Above-average Aussie rock’n’roll, fast and energetic. The B-side, an instrumental ode to the rubber-suited star of the movie Basket Case, wins this month’s award for the best screams on vinyl.
Pleasant Aussie power pop. The B-side is forgettable, but the A-side is much better than expected, owing to some rough edges left in the mix and some catchy hooks. It’s not as strong as some of their earlier stuff, but it’s a good tune anyway.
While the A-side is a bit too poppish for me, the B is a bit punchier beat-wise. The pop aspects crop up here, too, and at their worst remind me of the BOOMTOWN RATS. Too cute.
Mix that trademark Aussie rock sound with a dose of the Liverpool pop sound (TEARDROP EXPLODES), and you end up with a very accessible, textured sound which boasts a real distinctiveness. Good on melody, but doesn’t really connect with any discernible punch.
Drawing influences from ’60s punk, early Aussie punk, and early proto-punk (DMZ, RAMONES), this band manages to rock out pretty good. They have a slightly more up-to-date sound than many “neo” bands, but lyrically they’re still in the past.
Missed reviewing this a few months ago, so I wanna make up for lost time by saying that this band plays wonderful pop-punk in the tradition of the RAMONES or LURKERS. Get everything they’ve put out.
Great, punchy, high-energy English ’77-punk with hooks that even a depressed Jeff Bale could lay into. With a vocalist who sounds like a wide-awake IGGY POP and wonderful power-punk songs, this is the band to watch for. Good stuff.
I can understand why these guys are anti-labels, coz their music somewhat defies categorization. There are elements of punk, ’60s, metal, and rock thrown into the blender and out comes a heavy beat with big production. They rock, but both tracks are somewhat hard to settle into. Jello says he likes this a lot.
On the B-side, MASSAPPEAL show some real talent at crazed, frenetic HC in the DISORDER vein, with the rockish edges showing. The flip is a bit repetitive, but this is by and large a solid effort.
Definitely hardfuckingcore. Fast, slow, hard, gnarly, unrelenting, pounding…you get the idea. First rate in the genre.
This has a really full and smooth feel to it, just like some of the music released in England around ’78-’79. The vocalist manages to sound a little like GRAHAM PARKER while the band churns out a sleepy, dreamy sound similar to the tunes by the HOODOO GURUS.
Rather like fellow Aussies LIME SPIDERS, this outfit opts for that rockin’ power on the A-side, while the ballad on the flip is slower and more “soulful.” Fragile hooks and a lack of real crunch put this one in the second rank.
Noisy Australian guitar-oriented pop, kind of like a punchier JESUS AND MARY CHAIN. What saves this 12” from predictability is the unexpected sick humor in the midst of the pop tunes. “She’s Gone” is a plaintive lament about a dead cat, and “Car Crash” with the immortal line “Sorry about the car crash / I hope you don’t mind / We’ve killed your family and loved ones… hope you’ve got insurance” is notable for its catchy tune and hilariously deadpan vocals.
This Aussie ensemble concentrates on catchy songs, all done in a variant of the Mersey style with a slight rockabilly edge. There’s a lot of bouncy poppish fun on this album, though a harder guitar edge would have made it perfect. Pretty good.
They list DESCENDENTS, RAMONES, DEAD BOYS, MOTORHEAD, and early SAINTS as their main influences, but these two songs here lean more on speedmetal and MOTORHEAD than on the more melodic punk genre. Decent, but nowhere with lyrics.
Instead of the wild trashiness, this band has a murky, melodic charm to them very similar to SALEM 66 or even the GO-BETWEENS. The flip moves more towards a psychedelic nature, but more in the area of, say…DONOVAN? Not too shabby.
Despite the RAMONES influences in the title, these tunes are much more on the pop side of R’n’R. Which is not to say that the music is poor, but power-pop is not what I was expecting. OK for what it is.
In the LIME SPIDERS school of rockin’ Aussie punk, EASTERN DARK shows an added element of accessibility and real consistency in songwriting on this one. “I Don’t Need the Reasons” has especially memorable hooks and strong guitars. Top notch!
Still more rock’n’roll fun with Australia’s irrepressible goofball punkers. Both sides pummel in the fast, snotty punk vein; while the hooks are kept way in the back, the energy and speed here almost compensate for it. “Ferdi’s Song” has some good choruses. Pretty good.
Their debut U.S. album, which includes all the tracks on the Aussie 12″ as well as the “Girl in the Sweater” 45. Fans of pop-punk should snap this baby up!
After several 7″s, we get eight songs together finally. HARD-ONS combine punk, HC, metal, and 70’s rock and roll into a hard-driving, energetic blend with geeky lyrics.
Decent blues based pop with okay guitar sound and pounding beat, but with lamentably lame romantic lyrics.
Rockin’ ’60s garage-grunge in the PANDORAS vein. A competent example of the genre with some satisfying vocal yowls.
A sampler from this mainly pop label. HAPPY HATE ME NOTS live up to that standard, EASTERN DARK clocks in with some cool psych noise, ITCHY ART come off with a driving dirge entitled “Attempting to Give Your Name to a Policeman While Tripping,” and TACTICS do a live folky punk ditty.
This label really puts out the material these days, and most of the bands here have their own separate new release as well. Included are HARD-ONS, VULTEES, MASSAPPEAL, SPUNK BUBBLES, HEADSTONES, and a number of others. Good effort.
One of my favorite young, unknown Australian bands. They have the same kick and drive of a group like the HARD-ONS but they’re not as goofy. More somber in the style of the GUN CLUB or DREAM SYNDICATE.
A prime example of hard-driving, snot-nosed, heavy-on-the-melody Australian garage bands. Truly a great debut—starting from the FLAMIN’ GROOVIES sing-a-long style to the tough-edged guitar sound. This group needs an album, now.
