208L Containers - Soft Monstrous Masses! (2025) Hi-Res

There’s something both disarming and delightful about Tasmanian band 208L Containers’ new single, “Secret Servers.” Slicing low over post-punk, but not without a kind of discordant funk, the cut cribs from both UK radio readies and an Aussie punk pantheon that tumbles down from Toy Love to Tall Dwarfs, and Eddy Current to Alien Nosejob. The band has a self-deprecating charm that bubbles up under the rubberized guitars and shout along choruses. About halfway through “Secret Servers,” the band slips into a harmonized breakdown that gives full nods to Queen in the accompanying video. The song offers up delights but looks to derail them at every turn, and the tension of their pop charms and rakish wit is well worth the price of admission. The song sneaks up on the band’s new album Soft Monstrous Masses, out November 14th from Rough Skies.