Mr. P. Reviews Dope Music
Gloom Girl MFG’s New EP, Factory, is an Energetic Unmanufactured Punch of Grunge/Punk!
I hit play on Gloom Girl MFG’s first song, “Litter Bug” on their new four song EP, Factory, and I was instantly into it. It’s got that mixture of grunge punk from bands like Bantam (members of the Lunachicks) and the vocals on this first track remind me of the earlier releases by Juliette (Lewis) and The Licks. I’d also throw in a touch of PJ Harvey in their or the Pretenders.
Out Now: “Chicken Business” by PLZ RSPND!
PLZ RSPND’s name evokes a sort of self-deprecation similar to The Replacements name or songs such as Offspring’s “Self-Esteem” or half of The Descendents’ catalog. Their new song which strikes upon the often touted value of beer has a sound that reminded me of Osker, but if they were more of a party band like Murphy’s Law.
This new single, “Wishful Thinking”, by Slunk sounds like some Age of the Quarrel era Cro-Mags shit with maybe some Sheer Terror.
It’s like I’m back at the Capitol Ballroom in DC in the 1990s and this one of the bands playing the Hardcore Superbowl that year. And they are killing it!
“Having a Bad Time Having a Ball" by the Australia’s La Famiglia is an electrifying track combining 80's hardcore, 90's skate punk, and indie rock to create a unique and captivating sound.
So this is killing me. The way the vocals are sung from the tone to the way the syllables are being held reminds me of a specific song and band, and I can’t fucking put my finger on it. I’ve shared it with some friends and gotten some suggestions that maybe I was thinking of 7 Seconds or Dave Smalley era Dag Nasty, but neither of those is quiet right. I’ll give a free 7” to the person who listens to this and figures it out.
Gaba Groove’s new ska punk single, “Fire” premiered today…just in time for their show at the Whiskey with The Dickies, so give it a listen and get out to that show to sing along.
While not breaking any ska punk ground, the song does lay back a bit more into that reggae vibe which as fun vibe to the song. I could totally see this being on an Asian Man Records comp back in the 1990s.
“Chaperone" by No More Blue Tomorrow is a track that effortlessly blends elements of country, punk, and folk to create a unique and engaging musical experience.
Drawing comparisons to iconic artists like Johnny Cash, The Clash and recent artists like Old Man Markley, Tim Barry and Frank Turner, Chaperone manages to carve out their own distinct sound while paying homage to the those who've influenced them.
The UK’s University provides a blistering soundscape of hardcore and noise music with emphatically screamed vocals (but in a non-cookie monster way)
Their new song, “Notre Dame Made Out of Flesh” starts off with lightly distorted guitar that makes me think this will be a garage rock tune, then I start hearing the feedback and sense the impending explosion that is about to occur.
Goroh Releases “Room of Mirrors” a Metalcore Assault!
"Room of Mirrors" by Goroh is a blistering hardcore metal track that serves as a testament to their distinctive sound and unapologetic approach.
SnakeSnakeWhale Bring that Midwestern Emo Pop Punk with a DC Posthardcore Energy!
I'm loving what I hear come out of Asheville these days with bands like Busy Weather and Cardboard Colony and SnakeSnakeWhale is no exception. To call it pop punk or emo punk sells it far to short. Their new single, “You’ll Get That On These Big Jobs” hooked me from the get go with its urgency and earnestness. Any DC area people remember Fallout Countdown? That’s what this sounds like. I feel I could be back at Wilson Center in DC or the Charm City Artspace in Baltimore.
Check Your Pressure By The Deflators brilliantly blends CBGS era punk rock with 80’s New Wave and modern garage rock!
A few weeks ago, I reviewed “Liar, Liar” by The Deflators and called it a Ramonescore classic. Now it’s time to delve into the whole EP, Check Your Pressure, starting with their next single, "I Need to Know," which is less of an in-your-face punk tune and serves more as a poignant and emotionally charged punk rock anthem. The lyrics delve into the tumultuous realm of relationships and the agonizing uncertainty that often accompanies them.
