H.A.G.S.

LOCAL! Wiry, dry, fun, majorly catchy and intricate post-punk from Oakland. Devo meets Coachwhips, plus a little math rock. Relentlessly danceable, but try not to trip over yourself. This band shares a member with similarly great Bay rockers Coke, and they also share the manic sarcasm. Also RIYL The Intelligence, Spray Paint, ESG, Liquid Liquid, Coneheads, Marbled Eye, the punk side of Castle Face Records. Seeing them live is like being hooked to an electrical wire; I spent the entirety of a set mouth agape. I’ve included their new cassingle (what year are we in now?) as the last two tracks. Favorites: 1, 3, 6, 8, 9. No FCCs detected.

1. *(1:54)—Fast, hyper post-punk. Flat vocals.
2. (3:08)—Medium-fast, danceable lope with slippery bass. Pop chorus, sort of?
3. *(1:58)—Medium-fast, more sliding bass. “I’m VIP! I’m VIP! I’m gonna…get in!”
4. (1:25)—Slower, half-awake bash-out turns into atonal krautrock.
5. (2:38)—Medium-fast. Listing off various animals to be afraid of. I’ve never heard anyone say “they’ll eat you alive” so noncomittally.
6. *(3:14)—Medium-fast. Rhythmically feels like a skipping record. 60’s garage rock organ.
7. (2:00)—Demented hardcore punk rave-up. “Don Lemon! Don Lemon!”
8. *(4:29)—Mid-tempo kraut jam. Intense.
9. *(1:28)—Fast 7/8 punk. “Cake! Is gonna run out! Any day!”
10. (2:09)—Fast post-punk, not exactly relaxed but vaguely pleasant and poppy.