• …YOU MISSED • As part of our yearly recap the …You Missed series attempts to collect interesting releases I’d otherwise missed, didn’t cover, or didn’t appreciate until later. This is -NOT- a best of, but a collection of interesting curios worth mentioning as we reflect upon the year. // In an attempt to be more conversational these are more easygoing and casual than longform reviews, so relax and think for yourself. — If you find something you dig go tell the band on social media and support them with a purchase! If you’d like your music reviewed, read the FAQ and send promos to: grizzlybutts@hotmail.com

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Why put a wildly obscure Polish “art-metal” band at the outset of a post-punk list? Tonally, spiritually and sometimes literally WĘDROWCY~TUŁACZE~ZBIEGI have built and demolished their untamable craft around the moodiness of post-punk. That isn’t to say that they belong here, or anywhere else, but by design the heart of their increasingly synthesizer rich dramatism has a certain wilt to it and this is no less true on ‘Droga do domu‘ which they are suggesting as the final release from the band. Consisting of folks from well-known black metal groups Furia, Totenmesse, Thaw, and more this group has always appeared to be about creative freedom and work which is not at all meant to consider the ‘customer’, something impure and expressive far away from popular music. They’re still quite good at what they do and the heavy use of keys/synth lends a strong tuneful quality to both upbeat and downtrodden pieces.

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Alberta, Canada-based post-punk/gothic rock and traditional heavy metal spiked trip PØLTERGEIST are typically introduced as the spiritual succession of their involvement in prior heavy metal group Whyte Diamonds which’d tipped all the way towards the goth spectrum around the time of the MMXX pandemia. Their work has much of the same appeal as early Unto Others but tempered of its corniness and jocular side, leaning into more straightforward and serious-faced blend of those ideals. Despite the vocals being typical in cadence and the lyrics being brutally cliche I believe folks looking to pump up a goth/post-punk playlist would do well picking through these ten or so songs for a shoegazing mope or two. The amount of work put into each song is evident enough as a song like “Children of the Dark” or “Yesterday Fades” begin to tower over the more rote, going through the motions feeling that runs through the full listen. Not a bad record but it feels like ‘Nachtmusik‘ is about 5-6 years too late to usurp the impact of bands like Lunar Shadow or records like ‘Don’t Waste Your Time‘.

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California-based trio NEW SKELETAL FACES aren’t exactly the usual gothic rock/post-punk equivalent folks might be expecting today but rather a fairly authentic vision of deathrock a la early Christian Death but with a biting and snarling metalpunk component. Formed by folks involved with various black/thrash and punk rock bands what might seem like an approachable throwback deathrock record is in fact far more extreme than most any ’84-’88 era group per Errol Fritz‘ hawkish vocal emphasis and some clear love for early Bathory exercised by way of a cover (“Raise the Dead”) and rhythms which’re harder than most throwback deathrock often is today. In this sense a Horror Vacui or Deth Crux fan’d appreciate their rhythms but a Sign of Evil or Devil Master head would likely find some gear to enjoy as well. As is the case with serious-faced, howling and hard-kicked goth level focus ‘Until the Night‘ actually swings by pretty fast despite it being mostly comprised of ~4-5 minute heavy rock paced pieces. Hardcore punk inspired movements and the use of heavier drumming’d really kept it moving for my taste as the skinsman kind of styles on this record most of the time and keeps things energetic despite how dire the other performances are. It makes for solid enough momentum that I’d found myself enjoying this one more and more over time. The slower pieces kinda drag here and there (“Enchantment of my Inner Coldness” mostly) but otherwise this was a fine introduction to their whole deal.

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Grenoble, France-based trio QOYA made a brilliant first impression upon me back in 2021 with their debut LP ‘Y​ō​kai‘, a personal and self-driven effort with its own interest in post-metal, doom and how those extremes might feed the emotional topple of their dramatic post-punk fueled timbre. As they return for a second time their work is no less considerate of both experience and expression, pouring on the drama from the first lyric ’til we begin to see ‘Karma’ as a meditation upon spirituality and some matter of yearning for the possibilities of reincarnation. They’ve become even more tactful in their patiently revealed work, showing less of the anticipation for every upcoming note and leaning into the flow of bigger movements making for a more naturally cascading post-musik experience. Vocals are somewhat sparse to start and I’d appreciated how much space they allow for the instrumental depth and knack of this record to reveal its nigh-cacophonic edge where they’ve kept things heavy but hanging on the beauteous edge of the fence, leaving the rhythm section to hustle and buzz beneath the headier musings of the vocalist/guitarist(s). When considered for structure and statement I might suggest their interest in shoegaze is probably more ambitious this time around (see: title track) and especially as we tarry on through the second half of the album, still, I believe ‘Karma‘ will generally feel most like an innovative and thoughtful album per the post-punk fandom starving for something differently ambitious.

