Reviews

Cuerdas Fuera

Ghoulies Songs From Flat Earth EP

As the debut EP from this Australian four-piece (featuring members of ABORTED TORTOISE and KITCHEN PEOPLE), Songs From Flat Earth serves up frantic synth punk rock’n’roll without a single track clocking in at over two minutes. Carnival-ride synths and hyper mutant vocals combine for a queasy experience—but not a sloppy one, as these songs are remarkably tight and fully realized. Devotees of GEE TEE and the CONEHEADS (and insert your favorite devolved egg-punk band here) will find plenty to enjoy in this.

Rubber Room Chemical Imbalance EP

Sydney/Melbourne recording project from Kel Mason (GEE TEE) and Adam Ritchie (DRUNK MUMS, RED RED KROVVY)—Adam’s providing vocals, Kel’s providing the instrumentation. Apparently the duo formed back in 2017, looking to pay homage to the SCREAMERS. And—look—it’s pretty impossible to make a SCREAMERS record (in fact, the SCREAMERS couldn’t even pull it off). So, let’s just take that to mean that these fellas wanna make some synth punk. Which they accomplish! Nary a guitar is to be heard throughout the four tracks that make up this EP (at least as far as I can tell). And it’s good! Reminds me of the killer CONTROL TEST record that came out a few years back, or if  LUMPY AND THE DUMPERS were more cartoonishly sinister and squeezed in a SPITS-y chorus from time to time. Apparently this release has existed in one form or another since late 2019, but Cuerdas Fuera is doing god’s work here by pressing it to vinyl for the first time. If you can still find a copy, grab one!