Richmond, Brooklyn, Hersham (boys)
CALIFORNIA CHEESEBURGER – Elevators Of Blood EP
Elevators Of Blood is this garishly-named, Surrey four-piece’s latest, following on from two previous EPs, Invest In Death (2022) and What’s On The TV (2023).
Any reference to Stephen King is welcome round these parts; say hello Elevators Of Blood, the title track of which takes nearly a minute for a lyric, other than the title, to enter the fray. The catchy Toxic Wasteman has a hooky guitar line running throughout, with a nifty bass run at the end, while Racist Family tells it like it is over a brief, speedy punk caper. Things take a darker turn on (Fuck) The Sound Of My Voice which, even as they meditate on mental torment (“Fuck even more my thoughts“), can’t help but sound like they’re having a laugh.
Four short tracks of crunchy, melodic punk rock of the British SCREECHING WEASEL variety, with simple story-telling and a little provincial GOOBER PATROL in the vocals. In short, goofy Brit-punk fun belying the occasional dark lyrical turn. Check it out.
Self-released April 19th, 2024
https://californiacheeseburger.bandcamp.com/album/elevators-of-blood
CRUCIAL TAINT – self-titled EP
Richmond, VA’s three-piece ‘rock’ band CRUCIAL TAINT, unleash this squalid debut on the world in a flourish of devil-may-care musicianship and filthy production.
After so many cleanly produced records, it’s refreshing to hear some dirt. Rising above with BLACK FLAG dirge, a righteously nasty guitar sound, and raw, desperate vocals, these four short songs are imbued with an intense feeling of utter frustration. That said, I Won’t Do What You Say mixes its tempos and is the most straight-up hardcore, gang shouts ‘n all. Fuzzy Math(Fuck You) charges in with a noisy dirge, all furious vocals and messy solo. Pie Hole is similarly paced, with discordant guitar wrangling and raging vocals, like they forgot the mikes and opted to shout louder. Plastic lays on a dragging, garage punk riff and lazy soloing, crazed vocals adding much madness to this final piece of filth.
The rough-and-ready production, brief run times, crude guitar sound, and sheer, manic desperation of the vocals, give the impression of listening to hardcore, even as most of the pacing is dirgey. If LEDZEPVIETCONG were homeless punk kids trying to rip your face off, instead of being your dopy best mate, they’d sound like this. Keeping it interesting by sharing vocalists across tracks, this is a refreshingly grubby shock to the system.
Self-released 8th April 2024
https://crucialtaint.bandcamp.com/album/crucial-taint-ep
STEVE CARFACE – Familiar Traps Album
STEVE CARFACE is the alter ego of Brooklyn, NY-based Cullen Gallagher. He also plays in hardcore punk band DEMOTED and makes instrumental music as MODERN SILENT CINEMA. Familiar Traps is this project’s debut album.
With lo-fi production values and a mix of hardcore punk tropes with experimental textures, Familiar Traps positively screams bedroom project. Tracks like Too Soon To Say, Other People, Blacking Out From Boredom, and Side benefit from the rudimentary production; primitive, garage punk with basic riffs, harsh vocals, and pounding freneticism. Short song lengths suit the style, standouts Denim Fetish, splitting between pounding verse and thrash chorus, the twangy, surf guitar mess of Bust, and the harsh vocals and gang shouts of Horace McCoy. Proceedings get experimental on the gently tripping Wall, a slow, building piece with percussive sound effects, fragile guitar, prominent bass, and haunting vocals. The atmospheric Nightcap is a disjointed journey through dark, dripping backstreets, the twangy guitars of the meandering Void adding to its haunting appeal. Corner Booth employs stark, post-punk guitars, and harsh vocals to create a dragging echo, while the noise returns on the brutally effective guitar/vocal experiment No End In Sight, blessed with one of the vilest guitar sounds I’ve ever heard. There’s even a couple of short interludes in The 35-second oddity Don’t Pick Up (Pt 1), an experiment of mangled, discordant guitar and strangled vocals, and it’s weird outro refrain, (Pt 2).
At times a challenging listen, I probably won’t be playing this on a drive to the beach, but its clanging, foundry production and white noise aspects are a breath of fresh air in an age of wiped-clean recordings. In between the thumping garage punk, there are mood changes and unsettling atmospheres to hold the interest of those into the lower budget end of DIY bedroom punk.
Released 1st June 2024 by Bad Channel Records
https://stevecarface.bandcamp.com/album/familiar-traps
PUNKBAND – Born Broke Break Croak single
The duo, comprised of writer/producers Alex Cook and Alex Jasinski, or “Aljay,” take on a reflective yet contemporary outlook, speaking truthfully about current affairs that pin down the vicenarian generation.
After the turbulent exit of their previous lead singer, Punkband found themselves taking a nearly two year hiatus. During this hiatus, the band set up a modest recording studio in Battersea, London, initially intending to explore personal musical endeavors. However, this venture inadvertently catalyzed the resurgence of the band’s creative spirit, inspiring the birth of new music that encapsulate their thoughts towards the contemporary world.
(from promo)
‘Hersham’s worst punk band’, erm, PUNKBAND, are a two-piece with a clutch of singles to their name, Born Broke… being the latest.
A febrile punk blast injected with urban grime, like a cross between SLOWTHAI and BOB VYLAN. Splashy drums, ranting chorus, raw guitar, and nice, bassy production, frantic, electronic fills adding urgency. The modern soundtrack to UK82 brick-wall punks smashing bottles in a litter-strewn alley. Fantastic.
Self-released on 19th April 2024
https://punkband.bandcamp.com/track/born-broke-break-croak
Header photo: PUNKBAND
PERSONAL PUNK 