High-energy punk with snaky elements of post-punk guitar work and staccato vocals. Catchy garage riffs and the overall buzzing enthusiasm make this record a fun listen along the lines of HOT SNAKES mixed with BLACK EYES. There are straight-up rockers like “Smoke Screen” and “Summer Venues,” but more interesting are the skittering drums and jerky bass rhythms on tracks like “Go Getter” and “New Zack City,” the latter with a smooth synth accompaniment.
There’s a generally believed legend that the best punk-inspired music, in its heyday, came from Washington. HAYES NOBLE has proved this tale extends past the ’90s on his sophomore album, As It Was, As We Were. Upon listening, the album cordially invites you to a marriage between wonderfully layered shoegaze soundscapes and the hurried noise of post-hardcore. HAYES NOBLE provides the vocal hallmark of any indie band, singing of young, sultry summers and dreamy disillusionment with reality. There are many great details in the album’s composition, such as the smooth transition from the opener “Escape” to “In Search Of,” or the lovely scenic imagery evoked by “On Montrose.” The album is peppered with magic moments of gritty feedback, auric revivals of MY BLOODY VALENTINE, and an atmosphere of bedroom danceability. As for musicianship, solid bass by Everett Noble and catchy drums by Brett Noble excel on tracks like, “Blue To Grey” and “The End.” I wonder if they’re a family-comprised band, which would be cool. This June release is a definite addition to my summer soundtrack.
While taking notes during my listen to PSYCHIC DEATH’s Trilogy, a collection of their three releases so far, I wrote down the words “rabid,” “offbeat,” and “chaotic” to describe the first few songs. By the time I reached the final two bonus tracks, those three adjectives still felt like the most appropriate ways to describe them. PSYCHIC DEATH plays eclectic hardcore punk with shrieked vocals that have been compared to ’90s West Coast bands like SWING KIDS. Their songwriting is anything but straightforward; each track twists and turns, speeds up and slows down, and at times feels too busy for its own good. That said, across three tapes, their sound has stayed impressively consistent, making this a cohesive if not exhausting collection.
There are eight songs on this lo-fi, four-track, sweaty ’90s, “I know a basement in Kalamazoo we can play,” charming, “bring a change of clothes” cassette. I love this. The energy oozes. ASSFACTOR 4, ACTION PATROL, and UNION YOUNG AMERICA are bands that PUDDY KNIFE songs catapult me to stylistically, and not in mimicry. Like, these fuckers are invested; what I mean is, I bet they put on a killer show even if the room only has a couple teenagers making out and a hobo dancing in front of them. Imagine if DROPDEAD and BORN AGAINST did a pop punk band with ORDINATION OF AARON kinda thing. I have no idea what they are saying, but I feel like they mean it, whatever it is. I hope it’s a good pizza dough recipe or a song about a puppy on a turtle’s back. Look, whatever they are going on about is something they also feel deeply about. Maybe by song five out of eight, you want to read along so you can pump your fist and sing “Half-cup yeast / The fluffy pup licks the shell / Add the water / This island turtle delivers me to better smells” or something—again, I have no idea what they are mad at or happy about, but I really like all of these songs. I hope when PUDDY KNIFE reads this, they will send me lyrics or pizza dough recipes or pictures of their puppies riding their turtles.
Absolutely fantastic garage rock/power pop from my Illinois brethren in Rock Island. Featuring former WYONNA RIDERS and current DEAD KENNEDYS singer Skip Greer, this album is chock-full of rock’n’roll diversity. Spans such flavors as dancey horror punk, twangy hardcore, and flowery indie ballads. This slab was obviously carefully crafted and produced. Everything sounds crisp and clear. Greer’s vocal range is beyond impressive, hopping between moody DANZIG-esque melodies and rustic BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN howls. Really great stuff here, and well worth a spin.
