• Song of the Day: “Something Mean” by Gentilesky

    Song of the Day: “Something Mean” by Gentilesky

    Song of the Day: “Something Mean” by Gentilesky

    From the always-reliable imprint Hozac Records came the late 2023 release of Gentlilesky’s debut LP Way of Seeing. Billed as a “female-fronted Sardinian/Istanbul supergroup with members of The Rippers, Love Boat, Maggot Madness, Haywire Desire and Poster-iti,” the band reaches the same tier as Omni and Sweeping Promises when it comes to replicating crucial elements of first-generation post-punk while bringing something fresh to the table.

    There’s not a dud on the album, which begins with the undeniably brilliant “City of Boredom.” Yet our pick’s got to be “Something Mean.” Declaring that a new-ish band sounds “just like” a group from the past typically reads as not just lazy and boring but as a denial that nuance exists. However, the bass rhythms that lead into electric shock-sounding guitar riffs on “Something Mean” point back to Delta 5. (Fuck yeah. Let’s make Delta 5core a thing! They’re frequently namedropped yet rarely turned to as a primary influence.)

    Nuance kicks in when the song reaches its home stretch. Yaprak Kirdok’s vocals get distorted and the whole band goes into hyperdrive for a grand finale that’s more like a fever dream redux of some of the Wipers’ more abstract material.

    READ MORE: Song of the Day: “Ready to Go Steady?” by Sorority Sisters

  • Song of the Day: “Ready to Go Steady?” by Sorority Sisters

    Song of the Day: “Ready to Go Steady?” by Sorority Sisters

    Song of the Day: “Ready to Go Steady?” by Sorority Sisters

    New Nashville trio Sorority Sisters released their first two songs on Valentine’s Day as a free download over on Bandcamp.

    “Ready to Go Steady?” reinterprets surf rock, girl groups and other timeless touchstones from the ’60s through a garage-punk filter. The irreverent lyrics are hilarious (“I drew your face on a mannequin head/ It looks just like you, and I kissed it in bed“). It’s silly in a good way– and would’ve caused a public scene back then. The other song, “Young Tongue,” brings a comparable level of sarcasm.

    Think of the band as a less straight-laced Garbo’s Daughter or equally (young) tongue-in-cheek The Flips. Another late aughts/early ’10s comparison that’ll hopefully point you all to something obscure would be the Barreracudas and GG King offshoot (along with Ashley and Michelle) Stolen Hearts. In the here-and-now, there’s another Nashville group called Cha Cha Heels that’s like-minded and worth checking out, as well.

    READ MORE: Song of the Day: “Working Class Anthem” by Doll Chaser

  • Song of the Day: “Working Class Anthem” by Doll Chaser

    Song of the Day: “Working Class Anthem” by Doll Chaser

    Song of the Day: “Working Class Anthem” by Doll Chaser

    A Minneapolis-based all-trans quartet, Doll Chaser began 2024 by sharing the stellar two-song EP Livin’ the Dream.

    “Working Class Anthem” adds to the queercore canon with Madison Tyler and her BGVs’ melodic yet righteously indignant delivery (think Big Eyes, if Kait set out to take down the patriarchy). They’re a tight band to boot, with bassist (and primary background vocalist) Claire Rogalsky setting the pace here and on digital flipside “Metropolitics.”

    As for comparisons to newer music, Spotify (icky, we know) playing Dick Move’s “Under My Skin (A Love Song)” immediately after Doll Chaser’s EP was a nice touch.

    Weird observation for us old heads: the “masochistic, anarchistic” line in “Working Class Anthem” points back (accidentally, probably) to very similar lyrics in The Hollywood Brats’ “Sick on You.”

    This should be a 7-inch, ASAP. In fact, if a No Spectators record label was the least bit financially feasible at the moment, we’d contact Doll Chaser first.

