While, for my own taste, releases by that canadian garage weirdo TJ Cabot have so far been a rather hit-or-miss affair, his newest 7" - a collaboration with synth wave artist Sonic Hz - falls squarely into the "hit" category. This high-sugar feast for your eardrums artfully combinines the best ingredients of both worlds and reminds me quite a bit of Sweden's synth punk powerhouse Isotope Soap.
Now that thing's a treat! Some group from Ciudad López Mateos, Mexico delivers a truckload of pure joy on this tape, condensed into three straightforward-as-fuck bangers made out of fuzzed-out garage- and bubblegum punk with some synth-sweetness on top, transmitting an undiluted sugar rush straight into your bloodstream.
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Another tasty foursome of catchy, quirky garage- and synthpunk blasts sees this rather mysterious australian group/project continually creeping towards devofied DIY punk perfection, solidifying their ever-rising status among their genre pool's supreme present-day überdudes.
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Brussels group Warm Exit has a new EP out and just as i suspected that thing fuckin' rules. Four new high voltage garage-/synth punk smashers somewhere in the neighborhood of Powerplant, Ausmuteants or whatever the Warttman empire is up to right now.
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Here's a holdover from last week by a single Milwaukee dude (i guess) that i first planned to omit here but on closer listening turned out to be much stronger than i initially thought. A catchy, dreamy, melancholic blend of lo-fi noise pop, organ-and-synth punk unfolds on these tapes that also radiates a good deal of oldschool Flying Nun-type psychedelia.
On their fourth Longplayer, the UK punk duo consisting of both a Red Cord and a Proto Idiot goes for an all-out synth punk sound - more stubborn and bare-bones than ever before - and it works admirably, the way they're churning out one minimalist blast of quirky bleeps and lo-fi beats after the other.
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Nice little split tape via Dirtbag Distro. Never heard of Kansas City's Foil before, but this dude's three songs on here instantly get my blood pumping with a quirky, raw and shambolic take on hardcore punk.
Silvie S on the other hand is another alias for the guy known as Billiam, who also seems to be part of Dot.com and Disco Junk, among others. From him, we get another trio of fun little ditties in his familiar style of minimalist DIY garage- and synth punk.
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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