Slovenly Useless Bazooka On Avenue Z

I dipped into the Slovenly slime earlier this year and managed to drag out the desiccated gems Choke Chains, Wet Ones, Red Mass and Scraper put out into the world - but somehow the latest releases from European bands Avenue Z and Bazooka evaded my grasp. For no longer.

I was yawning my arse off today at the morning weekly meeting, and the thought of an 8 hour day was bearing down on me like a cyclone - and then ‘Machine a Reves’ kicked in, and nothing the shitstains of the world threw at me would stick. The French dirty psychser (featuring members of other great bands such as Catholic Spray – NOW you recognise that synth sidewinder! - and Magnetix) go for bottom-of-the-barrel chugging rock on Azimut, garage of the Underworld, setting fire to the river Styx before setting the controls to the centre of the earth and beyond. Here the fat buzz and Neanderthal roar that underpins ‘Invasio X’ – this is B-grade sci fi prog rock delivered with A-game aggro. It’s heady fun too – that title track is ridiculous! And now the band name makes perfect sense – so familiar yet so far out, this is Gallic garage rock emanating from the last house in the cul-de-sac – probably on the left, too.

Bazooka continue the diseased rock fare, going so far as to call their new album Useless Generation. I can’t remember when I heard a Greek band so pissed off – but look at the state of the nation, where infrastructure crumbles, unemployment skyrockets, and all you can get out of a cash machine is piles of dust. What else is one to do but to bluntly and raucously kick against the pricks? While the requisite revisionist psych synth and wah licks the edges, there is something totemic about the rhythmic plod of the drums, most evident on ‘Othoni’ – it’s inexorable, simple in its relentlessness. There is nothing else to do but to march on the capital, put vexed voice to the feelings of anger and frustration, and burn it all to the ground, rebuilding it all with leather and sweat.


Grab both of these - and plenty of other killer Slovenly records - here.

Towel Down With Wet Ones

It's my birthday today. Jesus. Gettin' old dude. I'm not gonna cry about it though - that's what Wet Ones are for. The irascible Kansas band have released their eponymous record through Slovenly, and it is the right mix of gleefully destructive scuzzed out punk. From the Pissed Jeans snot sneer of 'Waaah Waaah Waaah' right through to the ear-bleeding sworl of 'Gimme Suction' (and the rat-lovin' cover art), there is no let up, no pretension, all red-line rock destroying minds and souls. There is even a harmonic outro to the album to lend some Depression-era pathos to proceedings...yep, it makes no sense, something like a funeral pyre call. The count in on 'Simulator' is one two fuck you. Yep, Wet Ones slay, propulsive mayhem to blast this birthday into gear. Grab the LP here.

Killing With A Choke Chain

I am listening to this Choke Chains record in my lunch hour before I head back into the heady pit of hell that is high school teaching. A fellow teacher (one that is on the right side of nihilism in that she does a great job in front of the class and vents like a Banshee at the end of it) came in and said “Jesus, are you OK? This is aggressive shit, you aren’t going to do anything are you?” She was only half-joking…

Michigan has a lot of reasons why furious pummelling punk would be a perfect outlet, and Choke Chains latches onto the lot, a vise like grip on avarice and puerile pestilence (why else call songs ‘Let’s Try Suicide’ or ‘Rock Paper Rapist’? You aren’t going to name soft ballads such provocative titles without backing them the fuck up). And of course there is a background to such devilishly demented mayhem – members of Dirtbombs and No Bails litter the stage. You can hear both in the mix – the ballsy, bluesy, party rock vibe of the former, and the hardened snot punk of the latter. So sure, Choke Chains could induce wanton acts of atrocities on most-likely-deserving teenagers – the gnashing of teeth can be heard just over the crushing of glass and gouging of skin, but… – actually, yeah, I need a “safe word”. Grab Choke Chains through Slovenly here.