LO-FI GARAGE PUNK from MELBOURNE. Perfect winter party record, perfect lo-fi gems!

Our take: Brand new 6-song (3 songs from each group) EP from these two Australian bands who should be familiar to Sorry State’s followers. Shifters have put out a slew of records over the past year and I’ve liked them all, but I was less enthused with their debut LP on Trouble in Mind. Maybe they just work better in the EP format because I like these three tracks a lot. In everything I’ve written about the Shifters I’ve said they sound like a mix of the Fall’s early stuff and Velvets-influenced New Zealand bands from the early 80s, and that remains true here. If you liked their early stuff, you’ll enjoy these three tracks. As for Parsnip, their earlier records sounded a little different from one another, and this one sounds a little different from those. The first track, “Counterfeit,” is a nice power-pop tune with a Number Ones-esque walking bass line. “Dailybreader” has super high vocals that might test your tolerance for twee, while the record’s title track is a little more rocking and riff-based, making it my favorite track on the record. I’m not sure that Hip Blister is the place to start with either of these bands, but if you’re following all the hip new Australian sounds you’ll want to pick this up.