Car Seat Headrest — Teens Of Denial
Teenage-adult recluse fails to keep his talent hidden in his bedroom any longer. Vulnerable, lonesome (even with all those other 'bandmates', ie. him playing other instruments) and kinda fucked up in parts with the smirking self-depreciation, but such a great inflated re-up of early-naughties indie rock (this bloke lived on The Strokes like the rest of us).
The Hotelier — Goodness
Took me a while to lock in, mostly due to how different this is from Home, Like Noplace Is There. I view this as the logical evolution of emo, with just the key attributes of that genre (IMHO) — heart-sleeved perspective and unfiltered honesty — retained.
PUP — The Dream Is Over
Wrote this one up for my day job:
Pup's 2014 debut was an attention-commanding display of unfiltered punk ferocity. Second time out, structural sensibilities – loud/quiet dynamics, drunken sing-a-longs – steer the aggression closer to a pop-minded counterpoint. It's a balance directed by vocalist Stefan Babcock, hitting both endpoints of the genre-leading Philadelphia scene – the pulpit preaching of Restorations and Modern Baseball's excessively wordy imagery – via an eclectic cast of snarling Craig Finn-like cynics, party-crashing revellers and self-pitying analysts. This constant oscillation repurposes the passionate zeal of its predecessor into a more unhinged, unpredictable and ultimately more rewarding ride.
Speaking of Modern Baseball...
Modern Baseball — Holy Ghost
Fuck I've done some kilometres drunkenly walking home listening to this record over the past few months. Perfect for that, in the same way Craig Finn and the boys are (hold the K, pass the calculator).
The guys also played at our office a few months ago and were lovely/charming/sounded great...
Wireheads — Arrive Alive
Wrote a shit-tonne of words about this record back in June. A sample:
Despite these frequent attempts at self-disruption, the striking everyday sermons of lead vocalist Dom Trimboli is the constant that guides the jumbled, yet steady, sense of continuity across the 12 tracks. Trimboli frequently forces his way to the front, elbowing flutes, jangling guitars and horns out of the way to cut a clearing for particular punchlines. As with "Dedication", where his fumbling and mumbling verse entangles with the surrounds, ahead of a warning proclamation that "someone will smash your face in". Not only organically forming a focus, but also seamlessly connecting the harmonious chorus — "your face is so god-damn beautiful."
Trust Punks — Double Bind
Again, for RS (issue #777):
On their 2014 debut LP Discipline, Auckland's Trust Punks took a familiar Dunedin-sound art-punk jangle — not far removed from the early work of fellow Kiwis Surf City — and derailed the linear directness with frequent experimental diverts. Empowered by a strong protest perspective, Double Bind injects feedback-guided noise and an angsty snarl to this core, as the quintet reimagine an anti-establishment punk spirit for modern predicaments – most notably Antipodean refugee policies. This clear thematic focus is kept lively via side dishes of irony, sarcasm and bitterness and, although they occasionally resurrect the brighter pop tones of their former self ("Pig"), it is within the exploitation of their newfound, unfiltered aggression — whether that be spitting barely audible exhortations ("Paradise_angel-wire") or surrendering to the suffocating clangour ("Leaving Room For the Lord") — that the record really comes to life.