What Always Fast Hardly Accurate does right now, during another lockdown, is give that feeling of heading out to a club show to talk about music, and hear some raw garage rock performed in a stinky dive of a venue. And it does it so well, I feel like I’ve been to see The Mystery Lights play some basement. It’s been ten months since I existed in a proper gig space, and so I’m hugely grateful for this film, even if it slips by in the time slot of a support band. Nice work Milton.

The film includes a vérité monochrome footage of all the most iconic bands from their early days. The sort of grainy stock that years later becomes holy grail stuff for rock and roll archaeologists like myself to stumble across. This may yet to turn out to be a source for some of that. Only time will tell. Whether the day comes that Miranda And The Beat, FlasyD, BiPolar, The Mystery Lights or P.I.G. amount to anything outside of New York remains to be seen but if none of them break out, then this kooky little extended promo clip will still work as mere remains of a scene. 

Lolling about on a mattress in the corner of a flat, drinking beer and smoking cigarettes, is a bit of a high art form in the world of punk rock. This reportage from the trenches of Brooklyn New York’s Hipster Punk Scene is either utterly ineffectual, or completely charming, depending on your partiality to noisy chatter in the corridors that lead to dive bars toilet facilities. 

There’s definitely something vital captured in this most punk rock of tiny documentaries. Rule one, keep it on the streets, rule two don’t over explain (if you can’t keep up, you just ain’t punk), rule three, get in and get out fast, always leave them wanting more. This scene has some decent tunes. 

If the film amounts to little more than a couple of promos for the bands who get a song in the movie then that’s okay with us. FlasyD and The Mystery Lights are bands I’d happily stand somewhere near the middle of the room getting the odd lick of beers spilled on me while they thrash about. In fact, right now, I can think of few things I’d like to do more once this all blows over. In the meantime though, I might watch this Again, Again, Again! 

Always Fast Hardly Accurate is out now from Alamo Pictures

Watch or rent: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/afha