MALLWALKERS-SHAKE THE RUST OFF LP
MALLWALKERS-SHAKE THE RUST OFF 12" LP- A self-described Buffalo, NY based punk rock band, though they may not look or sound like your idea of a punk rock band in 2015. MALLWALKERS flip the script on popular notions of punk by fusing their Rust Belt angst with the sounds of Vietnam-era funky soul and 60 years of garage bashers and bangers to create a sound that is both a pastiche of their collective record collections but also a new and singular rock and roll entity. As currently constructed, MALLWALKERS are an eleven piece collective boasting (in addition to standard rock and roll instrumentation) a full horn section and prominent vocal contributions from both male and female genders. Billing themselves as “the band that's playing the party your older sister warned you about”, MALLWALKERS has lived up to that description by bringing their unpredictable live show to Buffalo's basements, squats, dive bars, art galleries, social halls, and even the city streets. Similar to late-70s left-of-center groups of the new wave and the no wave, MALLWALKERS ride the thin line between the serious and the absurd, between the fun and the threatening, between worshiping the past and creating the future.
PRESSING STATS-500 Pressed, 100 on Red Vinyl/400 Black Vinyl. LP includes digital download code and a sticker.
MALLWALKERS-SHAKE THE RUST OFF 12" LP is $15.00 plus shipping.
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REVIEW-Mallwalkers are an eleven-piece collective in band form, offering dual gendered vocals along with dissonant post punk songs bashed out to a funky backbone and a full horn section. A contemporary band to reference as a comparison might be Chain & The Gang, but honestly I think this record sounds more like a perfect merging of Gang Of Four and the Dog Faced Hermans into one superband. It’s post-punky and noisy with biting guitars. Good stuff. (Razor Cake Fan Zine)
REVIEW-I feel bad that I have to describe Mallwalkers as an idea that looks bad on paper but highly exceeds your expectations, but I also suppose it says something about them as a band that's good enough to make a funk-wave influenced style succeed in 2013. And billing them as funky first and foremost is selling them short - they're certainly more aptly described as New Wave Garage Soul or No Wave Dance Music...whatever, genres are for breaking, right? As of the recording of this LP, Mallwalkers are operating as an 11-piece band, including two drummers, a four piece horn section (sometimes larger), two singers and at least one dancer, and that's not including special guests. Bands that Mallwalkers have shared members with: Brown Sugar, Plates, Rat Mask, Failure's Union, Coworkers and a dozen more you haven't heard of unless you live in WNY. So, this ambitious ten song LP starts really strong - "Future Shock" is their hardest tune, all post-punk angles and muscle and an excellent declaration of purpose. "Going Downtown" is a hooky and saxy bit of urban rock-n-soul, "Put Your Hands Together" a political bit'o funk fun. "Get You Back" is a Fifties sock-hop inspired tune that I'm not sure works, but I applaud the effort. They get back on track with Side B's "Addicted to Sound", a no-wavey Eighties trawl that maintains a molasses-like catchiness. "Shake it to the Floor" is pretty close to the Big Boys formula with some Troublefunk vibes even. Even though this record tails off a bit on Side B, it's frontloaded enough to keep you coming back and the half-dozen highlights here are rather unique for today's stages, giving them some extra weight. I'm very proud to say that Mallwalkers are from my hometown, a city that is often maligned and subjected to ridicule for our climate, unemployment and luckless sports teams. This collective is filled with the types of people that make places like Buffalo special to those of us who love it here, those who see the opportunities here - I believe nearly every person in this band also participates in bettering the culture and politics of this city in other ways - from record labels (Feral Kid, Drug Party) to small press and print (One Percent Press, Argy Bargy Printing) to community artspace/activisism (Sugar City), and I'm sure that I'm overlooking something. Every city should be lucky enough to have a Mallwalkers of their own. (Terminal Boredom)