Please Stop! - Power Suit and Dead Bodies

With a debut 7" out on the ever-dependable No Front Teeth Records, Minnesota's Please Stop! ought to be on the radar of anyone on the lookout for some in-your-face punk rock. Veterans of the modern-day Midwest punk scene, lead singer StaySee and guitarist Danimal have formed Please Stop! with  bassist Cheetah and drummer Reckless Jane Danger. Power Suit and Dead Bodies jams eight songs onto one little slab of vinyl - delivering the literal bang for your buck that we've come to expect from the best hardcore punk 7"s. As the title suggests, these songs tackle some pretty dark subject matter. StaySee, a first-class punk screamer, has a knack for bringing out everything that's troubling, uncomfortable, or straight-up bleak about these lyrics. Behind her the band lays down a properly punishing attack. Danimal's guitar sounds super raw and totally punches you in the face. And that rhythm section can thump with the best of 'em. All-out rippers like "Let's Hear It" and "Paint Them Up" hit hard and fast, annihilating all that's in their path. But on the "longer" (meaning somewhere north of a minute and a half!) tracks, the band shows a range beyond light speed hardcore. Whether it's the thunderous sludge of "Sweetie", the dark surf tones of "High Horse", or the barely restrained menace of "Bites", there's plenty here to demonstrate that Please Stop! are far more than a one-trick-pony. "Bites", as a matter of fact, is the one track that I keep going back to. It's one of those songs that just grabs you by the throat. "You should come with a warning," hollers StaySee. "'I bite, I bite, I bite.' You should know this about me - I bite, I bite back!" Never has a vocal sounded more believable!

Both vinyl and digital editions of Power Suit and Dead Bodies are available for purchase at Please Stop!'s Bandcamp. Those who support the group on Bandcamp will receive three bonus tracks as well. One of those is "I've Never Seen That", a delightfully thrashing number inspired by one of the great cinematic masterpieces of all-time: The 'Burbs. I highly recommend going all-in and getting your figurative mitts on the bonus tracks. No one has a better ear for what's good in punk music than Marco at No Front Teeth. This debut from Please Stop! keeps the NFT hot streak very much in tact! 



-L.R.

https://pleasestop.bandcamp.com/album/power-suit-and-dead-bodies 
https://www.facebook.com/pleasestoprocks/ 
http://www.nofrontteeth.co.uk/