MAXIMUM ROCKNROLL
…melodic vocals guiding the way like a beacon through fog (machines). “Reaching for the Light” has all of the dark, anthemic drama and searing hooks of a femme-punk should-have-been classic…
…any moment, but it never does; it’s tightly orchestrated with skronky guitars, drum machines that move like a cityscape, and bass lines that hold the fort and keep a cohesive…
…morphed into NEW ORDER. This natural progression is still done from a very underground lens, just rerouted through drum machines and flickering lights instead of blown speakers and basement sweat….
In sci-fi movies, especially in the ’80s, time machines are always a big deal: incredible technological feats involving years of studies, vast amounts of unstable nuclear energy, and the possibility…
Two tracks of DIY minimal synth punk from Michigan. Both sides throb with thick, warmly produced synth tones, crisp drum machines, and cynical spoken/sung vocals. “TV Casualty” got a few…
Barcelona’s COLEGIATA dusts off the old synths and drum machines that were left in the attic and puts them to good use in their new 12” record. It’s pretty bare-bones…
…Detroit musicians having a blast. With Jason Navarro of the SUICIDE MACHINES on vocals and guitar, Ko Melina from the DIRTBOMBS on vocals and bass, and John Bunkley of GANGSTER…
…the past few years, DENEVÉR decided to release the emotive and layered full-length Economía Doméstica. This eleven-song album uses everything from sampled audio, distorted synthesizers, overdriven drum machines, and noisy…
…The drums are definitely a big part of the sound as well. Sometimes layered with drum machines, sometimes oozing with dry vintage mojo, but always, always unbelievably groovy while being…
…Machines or Teenbeat in the mid-’90s, and their previous EP is kinda grungy. What saves this from being a trite retread is excellent songwriting and performance/production that sounds scrappy and…
…The BAD CRIME half was recorded in their hometown of Milwaukee. They share the spirit and same endearing, lo-fi “wheels falling off” appeal of fellow Brew City punks MODERN MACHINES….
…vibe to it. There’s a diverse range of gear used on each track, specifically the different drum machines featured throughout. The GOBS bounce back and forth between sounding like PRISON…
…SPEED and SCREAMERS collab, drum machines and synths colliding with nonchalantly spoken vocals. “No Puedo Ser Nada” flips the chaos switch, evoking a feral LYDIA LUNCH locked in a closet….
Trippy, hypnotic, and weird digital noise duo. Lazy and strident, trashy-to-the-core drum machines mixed with some vague lyrics and constantly repeating synth work. These disco-techno sounds are not my jam…
…knew from that moment that they would be in my top ten. Really enjoy bands with fun drum machines and I also like that the vocals are not super hardcore,…
…apparent that literally every song has the exact same BPM. Ah, the perils of drum machines! Gotta give that tempo knob a twist!! Setting that aside, FLOP MACHINE is clearly…
…MUMMIES. I know drum machines aren’t for everyone, but I’m a sucker for them. Really adds to the band’s motif, and I don’t think a real drum set would do…
…VOICE) all seem to glean influence from the immortal METAL URBAIN, copping their harsh guitars, haywire drum machines, and venomous vocal attack. If you’re a Francophilic punk who has already…
…the 12” are supported by an ESG-like groove assembled from lo-fi drum machines, various hand percussion, and rubbery, ass-rattling bass lines. Depending on the track, guitar gets layered in as…
…machines. They probably recorded twenty more albums, finished 53 paintings, six zines, and went on tour four times while this LP was in the queue to be pressed (and probably…
…sound and vocals dripping from his nasal cavity. The lack of a live band is made up by stuttering rhythm machines and haywire synths. As I write, this 7″ is…
With quirky drum machines, reverb-drenched vocals, and scratchy guitars, SPOOKY create self-described DEVO-core. I think that’s an apt description of the genre, like an even more DIY, homemade DEVO demo….
…hard. Quirky synths zig and zag over loud punk guitars, drum machines, and gruff vocals. The shouted, reverbed hardcore vocals are what really set these folks apart from most current…
…isn’t an instrument on this tape that isn’t quirky to an extreme. From cheesy ’80s drum machines to the squirrely synthesizers, the instrumentation gives the sound its character. This is…
…old Tascam four-track, this is a great example of what you can do with lo-fi recording. Using a lot of quirky drum machines and synths is what gives this record…
…vocals fronting distorted drum machines and first wave keyboards, this is pure, powerful, primitive electronic destruction. Synth punk has rarely, if ever, sounded this fucking punk. And I love it….
This tape is entrenched in a childlike post-punk sound. Its angular, somewhat out of focus approach is pulsating with punk grooves. Employing toy drum machines and noisy machines, there’s an…
…’50s rock’n’roll sped up with drum machines. Each track has constant guitar leads and catchy melodies for days. “Encerrado Contigo” is a blast of high-volume, nostalgia-inducing pop that sounds like…
…well-rounded view of JENKINS’ eccentric muse. Recording everything himself, JENKINS utilized early drum machines and rack effects in interesting ways, although his basic style is still singer-songwriter at its essence….
