What i said about Uranium Club's effect on garage punk a couple weeks back, similar things i can attest to this Oakland group concerning their particular (sub-)genre. Here we have a new LP by another band who, despite far from being the most prolific of acts out there, has clearly sent plenty of ripples through the post- and art punk scene of recent years. It's been over five years since their last record and surely things have kept moving since then, as evidenced by a matured sound on display here that once again presents them on the cutting edge of their own niche, considerably advancing and developing their sound and craft while still retaining all the traits that made them so special in the first place. What's already been forshadowed with their 2022 digital single Dirty Water comes into full bloom here - their songs and arrangements, while still being every bit as eleborate and angular constructions, have gained a lot in terms of elegance and melodic sensibility, their compositions always being grounded in careful and intricate songwriting craftsmanship. Songs like the brilliant first single See It Too kinda channel the most melodic and catchy aspects of '70s Wire while enriching those smartypants aesthetics with tons of human warmth and sincere emotion.

An awesome debut cassette by this group out of Athens, Geoargia, delivering a salvo of fuzzed out tunes on the intersection of hardcore- and KBD-soaked garage punk. While at times resembling the noise-laden output of groups á la Lumpy and the Dumpers, Soupcans and Black Button i think this stuff would fit equally well within the catalogs of LoFi specialist cassette labels Impotent Fetus and Deluxe Bias, having a similar shambolic energy in common with acts like Septic Yanks, C-Krit, early Electric Chair, Exxxon and Motor Corp.

Two outstanding releases rolled in this week dabbling in unapologetically oldschool aesthetics, both prevailing in their own way by fairly different means. No Brains from Utrecht, Netherlands present an uncompromisingly straightforward blend of timeless garage punk and early eighties, somewhat hardcore- and KBD-adjacent noises. I give this shit 0/10 stars for originality and 20/10 stars for sheer unrelenting force. That averages out to an actual 10/10 record, mind you. You think otherwise? That's 'cos you suck at math dude, deal with it.
Also plenty of garage action, although with more of a '77 and power pop vibe, is what we get on a brand new EP by California group The Celebrities via US garage punk bulwark Total Punk. A bit more relaxed tempo-wise but these are perfectly fun and catchy little tunes with some pronounced Dead Boys-meet-Dickies energy goin' on here, making for an exquisite sugar rush of an admittedly, at times, kinda cheesy quality which thankfully always gets countered by way an expertly crafted wall of fuzz. I give it a 11/10 for all the glitz, glamour and star power. Maths man, nothing we can do about it.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/13226318

Awesome to hear this dude's angel voice again! Just a couple weeks ago, Shogun, best known as the powerhouse front man of Royal Headache, made his triumphant return (let's not forget the neat 2018 Shogun and the Sheets 7" though) with the debut EP of Finnoguns Wake, the duo comprising of him and Finn Berzin and now, pretty much out of nowhere, there's also the debut EP by another band of his, Antenna, popping up which, of his projects so far, aligns closest to the oldschool Royal Headache vibe in terms of its song material while moving on from the rough garage sound towards a somewhat slicker aesthetic inbetween the parameters of straight-up melodic punk rock, noise- and power pop with a kinda unexpected Leatherface edge to it. Sweet!

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/13221242

Now here's some brilliant shit i've been totally unprepared for, certainly having a mind of its own and being delightfully out of touch with the zeitgeist! Sure, the whole thing feels kinda old. I'm kinda old too, so i like that. Imagine the likes of Saccharine Trust, Minutemen, Swell Maps and The Pop Group partaking in an occult ritual to conjure up an ancient '60s acid rock demon, an unholy crossbreed of psych- and math rock. This is quite terribly self-indulgent of course, but that aspect kinda comes with both of those genres, i guess. At this point i'm pretty sure you've already made up your mind about it and know if you're gonna love or hate it. In my humble opinion, what the Philadelphia group hallucinates up here is pretty fucking swell and totally should be legalized! >

Awesome to hear this dude's angel voice again! Just a couple weeks ago, Shogun, best known as the powerhouse front man of Royal Headache, made his triumphant return (let's not forget the neat 2018 Shogun and the Sheets 7" though) with the debut EP of Finnoguns Wake, the duo comprising of him and Finn Berzin and now, pretty much out of nowhere, there's also the debut EP by another band of his, Antenna, popping up which, of his projects so far, aligns closest to the oldschool Royal Headache vibe in terms of its song material while moving on from the rough garage sound towards a somewhat slicker aesthetic inbetween the parameters of straight-up melodic punk rock, noise- and power pop with a kinda unexpected Leatherface edge to it. Sweet!

Now here's some brilliant shit i've been totally unprepared for, certainly having a mind of its own and being delightfully out of touch with the zeitgeist! Sure, the whole thing feels kinda old. I'm kinda old too, so i like that. Imagine the likes of Saccharine Trust, Minutemen, Swell Maps and The Pop Group partaking in an occult ritual to conjure up an ancient '60s acid rock demon, an unholy crossbreed of psych- and math rock. This is quite terribly self-indulgent of course, but that aspect kinda comes with both of those genres, i guess. At this point i'm pretty sure you've already made up your mind about it and know if you're gonna love or hate it. In my humble opinion, what the Philadelphia group hallucinates up here is pretty fucking swell and totally should be legalized!

Excellent shit straddling the fine line between hard- and postcore with a smidge of garage thrown in is what we get on the debut EP of Winnipeg group Jug, reaching our shores courtesy of the always reliable Vancouver noise forge Neon Taste Records. Their sound encapsulates exactly the rough and unruly qualities i seek out most from these genres, at the same time sounding reasonably elaborate and well-constructed. At points, you might draw comparisons to stuff like Acrylics, Mystic Inane, Arse, Daydream, Video, Crisis Man, early Bad Breeding… plus a surprise hint of '77 New York in My Body's Doomed!

Similar things, albeit in a somwhat dumber, equally fun and delightfully primitive fashion, are then brought forth on the debut LP of Milwaukee's Innuendo which has just dropped via Unlawful Assambly and Roach Leg Records and on which they hit a sweet spot between simple and stupid oldschool hardcore energy and KBD-drenched garage insanity, ingredients that have stood the test of time being presented in a way here that still feels fresh and alive.

Another bomb has just dropped via Tetryon Tapes. The previous EP Better Homes & Gardens by the Rochester, NY group was a perfectly fun occasion already, albeit one still kinda struggling to seamlessly integrate their oldschool '70s/'80s metal elements into their overall aesthetic. This new cassette rectifies this in part by way of a rough-as-fuck Lo-Fi sound that simply fits them a lot better while their powers of song construction have undoubtedly made plenty of progress as well, resulting in an unforgiving force that skillfully imbues some of the most furious instances oldschool hardcore grime and filth with a distinct dungeon punk note.

Sublimation releases May 3rd.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/13191993

Down The Street releases March 22nd via Feel It Records.