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Luxembourg-based melancholic hardcore punk/post-punk band ULTRANOTHING manage to blaze through this debut ~13 minute 10″ EP making a cathartic, dreary first impression with opener “The Grace of Time” with its Brian Baker worthy melodic leads and the eventual tentative step down into its core bassline, danceable but in distress stuff. From their they’re still smearing the testosterone around on the other four songs but their heavier take on post-punk echoes and warbles through much in a most direct way as “Fight it Out” winds itself up into an anthemic state quick. ‘UltraNothing‘ is the perfect introduction to this type of high aesthetic, do it yourself minded sort of apocalyptic skulled punk (see: “Animosity”) for the sake of each song having to count and the runtime being short. This ensures all of the songs here are high impact, carry a persistent moodiness but present four distinct vibes which showcase different sides of their work. Very limited, sold out by now, and of course I was pretty late to the party but this is far more my type of post-’79 sorrow-core (“Elation” being the peak of this feeling) with a strong psychedelic tint per the depth of the effects used on the vocals and (sometimes) guitars. Nothing short of a gem.

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Noisome alarm-ringing Irish post-punk quintet GURRIERS haven’t gone unnoticed and sure thing, the comparisons to a certain era of Idles are kinda fair when browsing through some of their singles but ‘Come and See‘ doesn’t just do one thing and its accessible qualities mix well with some level of grit herein. Granted the post-punk revival level energy, the less polished face and general fusion of the band lend this record a major point of charm which is exactly fitting for a debut LP. I dunno if they’ve got a knack that is so wildly different from what is out there today, some of the bass-driven grooves are both infectious and unique enough, but the greater appeal comes with the whole of the album experience. I didn’t get the fuss over this album either to start (re: bland tracks “Sleepers”, pointlessness of “Interlude” etc.) but there are far more songs that stick than those that just flop past. I dunno if there are too many serious post-punk/indie rock heads who’re after this level of noisome ’79 frantic energy that’d missed this album this year but I definitely wanted to mention it.

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Troms Og Finnmark, Norway-based quintet (for the recording) troupe HEAVE BLOOD & DIE have been one of the more interesting post-punk braced experiments to come from Scandinavia thanks to their uniquely rhythmic implementation of synthesizers and obsessive rhythms colliding with syrupy post-rock/shoegazing surrealism. The effect of this collision is energetic, almost “progressive” in its tonality as the protestation inherent to their lyrics becomes more prominent yet they still include the full weight of existence in thier exploration. ‘Burnout Codes‘ is hypnotic, floated out and on a fairly linear trajectory thanks to a motorik sense of movement keeping everything cohesive and because of this they’ve left the details to swirl about in wild combinations and let that be the meat of the listening experience. I’d appreciate just how different this album was compared to much of the contemporary post-punk built collectives you’ll run into today, carrying its own moodiness throughout to great effect.

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London, England-based trio GIRLS IN SYNTHESIS come from a bit more classic tonal species than most of the bands on this list but we can still consider their sound experimental with the full discography in mind. Album number three continues to uphold the stark declarative aspect of their sound utilizing guitar effects, synth modulation and swells of noise to break up the jog-paced shuffle which most tracks here strike with. I’m partial to the locked-in step of the bass guitar on pieces like “Semblance of Choice” but I’d almost argue the messier, deranged Side B stuff on this album like “I Was Never There” (and the Beastmilk feeling “Subtle Differences”) left a bigger impression. Though I didn’t find all of the use of keyboards/synth all that thrilling as more than rhythmic accoutrement/heady warping of their gait the overall effect was unique enough to pull me back in for a few extra listens. The mood of this album stuck with me and I suppose that is just as important as my own fixation on the basslines or whatever.

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Still fairly new to the party having only just released their first EP back in 2022 Ontario, Canada’s SHAM FAMILY have put in the work on this bigger-stage worthy debut full-length not only in terms of their shoegazing and barn-burning post-punk style but the huge sound of its production which they’ve managed by way of the fellowe responsible for more recent Metz records. Sure, they don’t have the biggest or loudest personality on the block but the dreamlike verve of their work and its seamless steps taken in and out of more motorized post-punk energetic bursts feels like a viable point of mastery for a debut LP. They’re fairly rowdy considering the look at feel of the record but never take it all the way to generica or messy shite (“Community Service” is just ok, “The World is Changing Around Me” fades in and out of interest, etc.) and this level of focus feels vibrant enough to suit their chosen lane. Definitely stick around for the drang of closer “Born Again” if this is your kind of gig.

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Antwerp, Belgium-based trio DISORIENTATIONS‘ sophomore full-length album aims for deeper layers and slightly less dry post-punk revival sounds compared to their first, aiming for something on the classic shoegaze spectrum but landing in more typical gothic rock tonality overall. Stadium sized goth-leaning post-punk to start and increasingly sentimental as the album’s energy begins to wane, I’d found this album’s first half very strong in terms of classic/typical sounds and higher energy movement (re: “Not Here” b/w “Cynical”). Around the mid-point of the album their sappier and far less interesting songcraft began to even out the highs presented early on leaving me less interested upon return listens. ‘Lost Today‘ is yet stuck at a very high standard regardless of my taste and this album is not only well-polished in its presentation/production values but appreciably consistent compared to many haphazard, rushed and thoughtless gothic rock/post-punk records I’d encountered throughout the year.

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