post punk Archives - Vinyl From The Vault

Anika “Abyss”

sfilzen — Wed, 22 Apr 2026 17:13:23 +0000

Anika “Abyss” 2025. Sacred Bones Records, limited edition black/burgandy/white smash variant. Grungy + noisy psychedelic post-punk, Anika hails from Berlin (we didn’t purchase this album there!) and recorded Abyss at Hansa Studios (which we did make a pilgrimage to, famed spot of Bowie’s Berlin trilogy, Iggy, etc.). It looks like Abyss is her sixth LP, though it’s the first in our collection I believe. It’s noise-laden, bass-heavy and hypnotic: not a 60’s hippie trip (however “Buttercups” does lean that way a bit), rather dank late night Euro-club strobes – think My Bloody Valentine vibes but with more options to dance. My top tracks include the title track “Abyss,” the chaotically ass-shaking “Out of the Shadows,” While the album is mostly dense and dark material, there are some lighter, sweeter moments like on “Walk Away” (the lyrics: not so much tho) and sparser/lo-fi tracks like “Into the Fire” and “Oxygen” upon which Anika seems to be channeling her inner Nico.

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The Art Gray Noizz Quintet “The Art Gray Noizz Quintet”

sfilzen — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 19:55:03 +0000

The Art Gray Noizz Quintet “The Art Gray Noizz Quintet” 2022. Bang! Records. The debut LP from the noisy, sometimes sludgy, frequently bizarre post punk band whose members have some solid noise rock pedigrees (though I admit to not knowing most of them: Lubricated Goat, The Beasts of Bourbon, Woman and Live Skull) and collaborations/show billings that include Lydia Lunch, the Scientists and Mudhoney. Fronted by Stuart Gray (aka Stu Spasm), he says, “The quintet was originally put together as a one-off to play at the afterparty for the film Color of Noizz, which is actually a tribute to Tom Hazelmeyer and Amphetamine Reptile Records.” (from a article/interview that can be found here) I’m guessing the band (and Stuart) put on quite a show – I’m pretty sure Joe picked up this record last year or so at a show here in Milwaukee that I didn’t attend – the vocals are dark and gritty, Wait-esque but a bit less gravelly. Deep spine pounding bass balanced by occasional high-end saxophone squawk, some tracks are swampy (“Take Over This Town“) while others are fairly ass-shakey, including a couple of my top picks: the psychedelic stomping opener “A Call to You,” “Life of Crime” (which is actually a cover, the original by The Weirdos), the thundering sludge of “Here’s Johnny” and “Harder.”

Here’s a performance of AGNQ with Lydia Lunch from last year.

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The Flash Hits “Growths”

sfilzen — Mon, 12 Jan 2026 19:23:16 +0000

The Flash Hits “Growths” 2022. Frontier Records on gold vinyl. Four piece arty psychedelic-ish post-punk from L.A. Growths is their second of three total LP releases (their first was on cassette and I’m guessing sort of self-released). I’m fairly certain this is my first ever listen to The Flash Hits and so far I’m intrigued. It vacillates between atmospheric dreamy lo-fi psych (“Brat-Scam“), groovy Velvet Underground-meets-They Might Be Giant nerdy drone-pop like on my top track “Fake Pepper” plus the sorta exotic “The Extra Special,” another top pick, and Sgt. Pepper era Beatlesque psych-pop (“Stay Tops” which also veers into danceable garage rock as does the angular “Hobo Cloak”). The overall sound is dense buzzy guitars backed by sparse rhythms, overlaid with delightfully (slightly) off key vocals. There’s even some goth-flute! (“With“) (I’m guessing it’s not really a flute – or horns – but the thought of that makes me laugh) All in al, a bit weird and nerdy. From their Bandcamp site: “The Flash Hits Are Now! Born of a love for colorful guitars, hypno-groovy bass, fascinating rhythms, found sounds and sweet-dream sidewalk talk, Flash Hits row merrily through streams of post-punk, art rock, and micro-psychedelia, weaving a backdrop to deliver their neorealistic Oulipo-laced narratives.”

