 
ANN BERETTA – Rise (annberetta.bandcamp.com) Ann Beretta was most active in the late 90s and early 2000s, then emerged in the mid 2010s from a long slumber. Their last new recording was way back in 2018 for Say-10 Records and Skateboards, and though the band was most well known as a late era Lookout! Records band, this time they’re releasing “Rise” independently. It’s an evolution for the band, not so much a departure from their past sound. But there’s more rock and roll than melodic street punk in this latest LP. The songs still have a strong anthemic feel, and will get the crowds pumping their fists and singing along, especially the opening track, “The Sound of Revolution.” But I can’t help but think of punk bands from back in the 80s that evolved after the end of the hardcore era. Some crossed over into metal, others gravitated more toward an “alternative” rock sound. While Ann Beretta’s latest effort doesn’t fall into the trap of sounding too commercial and slick, it definitely shares more in common with working class rock and roll than the mix of pop punk and street punk of yore. The choruses are big and the tunes are plenty raucous, but these songs sound like they would be more at home in an arena than a small sweaty dive. Standout tracks for me include the Blitz meets the Boss sound of “Dying to Feel Alive,” and the closing track, “The Last Song,” which has undertones of power pop in the melody. There’s nothing bad about this album, but it does seem to be a little too much like ordinary 80s rock and roll to me than punk or indie.
DIE! DIE! DIE! – This Is Not An Island Anymore (diediedie.bandcamp.com) Ominous is the first word that comes to mind upon listening to this new LP from the New Zealand trio. The band has existed since 2005, and on this seventh full length LP, they’ve returned to their original lineup. The music has an urgent sound, the feel of warning of impending disaster. The clanging and chiming of the guitar in the short “Takaparawhau” is something that should have been placed first on the album, I feel, because it acts as sort of a clarion, a wake up call to us all for what is about to happen. The use of guitar harmonics to produce this effect is not new, but I always love it when I hear it. The short segment feels like listening to scratchy short wave radio, and has an otherworldly quality. But also the opening title track seems appropriate, too, with eerie ominous sustained guitar notes. It gives me the image of a bleak landscape in a post-apocalyptic world. As the rest of the band comes in, the guitars get noisier and more chaotic, as the drums and bass attack with solid punctuation. The vocals provide an air of desperation and a sense of unyielding trauma. As important as the guitar tone is to Die! Die! Die!’s aesthetic, the bass is equally so. Without the bass driven power of “Losing Sight, Keep on Kicking,” the song wouldn’t be what it is, even with the angular guitar stabs and wall of noise. Equally notable is the Albini-esque bass of “8 Months in the Lighthouse,” providing a subtleness at the start of the track, then a fast-paced rumble that underpins the bulk of the track. I feel like the butt of a joke listening to “Never Tire Looking At The Sun,” because the minimalist repetitive descending guitar line sounds like it’s laughing at me. For fans of the noise rock sound of yore, like me, it’s gratifying that bands like Die! Die! Die! are still making this sort of music. A dream international noise rock bill would include both this band and Germany’s Trigger Cut.
HUMAN ISSUE – Faceless Nameless (Rad Girlfriend Records, www.radgirlfriendrecords.com)Hunter Martinez of Decent Criminal gets out from behind the drum kit and steps forward as the front man on this debut EP from new band Human Issue. And it’s not what you would expect from a guy whose other band is wonderfully melodic. Human Issue is rage personified. Martinez lets out the anger in this hardcore record, where he’s joined by an impressive roster of collaborators, including Rikk Agnew (Adolescents, Christian Death), Crow Jane (Egrets of Ergot, Prissy Whip), Bryan Lothian (A Global Threat), and Raul and Riff Cuellar (Corrupted Youth), who also co-produced this debut EP. And what a job they did, as did Martinez in crafting these nuggets. One wouldn’t know what they’re in for while listening to the first track, “Faceless,” at least until it’s nearly over. It starts out with a lonely piano, plonking with heavy reverb. We hear sounds of gulls or other birds in the background, and gorgeously hazy vocals sing the melody – and then the full band comes in, blasting angular chords, and we’re off! Fantastic hardcore, gang vocals, yet with strong melodic content finishes the track. There are lots of classic hardcore riffs in here, but also with mathish meter and rhythm changes. Metallic guitars punctuate “Circles” with angularity and rock and roll solo moments. Huge gang vocals fill the track, powerful passion oozing out of the speakers. “First Place” is a well-titled song, for it’s A-1 speed and rage. “Curtains” brings in some early post-punk hardcore and a cool pop melody contrast for the chorus, even as the noisy guitars still seethe and bristle. It’s a brilliant contradiction that works really well. The closing track of the EP, “Reflections,” too, has loads of melody mixed in with the hardcore, this time somewhat dark. At more than three minutes it’s the longest track, too, and ends similarly to the way the EP begins, in relative quiet and calm. As the instrumentals and vocals fade, acoustic guitar comes up in the mix, playing a classical sounding version of the same melody. It’s quite pretty. I’m awed by this debut, and highly recommend it to all hardcore fans.
BRYAN MCPHERSON – How to Draw Everything (bryanmcpherson1.bandcamp.com) Coming out of Boston’s working class neighborhood of Dorchester, Bryan McPherson’s style has always been very direct. His songs fueled by anger, he never quite fit in with the gentler singer-songwriter folk scene in Boston or even the irony-filled anti-folk scene of New York City. McPherson, though, found a home for his style of music in Boston’s punk scene, where his plainspoken ire and political and social commentary were welcomed with open arms. It’s ironic that I’m listening to this record today, of all days, because today is the long-awaited return of Acoustic Revolt, a showcase series for acoustic punk and indie performers in San Diego. It was interrupted by COVID, as was everything else, and McPherson would fit right in. The songs here aren’t just acoustic songs, their impassioned pleas; they’re life stories, and their snippets of life. I like the arrangements with acoustic guitar and mandolin, with harmonica making appearance on some of the songs. There’s just something about stripping passionate songs back, removing a full band from the picture, the emotion laid bare. I think one of my favorite songs is “Alameda St.,” a song about returning to one’s roots, one’s true self. There’s a simplicity to the melody, a directness in the lyrics, and though the guitar strumming is fairly basic, the mandolin adds some liveliness. The bulk of the songs have a bit of raucous attitude, even as they’re bare bones instrumentation wise. This isn’t to say that McPherson is all working class fervor; he has his quieter, more delicate side. “Sweet Kari” is a quiet ballad, a pretty song of love and regret with guitar picking and violin; there are many layers to this one, making it a standout. “Troubled Times” is a very subdued number with a spiritual quality, the lyrics sung in a desperate pleading manner, McPherson’s voice raspy as he sings, “Oh God, when I lay my head down on the concrete and ground / In a stranger town of the lost glory bound / Won’t you take my troubled times.” It’s another favorite of the album. I know not everyone is a fan of acoustic music, but I know I am. This record gets a recommendation from me.
ORIGINAL SON – Currents (Sell the Heart Records, www.selltheheartrecords.com) This is my first exposure to Original Son, though the LA band have been around for the last three or four years. Their first EP was released way back in January 2019 – gosh, it seems a lifetime ago, doesn’t it? “Currents” is the band’s debut full length LP, and though they put themselves into the punk camp, for the most part they sound more like punks bands that have “matured” and are playing more of an alternative rock style. Not that they sound like Social D, but it’s the same way that Social D moved away from their punk roots into more of a rock and roll sound, gaining more mainstream success along the way. The production is pretty slick, the sound is full, and many of the songs have a darkness to them. That’s not the case with “Parasite,” though, which has a brighter upbeat pop punk feel, and is one of my favorites of the album. “Fire Away” is a standout track, too, with a sunny garage pop feel, slightly reminding me of toyGuitar, a favorite of mine. Many of the songs have the sort of feel of Against Me! or Hot Water Music, to give you a frame of reference. Even Dead To Me influence is here, particularly on “Shelter,” These songs are big and gutsy, and though the band may be playing smaller venues now (they are due to play San Diego’s Til-Two Club soon,) I predict they’ll be playing for bigger crowds sooner rather than later.
RADIO BUZZKILLS – Get Even (ProRawk Records, www.prorawk.com) Are you nostalgic for 90s pop punk, in the vein of Screeching Weasel? Simple poppy Ramones-core music with snotty vocals and inane topics is still being made today by many bands. Some are sloppy, and some are tight and well executed. Radio Buzzkills definitely falls into this latter category. While they’re not breaking any new musical ground, Radio Buzzkills execute the fourteen songs with an expertise that will transport you to 30 years ago. Topics covered are a light-hearted relief from the ills of the world, as there’s no hint of political awareness. “I Want My Records Back” is a song about a break-up and who has custody of the records. And “Movin Out” is a breakup song, too, duh. “Date Night” isn’t so much a love song as it is about tripping out on magic mushrooms. Other hard-hitting topics include mental health treatment in “Then Came Thorazine,” being a slacker and a jerk in “King of Jerks” and “Never Gonna Get My Best,” and more. Better than the Screeching Weasel snot, though, are the great power pop songs featuring female vocals from Jen Buzzkill, like “I Fell For You.” There’s a Go Go’s quality to the song, played with more pop and less speed, more sweetness and no snot. It’s too bad her vocals are mostly relegated to providing backing in many of the songs. “Jennifer Gray” is love song to the actress, also sung by Jen with the same sweet pop. The snot and sweetness join forces and the lead on “Nothing New,” the sweetness tempering the sour punk attitude. Like I said, Radio Buzzkills aren’t going to be creating waves in the music industry, but if you miss the old days, they do a good job in the genre.
RIOT FOR ROMANCE (Friend Club Records, www.friendclubrecords.com / Steadfast Records, www.steadfastrecords.net) Riot for Romance is a long-distance collaboration among three friends. They live in Georgia, Colorado, and Florida, but seem to be totally in sync with each other on this seven-song mini LP. The band play an interesting blend of shoegaze, dream pop, emo, and alternative rock, something I’ve not quite heard before. The opening track, “Destination Prelude,” is the dreamiest of the bunch; swirling guitars and a lazy beat mix with ethereal ambience on this minute-long intro. I thought I knew what to expect from Riot for Romance, but then “The World And Its Weight” played. It’s a much more straightforward indie rock track, heavy on the guitars, yet still including keyboards to give it a dreamier feel. There’s no shoegaze in this hardest-edged track of the record. The third track, “The Darkest Space In Me,” is the one that best represents the overall sound of Riot For Romance; it’s big and dreamy, still with prominent guitars, and played at a hazy lazy pace. Tons of reverb in the instrumentals contrast with drier and very emphatic vocals. “The Dungeon” is almost grunge-like, with a heavier beat and crunchier guitars, yet still with elements of airiness. “Less For Regret” has retro 80s pop sound, reminding me of bands like Tears for Fears or The Cure, but maybe with a bit less pop. “Would Be Remiss” leans more heavily on the indie rock ballad side, and the closer, “Destination Somewhere,” is a bright and misty instrumental that brings back the swirling sensation of the opening track. It’s an interesting listen, but one thing that bothers me is the uniformity of tempo and lack of dynamic range. The songs are all played at a dirge-like tempo and without changes in volume level. The mix of textures and genres is nice, but variety in other ways would be nice too.
THE RUMJACKS – Brass For Gold (Four Four Records, www.fourfourmusic.com) Celtic punks tend to release new records around this time of year, in preparation for St. Patrick’s Day festivities. The Rumjacks’ new LP continues that custom, with music that blends Irish tradition with raucous punk rock. If you’re a fan of this sort of music, you’ll know exactly what to expect. Our fearless editor doesn’t care for it, but me? I love it! It’s great party music, and it mixes two favorite genres of mine. Penny whistle, banjo, and accordion mix with guitar, bass, and drums, while gang vocals sing out in camaraderie. What could be better than lifting a pint with your best mates and singing along to music like this? The band even changes things up by injecting ska-punk into the mix; “Bloodsoaked” has a ska rhythm along with the Celtic melody and instrumentation. But most of the songs are pretty straightforward fun Celtic punk. “One for the Road” is a blast, the sort of song you might hear at an Irish pub with live music, except adding electric guitars bass, and drums. Another pair of tracks that are a little out of the ordinary for a band of this genre are “Across The Water,” which has a slight country western feel mixed with pop punk, and “Blinding Flash,” which is even more heavily western folk. An interesting thing about this band is that the members are scattered across the globe. Most of the live in Australia, but they have a member who lives in Boston and another in Europe. It must make getting together for band practice tough. Obviously they do find time to get together, though, because this record sounds great!
TANGLED UP – Silk Embroidered Light (Knife Hits Records, knifehitsrecords.com) Tangled Up is just that – a tangle of genre bending, a band hard to pin down. Take “Entertainment,” the opening track of this five song EP. It starts out with odd noises and vocal shrieks, leading one to think it’s an experimental avant-garde band. But then the guitar, bass, and drums take over, playing a jumble of noise rock, math rock, and Dischord post-emo, sort of like an exaggerated noisy off kilter version of Jawbox. Dissonance is tossed about, robotic guitar lines wobbling in contrast to the crooning vocals. The juxtaposition of an air raid siren with a bouncing beat and those vocals on “Infinite Haircut” is fascinating, angular guitar stabs and dissonant chords populating the four minutes of the track, side by side with heavy grunge. I love the jazzy post rock feel of “Panic,” the tap-tap-tapping on the ride cymbal and the subtle groove of the bass. Even when the guitar comes in and injects a dose of noise and chaos, the non-standard meter of the track keeps the groove going. I think this one is my favorite of the bunch. This is Tangled Up’s second release, and it led me to check out their almost as compelling debut from 2020. You’ll feel so compelled, too, I trust, but this new one is even better.
LA ARMADA – Anti-Colonial Vol. 2 (Mal De Ojo Records, maldeojorecords.com) Following up the excellent “Anti-Colonial Vol. 1” that came out in 2018, La Armada provides a requiem for a post-pandemic society, one in which politics carries the day over truth, where thoughts and prayers are substituted for concrete action, and the consequences of corporate greed have come home to roost. La Armada play brutal hardcore that, nevertheless has an almost orchestral quality. The arrangements are thick and meaty, the vocals shouted and shrieked with fury, and lyrics in both English and Spanish. There’s lots to be angry about, like in “Memento,” about the manipulation for political gain being thrust upon society, with news and the internet full of misleading information designed to sway us into one way of thinking or another. The music on these songs is incredibly dense, full of layers of instruments, competing melodic lines on an epic scale. Listen to “La Fe No Abasta” (Faith Is Not Enough), and hear what feels like a folk melody melded into the pounding intensity of the hardcore that grinds at the end of the track. Race relations and the changing demographics of the nation are tackled in “White Jesus,” an indictment of Christian Nationalism that has overtaken a segment of society. We hear a sound clip at the start of the track, with a woman claiming to speak for America saying, “The America that we know and love doesn’t exist anymore. Massive demographic changes have been foisted on the American people, and they’re changes that none of us ever voted for and most of us don’t like.” How demographic changes can be “foisted upon” people isn’t explained, but it’s clear that a vocal minority are trying to hold onto old racist ways that don’t serve our country well. The lyrics speak to that white Christian nationalist attitude that anyone who isn’t a white Christian should keep quiet, fall in line, and accept the will of the powers that be. This album is denser, more complex, angrier, and more chaotic than “Anti-Colonial Vol. 1,” an album that made my Best of 2018 list. Highly recommended!
CHEAP STAR – Wish I Could See (Kool Kat Musik, www.koolkatmusik.com) Cheap Star’s latest LP is their first in six years, since 2016’s “Songs for the Farrelly Brothers.” It finds the band continuing to expound on their gorgeous indie sound, with hints of 60s and 70s pop influence, but more deeply rooted in 90s and 2000s indie. Cheap Star is still led by Remi Vaissiere, who writes and sings lead on all the tracks. But an all-star cast joins to contribute on this album, including Jon Auer (The Posies), Brendan Benson (The Raconteurs), Gary Louris (The Jayhawks), Brian Young (The Posies, Fountains of Wayne, Jesus & Mary Chain), Matthew Caws (Nada Surf) and the one and only Mitch Easter. There’s a lovely ethereal quality that underlies the tracks here, even as there’s plenty of guitar jangle. Dueling vocal lines intertwine on some songs, creating a delicate latticework of texture, even as the guitars and rhythm section drive hard. If it’s not guitars jangling, its piano, like on the lovely “You Don’t Want to Change.” The title track is a favorite, for the train-like feel from the deep bass and acoustic guitar, to the great power pop melody, and to the gorgeous harmonized vocals. I especially love the ending of the song, with lonely electric guitar and keyboard and harmonized vocals. There’s also judicious use of non-traditional indie instrumentation such as the banjo and violins on the pretty ballad, “Slow Down.” It makes the song sound both lush and homey, at the same time. And what pop album would be complete without at least a nod to The Beatles? The closing track, “What It’s Like” is it; though it sounds reasonably modern, there’s a definite Beatles feel to the melody and some of the backing instrumentals. I really like how Cheap Star takes classic power pop and updates it with a rich indie sound. This release is well-recommended.
DAVID HEATLEY – Life Our Own Way (Dream Puppy Records, www.davidheatly.com)Cartoonist, animation director, sometime musician David Heatley is releasing his debut full-length LP, “Life Our Own Way,” and the fifteen songs here are quirky and varied, as could be expected, having been inspired by dreams during COVID lockdown. There’s blues, psych-folk, and dreamy off-the wall stuff. One might think that fifty minutes is too much, but it isn’t when there’s so much creativity going on. My absolute favorite track has t be the weird dreamscape of “Quarantine Blues.” With a 50s or 60s lounge-vibe going on, singing of the untenable boredom of isolation, the song feels like something from an alternate reality, with ghostly backing vocals and burbling instrumentals. At one point, the intensity ratchets up and the dream turns into a nightmare, those ethereal vocals turning into shrieks, wails, and moans. Electric fiddle lends an eeriness, t oo, as Heatly is joined by musicians from the Lost Bayou Ramblers on many of the songs on the LP. Other blues tracks include the quietly rockin’ “Blowing Off The World,” which opens the album (and ends with a bizarre, strangely sexual sound collage of voices), and the down home “You Make Me Work,” which sounds like it crawled out of the swamp and had a tryst with R&B from the 50s. I also like the light and lithe power pop song, “You Only Get So Much Time,” with ethereal backing vocals punctuating the jangly guitars. The title track is a quirky angular new wave/power pop track with minimalist instrumentals, featuring guitar and bass used mainly as percussion instruments, a tropical sound from the marimba, and harmonized male and female lead vocals. There’s 70s easy pop and easy jazz influence in songs like “Why Can’t We Say What’s Going On” and “If We Became Lovers.” “On Your Side” has Americana leanings, while “My Head Was In The Clouds” blends power pop with a relaxed psych-folk feel. And the oddest song of the bunch has to be the rap/new wave hybrid “I Love You (Duh).” It’s obviously intended to be tongue in cheek humor, with valley girl rapping over a funky synth backing line and weird percussion. Lyrics are from the female point of view, trying to attract the attention of a hot guy. “You must be some kind of idiot not to notice me staring / Don’t you see what I’m wearing / Now you just act like you don’t care and I walk by / I had you pegged for a smart guy / But you don’t seem to want no part of my heart.” It’s a song of role reversal, with the woman as the predator, telling the guy that “dumb is hot but only to a point,” and that he must be dense not to ask her out. Also humorous is the avant-garde garage rock of “Meme,” about not wanting to be fodder for the internet. There’s literally something for everyone here, and it’s a pleasant, fun listen.
MARSHALL CRENSHAW – #447 (Shiny-Tone Records, elusivedisc.com/shiny-tone) Yes, it’s that Marshall Crenshaw, the one who released major label LPs back in the 80s. I guess his music back then could be loosely categorized as power pop, though he’s always trended toward the easier side of that genre, bordering on adult contemporary. Crenshaw has been updating and rereleasing some of his LPs, and #447 originally came out in 1999. And even fifteen or twenty years on from his heyday, Crenshaw was still making pleasant music, though like all of us aging rockers it’s got a softer edge than back in the day. There are songs here that have jazzy influence, and a country edge, too, but the power pop is still strong in this one. After the odd, chaotic jazz-rock intro, “Opening (It’s All About Rock),” is “Dime a Dozen Guy,” one of my favorites of the album.” It’s got a jazzy beat and a Beatles-influenced melody, a combination that works well. “T.M.D.” is another favorite, with a loping bounce to the beat. I like the poppy melody and the strategic key changes. Violin is used to add some lushness to the arrangement that would otherwise just be jangly guitar pop. The version of “Right There in Front of Me” is identified as a demo, but I think I like it better than a lot of the other tracks on the album. It’s got a simpler arrangement, it’s less busy, and it’s a nice easy power pop tune. Simple and stripped down is almost always better than overproduced. “Television Light” is one of those countrified tunes I mentioned, with twangy guitar and fiddle in the arrangement, though the melody is still power pop-based. It makes for an interesting combination. “Glad Goodbye,” too, has an Americana edge to it, with plenty of twang. Normally I’m not big on country, but I really like the melody on this one. It’s like blending a spiritual with pop music. Some of the songs border on easy listening for the rock and roll crowd. “West of Bald Knob” is a relaxed instrumental that could have been lounge music from back in the day, but it’s played with electric guitars, and mixes smooth jazz and country influences. And “Eydie’s Tune” is definitely a jazz ballad instrumental with only tenuous connection to rock music. There are two bonus tracks on the album, newly recorded according to the notes. “Will of the Wind” and “Sante Fe” fit right in with the rest of the tracks, even though they were recorded more than 20 years after them. The first is an understated blues-rock track, while the latter has that country-pop feel. If you’re a fan, this new edition might be essential. If you’re a punk or garage fan, or even a steadfast power pop adherent, this might be a little too relaxed for you.
DIVIDED HEAVEN – Oblivion (A-F Records, www.a-frecords.com) Divided Heaven is the long-time project of Jeff Berman, who in the past few years pulled up his roots in LA and moved across country to the Northeast US, got married, and became a new father. I think, perhaps, these changes have affected his songwriting, because what used to be solidly punk-based rock music has been transformed into more mature songs, even more emotionally charged than before. Included on this LP are the previously released singles “They Poisoned Our Fathers” and “Baby in the Band,” the former being a gut-wrenching song about the generational divide that’s torn families apart in these times of massive division over politics, and the latter a beautifully understated and stripped down song of loss. There are eight other new songs here, too, ranging from the relatively raucous and anthemic “Monuments” to the quiet solemnity of “Reckoning.” “Reckoning” is stunning in its stripped down simplicity, piano heavy with reverb and ambient electric guitar being the only accompaniment to Berman’s passionate vocals. It’s the furthest away from Divided Heaven of the past, stylistically, but it’s one of the most moving songs the band as ever done. “Burn Me” is probably my least favorite track of the album, mostly because it reminds me too much of 80s commercial rock music, particularly in the guitar lines. But outside of this song, tracks on this LP are stronger, deeper, and more ardent, sincere, and heartfelt than past efforts (as good as they were). I think this is the best LP ever to come out under the Divided Heaven moniker. And it’s an early candidate for best of 2022.
JASON PAUL & THE KNOW IT ALLS – Homemade Vol. 2 (jasonpaulmusic.bandcamp.com) Six months on from Volume 1, Jason Paul & The Know It Alls are back with a second edition of their pandemic lockdown-inspired project. In the challenge they gave themselves, Jason and Sean (Cole) would write a song one day and record it the next. The resulting songs are much more stripped down than their usual studio releases, and by nature there’s more of a lo-fi bedroom recording sound, and the songs vary pretty wildly, from raucous punk-influenced tunes to psych-pop to delicate acoustic folk ballads. What they all have in common is a relaxed, laid-back vibe, something that the Know It Alls are all known for. There’s even a track that reminds me of a stripped down progressive rock track from the 80s, “Silent Ovation.” Listen to the minimalist melody, especially on the verses, and see if you get what I mean. My favorite tracks? “Bone Fire” is a gorgeous tune, with acoustic guitars and organ, very subtle and understated. “Wishing Well” is a pretty, breezy and bouncy indie pop tune. I adore “I Thank You,” another of the lighter, more delicate tunes of the album. I like its lilt, and especially like its use of horns and synth. The blues-rock spiritual “Jack of Charades” is a fun one, stripped way back with just acoustic guitar and electric organ. It even gets pretty psychedelic on the bridge, and a little wild. And the subtle folksy tune, “Small Pond,” may be my favorite of all. It’s just acoustic guitars and vocals intertwining in the prettiest way. Jason Paul and the Know It Alls’ hometown of San Pedro, California, is a hotbed of DIY punk and indie music, and it’s quite a tightknit community. The DIY is strong in this new release.
THE ROYAL ARTIC INSTITUTE – From Catnap to Coma (Already Dead Tapes and Records, www.alreadydeadtapes.com) Now a five-piece, The Royal Arctic Institute ring in the new year with a lush EP of instrumental music. The band is currently comprised of drummer Lyle Hysen, guitarists John Leon and Lynn Wright, bassist David Motamed, and keyboardist Carl Baggaley, all of whom have played with well known groups and artists such as Das Damen, Roky Erickson, Shilpa Ray, Townes Van Zandt and more. The musical works here are relaxed and lounge-like, with a strong dreamy edge, reminding me a bit of the music of Angelo Badalamenti, who composed much music for David Lynch’s “Twin Peaks.” There’s plenty of ambient atmospherics to go with the lovely melodies. There are hints of very laid-back surf style in the guitar meandering, and bits of bossa nova rhythms in some of the pieces. Very chill, very relaxing stuff.
STILL INSANE – Black Sheep (Thousand Islands Records, www.thousandislandsrecords.com)Thousand Islands Records is known for being a major outlet for skate punk bands. Usually it’s a genre that’s pretty predictable. But once in awhile you get a band that defies expectations. Still Insane is one such band. While loosely in the skate punk realm, with plenty of speed and loud metallic guitars, the band injects a lot of variety into the five songs on this EP, include pop punk melodies, bouncier pop interludes, gritty hard rock, bleating sheep, and the inevitable pandemic song; “Stay Home” is an admonishment to do our part to stop the spread of the virus. It’s fast’n’loud, but has a great pop melody rather than flashy metallic technical guitar playing. Still Insane is the sort of band that can appeal to a wide range of punks. Solid EP.
SWEAT – Gotta Give It Up (Pirates Press Records, www.piratespressrecords.com)Sweat is a new hardcore/hard rock band out of Los Angeles. They take elements of hardcore, post hardcore, and classic rock and meld them into something new. The music has the raw energy of hardcore, the heaviness and melodic sensibility of post-hardcore, the rage of punk rock, and the rhythm section power of classic rock. Listening to “Hard Grudge,” you can hear Black Sabbath, early metal, and classic rock in the opening chords, but then chaos ensues, and the track turns into speedy hardcore. Back and forth, the song teeter totters between the two styles. The vocals throughout the album are snotty, shouted with maximum anger and ire. The instrumentals have more variety, though, and one of my favorite tracks has to be “Bone to Pick.” It’s one of the more melodic tracks, with a strong indie-rock feel, strengthened by powerful angular guitar stabs and 90s hardcore gang shouts in the chorus. I like “Machismo,” too, with its stronger post-hardcore melodic feel. If you like fast and loud hardcore and heavy punk, you’re going to enjoy Sweat.
DATURA – Arcano Chemical (Sell The Heart Records, www.selltheheartrecords.com)Datura is a post-punk band hailing from the Pacific Northwest that’s been together for the past few years. They’ve released two EPs, one before and another during the pandemic, but now they’ve teamed up with Sell The Heart Records to release their debut full-length LP. Post-punk is a wide-ranging genre, so to be specific, Datura delves into the darker goth-tinged side of post-punk. Think bands like Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Cure, and Bauhaus. The sound is maybe a bit more punked up, so think goth era T.S.O.L., too. The guitar tone is dark, the drums pound, and the deep vocals croon with a deep morose feel. Reverb is heavy, providing a thick foggy sound. While the tone is dark, on many of the songs the rhythm is bright, “Phantasma” is one such song; it has the same guitar tone and the heavy use of reverb, but the tempo and melody are bouncy, almost happy sounding. The lyrics are sung in Spanish, with the same dark croon as the rest. “The Chase” is upbeat, too, with the strong sense of dance track intent, though you can hear the minor/modal key giving it a grim and ominous essence. And I like the ebullience of “Sapphire,” a song that seems to insist it’s happy, even as the vocals and guitar tone cast a pall over the proceedings. Topics of the songs match the bleakness of the instrumentals, like on “Dare You.” “Get out here and throw me against the wall,” the song requests. “I want you to throw me around / I need you to beat me down,” it pleads. And then the song declares, “I am your piece of shit.” Talk about self-esteem problems. There’s a strong retro feel to the eleven tracks, because this is a sound rooted deeply in the 80s. If you’re a fan of the genre, check it out. If I had one suggestion to give Datura, it might be to change up the tone from time to time. The same guitar, bass, and drum sound is on every track, and the production aesthetic is identical, too. The sound can get a bit overbearing after awhile, and at nearly 40 minutes, it’s a lot of the same sound to take. Tweak the sound a bit between songs.
THE ERGS – "Time and the Season" EP (Dirt Nap Records, www.dirtnaprecs.com) What year is it? Yeah, The Ergs are back after their latest slumber with their first new music in six years! And it really is like they were never gone. Half of the four songs are new originals, “Ultimate Falsetto Book, and “Half Empty Strip Mall.” The first has a pop punk doo-wop vibe and lyrics about kinda sorta feeling awkward around someone you have a crush on. The second is classic up-tempo power-pop-punk with Beatles-esque melodic influence, fitting since Mikey is a huge Beatles fan. The two covers are “Say You’re Sorry” and the title track, “Time and the Season.” “Say You’re Sorry” was originally recorded in the 60s by The Remains, and that original is an amazing fast-paced garage-like proto-power pop tune. The Ergs’ cover grits the song up with a modern punk edge, and while the polish of the original isn’t there, the power sure is. The title track is the better-known song, a cover of the Zombies’ classic. Everyone knows that song, which was released in the wake of the Summer of Love, in the late 60s. The Ergs’ cover is reasonably straightforward, though somewhat grittier than the original. It’s good to have The Ergs back. Rumor has it there may be tour plans.
LOLAS – All Rise (Kool Kat Musik, www.koolkatmusik.com) Are you ready for a blast of musical nostalgia? Then Lolas’ ninth studio album is something you need to check out. Though the band has gone through a number of lineup changes over the years, lead singer, keyboardist, and main songwriter Tim Boykin has been the sole consistent member, and he cranks out some great power-pop tracks. I hear a lot of Beatles and Beach Boys influence in the tracks, plenty of AM bubblegum and even a few surprises. The opening track, “To Be Mine,” sets the stage perfectly, with a big Who-like opening that quickly resolves into bouncy pop music. The vocal harmonies are spot on, and I hear a strong Beatles sense in the chorus melody and use of harmonies. I like how “Storm the Heavens” blends power pop, Beach Boys harmonies and a more modern indie rock sensibility. “Pain In My Heart” is a favorite for it’s big jangly sound; it’s a slower paced loping song with a pensive feel, yet the bright guitars make the song shine. And even better is my number one favorite track from the LP, “Messages From Home.” It’s raucous good fun, mixing Dickies-style power pop and punk. The chord changes are non-traditional, giving the song a surprising feel. The quick-tempo song feels powerful and is propelled forward by manic drumming. At one point there’s a quirky industrial bridge, with dissonant metallic clanging, and though it seems odd, it works. It’s a perfect, catchy track. “General Assembly” is another slower song, with a lost in your thoughts kind of feel. It’s notable, too, for it’s simple Pink Floyd-like guitar solo near the end. Out of the thirteen tracks of this LP, the only one I couldn’t get into was the last one, “All You Have Is Fire.” It has the feeling of 70s arena rock, so didn’t do it for me. But the rest of the album is solid good fun.
SCHEDULE 1 (Dirt Cult Records, www.dirtcultrecords.com)Yes, it’s still happening. We’ve heard this story for nearly two years now. New band forms, often well-seasoned musicians from other successful bands. They write and record a bunch of songs, and then the pandemic hits and opportunities to play these new songs for people disappear. Schedule 1 is based out of the Pacific Northwest, and features members of Bishops Green, Dead Cells, Candy (BC), and Systematik. The music they make is rooted in the goth-tinged post-punk of the 1980s, with a dark essence and a particular guitar tone that was predominant in that genre. The vocals are spoken emphatically, rather than sung or shouted. The passion is palpable, though there isn’t enough dynamic range or variety for my tastes. The songs are pretty much the same tempo, the same tone, and the same volume level throughout the six songs. One of the better songs is “Another,” because it spans both the retro and modern. It has the aforementioned tone, but incorporates a more modern melody in the chorus that updates the sound. “Paint It Red” is another one that takes element from both the past and present, with a bright jangly melody running the guitars and keyboard, but a dark pall cast by the production, the vocals, and the rumbling bass. Overall, while the elements are there – the band has good bones, as they might say about a house – I just wish there was a little more variety here. Maybe as they expand the song catalog.
ARTSICK – Fingers Crossed (artsick.bandcamp.com) Artsick is an indie pop band that features Christina Riley (of Burnt Palms), Mario Hernandez (Kids on a Crime Spree, Ciao Bella), and Donna McKean (Lunchbox, Hard Left). The band, formed in 2018, had previously only released a single, so “Fingers Crossed” represents the band’s debut full-length LP. Musically, this is classic 90s and 2000s indie pop, along the lines of music you could have found on K Records, Teen Beat Records, Simple Machines, and Merge. The songs are poppy and bouncy, with a chaotic lo-fi mix, guitars jangling like mad while Riley sings in a matter of fact manner. “Despise” is a perfect encapsulation of the Artsick aesthetic: drums pounding away with a big bounce, the bass, thumping along, guitar making as much noise as possible, and easy going vocals, harmonized backing vocals included. “Living a Lie,” too, has the controlled pandemonium going on, never feeling sloppy, but feeling like a crazy jam, and the even-keeled vocals keep the song grounded. I adore the bright guitar tone and pretty harmonies of “Stress Bomb,” and the dueling vocals and breezy feel of “Vacant” make it a favorite of the LP. Sometimes the “matter of fact” vocal style falls just a bit flat though. For example, on “Look Again,” a song with great bass and guitar lines and driving feel. But the vocals are delivered in such a deadpan manner that it seems like Riley didn’t care about this one much, so it’s hard to get into the song. But overall, this is a nice listen for those of us who miss the classic age of indie pop.
THE DROWNS – Know Who You Are (Pirates Press Records, www.piratespressrecords.com) Street punks The Drowns are jumping into 2022 with a new 7” rock and roll single. The A-side is a cover of the Slade track, but it’s not done as subtly as the original; this is a full-on rock and roll cover, with even more power than the original. The B-side is a new Drowns original, “Guidelines of Control,” but it’s completely unexpected classic rock, rather than the usual Oi-influenced music the band is known for. I love that the cover for the single is made to look like a well-worn sleeve from a ‘70s rock band, because that’s exactly what it sounds like. This is the music of my youth, and a helluva fun blast of nostalgia.
ONSLOOW (How Is Annie Records, www.facebook.com/howisannierecords) When most people think about bands from Norway, the first thing that comes to mind is black metal. Dudes in black and white face paint, with strained vocals gurgling from their throats, raging guitars, and pounding drums. What most people don’t think of is bouncy, jangly indie pop with gorgeous clear female vocals. Onsloow, from Trondheim, breaks all the stereotypes of the Nordic music scene in all the best ways. Catchy melodies are played and sung with both sweetness and an earnest ferocity. Johanne Rimul’s vocals shine brightly as the instrumentals provide a lush backdrop, the drums providing a lilting beat. There’s lightness, an airy feel, as well as a gauzy dreaminess in the eight songs. “Nothing But A Memory” is a perfect example, with lots of bounce, a twee melody, but a thick arrangement that jangles and envelops. It borders on pop punk, too, with plenty of power. The opening track, too, is a great example. “SleepingDaydreaming” glides along, and there’s a fullness to the sound, even as the melody and vocals soar. “A Good Day to Forget” has a solid power pop melody, but with more modern indie pop aesthetic, using synths and overdubbed vocals to fill out the sound. I love the intense “Being With You.” It’s a driven song, with a powerful forward momentum. This is a strong debut from a band that’s going to turn the perception of the Norwegian music scene on its head.
PACK RAT – Glad To Be Forgotten (Drunken Sailor Records, www.drunkensailorrecords.co.uk) Patrick McEachnie, formerly of The Corner Boys and current member of Chain Whip, has set aside his drums and picked up a guitar for this debut LP from new band Pack Rat. It’s twenty minutes of controlled chaos, bright punk rock with buzzy synths and simple melodies. The energy of these songs brings to mind the early days of The Damned (think “New Rose” and “Neat Neat Neat”), but maybe louder and noisier. There’s a palpable sense of early punk nihilism in the ten tracks on offer, and the vocals are shouted in the same “don’t give a fuck, can’t five a fuck” attitude of those early examples of the genre. Drunken Sailor certainly has their musical niche that they don’t stray too far from, and this release fits very nicely in the catalog.
REPTALIENS – Multiverse (reptaliens.bandcamp.com)Reptaliens are known for their dreamy synth sound, but for this latest LP, Cole and Bambi Browning needed to get more stripped down, working without their band mates due to COVID restrictions. So the synths took a back seat to a more streamlined guitar/bass/drums sound. But never fear, judicious production values have maintained a dreaminess in the music, even as the songs are more firmly grounded in the indie-pop realm. It’s made “Multiverse” a great listen. The songs have a great balance of bounce and airiness. The guitar tone is crystal clear and sparkly, and the vocals have an ethereal quality. I adore “In Your Backyard,” one of the more effervescent songs of the album. The lyrics seem to be about someone with some emotional and mental health issues, obsessed with another person yet feeling alone. A lot of the song lyrics seem to deal with various mental health issues, with songs about drug use, thoughts of death, and feelings of loss and isolation. The accompanying instrumentals, though, are bubbly and upbeat. Of course the album has the obligatory lockdown song. “I Feel Fine” begins the musical adventure, with a song that details the boredom, insanity, and self-medication that came with that period of our lives. I think Reptaliens should consider retaining this more streamlined style, because I like it more than the synth beats of their past records.
SIS – Gnani (Native Cat Recordings, www.nativecatrecs.com)Sis’ music is hard to describe. It’s dreamy, it’s lounge-like, it’s dancey, but it’s super chill. It’s full of dichotomies. Sis is Jenny Gillespie Mason, who sings and plays all instruments. And by instruments, that mainly means synths. The six tracks are synth heavy and loaded with samples. These songs all have a strong rhythm that makes them feel like something you would hear at a dance club, yet they’re way too relaxed and ethereal to be played at a dance club. Mason’s vocals are so understated, sung almost in a whisper, even as the music wants to rock out, like on the subtly funky “Light Is There.” There’s a strong beat in the percussion and bass and some strong buzzy synths interjecting, yet there’s also an ambient quality, with other synths enveloping everything else. This track also features some more powerful vocals by way over multi-tracked harmonies. Oddly enough, I think my favorite track of the EP is the instrumental that closes it out, “Gazelle Rites.” It has a mysterious sound, but also funky rhythms. This is not the sort of record I would normally gravitate to, but I didn’t hate it at all.
THE WOMBATS – Fix Yourself, Not the World (AWAL, www.awal.com) The Wombats, that UK not-quite-so-indie-anymore band that’s been around for nearly 20 years, play music that dances around the periphery of commercial pop music without putting both feet in. Their songwriting remains vastly superior and more engaging than the typical arena-filling pop acts, yet they’ve become an arena act themselves. The music is bubbly, energetic, and, dare I say it, fun in much the same way as another band playing in the same end of the musical pool, The Happy Fits. The Happy Fits, too, have been seeing increasing popularity and selling out venues nationwide on their recent US tour. There seems to be quite an appetite for music that, while loaded with pop and a strong dance beat, still features interesting textures and feels more meaningful. In the case of The Wombats, those textures come from thick arrangements that go beyond the basics of guitar, bass, and drums, with an array of synths, harmonized vocals, and expertly executed production that enriches rather than detracts from the songs; the result is something that just sounds…joyful. You can’t help but want to jump around when listening to the opening track, “Flip Me Upside Down.” The song alternately is manic and ethereal. Likewise, “If You Ever Leave, I'm Coming With You” alternates between ebullient verses and a rich, lush chorus. The band even channels some grunge with “Ready For The High,” but in contrast with the noisy fuzzed up guitars used in places, the bulk of the song is light and lithe. Not all of the tracks are bright and shiny. “Method to the Madness” is dark and moody. I love the opening, with cool upright bass and percussion samples, with a jazzy feel, but as the song evolves it becomes a pop ballad that feels like they stopped the dancing round the edge and dipped their toes into the mainstream pop pool. Except for those samples, it’s probably my least favorite track of the album. One of the most amazing aspects of The Wombats is how they’ve reinvented themselves for a new generation. They took to TikTok, and found themselves legions of followers. They’ve taken Spotify by storm, with more than a billion and a half streams. And hopefully they’ll lead that generation away from the cesspool of modern pop music and into the light of not-quite-so-indie-anymore pop.
WRONG WAR – Once Upon a Weapon (Council Records, www.councilrecords.com) Two years on from their debut, Chicago hardcore band, Wrong War, are back with another blast of intensity. The nine tracks here are powerful 80s and 90s hardcore, raging against injustices of the world. As can be expected, the ills of the past two years are well represented in the songs, such as the opening track, “Human Resources.” In these days where corporate overlords talk about how much they care for their “essential workers,” they still demand employees put up with poor working conditions and low pay. “Come on you bastards / Tell us how you care / About our well-being and safety / Of those instantly spared,” the song screams. But we know it’s a sham. As we’re pummeled by raging guitar, bass, and drums, the truth comes out: “Feigned compassion / As your profits decreased.” But with what’s known now as The Great Resignation, workers exclaim, “Your return / Is not our return / To normalcy” And purposeful disinformation is tackled in “Distraction Diet.” “You could be so enraged these days / So many idiocies to engage / A distraction diet / Of lies and entitlement / We’ve lost our way,” begins the song. Besides blazing hardcore in this song, there are hints of that DC hardcore influence I mentioned in the review of the band’s debut, “Fixed and Forever.” As much as I enjoy the 90s hardcore aspects of Wrong War, I like the DC influence even more. “One Year to Ancient: is a great track that blends that style with 80s Black Flag stylings, and it’s one of my favorites of the album. The last two tracks are, in my opinion, the best of all. “Architects of the Deranged” and “Has Your Master Come to Different Wisdom” both have a strong Dischord sound to them, feeling like they could have been released by that storied label back in the mid to late 1980s. Emotionally charged, filled with fury, packed with political ire, Wrong War has avoided the sophomore slump with another strong release.
THE CRAIG TORSO SHOW – Conflagration Vespers (thecraigtorsoshow.bandcamp.com)Nearly a year ago, Joe Merklee released “Estonian Breakfast Strategies” under the Craig Torso Show moniker. I praised it for its variety, ranging from 70s low budget sci-fi soundtrack to rocking out to bouncy pop, with hints of psych and folk injected here and there. That record was a collaboration with Oliver Ignatius, but this time out, though Ignatius still has producing and engineering credits, Merklee did more of the writing. Last time Merklee played most of the instruments, this time there’s a larger group of friends contributing their instrumental skills (including Ignatius). And while the record remains quite a pleasant listen, there’s a lot less variety on this sophomore release. The songs rock out somewhat less, and lean in harder on the psych-folk-pop elements. It’s still lovely, but it doesn’t excite me in quite the same way as “Estonian Breakfast Strategies,” which came very close to making my list of top releases of 2021. Even the songs Merklee didn’t write himself are arranged in such a way as to sound more similar to the others. “I Saw Your Eyes In The Sky” was written by Citizen K, but the arrangement, with strings and harmonium, has that folksy psych feel to it. A collaboration with Citizen K, “Thief in the Night,” is primarily acoustic, but halfway in adds drums and organ. But the overall feel is still folk-pop based. “Strange Powers,” by Stehpin Merritt, eschews the light and airy synth sound of the original for a guitar-fueled pop-rock feel, and yet it feels right at home in the song sequencing. I do love the delicate “On Obsession,” a track written by Peter Blegvad. The original is fully acoustic, but while the instrumentation is filled out some on Merklee’s version, it’s just as introspective and moving.
Because there’s less variety in the sounds, there are fewer standout songs. But there are still some unique touches on this album. “The Work Of An Astronomer” creates quite an atmosphere with its use of a tanpura as a backing instrument. I adore the mysterious sound of “You’re Still Blushing,” which is probably the most unique track of the album. It feels like it’s based on an ancient folk song, with the drone of a shruti box and a harmonium matching the melody with the vocals. And there are nice touches in other songs, with use of other Indian and Indian-influenced instruments in the arrangements. Merklee credits Ignatius with these ingenious arrangements, and says he gets the praise for how the record sounds.
The one rock moment of the album comes at the end of “Noah Fents (faults and virtues),” a song which mostly stays on the same path as the others, but gets super loud and chaotic in its final minute, channeling a grunge sort of sound. Overall, this album is much more even-tempered than the debut. It’s still a solid listen, but the variety of the first LP is one of the things that knocked it out of the park for me, and that’s missing here.
THE DROLLS – That Puget Sound (Snappy Little Numbers; thedrolls.bandcamp.com) We know that Ean Hernandez, formerly of 90s Seattle pop punk band Sicko, went on to form The Subjunctives, whose debut LP has been reviewed in these pages before. But what of the other members of Sicko, a band that, despite not being from the East Bay, was every bit as good as those Lookout bands? Now the truth can be told! The Drolls includes both other Sicko members, Denny Bartlett and Josh Rubin, as well as Julie D, of Guest Directors, Chinchilla, and Drip Tank. After releasing their first single way back in 2019, they’re finally here with their debut full-length LP. It’s not really fair to compare The Drolls and The Subjunctives, because they’re different bands. But the comparisons are inevitable due to the lineage. So here goes – where The Subjunctives retain the bright bouncy pop sound of Sicko, The Drolls lean more toward an indie rock sound. It’s still pop and punk, but no one’s going to think they sound like an East Bay band akin to The Mr. T Experience. There’s less bubblegum and sugar, more grit and more of a modern 2020s pop punk sound. Even a track like “Nobody Move,” which has a spring in its step, has a harder edge than anything Sicko ever did or The Subjunctives do. The beat bounces, but it does so emphatically, more pounding than bouncing. “Sad Little King” is a standout track, with more power pop than punk in it. And I like the hard-driving feel of “Worse Things,” a track that has a bright enough melody, but the execution is rough and gruff. “Bad Ear” has the power, speed, guitar, and bass sound of a mid-period Hüsker Dü track, which is always a good thing in my book. A couple of the songs drag a little bit. “Alternate Timeline” and “Rehashed: Rehashed” are both slightly slower, though not quite ballads, but they both feel a little out of place, without the energy level of the other tracks. On the other hand, “So Many Red Flags” is slower and more sedate, yet has a great indie-pop jangle to it. The album closes with an 80s cover, “In A Big Country,” by the band “Big Country. I keeping with everything else The Drolls do, it’s raspier than the slick new wave original. Bottom line: The Subjunctives are more similar to what Sicko was doing, while The Drolls are carving out their own spot in the modern indie pop punk rock scene.
LAVENDER BLUE – Slow Down (www.lavenderbluemusic.com)Lavender Blue is the musical outlet for Kalya Zuskin, along with bandmates Margo Schultz, Landon George, and Mike Johnson. They’ve been making music going on five years now. The music is best described as dreamy indie pop, with lush arrangements and the feeling that you’re half awake, yet still dreaming. The drowsiness of the music is amplified in Zuskin’s vocals, which sound like she’s singing in her sleep. The understated quality of the vocals, though, is overshadowed by the intonation, or lack thereof. Particularly on the first track, “September Moon,” the vocals are woefully out of tune, at times clashing painfully with the lovely ethereal instrumentals. Other tracks are somewhat more tuneful, but fall flat and are emotionless. The closing track of the five on this EP, “Of My Love,” is also out of tune; multi-tracked vocals that are meant to be unison are rife with wavering harmonics of two notes that don’t mesh. This may be intentional, this time, because the instrumentals also sound somewhat wobbly, like a stretched tape or a turntable that’s not spinning at a consistent speed. This was a difficult EP to listen to.
ALIEN NEIGHBORHOOD – Fear is the Enemy (Snappy Little Numbers Quality Audio Recordings, www.snappylittlennumbers.com) Part indie, part pop punk, part folk, and part emo, Alien Neighborhood presents songs that simultaneously tug at your heart and make you want to dance. There’s a ton of variety in the ten songs, which is something I love. Every song sounds sincere, like these aren’t just songs, but personal experiences and pleas. The album opens with ‘Cauterizer,” one of the better indie tracks I’ve heard lately. I think what’s being cauterized here is not a physical wound, but an emotional one. “Side glance reflections / Will be the end of me / I can’t tell right now / Who I’m supposed to be,” says one verse. It seems to be a fear of being judged “Stop looking at me / Stop looking at me / Stop looking at me / I don’t like it,” cries the chorus. The song has a huge pleading sound. I like “Say Goodbye,” too, with a big pop punk edge and vocals the sound more than desperate. “What’s in your head that’s keeping you out of mine?” asks the opening line of “From the Top,” a song about wanting to try to make a relationship work again. It’s a slower track, almost a ballad, that starts out quietly but builds in intensity. “The Infamous Mind Experiment’ drops the pop for a hard-edged grunge sound, guitars growling as much as the vocals. Old school hard rock permeates this one, with loads of fuzz. But as the song comes to a close, string synths are incongruently added to the mix, as random guitar feedback is injected. And “I Am” is acoustic-based singer-songwriter fare, light and lovely in sound, but heavy in lyrical content. Guitar and violin dance around each other to accompany the subdued vocals. The closing track is a bookend of sorts, with the opener. “Trust Yourself” is subtitled “Cauterizer Part II,” and is an incredibly joyous tune about getting past all the self-doubt and fear of judgment. After some opening shouts that are unmistakably full of elation, the song declares, “When after all this time you’re still right here / Pushing past the sadness and facing your fears / So take your time with indecision, follow through with your own vision.” The chorus is a shout from the rooftops, “Trust yourself, trust yourself, trust yourself and you’ll be fine, kid.” It’s glorious and inspirational. Alien Neighborhood has not just variety and sincerity, but thoughtful arrangements that really make these songs work well. Even more amazing is that Alien Neighborhood is the work of one person, Jaden William, who is a mere 20 years old and living in a tiny town of 567 people inn Nevada. Jaden has been making music under the Alien Neighborhood moniker since the age of 15. My mind is blown.
