Pabst, DEUCE EX MACHINA
Ketchup Tracks

Berlin is a cool place. They’ve got the brutalist architecture, notorious Berghain, great beer… and grunge-punk three piece Pabst, churning out tunes to rival the Cali and Australia scene despite being landlocked. Their Facebook page describes them as collegewave, mallgoth, fuzzpop, and “kinda nice”, and latest release My Apocalypse more than delivers on the promise.

The hazy, dense guitars churn through, weighting down the groovy whilst somehow also keeping it upbeat. There’s a hint of Milk Teeth there, if Milk Teeth used more wobbly pedals; grunge has never felt so surreal. Twangs drift through the background, drums cut through before kicking into a chorus that’s truly a singalong moment – but the last note tosses a discordant surprise at you. It’s cutting-edge modern rock combined with the 70s sensibilities of bands like Demob Happy, and it’s a combo we love.

My Apocalypse is the latest in a series of singles ahead of the release of DEUCE EX MACHINA, and other releases Hell, Skyline, and Ibuprofen are equally as high-powered punk. Hell is a raucous skate-punk banger that sounds like the best mosh-pit you’ve ever been in, crowd-surfers galore. Skyline is a sprawling, whining jam that wouldn’t feel out of place on a FIDLAR or Dune Rats album (especially with lyrics like “this city is a shithole, this city wants us to fuck off”). Ibuprofen throws it back to classic punk-rock with an unrelenting guitar base and attitude laden delivery.

Sounds pretty good? Not even close. Pabst have given us four irresistible teasers, prime cuts of what grunge-punk has to offer, and we can’t wait to hear the whole record.

DEUCE EX MACHINA is out June 19th.