Examplehead Aheadofstyle LP
A dressed-up KILLING JOKE? Poppish, driving rhythms with a basic pop-punk mood. Lots of hooks, but the relatively unchanging medium tempo does leave you wandering at times.
MAXIMUM ROCKNROLL
A dressed-up KILLING JOKE? Poppish, driving rhythms with a basic pop-punk mood. Lots of hooks, but the relatively unchanging medium tempo does leave you wandering at times.
Noisy meets early CURE here for three grinding tunes. Lots of guitar from this three-piece on all three tracks, including a slide sound.
Mix GUN CLUB, BUTTHOLES, and THE WALL, and you get a pretty cool down and dirty bastard blues/punk mix that is modern as hell and timeless at the same time. Excellent.
Reworkings of their songs off the Why March When You Can Riot?! comp LP. The A-side rages, a powerful fast punk tune, while the flip is a mid-slow tempo tune with a sax that failed to move me.
The guitarist from GRONG GRONG has a new outlet for his noise, a crypto-blues outfit. I found it pretty monotonous and uninspirational, but I know that people who go in for Down Under rantings will like it.
Good rockin’ punk with a slight RAMONES inflection and more serious lyrics. Not a lot of power, but the melody and catchy delivery make up for that. Decent.
This posthumous live recording of the KELPIES, a Sydney punk/rock outfit, shows real songwriting quality and makes me hungry for more. The inventive guitarwork recalls CHELSEA, and the tunes are subtly crafted pop-punk. Sound quality is respectable; this one definitely grows on you. Recommended.
The female vocals here recall a mid-period SIOUXSIE, but not overtly, while the instrumental sound falls into that flanged British post-punk approach popularized by VIRGIN PRUNES et al. This is a good example of the genre, but by no means special.
Very blatantly SIOUXSIE influenced material and sound. Well done for what it is, and will appear to fans of pop, wave, early punk, mood music, etc.
This limited-edition album from Sydney, Australia features seven bands (POSITIVE HATRED, VELLOCETTE, the KELPIES, QUEEN ANNE’S REVENGE, BOX OF FISH, WHAT?, and WORLD WAR XXIV) that push forth a certain energy, but swirls with that so-labeled ’77 sound. Raw and still humming with harmonies and chaotic knockabouts. WORLD WAR XXIV produces the standout tracks, with their raunchy vocals laced with heart-pumping aggression, spun into sing-along “skunk” chanters. For the connoisseur and collector!
The second Sydney compilation from that hard-working Bruce Griffiths (Trousers in Action zine), and it’s full of good material. While there is only one semi-thrasher (VIGIL-ANTI), there’s lots of garagy stuff (ROCKS, WRONG KIND OF STONE AGE) and other classic punk styles performed by SUICIDE SQUAD, EXSERTS, HAPPY HATE ME NOTS. But the most zapping tracks belong to ITCHY RATS, who’ll really grow on you. Super book-type cover, too.
A four-band, four-song sampler from the Australian zine of the same name (comes with issue #14). Most all of the groups (POSITIVE HATRED, SUICIDE SQUAD, BOX OF FISH, and VIGIL-ANTI) play slow punk/post-punk with rhythmic appeal and rawish yet clean guitar sounds. Good idea.
An unusually well-documented comp that comes with a fold-open glossy cover that becomes a history of the many bands involved, lyric sheet, a family tree of bands, and poster collection. Bands include X, BEDSPREADS, JOHNNY DOLE AND THE SCABS, HARD-ONS, FEEDTIME (great!!), BEGGARS COURT, XL CAPRIS, and LOCAL PRODUCT. And, oh yes, the music is great. Hot job, Bruce!
This is a special limited-edition four-song EP that comes with the latest issue of Trousers In Action fanzine. The fanzine is good for the low-down on the Australian underground—a little more punk than what you would read in B-Side. This EP features a gritty punk tune by CHAOS, a sheer fun noise-fest by FEEDTIME, a quirky track by EXAMPLEHEAD, and a great BUZZCOCKS-like song by TOYS WENT BERZERK.
All 16 tracks were recorded from ’83-’85 and have finally made their way to vinyl. The music is hyper-melodic thrash that has the same roots as UK’s STUPIDS. A mixed bag of happy, silly, and serious lyrics only add to this record’s potential, making this a high energy surprise.