THE CUTTHROAT BROTHERS AND MIKE WATT – Devil In Berlin (Hound Gawd Records, www.houndgawd.com)After the LP collaboration between the self-styled “Sweeny Todds of punk” known as the Cutthroat Brothers and legendary bassist Mike Watt, earlier this year, they’re back with another full-length. It’s further adventures in sleazy, greasy, garage-blues-rock and rockabilly, sounding like it crawled out of the swampy bayou. The guitars growl, moan, and wail while the vocals drip with a too-cool nonchalance. Their sound is typified in songs like the chaotic grinding of “Bad Candy Girl,” the bluesy “Love, Drugs, Etc.,” and the rockin’ bass-driven title track. Stand-out tracks for me include “Out Of Our Cage,” which injects a dose of psych into the mix, the eerie “Like A Zombie,” a perfect track for a punk rock Halloween, and the album closer, “Wild Western,” which isn’t so much a dusty track as it is gritty and gravelly. An outlier is the pop-filled “Been Away,” and though it still has the same guttural guitar tone, the melody sparkles and shines. As good as their first collaboration LP was, I think this one’s even better.
JOSH CATERER – The SPACE Sessions (Pravda Records, www.pravdamusic.com) Earlier this year, Josh Caterer, of The Smoking Popes, got together with drummer John Perrin and bassist John San Juan, both accomplished musicians from other bands, and put together a set of standards and covers. They performed this “live” at Chicago’s “The Hideout” to an empty house. The set was live streamed to a ticketed audience, but for those who missed it, the set was recorded and released as “The Hideout Sessions.” Both the show and the record were received so well that the trio decided to do it again, this time performing at SPACE, another of Chicagoland’s many venues. The result is ten songs that mix standards, classics, some Popes material, and some other Caterer originals.
The album opens with a cover of the pre-disco Bee Gees folk rock hit, “I Started a Joke.” It’s a song about feelings of worthlessness, and being out of step with the rest of the world, a life misunderstood until the protagonist literally dies, “which started the whole world living.” Where the original is subdued and solemn, Caterer and friends make the song sound uplifting. One can see a religious meaning in the song, which would make sense, given Caterer’s well-known faith. Etta James’ iconic classic, “At Last,” is presented with an unexpected arrangement. It’s played as an upbeat soulful song, and the trio are joined by a bevy of horns, and man this song can swing like you never expected! The unforgettable Nat King Cole song “Smile” is covered here, and the dichotomous nature of the song is felt strongly, the plea to cover up the pain of life and put up a bold front is felt in the sparse arrangement. The horns make a return on a decidedly un-country version of Willie Nelson’s country ballad, “Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground.” I especially like the moment given to the trombone and trumpet to really shine in an extended bridge that takes on the air of a baroque chorale. And the album closer takes the Elvis ballad, “If I Can Dream,” and turns it into a rollicking tune.
One of the most touching moments of the record comes with “Somethin’ Stupid,” a song popularized by Frank and Nancy Sinatra. Joining Caterer on the pretty harmonized vocals is his daughter, Phoebe.” The pair have often done Facebook live streams, and it’s become clear that Josh is not the only Caterer with an unforgettable voice.
Caterer covers himself again, but not just Smoking Popes songs. “Racine” was a song released by his band, Duvall, and this version feels lighter and jauntier than the original, with more of a pop feel. “Don’t Be Afraid” comes from The Smoking Popes LP, “Get Fired,” but this cover is significantly slowed into a lovely rock ballad. “Waiting Around” has become a staple of the Popes’ live sets, and this trio version takes on an almost funk feel, slightly slower, and a lot less raucous, though there’s a Jimi Hendrix inspired guitar solo toward the end. And another Popes staple, “I Know That You Love Me,” is done here as a slower and more emotional waltz.
While it’s probably true that Josh Caterer could sing a version of Mary Had a Little Lamb and I would find it compelling, I must say that with this and the previous “Hideout Sessions,” he’s breathing new life into old classics, his own and those of others.
JUKEBOX ROMANTICS – Fires Forming (Sell The Heart Records, www.selltheheartrecords / Engineer Records, www.engineerrecords.com) This EP is a perfect example of why it’s such a bad idea for media outlets to publish their Best of the Year lists in November. You miss out on including excellent releases that come out in December, like this new five-song EP from Jukebox Romantics. It starts out fast and furious from the first song, “Time To Fly,” and never lets up one iota. The songs are full of energy, loaded with melodic goodness, ready-made for sing-alongs, inspirational, and joyful. Every song is a real banger, but special mention must be made of “Castaway,” the song that closes the EP. It starts and ends in waltz time, unusual enough for a punk song, but the huge vocals in the bridge had the hairs standing up on the back of my neck. Outstanding.
MONTY VEGA AND THE SITTIN’ SHIVAS – Sonic Gloss (www.monntyvega.com) I’m going to start by grading this band an A just for their name. If you’re unaware of such things, “sitting shiva” is the Jewish weeklong mourning period after the funeral of a loved one. People come to the family home, bringing food and comfort to the mourners. And if you’re a fan of 90s Ramones-core punk rock, this album will bring comfort to you. Songs like “Don’t Wanna Do What’s Right,” a song about living for the moment, will bring nostalgia for Insub Fest and the like (even though this band wasn’t around back in those days and are from the Pacific Northwest, not the East Coast). A lot of the songs, in the 90s Ramones-core tradition, are humorous or tongue-in-cheek satire, such as the bouncy “Facebook Fighting” and “Flashbang Grenade,” which are pretty straightforward fare. And “Not This Time” is one of the brighter sounding songs of the album, with some variety within the track, making it a favorite. It’s got an epic sounding bridge in the middle that I like. Not everything is Ramonescore. There’s the blues-rock of “Gravity Man.” There are some covers here that are fun. “Daydream Believer” was popularized by The Monkees in the ‘60s, and is done as a punked up version here, rougher and noisier than the AM pop song written by John Stewart. There’s a really different version of “Ghost Rider,” a song done by The Gories, Suicide, and many other bands. Here it’s a slow burner blues-rock tune. Bruce Springsteen’s “Hungry Heart” is covered, too, but it’s less sparkly and energetic than the original, feeling like the band was a little bored to be doing it. But to redeem themselves, they give us a rocking version of Lady Gaga’s “The Edge of Glory.” Monty Vega and the Sittin’ Shivas aren’t setting the world on fire here, but that’s not what sitting shiva is about. It’s about comfort and celebration of life, and they do a fine job of that.
J ROBBINS / HER HEAD’S ON FIRE – Split 7” (New Granada, www.newgranada.com)First off, any occasion when there’s new J Robbins music is reason to celebrate. I was and am a huge Jawbox fan, as well as Burning Airlines, Office of Future Plans, and really anything he’s done. He’s a dynamic songwriter, creating music that’s exciting and poetic. Here he teams with new band Her Head’s On Fire for a split 7” single. Robbins collaborates in this solo outing with Peter Moffett on drums, with whom he played in Government Issue and Burning Airlines, as well as Gordon Withers, the cello wizard who has played in Office of Future Plans and other efforts (here on guitar), and Brooks Harlan, also from Office of Future Plans and new guitarist in Jawbox, replacing the departing Bill Barbot. The song is “Uncle John,” and it’s just what we would expect from J, if you’re familiar with his music. It’s an energetic song, forceful without being too aggressive. But it’s what I didn’t expect from a J Robbins song that I really like: unexpected complexities in the arrangement, a wider dynamic range, and shifting time signatures. It makes for a really enjoyable song.
Her Head’s On Fire makes their official recorded debut (not counting their 2020 demo) with their contribution, “Certain As.” They say of the meaning of the song, “Often in life we want what we cannot have, attracted to the aspects of others that we feel are inadequate in us." Musically, the band describe themselves as “REM having sex with Samiam. Oasis gets to watch.” I don’t know about that, but to me it’s a blend of 90s indie rock with hints of dreaminess, a big dose of pop, and just a dash of emo. So, OK, maybe their description fits. Whatever it is, it’s a solid debut, and makes me look forward to more.
DIGDOG – Homeless Theater (www.facebook.com/DigDogBook)Florida’s DogDog do have previous releases, as they mention in the press release accompanying this LP. But the trio have spent much of the pandemic retooling who they are as a band that they’re considering this to be a debut of sorts. Unfamiliar as I am with the band’s past output, I’ll accept that and declare this to be a great debut. It’s got a fantastic quirkiness to it, with pop angularity mixed with classical virtuosity. Delicate guitar plucking opens the album, with the lovely dark song about the transient nature of life, “Highfingers.” The oddities continue with “One Guarantee,” a song that has off-kilter rhythms and see-saws between thin instrumentation and wall-of-sound guttural guitars. Vocals are smooth and mysterious through most of the track, save for the spoken bridge that reminds me of the Washington, DC band 9353, one of the strangest and most fun bands to come from our nation’s capitol. I enjoy “Sirens of Hell,” too, with its evil growling guitars giving way to delicate plucking and a minimalist melody. The song reminds me of Chicago’s late lamented The Fire Show. “Country Gentleman’s Club” has a lovely flowing quality, with hints of old time western songs and gorgeous classical guitar work. “Tree Bones” begins with the intoning of guitar harmonics, then takes on a rolling and rollicking character, with jaunty guitar lines that seem to undulate. The penultimate track, “Glad at the World” is as happy sounding as the name implies, almost taking on the feel of a kids’ song. The songs here are quite varied, yet all of similar levels of unusual melodies and arrangements, making this one of the more interesting and unique records to come out this year.
THE INTERESTS – "Attention" (https://theinterests.co.uk) Brand new band The Interests just formed in March of this year, and wasted no time getting some recording time in. This single is their recorded debut as a band, and it’s a dark indie rock tune, solemn in feel, with dispassionate vocals and lonely buzzing distorted guitars. The bass and drums drive hard on the downbeat of each measure, propelling the song along. As full as this sounds, the image it evokes in my mind is of a desolate landscape, a thick fog casting a pall over everything. The Interests have my attention.
MASSAGE – Lane Lines (Mt. St Mtn., www.mtstmtn.com)Mere months after the release of their sophomore LP, “Still Life,” Massage are back with a new six-song EP. Like the LP, the songs here are lovely jangle-pop, relaxed and just a bit dreamy (but not dream pop). I love the title track, with its acoustic guitar in the mix and a driving quality, even with its soft easy edge. The use of synths and the bass driving the melody on the intro to “In Gray & Blue” reminds me of early New Order, but as the song continues the jangle takes over in a big way, lush and lovely. It’s a new mix of the same song from the “Still Life” LP, and I think it’s the better version, lusher yet more delicate. This EP also includes Massage’s first recorded cover: “I’m Going In a Field,” originally released in 1967 by the Ivor Cutler Trio. The original is pretty much a poem sung with a harmonium, with the mysteroious 60s Celtic folk feel. The cover gives the song more of a psych-folk treatment, with gauzy harmonized vocals and jangly six and twelve string guitars. It’s absolutely gorgeous. Two demos make their way onto this EP, too. “Without Your Love” is an acoustic gem, slated to be redone with the full band on the next LP. And “Half a Feeling” is the original demo recorded early in the pandemic, which made its way to becoming the lead single from “Still Life.” This new EP from Massage hasn’t changed my mind about them at all; they’re wonderful.
NIGHT COURT – Nervous Birds (Snappy Little Numbers Quality Audio Recordings, www.snappylittlennumbers.com)One of the things I love most about this “job” is discovering new bands. Such is the case with Vancouver, BC, Canada’s Night Court. “Nervous Birds” is the band’s debut LP, and what a debut it is. I hear definite garage punk influences here, but it’s also loaded up with pop goodness and punk raucousness. “Circus Of Wolves,” which opens the album reminds me of a mix of old school punk and the Ohio band Vacation, but with an extra injection of pop, and it’s a real standout track. The retro-like sounds of “Late for Dinner” reminds me of California’s Decent Criminal, with hints of 60s pop in the mix. The melody and bass line of “Diagnosis Weirdo,” oddly, remind me a bit of early Human League (yeah, the 80s new wave band). And I love the borderline indie “The Question,” probably the jangliest Night Court get, as jangly as you can get with the distortion pedal on. The dark, noisy “Drop The Bomb” is tongue-in cheek about the stupidity of cold war espionage and spying, with lyrics that say, “Don’t look now, it’s the CIA / Staking out dancers from the Russian Ballet / This is what we waited for / Crouching under tables on the classroom floor.” Night Court have reinforced my thoughts that there are no bad Canadian bands.
ALL HALLOWED – II (Friend Club Records, www.friendclubrecords.com) Dayton’s All Hallowed is, at its core, the duo of Lacey and Ricky Terrell, and Chris Cox joins them here on drums. The five songs here are dark, almost goth-like, with a punk sensibility and even a danceable beat. The arrangements are quite sparse, with just vocals, bass, and drums. The melodies have a retro 80s feel, and there’s a contrast between the smoothness of Lacey’s vocals and the distorted coarseness in the drums and bass. Overdubbing helps fill things out with some harmonized vocals, but the starkness of the songs is hard to escape. I think my favorite song of the quintet is the closer, “Souls.” The drums are very subdued and the bass tone is cleaned up somewhat, and Lacey’s singing gives the track an almost dreamy quality. Cool.
INCA BABIES – Swamp Street Soul (Black Lagoon Records, incababies1.bandcamp.com) I was completely unaware that the storied post-punk band, Inca Babies, had reformed with a couple of the original members, and have been touring and releasing new music for more than a decade. In their original run in the 1980s, they leaned heavily on the punk aesthetic in their music, with raucous and raspy songs. I can’t speak to the few albums they’ve put out since their 2007 reunion, but this latest album is much smoother, jazzier, and poppier, less punk than their earlier music. Maybe it’s mellowing with age, maybe it’s just keeping up with the times, but whatever the reason, Inca Babies continue to remain musically relevant and enjoyable. The album, their first in seven years, opens and closes with the title track (the closer being a “dub” version), and it’s a slow burner of a cool jazz tune mixed with a post-punk vibe. Jazz and dub seem to be nearly as prominent in this latest version of Inca Babies as post-punk. “Dear English Journalists” has a jazzy backbeat, while “Mine of Bones” has the rhythm of a rockabilly tune, but with an easier feel and elements that remind me of Swans from around the time they resumed recording and playing just about a decade ago. I like the swagger of “Walk in the Park.” Though it’s relaxed and easy, you can still hear the post-punk roots. “Bigger Than All of Us” has a driving quality, more so than most of the songs. Keyboards are used as percussion, and the big wall of guitar has a Sonic Youth modal quality. “Windshield Gnat” has the feeling of quiet desperation, in both the sparse instrumentation and in the breathy vocals. I like this record so much that I feel a need to dig into those few albums they released over the last several years and see what else they’ve been up to.
PASS AWAY – Thirty Nine (Suburbia Records, suburbiarecords.bigcartel.com) Formed in 2013 as a side project, Pass Away has taken on a life of its own. The band play smoothed poppy punk with a strong emotional content. It’s sort of like the 2000s version of emo/pop-punk, but with more of a modern DIY attitude and a softer, gentler, and even effortless sort of sound, like blending in some Nothington and Beach Slang. I adore the quiet mostly acoustic-based “Chic’s Beach,” which opens the album. It’s got a heart-on-your-sleeve singer-songwriter feel. But that song isn’t what’s typical of the record. Right afterward is “Halloween,” a track with an appropriately dark sound in the intro, but which quickly turns into an epic pop punk sound. “Blue Drinks” has a nice combination of pop melody and grunge execution, reminding me a bit of 90s San Diego bands, perhaps even a more sedate version of Rocket From The Crypt. I love “Bushwick,” which starts out as an acoustic waltz, reminding me of something an Irish performer might do in a pub, but it includes full-band sections as well. The lyrics are pretty devastatingly dark, with a chorus of “It’s a miracle I’ve never died in my sleep.” The song is about deep depression and drug and alcohol abuse as coping mechanisms for loss of love. I think this one is my favorite of the album. “Coffin Hands” has the big grand sound of Beach Slang without the teen angst lyrics. “Brooklyn Psychotherapy” is the heaviest track of the LP, with an almost grunge character in parts, alternating with head bobbing pop punk. In the grunge sections there’s awesome use of guitar harmonics, something I’ve always been a sucker for. Some songs are just too smooth for me, though. “Moss Bar,” for instance, sounds like an adult contemporary version of Menzingers type music to me. And, yeah, there’s a Menzingers vibe running through a lot of this. For some people that will be a good thing, for others not so much. I’ll let you decide.
ROBBIE MORÖN – Palooka Haymaker (High End Denim Records, highenddenimrecords.bandcamp.com) Back in the day, there was a distinct punk sub-genre known as funny punk. The songs were topical, but avoided the serious political issues that permeated so much hardcore music. Humor was as important as speed, power, and melody. Think bands like The Vandals and Doggy Style. Canada’s Robbie Morön continues in this fine tradition, with songs about the pride of a well-manicured lawn, making poor choices in romantic partners, excellent choices in Halloween costumes, and more. Of the seven songs on this mini-LP, four are brand new, one is a cover, and the other two are remastered versions of previously released songs. The songs are nice and varied, but a few are definitely influenced by earlier Green Day. “Bad Taste in Dicks” is one such song, with a great poppy melody, raucous guitars, and suave, easy, tuneful vocals. Another is “Becky Slater,” a song about the weird love triangle of the TV show “The Wonder Years” among Kevin, Winnie, and Becky. The song has a great bass line that induced head bobbing, and the melody and arrangement are top notch. “Not Today” is quicker, and harder, with hints of skate punk mixed in with the pop, not unlike early Offspring, before they hit the big time. The cover is an interesting one. “Bubblegum Bitch” was originally released by Marina and the Diamonds as an EDM pop hybrid. But here it’s a dark pop punk tune, and it works just as well as the original (if not better). I’ve reviewed some of Robbie Morön’s music before, but I think this is the best material from him yet.
VISTA BLUE – A John Waters Christmas Tribute (wearevistablue.bandcamp.com) As fall turns to winter, thoughts turn from Halloween to…John Waters? Well, to Christmas, for sure. The four songs on this EP are covers that all come from a 2004 Christmas compilation of songs selected by the legendary filmmaker. Starting out the festivities is “Fat Daddy,” originally recorded by Paul “Fat Daddy” Johnson. Where the original is a 60s style song with, shall we say, interesting vocals, the Vistas’ version is bouncy Ramones-core with their patent-pending buzzy guitar sound. The vocals are less soulful, but more tuneful, with cheery harmonies. “Santa! Don’t Pass Me By” was originally recorded as a slow, cheesy, countrified pop tune by Jimmy Donley, but in Vista Blue’s hands it’s all bubbly buzzy pop punk ‘til the cows come home. “Christmas Time Is Coming (A Street Carol)” is next, the original being an a cappella doo wop song by Stormy Weather, the solemn introspective sound of which is at odds with the cheerful lyrics. The Vistas keep the doo wop melody and slower tempo, but there’s no way their guitar tone could ever sound sad. To close out the EP, our intrepid pop punks chose “Sleighbells, Reindeer, and Snow,” as sung by Little Rita Faye Wilson.” The delicate novelty track with banjo, bells, and little girl vocals is transformed into a raging aggressive pop punk tune, and I don’t think Little Rita Faye would survive the mosh pit that’s gonna open up when the punks hear it. The prolific Vista Blue are slowly taking over my music storage space, because this one’s a keeper.
LARS FREDERIKSEN – To Victory (Pirates Press Records, www.piratespressrecords.com) Most well known as the guitarist/vocalist for Rancid, Lars Frederiksen also fronts Old Firm Casuals and Lars Frederiksen and the Bastards, and on this solo outing, he plays stripped down versions of songs from these other bands, as well as offering up some covers. From The Bastards, we’ve got “Army of Zombies,” which served as the lead single for this EP. Where the original is manic, this solo version is slowed just a hair, and with acoustic guitar, organ, and tambourine it takes on a different feel, less punk but more urgent and desperate. The other track from The Bastards is “Skunx. The solo version, I feel, is superior, sounding less like drunken street punk and more like storytelling by a singer-songwriter. It’s more moving. The two songs from Old Firm Casuals include “God and Guns” and “Motherland,” the former being a solid acoustic version and the latter is electric and true to the original, but it feels more earnest. The covers include “Tomorrow’s Girls” from the UK Subs, and “Comin’ Home” from KISS. It’s hard to top the fun garage punk bounce of the UK Subs, and Frederiksen doesn’t even try, changing up the song quite a bit. It’s an interesting version, but can’t quite match the joyfulness of the original. As far as the KISS cover, well, I’m not a KISS fan, so anything would be better than their version – but this version with acoustic guitar and piano is fantastic, with a rollicking rock and roll feel worthy of the Stones. Frederiksen began doing the solo thing right before the pandemic, and then it al stopped, but hopefully he’ll pick this up again now that shows are happening again, because I love these solo performances even better than the originals.
STATES OF NATURE – Songs To Sway (Sell the Heart Records, www.selltheheartrecords.com) States of Nature has kept a fairly low profile, as far as I can tell. Formed in 2018, the “super group” (the band features members of Dead To Me and Everybody Row), the San Francisco area band quietly self-released three four-song EPs over three years. Now the three records are collected together in one place, with two additional new songs, to create the band’s debut LP. States Of Nature will sound both familiar and unique, because they bring together a whole bunch of disparate influences and blend them together into something quite new. I hear elements of DC style emo and post-emo, I hear post-hardcore, I hear 80s post-punk, and I hear power pop and indie rock. Pop hooks vie with hard-edged licks on a lot of the songs, making for a fascinating musical texture that you don’t hear from other bands. I hear bits of Boston’s The Proletariat mixed with San Diego’s Pitchfork in the opening track, “Gale Force” (originally from the “So It Goes” EP). Those are two favorite bands of mine, and the song is a solid favorite of the LP. “Move Like a Ghost” (from the “Collide-A-Scope” EP) has rocking elements that could come from bands like Quicksand, but other sections with more of a chill head bobbing vibe like a DC band like Soulside, and a bridge with a dream-pop like guitar sound and ethereal vocals. “Light and Seed” (from the EP of the same name) has a distinct retro post-punk sound, with edgy guitar tension and shout-spoken vocals. “Infinity” has a cool jazz vibe mixed with a dark rock and roll feel and surges of grunge toward the end. I like the contrast of smooth gliding guitars and intense vocals of “Bloom,” and especially like the explosiveness of this track. The title track from their “Collide-A-Scope” brings some excellent surf-guitar to the mix, along with post-hardcore and Dischord-like revolution summer emo. The two new songs are “Carry Along” and “Old Trances, Old Foes.” These two songs fit in really well with the rest. “Carry Along” blends Fugazi-like sounds, post-punk, and post-hardcore in a song that’s smooth, head bobbing, and edgy all at the same time. “Old Trances, Old Foes” is downright jangly pop with a fuzzed yet breezy sound. I don’t think I’ve ever found a single band before that’s taken all of my favorite genres and put them all into all their songs, but States Of Nature do just that. This is a phenomenal release.
THE DODOS – Grizzly Peak (Polyvinyl Records, www.poluyvinylrecords.com) Music veterans The Dodos have released their eighth LP, and it’s both simple and complex at the same time. As a duo, the band’s arrangements are necessarily fairly bare and spartan. But the songs are still intricate, instrumentals and vocals intertwining in opposing melodic lines to create something quite lovely. The strong vocals remind me of those of OMD, in a tenor range with that hint of tremolo. The music combines the feeling of math rock with retro pop sounds – math rock in the unusual rhythms and shifting time signatures. I love the swirling opening of “Annie,” and the intricate rhythms, the shifting between straight time and waltz time. And the percussion break toward the end is unbalancing in the best way. Strings play a prominent role in most of the songs, not only as background but to add strength to percussion and emphasis to vocal melodies. I love how the drums and violins play against each other in “With a Guitar,” somewhat tribal rhythms contrasting with the smoothness of the vocals. The song seems to be about a grudge, with a chorus that asks, “You make me feel small / Does it make you feel big too?” and answers “I guess I’ll have to fight you with a guitar.” Understated is a perfect description for “The Atlantic,” quiet and subdued yet there’s a subtle intensity; the clear vocals sound ever so solemn. “Quiet Voices” is, I think, my favorite track of the album. The urgent intricate plucked guitar against the relaxed floating vocals is gorgeous, and there’s a periodic rising noise and intensity that adds just the right amount of tension. The Dodos appear to be on tour this fall in support of the new LP, and I think I’m going to have to go check them out live. That’s how much I enjoyed this LP.
THE PULSEBEATS – Lookin’ Out (FOLC Records, www.folcrecords.es) The Pulsebeats have been around for a decade, but because they’re based in Spain, I’ve never heard of them before. That’s a shame, because this is a banger of a record! It’s vaguely Ramones-core, but way better than that genre implies. The Pulsebeats incorporate elements of garage, pop punk, and power pop into their songs, injecting them with tons of energy and enthusiasm. It’s infectious, too, because these songs are going to make you want to jump around like a mad person. While most of the songs have a strong pop influence, “(She Sings Like) Joey Ramone has elements of Naked Raygun’s sound, a big Chicago punk rock feel and vocals reminiscent of Jeff Pezzati in his prime. I love the strong driving beat of “Reason To Believe,” which reminds me a bit of Jeff Burke bands like Marked Men and Radioactivity. “241259” is a weird name for a track, but it’s a powerful one, reminding me of punk’n’roll bands like DFMK, but maybe a bit poppier. “Cover Girl” adds in a bunch of wonderful guitar jangle, And “Coma State,” even with its manic sound, reminds me a bit of The Mr. T Experience in the vocals, and the surf guitar break at the end is fantastic. Imagine taking The Buzzcocks, speeding things up, adding even more energy, and you’ll have an idea of how good this new LP from The Pulsebeats is.
SUNTITLE – In a Dream (Know Hope Records, www.knowhoperecords.com) Do you like emo? Do you like post-hardcore? Do you like when the two genres cross over? If so, you may enjoy Suntitle. The band, whose members are scattered about the northeast corner of the US, play music that’s big, epic, and hazy. There are elements of 90s and 2000s alternative rock, but the band temper the more commercial aspects of that genre with loads of reverb and earnest vocals. I like the way the band grunges up what could be just another attempt to replicate a popular sound that filled airwaves a couple of decades ago, especially on a song like “Burning Down a Denny’s,” with tough, grumbling guitars and bass. And even the harmonized vocals, which can sometimes ruin things when you’re trying to sound hard and tough, are done well here. You can hear that on a lot of the songs, but especially on “Selfish,” which has some great guitar tone that gives the song a lonely sound, especially at the start. It goes well with the lyrics that cry out, “You’re such a fucking asshole / That’s why you’ll always be alone.” As heavy as many of these tracks are, the bombast of “Heaven’s Gate” beats them all, even as it alternates between huge and quieter, smoother sections. I particularly like the closing track, “Church Bells.” On this one, things are tempered further; the track is no less epic than the rest, but it’s calmer, more introspective, more solemn, and even a bit dreamy. This isn’t a genre I usually care for, and I enjoyed Suntitle’s previous EP a little more, but the band have released an album I’d be happy listening to again.
SWANSEA SOUND – Live At The Rum Puncheon (Happy Happy Birthday To Me Records, www.hhbbtm.com) Swansea Sound is yet another band formed in the boring days of the pandemic “lockdown,” when there was nothing else to do for many musicians. Catenary Wires members Amelia Fletcher and Rob Pursey are joined by Huw Williams of Pooh Sticks join forces to sing self-aware songs about being in an indie band. “Corporate Indie Band” is one such song, about people deciding to form a new band that cranks out indie hits. “Indies of the World” is an anthem calling for all the indie people of the world to add their own contributions to the scene, in true DIY fashion, “in forty-five revolutions.” There’s even a song called “The Poohsticks,” speaking of self-referential. There are fun songs like “I Sold My Soul On Ebay,” which speaks about the desperate need for money and attention of people who put things up for sale on services like the auction site or on Spotify and YouTube. One track that stands out as different is “Freedom of Speech,” with a rollicking yet smoothed out Rolling Stones feel, and lyrics about the aforementioned right, and how some people don’t understand what that right means or entails. Musically, the band isn’t creating anything unique or groundbreaking, but it’s decently solid indie rock. I don’t know if Swansea Sound is going to last in the long run, but the pandemic sure has given us some decent stuff to listen to.
TIGHTWIRE – "Anyone But You" EP (Red Scare Industries, redscareindustries.bandcamp.com)Two brand new songs just came out from Minneapolis’ pop punks Tightwire, just in time for their return to touring. If you’re a fan of pop punk, this is a release you’re going to want to hear. The band is aptly named, because they walk the tightwire, carefully balancing between raucous pop punk and smoother pop sounds. The title track has exactly that sound that Tightware own, poppy but hard and raucous at the same time. The “B” side is an acoustic version of “Spell On Me,” from the 2018 LP “Six Feet Deep.” Where the original is typical Tightware fare (that is, up-tempo fun pop punk), the acoustic version is a little bit slower, and takes on a much more emotional feel. And, as good as the original is, the acoustic version is just more heartfelt and satisfying. Tightwire have kept their perfect balance.
CITY MOUSE – Magnitude (It’s Alive Records, www.itsaliverecords.com)New music from City Mouse is always a reason to celebrate! Despite having been a thing for nearly two decades, the recorded output from Miski Dee Rodriguez and her rotating cast of band mates has been way too thin, consisting of a single LP and a handful of EPs and split singles. This latest release is a three song EP that leaves me wanting more. The title track leads things off, and will sound the most familiar to longtime City Mouse followers. It’s got the same sort of mid-tempo pace and chord progressions that characterize many City Mouse songs, and of course Miski’s amazing vocals. But it’s the departure from the norm of the other two tracks that I really love. “Sweet Heat” has a more urgent desperate sound than is typical for City Mouse, and may be my new favorite song of Miski’s, about the inferno of a breakup. The final track of the trio, “Get Out of Here,” has a cool retro cinematic rock and roll sound, like something from the Rocky Horror Picture Show, and is a lot of fun. New music from City Mouse is always a reason to celebrate; I just wish we could celebrate more often.
IT’S KARMA IT’S COOL - Homesick For Our Future Destinations (Kool Kat Musik, www.koolkatmusik.com) It’s Karma It’s Cool is a mouthful of a band name, but I’ll put up with it, because the UK band play a quality blend of power pop and modern indie, with great pop melodies and lush indie arrangements and production. The guitars jangle with a lovely soft tone, and the vocals harmonize gorgeously. It’s hard to pick out favorites, because there are many good songs here, but I’ll give special mention to “Absent Transient,” which has a great pop bounce along with ethereal dreaminess from the reverb and synths in the mix. “Dream Big Little Giant” is a peppier track than most of the others, and it’s got a big inspirational sound and hefty pop effervescence. While I wouldn’t call “Coffee Cup Circles” raucous, it’s the most rambunctious track of the album, appropriate for a song about caffeinated life. I like the energy of this one, and it’s got that great indie meets classic power pop vibe that makes this LP stand out. A few songs didn’t do it as much for me. “Playing Brave” has too much commercial pop sound for my liking. I’m not all that taken with “Holy Toledo!” either, the closest the band get to a ballad here. It, too, sounds more like radio friendly adult contemporary pop than anything indie. And “Guest on a TV Talk Show,” though I like the breeziness of it, the arrangement is a little too smooth for my tastes. Don’t let these few songs deter you. For the most part It’s Karma It’s Cool provide quality tunes on their sophomore full-length LP.
POSTAGE (Dirt Cult Records, www.dirtcultrecords.com) After releasing a couple of flexis and a split single with Mikey Erg, Postage presents their debut LP, collecting together those previous releases plus a couple of extra tracks. The Albany quartet of punk veterans are well placed with Dirt Cult Records, who are returning to their pop punk roots with this LP. The label has been branching out a lot lately, with noise-punk and garage releases, but this is their bread and butter: Awesome Fest and Fest style pop punk. Postage play up-tempo tunes that are aggressive and abrasive in just the right ways, with lots of speedy lyrics and hooks popping left and right. Many of these songs remind me of Arizona’s late lamented Rumspringer, a great band that ended under difficult circumstances. Rumor has it Postage members had never listened to Rumspringer before writing and recording these songs, which makes it all the more remarkable. A highlight of the LP for me is “Return to Sender,” one of the quicker tempo songs, with great rhythmic and melodic changes in it. “Onward” has some powerful Motorhead-like guitar work going on, even with its poppy chorus. And “Smitten,” which closes the LP, has powerful forward momentum, chugging along with garage-like power guitars, but loaded with pop goodness. If you’re a fan of this sort of pop punk, and especially if you, like me, miss Rumspringer, gives this a spin. You won’t regret it.
THE SLACKERS – Windowland b/w I Almost Lost You – Pirates Press Records, www.piratespressrecords.com) Rock steady/ska/reggae band The Slackers are back with another single, with Pirates Press doing their usual bang-up job on unique presentation. This time out it’s a one-sided 12” that looks like a picture disc, but isn’t. Instead, the image is printed on the vinyl, and includes transparent windows to go along with the first track title. The two songs here aren’t as dynamic and exciting as the “Nobody’s Listening” single I previously reviewed. But “Windowland” is a solid rock steady track, mid-tempo and guaranteed to make you want to dance. The over-the-top vocals and horns are a hoot, and the miscellaneous percussion instruments give this a nice retro lounge sound. “I Almost Lost You” is an interesting track, mixing a relaxed reggae feel with a 50s doo-wop melody. I’m not a big ska or reggae fan, but The Slackers are plenty fun.
JAMES SULLIVAN – Light Years (Stardumb Records, www.stardumbrecords.com) This is the debut album from Londoner James Sullivan, who also fronts the power pop trio More Kicks. But this solo effort isn’t power pop. It’s ironic that Sullivan shares a name with a mysterious American singer-songwriter from the 1970s. Jim Sullivan produced some psych-folk-rock records of note in the 1970s, then vanished in Mexico at age 34. The music from the present James Sullivan, too, has elements in common with his namesake, with tinges of psych and folk mixed in with the lovely light pop music. There’s a sparkly quality to the music, bright and shiny, even with hints of post-punk in some of the songs, such as the bass heavy “Guided” and the wonderful “Lea Bridge” with its spoken word narration. The combination of acoustic guitar and synths on “It Won’t Do You Harm” is a perfect example of the psych-folk sound, very understated and colorful. I adore the blend of psych-folk and indie pop on songs like “You Kept My Heart Alive,” which uses violin quite effectively, along with the fuzzed up guitar. I like the rolling feel of “Get Our Sense Away,” and the delicate acoustic “Cruel Trick To Play” with glockenspiel solo is adorable. “Totally Bored” is an outlier on this LP, and a standout. It’s more punk rock than anything else, gritty guitars and bass underlying the rock and roll melody, with desperate sounding vocals recorded with some lo-fi distortion. This LP may not be what More Kicks fans expected, as it’s a lot more laid back and easy going than that trio. But it’s definitely an excellent and worthy debut.
VISTA BLUE – New Nightmares (wearevistablue.bandcamp.com) Vista Blue’s driving force, Mike Patton, is a big fan of both horror movies and seasonally appropriate record releases, so the two combine together on this latest release from the prolific band. Four new songs of buzzy guitar-fueled pop punk, complete with synths, harmonized vocals, and sweet melodies appear on this EP, each song themed around a different eerie flick. “Where Do You Wanna Sleep?” is the closest thing the Vistas get to a ballad, with lovely Beach Boys vocal harmonies and retro melody. It’s an homage to a scene from “Halloween III,” in which two characters are in a hotel room, and one suggests he can sleep in the car or get another room. “Where do you want to sleep, Dr. Challis?” she asks. “That’s a dumb question, Miss Grimbridge,” comes the reply. “I’ll Be True” is a haunting tale of falling in love with the murderous character from the mirror in “Candyman.” I like “Magic on This Train,” a reference to the 1980 slasher film, “Terror Train,” yet my favorite of the EP is the solemn pop punk of “Ya Bang!” The dark synths are gorgeous, while the pop bounce is a lot of fun. This one’s from “Friday The 13th Part VI,” a reference to a scene in which a deputy points his gun with new laser sight and says, “Wherever the red dot goes, ya bang!” Vista Blue is always seasonally appropriate, no matter the time of year.
ALLEYS AND GANGWAYS – Long Shot (linktr.ee/Alleysandgangways)Chicago’s Alleys and Gangways’ sophomore release is a three-song EP of mid-tempo pop punk. One of the cool things about the band’s songs is the stratification of sound, in which instruments and multiple vocals layer on top of each other, sometimes in unison, sometime in harmony, sometime in competing melodic lines. Though the songs are pop punk, and there are plenty of opportunities for gang vocals, another thing I like about Alleys and Gangways is the attention to melody. Even with the gritty and snotty vocals, the melodies are strong. The three songs are diverse yet cohesive enough to tell they’re from the same band, with “Catch Your Summer” having a big epic sound, “Halo” having a mix of power pop jangle and Americana lope, and “Do It for the Butterflies” jumping back and forth between speedier harder punk and more of a chugga-chugga mid-tempo pace. This last has some nice vocal dueling going on, too. This makes me want to go back and check out their debut.
BLACK SWAN DIVE BOMB – Light the Match, Ignite the Flame (www.facebook.com/blackswandivebomb) Black Swan Dive Bomb was born in Detroit, Michigan in the midst of the pandemic, in the summer of 2020. “Light the Match, Ignite the Flame” is the band’s recording debut, a four-song EP. Like other bands that have arisen from the Motor City, Black Swan Dive Bomb is deeply rooted in the rock and roll tradition. 70s hard rock, garage, and punk form the base from which their songs spring forth, filled with attitude, swagger, and anger. These genres blend seamlessly into a powerful combination that delivers a punch. My favorite song of the quartet of tracks has to be “God Hates America,” the most political of the bunch, dark and powerful. I like the raw energy of this debut.
SWIM CAMP – Fishing In A Small Boat (Know Hope Records, www.knowhoperecords.com)Swim Camp, the alter ego of Tom Morris, has been making music since 2015. “Fishing In A Small Boat” represents Morris’ fourth full-length outing under the Swim Camp moniker, and I think we’re gonna need a bigger boat. I say this because the music is expansive, big and dreamy. These songs transport you to a different state of mind, as if it were a real place. One could drift away, floating on wafts of air, in a half-waking state. These are the sorts of images and feelings conjured by the thirteen songs. There are vaguely pop song structures and thick, rich arrangements. Strategic use of distortion in places gives the sense of experiencing the songs through a gauzy filter. Individually, I love all of these songs. In particular, “Race Track” is a lazy lolling waltz time song that feels both intimate and lush. I love the eerie and lonesome sounds used in “Sift,” a song that’s recorded lo-fi, and creates a dense and delicious wall of sound. And the lo-fi piano and tentative vocals of “A Different Kind of Sleep” makes me want to hug someone or go into a corner alone and cry. I especially love the effects used in the piano recording, making it sound like an old tape that’s been stretched and doesn’t play back well, with all the ambient noises that were left in. I did say “individually,” though. Because even though I love these songs, as an album, it’s too much. Many of the songs are in 3/4 time, and they’re uniformly ballad-like, crawling at an unhurried pace. The sound is too monolithic. I’d like there to be maybe a bit more variety, but I do like the hypnagogic aesthetic.
THE BELLTOWERS – Magnetic (Kool Kat Musik, www.koolkatmusik.com)60’s British Invasion pop rock meets indie on this latest LP from The BellTowers, their fourth full-length outing. The guitars have that classic retro jangle sound, and the melodies sparkle with bits of psychedelic influence. The LP opens with a strong cut, “Sunshine Nursery Rhymes.” It’s got a throbbing rhythm courtesy of the bass, a mix of those jangly guitars and some rocking distortion tone, and a big organ that heats things up. Sadly, the organ isn’t used as prominently on more songs, because I thought it was pretty effective. But many other songs still stand out, like “Perfume 22,” in which the guitar tone is perfect. Some of the songs get a little garage-like, too, such as “Annabel Lee,” with its darker sound that reminds me of a favorite band from back in the early 80s, The Vertebrats. And “Wait” has an even tougher rock and roll sound with a bit of 60s rock’n’blues in it. Though these songs are rooted deeply in genres of the past, they sound fresh and even have hints of modern indie. There are unique touches, too, such as the arrangement of “She Reappears,” which uses violin to embellish the instrumentation on the chorus.
CUMGIRL8 – RIPcumgirl8 (DERO Arcade, deroarcade.bandcamp.com) The trio known as cumgirl8 describe themselves as “a sex-positive alien amoeba entity.” Besides being a band, they have also released a fashion collection last year to benefit New York’s Ali Forney Center, which helps homeless LGBTQ youth. The title of this EP refers to the fact that the band was kicked off instagram for being “too sexual.” This is the band’s sophomore release, coming about a year and a half after their self-titled debut LP. The four songs are vaguely punk, but more reminiscent of the massively creative post-punk era of the late 70s and early 80s. “Pluck Me” opens the EP with a dark post-punk track that seems to be about giving away total control, yielding to the power of someone else. “Go Away” is next with a cool bouncy sound that’s part pop, part lounge music, part punk. The bridge gets really spooky and spacey before the song resolves and ends. “Bugs” jangles darkly, but it’s the final track that has me in love with cumgirl8 the most. “I Wanna Be” is weird in the best way, with strange sound effects, a dance beat, and deadpan spoken word vocals that remind me of the band “The Normal” and their “song” “Warm Leatherette.” The lyrics are all the things “I wanna be”, pretty much anything but one’s self. It’s not RIP cumgirl8, it’s long live cumgirl8!
DEERHOOF – Actually, You Can (Joyful Noise Recordings, www.joyfulnoiserecordings.com) I don’t listen to Deerhoof nearly enough. Every time I do, I realize how good they are. Their latest LP is no different. Or, rather, all of their LPs are significantly different, and that’s one of the things that make them so amazing. Deerhoof don’t sound like anyone else; they’re quite unique. The band blends pop melodies with experimental arrangements, creating something that challenges as well as entertains. There isn’t a single track on this album that I don’t find fascinating, and the tracks are incredibly varied. “Be Unbarred, O Ye Gates of Hell” opens the LP, with a classical sounding song that, nonetheless, has a martial rhythm. I love the jangly “We Grew, and We Are Astonished.” It has a minimalist melody and lyrics that repeat “Are you ready to go straight to video?” The Latin-influenced “Scarcity Is Manufactured” has a party atmosphere, and I really enjoy how “Plant Thief” plays with time signatures and the challenges the concept of a song structure. I also like the peel of the guitars, used to give the effect of alarm bells. “Epic Love Poem” manages to effectively bring together elements of funk, top 40 pop, and experimental avant-garde. One consistency that ties these tracks together is the soft, smooth, understated vocals of Satomi Matsuzaki. As out there as the instrumentals can sometimes get, her vocals are always a calming element. I adore the variety, the creativity, the glistening guitar tone, and, well, just about everything about this album. I really need to listen to Deerhoof more often.
DUMMY – Mandatory Enjoyment (Trouble In Mind Records, www.troubleinmindrecs.com) After releasing a couple of cassette EPs last year, Dummy now presents their debut full-length LP. The LA band play music that’s reminiscent of Stereolab and the Krautrock bands that influenced them. There’s plenty of rhythmic droning and electronic ambience, but there’s also elements of psych, dream pop, and ambient music mixed in. Even as the beats chug along like an unstoppable train, the instrumentals and vocals float dreamily along the glittering and glimmering rails. The LP opens with the ethereal “Protostar,” a short introductory track with heavenly harmonized vocals, ambient electronics quietly throbbing, and spacey synths injecting a science fiction atmosphere at the end. I really like “Fissured Ceramics,” a track with a pounding beat, scintillating electronics, pulsing guitars, and vocals that waft above it all. “Punk Product #4” isn’t punk, but the guitars do play a more prominent role in this track, which nevertheless still has the driving Krautrock style rhythm and lovely pop melody. “Tapestry Distortion” is psychedelic and mesmerizing in its minimalist instrumentation, and the guitar feedback at the end brings a sublime aching tension to the piece. The penultimate track of the album, “Aluminum In Retrograde,” breaks the mold, as more of a cross between ambient and lounge music, moody instrumentals and sensual vocals intertwining. And “Atonal Poem” closes the album with a minimalist instrumental pop song, melodic lines repeating, subtly throbbing, and vocals acting as another instrument. What an enchanting debut.
JAGUWAR – Gold (Tapete Records, www.tapeterecords.de) One part dance pop, one part dream pop, the songs on this LP are sprawling epics of ambience, music full of shimmer, yet with a big dance beat. I like some songs better than others; some are just too much like commercial pop music to me. But others spark something in me, like the opening track, “Battles.” It’s brash and bright, with synth sounds that remind me of early Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark and a melody worthy of a pop punk band. I also enjoy “St. Lucia Island,” the opening of which has the ambient sound of nature juxtaposed against a hard dance-synth beat that reminds me of The Human League, but with a darker industrial edge to it. The song resolves into an interesting mélange of 70s AM pop and the dark industrial pop sounds. The track grows huge and epic, but then at the climax, it gets quiet and ends with a quaint music box vibe. A lot of these tracks are like little epics of music, grand vast soundscapes made for dancing. Like I said, sometimes there’s just too much commercial pop in the mix for my taste, like on “Monuments” or the title track. But this is an interesting unique blend of genres here.
VARIOUS – Weenorama: High End Denim Halloween Sampler (High End Denim Records, linktr.ee/highenddenimrecords) ‘Tis the Spooky Season, and High End Denim Records has pulled together a cassette mini-LP of appropriately eerie punk tunes for your vigil waiting for the Great Pumpkin. Based out of Red Deer, Alberta, Canada, High End Denim has selections from a variety of Canuck punks, and though the bands all have their own styles, there’s a common theme of darkness in the music, and stories of youthful Halloween antics and scary adventures. The song kicking things off is the dark “Jerkolantern,” contributed by the label’s hometown heroes, The Offsailers. They reminisce about being thirteen and trick or treating way too late at night, alone, and being chased by older kids who steal your candy. Halloween can be really traumatic for a kid. Robbie Morön sings the tale of the “Hysqvarna Hairdo,” in which the stylist takes “a little off the top” with the title brand chainsaw, putting Sweeny Todd to shame. I like the speedy guitar licks that are just punk enough and not too metallic. “Pantyhose Alien” is a hilarious song about costumes on the cheap, squishing one’s face in your mom’s nylons. It’s from Burning Nickels, and the guitars growl and howl, as the drums pound and pummel. Boo Radley’s got a pretty straightforward skate punk sound, with furiously metallic guitars, as they sing about Michael Myers, just in time for the new movie. Gruff vocals and fast and loud melody are hallmarks of The Current State in their song, “Pumpkin Man,” that soulless being with a pumpkin for a head that terrorizes the town. I love Robbie Morön’s second track of the tape, “I Wanna Be Sexy (for Halloween).” Of all the songs it’s the bounciest, coming across like a grittier version of the Mr. T Experience. The cassette ends with “Hey Laurie,” a straight up pop punk tune from Boltergeist, sounding like something you would hear at The Fest, and it, too, is a favorite. While these DIY bands aren’t going to set the world on fire, they’re going to give you a good time as you bob for apples.
HEART & LUNG – Twistin’ the Knife Away (Red Scare Industries, heartandlung.bandcamp.com) We’ve been waiting almost a year for this new LP from Cleveland’s Heart & Lung that Red Scare boss Toby Jeg teased about last November when he rereleased the band’s debut LP. And the wait has been worth it. It’s a half hour of top notch Midwest pop punk, with the band even tighter and the sound even stronger than that debut. There’s plenty of variety in the sounds, too, to keep the listener engaged; it’s not just Ramones-core or Fest pop punk, ruts many bands can get into. There are harmonies, call and response verses, upbeat pop melodies, and loads of jangly guitar. A couple of the songs stand out particularly for me. I love “Headache,” an understated jangly song that veers more toward an indie sound than punk, a song that seems to be about suffering from depression. “I’ve got a permanent headache,” the song says, “that I can never get away from / A permanent anchor on my neck, man I’m a sinking ship. / I’m having pills for breakfast now / Missing out by staying in / A permanent bummer of a time.” I always enjoy the feeling of bummer lyrics contrasted with bright music. “Never Come Home” is an absolute favorite, reminding me a whole lot of Matt Caskitt’s songs that he’s done both with his band Caskitt and with Matt Caskitt & The Breaks. How I interpret the lyrics is that it’s about regret and wanting to turn back the clock to have more time to right wrongs in a relationship. It’s sung and played with heartfelt emotion. The closing track, “Earth, Wind, and Water,” is a huge epic that’s a perfect way to end a set or the LP. While those are the highlights, there isn’t a bad song on this LP, and they don’t all sound the same, a huge win for pop punk! Definitely worth the wait.
SARAH MCQUAID – The St. Burnyan Sessions (sarahmcquaid.bandcamp.com) Sarah McQuaid had big plans for 2020, including a massive tour that would have seen her play more than 80 shows over as four month period. Like so many musicians, her plans were dashed by the global pandemic. Live performance is so important for some artists, because the emotional experience can be so very different from a studio recording. So the idea to record a live show without an audience was born out of necessity and made possible by a successful crowd funding campaign. The venue was St. Burnyan’s, the local parish church in McQuaid’s adopted Cornish hometown, where she sings in the church choir. And, being a “live” set, the songs are primarily culled from McQuaid’s entire catalog, though there are some new songs included, as well. Since this is just McQuaid performing, the arrangements are sparse and subdued, featuring just acoustic or electric guitar, piano, or drum. And in one case, there are no instruments at all. That case is the a cappella opening track, “Sweetness and Pain.” The ancient sounding folk melody, sung hesitantly, and the solemn ambience of the empty church, make a powerful combination in this song that likens the sweetness and resulting pain of dangerous temptations with the sweetness of berries and the pain of the bush’s thorns. The church gives these recordings a gorgeous sound, and the live one-take performance makes the songs feel more “in the moment.” One favorite (besides that opener) is “The Sun Goes On Rising,” which uses acoustic guitar to create a song that reminds me of Gershwin’s “Porgy and Bess.” “One Sparrow Down,” from McQuaid’s most recent studio LP, is still a favorite, though Sarah’s own attempt at a “meow” at the end is a poor stand-in for her own cat that made a cameo in the studio. I adore the version of “Time To Love” presented here; it’s so tentative and uncertain, so bare and vulnerable. And “In Darby Cathedral” is a fan favorite for a reason; it’s certainly become a favorite of mine, a solemn lament. It’s also the lone track that goes beyond the live recording ethos, using multi-tracking in the vocal round at the end of the song. The new material recorded for this session includes a beautiful rendition of the jazz standard, “Autumn Leaves,” and “Rabbit Hills,” written by Michael Chapman, with whom McQuaid has worked in the past. Chapman’s wife commissioned McQuaid to sing the song as a birthday gift to him. I enjoyed Sarah McQuaid’s last studio album, but this “live” album heightens the sense of vulnerability and beauty.
