Montreal group New Vogue never sounded better than on their most recent EP, whipping out infectious hooks at a dangerous pace, merging them into shiny little nuggets of garage- and synth punk with echos of Useless Eaters as well as many loosely Warttman-affiliated bands like Satanic Togas, R.M.F.C. or Set-Top Box. Nice!
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Another Geelong supergroup featuring high profile names such as Jake Robertson (Ausmuteants, Alien Nosejob, Leather Towel etc.), Billy Gardner (The Living Eyes, Cereal Killer, Ausmuteants), Mitch Campleman (The Living Eyes) and Stella Rennex (Parsnip, Bananagun). Sound-wise, this doesn't stray too far from the established Ausmuteants formula and i'm totally okay with that. Not the most original thing i've ever heard but a fun and thrilling ride nonetheless, from start to finish.
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Quality stuff from Goodbye Boozy Records, as usual. Liquid Face is a project of Cal Donald, who also plays in Draggs, although what we get to hear on this 7" is even a bit quirkier than anything Draggs have ever done. Synth-/garage punk somewhat reminiscent of C57BL/6, Stalins of Sound, Puff! or anything Cruz Somers has unleashed upon us (S.B.F., Race Car, etc…). In regard to the australian scene specifically, this wouldn't feel out of place alongside the Warttman Inc. catalog either.
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Don't know how i didn't ever stumble upon this San Francisco dude's output before earlier this year, when Modern Needs released a certain killer tape called Survey of the Animal Kingdom. Well, what's more important is that he's got a new album out already and just as expected, it once again delivers loads of stupid fun made up of some oldschool US west coast shit, timeless garage punk and plenty of KBD-style weirdness. Of the current generation you might think of Launcher, Liquid Assets, Freakees, Fried E/M… or of older artifacts by The Mentally Ill, Noxious Fumes. Also this time, the generous use of Synths creates an undeniable Ausmuteants feel.
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Another solid EP by Melbourne's Moth, this time coming across a bit less synth-heavy than on their last one. Once again this takes some cues from familiar garage punk acts like Useless Eaters, Ex-Cult, Ausmuteants and early Teenanger, as well as some of the Warttman Inc.-affiliated groups like Research Reactor Corp., Set-Top Box. Also, in Digital Crisis, their sound takes an unexpected turn towards dark post punk of the Exit Group, Diät, Rank/Xerox variety.
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Two years after their promising, though at times somewhat undercooked debut LP, we get to hear a way more consistent sophomore effort by this Auckland, New Zeeland trio. Their rather abstract yet always catchy compositions somewhere on the fringes of Post Punk and Noise Rock - plus a hint of Industrial - at several points remind me of Acts like Girls In Synthesis, Haunted Horses, Ice Balloons or Tunic - with a small dose of Lightning Bolt sprinkled in for good measure.
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Some Los Angeles group consisting of a truly all-star garage lineup delivers a pleasantly quirky mix of garage-, post- and synth punk, sometimes coming across like a crossbreed of Nots and Pow!, or like Primitive Calculators-meet-Useless Eaters in other moments.
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Another release courtesy of Satan. Thanx a lot Satan, we're all big fans of your work over here at 12XU. The newest longplayer on Sydney's exquisite Warttman Label along with italian powerhouse Goodbye Boozy amazes with another fun, fast-paced twenty minutes of oddball garage- and synth punk that has quite a lot in common with other Warttman acts á la Research Reactor Corp., Dot.com, Set-Top Box. Other than that, comparisons to early Useless Eaters or Ausmuteants don't seem too far fetched either.
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Well… i like to discourage folks from mailing me physical copies of stuff for good reason, since in most cases all this amounts to is a tremendous waste of money and natural resources while digital files are way easier to dispose of. However, these seven inches of black PVC arriving at my doorstep from a duo based not that far away from… said doorstep, has quite a bit of unexpected class - propulsive synth punk in a manner you might currently associate with the likes of Le Prince Harry, Clarko, Powerplant or R. Clown, while those english lyrics straight from the Klaus Meine bargain bin just add to its kinda cute & campy DIY charme.
I tried hard to dismiss this Orlando, Florida project as just another cookie cutter DIY synth punk/-garage artifact of our times… with the first EP that was. The second one was able to sow some mistrust in my own judgement. Number three finally served as a reminder on how full of runny shit my dysfunctional lump of grey matter can be sometimes - so bad i wish someone would transplant an anus onto my head. Evolution, you're such a terrible disappointment… These twelve songs are an incredibly fun synth punk ride overall, the kinda pop oriented variety, just getting progressively better with each new EP. Take a juicy bite if you can stand stuff like Trashdog, Warm Exit, Dot.com, Set Top Box, Power Plant, T.L.B.M., Spyroids.
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