ISS

ISS

Spikes+

Sorry State

***Spikes+ is an expanded edition of ISS’s pandemic-themed 2020 cassette, whose uniquely packaged, self-released edition came and went before most anyone could hear about it. With some of ISS’s best songs—like the anthemic title track, the unexpectedly touching "Cellmate,” and the blistering “Facemask”—Sorry State couldn’t bear to let Spikes pass as a mere blip in the zeitgeist. Besides the five tracks from the original Spikes cassette, Spikes+ includes “Puttin’ on the Blitz” from 2016’s Studs cassette, 2018’s self-titled 7” on Sorry State, ISS’s three tracks from 2019’s American Idylls compilation, and the 2020 single Too Punk for Heavy Metal. Highlights abound here too, from the cowbell-infused “One-Sided Triangle” to the Agent Orange-inspired lead guitar on “I Wanna Be Dated” (courtesy Scarecrow’s Jeff Leppard). Like the best odds-n-sods compilations, Spikes+ sounds great whether you’re revisiting old favorites or making new ones. Spikes+ comes with a lyric insert, 24”x36” poster, and download card.

ISS

Alles 3rd Gut

Sorry State

***The first and only punk band of the 21st century is back with their third full-length record. This time around the masters vomit up fourteen more half-digested bits of (punk) culture, chopping and screwing the classics in a way that perfectly articulates what it’s like to live in the dumpster fire we call 2019. As the novelty of ISS’s schtick—constructing new songs from samples of classic punk records—wears off and the project gathers the patina of maturity, Alles 3rd Gut doesn’t sound like passing of a fad, but rather the cementing of an aesthetic. With the possible exception of “Elevator Shaft” (which, incidentally, features a memorable guest vocal from MISS LADY of WARM BODIES and BB EYE), the samples on Alles 3rd Gut draw less attention to themselves, getting out of the way so as to spotlight the first-class lyrics and songwriting that have kept every ISS record glued to my turntable for months on end. Speaking of which, topics as diverse as (Barron) Trump’s America (“Barron Wasteland”), careerist musicians (“Mac N Me”), white people at the gym (“White Man in Hammer Pants”), white people in cars (“DDYSWHP”), and weird smells (“Aromatherapy”) all come under the ISS microscope. To the already converted: behold, the new scriptures have arrived. To the rest of you: welcome to the brilliantly warped world of ISS, the universe’s greatest current punk band.

ISS

Forget About The Girl

Web Of Mimicry

***The debut album from ISS, Forget About the Girl, is an absolute breakthrough in the sadly decomposing genre of the "novelty" record. A self described "Time Warping Boy Band", ISS is shamelessly derivative, and very, VERY convincing. Now before you start to puke, stop to consider the fact that ISS have managed to re-inject the genre of the nefarious "Boy Band" with the magic and marvel it once knew with the Beach Boys and the Four Freshmen—this is definately NOT an exaggeration. Don't be expecting another half-assed imitation of Pet Sounds by some smug, irony-obsessed art-farts—ISS is the REAL DEAL!   Tim Smolens (Estradasphere) is the main songwriter and producer behind ISS. His obsessive study of the harmonic elements of Brian Wilson compositions (and, shamefully, New Kids on the Block and the Backstreet Boys) meet up with his increasing skill in the studio environment to bear absolutely remarkable fruit. The psychedelic madness at the core of this "band" ends up drowned in such rich, full-bodied, fully-orchestral clarity & perfectly sung 5-part harmony that casual listeners would never suspect the psychotic subtext. The strict and crass realism in the rendering department only heightens the jarring transitions from 1968 to 1986 to 2002. To be sure, the historical persistence of the Boy Band and it's attendant cache of gooey love songs is given a ethnomusicologically exact tribute in ISS. But it's more than that. "Forget About The Girl" is an inspired and sincere labor of love.