The term “egg punk” didn’t initially see much use outside of niche memes that placed it on one end of a spectrum that had “chain punk” at the other. It described a loose network of underground midwestern bands in the early 2010s whose wacky experiments with hardcore punk sounded like an agitated Devo buzzing from an Olympic-size pool of coffee. But at some point between the 2018 breakup of Saint Louis scene stalwarts Lumpy & the Dumpers and the January 2024 celebration of egg punk’s second wave in zombie Spin, the term crossed over from in-joke to definable genre. When Theo Zhykharyev launched London project Powerplant in 2017, he tapped into the same electric, off-the-wall vibe as Indiana egg-punk progenitor Mark Winter, whose best projects (Big Zit, Coneheads, CCTV, D.L.I.M.C.) accidentally helped set a template for the sound. The burners on Powerplant’s early lo-fi recordings jolt along under a blanket of spooky synths like a rickety cartoon car falling apart in motion—when they arrive at a definitive, logical endpoint, it’s almost a surprise. Zhykharyev has maintained Powerplant’s wry, smart-assed sensibilities as he’s turned the project into a full band. Lots of young punks like to use humor in their music, but I can’t think of any others who’ve pulled a U-turn to issue an entire album of dungeon synth—Powerplant put out 2022’s Stump Soup after getting into Dungeons & Dragons. Last year’s Grass EP (Static Shock) is the cleanest-sounding Powerplant release yet, and the extra clarity makes the band’s wound-up nerviness even more vivid and galvanizing. On the title track, the way Zhykharyev’s dizzying croon careens around knock-kneed rhythms and rusty-coil guitar riffs makes Powerplant sound like they’re hurtling toward a gear-smashing breakup or a terrifyingly amazing set—and not knowing which it’ll be is just as bracing as their music.
Powerplant Sat 9/21, 9 PM, Co-Prosperity, 3221 S. Morgan, $16, 18+
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Leor Galil started writing for the Reader in 2010. He joined the staff in 2012, and became a senior staff writer in 2020. Leor mainly covers music, with a singular focus on Chicago artists, scenes, and phenomena. He’s won a handful of journalism awards; he’s won two first place awards from the Association of Alternative Newsmedia (for music writing in 2020 and arts feature in 2022) and a Peter Lisagor award (for Best Arts Reporting and Criticism in 2022). Twitter: @imLeor. He can be reached at lgalil@chicagoreader.com.
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