In a noise rock world mostly dominated by pretentious wankers content with reproducing the done-to-death "leftover doom riffs played with odd time signatures (that makes us math rock, i guess…)" formula ad nauseam, Canada's Nearly Dead have always kinda stuck out from the sad status quo not through smarts but through sheer primitive force and a very oldschool approach to sludge-infested noise rock, reminiscent of ancient genre artifacts by the likes of Cows, Killdozer, Cherubs, Fungus Brains, Scratch Acid… plus countless of deep cuts from the classic AmRep catalogue. These tunes make me wanna take a shower - a rare quality these days.
As coincidence would have it, here's yet another group of somewhat fuzzy whereabouts although the available evidence generally points toward Pennsylvania this time. On their most recent full-length effort, a warbly blown-out lo-fi acoustic intro gives way to a knockout punch of a post punk blast that sounds a bit as if the hallucinogenic haze of groups á la Piles or Die! Die! Die! entered the pitch black worlds of Nag. Other times we get somewhat more conventional yet nonetheless ass-kicking flashes of oldschool doom- and sludge-leaning AmRep-style noise rock colliding with the spaced out acid punk excess of, say, Destruction Unit, Hamer or Super-X.
Here's another one i almost missed. The newest LP by New York's Wilful Boys delivers ten tight blows of noise rock obviously pulling lots of inspiration from the classic sludge-heavy AmRep era - Cows, especially - plus maybe a few touches of U-Men, Feedtime and 80's Scientists… while sounding perfectly contemporary at the same time, sometimes striking a similar chord to groups such as Help!, Tunic, John (Timestwo), USA Nails or Death Panels.
An exquisite jet-propelled racket, the second longplayer by Athens, Georgia group McQQeen - now proudly carrying the Big Neck Records seal of quality. What kinda starts out a bit in the vein of bands á la Flat Worms, The Cowboy and Fashion Pimps & The Glamazons with a conspicuous Psychedelic/Space Rock undercurrent then expands into a quite comprehensive sweep through much of what is and has been great on the intersection of garage punk, noise rock, post punk and -core including contemporary acts of the Metz, John (Timestwo) or Spray Paint kind as well as the occasional flourish of Destruction Unit's space punk excess, the fuzz punk orgies of early The Men, even some slight touches of U-Men or McLusky are to be found in there.
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.
The debut EP by Brisbane's Refedex is a heavy steamroller of dark noise rock, sludge and post punk that's often rather slow and atmospheric without ever getting tedious or losing its irresistible groove. Although their overall vibe sounds ultra-classic to me, i'm having trouble pinpointing exactly where i've heard this kind of thing before as their sound kinda transcends the usual genre boundaries, among other things incorporating the kind of dark americana blues & country vibes you might expect from an 80's Scientists record or more recently from US post punk group Bambara, while on the more classic noise rock side of things, you might draw comparisons to contemporary Bands like Alpha Strategy, Luggage, Heads or Tropical Trash. You might also find a bit of Cows, U-men or Scratch Acid in there, each of them spun on half-speed. Whatever you wanna call it, this is first rate shit!
Another Tunic record, another veritable kick in the teeth. After their recent compilation LP Exhaling, collecting their previous singles & EPs, their second "real" album pretty much continues where they left off with those, while only very cautiously expanding their sonic vocabulary. At times this can feel a bit repetitive to the point where you catch yourself wondering: "Haven't i already heard that song just a minute ago?" That's a minor nitpick though. As long as these dudes continue to wield their noisemaking powertools with such determination and raw, overwhelming force, that's more than enough for me.
Cleveland punks The Cowboy have yet to release a record that doesn't totally rip and their third LP won't dissapoint either with their sound feeling perfectly worn in and at this point, i'd say they've established their very own, instantly recognizable micro-niche on the intersection of propulsive garage punk and abrasive noise rock while still breaking things up enough to keep shit interesting.
The London postcore/noise rock duo once again convinces by way of sheer force coupled with unerring precision, every single detonation on their second LP using a rather minimalistic recipe in the most focused way possible to achieve maximum damage. Don't miss this spectacle if groups like Tunic, Death Pedals, USA Nails or Metz are your thing.
Not too long after the recent During 7" on Chunklet Industries (a full length of that group should be expected drop soon) we already get to hear another group featuring Spray Paint vocalist and guitar player Cory Plump. As Rider/Horse he's teaming up with a dude named Chris who has in some unspecified capacity worked with the likes of Les Savy Fav and Trans Am. Together they're creating a sound that's taking the more electrically driven vibe of the most recent Spray Paint releases into a dark and hazy, heavily industrial-leaning psychedelic nightmare kind of realm somewhat reminiscent of Exhaustion, Haunted Horses or Danyl Jesu, as well as the dub-infused soundscapes of Exek, with whom they also share that certain taste of Swell Maps.
