Undoubtedly, my least favorite part about a split seven-inch record is that, all too often, there’s just one or two songs per band. Here we’re treated to nine tunes here from Astoria, Oregon’s The Dumpies and Vancouver, B.C.’s Night Court, and it’s some of the best modern punk that exists today.

Night Court’s side begins with the slightly off-kilter “Not An Act(or)”, where buzzing bass, crisp drums and plenty of raw, pop-fueled punk makes an impression in 90 seconds. The thumping and scrappy “Cellphone” follows with no lack of melody amid the garage-rock spirit, and “1,000,000th Song” is a quick blast of dense guitars and hard-hitting drums alongside the harmonic singing. “Sexy God” exits this half of the listen, a 23-second blast of bouncy and roughly recorded punk’n’roll that you can’t fail to admire.

The Dumpies make the most of their portion, too, which begins with the thick and firm, swirling ideas of “BIG,” which then goes into the lush melodies of the cute, jangly and warm “Egg Timer.” Next up, “Bisexual Hedgefund Manager” gives us a burst of lively and animated garage-punk that’s plenty harmonic. The setting then takes a dramatic turn with the fuzzed blast of rumbling, throaty hardcore that is “Hats,” which clocks in at just 25 seconds. “Gobblers Knob,” another great song title, exits the listen with a swift rhythm section and good balance between noise and tuneful songwriting.

Both of these bands are fully versed in pop-punk, lo-fi bouts and garage-rock moments that are ideal for the fan who wants to hear something slightly different every minute or so. Toss in some eye-catching artwork, a picture of Richard Moll (Bull from TV's Night Court) and you've got six bucks very well spent.

Rating: A

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