Reviews

D. Gregory

Bzdet Maybe It Is Enough? cassette

A solo synth punk project out of Poland with a handful of releases already put out, BZDET offers up its first US release through the Buffalo tape label, Tetryon—this compilation includes tracks the artist has found to be the most important work of the project so far, as well as three previously unreleased tracks. The album comes out of the gate sounding like NEW ORDER meets MOLCHAT DOMA, but with twenty songs here, the sound expands and explores plenty within that synth punk umbrella. What sets this apart from other synth punk stuff is that, even if you don’t speak Polish, you can tell there is a humor and playfulness that stays bubbling just below the surface (exemplified by the closing track “I Don’t Need Viagra Boyzz,” one of two titled in English). That’s not to say these are typical egg-punk offerings, but rather that the music doesn’t come across as too polished for its own good, just Polish and good.

V/A Thesaurus, Vol. 7 2xLP

Cameleon continues to dive deep into rare and/or unreleased French tunes and share their spoils with the world. Here we’re treated to 30 such tracks from 25 different artists, all originally recorded between 1978 and 1986. As you might expect, there is a big variety to digest here, and while not every track is an absolute highlight, all are at least pretty good or interesting. The comp starts with a few straightforward punk numbers, veers into some great post-punk moments, and even throws in a live cover of the RINGS’ “I Wanna Be Free.” It feels silly to dig into specific bands and songs when there are so many on the comp, but a big standout for me was “Pay The Bill” by MOKOS—a fantastic track with tinges of power pop all over the sub-two-minute runtime. The songs seem fairly split down the middle between being sung in English and in French, which also helps keep things fresh when presented with so many tracks. Cameleon often reinforces their strength one rescued 7” at a time, but this comp serves as a pleasant reminder that they can please at length just as easily.

The Stiffs Demos and Rarities 1978–81 LP

The STIFFS were a punky power pop band out of Lancashire, England who put out a handful of damn-near-perfect singles in the late ’70s to early ’80s. As is often the case, there were a bunch of other songs from that early era that were previously unreleased, but luckily Projectile Platters have compiled those demos and rarities together and released them here on this LP. We only get a couple demos (the brilliant “Inside Out” and the lesser “Over the Balcony”), and they are pretty fleshed-out versions of the songs they would ultimately become. The big draw of this compilation, for me at least, is the 1979 radio session; in this stretch we get tight, loud, and energetic versions of “Brookside Riot Squad” and “Kids on the Street,” plus a couple others. These types of collections can often be curiosities at best, but this offering is for more than just the completists or those that are still on the hunt for an original copy of the “Standard English” single. This is an awesome snapshot in time of an early punk band in their prime, doing it better than most did or ever will.

Alien Nosejob Turns the Colour of Bad Shit LP

The prolific Jake Robertson returns once again with a new slate of fantastic songs via his ALIEN NOSEJOB project, and continues to surprise by pushing into new sounds. This time around, Turns the Colour of Bad Shit offers up ten tracks of classic punk greatness. And what is true in the macro is true in the micro, as the sounds on these tracks even find ways to change and evolve from one to the next. Kicking off with the slow yet propulsive burn of “Bird Strike,” the record then flips right into the pummeling garage punk highlight of “Trapped in Time.” Anyone who loved this year’s fantastic PACK RAT album will be more than happy to toss this record on right after; snotty lyrical delivery coupled with primitive song structures that don’t need any other add-ons to grab your attention. It’s no wonder that Turns the Colour of Bad Shit is being put out by the trifecta of Total Punk in the US, Drunken Sailor in the UK and Anti Fade in Australia.

Tuxedo Cats Fake Punk EP

TUXEDO CATS, a power punk outfit out of Brooklyn, return with their second four-song EP. With an increased velocity compared to their solid debut Out of the Bag, the tunes here on Fake Punk burn bright and burn fast. At first listen, one might think the influences here can be plucked out easily, but on multiple listens, the breadth of their taste really starts to unfold. Fans of Good Vibrations records, ’70s Belgian punk, the NEW YORK DOLLS, or simply spending an inordinate amount of time in record shops will all find plenty of satisfaction here. While all these sounds may read as all over the map, literally, TUXEDO CATS seem effortless in their ability to blend a litany of influences. And I’d be remiss not to mention “Jaguar K-11,” a scorching, one-and-a-half-minute ode to the folding knife, as one of the very best B-sides I’ve heard this entire year.

