According to the bands bio, this Providence, RI band can play anything from full blown nuclear mushroom cloud garage punk to fun in the sun drenched surf ditties; let this record stand as exhibit “A” as evidence to why the above statement is 100% truthful. The A side, “A Day at The Beach” is the perfect soundtrack to a warm day on the sand, dancing, frolicking about and even playing volleyball with an oversized beach ball. The B Side, “Hold Your Tongue,” is a 1960’s garage Rock N’ Roll stomp-o-rama similar to The Monk’s song “Complication.” Atlantic Thrills effortlessly deliver the goods . . . and then some! – Jay Castro
Dusty Australian synth-punk band of apocalyptic doomsayers Ausmutants bring us songs pieced together with duct tape, scrap metal and ultra melodic hooks all wrapped in shell casings of bleakness and urgency. Ausmutants immediately remind me of contemporary bands like Miscalculations and Sex Crime with hints of bands from the way back machine like Screamers. This long player delivers songs that are short, sharp, and dark. Ausmutants aren’t a carbon copy of the above-mentioned bands make no mistake about that. They push and shove their way right to the top of their game and stand side by side next to the genera’s best. – Jay Castro
This record was recorded June 26th, 2005 and was originally available only as a limited edition CD, until now that is! If any of you aren’t familiar with The Reigning Sound, I have but one question: WHY NOT? Greg and the boys deliver some brilliantly melodic, well-crafted punk Rock N’ Roll tunes that ooze warmth, charm and style that is nearly unsurpassed by any of their contemporaries. This record is as good a place to start listening to this band as any. The sound quality is excellent plus you get a sample of the oomph that Reigning Sound brings to the stage. In the land of Rock N’ Roll, The Reigning Sound is giants among men. – Jay Castro
The San Jose, CA power trio’s second album has songs that are tightly packed with their unique brand of melodic, intelligent ferocity. To me, the qualities I hear in this band are similar to the ones I love in bands like Jawbreaker, J Church and Superchunk. A swirling blurred force of guitars and drums whisking quickly and violently around you with honest vocals that serve as the anchor to keep everything from getting too out of control. On the band’s Facebook profile they list “havin’ fun” and “gettin’ over depression” as some of their interests. Thankfully we have bands like Hard Girls that makes those things easier for the rest of us to get through! – Jay Castro
Stalins of Sound hurl dark and damaged punk rock that rides a black sound tidal wave of synthesizers and anxiety. The name of the band and the cover photo of the record, that shows a tank on a busy freeway mowing down motorists, pretty much sums up their music. These San Diego residents deliver the soundtrack to the harsh reality of when (not if) the machines finally take over and humanity’s days are numbered. The human race resists their extinction agenda however, and a rag tag crew of cold, calculating militant types band together and fight back. The Stalins of Sound are geared up for the first strike against the enemy stronghold. – Jay Castro
Wavelengths summon up the fun, lighthearted spirits of the 1960’s and manage to funnel them into your speakers and into your uptight cranium. Enjoyable tunes of loose psychedelic, kick back lounge and garage splatter about. I am certain this record has been specifically written to raise your good time mood to a near uncontrollable level. Never taking themselves too seriously, which is a good thing with song titles like “Take It Sleazy,” and at the same time deliver some straight rock right outta the garage with songs like “I Don’t Wanna.” Wavelengths keep the rock rollicking throughout the album’s duration. – Jay Castro
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Jordan of Petty Things along with his brother formed the heart of this now defunct Tempe, AZ band. “Puchos” is what the Argentineans refer to as cigarettes, in case anyone is wondering. This cassette reels out some easy going summer lazy tunes that remind me what it would be like to take the mule ride down the Grand Canyon: fun, moving, spiritual, but by no means in any hurry. In my opinion, the standout tracks are “Victoria” which blends what the Puchos do best plus add some garage rock stomp and strut. The other being “Joanne” which reminds me of something Van Morrison could have written. When all is said and done, Los Puchos graced us with an absolutely solid release, a shame that the band called it a day. – Jay Castro
The Thunderwolf is a mythological creature that seems to exist in different cultures. To the Japanese, the creature is a white wolf wrapped in blue lightening and is said to be pretty calm and harmless except when there is a thunderstorm then it becomes agitated and leaps all around in trees and rooftops scorching all it touches. This same reaction also comes from listening to Durban Poison brand of high-octane music. The Victoria B.C band of ladies and gentlemen shoot bolts of melodic, aggressive punk Rock N’ Roll out of their fingertips that causes one’s soul to stir. Like the Thunderwolf creature this cassette will leave scorch marks on your tape player no matter what the weather condition. – Jay Castro
