Crannk Reviews Short Fuse Vol. 2 by Wreckless Enterprise -

I reviewed Short Fuse Vol. 1 back in June and was very impressed by the compilation put together by Wreckless Enterprise. It was a collection of 12 short songs that covered a diverse range of garage punk rock noise. Overall it was a great compilation and at the time my only criticism was that I wasn’t sure what to make of the last song … it still bugs me when I listen to it.
At the time Wreckless Enterprise said they planned on doing a follow-up but I didn’t expect to be listening to it this year. I actually got a copy of the limited edition CD which features both Short Fuse compilations. When I reviewed the first one it was more a write up about the bands involved and the brilliant idea for a compilation. For a sense of completeness here is the link to the review of Short Fuse Vol. 1 https://crannk.com/crannk-reviews-short-fuse-vol-1-by-wreckless-enterprise/

The first track of the new compilation is ‘Bunning Sausage Sandwiches‘ by Froth Dogs and it clocks in at little over 20 seconds. It starts off with vocals backed by some kick drum and well placed distorted power chord stabs before another run through with the music turning into a fast loud mess of punk, the drums get more intense and the distorted power chords leave no empty space. The vocals are squeezed into the song with no room for a pause and lyrically this song is funny and clever covering the perils of DIY and a description of a Bunnings sausage sandwich. My only criticism is that I prefer tomato sauce. Here’s the music video for the song.

Next up is ‘Teeth’ by Circus Variety Act which clocks in at 53 seconds. The song starts with the drums and as the rest of the band joins in you hear a fast-paced power chord progression and vocals in a shouty kind of manner, the vocal pattern at this point leaves room for the music to get creative. The chord progression changes as the vocals drop out with the guitar playing choppy parts over a driving bass line. This pattern is repeated throughout with a creative feel then just as you think you’ve got a good idea what to expect the band plays a bridge part with the guitar playing some clean upstrokes in a ska fashion. While this track is different from everything else on the compilation it fits perfectly.
Track 3 is ‘Dickhead‘ by The Owen Guns its around 40 seconds of in your face hardcore punk. Starting with a fast chord progression backed by solid drumming, the vocals join in with a whoa build-up turning into a one, two, three go. Speedy shouty verse parts turn into distorted power chords let ring out and room to breathe in the chorus parts but the drumming never lets up and keeps the intensity from dropping until the end. Here’s the music video

Next up is a track called ‘Countdown To Extinction‘ by Babymachine its just over a minute long. Feedback and some heavy musical stabs form the start of the song as the vocals announce “this is a countdown to extinction” then lyrically this song does an actual countdown while delivering a message with a sense of desperation and urgency. The music turns into a great hardcore pattern while the vocals tackle 10 through 6 gaining more ferocity towards the end and then drops out while the band does a few bars before joining back in to do 5 through 1. After the countdown, the music returns to the same musical stabs and feedback and comes to an end with some perfect words. Check out the video

The fifth song is ‘Cheap Motel‘ by Das Asps has a really cool speedy guitar part that sounds like a distorted run along one string for an intro that leads into a rhythmic collection of power chords, the vocals are delivered in a fast-paced manner before changing it up in the chorus parts to a slower haunting style. This song has a very garage punk vibe, simplistic and catchy. Length wise its close to 1 minute.
The next track is ‘Fingerbutt Smut‘ by Piss to EME, with a runtime of 49 seconds this garage punk style song lyrically feels like a dig at the child abuse the christian religions spent at least the last 60 years or more trying to cover up. The vocals are delivered in a style similar to Rodney Rude or Kevin Bloody Wilson. The music consists of a basic distorted chord pattern from the guitar and drumming that feels steady but not overwhelming.
The next song is ‘Give Me My Money‘ by Flangipanis it has a high energy melodic punk sound with a strong 90’s vibes. Lyrically it sounds like the band is having a dig at a manager or perhaps a booker about not paying them. Verse parts featuring rhythmic guitar chords slowly building up the energy with vocals also building towards chorus parts with a full sound and vocals arranged in a more hardcore style. I’ve been listening to this band for a while but if you’ve never heard them this is a great introduction to their sound.
Track 8 is ‘Ode to Debt‘ by Sloshpit its more of a fast hardcore type song with hard-hitting drumming and hints of metal, not a lot of vocals in this song but what is there is presented in a shouty style. Who knows what the weird noise is that is present at the start and end of the track but its almost annoying. This is a great song though, like a chaotic musical slap in the face.
Next up is Bitchcraft with a song called ‘Hey Sista‘ originally this band was active from 2001-2012 after that there was a 5-year break followed by a triumphant return. This new song is great, just over 1 minute of their feminist punk/riot grrrl sound. Here’s the music video

The second last track is by The Culture Industry and is called ‘the Purge‘ and it starts with a rhythmic heavy vibe, soft heavy formula to separate parts. You think this heavy chaotic noise is over before a well-timed ‘surprise’ after which is another variation of heavy screaming and music. This song has some amazing drumming.
The Final song is ‘Burnout’ by 99 Scapegoats and it clocks in at just over a minute. Featuring simple chords and dynamics but also some of the best bass lines ever and a lead guitar part that will melt your ears off. Vocals on this are almost that whiny punk type but are so good. I’m already listening to more of this band’s songs.
To sum it up, this was a great follow up to Short Fuse Vol. 1 (which was a great compilation) this release had a similar sense of diversity but the songs felt more geared towards pushing a message. I would suggest Short Fuse Vol. 2 is the stronger compilation with more punk attitude but I still like both and now I have both compilations on the one CD I’ll be listening to it for a long time. I can’t wait to hear the next release from Wreckless Enterprise.

Wreckless Enterprise Facebook https://www.facebook.com/wrecklessenterprise/

In the interest of helping promote the amazing bands that have contributed to these compilations, I put together a playlist with different songs from the bands. If one song wasn’t enough to convince you to hand over some money and support these bands maybe this will help tip you over