Friendo / Lab Coast – Yellow 7"
Friendo have the canniest grasp of pop dynamics: ‘Germanic Panic’ is excellent three-chord chug, full of strident cool, that drops out, breaks down, then ramalamas back at the muddy end. The fact that Michael Wallace of Women is a member is made too much of; ‘Germanic Panic’ is driven by Nicole Brunel’s phlegmy sass, something also demonstrated in her equally strutting other groups Topless Mongos, Puberty, Womb Baby, The Shrapnelles and (probably) more. On the flip, fellow Cannucks Lab Coast display similar charms, this time beamed from inside a sun baked metal shed. ‘Astronaut Like Me’ is claustrophobic but joyous, dripping guitar notes tracing a single buzzing chord over baritone vocals and agitated cardboard box drums. The moment near the end when the almost-chorus splashes in is a heartburster.