ISS

***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.