Reviews

XTRO

Bzdet Daleko Od Ok cassette

BZDET from Poland has been releasing churning, well-produced post-punk and coldwave for some time, and this tape is no exception. Trebly, bouncing bass lines and syncopated drums hold down the low end while repetitive guitar and synth lines tangle together like knotted up shoelaces under the echoed vocals. It’s all very cool, temperature-wise, and sounds like an artifact from early ’80s Eastern Europe in the best way. Songs like “Do Yarga” and “Boli” find a minimal groove instantly and ride it out until a fade out a few minutes later. It’s effective mood music, as long as your mood is a little gloomy.

Dezinformacije Pijesak u Oči cassette

Croatian egg-punk via the Fort Myers, Florida-based Xtro label. This is six tracks of high-energy, all-gas-no-brakes, synth-laden freakouts, a twelve-minute sugar rush after-hours. The short runtime plays to the band’s favor here; much longer and a cavity might set in from just too much of everything. It’s fitting that the last track translates to “Electric Orgasm,” because that really seems to illustrate what is happening here. The build-up is fast, the pace is almost unsustainable, and the result is an explosion of synth, guitars, and wails all over the place.

Dope Sweater ’20–’21 Singles cassette

The long-running, self-proclaimed “Indiana garage punk kings” return with an unorthodox release. Recorded during the height of COVID isolation, the three members of this band recorded their own parts alone and sent files to one another to create what we have before us. Six songs which span a lot of ground stylistically—personally, I much prefer the dingy garage/JAY REATARD-inspired tunes to the somewhat more meandering, long psychedelic jams, but on a whole, this is a cool release with some damn good songs and an interesting tale. Physical copies limited to 25.

Glands Generic Waste cassette

Two-piece hardcore punk outfit from Rome. The songs are as ripping as the mastermind behind the project is self-deprecating. An absolutely relentless barrage of feedback amidst the four catchy songs. From what I can gather, this is a solo recording project with a drummer who also does the engineering of the recordings. Very cool. Not sure if GLANDS is a live project, but if you ask me, it sure should be.

Groind Keep It Clean cassette

Applying gnarly affectations over a solid rock’n’roll core, Oxnard’s GROIND serves us an agreeable mash-up of styles on their debut tape, the sound of which is certainly more user-friendly than the hodgepodge of the words “groin” and “grind” that they’ve chosen as a moniker. Though nasty in their distorted execution, these seven tunes are really old-fashioned head-bobbers armed with some soulful guitar. They even dip into ’50s-style balladeering on the closing “Status Quo,” and overall, it’s a solid introduction to the group that’s worth checking out.

Jean Mignon AN/AL cassette

Eh, it’s okay. The production is pretty good and the guitarwork isn’t bad, but it’s just very plain to me. It just sounds like every egg-punk/garage-y punk release from the last decade. I guess maybe it’s just the vocals that rub me the wrong way, because they aren’t very pleasant either. Another one I really thought I was going to like. A little too tongue-in-cheek for its own good. Sounds almost like HASIL ADKINS if he fronted GENERATION X.

Cindy7 / Jimsobbins split cassette

The two bands featured on this split appear to be intermingled, as writing credits for all of the songs are attributed to “Adam + Lucy.” JIMSOBBINS kick things off with a synth-driven garage punk sound that hews closely to the egg-tastic racket being produced by Aussie heroes GEE TEE. Their four tracks are fun, frenetic, and well-executed. CINDY7 is not as easy to pin down. Freewheeling and unmoored, they do a little genre hopping, flittering from a loose and blown-out BLATZ sorta thing to something approaching crusty D-beat, and back to the egg-punk thing. In theory, I don’t mind the dabbling, but the end result feels half-baked rather than hard-boiled.

K.O. Queen #1 K.O. Queen cassette

Hardcore/screamo band that feels like they’re going to rip out your hair (in a great way). I was hooked when “Shrcc Attcc” started, and the raw, guttural sounds began. For me, it was a silly and hectic experience in the best way; the vocals were so goofy, crazy, all different pitches, that I swear only a dog could hear them. The track “Luv Bug” felt a bit out of place as it was acoustic with a banjo, unlike all the other tracks, but then the tape did return to its typical hardcore nature. Not entirely sure if I’m sold on that track or not, but all the others were a 10/10 for me.

Liquid Lunch Road King cassette

Hyperactive egg-punk that brings to mind PRISON AFFAIR after one too many vodka Red Bulls. Powerful, screeching vocals paired with scorching guitar licks and the occasional synth lead. As is the case with most of these egg bands, there’s a lot of DEVO influence here, but there are moments that have a ’90s Fat Wreck vibe to them, too. Elements of bands like GOOBER PATROL shine through at points—helps differentiate LIQUID LUNCH from the other legion of nerds out there making this kind of music. Good stuff here, and well worth checking out if you’re a fellow egghead.

