reviews / 2020

THE ARCHAEAS - Archaeas

Name: THE ARCHAEAS – Archaeas
Item: Archaeas
Rating: 7
Author: Lorenzo Pagani

2020 (Goner)

garage-punk, rock'n'roll

by Lorenzo Pagani

Among the Archaeas's greatest influences we find the cult movie Japanese Wild Zero (1999), which sees the local band Guitar Wolf grappling with a zombie invasion, coming to the aid of a transgender heroine. A story that proved inspirational for Violet, a trans musician from Kentucky; much like in the film – a must-see for lovers of outlandish horror comedies – it's not so much the gender themes that define the "message" of the Archaeas, but rather the sense of liberation that comes from defeating one's own "mental enemies", through the power of rock'n'roll.

It's Goner Records, who licensed the Guitar Wolf debut ("Wolf Rock!", 1993), that releases the self-titled debut by Archaeas; the catalogue of the Memphis, Tennessee label is more than indicative of the influences behind Violet and her band: Oblivians, Reatards and Ty Segall are the first names that spring to mind.

The heavily distorted guitars of Archaeas and Violet's raspy voice, however, lean toward an even "heavier" formula, giving rise to a sound post-atomic sound with no let-up in tension.

A sonic assault that unfolds across proto-metal tracks ("Trapped", "Reality Commander"), steroid-fuelled punk rock ("Absent Mind", "Witch") and passages misfits-ian (theanthemic “TV Scream”). The blistering title track, placed at the close, wraps up the debut album in under half an hour, making you want to hit the play.

Many different strands of rock’n’roll channel the energy of this new punk heroine and her effective cohorts Chase Archaea and Chyppe Archaea-Crosby, in a cohesive debut aimed, besides fans of the garage, at those of Plasmatics, Amyl And The Sniffers and more generally of riot grrrls unwilling to compromise.

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20/12/2020

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This article is an English translation of the original Italian text by Lorenzo Pagani, published on OndaRock.it. It was translated with the help of artificial intelligence, under the editorial responsibility of OndaRock's editor-in-chief, Claudio Fabretti.

Read the original in Italian · About the English edition