Küken III LP
Hamburg’s KÜKEN (“Cock”) showing up like the neighborhood kid you haven’t seen in a while, and suddenly he’s all grown up and muscular and shit on this third self-titled LP. Their previous efforts have been great, delivering some of the best garage punk of our time, but now they’ve evolved into certified killers, playing top-tier dirty rock’n’roll to rival even the finest moments of classic Rip Off Records and such. The eleven sharp tunes here carry an effortless swagger, and every song is a banger. The band’s signature shambling groove established on tracks like “Stick Meat” from their debut LP turns up polished and perfected on tunes like “Off The Track” and “Goatleather,” flooding my brain with dopamine every time it hits. There’s an obvious RAMONES homage at work in these songs, along with a rare degree of sophisticated juvenility that reminds me of ’90s French punk heroes the SPLASH FOUR, and overall they’re just really in-the-pocket on this shit-hot thumper of a record. It’s a perfect soundtrack for exhibiting poor judgment, risking it all, or just, you know, getting over-excited while driving home from work.