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.