Genki Genki Panic - The Munge

 

Label: Uncommon Interests

Year: 2021

Our friends at Genki Genki Panic have returned with a three song 7" that continues to solidify their reign as the Premiere Surf CHUDS operating in America today. It's as if they finally paddled in from a surf expedition of the channels around Three Mile Island long enough to write the soundtrack for the Munsters R-rated reboot. The one where Herman embarks on a cross-country bloodsoaked revenge killing spree. The one that shows the Munster Koach careening through southern california beach parties, grinding Frankie and Annette into crimson tire treads, splattered across Malibu's pristine sands. The one where the Rats gang is commandeered as an unholy army of the misfit freaks, unleashed into the halls of every high school in the country to wreak a savagery so diabolical, a crusade so determined to erase normalcy from an entire generation, a terror so unspeakable that Herman himself fears he may have fallen prey to his own murderous fervor.

That one. Did you ever see it? Came on right after Love Boat.

7" is very close to being sold out...so...help them be the sellouts they deserve to be.

DL

MTN ISL - Big Question

 

Label: self released

Year: 2021

I don't mean to be posting only Atlanta bands, but Atlanta bands keep making music that needs to be shared, so I feel duty bound to share it. I'm a giver (of other people's things...which is easier than being a creator of your own things).

MTN ISL continue to not just fly under the radar, but they seem to actively be jamming it. Case in point, I actually really like this band, yet, they released an album in 2020 that I did not know about until roughly 72 hours ago (well into the year 2021) when I looked to see if this new record was on Spotify (it is...along with the 2020 release, and their older records). I mean, should I set up a Google alert or something? Maybe just pull my head out of my ass?

But you know, whatever. Can't blame the band for me being out of touch. Maybe it's just a good reminder to always be digging, look for the next thing that excites you and reminds you of the transcendent power of art. That's how it's supposed to be. No digital algorithm will ever "know" you anyway.

So what about the music?

Well, let's just say this one has a spot somewhere on the end-of-year Best Of already. It's really really fucking good. It's a lurching tour through the grittier end of the noise rock neighborhood, where the yellowing sodium halide lamps never quite illuminate the sidewalks, and there's a constant rumble form beneath the streets. MTN ISL have a sound that remains consistent from record to record which relies on a trudging stomp and bellowing roar. A sound that generates its own turbulence, a slow ominous thud from the dark end of the corridor. A slow motion hulking tumult pushing towards you.

Don't let this one fly under the radar. I'm telling you. It's one you will want.

DL

Palaces - Live From West End Sound

 

Label: self released

Year: 2021

Another day, another bruiser from the fair city of Atlanta for your consideration.

This time it's the band Palaces, who were around a decade ago, then went dark (didn't pay their Georgia Power bill?), then showed up last year with a blistering record of metallic hardcore/metallic noise rock/metallic metal. Rather than taking another ten years off, they recorded a live set of tracks from that record (and an unreleased song) and in January of 2021 set that free in to the world. That was very nice of Palaces to do, because I actually think this live documentation is stronger than the album. It's still very mean and nasty sounding, but it (not surprisingly) has a more raw and direct energy that I think really benefits the songs. It takes some of the metal out of their sound, which I prefer.

See which you prefer. It's your preference. Or perogative. 

DL

Nowhere Safe - Voices Inside My Head

 

Label: self released

Year: 2018

Fuck it, we stick with Atlanta bands for another entry. Why not?  What did they ever do to you?

Nowhere Safe is gearing up to put out new music this year(?), but today we post their initial four song ep that they self released as a trio a few years back (they have fattened up to a four piece as of now). In these songs the band run the gamut from post hardcore that is modern hardcore adjacent, to post hardcore that is space rock adjacent, to post hardcore that is very slightly death rock or goth adjacent, to post hardcore that is just...good fucking post hardcore. I want to say that they remind me a bit of that band Sparta mixed with something darker and with a more sinister edge. But honestly, I'm not sure if I'm remembering Sparta exactly right, and being as lazy as I am, there is literally no way to check and see if Sparta sound remotely like they sound in my brain hole. 

So, let's just forget that part, and say that this is a very enjoyable ep, and I look forward to see what they come up with next.

DL

Naw - Head Pain

 

Label: self released

Year: 2021

The Atlanta train keeps on a rollin'. Choo choo.

Naw is relatively new, but in a short time they have pulled together a nasty album that blends a metallic take on hardcore with a gritty take on noise rock. So, in short, it's loud, it's guitar based, and it keeps its boot pretty squarely on your windpipe. It's squarely within your wheelhouse, I'm pretty certain of it.

DL

New Bedlam - Steady Diet Of Bullshit

 

Label: self released

Year: 2021

More Atlanta goodness that has been hiding in plain sight under my nose for a few years now. I am very observant...don't miss a thing. Finger on the pulse and all that.

Maybe if I was 20 years younger and still stayed up past 10:00pm, I would have been aware that New Bedlam are purveyors of fine, shouted, rocking, full tilt volume pushing in the vein of somebody like The Bronx or Gallows, or a little bit of Refused, or maybe the bludgeon of It's Casual mixed with some of the post hardcore that These Arms Are Snakes was good at? It's a big, full, hammer down approach that maintains maximum impact for the maximum amount of time you would want. Meaty riffs and a healthy vocal bellow...it's a winning formula.

Will I ever get out of my house to see this band in the flesh and experience the thunder in person? They are playing on my birthday in a couple weeks, so maybe if the clown has left the party in time I can go after cake.

DL

Griever - How's My Crying?

 

Label: self released

Year: 2020

In an announcement that will surprise exactly nobody, here is an Atlanta band (the town within which I reside) that I had never heard of until very recently, and who upon finding them, I can now say I know nothing about them. Who they are, what they've done, what size pant they wear. Nothing.

That isn't "strange", because my hermit-centric lifestyle tends to keep me busy with my head up my ass doing things that do not require, or even favor, the camaraderie of others, save my immediate family (who wishes I would get out more). So, a band flying under my radar at this point in my life is pretty much par for the course. But, a band as good as Griever flying under the radar is odd. They should be spoken highly of in those nerdy music conversations you and your friends have when you should maybe try talking about your feelings every now and again. Wouldn't hurt to show some vulnerability you know.

And it would certainly do you well to peep this Griever ep, so you can have something relatively new to talk about the next time you and your friends get around to ignore the underlying feelings you all have boiling over inside. You can talk about how good this record is instead.

DL