Excellent shit emanating out of some cellar in Bremen, Germany. This group’s own make of propulsive garage punk plays out a bit like a mixture of more or less hardcore-infused acts like Vexx, Warm Bodies, Fugitive Bubble, Sniffany and the Nits, Warp, Skin Tags and Dots on one hand, heavier egg-leaning groups á la Cel Ray, Snooper, Prison Affair, Autobahns and Beer on the other.
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Having already released a whole ass full of nifty EPs and splits neatly fitting in with much of the the current eggpunk mold, their previous one recently marked a notable departure into a rougher, fuzzed-out aesthetic form. The newest release by this group based in Rome, Italy feels like a successful integration of both tendencies, sharing a similar quality to weirdo tunes by the likes of Die TV, Electric Prawns 2, Temporary Curse and recent Erik Nervous.
Just as on their three demos leading up to this new EP, New Jersey group Feeding Tube are bringing about yet another depraved orgy of pure sonic perversion in a quirky-as-fuck blend of angular egg- and post punk full of choppy rhythms, odd time signatures and blown-out sonics.
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The time between the years is – as far as punk rock is concerned – usually defined by those rather tiny and more obscure nuggets, scraps and crumbs that randomly pop up. Same thing this year, so here’s a little roundup of some of the curious little short-playing treats that washed up in the last few weeks.
London’s Rifle already delighted with two excellent EPs before and their newest one is another full-on blast inbetween the worlds of garage punk, postcore and old KBD-related noise somewhat reminiscent of groups as diverse as Ascot Stabber, early Golden Pelicans, Mystic Inane, Launcher and Rolex.
Madrid group Raya, whose debut EP a couple already left me impressed a couple months ago, has another two-track single out now and guess what, it’s yet another excellent burst of quirky garage-/eggpunk most reminiscent of other spanish acts like Pringue, Finale and Prison Affair but also international bands like Beer, Set-Top Box and Gremlin.
Vacation from Cincinnati have long proven to be a treasure trove of high-octane songcraft in the realms of Power Pop, oldschool Indie Rock, Garage- and Fuzz Punk and their track on a new split single is another high-caliber weapon in their arsenal. The other track by Madison, Wisconsin post punkers Whippets is also really fucking good, reminding me a lot of canadian groups Dead Cells and that recent Psychbike LP.
Another high-class gem comes to us in the form of a new 7″ by Perth group Pleasants who set off another two explosions of simple and confident power pop that admirers of the likes of Teen Line, Bad Sports, Tommy and the Commies, Mr. Teenage or Corner Boys shouldn’t miss.
Speaking of catchy tunes, english group Cream Soda have two more of those on their debut 7″ via Spinout Nuggets. They have equal amounts of both a Buzzcocks- and Television Personalities-energy to them or alternately, you might name old US underground acts like Broken Talent or more recent shit like Britain’s The Suburban Homes and Silicone Values, Australia’s Nasty Party or earlier stuff of canadian greats Neutrals as reasonably valid references.
And finally, there’s another high quality bit of heavy metal-infused fun from Austin’s Ninth Circle. It’s been an interesting last few years as i actually wouldn’t have thought – having lived through the embarrassing, metalcore-infested period from the late ’90s to ’00s – that the marriage of punk and metal-related sounds would ever produce any more offspring i could get behind, being forever tainted by the era’s blunt moshing and cringy display of hypermasculine rage. But here i am in the 2020s, regularly finding much delight in metal-ish sounds from bands that aren’t necessarily named Poison Ruïn. Having ignored the metal industrial complex for a long time, i’m severely impaired when it comes to naming any references so i’m just ganna say these two songs fucking rip and that’s all you need to know anyway.
So, that’s it for this year. As usual i’m gonna take a 2-3 weeks long vacation from blogging and you’ll hear back from me when next year’s release machine gets into gear again. See you in whatever depressing abomination the year 2025 is shaping up to be.
Having previously come into my view with a fun and quirky debut EP in 2021 as well as a somewhat strained sounding second one in 2023, the group from Krakow, Poland now delivers some of their most well-rounded and beefy blasts of moderately insane, always unpredictable garage- and eggpunk goodness which at one point or another evokes comparisons to such genre greats as Prison Affair, Finale, Beer, Goblin Daycare, Autobahns and even a hint of Snooper is hiding beneath all the the clutter and mayhem.
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No unpleasant surprises here, the newest EP of West Palm Beach, Florida group Rude Television is yet another high caliber projectile of catchy, egg-ish garage punk excellence and highly recommended for friends similar shit á la Gee Tee, Erik Nervous, Set-Top Box, Satanic Togas, Power Pants or Tommy Cossack & The Degenerators. Hell, that closing track Rat Bastard may well come to be regarded among the genre’s all-time greats in retrospect.
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The debut tape via Goodbye Boozy of this Haarlem, Netherlands group is yet another quality release of egg-adjacent, unwieldy garage punk chaos that kinda sounds like a synth-infused Uranium Club in its more streamlined and restrained moments while at other points reaching a level of weirdness akin to infamous garage punk bafflers and headscratchers á la Checkpoint, Pressure Pin, Liquid Face, Skull Cult and Belly Jelly.
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Just like on their debut EP, the Ottawa, Ontario group delivers a quick batch of oddball eggpunk chaos which at first glance appears to fit squarely into the genre’s established tropes and parameters with groups such as Clarko, Prison Affair, Beer, Beta Maximo and Smirk being some of the obvious comparisons. On closer inspection though, this shit reveals many deeper qualities not least thanks to some pieces of top-notch songcraft, tons unexpectedly catchy hooks and plenty of novel ideas sprinkled throughout. This group is successfully punching way above its proposed weight with tons of musical substance in here to anchor the quirky aesthetics – way more effort under the hood than would be deemed necessary for your average egg artifact.
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Hyperdog have already been on my radar thanks to a neat debut LP and two not at all lousy demos, though the austrian group’s formula has never clicked into place as nicely as on their newest extended play cassette via Goodbye Boozy Records. This is is fuzzy garage punk with at times uncharacteristically relaxed tempos and a glittering psychedelic surface that reminds me a lot of Beta Máximo’s sparkling noise pop color splashes.
Salt Lake City, Utah group Gonk have been raising eyebrows on the periphery of the eggpunk wave for a good while now and their full length debut gives plenty of evidence for them as a perfectly worthy force and addition to the scene. Although these songs don’t add anything new to the game, every single one simply hits the spot and admirers of quirky, catchy artifacts by acts like Shrudd, Billiam, Music For Microwaves and Power Pants can’t go wrong here.
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