In the Alien Snatch universe, releasing killer garage punk records almost feels less like a career move and more like a law of nature. Cause and effect get blurry over there. Are you already a cool band with a dangerous new greasy/sleazy/filthy batch of songs? Alien Snatch will probably sniff you out eventually. Or maybe it works the other way around: once you land on the label, it suddenly becomes physically impossible to release anything lame. Either way, expectations are not exactly handled delicately in that camp. And if you cannot be bothered naming your records? Fine. Just slap a number on it and move on.

So here is III, the third LP from the Berlin trio, following S.U.G.A.R. (2021), II (2022), and that absolutely combustible split with Blowers last year. If you already liked this band, III is not about to change your mind. But if you somehow slept on them before, this feels like the right entry point. To my ears, this is the sharpest and most fully realized version of S.U.G.A.R. yet.

The swagger is still intact. The sleaze too. But there is something tighter happening underneath the grime this time around. Like the band spent a little more time sharpening the blades before swinging them around. Do not mistake that for polish though. This thing still rolls in smelling like stale smoke, engine oil, and trouble. But the songwriting feels more deliberate, the execution meaner, and the whole record more consistent from start to finish.

And even at just eight songs, III absolutely delivers the goods. No filler, no dead air, just nasty garage punk rock-’n’-roll with enough sneering melodies to leave bruises.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp