Raging, catchy punk from the heart of NYC, coming at you from Toxic State. La Misma plays it fast and loose; they rage through songs that fall somewhere on the garage-punk-hardcore spectrum, but are strangely hard to place. Wherever they’re coming from, they’re insanely catchy, and the heavily distorted and growly yet clear guitar tone is one of my favorite tones that I’ve heard so far this year. But the best part of this EP are the frontwoman’s off-the-wall vocals. Sung in Portuguese and incredibly verbose, they alternate between speedy and spat out talk-sung vocals, passionate yelling, and all sorts of attention-grabbing vocal turns. I think the hit from this one is “Guerras Silenciosas,” which is a perfect distillation of the band’s sound that also manages to sneak in some more melodic and post-punk influences as the song goes on and darkens, especially in the repeating guitar lead that eventually closes the track. Similarly, they go a little further down this road on the final song “Identifika O Xinitmento.” That’s not to say the first two tracks are any weaker or less catchy; the mix of those faster, driving punk tracks and the more expansive last two songs is what keeps me coming back to this 7” over and over. Take a look at the very cool cover art, and pick this one up from the Katorga Works distro, who kindly offer a free download as well.

http://icoulddietomorrow.blogspot.com/2014/01/new-toxic-state-release-la-misma-self.html