At first glance i wasn't quite sure if this Nashville group's newest LP isn't gonna be just a bit too mellow for my taste but eventually, the sheer strength of their Lo-Fi indie rock songcraft wins me over once again, the whole thing having the feel of a scrappy odds-and-ends collection which might just be the case. This assessment is only being reinforced by the fact that the songs appear in alphabetical order here - the tunes themselves are pure A-grade stuff though.
This Sydney group has never disappointed and neither do they on their newest top-secret EP, so secret in fact, that even the song titles shall remain a mystery for the time being. What i can tell you though is that this thing once again fucking slams - another perfect run of lo-fi power pop, garage-, fuzz- and eggpunk. Just don't tell anyone, okay?
Australian label Painscale Records delivers its strongest entry so far in a series of split cassettes. Main attraction here is clearly the longer side comprising the debut batch of Melbourne group Noise Violations, who set ablaze an irresistible barrage of catchy hooks in a slightly egg-adjacent brand of garage punk with echoes of well-renowned genre powerhouses such as Satanic Togas, R.M.F.C., Ghoulies, Booji Boys, Metal Guru, Erik Nervous or Gee Tee, to name just a few. The other side then contains the previously released 2022 EP by Granada, Spain group Sprgrs, which is well worth another listen for fans of danceable Lo-Fi punk stuff in the vein of, say, Prison Affair, Beer, Nuts, Pringue, Dee Bee Rich and Beta Maximo.
What a goddamn beauty! Paul Caporino of cult garage punk / power pop veteran project M.O.T.O. at long last has compiled a new set of beautifully fuzzy recordings in the well-worn 4-track solo fashion, kicking things off with a fuckin' Motörhead cover of all things and subsequently pulling off what must be his most high-value, hook-laden set of tunes in a long time, nothing short of a new lo-fi pop masterpiece if you ask me. Many songs have already appeard on one occasion or another but honestly, who cares really as this thing kinda plays out like an all-killer-no-filler best of from his recent decade-plus of creative output, presented in uniqe, unheard recordings.
Following up on a neat first EP from last year, this Providence, Rhode Island group's second batch of tunes is a marked refinement in pretty much every aspect, their mix of garage punk and power pop having reached a whole new level of catchyness that also wouldn't sound out of place next to shit like Sweet Reaper, Power Pants, Gee Tee, Alien Nosejob, Set-Top Box or Satanic Togas.
Britain's most awesome DIY melodic post punk / power pop group of our time has yet another digital single out and you already guessed it: It's the greatest thing in the world ever - six-and-a-half minutes of pure ecstatic bliss and by the way, what have y'all been doing all the fucking time because in a just world, these folks would be on top of everything selling out fucking arenas. Also, why the hell hasn't there been some compilation LP on Drunken Sailor or Erste Theke or Total Punk or whatever yet? It's about fucking time i'd say. Argh, everyone out there can be so goddamn useless sometimes…
This Madison, Wisconsin duo's second LP delivers more of their very own brand of moderately Devo-fied, catchy little Garage-, Post Punk and Power Pop constructs with some added Wire-esque moments. What still came across as a bit samey and overpowering on the first record has gained a lot in class and maturity on this one - not least thanks to tons more variety - calling to mind groups as diverse as Powerplant, Andy Human & The Reptoids, Nick Normal, Smirk, Deletions, Why Bother?, Isotope Soap and Erik Nervous.
The long-playing debut of this group from Marseille, France - originally self-released in 2021 and recently reissued by Lyon label Echo Canyon - is a bottomless well of outrageously catchy power pop gems brought to the next level by rock-solid songwriting chops. I'm reminded of a full wealth of contemporary household names like Tommy and the Commies, Warm Soda, Radioactivity, Mr. Teenage, Corner Boys, Bad Sports or Patsy's Rats.
Their recent split tape with Dadgad was plenty of fun already and their newest EP, marking the Roman group's (formerly known as the garage one-man-band Mustard) debut as a full band lineup, dials up the goodness to ridiculous levels with an overall vibe that you might compare to the best moments of fairly melodic garage punk acts á la Liquids, Booji Boys or Erik Nervous, with some added psychedelic/british invasion Vibe akin to, say, the Resonars in the closing track Samurai.
On this record, every new song kinda reminds me of a different bunch of groups which is great really, many of those being australian which is also rarely a bad sign! The opening track, for example contains echoes of The Estranged, Red Dons, Xetas, Civic, a touch of Saints and Birdman. True Method has the sleazy rockin' qualities of Golden Pelicans and something else i can't really put my finger on right now. Throttle has some dumb straight-ahead Feedtime energy to it and the subsequent stretch of songs then has straightforward garage punk á la Ex-Cult, Sauna Youth blending into more melodic garage and power pop shit á la Radioacticity, Bad Sports, Mind Spiders, Bed Wettin' Bad Boys. Potential to Ride shares a similar vibe with psychedelically inclined post punk acts á la Public Eye, Waste Man or Marbled Eye. Finally, the two closing tracks remind me of the simple, undiluted impact of australian powerhouses Split System, Polute, Jackson Reid Briggs and the Heaters. All of this is grounded in unfailing, confident songcraft and compacted into an incredibly tight, certified all-killer LP.
