punk this week: en kernaghan band, life expectancy + 15 more
Iron Lung drops a harsh crusty classic, Power Pants gets gnarly on “Fuck ICE,” Yuasa-Exide and Waylon Thornton deliver the split equivalent of the epic handshake meme.
Hey, it’s Punk This Week, the weekly punk and rock'n'roll recommendations column. It’s out on a Saturday again out of respect for two weeks of Friday general strikes. Once again, I’d encourage you to donate to the people of Minneapolis who still live in a state of occupation by ICE. I’d also encourage you to listen to some really outstanding new records by En Kernaghan Band, Life Expectancy, Power Pants, Yuasa-Exide, Waylon Thornton, and more.
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En Kernaghan Band: Energetik [Holiday Maker]
Ethan Kernaghan is the Brisbane-based throwback garage rock great behind the En Kernaghan Band. The band’s self-titled album from over a decade ago is a criminally undersung masterpiece, and this new one follows in its footsteps for a rock’n’roll record with tambourines, earworm melodies, and vintage country-adjacent warmth that any Nuggets, Ar-Kaics, Sharp Pins, or freakbeat maniac will appreciate.
If you would like to be convinced, listen to “Don’t Be Scared” and then try not to listen to it 10 more times. It’s such an immaculately crafted melody, and then Kernaghan’s multi-tracked harmonies and layered guitar licks bring it to the highest level. This former Hare Krishna has lyrics on this album that search for guidance and answers, all while sounding like a lost decades-old masterpiece that smells like the best kind of record store. This is a wonderful record.
