The Shake Appeal column is Pitchfork associate editor Evan Minsker’s excuse to listen to and write about rock’n’roll—punk, garage rock, psychedelia, budget rock, and pretty much anything else with guitars and attitude. He returns after a brief hiatus with a list of favorites from the year to date, perfect for backyards and beers and barbecues this holiday weekend.
Anxiety: Anxiety (La Vida Es Un Mus)
These Glasgow punks create a false sense of knowability early on their self-titled album, establishing a barking, burly aesthetic on opener “Dark and Wet,” only to switch gears entirely across the rest of the record. “Sewer in My Mind” is frantic, “Delayed” is patient. Even the tone of the vocals seem to vary from song to song. “There's so much going on here” is usually a red flag for a punk record, but Anxiety's through-line lies in the band’s undeniable conviction and hooks.
Dauðyflin: Drepa Drepa EP (Erste Theke Tonträger)
If a rough Google translation is to be believed, the first song on the Icelandic punks’ EP addresses politicians and police. The repeated words “drepa drepa drepa” apparently mean “kill kill kill.” It’s feminist hardcore that literally vows to brandish a knife in the face of the patriarchy. At one point, a laugh comes through that’s both menacing and satisfied. This is dark punk at its most forceful and dominant. Tellingly, it closes with an anti-cop speech from the 1975 exploitation film Switchblade Sisters.
Foster Care: Sterilization (Total Punk)
When people invoke the “anyone can do this” trope about punk music, they’re thinking of records like Sterilization. The New York band knocks out 12 songs in 24 minutes—fast and aggressive, vocals spat out and slurred, with everything pretty well caked in feedback. But making Sterilization isn’t easy—the ingredients need to be just right. All this is to say that Foster Care are much more than some shitty paint-by-numbers punk band. Their rhythm section is powerful, their hooks are as catchy as they are belligerent. Other punks wish they could make an album this on-its-face effortless. They can’t.
Giorgio Murderer: Holographic Vietnam War (Pelican Pow Wow)
Rob Craig is an amazing punk storyteller because he doesn’t waste time skirting around the narrative; the thesis of Buck Biloxi and the Fucks’ “Hit You With a Brick” is pretty much right there in the song title. His Giorgio Murderer guise is dystopian, but even though he’s playing a synthesizer, he’s similarly direct on “I Ain't Doing So Hot.” His power chord game is strong as he rails against “creeps” on “Night Law.” And then there’s the future world synth instrumental “Theme from Bill and Ted vs Grey Goo”—a fake film with an incredible plot.
GØGGS: GØGGS (In the Red)
Ty Segall, Chris Shaw (Ex-Cult), and Charles Moothart all individually have records out this year, and it’s very likely that the GØGGS album will be the best thing any of them deliver. As Segall and Moothart trade instruments throughout the album, they’re always working against Shaw’s barking vocal. Of course there will always be a place for new Ex-Cult and Ty Segall records, but hearing these three encourage each other to tap into their inner junkyard dog is harrowing and awesome. It’s kind of like what happened on Slaughterhouse—a group of people who were already dominating at live shows translating that aggression on record.
Honey Radar: Blank Cartoon (What’s Your Rupture?)
By “Caterpillar,” the second song on their new album, this Philadelphia band establishes their sound with an ace vintage guitar tone, perfect hushed vocals that recall early White Fence records, an overall air of psychedelia, and so on. Honey Radar put out tons of records, giving the sense that leader Jason Henn is one of those chosen few whose talent pours out at a disorienting rate. It’s hard to keep up, but Blank Cartoon defines his sound while still offering the hits.
The Hunches: The Hunches (Almost Ready)
OK, so this isn't new music, exactly, but it’s culled from sessions for a 2001 LP that never happened. Back when people were talking about a “rock’n’roll revival” with Jack White and Julian Casablancas reaping the benefits, Portland’s Hunches were recording what would have been an incredible debut album. It’s all here—a screaming, magnetic frontman whose voice is ragged and unhinged, raw power guitar with undeniable blues leanings, high drama. This year, the Hunches will reunite; its members have formed Sleeping Beauties and the Lavender Flu. It’s a good time to figure out what the Hunches were all about, and their self-titled lost album is an ideal gateway.
