Reviews

Howlin' Banana

Crache Éclaircie Sauvage cassette

Following a couple singles and a full-length in 2023, CRACHE is out with the Éclaircie Sauvage cassette (via XTRO in the States and Howlin’ Banana and Ganache Records in France). This synth punk quartet hailing from Marseille brings us five tracks of full-send energy, with everybody slamming their instruments and voices to a breaking point, bringing synth and hardcore to a mostly holy union. That said, they aren’t relentless, and offer plenty of moments of moodiness (“Rigoletto), of doomy outros (“Confusion Générale”), and what I assume is tongue-in-cheek lyrics (“Ballade”) featuring a more typical, slower tempo and high-register “la la la”s over the chorus. No way to not have fun with this one.

Flippeur Élastique 8″

FLIPPEUR’s Élastique doesn’t just bend genre, it snaps it and leaves the recoil ringing. There’s a wiry, nerve-shot tension running through these tracks, where post-punk angularity collides with blown-out garage abrasion and a sense of barely-contained collapse. Guitars twitch and slash rather than riff, constantly threatening to derail the rhythm section’s brittle forward motion. The vocals feel half-detached, like they’re being transmitted from inside the breakdown rather than narrating it. What elevates Élastique is its refusal to settle into a stable identity; every passage feels like it’s mutating under pressure. It’s restless, antagonistic, and deeply physical in a way that bypasses easy categorization—music that coils tighter the longer you stay inside it.

Élastique de FLIPPEUR no solo dobla el género: lo quiebra y deja el rebote vibrando en el aire. Hay una tensión nerviosa que atraviesa todo, donde la angulosidad post-punk choca contra una abrasión garage saturada y una sensación constante de colapso inminente. Las guitarras se retuercen y cortan más que riffear, amenazando con descarrilar el pulso frágil de la base rítmica. Las voces suenan medio desprendidas, como transmitidas desde adentro del derrumbe. Lo que eleva el disco es su negativa a fijarse en una identidad estable: todo muta bajo presión. Es inquieto, antagonista y físico.

Technopolice Chien De La Casse LP

Ah yes, more egg-punk. This would have sounded fresh five years ago, but by this point, it’s just paint-by-numbers. Your typical synth-heavy, twangy, chorus-laden guitar affair. Don’t get me wrong, there’s some decent songwriting and arrangements here. If you’re devoted to the genre, then you’ll love this. I must not be as devoted as I previously thought.