Reviews

Human Worth

Fashion Tips I Wish You Every Success LP

FASHION TIPS, from Newcastle (England, not Australia), released a lush debut tape in 2023 on which they more or less single-handedly revived early 2000s white belt sasscore, but in their own weird and indeed queer image. On this longer eight-song follow-up, they’ve changed that up again, spinning off in a few different directions—so not only is there more electronic danceability, with all-programmed beats and ADULT. coming to mind on “Quelle Surprise,” for example, there are also heavier, sludgier bass lines courtesy of Liam Slack. “Lunched Out,” from the 2023 tape, gets a do-over here, and makes as big a splash as the first time, with Esme Newman’s lyrics a rush of intriguing imagery. I saw FASHION TIPS play live in a cinema a few weeks ago and people were quick to shake their stuff in the aisles. Rightly so!

The Eurosuite Sorry LP

It’s not an easy feat to create music that is both shimmeringly beautiful and unnervingly chaotic, but the EUROSUITE does just that on Sorry. Culling from post-punk, post-hardcore, glitched-out electronics, and noise rock, these ten tracks never linger in one moment too long, carefully layering a collage out of punk’s fringes. Opener “I Thought Your Hand Was a Cup of Water” begins with feedback, disembodied vocals, and synth, then charges into DIÄT-style Berliner ice-punk two minutes in. “B.O.D.Y.” turns snare rolls into electro-glitch malfunctions with screamed vocals placed on top—think SWING KIDS meets early LIARS meets MOUSE ON MARS. Most impressive are the gorgeous swirls of distortion that couple with punishing noise rock on songs like “Pull Back.” Thick, vacuum cleaner guitar churns against sputtered and shrieked vocals like Kevin Shields playing with MCLUSKY. If you hear a beat, it will eventually syncopate, a note will stretch and compound into a synth flutter, bass will decay into uneasy synth squelches. Such is the nature of Sorry, a punk record that experiments and frequently finds greatness in its meticulous chaos.