Atlanta noise rockers Vangas stay beautifully unconventional on their new 7" via Chunklet. On the A-side, a slow-burning groove creeps along toward an inevitable eruption at its midpoint, where shit finally gets weird. The even more unpleasant B-side then reminds me quite a bit of their Portland noise rock contemporaries Marriage + Cancer or canadians Nearly Dead.
This group, probably from Phoenix, Arizona, sets up some chemically unstable noise punk shit welded to a garagecore rocket drive ready to blow up in your face. At times you might feel pleasantly reminded of acts like Beast Fiend, Anxiety, Bo Gritz or Mystic Inane.
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At first listen, i can't help but think of the texan (neo) no wave/chaotic noise rock connection around bands like Flesh Narc, Gay Cum Daddies and a few other projects sharing much of the same personnel. However, this band is from Philadelphia, making any association with those rather unlikely. Also, on closer inspection, their sound and songs come across a lot more structured, compared with the kinda semi-improvised feel of the Denton scene's output. Soundwise, this is somewhat less in the no wave camp, leaning more into the noise rock side of things and now that i'm thinking of it… I also see quite some similarities to their geographically much closer New York contemporaries Spray Paint and Big Neck Police, as well as a hint of canadian noise punks Sopcans.
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Cleveland's The Cowboy are back! Two years after their explosive debut album, the group featuring members of Pleasure Leftists and Homostupids haven't lost their ability to kick ass with a sound oscillating between garage- and post punk, noise rock overtones, an abrasive surface combined with disarming catchyness. All this reminds me of bands like Plax, Ex-Cult, Shark Toys and Flat Worms. Also, in a rather unexpected turn of events, we get exposed to a laid back indierockin' instrumental tune on the b-side.
With their third Album, Chicago's Luggage deliver a seamless continuation of the qualities established on their 2017 effort Three, even double down on those. Fittingly and unmistakably recorded at Electrical Audio, a brittle, often crawling sound in the rough area of Noise- and Math Rock, Post- and Slowcore allows itself ample time to unfold and sounds a lot like their hometown in the late 80s to 90s. Or, at different points, like a more straightforward Shellac, slow motion Tar, much louder Slint or an even more bleak variant of Codeine.
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Exquisite shit from Rouen, France. Kumusta emerge on the scene with a fun mixture drawing a line from noise rock & -core on one end of the spectrum, some raw garage energy on the other, a shitload of post punk & postcore in between. Imagine a fusion of slowed-down Bad Breeding with Criminal Code in certain moments, or at other times, you might be reminded of Australia's postcore powertools Batpiss and Bench Press.
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While their last EP Fan The Flames didn't appeal to me as much as i hoped for, their newest 7" shows London's Girls In Synthesis at their best. Just like before, their sound is a skilled balancing act on the threshold between post punk and noise rock, thus operating in much of the same realm as Bands like USA Nails, Tunic or John (timestwo), among others. The definite highlight here is Smarting with its kinda Big Black-esque way of guitar shredding.
On their debut LP, Barcelona's Sandré deliver a roundhouse kick of unerring precision, a sound located somewhere on the fringes of post punk, post- and noisecore; always keeping the delicate balance between a raw, immediate impact and self-confident ambition. Speculating about possible influences, i'm thinking of a wide array of bands like Downtown Boys, early Die! Die! Die!, Les Savy Fav - but i'm also feeling a very distinct vibe akin to other spanish acts of recent years, especially the likes of Juventud Juché, Betunizer and Cubano Vale.
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Boston electro punk duo Rita Repulsa enter the scene with their first EP, whose largely sample-driven contents roughly resemble the charme of an extra brain damaged version of North Carolina's ISS, supplemented with a subtle dose of noise rock and a lyrical fixation on… Mighty Morphin Power Rangers?!? Works for me.
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For the austin noise rockers with that distinctive no wave edge, the past three years were marked exclusively by several collaboration projects, resulting in one album, another EP and two 7"s, all of it first rate stuff. Now we get a new "regular" album, although the recordings already date back to the year 2016. Accordingly, these songs sound more like the logical evolution from their last LP Feel The Clamps, released that same year. As always with this band, there's no rush to reinvent themselves. Instead, their sound is evolving gradually and diligent, revealing only a few new facets at a time. Most notable this time is a more minimalist approach to their compositions as well as the increasing use of drum machines and synths. And as always, the results are quite thrilling.
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