Lukewarm is brand new to the Winnipeg music scene – at this point, as I write in mid-November, they’ve only played a couple shows: one in a basement deep in the West End, and one on an opening slot at Union Sound Hall. But the boys in the band – bassist/vocalist Hart “Wildman” Koepke, guitarist Zach “Shitsmoke” Kornelsen, and drummer Ryan “Groucho” Marques – are young but seasoned veterans, and their refreshing brand of cosmic punk rock proves it.
Out of the Womb, Onto the Hook sounds consistently dangerous, like teetering on the edge of a cliff, or what you might imagine in your head when you’re stuck at the busiest party in the world, and all of a sudden you somehow realize you’re blackout drunk and escape is impossible. Its short sub-15 minute ride through different levels of hell doesn’t let up for a moment, whipping through terrifying, doomy, slide-riff rollercoasters (“Hominivorax”) to the jazzy, bizarro, confusion of “Space Junky,” where Koepke wails and moans like a high witch doctor in what sounds like a fear-inducing walk through the edges of the dark, empty universe. Out of the Womb is a quick and dirty thriller – filled to the brim with filthy space gutter echo-y slide guitar, jagged and anxious, immediate, spooky, and fear inducing. Lukewarm is just as heavy onstage as they are on tape – a force to be reckoned with in the flesh. Don’t sleep on Out of the Womb: it’s a limited, cassette-only release, and the most exciting slice of heavy shit that you’ll find in the city this winter. (Self-released, lukewarmsounds.bandcamp.com) Matt Williams