GRRL GANG – ONLINE 24/7

The internet truly is a remarkable tool, allowing us all to sometimes travel halfway across the world, taking virtual trips of discovery. It seems nothing is off limits anymore or out of reach. Enter the Yogyakarta, Indonesian Grrrl Gang that just released its Online 24/7 (Green Island Music), its 3-song maxi single. Sure, the band seems to come out of nowhere, but with just a few songs, the band delivers its fiery pop/punk with piercing guitars and sometimes cooing vocals, you can hear on the opening, “O, My Love,” which drifts occasionally, finding its own way. Here, Angeeta Sentana’s voice is oddly reminiscent of Miki Berenyi as she shifts around from verse to chorus. It’s merely a fleeting observation. But we hear the band’s dynamism with “You & Me” with its thick bassline and open spaces. It’s Angee’s voice that directs it all though, and as a unit, the band is directly on point. The track resonates on so many different levels, and it shows the band can hold its own with the best of them. The rhythm is intense, and guitars sputter across its skyline with vocal melodies & harmonies that are catchy AF! While this isn’t the band’s first foray into music, Grrrl Gang has been making music since 2017, and its growth shows here with infectious melodies that are directly in your face!

PUSCIFER – NORMAL ISN’T

Since 2007, Puscifer has been running concurrently with Maynard James Keenan’s full-time gig in Tool. But Puscifer – Keenan, Mat Mitchell, and Carina Round, with an assortment of touring musicians – has surpassed being merely a side project. Already with four albums under its belt, that is, until today. The band has just released its new and 5^th full-length release, Normal Isn’t, which certainly cements its place within the rock continuum conversation.

Lyrically, the lyricism on much of the release is filled with discontent. For the most part, it isn’t difficult to understand it because, like many, Puscifer isn’t blind to the things around us all. “Thrust” offers wording like “Stuck here in the middle of / all the petty people” and “fucking agitators / rabble goading rabble / trying  not to murder’s (the) / daily fucking battle.” We can see where the band is heading, with its sparse and haunting backdrop. The storm is around us, and it’s clear. While it is the music that draws us in; vibrant, flowy vibes with unmatched bass end, it’s the lyricism that captures our attention as well. Within “Bad Wolf” Keenan offers, “Bad Actors all that remain on the stage and station / Boisterous conductors, they echo without within / Plea to the void, to the gods that I don’t believe in / I now believe that we live in a simulation.” It’s not difficult to discern his meaning, but it’s done with such poise, and Carina Round’s backing harmonies are sometimes infectious. But it’s on “A Public Stoning,” where the rhythm is in front of us all, as words tackle a moment, an anger, and the obvious as we all attempt to avoid what is in front of us. The band moves differently in momentum, as the band’s clear dynamic shifts turn at the drop of a dime, as do Keenan’s words. While this could all be politicized in one manner or another, it doesn’t become clearer than on live “The Algorithm.” With social media, we see the addiction is real, but that dependence also feeds our fears. “Doom Scroll Junkies / We’re Ravenous / Devour All that we are fed by our god / The Algorithm / Social Mediots” is a clear description of its grip on our own humanity, and the pendulum on love or hate can swing either way.

It’s easy to understand Puscifer’s current view and direction, with powerful musical compositions that underlay Keenan’s heady vocal prose. Now with just as many albums as his first band, through Normal Isn’t, it’s clear that the band stands apart from Tool and A Perfect Circle, with an identity all its own.

LAPêCHE – AUTOTELIC

There’s something attractive about music at times. Moments occasionally sprout out of nowhere, and it literally creates an ambiance that’s unimaginable. Take LAPêCHE, for example, the band started in 2016 but solely as a vehicle for Krista Diem’s work before becoming a collaborative effort as a full band with bassist/husband Dave Diem, guitarist Drew DeMaio, and drummer Colin Brooks. With a few full-length albums already under its belt, LAPêCHE just offered its third album, depending on who you ask because the band does have an Audiotree Live release, with Autotelic (Tiny Engines).

So what do you think? That was rhetorical because it doesn’t matter what you think; it’s my job to force-feed you my opinion as fact, like an autocrat. Autotelic, which basically means “a creative work,” or “having an end or purpose in itself,” might remind you of “Abracadabra,” whose roots can be traced back to the third century, AD. It’s believed to have originated from Aramaic, meaning “I create as I speak.” But I digress; this is about the band’s music. From the get-go, the band punches hard with its pleasant pop aggression on “Autotelic Nosebleed,” as guitars tread a thin line between power pop and jangly pop. Either way, Krista Diem takes full advantage, wrapping her voice around the aggressive punctuations, creating these vocal melodies and harmonies that’ll make you bounce out of your seat if you’re sitting down. But we have the rest of the band to thank for that as well, with its thunderous rhythm and sharp sword guitar chords. It continues through many parts of the album.

“Heart NY” has the band moving directly in-your-face with their instruments but it’s not how you might expect as they collide across a soaring melody and entrancing vocal delivery, but it does nothing to prepare you – or me – for “Happy 4 U.” Here the band’s jangly guitars switch gears with intensity but the unmistakable sweetness of the song isn’t something so easily overlooked. Some 80s pop sensibilities are firmly rooted in the present. It’s a pop masterpiece filled with those soaring melodies & harmonies that have the band’s sound playing tricks on listeners. The band shows it has the ability to move in multiple circles. And just when you think it couldn’t get any better than this, the band rockets off with “When Are You From,” and Brooks’ consistent thumping rhythm is accentuated by Dave Diem’s intricate bass that might be overlooked by many. Just watch the changes, and you’ll see/hear. Everyone plays their part, as does DeMaio with his guitar that glistens all across the track with extended notes or powering through with his chording.

If LAPêCHE is anything, it’s consistent. Throughout Autotelic, the band shows its prowess not only with its instruments but through the songwriting from track to track. We’re at the beginning of the new year, but one just might say this is one of the best records of the year, so far. At the least, this might be a defining moment for LAPêCHE, creating its most realized work to date.