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Chimers “Through Today”

sfilzen — Wed, 19 Nov 2025 19:31:40 +0000

Chimers “Through Today” 2024. 12XU Records. VERY limited edition reissue, tour version on green vinyl, signed/hand-drawn album art. We picked this LP from the Australian post-punk/noise rock duo last week when they opened for The Saints at the Metro in Chicago. Literally hot off the presses, the band had picked up the pressing that same day and we got one of the 30 pressed (28 for sale/hand numbered, 2 for the band’s own collection). Through Today is the husband-and-wife guitar/drums duo’s second LP; their first s/t album was released in 2021. Their sound is loud, heavy, mostly melodic both live and on wax. I really wanted to fall in love with this band but, just like the show, they are very one-note. Exciting for a song or two and then…well, I just lost interest. I love fast and loud but each song seemed to hover tensely at maximum. Having not heard of them prior to the Saints show, I wasn’t familiar with their material but I’m pretty confident they played several songs from Through Today including “Timber,” “Everything’s Green,” and “Gossip.” Probably “Shadow Boxing” too, which reminds me of a shouty Dinosaur Jr. song and “Glossary” which reminds me of shouty Sonic Youth (with, like, two notes for the whole song. I’m exaggerating but not by a lot). They do slow down once on Through Today, for the breathily atmospheric “An Echo” – there’s a violin cameo which, along with the different vocals (maybe drummer Binx singing?) gives the track a bit of a Velvet vibe.

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Viagra Boys “Consistency of Energy”

sfilzen — Wed, 24 Sep 2025 17:36:59 +0000

Viagra Boys “Consistency of Energy” 2016, the Swedish post-punk weird as s**t dance band’s first release, a 4 song EP on Push My Buttons Records. We saw Viagra Boys perform at the Salt Shed last week, our first outdoor show at that venue. It was sold out and pretty insane; we made the conscious choice not to go up front (though our friend Keeley snaked through the crowd to get a couple of photos including this one; mine all suck as they’re way too far away). Glad we did as we saw several folks getting pulled out with mild to not-so-mild medical emergencies due to…well, they were probably too drunk or high to deal. I really love Salt Shed for shows – they really know their business well and have a lot of amenities that make being there pleasant and easy – but I really wish I would have seen Viagra Boys two years ago when they played a smallish club for a Riot Fest afterparty show; seeing them in a smaller venue would have been a much better experience.

Like their show, this first release is throbbing, pounding and hypnotically hard, occasionally accented with weird squawky sax and synth interludes; perfectly crafted for awkward dancing and body passing. My top track is “Research Chemicals,” which may have been released as a single. The other three tracks are great as well: dark and brooding with tons of growl from singer Sebastian Murphy, especially on “I Don’t Remember That.” “Can’t Get it Up” totally wins for funniest lyrics (though also sad/pathetic, but satirically/bitingly so) and “Liquids” wins for weirdest, grossest, most f**k’d up lyrics (though it’s got a fantastic beat).

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Punk 45: There Is No Such Thing As Society

sfilzen — Wed, 16 Jul 2025 17:39:43 +0000

Punk 45: There Is No Such Thing As Society (Get A Job, Get A Car, Get A Bed, Get Drunk! Underground Punk in the UK 1977-81, Vol.2) 2014. Soul Jazz Records. 2024 limited edition reissue on blue vinyl. A comp of fairly obscure British punk singles, which are mostly just as good (if not better) as the more popular releases from their contemporaries like Sex Pistols, The Clash, Buzzcocks, etc. Some of the bands on this 2-LP release I am familiar with like The Mekons (their track “32 Weeks” originally released in 1978 as the b-side to their single “Never Been In A Riot“) and The Killjoys (mostly because two of the members formed Dexys Midnight Runners; they appear on this comp with the formulaic punk’d “Johnny Won’t Get to Heaven” from 1977). But most are unknowns. Top picks for me are the very 70’s UK punk sounding The Users “Sick of You” (1977), the raw “Incendiary Device” by Johnny Moped (1977) and The Nerves “TV Adverts” (1978). The Now’s “Development Corporation” (1977) is as sparse, stripped (I think there are 2 chords, total) and simple as a nursery rhyme with vaguely reggae beat, it’s kinda great! The Scabs’ “Leave Me Alone” (1979) infuses 60’s garage organ into snotty a snotty Brit-punk banger. The postpunk offerings like PiL-ish “Last Words” by 23 Skidoo (1981), the complex world-beat infused mostly instrumental “Spin” by The Impossible Dreamers (1982) and the messy (with saxophone!) “Everything Stops for Baby” by The Astronauts (1981) are also all excellent. And while “Wot’s For Lunch Mum?” by The Shapes (1979) isn’t great, it is hilarious (spoiler: the answer is beans. again).