Cherub Tree Delivers a Fiery Anthem Against a Chauvinistic Society
Hailing from my hometown of DC, Cherub Tree, mix the rage and volatility that the DC hardcore scene is known with what The Washington City Paper referred to as Bubblegum Grunge. Their newest singe, “I’m Not Yours, I Never Was” is another salve of Rock and Roe where bands have given their middle finger response to the patriarchy imposed on them by Supreme Court which is merely a tool of the misogynistic system that still believes that women don’t deserve a choice in what happens to their own bodies.
The Period Bomb’s New Single “Macho Bird” Is A Gentle Artistic Romp Through The Eyes of An Innocent Lost Child in Search of Kindness…or is it?
The video clip I was sent starts with a Daily Show style interview with a Maga supporter being asked if Trump will make things better….ugh. I don’t know if the whole song is about mocking Trump and his overly “macho” supporters, but I’m going to decide that it is because I like that idea.
The Honesty drop “Next In Line” A Catchy as F pop punk song About Following Your Dreams
This Sacramento, CA pop punk knows how to bring the fast paced, make you want to jump up and down while singing along anthem for those that haven’t yet given up that they can have theirs too.
Jovi Skyler’s New Album, Nothing to Do, Adroitly Mixes Grunge, Punk and Psychedelic Music
The album opens with “If You Think So” which has elements of The Meat Puppets, Dinosaur Jr. and The Beatles with various builds and lulls and a catchy as hell “sha la la la” for everyone to sing along to. Love the intro where Jovi mouths the rhythm of the song like when someone is trying to explain a riff to you when they don’t have a guitar.
Mike and The Nerve Energetic Melodic Punk Single, “Fool’s Gold, and False Idols” has Struck a Nerve!
So let me say first, that I’m sorry that I used a pun in the review title, I tried not to, but then I started humming Bad Religion’s “Struck a Nerve” and while this song sounds nothing like that, it does carry that melodic punk sound with catchy vocals.
Twentytwo's new single "Oneder" has Nothing to do with That Thing You Do, but it does Have Everything to Do with Bringing the Rock!
Their influences pull on that pop punk sound created by bands like Bad Religion and then taken to a different step by bands like Rise Against or Alkaline Trio with some of the rawness in the vocals at times that takes you to Chuck Ragan and Hot Water Music.
Germany's Sex Beat Brings The Rage in their Newest Single, "Call Me"
Sex Beat’s “Call Me” slapped my left nut right off the bat with its frantically fast, distorted guitar riff opening opening before the rest of the band joins the fray. The drums keep a simple beat which actually works well with the frantic guitar playing, the bass that hits dope accents and the slightly distorted vocal wails that venture into screaming shouts.
Spider's Newest Single, "Deathmatch", Goes for the Killing Blow
Spider hails from LA, and their sound is so reminiscent of bands like The Adolescents, Wasted Youth, early Black Flag (Keith Morris), and C3 that I feel like I’ve been transported back 40 years. This song would fit right in with the songs and bands on your bootleg copy of Decline of Western Civilization. This is the kind of shit that got me into punk in the first place, so it’s great to hear this old school sound done in a rad modern way.
UK’s A.W.M. Brings that 80’s hardcore punk sound like they live it!
Like many reviews, I start by listening to the tracks (duh), before I read the bio, etc., and in this case I wasn’t even paying attention to the title, so when I heard a blistering rendition of “Lights Out” by the Angry Samoans, I was immediately taken back to the early 1990’s and one of my first punk comps Faster Louder Hardcore Vol. 1 and 2, where I first heard the Angry Samoans. Being taken back to that moment when I first played that tape was great, and it was made even better because their version rips! A purest might complain that they changed the funky drum pattern during a lot of the song to being on double bass, but I’m all for people making a cover their own and that they did.
Cat Valley's New Single, My Body, Off of their new album Bingo Queen, is a Scathing Indictment of Patriarchal Oppression
There is so much rage mixed with self-empowerment in this song. Coming on the heels of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, this song is a banner call to action and defiance in the face of government actions like South Carolina’s newest draconian restriction on a women’s right to choose.