This Nottingham, UK group's debut EP feels pleasantly out of place to me in the current scene, channeling a number of currents of the mid-eighties to early nineties punk and alternative rock era. Most strikingly i'm reminded of Mega City Four with further bits and pieces of, say, Moving Targets, later Naked Raygun and even some traces of middle-period Hüsker Dü to be found in there, all of it anchored by some rock solid songcraft underneath. In addition, you might as well compare this stuff to a bunch of the previous decade's acts such as Pale Angels, Milk Music, Geronimo, Milked and California X.
The follow-up to this Totowa, New Jersey group's recent opus Stiff Jumbo, which consisted of no less than fourty below-one-minute punk smashers, comes across as a somewhat more conventional offering of catchy tunes located inbetween the sonic parameters of garage punk, noise pop and oldschool '80s/'90s indie rock. What hasn't changed at all though is the sheer strength and consistency of these songs, whose songwriting excellence never falters even once. This shit is easily on a level with highly regarded contemporaries of the Vaguess, Booji Boys, Datenight, Bad Sports, Vacation, Teen Line, The Wind-Ups and Bed Wettin' Bad Boys caliber.
The second tape by this New York group, brought to us by local NY specialist label Fuzzy Warbles Cassettes, is an insanely satisfying mixture oscillating between the parameters of relaxed garage punk and equally slacked-off indie rock, a bit like a more indie rock-leaning Vaguess mixed with some early Woolen Men, Bed Wettin' Bad Boys, recent Datenight or maybe a less cramped version of that latest Monda LP.
Brandon Monkey Fingers of St. John's, Canada feel kinda out of place in this day and age and y'all know i'm a sucker for that kind of shit. Their debut album covers a sonic range somewhere inbetween oldschool fuzz punk, '80s and '90s (proto-) grunge and indie rock seasoned with just a hint of sludge-y Amphetamine Reptile-style noise rock flourishes. Among the old guard, you might consider U-Men and early Mudhoney among their spiritual ancestors or the rougher ends of the Sebadoh sonic spectrum. Of more recent ocurrences, i'd name Dog Date and Hellco as possible references as well as early Pale Angels or a less melodic California X. Darth Vader's Boner carries a similar vibe of garage-infused noise rock to The Cowboy and Flat Worms. H.M.P. sounds a bit as if contemporary noise rockers like Metz, John (timestwo), Greys or Vangas got imbued with heavy overtones of Angst-esque psych folk while Norbit has quite some Dinosaur Jr. and Cloud Nothings energy under the hood on its way to a '90s Weezer-esque melodic conclusion.
So… it appears Neutrals have a new drummer bass player. Otherwise, thankfully not a whole lot has changed for this uncannily british sounding group from Oakland, California. It's their most melodic and mellow effort to date, leaning in heavy on the jangle-/power pop side of things with the post punk elements, while still clearly present, taking a back seat here and what can i say… these folks still have the tunes to make it stick, remaining an endlessly charming, singular treasure among the humble circle of Television Personalities- and Mekons worshippers, and this time, i'd even say threr's just a hint of The Wedding Present to be found in songs like Stop The Bypass.
The newest of a, to be perfectly honest, fucking inpenetrable amount of releases which have accumulated on this Totowa, New Jersey group's bandcamp page over the past few years, delivers a pure spectacle of short and catchy little tunes with a maximum length of exactly one minute, firing off fourty tracks inbetween the coordinates of garage punk, power pop, oldschool indie rock and fuzz punk in well under half an hour. The whole thing makes me think of a couple of 1980s DIY punk and indie rock landmarks like the early works of Guided By Voices, Fastbacks and M.O.T.O. just as much as a couple more recent bands like Booji Boys, Print Head, Vaguess and Datenight.
Cincinnati group Vacation remain a rare zeitgeist-defying gem, once again delivering a brilliant new batch of bangers equally catchy and propulsive, to be located in the rough ballpark of Power Pop, Garage Punk, Noise Pop and oldschool melodic Indie Rock, brimming with a pervasive sense of joy and euphoria in the face of rough times ahead while never missing the mark thanks to their remarkable skill in crafting simple but effective, perfectly balanced and to-the-point little tunes they then like to blow up to larger-than-life cinemascope proportions.
This neat cassette out on Weather Vane Records by a group sharing members with Vintage Crop among others, immediately captivates with an absolutely timeless make of elegant and well-rounded power pop, supported by way above-average songwriting chops. Think of a couple of more or less contemporary groups like Bed Wettin' Bad Boys, Tommy and the Commies, Bad Sports, The Wind-Ups, Datenight, Ex-Gold, Vacation, Mr. Teenage, Yups, Frozen Teens… pick your poison! Though the whole thing may be a bit too front-loaded with most of the hits residing on side a, which leads to a bit of a slump in the second half… kinda like like a meandering Twin Peaks season 2 it still manages to work itself back up to a glorious finale in the closing track Hold Music.
This New York group is kind of a curious, zeitgeist-defying beast in this day and age, wearing their fondness of late eighties to early nineties punk, grunge and indie rock on their sleeves with the opening track even being titled Nirvana, although i'd rather liken them to early Mudhoney and the noisy, early incarnation of The Pixies, maybe a hint of U-Men, Scratch Acid and Drive Like Jehu aswell. So basically, they're the kind of group that would've gotten various Pitchfork writers wet a decade-and-a-half ago, when the height of the first '90s nostalgia wave hit. These days though, they're kind of an obscure oddity and that makes this record all the more endearing to me.
Awesome to hear this dude's angel voice again! Just a couple weeks ago, Shogun, best known as the powerhouse front man of Royal Headache, made his triumphant return (let's not forget the neat 2018 Shogun and the Sheets 7" though) with the debut EP of Finnoguns Wake, the duo comprising of him and Finn Berzin and now, pretty much out of nowhere, there's also the debut EP by another band of his, Antenna, popping up which, of his projects so far, aligns closest to the oldschool Royal Headache vibe in terms of its song material while moving on from the rough garage sound towards a somewhat slicker aesthetic inbetween the parameters of straight-up melodic punk rock, noise- and power pop with a kinda unexpected Leatherface edge to it. Sweet!
