Black Market Translation Is the Gritty, Improv Punk Band of Your Dreams

Black Market Translation has a way with words. The edgy and chaotic punk band paints a fantastical origin story on its website and describes the three bandmates’ “electric instruments for hands, lighters as eyeballs, and a head of firewood for brains” in detail. Even the group’s tuxedo cat carries the curse of creative owners: Her name is Bjorknado.

Despite the humor and lyricism, no one in Black Market Translation writes songs. In fact, it doesn’t even have a singer. It’s a completely improvisatory band, with a sound it calls “improv punk psychedelic junk wave sufi doom surf.”

The three members — Matt Clifford on bass, Chris Eason on guitar and Justin Anderson on drums — have incredibly different musical stylings, but through hours of practicing improv, they managed to form a…