Hägöl 진공 EP
Effective mix of pop and savage hardcore from this Adelaide band. Featuring distorted bass, drums, and crystal-clear keyboards, the songs are immediate ear candy while still retaining a punk edge. The band effortlessly switches from pop-leaning femme gang vocals to raw hardcore hollers, all under classic rock’n’roll keys. The lyrical themes cover inequality, nationalism, colonialism (the band makes a point that the EP was recorded on stolen Aboriginal land), and personal thoughts on homelife. The Korean-language track “Goyangi” has the line (through a translator on my part), “the best of the best is a Cuddle Sandwich Skeleton cat sleeping in my arms forever.” I can get down with that. Serious and catchy, cute not cutesy; this was a treat.