As a long time fan of her material, I got a thrill out of seeing a profile on Christeene, a self-described “human pissoir of raw unabashed sexuality,” in the Austin Chronicle this week. There’s no real comparison for Christeene or what she does but a rough description might go something like “if John Waters and […]
Moodie Black’s Lucas Acid is an Unflinching and Powerful Album of Trans Anthems
Late into Moodie Black’s new album Lucas Acid, MB mastermind K Death growls “I ain’t really screaming/There’s no pain” and there’s a good chance you’ll think this is a lie based on what you hear around it. After all, Moodie Black are pioneers of noise rap, a subgenre defined by unholy howls, a scene with cacophony in […]
The Dicks’ Kill From the Heart has Only Gotten More Important with Age
Right after Trump won the election, one of the most common and obnoxious statements you’d encounter amongst liberals was some variation on “Well, at least the art will be amazing for the next four years!” I may not have been making art in the ’80s under Reagan but I imagine to the artists who lived […]
Pet;Wolf, BLXPLTN and Seizing Fascist Imagery to Use it Against Itself
The other day, upcoming hip hop artist Pet;wolf emailed Loser City’s Kayleigh Hughes with a link to a new video he put together for his track “Dance with the Devil.” The video is decidedly lo-fi and low budget, a simple straight ahead webcam shot of Pet;wolf lipsyncing his track with occasional scratchy white out illustrations […]
Hawaiian T-Shirt Make Music for Punching and Dancing on Their New EP
The intentions behind Hawaiian T-Shirt’s eponymous new EP are made clear in simple language on their Bandcamp page. This is music “to maybe dance and punch people to and maybe laugh or cry,” covering all the necessary emotional bases: excitement, anger, happiness, sadness. The most important word repeated in that description, though, is “maybe” because […]
PUP Come Across as Lovable Juvenile Delinquents on The Dream is Over
Early on in PUP’s new album The Dream is Over, an unnamed woman tells the protagonist he needs to grow up, indicating that the dream that’s over in the album title is one of perpetual adolescence. But as the band’s cacophonous punk anthems and generally fucked up demeanor make clear, that dream isn’t ending peacefully but in […]
B-Sides the Point: Mclusky “No Covers”
B-Sides the Point is a space for Loser City writers to pontificate on some of their favorite B-sides, tracks that frequently go unnoticed in band’s ouevres but nonetheless sometimes say more about them than their A-side. Up first is “No Covers,” the closing track on Mclusky’s “To Hell with Good Intentions” single, released by Too […]
Wimps’ Suitcase is an Album of Adult Problems Punk
We generally think of punk as a youthful genre, its politics and frustrations so frequently rooted in a young person’s black and white view of the world. Punk bands that don’t burn out pretty quickly lose their rep and become jokes, sad has-beens never maturing, rolled out for tragic Warped Tour appearances. That’s not how […]
Out of Six Million Sperms Cells: Scott Ryser of The Units on Synthpunk’s Past, Present and Future
Earlier this year, in our Fossil Records column, I covered The Units’ seminal but unfortunately more or less impossible to find Digital Stimulation, trumpeting it as not only a founding document of synthpunk but also a legendary album long overdue for a new release. Not long after, I got my wish, as Futurismo Inc. reissued the […]
Revenge of the Mekons is a Loving Ode to Punk’s Greatest Unsung Heroes
You could spend a lifetime debating which first wave punk band was the most important and never approach any kind of consensus. I’ve always harbored a soft spot for the stragglers and also-rans but even with that weakness in mind, I don’t think it’s much of a stretch to suggest the Mekons as the prime […]