Blackcity

Swedish punks on Epitaph/Burning Heart. These guys, along with the Hives, International Noise Conspiracy, Hellacopters, and Sahara Hotnights (all of which have gone through the A-file recently), are being hyped as garage punk revivalists. Like a lot of those bands’ releases, this album is too well-produced to count as “garage” though. Nonetheless, it’s catchy, a bit dark, and has a number of good songs.

1. This is the first single. Catchy punk sound but a bit gimmicky in terms of the chorus, “You need to get some.”
2. Very Stooges-ish sound here both in terms of sloppy guitars, manic drums and singing.
4. Slower, with neat little synth sounds over the chorus.
5. Similar in feel to the first one. Catchy, but again, a little gimmicky in the chorus, “You’ve got everything you need / From me!”
6. Really mellow, with an ocean-y sounding slide guitar and soft keyboard.
7. FCC warning
8. My favorite song on the whole CD. Very catchy punk, with a little edge to it, and with a minimal amount of cheese. If you pick one track to play, make it this one.
9. Very soft, with some string instruments in the background. A bit melodramatic and atmospheric, but worth a listen.
10. Really paranoid, fast punk stuff.
11. FCC warning.
12. FCC warning.