The Spikes let the scuzz slither and the rhythm salivate in Guns for the Children, a single that dropped with a visceral music video a year ago and hits just as hard today with its garagey nods to psychobilly in its Cramps-y reminiscences, tempered by an indie post-punk slick stylistic monochromatics and echoes of Jim Morrison.
If you’re still mourning the loss of Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster and The Jim Jones Revue, Guns for the Children has all of the sardonic snarls, salaciously serpentine rhythms, and devil-may-care antagonism to set you right. Guns for the Children proves that subversion is a far better weapon than preaching in the vein of Bono in the vain attempt of changing the world while raising your profile; Guns for the Children holds a mirror up to the societal rot that’s tearing its way through the fabric of our desiccated reality.
The man behind the menace, Iago Haussman, is no stranger to channelling unrest into visceral forms. A multidisciplinary artist born in Rome and now splitting time between Berlin and New York, Haussman crafts with a cinematic sensibility shaped by a childhood spent on film sets. Through The Spikes, he transposes that grit into his art-punk poetry and monochrome sonic theatre. As he prepares to release a full album in 2026, he’s already pulling the thread tighter with more singles planned for this summer.
Guns for the Children is now available on all major streaming platforms; watch the video on YouTube.
Review by Amelia Vandergast