Reviews

Swish Swash

Beige Banquet Ornamental Hermit LP

BEIGE BANQUET is anything but beige when it comes to their musical style. They bring an almost artsy and darker vibe to punk, utilizing both distorted bass lines and heavy percussion at times. What gripped me most was the haunting repetition of vocal lines that were layered over noisy and gloomy instruments. They’re able to smoothly transition from a slightly heavier and noisier energy in “Parasitic Energy” to a quieter percussion solo in the intro of “Mind Lapse”, which I find just really well done. The use of spoken words was really interesting too, and kept me on my toes. Overall, BEIGE BANQUET brings a unique twist and energy to punk.

Death Bag Death Bag LP

I think music benefits from a sense of fun, especially when it’s otherwise dark or morbid. Maybe DEATH BAG agrees? Their kinda deathrock, kinda psychobilly style benefits from danceability and larger-than-life vocals. Generally, the record is a goth-y bag of lower register tunes at a steady but driving pace and with a little mangled, weird guitar sprinkled throughout. Pair with your favorite monster flick or thunderstorm.

Dr. Sure’s Unusual Practice Scomo Goes to Hawaii / While Aus Burns LP

Most of the songs on this Australian group’s record straddles the Present Day Post-Punk Partyline of minimalism, herky-jerky guitar parts, and thumpy ruled-out basslines keeping the erector set rhythms together, but the transistorized burble of synths gives this record character. The closer “10 Million Acres” is the standout track on this, a downcast but moving meditation on the cataclysmic bushfires of 2019, and the layers of loss involved. That song is an absolute must-listen if you want to hear anything from this.

Dr. Sure’s Unusual Practice Blue/Bubble LP

Synthy punk stuff is great and I’m always down to dig into these sounds, but rarely do I think that it has a genuine edge to it. Enter DR. SURE’S UNUSUAL PRACTICE to challenge that very thought. This combo release of, you guessed it, their Blue and Bubble releases, provides plenty of fun, sure, but also you’re treated to a bunch of synth-soaked garage punk tunes that sound actually urgent and truly propulsive. The first two acts that came to mind were SPIRITUAL CRAMP and HANK WOOD & THE HAMMERHEADS. Of course, there is plenty of dynamism to be found across these eleven tracks that prove DR. SURE’s practice is indeed unusual. After the first few garage-y offerings, the album explores more whimsical cartoon sounds on “Blue Evening,” but then trades the staccato synth hits for sustained sounds and nylon string guitars in “Not the End of the World.” The second half of this combined release, the Bubble side, explores sounds even more, tending to feel a lot more post-punk, with another highlight in “Outside Looking In.” This LP challenges your definition of “egg-punk” and tosses you a whole slew of exciting sounds that coalesce into a fantastic listen.

Ismatic Guru An Incredible Amount of Overwhelming Information LP

Buffalo’s ISMATIC GURU is truly a unique duo. Yes, they’re regarded as egg-punk and yes, egg-punk itself is a diverse genre where two bands rarely resemble each other. But even in this ocean of bizarre sounds, they manage to stand out. Covering all their previous work plus five brand new songs, their latest release An Incredible Amount of Overwhelming Information is the full package and the ultimate testimony to their eccentricity. With guitars alternating between rhythmic stabs and demented single-note lines, bass laying down jittery grooves, drums providing a steady backbone, organs adding another layer of manic melodic content while the vocals ramble on and on with such dynamic delivery, the overall sound is an even further abstraction of post-punk and full of nods to the iconic sounds of both no wave and new wave. I really appreciate their minimal, almost fully DI-sounding signature production style that makes the duo’s immense songwriting skills shine further. There is nothing quite like ISMATIC GURU, and there is no better way to immerse yourself in their work than An Incredible Amount of Overwhelming Information.

Metdog One for the Kids LP

If you’ve read my other reviews in the past, then you’ll know that I’m a big champion of the Australian rock’n’roll scene. However, there comes a time in a person’s life where they reach a breaking point and begin to reassess some prior convictions. Now don’t get me wrong, I still love egg-punk and I still believe that Australia has been the epicenter of some of the purest rock’n’roll over the last five years, but these DEVO/CONEHEADS-eqsue bands are starting to hit the proverbial glass ceiling and produce diminishing returns. METDOG probably sounds exactly how you’re imagining it at this point. Noodly, twangy guitars in lockstep with bass over a danceable four-on-the-floor drum beat. Oh, and of course the nerdy vocals. This is a good record, but it’s like every other Goodbye Boozy release you’ve heard this last half-decade. I will say, they do have a creative use of the synth, utilizing more modern patches over the typical Casio/electric organ options, but there’s still a lot of that, too. Might be worth a spin for the most diehard of the hard-boiled dorks like myself.

Volk Soup Incompetent Hits: The Singles, Vol. 1 LP

Eight tracks of exuberantly original post-punk from this Leeds band. Beautiful production highlights thick bass lines, trebly guitar, and vocals that range from a hyper-vocal Mark E. Smith on speed to Nick Cave’s deranged carnival barker era. The songs take many unexpected twists and go from twangy swamp guitar to angular atonal stings to blissful chiming indie layers with ease. The minute-and-a-half blast “Wiping Arse Blues” moves quickly from a dissonant sideways guitar riff into a downward chromatic structure with staccato vocals delivered so quickly they verge on rap. “I Shot Him and I Ran” begins with a flash of 2-Tone ska that steadily builds into joyous chaos. The clever lyrics take pointed shots at grotesque wealth in “Billionaire”: I wanna be a billionaire / With that same self-satisfied, glassy-eyed stare / As Jeff Bezos that wonky-eyed fuck,” and the British royal family in “Beware an Ancient Door”: “We all have our needs and our wants / I said, ‘But Andrew, a nonce is a nonce, is a nonce, is a nonce’.” The latter constructs a danceable beat over the worst keyboard pattern of all time before slowing into a pastoral indie guitar strum that is surprisingly beautiful. The record ends with “Limeade,” an acoustic campfire sing-along that manages to come off as a charming finale. VOLK SOUP is a uniquely original band with personality to spare, and is worth your time.