Two brief-but-memorable stabs of hooky pop punk from this Portland power trio. “In Your Face” is a snappy, propulsive jammer in the vein of MARKED MEN/THE SPITS, while the flip is a rollicking barroom singalong about what sounds like a potentially serious injury. Great stuff.
-MAXIMUMROCKNROLL
I fear that if I describe this record as some sort of effortlessly masterful synthesis of pop punk, garage, power pop, and nut crunch, it won’t really sound like anything specific or cool to you, the wary reader, and you’ll carelessly let this record slip past the fringes of your interest (especially since I don’t know what “nut crunch” is, either). However, I also fear that if I were to describe it as “Bum with more distortion on the guitars,” you might not know who Bum were, and get confused. Then again, if you don’t know who Bum were, then you kinda got problems and now I’m the one who’s confused. My final pitch: If you only purchase one new 7” this bimonthly review period, make it this one, Nutley. “Perfect Buzz” indeed. GIVE ME MORE! MORE I TELL YOU! COMPLY WITH THESE DEMANDS!!! BEST SONG and SONG TITLE: “My Apologies.” FANTASTIC AMAZING TRIVIA FACT: If pressed on the issue, I will admit that I don’t know the difference between a hovercraft and a landspeeder.
–Rev. Nørb, Razorcake
The word perfect has been bandied about in the media for the last couple of weeks. Mostly by an orange ape that's squatting in Washington DC and whose instance of something being so, given his side of the story on one side and the truth on the other, may not so be perfect at all. At the very least it has warped what the word means.
So what constitutes a perfect buzz then? In the case of Pure Country Gold's Petey Foss newest band, a perfect buzz is one that is scruffy and frayed but still sparkles in the sunlight. "In Your Face" gives a first impression that it's gonna be some kinda rootsy, back porch ballad. That gives way quickly when it turns into a hyper and anthemic blare of fuzz that's equally 70s power pop as it is a punkish take on 80s college rock.
It's flip, "My Apologizes", doesn't stray from the same sort of template but it does juice it up a bit more, making the sound something familiar and catchy but with a bounce that has the band staking a claim of it being their own particular way to get heart rates up.
-Smashin' Transistors
credits
released October 4, 2019
Released on Hovercraft Records
Recorded by Jesse Sutherland at Room 13
Mastered by Adam Gonsalves at Telegraph Mastering
Collected tracks from five bands including Cosmonauts, Susan, and Flat Worms provides a look into the vibrant Los Angeles music scene. Bandcamp New & Notable Oct 19, 2017