Cucuy People Talking cassette
Great six-song tape from this Chicago band that blends the jazzy aspects of the MINUTEMEN with the unhinged, off-kilter vocal approach of MYSTIC INANE. Not all great punk bands need to be technically proficient, but this one is, jumping from complex top-of-the-neck guitar leads with bouncing bass and skittery, roll-heavy drums to straight-ahead hardcore with ease. “Speed of Smell” (best title I have heard this year) has a catchy tapped-guitar hook that manages to rage like mutant garage punk. Closing track “You Want a Picture” moves from exasperated hardcore shouting and hits a noise-punk groove that jams for about a minute until the end. Like a high-speed rally race, CUCUY is equally precise and out of control. Check it out—it rules.