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Aggi - The Raw Veggies and a Well-Cooked Disappointment (2025)

Artist: Aggi

Author: Sarah

Date: 10/04/2025

Listen: Bandcamp

When I first came across news that this one was coming, it jumped straight to the front of my most-anticipated list. Unfortunately, after a nine-year absence, the title of this one ends up coming off a bit more literal than they would have liked it to be.

It starts off promisingly, with "Poseur Stays the Same" sounding like one of their Henry's Dress-alikes, before opening up a bit with the harmonized, repeated "I killed him on my own" of the chorus. Unfortunately, it opens up a bit too much, and all the noise that should be there isn't really given the chance to overwhelm us like on their earlier releases. That could be forgiven as an evolution in style, except this particular song is their most derivative since "College Friend"!

Honestly, just in general this one feels that way. The songs "A Rapid Bullet Shot from a Duck" and "(No Echo) Art Deco" both end up coming off as Aggi's contribution to the recent glut of bands who wish they could be Talulah Gosh, what with the fuzzed-out uptempo guitars and the overlapping vocals as the song comes to an end. Of course, Aggi are good at what they do, so all these songs turn out fine, but they definitely feel like a band who's still playing catch-up, rather than being the standard-bearers for harsh noise pop that they had once been.