Thrilling post punk shit from NYC balancing out a classic Joy Division-/Bauhaus/early Interpol vibe with an unexpectedly playful and melodic power pop sensibility more reminiscent of the likes of Woolen Men, The Estranged, or Radar Eyes… also some hints of Wipers and Television can be found in there. Rather than just another standard genre pastiche, everything here is well thought-out and robustly constructed, every track on this EP is anchored by some sound and solid songcraft.
That's the dude from The Uglies barking here, right? These australians' new EP ain't entirely dissimilar to the latter group's output, pushing the whole thing into a more quirky, adventurous direction though, frequently having some Useless Eaters or Knowso feel to it in addition to quite a bit of musty dungeon-esque vibes throughout the whole thing.
Whatever there is to be found out about this Cincinnati, Ohio group is cloaked in a veil of uncertainty, not helped in the least by that kinda stereotypical "loser band" history given on this cassette's bandcamp page. So, probably, there are folks known from groups like The Serfs, The Drin, Crime of Passing and Motorbike at work here and at least some of the songs on this can be traced back to the year 2019, when they first appeared on the Pedestrian Sentiments EP. Otherwise i'm really not too sure if any of the details given are to be believed. You can't argue with the music though, which kicks ass from start to finish, in some way evoking the aesthetics, varying fidelity and stylistic variety of golden era Guided By Voices, otherwise roughly oscillating between jangly power pop in the vein of, say, Bed Wettin' Bad Boys or Bad Sports in tracks like Coward Of The State, Wannabe (A Star) and Silver Queen; grimy psychedelic garage rock (Didn't Win The Lottery, Obnoxious And A Neu) as well as a couple of catchy melodic garage punk smashers carrying the signature of groups á la Booji Boys, Tyvek and Parquet Courts. It's Been A Bad Week kinda resembles the garage-drenched noise aesthetics of A Place To Bury Strangers, Peyton's Kids has sort of a Woolen Men feel to it and throughout, the folk-infused post punk of earlier Chronophage comes to mind more than once.
Yet another kickass EP by Chicago's Cel Ray, picking right up where they left off on their Cellular Raymond EP earlier this year. I might be repeating myself here but once again their inventive and playful sound kinda strikes me as a combination of some of the past decade's greatest female fronted groups á la Vexx, BB and the Blips, Negative Scanner, Gen Pop or Amyl and the Sniffers on one hand, while also being somewhat reminiscent of that current breed of squiggly garage-meets-post punk groups like Uranium Club, Reality Group, Patti, Dumb or R.M.F.C..
Buffalo, NY group Ismatic Guru's two previous EPs were a promising and enjoyable affair already but it's on their newest cassette that their sound finally clicks into place, their vision matured and tightened-up significantly. I'd say their mix roughly located in the fuzzy realms of garage-, synth- and eggpunk has carved out their own little niche for them by enhancing their quirky aesthetics with plenty of funky action end even some slight touch of kraut-y and psychedelic vibes, most notably in the opening and closing tracks.
These folks have been around for a couple years already and i'm kinda surprised to realize this is actually their first real full length release to date. The intro falsely hints at a somewhat progressive-ish direction, though subsequently they settle into a more familiar aesthetic, a sound that's absolutely of their time yet kinda singular among their peers in its angular, elaborate elegance - a mixture of post- and garage punk hitting the perfect mixture of smart and fun, kinda relaxed yet incredible propulsive all the same, remarkable for its layered textures and effortless execution, also presenting them at their catchiest so far. At times you might compare them to artsy post punk groups á la more recent Institute, Exit Group and Mononegatives, the slightly psyched-up variant of this as played by, say, Marbled Eye, Waste Man, Bruised or Public Eye as well as playful, clever garage punk acts like Erik Nervous, Clarko, Tee Vee Repairman, Mononegatives, Pinch Points, Dumb, Uranium Club, Reality Group... and i could still come up with many more awesome reference points. This shit rules, plain and simple!
Another constant presence of the garage scene who's been around pretty much since the beginning of this blog has a new LP out and it's such a thing of beauty! As versatile and inventive as ever, these new songs more or less continue the dude's very own quirky, slightly Devo-fied vision of garage punk that first fully took form on that Beta Blockers LP in 2019 - instantly recognizable yet always a couple steps ahead of the listener, always good for a surprise or two. Tracks like Hemgeeh und Projector come with kind of a spaced out, psychedelic Mononegatives energy. Also, we get a bunch of compact and catchy-as-fuck synth-driven smashers in the second half as well as a neat They Might Be Giants cover and Alligator Facing East is such an epic fucking hymn for the ages! Further plausible reference points for the overall sound of this record would be the likes of Andy Human and the Reptoids, Freak Genes, Isotope Soap and New Vogue.
Over the past two years, Portland label Spared Flesh Records has proven itself a real powerhouse of weird and offbeat noises in the realm of post-, garage- and art punk and this new LP by Reuben Sawyer aka Anytime Cowboy is yet another rough gem to behold. His bluesey low-key cowpunk sound comes across kinda like an incarnation of early Gun Club incredibly mindful of not waking the neighbors or a super-muted version of Parquet Courts, Tyvek, while in parts also not entirely dissimilar to that recent Peace de Résistance album. It's a soundscape that could softly lull you to sleep if it weren't for that pervasive sense of unspeakable abysses lurking just around any corner now, with Sawyers calm deep voice further adding to the music's quite uncanny yet weirdly comforting qualities.
Pedigree of Tournai, Belgium follow up their excellent 2020 mini-LP with another strong batch of tunes, continuing the trend of their originally more garage-leaning sound gradually moving into more of a post punk direction and even some flashes of '90s postcore can be gleamed in songs such as Trapped,S.A.D. and Bread, calling to mind bits and pieces of Jawbox, Drive Like Jehu, Polvo and Hot Snakes. Disgraced, on the other hand, has more of a melodic sensibility right out of the Vaguess, Bad Sports or Motorbike playbook. And overall, my previous comparisons to french groups á la Telecult, Nightwatchers still hold true, as well as a bunch of international acts like Sauna Youth, Teenanger, Video, or Clamm.
Having done an already pretty fuckin' neat first EP earlier this year, this duo (i think…) from Hollywood, Florida follows up on that with an even more weird, ecccentric and eclectic new cassette, once again operating on the fringes of post-, garage-, egg- and art punk. Right out of the gate i'm reminded of the first Peace de Resistánce EP's crude proto-meets-post punk sketches, combined with the relaxed acid-/space rock leanings of the latest Scooter Jay tape. Digging my Grave surprises and delights with its oddball cowpunk feel while the overall vibe and anything-goes approach most of all makes me think of acts á la Print Head, Electric Prawns 2. The brand new Anytime Cowboy record wouldn't make the worst comparison either in some places while other bits and pieces then have a distinct smell of early Snooper, Metdog, Checkpoint, Silicone Prairie… even a tiny smidge of early Woolen Men!
