Raw garage punk fans will dig it

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By The Barman

The Barman

15 December 2022

Hits: 2547

Diggin’ It! – Wild Zeros (Heavy Medication/Adrenalin Fix/Beast)

Scuzzier and nastier than your usual French garage rock, “Dig It!” is three tracks of furious punk fun.

First impressions count for a lot and on the strength of their 2019 seven-inch compilation on Heavy Medication, “Well Cooked”, Wild Zeros are a singles band, in that they’re equipped with succinct, catchy songs that do their business and get out of the way.  This 45 does nothing to dispel that.

The title track skids along like a Renault with no brakes with a distinct Devil Dogs flavour. There’s a nagging chorus and room for a brief guitar break before the thing shudders to a halt. “Tough Job” doesn’t have many lyrics aside from the title and probably doesn’t need them. “Did You Dig It?” is a raw and rhetorical question that's served with a side of raw six-strings. 

The whole shebang has as many chords as it has songs and is delivered with a ragged sense of l’ espirt that’s invariably fuelled by a case of those Kronenbourg 1664 green bottles.

1/2

Buy it

• garage
• french
• heavy medication records
• wild zeros
• diggin' it!

Out of time but not running on empty

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By The Barman

The Barman

13 December 2022

Hits: 2922

Out of Time – Sonic’s Rendezvous Band (Easy Action)

Some bands defy objective assessment and Sonic’s Rendezvous Band is one of them. So let’s not even try to pretend.

How can you be objective about a band that issued just one single in its lifetime when it happens to be “City Slang”, inarguably the greatest rock and roll seven-inch of all time? Can you really question the worth of a band whose lineage is former MC5, Rationals, Stooges and The Up members?

Yes, you could. But that’s just you.

• easy-action
• sonics rendezvous band
• stooges
• mc5
• fred sonic smith
• gary rasmussen
• scott asheton
• scott morgan
• born out of time
• the up

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Kuepper and White return to the fray

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By The Barman

The Barman

10 December 2022

Hits: 2426

_{Anna White photo}

Two of the hardest working men in Australian show business, Ed Kuepper and Jim White, return for a short series of duo shows this summer.

Kuepper has just completed a run of residency shows with his new instrumental project Asteroid Ekosystem and drummer White is taking a brief pause from international touring with Bill Callahan, Xylouris White and Marisa Anderson.

The pair will continue their journey of exploration via Kuepper’s extensive catalogue and a studio release by the pair looms in 2023.  Acoustic troubadour Darren Cross will open all shows which are on sale now via feelpresents.com

ED KUEPPER & JIM WHITE
FEBRUARY 2023
Thu Feb 2 Murwillumbah, The Regent
Fri Feb 3 Coffs Harbour, The Jetty
Sat Feb 4 Brisbane, The Outpost
Wed Feb 8 Sydney, The Great Club
Thu Feb 9 Cronulla, Brass Monkey
Fri Feb 10 Melbourne, Brunswick Ballroom

• saints
• ed kuepper
• australian
• australian tour
• jim white

Died Pretty season finale of Thursday Evening Gunk is now live

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By The Barman

The Barman

06 December 2022

Hits: 2407

• died pretty
• joeys coop
• brett myers
• thursday evening gunk
• steve clark
• nothing but dust

Holler for a Marshall

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By Robert Brokenmouth

Robert Brokenmouth

05 December 2022

Hits: 2347

Tears of the Minotaur - The Christopher Marshall Predestination (self released)

I guess the starting point here will be 1980s noisy blues outfit Harem Scarem, formed by Charlie and Christopher Marshall. Until they found Chris Wilson, Christopher was lead vocalist. And I do wish for a few live tapes of that line-up. 

And, curious how things turn out. 

Like his fellow bandmate the late Chris Wilson, Marshall's voice is quite extraordinary, and you can pretty much pick your own favourite blues vocalist to compare him to. 

