New Brutarians - Hysteria [IMPORT GOLD VINYL] – New LP

punk rock n roll...garage power pop...another essential listen from Alien Snatch (Berlin), debut LP by New Brutarians, Adam (guitar/vocals) and Christina (drums/vocals) from Saint Petersburg (Florida), stripped down and even jangle reflective at times, recalling some Memphis punk with hints of Trout and Crook, a shot of the Stones and The Rats mixed with 1970s garage pop and underground rock (and the nod to Jeff Lynne likely more a nod to The Move than ELO, maybe even a nod to the rough edge of England 1972 glitter in general), a six-banger brought down to powerplant and primer, hubcaps polished with elbow grease and shining like diamonds, quarter panels rusted with salt, stripped down and tuned up for summertime like a couple of kids in a Slant-Six powered Valiant headed to bottle-cap beach with a half pack of smokes and everything life has to offer, the bad, the odd and the wonderful, windows cranked down and the tape deck cranked up, the hiss of release and crackle of the brown bag as you twist off the top of the ice-cold malt liquor, the contrasting vocals of Christina and Adam resonating with the delivery, throats washed with glass bottles of Grape Crush and wooden-barrel sour mash, certain and unsure as youth on a binge, a mix of kicks and troublesome, sounding like the immediacy of right now burning in the heat of the summer but often injected with the chill wind that comes with melancholy and memories, like in the autumn and springtime looking forward and looking back, apparently filled with singles from the previous few years but to me recalling a collection of stories in a paperback, brought out of the pages and electrocuted back to life with the power of punk rock and rock and roll.  -- winch