MAXIMUM ROCKNROLL
With quirky drum machines, reverb-drenched vocals, and scratchy guitars, SPOOKY create self-described DEVO-core. I think that’s an apt description of the genre, like an even more DIY, homemade DEVO demo. Besides the obvious influence of DEVO, this tape shares a lot in common with the sounds of ALIEN NOSEJOB and GEE TEE. There’s just four […]
These Australian synth punks may have created the first treaty between the chains and the eggs with this record. Imagine the awkward handshake. You know the chains would squeeze too hard. Quirky synths zig and zag over loud punk guitars, drum machines, and gruff vocals. The shouted, reverbed hardcore vocals are what really set these […]
In just ten minutes, HUGAYZ managed to create a rollercoaster of a cassette. Their sound is hard to pin down. It’s part no wave, part post-punk, another part disco. There isn’t an instrument on this tape that isn’t quirky to an extreme. From cheesy ’80s drum machines to the squirrely synthesizers, the instrumentation gives the […]
Tight, punchy, and on-the-nose are all good descriptions of this tape. It really brings some visceral attitude. This is one that recording engineers might nerd out on. Recorded on an old Tascam four-track, this is a great example of what you can do with lo-fi recording. Using a lot of quirky drum machines and synths […]
This tape is entrenched in a childlike post-punk sound. Its angular, somewhat out of focus approach is pulsating with punk grooves. Employing toy drum machines and noisy machines, there’s an element of playful industrial music that gives this tape a really rough feel. Some tracks even dip into electronic, psychedelic sounds, like the sinister “Believe,” […]
Frantic collision of energetic scrambled egg-punk from these two bands. First up is RESEARCH REACTOR CORP., who sound like mad scientists in the middle of an experiment going terribly wrong. I like their garage-punk-meets-oscillator terror sound and their teenage basement songwriting aesthetic. This sounds like a neon poster collection and a stack of fourth generation […]
Damn, 1985 keeps coming up in my reviewer rearview, and here’s yet another perspective on that mid-decade nadir. The first of three privately-issued LPs that Jenkins released in the ’80s, Undesirable Element is a true stew of the delicious, the tangy, and the questionable. JENKINS belongs to a lineage of oddball American originals that includes MICHEAL […]
Another absolute banger of a punk record from Australia. This time a split record from two Sydney based-bands, both of which have a slightly quirkier style of post-punk that involves crusty drum machines and heavily distorted vocals. The R.M.F.C side is three short songs that speed through their runtime having an absolute blast on the […]
After their waxing of DIE ATLANTIKSCHWIMMER’s debut cassette, Static Age reissues the German group’s self-titled follow-up. Originally coming out in 1985 on the legendary Zickzack label, this Atlantic swimmer is even more streamlined than its predecessor. The water this combo wades in resists being roiled, hanging out instead in the placid end of the pool. […]
Over the last five years, there’s been no shortage of TOTAL CONTROL-type bands on the international scene. I’m here to tell you that SCHIACH is one of the finer such units. Maybe that’s because their influences stretch all the way back to the original German post-punk scene and they utilize drum machines as effectively as […]
This is by far the quirkiest punk release I’ve heard all year. A mix of styles I can only describe as bubblegum post-punk. Recorded at the legendary Tiny Telephone studios in San Francisco, the instrumentation employs freaky synths, crunchy drum machines, and wiry guitars. Overall, this is a really fun record. It’s ridiculously catchy; the […]
