Whoever is saying punk is dead clearly haven’t heard Auckland four-piece Nuggiez. Formed early last year, the name itself conjures up two separate images which, when combined, create a fantastic deep-fried fracas.

The eponymous debut from this “punk rock Mcfour pack”, (Benjamin Wright on bass, Alex Gallagher on drums, guitarist Dylan Clarke and front man Drew McCormack) makes its intentions clear from the opening note. The screeching guitar on Algorithms gets the wheels spinning before launching into a punk rock assault reminiscent of a world in which The Dead Kennedys hung out with The Mint Chicks. McCormack’s powerful and frantic vocal work certainly harks back to punk’s glory days but with added gusto, and the band even manage to fit some finger-lickin’ brass in amongst the carnage.

In true punk fashion, this sub-25 minute record has a huge amount of local flavour trapped in, having been engineered by Elliot Lawless (Greenfog) and mastered by Luke Finlay at Primal Mastering.

Lead single I Got Love (For The Company) claims the title of most mellow moment, a wave of phased guitar surfing right along, until it throws itself into the teeth of the verse. The band enjoyed equal amounts success and controversy with this track, reaching #1 in local student radio charts.

Any praise for Nuggiez is well-deserved.