Released late in 2020, Chronophage’s th’pig’kiss’d quickly became an underground favorite, a DIY basement punk album that mixed Sonic Youth destruction and Yo La Tengo jangle. In the two years since a lot has changed, both in the world and with the band. Their brand new self-titled album, out via Post Present Medium and Bruit Direct Disques, sounds downright refined. Gone is the ramshackle spirit and tape hiss, in their place however, the band’s songwriting shines radiantly, giving sight to the band’s more “pop” tendencies. With each and every listen however, it feels like the album the band has always been gearing up to make. The songs are great from end to end, loaded with their vibrant snare sound, strained and stubbed melodies, and the band’s penchant for hard spun indie chaos sitting side by side with big hooks, memorable twang, and jangle punk sweetness. - DG
SNIFFANY & THE NITS - "The Unscratchable Itch"
London’s Sniffany & The Nits introduced themselves in 2020 with The Greatest Nits, a ferocious and charismatic debut EP that was equal parts chaotic and catchy. The quartet (which includes former members of Joanna Gruesome), blend a mix of vibrant hardcore, rattled post-punk, and a touch of deranged pop, creating songs that are vulnerable beneath their muscular pummel and sarcastic edge. The Unscratchable Itch, the band’s first first length, expands the anxiety, animosity, and aggression of their EP with blunt force guitars, rhythms that pound their way into oblivion, and the always acerbic wit of Sister Sniffany. It’s her vocals and lyrics that truly set the band apart, taking situations of heartbreak and sexual exploitation and giving it all a swift kick in the teeth. The Unscratchable Itch is a cavalcade of character studies and personal exhortations, shouted and yelped over a constant stampede. The noise and fury never relent but the hooks find their way in, and there’s room to interpret the scorn and disdain in Sniffany’s world of cheating spouses, submissive behaviors, and empty promises. - DG