Girl Drink Drunks - Meal Deal

Back with their first new music since August of 2023, Portland, Oregon's mighty Girl Drink Drunks absolutely rip it up on the five-song EP Meal Deal. This band, comprised of PDX punk mainstays Joel Jett, Adam Kattau, Capt. Johnny Sensitive, Rodrigo Diaz, and Matt "Wet" Waters, continues to play blistering, totally pissed-off punk rock that meets at the intersection of budget trash and early hardcore. But somehow, even after the consistently fantastic output this band has produced in recent years, Girl Drink Drunks have managed to totally blow me away with this latest release, which takes things to the proverbial next level. These tunes have grabbed me by the neck and kicked my ass into the next county. This, my friends, is punk fucking rock in all its fierce and furious glory! 

I love hearing a band sing about how much it sucks to live in these dark times, and few vocalists are better equipped to scream out all those frustrations on an 11-out-of-ten intensity scale than Mr. Joel Jett. And if you like scorching guitars and forcefully bashed drums, you are in for a treat! If "Better Than a Human" had been the whole record, this would have already been an essential purchase. But there's zero letup from there. The title track is an anthem for these times — an urgent reminder that a lot of people out there are struggling just to put food on the table. "Hang Time" might very well be the best song Girl Drink Drunks have ever put on tape. "Woke Up Screaming" is another raging ode to the bleak zeitgeist of Planet Earth circa now. And tying it all together is a smashing rendition of Screaming Sneakers' classic "Violent Days." That choice of a cover was not random. Girl Drink Drunks have made a record that speaks to the present condition. If you subscribe to the "Shit is fucked, but at least that means the punk rock will be really awesome" doctrine, well here's the kind of record you've been waiting for! Dave Berkham recorded this EP at Village Squire Studios, and it sounds exactly like an impassioned punk record ought to. Crank these tunes at the loudest possible volume, sing along at the top of your lungs, and fire yourself up for the fight. Let's be better than a human!

-L.R.

https://girldrinkdrunks.bandcamp.com/album/meal-deal
https://open.spotify.com/artist/3m7q7O5dFjHZwFE5sU9FkC
https://www.instagram.com/girldrinkdrunks/
https://www.facebook.com/girldrinkdrunks/

Girl Drink Drunks - After 9pm

It's hard to believe that it was already six years ago when I first wrote about Portland, Oregon's Girl Drink Drunks. In my book, Joel Jett (The Flip-Tops, The Minds, Jetpack) is an all-time great in the garage punk universe. When I discovered he had a new band going with members of The Hot LZs and Piss Test, I was super stoked. And when I heard Girl Drink Drunks, I totally flipped (no pun intended). I consider the band's 2017 debut long player one of the most underrated punk albums of the previous decade. It is my hope that new album After 9pm will be properly rated and hailed as one of 2023's most essential punk rock releases. This album (which marks the triumphant return of Jett's record label Sonic Jett after a decade plus pause) is an absolute monster. Obviously this band has a huge garage punk pedigree, but the record sounds too good to be classified as budget trash. The band rips through 13 tracks of aggressive but catchy punk rock with a rock n' roll influence and a hardcore intensity. Jett, as always, belts out his vocals with fury and force. The rhythm section is tight & powerful, and the lead guitar is pure fire. Simply put, this is a killer punk rock record. Lyrically, it's very in tune with the tenor of the crazy times we live in. While the band name comes from one of the greatest comedy sketches of all-time, you can be assured that these songs are no joke. With the majority of the tracks coming in under two minutes and the longest running just two minutes, twenty seconds, After 9pm is like a series of punishing blows that will leave you battered and still begging for more. The vinyl release is a 12" record spinning at 45 RPM. Grab a copy now along with a download of the first album if you don't have one already!

-L.R.

https://girldrinkdrunks.bandcamp.com/album/after-9pm
Sonic Jett Records on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/girldrinkdrunks

The Beaten Hearts rock!

Ever notice that the long-running joke about Canadian bands sucking doesn’t pertain to punk music? I don’t know what it is about Canadians, but they’ve always “gotten” punk rock. Maybe there’s something in the water. I once knew a guy who came back from a trip to Canada and swore that the beer tasted different…

Hailing from the beautiful Maritime province of New Brunswick, the Beaten Hearts are the latest in a long line of excellent punk bands from north of the border. Featuring the talents of lead singer Brian LaManna (ex Valentine Killers), Ray Auffrey (ex Bad Luck #13), Fear of Lipstick’s Derek Lounder and Jeremy O’Neill, and red-hot lead guitarist Tyler Boutilier, this Moncton five-piece is not exactly a gang of newcomers. And it shows in their music. Remember good old “punk rock n' roll”? It was kind of a happening thing circa the early to mid ‘90s when the likes of the New Bomb Turks, Humpers, and Devil Dogs reigned supreme. The Beaten Hearts take me back to those days. And, damn, they do this style well! Blending elements of early rock n’ roll with the flamethrower ferocity of its ‘70s punk antecedents (Dead Boys, Saints, Teenage Head), the Beaten Hearts make no attempt to be current or cool or progressive. They just put the pedal to the medal and rock. And while the cliché about bands of this particular style is that they’re “a lot of fun live”, what I appreciate about the Beaten Hearts is that they know how to make good records as well. Like any band with a ‘50s influence, they really understand the importance of a simple and well-written song. Debut single “Red Line Gurls” is one of the catchiest tunes of this (or any!) year. It’s full of tasty guitar hooks, handclaps, and ooh-and-ah backing vocals. Hear it once, and it'll be stuck in your head all day. “Rhonda Lynn” is another revved-up toe-tapping rocker, while second single “Badlands” shows a harder, nastier edge a la the Pagans/Rocket from the Tombs. And for something completely different, “Red Line Gurls” B-side “(This Is) How It Ends” slows the tempo for a melancholic but ballsy pop vibe. It’s pretty “rock”, but in a really good way. Cool tune!

Without a doubt, this is one of the best of the new bands to come on the scene since I stopped doing Now Wave. So you can see a big reason why I’m writing again - because it’s exciting to know that there’s great rock n’ roll out there. And if you have the good taste to like great rock n’ roll, check the Beaten Hearts out! The “Red Line Gurls” 7” is out Sonic Jett, and “Badlands” is out on the band’s own Maladroit Records. So hey, go buy some vinyl!

- L.R.

http://www.myspace.com/thebeatenhearts
http://www.myspace.com/sonicjettrecords