IKE REILLY – Because the Angels (Rock Ridge Music, www.rockridgemusic.com) This represents the prolific Ike Reilly’s eighth studio album, chock full of songs that all revolve around folksy themes. There’s singer-songwriter fare, Bob Dylan influenced songs, Americana, outright country, gospel, and jazzed up folk. Reilly is one of those old musical characters who has bounced around in various jobs, picking up inspirations along the way. He’s been a doorman and a gravedigger, among other jobs. The album opens with “Little Messiahs,” a song that begins with a Dylan-esque acoustic feel and adds in steel pedal guitar for a deep country flair. It’s a song about old school populist politicians who take advantage of the working class and rig elections. It also seems to reference Donald Trump’s surprise win in 2016, and how his team immediately sprang into action to put in place their oppressive policies. This diverse record includes blues-rock (“Ashes to Ashes:”), cowboy songs that tell stories (“The Muhammad Ali Museum”), gospel (“F@#$ the Good Old Days”), and more. My favorite track of the album is “Trick of the Light,” that jazzed up number, hints of ska from the horns and a great poppy beat. The song is a dark one of family dysfunction, relatives screwing each other over, hurting feelings, and spending years not speaking. The trombone solo at the bridge is a lot of fun, and the bouncy melody belies the hurtful lyrics. Many of these songs are about the misery of existence. “The Failure of St, Michael,” for example, speaks to the endless cycle of pain and depression in what feels like it must be a small town. Dysfunctional relationships occurring in the shadow of a bar and the main employer, a drug factory, are recounted. The failure of our institutions (parochial school, for one, gets mentioned) is embodied in the verse, “Well the arc angel St. Michael stood guard at the door / Looking holy and dangerous / Leaning on his sword / It’s written he’ll protect us / From Satan and his snares / But Charlie says he hasn’t seen St. Michael much around here.” One interesting fact about Reilly that I would not have guessed from listening to his music is that he’s from the far north Chicago suburb of Libertyville, certainly not a hotbed of country-folk-blues-jazz-gospel-honky-tonk. Reilly’s bio mentions that he’s the “King of Music Row,” which consists of his humble home in an unassuming street. He’s certainly good at telling stories with his music, worthy of his noble title.
THE HIGH 70s – Glitter Box (thehigh70s.bandcamp.com) The 70s in this bands name doesn’t refer to the temperature, it refers, in part, to an era of music in which they find inspiration. Though they could have called themselves “The High 70s to Low 80s,” because they have as much early 80s influence in their songs, if not more. Imagine mixing the rock music of the 70s that inspired grunge with electro-dance-pop and goth of the 80s, and that’s what “Glitter Box” sounds like. There are varying levels of these in the different songs. The title track, which opens the LP, is very much a 70s proto-grunge tune, though tempered slightly by power pop. “Invisible Wall” is much the same, with a hard rocking aesthetic and power pop sensibility. “Manipulation” has a 70s rock vibe to it, but with some early 80s guitar licks going on. “Astro Van,” too, has a retro rock’n’roll feel in the guitar and melody, but with an 80s bass line. There are songs that are very 80s new wave, like the dark and synth-heavy “We Have Nothing,” “Accidents Never Happen,” and the new wave goth track, “Freak House.” I don’t know. I like when bands try new things, and blending these genres certainly is different. But I don’t know that they really work together, so this album doesn’t work for me.
ON THE CINDER – Sedentary Escape (Flower House Records, flowerhouserecords.storenvy.com) Buffalo trio On The Cinder was in the midst of writing their third full-length LP when the pandemic hit, and as everything closed down, they decided to close down work on the LP in order to write something that would reflect the new reality. The name, “Sedentary Escape,” reflects a need to find liberation from the imposed inactivity of pandemic lockdowns. The resulting seven songs on this mini-LP are both melodic and chaotic, with pop sensibilities and hardcore power. They string together to relate a narrative of the entire experience of the last year and a half, with songs such as “It Begins,” “Illusions of Progress,” “Past, Present, No Future,” “Bottomed Out,” and more. One favorite is “Illusions of Progress,” a speedy hardcore track that’s nevertheless incredibly melodic. In some parts it reminds me of early Descendents, and it’s got a slower, very dark bridge toward the end. “Bottomed Out” has a great 90s post-hardcore sound, and it flows seamlessly into “Now What?” a track that blends a NOMEANSNO inspired bass, a passionately irate spoken word rant, and a booming melodic hardcore chorus. But I think my favorite is “Only After…,” which is complex and goes through many transformations, with pop punk sections, hardcore sections, dark post hardcore sections, and has some great gang vocals and harmonies. Though they’ve been a band since 2013, this is my first exposure to On The Cinder. From this record, I find them to be a dynamic and exciting band, and I hope to see them live some day.
PIP BLOM – Welcome Break (Heavenly Recordings, www.heavenlyrecordings.com) Pip Blom is a Dutch quartet whose debut LP came out in 2019. They extensively toured through Europe, including playing major festivals such as Glastonbury. Then everything stopped, just as it did for every band around the world. Now they’re back with their sophomore LP, the appropriately titled, “Welcome Back.” The band is named for its front person, Pip Blom, who still lives with her parents and her brother and band mate, Tender Blom. They play light, catchy indie pop songs that have a somewhat grungy edge, though not too grungy. The eleven songs are uniformly bright sounding, with Blom’s sparkling vocals leading the way. “It Should Have Been Fun” is one of the best tracks of the album, with a minimalist melody, the instrumentals subtly driving the song during the quieter verses and exploding on the choruses. “Keep It Together” is the most lithe track of the album, reminding me of 90s indie pop bands. The band’s formula of lighter verses and heavier choruses is maintained, with a very similar overall feel to “It Should Have Been Fun,” though the guitars seem to have a little more jangle here. It ends somewhat abruptly, an unfortunate production choice. A couple of things bother me about this LP. First, it’s too even-keeled. The songs are mostly the same tempo or close. It stays very formulaic, with quiet verses and bigger choruses. And some of the songs sound deliberately poppy in a way that sounds like they’re trying to appeal to a mainstream audience, rather than the indie crowd. The songs are pleasant enough, and Blom’s vocals are quite engaging. The band certainly sounds enthusiastic, but there also seems to be something artificial to it. I’ve got mixed feelings.
RAPTORS (www.raptorsband.com)The Raptors, a band from Los Angeles, seem to be of two minds about the kind of band they want to be. When I first started listening to the album, in the first track, “Lost That Life,” I heard grunge-influenced rock and roll, similar to the sort of music that The Dirty Nil play. The second track, “Jurassic California,” seems to be smoother “alternative” rock music with a bit of emo-pop edge to it, similar to what a lot of bands were doing in the 2000s. The first track was OK; the second one turned me off. Thankfully, that’s not the bulk of the album. Instead, most of the tracks are hard edgy pop punk mixed with a street punk sensibility and a hint of glam. The band is tight and proficient, the songs are loaded with melodic content, the guitars scream just as hard as the vocals, and the drums pound furiously. Gang vocals abound. The interesting thing is that while the execution on these songs reminds me a lot of the sort of bands you find in your local dive bar playing original punk music, the melodies are generally more nuanced, with elements of classic rock and power pop. It makes for an interesting sound, and one that I like. Favorite songs include “Good Guys,” which I can imagine is a crowd pleaser at live shows, with the big sing-along sections. I like, too, “Coastal Spirits,” a more up-tempo track with a bright poppy melody and big harmonized vocals on the chorus. The closing track, “Lighthouse,” is a sort of compromise between the styles of the first two tracks and the rest, with some big pop punk gang vocals and melody, but played as a darker emo pop sort of song. Raptor has the chops and the ability to write some good pop punk that stands out among the crowd of bands out there. I’d like it if they focused more on that and less on the grunge and emo.
WE ARE SCIENTISTS – Huffy (100% Records, www.100-percent.co.uk) Bright, sparky indie rock meets power pop, with hints of glam. That’s a succinct description of We Are Scientists, a US band that, nevertheless, has more popularity in the UK than at home. That’s a shame, because this is good music. I particularly love the opening track, “You’ve Lost Your Shit,” with an upbeat driving tempo in the bass, and a slower gliding tempo in the melody and vocals. It reminds me a little bit of the sunny band toyGuitar, one of my favorites. The band is made up of a core including guitarist/vocalist Keith Murray and bassist Chris Cain, Drummer Keith Carne has been with the band since 2013, so I think that makes him a full-fledged member, as well, even if the band’s Wikipedia entry says he “joins the band in the studio and for live appearances.” That’s a band member to me. For a three-piece they have an enormous sound, thick and luscious, bright and sparkly. “Handshake Agreement takes the guitar dazzle a step further, when on the bridge, there’s some overdubbing of a gorgeous, shining guitar duel, short as it is. I like the funky bass and retro post punk feel of “I Cut My Own Hair;” and the synths and tribal beats that open “Sentimental Education” are compelling. As the latter song gets going, it becomes another luminous pop number, with the synths adding bits of dreaminess, even as the melody, guitars, and vocals strive to brighten the mood. We Are Scientists have a ton of upcoming tour dates this fall and winter. Sadly, they’re all in the UK and Europe. Hopefully their own countrymen will wake up to their musical brilliance and they’ll be able to book a solid US tour sooner than later. Let’s make that happen. Listen to and buy this album. I’m pretty sure you’ll love it as much as I do.
THE CONTROL FREAKS – Get Some Help (Dirty Water Records, www.dirtywaterrecords.co.uk) The UK’s Dirty Water Records has become one of the few remaining bastions of raw rock and roll music. Their roster includes some great bands playing garage and punk-and-roll music. And The Control Freaks are no exception. How could it be, led by none other than Greg Lowry, he of bands such as Supercharger, The Rip Offs, The Infections, and the Zodiac Killers. The LP contains thirteen blasts of intense fun, so it’s lucky right there. The songs are gritty and primal, leaning more toward the punk end of the rock and roll spectrum. The title track opens the LP, and is a favorite, and the dueling vocals between Lowry and keyboardist Sherrilynn Nelson are bright and joyful. I enjoy “Riot,” too, a track that’s like a brash and raw Ramones mixed with early LA hardcore outfit Sin 34. Some of the songs, though still rough and ready, have a bit more of a melodic bounce, with an injection of power pop trying to temper things. One such song is “Moron,” which is still just as wild and raucous as the others, but you get a bit of pop in it, and it’s surely going to get your head bobbing. “Won’t Pretend,” with cleaner production, could almost be an indie pop tune, it’s so bubbly, though the lo-fi production and wall of guitars give it a fantastic texture, bright and gravelly at the same time. If you’re a fan of garage punk or a fan of classic early wave punk rock, I can’t think of a better way to spend 30 minutes of your life than giving this record a spin.
DUCKS LTD. – Modern Fiction (Carpark Records, www.carparkrecords.com) Mere months ago Carpark Records rereleased Ducks Ltd’s debut EP, tacking on a few new songs to turn it into a mini-LP. Now Ducks Ltd. are back with their proper debut LP, a ten-song wonder of jangly indie-pop. As I mentioned in my review of the mini-LP, the band reminds me of the sort of bands that recorded for Sarah Records or Slumberland, with a wonderfully delicate touch, a clean breezy guitar sound, poppy beat, and vocals trying to sound indifferent while singing about topics that you can’t feel indifferent about. The opening track, “How Lonely Are You,” is a perfect example. The guitars are super bright and the beat has a lively step. The vocals are somewhat blasé while singing lyrics about being alone, quite a contrast to the sunny melody. “18 Cigarettes” is heavenly, with a rhythm and bass line that reminds me of New Order meets The Smiths, and the guitars and melody are impossibly cheerful. “Under the Rolling Moon” is a favorite, with a driving beat reminiscent of Stereolab, but more of a folksy singer-songwriter melody and played with dreamy instrumentation and production. “Patience Wearing Thin” is an interesting outlier, different from the rest of the songs, a short instrumental featuring a bit of country twang. It’s nice, but a bit out of place. “Always There” has a fantastic rolling and rambling feel and a simple yet huge chorus that’s just the song title, but with all the instruments playing huge striding chords. Tom McGreevy (lead vocal, guitar, bass, keyboards) and Evan Lewis (guitar, bass, drum programming) have crafted a debut LP that improves upon their EP, and is something they should be very proud of.
ELWAY – The English Wishbone (Red Scare Industries, www.redscare.net) Red Scare is on a roll lately, getting great bands that haven’t released new music in a minute into the studio. A couple weeks ago Chicago’s The Bollweevils had their turn. The latest is Elway, whose last record was 2018’s “For the Sake of the Bit” LP. This time out, Elway comes out of the pandemic with a new two-song single. The title track fills the A-side with Elway’s classic blend of indie and pop punk, full of lush guitar and big gang vocals. This one’s going to be a big crowd pleaser on tour. The B-side, “Kronos V. Kairos,” is very different, quieter, slower, and dreamier. There’s a strong sense of emotion here, in the melody and in the vocals, and at points it gets quite intense. The title refers to the two different words for time used by the ancient Greeks. Kronos is chronological time, what we think about when we look at the clock. Kairos, though, refers to an opportune or proper time to take action. Kronos is quantitative, kairos is qualitative. It’s the difference between waiting for something to happen and making something happen. Red Scare’s fearless leader, Toby Jeg, says Elway’s got a bunch of shows booked coming up and needed to fill out their set with some new tunes. These are a good kick start.
KITNER – Shake the Spins (Relief Map Records, www.reliefmaprecords.com) Formed in 2015, it’s taken Kitner six years to release their debut LP. Much of this is due to some members being busy with other projects, most notably the band Choke Up, of whom I’ve written glowingly in the past. Though both bands are soaked in the tradition of emotionally charged rock music, Kitner does it with a much lighter touch. But that’s not to say this is an album of fluff. On the contrary, the ten tracks are packed with passion. One doesn’t need to scream and roar to feel. After a lovely short instrumental introduction “Hi-Fi Times,” which gives me images of floating down a grand river, the album seamlessly transitions into “Suddenly,” a song that perfectly encapsulates the Kitner aesthetic. It’s light and lilting, with a mesmerizing arrangement and vocals that sound vaguely desperate. I love the way keyboards are used in these songs, providing an ambience that contributes to the otherworldly dream-like feel. And the band know how to use quiet moments of songs, like in “Bowery,” when everything stops except the bass and vocals for a bit, then the keyboards subtly join in. Uniquely, “Junebug” is a delicate waltz with twangy Americana guitar and even and harmonica. The result is lovely and lush. I love how “Orient Heights” starts out huge and dreamy, then quiets down when the vocals come in, with just acoustic guitar and subtle percussion to accompany the singing. The song seesaws between massive and intimate; the mastery of dynamics is impressive. The melody’s vague winter holiday feel makes sense given the lyrical content about events surrounding a New Year’s Eve celebration. Harmonica appears again in “Malden MA,” a relatively raucous song about stumbling through life in an alcohol-fueled haze. “Today I look hung over but I’m actually still drunk / Stayed up all night just hoping something good would come,” the song says. The chorus of "I'm starving but not an artist” then flows into the start of the next verse: “They say Pollack was too drunk to paint and that I'm too drunk to stand up straight/Too stubborn to ever try to change my way." Kitner may have taken the long way ‘round to get to their debut LP, but it’s worth it, because this is an amazing record that’s certain to make my end of year list of the best of 2021.
SEMIHELIX – Recoil (Mariel Recording Company, semihelix.bandcamp.com) Semihelix is an Austin, Texas trio that straddles the line between indie pop and dream pop. Geannie Friedman’s guitars jangle and her vocals have a pretty lilt to them, even as the overall feel is richer and thicker than one would expect from a trio. Right from the start, you can tell that this record is something special; “Only To Go On” opens the LP with a head bobbing pop beat, but there’s a big dreaminess in the arrangement, as well. The title track, too, leans heavily into the twee indie pop sound of the 90s, but there’s something about the production that gives the trio a gloriously ethereal and sensual sound. “Only Bluff” is likely the most straightforward retro indie-pop song of the album, with a drier sound, focused more on the guitar jangle and lovely gliding vocals. While not thick and dreamy sounding like the other tracks, it’s a most satisfying pop track, nonetheless. All these songs are satisfying, really. Most of the time dream pop bands are just dreamy and indie pop bands adorably twee. Semihelix manage to mix the best aspects of both genres to create something reasonably unique and very listenable.
UNITED DEFIANCE – Change The Frequency (Thousand Islands Records, www.thousandislandsrecords.com) “We’re the middle children of history, man. No purpose or place. We have no Great War. No Great Depression. Our Great War’s a spiritual war…our Great Depression is our lives.” Thus opens the new LP from United Defiance. The quote is from the movie “Fight Club,” and the rest of it (not used on the LP, but incredibly relevant) says, “We’ve all been raised on television to believe that one day we’d all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars. But we won’t. And we’re slowly learning that fact. And we’re very, very pissed off.” The 1999 movie was prophetic, and we now live in a world where a segment of our society are still clinging to that hope, that impossible dream, and increasingly pissed off and desperate that it hasn’t happened yet, so much so that they’re willing to believe any charlatan that tells them what they want to hear. The song “Cool Kids Club” is a two-edged sword, slashing at these types of people, as well as those who would judge anyone who doesn’t agree with them. “You must follow all those things they say / And never question anything they do / And if there is a problem they’ll sweep it all away / But stand up for yourself and they’ll have nothing left to say,” the song says. The irony of the song is that it’s about the punk rock scene, but remove the reference to punk and you would be forgiven for thinking it’s about the Q-Anon conspiracy types. The best advice the song has to offer to counter this is “You can never pay your dues wearing somebody else’s shoes / So find your path and always be yourself.” “Empty Advice” is a song that was released as a single last fall, but its relevance hasn’t faded with time. “Sometimes you’re right and sometimes you’re wrong / Just stand your ground and write your own song,” the chorus instructs. But it’s this verse that hits hardest on the point: “All this time that you’ve been spending / Stuck in your comfort zone… / Your empty advice casts more shadows / As you keep preaching about the things you don’t know.” Musically, this record is classic United Defiance, fast, speedy, raucous hardcore punk, but tempered with a melodic sensibility. The band are usually lumped in with the skate punk genre, but that sells the band short; they’re better and have more variety in their sound than your typical skate punk band. For example, “Frolic In Darkness” is old school fast’n’loud hardcore with a jumping ska breakdown. “Please Don’t Crash” is a mid-tempo track that has the darkness of skate punk, but more of an indie rock feel. “Sing With Me” is unabashed street punk, with huge fun gang vocals. And the closing track is a fun cover version of Twisted Sister’s “We’re Not Gonna Take It,” an anthem of protest. United Defiance show they aren’t so easily pigeonholed into a single genre with this latest LP, and they continue to show their proficiency at playing fast’n’loud punk rock.
THE ZIGGENS – Oregon (www.theziggensofficial.com) Nineteen years is a long time between albums, especially when your band hasn’t broken up or gone on hiatus. But that’s how long it’s been since The Ziggens’ last LP, their self-titled release, came out. The Orange County, California band that formed in 1990 steadily released new material throughout that decade and into the early 2000s, and then…silence. But now they’re back with a whopping nineteen songs and more than an hour of music on “Oregon.” The band self-describes their genre as “cowpunksurfabilly,” and that’s as apt a description as you can get for this band that spans the genres of country, punk, surf, and rockabilly. The band is certainly known for being eclectic, but they’re also known just as much for their humor; the songs throughout the album aren’t about serious emotional or political issues. They’re nearly all jokes and novelties. I say nearly, because there are a couple tracks that aren’t, really. Like “Rev It Up,” which opens the LP: it’s a classic SoCal surf instrumental, and a well-done one. “I Blow My Nose On My T-Shirt” is another surf instrumental, albeit with a bizarre title. And “Pulling Muscles From Michelle” is another, with a short opening stolen from a movie, I think an Annette Funicello ad Frankie Avalon flick, in which the girl tells her guy, “Frank, you’ve got so much going for you, and you’re just wasting it. You should be doing something more, like making your life count for something besides the next big wave.” The reply from Frank is, “Look, honey, I don’t wanna go through that again.” But from there, the jokes come fast and furious, and the genres are unpredictable. There are punk tracks like “The Goys Are Back In Town” and “Riot on the Beach.” There are light pop ballads, like “Macon,” about the girl that got away (because her mother thought you were an addict), and “You Were Gone,” a light jazz-pop song complete with piano and saxophone solo.“Dickie Ziggen” is a rockabilly song that sounds like the Stray Cats, except it’s a straight-up novelty song about one of the band members. And “Ride the Storm (Drain)” is a dark hard rocker. The band even includes silly a country ballad, “Jesus I Trust In You.” The song is about keeping faith, even when every prayer goes unanswered and everything continues to go wrong. Proof that the last bastion of socially acceptable discrimination is against the overweight comes via the novelty song, “It’s Rough Being Heavy Set,” which tells the woeful tale of how everyone avoids our singer because he’s fat. The funk-rock “The People On My Street” is all about the various weirdos in the neighborhood (again including digs at overweight people). Though some of the humor is juvenile, and some of the genres are not my favorites, the musicianship and variety are top notch.
SAM JOHNSON – Along the Dark Edges of Everything (Whatwetalkaboutrec.bandcamp.com) Sam Johnson is best known as the front man for the Boston band Choke Up, of whom I’ve spoken glowingly in these “pages” in the past. But Johnson has another side to him, and he explores this in his debut solo LP. On this record he focuses not on grand post punk, post hardcore, and indie rock and instead on Americana and folk-rock. The album shows his versatility as a songwriter, and how he can still tell stories with his music, no matter the genre. From the opening of “Get Lost,” with its down home sound from” harmonica and acoustic guitar, you can tell this is going to be very different from his work in Choke Up. But though this is Americana influenced this is not a country record. It still has an indie DIY sound that you can hear in the melodies and in the lyrics, and the instrumentation isn’t your typical country music. I hear lush arrangements featuring various keyboards and I think I hear trumpet. I really like the waltz-time “Brag of My Heart.” It has a delicate touch in the acoustic guitar and electric piano, and Johnson’s vocals are calm and hushed. The electric guitars, however, get downright raucous at times, presenting a nice contrast. I can sense the attention to detail that went into the arrangements on these songs; unlike how punk bands usually work out their parts to a song, everything in these songs fits together with purpose. “Wildfire” is a study in how you can blend indie and country – you can hear the two genres vying for dominance in this song, pop melody and twangy guitar dueling for supremacy. “Haunt Me” reaches back to the 50s with a soft rockabilly feel, but also tempered with indie sensibilities. “Along The Dark Edges of Everything” is a worthy entrant of punk singers doing solo Americana.
JORDAN KRIMSTON – All Commodities (darkhorsecoffeerecords.com)Hot on the heals of his debut LP, “Bushwhacking” which came out earlier this year, Jordan Krimston is back with a new EP featuring six songs that show a definite growth in his songwriting and arranging. Once again, Krimston performs all the instruments, but this time has help on some tracks from bassist AJ Peacox, who plays in local band Matt Caskitt and the Breaks, and from Jordan Cantor and Cheyenne Benton on backing vocals. Like “Bushwhacking,” Krimston makes heavy use of synths in these new songs, giving them a definite pop bent. This is especially true of “Safe With You,” a song that could have crossover appeal on the pop charts. Where that song has the soft texture of a love song, “Quiet Conversations” is another pop song, this one with a brighter sound and strong dance beat. My favorite track of the EP has to be the closer, “Spare Key.” It starts out somewhat tentatively, with sparse instrumentation, just percussion and vocals, but soon gets thick and rich. While there’s a pop element running through the track, as there is with them all, this one sounds the most “indie” of the group, with some lovely folk elements as well as some great indie rock that reminds me of latter period Cymbals Eat Guitars. The title track, too, is a little more indie sounding; even with its bright synths trying to put on a happy face, the song has a morose, introspective feel. Though they’re poppier, the songs on this EP have more complexity and depth than those on “Bushwhacking.” And I liked the LP a lot. I like this EP even more.
SAD GIRLZ CLUB – I Think I’m Ready (lavasocksrecords.bigcartel.com)Sad Girlz Club has gone through some tumultuous changes lately, from the loss of a member to the relocation from Sacramento to disparate Southern California locales in the midst of a global pandemic. Yet the (now) trio perseveres and now presents a new three-song EP. The music is just as powerful as ever, up-tempo and energetic with heart-on-your-sleeve lyrics. The title track opens the EP with a bouncy track about, well, bouncing back from adversity, getting out of a bad situation, and moving forward with your life. Shelby Murray’s vocals go from tentative and vulnerable at the start of the track to strong and confident as the track evolves. I love the different layers of backing vocals, too, giving the band’s sound a thick texture. “Problems” is about recognizing that the end of a relationship is not always the other person’s fault; we need to recognize the problems we cause ourselves. The manic instrumentals echo the personal mania we often go through in trying to sort out our lives. The closing track is “Tossing and Turning,” and it starts out with solemn bass and guitar before exploding into the most raucous of the three songs. Sung by Travis Dunbar, the song is an anthem about finding new love far from home. The song is noisy and chaotic, but also full of pop goodness and ultimately uplifting and joyful. The good news is that now that Sad Girlz Club is in Southern California, I’ll have more opportunities to see them live once the pandemic settles down. Recommended for all fans of pop punk.
THE SLACKERS & PAPA B / Sic & Mad – Split 7” (piratespressrecords.com) The A-side is a previously unreleased song called “Love I Bring,” and it features The Slackers with Japanese dance hall legend Papa B. It’s a classic reggae/dance hall sound, though somewhat sparse in terms of the arrangement. Sic & Mad, on the B-side, is a former side project of Vi, Ara, and Marcus of The Slackers. It’s called “Cat Prozac,” and is completely different from anything The Slackers have ever done. It’s a hilarious folk-punk track all about a cat on the anti-anxiety drug. It’s complete with meows, mews, and howls, and tells all about life with a druggy kitty. I think the B-side is the one that’s more fun and will appeal more to Jersey Beat readers.
DEVIATES – Holding Out (www.deviatesband.com)The Deviates formed in the mid 1990s in Southern California when the members were teenagers still in high school. The sound coming from all of the punk bands from that era and that place became the sound of festivals like the Vans Warped Tour. This sound is echoed in this, the first new album from the band in two decades. The style is still quite popular, related as it is to skate punk. Speedy and slightly metallic, with some big gang vocals and lots of dark melodies, the seven songs offered up won’t disappoint fans of the genre. The songs I like best are the ones that are a little different, though, like “From The Crowd,” which is less speedy and has a brighter, almost poppy melody. While many of the songs have a foreboding sound, this one sounds joyful and ebullient. “Wasted” is quicker and harder, sounding more hardcore with hints of Bad Religion influence and even some early Offspring sounds. And the closer, “On My Own,” has lots of Descendents in it, another fun, bright, and poppy track. These are standout tracks, and though the rest of the tracks tread well-worn paths in the punk world, Deviates have come a long way from their teenage years and do a great job; the songs are tight and energetic. Fans of the genre will eat this up.
DIRTY SHRINES – Digital Ego (Black Numbers, www.theblacknumbers.com) I had great expectations for Dirty Shrines’ debut LP. After all, it’s a “super group,” featuring Tim Browne and Brian Van Proyen of Elway, Drew Johnson of Chumped, and Max Barcelow of Gregory Alan Isakov. But it’s quite an uneven release, with some excellent tracks and some that leave me cold. That comes from them having a less than cohesive sound in the ten tracks, and normally variety is something I can get behind. But here some of the songs are genres that I just don’t care for, sounding like mainstream pop rock, while others are excellent pop punk and even others are outstanding indie rock or post-emo. Some of the good things I hear are in songs that sound influenced by J Robbins and his bands. For example, the opening track, “Vainglorious Bastards,” after opening with a purposely lo-fi scratchy sound to make it seem like an old record, it moves into a song that’s got a cool bass line and the sort of vocals that I love so much from Robbins, part tentative, part intense and emotive. The song gets bigger and has the sort of sound Robbins did so well in latter Jawbox and Burning Airlines records, but tempered with some glittery Steely Dan pop elements, mainly coming from production and some guitar tones. And “Breakfast” is an interesting blend of that J Robbins DC post-emo sound mixed with whoa-oh style pop punk. It’s a more introspective song, too, quieter and slower. “Iron Blinders” is a great modern pop punk track that has some classic power pop touches. And I adore “The Only You You Know,” for its grand gliding guitar chords that remind me of some of the best post-emo sounds I remember from back in the day. Those are but a few of my favorite tracks on the LP. But not all is well. “Every Mile” is not my thing, sounding like the sort of 80s rock and roll that turned me off, but played by a pop punk band. “Loud Clichés” does sound like a cliché of commercial pop rock, “Aren’t You Ashamed” teeters between post hardcore hard pop rock, and 80s dark pop. “The Lovers In Dystopia” is smooth easy adult contemporary style music, but with earnest pop punk style vocals. This lack of cohesion is likely a side effect of having a super group, with everyone wanting to contribute their two cents. Hopefully Dirty Shrines works out what they want their sound to be like and rally around that, because when it’s good, it’s very good.
THE MOMMYHEADS – Age of Isolation (www.mommyheads.com) The Mommyheads are an indie pop band that were active from the late 80s through the 90s, and then took a decade off. They reformed in 2008 and have been active since. “Age of Isolation” marks somewhat of a change in direction for the band. They’ve long pushed at the boundaries of what’s considered “indie pop,” but here they’re pushing harder, integrating progressive rock elements, and synths play a prominent role in the instrumentation. I’m not a big prog rock fan. But I do like what The Mommyheads are doing here, with buzzy and bright synths and minimalist repeating lines. The brightness of those synths contrasts starkly with the coldness of the melody in the verses on “Last Silver Dollar,” though the chorus has a warmer sound. Some of the songs have a smooth pop rock sound, too, reminding me a bit of Steely Dan, with a jazzy edge. One such song is “Don’t Ignore The Air.” The long sustained notes in the vocals and the mirroring of that in keyboards, all while hushed speaking occurs in the background and bass synth gives a funky slap, makes for an interesting combination; it’s not the sort of texture one would expect from a storied indie pop band. The title track gets downright spacey, reminiscent of Pink Floyd, but with a heavy dose of a certain era of Queen, the higher register vocals channeling the spirit if Freddy Mercury. “Statues (Paintings, Poems and Books)” uses a rock steady beat and buzzing synths to create a song that’s very much on the prog rock end of the spectrum, yet has the quality of a stage production from a rock opera. “Am I Too Comfortable” has an interesting funkiness to it, sort of like jazz pop crossover music of the 70s. And I think this is one of the best aspects of The Mommyheads. Sure, they wear their influences on their sleeves, but they’re masterful at blending the old and the new. And so their music sounds both familiar and fresh at the same time.
THE SPEED OF SOUND – Museum of Tomorrow (Big Stir Records, www.bigstirrecords.com) Longstanding UK outfit The Speed of Sound (they’ve been around since the late 80s) are now up to their fifth full-length LP. This time out they’ve got sort of a science fiction theme running through the songs, not only through the topics, but in their sound: it’s as if they’ve ridden in a time machine, with songs having the sound of 70s and 80s Brit-pop. There’s loads of jangle in the guitars and lots of mod and pop influence in the melodies. The vocals, shared by John Armstrong and AnneMarie Crowley, are the one aspect that bothers me. When it’s just Crowley singing, it’s glorious. Her vocals have the quality one would expect to be singing ancient folk melodies, solid and confident. It’s Armstrong’s vocals that are more problematic, though, making me think he’s trying to sound like Fred Schneider of the B-52s. There’s that goofy spoken/sung feel, but it’s somewhat off pitch. Thankfully Crowley takes the vocal lead for most of the album. I like the quirky out of time feel of the songs, starting with the opener, “Tomorrow’s World.” It’s got a slightly psych-folk and deeply retro feel, and the guitars are loaded with jangle. “Zombie Century”
sounds appropriately spooky, in a cheesy sort of way, and that makes it a lot of fun. I think I hear a reference to a search for brains in the lyrics; of course, that’s what zombies eat! And the synths give it the sci-fi feel. Other topical songs for our museum of tomorrow include “Virtual Reality (part 2),” a song that reminds me of 60s hits like Petula Clark’s “Downtown,” but mixed with Stiff Records late 70s retro hits by the likes of Tracey Ullman and Kirsty MacColl. And I like the 80s new wave pop mixed with funk of “Leaf Blower,” though I’m not quite sure how the topic fits the science fiction theme. My favorite song may be the penultimate track, “The Day The Earth Caught Fire.” It mixes indie pop and power pop with psych and retro Brit-pop. “Shadow Factory” is one of the songs that have those problematic vocals. It’s an otherwise wonderful tune with glittery synths, but Armstrong’s backing vocals are off-putting. There’s a fun reference to “2001: A Space Odyssey” at the end, where we hear a voice say, “My God, it’s full of stars, it’s full of stars, it’s full of stars.” And Armstrong takes some vocal leads on “Impossible Past” that try to sound Lou Reed-like and it’s a bit grating. Same deal on “Blood Sweat And Tears,” the vocals make the otherwise nice melody hard to take. It’s as if the spirit of Bob Dylan had taken over. To sum up, interesting concept, fun quirky melodies and instrumentals, mostly excellent vocals, but a few tracks with vocals the bug me.
AIR COOL JENNY – First Flight (www.aircooljenny.com) “First Flight” is the aptly named debut EP from Americana duo Air Cool Jenny. The pair consists of Helen Rose and Kramer Sanguinetti, who met in New York City during an evening of live music, which culminated in a spontaneous punk rendition of the Appalachian folk tune, “Shady Grove.” The two moved back to Sanguinetti’s hometown of New Orleans, then relocated to their present home of Los Angeles, where Rose was raised. The EP was recorded back in Louisiana by Kirkland Middleton, drummer for The Lost Bayou Ramblers. Middleton also plays drums on this EP. The music ranges from acoustic country folk to soulful indie on the opening track, “Pelican.” It begins with just acoustic guitar picking and harmonized vocals with a down home sound. Then the organ comes in, and then guitar and drums, and the song gets soulful and funky. It shows the versatility of Air Cool Jenny, and their ability to span genres. Rose’s vocals are passionate and expressive. “When I Rise” is the most delicate of the songs on this EP, with the feel of a love song crossed with a spiritual, and the hushed sax solo is softly beautiful. “Pissin On The Moon” is the purest country of all the tracks, with loads of twang. It sounds like something that would be right at home on one of those NPR entertainment programs, such as “Live From Here,” with an almost Texas swing sound. The quartet of songs ends with the lovely ballad, “The River’s Gone.” Smooth sounds, including saxophone, feature prominently in this track, which has the feel of a spiritual. Multi-tracking is used to create a gorgeous instrumental break with saxophones gliding effortlessly. This is a nice, relaxing listen, and a nice debut.
THE BOLLWEEVILS – Liniment and Tonic (Red Scare Industries, www.redscare.net) The Chicagoan in me is giddy over new music from The Bollweevils! And they’ve also got a new full-length LP in the works! I’ve long been a fan of The Bollweevils, since first seeing them as a supporting act back in the late 80s and early 90s, opening for Chicago luminaries such as Naked Raygun. The Bollweevils are a thoroughly Chicago punk band, playing an energetic hardcore injected with a heavy dose of pop melodies. The A-side of this new single, “Liniment and Tonic,” is a prime example, powerful and poppy, with Ken Fitzner producing a muscular Chicago guitar sound and vocalist Dr. Daryl Wilson emphatically belting out the lyrics about the band’s favorite cocktail creation. The other guys on bass and drums do a good job, too (just kidding! Pete Mittler and Pete Mumford make up a strong rhythm section and really propel the song). The B-side is a cover of The Lillingtons’ “Black Hole in My Mind,” and this version has a bit quicker of a tempo, a bit more energy and oomph than the original, but it retains all the darkness that The Lillingtons put into it. Yeah, new music from The Bollweevils is something we can all celebrate, whether we’re Chicago ex-pats or not.
DANIEL ROMANO'S OUTFIT – Cobra Poems (You’ve Changed Records, www.youvechangedrecords.com) Daniel Romano is a Canadian musician, poet, producer, and visual artist. Romano has changed up his musical style over the years, beginning as primarily a folk and country performer in 2010. A few years back he started branching out into rock music and creative musical arrangements. The songs started becoming mini epics, reminding me of Chicago’s Bobby Conn in that they have a totally unique feel. The pandemic has only accelerated Romano’s creativity, seeing him put out several new releases in rapid succession. This latest LP continues his musical explorations, featuring a variety of sounds. There’s bluesy soulful rock and roll on “Tragic Head,” opening the album with a song big enough to be the live show closer. “Nocturne Child has a similar R&B rock and roll flavor, while “The Motions” has loads of gospel influence. I like the mix of R&B and rock and roll of “Holy Trumpeteer,” especially when the actual trumpets come in at the halfway mark, giving the track a bright and glorious sound. The song ends quietly with acoustic guitar and vocals, an electric organ playing distantly in the background. In “Even In The Loom Of A Caress,” I can still hear a core of folk-like music, but the arrangement and melody go through so many twists and turns, it’s the most unique track of the album, and the most interesting. The closing track is another favorite. “Camera Varda.” It’s an epic yet minimalist track featuring a vocal choir singing, “Love is a bond between time and everyone” for a time, then a trumpet joins in and the chorus and trumpet close the number with a nostalgic and joyful sound. This record may not be for everyone, especially if you’re looking for punk or indie pop. But if you’re looking for something soulful, something original, this is a good place to look.
FACE TO FACE – No Way Out But Through (Fat Wreck Chords, www.fatwreck.com) Some Fat Wreck bands play 90s skate punk, speedy and metallic; “bro” style punk. Some Fat Wreck bands play much more melodic, poppy music, often with a gritty guitar sound. Face To Face are smack dab in the middle of that spectrum. The music is grand and speedy, but chock full of strong melodic and pop content. There are big sing-alongs, there’s grand epic punk, but there are also emotionally charged moments. The title track is a favorite, mixing speedy and melodic elements together, with great street punk gang vocals mixed with big guitar sounds. “A Miss Is as Good as a Mile,” too, mixes tough guitars with a smoother melody and soaring vocals, making for a huge heroic sound that’s super catchy at the same time. That’s the real magic of Face to Face, making tough sounding punk that’s still catchy and will get your head bobbing. “Blanked Out” is less punk and more indie rock, and it’s got loads of jangling guitars. The backing vocals are simple whoa-ohs, but give the song a hint of a mournful feel, even though it’s up-tempo. “Ruination Here We Come” does seem to fit into the more “typical” Fat Wreck sound, harder rock with a darker skate punk feel and lots of whoa-ohs, so it’s probably my least favorite song of the album. But overall this is another strong effort from this Southern California band.
FRIENDS OF CESAR ROMERO – War Party Favors (Snappy Little Numbers Quality Audio Recordings, www.snappylittlenumbers.com)Cesar Romero was an accomplished actor, singer, and dancer, but he’s probably best known for his role as The Joker in the 1960s high camp TV version of Batman. Friends of Cesar Romero, on the other hand, has nothing to do with Batman; rather, they’re an accomplished garage-punk/power pop band. Or he is. Because Friends of Cesar Romero is basically one person, J. Waylon Miller. He plays all the instruments and does all the singing (well, almost. Ella Sugar contributes some backing vocals on a few tracks). The dozen tracks are bouncy, poppy, and energetic. Some of them lean further toward the garage end of the spectrum, like the title track. It’s got a strong retro garage flavor and a rocking guitar solo. It oozes rock and roll attitude. Some of the tracks are punkier. “Blank Valentine” is a great pop punk track, with its quicker tempo and grittier sound. Some of the tracks are on the power pop end of the spectrum, focusing more on the pop melody. “The Lonely Popular Girl” is one such track, telling the sad story of being alone and unlucky in love. “Beauty and the Broken Heart,” too, is a power pop tune about the downside of love. This one is a little slower, but not quite a ballad. The melody has a nice dose of melancholy, as it lopes along, trying to put on a brave face. Lots of the songs are about love and loss, as most great pop-rock music has been for decades. I like the Beatles-esque “Thinkin’ ‘Bout Leavin’,” for its great guitar tone and retro feel. The lyrics are about sour grapes in a relationship: “If you’re thinking about leaving / I got news for you / If you’re thinking about leaving / I’ve been thinking about it too.” Another one with a bit of a retro pop feel is “Baby How Long,” which is, natch, another anti-love song, questioning how long a relationship will last before the inevitable break-up. Friends of Cesar Romero bring all the best aspects of garage, power pop, and pop punk and roll them up into some great tunes.
LORD BALTIMORE – Angel (www.lordbaltimore.bandcamp.com)“Angel” is Lord Baltimore’s third EP in as many years. And if you like your pop music chill you’ll love this. The first of the three songs is “Ketamine Tea,” a perfect introduction to the sound. It’s pop music, but so very mellow. Synths are lush and mysterious, while the vocals are chilly and understated. “Something Like Thirst” is the middle track of the trio, and has more of a dance beat, though it’s just as relaxed and laid back. Of this song, Lord Baltimore says, “This song is about my first sexual encounter, which happened to be with someone of the same gender that I was assigned at birth. We were kids. I kept it secret for years, and I only confessed it to a priest. I was terrified that I had sinned against God. That's what I was taught. I reconciled with it after many years. I realized that it was something beautiful. Something innocent, pure and human.” You can feel the joy in the brightness of the melody and the spring in the beat. The final track is “Gulf of Mexico,” and it starts out quietly and grows into quite an epic, as the music swells and ebbs. This is quite a lovely EP.
HEAVY SEAS – Everything Breaks (Sell The Heart Records, www.selltheheartrecords.com) Chicago’s Heavy Seas has been patiently waiting for this debut LP to release. Mainly recorded in 2019, the band had planned an earlier release, but all plans were put on hold, as were most things, with the onset of the pandemic. The band is made up of veterans Jeff Dean (singer/guitar) of All Eyes West, Airstream Futures, and more, Ronnie DiCola (drums) of All Eyes West and The Arrivals, and Katie Karpowicz (bass) of Airstream Futures. The band’s sound leans heavily into 90s post-hardcore and post-emo, and adds in some shoegaze-like elements, too. The resulting ten songs are expansive, powerful, and emotive. The thick arrangements belie the stripped down nature of the band as a three-piece. Perhaps some of the big sound can be credited to J Robbins, who recorded and co-produced the LP. The band’s sound and Robbins’ aesthetic go well together, yielding some powerful tracks. One of my favorites is “Waves and Dreams,” the second track of the LP. It’s got an intensity and a sense of controlled chaos, rhythms that drive the song ever forward, and vocals that will penetrate your bones. The song starts out with some big power chords and jazzed up drum fills, then the vocals come charging in. It’s nearly four minutes of all-consuming passion that really gets me going. “Oscillations,” too, has an insistent beat that never lets up, with hard edged pounding bass and guitars, but there’s also an ethereal quality to the backing vocals; hard and soft elements meld together nicely. Then there are songs like “Fade Away,” which, while not quite as hard-edged and emphatic, still pack a punch. It has a dreamier sound, with fuzzy production tempering the jangle of the guitars. Fans of late 80s and early 90s music, especially the DC sound from that era, are going to eat this up. I know I already am, and I’m hungry for more.
PEARL & THE OYSTERS – Flowerland (Feeltrip Records, www.feeltrip.co) Light and airy fluff comes from Pearl & The Oysters, the Franco-American duo of Joachim Polack and Juliette Davis. The pair moved from Paris, first to Florida. Now in Los Angeles, “Flowerland” is their latest musical effort, and you’ll hear a tropical breeze floating through these songs, similar to the music of Antônio Carlos Jobim. You’ll also hear a soft disco beat, like on the opener, “Soft Science,” a song about the pull of the surf, sun, and sand of the beach when one really should be studying. Brazilian disco music? That’s a good way to describe it. The lyrics are generally as feathery as the music, with topics such as a bird drying its wings in the sunset along with the hypnotizing ocean waves, likening one’s lover to the sweetness of candy, and whiling away the day in the sun. In addition to bossa nova and disco sounds we get modern lounge. Remember bands like Tipsy, who led a revival of 50s and 60s lounge music? Pearl & the Oysters try their hand at it with “Radiant Radish,” their interpretation of what was known as space age pop or cocktail music. On the other hand, “Crocodile” is pure indie pop, and includes a cool harpsichord break in the middle. It’s a song about being bored and lonely, probably borne out of pandemic isolation. The title track reminds me of 70s pop bubblegum, but with a lighter touch. It’s got a faintly funky keyboard and bass, which probably gives it the 70s feel. One of the coolest tracks is “Osteroid Asteroid.” The lyrics are simple, just the title repeated over and over, sung through a vocoder. Synths swirl around unevenly, with the notes fluctuating as if drunk, beeps and boops belting out as if from a stretched tape of a 70s science fiction film soundtrack. And “Rocket Show” sounds like it could have come from Sesame Street, with its jaunty melody, performed with harpsichord tuned synths, flute, and what sounds like a theremin. This is music for those hot, lazy summer days.
BICENTENNIAL DRUG LORD – BDL (bicentennialdruglord.bandcamp.com)With a name like Bicentennial Drug Lord, I expected something punk, or at least hard and heavy. Instead, the Milwaukee trio, who started the band as a side project, play relaxed indie rock and Americana on this new EP, the follow-up, if you will, to their 1997 debut LP, “The First Hit Is Free.” Twenty-four years is a long time between releases, but when members John Daniels, Rock Donner, and Al Wetherhead are busy with other projects like Punchdrunk, Wobble Test, The Blow Pops, Soda, Maki, and many others, it’s understandable. This new EP features six songs that have an easy casual feel, like sitting on the porch on a lazy Sunday. Though there’s a definite alt-country vibe to the arrangements, there’s also a pop sensibility to the songs. Listening to “The Pulse Of My Friends,” with its slow steady beat and guitar riffs, it’s like an old Love and Rockets song, but given a healthy doze of twang. I like “Confessed The Sheets,” too, which has a steady beat lurking in the background and a casual sense of grandeur in the chorus. While all of the other songs have pop leanings, “The Traffic Outside” sheds it all and goes straight for the twang, with steel pedal guitar and all. It’s a gentle country waltz, quite pretty and delicate. Bicentennial Drug Lord may have a weird name for this band, but the music is anything but weird; it’s lovely.
CHET WASTED – Raspberry (Count Your Lucky Stars Records, countyourluckystars.limitedrun.com) Chet Wasted isn’t a person, per se. Chet Wasted is the solo project of Jacob McCabe, the singer and multi-instrumentalist from Perspective, a lovely hand to hold. The ten songs on “Raspberry,” Chet Wasted’s debut album, have an intimate relaxed sound, as if McCabe is just making music for himself, or maybe a few friends. The songs, though intimate, are sometimes lush, as is the case on the title track, which opens the LP. It goes through various transformations, from simple acoustic guitar and vocals to rich electronic keyboards, from folk-rock to jazz inspired rhythms. After a reasonably bright few minutes, the end of the song gets very quiet and solemn, with piano, cello, and vocals. It’s quite a ride. Unconventional arrangements for pop or rock music are used throughout the album, too. “A Moment Captured in Time and Space” uses acoustic guitar and trumpet, plus ethereal harmonized backing vocals. “Once in a While” is an interesting seesaw between delicate quiet music and dark dissonance. I enjoy how the various songs on this LP are so varied, yet definitely share a sound that makes the recognizable as being from the same artist. “Not Okay” has a sort of 70s pop vibe going on, while “Walking in Circles” has a country folk feel, but they feel cohesive, like they belong together. “Distant Loves” has the sound of an old timey pop song, which is kind of cool. The variety and uniqueness make this a lovely debut.
ED RYAN – Don’t Follow Where They Lead (Kool Kat Musik, www.koolkatmusik.com) On his fourth LP for Kool Kat Musik, Ed Ryan continues offering up guitar-fueled power pop, loaded with hooks and jangle. The album, though a little uneven, starts off on a strong note with the wonderful “Anytown.” It mixes acoustic and electric guitars and has a fantastic mix of British invasion and American power pop sounds. “Fish In The Sea” is a favorite, with its jumping retro sound. This one could be from a rock and roll Broadway show, as it’s got that sort of personality. And though I’m not a fan of guitar solos, it’s got one that’s short, to the point, and sounds wicked good. “What’s True” is a waltz-time ballad with a hint of twang, acoustic guitars giving it a nice folksy feel. “Maybe I’m Dreaming” is another fun power pop track, and “Hollow Man” is another favorite, starting as a raucous soulful song before settling into a power pop groove. It’s definitely the hardest rocking track of the LP. And the closing track, “So Far Away,” has a jangly mix of electric and acoustic guitars playing an epic waltz. The vocal harmonies on the bridge are gorgeous. I’m less enthused by the title track, loaded with synths and a muted trumpet solo. It comes across as smooth jazzy pop, too smooth, too relaxed. The ballad “Made Me” doesn’t do much for me; it just feels like it drags too much. A few of the songs sound like late 70s AM radio fare, too. Though there are a few here and there that are not my cup of tea, the bulk of this album is fun and energetic.
THE BAMBIES – Summer Soon (spaghettytown.com /wandarecods.de)The Bambies are a tri-lingual and tri-national band, with members originally hailing from Canada, France, and Costa Rica. They play powerful poppy garage punk with a bright sound, perfectly matching the album’s title. Ramones-core, garage rock, and power pop are all mixed together in the dozen tracks, and they’re all raucous and energetic. The beats are infectious and the band is tight, confirming what I’ve been saying for some time: there are no bad Canadian bands. “Dirty Taint” may be a dirty topic for a song, but it’s a strong way to open the album. The song is poppy and bouncy, and the instrumentals are big and burly. It sure feels like a summer celebration type song, with how bright it is. The title track, though, is grittier, more garage focused, ironically. “Party” is perfectly titled, the soundtrack for any summer get-together. We hear the sound of a beer can being opened, and the refrain “Let’s have a party! Whoa oh oh oh oh!” The carefree joy is palpable. “Teen Engine” celebrates the chaos of youth, and “Running Through the Night” is about the joy of anarchic nighttime fun, with no cares or responsibilities. This should be the soundtrack to everyone’s summer.
CINEMA CINEMA – CCXMDII (Nefarious Industries, www.nefariousindustries.com)Two years ago I reviewed Cinema Cinema’s LP, “CCXMD,” and told you to expand your horizons and listen to it. Now they are back with the companion piece, “CCXMDII,” the conclusion of those recording sessions. Cinema Cinema is an art-punk band from New York that could be categorized as jazz-punk. This LP is somewhat more subdued than the last one, but it’s no less compelling. Saxophone and clarinet are the lead instruments, with the guitar, bass, and drums mostly relegated to supporting roles. As before, these are all instrumental tracks, and sound like they are improvisational pieces. The opening track, “A Life of Its Own, is a long-form excursion in sound. It’s an eighteen-minute journey through a soundscape, feeling like the soundtrack to a trek through various natural landscapes. I can hear the wind blowing through trees and tall grasses, the murmur of small animals and birds, and the babbling of a brook. At one point I can hear angry larger animals, perhaps in a territorial dispute. “Bratislava,” after a period of quiet slow meandering, suddenly picks up the pace and starts hopping, the bass driving the melody and the wind instruments wailing away. “Cloud 4” is an apt title for the closing track, as the saxophone’s sub tones give it a breathy, airy feel. There are seven tracks in all, and 50 minutes of music. Most of that time, some 30 minutes or so, is just two tracks. But it’s all wonderfully mind-engaging stuff.