SPRAY PAINT is a scuzzy noise rock band from Austin, Texas, formed from members of another Austin noise band from the mid-2000s called WHEN DINOSAURS RULED THE EARTH. This is certainly the most No Wave-heavy release I have heard from either of the groups. Acoustic drums are almost completely stripped in favor of crusty, distorted […]
It has been a few years since I have heard new bands playing street punk songs like this. Five songs of driving, beer-soaked, pogo-crazed nastiness from Oklahoma City. With choruses of “I’m unemplOi!Oi!Oi!ed / I’m unemplOi!Oi!Oi!ed / I’m unemplOi!Oi!Oi!ed / Fuck you!,” I imagine that the avid MRR reader can hear this song in their […]
Not a life-altering reissue of DEATH SENTENCE’s first and only 7″, which was originally released in 1982. Hailing from the UK, sounding a bit Riot City-ish with straightforward hardcore tracks, tireless drumming, and a lot, lot, lot of chorus vocals. I bought this record because I liked the drums, which remind me a bit of […]
A lo-fi punk release dripping with the sneer and attitude to rival CRASS. Yes please! North Carolina’s ISS is back again with a short cassette that is really restoring my faith in humanity at the moment. It’s lines like “You need a face mask on / It not only helps stop the spread of communicable […]
This gave me wicked déjà vu before I dawned on me that I heard these tracks, in this order, on the rather excellent cassette EP of the same name. Oakland’s PUBLIC INTEREST, a.k.a. the solo project of Chris Natividad from MARBLED EYE, leads with lo-fi synths and electronic drums which serve the jaded and half-sung […]
Some nasty art-punk hailing from France. There’s a wild mix of styles on this LP. It partly reminds me of Ty and Denée Segall’s side project the CIA with the heavy bass, toy synthesizers, and drum machines. On the track “100 Times a Day,” they sound a lot more like a math/post-punk band, in the […]
Final round of our favorite records of 2020. Parts one and two. MITCH CARDWELL Mitch Cardwell is a record reviewer for Maximum Rocknroll. CELEBRITY HANDSHAKE — No Space/No Time LP (Eastern Prawn) Their near-constant barrage of wonderful racket has been a reliable joy, but this one stands atop the flaming pyramid. Crawl inside the butthole […]
Part two of MRR’s 2020 Year End Top Tens. Part one can be found here, with part 3 to follow next week. IRON LUNG RECORDS I’m Jensen. I spend most of my days packing boxes and making questionable decisions for Iron Lung Records, a windowless concern located inside the compound walls. Futureless, featureless, we exist. […]
Not sure precisely what music I anticipated on first seeing the name CUMGIRL8—it might be one of those questions where everyone is best off not pursuing the answer—but this eccentric, ramshackle semi-synthesised post-punk wasn’t it. They’re from NYC, and a brief read-up on them only renders them more curious: singer and bass player Lida Fox […]
So often in these annals you can sum up a review in one short blurt. Indeed, take a look at the first few dozen issues and you’ll see reviews of stone classics that are two sentences long. Tops. So is the point of a Maximum Rocknroll review in 2020 to simply tell you what “it” […]
This London group is sometimes art-gothy, sometimes pop-punky, but always energetic. It often has a similar energy as the A.K.A.S (ARE EVERYWHERE!), especially in the electro/keyboard-like noises focus, or the less ska-ey end of the SUICIDE MACHINES. “The Blurred Line Between Art and Crime” is a great track to dip your toe into. It’s a […]
The combination of driving mid-tempo drum machines, dark, dancey synth leads, and angsty human vocals really resonates with the strange realities of late capitalism and the electronic age. Minneapolis’ self-described “Queer+Trans punx making synth beats” deliver ten tracks that could definitely get a basement full of punks dancing deliriously, peppered with smart political and cultural […]
This week on MRR radio, Matt, Heather and Joan whet the sickest of punk appetites.
