Three Singles

DiCaprio / NAG / Death Stuff

Chunklet/Third Uncle Records, 2017

http://store.thirduncle.com/album/three-singles

REVIEW BY: Tom Haugen

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 03/28/2018

Before music became significantly easier to record, distribute, and discover, the compilation album was the path to new, exciting, often unheard of bands. Musicians on shoestring budgets unable to fund EPs and LPs and labels looking to illuminate these underground outfits made spending a few bucks to hear 20 new artists a worthwhile investment. my_heart_sings_the_harmony_web_ad_alt_250

Chunklet records, out of Atlanta, is carrying on this spirit by assembling three local bands and their respective singles into one seven-tune cassette. And if your cassette player is at the bottom of a landfill now, don't worry, it comes with a download code, too.

DiCaprio's contributions are brash, driving punk-ish tracks with dense, droning atmospheres – especially on “Sleep In.” “Hair” isn't too far away from its predecessor, but it dips into a calm lull, not unlike the quieter moments of the almighty Unwound. Both tunes are raw, well-written, and immediately bring to mind bands on labels like Touch & Go and Dischord in the early '90s, or maybe even Stephen Malkmus (Pavement) with a gym membership.

NAG (pronounced Nog) put forth the most songs on this release (three total) but they are the shortest, which works well with their hypnotic and blistering fast version of hardcore punk. “Motorcycle Blue” is their highlight, with throbbing and rumbling bass work, though the abrasive and howling punk of “Dayglow” isn't far behind.

Death Stuff ends the cassette off with dark post-punk and very Chris Thomson-esque vocals (Circus Lupus, Monorchid) that's as unpredictable as it is unclassifiable. It's a noisy, dissonant, and flourishing affair, and their tracks alone are worth the price of admission.

Looks like the three individual vinyl records these songs were culled from are very limited, as is this cassette. Hell, with the quality of sounds here, I wouldn't be surprised if any of it exists in physical form at this point. If these three bands are any indication of how creative and thriving the Atlanta punk scene is, we should be expecting more greatness from the area soon.

Rating: A

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© 2018 Tom Haugen and The Daily Vault. All rights reserved. Review or any portion may not be reproduced without written permission. Cover art is the intellectual property of Chunklet/Third Uncle Records, and is used for informational purposes only.