THE DIRTIEST – Sovranista (Slovenly Recordings, www.slovenly.com)What would have happened if The Ramones had formed not in New York City, but in Tuscany, in Italy? You’ll get the answer on this LP, the debut full-length from The Dirtiest. The A-side is sung in Italian and the B-side in English, and that A side is class A Ramones core – and not the 90s basement band variety; The Dirtiest are top-notch musicians, and the production quality is perfect. The result is a set of songs worthy of Johnny, Joey, Dee Dee, and Tommy. The songs are short, powerful blasts that are both fresh and familiar. As the opening track, “Quando C’era Lui,” plays, it’s hard not to start pogoing. I dare you to listen to “Ti Piscio Sul Presepe” without thinking you’re listening to an Italian recording of a Ramones song. Musically, the title track is one of my favorites, with chords and harmonies that are different, more urgent sounding than the others. It’s got a grittier garage punk sound to it, too. “Me Ne Fotto” is some solid garage punk’n’roll and reminds me of Tijuana band DFMK, one of my favorite current bands. The B-side English songs sound like they were recorded in completely a different session, even by a different band. Rather than sounding like a reincarnation of the Ramones, it’s some great garage rock and roll with a fantastic snotty attitude. From the put-down song “You Too Fuck You” to 50s doo-wop garage woozy sounding “Freak Love,” the songs on the B-side are excellent examples of various garage sounds. The guitar tone and tuning on “Sweet Girl” is just right for the garage-surf style of the song, but the real surf-punk star is “Jelly Belly.” The opening guitar riff is fantastic and really sets the mood for the song. And I really like “Keep Moving,” a song that starts out with a definite quick-step forward motion sound, but at the end gets slow and emphatic, the vocals getting crackled and crunchy, the music like a 60s version of grunge. The Dirtiest pretty much have two different mini-LPs here with two distinct sounds, and they’re both excellent and recommended.
LA EXES – Get Some (Black Rainbow Records, www.laexes.com)Wow, what an absolutely fun record, perfect for summer fun! Right from the get-go, “Skinny Dipping” is a gem of an indie pop tune, with some double-entendre lyrics. It’s all about having a summer party hanging out at the pool and not needing swimsuits. I LOL’ed at the line “starting with the breast stroke / I can teach you how to swim,” and “if you come by we could dive in.” The quartet is made up of Sam Barbera (vocals, bass), Jenny Owen Youngs (vocals, guitar), Rachel White (lead guitar), and Steph Barker (drums), and the songs are full of references to queer seduction, like “Totally Worth It,” a song about a woman who seduces another after her boyfriend leaves a party. “It was totally worth it / Maybe I’m a bad person,” says the chorus. The song has a light and lovely melody reminiscent of 60s Brit-pop, with gorgeous backing vocal harmonies. “West Keys” is a beautiful sad song of hurt and broken hearts, a torch song vibe for the first half, while the second half is a bit more upbeat as the lyrics speak about one party wanting to get back together, while the other replies, “So go fuck yourself.” Pretty forthright. There are songs of the desire for casual sex (“Get Some”), a song that complains, “You don’t love me like cocaine” (“Cocaine Girl”), and other songs about love and heartbreak. Musical styles range from the aforementioned indie and Brit pop to light bossa nova (“I Got Half A Mind”) to the very Beatles-like “Temporary Goodbye.” What a refreshingly ebullient debut LP!
THE WIND-UPS – Try Not To Think (Mount Saint Mountain, www.mtstmtn.com)As the boredom of COVID isolation wore on, former Terry Malts member Jake Sprecher created The Wind-Ups as a home project of sorts. Loud and lo-fi, the songs are pure punk – but with a heavy dose of melodic power pop. You can hear the Ramones influence in the songs and their simple structure, but you can also hear the influence of bands such as The Paul Collins Beat, adding more interesting melodic textures. And I can hear the influence of early garage punk such as Australia’s The Saints, with more of a garage punk approach. I love the opening track, “Too Many Bibles.” It’s the darkest and hardest of the bunch, with interesting dissonance in the chords. “Lockdown” is rock and roll with a bad attitude, wearing a leather jacket and blowing smoke in your face. As the album continues, the power pop emerges more and more, with “Cat in the Hat Hat” being almost bouncy, loaded with pop goodness, even as the distorted guitars scratch their nails across the blackboard in an attempt to shock your nervous system. “Take All the Credit” is even poppier, with a slightly cleaner sound, too. You can almost hear Paul Collins whispering in Sprecher’s ear on this one, as it has a similar feel to the raucous classic, “Walkin’ Out on Love.” The Ramones influence is clear on “Much To Do,” with its shear simplicity in both melody and lyrics, and it’s one that’s sure to get you pogoing at a live show. “Drinking Bleach” is the hardest, edgiest, most garage rock of the album, and it’s a real standout. This is great stuff! As COVID restrictions lift and bands begin playing shows again, former Terry Malts bandmates and friends Phil Benson ad Nathan Sweatt are set to join Sprecher for planned live performances. Here’s hoping they get all the way down to San Diego.
ALEXALONE – ALEXALONEWORLD (Polyvinyl Records, www.polyvinylrecords.com)Alexalone is a band out of Austin, Texas, and yes, the front person is named Alex, Peterson in this case. The band has been kicking around for the past five or so years and has released a series of singles, EPs and mini albums. Their latest effort, “ALEXALONEWORLD,” (all caps intended) contains eight tracks of moody indie rock, ranging from slightly poppy to noisy, from bits of sunshine on a cloudy day to gloomy overcast, to full-on raging storms. The opening track, “Electric Sickness,” contrasts a beat with spring in its step with smooth understated vocals and throbbing guitar and bass. I like the contrast, too, of the quiet verses with the pounding intensity of the instrumentals in the chorus, even as the vocals remain hushed. “Where In The World” goes through some cool transformations during its six-minute duration, alternating between a droning waltz-time minimalist jam and quiet and introspective verses. It reminds me somewhat of latter day Swans, albeit less chaotic. “Can’t Sleep” mixes gentle guitar strums with subtle dissonance and makes effective use of a wide dynamic range. The back half of the song gets intense and gritty. I like the ambient qualities of some of the songs, like “Let It Go,” which reminds me of some of the chill-out music I listened to in the 90s, with a subtle but definite beat and glowing instrumentals (though this has vocals, unlike dechill-out music). “Black Rainbow” is an interesting piece of spoken word art accompanied by musical musings, a steady metronomic rhythm running through the piece and marking time. The album closes with an epic instrumental jam, “Eavesdropper.” The bass throbs with a constant rhythm, as the guitars scream, moan, and growl. It’s kind of like Stereolab with less pop content and more grit. Moody music for moody people.
JASON PAUL & THE KNOW IT ALLS – Homemade Volume 1 (Broken Anchor Recordings, brokenanchorrecordings.bandcamp.com) Jason Paul & The Know It Alls have always been masters of relaxed laid-back DIY music, but with “Homemade Volume 1” they’re taking things a step further. They challenged themselves to write songs in one day and record them the next. It was something that came about by necessity, as front man Jason Paul explains. “As the Coronavirus pandemic began, shutting everything down and shutting us inside, we came up with the idea of making a 'lightning' record. I'd write a song one day then, the next day, I'd teach it to Sean (Cole) and we'd record it that same evening. We did every track like that and it's been a blast!” The thirteen songs here range from raucous punk-influenced tunes to psych-pop to delicate acoustic folk ballads, expressing the stylistic influences of the band members, including Paul, Cole, Katherine Schumacher, and Michael Espinoza. The Know It Alls basic style is best encapsulated in the opening track, “Spitting at Death.” You can hear the punk roots, but the song is so free and easy, the spontaneity of the song is easy to hear. I really like the power pop styling of “Fingers Crossed,” and though I normally detest guitar solos, the short solo here, two thirds of the way through the song, is understated and fits in really well. The rambunctious “Wine Lips” is a fun blend of psych and punk. “Cold Hearts” uses keyboards and acoustic guitar to create a pretty singer-songwriter style ballad, and acoustic guitar features prominently, too, on “Illegal Smile,” a folksy track that reminds me of some of the less serious side of singer-songwriters of the past like Steve Goodman or John Prine. And “Damned if You Do” is another acoustic folk track, this time with Bob Dylan inspired harmonica. The Know It Alls also provide their own spin on a punk rock classic, “Teenage Lobotomy.” The Ramones’ hit is still as fresh as ever, with a deep growl from the bass and guitars and more relaxed vocals. All these songs are enjoyable, and you know what the best part is? There’s already a Volume 2 in the works. That’s something to look forward to in these increasingly dismal times.
PSYCHOTIC YOUTH – New Wonders 1996-2021 (Kool Kat Musik, www.koolkatmusik.com)Long standing Swedes Psychotic Youth started making music way back in 1985, focused on garage rock and roll sounds. By the 1990s they had switched up their sound and began playing power pop and hard rock. Pulling some of their best songs from albums released over the past twenty-five years, including “Stereoids Revisited,” “The Voice of Summer,” “21,” “Forever and Never,” and “Scandinavian Flavor,” Kool Kat Musik gives us over an hour of hits. “I’m Still Waiting” leads off the collection, and it’s power pop gold, sounding like something straight off an AM radio in 1979, with loads of bouncy poppy melody. I really like “On The Route Again,” another great power pop gem that has a chorus raucous enough to border on the pop punk end of the musical spectrum. These sorts of songs are the best on the album, and when they stick to this sort of thing, they’re at their peak. Like “Number 1 In My Heart,” with some fantastic harmonies supporting a great pop melody and some jangly guitars. Another highlight is “Burning For You,” with a modern twist on the power pop sound. “Voice of Summer” is a favorite; it seems to border on the new wave, power pop, and pop punk genres, with a heavy dose of surf. It’s fast and bright and a lot of fun, perfect for the topic of summer fun, sort of like a punked up Beach Boys. I love good power pop, and there’s plenty here. But hard rock has to be pretty special for me to care about it. The hard rock tunes here are a little too mellow for me to get into them. Such is the case with songs like “Can’t Call On Me,” “Kingdom To Be Found,” and others. “Talk To Loretta” sounds like an attempt at a Rolling Stones style song, and doesn’t really do it for me. “Good Life” seems to be a throwback to the band’s garage days, with a harder garage sound and bluesy chord progression. And “Take Him For A Ride” is an odd entrant, trying to sound like a 50s doo-wop song, but it’s too modern an arrangement to work, so it ends up sounding too much like the theme to “Happy Days.” Overall it’s a mixed bag, but thankfully the glories of power pop are very well represented and make this hour-plus collection worthwhile.
RAGING NATHANS – Bring Me The Head Of Betsy DeVos (radgirlfriendrecords.com / ironfestrecords.storenvy.com)Hot on the heals of their excellent album, “Waste My Heart,” Ohio’s Raging Nathans are back with two more songs on this new 7” single. With a high quality title and a gorgeous Pride Flag adorning the cover, the Nathans give a big “fuck you” to the cult of Trump. “No Goodbye” fills the A-side with some glorious pop punk, a parting shot to the hate-filled dynasty. The speedy song has a melody that hops around and dueling and intertwining vocals declaring, “You’re gonna get what you asked for / You’re gonna get no goodbye / You’re gonna get everything you deserve / You’ll be gone in the blink of an eye.” The guitars ring out brightly on this upbeat song filled with joy. The B-side contains the darker, harder-edged “Psychophant.” The song decries the self-dealing of political leaders, how they fuck us over and get away with it. “Wake me up from this dream,” begs the song, “Because I don’t believe in anything.” It’s got a less hopeful tone than the “No Goodbye,” by far, and shows a mighty contrast between the two sides. Another excellent release from this band.
SUNGAZE – This Dream (sungaze.bandcamp.com)The husband and wife team of Ian Hilvert and Ivory Snow are back with Sungaze’s sophomore LP, coming almost exactly two years from their debut, “Light In All Of It.” And once again, they give us some big dreamy pop music, with lush synths and jangling guitars, dripping with reverb. The vocals glide hazily and lazily, drifting amongst the ethereal instrumentals. I really like “Change Will Come, the third song of the LP. It’s going to be the perfect track to give to your friends who only listen to commercial pop, to get them to listen to DIY and indie music. It’s got a huge epic feel, with the synths giving it a slightly psychedelic sci-fi soundtrack texture. If Pink Floyd were still around and making dreamy pop music, this track gives you an idea of what it might sound like. For the most part, though, the music is less grandiose, but still sumptuously gauzy. This would be especially nice to listen to late at night, when you’re in a half waking state. I can imagine the beautiful dreams it might inspire.
SWERVE – Ruin Your Day (swervelosangeles.bandcamp.com)Hailing from Los Angeles, Swerve are Gregory Mahdesian (vocals/guitar), Ruan Berti (guitar/vocals), Brandon Duncan (bass/vocals), and Mark Gardner (drums). After two self-produced EPs, they spent much of 2018 and 2019 writing this, their debut full-length LP. The song styles range widely over the course of eleven songs, from tight energetic punk-influenced numbers to psychedelic, power pop, and Americana-tinged alternative rock. It makes for an album that, while lacking cohesion, at least keeps you guessing. But it’s also uneven. Some of the tracks are pretty great, while others leave me cold. One of the good tracks is “Little Rich Kids,” an unlikely blending of power pop and grunge, with tough guitars playing a bouncy melody. “Waste My Time” is the best track, in my opinion, with the most punk sound and plenty of 90s noise rock. “End Of The World” has a great power pop melody and noisy guitars. The bouncy beat gets my head bopping and the texture of the instruments feeds my need for rock and roll. Surprisingly, “Maybe I Didn’t Do That,” a quieter alt-country like ballad with plenty of twang and saloon style piano and lyrics about a broken relationship is enjoyable to me. And I love the emotional “My Enemy Is Dead,” with its big dynamic range and anthemic feel. The tracks that didn’t do anything for me? The opener, “Ruin Your Day,” which sounds like a bar band trying to sound tough and punk was a disappointment. Your first track should always be one of your strongest, to draw listeners in. “Disassociate” has the feel of a 1980s pop MTV track, so didn’t interest me. When they’re good, Swerve are very good. I just wish they had more consistency.
THE TRANSONICS – Tides (www.thetransonics.com)For a six-piece band, The Transonics, a band from Columbia, SC, have a very thin sound, more akin to a trio. The melodies are slightly retro, ranging from 50s doo-wop to 80s new wave, with 60s pop handclaps and powerful 80s-like female lead vocals. Those vocals are the best part of this EP, which otherwise feels weak, with those skimpy instrumentals. The lack of sound in those arrangements also lays bare some intonation problems in the guitar solos, especially in the first two tracks, the title track and “When You Were Mine.” When the entire arrangement consists of simple percussion, single note bass line, and single note guitar line, it better be spot-on perfect, because otherwise it ends up sounding really strained, as it does here. Likewise, even though the vocals, individually, are strong, the odd harmonies on “When You Were Mine” are off-putting. The tempos of the songs feel a little draggy, too; they would sound better with a bit of a quickened pace. The songs might also benefit from some professional production. The use of too much reverb in the vocals sounds gratingly out of place in the more raucous tunes.
TYPHOID ROSIE – Queen Of Swords (typhoidrosie.bandcamp.com)Whoa, this is bright, poppy, and punky stuff! Apparently this is the Brooklyn band’s fourth full-length LP, and man, this is a fun record to listen to. Right from the opening, on the title track, we’re greeted with huge noisy guitars, gigantic gang vocals, and a catchy sparkly melody. This is the way to open an album, though it’s ironic that the lyrics shout “good-bye” and “so long” in the first song. Those big gang vocals appear throughout the album, and are courtesy of guests including Coolie Ranx of Pilfers, Jenny Whiskey and Rob George of Hub City Stompers, Becky Lynn Blanca of Penny Matches, and Jay Prozac of The Prozacs. They really add to the sound, which is sort of like a big party. “1:11” is misnamed because it’s 2:03 long (ha!), but it has the feel of a slower PUP song, especially in the big guitar chords. And “Defend Your Temple” exhibits some PUP influence, too. I really like “When We Were Young,” the chorus with the gang vocals making the song sound almost childlike, and the verses sounding more wistful, like someone reminiscing about a lost childhood. “This One’s For You” is some great poppy punk, too, and I love the bright guitar work, the cool chord changes (with gang vocals! That must have been tough to record!), and jazzy rhythms. “On My Way” closes the LP, and it’s almost skate punk like, with a speedy pace and loads of melody, but without the metallic edge and technical guitar nonsense that bother me about the genre. This is a hella fun album!
WEDNESDAY – Twin Plagues (Orindal Records, orindal.limitedrun.com) Wednesday is a band of contradictions. Many of the instrumentals are dark, noisy, and grungy, while the songs have melodic content that sometimes verges on poppy, and front person Karly Hartzman’s vocals are very much 2000s alternative music. The music is, for the most part, introspective; even amongst the noise and grunge, there’s a dreamy quality. The title track that opens the LP is a favorite, beginning with pure guitar noise and feedback before the melody begins, big dark guitar chords and notes intoning. It has a dirge-like pace, and when Hartzman’s vocals come in everything gets quiet, guitar tone cleaning up momentarily. The dynamic range is awesome, the song ebbing and flowing wonderfully over its four and a half minutes. Another favorite is “Toothache,” the most upbeat song of the album, the poppy melody clashing with the buzzing noise of the guitars, and what sounds like a flute or recorder in the arrangement. The jazzy instrumental break halfway through the song is pretty, the instrumental solo contrasting sharply with the fuzzed guitars. “One More Last One” continues the contrasts, with smooth, relaxed, harmonized vocals mixed with shoegaze-like noisy guitars, a hazy film over the whole thing. It’s kind of gorgeous. A couple of the songs break the pattern. “The Burned Down Dairy Queen” is mostly more subdued, with hints of 70s pop and Americana mixed in, though it, too, has bursts of noise. “How Can You Live If You Don't Love How Can You If You Do” is pure Americana, with slide guitar and all, clean guitar tone and brushed drums. And “Gary’s,” the penultimate track, uses the slide guitar again to inject some country twang into the indie rock tune. The album closer, “Ghost of a Dog,” is recorded through some sort of filtering, giving the song the sound an otherworldly feel, like it’s coming from a parallel world. The odd lyrics questioning how one can be hearing the dog barking and scratching at the window when “we ran over him years ago.” It’s haunting, and my interpretation is that it’s about how things we thought were over and done in the past can come back to haunt us. Overall, I like this record. I like the dynamic range, the songwriting, and the arrangements. I’m not quite as sold on the vocal style, which is something every female vocalist was trying to sound like twenty years ago.
SPELLS / HOOPER – Rock N Roll Swap Meet: Day 1 (snappylittlenumbers.com)Snappy Little Numbers presents us with a new split EP, with two songs each from Spells and Hooper. It’s the first in a new series of splits from Snappy Little Numbers that they’re calling “Rock N Roll Swap Meet. Spells, from Denver, give us “The Shallows” and “Corporate Welfare Queen.” Dark pop punk songs with a strong surf guitar sound. Hooper’s tracks are “Forget About Virginia” and “Salted Breeze,” the former being quality upbeat pop punk with a lo-fi Fest-like sound. And the latter is a slower tune, with more of an indie rock feel, huge and epic. Here’s the fun catch of this new split series. Each band covers one of the other’s songs, but wait! There’s more! The second song is written by each band specifically for the other to play on this record! It’s a cool hook, and if the rest of the entrants are as fun as this one, it’ll be a good one to keep up with.
THE ANIMAL STEEL – A Surefire Way To Get Sober (Snappy Little Numbers Quality Audio Recordings, www.snappylittlenumbers.com)The Animal Steel are described as “four dads from Denver, Colorado that have been playing music since the 90’s, doing what they love to do.” I describe their music as heart-on-their-sleeves post-emo punk. The music is big and broad, with passionate vocals, the kind of music you’re likely to hear from a lot of beer soaked west coast or Fest bands of a particular ilk. You know the ones. The album is the band’s debut, recorded over a year ago and put on hold due to the global pandemic. As the country and the world began to reopen, the band decided the time was right to release this and have a proper record release show – but as I listened to these songs, I read on Facebook that the show has been cancelled due to some recent positive COVID tests among some of the bands scheduled to play. Expect that to happen more frequently in the coming weeks and months. But back to the record. The music isn’t quite post hardcore, as it’s not hard enough to be called that, but that gives you an idea of the intensity of the songs. It’s not what I would call emo, but the songs are certainly sung with fervor. It’s the kind of music that gets a bunch of bearded punks clutching cans of PBR in one hand, the other around the shoulders of their best friend, singing loudly at the front during a live show. Vocals are gritty while the instrumentals, while not smooth, glide along in comparison. There are a few places with mathish influence, like “Redemption Cadence,” with its changing rhythms. The melodies are nice, but I wish there was more dynamic range and variety, as many of the songs tend to sound somewhat alike. It’s good stuff, but I would rather hear the songs on “shuffle” mode mixed in with some other stuff.
BUCKLEY’S ANGEL – Pinnacle Room (Paper Street Cuts, www.paperstreetcuts.com)Hopefully you’ve already seen Jersey Beat’s premiere of the lead single, “Exit Culture,” from Buckley’s Angel. If so, you’ll know that Buckley’s Angel is the alter ego of Michael Kelly, guitarist from Matt Caskitt and the Breaks and Ash Williams. He started using the moniker Buckley’s Angel in 2015 for his solo acoustic folk-pop-punk songs, and yes, the name comes from the TV show, “King of the Hill.” Kelly eventually recruited friends to fill out a band and play some raucous pop punk. But, perhaps after his move from San Diego to LA, Kelly has evolved the Buckley’s Angel aesthetic. Gone is the pop punk, gone is the manic shouting. It all gives way to beautiful dreamy pop music, with throbbing bass, ethereal vocals, and jangling guitars. That lead single is actually the closing track of the five-song EP. According to Kelly, the song confronts and tries to make sense of the weaknesses the United States has, as well as the lasting and awakening effects this global pandemic brought to light to each individual that lived through it. Kelly explains, "I started writing this song as everything was really ramping up last summer and the stress fractures of the country really started to bulge. I tried to put to words the mixture of feelings I had about what I was witnessing all around me - from the pure financial panic of millions to a formless dread and anxiety we all feel at least once or twice a day. I wrote this song to try to put some sort of rationality and finality to what I feel is the logical endpoint of current economic/societal arrangements." I love the meandering guitar of the title track, which opens the EP, and the quality of the vocals, with elongated intonation. The songs on this EP are lush and chill, loaded with lonely reverb that gives the songs a huge sound, and the hushed quality of the vocals is lovely, and a far cry from Buckley’s Angel of the past. I love this new direction that Kelly has charted for the band, and I can’t wait for more.
PUNK ROCK FACTORY – Masters of the Uniwurst (www.punkrockfactory.com)Novelty album or genius? Punk Rock Factory, South Wales’ metal-punk masters, grew up glued to the boob tube, so came up with the idea to record punk rock and metal versions of TV theme songs. And so here we are. The album includes twenty-two songs, heavy on kids’ TV shows, including animated classics like Thundercats, Power Rangers, Arthur, The Flintstones, Darkwing Duck, and more. Some of them are unfamiliar to me, perhaps because I’m too old or they were exclusive to the UK. I had no idea that they had made a cartoon out of the “Gummi Bears” candy, but it’s here, and it’s one of the better songs of the album, focusing more on punk than on metallic flourishes. “MASK” is also one I had not heard of, and it, too, is extremely well done. It would be a cool punk tune even had I not been told it was a TV show theme. But perhaps the best one I had never heard of is “Round The Twist,” a strong powerful song that’s got a great melody and bounce. The theme from “Chipmunks” is from the 1980s cartoon, not from the original 1960s “The Alvin Show,” but the more recent show theme is much more fit for adaptation to a punk song anyway, and just like the theme, this rendition is bright and cheery. The best part comes at the end when they stop the song and declare, “Whoa, whoa, whoa! Everybody stop now! Let’s do this properly!” and finish the song in squeaky high voices! That was a surprise and a good laugh. Other familiar themes that get the Punk Rock Factory treatment include “Scooby Doo,” “Powerpuff Girls” and more. I was wary when I first started playing this, thinking it could end up being awful. Sure, it’s a novelty album, but it’s also genius, and a lot of fun.
THE REAL MINX – Complete Recordings (Sympathy For The Record Industry, www.sympathyrecords.com)In 1994, The Real Minx was born in the “plastic and alienating” climate of Orange County, California, a bastion of conservatism. The four women who made up the band met at a Costa Mesa coffee shop where they all worked, and bonded over their love of The Bangles, The Pandoras, The Muffs, and Motorhead. In 1996 the quartet of Camille Rose Garcia, Paula Boldyn, Allie Gottlieb, and Lynn Hobensack went into a studio called The Distillery, and committed five songs to two inch Ampex tape, two of which made it onto a seven inch slab of vinyl that the band self-released with the title, “Imperial.” Sympathy For The Record Industry, one of the labels that defined the world of gritty rock music in the late 1980s and 1990s, is now releasing all five of the songs as a double 7” set. The songs are a perfect match for the label, raw punk influenced rock, lo fi and dripping with attitude. The best song is the opening track, “Heather Hotwheelz,” which is one of the songs that was on the 1996 single. The dueling vocals, SoCal parody lyrics, and blues-garage-rock music make for a fun listen. You can smell the leather jackets and feel the roar of the motorcycles in this one; it’s greasy good fun. The flipside of that single was “Gasoline,” and its use of an organ makes it stand out from the others, as do the less straightforward chord progressions. In comparison to the other songs, this one shows a much more sophisticated sense of arrangement, and that makes it one of the better tracks. Of the other songs “Search and Destroy,” “Tastes Like Chicken,” and “In and Out,” I can see why the other two songs were selected for the single, but they’re decent enough. “Search and Destroy” crosses rough garage punk and surf punk, and “Tastes Like Chicken” reminds me of The B-52s without any of the major label production value. “In and Out” is the only track I couldn’t get into. It’s a bluesy garage rock number that’s too long, too slow, and too sloppy. But the other songs are real winners from a long lost and underappreciated band.
THE SAILS – Brighter Futures (Kool Kat Musik, www.koolkatmusik.com)The Sails is the brainchild of Michael Gagliano, and “Brighter Futures” is The Sails’ sixth full-length LP. The UK based Gagliano’s music leans toward retro Brit-pop and power pop sounds, but while rooted deeply in the music of the 60s and 70s, retro is not a word I would use to describe the songwriting on this LP; there’s a modern vibe mixed into some of the melodies, as well as the sense of stage showmanship. Take the opening track, “Crying Out Loud,” for example. I could easily see this being a number in a Broadway musical that takes place in the go-go 60s of London. That’s unsurprising, really, when you learn that Gagliano isn’t just a musician, he’s also portraying John Lennon in London’s West End production of “Let It Be (London),” a show about the Beatles. I really like “Super High Powered Love,” a bright and bouncy tune, made even brighter by the use of glockenspiel on the chorus. It gives it a lovely light feel. “Fly So High” is a bit slower in its pace, and is a perfect example of the mix of retro and modern. It’s a real head bobber, and another favorite. “Rules” has the feel of one of those 50s tragedy ballads, but it’s not quite a ballad and it doesn’t have a 50s melody. Go figure. But it’s a good listen. “Stranger Things” is an acoustic number reminiscent of a Glen Campbell tune. Some constructive criticism is in order, too. Though I enjoy the songwriting, the recording quality sounds like this was recorded in a loo, or at least a room with awful acoustics. It gives the songs a bit of a murky sound. And I would have preferred the performances be a little less smooth and even. Some of these songs would really benefit from a higher level of energy and a bit of raucous edge.
SLEEPERSOUND – Idle Voices (sleepersound.bandcamp.com)The best way to describe Sleepersound, on this, their second full-length album, is ambient pop. It’s not quite what you think of when you think of ambient music, because these tracks have song structures, melodies, and rhythm, not just swirling music. But they’re also not traditional pop music, in that these songs are a lot more atmospheric than a typical pop band would play. Unlike most ambient music, too, more traditional guitar, bass, and drums are used in conjunction with keyboards and reverb, with lush, rich arrangements. You get an idea what you’re in for when the first track, “Silence Otherwise,” begins. You hear a tremolo-laden organ sound swell, delicately fluttering guitar, and opulent vocals ring out. I enjoy the use of what seems to be processed frog sounds in “Innamorata;” you get a sense of being out in a misty forest, a large pond nearby, not just from those effects, but from the haziness of the music. When the vocals come in, there’s a sweetness to them, but also a sense of mystery. The waltz time title track begins with the feeling of an ancient folk tune, buzzy synths rising and falling. When the clearer keyboard tones take over, the melody takes on an almost classical piano sound. The track is the shortest of the album, at just over two minutes, and it’s an all instrumental, very moody and lovely. It’s quite a contrast, then, when “When the Lightning Comes” begins, as it’s the quickest and most raucous track of the album, the guitars definitely at the fore. “Blossom” uses string synths to create a verdant soundscape, and the sounds in “The Nightingale” sound like a song of the deep mysterious sea, chimes ringing out and the sun’s rays filtering down, shimmering in the water. Vocals are whispered and sporadic. It’s the most ambient of all the tracks. Sleepersound is quietly beautiful.
THE UMBRELLAS (Slumberland Records, www.slumberlandrecords.com)Decades have gone by since I was voraciously buying up every new release I could find on Michael Schulman’s record label, founded to document the best in indie pop sounds, particularly from bands in the Washington, D.C. metro area. Since then, Schulman has expanded the label’s reach, even moving himself across the country to California, but he’s still working hard to bring us the best indie pop has to offer. The latest release is from Bay Area pop band The Umbrellas. The band is fairly new, only having one previous EP under their belts, and this debut full-length LP is sure to cement their place in the indie-pop pantheon. This is classic stuff, jangly and bouncy. The dueling male and female vocals, the warmth of keyboards, and the tinkling and clamorous guitars all team up to create gorgeous head-bobbing pop. I enjoy the almost minimalist repetition of lines in the opening track, “Lonely,” with hints of Stereolab influence. “Near You” has retro rhythms and ethereal harmonized lead vocals. “Happy” sounds just like its name implies, with an upbeat tempo and bubbly melody, guitars singing along with the vocals. But the lyrics are anything but, speaking to how a complicated relationship has caused life to go from happy to sad. I like the simplicity of “It’s True,” with just acoustic guitar and dueling vocals in lovely harmony. “Galine” is a favorite, too, with effervescent melody and animated vocals. The dozen songs on this LP are relaxed and laid-back, and so enchanting and delightful.
HIPBONE SLIM AND THE KNEETREMBLERS - Tremblin' (Dirty Water Records, www.dirtywaterrecords.co.uk) Collecting 40 tracks from the last three albums, a scattering of EPs, and a handful of compilation tracks, Dirty Water Records presents an astounding collection of retro rock’n’roll tracks from Hipbone Slim and the Kneetremblers. Songs range from rockabilly to garage, from surf to R&B, and everything in between. Listening to these tracks is like falling through a time warp to the past to when rock and roll was just emerging as a new genre. Jazz and blues had given way to rhythm and blues, and when played harder and faster, mixed in with a bit of what had been called “Hillbilly music,” it became rock and roll. If you listen to the opening track, “Ain’t Got A Leg To Stand On,” you can hear all these sounds merged, the surf guitar, the early rock and roll melodies, with hints of country twang. I’m a fan of old time R&B, and have a collection of classics from Okeh Records that were released between 1949 and 1957, and I can tell you that “Bad Dumplings,” the second track here, can stand with the best of them. A bluesy melody plays, a choir of backing vocals sings in doo-wop style, and the lead vocals tell a story. The song is focused on R&B instrumentation of piano, bass, guitar, and drums, and there’s a great tenor sax solo. I like the hard driving “Genie In The Lamp,” with its raw, primal, minimalist rock and roll. Hipbone’s lead vocals howl with passion, while the Kneetremblers worm their way into your soul. The guitar solo mixes eastern mysticism with western surf, and is quite unique. “The Eyes Have It” is another favorite, a little different from the others with its classic rhythm but more modern sounding harmonies. The lead vocals on “Bottomless Pit” and “Hey Henrietta” are deliciously gritty and lo-fi, the instrumentals on the latter being a minimalist blues riff we’ve all heard, and it’s so good. “Square One” is chaotic and raucous, like early primitive punk mixed with rhythm and blues, and will get you jumping around. “Hairy Lula” is hilarious and fun, as is “Chicken Skin,” which sounds like all those early rock and roll novelty songs, with exaggerated vocals and silly lyrics. “Throw A Stone, Hide Your Hand” is a fantastic track, with the feel of a big band playing R&B, sounding like it has a full sax section. If you like the classic “Tequila,” you’ll enjoy the similar “Holy Guacamole,” also a Latin-inspired instrumental that would get Pee Wee Herman up on the bar top. And “Jibber Jabber” has an excellent Cajun rock and roll sound. I could go on an on, because there are forty tracks and an hour and three quarters of hot music! Put on your best jeans, a clean white t-shirt, and your black leather motorcycle jacket, slick back your hair, and enjoy!
THE NAUTICAL THEME – Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed (www.thenauticaltheme.com)The Nautical Theme are a duo from Dayton, Ohio making pretty indie-folk-pop music consisting of piano, acoustic guitar, and pretty harmonized vocals. On this outing, the pair present three songs that are lovely and emotional. The female/male vocal harmonies are lush, even as the instrumentals are subtle. The middle song of the three, “Somewhere Just Okay (But Not Alright),” is something many of us can relate to these days, about seeing injustice around us but only seeing it through our screens, not doing anything to help fix it. “I spent too much time just staring at a screen / Thinking there’d be something there to rescue me / When all I saw was emptiness and hate and apathy / I tried to look away but couldn’t leave,” they sing in the first verse, addressing the ills of social media that have been laid particularly bare this past year. And the second verse is more direct: “I spent too much time just thinking about myself / My status, my perception, and my wealth / When just beyond my walls you’re crying out / Please brother can you spare a little help.” This is pretty yet heavy stuff.
PAGEANTS – Sun and Settled Days (pageantsmusic.bandcamp.com)The Long Beach, CA duo of Rebecca Coleman and Devin O’Brien serve up an album’s worth of light and airy indie pop. The melodies are sweet, while the arrangements inject some dreamy shoegaze elements. This is their sophomore effort, coming some three years after “Forever,” their debut LP. And if you’re a fan of indie pop of a couple decades ago, you’ll probably enjoy this. The music is uniformly smooth, bright, and easy. Some interesting touches are the synths that approximate a harpsichord sound buzzing in the background of “All Best Aside” and an ethereal sound laden with reverb in “Stars,” with wobbly shimmery synths. Pageants don’t create anything surprising or different here – it’s fairly standard stuff, the kind of music that would have been called “twee” back in the day. And I liked twee pop back then. I like this, but it’s diaphanous stuff, nothing earthshaking, and maybe even becoming a bit retro.
VISTA BLUE – Back to the Summer Olympics (wearevistablue.bandcamp.com)Mike and Mark are back with some more topical pop punk! The Vistas are known for their buzzy Ramones core music and Beach Boys poppy melodies and harmonies, and they’re equally known for creating songs around various seasonal themes. This time they tackle summer and summer sports, with the title track being particularly timely. The song is an homage to the hard work and dedication it takes to return to the titular event, especially with all the naysayers who claim that at four years older there’s no way you can earn a medal. The song is a little slower and bouncier than typical Vista fare, and the vocal interplay and organ solo are quite nice. “Hey Anthony” and “It’s Summertime Again” both have more typical sounds for the band, with a more upbeat tempo and thicker Ramones core guitars, but the vocal harmonies are up a notch from past efforts. They’re both also about the glories of the summer, especially when you’re a kid. Freedom and lolling at the beach are what summer is about. The prolific Vista Blue may worry about not winning a medal, but this is pop punk gold.
DESCENDENTS – 9th & Walnut (Epitaph Records, www.epitaph.com)Descendents was founded by Frank Navetta and David Nolte in 1977, but unable to attract more members to fill out the band, Nolte quit to join The Last. Navetta recruited drummer Bill Stevenson and bassist Tony Lombardo, and the trio recorded their first single, with Lombardo and Navetta each singing one song. Later, Milo Aukerman joined on vocals, and the rest is history, as the band became major players in the burgeoning Los Angeles punk rock scene. This classic lineup went on to record and release the “Fat” EP and the album, “Milo Goes To College.” Afterwards, Navetta quit the band to move to the Pacific Northwest, and the band’s lineup changed a couple of times before settling on the long-lived lineup of Aukerman and Stevenson, along with Karl Alvarez and Stephen Egerton. But during the early period before Milo joined the band, they had written a bunch of songs, songs that were never recorded. Stevenson decided to do something about this, and in 2002 he reunited with Lombardo and Navetta to commit these songs to tape. Sadly, Navetta passed away in 2008, and the recordings sat idle for years. Then, in the midst of the pandemic, Milo got the chance to record vocals for these songs he never even knew existed. In addition, the two songs from the band’s first single were rerecorded, now with Milo singing. So what we now have is, essentially, a lost first album from the original full Descendents lineup, since these songs were all written before “Milo Goes to College.” Like many of those early songs, these are short blasts, recognizably punk rock, but loaded with pop melodies, something that became a trademark for the band and that made them so influential. Of the eighteen songs, only two exceed two minutes, while five are under a minute. One of those is “You Make Me Sick,” a song that will song so familiar, yet so new. The songs may be older, but they’re being played by musicians with decades of experience, recorded on a higher budget with more professional engineering, mixing, and mastering. It makes these songs sound more powerful and current than they would, had they been recorded when they were written. Descendents were famous for song titles ending in “age,” and we have one of those here. “Nightage” is classic Descendents, with the sort of bass and guitar lines that would fit right in with a later era song, but with a darker melody that’s somewhat rare for the band. At 2:23, it’s the longest track, but it’s also one of the best (but then, one of my all-time favorite Descendents songs is the lonely sounding “Ace” off 1985’s “I Don’t Want to Grow Up,” so it makes sense). I like “Tired of Being Tired,” with its rolling bass line and its mix of classic Descendents poppy punk and darker progressive rock harmonies. And the two rerecorded songs? It’s amazing with a couple decades of playing will do, and a bigger budget for recording. “It’s a Hectic World” and “Ride The Wild” benefit immensely from both, and Milo’s vocals are a big improvement, too. The songs sound fresh and new, like they could have been written over the past year. Rather than sounding thin and primitive, they sound thick and vibrant. Milo’s vocals bring a higher level of excitement and intensity. The closing track is very different from the rest of the album. The album ends with a punky cover of the Dave Clark 5's “Glad All Over,” bubbly 60s retro power pop with a punk-like edge to it. So to sum up: classic early Descendents songs, modern professional recording, and seasoned musicians? This will go down as one of the top Descendents LPs.
OLD MOON – Altars (A La Carte Records, alacarterecords.bandcamp.com)Old Moon, the recording moniker of New Hampshire’s Tom Weir, sees its debut full-length LP in “Old Moon.” The eight-song album features the sort of romanticized post-punk/new wave/goth mélange that was popularized in the 1980s by bands like The Cure or even Bauhaus and that ilk. The songs have a pall of darkness over them, heavily filled with reverb, and the clanging and jangling of guitars. The balance between guitar-based post punk and the eerie goth elements is well done, better than many. But what the songs provide in terms of a sense of urgency or excitement is cancelled out, to an extent, by the incredibly muddy mix. I’m sure it was done on purpose to achieve an effect, but the noisiness and distortion in the recording overshadows the songs, which sound like they were recorded in a large room with no sort of acoustic controls, the sounds bouncing around off bare metal walls. It’s a shame because the songs aren’t bad; it’s just hard to hear them. The sound quality aside, “Chains of Sleep” is a favorite of the LP; its style, while consistent with the rest of the LP, is less dark, and somewhat poppier. There’s a brightness to it, amidst the goth darkness, that’s appealing. “Taste,” too, is a great upbeat pop song. The chug-a-chug of the guitar and the strong backbeat from the drums would be at home in a band that focused more on indie pop and indie rock. It’s unfortunate that the mix is so murky and sodden, because the goodness of the song is masked. And that’s the big problem here. I bet these songs are better than many of them seem. I just can’t hear it through the muck.
BELLHEAD – Dead Lights (bellhead.bandcamp.com) Mixing one part EDM, one part post punk, and two parts industrial, Bellhead produce music that sounds both retro and contemporary at the same time, no mean feat. Bellhead is the Chicago duo of Ivan Russia (high bass/lead vocals) and Karen Righeimer (low bass/vocals). The band is filled out with a drum machine and various synths, and the resulting sound is something that would be at home on the legendary Wax Trax record label, though the arrangements are a little less full than industrial bands of yore. This latest release is a five-song EP, starting with the darkly urgent “Mercy.” The bass pounds out a gritty rhythm while the drum machine provides punctuation, the synths paint an eerie backdrop, and the vocals are whispered and shouted. The result is an unsettling sound (in the best way). “Nothing As It Seems” is next, with the contrast of mysterious melody and gritty instrumentation with a bouncier rhythm. I’m less enthused about “The River,” a ballad-like track that seems to drag; the high bass line seems to plod, the single-note guitar line feels hollow, and the vocals seem forced. The track just doesn’t live up to the quality of the others, sounding like a less professional band recorded it. “Frankenstein,” on the other hand, is one the best tracks of the LP. It’s got a quicker tempo, horror-film soundtrack keyboards, and breathy spoken and sung vocals. The closing track, “Dead Letter,” is a little different from the others. It’s got a slower tempo, but doesn’t drag, the bass adds plenty of noise, but piano and pretty backing vocals add a stark contrast. When the bass drops out, we get world-weary vocals and delicate piano chords. Then the synths and guitar come in, providing a tribal sound. This is much more effective ballad than “The River,” and it’s got a cinematic quality to it. Four out of five stars for four out of five tracks.
CLOUDLAND – Where We Meet (www.cloudlandband.com)As others have done before them, Cloudland has taken their name from the very beautiful Cloudland Canyon State Park, in Georgia. While I’ve never been to this spot known for its many waterfalls and gorges and its breathtaking scenery, I can imagine it by listening to the ten songs on this, the band’s debut LP. The songs are the epitome of modern indie rock, with a healthy dose of pop mixed in. The LP opens with “Sunday Afternoon,” a song that embodies the hazy lazy feel of the titular time. Opening with a simple acoustic guitar and vocal, eventually keyboards join in, then electric guitar, and finally understated drums. The song is so dreamy and laid back, as it should be with a name like that. “Overthinking” gets harder and crunchier electric guitars, but the melody and rhythm are jazzy and poppy, making it an instant favorite. I like how acoustic guitar flutters in the background, vying with the keyboards. The title track is slow to get started, with just vocals and minimalist electric guitar, but as the song evolves the arrangement thickens, and a deliberate beat takes over. At the halfway mark the song gets huge and the chord changes and keyboards are lush. That’s how this album is, edgy instrumentation with softness around the edges, plenty of pop goodness, and a vast dynamic range. The interesting outlier of the album is the short instrumental, “Sunday Evening,” a companion piece to “Sunday Afternoon,” if you will. While the earlier song is lazy and relaxed, this one is pensive, quiet, and a bit experimental, as if thinking about all that has happened, and all that will happen. It’s gorgeous. As is the whole LP. This is what a debut should be like.
RICKY ROCHELLE – Look at the Sun (Laptop Punk Records, laptoppunkrecords.com)Grim Deeds’ DIY label has been very busy lately, cranking out a ton of releases from lots of pop punk bands. This latest, from Ricky Rochelle (of The Young Rochelles), is somewhat of a departure. It’s more noise punk than pop, with throbbing bass and grinding guitar, courtesy of band mate Ray Jay Rochelle, and a pounding tribal beat from Ricky’s drums. Vocals are strained and throaty, and the whole thing is over way too quickly, in forty-seven seconds. Apparently it’s just a teaser, the first single for Rochelle’s new LP that should be available today. If the rest of the songs are as compelling as this taste, I know I’ll be checking it out.
STEEL BRIDGES – Under The Rug (steelbridges.bandcamp.com)Steel Bridges is a metallic skate punk project out of Canada – and it’s all done by one person, Philippe Routhier. Think bands like Millencolin, Strung Out, and Pennywise and you get the idea. Steel Bridges, though, trades some of the speed of most skate punk for more melodic content. For example, the opening track of the eight-song mini-LP has some of the pop flavor of Descendents, as well as plenty of the metal-tinged punk of the aforementioned bands. That this is all a one-man operation is pretty impressive. Routhier wrote all of the songs, played all of the instruments, and did his own recording and production in his home studio. The result sounds professionally done and the instrumentals are tight. Of course, skate punk is a well-worn genre, and Steel Bridges isn’t going to break new ground here. But if you’re a fan of the genre you can’t go wrong here.
D.A. STERN – People Named Ben (dasternmusic.bandcamp.com) D.A. Stern, the LA-based New Jersey born musician, offers up his latest songwriting effort, a four-song EP of breezy poppy songs. The title track is a lovely bossa nova track, with saxophone, flute, piano, marimba, and reverb-laden backing vocals. The result is a very tropical sounding pop song, with an almost magical air about it. “Jacket On My Birthday” continues the island vibe, this time with a song about a chivalrous gentleman who yields his jacket on his own birthday to keep his love warm. I can imagine saxophonist Stan Getz playing something like this (if he was still alive), with its bright jazzy feel. The instrumental track, “Campfire,” changes things up with a lounge-doo-wop vibe. And the EP closes with “I Look At Every Face (Cindy),” a song that takes some influence from Beach Boys songs and 70s AM radio. Taken as a whole, Stern isn’t shaking up the music biz, but he’s sure adding some nice light entertainment to it.
ERIK NERVOUS – Bugs (Drunken Sailor Records, www.drunkensailorrecords.co.uk)Last year Erik Nervous released Bugs as a limited availability cassette, but now Drunken Sailor Records is giving it a proper vinyl issue, and thank goodness. Erik Nervous plays some fantastic old school punk and hardcore, top notch songs that blur the border between punk rock, new wave, and hardcore. The music is tight and bright, fast and furious. The title track appears twice, sort of, bookending the other eleven, with a weird a cappella song about, well, bugs. Decaying bugs. The delivery makes it sound like some sort of inside joke that we aren’t meant to get. The first proper song, “Our Hungry Fruit,” is a 52 second blast of intense hardcore, the likes of which you haven’t heard since the early 80s (if you were old enough to be listening to it back then). Hell yes! “Over There” comes next, and it’s speedy too, but has a lighter new wave pop touch, though the guitars try to toughen and punk things up. The synth heavy “Living In The Woods” brings mid period Devo to mind, with smooth buzzy synths and monotone vocals. I love the sound of “Instant This Instant That,” a bright sparkly song with both a garage punk and new wave feel, plus some copy machine sound effects. “Wrong Weird” is aptly titled, as it’s the weirdest song of the album (excluding the bookending title tracks). It’s a lot quieter, primarily consisting of rapid rhythms, strange synth bleats and boops, and lo-fi vocals low down in the mix singing-saying, “Gabba gabba hey hey / Go away” over and over. It’s also the longest track, at three minutes. Most of the songs are under two, and most of the songs are a lot louder and brasher, yet always tight and intense, always fun. Another song that exceeds two minutes is also one of the best (in an album full of excellent tracks). “Motivation” clocks in at a relatively lengthy 2:38, and besides some great start-stop and angular rhythms, the guitars are both jangly and jarring at the same time. Erik’s vocals intone in his shout-sing method. I love how the growling of the bass deepens the intensity in the chorus, and especially in the short bridge. Erik Nervous’ “Bugs” will likely squirm its way into your top albums of the year list, like it has mine.
JUSTIN COURTNEY PIERRE – The Price Of Salt (Epitaph Records, www.epitaph.com)When I reviewed Justin Courtney Pierre’s last EP, “Anthropologist On Mars,” I complained that it was too short and I wanted more. So, just a few months later, he obliges with another five songs. The music is bright and poppy, overall, but there’s a nice complexity to the arrangements, as well. The lead single, “Firehawk,” has a grungy noisy quality to it, and hints of Fugazi influence in the use of guitar as a percussion instrument. It has loads of feedback, too, and poppy jangle. I love “The Hunter,” which stars with an indie rock feel, but inserts some guitar shrieks and toward the end gets big and dreamy. That pattern repeats with “Oxygen Tank,” starting with a somber sound, delicately instrumented, but as the song evolves it turns from quiet indie to enormous dream-rock. “Get Out Of The Woods” is bouncy, with a power pop meets indie pop sound, and probably my favorite of the five tracks of the EP. “At least It’s Over” is similarly poppy, with guitars that alternately jangle and growl. Once again, Pierre provides a great EP. I still want more, though.
SHRUG DEALER (Hidden Home Records, www.hiddenhomerecords.com)Shrug Dealer originally released their self-titled EP three years ago, but they’ve now teamed up with Hidden Home Records to release a newly remastered version of their debut. The six songs take the modern skate punk basics of speed and metallic guitar flourishes and add some gorgeous melodies and interesting arrangements. The result is an amped up and elevated version of skate punk. Add to that some socially and politically conscious lyrics, and you’ve got a compelling record on your hands. Take, for example, “Snowflake Wars,” which speaks about people who get offended over other people who get offended by…whatever. Or the amazing (and incredible short at under 30 seconds) “This Song Written On A Mac Book Pro,” and its ironic lyrics about using a phone made by children in sweatshops to call out big tech over worker exploitation, and how this act doesn’t help anyone. Or the hilariously titled, “That’s $10 You Owe Me Now, Dickhead,” which covers the plight of small mom and pop businesses that are getting shut down by mega-chain big box stores that offer cheaper prices and shoddy merchandise. “The Lanes” is one of my favorites of the EP, blending some Green Day like melodic pop punk with speedy and intense skate punk and big 90s emo-ish chords. And the closer, “Who’s Molly?” is an epic of a track, going through various changes. The meter and melodic changes are awesome, and the vocal harmonies and swirling guitars on the chorus (“Time Slows Down,” repeated over and over) are incredible. This is a strong debut, and I look forward to more material from this New York City band.
ADVERTISEMENT – "Freedom" EP (thisisadvertisement.bandcamp.com) Seattle’s Advertisement, with an album, a couple of cassette singles, and an EP under their belt over the past few years, is back with another new release. It’s really one new song and three remixes of their song “Freedom,” from their self-titled LP. Let’s talk about these remixes. The original version of “Freedom” has a cool 80s drone, but the track is more of a 70s jam on top of that drone. The first track of the new EP, titled “Here It Comes (Freedom)” is a new version of that song that I feel is vastly superior to the original. Rather than an extended jam it’s treated like a real song, and it replaces the organ with some new wave synths. The song is transformed from a somewhat stoner sound to an urgent one, with a lusher arrangement. The other two remixes are EDM versions, “Freedom (Dan Horne Remix)” and “Freedom (Big Step Remix).” The Dan Horne version has more guitars than the Big Step mix, but both are heavy on the dance beats and bring the synths to the forefront. The Big Step is only recognizable as “Freedom,” from the lyrics, though, because it’s more of a mellow chill-out track. The other song here is called “Ladder of Love.” It’s a bluesy folk-rock track with bits of psych, and completely different from any of the other tracks on this EP, and I wouldn’t recognize it as being from the same band. Actually, all of the tracks sound like they could be from different bands. I like “Here It Comes” a lot, but the other three tracks didn’t do much for me.
