Just a minute late for the 1-year anniversary of Antarctica, these two tracks, culled from the Antarctica sessions at Electrical Audio, jump up from the grooves with a rush to spur you after the extended fog and furor of our collective 2020-21 blip. It's time again - get up!The dance move called “The Guest” is a bit like The Twist, but with a bit more writhing involved. There’s some horror involved, so it’s earned writhing on your part – here, Flat Worms take a DEVO-esque passivity, looking in on the actions of the real people. It’s pretty scary. Start flopping, and by the time that they get to the big rave-up at the end, you’ll be aligned in time. “The Circle” belongs to that tradition of 45 tracks that may or may not allude to the 45 itself. “Find the circle! Find the center!” might serve as both timely polemic and shameless self-promotion. Or maybe not. One thing we’re not ambiguous about – the acid-glazed lead guitar that hovers like a neon apparition above the thrashing rhythm section.
Antarctica was a life sentence from what feels like a lifetime ago - “The Guest” 7” is the emphatic exclamation point that brings it all back to life!

Photo: Credit Owen Schmit

https://flatwormsmusic.bandcamp.com/

“Smirk is the solo project of Nick Vicaro (Crisis Man, Public Eye, Cemento). He is back with the follow up to the LP on Feel It (US) and Drunken Sailor (EU/UK) with a 12” EP on Total Punk. While LP compiled tracks from Smirk’s two limited run cassettes, EP is seven brand new tracks of wiry, well-crafted punk with heaps of hooks. Sharp guitars and anxious one note leads adding tension to the locked in propulsive groove of the bass and drums. Nick Vicaro does his best ‘man on wire’ routine exuding a cool confidence while singing about the anxieties of modern life. Strutting his way to the apocalypse one jittery jam at a time. ‘EP” is agitated, catchy, and bouncy as hell."

https://smirk1.bandcamp.com

https://freakees.bandcamp.com/