First Impressions Review: Goblin Daycare – “Q: EP? A: EP!!”

First Impression Reviews, News, Reviews

Mevsu Records / Syf Records / Godless America Tapes, 07 Apr 2023

Istanbul's (what a ridiculous name!) have a new release out (and from I can tell, their only release).  Devo-referencing Q: EP? A: EP!! arrived this past week with all the markings of something I'd like – and like it I do.

Across 6 songs, none stretching longer than one minute and forty-seven seconds, the band plays low-cost lofi punk with squiggly synths and hooks all over the place.  It didn't take more than about 6 seconds for me to know that this would be my kind of thing with indecipherable Devo-esque stop-and-go's and synths that are mind-numbingly addictive on the song “Coup De Grace!” (all songs on here end with an exclamation point, save for “Officer Down! :)” and it's smiley face after the exclamation).  “Boys!” is a stuttering stomp with disorienting synths that sound all sorts of warped (or pitch-shifted).  “Landlordicide!” is a panicked romp with a vocal line that somehow reminds me of Jello Biafra on “Let's Lynch the Landlord” (no doubt intentional).  “In Harm's Way” has a bounce to it and when everything drops away leaving the bass to fend for itself, the reset works and the synths again are earworms.  “Officer Down! :)” has a cool guitar progression and the highly-caffeinated synths are unnervingly fun.  Finally, “Godfreaks!” is a stuttering number, feeling a little less chaotic than what precedes it, maybe because the vocals are a touch more restrained, muttering and stoically ranting, like a come down to close things out.  People who want clean and clear recordings or punk without synths will want to look the other way.  But fans of raw lofi synth punk (and people who like bands like Liquids, Coneheads and their ilk) will eat this up.  

  • Favorite Song: probably “Coup De Grace!”, maybe “Officer Down! :)”
  • Album Release Date: 07 April 2023
  • Purchase/Pre-Order/Pre-Save: Bandcamp

First Impressions are whiz-bang reviews of singles, 7″s, EPs, and LPs which are given a review after a single listen. This is a great way for TGEFM to showcase some of the releases which may not get a full review on their own.

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