BOYRACER – Assuaged (Emotional Response Records, www.emotionalresponserecords.com) I’m embarrassed to say, but have mentioned before, I had a period of time in the late 90s and 2000s when I was not paying much attention to new music. But before that, I was deep into the punk and indie scenes, and there were a few labels that were capturing the lion’s share of the best indie pop. One of them was Slumberland Records, run by Michael Schulman. I first met Michael when he was working at Vinyl Ink Records in Silver Spring, Maryland, a place with which I did a lot of mail order business and visited in person once a year. Michael turned me on to a lot of great music, including some great DC bands of the time, and he also introduced me to several of the bands on his Slumberland Roster. One such band was Boyracer, and I subsequently gobbled up a bunch of their 7” singles and EPs, as well as several of their earlier LPs. When I sort of dropped out of the music scene, for the most part, I lost track of Boyracer. I do see that they’ve remained active, putting out a number of singles and EPs over the years, albeit with multiple lineup changes. But I also see that last year saw their first full-length LP in a dozen years. This year, Boyracer are back with another full-length, just in time for COVID restrictions to begin lifting. And this LP makes me very happy! It’s fourteen songs and 37 minutes of noisy indie pop, with buzzy guitars, bouncy rhythms, and sincere vocals. Some of the songs border on DIY pop punk, like the fun “Tommy McNeil,” with simple Ramones-core chord changes and irreverent lyrics. Some of the songs include trumpet, too! I’m not sure if this is a new addition for this LP or they’ve been doing it for a while, but in some cases, it really adds a lot to the song, like on the lovely “40 Hours.” This song has less noise and more jangle than the others, with a mix of acoustic and electric guitars, and the trumpet really adds to the atmosphere. The overall feel reminds me a bit of retro mod Brit-pop. “Digital Friends” is full of guitar noise, feedback, and unison vocals that comment on the falseness of social media relationships. The bass growls with nasty intent, while the drums keep a steady head bobbing beat. “Miserable Ways” is another one with a more punked-up feel, with plenty of fuzz and noise, and a bubbly poppy melody as counterpoint to the dark lyrics. I love the simplicity of “1am,” with stripped down arrangement and dueling lead vocals. As a matter of fact, I love every song on this album. Boyracer are still making music I love.
FLOWERTOWN (Mount Saint Mountain, www.mtstmtn.com) Flowertown is the duo of Karina Gill and Michael Ramos. Operating out of the San Francisco Bay Area, the two normally play in separate projects (Cindy and Tony Jay, respectively), but they decided to write a few songs together back in early 2020 because the two were scheduled to play a show together. The pandemic conspired to cancel that show, but Gill and Ramos decided to continue the collaboration during the stay-at-home order, sending tapes back and forth and eventually recording on a four-track tape in a home studio. Paisley Shirt Records released the resulting recordings last year as two cassette-only EPs, and both quickly sold out. Mount Saint Mountain has remastered these and are now releasing it as an LP. The stripped down music is somber and hushed, lo-fi, dreamy pop music. The guitar jangles away and Gill’s vocals are subtle and relaxed. The unhurried pace of these songs and the haze around the edges give the songs a pensive, gauzy quality. I adore the retro sounding song, “The Rope,” with a lovely 50s ballad air, delicately done. It sounds like one of those doomed teenage romance songs, but dialed way back. One of the more upbeat tracks is “Pieta.” The guitars are a little more aggressive, and the pace is quickened from many of the other tracks, but there’s a feeling that the music is heard through filters, a distance away. On “World Peace,” Ramos adds vocals, and we get what I think is the prettiest, saddest sounding song of the album. The drums are replaced with very subtle percussion instruments, and we get just guitar and bass, with Gill and Ramos’ unison vocals, so very understated and delicate. This record is quietly gorgeous.
IZZY TRUE – Our Beautiful Baby World (Don Giovanni Records, www.dongiovannirecords.com) The overall attitude of this new album and the band is expressed in its title, “Our Beautiful Baby World.” The indie rock music and lyrics have a tenderness to them, an ultimately hopeful tone. “"I ended up choosing the title Our Beautiful Baby World this year as a kind of prayer," says guitarist/vocalist Izzy Reidy. "When I get very sad about the world, I find comfort in zooming out to the macro, universal level. On that scale, humanity is so young, so small, still learning, and full of possibility. When I think of it that way, I feel so tenderly towards humanity. All of the things it does to hurt itself are not its fixed nature, I have hope that it is (very slowly) learning to be gentle." The music certainly has a gentle feel, calm and relaxed. Reidy’s vocals have a casual and spontaneous air, laid-back and understated. The instrumentation is somewhat spare and stripped down, so that there’s a lot of open space to the music. The guitar tone is mostly clear, the percussion is breezy, and the bass lines have hints of funkiness. This is particularly notable on the pretty “You’re Mad At Me,” which was also a lead single released ahead of the album. It reminds me a lot of the indie pop of the 90s that I fell in love with. “Mommy” has a nice lilt to it, sounding like a cross between Americana and a children’s song. Some of the tracks include saxophone, such as “Older,” a gorgeous quiet tune with a bit of jazziness to it. And in “Big Natural” the sax gives the song an off-kilter feel, contrasting with the smooth lush vocals. The sax veritably shrieks, as Reidy’s vocals glide and float. This contrast makes for a compelling song, one of my favorites of the album. And “Gold Chain” is a beautiful ballad that opens with solo saxophone with a breathy tone. The song has a free-form rhythm, meandering and emotional. This is a lovely LP.
TURNPIKE GATES – "City In Heat" EP (turnpikegates.bandcamp.com)I’m assuming this band, the project of Philadelphia based but New Jersey raised Ryan Smith, was named for the Lifetime song off the “Jersey’s Best Dancers” LP. As far as I can tell, this is the band’s second EP, and the first in two and a half years. I like the interesting mix of indie and pop punk. The songs blend bouncy rhythms with heartfelt lyrics and melodies. The guitars crunch nicely, contrasting with the angst of the vocals, and there’s a raucousness to the songs. A notable track is “Church,” which alternates between slower sections in more of a rock vein and quicker sections with more of a punk feel. The closing track is dramatically different, though. “Make Me” is a quiet song with acoustic guitar and cello. But it’s no less emotionally charged, and is actually a standout of the EP. Turnpike Gates gives us a worthy listen.
VON ERICHS – First Blood Match (Mom’s Basement Records, momsbasementrecords.bigcartel.com)'90's Ramones-core punk rock? Check. ‘90s WWE wrestling obsession? Check. VonErichs may be presenting their debut full-length LP, but they sound like they came through a time warp from thirty years ago. Not only for the spot-on 90s pop punk sound, but also for the encyclopedic knowledge of the world of professional wrestling, from their name to the titles and topics of their songs, and down to the use of sound clips from WWE broadcasts. The Von Erich family, for those who don’t know, is actually the Adkisson family, many members of whom made a career in professional wrestling. The family has had a tragic history, with most of them dying at young ages of overdose, suicide or illness. One song is titled “Texas Tornado,” which is the nickname used by Kerry Von Erich, who died at age 33 by suicide. Other songs also have references to wrestling stars like Hulk Hogan, Barry “Repo Man” Darsow, Kamala (James Arthur Harris, a wrestler also nicknamed “The Ugandan Giant”), Miss Elizabeth (Elizabeth Ann Hulette, a wrestling manager and sometimes pro-wrestler), and Jim Neidhart. Many of these people died by suicide or drug and alcohol overdose, just like the Von Erichs. Other songs reference other wrestling ephemera such as the “Ghetto Blaster” wrestling move and the “Ring Rat,” a term used for wrestling groupies looking for sexual favors. For the most part what you see (or hear) is what you get: novelty and nostalgia punk rock. The track “Kamala,” though, is done in a punk doo-wop style and makes a reappearance as an a cappella song via a hidden bonus track. These two are the most notable of the songs, because everything else is pretty much same-same 90s pop punk gimmick music.
HELVETIA – Essential Aliens (Joyful Noise Recordings, helvetiamusic.bandcamp.com)Jason Albertini has been busy. Helvetia has been his main musical vehicle since the breakup of Duster, but this is now his third LP in just over a year. “Fantastic Life” came out shortly before the pandemic took hold, and “This Devastating Map” was released a mere seven months later in August. Now, ten months after that, Helvetia’s rotating roster now includes Samantha Stidham and Steve Gere, the latter with whom Albertini played in Built To Spill. Like “This Devastating Map,” this newest LP consists of relaxed, understated indie rock with some interesting non-standard arrangements and off-kilter touches. Well, maybe not the opening track. It earns it’s “experimental alternative” description. It’s an instrumental track that never resolves to a melody. It has unnerving and unsteady guitar chords and crashing drums, a sort of modern day fanfare. “Crooks Go in the Ground” is the first “proper” song of the LP, and has a lazy hazy feel, with relaxed vocals and a dissonance from detuned acoustic and electric guitars that I find compelling. I like the wobbly guitar sounds and lo-fi drums of the bouncy “Claw.” Halfway through the song extra guitar sounds thicken things up with a sci-fi texture. My favorite track of the LP has to be “Rocks on the Ramp.” It’s got a rolling rhythm, subtle guitar work, understated vocals, a slight Americana melody, and a very quiet, lonesome feel. The synths create an atmosphere that makes me feel like I’m outdoors on a starry night, the enormous sky baring the universe, making me feel tiny and insignificant. Several of the tracks, too, have interplay between acoustic and electric guitars, with buzzy or glittery synths, like “Caroline Stays / The AI Snatch.” It does give the song a funky spacey feel, especially when the synths start going off the melody and the song gets a bit free form. Like Helvetia’s previous output, this album isn’t something for adrenaline junkies. It’s for people who like to chill and think about their music. I count myself among that number.
MASSAGE – Still Life (Mt. St. Mtn., massagetheband.bandcamp.com)LA’s Massage return with their sophomore full-length LP, one full of music that combines the best elements of jangle pop and shoegaze. The guitars are bright and clear, and the vocals smooth and understated. Think 1990s Sarah Records or Slumberland sort of indie pop sounds. I’ve always liked this type of music, though some deride it as “twee.” All of the songs are really pretty and calming, but the one that stands out the most to me is “10 & 2.” The trumpet is a nice touch in the arrangement, adding a bit of grandeur to the rolling guitar lines. And I love “I’m a Crusader;” the guitars jangle away while the bass sings, a pipe organ underlying the whole thing. The song is a sedate, but you can feel a raucous tune wanting to bust out, giving the track a certain kind of tension. Another notable track is “Michael Is My Girlfriend.” True to form, the song is simple in structure, with an upbeat bounce. With verses about Michael being my girlfriend and Julia being my boyfriend, and speaking to how “the world goes ‘round again,” it seems to be making a statement about gender identity, that in the grand scheme of things, someone’s gender identity has no effect on your life, so why should you care? I remember and miss the days when there were more bands playing music like this. I’m glad some still are, and doing it well.
MONONEGATIVES – Apparatus Division (Big Neck Records, mononegatives.bandcamp.com) Another smash debut from another excellent Canadian band. Our neighbors north of the border sure do seem to have a breeding ground for some fantastic music. In this case, it’s London, Ontario’s Mononegatives, a band that takes raging garage punk a la Marked Men or Radioactivity, and blends it with ominously buzzing synths. The result is high-energy music with an air of anxiety. “Stilted Entrance” opens the LP with an angular melody reminiscent of 80s post-punk, and vocals that are shout-sung, buried somewhat in the noisy lo-fi mix. But it’s “Reality Is,” the second song of the album, that slays; its got a rapid-fire beat, simple garage punk melody, angry synths underneath, and stabbing vocals. I really like “Living in the Age,” which has a poppy melody, adding in late 70s power pop to the musical mix. The guitars are less lo-fi, befitting the more melodic sound of the track, and the drums give the track a surf-punk aesthetic. The menacing synths swirl in the foreboding and almost anthemic, “Deep Pockets.” “Silicone Warmth Routine” closes the proceedings with a song in which the synths provide an alarming sound, literally sounding like a warning alert. The deliberate march-like pace contrasts with the pounding percussion and stabbing guitars. Excellent debut, recommended.
ROUTINE FACES – Us vs. Them (routinefaces.bandcamp.com)Debuts are fun. A band comes together to bring a creative vision to life, and a debut LP is the realization of that vision. In the case at hand, “Us vs. Them” is the debut LP from Chicago band Routine Faces. The music melds dream pop, 80s pop, electronic dance music, and a bit of shoegaze, while the songs reflect vocalist an co-songwriter Sahara Glasener-Boles’s Midwest upbringing in a life of poverty, being bullied, dealing with mental illness, and hitting rock bottom. For example, “Be You” is a song about being so uncomfortable with who you are that you wish to be someone else. “How can I be you / Get inside your head / Be you / All the things I can’t do / Come so easily to you,” the song begins. The song ends by reinforcing the feeling of anonymity and invisibility, with “Just outside my door / I watch you pass / Every day you pass without a look back.” I hear the bright synth-pop of 80s band Human League clearly in Routine Faces’ influences, as well as the minimalist repetition of themes such as might be heard from Phillip Glass. The song “Valentimes” is very 80s, right out of that disco/new-wave era. My favorite song is “Better Than Me,” which has a great pop melody, a swagger and bounce, and makes great use of a cappella vocals, with overdubbed harmonizing. Acoustic instruments and various percussion instruments punctuate the song, giving it a whimsical feeling, tough the lyrics are not whimsical; they cover threats and bullying that are motivated by jealousy. While that song has sparer instrumentation, others are big and lush, like “Had It Coming,” which has a thick soundscape of synths, courtesy of Rob Boles, the other half of the core of Routine Faces, and Sahara’s co-writer. Sahara’s vocals are strong and clear, and one of the best things about this album. That she went to university to study vocal performance and that she ha performed with the Cleveland Opera and Ohio Light Opera, as well as singing in various bar bands during her career is easy to see. This album will particularly appeal to fans of 80s pop music and modern dream pop. I do like the latter, but I have more mixed feelings about the former. As a result, though this album is executed to perfection, sonically it doesn’t do a lot for me, outside of a few songs.
BRENT SEAVERS – BS Stands for Brent Seavers (Kool Kat Musik, brentseavers.bandcamp.com)Brent Seavers of The Decibels found himself with a lot of time on his hands when the pandemic shut things down, halfway through recording a new LP with the band. He began writing and recording, and soon had a full album’s worth of material. So, here we are, with Seavers’ solo debut LP. And, if you’re familiar with The Decibels’ sound, you won’t be surprised that the overall feel on the record is one of retro 60s British invasion pop and 70s power pop. But there are some slight variations, as well. Some songs are buoyant and bubbly pop, like the AM bubblegum “My Little Girl,” or “I Wrote a Song.” Some tracks are a little more aggressive garage-pop (though only a little bit), more in a Decibels vein. “Out In The Rain” is one such track, with a quicker tempo and guitars that are tough, even as they continue to jangle. “Clean Reflection” is another up-tempo track that could have fit in on a Decibels LP, still with a nice pop sensibility. “Flatline” channels a smoothed out Doors sound, and “Unlike Superman” has a more modern indie tone mixed in and a jubilant undercurrent. I mean, this record isn’t going to shake the musical world’s foundations, but it’s a really nice listen.
AUTHORITY ZERO – Ollie Ollie Oxen Free (www.authorityzero.com)If I didn’t know any better, I would have assumed this band hailed from Orange County, California. But, instead, they’re from Mesa, Arizona. They take a variety of popular punk sounds and combine them together on this new LP, their eleventh (including the live double LP, “Live at the Rebel Lounge”). The band is entering their third decade as a unit, and it shows in how tight the arrangements are. Music ranges from Bad Religion influenced songs such as the title track or “Fire Off Another, to Descendents-like pop punk, like “Nowheres Land.” Some tracks fall smack dab between these two extremes, like “The Good Fight,” or “Bruiser,” which are hella poppy but have the same sort of tight vocal harmonies as Bad Religion. “Ear to Ear” is the one of the different tracks of the LP, being unabashed ska-punk, with a reggae breakdown past the halfway mark, so get ready to skank, because it might be the most fun song of the LP. “Fully Operational” is an interesting mix of ska and 80s pop. Another out of the ordinary entrant is the acoustic “A New Day,” with heavy reverb, a rock steady beat, and strange sound effect interjections. My favorite is probably “The Back Nine,” which is the poppiest song of the bunch. Fans of big punk bands that have been around a few decades will eat this up. If I have one complaint, it’s that the LP is a little bit overproduced. But the band do a fine job here.
THE CATENARY WIRES – Birling Gap (Shelflife Records, www.shelflife.com)The Catenary Wires includes some well-known names from the past of indie pop: Amelia Fletcher and Rob Pursey, of Heavenly and Talulah Gosh. With The Catenary Wires, they continue making pretty pop music, but gone are the days when they could be labeled “twee.” The music is lush and thick, dreamy, and psychedelic-tinged. There are full harmonized vocals and a beautifully warm organ in these arrangements that transport you, as you listen, to another era. I love “Alpine,” a haunting song with sections in 12/8 time, blending the feel of a waltz with that of straight time. It’s got a melody that sounds like an adaptation of an ancient folk tune, and the ending is ethereal, raising goose bumps. “Always On Mind” has a psych-folk feel about it mixed with 70s AM radio pop, but with the glittery synths of a 70s sci-fi movie sound track. It evokes memories of the “Summer of Love” and all that. “Mirrorball” moves things forward in time to the 80s disco era, musically, but is a look back from the present day from the perspective of a middle-aged couple who find love at disco revival club. Another lovely track is “Canterbury Lanes,” a song that evokes the Canterbury music scene of days of yore, with its acoustic guitars, recorders, glockenspiel, and harmonized vocals. It, too, is a look back at a lost past, a desire to recapture the glories of years ago. And while the album, as a whole, can be seen as such a bit of nostalgia, it’s a lovely one.
THE HOMELESS GOSPEL CHOIR – This Is a Protest Song (A-F Records, www.a-frecords.com)Folk-punk singer and comedian Derek Zanetti performs as The Homeless Gospel Choir, armed with just his acoustic guitar, his voice, and his razor sharp wit. He uses these weapons to wage battle against apathy and ignorance. A-F Records surprised everyone with this live LP, titled with Zanetti’s familiar catchphrase with which he introduces many of his songs at live shows. The recording quality isn’t the best, even for a live LP. But with just guitar and vocals, it’s easy enough to listen along and catch everything. And you’re going to want to, because the songs aren’t just funny; the tongue-in-cheek lyrics and heavy sarcasm also reveal a lot of truths about ourselves and the society in which we live. “With God On Our Side” speaks to the religious right’s twisted reasoning that they can do anything they want, because they have “God” on their side, including destroying the environment, oppressing people, and killing other people. Some of the songs are an uncomfortable look in the mirror for us punks, like “Musical Preference,” which exposes hypocrisies in the scene (“this is punk rock, where everybody’s welcome to the fucking party…you get to be exactly who you are, exactly who you want to be…no judgment, no ridicule, unless you don’t listen to Queen. Then I can’t fucking trust you.”). The song enumerates all the genres punks hate and how we judge others negatively for some of the music they listen to. It’s sure to generate some nods of agreement – until Zanetti names a band you like! “Normal” is an anthem about what all punks have in common: we aren’t “normal.” The song recounts how many came to discover punk (“I found my escape / In a Green Day tape”) and celebrates the fact that “You’re never gonna be normal ‘cause you’re a punk.” There are eight songs in all (plus two short spoken word tracks), that all sing of the experiences of being a human, of feeling out of place, of living outside societal norms, and more. Some similar performers focus more on deeply emotional content in their songs, but the satire and self-ridicule Zanetti employs, sure they get laughs, but there’s just as much emotional content here. If you like to laugh and cry at the same time while being entertained, this is a great record to do it with.
NECKSCARS – Don’t Panic (Sell The Heart Records, www.selltheheartrecords.com)“Don’t Panic” is a debut LP, but the four members that make up the band aren’t green. Will Romeo (vocals, guitar), Justin Parish (guitar, vocals), Colin Harte (bass), and Craig Sala (drums) are all veterans of the New York music scene. The music the band play is big gravelly pop punk with tons of emotional content. Think Hot Water Music or maybe a bit of Anti-Flag. The music is huge, with big open guitar chords and gruff vocals. My one complaint with this style of music is that there’s not a lot of dynamic range, not a lot of variance in the sound from song to song. The similar tempo and volume level of every song gets repetitive, everything blending together into one big song. When there are interesting departures from the formula, my ears perk up. The opening track, “In Front Of Me,” is one of those songs, with a nice angular chord progression that has a great post-hardcore chug to it. I do like these songs, if they’re taken in isolation, shuffled up with other songs in different styles and genres; the musicianship is great. A full album of the same sound is a bit numbing, though.
THE RARE OCCASIONS – Big Whoop (www.therareoccasions.com)Back with their first LP in three years, The Rare Occasions are the definition of DIY and the definition of eclectic. They recorded, produced, and mixed the songs themselves at home, and even the string quartet that’s included in some tracks were recruited and conducted by band member Luke Imbusch, who also composed the orchestral arrangements. But more than just being DIY, the styles and sounds on this LP are incredibly varied, from grunge-like pop to lush orchestral pop, to almost punk-like rock. The opening track, “Alone,” about striking out on one’s own to escape the expectations of others (the chorus states, “So I swing my shoulders through the thick of it / And face tomorrow alone / Because you own me and I’m sick of it / But you don’t own me no more”), has a gloriously grunge-lite sound in the chorus, while the verses are pure indie-rock goodness. “Bolts,” too, has a melody that harkens back to the late 80s grunge era, but with the edges softened and smoothed. The vocal harmonies are amazing, and the production is so good you wouldn’t guess it was recorded in a living room. But just when you think you know what sort of band The Rare Occasions are, they throw a curve ball at you, like “Stay.” It feels like a classic pop tune, with lush strings and jazzy guitar tone. The dynamic range is incredible, going from hushed to an over-the-top swell. It’s got the feel of a modern-day standard. “Origami” is more upbeat pop, but when those luxuriant strings come in, it’s breathtaking. And “Sparrow” makes me feel lost in time, back in the 1950s or 60s, listening to a Nat King Cole song, the luscious strings wrapping themselves around you. “Call Me When You Get There” represents yet another genre, focused solidly on the guitar-fueled power pop of the late 70s and early 80s. “The American Way” moves the band in a harder direction, more raw and visceral, with an almost punk rock edge, tempered with new wave quirkiness. The closing track, “The Fold,” brings the strings back for another huge emotional ballad. When something is rare, you treasure it more. That just might include the rare occasion of a new album from The Rare Occasions.
UGLI – FUCK (www.mybandisugli.bandcamp.com)“FUCK” can be an exclamation of intense frustration. It’s usually shouted in anger, sometimes directed at another person, but often at one’s self. It’s also the debut LP from UgLi, a band from South Jersey/Philadelphia. The band’s musical style is something I’ll call grunge-pop; it’s got elements of both, including distorted growling guitars and lovely delicate melodies. “House Pet,” which opens the album, will take you right back to the early 90s era of alternative rock; the guitars snarl deeply, while the beat has a lively bounce and the melody shines brightly. I love the contrast between the dreamy understated verses and noisy chaotic choruses of “Bad Egg” and “When I Was In Love.” “Mourning Coffee” is a tough grunge ballad; tough in its sound and tough in its topic of intense emotional conflict, always ending “face down” no matter how hard you try. “I don’t ever want to die / I don’t want to be alive,” screams the closing lines, highlighting the conflicting emotions of life. “Superball” bounces as much as its namesake, and may be my favorite song of the LP, while “Why Be Pretty” is a soulful ballad that examines how societal expectations of “prettiness” keep women imprisoned. “Why be pretty / When you could be free?” asks the chorus. The closing track, “Naegleriasis” (a fatal brain infection that causes confusion, hallucinations, and seizures), is a sprawling epic that’s at once soulful and dreamy. Trumpet and saxophone provide atmosphere, with shimmery keyboards and guitar. This is a moving debut.
VARIOUS – You Didn’t Think We Could Take It (Subsonics Tribute – Vol. 2) (Mandinga Records, mandingarecords.bandcamp.com)Subsonics are a self-described “gutter-glam” trio from Atlanta. Their music is raw and stripped down, but it’s not gritty and dirty, like a lot of garage bands. I hear influences of R&B and early rock and roll in their music, with rockabilly and soul mixed in. Brazil’s Mandinga Records decide to pay homage to the longstanding band (their first LP was released in 1992, and their most recent in 2018) by having a variety of bands provide covers of some of their favorite Subsonics tunes. Volume 1 was a brief affair, a 7” EP released in late 2019, and featuring a mere four bands. Volume 2, though, is a full LP with a dozen such tributes. One highlight is the opening track, Ugly Sounds’ desperate rendition of “I Can’t Get Out.” Another is the version of “Frankenstein” presented by Bang Bang Babies (featuring Mila de Guerico). Where the original is bare bones garage rock, this version is thick and dark, slowed down, filled with sludge and evil. I absolutely adore the Disturbios’ rendition of “See Thru Rhonda,” with its lounge-like Casio drum machine, the single note guitar line, the mysterious wailing of the organ, and the deadpan vocals. This version just oozes kitsch, and I love it. Oubliettes transform “Shady Side of the Street” from a tentative-sounding 50s doo-wop ballad into a dreamy number, like something out of the Twin Peaks soundtrack. But I think the most amazing track of this tribute has to be the closer. “Do You Think I’m a Junkie,” I its original form, is a fun hoppin’ rockabilly track. Black Mekon, though, slows it way down, turning it into a heartbreaker. You can hear the sadness, the reaction to an accusation, the feeling of life falling apart. The other bands acquit themselves well, too. Kid Congo Powers covers “I Made You a Clown,” The Mings contribute their cover of “Pretty Pills,” Wallacy Williams gives us “Cruel Is The Night,” “Red Roses is covered by Colt Cobra, Reptilians From Andromeda give us their version of “Eyeball,” and Electric Shit with Walter Daniels provide “La Bonda y La Maldad.” Oh, and the song that provides the album’s title, “I Didn’t Think You Could Take It” is covered buy Sloks. These are great songs, and great versions.
ST. LENOX – Ten Songs of Worship and Praise for Our Tumultuous Times (Don Giovanni Records, www.dongiovannirecords.com)I’ve made no secret of my love for St. Lenox. Each of the three previous albums have ended up on my year end list of best records of the year, and one of them made my best records of the decade list. Now St. Lenox has returned, newly signed with Don Giovanni Records. At first I didn’t pay close attention to the title, but as I listened, I couldn’t help but notice that the ten songs contained therein all had a distinctly liturgical quality to them. Then I noticed the title and it all made sense. Andrew Choi, the man behind St. Lenox, pulls from his life experiences for inspiration in his songwriting, and he has a knack for getting to the truth of matters with his touching and poignant lyrics. In the past his albums have revolved around themes of growing up and coming of age, of the experience of being the child of immigrants, and of trying to make one’s way through life as an adult, forging a career, and finding love. This time out, Choi provides his observations on the need to find something to believe in as the world becomes more and more chaotic. And once again, his songs leave me more than a little choked up.
The album opens with “Deliverance,” which is a moving introduction to the themes to be explored. It’s a reflection on the death of someone close to Choi, and how, though he’s never put much stock in religion, he feels the need to believe in something. He sings about how the death of his friend and his own aging have forced him to start thinking of things like inheritance and whether an atheist can get into heaven. The church hymn-like song ends with the lines, “Jesse, the world's been trembling mightily / Every day since you've gone / I'm ready to believe in something these days / Maybe I can believe in deliverance now.” The subject of the impact of death continues in “Arthur is at a Shiva,” in which a variety of experiences with death are covered, the music slightly reminiscent of Pachelbel’s “Canon in D.” “Great Blue Heron (Song of Solomon)” has some lovely 70s pop music, played with delicate harpsichord-like keyboards blended with organ. It seems less religious in nature at first blush, but in the lyrics about memories of spending time in nature, the sights of the blue heron flying over the water, of the trees and the sound of the wind rustling the leaves, all thoughts while commuting to work in the concrete jungle of the city, I sense not just memories, but a feeling of spirituality, that there’s something greater than our daily grind out there.
One of the strongest spiritual urges of humanity is to raise a family, to leave behind something of yourself through children, and passing along your life experiences to them. Choi wonders in one song, “What is it Like to have Children?” In it he remembers stories from his parents about his own birth, and his desire to raise children of his own with his husband. He has the same worries as anyone considering having children, summed in the verse, “It fills me with fear and wonder at the very thought / Of raising precious children of my very own / Will I be the world's number one father, like on the coffee mug / Or will they still resent me for something I did many years ago.” The solemn music contrasts with the deeply passionate singing, just as Choi contrasts being at odds with his own father with yearning to provide unconditional love. I love the lines he sings about his own father to this child he longs to have, “It sits like some baggage in the middle of my head / Like centuries of violence and domesticated warfare / Though I'd like you to meet him when you are a little older / In truth he is a great man though I’d never tell that to him directly.” The song is filled with hopes and dreams and, yes, fears; fears about the prospect for the future of a child in a tumultuous world where “fires rage in streets and forests west of us.”
Other topics include Choi’s early experience with religion in the buoyant gospel song, “Bethesda,” and developing an understanding of how people come to religious beliefs in the breezy and bouncy “Gospel of Hope.” The importance of always keeping a youthful and hopeful outlook on life is the topic of “Teenage Eyes.” It contrasts the weariness of “middle-aged Tom” at an open mic night, his songs stale and trite, with the need to maintain confidence and enthusiasm, just like we have when we’re teenagers, our whole lives before us, when we think, no, we know we can conquer the world. Underneath the subtly rocking melody, Dwight Eisenhower’s speech, “Three Imperatives for World Peace” is heard, underpinning the need for hope. “Our Tumultuous Times” speaks to trying to find meaning in the chaos around us and trying to figure out how to deal with it all. Do we “yell on the internet at the top of your lungs?” Do we “take to the streets on a regular workday?” Do we love our neighbors and “pray for the destitute among us?” Or do we “give up yourself to the world around us?” And the closing track, “Superkamiokande!,” speaks of the mysteries of the universe in a spiritual way. Super-Kamiokande is the world’s largest underground neutrino detector, located in Japan. The song sings of the wonders of nature, the wonders of the earth, and the wonders of the universe, and the humbling feeling one gets in the presence of such awe-inspiring truth and beauty. The album closes with this verse: “I’ve heard stories of great destroyers / Crushing galaxies into atoms / And I am fearful of great destroyers / I've been praying a lot since then / I’ve heard stories of our creator / Stretched his arms out into creation / Filled with love of his creation / I've been humbled a lot since then.” Faith and spirituality don’t have to be found only in organized religion; meaning is all around us. We just need to open our eyes and our minds to be awed and inspired. And, I think, that’s the ultimate message Choi sends to us. 
CHRISTMAS BRIDE – Dark Romance of a Midnight Wanderer (Snappy Little Numbers Quality Audio Recordings, www.snappylittlenumbers.com)Christmas Bride is the invention of Chicagoan Davey Hart, and this latest LP was three years in the making. Christmas Bride is mainly a one-man operation, but Hart brings in various friends to help fill things out, and lately that’s included Pasha Pear (The Crustations), Phil Sudderberg (Spirits Having Fun), and Angel Marcloid (Fire-Toolz, Nonlocal Forecast) taking turns on the drums, as well as Bret Koonz (Cool Memories, Truancy Club) helping out with backing vocals. This band is all over the place, with a wide variance in punk rock styles. They break the cardinal rule of album sequencing, which is to put one of your best songs first, to capture listeners’ attention. In this case, “My Shadow Bracelet” turned me off, and I almost turned off the record. But I persisted. The remaining thirteen songs (total album length of 40 minutes) run the gamut from Bad Religion inspired melodies and harmonies to ALL influenced jazz-punk, and various pop and punk styles in between. It’s clear the band are in this for the fun and laughs, with songs like “Christian Ska,” “Cereal Monogamist,” Embarrassing Sexual Moments,” and more. “Christian Ska” is, perhaps, the most Bad Religion-like song of the album, with its deep harmonies, and mostly dark melody, though it gets bright and Descendents-like at points. Quite a dichotomy! “Cereal Monogamist” has that angular jazz-punk sound blended with pop punk that ALL perfected, while “Trippi’s Fudge” features a more indie sound and potentially double-entendre lyrics about the lovely taste of the title treat. I adore “(Obsessed With a) Love Type-Thing,” a track that mixes the angular ALL style with sweet sappy pop punk a la The Mr. T Experience. “Kajagoogoo Head” is named for the 80s band that tried to blend new wave with disco funk and resulted in music that was the definition of bland. It’s ironically the hardest and heaviest track of the LP. Lyrics hilariously reference Kajagoogoo’s hit song, “Too Shy.” The intro to “Unforcertain Future” is awe-inspiring and way too short, and it leads into what may be my favorite track of the LP. It’s the brightest and poppiest song of the album, and I love the guitar tone that embellishes things; it pierces straight through to the soul. I’m glad I kept listening past that first track, because this is enjoyable.
THE CUTTHROAT BROTHERS AND MIKE WATT – The King Is Dead (Hound Gawd! Records, www.houndgawd.com)They come from Hawaii, but sound like they come from the bayous of Louisiana, if the bayous had greasy garages. They’re real-life barbers, and use that as a shtick in their act, wearing “blood” stained white shirts when they play, calling themselves “the Sweeney Todds of punk.” They play bluesy garage rock. And they were interviewed by none other than Mike Watt for his “Watt from Pedro” show, during which they had the bold idea to ask Watt if he would play bass on their new LP. To their surprise, he said yes, and “The King Is Dead” is here. Overall, the music is garage rock with a southern swamp-blues aesthetic. With guitar tuned to growl and spit, for the most part it’s lively stuff. The title track is a notable exception; it’s a slow burner, a doleful tune. “Out of Control” is a departure, too, with more of a power pop melody and no blues chord progressions. Of the rest of the tracks, I think I like “Candy Cane” best. I like the garage-punk sound, and the way the guitars meld power chords with blues slides. It’s one of the more energetic songs of the LP, too. As a whole, the album is OK. For the genre, it’s a little too clean sounding. I wish the mix had been a little dirtier and grittier.
RADIO DAYS – Rave On! (Sounds Rad, www.soundsradical.com)Radio Days are an Italian power pop band that have been around since 2008, but sound like they’re from 1980. The songs on this LP are classic power pop just like the songs that ruled the airwaves 40 years ago. Some of the songs rock and roll harder than others, like “I Got a Love.” Some bridge the gap between prototypical power pop and more modern indie and pop punk, like “Lose Control.” Some have a Beatles-esque vibe, like the jangly Brit-pop “Walk Alone.” I really enjoy the bubbly “Running Around,” with its very retro sound that would have been very at home on AM radio back in the day. And “What Is Life” alternates between a raucous garage chorus and breezy verses. If you’re a fan of power pop you should check out these Italians. I never would have guessed Italy would birth a band that sounds so American, but given the frequent tours that Paul Collins (of The Beat and The Nerves fame) has done, and American ex-pats keeping power pop alive on the continent, I guess it makes sense.
THE ROUTES – Instrumentals II (Groovie Records, www.groovierecords.com)I’ve reviewed releases from The Routes in the past, and have always enjoyed their mix of garage and psych sounds a lot. This new LP is a departure from that style, though still retro in character. This is, as the title implies, an all-instrumental LP, the second the band has released (the first one came out way back in 2013). The ten tracks on this new LP range from classic surf rock of the 1960s to spaghetti western style, and man is this stuff fun – and really well done. Right from the start, with “Pistolero,” you’re instantly transported to another place, another era. You can imagine the chases on horseback and the showdown in the dusty town square at high noon. I love the use of bright intervals in the melody of “Kapow!,” which will bring your thoughts to waves and sand and sun. Just don’t go looking for Annette or Frankie, this stuff ain’t the cleaned up Hollywood beach, this is the real deal. “Apocalypso” is reminiscent of the classic hit, “Tequila,” almost sounding like a cover, but it isn’t. “Ain’t It Black” has to be my favorite track of the LP. It’s bright, it’s mysterious, it’s very cinematic, it’s exciting, and it’s full of forward motion and energy; it sounds like it could have come from the soundtrack to a 1960s spy thriller film. I’m not normally big on instrumental rock and roll music, but damn, this stuff brings me joy. And it’s not even made by a California band – The Routes are based in Japan and led by a Scots expat!
SATANIC TOGAS / THE ZOIDS – Split (Goodbye Boozy Records, www.goodbyeboozydigital.bandcamp.com)Hailing from Sydney, Australia, Satanic Togas specialize in old school lo-fi punk fucking rock. Their two songs on this split (“Strange Attraction” and “Unaware”) are each barely over a minute long, but pack enough energy to power a small city. The music is raw and primal, with simple chords and melody, like all stripped down punk rock. This is the antidote for all the overdone bloated music that’s coming out today. On the flipside, The Zoids offer up two tracks, as well, “Running Man” and “Crash Mind.” The first is, again, some great primitive lo-fi punk rock, but this time with some weird spacy synth bleeps and bloops in the mix that later bleed into the guitar lines. The latter of the pair, though, is even spacier, with science fiction sound effects going on in the background. There’s no real melody on “Crash Mind,” it’s just primal, guitars and vocals riffing on just a couple of notes while the drums pound steadily. This last track doesn’t really do it for me like the other three do.
BOLTERGEIST – Maybe Next Year (High End Denim Records, highenddenimrecords.bandcamp.com)Boltergeist is a new Canadian punk band born out of extra time with nothing to do during the pandemic. Featuring members of Trashed Ambulance and Frank Dux, this four-song debut EP features darkly melodic punk with slight tinges of skate punk and broad arrangements that pack an emotional punch. The opening track, “Glory Days,” is a song about the isolation and feeling of imprisonment during the pandemic, and remembering the “glory days when I wasn’t trapped in this cage.” I like the almost-poppy “No, You’re an Idiom,” which has gliding harmonies in the vocals, and lyrics that use dozens of well-known idioms to highlight the feeling of helplessness, of everything going wrong, like the universe is conspiring against you. “Hometown Hostage” is a driving track about being stuck in a rut, letting life pass you by, and a reminder that “we have limited time / so take that leap.” The EP ends with the soaring and inspirational “Saving Daylight,” a song that fans of bands like Nothington will enjoy. Boltergeist intend to keep going and playing shows once that starts up again. Good thing.
HARD NIPS – Master Cat (Dadstache Records, www.dadstacherecords.com) Brooklyn’s Hard Nips has been a band for over a decade now. The foursome came together in New York by way of Japan, deciding over many sessions of drinking and talking that they could be a rock and roll band. So in 2009 they picked up their instruments for the first time. It’s the story of many punk bands back in the 1970s and 1980s. But despite the band’s insistence that their music melds “the early punk sonics of the Ramones and Blondie with the off-kilter fun of the B-52s,” the band really plays what I would call garage pop. The songs are fun and bouncy enough, particularly “Blender X,” which opens the eight-song LP. It’s got a retro 60s garage feel, though the keyboard tone is more 80s new wave than 60s garage. I do like the opening section of the title track, with its quiet Japanese folk song feel, before it launches into minimalist new wave pop. The hardest edgiest tracks of the LP, “Workaholic,” “Analog Guys,” and “Motto” aren’t really all that hard at all. They’re relatively mild, bubblegum indie rock, if you will. Then there are the smoother, slightly dreamy indie pop songs like “Alternative Dreamland” and “Anaconda,” with the latter having a bit of funkiness injected into it. This dichotomy is explained by the differing writing styles of two of the primary songwriters of the group. Gooch is responsible for those calmer tracks, and the more raucous ones are the work of Saki. Overall, it’s a fine enough album. But you can tell that they started out by learning how to play their instruments and how to be a band. They’re still working to perfect it, but they’re also still having fun.
NEW STANDARDS MEN – Spain’s First Astronaut (Snappy Little Numbers Quality Audio Recordings, www.snappylittlenumbers.com)New Standards Men is just the sort of thing we would have played on free-form non-mainstream radio station WZRD, 88.3 FM in Chicago, back when I was a DJ there. The station champions the obscure, the out of the ordinary, and the marginalized of the music world. New Standards Men specialize in instrumental and improvisational noise-rock, blending rock and roll with free jazz. This two-track cassette is a full album, really, with each track being a nearly 20 minute piece, titled “Spain’s First Astronaut I” and “Spain’s First Astronaut II.” The rhythm is driving, the drone of the guitars and the production team up to create an incredible atmosphere, and the saxophone provides a wild turbulent musical experience. If you’re looking for happy little pop songs, look elsewhere. If you’re looking for musical adventure, tag along with New Standards Men. You’ll be taken to places you never knew existed.
PARTING – Unmake Me (Count Your Lucky Stars Records, www.cylsrecords.com) What is “emo revival?” I don’t know, but that’s how the press materials describe Parting, the new project from Keith Latinen (Empire! Empire! (I Was a Lonely Estate)), Ben Hendricks (Annabel), Gooey Fame (Dowsing), and John Guynn. I suppose these bands were categorized as “emo” back in their day, but to me, emo is the music of the late 80s and early 90s that came out of Washington, D.C. and the many bands influenced by that style. Emo later became a term applied to screaming hardcore bands (also called “screamo”), and then later interchangeably with “pop punk” to bands that were, in my opinion, neither. That Parting is being lumped into that category doesn’t take away from the fact that they’re lovely. The seven songs here are pretty indie rock. I guess the emo-ness comes from the earnest vocals and heart-on-your-sleeve lyrics. The music glides brightly, with lush arrangements and wide dynamic range. There’s interesting interplay between guitars, both of which have gorgeous tone. There’s nice use of syncopation to give the effect of mathishness, though the time signatures don’t really change. I think my favorite track of the mini-LP is the waltz time “Stapler’s Monster,” which is delicate and enchanting. Parting have won me over with this debut.
PURPLE WITCH OF CULVER – Malibu’s Passing (Loantaka Records, www.loantaka-records.com)Saxophonist Sarah Safaie and producer/ multi-instrumentalist Evan Taylor are back with another new single to be released on Taylor’s Loantaka Records imprint. And while the previous singles I’ve reviewed have consisted of jazzy-funky music with beat poetry style vocals, this new one goes for a dreamy lounge feel. Gone is the spoken word stream of consciousness, replaced with hazy singing. Gone is the funk, replaced with a torch song like ballad. It’s very pretty and soothing. But I do love those previous singles better.
THE RAGING NATHANS – Waste My Heart (Rad Girlfriend Records, www.radgirlfriendrecords.com)Not a band to let the grass grow under their feet, The Raging Nathans return less than a year after last year’s excellent LP, “Oppositional Defiance.” And as good as that LP was (it made my list of 2020’s best LPs), this one is even better. These Ohioans just keep getting tighter and more creative. There’s a variety of song styles here, from pounding rapid-fire punk tunes to gentler pop punk to dark almost skate-punk sounds. The title track leads things off, and it’s a top-notch rager, speedy and powerful, melodic and angry. It’s 100% my favorite Raging Nathans song, not just from this LP, but of all of them. “I Could Never Fall In Love” was a huge surprise, with its Beach Boys style harmonies and smooth pop punk vibe. “Wide Awake” is an unusually bouncy pop punk number for the Nathans, reminding me somewhat of earlier Descendents material. “Out of Touch” is another favorite, with a poppy quickstep lope, and guitars and harmonized vocals that are equally thick. “Remember” harkens back to 1990s and 2000s emo-ish pop punk, while “Cemetery Drive” blends pop punk and skate punk sounds. The desperation in the lead vocals in “Tempus Fuck It” is palpable, and the angularity of the lead guitar line plus the darkness of the melody add up to a great track. Harmonized vocals that are echoed in the guitars yield a classic pop sound. “Shadow of Youth” is a powerful street punk/hardcore track, and another LP highlight. Despite the various disparate styles of music presented in these songs, they’re still all recognizably from The Raging Nathans. Once again, they have released a “best of the year candidate.”
RID OF ME – Last (Knife Hits Records, www.knifehitsrecords.com) The heavy noisy band, Rid of Me, is back with a new two-song cassette. The first track is a cover of the Sheryl Crow hit, “If It Makes You Happy,” and wow, what a great version of the song this is! It’s slower than the original, with layers of sludge and distortion, turning the jangly pop song into a gut-wrencher. The other track, “Form,” is equally thick and viscous, but with a gloomy melody out of a post-apocalyptic view of the future as seen from the 1980s. It’s a fine song, but that cover is killer.
SEIZED UP – Marching Down the Spiral (Cursed Blessings Records, www.cursedblessingsrecords.com)Seized Up is one of those hardcore “super groups,” featuring members of other well-known bands. In this case, it includes current and former members of The Distillers, BL’AST, All You Can Eat, and Good Riddance. After last fall’s quality debut with Pirate’s Press, the band are back with a new 7” EP via Cursed Blessings. And if you’re a fan of aggressive music, I think you’re going to like this one. The EP contains three songs of strong post-hardcore rage, with pounding drums, throbbing bass, angular stabbing guitar power, and angry shouted vocals. It’s straight-up 90s style, with the middle song, the title cut, being the most hardcore. The bookend tracks, “Forum of Decay” and “Dead Zone Denied,” are not quite as fast as the title track, but they’re no less hard-hitting. Definitely a good one for post-hardcore fans.
TALK SHOW HOST – Mid-Century Modern (Wiretap Records, www.wiretaprecords.com)I first came across Talk Show Host four years ago, and greatly enjoyed the Toronto band’s self-released EP “Not Here To Make Friends.” Now they’re signed to Wiretap Records and releasing their debut full-length LP. They say they’re influenced by 90s music, but this seems to me to be much better than anything from the 90s, and more influenced by power pop than punk. The songs are catchy as all hell, with great songwriting and top-notch arrangements. The number one hit of the LP, without a doubt, is the spectacular power pop song, “Syntax Error OK.” The chorus is quite Beatles-like, complete with solid harmonies and a classic melodic line. “You Asshole!” is a fun song, mixing a pounding rhythm with a melody that propels the song forward really well. The surf guitar reverb and the gang vocals punctuating the track are spot on. “Warmest Condolences” is solid modern indie rock track with a swagger in its step, and “Too Many Problems” is a fantastically frenetic track that’s not ska but has a jumpy ska underpinning. There isn’t a bad song on this LP; it’s excellent throughout, and recommended for all fans of power pop, pop punk, and just good music.
HOTEL ETIQUETTE – Ex Questions (Triple Hammer Records, www.hoteletiquetteny.com) Hotel Etiquette isn’t just being considerate of other guests when you’re staying at an inn, it’s also the solo project from Mike Hansen, drummer for the band Pentimento. Rather than idling during the pandemic isolation, Hansen spent time writing and recording, and his first solo EP under the Hotel Etiquette moniker, “Sex Questions,” came out last summer. This mini-LP is the follow-up is creatively titled “Ex Questions,” and its songs cover topics such as depression, loneliness, and desperation, the things that result from relationships that don’t work out. Musically, Hotel Etiquette varies from dreamy ambient to hardcore, but most of the songs are a blend of 2000’s era emo/pop punk and modern pop punk sounds. Punctuating some of the tracks are recordings of what I assume is Hansen and friends bullshitting around with each other and having fun. Those give the record a more relaxed and informal feel that goes along with the warmth of the songs. I love the title track, which opens things; it’s the dreamy ambient track I mentioned. Reverb and other studio effects create a drowsy half-waking feel. And immediately after, “”I Wanna Be Alright” hammers hard, mixing post-hardcore power and 2000s soaring emoish sounds. “What Friends Do” is another favorite, with a bounce to its beat, jangling guitars, and vocals that go from calm and collected to frantic. The guitar tone in “I’m in Love With (Judging) You)” is amazing, sounding trumpet-like, perfect for this song that leans more toward the pop end of the spectrum. It took me a few listens, but I’m enjoying this.
IRMANS – Hermano (No Front Teeth Records, www.nofrontteeth.co.uk / Dirty Water Records, www.dirtywaterrecords.co.uk)Irmans (the name means “brothers” in the Galician language) is yet another project born of the global pandemic. Unable to play live shows with their respective bands, Jose Reilly and Manuel Santos began writing and playing as a duo. Francho Wilson came on board a few months later, and Irmans came to fruition. This single represents the bands debut, and it features two songs. “I Wanna See You” has elements of surf rock, reminding me of some of the west coast post-punk sounds of the mid-80s. The title track has a harder feel, almost Spits-like, but slowed down to a more leisurely relaxed pace. A promising beginning.
JACKSON REID BRIGGS & THE HEATERS – Waiting On A Corner (Drunken Sailor Records, www.drunkensailorrecords.co.uk)A friend of mine recently listed out who he thought were the top five Australian bands ever. The list contained the usual suspects, like The Saints, Radio Birdman, and AC/DC. I plan on telling him how woefully remiss he was for not including Jackson Reid Briggs & The Heaters, because this album rocks! The band play garage rock with a punk attitude, but more than that, these tracks have soul. There’s a deep R&B quality here that’s incredibly appealing. The music is raucous and wild, with non-stop power. Listen to “Been Waiting” and hear the bluesy soulfulness, even amidst the garage intensity. Listen to “Eaten Alive,” and you’d swear there was a band full of trumpets and saxophones playing along (dammit, Jackson, you need to do that!), so strong is the R&B feel in this one. The bass drones, the guitars pummel with rhythm, and the organ sings out a melody, while Briggs’ vocals scream out with intensity. The album never lets up, never lets you down.
KNOWSO – Rare Auld Trip/ Psychological Garden (Drunken Sailor Records, www.drunkensailorrecords.co.uk)When I reviewed Knowso’s debut LP, “Specialtronics Green Vision,” last year, I raved about its creativity. I commented on the angular melodic lines, guitar jabs, off-kilter bass, and vocals that are spoken in unison, and about how these Ohioans evoke experimental rock music of the early 80s. This sophomore LP is brings more of the same, which is both a blessing and a curse. It’s still way out there, way different from any other music being made by anyone. But, at the same time, it is somewhat repetitive. It’s still good, it’s still creative and different, but I’m not sure I would listen to the full album in the future. A track here and there in shuffle mode is the best way to listen. That said, the best tracks, in my opinion, include the urgent and alarming sounds of “Staring at the Spiral,” and “You Lick The Boot,” which has a semblance of pop melody and a political message about the efficacy of protests and riots and a commentary about those who take the sides of police.
MAINFRAME – "Employee" b/w "Rip" (Goodbye Boozy Records, www.goodbyeboozydigital.bandcamp.com)Lo-fi insanity abounds in this new single from Mainframe. This is synth punk, speedy and sleazy, with as much of a garage twist as you can put into synths. “Employee” is the more “traditional” punk sounding of the pair, while “RIP” is poppier and bouncier, but still noisy and chaotic. Both tracks end with strange hilarious tapes of some music played at what seems to be 10x speed. Fun stuff.
MATT CASKITT AND THE BREAKS – Welcome Home (Bypolar Records / Defiant Robot Records / Swamp Cabbage Records / Tiny Dragon Music, www.mattcaskittandthebreaks. bandcamp.com)This has to be one of the most anticipated albums of 2021 in the Southern California/West Coast music scene. After the indefinite hiatus of the band Caskitt, everyone wondered what front man Matt would do next. MC&TB have been around a few years now, playing live shows (except for the past year) and answering that question. Over the past year plus they’ve been teasing fans with rumors of recording sessions, and now the debut LP is finally here. Matt’ built this band with other veterans of the San Diego DIY music scene, and they’ve become a top notch team, consisting of Michael Kelly and Ricky Martinez on guitars, AJ Peacox on bass, and of course Matt Caskitt on drums and lead vocals. “Welcome Home” is aptly titled, as it’s a return of Matt’s songwriting to the style that Caskitt played so well, but moved away from on their last LP, “Old Fires New Frontier,” which was harder edged with too much slick metallic guitar work. “Welcome Home” returns to more of a pop punk and indie mix of heartfelt personal songs with soaring melodies, Matt’s lofty vocals towering over the tight instrumentals. This is a return to the Caskitt style I, personally, loved so much. Like many of his songs, the songs on “Welcome Home” are somewhat autobiographical, dealing with the tumultuous changes and ending of a relationship, divorce, heartbreak, acceptance, and moving on to open a new chapter of life.