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Clickbait “At Your Leisure”

sfilzen — Thu, 10 Jul 2025 17:56:43 +0000

Clickbait “At Your Leisure” 2024. Self-released debut LP from Chicago no-wave funk punks. We caught Clickbait for the first time last week at Cactus Club when they opened for Alice Bag and Kid Congo’s “Juanita and Juan” loud-lounge show. Clickbait is great – very unique sound and performance style. Bass-forward, hypnotic and danceable beats back singer Sandra Yau’s minimalist (unless she goes full-on shriek maximalist) sprechgesang delivery. About a third of the songs were performed through an old yellow rotary phone, which added another layer of cool weird to the experience. We picked up their record after the show so I’m not entirely sure what songs they played, but I’m pretty sure I recognize a few of my top picks from the LP: the title track “At Your Leisure” is a definite ass-shaker, as are “Pumpkin Spice” and “Uh Huh” – I’m fairly certain a couple of those were telephone songs. I definitely remember the xylophone of “A Bouffant Off” at the show. Also great: “Spy Song,” a lament, to a disco beat. And while I’m often turned off by excessive dissonance, that approach 100 percent works on the herky-jerky “5G Horse.”

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Vånna Inget “Ingen Botten”

sfilzen — Tue, 25 Feb 2025 20:30:31 +0000

Vånna Inget “Ingen Botten” 2016. Man in Decline Records. Swedish post-punk with a bit of dark psych twist. Unaffected and intense clear female vocals (via Karolina Engdahl) shimmer over post punk beats, add in some organ, too, plus some pop like on the dance-inspired track “Dansar” – I mean, they are Swedish. Can’t understand a word of it but it feels a bit menacing and romantic, occasionally with some jangly urgency (“Vi Har Makten“). From the overview on Green Noise Records (who sent us the record for free as part of a larger order recently), it sounds like this is their sophomore LP and the lyrics speak of “claustrophobic themes of confinement and desperation.” From the Cure-esque meets anthemic grunge vibe of the title track “Ingen Botten” I’m inclined to believe that. I’m not sure we’ll hang onto this one but getting unexpected free records in the mail is always a treat.

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Plague Vendor “By Night”

sfilzen — Thu, 13 Feb 2025 18:35:30 +0000

Plague Vendor “By Night” 2019. Epitaph Records. Noisy, hard-rocking post-punk that is, as the band’s name and LP title suggest, super dark. By Night is the California-based band’s third full-length record. This is one of those albums I literally know nothing about- same with the band, it just appeared on my to-do stack, without context. That said, I had zero expectations throwing it on the platter and am pleased to find out that it’s pretty great. Relentless beats, some real ass-shakers, some malevolent psychedelic swirls: think Black Rebel Motorcycle Club meets the big-dick energy of Queens of the Stone Age and then add a dash of Black Angels’ smoke-tinged neo-psychedelia space rock. The opener “New Comedown” grabs you by the throat and pretty much never lets go. “Let Me Get High/Low” and “Night Sweats” are both high-energy stoner rock (an oxymoron but it works) and “Prism” is an all-out butt-shaking banger. “Pain in My Heart” is reminiscent of the chaotic noise-rock of Sonic Youth with extra alt-metal screaming and then the grungy “Snakeskin Boots” goes off the rails, combining rap, thrash and funk. The album closes with another buzzy, fuzzy ass-shaker, “In My Pocket.” It looks like Plague Vendor is on tour this spring with another band I don’t know (L.S. Dunes) and will be playing in Madison in April. Might have to check these guys out live.

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Echo & the Bunnymen “The Killing Moon”

sfilzen — Thu, 16 Jan 2025 18:21:27 +0000

Echo & the Bunnymen “The Killing Moon” 1984. 12″ single. The lead single from their fourth LP Ocean Rain and one of their best-charting, going to #9 in the UK. Gorgeously neo-psychedelic post-punk with an exotic sound inspired by Russian balalaika music. The 12″ single has two versions, the single version plus the “All Night Version” which is much longer and brilliant. I especially love the increased length of the track and the intensification of the cello solo. Also on this release is a hard-rocking live version of my all-time favorite Echo song “Do It Clean,” recorded on July 18th, 1983 at the Royal Albert Hall in London, the final encore of their set. The vocals are soaring (with a Jim Morrison-esque meets James Brown breakdown at the bridge), the beat relentless, the guitar shredding and bending. Simply amazing. I wish they had played this version when we saw them play last year at the Pabst Theater. The entire Albert Hall concert can be seen here.

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