Reviews

Wap Shoo Wap

Feather You Got Problems / Stupid Girl 7″ reissue

This is some superb power pop that’s all glammed up. In fact, this will transport you directly back to 1976. The A-side actually fades out like they used to do back in the day—imagine the SWEET and the BAY CITY ROLLERS and then throw in some attitude. (In other words, heavy on the SWEET.) Honestly, I even get some little hints of the PARTRIDGE FAMILY. Holy shit, turns out this is a reissue of an older recording and this is actually from 1974 (not 1976). English. Fantastic.

Ivy Green I’m Sure We’re Gonna Make It (Wap Shoo Wap) / Pak ‘m Beet 7″

IVY GREEN was a bunch of teenage punks from the Netherlands. The A-side was written by their singer in 1972 when he was fourteen years old. He got the band together a few years later, forming one of the first Dutch punk bands. “I’m Sure We’re Gonna Make It (Wap Shoo Wap)” was originally released as a one-sided single in 1978. It’s a snarly, attitude-filled joyride. This reissue has a second side—“Pak ‘m Beet” is a wild song on 45 for the first time, and the only one the band ever sang in their native language. This is worth it for that alone, but both songs are fantastic. You need this reissue.

Killer Kin Point Blank / Mr. Dynamite 7″

It’s okay, I guess. I had a big yawn at the end of it. They have energy, I’ll give them that, but it’s all kind of weighed down by a shitty performance and overly glossy production. I’d probably be able to get more into this STOOGES-meets-MÖTORHEAD sound if it had the grit of a punk band rather than the washed-out muck it serves up. The drums and everything about it just sound weak to me. Wake me up when this boring wave of punk is over.

Black Mambas / Lost Cat split 7″

This split features two bands from L.A. that sound like something that would have appeared on one of those Voxx Records Battle of the Garages comps from the early ’80s. LOST CAT, a self-described “all femme fatale four-piece,” contributes a fuzz-forward ditty reminiscent of the PANDORAS. The expected ingredients are all present—pulled-apart-Velcro guitars, harmonica solo, shankin’ tambo, raspy smoker vocals, reverb on everything. The look, the sound…it’s all so well curated that it seems a little perfect. BLACK MAMBAS trade in the fuzz for a ’50s-inspired, vocal-driven rave-up. “Love Danger” is quite a catchy tune, but I fear it may suffer the same affliction as the LOST CAT track of being too on-the-nose.

The Covids / Nestter Donuts Banned From the USA 7″

The story behind this 7” is that the Amsterdam-based band got, well, banned from the USA at the border due to visa issues in 2023. The two members who persisted on wrote and recorded a demo in Savannah Studios which was later re-recorded with the whole band back home. The result is some anthemic punk that’s a mix of the swagger of NEW YORK DOLLS and the aggression of U.S. BOMBS.

Savage Beat Tomorrow (Might Never Come) / Used to Be a Tiger 7″

Ha, the vocals immediately remind me of Stiv Bators and the DEAD BOYS. That can’t be too bad. Snotty and growly, this is very much old school punk. The guitar work is sometimes a bit much for me, but it’s also done in that DEAD BOYS style, so that helps. From Amsterdam, if you keep track of those sorts of things.

The Covids Bust to Bits LP

Debut record from the Amsterdam four-piece the COVIDS.  From end to end, this record delivers straight-ahead poppy punk rock harmonies and power chords. Topics cover the typical: not wanting to work in a factory, forced authority, socioeconomic clash, etc. It’s standard fare with a touch of TEENAGE HEAD and some rather annoying vocals. What gleams from this quite ordinary listening experience is the production, the drumming and crunchy guitar tones in “Get Up” and “Night Tight” in particular. Sound quality becomes a slight inducement, a rarity…