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.
Have an album or release you want reviewed? Send it to us HERE.
The Thorazines – “Songs In The Key Of Death”
Self-released, 17 October 2021
The Thorazines newest EP is a tribute to the mid-80's flick “Trick Or Treat”. The songs fit in with their Ramones-influenced Replacements-ragged sound mostly. Opener “You Are The Bait, The Bait Is You” is the outlier, working as an intro with a slow build, a few power strokes and yells of the title and just a bit more. From that point on, “Fuck With Fire”, “Burning Metal”, and “Torture's Too Kind” kick up some dust with a bunch of pace, chainsaw guitars, and shoutalong vocals that take turns like Thorazines do. It's a fun raucous good time.
Favorite Song: “Torture's Too Kind”
Review by RYAN
Mantis Watch – “Kittenless Future”
OUTLOUD! Records, 21 October 2021
“Kittenless Future” is a mid-tempo chugger from buzzing punks Mantis Watch. The vocals sound really cool, reverbed out and hitting all the right notes with a cool low-end that never seems stretched beyond its limits. The vocal melody and phrasing hooks and the serrated edge on the guitars when the chorus hits is way cool. All the while, the rhythm section holds things down well, leaving “Kittenless Future” a deliberate and cool goof of a song. I like it a lot (and more so than some of their earlier recordings). Gotta check out the rest of Channel 101.
Review by RYAN
Dan Vapid and the Cheats – “Guilt and Relief”
Eccentric Pop Records, 22 October 2021
I love Dan Vapid's stuff, and “Guilt and Relief” is no different. His music is always impeccably written and produced. It maybe lacks the spontaneity and reckless abandon of other punk rock, but the songs are always so good. “Guilt and Relief” is mid-tempo with buzzing guitars and tasteful guitar leads and Dan's voice is in great form once again, singing catchy melodies with his usual confidence and comfort. This isn't going to surprise anyone, but if you like Vapid's stuff, you'll like this.
Review by RYAN
The Anxieties – “I Don't Wanna Go”
OUTLOUD! Records, 7 October 2021
Okay, I'll be honest, I don't know the original of this song and I'm not even sure where to find it and I feel like an idiot for it. Anyways, The Anxieties take on this Misfits song opens with some chugging guitars and vocals before bursting into normal Misfits fare with lines about daggers in backs and chains around necks with all the requisite “whoa's” and piercing earworm lead guitars and sear my brain. The song is a pretty cool beast and I wanna find the original now.
Review by RYAN
Prince Daddy & The Hyena – “Curly Q”
Pure Noise Records, 21 October 2021
“Curly Q” is a new sort from Prince Daddy & The Hyena. The song begins with gorgeous sorta airy vocals singing nice melodies over mellow and pensive music comprised of acoustics and ambience. It doesn't burst with the vocal stretches and musical explosiveness that they sometimes come with and instead sounds content and within itself. And when the lead guitar comes in with some gusto just past the 3-minute mark, the song elevates to something bigger. One of the great guitar leads I've heard this year.
Review by RYAN