The Hazmats (featuring members of Powerplant, Big Cheese and Chain Of Flowers) return a year down the line with another two track 7” that is another masterclass in Indie pop in 2023. Skewed View is built on an insistent treble heavy jangle guitar and mournful vocals and could easily have been a Sarah Records release. Think a mix of the Field Mice, Sea Urchins and the Mighty Lemon Drops. On the flip is Wondered which is a more uptempo and forceful song that will have you hooked from the first guitar riff. It has the same edge, production and hooks of early The Wedding Present and This Poison!. Two quality 45’s and you wonder what will be next.Our take: The Hazmats bring us their second single of vintage-sounding UK jangle on Static Shock, and consider my appetite whetted… I want to hear more from this band! The Hazmats sound so timeless, like they could have come out at any time between the 60s and today with their hypnotic jangly guitars and gentle vocals. It’s pyschedelia viewed through the punk prism, and it makes me think of staying up until the wee hours of Monday morning to catch the latest new sounds from the UK on 120 Minutes. Both songs are excellent, but as on the first Hazmats single, it’s the guitar hooks that push this band into the stratosphere… just check out the b-side, “Wondered,” whose nimble, Johnny Marr-inspired riffing serves as the song’s main hook. Just like the first Hazmats single, this is great, but leaves me thirsting for more.
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