…crusty drum machines and heavily distorted vocals. The R.M.F.C side is three short songs that speed through their runtime having an absolute blast on the way. Energetic, lively, and totally…
…ponderous bass tones and thudding drum machines, occasionally spiced with pre-modern instruments like accordion. There is an intriguing frozen quality to DIE ATLANTIKSCHWIMMER’s impeccably produced songs; they flirt with pop…
…units. Maybe that’s because their influences stretch all the way back to the original German post-punk scene and they utilize drum machines as effectively as they use guitars. In accordance…
…in San Francisco, the instrumentation employs freaky synths, crunchy drum machines, and wiry guitars. Overall, this is a really fun record. It’s ridiculously catchy; the type of riffs that get…
…certainly the most No Wave-heavy release I have heard from either of the groups. Acoustic drums are almost completely stripped in favor of crusty, distorted drum machines. Melodies are replaced…
…in their head right now without ever listening to the THROWAWAZE. Big fan of the band’s glamour shot in the insert being in front of a row of pinball machines….
…the music is generic. The best feature of the drums is the efforts turning into interesting failures. Other instruments do not show such vulnerability, rather performing well as machines. Dry,…
…with joy. The post-punk-esque vocal delivery and contorted drum machines give me flashes of SUICIDE, while the angular guitars remind me of UNWOUND. This is a must-listen in my opinion….
…cold drum machines in a way that still sounds very much alive and not like a sterile scratch demo. A vinyl-worthy project to be sure; hell, get it on both…
…heavy bass, toy synthesizers, and drum machines. On the track “100 Times a Day,” they sound a lot more like a math/post-punk band, in the vein of OMNI or SHAME….
…EP (La Vida Es Un Mus) Before everybody was trapped at home playing with drum machines and synthesizers, there was ALGARA. Pure, primitive synth-punk with bite. They also released a…
…breakdowns and smirks all around in a great hardcore punk debut. SHOPPING — All or Nothing LP (FatCat) Third album, and the songs add layers and machines and keep filling…
…soundtrack: its bass lines somehow simultaneously blunt and spiky, and Noelle bundling up human cowbell thwack and overheating drum machines. “Cherry Nipples” yanks down the tempo to a goth crawl…
…nerds and/or middle aged people from Philadelphia (I fall into one of those two categories). Machines doesn’t sound like it’s emulating another era, it sounds like it was plucked out…
…less ska-ey end of the SUICIDE MACHINES. “The Blurred Line Between Art and Crime” is a great track to dip your toe into. It’s a danceable good time that feels…
The combination of driving mid-tempo drum machines, dark, dancey synth leads, and angsty human vocals really resonates with the strange realities of late capitalism and the electronic age. Minneapolis’ self-described…
This week on MRR radio, Matt, Heather and Joan whet the sickest of punk appetites.
Intro GENOGEIST — Dread of the End Records that survived Matt’s purge DER STAB — Tracers PERTTI KURIKAN NIMIPÁ„IVÁ„T — Oma Rauha THE SKINNIES — Out of Order PRIMETIME — […]
…Outsider column about obsessively tracking down pinball machines to play while traveling will get to you on time). Hit me up at xFeral_Kidx@ yahoo.com for some soon to be much…
Damn, they really weren’t kidding. Programmed drums pretty much stick to the same beat the whole time, but this sounds raw and punk as fuck. Drum machines can create chaos;…
…Girls, FIYA, “La Villita: Chicago Pilsen Scene,” Terminus Victor, Restarts, Damage Done, Knights of New Crusade. Out of print. MRR #251/Apr ’04 The Fuse!, Väkivaltaa, Modern Machines, Microcosm, Migra Violenta…
…How would you describe your sound? Loud dogs produced by machines. What’s in the future for this band? Absolutely no future. Methcharge (photo by Ripley) Links and contact info: methcharge.bandcamp.com…
…and doing my best to get some high scores on American pinball machines. Alistair-William: Sunburn, cocaine. MRR: Because of Australia’s isolation, it seems that there is always a bit of…
…a couple of SPAM records reissues and I’m going to be reissuing a few LPs that Onion Flavored Records put out like the first Sexy and first Modern Machines LPs….
…side of darkwave. Chorus pedals, reverb, and drum machines. What’s in the future for this band? We’re going to be touring to the east coast and back this April. We’ve…
…the institution I was confined in at age 14 was where my first complete garments took form. It was just a room with machines and loads of donated fabric, mostly…
…members per household. People were buying TVs, record players, washing machines and scooters, many traveling to Trieste, a neighboring Italian city popular for shopping. An unplanned side effect of this…
…at Roggies in Boston, MA on May 14, 2014. (photo by Angela Owens) Left For Dead at Machines with Magnets in Pawtucket, RI on May 23, 2014. (photo by Angela…
…a hold of a couple machines through my friend. He and a couple of other guys who guided me through some things. They made sure I was going about it…
…LP. Anything you want to say about that album? How many copies were pressed? Jo: That title track is a good example of when we transitioned to using drum machines…
Smartly divided between the “guitar” side and the “machines” side, this sampler has a K-Tel greatest hits feel to it. Aside from a STEVE ALBINI spoken word track and songs…
…tradition of the SCREAMERS and SUICIDE, they rely on synth. You’d never know it, though, as there’s no trace of wimpiness—just two hard-driving machines, drums, and vocals. Not to be…
In the tradition of early industrial punk like the NORMAL’s “TVOD,” incorporating incessant rhythms (machines), eerie vocals, and twisted subject matter….
…PRECOX, and they demonstrate that synths and drum machines can be used to intimidate rather than hypnotize, but they currently seem to be moving in an artier direction. Too bad….
…anvils and pistons driving machines. But don’t think these guys are arty—their music has a vague punky sensibility and primal hypnotic rhythms. If depressed factory towns like Gary, IN ever…
