The Squirrels

METZ, “Drained Lake”

There’s a relentlessness in this kind of noise rock, where the songs specialize in a propulsive beat that just keeps chainsawing ahead regardless of what else is going on. I’ve compared the sound to a malfuntioning machine, and I think in both the steadiness of it and in the harshness of some of the noises it fits. Brilliant stuff.

The Squirrels, “Money”

There’s plenty of hay to be made in mocking the pomposity of big 70s rock. Punk rock, of course, is largely a reaction to it, both in defining everything the aesthetics of punk were not as well as providing a source for mockery. But it’s not limited to just punk, the bloated blimps of AOR are juicy enough targets that everybody takes a shot.

Seems like we’ve had a lot of new bands recently. That’s cool! Here’s the music for today.

Girls Against Boys, “In Like Flynn”

Early 90s underground rock act Girls Against Boys stood out from the pack for a couple reasons. First, the sound wasn’t just all grim pounding or punk gallop. Instead, Girls Against Boys always sounded like a rock band you could dance to, which was kind of a rarity. The second distinguishing feature probably drove the first, which is that the band had two bassists, a good idea that far too few bands take advantage of. This album, Venus Luxure No. 1 Baby, is probably their best.