Featured Releases: May 6, 2024

Mower: II 12” (Audacious Madness Records) II is the appropriately titled second album from this d-beat rock and roll group from Pittsburgh, and while I liked their first album a lot, II is even more scorching. Mower isn’t shy about their inspirations—their aesthetic is grounded firmly in Motorhead and Inepsy—but their music is far from formulaic, the style serving as a framework rather than a set of constraints. The band is on fire here too, the raw and live sound showcasing their power as players and the blistering tempos—Mower is fast!—keeping the energy level through the roof. While the punkier parts are straightforward, loud, and fast, Mower frequently slides into extended instrumental breaks that give them the opportunity to go further out, with blistering guitar solos, complex bass runs, and deft instrumental interplay serving as the perfect foil to the straightforward rippage. I’ve heard plenty of bands in this style that can wear thin after a track or two, but II is a smartly sequenced record that changes up the tempos, structures, and feel from song to song to keep everything super lively. Excellent stuff.

X: Hate City 7” (Dirt Cult Records) Dominic wrote about X-Aspirations, the classic debut album from this 70s Australian punk group (not to be confused with Los Angeles’s X) in his staff pick a few weeks ago, but the four tracks on Hate City capture an earlier four-piece version of the band that splintered before they released anything. This version of X is more straightforwardly punk, these tracks buzzing with loose energy and built around simple and memorable hooks. “Good on Ya Baby” (which also appeared on X-Aspirations) and “Cabaret Roll” remind me of the gruff sound of the Chosen Few, while the title track’s classic-sounding rock and roll riff and call and response chorus approach the amphetamine-fueled transcendentalism of the Saints. My favorite of the four tracks, though, is “Home Is Where the Floor Is,” another high-energy rocker with a super melodic chorus that fans of the early Scientists records will love. These four tracks are an important piece of the early Aussie punk puzzle, and while I wish this lineup had recorded more, I’m stoked to have a hard copy of these four lost classics.

Pleasants: Rocanrol in Mono 12” (Under the Gun Records) Debut release from yet another lo-fi Aussie garage-punk group, and while I’d love to tell you this scene has run out of steam, Rocanrol in Mono is very much worth your time. While Pleasants don’t come off as a Ramones-worship group like the Riverdales, the Ramones are a clear influence here, with some vocals adopting a Joey-esque accent (“Takeout Dinner”), lots of blistering 16th notes on the cymbals, and chunky major key riffs (“Home Alone” sounds a lot like the Ramones’ “Pinhead”). Like I said, though, there’s more to Pleasants than that, with mid-paced tracks like “Dead to the World” having a 70s glam feel and poppier songs like “Rubix Cube” reminding me of Cherry Cheeks. The vocals are distorted and buried, leaving most of the big hooks to the instruments, with lead guitar and bubblegummy synth lines vying for the spotlight across the LP. It’s catchy, high-energy music that might appeal to fans of anything from ’77 classics to the 90s Lookout! Records scene to contemporary egg punk, without fitting squarely into any of those styles. Rockanrol in Mono’s emphasis on high energy and big hooks means it’ll appeal to anyone with a pop sweet tooth, and its stylistic range will keep it on the turntable for many plays.

JJ & the A’s: Eyeballer 7” (La Vida Es Un Mus) Eyeballer is the second 7” from this Copenhagen-based band on La Vida Es Un Mus, giving us four more blasts of their abrasive but tuneful synth-punk. While Eyeballer keeps the energy level just as high as the debut and is still bathed in sheets of fuzz, I think the melodies shine through even more memorably here than on the first JJ & the A’s record. “Generation” has a dreamy quality that reminds me of their label-mates Rata Negra, but the rhythm section’s full-bore intensity cuts that sweetness with bucketfuls of grit. The underwater effect on the vocals can’t drown out the catchiness of the chorus to “Eyeballer,” and the 60s organ sound from the synth elevate both the title track and closer “The Runner.” “Counterstrike,” on the other hand, lays into the Ramones influence with its super fast drumming and heavy chord changes. I also love the artwork on this record. The graffiti lettering (a theme that carries over from the first EP) seems like an odd fit, but that weird little punk mutant on the front and the cool primary color accents are to die for.

Added Dimensions: Time Suck / Hellbent 7” (Domestic Departure Records) The title of this debut from Richmond’s Added Dimensions might give you the impression it’s a two-song single, but it actually serves up 5 tracks of the UKDIY-inspired indie/punk we expect from Domestic Departure Records. While the 4-track-ish production on Time Suck / Hellbent gives it a unified sound, the music covers a lot of ground, from the more driving and angular “Impulsive” to the Shop Assistants-y pop of “In the System” to the artier, Wire-ish “Wound Up.” (Yes, I’m using all the same comparisons as the label’s description… they’re very apt.) I particularly like when Added Dimensions’ melodies pile on top of one another, as in “Interruption” and “Compartmentalize,” which feature criss-crossing lines that intersect with one another in unexpected ways, sometimes producing interestingly dissonant harmonies. That arty sensibility combined with an uncomplicated appreciation of pop melody propels some of my favorite music ever, and that same chemistry makes Added Dimensions sound timeless and compelling.

Legion of Parasites: Undesirable Guests 12” (General Speech Records) General Speech Records brings us a well-done official reissue of this 80s UK hardcore gem. Legion of Parasites—particularly on Undesirable Guests—always reminded me of Ultra Violent in the way their music is based on a UK82 foundation, but the band clearly aims to match the intensity and speed of the most energetic US-style hardcore. The vocals rely on simple and memorable melodies and chanted choruses, and the music is bruising, with rhythms and tempos that remind me of Germany’s Inferno on “Party Time” and “Hypocrite.” You also can’t talk about Legion of Parasites without mentioning the wild drumming. The drummer seems way more interested in doing crazy fills than holding down a steady beat (much like Jerry’s kids), and the looseness of the fast parts also reminds me of Life Sentence. The speed and rippage factors place this in the company of the fastest European and American hardcore bands of the time, yet the echoes of those older UK punk sounds give Undesirable Guests its own unique flavor. It’s also worth saying that rather than the deluxe treatment most reissues receive nowadays, General Speech opted for packaging that more closely resembles the original pressing, with a punk price to match. Indeed, Undesirable Guests doesn’t need any bells and whistles to sell it… it just rips.