Spray Paint and Big Neck Police, as well as a hint of canadian noise punks Sopcans.
On their demo, Brussels outfit Warm Exit come up with a flawless little dose of synth-enhanced garage punk, alternately reminding me of contemporary genre powerhouses like Ausmuteants, Dumb, Erik Nervous or Powerplant.
The australian Scene always finds new ways to surprise, sometimes outright baffle me. This time it's done by a melbourne group featuring members of, among others, Kids Of Zoo, profoundly unsettling my sense of geography by way of having their lyrics sung in japanese. Sound-wise, i'm reminded of more-or-less gloomy post punk stuff by acts like Institute, Diät, Criminal Code, Pretty Hurts or Acrylics - combined with some noisy and rough DIY punk in the vein of Lumpy & The Dumpers, Launcher or Beast Fiend, as well as a faint echo of Hot Snakes.
This tape by Melbourne group Super-X isn't exactly new stuff, but that shit is way to strong not to be mentioned here. Witness a sonic spectacle unfold, fusing the old garage-/proto punk fuzz of Fun House-era Stooges with spaced out vibes not unlike Destruction Unit or early Telescopes, all the while dragging along with it some traces of contemporary post punk.
It's business as usual for Atlanta's Nag on their newest EP, on which they're staying clear of new experiments and bright ideas. I'm perfectly fine with that. Instead, their sound made from fragments of post-, fuzz- and noise punk once again manages to convince me, crafted into three rock solid songs that aren't even trying to look smarter than they actually are - and that's exactly why they work so well.
