Personal Style – Garbage Can E.P.
It’s not often we’re met with a release that has everyone standing up from their figurative seats, but Buffalo-based band Personal Style continues to exhibit the kind of skill that only builds on their hype with their new four-song Garbage Can E.P. – a pulsating post-punk serenade that scratches all the right itches and further cements the group as one of the most exciting outfits in the region.
Formed in the fall of 2019, the project brings together Bryan Johnson, Evan Wachowski, and Stephen Floyd, a trio of local scene stalwarts. With a collective 15+ years spent cutting their teeth in Buffalo’s DIY circuit under various monikers (Mapmaker, Patchwork, Bryan Johnson and Family, Mallwalkers, many more), these veterans have traded their individual histories for a cohesive new chapter with the project. Garbage Can E.P. was recorded with Jay Zubricky (GCR Recording Studio) and Justin John Smith (Mammoth Recording Studio), as well as at home and at their practice space. From those collaborations arose some of their most exciting music to date.
Personal Style’s Garbage Can E.P., while just over seven minutes in runtime, represents all of what’s helped garner their burgeoning popularity while adding further color to the band’s world. Much of the project was recorded on an ancient Tascam four-track cassette recorder in a (very successful) attempt to decrease fidelity and provide a listening experience that’s a sonic sight to behold. On “Poison Arrow,” for example – the project’s quickest and punchiest – gauzy guitars layer next to Floyd’s vocals in a way that’s reminiscent of early Green Day, only here, it’s as if the tracks were recorded behind a thin curtain: close enough to hear but hazy enough to let the distortion paint its own brushstrokes.
“Don’t Turn It Down” is another standout worth mentioning in its unabashed desire to be loud on purpose. That’s the point. Some of the best music isn’t supposed to be clean; instead, it’s muddy, caustic, and maxed out with a subdued intentionality that really can only be accomplished with years of experience. Personal Style has both, and it’s for that exact reason we’re left loving the thrill of these four tracks while simultaneously eager for more. The band is finishing up their debut LP, which they self-recorded last year, having recently expanded to a four-piece with the addition of Jordan Maelyn Smith and begun recording more songs to capture the new lineup. Their Garbage Can E.P. is perhaps the perfect illustration of what a really good pivot point looks like, representing all of what’s so good about Personal Style while demonstrating the potential for what this group will continue to make together.
Garbage Can E.P. was released on California-based label Record Beach, and if you’re in the mood to make a really good decision, you can purchase the project as a 7″ vinyl record here. All of the other different ways to support Personal Style can be found here, and be sure to catch them on May 8th at Milkie’s in Buffalo before they hit a few dates in Canada this August.
Categorised in: Album of the Week
This post was written by Ben Frigeri