Nervous B.O. Sick & Perverted cassette

Synth-heavy noise punk from Sweden. Six tracks of video game-y, drum-machine-driven tunes with intentionally wildly out-of-tune vocals on top. This would be in good company with the New Jersey egg-punk band I once referred to as “the most polarizing band in punk,” BIG CHUNGUS. NERVOUS B.O. (also written as NERVOUS BODY ODOR) is a bit of a confusing band to attempt to understand. They have a number of releases, a few since this one it seems, but it’s a little difficult to tell for sure based on how difficult it is to navigate their Bandcamp. I am as confused as I am entertained by some of these songs and the wild choice of snare tone for the drum machine on them. Limited edition of 25 cassettes (with cool little hand-drawn demon on the inside cover) by Xtro, not sure about other labels’ quantities.

P.S Tensión cassette

Fantastic synth punk from Ecuador. Almost like a South American ATOM AND HIS PACKAGE/I HATE YOU WHEN YOU’RE PREGNANT, which scores huge points with me. Vocals are powerful and energetic. I wish I was smart enough to understand what he was saying, but I barely eked by in my Spanish classes in college. According to the liner notes, this was made with an authentic analog synthesizer. None of those bland, overused GarageBand samples here! Pure electronic madness, and well worth picking up if you’re looking to diversify your cassette collection.

Pet Cop A.S. cassette

Kooky two-piece German egg-punk. The recording is a bit crazy-sounding, even by egg-punk standards, but it works all the same. Seven childhood bedroom-recorded songs of high-energy and even higher treble punk idiocy. Guitar, synth, and a drum machine, but as far as I can tell, just the subtle “thunk” of the kick drum and the wince-inducing snap of the snare. Oh wait, they also use the “clap” sound on one of the songs. This rips, and is thankfully available the world over on three different labels. I know Xtro standardly does runs of only 25 tapes, so US egg-punk enthusiasts should get on it before you have to pay bonkers overseas shipping prices.

Straitjacket Man or Ape? cassette

Applying sore-throated, demonic vocals over some raging basement punk, Williamsburg’s STRAITJACKET gives us five songs of old-fashioned DIY stomping and ripping. Sentiments of anger have always been a popular catalyst for crazy kids starting a band, but sheer weirdness has become just as common. So now, I barely bat an eye when someone inexplicably yells “I love lemon!” over some unplugged electric noodling at the end of “Beyond Repair,” or when I see that they’ve included a song entitled “Taxidermy Vape.” Those are just tropes of 2024 wacky-core.

T.A.C.K. T.A.C.K. cassette

Stomp-and-crash duo from New Orleans, rattling the bolts off the garage door and red-lining their four-track on this wonderfully lo-fi recording. Stella keeps a nasty, splashy beat while taking on most of the catchy, screechy, and shouted vocals, while Roach sings back-up and pushes his guitar through a blown-out amp, performing lead fills between rhythm chords. Each listen draws me closer, and I think the opener “P.L.F.” is a fucking hit: “I’ve got a car, treats me kindly / It’s got wheels and that’s all that I need.” Any chance you’re doing a Northeast tour? Think these two would be a blast live. The Feed My Ego tape I got has the bonus single “Lunch” as the closer, and so does the Blä version, but the XTRO version does not. Each release also swaps around the track order, so you decide? Feed My Ego appears to be the band’s own label, so show some support!

Μπριτζολιτσεσ Α​ι​σ​χ​ο​σ Ν​τ​ρ​ο​π​η cassette

This is some ripping weirdo punk from Greece, something I do not come across daily. These songs do not let up, often anchored by breathless drums that have punk energy and a German psych precision and mobility. When the band strays from their formula of angular, anarchic lo-fi punk, the rewards dwindle, such as on the too-zany cut “Love Your Baby/Moron.” But overall, this is a group that plays serious without taking itself too seriously. The results are enough to make your brain wiggle.

Завірюга XXX cassette

Kooky, zany, wild, demented, synth-heavy Ukrainian egg-punk. In a post-SPIN Magazine egg-punk article world, where it seems everywhere you look punks are trying to out scramble one another, along comes a solo recording project that I can’t even praise since the band name is in a completely foreign alphabet to me and I can’t phonetically sound it out. And, it is quite possibly the most sincere-sounding version of this currently overdone genre I have heard in quite some time. This is outstanding! There’s six songs on this tape, and if you’re anything like me, you’ll rip through it and be thirsty for more. Well, my fellow punk enthusiasts, you are in luck, because since August 2023, this project, which I believe translates to BLIZZARD, already has five cassettes out, all of which are unbelievably good. The only downside that I see here is it seems that as of now, ЗАВІРЮГА has never played a show and the mastermind behind the project “prefers to work alone.” Somehow this just got even cooler.