The Makebelieves Someone Threw a Tiger Out the Window LP

A re-release of the MAKEBELIEVES’ 2004 album, including a bonus track appended to the end, Someone Threw a Tiger Out the Window is twenty minutes of MC5 and STOOGES-style high-energy garage rock. As they were a Midwestern garage outfit in the early 2000s, comparisons to early WHITE STRIPES material make sense, although the urgency in these songs feel more natural than anything Jack White has carefully constructed. The vocals are a little one-note, and the band seems to only know one speed—there’s a mid-tempo track sandwiched in halfway through, but beyond that, this is fast-fast-fast, with the understanding that things could collapse at any second. While there isn’t too much variety to be found track to track, the caution-to-the-wind style that these seven tracks are played with does a pretty nice job of steadily building up tension from first note to last, and that made me want to stick around and see if they make it through to the end.

The Manikins Swedish Woods LP

Sweden and garage rock is one of those combinations that always seems to work, and Swedish Woods is another gleaming example that evinces this axiom. The MANIKINS have been churning out high-energy heat since the late ’90s, and upon listening, one may be quick to think of the HIVES, fellow Swedes who formed a few years earlier. And while they would make a great double-bill to be sure, it would probably make more sense for the MANIKINS to play the afterparty—no coordinated suits, and a late night energy that you just want to keep going, sleep be damned. There’s also a little more variety to be found throughout these twelve tracks than what you usually get from their contemporaries. Swedish Woods brings in elements of power pop (“Rosita”), as well as more straightforward rock sounds (“My Last Time,”). It’s the soulful crooning and howling vocal delivery on “I Need To Tell You,” however, that cements this album as a real standout.

Peace De Résistance Lullaby for the Debris LP

Moses Brown’s second offering as PEACE DE RÉSISTANCE is a beautiful contradiction—it is both familiar and foreign, unsettling and comforting. The sounds are immediately recognizable, calling to mind the sleazier side of ’70s New York City glam rock, but no contemporaries come to mind. The music feels nocturnal, while the lyrics are the kinds of thoughts that fill your day, working to get by for yet another month. This is all to illustrate that PEACE DE RÉSISTANCE is not easily pinned down, which is part of what makes this record so special. Brown conveys themes to the listener in such a specific and personal manner, and that skill transforms ideas that certainly are far from new territory into feelings both fresh and urgent; being alienated in your own city (“Ain’t What It Used to Be”), trying to get by in a system rigged against most of us (“40 Times the Rent,” “Pay Us More”). Lullaby for the Debris manages to take the strong foundation laid in Brown’s debut Bits and Pieces, and takes his project to new heights.

The Budget Boozers Love You, Hate You CD

Not to judge a record by its cover, but my hopes were not high after judging this record by its cover. The name, the art, self-describing themselves as “real hippie shit for the real punks,” all of it pointed to something I would skip if I came across this album at my local shop. But Love You, Hate You by the BUDGET BOOZERS is the reason that saying about judging and covers exists, I suppose. These ten tracks of glammy, bubblegum garage rock caught me by surprise, more so than perhaps any other album this year. This album rips. There is a fantastic variety of sounds to be found here, with each new tune providing something that can only be described as charming to my ears. There are great string sounds sprinkled on some tracks, tracks that rip in and out in a minute and change, reverb-soaked surf guitar, and that’s all within the A-side alone. While the album ends not with a bang but a whimper as the last two tracks fail to meet the rest of the album’s energy, I will still gladly say I was too quick to judge Love You, Hate You, and will come back to this one again and again.

Sad Eyed Beatniks Ten Brocades LP

I happened to put this record on for the first time on a Sunday morning, which worked out well as this is perfect Sunday morning music. Ten Brocades by SAD EYED BEATNIKS is a fantastic bunching of easygoing, slightly whimsical pop psych tunes that could only come out of the San Francisco area. These sunny, lo-fi tunes call to mind the past sounds of WHITE FENCE or the mellower side of the Elephant 6 collective, while also sitting perfectly side by side with a more contemporary reference in APRIL MAGAZINE (was not surprised to find there is some member overlap there). This may be a collection of songs written over the last couple years, but it still feels very cohesive in its flow with songs calmly washing over the listener from start to finish. Press play right when you wake up, and by the time you get to “Passing Melody,” you’ll be ready for its slightly more VELVET UNDERGROUND “I’m Waiting for My Man” street gallop. Great stuff.

