This NYC group has been around for a good while actually even though they only really caught my eye with their excellent 2024 Zinger LP, which channeled the common aesthetics of their looser, scrappier-feeling previous works into a more coherent and exciting package. Their newest EP continues on that same pleasantly anachronistic trajectory mixing fuzzy garage punk with lots of late-'80s to mid-'90s College-/Indie Rock- and (proto-)Grunge-informed shredding, even though the too-disjointed-for-its-own-good quality of the second tune Cutie - putting in way too little connective tissue to truly breathe life in this disfigured tiny creature - really threw me off for a moment. Anyway, everthing following that feels a lot more organic and sensible here and if that certain brand of oldschool slacker punk is your kind of jam, this is yet another worthy jolt of energy for ya!
This dude based in Cincinnati has five catchy and explosive garage punk, power- and noise pop nuggets for us on his debut EP bookended by two undeniable knockout tunes roughly in the vein of old Marked Men, Sonic Avenues, early Mind Spiders, Bad Sports or Steve Adamyk Band, while the middle part branches out a bit into more relaxed midtempo territory with some surf twang getting infused into a piece of '90s indie-/slacker rock in Dock, a bit of eighties Flying Nun pop running through Acid Angel and the Psychic TV cover tune God Star doesn't shit the bed either. All in all, a freakin' enjoyable little package and i could definitely use more of that shit.
A number of recent releases heavy on re-recorded tunes already hinted that Lansing, Michigan's prolific creators of fuzzed-out noise pop, fuzz- and garage punk miniatures were due for a bit of a sonic overhaul and in keeping with that direction, their newest EP starts out with yet another reimagining - maybe their most drastic one so far - of their old staple ABV, stretching things out and slowing 'em down a bit to better bring out the catchy melodic qualities of the tune without losing any their special magic. This shit still sounds unmistakably like a Snarewaves record, just a gently uncluttered and less hurried one with more breathing room granted by both its performances and production aesthetics. Love it, looking forward to more of it as always!
This Springfield, Illinois group has conjured up an insanely tasty and addictive debut EP here that, despite a tiny bit of a Rudimentary Peni-esque death rock-ish vibe early on in the opening tune The Stain, quickly settles into an oldschool niche located somewhere on the melodic fringes of the mid-to-late eighties punk landscape including a good bit bit of pre-'90s pop punk goodness á la Fastbacks, still unaffected by the genre's later disposable sameness but rather grounded in refined, classic pop songcraft. Another valid comparison to describe this shit would be the recent EPs of Montreal group Psychic Armour, minus their heavy metal influences.
Last Year's Epoxy River and Super Pool LP by this Evesham, New Jersey (presumably one-man-) group was already such a massive leap in quality for them and yet again, they manage to considerably refine their sound on this newest LP, on which they kinda leave behind the late-2000s fuzz punk and noise pop ingredients that dominated that record and lean even more into the oldschool '80s and '90s college- and indie rock-informed sounds ranging from classic Dinosaur Jr. and Sebadoh, Bitch Magnet and early Seam to the likes of Superchunk and Polvo, with just a subtle hint of first and second wave emo thrown in for good measure but also increasing amounts of '80s hardcore-based proto-noise rockers like Flipper, Big Black, Drunks With Guns and No Trend, especially in the final stretch of the record. There's an unpredictable quality and an explosive, uncontainable energy to these tunes, radiating the pure untamed joy of blasting a euphoric and abrasive, larger-than-life and kinda anachronistic type of melodic noise out of your gear that feels pleasantly out-of-place in this era, all of it further thrown deliciously off-balance by the ear-piercing screams that prove this dude still ain't ready to half-ass anything here.
Wow, a new Eye Ball EP running over four minutes... that feels totally epic after their previous Of The Northern Americas EP spat three songs at us in just under a minute. Anyway, these four tunes have all the unpredictable, chaotic brilliance you've come to love about this group, combining an unwavering knack for catchy, melodic tunes with a fuzzed-out lo-fi sound that just seems tailor-made for their brief fuzz pop song explosions.
The third EP of this Montreal group is yet another irresistible candy seemingly inspired by the more melodic strains of eighties punk somewhere inbetween, say, Fastbacks, late-era Naked Raygun and Hüsker Dü, but also previous-decade revivalist indie punk rockers like Milk Music, California X, Milked and Kicking Spit ain't too far off either. This time they keep us waiting a bit - until the very last track to be precise - before they fully lean into their trademark heavy metal shredding which has also been the secret ingredient of their brilliant previous EP, but that shall in no way distract from the bucketloads of catchy joy we had along the way leading up to that point too!
Zulo of Rosario, Argentinia have already accumulated a respectable number of LPs and EPs with a varying sound inbetween the parameters of fuzzed-out psychedelic garage punk, noise- and power pop, but never before have their tunes been as consistently awesome as on this new LP on which they lean in on their more spaced-out tendencies, a psychedelic haze enveloping an impeccable batch of super catchy new tunes that at some points may resemble an oldschool Telescopes, Spacemen 3 or Flying Saucer Attack vibe as much as somewhat more recent shit á la Honey Radar, Far Corners, Germ House or Violent Change.
Now this Brooklyn group kicks up an excellent fuss on what appears to be their second EP so far, churning out eight concise and catchy eruptions of fuzz-heavy garage- and old-fashioned DIY punk that evokes quite a bit of an early 2010s feel reminiscent of Tyvek, Parquet Court or maybe a quite Lo-Fi, rustic incarnation of Wimps, though you could just as well draw comparisons to oldschool KBD-adjacent Acts like The Endtables or The Mentally Ill. There's an undeniable Desperate Bicycles energy to it aswell and when it comes to more recent shit, i'm sure enjoyers of that fairly recent Winston Hytwrs Perfect Harmony EP might get a kick out of this one too.
Sex Mex have been a constant for the past couple years as my go-to act for straight-ahead fuzzy and melodic no-frills garage punk that doesn't evolve much beyond its time-tested formula but so far hasn't ever disappointed either, always kept afloat by the quality of the song material and this newest EP is without doubt among the strongest sets of new tunes they've let loose so far, another no-frills treat of synth-enhanced, euphoric garage pop to lift the spirits when we desperately need it.
