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.
A ridiculously impressive debut LP from this Tokyo-based group that unleashes a perfect storm of melodic but equally prouplsive noise pop and garage punk with an unpredictable, freewheeling creative energy at its core with no two songs sounding quite alike but everything feels as if made of one piece nonetheless, cycling through nine iterations of catchy noise that kinda alternates between the more straightforward sonic spaces of, say, Dark Thoughts, Sonic Avenues, Bad Sports or early Terry Malts on one hand and the way more incalculable and freakish bursts of melodic ruckus most recently heard from Eye Ball and The Dumpies on the other side of that equation.
Just a couple weeks after their debut, the second EP of the Beta Máximo dude’s new synth punk project simply picks up the strands right where they left them on the predecessor, yet there’s also some neat experimentation and surprise to be found in there which we haven’t heard before like the airy synth polyrhythms in the verses of El Fin De Los Días showing SYT at their most aloof so far but also rewarding the patience by segueing into some of their most catchy moments in the chorus.
Right away the debut EP of this group based in Eugene, Oregon radiates a vibe reminding me of a number of short-lived noisy and melodic punk groups from the early 2010s like Milk Music, Fins and Dharma Dogs as well as the fairly recent bands Jolana Star and Psychic Dogs who seem determined to revive that timeless sound of borderline post punk-ish catchy punk tunes paying tribute to the eighties Homestead, SST Records and Touch & Go eras. So now you can add Liquid Cross to that list but also, there’s a notable hint of early-days Protomartyr present here, most notably their second and third LPs, in no small part due to the singer’s voice channeling a weary and melancholic quality quite similar to Protomartyr’s Joe Casey.
More exciting eggpunk of the minimalist and fuzz-heavy variety comes to us from this UK-based group whose tunes don’t do much to break the established patterns at first glance, but who fucking cares really when every single one hits the nail on the head so effortless and precise in an all-killer succession of snappy and catchy-as-fuck fuzz pop attacks that call to mind a mixture of, say, Elvis 2, Kid Chrome, Power Pants, S.B.F. and Satanic Togas.
Incredible debut EP by a London group fronted by Chubby (of Chubby and the Gang fame of course), whose vocals are probably the thing most reminiscent of his old band here, as the rustic Oi!-aesthetics – while still subtly present here like a faint background hum – give way to a somewhat more polished and vibrant but in no way less vigorous sound that feels like an ultra-compact encapsulation of various greatness in the melodic punk, power- and noise pop world both past and present, spanning from classic Hüsker Dü-ish vibes, over the instant catchyness of noise poppers Terry Malts and the most recent Dumpies and Eye Ball releases, to the strong melancholic touches of peak-era Leatherface or (Royal Headache-) Shogun’s recent groups Antenna and Finnogun’s Wake. Potent shit, can’t wait for more of that!
There’s some thoroughly fun and uplifting energy to this debut EP of spanish group Sonic Youth Of Today and if you’ve been paying any attention in recent years, it’s immediately obvious that it’s the Beta Máximo dude at work here, transforming the same melodicism and noise pop-ish vibes into a similarly quirky synth punk context that, in addition to his own work so far, also calls to mind bits and pieces of stuff á la O-D-EX, Digital Leather, Mind Spiders, Spyroids, Freak Genes or that recent Emmet O’Connor LP.
