!!! - Wallop (2LP)

Wallop finds !!! doing what they do best, grinning at the dance floor and daring it to keep up. It landed on August 30, 2019, via Warp Records, the band’s longtime home, and it stands as their eighth studio album. If you have a soft spot for the moment when punk kids first fell in love with drum machines and warehouse parties, this one hits that nerve. The group, pronounced Chk Chk Chk, has been playing this game for two decades, but there is nothing tired here. Wallop feels like a fresh can of paint splashed across their dance‑punk blueprint.

What jumps out first is the bounce. The rhythms push forward with a lean, rubbery snap, the bass lines slink and jab, and hi‑hats chatter like teeth in winter. Keys pulse in neon blocks that recall late night subway lights or the afterglow of a 2 a.m. set. Nic Offer still sings like a ringleader who never leaves the floor, half bark, half coax, tossing out hooks that feel made for sweaty singalongs. You hear the group’s old love for post‑punk guitar scratch, but it is threaded through house kicks and acid squiggles that nod to 90s rave culture. That cross talk between live band chops and club instincts is the magic trick, and Wallop pulls it off over and over.

Sequencing matters on a record like this. The album moves with a DJ’s instinct for energy, slipping from lean body‑music workouts into brighter, synth‑pop streaks, then back to something grit‑covered and percussive. The percussion is a highlight, packed with hand drum accents and machine claps that pop in the stereo field. The production never feels fussy. Sounds are bold and tactile, as if the band set out to make every element jump from the speakers. It is easy to imagine how these tracks morph on stage, stretched and teased until the room goes wobbly, because the recordings already carry that live‑wire edge.

Longtime fans will hear echoes of Myth Takes in the way grooves take their time to bloom, yet Wallop is less about indie‑club nostalgia and more about keep‑it‑moving momentum. There is a playful streak too. Little vocal ad‑libs, cheeky synth zaps, sudden drops that set up bigger payoffs. Nothing is precious, which keeps the album light on its feet. Even the more reflective passages feel like breathers rather than detours. That balance is hard to strike this deep into a career, but !!! know their strengths and keep the focus on movement and color.

On vinyl the record’s personality really pops. The low end blooms without turning to mush, and those tight high‑end textures have room to bite. If you are crate digging and stumble on Wallop vinyl, do not overthink it. Grab it, take it home, and test your speakers. For anyone building a shelf of !!! vinyl, it sits nicely alongside Myth Takes and Thr!!!er, a later‑period jolt that still feels immediate. Shops that specialize in dance‑leaning rock know the type of customer who lights up when this comes on, and Wallop scratches that itch start to finish.

There is a small cultural thrill in seeing a crew that came up alongside DFA‑era parties still making records that feel club ready. Plenty of bands from that scene drifted toward cozy nostalgia. !!! kept their eyes on the strobe and their feet on the gas. Release calendars will tell you Wallop arrived two years after Shake the Shudder and a few years before Let It Be Blue, but what matters is how alive it still sounds when the needle drops. These are not museum pieces. They are invitations.

If you are looking to buy !!! records online, this is an easy recommendation, especially if you want !!! albums on vinyl that actually get played rather than parked on a shelf. It is the kind of album you hope to find in a Melbourne record store on a Saturday morning, the sort of pickup that reminds you why you still thumb through bins. For searchers hunting specific pressings, Wallop vinyl on Warp is widely available, and it earns its keep. However you file it, this one turns four walls into a friendly little club, which is really all you can ask from a band that never forgot why people dance in the first place.