Jack Oblivian and the Sheiks: The Lone Ranger of Love (Mony)
Accompanied by Memphis combo the Sheiks, Jack Oblivian shows that he’s an effortless and versatile rock’n’roll songwriter on The Lone Ranger of Love. He sings big tent rock anthems in a rasp and is relaxed on the Southern-tinged “Fast Friends” (which seems equally indebted to blues rock and Big Star). He slings warmth and menace. He goes country and soul. There are bubblegum and psychedelic detours. He does it all well.
JJ Doll: JJ Doll 7" (Katorga Works)
Some of the best punk music of the year so far comes from NYC punks JJ Doll, a band featuring members of the also-great (and now apparently defunct) Ivy. The band's demo surfaced earlier this year, and while that tape is definitely worth grabbing, their Katorga Works 7" rules. There’s a chaotic, careening drive to “You Come First.” Sara Abruña's rapid fire and erratic vocal performance is crucial here. “Dirge” matches no wave noise with hardcore’s framework. Ivy’s records were always solid, but in their early goings, JJ Doll are exciting.
K9 Sniffies: Master’s Touch (Urinal Cake)
K9 Sniffies have been playing shows around Detroit for years. Master’s Touch, their debut album, is an impressive introduction to follow all that legwork. It’s enough that they’ve got power chord bashers like “Huffin’ Shit” and “Bill’s Block,” but the album’s strength is in its range. They stretch out on “Old Fisherman,” leaving space to eventually land a patient, well-done guitar solo. There’s an echoing saxophone on “Hey! Hungry Foodies” and synths courtesy of the album’s producer, Fred Thomas. Then there’s “Donovan’s,” their homage to the actual Detroit bar (and Joe Wojtowicz’s best vocal on the record).
Kid Congo & the Pink Monkey Birds: La Araña Es La Vida (In the Red)
Kid Congo Powers, formerly of the Cramps and the Gun Club, has been making quality music for years now. La Araña Es La Vida is another outlet for Powers’ rock’n’roll poetry. “I’m in love with doing the twist,” he declares on “We Love You” while also professing his love to Frank Sinatra, Brigitte Bardot, and Warhol’s Factory. You believe him, too. Powers and his band come across as pop culture omnivores, taking in cow-punk, bubblegum, vintage garage rock, and old novelty records. The album is named for the Great Spider Goddess of Teotihuacán, who “sprouts hallucinogenic morning glories and protects the underworld.” Sounds like a party.
Leather Towel: Leather Towel IV(Aarght/HoZac)
Australia’s Leather Towel features members of Ausmuteants, Exhaustion, Woollen Kits, and Nun. They recorded their debut album in 2013, and it’s finally seeing the light of day, which is awesome because this thing is fun. There’s the one-minute speed punk jam “Siding With Yoko,” which, yes, is about Yoko Ono. Throughout, the lyrics are hilariously straightforward—“Mean Girls” is literally the plot of the Lindsay Lohan movie. They have two theme songs: “L.E.A.T.H.E.R. Towel” and “Leather Towel II.” A punk record that burns out fast—it’s only 17 minutes long—and refuses to let up.
Liquids: Hot Liqs (self-released)
Liquids open their record with the 57-second track “I Killed D.T.”—a fictional account of the assassination of the presumptive Republican presidential nominee. The fast and aggressive track, on its own, isn’t much. As the album title implies, the NWI band truly do have some impressive chops. “Howdy,” one song later, shows what they can do with one of the best extended rock’n’roll guitar solos of the year. The rest of the album splits the difference between the first two tracks—they’re aggressive, sure, but they can play.
