Reviews

Chumpire

Gino and the Goons / High Heels split LP

The HIGH HEELS are in excellent form on this split. I hadn’t heard of them until this LP, but I like what I hear on this. Nice fuzzy guitars, hard-hitting drums, and warm bass. I was at first dumbfounded by the fact that there were old Hanna-Barbara-era Scooby Doo villains on the cover, but now hearing the music, it makes a lot more sense. Even though I’d say it’s most certainly garage rock, it has a spookier vibe than most when it comes to the vocals, and I think that’s what sets it apart. Good stuff, check it out if you like some fuzz on your guitars.

Shelter Cat 66 Percent Strength LP

OFF WITH THEIR HEADS, LEATHERFACE, and almost-Lookout! bands like ONE MAN RUNNING and M-BLANKET are bands I think of when I listen to this. It is hitting in all the right spots but, for me, I have a difficulty with their song “Toothlessness.” The song “Toothlessness” sounds remarkably similar to a THORNS OF LIFE (Daniel Sea, Blake Schwarzenbach, Aaron Cometbus) song called “New York is Giving Me the Creeps.” I get that there are only so many guitar chords, but this goes further than parallel thinking. The band seems to swipe the changes, the vocal cadence, and even lyrics from the song “New York is Giving Me the Creeps.” Maybe because THORNS OF LIFE didn’t ever officially record anything, it seemed open to grab. But,come on, all three of the people in THORNS OF LIFE were in some of the most known Bay Area bands of the punk scene, ranging from G’RUPS, to CRIMPSHRINE, to JAWBREAKER. Each person in the band has their own Wikipedia and IMDb page, for gosh sakes. This entire record feels a bit dishonest to me. I don’t want to be cruel, but fuck it, something smells funny. I now question every song on this LP, and I can’t un-smell it.

Shelter Cat Visual Distress Signals for Recreational Boaters LP

Hyper-scruffy punk rock from PA. Melodic but not too melodic, with cowpunk-ish moments, not really tied to a particular beat and open to explore. There is some clear JAWBREAKER love here (the vocal line for one of the songs might sound very, very familiar) and it’ll remind you of early Lookout! Records catalog, but to me that’s a feature, not a bug. The mix puts the rhythm section up front which makes for some pleasantly complex moments, particularly from the hell of a bass player they have here. Vocals have a very effective sardonic detachment with a tinge of melancholy that makes all the elements come together really, really well. I’m quite impressed with this record.