Words by Jim Testa
Jim Testa founded the highly influential zine, Jersey Beat in 1982 which he continues to edit to this day. Through writing for his own publication and a number of other outlets, including as a staff writer for Hudson County’s Jersey Journal, he has championed local, regional and national up-and-coming bands. Punk has always shunned credentials, but rest assured that Jim won’t lead you astray.
GRAND SLAMS
CARNAGE ASADA – Head On A Platter (Historical Records)
If the Dictators had come from East L.A., they might have sounded like Carnage Asada. Besides a fantastic band name, these veteran punks (ex-Alice Bag Band, Saccharine Trust, Legal Weapon) bring swagger and crunch and humor to an album exploding with a unique energy. They’ve been knocking around L.A. since ’93 but this seems to be their first album and the first I’ve heard of them. You’ll want to hear this too. Frontman George Murillo talk/sings about a cast of street characters that would do Hold Steady proud – the guy in the black trenchcoat, “screaming and yelling like a crazy man” in the intersection; the Chinese lady with the aluminum hat; the little fat princess. The guitars blare in a furious miasma of distortion, the bass often breaks through, delivering the beat like the pointy end of a pencil stuck in your ear, the drums roil and thunder underneath. The music fuses punk, metal, and post-punk with the unhinged ferocity of Deadguy or Jesus Lizard, with a tangent into Mariachi on “Norteno” and Latino punk on “Septiembre,” both sung in Spanish. On “Two Brothers from East L.A.,” Murillo recalls growing up in alleys and slums, playing among the used needles, rusty nails, and broken glass littering their neighborhood. He doesn’t say so, but you get the feeling that it was a nice place to grow up anyway. If nothing else, it gave us Carnage Asada.
HOME RUNS
HASTY – “e.p.” (self-released)
Three veterans of NYC’s Pop Punk Message Board scene of the 00’s are having a blast on these four tracks (clocking in at about 6:30) and you will too. Michelle Shirelle of the beloved Steinways sings and plays guitar, with Danny Zaj on bass and the ubiquitous Mikey Erg on drums. Michelle hasn’t lost any of that adorableness she brought to NYC pop-punk nearly two decades ago; her vocals remain ginchy and effervescent, somewhere between Alison Mosshart and Olive Oyl, and her one-note solos are endearingly on point. Not surprisingly, Hasty plays catchy pop-punk with hooks like “I don’t know anything” and “Don’t waste my time.” “The Rent Is Too Damn Hight” is not only a great title but even better, the song has nothing to do with the rent, just dumping a loser boyfriend.
CHIME SCHOOL – The Boy Who Ran The Paisley Hotel (Slumberland Records)
Fans of jangle-pop, 12-string Rickenbackers, early R.E.M., the Byrds, and incandescent power-pop will love this album. I do! Chime School is the project of Andy Pastalaniec, who recorded the album in his San Francisco home studio. These eleven tracks dance and delight with bright, ringing guitars, buoyant melodies, and Patalananiec’s warm and welcoming vocals, often augmented by spot-on harmonies. It may be possible to have too much of a good thing, but not here; the album doesn’t let up or disappoint, with enough variety in the guitar tones, meter, and melodies to make each track sound fresh and inspired. Chime School even turn a hoary cliché on its head with “(I Hate) The Summer Sun.” Recommended? Oh boy, you betcha.
URBAN HEAT – The Tower (Artoffact Records)
I’ve seen Urban Heat described as dark wave, synthpop, and the New New Wave, and there’s definitely a flashback quality to Jonathan Horstmann’s arena-ready vocals and the band’s heavy use of synths and electronic percussion that takes me back to Depeche Mode and Tears For Fears videos on MTV in the 80s. Horstmann’s vocals suggest Manchester way more than Austin, not just his accent but the way he layers rhyming couplets together with powerful hooks. “You’re sharpening your scalpel, you’re sharpening your wit/ the world is gonna kill ya but you’re never gonna quit/ it’s open heart surgery, there’s nothing wrong with it/ but your operating table needs a sanitizer hit” he blusters on “Sanitizer,” and even though it doesn’t make much sense, you’re pumping your fist to the best and thinking, “Yes! Yes!” At times, Urban Heat pumps up the shtick a little too far – Flock of Seagulls, anyone? – but overall this paean to 80s Synth OD Syndrome will remind you that it used to be okay to dance to this stuff.
AVEM – “Graham Cracker” EP (self-released)
Ontario’s AVEM bring a clever gimmick to their catchy brand of Ramonescore. They’re birdwatchers (or so they say) and add an avian theme to six punchy, melodic, and rollicking tunes. “Don’t be thinking I’m a pervert, obsessed with tits and cocks, they’re common names of summer friends I hope that no one mocks,” goes “Bird Perv,” which notes that boobies and peckers are just names of birds too. “Dining At The Dump” (with bird friends, of course) includes a quick, stunning guitar solo that would do Teenage Bottlerocket proud, while other songs salute the many attributes of “Gulls” and woodpeckers. An anthemic doo wop pastiche with a monster chorus chanting “Fuck humans” commemorates a taxidermized passenger pigeon named “Martha.” Lots of fun, and first-rate pop-punk too.
SCRUNCHIES – Colossal (Learning Curve Records)
Minneapolis trio Scrunchies have been knocking around since 2018, but Colossal has the energy and enthusiasm of a debut album. Guitarist/vocalist Laura Larson, bassist Jeremy Warden, and drummer/vocalist Danielle Cusack recall NJ’s late, lamented Screaming Females in both personnel and sound (just listen to “Generator;”) there are echoes of Poly Styrene in Larson’s more impassioned moments as well. Recorded by the late Steve Albini at Electric Audio in Chicago, the analog recording brings warmth and immediacy to the band’s sometimes thoughtful, sometimes explosive compositions. The quiet/loud dynamics of grunge keep listeners on their toes, Larson’s guitar frequently explodes into emphatic solos, and the 13 tracks never overstay their welcome.
TWO BASE HITS
ULTRAMAN – Dead End Thoughts Under A Crawling Sky (Rad Girlfriend Records)
St. Louis, MO’s intermittently active Ultraman return with their fourth full-length (and umpteenth lineup) since 1988’s Freezing Inside. Founding vocalist Tim Jamison’s still yelling his lyrics with that old hardcore bluster where his voice goes up half an octave on every scream. Over 13 tracks, the band hits a couple of styles, mostly sticking to tough-guy hardcore but throwing in a few obligatory metal breakdowns and, especially toward the end of the album, more melody. Fans of the genre (think Samiam, Lawrence Arms, Hot Water Music) should dig it, although hearing Jamison enunciate every syllable of “dead end thoughts under a crawling sky” in a vain effort to give the title track a hook sums up my mixed feelings.