Labels: Boss Tuneage – Brassneck
Review by: MH
This split brings together two particularly fine punk bands. BUZZorHOWL are up first and despite having heard them on last year’s split 7inch with Good Grief I’ve just discovered they are ex-Drive! That brings back the memories from twenty years ago from seeing them play with bands like Mega City Four, Leatherface and Midway Still. I had a tape of “Out Freakage” which I wore out on countless paper rounds and in the car. Another song, “Greasegun”, was a bit of an anthem amongst my friends at the time. They offer up some pop punk that I am totally on board with and it isn’t a million miles away from Drive – right down to the fuzzy guitar solos towards the end of both songs. Their sound is driven, melodic and tinged with melancholy and their second track is an energetic and thumping instrumental. The two tracks from France’s Chestnut Road meanwhile are typically Broccoli-esque. They’ve been knocking this sound out for a few years now and are well worth your time if the likes of Leatherface and Broccoli are or were your thing. Second track “Swallows Flight” is particularly good but, then again, so is the first track. Their sound perhaps brings out a slightly stronger sense of melancholy than BUZZorHOWL but there’s very little to choose between these two bands – really solid split and a good taster for the pair of them.