Gino & the Goons and Chinese Junk “Talk Trash With…” 2025. Big Neck Records, red & white marbled vinyl. Split EP of upbeat, snotty garage/punk. Gino & the Goons are from South Carolina and it looks like they’ve been around and releasing albums and singles since 2013. Their side of the split (the Goon Side) is sloppy lo-fi perfection with my top picks the ass-shaking “Nothing At All” and the psychobilly tinged breakneck “Mess You Up.” Chinese Junk is a three-piece from the UK and a bit newer (though definitely not younger: both vocalist/bassist Ben Nuthink and guitarist/vocalist Steve Legend were formerly in Griswalds from the 90’s) with single releases starting in 2020 and one full-length LP in 2023. Tighter and more 70’s/80’s punk than garage slop, their side (the Junk Side) has hard-driving, chugga chugga guitar riffs, frenetic drums with a lot of fun subversiveness and snot: “Shut Up About the USA,” “Crimewave” and the sassy, rat-a-tat-tatty “Your Family Are Robots” (“your family are robots, your family is square, your family ain’t real”).