Top Sounds - M

MOVING TARGETS/ THE SWIPES - World Gone Mad {Mad Butcher} Gorgeous white vinyl 10” featuring four songs from each band. Big draw for me was obviously Boston’s MOVING TARGETS. They kick things off with demo versions of ‘World Gone Mad’ and ‘Make It Right’ that both appeared on the recent ‘Humbucker’ album - and they sound better than 85% of ‘proper’ releases that come into the House Of Scanner. Then there’s a demo version of ‘Fear Of God’ that appeared on the awesome ‘Wires’ album before closing with an acoustic, decidedly BEATLES-esque ‘Waiting For You’ (that also appears in a different form on ‘Humbucker’). Just to tease us, the liner notes state TARGETS mainman Ken Chambers recorded a 12-track acoustic album in 2000 that this was taken from and that remains unreleased. Oh please, someone release it!! Those three demo tracks just blaze, the Chambers guitar work exemplary and the backing from Yves and Emilien is as good as it has ever been on a TARGETS record. Flip the disc and you get Germany’s THE SWIPES. They kick off with a very able take on MOVING TARGETS’ ‘Coming Home’. Of their other tracks, ‘Solidarity Land’ is from a 2019-released compilation for Project Shelter and is solid, pulsing Euro-Punk. The remaining tracks are Lockdown home recordings, both of which address the COVID pandemic with ‘Germicide Suicide’ sounding like latter-day ADOLESCENTS and closer ‘Isolation World’ bringing to mind, oddly, THE ADVERTS - possibly due to the vocal delivery. Real solid release with THE SWIPES surprisingly holding their own against the mercurial qualities of MOVING TARGETS. Includes CD with the vinyl. You know you want this. (16.02.21)

MUCH THE SAME - Quitters Never Win {Lockjaw} Chicago scenesters since 1999 with an album released on Nitro in 2006, this is a fully remastered reissue of the band’s debut album (and first time on vinyl) that was released in 2003 on AF Records. You get 12 tracks that feature that Fat Wreckish sound of late 90s but with something a tad more aggressive - think NO USE FOR A NAME fused with PENNYWISE and some GRADE-esque backing vocals. Highlights would be ‘Wish’ that could easily have been on a GOOD RIDDANCE album, the fluid riffing of ‘Masquerade’ and ‘Still Falling’ which again recalls GOOD RIDDANCE and could well be the album’s best with some heavy duty riffing and a great chorus. Competent stuff but kinda generic of that Fat/ Skate Punk sound of the era and sounding, well, pretty much the same... (12.02.21)

Hit HERE for material reviewed prior to 2021 including:
MAHWRIN SKEL, MAKEWAR, MANIAC, MARKED MEN, MEAN CAESAR, MEAN JEANS (2 reviews), MEDICTATION, MEMBRANES, MEXICAN WOLFBOYS, MIND SPIDERS, MISGIVINGS, MISS JUNE, MIXTAPES SAINTS, MORE KICKS, MORLOCKS, MOTOSIERRA, BOB MOULD, MOUNT WYCHEPROOF, MOVING TARGETS (2 reviews), MUCH THE SAME and MYSTERY GIRL