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Pack Sounds

Real Gusto
Friend Club Records (2023)

“Keep it simple / It’s not that hard / Just play three chords / On the chorus part” That lyric comes from “Paper Bag Palpitations, “the final song on Real Gusto, but it covers the whole record quite well. Pack Sounds are an emo-tinged punk band that plays driving and energetic music that moves forward rather than looking back. It’s heartfelt … Read more

Nobro

Set Your Pussy Free
Dine Alone (2023)

Last year I discovered Nobro through their EP Live Your Truth, Shred Some Gnar. I cheated a bit and included this EP on my (albums only) yearlist. I still return to that EP (and the one before that) often. So you can imagine, my expectations were sky high. And that made me afraid: was I expecting too much from this young band? … Read more

The Shits

You’re A Mess
Rocket Recordings (2023)

With their origin dating to the late ‘10s, I was quite amazed to find in Discogs that this is only the fifth instance of a band named The Shits. However, I am not taking into account the many out there who feel the need to adorn the famous noun with an adjective. The Sniveling Shits, The Tough Shits, the list goes on … Read more

The Telescopes

Experimental Health
Weisskalt (2023)

There has been a lot of excitement about The Telescopes’ latest record, Of Tomorrow, and rightly so. Yet earlier in the year, the historic act from England put out another record through the small, independent Aussie record label Weisskalt. Experimental Health is the ying to Of Tomorrow’s yang, tilting much more towards the experimental side of the band, but without forgetting their post-punk and shoegaze … Read more

Rebuilder

Local Support
Iodine (2023)

In an era of searching for nostalgia, Boston natives Rebuilder have managed to remind us that living in the present isn’t so bad after all —and if it is, there’s always support. With their sophomore album Local Support, Rebuilder has captured what it means to persist as a local, gnarly punk band in the ever-changing world both in and outside of … Read more

Merger

Second To Last
Impetus (2023)

Merger was a short lived band that was active between 2017 and 2019. In that time the band recorded one EP. Now, years after the band quit, this single is the first of two planned releases. This EP is my introduction to the band. It was not an easy introduction. In fact, it took me a lot of time to … Read more

Anton Ponomarev / Guillaume Cazelet

Pyrocene
Utech (2023)

Another one for Guillaume Cazelet, the prolific artist from avant-garde icons Neptunian Maximalism and his solo black metal project Ôros Kaù. This time around Cazelet collaborates with Anton Ponomarev, a fellow maniac from free improvisational fiends P/O Massacre. With their new work, Pyrocene, the duo lets go completely of any form or notion and drives straight into the abstract domain of drone, noise, and musique … Read more

American Television

Scars
Smartpunk Records (2023)

There are a few basic moods to punk. American Television fall into the singalong category. This is short, fast, and predictable melodic punk – and I don’t even slightly mean that in a bad way. Scars tears through 10 songs in probably 20 minutes, balancing whoa-ohs, harmonies and punchy power chords. It all culminates in “Bittersweet” with a refrain of “Broken bones … Read more

Half Dead

Nasty, Brutish, and Short
Early Onset Records (2023)

I have two sisters (both younger) and growing up I found myself with their chores on my list, despite the initial fair divide decreed by our parents. I went to university (I know- my level of pretension and rambling introductions give that away) and was often submitted to the dreaded group project. You know how it goes. Group chat, a … Read more

Raspberry Bulbs

The World Is Empty, The Heart Is Full
Hospital (2023)

Raspberry Bulbs are an act that is seemingly allergic to bullshit. Since their inception, they have bounced between different scenes and sounds, but one thing that remained constant was their adherence to their punk roots. No matter if these were infused with a primal black metal spirit in Nature Tries Again, or adorned by deathrock variations with Before The Age of Mirrors, … Read more

The End

Why Do You Mourn
Trost (2023)

The End is assembled by stellar musicians of the Swedish and Norwegian avant-garde jazz scene, amongst them the likes of Mats Gustafsson and Sofia Jernberg. Their moment of origin with Svårmod Och Vemod Är Värdesinnen, found this collective relishing their all too familiar chaos. Crazed saxophone solos and frenetic rhythmic changes collapsed any notion of structure. At the center of it … Read more

Various Artists

Beex/L'Amour - Split
Zero Degree Records (2022)

Oh, hail Richmond, Virginia !. Occasionally regional bands became lauded on compilations for greedy grabbing sweaty secretive nerdy evil record lords. Seeking out and posting their findings on social media for all to tilt their caveman posturings and send a spindle of sweaty spittle cascading down their black head-encrusted chin thus avoiding their overpriced modern artifact shelved in the thickest … Read more

Sprain

The Lamb As Effigy
Flenser (2023)

One of the many exciting acts introduced through The Flenser, Sprain delivered an impressive work with their debut record, As Lost Through Collision. Introduced during the dark times between lockdowns in 2020, the album is a tour de force through noise rock and post-hardcore. With an off-kilter element and an allure for both the chaotic and depressing nature of no … Read more

Old Tower

Draconic Synthesis
Hospital (2023)

The line between dark ambient and dungeon synth has always been blurry. Since Mortiis’ departure from Emperor and his stellar, first-era works in Født til å Herske and Ånden som Gjorde Opprør, many have traveled the same path. Amongst the newest additions to this merry group is Old Tower, the obscure project from the Netherlands. Since the mid-10s, Old Tower … Read more

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