Rating: NNNN
It’s hard not to revert to clichés when writing about Hamilton’s TV Freaks, because all the appropriate adjectives – loud, snotty, fast, pissed-off – tend to be used to describe punk itself. But that’s often the mark of a good punk release: as archetypal as those qualities seem, they’re not easy to translate outside a sweaty, beer-sprayed basement, let alone over a full-length (hence why there are so many classic punk singles and so few LPs).
You can get a taste of their frantic, unhinged live show at nowtoronto.com, where the band covered the Viletones classic Screaming Fist, but what’s impressive is how well the record contains that energy on 27 anxious minutes of wax. Two is bursting with in-the-red treble, crunchy riffs and brash yet tuneful vocal cord abuse courtesy of David O’Connor (check his phlegmy cough at the end of Phone), but it’s also tight, refined and fun. You can practically feel their saliva hitting your face.
Top track: Rewind
