Skip to content
Heyyy Sorry State readers! Long time no write! Like the rest of ya’ll, I missed the newsletter too, so it’s good to be back doing a staff pick.
First, a big big welcome home to Scarecrow! Congrats on a super sick and successful European tour and experience! But we’re also glad you’re back!
I struggled with what to pick this week because we’ve received a gazillion killer records that I’ve had a lot of fun listening to, and I found a few in particular that are staff-pick worthy. Ultimately, I picked the Lafff Box S/T EP. This is one of the first newer releases that I got hooked on in the last few weeks.
A tiny bit of background first. Lafff Box is a supergroup of sorts. Hailing from Leipzig, Halle, and Berlin, they’re associated with Lassie, Ex-White, Liiek, and Poky.
This 7” is a short and sweet four song gem. The opener, Master, drew me in immediately. I played it a few times before I even moved on to the second song. That’s my favorite one for sure. I’m a sucker for the classic “1-2-3-4!” intro, because it usually signals that killer energy is right around the corner. And it was. Master is a perfectly constructed song. It’s got a dancy beat, it’s riffy, never repetitive, and no weak spots. It’s catchy as hell.
In general, I love the clean, stop and start style drum beats throughout the whole record. It lays the foundation for the mechanical sounding vocals with vibration. The vocals also become more aggressive at times, and I love when a singer waffles between different vocal styles.
I form my opinions on music very quickly because I’m just impatient to come to a conclusion. As much as I’m in a hurry to form an opinion, I think Lafff Box is in just as much of a hurry to grab your attention and keep it. They make the most of every second they have, and they have a very full sound. I love the riffs, the tempo changes, and the fresh, weird noises peppered throughout the record for additional stimulation and intrigue. Overall, their sound is chaotic, but it’s not sloppy. It’s more like measured chaos. Careful chaos? That works too.
That all said, I think Lafff Box is a fresh take on garage-punk. For lack of a cooler way to put it, it just sounds good. You know when you’re feeling super blah, and then you put on the Ramones and suddenly you’re dancing around? Well, maybe you’re not dancing, but you’re at least moving in place? That’s the type of energy Lafff Box is giving me. Come to think of it, the drums do sound kind of Ramones-y. I’m getting off track. Just try it. Take it for a spin. Or at least a bandcamp spin. I’ve linked it below.
Thanks for reading!
-Angela