Angel Face

Reviews

Angel Face Out in the Street LP

If you’re a fan of garage punk and this isn’t already on your radar, then no, you’re not. Distributed via the gold standard Slovenly and featuring members of TEENGENERATE and the FADEAWAYS, this exemplifies what makes the genre exciting. The hooks are incredible and the production presents the whole affair within crackling gritty trappings. These players have power pop chops for decades, but they’re so tuned in here and pushed into the red that they have major teeth track to track. Background “ooh”s and “ahh”s are guiding stars of style, as well as handclaps that inflect a bubblegum tone that bumps nicely against the spikier edges of what’s going on. This group’s debut was good stuff, but this is a whole other level. The B-side standout “Press Your Luck” has STOOGES’ dripping venom with a chorus that’s downright gorgeous. The album is undeniable, so don’t try and fight it off and let it take over your turntable.

Angel Face Take Me Back / Night and Day 7″

From Tokyo supergroup ANGEL FACE, “Take Me Back”/”Night and Day” is a classic one-two rock punch. With Fink (TEENGENERATE, RAYDIOS) and Toyozo (FADEAWAYS) handling the strings, the band’s impressive pedigree sets expectations high, and this tight single rises to the occasion. The A-side is an awesome upbeat pop-punker with a sickly-sweet hook; the kind of tune that does that neat trick of making heartbreak seem kind of fun. On the B-side, “Night and Day” comes in sounding like it’s about to be a cover of “Detroit Rock City” before breaking into a formidably infectious boogie complete with sing-along chorus. Flip it over and over and over and over.

Angel Face Angel Face LP

New raw garage in supergroup packaging, all by way of Tokyo. Boasting members from FADEAWAYS, FIRESTARTER, and most notably Fink from the almighty TEENGENERATE, the band has more aptitude than most. This LP burns in the red, and is the perfect amount of slightly deranged and perfectly out-of-sync. There is a pubescent joy that gets raked into the songwriting in a way that moves bodies to a beat, with the band’s backing harmonies being the sell. “That’s Enough,” “Bring Me Back,” and “Take It Or Leave It;” the record is teenage joy spun on a platter.

Angel Face 5.1 / Driftin’ Away 7”

Debut single from Tokyo’s ANGEL FACE. The band features Fink (TEENGENERATE, FIRESTARTER, RAYDIOS) on guitar and vocals, Toyozo (FADEAWAYS) on bass, and Rayco (RULER, TRIPLE JUNK) on drums. “5.1” is a blaster from the start, featuring a straight rock’n’roll riff on repeat with clattering drums and gut chugging bass—really high energy, almost like a DEATH arrangement, with fast changes and endless drum fills that eventually break for that main riff to grumble alone. On the back side, “Driftin’ Away” has a little more space for lyrics that have a similarity to Eugene Hütz’s snotty vocal intonation. Very cool release. Reno’s Slovenly Recordings has picked up the band and already released another 7” single as well as their debut self-titled LP, if you’re hungry for more. ANGEL FACE is not to be missed!

Angel Face I Can’t Go Back / New Generator 7″

Tokyo punk lifers Fink (TEENGENERATE, RAYDIOS, RULER), Rayco (RULER), Toyozo (the FADEAWAYS), and a vocalist named Hercules (who appears to have spent time drumming in a handful of acts) team up to bring us this new group, which sounds like a true amalgam of their previous bands. Overall, things lean pub rock or power pop, but you can hear a little beat/garage in the mix as well as, of course, punk. It impressed the bigwigs over at Slovenly so much that they decided to simultaneously release this 7” and their debut LP. Both tracks are pretty great. “I Can’t Go Back” sounds a little like something that might have come off CHEAP TRICK’s Heaven Tonight had it been put out by a mid-’90s Rip Off Records band, and “New Generator” is more of a revved-up number that almost sounds like an Oi! band really leaning into their EDDIE AND THE HOTRODS and SLADE influences. I haven’t checked out that LP yet, but if this 7” is any indicator, it’ll be a ripper.