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 SLAM
WONDERLICK – Wonderlick Goes To War (People Still Suck Music)
Wonderlick is a side project of singer/lyricist Tim Quirk and multi-instrumentalist Jay Blumenfield of Too Much Joy. Originally formed in 2000 as a busman’s holiday to record background music for a TMJ website, the project grew, like Pinocchio, into a real live band.
For their fifth album, Quirk and Blumenfield partnered with producer Dave Trumfio (Pulsars, Mekons), who also contributed synth parts and created loops (ala Mission of Burman). Jason Borger added piano, organ, mellotron, and Simon Horrocks played drums. Given who’s involved, it’s not surprising that these 11 tracks are catchy and clever, but there’s a clear difference between these the two projects: Too Much Joy tries to make you laugh, Wonderlick wants you to think.
And so we get a satiric and often allegorical look at the human condition, from how a children’s book feels waiting on a shelf until it fulfills its destiny in the hands of a child, to what our fascination with human cruelty says about us, or how we need to make the most of life with what we’re given (“Wag Your Tail”). “Niagra Falls, 1969” ponders the unintended consequences of human endeavor, while “Vinko Bogotaj” salutes the Slovenian ski jumper whose spectacular wipeout was seen on ABC’s “Wide World of Sports” for generations. This is a soft-spoken album that manages to say a lot. Recommended.
HOME RUNS
VISUAL LEARNER – Greg (Salinas Records / Bloated Kat Records)
Last month, I reviewed Panel, featuring an old acquaintance, Zac Mayeux, on guitar. This month, we’ve got what Zac feels is his main project, Minneapolis’ Visual Learner, a noisy punk band steeped in 90s distortion and Twin Cities influences. Husker Du comes to mind first and foremost, with one guitar delivering a meaty fuzzed-out roar as another nimbly shreds at the top of the mix. A melodic bass and muted drums take care of the bottom end. Mayeux plays guitar and sings lead, joined by Avery Taylor on guitar and backing vocals, Morgan Purcell on bass, and Tim Chandler on drums. This is a guitar album, though, exploding with riffs and solos. I can’t tell you what “THEMCHARMINGHAMMS” means because the lyrics get buried in the mix, but I can say it’s one of the bands most powerful songs, and I can easily picture a room full of moshing fans losing their shit over it. Ten tracks and not one I’d skip over when I listen again, but dude, post the lyrics on your Bandcamp next time. I’d love to know what you have to say!
BASE HITS
LOT LIZARDS – The Horrors of Adulting (Punkerton Records)
“Growing up is a nightmare—but at least we have punk rock to scream about it.” As the opening line to a press release, that’s pretty good. A look at the Lot Lizards’ photo suggests that they did their growing up a while ago, but nonetheless, the St. Petersburg, FL trio’s first full-length does deliver with both speedy and catchy punk rock tunes and lyrics that capture the throes of adolescent angst. There’s a leadoff song about “heading straight for death,” another about big dreams (“Great Escape”), “Cash On Fire” bemoans our uncertain future, and untapped potential (“Spectrum”). And they won’t have to travel far to The Fest in the fall, where their distorted guitars, punchy drums, and snotty demeanor will fit right in.
JEANINES – How Long Can It Last (Slumberland)
“Nice.” What a horrible left-handed compliment, right up there with “pretty” and, god forbid, “interesting.” So let’s eschew those cliches in describing How Long Can It Last, the third album from Jeanines, the duo of Alicia Jeanine and Jed Smith. Jeanine has a high-pitched indie pop voice that frequently blossoms into multi-tracked harmonies, while multi-instrumentalist Smith lays down layers of synths, guitars, lots of tambourine, and what sounds like drum-machine beats. The arrangements tend to be simple but well-balanced, with the bass often carrying the melody over strummed guitars. Many tracks hew towards the British folk-pop of the 60a, although I favor the peppier songs like “On And On” and “Satisfied,” which earn the album’s inclusion in this column.
FLOWERS FOR THE DEAD – “First Place” EP (self-released)
This young D.C. trio follows up 2024’s Magnolia with a four-song EP that strips away much of the noisiness of their debut. Each song hits differently. “Tiny Beanie” updates Moon Zappa’s “Valley Girl” with contemporary spoken-word snark (“Number one, it seems nobody knows how to mosh anymore,”) from singer/guitarist Jessie Szegö. Drummer Ten Bears lays down a beat over shimmering guitars to take us into “First Place,” which questions competition and self-worth, while “Thorn” offers a psychedelic, harmony-infused treatise about bullies and narcissism; a gorgeous song about people who put a target on their back just to feel important. The EP finishes with “Perfect View,” a delicious bit of indie-pop about looking at the one you love.
MOLLY HORSES – Clang Clang (Solid Brass Records)
L.A.’s Robotic Hawks fall into the new era of sprechgesang bands (Idles, Shame, Viagra Boys) with singer/guitarist Harry James talk/singing over spastic, gnarly guitars and rumbling drums and bass. Cormac Shirer Brown adds a second guitar, as drummer Tim Wright and bassist Malcolm Watts provide a solid thumping bottom you can feel in the pit of your stomach. Elements of Dub, Goth, and Industrial seep into the melee, but even on a track called “Ball Gang,” Molly Horses only approximate the gut punch of their more manic contemporaries or the psychotic intensity of forebears Shellac and The Fall.