One highlight of the LP for me is “Los Angeles Miserables,” which recounts a particularly difficult phase of Matt’s previous relationship. It’s become a staple of the band’s live sets, and this recording of it is even better than the live version. The song’s opening, with hollow lo-fi recording of the chorus, echoes the hollowness that Matt found in life in America’s second largest city. AJ’s bass lines and the distant sounding guitars add a sense of melancholy, and Matt’s singing has a desperate quality. Another highlight is “Thursday Night Heavyweights,” sort of a companion piece to Caskitt’s “Friday Night Lightweights,” which is one of my all-time favorite Caskitt songs, about finally coming out of your shell and living your life authentically when you normally hide who you really are. While that song is uplifting and celebratory, the new one is the opposite, about feeling trapped and miserable, with music that’s harder and vocals that are more anguished. The use of a vintage recording from the 1951 Rocky Marciano vs. Joe Louis boxing match at one point is a nice touch, with the announcer shouting, “It’s all over! He can’t get up!” as a nod to the feeling of constantly getting punched in the gut by life. I love the sweet, romantic sound of “Escape Route For Two,” with guest vocals by Molly Perkins. It shows that no matter how bleak things may seem, there are ways out, back to happiness. Perkins’ singing is a lovely surprise. Other guest vocalists include Jax Mendez of the band Hey, Chels on “Fall Weather,” and Ricky Schmidt of Western Settings and Ricky on the closing track, “All Good Things Come To An End.” That last track is less about endings than it is about acceptance and moving forward in life. It’s the most driving track of the album, and the most hopeful sounding. This is the album I was hoping for. It’s the album we need.
NEEDLES//PINS (Dirt Cult Records, www.dirtcultrecords.com)Canada produces a lot of excellent bands, and Vancouver’s Needles//Pins is no exception. I first encountered this band almost exactly eight years ago, when they were on tour in the US with fellow Canucks, The Steve Adamyk Band. They played a memorable set at the venerable VLHS warehouse (RIP), and they’re still making excellent music. They’ve made us wait a long time for a new LP; “Good Night, Tomorrow” came out four years ago. But thankfully they got themselves into the studio and have presented us with ten new tracks on a self-titled LP. And the same evolution in their sound I noted in my review of that LP has continued, moving further away from their garage punk roots and more into the big beer-soaked sing-along West Coast pop punk sound. But even amidst the gravelly vocals and broad sounds, there’s plenty of pop melody, jangling guitars, a bouncy step, and the warmth of keyboards. Songs like “A Rather Strained Apologetic” bring back memories of Awesome Fest shows, and it’s one of my favorite songs of the LP. The combination of pop melody and huge sing-along sections is evocative of the 2010s era and bands like Dan Padilla or The Slow Death. “Of Things Left to Chance” has a nice Nirvana-like grunge edge to it. The short minute-long blast of goodness called “Baleful” is another favorite, with its bright melody made brighter by the keyboards, contrasting with the gruffness of the vocals. The closing track, “The Tyranny of Comforts,” is the most different from the rest, with a darker post punk sound, an unrelenting rhythm hammering, and a simple yet powerful melody. The use of the keyboards as percussion gives the song the sound of alarm, a nervous unbalanced feeling that’s downright chilling. This may be my favorite Needles//Pins LP yet, and it’s certain to make my year-end list of the best of 2021.
NEIGHBORHOOD BRATS – Confines of Life (Dirt Cult Records, www.dirtcultrecords.com)
Another band I first saw at Awesome Fest, Neighborhood Brats, are a powerhouse of a band, formerly from the Bay Area and now in Los Angeles for the last several years. Most of Neighborhood Brats’ output is classic punk and hardcore, but on this, their third studio LP, they branch out somewhat, adding post-punk, surf-punk, and melodic power pop influences, too. The band tackles sensitive subjects on this LP, such as sexual harassment and assault (“Harvey Weinstein (Is a Symptom)”), the dramatic rise of racism we’ve seen in the country (“All Nazis Must Die”), the crisis of homelessness (“Transitional Housing”), and climate change (“Who Took the Rain”). I really like “Miss America Pageant,” which blends Dischord-style post hardcore with surf-punk. “We’ll Find You” and especially “Harvey Weinstein (Is a Symptom)” are fast and furious 80s hardcore ragers that are sure to get your blood pumping. “All Nazis Must Die” is a new entry into the classic surf-punk instrumental genre. And I really like the garage punk sounds of “I Want You,” which I think I recognize from some live shows I’ve seen. You can’t be a fan of punk without being a fan of Neighborhood Brats. Recommended.
CADDY – Detours and Dead Ends Vol. 1 (Kool Kat Musik, www.koolkatmusik.com) This is an interesting concept. Caddy is the brainchild of Tomas Dahl, a Norwegian power-pop fanatic. He’s collected together ten forgotten power-pop songs from the 70s and 80s and breathed new life into them on this unique collection of covers. For example, who remembers the band Sgt. Arms? Certainly not me! But here’s one of the two songs from their sole single, released in 1982, “Walking On The Roof.” If anything, Caddy’s version is superior to the original, giving the song a somewhat thicker and tougher sound. The best tracks on this collection, in my opinion? “Cost of Love,” originally done by Screaming Sneakers, an early band bridging the gap between punk rock and power pop in 1982. Their sole EP included this upbeat, powerful track that’s raucous but very bouncy and melodic, and Caddy’s version is true to the original, though with a denser sound. It’s a band and song I had never heard of, but it’s aces. In 1980 The Cretones released “Cost of Love,” a Stiff Records style song, and Caddy thickens the arrangement and adds overdubbed harmonies in the vocals. Plus the song feels like it’s got a bit more spring in its step, making it a standout of the album. And Chrissy’s boppin’ 1980 track that mixes new wave and power pop, “Mark My Words,” is slowed down and reimagined as a slightly grungier indie rock song. Most of the tracks are, well, fine power pop but nothing that stands out, and one can understand why many of these bands only ever released one or two records. But Caddy really improves on most of these songs. If you’re a fan of classic power pop, you’ll have as much fun hunting down the original tracks online and comparing the covers as I did. I’m assuming the “Vol. 1” attached to the title implies Caddy’s got more of these old records collected and is working on resurrecting more songs from the past.
DIVIDED HEAVEN – The Filthy 15 (Wiretap Records, www.wiretaprecords.com)If you’re old enough to remember the PMRC, the Parents’ Music Resource Center, you’ll recall it was an organization founded by Tipper Gore to censor the music industry, especially metal, rap, and punk acts. You may recall that the “Filthy 15” is a reference to the PMRC’s list of the fifteen worst offenders of their delicate sensibilities, and that the list included bands like Prince, Judas Priest, Mötley Crüe, Madonna, and even Cyndi Lauper. This new song recalls all the records that kept Divided Heaven front man Jeff Berman alive in his youth, and how there were forces that wanted to burn all the records. Musically, this one of the most lively and raucous from Divided Heaven in some time, and it’s great to remember that they can do more than singer-songwriter material, as good as that is. This single is rapidly becoming one of my favorites from Divided Heaven in some time.
DUCKS LTD. – Get Bleak (Carpark Records, www.carparkrecords.com)Formerly known as Ducks Unlimited (I guess they began running short on ducks), the Toronto band are re-releasing their 2019 debut EP, adding three more songs to turn it into a seven-song mini LP. The songs remind me a lot of 90s indie pop records from labels like Sarah Records or Slumberland, with a clean breezy guitar sound, poppy beat, and vocals trying to sound indifferent while singing about topics that one can’t feel indifferent toward. I particularly like “Gleaming Spires,” one of the more up-tempo songs, for its spritely guitar and lyrics that seem to speak to idealization of a relationship. “Annie Forever” is a light and airy song, delicate and pretty. “Anhedonia” is, ironically,” a pleasant song that feels like it’s trying to be bright but has a pall cast over it. It’s got a deliberate beat and insistent rhythm guitar with lead guitar trying mightily to put on a brave face, but you can sense the glum rainy day feel of the song. It’s perfect. The three new tracks add in a dose of 80s Britpop. “Oblivion” has a Joy Division bass sound, and jangly guitars, while sounding dark and depressed, and may be my favorite of the mini-LP. “As Big As All Outside” and “It’s Easy,” sound like two versions of the same song, with melodic lines or chord progressions that are too similar, but they’re nice, nonetheless. If you’re a fan of indie-pop that sounds both bright and sad, this is for you. Recommended.
GHOULIES – Reprogram (Goodbye Boozy Records, goodbyeboozydigital.bandcamp.com) I can hardly write a better review for this Australian band’s new EP than what came in the press announcement: “This EP might sound something like a thirteen tricycle pile-up under an exploding piñata, but the band’s caustic wit should be disclaimer enough against eating their candy.” Ha! This stuff is mind-blowingly chaotic and bubbly and sugary sweet at the same time, synths running to overload along with manic guitars and desperate vocals. The circus clowns riding those thirteen tricycles to their demise are hopped up on speed, rushing around in a crazed frenzy, all trying to whack their sticks at the piñata without a thought to the competing traffic. Insanity abounds, in songs like “American Stut-ly,” which sounds like the theme from some demented sitcom. “The Wig” whirls like a bunch of hyperactive brats running circles around you and screaming in your ears, but always out of reach. “NPC” has the feel of a new wave song, if the band was playing under the big top, trapeze artists flying overhead while the lion tamer cracks his whip below. And “E.T. Gnome” is an epic of a track, the perfect way to close this EP. Seven songs in ten minutes, clinging to reality by your fingernails, ready to snap at any moment? Yes! That’s Ghoulies.
THE MISTONS – World Of Convenience (themistons.bandcamp.com)Wow, just when you think you know what The Mistons are all about, they throw you a curveball. And another. On one LP. The Mistons are a Portland, Oregon based duo, guitar and drums, and this is one helluva great and varied album. It starts out with the title track, an old school punk rock track with garage sensibilities. Distortion abounds in both the guitar and drums, hammering away on just a couple of chords while the vocals urgently sing-shout. It’s an outstanding start, and I think, OK, I know what sort of band The Mistons are. And the next track, “Concentual” is different, but fits in well enough; it’s an old school bluesy garage rock sound. “High Water Style” is less manic, more of a post punk droning feel a la mid-period Wire, but the noisy jangle in the guitar maintains an early punk root. We get some exciting and melodic power pop in “Let’s Go,” and “Transmission” is glam AF. I’m not as enthused by the rock ballad, “Laverne,” which makes me think of arenas with crowds of people, arms held high, swaying back and forth with lighters aflame. But the track that really stands out to me, that’s 180 degrees from everything else on this already varied LP, is “Follow That Creek.” It has the sound of an ancient folk tune, but played on an electric guitar. It’s dark and mysterious, eerie and magical. It’s almost jarring to go back to the garage punk sounds after that, but “Don’t Understand” is a fantastic track in its own right, bouncy and poppy with the right amount of snot and distortion. Goddamn, this is highly recommended.
OH CONDOR – Emergency Psychic (Blind Rage Records, blindragerecords.bandcamp.com) One usually doesn’t think of Midwestern industrial cities when one thinks of indie rock bands, but Dayton has produced more than its fair share. Guided By Voices, Brainiac, and The Breeders are names that should be familiar, and they all call Dayton home. Oh Condor is another such band, trying to work their way to top of mind like these other bands. Their latest effort to do so is “Emergency Psychic,” a sweeping LP that ranges from dissonant and skittish pop to mathish indie to hazy shoegaze. Some of the tracks are easy and relaxed, while most are frenetic and jittery. “Zero Return” is one in this latter category, not exactly math-rock, but with the uncertain feel of that genre, like you aren’t sure what’s going to happen next. The track has a nervousness anxiety to it that makes it hard to sit still. Juxtaposed against that is “Handwriting Police,” a track that’s fuzzier and more introspective sounding, dare I say dreamy? I enjoy the play of indie rock melody against frenzied guitars in “Clear Coasts,” and the alternation of cacophonous and breezy sections of “Bought and Sold” is cool. It’s pretty hard to pin down Oh Condor, which is usually the mark of a good band.
BELVEDERE – Hindsight Is The Sixth Sense (Thousand Islands Records, www.thousandislandsrecords.com) Upon first listen of the first track, “Happily Never After,” my thoughts were, “OK, another skate punk band, more than competent, but sounding the same as every other skate punk band out there, so ultimately uninteresting. Boy, was I wrong. After letting the other tracks play out, I realized that these Canadian veterans are not run of the mill or dull at all. And it makes sense; they’ve been around for two and a half decades, honing their craft. They are certainly more than competent, with tight arrangements, blazingly fast speed, and close harmonizing in the vocals. But what’s even better is the creativity in the songwriting, something not normally seen in the skate punk scene, known for its generic sound. For example, “Elephant March,” the second track of the LP, is a singularly unique track, creating a circus-like atmosphere amidst metallic flourishes, but it’s a dark circus. The melody and chord progressions are distinctly not skate punk, though the speed and harmonies are. It’s an interesting combination. A lot of these tracks have more of a pop component, giving them a brighter feel than most skate punk, which tends to have a uniformly dark sound. I like the alternating tempos and time signature angularity of “The Ides,” and “Camera Obscura” has some strong melodic content amidst the raging metallic guitars. “Chromatic” too, is a colorful track (pun intended), with a great pop melody, played briskly and aggressively. “2 Fast 2 Furious” is not just played at supersonic speed, it’s also very tuneful. “Automate” is as speedy, metallic, and aggressive as any skate punk tune, but just listen to that big melody and the amazing progressive-like guitar lines. This is like no skate punk you’ve ever heard before. 
DATBLYGU – Pyst (Hate Records, www.haterecords.com) Datblygu (a Welsh word, pronounce “dat-bluggy” and meaning “development”) were most active in the 80s and early 90s, calling it quits in 1995, but reforming in 2012. “Pyst” was originally released in 1990 and has been long out of print, but is seeing a fresh reissue in 2021. Though recorded in 1990, the record sounds like it could have been written a decade earlier, as massively creative post-punk permeates every song. The vocals are all in Welsh, a musical language in its own right, but it makes it impossible to understand what the songs are about. This, however, doesn’t lessen my enjoyment of the tracks one iota. The opening song, “Benjamin Bore,” uses synths and detuned guitar, with emphatic vocals that seem to be an admonition to the titular character. The song alternates between a new wave dance-beat chorus and more free-form verses. “Mas a Lawr” (Up and Down) has a darkly operatic quality, while “Nofel O'r Hofel” (Motel or Hotel) is mostly spoken word vocals with mistuned piano and subtle percussion and other sound effects throbbing in the background; the latter song has a sad, lonely sound to it. “Dymuniadau Da” (Good Wishes) has the sound of a bluesy torch song mixed with folk-psych, courtesy of the piano and violin used as instrumentation. “Blwyddyn Nesa Efallai Leukaemia” (Next Year Maybe Leukemia) is an oddly titled song of bass dominant synth-based post-punk, with tropical sound effects and deep sighs punctuating the rhythms. “Ugain I Un” (Twenty to One) has moments of synthesized steel pedal guitar country music, but the rhythm guitar’s slightly out of tune quality keeps things just a bit off kilter. “Mwnci Efo Crach” (Monkey with Scratch) is a fun novelty-like track with synthesized jungle noises and a children’s song melody. That crazy dissonance of “Rhawt” (Shut Up), with its free jazz sax and trumpet, is unsettling in the best way. And the closing track, “Nos Da Sgum” (Good Night Scum) sounds like the closing credit love song for a twisted Bond film. Listening to these tracks brings back great memories of one of the most creative periods of music in my lifetime, and this is recommended.
BRAD MARINO – Looking For Trouble (Rum Bar Records, www.rumbarrecords.com)Power pop is a genre that was popular back in the late 70s and early 80s, and it laid the roots for pop punk, with more melody while maintaining an aggressive bite, While the musical style faded, there are still stalwarts making their mark, and one of those is Brad Marino. On his third full-length LP, he presents a dozen songs that jangle and rock. Notable tracks include the hilarious “Local Show,” which has lyrics like “It’s a local show / Which means nobody will go,” and a spoken section in which a friend of a band member tries to weasel onto the guest list and get discounts on merch. “Something For Nothing” is one of my favorites of the LP, with a fantastic guitar jangle going on, hints of a garage attitude, and loads of bounce. Another favorite, for the same reasons, is “Take Your Time;” the guitar tone is really pleasing, with a mix of 60s garage and British invasion sounds. “Tripwire” is a cinematic instrumental, worthy of a movie soundtrack’s end credits, sounding like something from both a dusty spaghetti western and a surf flick. A couple of the tracks come from last year’s “False Alarm” EP, including that title track, with its beachy rock and roll sound, and “At Night,” a track that mixes surf pop and Ramones core styles, bookended by synthesized flutes. “Fell In Love Again” is a fun one with a lighter touch, too. I think it’s these lighter bouncy songs that I like the best. The harder rocking tracks are fine, but these jangly ones are so nice. If you’re a power pop fan, you can’t go wrong with Brad Marino.
NASIMIYU – P O T I O N S (Figureeight Records, www.figureeightrecords.com)I had zero expectations or preconceived notions upon listening to this album, as I had never before been exposed to nasimiYu, as she stylizes her name. According to the press info, she’s an activist, a dancer, and a one-woman band. This is her first release after a seven-year hiatus that had been induced by writer’s block. This LP also represents her first completely solo effort, as she played all instruments, provided all the vocals, and produced it herself. And I am enthralled. The ten songs are nothing short of magical. Bright and spacious, with multi-tracked vocals, some with a dance beat, some with Asian-pop fusion melodies, the songs explore a variety of personal topics, including secrets, heartbreak, psychedelic medicine, and self-actualization. The vocal effects on “Watercolor” are amazing, nasimiYu turning her backing vocals into musical instruments, while the lead vocals almost feel like free-form poetry. While some of the songs share some elements with contemporary pop music, the feeling here is more one of sonic art than commercial music. “Immigrant Hustle” has poppy elements, but a strong Asian edge, and the music box-like synths make me smile. The same synths are used on “Practice,” a jazzy soulful song that’s very understated, with sparse instrumentation (though the multi-tracked vocals slowly build through the track). “Parasite” has a jazz bass line, Asian harp embellishments, and ethereal vocals. I love the easy beat and smooth pop feel of “Who Are You,” and the closing track, “Archipelago,” is stunningly gorgeous and enchanting, so understated and pretty. As is the whole LP. I’m a new fan.
PIKEFRUIT – Inflorescence (pikefruit.bandcamp.com)Pop music, lounge music, and otherworldly ambience are the main ingredients to Pikefruit, a Seattle-based duo. A wide range of synth sounds blend together, creating a dreamscape. There’s a pop dance beat and melodic lines, and torch song lounge style vocal lines (with a bubblegum pop voice) go along for the ride, painting on a musical canvas unlike much of anything else out there. Some of the tracks are more ethereal, like “Perfect Secrecy,” which swirls and envelops you with lush sounds and warm feelings, more than with a distinct melody or beat. “Lullaby” is an aptly named track, sounding like something from the place between wakefulness and sleep. The tempo is languid, the vocals hazy and relaxed, the synths providing a gauzy layer over it all. But there are tracks like “Play Your Game,” which are bouncy and almost dance-inducing, the beat coming through strongly, even as the synths shimmer. Pikefruit is a window into a glimmering alternate reality.
SUZI MOON – Call The Shots (Pirates Press Records, www.piratespressrecords.com)Suzi Moon is a veteran of the punk rock scene. She spent years touring with her sister in Civet, and then began fronting her own band, Turbulent Hearts. Now Moon is joining Pirates Press Records and releasing her solo debut, a three-song EP titled, “Call The Shots.” And this is punk fucking rock! Moon’s strong confident vocals remind me a lot of Bad Cop/Bad Cop’s Stacey Dee, also a punk veteran who’s toured the world in various bands. On the first song of this EP, Moon boldly declares, “I’m not man and I don’t give a damn!” It’s a triumphant anthem of equality, similar to songs from Bad Cop/Bad Cop, but here played with garage rock ferocity and a 50s retro rock and roll edge. “Nuthin’ to Me” is a hard rockin’ rager of an anti-love song, and my favorite of the three. Moon’s vocals are powerful and demand attention, while the instrumentals seethe and erupt. Interestingly, on the final song of the trio, “Special Place In Hell,” Moon’s vocals sound more like another of the lead vocalists from Bad Cop, Jennie Cotterill, at least in places, and the gang vocals on the chorus are perfect. Great debut!
DEMONS – Privation (Spartan Records, www.spartanrecords.com) Opening with the dire sounds of an industrial alarm and a robotic voice announcing, “We’re worn down and we’ve lost hope of recovering,” Demons’ sophomore LP, “Privation,” is brutal and bleak. This is super heavy, grinding, powerful post hardcore and industrial mixed together, with distortion and angularity aplenty. You can hear the desperate anger in the vocals and in the instrumentals. Demons are not fucking around. “Play Acting Virtue” is mostly bass heavy and stompingly harsh, and interjects some distant fuzzed higher pitched guitar sounds that seem like a siren from some science fiction dystopia, and it has a very chilling sound. “Hosanna” is another favorite, with alternating time signatures and a very 90s feel. At the halfway mark there’s a very experimental bridge with interesting found sound recordings layered over each other; it’s very eerie, and the extra distortion on the drums adds a ghostly air. “Slow Burn” is misnamed, because that track blazes fast and intensely. “Full Stop” sounds like a 90s Dischord band would have sound had they suddenly gotten a lot harder and edgier and signed to Amphetamine Reptile. There are a lot of post-emo melodic and structural elements in this sound that remind me a lot of some of those bands. I’ve mentioned before that I don’t normally go in for the heavy stuff, but this is creative, inventive, and unique music, and I heartily recommend it, for those who are fans of heavy music and for those who aren’t.
GRADUATION SPEECH – Private Anxieties (Jetsam-Flotsam, www.jetsam-flotsam.com) “Private Anxieties” finds Graduation Speech graduating from solo acoustic to full band. The project began as a solo effort from pop punk band Aspiga’s Kevin Day, but over the course of his now three EPs, Day has gradually built on that. The underlying basics of Graduation Speech still consists of Day’s acoustic guitar and vocals, but here we get a full electric guitar, bass, and drums, plus some backing vocals layered over that. The three songs of the EP are, as is the case with Graduation Speech songs, less raucous than Aspiga, more delicate and introspective. I love the jangly indie pop bounce of “Dare To Try,” which opens the EP. There’s a distinct contrast between the bright fuzzed quality of the electric guitar and the simple strumming of the acoustic guitar. The strong backbeat from the drums gives the song quite a spring in its step. “Everything I Need,” though, has a starker sound; the backbeat is still there, but the electric guitar’s reverb-laden wail is more prominent, giving the song a more lonely and desperate sound. So, too, does “Keep Still,” which closes the EP. The vocals are smooth and steady, the electric guitar given an even more prominent role, practically crying out, with layers of distortion and reverb giving it a far off sound, something distant. This is really nice.
HADDA BE – Another Life (Last Night From Glasgow, www.lastnightfromglasgow.com) Founded a mere three years ago under the name “Foundlings,” UK’s Hadda Be has experienced more than their fair share of turmoil in their short lifetime. A line-up change with the departure of their bass player, having parenthood thrust upon them, the unrest of Brexit, and a global pandemic have conspired to prevent the band from writing, recording, and releasing their debut LP. Even geographical distance (the band is split between hometowns of London and Brighton) couldn’t stop them, and between two national lockdowns, the band managed to get into the studio and lay down these eleven tracks in a minimal amount of time. Finally, a trademark dispute forced a name change, and thus the band was rechristened Hadda Be (the name taken from Allen Ginsberg’s poem, “Hadda Be Playing on the Jukebox”). The band alternates between melancholic indie and bubbly pop, with Amber’s lead vocals shining clearly and beautifully throughout the LP. The title track immediately captivated me; it’s got an energetic feel that teeters between anxiety and effervescence. Lyrics speak to uncertainty, particularly in relationships and how one is perceived by others. “I tread so lightly I can’t move anymore / I can’t think, my hands tied / Driving you way out for the first time / And it covers me in worry, now that’s all I ever know / I bring trouble, someone called me out in another life.” “Apathy,” too, bursts forth with energy as it opens the LP, then settles into something smooth yet driving. And “Fire” brings in some gritty grunge and garage elements to the song. I like the juxtaposition of smooth guitar sounds with the angular melody of “Unknown Places,” Amber’s vocals crooning. “So It Goes” is a lovely delicate song, with acoustic guitars that give the song the sound of an old folk tune. Some of the songs are darker sounding, including “Catch It On The Fall,” which has an ‘80s post punk feel mixed with some moments big dreaminess. “Take It Away” merges nervous pacing in the guitars with effortlessly glossy yet insistent vocals and a sinister melody. “Wait In The Dark” slathers a layer of distortion over the manic song, jittery instrumentals and vocals frenetically belting out from the speakers. The blending of hard and soft elements, the gorgeous beauty of the vocals and the fibrousness of the instrumentals, the poppy bounce and the dark melodies, makes this a great debut.
THE LILLINGTONS – Can Anybody Hear Me (Red Scare Industries, www.redscare.net)In 2015, David Jones of the pop punk band Enemy You sadly took his own life in 2015. There have been various tributes to him over the years, and the latest is this five-song EP of Enemy You covers from The Lillingtons. The record was made as a benefit, with a portion of the proceeds being donated to the National Suicide Prevention Hotline. These songs are proof of Jones’ top-notch songwriting skills, and The Lillingtons’ recordings stay true to the originals. Enemy You may not be a household name, but going back and listening to these songs, it’s clear to see they deserved to be bigger, and what a loss Jones’ death was. Songs included are “Automoton,” “Awake,” and “Hopes and Dreams” from the “Where No One Knows My Name” LP, as well as “72 Hours” and “The Only One” from “Stories Never Told.” These songs still sound fresh today, and The Lillingtons certainly do them justice. These are fast-paced, great poppy punk tunes. There’s a sixth track, too, titled “Untitled Yeebrah,” which has recordings of Jones speaking at the end of a live set and at various other times. It’s a fitting tribute, a great record, and for a worthy cause, so there are three great reasons to get this record.
SAM RUSSO – Refuse To Lose (Red Scare Industries, www.redscare.net)Sam Russo and Red Scare have dropped a surprise on us in the form of a new 3-song EP. Sam has taken three songs from last year’s excellent LP, “Back To The Party,” and rerecorded them with a full band, including Dan Andriano (of The Alkaline Trio) on bass. Russo’s planned tour and festival appearances in support of the LP were, of course, all cancelled, and it’s a shame because it really is a great record. When I reviewed it last year I commented about how some of the tracks were really raucous pop punk songs, especially the closer, “The Basement.” So here it is, the opening track of the EP as a full band pop punk song. It’s not so much raucous as it is full and lush, the promise the song offered now fully realized. My favorite song of that album, “The Window,” is here, too, and this one is transformed from a soaring acoustic track to a bright boisterous tune with full instrumentation. And I commented on the unusual instrumentation on the LP of “Young Heroes,” using glockenspiel and mandolin to fill out the delicate sound. On the new EP, with the full band treatment, it becomes the most aggressive of the three tracks, with a huge epic sound, and my favorite of the EP. Isn’t it fascinating how a different arrangement can completely transform a song? These are great.
TOTH – You And Me And Everything (Northern Spy Records, www.northernspyrecs.com)“You And Me And Everything” represents Alex Toth’s second solo album, his second endeavor since the dissolution of both his former band, Rubblebucket, and his longtime relationship with band mate Kalmia Traver. While his solo debut as Toth was written in the wake of these events, “You And Me And Everything” sees him learning to accept things outside of his own control. That sense of calmness is evident throughout the dozen tracks here, which are consistently gorgeous, lush, light pop music. There are touches of jazz and bossa nova injected here and there, bits of folk, and even some new wavy synth pop. It’s all beautiful. A couple of the tracks feature pretty a cappella vocals as an intro. Such is the case of the breezy “Habit Creature,” which uses acoustic guitar, subtle drum machine and some cool synths to create a delicate bossa nova song about the habit of reliance on relationships with others to feel good, and the process of healing yourself from that. “I Might Be” is an interesting mix of light pop, light jazz, and synth pop that examines the difference between love and addiction. “I might be addicted to you / but is that love?” the song asks. The song has sparkling synths, a bouncing booming bass line, those gorgeous harmonized backing vocals, driving piano, and a great jazzy trombone solo. “Butterflies” is a short (38 second) track about crippling anxiety (butterflies in my stomach all the time). It’s got a feeling of being disoriented and out of sorts, like someone reeling in a stupor. I love the sensation of this song. “Turnaround” (Cocaine Song)” is lovely and lush, mixing pop, folk jangle, a backdrop of wind instruments, and a jazzy trumpet solo. The song recounts one of the lowest points of Toth’s life and how this gave him the drive to turn his life around. He sings of being at a bar, already stumbling drunk, doing a line of coke with someone he barely knew, then getting into a taxi to go to his aunt’s funeral where he was supposed to play “Ave Maria” on the trumpet. Instead, he passed out. The story of that fateful day is laid bare, and Toth’s courage in his honesty is commendable. As bleak as a lot of the songs may seem, Toth has a sense of humor, and it shows on “Guitars Are Better Than Synthesizers for Writing Through Hard Times.” “I feel weird / My ex just broke up with the person they broke up with me for / Three years later and at the same time as I’m falling in love / The breakup album I made about her isn’t even out yet / This makes me sadder than I ever could have imagined.” The mix of acoustic guitar and synths in the track adds to the humor. On the closing track, “The Driving,” Toth comes to a realization: “Why do I need a person right next to me to help me believe?” The chorus highlights the struggle between the desire to have a relationship and the reasons for it. “I don’t know what my intentions are / I don’t know why I am trying so hard / What the fuck am I supposed to do without someone like you? / My heart still broken and I let the pain inside do the driving.” The instrumentals are understated, yet also lush, and the song has a grandness that’s perfect for ending an album. The music on this LP may be light, but the emotions are heavy. The combination is compelling.
ART D’ECCO – In Standard Definition (Paper Bag Records, www.paperbagrecords.com) Art Deco was a flamboyant style of art and design in the 1920s and 1930s. Art D’Ecco is an artist making flamboyant music reminiscent of the heyday of David Bowie and similar acts. Heavy on the synths, heavy on the glam, and heavy on the fabulous are the main ingredients in the dozen songs on offer. They’re full of pop, full of joy, and full of splendor. Besides Bowie, I’m reminded of the dazzling synth pop of the 80s new wave made by Bill Nelson (of Be Bop Deluxe fame). “Bird of Prey” is a particular favorite, with its emphatic “oh-ohs,” the bright synths, warbling tenor vocals, and the strong bouncing beat. “I Am The Dance Floor” is another favorite, for many of the same reasons. I mean, I’m not one to like dance music, but this stuff is great! It’s super creative in the choice of synth tones, injecting some flute sounds and horns, and in the use of various timbres of percussion. “Channel 7 (Pilot Season)” and “Channel 11 (Reruns)” are glorious instrumentals that sound like liturgical music from a science fiction program of the 1970s. And the closing track, “I Remember,” is a lovely waltz with acoustic guitar, piano, and synths that’s delicate and captivating. What a fun and lovely record!
DEVON KAY AND THE SOLUTIONS – Liver. (devonkayandthesolutions. bandcamp.com) It’s time for the April installment of DK&TS’s “album of singles!” Like last month’s “Parchment and Petroleum,” “Liver.” is bouncier and poppier than a lot of recent output from the band. But unlike last month’s track, which had a very chorale-like quality, this one has elements of funkiness and ska punk mixed together. It’s bright and bouncy, and it’s got a short jazzy trombone solo. I mean, what more can you ask for? The joy shines through. 
THE DOPAMINES – Hard Pass: Singles/Rarities 2006-2020 (Rad Girlfriend Records, www.radgirlfriendrecords.com) Since forming in 2006, The Dopamines have been one of the defining forces in Midwestern pop punk music. Normally on a new record with this sort of sound I’d comment on how it’s fun and well done, but it’s not genre defining or won’t break new ground. But in this case, The Dopamines did define a genre and did break new ground. Rad Girlfriend Records (whose boss, Josh Goldman became the second guitarist for The Dopamines in 2013) has collected together twenty-seven songs previously released on long out-of print singles, splits, or compilations. This represents over an hour’s worth of Dopamines material that you should have bought when it came out, but you were too stupid or too broke. Good for you, because now you can get this all in one place instead of hunting everything down. Not only does this release present a comprehensive collection of all the 7”ers, splits, comps, covers, etc., it also includes some previously unreleased material, making this a must-have for anyone who calls themselves a fan of pop punk.
One highlight is the band’s cover of Huey Lewis and the News’ ”Power of Love,” a version that hardly shares anything with the original. It’s more raw, more frantic, harder and edgier (well, it’s not hard to be edgier than Huey Lewis). There’s an acoustic version of “The King of Swilling Powers Part I” from the LP “Tales of Interest,” which puts a completely different spin on the song. Another acoustic song present is “10 Stories,” originally from the album “Vices,” but rendered as an acoustic track for a benefit compilation. “Douglas Bubbletrousers,” from the split with Dear Landlord, is another highlight; it’s a song that uses harmonized vocals, a simple melody, and lots of power to great effect. The social conscience of The Dopamines comes through on “Try THIS Kids at Home!” from a split with Be My Doppleganger. “You know it's time to leave this place / When you go to bed sober and you wake up shit-faced / The empty bottles won't ease your pain.” The Anxiety pair of tracks, “Jon Has Anxiety” and “Ryan Has Anxiety” are classics. Hell, all of these are! Listening to this record sounds so much like Awesome Fest from days of yore and makes me pine for mass gatherings of friends from all over the country. I don’t know whether to laugh with joy or cry in anguish. And listening to this record is sure to conjure strong emotions from any pop punk fan.
ELEVENTH DREAM DAY – Since Grazed (Comedy Minus One, www.comedyminusone.com) Though I no longer live there, I’m from Chicago, and lived there most of my life. So, naturally, I was familiar with Eleventh Dream Day, and bought their self-titled debut EP when it came out in 1987. And, while Eleventh Dream Day was never a fast and loud punk band, they had garage and power pop leanings that appealed to me. Their breakthrough debut LP, “Prairie School Freakout,” was a tour de force, full of easy edginess and nonchalant raucousness, attracting the attention of critics and major labels, alike. I lost track of the band after that, and apparently after several years with Atlantic, they were dropped (like most of the indie bands signed in the 90s). I see they proceeded to release a series of LPs, typically every few years. But they fell silent after 2015’s “Works For Tomorrow.” Until now. Without any fanfare or advanced warning, Eleventh Dream Day surprised the world with “Since Grazed,” a double LP with a full hour of music. It sees them take the “easy” and “relaxed” part of their sound several steps forward, but they’ve left the garage and power pop leanings behind in the dust. Songs like “Just Got Home (in Time to Say Goodbye)” and “Tyrian Purple” are the indie equivalent to adult contemporary: light, slow, relaxed music to unwind to with a glass of wine. The latter has strings and vocal chorale, too, bringing back memories of orchestral versions of pop tunes by the likes of 101 Strings or Percy Faith. “Nothing’s Ever Lost,” too, is just too soft and calm. Some of the songs feel kind of like Neil Young songs, but smoother and easier. Like “Look Out Below;” its melody and vocals remind me of the 70s songwriter, but this track has strings and harmonized backing vocals.
Lest you think the entire LP is the rock generation’s version of “elevator music,” “Cracks in My Smile” has a nice chugging feel, with hints of Americana twang underneath. It lopes along, aided by the jangle of an acoustic guitar. “A Case to Carry On” is the closest to the Eleventh Dream Day that I recall from decades ago. The guitars mix hardness, jangle, and a droning quality, creating a song that has that same easy edginess that attracted me in the first place. “Yves Klein Blues,” too, has just enough noisiness in the guitar and enough spring in the step of the tempo to rekindle the flame of Eleventh Dream Day past. But for me, it’s not enough. The album is too long and too sedate for my tastes, and it makes me lament for the past.
HARKER – Axiom (Wiretap Records, www.wiretaprecords.com) Wow, just…wow. I reviewed an LP from Harker a few years ago (“No Discordance”) and while it was fine, it seemed somewhat generic, similar to a lot of other bands, and all the songs were too much alike. Fast forward to 2021, and I can hardly believe this is the same band! These songs are hardly generic; they’re harder, edgier, more frantic and chaotic in many cases. There’s more variety, and the melodic portions are even stronger, with a nod to progressive rock. The album starts with “The Beast Must Die,” the opening of which is deeply sinister sounding, with hushed evil sounds, and someone speaking words that are hard to make out. When the full band comes in, it’s tense, blending edgy post-hardcore and prog-rock sounds in a pretty unique way. You can hear this even more strongly in “Sigh of Crows,” which demonstrates a lot of creativity in the songwriting and in the arranging; it’s got a truly epic feel and huge dynamic range in under three minutes. And is that a trumpet I hear? I like the dissonant post-hardcore of “Moriah,” with odd chords and changing meters that up the tension. It’s one of the standout tracks of the album. Daisychain uses a mixture of strange guitar noises and a smooth melody to create a distinct sound; the juxtaposition of pretty harmonized vocals against the cacophonous background is something out of the ordinary, and done quite well. The closing track, “Antenna,” is truly brutal, both dissonant and melodic, a sweeping epic of a track that has enormous range. Yeah, I can hardly believe this is the same band. They’ve gone from just OK to outstanding with this new LP.
THE VENOMOUS PINKS – Based On A True Story (www.thevenomouspinks.com) Arizona’s Venomous Pinks ran into the same problem a lot of bands did last year: the pandemic shot down any plans they may have had. This four-song EP was recorded pre-pandemic, mid-tour, and is culled from their Bridge City Sessions. They had limited time to record, having to rush across town for a show they were booked to play, and the Bridge City crew were certain they would only have time for a few songs. They hadn’t worked with The Venomous Pinks before, though. The three-piece proceeded to rip through their entire set in one take, the band’s raw fury captured perfectly. Yes, three-piece. You won’t believe it, though, because the trio’s sound is power-packed and immensely energetic. Listen to “I Want You,” the first song of the EP. Listen to the raw power of a rock and roll trio. Listen to “Todos Unidos” (“Everyone Together”); listen to the blazing speed and the unbridled hardcore intensity. Listen to the fast and loud yet melodic pop punk of “I Really Don’t Care” and be amazed. And listen to “Hold On” and experience bouncy fun. This EP may have been delayed by the pandemic, but damn, it was worth waiting for!
WILD POWWERS – What You Wanted (Nadine Records, www.nadinerecords.com) Wild Powwers is a trio from Seattle, and though you can hear the influences of their home scene’s glory days, they aren’t easily categorized as a grunge band. Wild Powwers are more than that, as is evidenced by the varied sounds of this new LP. Even when they do get grungy, the ten songs here are quite melodic. Melodic, yet tough. The opening track, “…Sucks,” is about the grungiest they get. The rumbling bass, roaring guitars, and searing vocals combine into a singularly fiery track. The verses are screamed in a way that will pierce your soul, while the chorus is melodic and brawny. As soon as I thought I knew what sort of album this was going to be, “Bone Throw” began, and it’s got a pretty melody with intertwined vocals, while the instrumental arrangement is both tough and jangly. If there’s anything that ties the songs of this album together, that’s it: they sound melodic and jangly while still maintaining a sense of powerful resoluteness. “Decades” does get lighter and smoother, those harmonized vocals gliding placidly above the instrumentals, which still maintain their sense of grit. “Chrome” and “Tricky” bring some dream pop atmosphere into the mix, the latter with bits of psych, too. This blend of different styles of music, with pop and grunge dominating, makes this a compelling listen.
VARIOUS – Get Stoked! Volume 2 (Say-10 Records and Skateboards, www.say-10.com) Say-10 is back with the next installment of Get Stoked! It’s their series of lathe cut bundles to give people hope and joy in these dark pandemic times, some new music to get stoked for. The volume 2 bundle includes lathe cuts from Bad Idols, Shotclock, and Xed Out. And I can confirm, the eight songs here will definitely get you stoked. Bad Idols offer up four tracks. “Bad Ideas” is short, speedy raw pop punk in the Awesome Fest sort of vein, “Lucas” is a brief ska punk sojourn, “Peace Frog” is quality mid-tempo pop punk, and “(Treat Yo Self to Some) Night Terrors” brings back the speed and reminds me a little bit of the late band, Rumspringer. Shotclock offers two tracks, “With Your Ghost” and “We Are Wild Stallions.” These songs are still pop punk, but they’re bigger and grander, more emotionally charged and more melodic. And the pair from Xed Out are even bigger. With a name like Xed Out I expected hardcore, but this is super melodic stuff, bordering on alternative rock sounds. Three lathe cuts in the bundle, three different bands, three different sounds, all great. Get stoked, indeed!
 WALTZER
– Time Traveler (Side Hustle Records, sidehustlerecords.bandcamp.com)
This is a fascinating debut LP from Chicago’s Waltzer.
For the most part, Waltzer blends retro 50s and 60s pop music
with an intense dreaminess and lo-fi garage aesthetic. The
short introductory instrumental, “Orbit #9,” is
bright and mysterious, setting the mood for what’s to
come. “I Don’t Wanna Die” sounds like one
of those tragedy songs from the 50s and 60s, but played through
a fuzzed out dreamy filter. “Lantern” gets a little
darker and bluesy, smoky rock and roll with a retro lounge
edge, still through the fuzzy filter. I love the short track,
“The Burning.” Intense reverb, simple guitar chords,
and soaring vocals give this track the feel of something unreal,
something between dreaming and wakefulness. “Ugly Misfits”
is a cool one, sounding like early Beatles mixed with modern
pop and sent through the same haze as the other tracks. The
closing track, “Destroyer,” makes interesting
use of phrasing from the song “Please Mr. Postman,”
but turning the whole thing into a much more soulful, pleading
ballad. Two of the tracks are completely different from the
others. The title track has a cleaner mix and is much more
of a lovely pop ballad, featuring piano as the primary instrument
accompanying the beautiful vocals. The song is a sad waltz
about the journeys we all take through life. And “Eugene”
is a modern acid-grunge rocker with a dreamy feel. This is
a very promising debut. And bonus! Waltzer isn’t just
a band, it’s an online TV show! It’s something
to check out while “regular” TV is still mostly
on hiatus.
 CAMP
TRASH – Downtiming (Count Your Lucky Stars,cylsrecords.com)
Camp Trash is a new band hailing from the Tampa-St. Pete suburb
of Bradenton. This four-song EP blends smooth pop melodies
with a guitar-fueled indie aesthetic. The lead vocals are
relaxed and casual, sounding more like someone singing for
himself, rather than for a recording. The instrumentals are
light and easy, while the melodies feel like they could have
written for alternative pop radio in the 90s. This is pleasant
enough music, though I wish there was a bit of variety. The
tempos are the same across all four songs, and there isn’t
a huge amount of dynamic range. Perhaps expanding their song-writing
horizons will come with age and experience.
 FOX
FACE – End of Man (DirtNapRecs.com)
Milwaukee’s Fox Face present’s their sophomore
LP, the follow-up to 2017’s “Spoil + Destroy.”
The Midwesterners play tough, noisy, punked up garage rock
and roll. They lean toward the heavier and more chaotic side
of the equation, too, with fuzzed bass, snarling guitars,
and lo-fi recording. The dissonance of the instrumentals contrasts
starkly with the strong clear vocals, and the whole thing
has a dark, brooding feel. And perhaps that’s a problem
I have with what could have been a pretty good record. The
whole thing has the same sound. I like noisy and I like garage
rock and roll, but this is maybe a little too dissonant for
my tastes, sometimes coming across as being slightly out of
tune. This one is maybe better in smaller doses.
 HEATHCLIFF
– Stay Posi (SBÄM, shop.sbam.rocks)
When I first started playing the opening track from this new
LP from the Munich band I thought, “ugh, this is going
to be a stinker.” The very start of this record, in
the track, “Me, Myself & I Are Two Sometimes,”
is a rock-reggae wank fest that made me want to stop listening
immediately. But I’m glad I didn’t. Forty-five
seconds in, the whole mood changes into impossibly speedy
melodic skate punk, sounding like someone played a Bad Religion
LP on 45rpm instead of 33 1/3. Harmonized vocals and super-tight
instrumentals are primary features, along with metallic tinged
guitar licks. The first few tracks are great like this, and
then songs begin to evolve. As we approach the midpoint, the
tempo slows a bit and the licks get more and more metal, with
the notable exception of the skate punk/hardcore blend of
“Captain’s Call,” which goes from speedy
and tight to slow and sludgy. Things take a sharp turn with
“The Trooper,” a reggae-rock and ska flavored
metal tune (I say flavored because it has ska rhythms, but
no horns). The devolvement continues with a slew of slower
tracks that sound more like 2000s “emo” alternative
rock and “pop punk” mixed with metallic punk.
The ending track is an acoustic one, “Who Told You,”
that seems a strange choice. It’s soft rock sounds to
close a hard rock album? Honestly, I wish the band stuck with
the well-executed formula of the front half of the album.
The back half left me cold.
 LUXURIOUS
FAUX FURS – Like a Real Shadow (mandingarecords.bandcamp.com)
Luxurious Faux Furs are a duo made up of drummer/vocalist
Jessica Melain and guitarist/vocalist Josh Lee Hooker. Originally
from New York City, the pair relocated to New Orleans, a more
fitting locale for their brand of bluesy roots rock and roll.
The music is raw and primitive, sounding like it just emerged
from the bayou, muddy water oozing downward along with the
notes. Some of the tracks are better than others, with some
coming off as a little too limited and repetitive, like “Sign
of Judgment,” which is primarily a guitar drone that
remains unchanged for the bulk of the track. But tracks like
“Joe Bird” Don’t Throw Your,” and
“Home Cookin” have a primal energy to them. “Seat
In The Kingdom” is a little different from most of the
tracks, with a quicker pace, the blues-rock supplanted by
a garage-like gospel sound, while “Send Me Your Pillow”
has a softer pop sound. Interesting effort, this is something
different.
 NASDAQ
– Young Professional (nasdaq89.bandcamp.com)
Dow Jones (guitar/vox), J.P. Morgan (organ), and Goldman Sacks
(drums) are the trio of elite professionals who gave up the
world of high finance to get in on the scam of rock and roll.
This four-song debut EP, though, reveals their hearts are
never far from power and self-enrichment. Their stripped-down
garage rock sound mixed with some early Devo-like manic melodies
is enough to drive one straight to the ATM to empty your account
and invest in the band. The title track opens with a news
analyst speaking, “It was rock and roll, you could see
money driving everything. A lot of cocaine around, a lot of
party hearty every night.” This, then, is the NASDAQ
anthem to excess. “Profit Margin” is a bit slower
and less manic, but no less melodic, and lets us know that
the band “do it all for the profit margin.” We
also get a “Bailout,” like every good Wall Street
firm wants, in the form of a driving instrumental. And we
close with “Puppet Regime,” an ode to the relationship
between money and government that reminds me of a more sparsely
instrumented Dead Kennedys song, both in feel and sentiment.
Invest in this music.
 STEVE
DRIZOS – Axiom (cavitysearchrecords.com)
Steve Drizos is mainly a guy in the background. He’s
a touring musician, most recently playing drums with Jerry
Joseph and the Jackmorons. He runs his own studio, which he
calls The Panther, where he’s engineered and produced
numerous recordings for other bands. Drizos originally built
the studio to record his own music, and now he’s finally
released some in the form of this LP. The title track opens
the LP, a lush instrumental with huge range. It starts out
quietly, with synths and plucked guitar notes, and slowly
builds. Philosophical spoken word recording clips are inserted
at various places, and the music is sweet and gorgeous, with
the melody moving between instruments, the bass even taking
it for a time. It’s nice, but at times reminds me a
bit of Coldplay. The other songs have vocals, Drizos’
voice reminding me a bit of a less gritty Bob Dylan. Musically,
the songs are mostly mild and melodic, slickly produced, maybe
over produced. The eight songs come off sounding very radio
friendly for those stations that specialize in adult contemporary
music for people who’ve aged out of alternative. Strings
mix with synths, acoustic and electric guitars play with each
other, with songs thickly arranged. “Covering Your Eyes”
mixes in some influence from progressive rock icons Genesis,
with snippets reminding me of their hit “Follow You
Follow Me,” even including organ notes to fill out the
background. I’ll say, the record is well made, and if
you’re a fan of this sort of softish rock music, you’ll
probably enjoy it. I’m planning to recommend it to a
couple of friends who are big fans of this sort of stuff,
but it doesn’t do much for me and I’m guessing
it won’t for most Jersey Beat readers.
 THE
STAN LAURELS – There Is No Light Without The Dark
(bigstirrecords.com)
The Stan Laurels are the sole proprietorship of Austin, Texas
based John Lathrop. He single-handedly writes the songs, plays
the instruments, sings, and records his music. Some songs
are big and dreamy, others are psych-tinged, some are smooth
and lounge-like, and others are a bit more raucous. Some songs
contain multiple feels, like “Tomorrow,” a song
that mostly glides serenely, but slowly builds, guitars filling
in with dreamy fuzz especially on the brilliant shiny bridge.
“Red-Handed Puppet” is an interesting blend of
indie pop and Beach Boys-like pop, in the vocal melody and
in the strong backbeat that gives it a 60s pop sound. The
closing track, “This Is Your Life,” has edgier
guitars than any of the others, by far, though the vocals
still glide placidly. It presents an interesting contrast.
There are two lovely contemplative instrumentals, “Emotions
I” and “Emotions II,” which have some vinyl
record static at the start and end. These two pieces use synths,
and set quite a mood. As does the LP as a whole.
 STILL
CORNERS – The Last Exit (wreckinglightrecords.com)
London pop duo Still Corners toured constantly before everything
was forced to stop due to the pandemic. Besides halting all
tours, video shoots and even the album release were placed
on hold. But with that extra time came an opportunity to take
new inspiration and write new songs, and the album went through
a transformation to what we now hear. I’ve seen them
described as a dream pop band, and though the songs have a
hazy feel to them, they don’t have the same thick electronic
fuzz of most modern dream pop. The instruments have a clear
tone, but there’s a lugubriousness to these songs, a
sense of sadness and loneliness. They’ve also been described
as having the sound of the desert, and though there are no
deserts within a thousand miles of London that I’m aware
of, this is a reasonably apt description. The songs do have
the sense of driving through dusty lonely towns and on open
roads through desolate landscapes. And there are touches of
Western sounds in the acoustic guitars and in the twang of
the electric guitars. The title track that opens the album
even refers to being far from home, driving toward no particular
destination, through the darkness, in the middle of the desert.