• charlie marshall
• harem scarem
• christopher marshall
• tears of the minotaur
• the christopher marshall predestination

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One disorder you need to catch

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By Ron Brown & Robert Brokenmouth

Ron Brown & Robert Brokenmouth

05 December 2022

Hits: 2565

Punk Traumatic Stress Disorder - Cull The Band (Tomorrow Records)

“Punk Traumatic Stress Disorder”  is one helluva a punk rock record and by that I mean it’s everything you want in a punk album: songs full of anger, hate, profanity and, most of all, humor. Yes, humor abounds throughout these 11 wonderful tunes.

Jeff Stephens (ex-Exploding White Mice) was kind enough to drop me a line and talk a little about how some of Adelaide’s finest musicians got to together in Cull The Band:

• perdition
• exploding white mice
• ben gel
• jeff stephens
• cull the band
• Punk Traumatic Stress Disorder
• tomorrow records
• bloodsucking freaks

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Stepping into punk's shoes

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By Robert Brokenmouth

Robert Brokenmouth

05 December 2022

Hits: 1946

Strung Out On Heavens High, 1980-1982 - Religious Overdose (Optic Nerve Recordings/Glass Records)

Nope, never heard of Religious Overdose. So I put it on. And suddenly, that weird Adelaide time from about 1978 to 1981 was back.

Bands like Nuvo Bloc, Systems Go, The Lounge. You sort of knew some of their influences. And rather than be like so many other bands smitten with the underground music movement currently sweeping the globe, they'd deliberately avoided mimicry to produce something both damn strange and damn good. 

• the venus fly trap
• Religious Overdose
• Strung Out On Heavens High
• optic nerve recordings
• glass records
• alex novak

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Talking in rock and roll tongues

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By The Barman

The Barman

04 December 2022

Hits: 2410

Speek Evil: Illustrated Rock and Roll Periodical (The Art of Fox)

Reviewing what’s a visual feast served on paper pages is a challenge at the best of times but who doesn’t love a test? “Speek Evil” is neither a zine or a comic – call it a zomic if it makes you happy - because it combines the best of both, and it’s chock full of dark imagery and rock and roll attitude.

Which should come as no surprise, as it’s the product of the mind and pen of Mike Foxall, late of Nancy Vandal and more lately guitarist in The Neptune Power Federation. Foxall is one of the pre-eminent rock and roll graphic artists of the Sydney underground scene.

He’s a member of a club that boasts Ben Brown, Ray Ahn and Glenno Smith, and his imagery adorns the covers of his current band’s albums, plus posters and T-shirts for Crapulos Geegaw, King Parrot, Frenhal Rhomb and The Australian Beef Week Show. He’s also an animator.

“Speek Evil” is a lavish, full-colour 80-page production printed on high-quality matt paper and is produced quarterly. It plumbs similar cultural depths as “Unbelievably Bad” used to, but with Foxall’s own punk rock pre-occupations and peers in evidence. It’s up to five editions.

• frenzal rhomb
• neptune power federation
• speek evil
• mike foxall
• nancy vandal

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No need to be vague about how good they are

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By JD Monroe

JD Monroe

03 December 2022

Hits: 2596

I've been watching that Tim Burton Addam's Family reboot, "Wednesday", and smiling when the young actress tears it up go-go zombie, old school death style to an old Cramps tune, also find myself gravitating to old Alien Sex Fiend and Peter Murphy videos in my tiny hours.

As an almost perpetually melancholy and new wave nostalgic, elderly goth antisocial glamarchist, bored to tears in a deadend desert, wind blown, graveyard town, I'm always complaining about how there is almost zero modern music with the coolness and style and abstract innovation of the ‘80s post-punk, goth, and synth-pop I grew up with.

But this dynamic band, Vague Scare, have all the chilly vintage atmosphere and evocative lyrical panache and gloomy, brooding vocals of Joy Division, Depeche Mode, Red Lorry Yellow Lorry and I totally love them. If you came of age in the Bauhaus/Sisters Of Mercy/Skinny Puppy era and yearn to hear some new sounds that got that classic retro gothic vibe, you will love Vague Scare. They are almost too cool, remind me of every record I love.

New album out right now! I heard the recent Soft Cell/Pet Shop Boys duet and VAGUE SCARE is way better! Check out their Bandcamp here.

• cramps
• joy division
• vague scare
• transient
• bahaus
• depeche mode