Respected Los Angeles garage powerhouse Vinny Vaguess keeps things interesting. While his previous two longplayers turned out a bit mellower, leaning quite heavily into powerpop melodicity, his newest EP mixes things up again in somewhat unexpected ways by introducing quirky post punk elements, often making generous use of vaguely devo-esque synths. Speaking of the devil... with Lesser Of Two we even get a full-blown synth pop hymn, not dissimilar to some stuff Alien Nosejob did recently. Other points of reference might be Nick Normal, Andy Human and the Reptoids, Teenanger, occasional flashes of Ausmuteants. Everything works admirably here, in no small part thanks to the kind of excellent songcraft we've come to expect from this dude.
Promising and fun shit, this first digital single by some San Francisco group. Post-/art punk of the particularly quirky, playful kind that admirers of bands like Patti, Rolex, Reality Group or Emergency Contact will surely appreciate.
Atlanta's Nag have been a constant presence in the contemporary post punk scene for quite a while now, so i'm kinda surprised it took them this long to come up with their first long player. The surprises don't end here. Having been kind of the genre's bad boys - always a bit more rough and unkempt than most of their peers - we finally get to hear them in a comparatively hi-fi sound, stripping away some layers of fuzz and noise, instead revealing a sharpened rhythmical focus and a much diversified set of stylistic choices, drawing comparisons to various household names à la Negative Space, Rank/Xerox, Pretty Hurts, Diät, Knowso, Bruised or Exit Group.
Now that's™ some potent shit coming out of poland, presumably. Equal parts hardcore- and garage punk, efficiently propelled forward by an ultra-simplistic drumming style giving the whole thing an almost cowpunk vibe, but also leaving plenty of room for the noise-laden sonic textures by the string torturing division to spread out - kinda like you might have heard in the past from Bands like Leche, Murderer, Yambag, Lux… maybe even a bit of Wymyns Prysyn hidden in there.
Didn't expect this to happen... A whopping seven years after his last EP, Oakland's Jason Hendardy aka Permanent Collection is reactivating his old musical endeavor and delivers a brilliant new album which - in spite of its rather fatalistic sounding title - dials back the sonic doom and gloom of his previous efforts, the dark post punk tone taking the back seat while the melodic noise pop & shoegaze aspects take center stage - a consistantly fun high energy ride from start to finish. If you ever wished acts like A Place To Bury Strangers or Ceremony (VA) woud spend less time less time spacing out and cut straight to the chase instead, this record ist for you.
Another lovely treat from Austin label Digital Hotdogs. The rather quirky kind, rough around the edges and full of sweetness inside, strange and familiar at the same time. Just like you've probably come to expect of anything released by this outlet. There's barely any info on the actual band in question. I found two bands of this name listed on bandcamp, but i don't think we're dealing with either of those here. What we get instead is a sheer wealth of catchy as fuck tunes wrapped into dreamy, yet powerful soundscapes somewhere in the realm of post punk, noise pop, shoegaze and 90s Indie Rock, somewhat reminiscent of the early Lo-Fi adventures by Eric's Trip, Guided By Voices, Flying Saucer Attack, maybe even a bit of Sebadoh. Or you may choose to draw comparisons to more contemporary acts in the vein of The Molds, Treehouse, Pardoner, Rat Columns or Teardrop Factory. Whatever your viewpoint on this, you've got impeccable taste, sir. You are made for this record.
Glen Schenau, otherwise probably best known as the Frontman of Brisbane group Kitchen's Floor, has so far released two EPs of borderline-avant garde art rock, convincing by virtue of its sheer weirdness, marked by dissonant, hyperactive guitar strumming - kinda like an out-of-tune funky alternate reality version of The Wedding Present - complemented by crude pots-and-pans style percussion. On his newest 7", the latter gives way to an actual drum kit as well as a full band sound and as a whole this takes on a slightly less experimental, way more tangible form on the fringes of post punk, noise rock and 90s indie rock while retaining the quirky, inventive qualities of its predecessors. Melkbelly-meets-Live Skull? Nah, not quite… but not too far off either.
A flawless debut EP by a Philadelphia Duo, delivering four precision blows of a quite smart and versatile mixture located somewhere in the contemporary postcore-/noise rock-/post punk neighborhood and reminiscent of such diverse acts as Dasher, Cutie, Donors, Little Ugly Girls, Hit Bargain, Street Eaters, Xetas.
Somewhat unexpectedly on this London band's new 7", their sound takes a strong turn towards early 2010's scandinavian post punk, pretty much in between the uncompromising early Copenhagen school (Lower, Iceage, Echo People...) and way more accessible Acts like Holograms, RA. Also, Australia's Low Life might be a viable comparison. Then, on the B-Side they inject Cure's Grinding Halt with a slight hint of New Order, which also works quite admirably.
After having churned out an excellent Demo and a no less amazing EP in '16/'17, it took a while for Melbourne's Reality Group to come up with their first full length, which makes up for the long wait with a noticeably matured - although, thankfully, in no way or form sanitized - set of tunes. This album is everything you might have have hoped for from this band; a deliciously quirky frankenstein brew made up of garage-, art- and post punk you simply shoudn't miss out on if you have any affinity for shit in the vein of Pinch Points, Uranium Club, Andy Human & The Reptoids, Erik Nervous, Lithics or even earlier Teenanger.
