REVIEW: DazGak! - Stimpy

Until now, Cork-based DAZGAK! had concentrated their post-hardcore, skate-punk into furious instrumentals to convey the trio’s tumultuous feelings into wordless sound - that all changed with their re-emergence as a four-piece, boldly showing off the elevated ferocity of their vocals-infused sound on new EP Stimpy. A play on Irish slang “that’s gak” (“that sucks”),  DAZGAK! live and breathe this rebellious punk spirit, their chaotic energy and hard-hitting melodies balancing out their ability not to take themselves seriously.

It’s clear from their determination to spread the DAZGAK! word from the Irish hardcore scene into some of the UK’s coveted underground venues that the band have their fingers on the pulse of disillusionment and bitterness in their audience, and channel that shared discontent into pile-driving hooks and whips to match fresh, caustic screams that range from grittily obscure to jarringly clear, maintaining the raw emotion throughout each breakneck track on Stimpy.

Snapping into rabid action, Big In Tucson is a meaty start to a smorgasbord of rhythms, with Jake O’Driscoll and Jackson Weed’s frenzied riffs and stirring melodic strings lapping over Philly Purcell’s swinging beats that crash forward into cymbal heavy breaks, O’Driscoll’s hardened shouts paving the way for their new vocal direction. No Sweat’s guitar hook intro leads you into Enda Boyle’s shuddering and unforgiving bass line, fluctuating between leaden skate-punk chords and skittering guitars that bend sideways for a luscious bass solo and breathless shouts - in contrast to the song’s title, this will certainly work up a sweaty crowd.

Tog Go Bog E (Top Sixteen) is another welcome piece of lingo, Irish Gaelic for “take it easy”. DAZGAK! are doing anything but going easy, keeping their focus firmly on frenetic rhythms whilst shifting the genre to a more pop-punk feel, O’Driscoll’s vocals shining through clearer as he sings raggedly “I wanna use my voice and learn how to control it”, symbolic of his triumphant addition to the band and their new sound. Hints of emo permeate Soulker and its interchanging tempo, the lone strums building to addictive and upbeat riffs and promising something more is to come on the track as the instrumentals collide together with the weighty screams.

Trixie adds another genre and layer of emotional depth to the EP as it slows in pace and falls away from the edginess briefly to a disquiet, the vocals swollen with feeling as they still scream out but inject a soft sadness to the cries of “I don’t care”, the guitars taking on a dreamlike feel at war with the relentless bass and drums before a solo cuts through to deliver more despair. Named after the younger brother from Malcolm In The Middle, Dewey carries the frantic energy of the turbulent sitcom family as it closes out Stimpy in a short but sweet track that feels like one last effort to showcase their newfound strength as a four-piece, with beefy riffs and beats that boast an element of math-rock over the skate-punk melody.

Stimpy feels like the paradigm for all angsty rock fans desiring the escape from their one-horse town, their belting voices and rhythms another beacon for post-hardcore fans looking for a sign of bigger and better things to come. DAZGAK! exploded onto the scene like a breath of fresh, sweaty-venue air, but it’s now that we see them completed and unified as they begin their upward battle to towering pinnacles.

Score: 8/10

Stimpy will be released on 26th July 2026 via Floodlit Recordings.

Words: Julia Stark

Photos: Dylan Duncann