On their fourth album, the Texas post punk overlords Institute present themselves as strong as ever with plenty of tricks left up their sleeve for keeping listeners on their toes, never knowing what they're gonna do next. Overall, the previous LP's trend towards a more melodic and relaxed sound is continued here, creeping a lot closer to the aesthetics of singer Mose Brown's NY based project Peace de Résistance, taking cues mostly from the first wave of art- and post punk groups. There's a strong vibe á la Television, Modern Lovers or early Soft Boys goin' on in songs like City and Wonder. Dead Zone then feels a bit like Wipers-meet-Saints while All The Time echoes the likes of Metal Urbain, MX-80, Suicide and Chrome. Dopamine for my Baby weirdly has a strong touch of contemporary NY group Straw Man Army to it. All of it then culminates in the epic, slightly Wire-esque closing track Warmonger.
Another insane quality release courtesy of Erste Theke Tonträger by a Melbourne group featuring members of such household names like Pinch Points, Dr. Sure's Unusual Practice, Gonzo and Dragnet. Right out of the gate we're greeted with an adventurous sound somewhere inbetween garage-, synth- and art punk calling to mind acts like Ghoulies, Set-Top Box, Isotope Soap and a bit of Erik Nervous. Second track Friends continues in that direction, then takes a sharp turn into psychedelic post punk territory somewhat reminiscent of groups like Marbled Eye, Yammerer, Waste Man or Public Eye. Break surprises with a relaxed psychedelic garage- and fuzz pop groove, followed by Ice Summit, a compact, economical garage rocker echoing the likes of Parquet Courts, Tyvek and Shark Toys. Then, shit gets truly weird with Drift - a sprawling garage-and-eggpunk-goes-progressive-rock kind of exercise unafraid to go real cheesy in the expansive middle part. Side B then comes across more homogenous, less ambitious but by no means less enjoyable, these straightforward bangers reflecting the likes of Cherry Cheeks, Smirk, Metdog, Powerplant and Freak Genes, among a ton of other shit.
Once again, Leipzig group Onyon convince me by virtue of their adaptability and solid Craftsmanship rather than novelty, reproducing a number of tried and tested formulas that firmly click into spec on their second LP. Post punk that ain't trying anything funny, you could say. This time we get just a smidge of eggpunk weirdness added to the mix. Songs like Dogman then have more of a garage punk edge to them. There's a touch of Wire in Egg Machine, oldschool goth-/deathrock vibes in Invisible Spook and bits and pieces of Gun Club are sprinkled throughout the whole of it. Needless to say, echoes of other more or less recent artifacts of the Leipzig scene like Ambulanz, Lassie and Laff Box are to be found in there aswell.
Montreal group New Vogue follow-up their excellent self-titled 2020 mini LP with another batch of kickass tunes - way more synth-heavy this time yet every bit as infectious as before, radiating a constantly shapeshifting kind of vibe calling to mind bits and pieces of Freak Genes, Useless Eaters, Powerplant, Andy Human and The Reptoids, Lost Sounds, Mononegatives and Alien Nosejob, to name just a few high-profile references.
Flat Worms have been among the most reliably awesome groups of the past decade or so - you roughly know what to expect, know it's gonna be good and will have just enough fresh ideas and flourishes to keep things interesting. Needless to say, their newest LP won't dissapoint either, their signature sound inbetween the worlds of garage punk, noise rock and post punk coming across as tight and energetic as ever and, just maybe, even a bit more varied and playful than on previous efforts. In SSRT the distinct grooves of Wire and Television combine into an ever-so-slightly kraut-infused exercise. Time Warp In Exile feels like a fusion of The Cowboy and Spray Paint - the same then kinda applies to the album closing title track, which additionally seems to borrow a thing or two from The Ruts' classic It Was Cold.
Sorry folks, there's no embeddable full album stream available but you can listen to the whole thing over at their Soundcloud.
Exciting shit in the realm of noise rock, postcore and garage punk on this Tokyo group's newest EP showcasing quite a bit of stylistic variety. Proto-Being crashes right out of the gate like a mix of Multicult, Tar and Drive like Jehu. Slug then exhibits a more catchy, melodic sensibility akin to, say, Bitch Magnet, Polvo or Chavez. Evidence has some acid-drenched proto punk vibe to it like MX-80 colliding with early The Men plus a hint of Wipers and last but not least, Disconnect radiates some distinct Hot Snakes-meeet-Nation Of Ulysses kind of energy.
Two noteworthy german-language post punk releases here. Kalte Hand hail from Augsburg though they sound a lot more like stuff from the current Berlin Scene, their dystopian post punk drenched in pitch-black sarcasm calling to mind groups like Pigeon, Glaas, early Diät and Pretty Hurts as well as other german language groups á la Die Wärme Hyäne, Maske, Die Verlierer, L'appel Du Vide… also a hint of Puff and Pisse. The latter two groups' tendencies then take center stage on the debut EP of Hamburg duo Dunkle Strassen - a straightforward post- and garage punk sound with a distinct noise rock edge thrown into the mix which might aswell some similarity to a bunch of international acts such as Arse, Ascot Stabber or Crisis Man.
Portland's Collate have never been a group to push the boundaries of their own genre exactly, but that doesn't mean there's not plenty of fun to be had anyways with their comparatively straightforward and simplistic mixture located somewhere inbetween the more funky end of the no wave spectrum and Gang Of Four-esqie dance-/post punk grooves. It's a record that kinda sneaks up on you with much of its strongest material hidden away in the second half.
Following up on their incredible 2021 demo, this Copenhagen group delivers an equally exciting debut full length. On one hand, this sounds vaguely familiar as the local legends Lower and (early) Iceage have sure left their mark on Pleaser's music - having a similar appeal of larger-than-life drama tangled up in chaotic and emotional no-holds-barred performances - in addition to lesser known Copenhagen groups like Melting Walkmen, Echo People and Spines. But then again, Pleaser totally hold their own owing to top-notch song substance and plenty of neat little surprises like some black metal flourishes in the instrumental The World Says Its Name, Morricone stylings and a Murderer-esque psychedelic cowpunk haze in Drive of Distress while Light and Fire and This Is How I Die have some distinct Poison Ruïn vibes to them. Last but not least, in The Dream, a good bit of Rites of Spring, Dag Nasty collides with some 90s Leatherface or Samiam vibes as well as somewhat younger noise pop acts á la Star Party, Times Beach, No Age, Male Bonding or Joanna Gruesome.
An unexpected new EP of the fabulous Red Dons, whose mastermind Daniel Husayn apparently has, in recent years, been mostly busy with mastering great tunes rather than playing and recording such. So now here we have the first new material in close to six years of the originally Portland-based group . It's among their most solemn, moody and quiet stuff so far and the gamble pays off just admirably thanks to their unwavering songwriting excellence, an unbending performance and that certain harmonic sensibility that is very much their own.
