Now what kind of black death is this shit supposed to be again? The Bandcamp-bred dungeon punk (micro-)genre rarely fails to amaze when its over-the-top absurdity collides with such top-notch performances and quality songcraft repeatedly. What kinda starts out like an oldschool black metal-infused bastardization of Chubby and the Gang and early Sheer Mag subsequently throws quite a bit of (neo-?)folk punk RNA into the mix, dares to build up kinda elaborate and flexible song structures while never neglecting its pop qualities, making for a both dread- and joy-inducing soundtrack for a doomed humanity on its way towards the new post-apocalyptic dark ages.
Another release by Kalamazoo, Michigan garage punk luminary Erik Nervous is always a rusty bucket full of of pure joy to behold. Largely delivered with a borderline-hardcore energy level (halfass my ass!), this EP is without question among his most direct, compact and streamlined batches of tight-ass smashers to date. Oh, and what would an Erik Nervous release be without the promise of a yet-to-be-recorded vaporware song that might or might not crop up at some point?
Four-and-a-half fun litte strumming excercises of the heavily proto punk inspired kind, done by a dude who also happens to be a member of Toe Ring. Sounds a bit like a mix of Peace De Resistance, Woolen Men and Honey Radar with a hint of Modern Lovers on top.
Somehow i must’ve overlooked this Ocean City, NJ dude so far. His long playing debut and third release altoghether hits my nerve dead-on though, with a variety of simple & stupid garage-/electro- and, occasionally, synth punk, often with a distinct 77-ish bent calling to mind old pioneers à la Screamers, MX-80, Metal Urbain/Dr. Mix & The Remix as well as a slight hint of Chrome. In Country Girls, quite fittingly, we even get a touch of Gun Club-esque americana-/cowpunk while of the more recent scene, you might draw comparisons to groups like S.B.F., Kid Chrome, Zoids or Mateo Manic.
This Melbourne group delivers some of the most straight-the-fuck-ahead, no-frills ancient-school ’77 style (garage-) punk imaginable on their debut EP, kinda like a way, way more traditional sounding incarnation of Amyl and the Sniffers. The fact they’re able to pull this thing off without sounding the least bit stale and dusty speaks for their chops as a band as much as the raw strength of their songcraft.
Having already given an excellent first impression previously on a split tape with the great AJ Cortez, this West Palm Beach dude’s follow-up EP maintains the high standard of his garage- and synth punk, radiating the quirky energy of groups such as Satanic Togas, Erik Nervous, Prison Affair, Mononegatives, RMFC… while also incorporating some ’77-ish power pop sensibilities akin to Tommy and the Commies and towards the end, there’s also an increasingly Alien Nosejob- / Ausmuteants-esque thing goin’ on.
Wow, this group from Borée, France is juggling a shitload of different styles with striking confidence on their debut album. The thing starts out with a short, straightforward, simple blast of hardcore punk, then has them cycling through a wide array of styles including forceful postcore, hard rockin’ upper-mid-tempo garage rock/-punk, groovy angular post punk and even some vaguely Pixies-esque, surf-infused oldschool 80s indie-/alternative rock. All of this they pull off with ease – there’s not a single weak link on this record. Impressive shit all the way through!
A nice little battery of vaguely egg-ish garage punk and fuzz pop combining more recent weirdness à la Print Head or Freak Genes with a good measure of Desperate Bicycles, some early Flying Nun Records vibes – especially The Clean and The Stones – a touch of C86 pop (as in Cowboys Aren’t Real) or also: loads of random 80s cassette culture artifacts that might or might not have cropped up on some Messthetics/Homework/Hyped To Death compilation over the years.
Heavily retro-leaning post punk, made in Berlin and sounding exactly like you’d come to expect by that fact. You might recognize a familiar voice grumbling about here, the dude having done a similar thing with his other band Maske, although the overall vibe here is even a notch more gritty, sometimes having a slightly Wipers-esque quality and, at other points, a touch of S.Y.P.H. as well as more recent phenomena like Aus, Hyäne, Die Wärme or Peter Muffin und die Heilsarmee. In other words: This might have come out sometime around ’81 just as well. There’s a couple of underwhelming filler tracks on here – forgivable and totally made up for by the undeniable highlights of this album. Just don’t try another attempt at funk next time, okay?
Here we have another kickass, kinda oldschool australian garage punk artifact conjured up by some folks who unquestionably know their craft. On vocal duties we got none other than the great Jackson Reid Briggs who, free of the temptations of guitars and pedals and shit, sounds kinda revitalized here, unleashing a more nuanced performance than what we’ve been used to, while the rest of the line-up does by no means consist of unknown faces either, boasting members of Stiff Richards and Speed Week, among others. Captivating through simple but well-balanced songcraft and an unstoppable drive, this shit sounds instantly familiar yet comes across playful and versatile enough to clearly differentiate these songs from any of the aforementioned groups.
