Album Review: Various Artists – Buzzhowl Volume 1

Buzzhowl Volume I will be the first release from Buzzhowl Records, the album is set to be released on August 17th and features ten tracks from the likes of Gravves, Die! Die! Die!, Prayer Group and Thank, amongst these are also three exclusive tracks from Bo Gritz, Dead Tenants and Don’t Try. In my early days of discovering new bands in the 80’s and early 90’s a compilation from a label was an essential way of discovering new bands, I doubt there’s anyone out there from those years who doesn’t own a Punk-O-Rama or a Fat Wreck Chords compilation, and Buzzhowl Volume 1 continues that tradition and offers an enticing insight into what we can expect from the fledgling label.

Buzzhowl Records have clearly intended to make an impression with track one, side one of their first release, and they couldn’t have chosen a much better start than the fuzzy blast of punked up energy that is Power Bomb Baby by Gravves, that along with Prayer Group confirms that Buzzhowl Records has sought out acts from distorted side of the street. HEX bring a moment of relative calm with a doom laden industrial number Collider, this is followed by the electro post punk of Thank which is followed in turn by Typical Hunks and Die! Die! Die!, who take the genre into a more experimental direction before we get the anguished howl of DOG.

As with any good compilation there are a few exclusive tracks thrown into the mix, in the case there’s a trio of previously unheard moments in the shape of the dark fuzzy stoner rage of Bo Gritz‘s Mother, the enrgised post punk of Dead Tenants and the experimental delivery from Don’t Try, that is also the album’s finale. Buzzhowl Volume 1 is the first shot across the bows from Buzzhowl Records, and it’s one that indicates that this is going to be a label that I confidently expect will give us some great releases over the coming years. Not everything on here will be to everyone tastes, but that’s the point of these albums, as a result of listening to Buzzhowl Volume 1 I will be watching closely for further releases from Gravves, Prayer Group and Dead Tenants, and I’d recommend checking out this eclectic sampler to find you own personal highlights.

Buzzhowl Volume I is now available to be pre-ordered digitally and on transparent blue cassette via Bandcamp here