Hailing from Bern, Switzerland, The Monsters are punk giants in their homeland who make unapologetic trash rock, as is evidenced on their newest album You’re Class, I’m Trash.
The album opens with the explosive “Gimme Germs,” and sets the tone for the whole record. You barely have time to breathe throughout it. “Smell My Tongue” belongs on a soundtrack for a John Waters film with its trashy lyrics and frantic pounding. “Carpool Lane” borders on sludge rock. “Dead” cranks up the fuzz on the guitars and vocals (Them yelling “Dead!”).
The guitars on “Stranger to Me” sound like angry hornets. “Blasphemy” is equally angry. “Yellow Snow Drink” is almost goth-country, and “Electro Bike Asshole” is back to the fiery punk (and might be the best punk song title of 2021). “Get Drunk on You” must slay live because it flattens your immediate surroundings coming out of your speakers as they subtly sing about oral sex with lyrics like, “I eat you, baby, and you eat me.” “I Love You” is a love song sung by a madman.
“Devil Baby” could fit into a 1960s Italian horror film (especially with the creepy opening piano chords) or an occult biker movie (with the wild guitars) with ease. “My Down Is Your Up” sounds like something Mr. Bungle wishes they’d written. The album ends with another, even spookier version of “Dead,” a live version of “Gimme Germs,” and the title track – which sounds like a runaway train in which the musical entertainment in the dining car is a zombie DJ playing scratched records.
Keep your mind open.
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[Thanks to Matt at Shattered Platter PR.]