The former Synth-/Electro Punk one-man-band Klint based in Schleswig, Germany quite obviously has grown into a duo now and, as i've caught wind of some time ago already, is planning to finally hit the stages as a live act at some point and if you thought damn, these vocals sound unfamiliar this time around, then that's because yes, it's not the same dude doing the singing here. That minor technicality aside, Klint mostly stick to their winning and still completely unique-sounding formula of synth- and sample-based mayhem and if you dug previous Klint records, there's no doubt you'll happily absorb this one too.
Cincinnati, Ohio dudes Smarm are making a thoroughly promising impresson here on their debut EP sporting a completely unpretentious garage punk sound with a neat '77- and proto punk edge that clearly pays tribute to some local punk heritage with plenty of a timeless Dead Boys energy to these tunes, excelling in a simple but perfectly balanced kind of songcraft that also perfectly nails it in terms of infectious hooks and a determined, straightforward no-bullshit performance.
Yet another excellent burst of quite 77-ish garage mayhem then is the the new Demo of 700 Club from Athens, Georgia whose three songs are captured in a way rougher sonic guise here compared to the relatively Hi-Fi production values of that Smarm record and a bit more of a Saints or Wipers bent to their songs, even crossing over into hardcore territory a bit in the closing tune No Cash and all throughout there's also an actually quite contemporary-feeling infusion of Lumpy & The Dumpers or Fried E/m-like chaos goin' on.
You could easily file these swiss dudes away as yet another artifact of kinda fashionable, Pisse-induced german-language post punk but this stuff is operating on a high level and standing very much on its own two feet with enough identity and ideas of their own to set them apart with a sound that strikes me as just a tad more international, with Rien Pour Moi reminding me a bit of the likes of Ismatic Guru or Landowner for example, while Animal Farm has a bit of an old Giorgio Murderer Vibe. Anyway, even if they won't be able to shake off that Pisse comparisons just yet, this is a neat and excellent debut EP in its own right and i can't wait to see where they'll go from here.
Snarewaves' discography can feel kinda confusing and overwhelming with tons of releases so far that may suddenly appear and then disappear again at any given time, have tracks added to or trimmed off them and most recently there's also been that throughline of "haven't i heard this song before" and "is this just a reissue or a re-recording?". So yeah, that kind of situation is often the point where i choose to temporarily check out of the whole thing and take a step back while waiting for something more definitive and permanent to emerge out of it. Here we have just that kind thing in the form of a new EP via the reliable purveyor of maybe a bit too boldly premium-priced egg-ish punk quality, Nashville-based tape label Knuckles On Stun - an artifact that will probably just stay the way it is this time. Some of these tunes you may have heard before in one form or another too, but does that even matter at this point? It's good shit as usual and i still don't know of any other band that sounds even remotely like Snarewaves.
Here are two new kickass artifacts of egg-ish garage punk delight. The first one is by Triple Ente of Alicante, Spain. It would be pure understatement to say the spanish scene has become an indispensible force in that whole genre clusterfuck and Triple Ente have been taking part in that from early on. So they don't need to prove anything by now but nonetheless they won't half-ass a thing on their newest LP, which delivers 14 new smashers of a heavier garage punk-leaning variety that already feels pleasantly oldschool by now in the eggpunk context, more reminiscent of the genre's early wild west days.
Relatively new in the game then are Philadelphia group Dasgüt who at times lean into an even more oldschool-ish garage punk energy like in the heavily Gun Club-esque opening tune Dasgüt, before more of the expected eggpunk insanity kicks in with tons of weird ideas and irresistable hooks strewn all throughout this record. Like that Triple Ente record, this one avoids some of the genre's most pervasive clichés by staying 100% free of synths, electronics or pronounced lo-fi bedroom recording aesthetics, instead boiling things back down to a lean core of catchy, fun and offbeat garage punk joy.
On their second LP, this New Jersey group dabbles in a make of garage punk that feels weirdly old-fasioned and pleasantly out of touch with most genre developments of the last decade or two. Really, this artifact could have been released anytime between the classic Reatard(s) era and the last gasp of Male Bonding- or No Age-esque melodic fuzz punk in the early 2010s. Now it feels like a bit of an oddity in our times and you all know that's the kind of shit i like best, especially if it comes with such an abundance of strikingly simple, charmingly sloppy and viciously catchy pop tunes of fuzzy, melodic bliss.
The early teaser tracks for the debut longplayer of this Melbourne group featuring members of Piss Wizard and Stray Dogs To Good Homes had already signaled kind of a drastic departure from the simple Wipers-infused garage punk of their previous EP and indeed this record is a different beast altogether, taking on more of a dusty, americana-tinged post punk vibe with echoes of eighties Scientists but also plenty of more recent stuff like the noisy post punk of Copenhagen's Lower and the early works of Iceage; Sklitakling and Pleaser from Sweden, americana- and cowpunk-influenced US groups like Weak Signal and Bambara, or Australia's own Optic Nerve and Refedex. A rich tapestry of plausible, well-established influences to draw from for sure but these folks absolutely make it their own with tons of resilient song substance providing the foundation to expand upon for their noisy eruptions, determined performances, a fully matching vehicle of haunting sonics for the frank, urgent lyrics and vocals of frontwoman Freya Tanks.
After going all-in on some darker acid rock vibes on their 2024 Buying Time EP, this Stockholm group's newest one once again steers largely clear of their egg-ish beginnings while returning to a bit of a lighter touch all the same - as much as they be trippin' here, it's an altogether pleasurable and joyous trip this time and whatever there may be left of potantially hazardous '60s psychedelic indulgences in their catchy garage punk is always counterbalanced and lightened up by playful synth accents and other quirky devo-isms that more than once strike me as a more lighthearted equivalent to the recent works of their city neighbors and local synth punk legends Isotope Soap.
The Pittsburgh, Pennsynvania punks follow up their raw and excellent debut with an even stronger, if maybe stylistically somewhat fragmented new 7", with the straightforward proto-meets-post punk vibes á la The Cowboy, Flat Worms, Punter or Open Your Heart-era The Men in the opener Voice Of Change probably bearing the closest similarity to the predecessor here, before Burning In The City exhibits more of an australian-sounding, melodic slacker rock vibe somewhere inbetween Dumb Punts, Gee Tee and Pist Idiots. The closing tune Moon Landing then is a sprawling 7-minute instrumental jam of monotonous yet also weirdly uplifting, kraut-y space rock excess.
Damn, has this band from Alicante, Spain upped their game since their promising but still inconsistent 2024 EPs! This is a make of Garage- and Eggpunk that on one hand operates very much inside the templates set by predominantly spanish groups á la Prison Affair, Sprgrs, Finale, Pringue or US-based acolytes Beer, but does so with a raw and propulsive force missing from many lesser players in the subgenre and these dudes also got the catchy-ass tunes to match the breakneck energy of their performance.
