Reviews

Sweet Time

Fen Fen National Threat LP

In a move similar to acts like INSANE URGE or the SCHIZOS, Detroit’s FEN FEN have decided to scrub most of the garage punk gunk out of their sound, opting instead to play their hardcore straight. And it was absolutely the right move—this record rips! They’re not doing anything here that you haven’t heard before; this is essentially Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables/Adolescents/Wild in the Streets worship with some beefier guitar timbres, but it’s extremely well-played and the production is just so crisp and immediate. I think what really sells this one for me is the vocal performance. My dude’s really going for it! It ends up sounding like Jello Biafra dialed back to non-cartoony levels mixed with—and I’m sure I’m going to lose everybody on this point of comparison—NAPOLEON XIV (the teetering-on-the-brink-ness of it all and the quickening cadence really gives me “They’re Coming to Take Me Away” vibes). I love it. Also, as residents of the Motor City, they’re apparently required to NUGE it up every so often—listen out for the excellently out-of-character hard rock guitar solo that wraps up “Nothing to Say.” My one complaint is that this LP has about five more songs on it than I (and I imagine most punks in the 2020s) have the attention span for. But otherwise, yeah, killer shit!

Gee Tee Live N’ Dangerous II 12″

Single-sided 12″ with nine tracks recorded live at Future TechLabs (I think just one of these dude’s apartments) for the 2020 Gonerfest live stream. GEE TEE, despite only being around for the past four or five years, feel like elder statesmen of the Sydney egg/garage punk scene (which also includes SET-TOP BOX, SATANIC TOGAS, RESEARCH REACTOR CORP., etc., projects that have shared members with GEE TEE). And you’re getting their hits here. The recording is a little hotter, faster, and looser than a typical GEE TEE release, with the vocals a little buried in the mix, specifically behind the synth (seemingly set on “clavioline”), which is pushed right up to the front. So, yeah, it sounds live. If you’re a big fan of these guys (I am), you’ve likely already grabbed this (I have). If you’re not or you are on the fence, you’ve probably already missed out on the physical release, and that’s fine. But it’s worth a listen, particularly if you’ve always wished these guys sounded a little more like DEL SHANNON.

Kiss Boom Bah Out of Our Tree / Marilyn A-Go-Go 7″

If you’re a fan of catchy garage rock delivered with a healthy dose of organ, start lining up. I don’t think I’ve ever heard the term “out of our tree,” but I’m going to start using it with regularity. I find a lot of garage rock walks this fine line of being a little kitschy, but also really well done. I couldn’t tell you this is an exception. Both cuts are excellent, with the B-side instrumental picking up the pace to a point where you’ll find yourself not crazed, but definitely bouncing off the walls in a state of euphoria. Maybe that means just short of crazed. Fucking excellent.

Lousy Sue Artless Artifacts LP

Not that long ago, I wanted to get out of the house to write some reviews, so I headed to one of Indianapolis’s many millennial-ass coffee shops. It was a nice day, so I’d picked one that I knew had lots of outdoor seating. Only when I got there, I found that they were hosting some sort of crafts market. The outdoor seating I was counting on had been pushed aside to make a space for bands to play to the people shopping for artisanal soap or whatever. Not ideal! But the middle-aged folks who were setting up when I arrived looked vaguely punk, so I decided to stick around for a minute and see what they were about. They played inoffensive garage punk—a mix of originals that were solid enough and a tasteful selection of non-obvious covers. It was actually kinda good, and I found myself really enjoying it. Enough to remember the name of the band that was playing or what any of the members looked like? Apparently not! But they may as well have been LOUSY SUE, an Indianapolis-based garage punk act that I’d never heard of until now. This LP, their second release after a 2019 EP, is fifteen tracks—fourteen originals and one BUCK BILOXI cover(!)—of straightforward garage punk. It primarily sounds like one of the less memorable Rip Off Records acts with access to better recording equipment, but you’ll also hear some interesting influences bleeding in, like LAMPS, OBLIVIANS, or maybe CARBONAS. It’s pretty good!

Model Zero Little Crystal / Leather Trap 7″

Two perfect, catchy songs from this great Memphis band. “Little Crystal” is a psychedelic garage dance tune with electronic flourishes. “Leather Trap” is a rocker that blasts out from the first note, yet still has a similar wild psych-y style. I am dancing from room to room. I just can’t get enough. I love this.

Moron’s Morons High-Tension Situation LP

Leopard-clad rock’n’roll garage action outta Warsaw, Poland, and that’s pretty cool in itself. Really nothing mind-blowing, but hard and steady sorta like a non-stop “Pushin’ Too Hard”/ “Search And Destroy”/”Slow Death”/”Sonic Reducer” medley wrapped up in brothel creepers. They do a nice T.S.O.L. cover and the singer has a great Dave Vanian-meets-SCREAMING LORD SUTCH voice. I’ll probably never listen to this again, but it’s a real good time for now. Dzięki.

Research Reactor Corp. Live! at Future Techlabs LP

This album is taken from a December 2020 live stream. It is a frantic, heart-racing performance of skronky, blitzed-out keyboard punk. SCREAMERS worship on full alert. The set list features a bunch of songs from their cassettes (also compiled on the excellent LP from last year, The Collected Findings of the Research Reactor Corporation). Wildly fun. I wish I was there.

