Pedigree of Tournai, Belgium follow up their excellent 2020 mini-LP with another strong batch of tunes, continuing the trend of their originally more garage-leaning sound gradually moving into more of a post punk direction and even some flashes of '90s postcore can be gleamed in songs such as Trapped,S.A.D. and Bread, calling to mind bits and pieces of Jawbox, Drive Like Jehu, Polvo and Hot Snakes. Disgraced, on the other hand, has more of a melodic sensibility right out of the Vaguess, Bad Sports or Motorbike playbook. And overall, my previous comparisons to french groups á la Telecult, Nightwatchers still hold true, as well as a bunch of international acts like Sauna Youth, Teenanger, Video, or Clamm.
Having done an already pretty fuckin' neat first EP earlier this year, this duo (i think…) from Hollywood, Florida follows up on that with an even more weird, ecccentric and eclectic new cassette, once again operating on the fringes of post-, garage-, egg- and art punk. Right out of the gate i'm reminded of the first Peace de Resistánce EP's crude proto-meets-post punk sketches, combined with the relaxed acid-/space rock leanings of the latest Scooter Jay tape. Digging my Grave surprises and delights with its oddball cowpunk feel while the overall vibe and anything-goes approach most of all makes me think of acts á la Print Head, Electric Prawns 2. The brand new Anytime Cowboy record wouldn't make the worst comparison either in some places while other bits and pieces then have a distinct smell of early Snooper, Metdog, Checkpoint, Silicone Prairie… even a tiny smidge of early Woolen Men!
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.
Last year's demo by this London group has been a thoroughly pleasant occurence already and their newest EP even packs considerably more of that same kind of punch, their mix of noise-heavy postcore and garage-leaning fuzz punk at times coming across like a variant of Hot Snakes or Obits with more of a melancholic undercurrent which also kinda reminds me a lot of Wymyns Prysyn, with further credible comparisons to be made to acts such as Ascot Stabber, Crisis Man, Zero Bars, Beast Fiend and Mystic Inane.
On their fourth album, the Texas post punk overlords Institute present themselves as strong as ever with plenty of tricks left up their sleeve for keeping listeners on their toes, never knowing what they're gonna do next. Overall, the previous LP's trend towards a more melodic and relaxed sound is continued here, creeping a lot closer to the aesthetics of singer Mose Brown's NY based project Peace de Résistance, taking cues mostly from the first wave of art- and post punk groups. There's a strong vibe á la Television, Modern Lovers or early Soft Boys goin' on in songs like City and Wonder. Dead Zone then feels a bit like Wipers-meet-Saints while All The Time echoes the likes of Metal Urbain, MX-80, Suicide and Chrome. Dopamine for my Baby weirdly has a strong touch of contemporary NY group Straw Man Army to it. All of it then culminates in the epic, slightly Wire-esque closing track Warmonger.
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.
These folks have been around for a good bit longer than this blog and also have been a constant part of my life's background hum all the way, although things have gone a bit quiet around them in recent years. Their first new LP in five years once again presents the Seattle group in peak form though. Their secret weapons have always been their simplicity, tons of quirky charm and a unique knack for churning out catchy-as-fuck little slacker hymns that just grow on you, presented in an unpretentious, straightforward garage punk and fuzz pop sound.
On their second LP - once again brought to us by the tasteful folks of Total Punk Records - Orlando group Cherry Cheeks present themselves at their straightest and simplest, dumbest and catchiest so far making for yet another gloriously fuzzy lump of joyful high-calory power pop, garage- and synth punk fluff with abundant echoes of classy shit á la Smirk, Set-Top Box, Prison Affair, Gee Tee, Ghoulies and ISS.
