Reviews

My Ruin

Dead Years Night Thoughts LP

There seems to be no shortage of coldwave/post-punk/deathrock bands at the moment, and frankly, I love it. Go ahead and add Germany’s DEAD YEARS to the list. On Night Thoughts, they play a cool brand of post-punk, sometimes reminding me of a more propulsive HOME FRONT and sometimes reminding me of an Oi! band minus the saxophones and tough-guy gang vocals. Speaking of, the dual vocals are a nice touch and add some depth and nuance to the proceedings. I will say, the record is a little long for my taste, and some of the tunes do blend together about halfway through. This is no dealbreaker; in fact, it’s probably just my social-media-addled attention span that’s the problem. Anyways, the songwriting is solid, and on tracks like “Into the Dark” and “Mind Circle,” DEAD YEARS really take off.

Stranded Still LP

Is this smart music for dumb people, or is it dumb music for smart people? I really can’t decide, but I can say that it’s a good time. I was reminded of MILK from Japan while taking this in. Not because they sound alike, but more in the approach and the end product. While MILK’s hardcore is aggressive vocals paired with clean guitars, STRANDED flips that often on this LP. The instrumentation is indisputably aggressive, while the vocals feel rather clean. This obviously isn’t a groundbreaking approach, it still makes for a nice listen. Beyond that initial comparison, this album also takes some time to explore some other sounds, at times slowing down to sound a little like SPIRITUAL CRAMP, especially on the one-two grooves of “Helpline” and “Garage.” So if you’re a genius, give your brain a break and crank this one. And if your brain is fried from sniffing glue, feel free to crank this one as well to fill your head with something. 

Teenage Faces Hearts in Transit LP

A full-sized serving of fun, earnest, catchy power pop. It’s apparent right from the jump that TEENAGE FACES have an ear for this style, even beyond just wearing their influences on their sleeves. I assumed their namesake was an EXPLODING HEARTS reference before I clocked the tracklist containing three cover songs—one from Portland’s finest, one NERVES track, and the third tackling Elvis Costello’s “Welcome to the Working Week.” These covers are done well and are clearly little love letters to the genre. The originals that make up the meat of the record probably won’t surprise the listener at this point, but again, they make for a great little listen. Those originals skew a little more early ’80s power pop, with a bit more emphasis on the pop than the power, and the vocals sound like they could be your coworker, or your cousin, or the bank teller, but I think that adds to the charm here. I’ve spent most of my life obsessing over this music and I see it like pizza. There’s no such thing as bad pizza.

Tremors Love is War Now LP

This is what I mean when I tell people I listen to pop punk—catchy, energetic pop songs played with grit and hollered ‘til you’re hoarse. More RAMONES than BLINK-182, and the genuine article. These Germans sit in that sweet seat at the table alongside Dirtnap Records-type garage revival revival with non-stop hooks and guitars you can sink your teeth into. You can tell they know what they’ve got and how to use it, too, because there are nine tracks here and not one is over three minutes long. Verse/chorus/verse/chorus perfection, makes a splash and politely leaves before outstaying its welcome. I love it!

Tú La Llevas Tú La Llevas LP

There’s a certain nostalgia at the core of this band’s sound, harkening back to when indie was a methodology and labels like Matador were standard bearers of guitar pop that stood left of center. The band’s name is even an homage to YO LA TENGO, so the mission statement is pretty clear. There’s a sort of dreaminess to the shimmering guitar and plaintive vocal melodies that really lands, lending depth and substance to what is ultimately a brisk listen. It’s not exactly life-changing, but it will bring a nice breeze to your day. It’s definitely exciting to hear music that calls back to a particularly rich era of indie rock that seems all but forgotten in today’s landscape in which “indie” can fill arenas. This harkens back to something simpler, personal, and expressive.