By Over the many years contributor Chris Coplan has been writing for Merry-Go-Round Magazine, readers have no doubt come to learn that he loves his punk music in every shape and form. Last year, Chris launched The Dredge, a newsletter you can subscribe to here, in which he further highlights his ever-expanding collection of hardcore, noise rock, Riot grrrl, Oi!, and more! MGRM is happy to be editing and re-publishing old editions of The Dredge into a regular column you can explore here on the site! Enjoy!
Eaten By Snakes – PEACE AND LOVE
A dispatch of pure life amid a bonkers timeline.
Are you tired of not living that power pop life? Do you dream of spending your days in ankle boots and beanies? Well, embrace your inner rock ‘n’ roll poet-jester with Eaten By Snakes! On PEACE AND LOVE, this German duo reconfigures the patented Power Pop Framework with a novelty and inventive bent that’ll have you saying, “Raspberries who?!” There’s fuzzy jams championing a Peter Pan lifestyle (“Don’t Let Them Take You Alive”); sugary discharges addressing pseudo-politics (“Skeletons”); hyperactive odes to apathy (“Yeah Whatever”); and big ballads demonstrating the dual agony of growing up and self-awareness (“X-Ray Eyes”). But wait, there’s more! Act now, and you’ll also get “Peace and Love,” a synth-driven standout that grounds a pie-in-the-sky worldview with grit and depth, and “Great Blue Skies,” which offsets otherwise hokey optimism with the fuzz of pure garage rock! PEACE AND LOVE is for only those folks who celebrate true rock romanticism, appreciate both They Live and Big Star, and read Jonathan Lethem novels by the handful. PEACE AND LOVE: putting the “power” in “A powerful and charming record-as-roadmap for exemplifying earnestness in these deeply uncertain times.” (Ask your favorite music critic if PEACE AND LOVE is right for your End Times listening needs.)
Final Thoughts: Not So Much a Survival Guide but Music for Better Living, 7.2 / 10
RIYL: The Nerves, Japandroids, and getting stoned and pontificating
Get the Album Here
OLYMPIC DETH – OLYMPIC DETH EP
More like OLYMPIC DEAF, amirite?!
How far can you push punk rock before it basically shatters? That’s the question I keep grappling with across OLYMPIC DETH EP, the 2022 self-titled affair from this Utah-based group of sonic anarchists. Because, sure, “Celeb Deathmatch (already said that)” might be a barrage of jagged aluminum scraps, but I can hear the heart of a pop punk jam under all the refuse. And when that same beating heart becomes a tad more apparent, as with “3,” we get more texture and tones to what’s the junkyard version of Munch’s Make Believe Band. Of course, the formula then gets all the more complicated with “Hillary Step,” where they clearly built their synths from parts of a burned-down house. Perhaps you can be as punk as you want if that spirit of angst, deliberate awkwardness, and pure chaos remains eternal. Or, inversely, you instead leave the spirit behind to seek out strange new noises and various sources to engage and grate listeners’ sensibilities. OK, I think I’ve got it: everything and nothing matters in equal measure, and no one decides a damn thing. At least “State Street Metal” makes me want to slam dance over and over into an exposed brick wall.
Final Thoughts: It’s Still (Unnerving, Totally Messy) Punk Rock to Me, 8.1 / 10
RIYL: Lost Sounds, Lightning Bolt, and eating paint chips
Get the Album Here
Church Girls – NIGHTMARE NIGHTS EP
Emo-adjacent rock with a perfectly tempered approach.
My relation to emo and pop punk is akin to Goldilocks—it’s got to be just right or it’s mostly rubbish. Philadelphia’s Church Girls prove to be that perfectly temperate oatmeal across their brand-new, five-track NIGHTMARE NIGHTS EP. Singer-guitarist Mariel Beaumont is that most mighty of modulating forces: she’s earnest and confrontational across the title track while balancing desperation and catharsis on “Fall Apart.” The rest of the band (guitarist Mitchell Layton, drummer Julien Varnier, and bassist Vince Vullo) bring the big, bright mob vocals as a proper baseline. But mostly they offer widely varied support: technical prowess on “Death Wish” (which enhances Beaumont’s performance) and pure explosive joy on “I Hate The House” (Beaumont exudes real textures amid this familiar but inventive soundscape). Heck, they even offer up a remix of “I Hate This House,” and those pseudo-party-rock vibes are both a welcome uptick and a novel commentary on their genre trappings. It’s not too sad, not too performative in its angst, and just the right mix of combative and creative—indie punk as a hearty blend for the mind and body alike. Now dig in.
Final Thoughts: A Mighty Emotional Release With Layers and Subtext Galore, 7.7 / 10
RIYL: Sunny Day Real Estate, Armor For Sleep, and emotional regulation
Get the Album Here
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