Schizos Schizos LP

This Nashville band has been on my To Listen To list for awhile and thanks to the Supreme Gods of Punk at MRR, I’m enjoying this hot piece of teen angst in this comfort of my isolation cell. Pissed off, blown out to hell and over in minutes. Just how I like it. Think “Blowjobs” by GG AND THE SCUMFUCS but angrier and faster, this kicks off with the 2:17 minute magnum opus “Driller” and proceeds to burrow a happy hole from your skull to your spine. “ATF,” “BAR”, “Juice Is Loose”…minutes feel like seconds until this rectal lobotomy leaves you a warm puddle of soil and blood. The last thumps of “Banned In Birmingham” blows my system. Fuuuck. It’s young, it’s bratty, and it’s annoying as all fuckall. I love them. I hate them. I want to be them. SICK THOUGHTS, early OBLIVIANS…blah, blah. Buy it. Take it to the grave.

Schizos Come Back With a Warrant EP

SCHIZOS return faster and meaner and less like a JAY REATARD ripoff and more like the CANDY SNATCHERS at their most drugged and dangerous. The whole packaging is a parody/tribute to LYNYRD SKYNYRD’s first and best, down to the cigarette pack poster. I know everyone at MRR digs SKYNYRD as much as I do, so look out for this to make some year-end top tens. SCHIZOS continue their knack for song title mastery with “I’m Always First” followed by “Gross” followed by “Ugly.” Genius! Each song gets better, culminating in the title track which is like the best, punkest, meanest version of “Gimme Back My Bullets” you’ve never heard. Cheers, broken bottles and trashed halls await. It’s past my curfew.

Stef + The Sleeveens Give My Regards to the Dancing Girls / Small Talk with Jonathan 7″

This is an interesting one to describe. It’s almost like a cut from the ’80s, when new wave and punk had a lot of blurry lines going on. It’s catchy and it’s a little moody and it’s kind of pretty, but it’s also definitely rock’n’roll. And I say “new wave,” but I’m not hearing any of the electronic instruments you’d traditionally associate with new wave. At times, it’s got a little bit of an early U2 feel. Definitely very catchy. Both cuts mention the “chip shop.” Ha, it’s a theme. I really do like this one.

The Battlebeats Meet Your Maker LP

A one-man garage rock tour de force from Bandung, Indonesia, Andresa Nugraha has been putting out records under the BATTLEBEATS moniker since 2019. His last full-length was the pre-pandemic album Search and Destroy. which was released by Alien Snatch. There is the speed and precision of TEENGENERATE with the power of GUITAR WOLF throughout the dozen tracks here. Lyrically, there’s the humor, wit, and self-awareness of some of Paul Caporino’s best work with M.O.T.O. With all of this, Nugraha has created his own sound and style which keeps evolving and improving with every release.

Timmy’s Organism Lone Lizard LP

I never much got into TIMMY’S ORGANISM, and not for any good reason. I listened to Timmy Vulgar’s other combos EPILEPTIX and CLONE DEFECTS, but kinda drifted off about the time the whole Horizontal Action zine scene was no longer. Well, seven albums and a zillion singles later, I’m rocking this pretty hard. The description of the STOOGES meets HAWKWIND is one I can’t really argue with, though I’d put a little BLUE ÖYSTER CULT and GRAND FUNK in there as well. Purely a ham-fisted, Midwest sci-fi wah-wah experience like only Michigan can provide. It’s a little long, but really, this should be a big gatefold LP complete with a dayglo poster for your bedroom wall. Catch them when they play your town or don’t, as I think Mr. Vulgar is gonna be at it for longer than his hearing lasts.

V/A Sweet Time RNR Comp 2xLP

This compilation double-LP was put together by Nashville-based Sweet Time Records after their annual Sweet By Sweet Time Festival was cancelled last year due to COVID. Label boss Ryan Sweeney complied 26 tracks on vinyl including local Nashville bands like SCHIZOS, MODERN CONVENIENCE, and SNOOPER, with outside standout tracks from PERSONALITY CULT, MIDNITE SNAXXX, ZOIDS, SICK BAGS, FRESH GRAVES, a great garage rocker from Johnny Otis Dávila of the defunct San Juan band DÁVILA 666, plus a ton more. It’s like an anthology for the syntho-weirdo-punko-garage scene. Also, all proceeds are going to support the venues that lost money from the festival cancellation.

WWW Live From Del Valle Estadio EP

Four songs of Argentinian egg-punk, recorded live in the studio with crowd applause added for effect. I would’ve never known this was a live recording were it not advertised as such. The sound quality is excellent, as is the performance—WWW is tighter than a hipster’s refrigerated skinny jeans. Everything is really locked-in, from the precise staccato drumming, to the clean, jangly guitar. Unlike some of their contemporaries, WWW doesn’t rely too heavily on effects, and I believe that is part of what makes their delivery so crisp and snappy. There’s just enough atmosphere around the synth to give the vocals something to counterbalance. The songs are catchy and over before you know it, warranting multiple back-to-back listens. Leaning more towards garage punk than new wave, WWW lands somewhere between PRISON AFFAIR and REAL PEOPLE. Another solid release from Sweet Time Records.