reviews2020-02
I realized i still got about a week of music (pure playing time) from last year i did not find time to listen to, yet.
So there's a lot of "older" stuff that still might appear here in the future ^^ - that's why i started "dividing" between this year's releases and "older stuff".


Album(s) Of The Week:


2020releases:
Fake News - Break the Silence
listen: https://fakenewspunk.bandcamp.com/album/break-the-silence-2
Melodic (skate?)punk is not dead ^^! I already liked "EWWWW!" a lot, so this is definitely a recommendation if you also generally like this kind of stuff

Götz Widmann - Tohuwabohu
listen: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kkn1UesVPvQEcfXR2maGmrFp2fq6WYwB8
Some great hits (01, 04, 06, 10, 12), partly a little too melancholic/balladesque for me - but it's right what was to be expected! Götz still at his best :-)


older releases:
Crème Brüllé - Alles auf Anfang
info/source: http://www.bierschinken.net/platten/review.php?id=3881
listen: https://dessertpunx.bandcamp.com/album/alles-auf-anfang
Fast, aggressive Punkrock with great political lyrics - that's exactly the stuff i dig ^^!

BETWEEN BODIES - On Fences
source/info: https://www.awayfromlife.com/between-bodies-on-fences-review-2019/
listen: https://betweenbodies.bandcamp.com/album/on-fences-2
absolutely fantastic emo-/indiepunk from cologne! they list Alkaline Trio and Spanish Love Songs as inspiration, so you know where this is heading. i'm already a fan since the first song(s) they released, so definitely worth checking out!

Alms - Act One
info/source: http://theobelisk.net/obelisk/2018/05/01/alms-act-one-release/
http://theobelisk.net/obelisk/2019/12/30/shadow-frost-2020-lineup-update/
listen: https://almsbaltimore.bandcamp.com/album/act-one
referenced as "doom" most of the time, but i'd disaggree! well, not completely. but this is sooo much more! 70s(hard)rock or even "proto-metal" (as in their self description). That's a great record definitely worth listening to!

Hunter Alive - I Decide (2019)
listen: https://hunteraliveofficial.bandcamp.com/album/i-decide
I did not hear anything from them i didn't like (for now), and it's still the same for this album. "Progressive Hardcore" at it's veeery best!

Austerity - Anarcho Punk Dance Party
info/source: https://www.awayfromlife.com/austerity-anarcho-punk-dance-party-review-2019/
listen: https://austeritypunk.bandcamp.com/album/anarcho-punk-dance-party
Comparison to Idles is not wrong at all (although they're a little different), everything is a little "crooked". Political lyrics. To keep it short: if you like Idles you should definitely give this a shot, too!


Also worth mentioning:


older releases:
Vandalismus - Freunde luegen nicht
source/info: https://www.awayfromlife.com/vandalismus-freunde-luegen-nicht-review-2019/
listen: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kMRHWnCSIS0mc5H_p73wAx9NMqvExCpFs
dark, hard and political german rap. great samples, musically a bit minimalistic. more aggressive (or less "whiny") than the "Kummer" album (for example), but still stylisticly comparable.

100blumen - Das Ende (Bandcamp)
info/source: https://www.awayfromlife.com/100blumen-das-ende-review-2019/
listen: https://100blumen.bandcamp.com/album/das-ende
electronic post-punk from düsseldorf. not too "wavy". AFL hit it quite well with their description "egotronic meets boxhamsters". too bad the band takes a break for a while...


"Disappointments" of the week:

2020releases:
Something Dead - Everything is a problem
listen: https://somethingdead.bandcamp.com/album/everything-is-a-problem
"fuzzy punk with traces of hardcore and stonerrock" (self description) is completely correct, and i expected to dig this very hard, but i'm a bit "underwhelmed". Probably too high expecations?