I take my duty of sharing great music with everyone very seriously, so I knew as soon as I heard this band, I would want to write a review of this EP. Texas has a very diverse musical range featuring everything from country and red dirt to death metal and black metal. On the punk side, there is, of course, Die Spitz, who have made themselves very well known over the past couple of years. Please allow me to introduce a band who may follow in their footsteps- Grocery Bag. I am not sure the story behind their name, but I assume it is an interesting one. Formed in San Antonio and now based in Austin, they serve up a great blend of punk with grunge flourishes- think the Sonics/ Green River/ Mudhoney as opposed to Alice in Chains. The band members are known to swap instruments onstage, so let’s just name them- Bell Martinez, Dillon Aitala, Logan Kerman, and Jimmy Mercado. This EP collects recent singles and presents them as a great EP.

Opener ‘Lies’ has a hooky guitar riff that becomes even more powerful as it barrels through the chorus, giving it a bit of a Groop Dogdrill feel. There is a great musical break in the middle, which I could see being a great place for an extended jam before a vital guitar solo carries us to the final chorus. They slow the beat a little with ‘Watching TV’ where the lead vocals would steal the show if the music was not just as powerful. The guitar at the end provides a climactic end to the tremendous four minutes of music.

The groovy ‘Stop Calling Me Out’ continues the musical onslaught. The vocals by Martinez have an excellent cadence and texture to provide an immediate identity for the band here. In less than three minutes here, though, each member serves up an incredible performance with the breakdown in the song making it one of the best nuggets you will hear this year.  ‘Grave’ explodes to life and is another excellent nugget that goes many places in just over two minutes. The production and mix on these songs are simply perfect, as each instrument can be heard. The drum sound on ‘Grave’ pounds out of the speaker.

While each song has razor-sharp hooks, the band continues to sharpen them on ‘Reason’, where there is a more psychedelic feel to the vocals and rhythm. Like ‘Lies,’ there is a jam in the middle of the song that would lend itself to an extended few minutes in the live setting before returning to hook the listener in again. The band then delivers a closer in ‘Deadvolt’ that may be one of the best songs you will hear. There is a swagger to the music and vocals that defies description. There is not a wasted second in this musical beast.

In six songs, Grocery Bag has crafted a diamond deserving of reaching a wide audience. The blend of garage rock (where those early grunge pioneers also drew from) combined with more modern influences and a dose of psychedelic touches, makes Grocery Bag’s ‘Deadvolt’ a must listen. I will soon be going back to listen to their 2023 release,’ Break You.’ I have a feeling that if you are new to Grocery Bag, your path will be identical to mine. Now, let’s see how high my volume can go.

‘Deadvolt’ is available now.     

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Author: Gerald Stansbury