Alien Nosejob
Suddenly Everything Is Twice As Loud
Drunken Sailor (2020)
With a name like Alien Nosejob I was expecting something a little more spacey or out there than what you get on Suddenly Everything Is Twice As Loud. A one man band of sorts, led by Jake Robertson (Ausmuteants, Hierophants, Drug Sweat, and more), Alien Nosejob is melodic and thoughtful, playing a variety of punk-inspired sounds over 13 songs. The predominant sound is … Read more
Chain Whip
14 Lashes
Drunken Sailor (2020)
This is the kind of hardcore that makes my throat hurt just listening. It’s also the kind of hardcore where I can’t sit still while listening, even when tethered to headphones at work. It’s high energy, relentless and, somehow, it just never lets up. To keep coining silly phrases, this is sweaty, gasp-for-air hardcore. As each of the songs fade … Read more
Chained Bliss
Chained Bliss
Drunken Sailor (2022)
There are certain guitar tones that recall another era, and Chained Bliss are rooted in one of them. When I hear the angular riffs and repetitive structures on the band’s self-titled debut full-length, I’m immediately taken back in time to the glory days of Wire or Gang Of Four. But while Chained Bliss shares some similarities with the British post-punk pioneers, there is … Read more
Ditches
Ditches
Drunken Sailor (2020)
Am I going to be able to review this record without comparing Ditches to Marked Men? Clearly not, but I made it 14 words. This debut album from Stockholm’s Ditches bears a lot of similarity to that band. Given how good that band was, I’m not sure that’s a knock against them. Besides the sonic similarities, the record was also recorded … Read more
Fashionism
Smash Singles LP
Drunken Sailor (2018)
Smash Singles collects all previous releases of Fashionism. Four singles to be precise (released between 2015 and 2017): Smash The State (With Your Face), Quit Looking At The Time, Suicide and Back In The Day. As a bonus the tracks "Weekend" and "Baby She's Gone" are included here as well. That last song is also the b-side of Come On … Read more
Hakan
Hakan II
Drunken Sailor (2016)
Hakan is an Italian garage-punk band in the vein of The Marked Men. Like, really in the vein of The Marked Men—MM’s Jeff Burke (also of Radioactivity) even recorded the record and it fits the aforementioned band’s style perfectly.At thirteen songs in twenty-two minutes, Hakan’s II fits the expectation of short, fast and to-the-point. Meanwhile the guitars are hyper fast … Read more
Liquids
More Thana Friend EP
Drunken Sailor (2017)
English record label Drunken Sailor Records released this sweet and short EP. For some reason that made me believe Liquids are an English band. And that’s not only because this EP is released on an English label. The band sounds like they could be from that funny little island. I was wrong though. Dead wrong. Liquids hails from Indiana. And … Read more
Low Culture
Evil
Drunken Sailor (2013)
This EP runs all of 4:59, featuring two new cuts from Low Culture. The band just released a full-length earlier this year on Dirtnap Records, Screens, and it’s making waves—at least in this writer’s household. With that aside, this 7” jumps right into the heart of melodic garage-punk, very in tune with the Dirtnap sound (though this comes courtesy of Drunken … Read more
Spokenest
Gone, Gone, Gone
Drunken Sailor (2016)
I have a type, and it’s short and fast. I’m partial to it and probably less picky. It fills a need that my constantly fidgeting digits and bottomless coffee mug cannot. Besides, short and fast is just better. Duh.Spokenest are seemingly built on that same concept, playing finger-bleedingly fast guitar and drum in this husband-wife two-piece from California. On Gone, … Read more
Stiff Richards
State Of Mind
Drunken Sailor (2021)
I’m doing my damnedest not to judge this book by its cover, because Stiff Richards is far and away the worst band name I’ve heard in some time.With that out of the way, they say punk is an angry genre. Sometimes that’s in the lyrics, sometimes the shouting, sometimes the overall sonic impression. This is the latter. It’s short and … Read more
Various Artists
Toys That Kill/Future Virgins - split
Drunken Sailor (2013)
Pairing Toys That Kill and Future Virgins in a single record, this Drunker Sailor 7” teams up bands that have released some of my favorite records of 2011 (Western Problems) and 2012 (Fambly 42). That’s a lot of quality, an intriguing pair-up and, honestly, a lot to live up to.Does the three song EP live up to expectations? More or … Read more
Various Artists
Wonk Unit/Raging Nathans - split
Drunken Sailor (2016)
This split 7” from a US band and a UK band carries a surprisingly unified sound over its four songs, two from each band. The record starts with Raging Nathans and their whoa-oh pop-punk that sounds like it’s just a hair faster than it’s supposed to be – in a good way. Listening to their two songs brings a number … Read more
What-A-Nights
Self Titled
Drunken Sailor (2013)
What-A-Nights are a Japanese four-piece punk group, mostly falling on the pop-punk side of the spectrum, with some tight Buzzcocks sensibility seeping in. Their self-titled full-length, first self-released in Japan and now brought to the larger masses by Drunk Sailor Records, brings ten songs of soaring melody, hooky guitar, and positive vibes.The songs, while labeled as pop-punk, utilize the guitar far more … Read more