The Ward The New Dykes / Mike, Mikey, Michael 7″

Two old tracks from a short-lived Toronto group circa 2011 released as a 7”. While the songs are over ten years old, they manage to concurrently feel fresh and timeless. These songs would be right at home on a Lookout! Records release from the ’90s, or a No Idea release twenty years after that. While having pretty different runtimes (one at less than two minutes and the other at over four minutes, respectively), both tracks are massive sing-alongs filled to the brim with hooks and energy. I’m glad Ugly Pop gave these anthems some new life by rereleasing them, and hope they find a whole bunch of new ears to appreciate.

Cry Baby Killer Double Black 13 LP

CRY BABY KILLER formed in the ’90s and finally offers their first full-length collection of songs with Double Black 13. Given the 23 tracks on display here, including “Sunday Best” and “Skull Shaking Boogie” which were previously released as a single back in 1996, one assumes this is a collection of songs rather than a singular album. Either way, this is a long run time that isn’t really meant to be ingested all at once. If you pick from the pile, there are for sure some solid sounds to be had, such as “Boystown,” which has a nice little NEW YORK DOLLS tinge to it. If rockabilly suits you, there’s at least a few tracks that dabble in that sound too, including the aforementioned “Skull Shaking Boogie.” Overall, there are some things to like here in smaller doses, but being presented with nearly 70 minutes of music is one thing that should have stayed in the ’90s.

Street Panther Muscle Rock LP

Naming your band STREET PANTHER and putting out a record called Muscle Rock lays out a pretty damn tight rope you gotta walk to pull off; fall one way and it’s all too jokey, fall another way and it’s all too coke-y. Well, not to worry, because STREET PANTHER nailed that walk with ease. These are self-aware, tongue-in-cheek rock anthems about being an aggro, fist-fighting, street boy, troublemaker heathen (and yes, those all happen to be song titles as well). This record is about the primitive urges rock’n’roll was created to convey to the masses. So drop any pretense, drape yourself in denim, turn it to eleven, and don’t forget to always “Flex hard / Keep on flexin’.”

Brezel und Anton Spielen Pisse 7″

Here, BREZEL UND ANTON offer two tracks and an answer to a question nobody asked: what would the music in a cheesy, ’60s Hollywood haunted house sound like if it were on an alien planet (where the aliens also speak German)? Oh, you have asked yourself that question? Well, you’re probably going to be excited about this. I, on the other hand, was asking when I would reach the exit of this martian house of wonders. Perhaps these two tracks would feel more effective if they were way shorter—get in, weird everyone out a bit with quick bursts of off-kilter spaghetti western synth, and get out—but at almost seven-and-a-half minutes, the experiment simply overstays its welcome.

Neutrals New Town Dream LP

NEUTRALS follow up their awesome 2022 EP Bus Stop Nights with their second full-length, New Town Dream. Picking up right where that EP left off, we’re treated to thirteen tracks filled to the brim with wonderful pop tunes in the lineage of TELEVISION PERSONALITIES, classic-era Sarah Records, and early Creation Records. All that is to say, an absolute no-brainer for the mighty Slumberland Records to have put out in the US. Throughout the record, there is plenty of variety to keep your ears tuned in and the volume set high. Tracks like “Travel Agent’s Windows” and “Substitute Teacher” detail the humdrum lives of these new town inhabitants so clearly that the mundane transcends to humor—“He was a triumph in the Scottish play / He’s only here for a day.” These details throughout the album make for a truly satisfying listen that will have you returning to check in on the new town’s population again and again.

Giuda Louder Than Action / It’s Not About the Money 7″

After roughly five years, the Italian royals of bootrock return with yet another pair of soaring anthems. The driving verses of “Louder Than Action” pull you in right away and reward you with a big chorus replete with handclaps and the group shout of “gun it!” On the flipside, “It’s Not About the Money” manages to raise the bar even further with a classic mid-tempo stomper, letting you put those boots to good use. If you haven’t been introduced to GIUDA in the last fifteen years, you can’t go wrong picking up any of their singles, but this is a perfect entry point.

River City Rebels Pop Culture Baby EP

Long-running pop punk New Englanders RIVER CITY REBELS return with a new four-track EP that’s brimming with cultural and societal critique, just as they’ve been doing since the turn of the millennium. Tracks like “Rock a Cross” and “Unless You’re White” are outward-looking indictments that could be about one specific person or a broad gesture to half the damn country. The big payoff on this record is the closing track “Abuse Myself.” Here, the critique turns inward and we are treated to a sub-90-second scorcher. Ending with the mirror flipped on themselves, RIVER CITY REBELS remind you what can happen to yourself, perhaps as a byproduct of the dumpster fires happening all around you.