Balaclava – The 1/4 Inch Almanac

A bucketload of unhealthy sugary joy, the second EP by this NY act delivering a quirky and catchy mix of synth- and garage-, art- and eggpunk that skillfully and precisely hits kind of a sweet spot inbetween the sonic worlds of, say, Metdog, Smirk and Cherry Cheeks, more or less. Good shit!

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Spewed Brain – Spewed Brain

Following up on their much rougher, hardcore-leaning International Heartthrob EP of last year, Indiana’s Spewed Brain take their sound into a catchier, slightly egg-ish direction on their new LP while staying delightfully fucked-up and unpredictable, at different times reminding me of groups as diverse as, say, Trauma Harness, Print Head, Exwhite, The Gobs, Snooper, Rolex, Witch Piss or Slimex.

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Paulo Vicious – Paulo Vicious / Beer – Beer II

Another mysterious eggpunk bomb has dropped from… well, where in the world actually? Released on a Tel Aviv label, the song titles, as google translate tells me, are apparently portuguese. Then again, sound-wise, the closest reference would probably be the blown-out mayhem of Barcelona genre overlords Prison Affair with further comparisons to be made to Cologne’s Nuts, the early works of australian groups á la Set-Top Box, Eugh, Midgee, Research Reactor Corp and, to come full circle eventually, Tel Aviv’s own crude eggpunk sensation Victor would fit nicely in there too. So, long story short, this is some premium grade globetrotting shit, regardless of where these folks might actually be located.

Yet another good reference point, then again, would be Charleston, South Carolina’s Beer and, speaking of the devil, the world’s most beerest beer band has just released their second extended play to which most of what i’ve just said is gonna apply verbatim so i’m not gonna repeat myself and instead just gonna crank up the good shit and advise you to do the same ‘cos i know your neighbors are just gonna love it!

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Metdog – Questions and Answers Regarding Computers and Screens

It’s shaping up to be a pretty awesome week for eggpunk already, helped further along by another genre fixture of the last couple years, Melbourne’s Metdog, having just released their full length debut after an impeccable string of EPs and singles. They promised shit about computers and oh boy do we get shit about computers here, leaving more questions than answers though, most of which begin with “What the fuck…?”. Perfectly underscoring the subject matter we get to witness the group at their most electronically inclined so far, their overall vibe here being reminiscent of a bizarre 8-bit mashup of vintage Ausmuteants with the distinct added flourish of Windows 3.11 midi files.

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Gremlin – 1-800-GREMLIN

Luxury new fodder for garage- and eggpunk aficinados by this Cincinati, Ohio group. Soft Violence and Why Fight resonate the quirky madness of groups like Prison Affair, Nuts, Beer, Cherry Cheeks and Pringue but extend that aesthetic with a distinct psychedelic feel transported mainly through the polyphonic vocals here. The latter tendencies are also leaving their mark on Null Future, which expertly treads in oldschool garage punk territory resulting in a vibe á la Mononegatives with a more purist fuzz punk edge. Closing track It Goes On, then, closely resembles the kraut-y psyched-out post punk vibes of fellow Cincinnati groups The Drin and The Serfs, suggesting some of the same folks might be at work here.

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Beta Máximo – Creo que E​.​T. es Melvin

Spanish noise pop overlords Beta Maximo return with a strong new batch of tunes. Hard to believe their prolific output began just sometime last summer… Starting out with what i’d consider more of an eggpunk-aesthetic, they’ve constantly kept changing things up, gradually evolving into a somewhat slower, dreamy and slightly shoegaze-y direction and these new songs strike me as the most realized and well-rounded stuff we’ve heard from them recently.

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Ismatic Guru – III

Buffalo, NY group Ismatic Guru’s two previous EPs were a promising and enjoyable affair already but it’s on their newest cassette that their sound finally clicks into place, their vision matured and tightened-up significantly. I’d say their mix roughly located in the fuzzy realms of garage-, synth- and eggpunk has carved out their own little niche for them by enhancing their quirky aesthetics with plenty of funky action end even some slight touch of kraut-y and psychedelic vibes, most notably in the opening and closing tracks.

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Power Pants – PP4

Hard to believe Winchester, Virginia group Power Pants have only been around for less than a year as of now, but indeed their three impressive LPs so far have all been churned out over the course of 2023 and their newest EP still shows no signs of their über-productive song machine slowing down anytime soon! This is yet another ridiculously charming treat of catchy-as-hell, kinda egg-ish garage- and synth punk pushing all the right buttons to further enchant connoiseurs of shit roughly in the vein of Ausmuteants, Set-Top Box, Gee Tee, Erik Nervous, Sex Mex or Daughter Bat And The Lip Stings.

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Checkpoint – D R I F T

Another insane quality release courtesy of Erste Theke Tonträger by a Melbourne group featuring members of such household names like Pinch Points, Dr. Sure’s Unusual Practice, Gonzo and Dragnet. Right out of the gate we’re greeted with an adventurous sound somewhere inbetween garage-, synth- and art punk calling to mind acts like Ghoulies, Set-Top Box, Isotope Soap and a bit of Erik Nervous. Second track Friends continues in that direction, then takes a sharp turn into psychedelic post punk territory somewhat reminiscent of groups like Marbled Eye, Yammerer, Waste Man or Public Eye. Break surprises with a relaxed psychedelic garage- and fuzz pop groove, followed by Ice Summit, a compact, economical garage rocker echoing the likes of Parquet Courts, Tyvek and Shark Toys. Then, shit gets truly weird with Drift – a sprawling garage-and-eggpunk-goes-progressive-rock kind of exercise unafraid to go real cheesy in the expansive middle part. Side B then comes across more homogenous, less ambitious but by no means less enjoyable, these straightforward bangers reflecting the likes of Cherry Cheeks, Smirk, Metdog, Powerplant and Freak Genes, among a ton of other shit.

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Onyon – Last Days On Earth

Once again, Leipzig group Onyon convince me by virtue of their adaptability and solid Craftsmanship rather than novelty, reproducing a number of tried and tested formulas that firmly click into spec on their second LP. Post punk that ain’t trying anything funny, you could say. This time we get just a smidge of eggpunk weirdness added to the mix. Songs like Dogman then have more of a garage punk edge to them. There’s a touch of Wire in Egg Machine, oldschool goth-/deathrock vibes in Invisible Spook and bits and pieces of Gun Club are sprinkled throughout the whole of it. Needless to say, echoes of other more or less recent artifacts of the Leipzig scene like Ambulanz, Lassie and Laff Box are to be found in there aswell.

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