Barcelona's Lux already have a demo and a promising debut album under their belt, but with this recent EP their sound really clicks into gear, in which some of the more excentric strands of 80s post- and hardcore punk - Man Sized Action and The Proletariat come to mind - collide with distinctive goth/deathpunk bass lines. You might also be reminded of more recend bands like Street Eaters or the potent cowpunk propulsion of Murderer.
Album-Stream →
Not too long after a rather synth-heavy tape by that guy who recently seems to be involved in pretty much any other Berlin band, we get a small encore exhibiting a more guitar-centric sound, shifting the sonic coordinates closer to the garage. The overall vibe here kinda reminds me of early Erik Nervous.
Although other british bands of their genre enjoyed much more media attention than london art-/post punks Italia 90 have in recent years, few other bands, in my humble opinion, embody so much of the soul and rebellious no-bullshit DIY attitude of the scene, a bitter and emotional indictment of a society collectively shrugging off its own guilty conscience. It's about time this Band gets noticed a lot more. On their third EP -just like on its predecessors - i hear strong echoes of old post punk greats: Crisis, Membranes, Swell Maps and early Mekons for example. Simultaneously Italia 90 keep expanding on their sonic spectrum. Usually when punks go slow, this tends to result in a horrible trainwreck. But surprisingly, the slowest, most subdued moments are the clear highlights of this record. In Open Veins, the gentle performance collides with the disillusioned and angry charges delivered by its lyrics. This combination reminds me a bit of recent Protomartyr, while the closing track Against The Wall has a subtle psychedelic note in common with Wire's Chairs Missing album.
Album-Stream →
What the title promises, this record delivers. Danceable shit? You bet! Anarchist messages? Tons of those get proclaimed here in such density you really can't miss or ignore them. Musically, this is not exactly something you'd associate with anarcho punk, although this stuff clearly has much of the same spirit. This is infectouis post punk with a punchy postcore edge which, despite its dancefloor effectiveness, also succeeds in the noise department, showing no fear of waking up the neighbors. This, and their explicitly political lyrics seperate them quite a bit from last decade's short-lived dance punk explosion. Instead of New York cool you get an appropriately blunt and distinctly british sense of urgency, even as they seem to share many of the same influences. Gang Of Four, obviously, as well as Minutemen, mid- to late eighties Membranes, The Pop Group. And in the present, comparing them to Tics, Pill, Slumb Party, Special Interest or UZS wouldn't be too far off.
Album-Stream →
A somewhat quirky animal, this debut album by Minneapolis' Basement Boys. Starts out by radiating a kind of post punk vibe similar to Plax or The Cowboy, then increasingly skews toward garage punk, augumented by a small dose of noise and some beach goth melancholy, at times reminding me of stuff like Co Sonn, Ex-Cult, Shark Toys or early Wavves.
Album-Stream →
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.
Album-Stream →
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.
Album-Stream →
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.
Album-Stream →
Portland's Nick Normal already made a most welcome splash in the form of a handful of rather Lo-Fi sounding EPs in recent past. Not only has the dude now found a perfect home in between all the other whacky motherfuckers releasing their stuff via Discontinuous Innovation Inc, but we also get to hear his music for the first time in a sonic presentation that takes at least some advantage of the audible range. Otherwise it's business as usual, which in this case means a shitload of off-kilter fun halfway between post- and garage punk. Add to that a hint of new wave and you might be reminded of Andy Human or Erik Nervous, also you might draw some parallels to Ausmuteants or Useless Eaters.
Album-Stream →