The Speed Humps – Consumption CS (Tarantula Tapes)

Sometimes the brain craves for some grinding, energetic, intense punk rock music, so that’s the time when The Speed Humps are jumping to the rescue with their latest offering to the broader audience. The Speed Humps are a garage punk quartet emanating from Barre, Ontario, Canada, and Consumption is their most advanced material, released by Tarantula Tapes sometime during the September of 2020. Since their formation, the group released a self-titled EP consisted of seven songs and a full-length debut album Broken Dream, including fifteen powerful compositions. Expect nothing but short and sweet garage punk rock tunes, entirely performed with generous dosages of raw aggression and relentless dynamics.

Consumption carries four brand new compositions and a Free Cocaine / Drug Store, originally performed by the legendary The Dwarves. Perhaps garage punk would be a close definition of their music, but The Speed Humps are drawing influences from hardcore punk, skate punk, hard rock, and rock’n’roll. These complementary genres are creating havoc throughout the entire material, and the group entirely controls the situation by adding a subtle dosage of chaotic noise over the top. Don’t get me wrong, I am not talking about noise articulations here. I was thinking more about the dosage of ear-appealing fuzz distortion that gives a bit of roughness to the overall listening experience. This fuzziness is not overwhelming the remaining portion of the instruments. Quite the contrary, the other instruments are also rough in their specific manner. It’s all about the sincere, rough, uncompromising garage sound that gives more power to the energetic performance of the entire group.

Their music vividly resembles something that would bands like Zeke, Peter Pan Speedrock, Dean Dirg, F-Minus, or other similar bands eventually record throughout their careers. Nevertheless, there’s something about dirty guitar shreds, semi-distorted basslines, and fast rhythmic sequences that keeps the articulations of The Speed Humps unique and entertaining. The entire group demonstrates how hardcore punk and garage rock could work together in harmony, with smaller chunks of energetic rock’n’roll lurking somewhere in the background. Consumption comes on a cassette limited to only 50 copies. The entire edition is made in assorted colors, so that gives an even more special vibe to this release. Head over to the Tarantula Tapes Bandcamp page for more detailed information about ordering.