The music reminds me of a folk-like version of an Angelo Badalamente
tune written for a David Lynch project. It has a lightly retro
pop tone, with layer upon layer of sadness heaped on, even
as the tempo and beat suggest otherwise. “Crying”
is filled with reverb, and has an even more mournful sound,
with bass played by synths that sound so sad that they’re
wobbling, and the whistle that punctuates the melody is pure
melancholy. “Bad Town” uses a slide on an acoustic
guitar during the song’s intro to double down on the
dusty feeling, then takes it a step further by using a howling
coyote in the background of the song. That might be a little
over the top, but it’s effective in setting a mood.
These songs are hushed and yield a sense of isolation, and
this was an intentional part of the rewriting of the album.
The sense of solitude from the quarantine is something they
wanted to embody in the songs, and they succeeded.
 THE
STRUGGLE – "Tension Rising" b/w "It’s
Not Too Late" – (piratespressrecords.com)
UK Oi/street punk band The Struggle are calling it quits,
after several productive years that saw them tour all over
Europe and appear at some major festivals. As a parting shot,
though, they’re teaming up with longtime label Pirates
Press Records for this benefit 7” single, proceeds from
which will go to BOOM, a grassroots music venue in Leeds,
UK that has been hit hard by pandemic shutdowns and is on
the brink of permanent closure. BOOM has been host to many
new bands as well as established artists, primarily in the
punk and metal genres. The two songs of this final release
from the band are strong examples of modern working class
punk rock, with gruff, raspy lead vocals, big emphatic gang
vocals, and straightforward yet powerful instrumentals. Fans
of the genre will surely be sad to see The Struggle ending
their run, but this is a nice parting gift.
 TRIPLE
FAST ACTION – Cattlemen Don’t (forgeagainrecords.com)
Triple Fast Action was a Chicago indie/alternative band active
at the height of alternative music in the 1990s. It was formed
by Wes Kidd and Brian St. Clair, who had been band mates in
punk band Rights of the Accused. “Cattlemen Don’t”
was the band’s second and final full-length LP. Originally
released in 1997, the band is rereleasing what was originally
a CD only release as a double LP, and included are nine previously
unreleased tracks, a full album’s worth of newly released
material. And while the band was from Chicago, a lot of the
songs on this record sound more like they came from Seattle,
with that heavy and hard grunge sound. Hell, the record’s
cover even has an image of the Space Needle all lit up. The
album has a blend of grunge and pop that’s different
and refreshing, even after all these years.
The album opens strongly with “Pure,” a fast
and heavy grunge track that has some interesting Beatles-like
high-pitched vocal interjections and poppy harmonization.
“Heroes” blends grunge with Cheap Trick style
glam pop in a way that’s quite unique. And I like
the dissonance, jangle, feedback, and choral harmonies of
“Rescue.” It sounds like the dueling guitars
in some places are purposely slightly out of tune, and it’s
a cool, eerie effect, especially when paired with the interjections
of feedback. “I’m Ready” has some awesome
surf-garage guitar injections into the grunge mix. “No
Doubt” is another one that adds feedback and other
creative and odd touches that make it one of the better
grunge songs you’re liable to hear.
Some of the tracks are ballads, something to expect in
an album this long (the original 14 song CD clocked in at
50 minutes, and this new release expands that to an hour
and 22 minutes), but they mostly still fall into the grunge
genre, with sections that get loud and heavy. “Sent
Then Straight,” though, remaining pretty much in an
arena rock style until the end, at which time, what?? A
brass band comes in! It gives an otherwise dull track a
brilliant ending. “Yeah” follows as another
more sedate ballad, recorded with acoustic guitar to the
fore and lo-fi electric guitar in the back, giving it a
different sort of sound. The closing track of the original
LP, “Bearer of Bad News,” too, sounds more like
an arena anthem than anything alternative, and is one of
my least favorite of the album.
But what of the unreleased tracks? Do they stack up well
to the rest of the LP? Well, yes and no; it’s a mix.
None of the songs are quite as heavy and grungy as the rest,
nor do they have the same kind of unique arrangements or
genre mixing. But I do like “I Want to Know,”
which has a great sound that should be familiar to listeners
of some of the modern emotionally packed pop punk. “Wes’
Song” has wonderfully fuzzed out guitars kind of like
The Jesus and Mary Chain juxtaposed against a simply song
consisting of descending scales and ethnic sounding guitars.
“Summer Song” is engineered to sound like a
scratchy old record with a lo-fi repeating guitar sound
underneath, and the dry drum sound is great. Overall, the
new release is a nice package for a band that never quite
got the recognition they deserved back in the day.
 SHIP
THIEVES/RECONCILER – Split (a-frecords.com)
Two bands give us a new song each, of powerful, thick punk
music. Ship Thieves is a project featuring Hot Water Music’s
Chris Wollard, while Reconciler includes ex-Less Than Jake
member Derron Nuhfer. The Ship Thieves track, “Nothing
Now,” is burly stuff, the mighty bass line blending
with grinding buzzy guitars to drive the song. Reconciler’s
“Push To Break” is less beefy, but more wiry and
agile, moving swiftly between thinner and thicker arrangements
and more melodic pop punk content. Both tracks are great,
and even better is that a portion of the proceeds from sales
of the 7” will be donated to Save Our Stages, an organization
working to secure assistance for live music venues across
the country in the face of pandemic-related closures.
 DIVIDED
HEAVEN – Baby In The Band (Bearded Punk Records, www.beardedpunk.com)
Hot on the heels of last fall’s politically charged
single, “They Poisoned Our Fathers,” Divided Heaven
is back with a new one. Divided Heaven is the sometimes solo,
sometimes full-band project of singer-songwriter Jeff Berman,
and “Baby In The Band” eschews the full-band for
a more stripped down solo approach, primarily featuring acoustic
guitar and piano, with some flutes, ethereal backing vocals,
plus a delicate electric guitar solo. The song seems to be
about the loss of a close friend, and the whole thing is beautifully
understated. The song opens and closes with the lyric “He
was the kind of guy you needed when you needed a friend /
3000 miles from where I stand,” speaking to separation,
whether through distance or time. Other lyrics speak to going
separate ways and finding their own paths, but also of the
pain of loss. Pensive and touching, Divided Heaven shows a
true range of emotions in this most recent release.
 SLOW
DRAW – "Pessimist" b/w "Glorious"
(Paper Street Cuts, www.paperstreetcuts.com / GTG Records,
www.gtgrecords.com)
Guitarist/vocalist Todd Allen says of this band, “The
idea of Slow Draw formed over the last couple of years with
songs that didn’t seem to fit what Squarecrow (Todd’s
other band) was or is.” And the assessment is spot on
– the two songs on this formal debut single sound nothing
like Squarecrow. Todd pulled Squarecrow band mate Dan in to
help him tidy up some songs he had written, and the resulting
recordings were placed onto a four-way split EP that came
out last summer. The band was then filled out with Manny and
Dylan, and this single contains the first full-band songs
where all the members were involved in the writing and arranging.
The title track is a bright, briskly paced Americana tune
that, despite the title, speaks of hope. The chugga-chugga
rhythms feel like a train rolling through, and the guitar
tone provides a startlingly lonesome sound. It reminds me
of a countrified Western Settings. “Glorious”
is, counterintuitively, a darker sounding track with a striding
mid-tempo rhythm. The sound is bigger, still with an Americana
edge. This is a promising beginning.
 HANGTIME
– Destroy / Invasion (Say-10 Records, www.say-10.com)
Say-10 joins together the Toronto band’s 2019 and 2020
EP\s for one full-length release. The front half is “Destroy!,”
the EP that came out this past fall via Cats Paw Records,
while “Invasion” was released nearly two years
ago by Punk & Disorderly Records. If you’re a fan
of bouncy, crunchy melodic pop punk with sweet melodies and
harmonies but with strong punk edge, you’ll enjoy this.
They’re sort of like Masked Intruder, but without the
criminal shtick. The band is tight, the vocals and melodies
tuneful, and the guitars crunchy. Sugary harmonies are juxtaposed
against lyrics of love and loss, like all the best pop punk.
If I have one complaint is that all the songs tend to be played
at the same moderate tempo, with little dynamic range. This
tends to cause songs to blend into each other. But they’re
so well done, that hardly matters.
 MODERN
HUT – I Don't Want To Get Adjusted To This World (Don
Giovanni Records, www.dongiovannirecords.com)
Don Giovanni boss Joe Steinhardt once again gets up from behind
his executive desk and goes into the studio for his sophomore
LP as Modern Hut. This time out, while there are still the
acoustic songs, there’s more. And joining Steinhardt
again is Marissa Paternoster of The Screaming Females, contributing
vocals, guitars, and co-producing the album. The LP is very
understated, mostly acoustic, singer-songwriter fare. Steinhardt’s
deadpan vocals are complemented by Paternoster’s more
colorful singing. I say “mostly acoustic,” because
it’s not entirely. There’s an electric organ,
too, which adds tremendously. Acoustic isn’t for everyone,
I know. But I like the relaxed feeling of this album, like
it’s a couple of friends sitting in a living room singing
together, rather than a band making an album. Some favorite
parts of the album? I like how the opening track, “In
Amongst The Millions,” transforms from a free-flowing
folk tune to a gospel feel with a martial rhythm. I love the
darkness and pain of “Ask The Dust,” with Steinhardt’s
plain singing deeply contrasted with Paternoster’s intensity
pulled into the background. “Out of Touch” is
a quirky little nerd-pop tune about ennui to the extreme.
“Silly and Destructive” is a proper pop tune with
full band for sections, alternating with dark and loose acoustic
guitar and drums. The title track is actually a cover. It’s
a gospel song written by Sanford J. Massengale and recorded
by both The Looper Trio and Iris Dement. Steinhardt says,
“The sentiment of the song informed a lot of the album,”
and it fits with some of the darker themes. My interpretation
of the lyrics is of someone who has grown weary of the world
and wants release. “Lord, I’m growing old and
weary / And there’s no place that feels like home /
Savior come, my soul to ferry / To where I never more may
roam.” The version on the album has the feeling of a
song that would be played over the closing credits of a depressing
film with a downer of an ending, and I say that as a compliment.
If you’re looking for calm understated music that will
make your own neuroses seem tame, this is the album for you.
It’s somehow comforting.
 STIFF
RICHARDS – State of Mind (Drunken Sailor Records,
www.drunkensailorrecords.co.uk)
YEAH! This LP goes from 0 to 60 in 0.1 seconds flat and doesn’t
let up for a second. Stiff Richards fuses rock and roll, punk,
and garage into a raucous manic frenzy of music. The closest
thing I can think of is the “hot rock” of The
Whips, from Washington DC. But where that band tended more
toward the rock and roll side, Stiff Richards is leans more
into the punk side. Maybe another apt comparison would be
the short-lived Denton, Texas band, Distresser. Fast, intense,
hard and edgy, this is a record that demands that you get
up and jump around like a mad person. The attitude drips from
the vocals, and the guitars wail and scream. Even the slower
songs rock out big time. It’s hard to pick a favorite
track or two because every damn one of them is great. 2021
is just getting started and we already have a contender for
the top releases of the year list!
 TASAJO
– EP1 (tasajx.bandcamp.com)
Tasajo is a cut of beef, typically from the Central Valley
of Oaxaca in Oaxaca state in Mexico. It is similar to pork
jerky and is often made with organ meat including that of
the head and back, but also can be made with flank steak.
Tasajo is also a new band from Tijuana, featuring Mr. Cap
from DFMK, Matt Camaleon (who has played drums in various
TJ punk bands,) plus Guaseadowsky on guitar and Dan Reveles
on bass. This band sounds nothing like TJ punk bands, eschewing
the harder edged rock and roll and hardcore elements for more
of an 80s emo post-punk vibe mixed with modern alternative
rock. There are some guitar solos pulling in a bit of arena
rock vibe, too, that I could have done without, but I do like
the melodious edgy music the quartet provide, with Cap’s
vocals emphatically belted out, loudly spoken (in Spanish)
rather than sung, just like many of the DC emo bands of the
80s. Lyrically the songs are emo in content, as well. The
track, “Fvga,” or “Escape,” speaks
our inability to escape bad memories, how they leave a permanent
stain on us and leave a bad taste. “TNT” is about
shutting off our feelings to avoid the pain of the world,
likened to dynamite. “Harto” (“Fed Up”)
is a bass-heavy, almost grunge-like version of post punk with
Cap demanding to be left alone, he’s sick of you, sick
of your talking all the time. “Cínico”
(“Cynical”) is also dominated by bass, but in
more of a hard rock way and speaks to the fakeness and untrustworthiness
of everyone. “Maclovio” closes the EP with a cooler
sound, organ chords providing a backdrop to dark acoustic
guitar. The song has a completely different feel from the
rest of the record, with loads of reverb and subtle backing
vocals. It has a pleading sort of feel to it. To my ears it’s
less successful than the other tracks, which I think carry
a pretty good punch, speaking as a fan of the mid to late
80s Dischord Records sound.
 VARIOUS
– Get Stoked! Vol. 1 (Say-10 Records, www.say-10.com)
To combat the high prices of limited lathe cut records, Say-10
has decided to try doing these in bundles and showcasing new
songs by some of their artists. The first bundle comes with
three records, from Decide By Friday, Pedals On Our Pirate
Ships, and The Eradicator. Decide By Friday gives us two tracks,
“Moving On” and “Light in August,”
the latter being a cover of a song by Dirty Tactics. The band
play fairly standard alternative rock with an emo-ish aesthetic,
alternating jangly guitars and big broad epic sounds. It’s
fine, but the cover does lack the power and strength of the
original. Decide By Friday play the song at a slower tempo
than Dirty Tactics, the vocals are smooth instead of gritty,
and the guitars don’t have the same sense of urgency.
Pedals On Our Pirate Ships also give two tracks, an original
(“Employer/Employee”) and a cover (Slutever’s
“White Flag”). The A-side is a raucous pop punk
track about the master/slave relationship involved in working.
It’s a simple song, but its rowdy feel is infectious.
Slutever’s original version of “White Flag”
blends bright garage punk guitars with smooth, understated
poppy vocals, while POOP’s cover trades the garage
punk for more of a hard rock edge, and the vocals are edgier,
too. It’s still an effective fun version, but I think
I prefer the original.
The Eradicator’s portion of this bundle includes
four tracks, one original and three covers, sort of. This
entry is the most boisterous and hilarious of the three.
The original is “Tennis World,” and it’s
a crazy, noisy, driving track that I love. The mysterious
solo artist known as The Grandfather of Squash recorded
a COVID-era acoustic ballad called “Don’t Forget
About Us” and in the hands of The Eradicator, it becomes
“Don’t Forget About ‘Em,” the ‘em
referring to grandpas, and admonishing everyone to be careful
so as not to send them into hospitals in the midst of the
pandemic. The song is touching and hilarious, and this version
rocks. A little background: The Eradicator is a mysterious
masked man from Chicago based on the old “Kids in
the Hall” TV show sketch “The Eradicator,”
about a masked squash player. So, Grandfather of Squash
is an Eradicator-related artist, so is it really a “cover?”
It’s still funny, and explains “Tennis World.”
“Saully” is a cover of the song by Shehehe about
a wonderful dog that passed away. The cover here is looser
than the original, but retains the energy. “Don’t
Touch Me” is next, and is hilarious. Brak’s
original song about respecting personal space was simply
a mouthed “beat box” imitation accompanying
someone shouting “Hey, don’t touch me”
over and over. The Eradicator’s version trades the
beat box for sparkly 80s synths, but the hilarious vocal
inflections are retained.
Overall the bundle is worthwhile, but if the three lathe
cut records were available separately, I might skip Decide
By Friday’s offering.
--------------------------------------2021-----------------------------------------
 THE
DIRTY NIL – Fuck Art (Dine Alone Records, www.dinealonerecords.com)
The boys are back! After taking nearly a decade as a band
to release their first full-length LP, the boys from Dundas,
Ontario are firing on all cylinders and give us their third
album. The sentiment of the title refers to just having a
good time and partying, the primary rule of rock and roll.
And The Dirty Nil deliver on this with the 11 new songs here.
It’s been interesting to see the progression, as I’ve
been following the band for the past several years. They’ve
slowly been maturing their sound, moving away from their more
raucous punk-like roots toward a more refined and powerful
alternative rock and roll sound. Luke Bentham continues to
demonstrate vocal mastery, his voice strong and soaring, with
a smoothness that’s gotten better with each LP. Ross
Miller’s bass lines provide a rock solid foundation,
lifting the band up to new heights. And Kyle Fisher’s
drumming is more than mere time keeping; it provides the perfect
dynamic range, from quiet and delicate to furious pounding.
Even the production quality is smoother and more mature sounding,
more controlled than on past efforts.
The album opens with the song that was the lead single,
“Doom Boy,” a love song for rock and rollers
that invites you to hold hands and listen to Slayer in the
back seat of a Dodge Caravan. The marketing of the song
was hilarious, as the band had various celebrities create
Cameo videos reacting to the song, including Sugar Ray’s
Mark McGrath, David “The Hoff” Hasselhoff, Rick
Nielsen from Cheap Trick, and the ultimate: Slayer’s
Paul Bostaph! While the song references the metal lifestyle
and includes some metallic licks, the song isn’t really
metal. It does rock, but in a smoother alternative rock
way. It’s a fun, tongue-in-cheek tune. And lest you
think the band has left real rocking, “Ride Or Die”
is a powerful old school hard rock track, metallic licks
abounding.
Some of the tracks channel the grunge sound of the 90s
to differing degrees. “Blunt Force Concussion”
starts out as a gorgeous indie rock tune, and quickly builds.
The dynamic range on display is impressive, going from smooth
and calm to epic and raucous, with gigantic gang vocals.
And “Hang Your Moon” starts out kind of grunge-like,
but gets pretty metallic at points, and turns to big dream-pop
toward the end. Talk about dynamic range!
“Done With Drugs” is the band’s message
of social responsibility, appearing to be an autobiographical
story about growing up and taking responsibility for your
own life, realizing the damage drugs can do, even in the
absence of a problem with addiction. There’s one line
in particular that references an observation that “no
one at the after party seems to be happy.” Musically
the song is another great alternative rock song, but it’s
got some big jangly guitars. In a way, this song is a companion
piece to one from the previous LP, “Master Volume.”
“I Don’t Want the Phone Call” was a pleading
number about wanting a friend with a problem to clean up,
rather than die, where “Done With Drugs” is
about self-actualization.
The Nil leave the best for last though, as the final two
tracks are my favorites. “The Guy Who Stole My Bike”
is more than a rock and roll ballad about a simple theft;
it’s a warning to everyone who does wrong to our narrator/singer.
It starts out tongue-in-cheek, it seems, with a wish to
the bike thief that “I hope the brakes don’t
seize / when you’re riding down the hill to hell.”
But it goes on to speak about “the ones who left my
trust / out in the rain to accumulate rust,” and the
anger this causes. Some of the pain is self-inflicted, though,
as Bentham sings during a gorgeous acoustic break, “To
the ones I loved and left / With an axe to grind with me
in the present tense / It wasn’t you baby, you were
swell / But I’ve got a history of pissing in the wishing
well.” I love the melodic lines, and the guitar solo
in the back half is epic. The closer, “One More and
the Bill” is a natural for closing a set or LP. It’s
huge. I’ve seen the band perform this one on some
live streams, and I love the way Bentham bends the chords
by swinging the guitar back and forth. The title refers,
I think, to getting one more drink and then closing out
your tab, then going on to deal with life. “I’ve
got a lot of things to drink about dream about and run away
from,” says the chorus. One verse says, “Gonna
smash my TV, smash my phone / Leave politics alone / Go
outside for awhile / One more and the bill.” Yes,
we all have our lives to lead, but sometimes it’s
good to take a break from that and breathe.
I have to say, every time The Dirty Nil have come out with
a new LP I’ve been a little apprehensive. I loved
the punkish raucousness of the early EPs. But even as the
band has evolved, they’ve maintained and upped the
quality of their output. But fuck art. Let’s just
have fun.
 GRIM
DEEDS – Infernal Satanic Pop Punk Blasphemy From Hell
(grimdeeds.bandcamp.com)
Grim Deeds surprised us all just before Christmas with the
gift of a new full-length LP. The 23 songs were all recorded
between August and November of 2020, and for the first time
Dustin played all the instruments (including drums), and he
acquits himself well. Though multi-tracked (by necessity,
of course), the arrangements are tight. Ramones-core is, of
course, the primary genre on display here, with its simple
and predictable yet fun sound and chord progressions. “Just
Be Kind” is one such tune. “Just Google It”
is another, a song with the chords of “Blitzkrieg Bop”
and lyrics that celebrate the ability to find everything you
desire though the internet’s most popular search engine.
“Contrary” is pretty straightforward Ramones-core,
too, with just a few chords, big buzzy guitars, and a steady
beat.
While Ramones-core is great, some of the songs eschew that
style for a more jangly pop sound. Such is the case with
the love song, “Can’t Get Enough,” a song
about separation anxiety. “Your Love” is another,
with a clean clear guitar tone and harmonized multi-tracked
vocals. And “Short Story Long” is a further
example, this time with a mix of pop punk and a tinge of
Americana feel to it. So, too, is “Let It Ride,”
with an Americana sound mixed with its pop punk. And I really
like “Worst Case Scenario,” a tune with a 60s
pop vibe. “When You’re Not Home” reminds
me of Mr. T Experience, somewhat. It’s got a Ramones-core
guitar riff, but the melody is very Dr. Frank-like, and
it’s one of my favorites of the album. An additional
favorite is the penultimate “You Are The One,”
a lighter tune with some great harmonized vocals. It’s,
of course, another love song.
A couple of the songs are more classic punk than pop. “Toxic
Positivity” is less Ramones-core and more melodic
hardcore punk, speedy, bass heavy, and with dark chord changes.
“Time” falls into this category, too, speedy
and harder edged. And one is a funny cow-punk song, “Don’t
Make Me Think.” It’s got plenty of twang from
the “git-tar” and lyrics about wanting to remain
mindless.
Great tongue-in-cheek humor fills many of the songs. 90s
nostalgia is satirized in the acoustic “Neo Geo,”
a song about pining for the 90s video game system. “JNCO
Jeans,” too, remembers the past, this time everyone’s
favorite ridiculously large legged jeans. Best line of the
song: “All the Korn fans will know what I mean.”
“Costco” is a song we can all identify with,
an acoustic ode to the warehouse store we all hate to have
to go to, with its filled parking lots, crowded aisles,
and giant shopping carts. “Joe Don’t Listen
to Judas Priest” is a punker of a tune about the titular
character’s music-listening habits, favoring punk
bands over metal. The closer, “At My Funeral,”
is a hilarious song about the wild party said funeral will
turn into, including fun for everyone, food and drink galore,
everyone getting high and laughing and crying. Also, the
open casket will be repurposed as a urinal. Sounds like
a true punker’s last stand.
These songs won’t change the world. But they make
it more fun.
 JASON
PAUL AND THE KNOW IT ALLS – Alien or Martian (jasonpaulmusic.bandcamp.com)
Jason Paul is part of the tight knit music community in San
Pedro, California, and it shows. Many of the songs on this
latest full-length LP from the band have that relaxed psychedelic
tinged pop punk sound that Pedro bands are known for. But
it’s interesting that this LP sounds like more like
a compilation LP mixing EPs and singles from different bands
together, as there are songs that don’t fit this mold,
and indeed, don’t sound anything like the rest of the
songs. I like the looseness of the tracks, and they mostly
feel like they’re from another era, mixing 60s psych
and protest music with mid 80s post hardcore. Listen to the
first song of the LP, “Tongues in Knots,” to hear
what I mean. It sounds a little like mid 80s music coming
from Washington, D.C., but also vaguely retro. The lyrics
are sung in multi-tracked unison, Paul belting out lyrics
that seem to speak to the difficulty of clear communication
and getting across meanings to others. Given the sound clip
at the start (“Looks like it might be the year of the
ballot or the bullet”), it could also reference the
communication gap that’s part of the great divide in
our society. I like the expansive feel of “Go For Broke,”
the big open sound seeming to echo the sentiment in the poetic
lyrics about breaking away from the cages of our daily existence
and living as explorers (“I’ve searched the country
/ I slept where I fell / Oh, I live on the far edge”).
I like the contrast, too, between the verses and chorus, the
latter of which is huge sounding, like the open possibilities
we all have before us. “All In All” has a nice
retro rock and roll twang in the guitars that also jangle
with that retro psych pop sound. It’s a favorite, and
my interpretation of the lyrics is that the song is about
staying focused on your goals and working slowly and steadily
toward their fulfillment. Trying too much too fast risks burning
out and failing. “Slow and steady wins the race / Looking
behind will lose your place,” Paul sings, and then as
the song picks up, he warns “Most stars fade out / Before
they crash / Most tears get wiped / Before they fall.”
One of the songs that’s part of this “separate
EP from a separate band” is “Giving Up Our Names,
a simple song with acoustic guitar that also includes a
heavily reverbed piano and string synth that come in toward
the end. It’s got a quietly sad sound to it that’s
appealing. “We Took The Risk” trades in the
retro psych for more of a modern indie pop-rock sound, and
there are hints of twang in the guitars. And the closing
track, “Trust,” has sparkling keyboards and
acoustic guitar, with heavily reverb on the vocals. It’s
a more pure 60s psych pop song that eschews the post-punkness
of some of the other tracks. I like the sound the Know It
Alls have, and those these outliers are nice songs, having
them appear on the album makes it feel a little disjointed
and less cohesive than it otherwise would be.
 ROBERTO
BETTEGA (www.robertob.bandcamp.com)
Roberto Bettega is a former member of The Harmonica Lewinskies,
a band Jersey Beat readers should be somewhat familiar with.
This solo effort from Bettega features an eclectic collection
of songs ranging from Beatles-esque power pop to bossa nova
styling a la Antonio Carlos Jobim. The six-song EP opens with
“My Name Is Dan,” an ode to former HL band mate
Dan McLane, who sadly died a few years ago under tragic circumstances.
It’s a wistful, sparkly power pop tune, and the lyrics
speak to how they wrote songs together, and how Rob “found
somebody just like me who grabs you by the teeth and won’t
let go.” Even through the cheesy jokes remembered, like
in the chorus, where Bettega sings, “I try to be frank
/ But my name is Dan,” you can feel the closeness of
the relationship in the song. I really like the mathish rhythms
of “Punk Song,” a track that isn’t really
punk. It features saxophones, has a solid impenetrable wall
of music, and uses a 5/4 beat that’s ever off-kilter.
“Take It Easy” has an airy breezy feel that appeals
me. “Do It Together” takes Beatles-like pop and
doses it with some psychedelics, yielding a colorfully twisted
tune that even quotes the Fab Four’s “With a Little
Help From My Friends” when it uses the lyrics, “Do
you need anybody…” and “Could it be anybody…”
in one verse. The other two tracks take cues from very far
south of the border, featuring the sounds of the samba and
bossa nova. “Tangled Up” is a lovely light Latin
pop tune, with a lonely trumpet intro to the song before the
guitar takes over. Think 90s indie pop crossed with Brazilian
pop singer João Gilberto. And the closer, “Baby
You’re a Friend of Mine,” reminds me of the Soundtrack
to the film “Brazil” crossed with 50s Latin pop;
it’s just adorable. Solid, enjoyable effort here.
 DOLLARS
FOR DEADBEATS – Was It a Good Night? (Say-10 Records
and Skateboards, www.say-10.com)
This is big sounding music from Germany that borders between
alternative and punk rock. The songs are big and tuneful,
well played with full sounding arrangements. Every song sounds
like an epic. But the problem is it’s every song, for
the most part. Same tempo, same feel. The one outlier, the
one track different from the others, is the acoustic “White
Roses,” a song with a Latin flair to it. But even then,
though the instrumentals are very different, the vocals are
very much the same as on every track, though laid bare here
without a full band. As a result, there are imperfections
in intonation that stand out and mar an otherwise pretty song.
That said, the poppy “Gondola Rules” is a fun
track, a little bit faster than the others, and the rapid-fire
vocals remind me a bit of City Mouse’s Miski Dee. But
even here, there’s no dynamic range to it. “Denver
to Boston” has undertones of Americana in the rhythm
and melody, though the guitars end up sounding big and epic
like all the other tracks, and the vocal intonation problems
appear here again. “Bathroom Tiles” is a weird
name for a song, but it’s one of the better ones. Like
the other tracks, it has a medium tempo and a big full sound,
and the chorus is huge and impressive. The band gets political,
too, with the song, “Eric Garner,” which tells
the tale of the murder of an unarmed black man in New York
City by police for the crime of selling loose cigarettes,
and for which no one was ever held accountable. This record
has its moments, both good and not so good. I think taken
one at a time, some of these songs will be listened to again,
but taken as an LP it has problems.
 GOOD
FRIEND – The Erin Rose EP (Red Scare Industries, www.redscare.net)
Three songs from across the pond, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, to
be exact, fill this new EP. The trio that is Good Friend originally
hail from Northern Ireland, but moved to Newcastle to get
shitty jobs and play in a band, as they claim. This is the
band’s first release since the excellent “Ride
the Storm” LP that came out way back in 2016. They had
planned a tour with label mates Red City Radio, but we all
know what happened to 2020 tour plans. This record was planned
for that tour, and is now seeing the light of day. The track
from which the EP takes its title, “Erin Rose Drinks
On Shift,” is classic Good Friend, with a great jangling
melody, plenty of whoa-ohs, and a bigger sound than you might
expect from a trio. “We’ll Burn That Bridge When
We Get To It” is a change of pace, a big rocking ballad
with grunge influences. “Rusted Friends” is a
stripped down track with just guitar and harmonized vocals,
with a wistful folk-punk feel. Someday soon we’ll have
live music again, and that tour needs to happen.
 GLENN
MORROW’S CRY FOR HELP – 2 (Rhyme & Reason
Records, www.rhyme-reason.com)
Glenn Morrow is not only the owner/operator of the storied
Bar/None Records record label, he’s also a musician.
In the 1970's, he performed with the rock band The Individuals.
He was in the band ‘a,’ which was the first band
to play Maxwell’s, and kicked off the Hoboken indie
music scene. Of course, ‘a’ evolved into The Bongos
after Morrow left, and Maxwell’s became the epicenter
of New Jersey music. Now, along with Ron Metz, Mike Rosenberg,
and Ric Sherman, Morrow performs as Glenn Morrow’s Cry
For Help. The songs range from power pop with psychedelic
tinges to breezy pop rock.
I really like the opening track, “Yellowed Pages,”
which uses garage rock guitar feel and a 70's psych pop
vibe, and has lyrics referencing space and time and the
astral plane. It’s kind of a throwback to underground
music of a type that doesn’t get made much anymore,
and it’s lovely. My favorite track is the power pop
“G B & Co.” Every time Morrow sings “Yeah”
at the start of a line, it’s just so….cool.
The song lyrics speak to a memory of good times and great
music, dancing and having fun, while the guitars jangle
and rock. The song just bounces with joy. “The Ride”
is an understated tune with an old time blues-influenced
rock’n’roll feel and lyrics speaking to race
relations, referencing, for instance, that Martin Luther
King Blvd and JFK Blvd. in Jersey City don’t intersect,
on how “it was sunny on your side and shady on my
side,” referencing the economic divide that exists
along racial lines. I also like the gliding feel of “What
Happens Next,” a song about the end of a relationship
and the start of, well, whatever happens next.
One of the clever things Morrow does with some of these
songs is work in advertising slogans of the past into song
lyrics. On “Yellowed Pages,” it’s “let
your fingers do the walking,” the slogan used for
many years to get people to use the Yellow Pages. And “Watch
It Burn” has lyrics that include “Oh my god,
you’re soaking in it,” which harkens back to
the old Palmolive dish soap TV ads featuring Madge, the
manicurist, who had her customers soak their nails in the
mysterious green liquid, therefore proving how mild it was.
These sorts of touches are fun and appealing, providing
little Easter eggs for old guys like me, even if younger
listeners don’t get the joke.
Not every track is a winner. I’m not a fan of the
easy listening lounge track “Forever and a Day,”
which reminds me more of a Burt Bacharach AM radio song
from the 1970's than anything an indie innovator would do.
But that’s really the only song I couldn’t get
into – other than that, this album is pretty darn
fine.
 OH!
GUNQUIT – Why Haven’t You Watered The Plants?
(Decapitator Records, ohgunquit.bandcamp.com)
Oh! Gunquit (who may or may not be named after the Maine town
of Ogunquit) are back with their third full-length LP. The
band’s brand of rock’n’roll is a helluva
lot of fun, blending garage and soul together. Tina Swasey’s
vocals bring in a new wave element to the mix, too, and the
result is a little trashy, a little funky, lively and boisterous.
One of my favorite tracks is “Whiplash,” which
seems to combine 60s girl-group rock and roll, garage rock,
and B-52s new wave. Some of the songs have a “science
fiction” theme, like the retro rock “Attack of
the Killer Cranes” and the hard-driving anthem “Last
Day On Earth.” “Dance Like Fuck” is another
great one, seriously sounding like the B-52s might have had
they formed a couple decades earlier. “Commander Salamander”
is beat poetry set to throbbing music, Swasey speaking the
lyrics like she’s telling a story at the Moth. This
record makes me happy, and it will you, too.
 OLD
CALIFORNIO – Songs from the Sea of Cortez (oldcalifornio.bandcamp.com)
Emerging from a long slumber (their last LP, “Sundrunk
Angels,” came out nine years ago), Americana group Old
Californio returns with a dozen songs ranging from lightly
twangy to folksy, from down home to rocking. “Saint
Cecelia” is a lovely track to open with, with acoustic
guitars that jangle along with harmonized vocals. The rhythm
section chugs along like a leisurely train rolling down the
tracks, and the fiddle solo is wonderful. “Lyre of Orpheus”
is a pleasant Americana tune, with subtle twang of a steel
guitar, and country blues vibe to it. As it fades we get a
short bonus instrumental that has a rocking rhythm, wailing
guitar, and jazzy sounding keyboards. It’s just a fragment,
but I love it and wish it were turned into a song in its own
right. I like the delicate acoustic “Trestles- San Luis
Rey,” too, with its hints of flamenco inspiration and
the backdrop of a rainstorm. It’s the kind of song to
listen to curled up in front of the fireplace on a cold rainy
day. “Too Tired” blends retro rock and 70s pop
to create something pretty unique, and the closer, “Giving
In” is a soulful number. This record, while rooted in
Americana, is reasonably varied in its sounds, utilizing instruments
such as piano, mandolin, and electric and acoustic guitars,
and even if country isn’t your thing, this record is
nice and cozy.
 RLND
– Zealand (Sell The Heart Records, www.selltheheartrecords.com)
Instrumental LPs can be hit or miss. Too many times they’re
boring, just playing melodies without lyrics and sounding
like incomplete songs. Sometimes, though, they can be fascinating.
This latter situation is the case with Bay Area band RLND
(pronounced like Roland). Part math rock, part metal, part
prog-rock, part indie, RLND recorded this LP last year. It
was to be not only the band’s sophomore full-length
release, but also their swan song, as the half the band decided
to leave before it could be released. The remaining members
were left wondering how to tour and promote the album, and
quickly found replacements – and then 2020 and the global
pandemic put the kibosh on the whole thing. There’s
about fifty minutes of music here, ranging from lush and beautiful
to raging and intense, from delicate and light to heavy head
banging and thrash. Rhythms and time signatures change at
the drop of a hat, as these musicians demonstrate their mastery
over their instruments and the material. Some of the song
titles are tongue in cheek, too, like “Kurt Loader”
(apparently referencing film critic Kurt Loder), “Keith
Sells,” “Basilica Gel,” and an homage to
NPR radio personality “Terry Gross.” I’ve
only liked a small handful of instrumental LPs in the past,
and I usually don’t go in for the heavier stuff, so
one would think that’s two strikes against RLND from
me right there. But I find this record to be compelling and
creative.
 THE
MR. EDS / INJECT THE LIGHT – Split Xmas Cassingle
(the-mr-eds.bandcamp.com)
Two new songs for the holidays from hardcore solo heroes Inject
The Light and The Mr. Eds. Of course, Inject The Light is
the basement recording alter ego of Chris Mason, Dirt Cult
Records’ boss and member of bands such as Low Culture
and Shang-a-Lang, while The Mr. Eds is Razorcake’s Daryl
Gussin, veteran of several Los Angeles punk bands. Inject
The Light’s song is “Merry Xmas Grandma,”
a warm wish for a happy holiday season that warns grandma
that he’ll be coming on an airplane and taking a Lyft
to visit, and expresses the desire that this not be the last
one for her. The music is simple, dark and lo-fi, with one-note
bass lines, distorted guitar, and backbeat snare drumming.
“It’s Xmas (I’m Drunk and Screaming)”
is the holiday offering from The Mr. Eds, and it’s similarly
dark and lo-fi, but with more complex arrangements including
lead and rhythm guitars, bass, and full drum kit. This one
is less garage hardcore and more punk, and it’s looser,
too. The lyrics refer to all the shit that’s gone down
during 2020, the darkness of the words matching that of the
music. I’m always a sucker for punk rock Christmas music,
and this split single is a worthy addition to my collection
(and yours).
 THE
RAGING NATHANS / THE REAGANOMICS – Midwest Duress
EP (Red Scare Industries, www.redscare.net / Rad Girlfriend
Records. www.radgirlfriendrecords.bandcamp.com)
Rad Girlfriend Records and Red Scare Industries, The Raging
Nathans and The Reaganomics, Dayton, Ohio and Joliet, Illinois
– this EP is a split release any way you look at it.
And it’s all solid DIY punk rock. Each band contributes
three songs, and all of them rage. With a name like The Raging
Nathans you expect their songs to do so, and they don’t
disappoint. Coming hot on the heels of the Oppositional Defiance”
LP they released earlier this year, we get three excellent
pop punk tracks, fast and loud, loaded with jangly noisy guitars
and some simple yet effective arrangements. I especially like
the call and response vocals of “Worry About Yourself”
and the terse, primal “Fuck You.” The Reaganomics
give us some interesting variety, with the first song, “OK
Day” sounding like a Screeching Weasel style Ramonescore
tune, with lyrics about having a bad day due to the realization
of being dead, then coming to the understanding that it’s
cool being dead and so it’s an OK day. And “Song
in A” sounds very much like something the Fur Coats
might have done, speedy and poppy. “Tear Off Your Face”
slows things down, and is not a love song. Or maybe it is.
Anyway you cut it, this is a great split.
 SPARTA
PHILHARMONIC – Nature of the Cure (www.spartaphilharmonic.com)
This is the long-awaited follow-up to Sparta Philharmonic’s
triumphant LP, “(trans)migratory birds.” When
I say long awaited, I mean it’s been ten years since
that album came out, and five years since the band played
their most recent live shows, with a handful of dates in the
Pacific Northwest (which I actually got on a plane and flew
to Olympia, Washington for – read about it here.)
After a number of years on different continents, the Bortnichak
brothers are back together (sort of – on opposite sides
of the country), and have finally given us this five-song
mini-LP.
This record is certainly noisier than the last one, for
the most part, except for the tracks that bookend the record.
The opening track is a short piece called, “Aha What,”
and features ominous cello overdubs. It’s a dark piece
that seems a lament for these dark times, as we hear the
cellos weep and sigh. And the closing track, “The
Actual Fuck,” is also an instrumental featuring Greg
Bortnichak’s cello. It begins tentatively, but slowly
builds, and despite the title it has a feeling of hope,
the multi-tracked cellos rising toward the prospect of a
better tomorrow. It has a gorgeous, lush, orchestral sound
that’s stunning.
The three tracks in between are thick arrangements that
belie the compact efficiency of Sparta Philharmonic. As
with (trans)migratory birds, the duo use a number of tricks
to create a much larger sound than two people should be
allowed to make. “Jonah” and “Dignity,”
the latter of which was the lead single, are pop tunes,
but with different feels. “Jonah” reminds me
of The Jesus and Mary Chain, for the overall morose vibe
and the heavy use of reverb and distortion – but the
Bortnichaks push these techniques to the limit, fuzzing
things up to the extreme, cranking up the reverb, and injecting
a grunge aesthetic to it.
“Dignity,” despite sharing the level of reverb
and distortion of “Jonah,” has a brighter pop
feel, with the guitars sometimes sounding almost like keyboards.
The subject matter couldn’t be darker, though, with
lyrics referencing the police violence and murders of black
people. Speaking to this summer’s mass protests that
occurred the song declares, “What yr seeing on the
streets ain’t about one tragedy / Nor a few bad apples
among our police.” This is about the sustained systemic
racist attack on black Americans, as the song continues,
“It’s the breaking point after centuries / Of
denying Black Americans their dignity.” Donald Trump
gets called out for sending troops to suppress the protests,
causing more division, rather than to calm and ensure justice
as a true leader would do: “A ruler lacking empathy’s
an oppressor.” The music is strident, almost anthemic.
“Dignity was first released as a split single with
the band Canid, and proceeds from the sale of the track
were donated, first to the family of Walter Wallace, Jr.,
a black man murdered by Philadelphia police just in October,
and then to the ACLU.
“Wahn, Wahn, Wahn” is the noisiest of all the
tracks. Wahn, according to the dictionary, comes from Old
High German and means “illusion, delusion, vain hope,
false idea, false perception of reality.” The lyrics
refer to Wahn as a person, one who lives for deception and
self-aggrandizement. The chaos sown by Wahn is echoed in
the ataxia and bedlam of the music. The piece is divided
into sections, with the first having a martial feel, a clanging
clarion call accompanied by lyrics intoned, as if by monks
of a religious order, as if Wahn is the object of misplaced
worship by some. Who can this Wahn be? It may be that I’m
reading too much into it, but the description seems to fit
the 45th president. Between this song and “Dignity,”
this is the most political I can recall Sparta Philharmonic
getting.
Ten years between releases is a long time. It was worth
the wait. But I certainly hope we don’t need to wait
as long for more.
 BEFORE
STORIES – The Next Reason To Breathe (Ripcord Records,
www.ripcordreords.com)
Scots duo Before Stories consists of Jamie Reed and Colin
Brennan. Aberdeen seems to be an odd corner of the world to
find a band blending post punk, emo, and hip hop/rap, but
this is real. Guitar, bass, and drums provide the musical
backdrop for the spoken word beat poetry of the lyrics. The
arrangements are sparse with a distinct dark post punk feel.
For example, the rumbling one-note bass lines of “Born
Below the Tide” reminds me of Joy Division and that
era of music. “Toe The Line” features jazzy percussion
focused on the ride cymbal, buzzing guitars, and angry shouted
vocals. “Hutl” is a dreamy track, featuring a
meandering bass and what feels like stream of consciousness
poetry for the lyrics. “1 Like = 1 Prayer” is
the most tuneful track of the EP, with an almost poppy melody
backing the spoken word lyrics, vocals rising in fury as the
track progresses. There’s a grunge fuzz feel to the
guitars and bass, and it’s probably the most “accessible”
of the songs to the average indie music fan. “X99”
has an almost industrial dance feel, with a strong beat and
ominous grinding feel. The closer, “Come to Pass,”
is another introspective dreamy one, similar to “Hutl,”
with meandering guitar replacing the bass. Part way through,
the guitar gains some fuzz and the vocals get gritty, bass
and drums joining in for some emotional pop for a brief while,
before returning to the poetic sound that the track began
with. It’s a fascinating EP, definitely unique.
 DAYDREAM
– Mystic Operative (Dirt Cult Records, www.dirtcultrecords.com)
Dirt Cult goes through interesting cycles of the kind of music
they put out. They’ve gone through the pop punk phase,
a garage pop phase, a hardcore phase, and now a chaotic garage
noise phase. Daydream, hailing from Portland, Oregon, combine
distortion, driving bass lines, pounding garage rock rhythms,
and manic guitar licks to create a cacophony like no other.
Eleven songs in 28 minutes might be a little much in one go,
but taken in smaller doses it can be mesmerizing. “Prophet
of Peace” is hypnotic, with repeating and throbbing
lines amidst the mayhem. There are angular melodic lines,
too, on “Rendered Ghosts,” stabbing at the brain.
“Conscious Raising” somehow resolves into a tune
with a twang (down home noise rock?). There’s the disorganized
pandemonium of “Spies for Personal Peace,” and
there’s the industrial sounds of factory machinery in
“Baptized & Blessed.” Each track has something
to offer, something out of the norm, something to break through
the dullness of extended isolation. Take in small doses, though.
If swallowed whole, this can cause sensory overload.
 DEVON
KAY & THE SOLUTIONS – A Little Bit (devonkayandthesolutions.bandcamp.com)
Following the summer release of their latest LP, “Limited
Joy,” with A-F Records, marking a departure from their
pop punk roots, Devon Kay & The Solutions continues the
journey deeper into pop music territory with this new self-released
single. Present here are the thicker and more intricate arrangements
that we started seeing with the LP; horns, synths, organ,
piano, layered melodic lines, and deep harmonies fill the
song. “A Little Bit “is my dumb punk love letter
to bands like The Counting Crows & Motion City Soundtrack,”
says Kay. “It’s a feel good love song about love
not feeling good and the many steps it takes obtaining a solid
relationship.” I hear pop punk and ska influence, as
well as jazz and lounge, all blended together into a pretty
pop number that lopes along at a leisurely pace.
 THE
HECK – Hate It Here (Sour Bomb Records, theheckgaragerock.bandcamp.com)
A brand new single from Netherlands garage rockers The Heck,
we get two recordings of the same song with different lyrics.
Distorted bass starts things out, then the whole band comes
in, vocals crying and screaming about how much “I hate
it here / I hate it everywhere / I hate it over there / But
most of all / I hate it here / So fuck you all / Go fuck yourself
/ I hate it here.” The music has a simple chord progression,
melodic bounce, and great garage power. The short B-side declares,
“I like it here / I like it everywhere / I like it over
there / But most of all I like it here / I love you all /
I love myself / I like it here.” A much happier sentiment
to match the joyous music. Fun stuff.
 SWINGIN’
UTTERS – Boots 'N' Booze (Pirates Press Records, www.piratespressrecords.com)
“Boots 'N' Booze” is a new graphic novel set in
a small beach town (Santa Cruz, California) in the 1980\s,
recounting the adventures of a merry band of teenage ne'er-do-wells
as they navigate their way through life, emulating 1960's
UK skinhead culture, including an adoration of ska, reggae,
and soul music. They share the town and have encounters with
surfers, punks, mods, and of course, Nazi skins. Included
with the comic is this two-song 7-inch single from Johnny
Peebucks & the Swingin’ Utters (as the band was
originally known,) recorded live at one of the parties documented
in this autobiographical comic book anthology, named for the
long-running zine that covered skinhead culture, from music
and bands to the booze they liked to drink. Boots 'N' Booze
features artwork and stories from Lucas Musgrave, Joel Loya,
James Reitano, Dannyboy Smith, John Bush, Courtney Schamach,
Misty Hecht, Glen McHenry, Jessica Louise, and Rob Sporleder.
But we’re here for these early Utters songs, aren’t
we? Though the recording quality is tinny, the 80's style
of California punk rock is unmistakable. The two songs are
“Tell Us The Truth” and “Sorry,” and
you can hear and feel the raw fun and party atmosphere. These
tracks are a snapshot from history that will cause feelings
of nostalgia amongst punks who remember the era.
 WRONG
WAR – Fixed Against Forever (Council Records, www.councilrecords.com)
Wrong War is a fairly new band, only having formed in 2019.
However, the band is made up of Chicago music veterans, and
so Wrong War is a tight powerful band right out of the gate.
Lead vocalist Matt Weeks was in the bands Current, Calvary,
and Ottawa (and runs Council Records), while drummer Dan Smith
was in Salvo Beta, and guitarist and bassist Pat Keanan and
Dave Pawlowski played together in The Phenoms. For the most
part, Wrong War play blistering Midwest hardcore that harkens
back to the glory days of the 1980s, with fast’n’loud
songs that are politically charged. Right from the first track,
“Words Were Mere Words,” you can feel the hardcore
punk power pour out of the speakers, and I’m transported
back to the small dirty clubs in seedy neighborhoods in Chicago
I used to frequent back in the day. After a bit of free-form
guitar with cool effects, Pawlowski’s rapid-fire base
comes in, laying the foundation for the song. Keanan’s
angular guitar jabs and Smith’s pounding drums complementing
Weeks’ angry shouted vocals. Some songs are more hard
rock than hardcore punk, like “First Shot Misses,”
another fast one that speeds by like a Motörhead fueled
train from hell. The end of the track features a recording
looping a man saying, “There’s no doubt that this
is America’s moment of reckoning.” This flows
immediately into some sound effects that sound like a short
wave radio coded broadcast, and then launches into “Minimum
Safe Distance.” Time is fleeting / What’s it for?”
Weeks shouts in the chorus. “Time is wasted / On what
you say. / Vented nothing / Outrage of day / Played your hand
/ And it’s utter exhaustion.” My take away from
this is that Wrong War is talking about the conspiracy theories
that keep getting repeated, wasting everyone’s time,
displaying fake outrage over nothing.
Wrong War also takes some influence from the east, Washington,
D.C. to be precise. “All You Ever Knew” is slower
and more melodic, yet just as powerful, as it channels the
Dischord post-hardcore sound. The track just rocks out,
Weeks’ vocals spitting out the lyrics with an emotional
intensity. It’s my favorite track of the LP. And as
I listen to the other, more hardcore tracks, I can even
hear influence from earlier DC bands, as well. “Escape
Clause” is another favorite that sounds like something
from a late 80s or early 90s Dischord band. It’s also
the song the band takes its name from, with a chorus that,
to me, speaks of selling out. “And what did you sell
yours for? / You should have asked for a little bit more.
/ I think we all see, it’s the wrong war.” It
might be the wrong war, but it’s the right band, because
this record is highly recommended.
 Democratic
For The People (democraticforthepeople.bandcamp.com)
“I've always taken it personally when people say ‘blame
the South’,” says Todd Farrell Jr. of the Nashville
band, Benchmarks, when referring to national election results
and the long history of electors going to the GOP candidate.
“What they don't see are a lot of smaller battles being
fought by progressive Southerners being undermined by voter
suppression and gerrymandering.” But after the 2020
election, for the first time in decades, Georgia has been
turned blue, thanks in part to Stacy Abrams’ tireless
grassroots work in Atlanta with Fair Fight, and this inspired
Farrell to assemble this unique compilation, featuring 23
artists (mostly) covering Georgia performers, all to benefit
the Fair Fight organization. With two runoff elections for
US Senate seats in Georgia determining control, groups like
Fair Fight continue to be important in ensuring free and fair
elections and enfranchisement for all eligible voters. Bands
from across the spectrum, from Americana to indie rock to
pop punk contributed tracks, and the result is an eclectic
collection, ranging from quietly desperate acoustic anthems
like Austin Lucas’ rendition of REM’s “Welcome
to the Occupation” to the big full band country pop
of Georgia Satellites’ “Battleship Chains,”
performed by Dirt Reynolds.
