Brilliant, thrilling oldschool action on this Philadelphia group's debut EP on which a hybrid garage/hardcore vibe á la Cutters gets fused with a distinct Oi! tendency reminiscent of The Chisel, Chubby And The Gang. Then again, there are some ocurrences of Poison Ruïn-esque riffing to be spotted as well and sometimes the guitar leads operate in classic Radio Birdman territory.
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Excellent new shit by a group from Karlsruhe, Germany featuring, as far as i can tell, the two members of Thee Khai Aehm. There are parallels to be drawn to that group, especially concerning the heavy dungeon-esque vibe of which much is retained here as well, but overall i'd say this group's garage- and fuzz punk sound is a different kind of beast altogether, involving way higher velocities and more stylistic variety. The opener has some primal proto punk energy to it while the melodicism of As Loud As Me reminds me of early No Age or Wavves. Give Me Beat ventures deep into hardcore territorry and closing track Fomo Boy is a forceful blast of classic dungeon punk excess. Well… if the word "classic" even has any meaning for a genre this young. Whatever, there's no use arguing with this kind of fury.
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German language "deutschpunk" that doesn't suck still is much of a rarity, sadly. This thing here indeed does not suck in the slightest though. The debut LP of this group from Aachen treads an interesting middle ground, having clear echoes of some of the better and quite obvious german influences (think the likes of Oma Hans, early Muff Potter, Turbostaat, Oiro, Düsenjäger…) while at the same time having a more garage-leaning vibe to them reminiscent of a quite diverse bunch of international acts like Crisis Man, Flowers Of Evil, Waste Man, Ascot Stabber, Mystic Inane… plus the ocasional hint of Hot Snakes / Drive Like Jehu to boot!
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The Santa Ana, California group follows up on last year's kickass Executive Dysfunction EP with an equally exciting successor (albeit one consisting mostly of re-recordings of previously known tracks) on which once again timeless garage punk stylings meet plenty of oldschool hardcore energy and KBD-related depravity. A fun ride throughout whose overall vibes and occasional blues- and cowpunk leanings this time around call to mind early Dicks, among other things.
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Two new EPs by some Louisville, Kentucky group who've apparently released a ton of shit already but are certainly new to me. The Microbiome EP delights with quirky and energetic garage-/synth punk in the vein of Billiam, Spodee Boy, Gholies, early Erik Nervous, Spits, Why Bother? as well as classic Reatard-related artifacts. A nice companion piece then is the more hardcore-minded Bizarro EP dabbling in a way rougher aesthetic of fuzzed-out oldschool mayhem.
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The latest LP by this Tokyo group, originally released last year in Japan and now being reissued by Baltimore, Maryland label SPHC Records, kicks things off with not just one, but two maximally corny faux-orchestral intros seaguing into a cheesy faux-metal pastiche as if hellbent on one-upping any of the recent dungeon punk developments. Then, the actual fun starts in the form of equally basic but all the same unpredictable and inventive hardcore punk bursts, the aforementioned tongue-in-cheek dungeon/metal flourishes being counterbalanced by a freewheeling creative spirit reminiscent of, among other things, early Crass! There's no use arguing with this kind of insanity, just embrace the weird and enjoy the wild ride.
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Bamm! Exquisite new shit in the realms of garage-infested oldschool hardcore mayhem brought to us by a group from Perth, Australia, reminding me of acts in the vein of G.U.N., early Electric Chair, Cement Shoes, Crisis Man, Cülo and Chain Whip.
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California group Lamictal follow up last year's insane pair of EPs with another strong tape, their overall vision coming across a little more focused on here which might in part be a result of ever-so-slightly increased production values… although polished would certainly be the wrong word here as their curious mixture of garage punk, hard-, post- and weirdcore is still filthy as fuck, upredictable and hyperactive, overwhelming the senses for just under four minutes before getting the fuck out as quickly as they turned up. Mandatory shit for friends of, say, Big Bopper, Rolex or early Patti.
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Damn, it appears for some weird reason i've skipped posting about all previous releases of this Minneapolis group here, begging the question of what the fuck has been wrong with me all the time. While i'm consulting my therapist about that, lemme just say that this newest Citric Dummies LP is a perfect knockout punch of early '80s-influenced-oldschool-energy-meets-contemporary-garage-punk goodness packing an extra punch due to the always excellent production duties of garage prodigy Erik Nervous, of whom we're gonna hear again this week. While the Hüsker Dü-referencing title and artwork feel kinda goofy at first glance, they're also not entirely out of place as these songs conjure up a fury not entirely dissimilar to the Dü in their prime but similar things could be said of early Naked Raygun, Adolescents, an occasional hint of Bad Brains or a touch of Dickies in their catchiest moments. Every fucking song on here is a simple and precise, premeditated hit in the guts, their incredible song wizardry never failing to land even once.
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This Portland Group's third full length further refines their explosive formula of seriously noise- and slightly garage-infused postcore into their most realized and elaborate effort do date, their hyperactive vision of structured chaos constantly shapeshifting and throwing curveballs all the way, leading into all kinds of interesting maneuvers. Although no two songs are too much alike on here, the most frequently applicable comparisons i can come up with are groups such as the various incarnations of New York's Kaleodoscope, early Bad Breeeding, Acrylics and, in some parts, Crisis Man, early Video and Ascot Stabber.
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