Even in the face of pretty much anything that loose collective of musicians gathered around the New York label Decoherence Records has done so far, Gay Cum Daddies still stuck out as one of its most baffling agents of chaos and mischief. In a way, their newest LP is almost what you'd expect of this group at this point, an unwieldy bastard made of atonal and chaotic, no-wave-ish noise that, despite all the clutter and cacophony, never seems random. More than ever before, i get a sense of this group being totally in control of their craft at all times, their nerve-racking jams never leaving a trace of doubt that these dudes do indeed have a master plan. A weird, convoluted and disjointed one for sure, but a plan nonetheless. Once you've re-wired your brain to almost make sense of it, it feels like the most transgressive and shocking thing ever when Ribboning Boulder Hands Over Data actually has a discernible 4/4 beat playing for, like, a whole 30 seconds.
Following a strong debut EP that still presented this Antwerp group from a more garage-leaning angle, the follow-up has them going all-in on a post punk vibe which on one hand takes plenty of cues from the James Chance-informed, funky end of the No Wave spectrum while also bearing a slight resemblance to the current Berlin scene and groups like Pigeon and Liiek in particular. I assume then it's more than just a lucky coincidence this thing got released on Berlin post punk label Mangel Records.
These New Yorkers' latest LP is basically just an expanded version of their 2021 EP Triangulation by way of Strangulation, though i'm gonna say the addition of the four opening tracks elevates the whole thing to another level altogether, counterbalancing the kinda rigid, somewhat more late-eighties noise rock-leaning tracks of said EP with a fresh infusion of chaos that really seals the deal here, quite obviously taking cues from local no wave history - both the unstructured noisy kind and the funky James Chance-isms - as well as a bunch of other early eighties proto noise rock acts á la Flipper, Primitive Calculators and, most of all, No Trend.
(…) as focused as they haven't been in a long while (…) i wrote about their previous album Smile Building's Exit. Tempe, Arizona group Soft Shoulder then be like: "Hold my beer…" and come around the corner with yet another LP, recorded around the same time as its predecessor and presenting their sound in an even more snappy and compelling light. Their unique blend consisting of both contemporary and ancient post punk magic tricks, oldschool noise rock and distinctly no wave- and '80s The Fall-informed noise experiments has never had more catchy appeal and sparkle than on this record.
Portland's Collate have never been a group to push the boundaries of their own genre exactly, but that doesn't mean there's not plenty of fun to be had anyways with their comparatively straightforward and simplistic mixture located somewhere inbetween the more funky end of the no wave spectrum and Gang Of Four-esqie dance-/post punk grooves. It's a record that kinda sneaks up on you with much of its strongest material hidden away in the second half.
A new Trading Wreckage release, which is always good for some vaguely no wave-informed joy, chaos and depravity. This one's a real stunner though! In this particular incarnation, The Bozo Big Shit Garbage Band appears to be a solo endeavor of Tony Shit also known as Reese McLean and whatever other monikers the guy has gone under, who has also been an integral part of the likes of Gay Cum Daddies, Eat Avery's Bones, Bukkake Moms, Flesh Narc and many others. While some cosmic background hum of no wave experimentation is still tangible here, a lack of human chaos and clutter during recording appears to have also translated into an equally less cluttered album. Although still every bit as creative and unpredictable as we came to expect from previous releases, this newest one does it all in a structured, catchy and propulsive manner previously unheard from this dude, at times reminiscent of groups on the intersection of garage-, post- and art punk like the UV Race, Soft Shoulder, Shark Toys and Parquet Courts, while in other moments, this shit might sounds like some AmRep and Touch&Go-esque 90s Noise Rock collides with mid-eighties The Fall.
Excellent shit, this recorded-live-on-tour debut album by a group from Metz, France. This stuff can be roughly classified as (neo-) no wave funk with, just maybe, a slight added touch of eggpunk and occasional moments of '90s Dischord universe. Maybe think of a more energetic, direct, danceable and minimalist, less artsy variant of groups á la D.U.D.S., Pill or N0V3L.
Hyperactive, quirky and chaotic yet equally smart and elaborate, slightly no wave-ish post punk from Bandung, Indonesia! This is essential new fodder for fans of shit in the vein of, say, Patti, Reality Group, Big Bopper and Exit Group.
Tempe, Arizona group Soft Shoulder have been at it for way over a decade now and still seem as lively and productive as ever, having churned out a steady stream of singles and EPs released digitally and as limited lathe cuts the past year. Their newest LP presents them as focused as they haven't been in a long while though, their quirky-as-fuck mixture of post punk and noise rock bursting with energy as catchy grooves somewhat reminiscent of The Fall from the late eighties onward collides with a decidedly no-wave school of noise and dissonance.
Pretty fucking amazing shit, the second long player of this group from Tournai, Belgium. Right out of the gate i'm reminded of so much good stuff both ancient and contemporary on the intersection of art-, post- and garage punk, rounded out by a distinctly dissonant no wave-ish, noise rock-y edge. Sometimes they sound a bit like as if the americana-infused post punk of Angst were to collide with the simplistic beat of Man Sized Action and a good measure of early The Fall strumminess. Other moments, i imagine to hear echos of Membranes, Gordons or Swell Maps, while you might just as well draw comparisons to more recent acts such as Honey Radar, Toe Ring, Lithics, Germ House, Shark Toys and Subtle Turnhips.
