Self-released, 14 Apr 2023
I’m way late on this one. Liberty & Justice are a Texas-based oi/street punk band that seemingly seeks to expand the oi palette. top of the scrapheap, the latest 5-song EP, buzzes with new ideas that caught me by surprise in a really good way.
Opening with the fantastically hook-heavy and piano-pushed “disintegration”, the band sounds like a streep punk band steeped in outsider influences. The vocals sorta remind me of Fucked Up’s Damian Abraham and the keys and revved up and vamping guitars get me thinking of New York Dolls. But altogether, it just sounds like a good time. The second song (“vulture rock”) rips with a forward propulsion and some fantastic lead guitar and the third (“anabolic action”) moves just a touch slower with some more cool fuzz lead guitar and some excellent gang vocals backing up a deadly guitar riff down the stretch of the song. “Curtains” is an oompah stomp played at a relentless pace and partnered with some great backing vocals that make the chorus work. And then the closer, “fatigue”, brings back the keys and some more Johnny Thunders-style guitars. The vocals don’t have a lot of room for melody, but they manage to come up memorable in the end. top of the scrapheap goes 5-for-5 – there’s not a skipper in the bunch. If you don’t mind a little pushback against the traditional oi/street punk sounds, you’re gonna probably find some stuff to like on this one.
- Favorite Song: “disintegration”
- Album Release Date: 14 Apr 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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ryan is a reviewer and news editor for TGEFM. He’s very secretive, he might be an alien.