Lumpy and the Dumpers: Huff My Sack (Lumpy)
They’ve terrorized the world with their singles, and at last, the St. Louis slimeballs have unfurled their debut album. Huff My Sack came out the same week as the James Blake and Radiohead albums, and it’s hilarious to consider that Lumpy lives on the same planet as either of those other two artists. These serious, personal records about getting older and falling out of love are sandwiching a Dumpers song that shrieks about swimming around in human filth. It’s called “Pee in the Pool,” and it’s a pretty solid indication of the band’s deal: aggressive, occasionally repulsive, and hard to look away.
Miss Destiny: Miss Destiny (R.I.P. Society)
The first single from Melbourne’s Miss Destiny came out a couple years ago. On their new debut album, the band’s sound has gotten heavier. Harriet Hudson (of Circle Pit) has become a stronger vocalist, and the addition of new drummer Emily Jans (of Straightjacket Nation) gives the band an added pummel. The new album version of “The One” goes way harder, and perhaps the best moment is when they open a track by screaming the word “NIGHTSTALKER” for several seconds. They sling threats pretty freely here, so the message is pretty clear: Don't fuck with Miss Destiny.
Mountains and Rainbows: Particles (Castle Face)
That aforementioned K9 Sniffies album felt like a long-awaited debut, but that timeline is nothing compared to fellow Detroit rock’n’roll mainstays Mountain and Rainbows. The debut from Matt Z’s other not-Tyvek band has been seemingly waiting in the wings for a long time, and Particles makes good on the promise of their excellent live show. (John Dwyer was apparently impressed with them at a show, so he signed them to Castle Face.) Matt’s performance here is expert—this warbling, unpredictable, borderline caricature voice performing over a bunch of undeniable hooks. This one’s an hour long, which is a good thing—they’ve been holding onto some of these songs for a while, and their worth the wait.
Pnature Walk: Pnatural (Magnetic South)
There are strains of the Seeds and the Voidoids’ DNA in the music of Pnature Walk, who are from Lafayette, Indiana, but there’s also something decidedly unsteady about their music. Songs like “Solitude” and “Single Blinds” feel occasionally warped and uneasy—not exactly psychedelic as much as disorienting. It never approaches “woozy chore” territory, though, and that’s thanks to some well-written and perfectly executed hooks. The vocals here are pretty wild, too.
Scraper: Misery (Slovenly)
Scraper’s self-titled record from 2013 was a biting highlight from that year, as the San Francisco band covered Dicks’ “Kill From the Heart” and delivered a scathing takedown of hippies. Misery capitalizes on the burly nature of their previous work, and that’s thanks in part to production from Chris Woodhouse. (He worked on Ty Segall, Thee Oh Sees, Fuzz, Spray Paint, and tons of other bands’ most brutal records.) They declare things like “I'm an animal” and “you're a fucking walking curse.” The sound here is beefy and brutal, and the tone is angrily dismissive. There’s something very relatable about all this misery.
Tyrannamen: Tyrannamen (Cool Death)
Power pop in the vein of Greg Cartwright, Stiff Records, and Alex Chilton is hard to pull off. On their debut album, Tyrannamen show that they’ve got the sound clinched with a few solid hooks and Nic Imfeld’s powerful rasp. On “My Concrete,” they lament how many construction sites have cropped up around his house. It sounds like a Springsteen song, so it’s probably as close as you’ll get to hearing Springsteen complain about construction workers. The best of the bunch is “You Should Leave Him,” a fiery, soulful song that sounds like an emotional plea until you realize they’re threatening to murder a guy and take his place.
Warm Bodies: Domo (self-released)
Listen to Olivia Gibb howl on Warm Bodies’ inaugural record Domo. Listen to her shout over Jordan Carr’s bass on “The Psychic Connection,” Ian Teeple’s shredding on “My Face Fell Off,” and Gabe Coppage’s drumming on “At the Laundromat.” Hear how she wails “wahhhhhh” on “CryBaby.” The grooves, the performances, the writing—Warm Bodies fire on all cylinders in their inaugural outing. It’s evident on this record, in footage (if you can wade through all the clips from that zombie rom-com), and on the band’s just-released live album—this is an exciting band. Let’s see what they do next.