Another Tunic record, another veritable kick in the teeth. After their recent compilation LP Exhaling, collecting their previous singles & EPs, their second "real" album pretty much continues where they left off with those, while only very cautiously expanding their sonic vocabulary. At times this can feel a bit repetitive to the point where you catch yourself wondering: "Haven't i already heard that song just a minute ago?" That's a minor nitpick though. As long as these dudes continue to wield their noisemaking powertools with such determination and raw, overwhelming force, that's more than enough for me.
This melbourne group's debut EP delivers five versatile high-energy blows, shapeshifting their way somewhere around the fringes of the extended hard-/post-/noisecore multiverse, their relentless yet sophisticated attack calling to mind the likes of Dollhouse, Cement Shoes or Vexx.
The London postcore/noise rock duo once again convinces by way of sheer force coupled with unerring precision, every single detonation on their second LP using a rather minimalistic recipe in the most focused way possible to achieve maximum damage. Don't miss this spectacle if groups like Tunic, Death Pedals, USA Nails or Metz are your thing.
In my bumbling quest to get some at least some shit done, here are three posts worth of recent hardcore punk standouts rolled into one. First there are five bursts of rather quirky, unconventional noisemaking courtesey of Chicago's Deodorant, who had already released a fun little album via Not Normal Tapes in 2018. On their newest EP, they cover a lot of ground ranging from oldschool hard-/postcore weirdos like Saccharine Trust, Beefeater, Really Red or early Minutemen, to more recent groups á la Optic Nerve and Mystic Inane, rounded out by a few subtle cowpunk vibes like in King Samo. If all of that shit's way to smartypants artsy for that tiny brain of yours to handle, you might prefer the way more straightforward ruckus of slightly garage-infused no-frills oldschool mayhem as presented by Dye of Kansas City. But then again, in case that sounds like way too much fun and you prefer a bit more death, despair and insanity in your punk rock, we've got you covered too in the form of Dallas group Urn's latest EP whose relentless attack comes off about as dark and muddy as a pot of stale burnt coffee… disgusting and vitalizing at the same same time.
Following their 2018 album Hunk, which somehow didn't really click with me, the Reno, Nevada group's newest EP manages to hit all the right spots this time while never repeating itself, covering a sonic range spanning from oldschool AmRep- and Touch & Go-style noise rock, hardcore punk reminiscent of early Die Kreuzen and in its closing track, some Drive Like Jehu-esque Postcore.
The Sydney group's latest EP seamlessly builds upon the awesomeness of their 2019 debut, setting off a perfect storm of post punk/-core that appears to draw just as much inspiration from the more odd corners of the 80's scene like Saccharine Trust, Really Red or Man Sized Action as it does from the folk- and cowpunk of Angst, with some undeniable Hot Snakes momentum on top.
Phew… this thing must've been mixed/mastered by a deaf person. I'm pretty much used to all kinds of sonic extremes by now but this must be the first time ever that i can't bear listening to a thing without at least applying some heavy EQ. Maybe the actual cassette release is less painful to listen to though…
Otherwise this thing kicks butt with unerring precision. Don't know how i managed to overlook this so far but somehow stupid me needed another reminder in the form of a (digital only?) reissue on Goodbye Boozy to finally notice its qualities. These texans play some pretty wild and unpredictable amalgamation of post- and garage punk, noise rock and postcore which you might, at different points, compare to groups like Patti, Cutie, Rolex, Mystic Inane or Brandy.
Pretty awesome noisecore shit is flushing out the ear canals on this debut EP by a group with members strewn all across Berlin, Leipzig and Bonn. This certainly has some touches of Acrylics, Vulture Shit, Soupcans and Stinkhole… or maybe of an alternate universe incarnation of No Trend, Flipper and Broken Talent played at triple speed.
Whoa, what an excellent debut EP by a Memphis, Tennessee group! The opener plays out kinda like Drive Like Jehu or Hot Snakes in creative overdrive mode, also being somewhat reminiscent of contemporary bands like Meat Wave, Mystic Inane, Tunic or Wymyns Prysyn. Next they change gear entirely and come up with a mid-tempo post punk tune in which a pulsing beat collides with some serious Flying Nun-style psychedelia and a certain Sauna Youth vibe. The latter also permeates the subsequent two garage punk smashers with echoes of Ex-Cult, early Teenanger or Dumb Punts, gradually shapeshifting into more of a post punk and indie rock style not unlike Gotobeds, Sleepies or B-Boys, which in the closing track once again morphs into kind of a Swervedriver-esque slow jam. There's not a single weak spot to be found on this record!
As a counterbalance to my last post, here's kind of a musical shitpost created by some seattle dude who also happened to play in one or the other local legend you might have heard of. A fourteen-act rock opera of 7"-sized proportions that kinda plays out like an odd fusion of 80's Nomeansno, early Minutemen and Saccharine Trust… chances are i'm already overthinking this though.
