Alien Anomaly - OK Boomer!

When a band is from somewhere culturally important to its scene, it’s difficult to miss. Distinct sounds from specific geographic locations are more than just a neat identifying tool, though – they’re part of the message, the culture, and the story around punk’s development in that location. The deep fuzz and recurring “oi!” of 70s punk in the UK, the disarming false front of simplicity in New York City punk in the 80s, the sound of a thousand screams as you’re beaten half to death in a hardcore pit – unique sonic fingerprints that immerse you in the environment the music was pieced together in. In the hardcore example, sometimes literal fingerprints on the side of your head. 

Which makes Alien Anomaly, well, a bit of exactly what the name suggests. Take one listen to our Rock Song of the Week pick and you’d swear you were in an early 2000s garage, playing to the kids on skateboards outside your California home. Not only are they twenty or so years out of time on that front, but the band is also alien to the location, with members from as far-flung as the Philippines, Scotland, England, Singapore, and South Africa. Also, “canonically”, they’re infected with an Alien virus, so there’s that on the Alien front too. But here they are, making picture-perfect West Coast bubblegum-punk that drives home the point that music can belong to a somewhere, even if you don’t hail from there too.

They are positively dripping with that sound, by the way; Alien Anomaly are the best sort of a throwback and this week’s Rock Song of the Week pick will have you bouncing with the best of them while you contemplate just how badly the world has fallen apart. I guess that’s not exactly the best of both worlds, but there’s still plenty of top-quality tunage to enjoy all the same here. Do whatever the opposite of kick back is and enjoy this one fresh off the top of our record collection.