These records came out last year but they just recently arrived at the drawbridge of the Audio Ammunition secret mountain castle/fortress. We played them (a lot) and loved ‘em so we want to share the experience with you, our friends. Just because they came out a year ago doesn’t make them any less relevant by any means. Primitive Hearts play a kind of pop punk/power pop hybrid that not a lot of bands have been able to pull off: The Yum Yums, The Basement Brats, and The Parasites are just a few that come to mind at the moment. They sing about loves won and lost, the good times of yesterday and the ones that are yet to be had. Primitive hearts are the band you put on when your best lady stomped on your heart and when you’re getting psyched for the big Saturday night. – Jay Castro
This band is a current band from California, but sounds like they came from England in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s marching with the likes of The Cure, Echo and The Bunnymen and Joy Division. Although they share a dark romanticism with the above-mentioned bands, Cat Party put a bit more velocity behind it. Unlike a lot of bands that share the same influences, when you listen to Cat Party their music doesn’t just make you want to listen to the originals, their music makes you want to listen to more Cat Party: melodic, melancholy with just a hint of late 1970’s punk bubbling beneath the surface to keep things moving. Me being a huge fan of this type of music (yes, I’m a lover not a fighter) I cry brilliance! – Jay Castro
California’s Honey Badgers bring forth a brand of catchy, fun, ferocious, Billy Childish influenced garage Rock N’ Roll to us in matching black suits and skinny ties. This album is a bi-polar rollercoaster ride of emotion; from playful little ditties like the song “Funky C” to full swing garage mayhem demonstrated in the songs “Bumstick” and “Bone Zone” where you can almost feel the lead singer screaming at you two inches away from your face. The band does employ keyboards, and it is utilized in some songs way more than in others, but it doesn’t by any means take away from the 1960’s garage kick that this record was meant to be an homage to. I think the forefathers would be proud. – Jay Castro
The Shrills fire away cannon blasts of lo-fi, trashy Rock N’ Roll chaos with slathers of 1950’s rockabilly and doo-wop incased in bombshells of 1960’s garage pandemonium. Imagine if Flat Duo Jets and Supercharger came together in a remote part of the universe like some sort of unstoppable Rock N’ Roll Voltron robot but instead of a sword is armed with a keyboard. Now it heads towards earth on a strict mission to rid the world of all that is dull and tedious in contemporary music. This gives you some idea of what I’m trying to keep from exploding my speakers for the last few days. All three of these releases contain the same high proof mixture with little to no let up! – Jay Castro
Holy Smokes, this is one of the best comp records I’ve heard from beginning to end in a really long time. It’s as if they had Audio Ammunition in mind when the fab folks over at No Rules concocted it. The fun starts off with Oakland’s Top Ten and their cover of The Real Kids “Hit You Hard” sung with female vocals, which adds a new twist to an already killer song. The record keeps up the pace with some of my already favorites like Youthbitch, Primitive Hearts, Mean Jeans, and Chemicals just to name a few. Bands I discovered on here that I now love are Piss Test, Huff Stuff, and Perfect Look. If you’re a fan of fun pop punk that’s high on the melodic side and bursting with energy, then you owe it to yourself to get this record NOW! – Jay Castro
The parade of fantastic releases just keeps coming from the lads at No Rules Records this time with this EP by these Oakland, California girls (and boy) The Shanghai’s! What we got here is (and I wanna add that’s it’s not nearly enough) some cat claw catchy, pop punk with thick buzz saw guitars and furious drum bashing accompanied by melodic female vocals and on occasion some doo wop-y backing vocals. The production on the record is just minimal enough to give the songs that edge and abrasion that music of this sort needs yet isn’t so lo-fi that it blocks the melodies from beaming through. I look forward to living in a world with a band like The Shanghai’s walking amongst us and making music. – Jay Castro
Brooklyn, New York’s Sex Scheme scruffily thrust at you some brutally blown out, lo-fi, broken blues, with harmonica and all. Supposedly the band spent 60 dollars recording this record. Not that it matters; hundreds of thousands of dollars are spent to produce absolute rubbish. When playing this record however, be warned that the humidity level of the room suddenly rises to the levels that are unmatched by the southern states of the union in the middle of the summer months, the room you’re in suddenly has dirty maroon shag carpeting and the paintings on the wall turn into velvet renditions of what they once were. Turned up, sleazy out, and fuming all around: this is the order of the day for the band Sex Scheme and they execute this order quite well. – Jay Castro
These record reviews were originally published on Audio Ammunition on July 10th, 2014
