Well folks, we have yet another killer blast of garagey rock n’ roll fury from the land-down-under. Maybe it’s just that only the great stuff makes it’s way over here, or maybe Australia does have one of the most consistent underground scenes in the known world. Either way, Soviet Valves is a band that deserves to be at the top of the heap of all these imported punk rock bangers coming our way. They truly nail the perfect mix of punk, garage, and post-punk in these six endlessly tuneful songs. Speedy but still loose, rough but intelligently written, these songs remind me the fast-but-melodic punk rock that bands like The Marked Men, Carbonas, and The Buzzcocks traffic(ed) in. Not content to keeps things simple, Soviet Valves also incorporate some post-punk influences, coming namely through (again) The Buzzcocks’ stranger songs, early Wire, or The Feelies (especially given the nervous energy coarsing through this EP.) The wirey guitars are a high point, jangleing and twisting around each other, sounding the way that a two-guitar band should. “Carrion Luggage” is one of my favorites, with jangling guitars, catchy-as-hell vocal melodies, and some serious speed. Closer “Washer Woman” is also fantastic, with some really interesting twists in the guitar-playing and drumming, culminating in a unique and unexpected clean-toned guitar solo that you simply NEED to hear. Only six tracks long, Death Trumps Romance is some of the most compelling punk rock around, so be sure to pick it up from Vertex Records.