3 the Hardway Hotcakes EP
I am immediately drawn in by the simplicity and haphazard, stumbling-forward Detroit proto-punk quality that these songs have. Bustin Brooklyn’s vocal delivery is a see-saw between boredom and aggression, while Sloppy Joel’s guitar, somewhat repetitive riffs nodding to haunting space-rock drive her lyrics with a much more calamitous impact. These four songs trickle Detroit with every note, and will leave you feeling empty and somehow wanting more. Maybe it’s the Michigan soul or the “heavy-handed swamp-voodoo electricity” (MRR review of LAUGHING HYENAS’ Merry Go Round, issue #56), but somewhere in this, I’m reminded of the LAUGHING HYENAS’ Merry Go Round 12”. Either way, this is a very melancholy and wonderful listen.