Saturday, February 12, 2022

Klazo - 'Demik Dementia


Holy smokes, do we ever have a ripper here! Brace yourself! London, Ontario duo Klazo plays fast & ferocious punk rock that meets at the intersection of early hardcore, post Reatards garage-punk, and old school Rust Belt punk rock. A co-release between Big Neck and No Front Teeth Records, its new album 'Demik Dementia is a goddamn classic upon arrival. This is truly a vintage Big Neck Records release! The one-sheet summarizes it as "blaster tracks with compulsive yelling amplified by fire, alcohol and carbon monoxide poisoning," and it would be futile for me to try and come up with a better description. How can just two people kick up a racket this enormous? On this release, Rob and Jesse tear through 11 tracks that smash everything in their path. And while the sheer force and manic energy of the music are undeniable, what separates Klazo from so many other bands of this style is that they've got songs. And I love how the band complements all the killer original material with unbelievably awesome covers of a couple of classics: PACK's "Nobody Can Tell Us" and Electric Eels' "Jaguar Ride". Those cover selections give you excellent reference points for what Klazo is all about, and the band totally crushes both songs. 

'Demik Dementia is reminiscent of a whole lot of great records that came out in the early-to-mid aughts. But as the title suggests, it's fully imbued with the anxiety, despair, and rage of this unprecedented moment in our existence. If you love garage trash, Killed By Death comps, or just great punk rock in general, you need to be all over this release!

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