Strange Wilds

'Standing' (EP stream)

BY Gregory AdamsPublished Jan 12, 2015

Olympia, WA punks Strange Wilds officially kick off their relationship with iconic home state imprint Sub Pop next week via the release of a three-song slab of 7-inch vinyl. Before it hits stores, though, you can sample all three of the trio's buzz-bombing grunge anthems online.

Lead-off track "Standing" fits the Sub Pop lineage, saluting the past by twisting the mangled groove of Nirvana's "Love Buzz" cover around the full-throttle, depression punk pound of later players Pissed Jeans. "Never Warm" is another downer anthem, slopped to the top with black-lung moans, creeped-up guitar licks and in-the-red feedback. "Gator Cough" is another banger full of sandpaper screams and chunky chords, though it's sadly not exactly about a monstrous reptile in search of a pack of Halls.

Strange Wilds' Standing hits stores on 7-inch and digitally January 20.

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