split: Pretty Matty / Sad Baxter

If Monday morning has you in a complete fog that even coffee won’t cure — lol, me — this split from Pretty Matty and Sad Baxter should be the cure. The two bands teamed up for one unrelenting tour-de-force of punk rock, with both sharing singles that come packed with more power than your morning coffee. And the best part? This pick me up happens in under five minutes.

Opening with “Why Not Be Something That You Are” from Pretty Matty, the split comes out energized, charged, and unstoppable. Reflecting back on a series of bad times, Pretty Matty matches the mood of those periods with furiously-paced guitar and drums. There’s not a second here that passes without some kind of enraged energy, and there’s welcome chaos in every corner, leading you directly into the contribution from Sad Baxter.

“Lately” doesn’t come with quite the same vengeful energy, rather, this contribution from Sad Baxter starts out with some measured restraint and a series of confessions that has the narrator taking the blame. Much like guilt can quickly pile on and come to weigh on you, “Lately” does add some grit to its message, culminating in a fuzzy finish of guitar, drums, and gravelly vocals.