♫♪  ZYJK2 / SDFSD - ZZZZZZZ / YYYYYYY

The government might be on shutdown mode, but that doesn’t mean the IRS has taken any breaks this January. Tax season still begins on the 28, and ZYJK2 / SDFSD* is determined to remind you that performing one’s civic duty is indeed punk rock.

The third of many small releases published this year by prolific netlabel 7FORM, ZZZZZZZ / YYYYYYY is as subtle as a W-2 form shoved in your face: it opens with a 17-minute “tax fraud suite” that mashes IDM drum breaks between squelching soundscapes and modern-classical ventures with bureaucratic excess. It’s a mad rush of data, once organized, now freed from the shackles of designation: your filing cabinet upturned in a pool of manila folder spew. The suite ultimately follows a tragic narrative, regressing from jittery trip-hop into a tar pit of rhythmic goo.

The six tracks left in its wake are less ambitious — none last longer than three and a half minutes. “File Your Taxes,” an urgent breakcore excursion, and Clams Casino homage “Fraud” are the best of these snippets, hinting at an elegance behind the opener’s cacophonic energy.

*This isn’t a split release. That’s the artist’s full name.

Chocolate Grinder

CHOCOLATE GRINDER is our audio/visual section, with an emphasis on the lesser heard and lesser known. We aim to dig deep, but we’ll post any song or video we find interesting, big or small.

Most Read



Etc.