First Impressions is a collection of whiz-bang reviews of singles, 7″s, and shorter EPs, which are given a review after a single listen. This is a great way for TGEFM to showcase some of the releases which wouldn’t get a full review on their own.
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Bad Secret – “The Valley of Shale”
The Ragpicker Merch, 28 October 2021
Okay, so I have quite the fondness for Bad Secret. I loved their Demo-ONE, I loved their cover of Billy Joel’s “Downeaster Alexa’”, and in a rather shocking turn, I love “The Valley of Shale”. The song is a powerhouse, with pounding drums and a blazing guitar riff that sounds heavy and sinister while the vocals soar over top, weaving a cryptic tale before lead guitar bursts through the maelstrom with a vengeance. “Shale” annihilates my brain.
Review by RYAN
Camp Trash – “Weird Florida”
Count Your Lucky Stars Records, 20 October 2021
“Weird Florida” bursts with a youthful energy that does the quiet-loud-quiet thing good, like most decent emo bands. The vocals sound right with the music and the musical melodies coming from guitars and organs and synths (maybe?) are earworms. And the extra kick that comes with the prominent guitar during the close-out is pretty cool. I don’t typically listen to this stuff, but this caught my ear and was a pretty good time.
Review by RYAN
Mark Murphy & The Meds – “Stuck Inside”
Bloated Kat Records, 19 October 2021
I like Mark Murphy’s work with Crocodile God, but the couple of cuts from his upcoming On The Brink album have floored me. “Stuck Inside” buzzes with great sounding guitars (both rhythm and lead) and the drums and bass keep pace nicely with simple drive. But the real winner here are the vocal melodies. They are thoroughly engaging and really latch onto my brain. I hummed this for a while afterwards and am thinking that’s just going to amplify on future listens.
Review by RYAN
Avem – “Calling Card”
Mom’s Basement Records, 29 October 2021
The start of “Calling Card”, the newest single from Canadian bird-nuts Avem, surprised me a bunch. It opens with lead guitar that has a sort of haunting post-punk thing going (it sorta reminds me of something from AFI or something like that). And then the song bursts into a blasting pop punk number much more akin to what I was expecting, albeit with a darker feel and a catchy “calling calling calling calling card” refrain, and I ended up enjoying it quite a lot. There’s bunches of energy the band plays with and it’s an infectious and angsty good time.
Review by RYAN
Beachheads – “Down South”
FysiskFormat, 15 October 2021
Norwegian power popsters Beachheads have a pretty gentle rollick on “Down South”. Acoustic guitars twinkle and strum while harmonic vocals sing a pretty and simple little melody. Bells and other adornments add texture and subtle earworms to get the song to memorable. If you’re looking for buzz, pace, and angst, look elsewhere. But as a sweet pop song, “Down South” works well. In the right mood (maybe late in the evening, spacing out), I like this just right.
Review by RYAN
