A neat split release via Berlin's order05records. The opening track by Atlanta post punk institution Nag surprises with some synth-equipped psychedelic vibes á la Mononegatives or some later stuff by Useless Eaters, while detonating another charge of their rough and abrasive sound we've come to know and love in the other song. On the flipside then, Italy's Astio complement the sonic assault with a slightly more conventional but no less classy, mature make of moderately melodic oldschool post punk energy, the kind we've heard before from the likes of Criminal Code, Sievehead or, more recently, Pyrex, Body Maintenance or Schedule 1.
Following their most ambitious record so far in last year's Material LP, which expanded the sonic pallette out into the weirder fringes of somewhat Desperate Bicycles-leaning art punk and also featured some of the most infectious power pop songwriting of that year, the newest 7" by Nick Vicario aka Smirk, who's also known as a member of Public Eye, Crisis Man und Cemento among others, keeps things comparatively simple and straightforward this time while his heavily sample-backed songs and arrangements still unerringly hit their mark every single time.
As i understand, Brick Head is the solo project of Sarah Hardiman who's also playing in Deaf Wish, Moon Rituals and a bunch of other groups you might've heard of. Following a still somewhat shaky debut album, the overall vision comes into much sharper focus here as all the parts just click into place on this one, interweaving familiar styles and flourishes into an ultimately quite unique experience. Carriying the hallmarks of a number of australian groups, the first things to come to mind are various incarnations of Alien Nosejob, the straightforward garage punk of Eddy Current Suppression Ring, the minimalism of The UV Race while over the course of the record, a kinda hazy, melancholic melodicism á la Kitchen's Floor increasingly takes center stage.
Sadly overshadowed by the death of their their guitar player Darrell, the Sydney group's first LP via Erste Theke signifies a major leap in quality after their already quite enjoyable previous E.T.A. EP, showcasing the band as a much tighter unit delivering their simple but effective, always catchy and danceable blend of timeless post punk with impressive precision and confidence. As before, there's plenty of Pylon groove and energy contained in here while at different points you might also find similarities to contemporary acts such as Lithics, Pinch Points, Rank/Xerox, Slumb Party or Nots, with occasional flashes of Pixies-esque surf-ish guitar leads.
A whole barrage of digital singles in recent weeks already appeared to foreshadow a new record by the London, Ontario group and indeed here it is, their second LP in all its glory, carrying an excellent new batch of their quite distinct, catchy as hell, always slightly off-kilter and quirky genre mixture containing elements of garage-, post- and synth punk, space- and psychedelic rock. You might compare some bits and pieces here to such groups as Pow!, Useless Eaters and of course the recent collaboration Telegenic Pleasures which also features some of the band members at work here - at this point though, i'd say they're pretty much carved out their own, instantly recognizable little niche.
It took a good while for this group's debut LP to finally materialize after the the label Chunklet Industries already promised this longplayer around the release of the Birds Of Juneau 7" in the summer of 2021… I suspect you can once again blame the challenges of the current vinyl economy for that. It's another strong record though, on which the group featuring members of such powerhouses as Spray Paint, Wilful Boys, Brandy, Pampers and Pyrex admirably manages to keep things exciting with quite a bit of eclectic variety. For example, we get a kind of Swell Maps-go-Synthwave vibes in HoloLens, a strong dub feel in Mallman, kinda like a sped-up variant of Exek. That all said, you can't really deny their sound obviously having inherited the largest chunk of its DNA from Spray Paint, especially their later work (although, speaking of DNA, a certain no wave vibe is ever present on here aswell). Further i've also got a suspicion though that there'll be some quite familiar sounding echoes of this record to be heard on the upcoming Pyrex LP on Total Punk!
Coming off a series of neat EPs last year, Marmora, New Jersey garage group or, probably, solo artist Die TV returns with a new album presenting their tunes in an even more stripped-down, low-key manner at first glance, yet underneath the unassuming surface unfolds a spectacular fireworks of DIY creativity. While at some points you may still find the occasional speck of Spits or Stalins of Sound in there, Die TV's strummy, jangly blend of garage- and post punk with sprinkles of psychedelia comes into even sharper focus here, the minimalist production providing plenty of breathing room for the melancholy, sparkling guitar arrangements with more than a little hint of Desperate Bicycles in some places, Power Plant or Freak Genes in others, even a touch of Digital Leather in the muted pop vibes of Goner. Don't let first impressions fool you, this is quite potent and awesome shit from start to finish!
A sonic experience wonderfully out of touch with the zeitgeist, crafted by some Bellingham, Washington group. Prime influence here seems to be a whole battery of early-to-mid eighties, loosely SST and Touch & Go-connected stuff - on the more strummy, folk-infused side of things admittedly, but never afraid of spontaneously morphing into short bursts of hardcore punk either. Most obvious amoung those influences would probably be shit among the lines of Angst and Meat Puppets, early Dinosaur Jr. and, secondarily, U-Men, Mudhoney and 80s Scientists, some very slight hints of Dicks and Wipers. Or alternately, you might think of more recent Acts like early Milk Music, Dharma Dogs, Chronophage and Damak.
Apparently, formerly New Orleans-based group Waste Man have relocated to New York City recently. Sound-wise though, they stay true to themselves on their newest EP, by which i mean they stay unpredictable as ever and keep the listeners on their toes every second in their very own mixture on the intersection of Post Punk, Postcore and slight touches of Americana (the latter are less obvious here though…). Especially notable this time is the six-minute slow-burn track White Horse that plays out kinda like a fusion of early Shellac, Slint, Jawbox & Fugazi.
This group from Portarlington, Australia creates a droning, sprawling and nonetheless absolutely ripping soundscape that combines the traits of such timeless greats as Wipers, 80s Sonic Youth, U-Men or Live Skull, just as much as a fuzzy clump of AUS and NZ groups like The Gordons, Fungus Brains, X and Feedtime.