    READ MORE: Song of the Day: “Trans Day of Vengeance” by Body Farm

  • Song of the Day: “Xenomorph Queen” by Deep Tan

    Song of the Day: “Xenomorph Queen” by Deep Tan

    Song of the Day: “Xenomorph Queen” by Deep Tan

    “Xenomorph Queen” reads like the title of a song by a heavier band of some flavor with a sense of humor about its often-abstract lyrics. There’s nothing vague here, though– London trio Deep Tan wants to fuck an alien.

    Musically, it’s like Klaxons (if they were ever this cool) fronted by TERF and HIV/AIDs denier Nina Hagen (if she was ever this clever). Lyrically, there’s bigger-picture messages aside from lust for those “beautiful shining teeth/ all 200 or so.”

    “‘Xenomorph Queen’ witnesses the real star of the Alien franchise in a new context: in the throes of a lesbian romance,” reads a statement from the band (as quoted by Dork). “A sensual – but still punk – track about matriarchy, queer parenting and sapphic love, this close encounter offers a new, intergalactic perspective on #hotmilfsinyourarea #xenomilf.”

    The music video fleshes out the erotic comedy short story (you have to defend those being punk, don’t you know?) with a socio-political purpose by plugging the Xenomilf dating app.

    Digging a little into the band will take you down some unlikely rabbit holes. It turns out that singer Wafah Dufour is a gossiped-about socialite who was also a niece of Osama Bin Laden’s.

    The trio’s fresh off a high-profile tour with Queens of the Stone Age, so they’re not exactly a struggling DIY outfit. However, they’re worth a shout-out here because if some actual weirdo from Cleveland or Detroit had thought of “Xenomorph Queen” first, we’d all love it.

    READ MORE: Song of the Day: “Powerpuff Girls” by Afterbirth Cartoons

  • Song of the Day: “Powerpuff Girls” by Afterbirth Cartoons

    Song of the Day: “Powerpuff Girls” by Afterbirth Cartoons

    Song of the Day: “Powerpuff Girls” by Afterbirth Cartoons

    Courtesy of the band

    Here’s a little levity late on April Fool’s Day via Afterbirth Cartoons, a Phoenix, Ariz.-based trio that makes all-fun, no-frills rock ‘n’ roll.

    Per the band’s website, “Alvah, G and Matt were ’90s kids who grew up on a steady diet of Nicktoons, Ninja Turtles, Heathcliff and Power Puff Girls which turned them into stoner, queer deviants and social justice warriors who are fighting the good fight through three-chord punk fucking rock.”

    As The Dickies did by hat-tipping The Banana Splits and Gigantor, Afterbirth Cartoons have catchy, campy covers of the three cartoon intros mentioned above. The Heathcliff and the Cadillac Cats interpretation jogs the memories of those of us over 40. That demographic needs no refresher for the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles theme (Cars Can Be Blue did it better, for what it’s worth). Yet our pick’s the Powerpuff Girls intro, which gets reimagined with a memorable bass intro and the line “fighting crime” swapped with “fighting cops.”

    Afterbirth Cartoons’ throwback queercore originals deserve a listen, as well, with “Mother Fucker” and others best showing off the band’s stoneriffic sense of humor.

    READ MORE: Song of the Day: “Trans Day of Vengeance” by Body Farm

  • Song of the Day: “Trans Day of Vengeance” by Body Farm

    Song of the Day: “Trans Day of Vengeance” by Body Farm

    Song of the Day: “Trans Day of Vengeance” by Body Farm

    A band from both Ohio and Pennsylvania, Body Farm penned the ideal anthem for March 31 in “Trans Day of Vengeance.” With an unrelenting hardcore sound self-described as “Detestation meets Dropdead,” the group captures the anger of trans folx at a time when we’re garbage humans’ existential threat du jour. It’s not simply “ripped from the headlines” or “of the moment” or whatever, though, because trans punks have always been around, as have transphobes.

    Body Farm heads the …So This is Progress? record label, distro and print zine. Issues of the latter come with a 7-inch flexi disc– a concept worth stealing once the budget here is less tight. The most recent issue (on the website, at least) has our Cleveland homie Zach Germaniuk of TV Drugs (and Pillars) on the cover. Its flexi features five Ohio bands formed during the lockdown, including TV Drugs. The zine dates back to 2005, and a new issue’s on the way.

