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.
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.
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.
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.
Did i ever mention i've been a christian once? Yeah i know. True story and i hope y'all had a good laugh. Nowadays i'm only worshipping Satan though. Huge fan! The music's a lot better too. The Devil's australian, as everyone knows and so are his togas, who have as of yet utterly failed to ever shred a single tune that doesn't fucking rip. Their newest extended play has more of their signature blend of garage-/synth-/eggpunk and power pop goodness burning fast and brightly with obvious similarities to other recent shit á la Research Reactor Corp., Ghoulies, Gee Tee, Daughter Bat & The Lip Stings, Alien Nosjob, Buck Biloxi, Set-Top Box and Eric Nervous.
Just weeks after their recent tape on Iron Lung Records here's a new one already by this, presumably, icelandic group, this time again coming to us courtesy of dungeon-/blackened-/experimental specialist label Grime Stone Records and it's their strongest, most fully realized one so far if you ask me. Take the rough specs and traits of black metal, noisy synth-, hardcore- and electro punk, complement that unrelenting force with a slightly eggpunk-y aesthetic that just seems a little too cute and quirky in face of all that grimness and you just might end up with something similar to what these folks are going for.
On this Oslo group's debut EP, an attitude and aesthetic inbetween the worlds of egg- and dungeon punk is given a distinctly far eastern theme. In the context of a genre cluster that makes a point of making no fucking sense, this makes about perfect fucking sense i'd say! Am i making any sense? Who cares, this shit is fun!
Billiam's first releases were around the 2020 mark yet it feels to me as if this dude has been around for a lot longer, a subliminal presence always hovering at the periphery of a wider 12XU-relevant bubble. His newest LP should launch him right into the spotlight though, this being his strongest and most consistent batch of new tunes so far in his hard-to-imitate (though plenty of folks are trying for sure…), vaguely egg-ish melange of sometimes rather bare-bones synth- garage- and post punk - catchy as fuck, simple and dumb yet every single move hits home!
The only ukranian eggpunk group that i know of so far had already piqued my interest with a batch of super solid extended plays in recent weeks and with their newest one, they're fucking killing it if you ask me. Mandatory new listening for fans of shit á la Prison Affair, Set-Top Box, Beer and Nuts!
This Sydney group has never disappointed and neither do they on their newest top-secret EP, so secret in fact, that even the song titles shall remain a mystery for the time being. What i can tell you though is that this thing once again fucking slams - another perfect run of lo-fi power pop, garage-, fuzz- and eggpunk. Just don't tell anyone, okay?