Intro GENOGEIST — Dread of the End Records that survived Matt’s purge DER STAB — Tracers PERTTI KURIKAN NIMIPÁ„IVÁ„T — Oma Rauha THE SKINNIES — Out of Order PRIMETIME — […]
An opening thought for all you readers going down with the ship before my final column commences in the last issue of our dear Maximum Rocknroll. I am sure that this issue will be filled with nostalgia and farewell columns, letters, articles, etc. Personally, I decided to get that out of the way last month […]
Damn, they really weren’t kidding. Programmed drums pretty much stick to the same beat the whole time, but this sounds raw and punk as fuck. Drum machines can create chaos; I don’t know why some people aren’t convinced of this. I’m hella in it when they do a more hardcore vibe, but sometimes they lose […]
“New Blood” is our weekly feature spotlighting new bands from around the world! See below for info on how to submit. Now, check out some killer new shit… Band name: HAIRCUT Date & location formed: Charlottesville, VA 2016. Reason for forming: Haircut existed with some other lineups starting in late 2015, and we finally got a solid […]
This originally ran in MRR #301/June ’08, which you can grab here Interview By Tim Scott MRR: Where/when was Straightjacket Nation born? Listening to your music it becomes quite obvious that your mother was smoking a lot of meth during her pregnancy. Emily: The band started in early 2004 as a project between me and […]
This ran in MRR #297 which came out in February 2008, you can grab it here At the very beginning, I’ll admit to having just the slightest amount of skepticism towards Thrillhouse Records’ survival prospects, especially when at their pre-opening day meeting it seemed like no one knew exactly how much to charge for sales […]
Formerly a section in MRR magazine, “New Blood” is now a regular feature here on maximumrocknroll.com spotlighting new bands from around the world! See below for info on how to submit. Now, get to discovering some killer new bands… Band name: MYSTERIOUS SKIN Date & location formed: Seattle, WA, in October 2013. Reason for forming: First bass player/everyone’s best friend Ian had […]
I knew of Saira Huff because of DETESTATION but I met first interacted with Saira when I booked her old band FAGGOT at ABC No Rio. Since then she moved from Minneapolis to NYC. While in NYC I watched her continue to be in solid fucking bands, like QUESTION, but I also got to see […]
I have had a great deal of interest in how and why bands form under extreme political environments, and so when we decided to work on a series of special features focusing on bands active under socialism in the former Yugoslavian Republic, it was the perfect opportunity for me to dig deeper, do more research […]
The ever prolific Angela Owens returns to the Monday Photo Blog with a few more retina burners to kick off your work week, or at the very least eat up a few minutes of time. A respite from the 9 to 5 drudgery you endure so you can buy some bullshit products at the end of […]
I met Matt when he was in this band THOUGHT CRIME in NYC. He was friends of friends and was a snarky punk, so we got along great! I’ve watched his career over the past couple of years and I’m glad he’s finally settled down at Troy Denning’s Invisible NYC shop in the Lower East […]
BLUE CROSS is a two-piece post punk band from Ottawa. They formed before the semi-recent goth trend and have had several releases over the past few years. I thought I’d shed some light on this mysterious band. You may know Jo mainly from GERM ATTACK or him booking your band a show the last time […]
Virtually Invisible Last week the New York Times Magazine published photographs by Pieter Hugo of foragers in Agbogbloshie, a slum in Accra, the capital of Ghana. Here human beings hunt for sellable computer components in a smoking wasteland of toxic waste and ash. The computers they’re picking through were sent as parts of foreign aid […]
By Anna Brown, from issue #319 of MRR. Punx don’t go to the gym. Everyone knows that. We skateboard, ride bikes, and walk long distances across the city at night. We dance like athletes, but you won’t find us on the treadmill or in the weight room. Because punx are not joiners, and we do […]
Smartly divided between the “guitar” side and the “machines” side, this sampler has a K-Tel greatest hits feel to it. Aside from a STEVE ALBINI spoken word track and songs by NAKED RAYGUN and the WIPERS, all of this is previously released. Still, it’s nice to have a listen to SONIC YOUTH, SCRATCH ACID, BOY […]
A good punk and thrash record with lots of zip, good lyrics, and that’s fun to listen to. But what makes these guys stand apart is that in the great tradition of the SCREAMERS and SUICIDE, they rely on synth. You’d never know it, though, as there’s no trace of wimpiness—just two hard-driving machines, drums, […]
In the tradition of early industrial punk like the NORMAL’s “TVOD,” incorporating incessant rhythms (machines), eerie vocals, and twisted subject matter.
A bit of a letdown after their first intriguing 7″. Here, only “Maladie d’Esprit” has as much subdued aggression. There’s a sinister undercurrent to DEMENTIA PRECOX, and they demonstrate that synths and drum machines can be used to intimidate rather than hypnotize, but they currently seem to be moving in an artier direction. Too bad.
This Chicago band produce an original sort of quasi-industrial sound reminiscent of early PERE UBU and DEMENTIA PRECOX. There’s all sorts of weird frills and noises that suggest hammers hitting anvils and pistons driving machines. But don’t think these guys are arty—their music has a vague punky sensibility and primal hypnotic rhythms. If depressed factory […]
