JIVESTREET REVIVAL sounds like some high school metal kids’ first band, or one of those pre-TESTORS Sonny Vincent groups. The record starts with a noise explosion. Everyone is off and not necessarily in the same direction. The singer sounds laid-back, but also bristling with attitude. There’s swagger and endless guitar noodling captured on some lo-fi recording equipment. It’s a bit too much, but also just enough. Only 100 copies. Don’t snooze.
Second release from this Berlin-based act named like a late ’90s swing troupe. This four-song EP finds them channeling a mix of In My Head BLACK FLAG and the plodding grooves of early FLIPPER. When the primary vocalist is at his loosest, it sounds an awful lot like NIRVANA at their noisiest. The most distinct track on the record, “Suck My Watts” (seriously, these folks gotta get better at naming shit!), mixes things up with a female vocalist adding a full-throated early GOSSIP-like performance to the mix. I’m not sure that it works, but it definitely made me pay attention. And that pretty much sums up this release. Each listen left me feeling like maybe these pieces don’t really fit together. Nevertheless, I found myself compelled to go back in to make sure that was still the case. So, something interesting is going on.
