One of the best things about doing a music blog is that I'm constantly receiving an education. It seems like the more I learn, the less I know about this massive universe of underground music. Arizona's TA-80 has been around long enough to have contributed to that Queers tribute album that came out on Asian Man Records 17 years ago. They've got a catalog of releases dating back to 2010. Yet I am just now becoming hip to this delightful punk rock band from the American Southwest. TA-80's new album is called Turn It Up! It is available on cassette and compact disc from Snubbed by Allegedly Records (a collaboration between Pennsylvania record label Allegedly Records and Maryland label Snubbed Records). Now of course the fastest way to my heart is to put a cat on your album cover. But in all seriousness, I dug this record from the moment I first hit the play button. This band plays raw & energetic poppy punk with hints of new wave and straight-up rock. I love the mix of melody and grit. When it comes to showing enthusiasm and having fun in a totally palpable way, TA-80 really hits the mark. This is the kind of band I would have loved when I was first getting into punk. It understands how to write quality tunes while still keeping some of that roughness around the edges. I really dig the dual vocals, and there's something special about a band that can go from a raging hardcore song straight into a five-minute anthem that sounds like it could fill up an arena. This album makes me wanna jump up and down and shout nonsensical interjections for the sheer joy of it. Turn it up indeed!
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