The Ergs!

Thrash Compactor [7-inch] (2010)

Brian Shultz

It seems like eons ago when the Ergs! announced they had written and recorded a batch of songs sidestepping their smart-alec pop-punk in favor of go-for-the-throat '80s hardcore. Those tracks make up Thrash Compactor; four of 'em were recorded way back in summer 2003, and an additional song in winter 2007. It took until March 2010 to get these songs properly released, but here they are.

These songs are as advertised: barking, to-the-point, early '80s hardcore averaging about 39 seconds apiece, best nestled between your Preschool compilation and Untouchables records. Buzzsaw guitars and viciously shouted, mostly incomprehensible vocals–it's all here.

Opener "Johnny Reznick Needs His Ass Kicked" bears a simple threat, and while some might call the Ergs! simply protective of their beloved Replacements, the band manage to cleverly dismiss the Goo Goo Dolls' entire career in five quick lines. The newest of these songs, a redux of older song "Throttle Boy", digs a hook deepest, but the judicious speed all the tracks are conducted with make for enough of a compelling–albeit incredibly brief–bullet point in the Ergs!'s exhausting discography.