The debut EP by this Denver, Colorado group executes a strikingly simple formula made up of fairly melodic (and at times quite literal) standard ramones riffs, drowned in layers upon layers of fuzz and distortion and a vocal performance that sounds detached and agitated simultaneously. There’s not a lot that could go wrong here and guess what… nothing does. It’s a kind of fuzzed-out garage minimalism that reminds me of recent artifacts by the likes of Robbie Thunder, Boogie Board and Corpus Earthling and Zoids.
Yup, it’s yet another Gobs EP doing exactly what a Gobs EP is supposed to do. Quirky garage-, fuzz- and synth punk bliss obscured by a thick veil of buzz, noise and perfect Lo-Fi production values, never lacking in terms of catchy hooks and melodies. As i said, it’s the fucking Gobs alright.
The two preceding digital Singles TV DVD and Frontier Days sure did a great job at making me eager to finally hear the debut EP by this group from… somewhere and it turns out these tracks aren’t even the strongest this record has to offer! Granted, the egg-ish post punk of the former and the psychedelic garage stylings of the latter still very much hold their own but are certainly just a slight notch below the fluffy power-/fuzz pop of Time To Spare, the catchy garage punk propulsion of Funny Feeling and the sparkling, melancholy Lost Sounds-isms of the closing tune Suggestions. Yup, every song on this is a fucking hit.
It’s been a while since we’ve registered any vital signs regarding the canadian garage punk powerhouse from Halifax, Nova Scotia whose previous LP Tube Reducer is already five years in the past. Now Booji Boys never were a band afraid of shaking up their sound at least a little with every new release and this new demo thingy is no exception in that regard, most notable addition here being the distinct use of polyphonic vocals spicing up their trademark mix of garage- and fuzz punk, noise- and power pop which at times imbues these new tunes with some psychedelic sparkle and an almost british invasion-esque aura that comes into full bloom in the crowning achievement of a closing track that is Hotline. Damn, i hope there’s more of that shit coming our way soon!
This Rome group or project already has a whole bunch of notable EPs and split releases under their belt, all of them quite good and falling easily under the contemporary eggpunk umbrella. This time though, they go for a way rougher, minimalist shade of Lo-Fi aesthetics in these three new bursts of absolutely filthy fuzz punk which seamlessly transport their proven power pop sensibilities into a new direction that echoes the likes of early Wavves and No Age combined with plenty of raw Detroit-style garage artifacts of all eras.
Following a couple of releases which largely dabbled in mellower sounds, Spain’s prime eggpunk-/noise pop act Beta Máximo at long last is cranking up the speeds again while applying and consolidating all the lessons they’ve learned at previous excursions for the benefit of their newest EP, which easily marks their strongest release so far made up of nothing but hits and gelled into place by plenty of simple but rock-solid, top-notch songcraft at its core.
An incredible debut by some NYC group, oscillating somewhere around the rough parameters of hardcore, fuzz-, art- and post punk. Not least because of these psychedelic synth stylings i can’t help but think of the hallucinogenic cowpunk nightmares of another awesome New York City act, Murderer, while in their mellower and catchier moments this surely has a similar quality to past-decade fuzz punk greats á la Feature or Slowcoaches.
Another neat little cassette of moderately egg-related insanity comes our way from this Madrid group, operating in a nebulous zone somewhere inbetween the worlds of garage punk and spaced-out melodic fuzz punk, spiced up with quite a bit of surf rock twang and some dense psychedelic haze. All in all i’d say this shit successfuly combines some of the best traits of acts like Beta Máximo, Beer, Pringue and Prison Affair into a cohesive whole.
Two of the – so far at least – minor players in the current eggpunk game join forces and make a convincing case for a re-evaluation of that status as both, while not exactly reinventing the wheel here, have cleary refined their formulas quite a bit on this neat little split cassette. SPRGRS of Granada, Spain make for a great start with their quirky, pulsating and melodic take on the genre much in line with what we’ve heard recently from groups like Prison Affair, Beer, Paulo Vicious and Goblin Daycare. Even better though are the three new tracks by Bristol’s Möney, who show some great variety and top-notch songwriting chops here, overall saturating their sound with more of a surf-y and psychedelic post punk vibe, most notably in the closing track Emancipation which calls to mind the likes of Electric Prawns 2, Checkpoint, Gremlin and Powerplant. Then again, Plastic Trees is a surprising little gem made up of glistening noise-/power-/dreampop stylings and really given a special shine by a guest vocal performance credited to a mysterious Miss Clienty.
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.
