It took them over five years to follow up on their excellent debut EP from 2019, but at long last here it is, the first LP by Sydney's Negative Gears, on which they present an even more pitch-black, stone-cold vision than before, funneled into significantly matured and refined compositions and arrangements. Comparisons to US groups like early Institute, Rank/Xerox, Criminal Code and Nag still apply, kind of… but also i can sense some kinship with the widescreen drama of berlin-based duo Dead Finks and its sort-of precursor group, New Zeeland's Trust Punks. Then again, songs like the opening track Negative Gear and Pills carry some of the hallmarks of british post punk powerhouses like Girls In Synthesis and Sievehead while in calmer moments like Ants and Zoned, a melancholia and elegance reminiscent of recent Marbled Eye or Tube Alloys shines through.
Now goth-infused minimalist synthwave is by no means among the genres i'm naturally inclined to get excited about, mostly due to its usually pretty formulaic and uninspired nature, but the newest LP by this Zagreb, Croatia dude, who already made a glorious impression opening for Nag in 2022, makes for a thoroughly pleasant exception to the rule. Admittedly, there's nothing exactly new and unheard to these Songs either, but in spite of their kinda simple, tried and tested essence, they are undeniably well-balanced and always hit the spot, bursting with catchy hooks and melodies, plenty of energy and an eerily familiar yet incredibly effective sense of melancholia. Maybe that's just my own bias, but rather than your average synth wave act i'm reminded way more of punk/garage-related acts like Digital Leather (yeah, that's the very obvious one), O-D-EX and, most of all, the totally one-of-a-kind 2017 Sex Tourists LP.
Two notable, more or less dungeon punk-adjacent releases have landed this week. First off, there's the debut cassette of Oslo group Molbo who, on the surface, primarily seem to draw influences from that genre complex of eighties goth, death rock and post punk that's been so en vogue once again for the last decade or so. What sets them apart in that particular niche though is a certain whimsical eggpunk aesthetic, a sense of joy and fun not often found in an otherwise often overky self-serious genre, though admittedly this can at times have an unintentionally comical effect as well.
Ipswich, UK duo Kerozine then approach a vaguely dungeon-esque aesthetic from a more straightforward yet delightfully noisy synth-/electro punk angle that's every bit as driving and hard-hitting as it's catchy, the best reasonably recent comparisons i can come up with right now being the likes of Spyroids, O-D-EX, Drýsildjöfull, Channel 83, C57BL/6, Expose and Beef.
On their newest, heavily pandemic-delayed LP, Budapest's Padkarosda don't tweak their existing formula too much which is just fine - no need to fix what isn't broken and that one thing they do, they still excell at: crafting moody oldschool post punk soundscapes with that raw, pitch black all-consuming death rock vibe.
Fun DIY punk shit by some dude based in Marmora, New Jersey, oscillating between the poles of electrically driven garage- /synth punk and bizarro post punk with some quirky, over-the top goth stylings. Think of a mix between S.B.F., Set-Top Box, Stalins of Sound or early Kid Chrome… fans of The Spits or Isotope Soap shouldn't miss out on this as well.
Power pop aficinados might already be familiar with Owen Williams as the singer of The Tubs, who stood out earlier this year with their excellent Names 7". Cotton Crown is the name of his solo recording project whose debut cassingle inhabits much of the same awesomeness but enriches its two oldschool pop tunes with more of a goth and new wave aesthetic adding just the right amount of low-level cheesyness to elevate, rather than water down the material.
Shit Giver's 2017 debut album left quite an impression on me with its ambitious and versatile vision of post punk, bursting with excentric ideas and unpredictable song structures. The L.A. group's first new music in almost three years doesn't fail to amaze and surprise once again. It's their melodic songwriting abilities that come into sharp focus here, taking shape as an irresistible mix of post punk, power- and goth pop, developing a catchyness i wasn't prepared for. Meaningless ignites some unexpectedly straightforward pop fireworks, complete with a borderline-cheesy sax solo, the kind of which a lesser song wouldn't survive, but in this case i can't help but percieve it as a well-deserved climax. Transition seamlessly continues their newfound love for gloomy pop, but also proves that Shit Giver haven't lost their taste for elaborate structures, either.
Once again Barcelona's scene is killing it! Plataforma manage to do just that thanks to a beautifully rough, DIY-as-fuck sound in the realm of dark-/post punk with a healthy dose of goth/death rock doom & gloom. Crisis come to mind as well as the early 2010's Kopenhagen scene - think Lower and early Iceage - and some more recent stuff like britain's Disjoy.