    As should be the case with socially-aware hardcore songs, it’s worth having the lyric sheet (or the copy-and-paste job below) in hand for your first listen.

    “Trans Day of Vengeance” Lyrics

    Respect my pronouns or I’ll stab you
    I just want to reach and grab you
    Right through my phone screen
    How the fuck are you so mean?
    You’ve pushed us to the limit
    I’m so fucking sick of all this
    Always fighting for existence
    Tired of being this persistent

    Respect is not up for debate
    Don’t know how much I can take
    Our chain is one they can’t break!

    When the rats won’t drown
    Bring the guillotine out
    They try to steal our joy
    Their hatred we’ll destroy
    Never give up this fight
    Transphobes must die tonight!

    And we can burn it all down
    Trans Day of Vengeance now!
    We can burn it all down
    Trans Day of Vengeance now!
    And we can burn it all down
    Trans Day of Vengeance now!

    READ MORE: Song of the Day: “Dark Thoughts (2)” by Tombeau

  • Song of the Day: “Dark Thoughts (2)” by Tombeau

    Song of the Day: “Dark Thoughts (2)” by Tombeau

    Song of the Day: “Dark Thoughts (2)” by Tombeau

     

    Sound arguments can be made that Australia might be the best source for outsider rock ‘n’ roll. At the very least, the smallest continent holds its own, both historically and in the here-and-now, when compared to obvious heavyweights Europe (we’re not talking about Joey Tempest) and North America. Nowadays, such discussions might be sparked by the Aussie and Kiwi acts at the forefront of egg punk– an energetic, quirky style that’s more or less a shiny, new coat of paint on garage-punk. Of course, not all Australian punk bands of the moment fit in the same box, as evidenced by Tombeau.

    Last September, Tombeau compiled several fresh tunes for Music Songs 2023. While “Much” and other must-hear selections qualify as top-tier egg punk, the harder to define “Dark Thoughts (2)” serves as the best jumping-off point. It’s more like a home-recorded garage-punk tune, circa 12 or so years ago, that reflects the lasting influence of Cleaners From Venus. By most indications, Tombeau’s the solo recording project of Tom Jones, who’s joined onstage by backing band The Idiots (quite the trio of not Google-friendly person and band names). Here, Jones’ vocals wouldn’t have sounded out of place on the famed C86 indie-pop compilation.

    In all, its one of several memorable tunes by a lo-fi act that might’ve flown under your radar.

    READ MORE: Song of the Day: “ID’d at ALDI” by The Baby Seals

  • Song of the Day: “ID’d at ALDI” by The Baby Seals

    Song of the Day: “ID’d at ALDI” by The Baby Seals

    Song of the Day: “ID’d at ALDI” by The Baby Seals

    UK trio The Baby Seals lauds self-love that’s sparked by something mundane with “ID’d at ALDI.” As the song’s title telegraphs, it’s about the confidence boost that comes when someone over 18 or 21 gets asked for their ID at a place that maybe hasn’t been busted for failing to card every customer.

    There’s charm in the specifics here: bandmates Kerry Devine, Amy Devine and Kate Shore revel in this feeling after a trip to the multinational chain of discount grocery stores. Luck’s on their side to the point that they probably got a cart from someone in the parking lot and didn’t have to wrangle a quarter (assuming that’s not strictly an American thing)).

    Musically, there’s shades of Wet Nurse’s poppy elements and Heavy Cream’s higher-octane material. (You might hear different reference points if your tastes didn’t peak in 2012). And as we said about The Baby Seals’ fellow UK trio Lambrini Girls, the socially-aware humor’s reminiscent of Tacocat, Chastity Belt, Lisa Prank and related Seattle bands.

    “ID’d at ALDI” and advance listens “Vibrator” and “Mild Misogynist” will appear on the forthcoming album Chaos (out April 19 via Trapped Animal (a Slits reference, maybe?)).

    READ MORE: Song of the Day: “City Nights” by Prism Bitch