Every track is well done and heart-felt, but there are
some highlights. “Lance Howell does a gently soulful
rendition of Otis Redding’s “These Arms of Mine”
that blends some country twang and gospel undertones. Neutral
Milk Hotel’s “King of Carrot Flowers”
gets an amazing treatment from Achilleus, turning the quiet
acoustic part into a glorious new wave pop tune, and the
noisy grungy part into a quiet gospel tune with plenty of
down home twang. Halloween Year magically transforms Drive
By Truckers’ “The Company I Keep” from
a slow country rock song into a raucous one that ranges
from speedy pop punk to reggae punk. Little Richard’s
R&B tune “Rip It Up” is done up as a classic
rock’n’roll number by Nato Coles & the Blue
Diamond Band. The stately “Finest Worksong”
from REM becomes a faster, harder driving song at the hands
of Benchhmarks. I really enjoy the garage rocker “Keys
To Me,” originally released by “Drivin’
N’ Cryin’ but here done at a speedier pace and
with a punk aesthetic by Orphan Riot. And one track that
isn’t a cover, Micah Schhnabel’s “Attention
Shoppers,” is an amazing track for the holiday shopping
season. Schnabel is our generation’s beat poet laureate,
and though the pop punk he does with Two Cow Garage is great,
I especially love his moving solo music.
Tons of other bands contributed tracks to this comp, and
I don’t want to shortchange them, because they’re
all excellent. The comp is a very worthy listen, and it’s
for a very worthy cause.
 THE
QUEERS – Save The World (All Star Records, allastarrecords.limitedrun.com)
Joe Queer has long been a polarizing personality in the world
of pop punk. Hailed by some as one of the early “stars”
of pop punk, decried as a conservative apologist by others,
at best one thing is certain: Despite fronting The Queers
for nearly 40 years, Joe can still write catchy songs when
he wants to. And, though Ramonescore pop punk is The Queers’
bread and butter, they aren’t afraid to try new things.
“If I Had a Girl Like You” is a lovely jangly
indie pop song with really nice retro guitar tone and layered
harmonized vocals. It’s actually one of my favorite
songs of the LP. I like the power pop rock and roll of “Shit
for Brains,” a track with self-deprecating, not accusatory,
lyrics. “Hong Fucking Kong” has a fun melody with
great backing vocals that give the song an almost Alpine folk
tune vibe.
The Queers aren’t afraid to slow things down, either.
“My Heart’s in the Right Place” is almost
a ballad by The Queers’ standards, and it’s
got a simple yet pretty melody. And “Let the Rain
Wash Away My Tears” is another slower one, a pop punk
tune with an indie rock feel mixed with retro 50's doo wop.
Nor do they shy away from the controversy that’s surrounded
them. Joe answers the online trolls who have called him
a racist with “White Power Feud in Atlanta,”
a hard rock tune that shows how he has always felt about
Nazis.
Joe is sometimes still stuck in the 1980s era of punk rock
shock, though, as is evident by the misogynistic tracks
“Attack of the 5 Foot Bitch” and “Shirley
Needs a Dildo,” which open the album. The former is
a simplistic punk song that’s the weakest of the album,
while the latter is classic tuneful 90s pop punk, some glorious
Beach Boys like backing vocals included. But both songs
have lyrics best left in the past, in my opinion. If you’re
a fan of the Queers’ long history of silly punk songs,
you have nothing to fear. “Cheeto In a Speedo Eating
a Burrito” is here for you. So is the slightly sludgier
“Fanculo A Tutti,” which is Italian and translates
to “Fuck Everyone.” I think this is Joe’s
commentary that everyone is fair game to be made fun of;
there are no sacred cows.
So, think what you want about Joe Queer. Yeah, he’s
an overgrown adolescent. Yeah, he’s got some questionable
political beliefs about the police and certain leftist organizations.
He does still make good music, and he loves his fans. I
mean, the closing track says so right in the title, “We
Love Our Fans.”
 AMY
ANGEL AND THE HELLRAISERS – Do It Again (Die Laughing
Records, www.dielaughingrecords.com)
This East Bay band sounds too nice to raise any real hell.
The ten songs on this LP are actually nice and light, and
though some of them try to rock out, they aren’t going
to be conjuring any demons any time soon. Instead, these are
pleasant pop rock tunes, the equivalent of easy listening
for heavy metal head bangers who have aged out of the pit.
There are pleasing indie pop numbers, such as the opening
track, “Walking In The City,” and there are varying
levels of rockabilly ranging from slight to heavy in “Who’s
That Girl” and “Yesterday’s High.”
The track from which the LP takes its title, “I’d
Do It Again” is a wannabe Motorhead or AC/DC hard rock
song that never gets hard enough. Amy Angel’s vocals,
for one thing, are just too pretty for the genre, I think.
There’s the power pop of “Party Night Across The
USA” and garage-lite of “White Witch.” “Never
Too Late” sounds like a cross between retro rock and
roll and something The Kinks might have recorded. I mean,
these aren’t bad songs at all; the record is a pleasant
listen. With a name like “Hellraisers,” though,
I don’t know that pleasant is what they were going for.
 GENTLEMEN
ROGUES – Do The Resurrection 7” (Snappy Little
Numbers Quality Audio Recordings, www.snappylittlenumbers.com)
Gentlemen Rogues is an Austin, Texas based outfit that blends
indie rock and power pop to create solid guitar-fueled songs.
The A-side of this new single, “Do the Resurrection,”
is loaded with fuzzy guitar jangle and, as the band says,
“tackles love and loss, life and death, dying and undying
devotion, rinsing and repeating.” The B-side is a unique
mash-up called “Bloody Rudderless (in Ursa Major).”
It’s part “Rudderless” by The Lemonheads,
part Destination Ursa Major” by Superdrag, and part
“When you Sleep” by My Bloody Valentine. It’s
the ultimate homage to 90s indie rock and the band pull it
off well.
 HALF
JAPANESE – Crazy Hearts (Fire Records, www.firerecords.com)
Except for a lengthy gap from around 2001 to 2014, Half Japanese
have been releasing a steady stream of LPs, EPs, and singles
since the two Fair brothers, Jad and David, began making music
together in around 1974. Nowadays, though, it’s just
Jad. Often pigeon-hold into the “art punk” genre,
there’s more to the band than that. I hear a definite
psych vibe in the music, which makes sense, given their genesis
during an era of psych pop. But I can certainly see where
the “art punk” label came from. Fair’s vocals
and lyrics are unique, covering odd topics and delivered more
like a reading during a poetry slam than a song. The album
opens with “Beastmaster,” a track about the master
of all beasts, who was raised by monkeys. Like I said, unique.
The music is driving garage with psych elements, and a definite
60s “go-go” aesthetic. I like the bombastic “Dark
World,” which sounds like the theme song to some science-fiction
action adventure film made in the 1970s. “And It Is”
has a fun bounce and bright feel from the cheesy organ, interrupted
periodically by darker instrumental passages. The lyrics are
about how everything is perfect and wonderful (“It’s
a chocolate covered rainbow, it’s coming up roses, it’s
more than alright…” but every time the topic comes
around to “you and me” or “us, the dark
passage begins. Half Japanese’s penchant for the supernatural
and horror is on display in the song “Late at Night,”
a slow eerie song about zombies walking the earth. It has
a cinematic quality to it, too, but feeling like something
from a low budget monster flick made during the “mod”
era, perhaps. The title track sparkles, overflowing with goodness.
“The love bug bit me on my nose / And my love, it grows
and grows / And you are the one I chose / The one and only,”
Fair intones. The whole song is a sappy declaration of the
power of love, and you can’t help but smile. For readers
more familiar with the pop punk world, think of Half Japanese
as being sort of like Micah Schnabel with a full band playing
garage-like retro psych pop. Half Japanese are staying true
to their unique selves.
 JOAN
OF ARC – Tim Melina Theo Bobby (Joyful Noise Recordings,
www.joyfulnoiserecordings)
This is it, folks. After 25 years as a band, Joan of Arc have
called it quits, with this LP being their parting gift to
all of us. And the band that has constantly reinvented themselves
with every LP are closing with an album that sees themselves
seemingly reinventing the band with each track. The LP, named
for the members of the band (Tim Kinsella, Melina Ausikaitis,
Theo Katsaounis, and Bobby Burg), begins with the pastoral
“Destiny Revision.” Guitars roll gently, as percussion
steps lightly as if strolling down a meandering path. The
whole feel of the song is one of a carefree sunny day spent
alone, just wandering. “Something Kind” features
Melina on lead vocals to a song of dark foreboding that alternates
between smooth and harsh sections. Listening to the attention
to detail in the arrangement is a joy, with intricate flourishes
totaling more than the sum of their parts. And that’s
not just on this song, it’s every track. “Karma
Repair Kit” sparkles and shines, guitars and synths
dancing around each other, while “Land Surveyor”
is a bombastic synth-heavy instrumental. “The Dawn of
Something” is another instrumental and has a wonderful
drone and percussion that gives it a South Asian feel, like
a trance-inducing Indian raga. “Cover Letter Song”
is a depressing dirge that articulates a series of crappy
jobs that make up a life experience. And I love the odd expansive
waltz, “Rising Horizon,” punctuated as it is with
samples of gasps and storytelling. Front man Tim Kinsella
has a new project taking his focus now, Good Fuck, a duo with
his wife, Jenny Pulse. So, farewell, Joan of Arc. We’re
sad to see you go, because this album shows you still had
so much to say. But we’ll hold these songs in our hearts.
 SLOW
BUILDINGS – Dereliction EP (www.facebook.com/slowbuildings)
Slow Buildings is the power pop/indie rock outlet for New
Jersey resident Jason Legacy. The opening track, “Fruit,”
reminds me a lot of a favorite band from the 1980s, The Vertebrats.
They were a local garage/power pop band from Champaign-Urbana,
Illinois and one of my introductions into the world of indie
music back in the day. “Too Monkey” is a cool
jazzy jumpy tune with garage undertones. “Your Muse
Is Problematic” eschews the garage and pop for more
of a 90s indie-nerd aesthetic, with quiet jangle from a guitar
with a clean tone. “Dead From a Distance” gets
a bit 80s goth, “Rest and Recovery” is quiet and
solemn, and “So Long” closes the EP out with a
head bobber of a song that bounces with whimsy. Though the
move from genre to genre is a little disjointed, the songs
themselves are nice enough.
 THE
CAVEMEN – Euthanise Me (Slovenly Recordings, www.slovenly.com)
After being separated for a long period of time, with some
band members stuck in Spain for an extended period of time
due to the pandemic (and releasing some fun records along
the way under the name “Sin City”), The Cavemen
are all back together and back at Slovenly Recordings with
a new four-song EP that will melt your face! Three of the
four songs are in-your-face hardcore garage punk, fast and
loud, even more so than usual Cavemen releases, as if the
quartet had a lot of pent-up energy to release. The title
track is a reference to New Zealand’s vote this year
on whether to enact the End of Life Choice Act of 2019, which
would allow terminally ill patients with less than six months
to live to choose to end their own life. Preliminary results
show it passed with 65% of the vote, and will go into effect
twelve months after the date of the vote. The song is manic
and desperate, pleading vocals begging for release. I love
the paean to cannibalism, “Eat Your Heart Out &
Wear Your Face,” maybe one of the most hardcore and
garage punk of all Cavemen songs ever, speedy punk rock, primitive
and raw, the best sort. “Nightmare” is an anti-love
song, with the song declaring “It’s a nightmare
every time I see you.” Another fast one, you can feel
them losing control, just as they sing, “Every time
I see you I lose control.” The last song of the quartet
is “Over You,” and it’s a slower one, a
little cleaner sounding than the others, and it’s bouncy
and melodic, almost a power pop tune! It’s so good to
have them back!
 HEART
& LUNG – You Wanna Know The Truth? (Red Scare
Industries, www.redscare.net)
Heart & Lung are prepping a new LP for Red Scare for 2021,
so label boss Toby Jeg decided, what the hell, why not re-release
this, the band’s very limited and long out of print
debut LP? Why not, indeed? The Cleveland pop punk outfit are
certainly worthy, featuring tight performances, harmonized
vocals, and snappy riffs. Apparently Heart & Lung are
baseball fans, because the album’s first track, “Telecaster,”
starts with Tom Hamilton, the voice of the Cleveland Indians,
telling us, “we’re under way at the corner of
Carnegie and Ontario,” where the Indians’ ballpark
is situated. What follows is 27 minutes of bright, fun, poppy
punky music. “Hit Song No. 4” is aptly titled,
because it’s written to sound like a radio-friendly
bubblegum pop song, and it’s done brilliantly, with
big harmonies in the vocals. “1954” uses hints
of retro rock and roll to set the stage, and the song speaks
about attitudes that are stuck in the past, and decries the
idea of “separate but equal,” the legal doctrine
enshrined by the 1896 Supreme Court case of Plessy v. Ferguson,
but finally overturned by the landmark Brown v. Board of Education
– in 1954. Yeah, Heart & Lung can get political
while still kicking out the pop jams. The song flows without
pause into the title track, a shining anthem to loving touring,
your scene, and all your friends. “Don’t Need
You Anyway” is another one with a retro pop melody,
the harmonized vocals reminiscent of the girl groups of the
60s. And so is the topic, with the song about a break-up.
Every one of the eleven tracks on the LP is high energy, tight
pop punk, and I can’t wait for the new LP. Toby sure
has a knack for picking out the pop punk gems.
 JIFFY
MARX – She’s My Witch b/w Warning Sign (Snappy
Little Numbers Quality Audio Recordings, www.snappylittlenumbers.com)
Autogramm’s Jiffy Marx, while on hiatus from touring
during the pandemic and working on Autogramm’s next
LP, decided to visit Seattle friends from Bread & Butter.
There, they recorded what we have here, Marx’s debut
solo single. The A-side, “She’s My Witch,”
is part power pop, part garage, and part classic rock and
roll. The song has a swaggering feel, reminiscent of Mick
Jagger, and the bouncy hooks are a hoot. “Warning Sign,”
on the other hand, has a little more of a somber aura, but
still solidly a mix of garage and power pop, with some 80s
post punk mixed in, too. I hope this wasn’t just a one-off,
because these are good songs.
 LARS
FINEBRG – Tinnitus Tonight (Mt. St. Mtn., www.mtstmtn.com)
You might recognize the name Lars Finberg from Thee Oh Sees,
or maybe from The A-Frames. Or perhaps, even, The Intelligence.
But here Finberg is releasing this LP under his own name.
And, as you might expect, there are plenty of garage influences
here. But if you think that’s all there is you would
be wrong. There’s folk-punk, synth-wave, and more on
this well-executed and eclectic album. The opening track,
“Lord of the Flies,” is a gorgeous melodic track
that blends both acoustic and electric guitars in some clever
arranging, along with subdued drums and bass. It has both
the blasé feel of post-punk no-wave and the melodic
sensibilities of power pop; it’s a wondrous dichotomy.
“Satanic Exit” keeps the same feel, but trades
the acoustic for buzzy synths. The song has minimalist repetition
in the line, but plenty of bounce. Right at the end of the
track, it briefly explodes with garage rock guitars for a
big finish. “The Doors” is a cool one, with some
tribal drumming, a driving beat in the chorus, wicked guitars,
and an off-kilter feel in the verses. “Public Admirer”
is a chaotic noise-fest, with feedback aplenty in the guitars,
yet melodic vocals holding the center. One thing I really
love about these tracks is the jazzy element injected into
several of them – they aren’t jazz, but there’s
a sort of relaxed jazz sensibility here. Listen to the strong
backbeat in “Boy Division,” an otherwise full-on
garage track. “TV / True Love” is a favorite,
starting out as a very bouncy melodic garage track, then turning
jazzy with guitars reminiscent of the smooth stylings of Thomas
Dolby’s “The Keys To Her Ferrari.” Even
more in the jazzy vein is “Wild Pilgrims,” with
super clean guitar tone and a relaxed beat. The studio conversation
retained at the end of the track is interesting, with someone
saying, “so, one more time,” as if it wasn’t
good enough, but you hear another voice saying, “yeah,
dude, he was stoked on that.” So am I.
 MUCK
AND THE MIRES – Welcome to Muckingham Palace (Dirty
Water Records, www.dirtywaterrecords.co.uk)
Last winter I reviewed a single from Muck and the Mires, “Cupid’s
Not a Friend of Mine.” It was to be a harbinger for
a new LP due out in the spring. And then COVID-19 did what
it’s done to so much of 2020, and the LP was delayed.
Later we got an EP from them, “Welcome Back to Planet
Earth,” half a dozen songs recorded during the lockdown.
But now we finally get the long-delayed LP, and man, this
was worth the wait! They’ve been described as “1964
Beatles meets the Ramones,” and it ain’t wrong.
This Boston garage band play a mix of power pop, retro garage,
power pop, and a hint of punk. The fourteen songs are melodic
and bouncy, loaded with fun. “This Time I Know I’m
Right” opens things with an amazingly great song, possibly
the best I’ve heard from the Mires yet. It’s so
tight, poppy and ebullient. “I’m Your Man”
is the lead single, and it’s a deeper garage cut, more
rock and roll than pop. “Too Soon to Fall In Love”
solidifies that Beatles simile, with some great 60s bubblegum
rock mixed with power pop and undercurrents of garage, just
enough to keep it real. “Don’t Start Running Away”
pumps up the even earlier Beatles era, with a strong R&B
influence, and “The Way It Was Before” eschews
most of the garage sound for a great jangly pop aesthetic.
“Good Enough” blends power pop and a working class
rock and roll feel, a la Bruce Springsteen.” All these
tunes are just so damn good! When the album ends with “Break
It All,” all mayhem breaks loose, Beatles and garage
and R&B influences all rolled up in one. Very worth the
wait.
 NOi!SE
– Base Rage On The Front Page (Pirate’s Press
Records, www.piratespressrecords.com)
NOi!SE have been on a tear lately, releasing a slew of singles
and EPs. This latest one, musically, is a banger, faster,
louder, and angrier than other recent songs. The production
quality muddies it, though; it sounds like it was recorded
in a high school gymnasium or something. And that’s
a shame, because the song is a good one.
 RECORD
THIEVES – Wasting Time (Thousand Island Records, www.thousandislandrecords.com)
The music on this debut LP from Denver’s Record Thieves
is solidly in the 90s punk camp, blending together skate punk
and pop punk styles and ending up about halfway between the
two genres. They have a sound that recalls 90s bands like
Millencolin and especially Face To Face, with melodic punk
that’s not quite so hardcore. The lead vocals are strong
and emphatic and the band is super tight. Harmonized backing
vocals fill a lot of the spaces, and the guitars are huge.
If you’re a fan of 90s punk, you’re going to love
Record Thieves, because they do a solid job on the eleven
songs on the LP. Sometimes the skate punk influence comes
a bit to the fore, like on “Actors For Hire,”
where the speedier harder edged style is predominant, or the
opening track, “Sacrifice,” which while not so
speedy, has a distinct skate punk guitar sound. “Who’s
Driving” is a little more on the pop side, smoother
and less edgy and high strung than many of the tracks. “Daily
Revolver” reminds me a little bit of Midwest melodic
hardcore punk from an earlier age. But my favorite track of
the LP is it’s final one, “Slumber Party.”
It’s got a big striding sound and a hopeful feel in
the chorus, as the lyrics are belted out; “It’s
cold outside tonight / I hope you’re sleeping well.”
Though the songs are well executed and energetic, and there
are some high points, there’s a little too much sameness
from song to song to really hold my interest too long. More
dynamic variance and more variance in tempo from song to song
would go a long way toward a change for the better.
 SUNDAE
CRUSH – A Real Sensation (Donut Sounds Record Co.,
www.donutsounds.com)
Originally from Denton, Texas and now making their home in
Seattle, Washington, “whether you're swooning over a
new crush or avoiding the anxiety of a breakup, Sundae Crush
are your friends, and their cosmic world is your escape,”
according to the band’s Facebook “about”
page. Their debut LP is pretty stripped down indie pop, with
a couple of guitars, bass, and drums. The music is light and
airy, much sparer than many bands. There are no fancy effects
with pedals, no distortion, just pretty music with lots of
space. The LP opens with “Kiss 2 Death,” an eerie
intro track featuring guitar, whistling, and organ. “Long
Way Back” is the first “proper” song, and
it’s got jangle in ample supply, harmonized and dueling
vocals, and a slightly garage feel, but this is definitely
not a garage rock record; this is indie pop, with spunk! The
song structures on this LP are somewhat unconventional, stopping
and starting, shifting tempos and time signatures, bouncing
vocals around, adding random shouts, and including interesting
instrumentation, such as vibraphone, saxophone, or trumpet.
There are lounge-like pop songs like “Lick It Up,”
with smooth jazz guitars, syncopated vocals, trumpets, and
backing vocals that are almost Motown-like, while “Green
Lake” features fluttery flutes and ethereal synths;
the track has a 70s psychedelic pop feel to it. And it’s
got a dog barking in it? Interesting arrangement! “La
La” is an odd one, closing side one; its lyrics are
simply “La la la” repeated over and over, and
it speeds up at the end, as if someone was turning up the
pitch control. I like “Good Boy,” especially the
back half, when the arrangement gets thicker, with synths,
saxophones, and flutes. The song is fairly simple, but the
Latin-esque beat and the instrumentation makes it interesting.
Not everything works as well as most of the tracks. “What
Do I Need” is a little too minimalist and feels somewhat
empty, and the second half of that track is an unnamed instrumental
that drags. It’s slow and repetitive. The closer, “Dudes
Being Guys,” starts out as a fascinating hymn, turns
into a garage pop tune for a bit, then becomes a weird synth-pop
thing, all the while the only lyrics are “dudes being
guys” repeated over and over. Despite a few lapses here
and there, this debut is fairly lovely.
 WET
TROPICS – Everybody Get In (Friend Club Records, www.friendclubrecords.com)
Part surf, part garage, part punk, Chicago’s Wet Tropics
have been slowly releasing single track demos over the past
two years, and now we’ve finally got their debut full-length
LP. And man, I haven’t been this excited about an album
in a long time. The three-piece outfit has a big yet stripped
down sound, with prominent bass, loads of fuzz, and some great
indie melodies. The opening track, “Cool California,”
shows off those surf guitar chops in a big way, and the retro
post punk vocals, emphatically partially sung, partially spoken
with lots of “body English,” are spot on, remind
me in a way of the B52s. Though the arrangement is pretty
spartan, there’s so much going on it gives it a full
sound. It’s the perfect introduction to the sound of
this LP, with its lo-fi production aesthetic, but not so lo-fi
that it sounds muddy; it’s perfect. “Le Fakery”
is a little more up-tempo and has a stronger garage sound
than most of the tracks, the bass taking a lead role. With
“Green Dreams” the vocals get more melodic, the
guitars start adding some cool flourishes, and you start to
see the whole package for the intense creativity behind it.
One thing that’s striking, too, is the effortlessness
with which the trio seem to play; it doesn’t sound like
they’re working hard. There’s a casualness that
just adds to the sense that this is something special. The
song “Tragic Accidents” is nothing short of brilliant.
It’s spare and simple, but so incredibly effective,
particularly the way the guitar punctuates the end of melodic
lines. It’s my favorite of the album. “Subway”
is another great one. You can hear the commuter train zooming
through the tunnel in the guitar and drums. And the point
where you hear guitar harmonics tossed in there? Spine-tingling.
I am obsessed with this album, and you will be, too.
 THE
1984 DRAFT – "Destination Breakdown" EP
(Poptek Records, www.poptek.com)
Ohio indie rockers The 1984 Draft are following up their 2018
debut LP, “Makes Good Choices,” with a new two-song
single. There’s a slight Americana feel to both of these
songs, though they’re quite different from each other,
and they’re more introspective than the songs on the
LP. The A-side is “Shame About Grace,” and it’s
got a big sound, expansive and open. The very first line of
the lyrics is something I can relate to, too: “I don’t
think I act my age.” The song, overall, is about how
people we thought we shared something in common with grow
apart, developing different beliefs, some of them harmful.
It’s a reference to the divide in our communities over
the response to the pandemic, with some believing in the science
designed to slow the spread of infectious disease, and others
politicizing it for selfish reasons. “You know our scientific
facts will never match,” says one of the lines of the
song, while the chorus and song title reference how so-called
“grown-ups” can act like spoiled children, “It’s
a shame at this age / You’re forgetting simple grace.”
The B-side, “Counting Up,” has a more delicate
sound to open, and when it gets going it’s a more emotional
striding sound. And where “Shame About Grace”
has a hint of anger to the lyrics, “Counting Up”
is more wistful. It’s also a pandemic-era song, and
references the feelings of loss we all have about missing
shows, gatherings, and friends. It speaks to the toll on children
who can’t spend time with their friends, too. But now,
it’s as if time is standing still. We fill our time
with work around the house (“I’ve painted and
worked on my home I have six rooms done”) and enjoying
family time (“I laugh and I play with my kids”
and “I cherish the time with my wife”). But everything
else in our lives is on hold (“But then the plague set
in, the timer seemed to stop. I’m no longer counting
up.”). I anxiously await the time when we no longer
have to dwell on the effects of the coronavirus, but while
it’s here, it’s providing fodder for some passionate
and poignant songs like these.
 THE
JASONS / BLACK RUSSIANS - The Jasons/Black Russians Split
(Mom’s Basement Records, momsbasementrecords.bigcartel.com)
You get your choice of a four-song 7” or a six-song
CD with this new split. The Jasons - hailing from Camp Crystal
Lake, New Jersey - favor hockey masks and pop punk. Black
Russians are a new band dedicated to teaching children to
worship Stalin through pop punk, and they throw a helluva
party: a Communist party. The two bands start their respective
sides of the record with an overt threat toward the other.
“Kill a Commie for Mommy” opens The Jasons’
side, while Black Russians’ opening salvo is “Kill
The Jasons.” To be perfectly frank, it’s a mixed
bag for me. Some of the songs are good, while some are more
mediocre. “Kill a Commie for Mommy” feels a little
too raw, a little too metallic, and a little bit sloppy. The
other two songs from The Jasons are much better. “Red
Dawnna” opens with a distant scratchy recording of the
opening measures of the classic Richie Valens song, “Oh
Donna,” and then launches into a speedy fun ‘90s
Ramonescore pop punk song. “A Blaze in the Soviet Sky,”
the bonus song from the CD, covers Black Russians with a darker
pop punk song reminiscent of the Chicago school of punk rock,
though it does throw in some metal guitar solo type stuff
the song could have done without. On the B-side, Black Russians’
start things with that song about all the ways they’re
going to destroy The Jasons, giving it a nice poppy bounce
amidst the gritty guitars. “Invasion USA” continues
the wall of guitar sound, and the melody gets darker. The
CD bonus track is “Red Blooded Soviet Punk Rock,”
and is more rock and roll than punk rock. It’s well
executed, but not my thing. So not counting the first and
last CD version tracks, it’s a good record.
 V/A
– Big Stir Singles: The Yuletide Wave (Big Stir Records,
www.bigstirrecords.com)
Most musical artists who decide to release music for the holidays
stick to providing their own take on the time-worn carols
of the season. Big Stir’s roster of acts, though, have,
for the most part, provided their own seasonal songs for starting
new traditions. The styles here range from power pop to indie,
from bubblegum to near show-tune styles. Nick Frater’s
“Wash Your Hands of Christmas” is a bubbly British
Invasion ditty that’s perfect for this pandemic season,
and The Brothers Steve give us the great power pop holiday
tune, “I Love The Christmastime.” I really like
The Stan Laurels’ tune, “Noche Buena,” a
lovely Beatles style pop tune given a more modern indie sound
by fuzzing up the guitars considerably, and the ending with
the synthesized flutes is absolutely beautiful. “Revels
Without a Claus” is not only a hilarious title, it’s
a bubbly funny song from the UK band Spygenius. It’s
cheeky, like something Monty Python’s Eric Idle might
write. Anton Barbeau’s “Xmas Song” is a
cool retro psych-folk-rock tune, with jangle aplenty to go
with the jingle (bells). The Decibels do something different,
taking the song “Gloria” and singing the lyrics
to “Angels We Have Heard On High.” Christmas has
come to the garage! Michael Simmons contributes his lounge
pop “Christmas Waltz,” sounding like something
out of a late night side stage in Vegas. And speaking of hilarious,
Dolph Chaney presents a song called “Jingle Bells,”
but it’s not the one you’re thinking of. It has
original lyrics, but sung to the tune of Van Halen’s
“Panama.” Even Chanukah gets in on the act, with
Alison Faith Levy’s light indie-pop “All I Want
For Chanukah Is A Ukulele,” so she can learn a new chord
each of the eight days. All in all there are twenty-five tracks
and an hour and twenty minutes of holiday cheer. Grab this
one for those upcoming nights watching the Yule log burn and
enjoying some eggnog with your immediate household only, please.
 V/A
– For Family and Flag Volume 1 (Pirates Press Records,
www.piratespressrecords.com)
Based on the success of their “One Family One Flag”
triple LP compilation which celebrated the label’s 200th
release, Pirates Press has decided to embark on a series of
compilations that celebrate the bands on the label. This first
outing sees new and unreleased tracks, as well as favorites
from past releases. The fourteen tracks provide a look at
the breadth and depth of the Pirates Press roster with long-established
bands and newer ones sharing the stage, all contributing to
this strong comp. A dozen songs of street punk, punk rock,
and power pop are bookended by a pair of unique tracks. Caribbean
jazz outfit Shuffle and Bang open with a swingin’ rendition
of BB King’s “Let the Good Times Roll,”
from their LP “Island Bop.” Closing the comp is
Lenny Lashley's Gang of One, performing a gorgeous, solemn
rendition of “Need.” Lashley’s plaintive
vocals are backed by simple acoustic guitar, handclapping,
and tambourine, with a bit of piano. Quiet and simple, it’s
a nice way to end the otherwise raucous LP. In between are
some fantastic tracks. Highlights include Cock Sparrer’s
glorious “Marching Onwards,” a mix of power pop
and rock steady from The Slackers in the form of “Nobody’s
Listening,” and “Battery Street,” from The
Drowns’ great LP “Under Tension.” “Watch
Your Back” is the title track off the forthcoming LP
from Charger, and it’s, well, a hard charging track.
“Working Poor” from Bishop’s Green is a
great street punk track, full of jangly guitars and politically
charged lyrics. “Taking Back the Neighborhood,”
from Seized Up, is powerful hardcore. And Subhumans prove
they’re still making speedy, powerful, vital music with
“Thought Is Free,” from their “Crisis Point”
EP. I like the power pop of 45 Adaptors’ “Now
or Never.” And I really enjoy the raucous “Black
Clouds,” from The Antagonizers. Every track on this
comp is a highlight, really, including “When This World
Ends,” from The Barstool Preachers, “Lost,”
from NOi!SE, and Lions’ Law’s “Damaged Heart.”
Pirates Press is putting out some great music these days.
 HEXADIODE
– Controlled Burn (hexadiode.bandcamp.com)
One year on from the release of their LP, “Metaxy,”
the Dayton, Ohio industrial innovators decided to try an experiment.
The tracks from that LP were provided to a diverse roster
of sonic scientists from all over the globe for their manipulation.
The results were assembled, all during the global pandemic,
and released as a celebration of the one-year milestone of
the record. Of that album I said it contained, “pounding
dance beats, gritty growling vocals, tons of synths and drum
machines, distortion aplenty, and an unyielding power…”
and that it is “well-executed menacing music.”
These remixes hardly change that assessment, for the most
part. The very first track breaks the rules, though –
it’s the band’s own remix of “Parasitic
Static.” The new version, though still with a strong
beat, is less dance and more sinister sounding, more mechanical.
I like the 11grams extended remix of “Invariant,”
the original being harsher and more grating, the remix sounding
more militaristic. Many of the remixes are cleaner sounding,
sometimes more evil, deeper. I love the deep bass resonance
punctuating “Impulse Matrix” as remixed by Damn
the Witch Siren. “Metaxy,” remixed by Skeleton
Hands,” thrums with the rhythms of urban life in a gritty
city. “Brain In 3” comes across as more of an
epic theme for a dystopian science fiction film as reconstructed
by Soft Riot, but when given the treatment by Slighter, it’s
eerie as hell, and I fear for my soul. It’s simply one
of the best tracks of the LP. Less successful, in my opinion,
is the remixed version of the title track from last year’s
LP. Red Pyramid took “Metaxy” and thinned it out,
making it lighter and less grating in some parts, harsher
and noisier in others, and it feels somewhat disjointed to
me. And Freeze Etch’s remix of “Extreme Unction”
just isn’t quite as extreme as the original. But overall,
the experiment is a success.
 THE
KINSEY SICKS – Quarantunes (www.kinseysicks.com)
The world’s first “beauty shop quartet,”
The Kinsey Sicks, the self-styled “girl-group made of
boys” sing what they call “Dragapella,”
drag queen a cappella. What we get is sixteen songs of social
and political commentary, sung in glorious four-part harmony
and with a wicked sense of humor. The topics are all current
and relevant, touching on topics such as the global pandemic
(“Social Distance”), political corruption at the
highest levels of government (“Grifters”), presidential
sex scandals (“Stormy Daniels”) and the politicization
of the US Department of Justice (“Mad Attorney General”).
In the best parody song tradition, many of the songs have
familiar melodies, such as “Scalia,” a song about
the awful legacy of the late Supreme Court justice sung to
the tune of “Maria,” from “West Side Story.”
The singing is gorgeous, and the satire bites hard. I love
lines like “Lady Justice is found giving you the bird”
that comes at the end of the track. “Stormy Daniels”
is sung to the tune of the old standard, “Stormy Weather,”
and views the situation from the point of view of the titular
porn star. We get a lush Christmas carol sung to the tune
of “Noel,” but here it’s called “Nobel,”
and sings the story of Donald Trump’s jealousy of Barack
Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize, and how he doesn’t
deserve the one for which he was controversially nominated.
“No Nobel unless it’s delivered to your prison
cell,” the song ends, on a bright note. Another holiday
tune, “Santa Baby,” becomes the backdrop for a
commentary on racist immigration policy called “Anchor
Baby.” Even Gilbert and Sullivan are pressed into service,
with their melody from “I Am the Very Model of a Modern
Major-General “ stolen and recycled into “Mad
Attorney General,” which rips Bill Barr to shreds. And,
after singing the song at a more moderate pace than G&S
would have it, we hear the shout, “Wow! Those lyrics
were terrible! Can you sing them so fast no one can possibly
understand them?” This is followed by the brisker pace
of the original, showing off the group’s musical chops.
Other topics include the various types of privilege that allow
some to stay blind to discrimination in our society, such
as weight privilege, white privilege, male privilege, and
straight privilege. The sharp wit can be heard on this track
after the first verse about “weight privilege,”
when we hear a speaker interrupt, saying, “Um, I think
you mean white privilege, not weight privilege.” “White
privilege?” comes the reply, “I never heard of
that!” “The Sound of Sirens” is a beautiful
hymn to the authoritarian use of police violence to suppress
the voice of the people, of course to the melody of the Simon
and Garfunkel classic, “The Sound of Silence.”
“Tomorrow,” the song from “Annie,”
keeps its title but gains lyrics about the joys that tomorrow
will bring as we emerge from the shadowy Trump administration
years. Great singing, sizzling lyrics, timely topics, and
drag queens; The Kinsey Sicks have it all on this fun LP!
 MYLES
MANLEY – Cometh The Softies (Witter On, www.witteron.ie)
Irish musician Myles Manley is a perfect example of why, sometimes,
less is more. The sparse arrangements on the ten songs on
this LP are absolutely perfect the way they are. When you
write and play excellent songs, there’s no need to muddy
them up with thick arrangements or overproduction. A couple
guitars and minimalist percussion are all you need, sometimes.
The best comparison to Manley’s vocals I think I can
make would be David Byrne. The tentative nature of the vocals,
mated to the minimalist arrangements, the repeated melodic
lines, and enigmatic lyrics speaks to me. “Were We Under
Attack From England” opens the album with bluesy electric
guitars right out of the bayou combined with a flamenco style
acoustic guitar, machine gun staccato percussion, and a deep
BRAAAP” from the electric guitar punctuating some of
the lines. “Relax; Enjoy Your Night Upon the Town”
comes next, with a breezy melody from the electric guitar,
an even more staccato percussion underneath, and lyrics that
I think could be quite political, talking about use of entertainment
to distract how we’re all losing ground daily against
the “1%,” those with all the money and power who
keep eroding our freedoms and our economic means to survive.
“They're coming after me and then they're coming after
you! / And then -- I'm going to tell you just exactly what
we'll do -- / We're gonna have a party, yeah, we're gonna
have a ball, / They're going to forget that there is a problem
at all,” says one version of the chorus. “Cinema
/ Mild Manners” is one of my favorites. What I can only
assume is heavily processed guitar makes a different sort
of “braaaaap!!” sound, while the minimalist melody
has the energy of a spy thriller soundtrack. You would think
the lyrics would be equally mysterious and thrilling –
but they’re about wanting to go see a movie at the cinema,
but encountering someone who’s pissed on the seats and
refused to wipe it up. The intensity of the guitars is a joy
and the use of just a few notes to create a phrase that’s
repeated over an over to crank of the tension is extremely
well done. Those lyrics could well be about people who contribute
to polluting the earth and causing climate change, but refusing
to change their ways, despite the obvious mess they’re
making. But I could be over-thinking this. “Will Anyone…?”
is a lovely jazz-pop tune, and I surmise it’s about
hypocrites who decry injustice while visiting injustice on
others themselves. “The injustice of it all / Sent you
whirring out of control… How can someone cut so clean
/ Be so unbelievably mean? / Working out your false dichotomies.”
Less certainly can be more. Fewer notes, minimalist melodies
and minimalist instrumentation, fewer words, even, arcane
lyrics. These things can add up to something so much more
than the sum of the parts. And in the case of Myles Manley,
they certainly do. This is one of the most unique, fascinating,
and fun records I’ve heard this year.
 THE
MYRRHDERERS – The Myrrhderers Sleigh Christmas (themyrrhderers.bandcamp.com)
Many many years ago, when I DJ’ed a weekly shift at
a fully DIY student run college radio station in Chicago,
I looked forward every year to the holiday season. I made
a practice of collecting punk rock, indie, and off-the-wall
holiday music and once a year I would go crazy playing those
songs over the air. It started out as just the first couple
of 15 to 20 minute sets in my shift, but as my collection
grew it slowly took over the entire four-hours. I miss those
days, but The Myrrhderers (pronounced like murderers, of course),
a super group from the North Pole, are here to give us a punk
blast just in time for jolly old Saint Nicholas to slide down
your chimney and give your whole household the ‘rona.
These little elves give us five familiar songs of the season,
ready for shredding your skateboard over the blanket of fresh
snow. “Deck The Halls” is a bright, shiny Fat
Wreck style version of the classic carol, while the band’s
rendition of “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” is
some speedy, dark metallic punk, the perfect sound for saving
us all from Satan’s power and giving us tidings of comfort
and joy. I really like the slower grunge version of “Do
You Hear What I Hear,” with its great 90s indie sound,
and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” is
a lovely jangly pop tune here. Closing out the EP is “Carol
of the Bells” as you’ve never heard it before.
Dark, powerful, metallic, and sinister are some adjectives
that come to mind. Some people get sick of Christmas music
fast when the holidays come around, but when you have non-traditional
versions like these from The Myrrhderers, they’re a
lot of fun.
 KATY
J. PEARSON – Return (Heavenly Recordings, www.heavenlyrecordings.com)
After trying the major label pathway to making music, in a
project with her brother that “went to shit,”
as she says, Katy J. Pearson is striking out on her own with
this debut solo LP from the UK native. In some of the interviews
and write-ups I’ve seen there are references to an Americana
influence in the music, and I guess I can hear that, if only
slightly. What I hear is sweet indie music with hints of UK
folk influence. Sure, maybe there are some similarities to
American artists like Lydia Loveless, but there’s more
alternative here than country twang, especially in the bright
sunny opening, “Tonight,” even though it begins
with a chorus of weeping fiddles. The sparkling acoustic guitar
and up-tempo beat says “pop” way more than country.
And when the trumpets come in, there’s not a cowboy
in earshot. The music on the ten tracks is light and airy,
pleasant to listen to. I like the drive of “Beautiful
Soul;” the arrangement evolves from simple to complex,
and the cello that comes in later in the song is simply gorgeous.
As nice as the music is, there’s something about Pearson’s
vocals on some of the tracks that bothers me. On the title
track, there’s a little too much vibrato, her voice
rapidly wavering on some of the longer notes. There’s
also a quality to her vocals that bothers me a bit –
I can’t put my finger on it. The register is higher
than I like, I guess? That combined with the quaver that appears
on various songs is a bit off-putting. “Fix Me Up”
is a perfect example of this dichotomy; I love the bouncy
melody and the arrangement is fun and pleasing, but the vocals
grate on me. It’s like that on a lot of these tracks.
 UNITED
DEFIANCE – Empty Advice (www.facebook.com/uniteddefiance)
Oakland’s United Defiance play melodic punk in the 90s
skate-punk vein, and they’re one of the better DIY bands
in the genre. Their latest release is a new single, “Empty
Advice,” which is a harbinger of a new LP coming sometime
next year. It’s typical United Defiance fare, up-tempo
melodic punk rock, crunchy guitars, gang vocals, and loaded
with energy. One of the things that make United Defiance such
a fun band to watch and listen to is the joy that comes though
in their music; it’s obvious they’re having a
lot of fun playing. The song, at least how I interpret it,
seems to be about how people tend to look to others for what
to think and how to live, not standing up for themselves and
what they believe. But being your own person can lead to better
things, as the chorus says, “Come out swinging if your
backs against the wall / There's so many people that want
to watch you fall / Sometimes you're right sometimes you're
wrong / Just stand your ground and write your own song.”
Be yourself – it’s a simple message, but hard
to do sometimes. Now I am eagerly anticipating the LP.
 RICKY
– Palm Trees (rickysmusic.bandcamp.com)
Ricky is Ricky Schmidt. You may know him from Western Settings
or Hey, Chels, the two bands in which he’s currently
active. This is his debut solo LP, and he’s joined by
Shane Hendry on drums and Hey Chels band mate Jax on backing
vocals. The music on “Palm Trees” teeters between
the styles represented by Ricky’s other bands, Western
Settings being the more emotional and epic sounding band,
Hey Chels representing the poppier side. Here we get songs
that are big and expansive, yet poppy, bouncy, and darkly
bright (the overall feel is bright, but some of the guitar
sounds are sad and lonely). The production has an interesting
quality, with vocals done lo-fi and with loads of reverb,
but the instrumentals somewhat cleaner. This is courtesy of
Tyson “Chicken” Annicharico, bassist/vocalist
of the band Dead To Me, who has been making a name for himself
as a producer, as well. Ricky developed a relationship with
Annicharico when he produced two Western Settings records
over a five-year period. “Having Tyson in the studio
is a pleasure,” says Schmidt. “Tyson knows exactly
what I’m trying to accomplish musically and he always
has the best ideas on how to achieve it.” Besides the
selective use of lo-fi recording and reverb, there’s
an interesting layering of sound that creates an amazing texture
in the eleven songs here. In this way, the album reminds me
a bit of Canadian artist Pat Jordache, who has released records
under his own name and collaborated with tUnE-yArDs’
Merrill Garbus in their band, Sister Suvi. Credit for the
sound also belongs to engineer Brandon Mericle and mixer Scott
Goodrich.
The record opens with “Bored,” a jumpy up-tempo
track celebrating the collapse of civilization. “I
think Ishmael might be right, I think we might be dying
out / The earth is caving right in, our pres is celebrating
/ The kids are calling it quits, there ain't no future in
this at all,” Schmidt sings. Crazy conspiracy theories
plaguing our nation are referenced, too: “Sayonara
my friend, I see those toes dangling off the edge / Of the
western flat earth, I'll take a big plate of dirt / Then
wash it down with some oil, and make a helmet of foil.”
The song is anything but boring, with its big bold sound.
The guitar tone is amazing, almost growling, the bass line
is running up and down like mad, and the high-pitched backing
vocals are amazing.
One really nice touch that adds to the texturing of these
songs is the miscellaneous percussion. There’s more
than just a standard drum kit in action. That’s all
Shane Hendry’s doing. Hendry’s played in a number
of bands, including Eskara, From Scars, and Reunions, and
Schmidt, after initially planning to do the drums himself,
decided to turn to Hendry, who readily agreed. “I
sent Shane the demos without drums and he sent them back
with his better versions,” says Schmidt. “When
he sent back ‘Hot Summer’ it had crazy bongo
drums and other auxiliary percussion on it. I remember just
hearing it and texting Shane telling him, ‘more of
that please.’ Shane put auxiliary percussion all over
all the songs and it completely changed the whole record
in the best way possible.”
Even more than the other songs, “New Day” reminds
me of Pat Jordache, particularly the layering of sound and
the way the melodic line is constructed. The acoustic guitars,
the various percussion instruments bouncing around, and
the overdubbed vocals add together to create sensory overload
in the best way. Its message is one of fatalism, with lyrics
talking about how “There's no point in fighting if
it's something you cannot win / The night falls, the wind
blows, the sun brings a total new day.” It’s
one of my favorites of the record. The lead single, “Escape
Artist,” underneath the layered production, is at
its heart a great power pop song, with loads of hooks. “This
song is about needing to step away from the world and allow
yourself time away from everything,” says Schmidt.
“We all need breaks and especially during a time like
the one we are currently all in." “Like A Cult”
has an interesting Latin sound to it, while “Vietnam”
is a quiet song with acoustic guitar and big vocals that
are pulled back in the mix, sounding far away. The lyrics
reference the idea of just quitting everything, packing
up, and moving far away (to Vietnam). “Social Me”
is a scathing indictment of social media and the trolls
that inhabit it, I really love the chorus on this song,
in particular, with the rapid strumming guitar technique
that’s used, and the thick layering of sound.
This may be one of those “unpopular opinions”
that people like to post on social media, but I honestly
think Ricky’s solo LP is better than either his work
with Western Settings or Hey, Chels. I really like these
songs; they’re pretty different from a lot of the
sameness happening out there.
 SWANS
– Children of God / Feel Good Now (Young God Records,
www.younggodrecords.com / Mute Records, www.mute.com)
Swans are rereleasing a newly remastered edition of their
fifth studio LP “Children of God.” Originally
released in 1987, “Children of God” saw its last
reissue in 1997, packaged together on CD with “World
of Skin,” an LP released in 1988 under the band name
“Skin,” a collaboration of Swans’ Michael
Gira and Jarboe. “Feel Good Now” compiles live
recordings from Swans’ 1987 European tour, and was originally
released in that year, seeing its only reissue back in 2002.
By 1987, Swans had already transitioned away from their earlier
era of intense grinding noise and pounding beats into something
no less experimental, but much more accessible, with droning
melodies, vague ethnic sounds, tribal rhythms, and ethereal
choirs, plus Gira’s ever-present basso profundo vocals.
You can hear this transition in the opening track, “New
Mind.” It has an intense, crashing beat and a noisy
two-chord drone, but this is less noise and more music than
earlier releases. And rather than shouting, Gira’s booming
vocals are intoning the lyrics. Lyrics on this album revolve
around the contradictions of human existence, sin and forgiveness,
redemption and hell, sex and damnation vs. love and salvation.
After the bombastic opening track, “In My Garden”
is quiet and ethereal, piano and flute playing over a throbbing
guitar, while soprano vocals ring out breathy words that feel
almost like a magical incantation for immortality. “Our
Love Lies” is a dirge in waltz time, a plea to God to
have mercy and a declaration of belief in love. Much medieval
liturgical music was in three-four time, because it represented
the Holy Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
so important in the Catholic church, and the vocal chorale
of this song represents the divine, while the wailing guitars
and crashing percussion seems to represent the sinning nature
of humanity. I’m fascinated by “Sex, God, Sex,”
which encapsulates these contradictions. “I will pray.
I will pray. I will go down low, and I will pray to you,”
and then “I will beg you Lord. I will deny myself, I
will deny you Lord. Though I’ve done nothing wrong never
in my life, no no no no no. I will beg you Lord, and I will
pray for you to forgive me now.” At once believing in
the need for forgiveness while also believing that what some
call our “sins” are not that, it’s the conundrum
of human existence. “Blood and Honey” drips with
sensuality and foreign mystery. “Like a Drug (Sha La
La La)” has the droning vocals of mid period Current
93 mixed with the martial rhythms of Der Blutharsch. It’s
one of the noisier tracks of the LP, too, representing that
transitional period I mentioned, bleats and blats interjecting
throughout the track. I love the military bombast of “Beautiful
Child,” sounding dark and fascistic, an incessant drumbeat
accompanied by a twisted fanfare. The lyrics are equally twisted,
with Gira first shouting about the titular beautiful child,
declaring his love for this child and how he will hold him
in his arms, but then declaring with equal assurance, “Listen
to him cry. I can kill the child, the beauti¬ful child.
I will kill the child, the beautiful child.” I liken
this to so-called populist/nationalist leaders who declare
their love of country, but who, upon attaining power, systematically
destroy the thing they claim to love. Sound familiar? It’s,
unfortunately, a recurring theme of our species. There’s
the pair of tracks, “Real Love” and “Blind
Love,” with the former being a warmer song about the
worshipfulness of love, and the latter a very mechanical sounding
track, the lyrics of which refer to the neediness that can
lead to “fake love.” The closing track is the
title track, and is a bright chorale, “We are special,
we are perfect. We were born in the sight of God,” the
vocals intone; “Our suffering bodies will suffer no
more. We are children, children of God.”
The live LP, “Feel Good Now,” which accompanies
this reissue, contains live recordings of most of the tracks
from “Children of God.” But being Swans, the
live recordings bear little resemblance to the studio recordings.
For example, “Blind Love,” which opens the performance
(after a brief “Intro”), is a lengthy improvisation
over the mechanical beats, the lyrics not present or buried
beneath the power of the instrumentals. This is Swans reverting
to the industrial noise of their past. “Like a Drug
(Sha La La La)” is powerful and noisy, more like an
enormous factory floor than a martial rhythm, all sorts
of grating and crashing noises going on, and the vocals
sound darker and more evil than the chanting of the studio
recording. The track builds and builds, getting noisier
and more intense; it’s breathtaking. I’ve never
had the opportunity to see Swans live, but it’s clear
that they use the written songs as just a starting point,
a suggestion, and the live performances are freer and more
improvised than a lot of music. It must make for an intense
show-going experience. Plus, I’ve been told they’re
one of the loudest live bands ever. The performances on
the live recording are much more intense than those on the
studio album. “Beautiful Child” opens as noisily
as any of the early Swans cuts in this live performance,
before settling into the martial beat, but here there’s
more clanging and shouting, a loud declaration as if the
convince others when one doesn’t believe oneself.
Here, too, the beats sound more mechanical, like the music
of the neo-futurists, industry moving incessantly. I think
the studio versions of these songs are more nuanced, and
have more varied textures. I can see the allure of a live
Swans performance, though. The sheer intensity can bring
about an altered state of being.
 ANXIETY
SPIRAL – Demo (Knife Hits Records, www.knifehitsrecords.com)
Brutal, thrashy hardcore attacks you right from your speakers,
showing no mercy, as this self-recorded four-song demo explodes
with rage. Three of the tracks are the expected sort of hardcore
sound, fast and loud, dark angular chord changes, and angry
shouted lyrics. And as good as those are, one track stands
out above the others, “The Lobbyist.” It’s
a quickstep waltz with awesomely dissonant guitars, pounding
drums and rumbling bass, and the back half gets all eerie
and mysterious sounding, an evil noise backing an ominous
lecture about the dangerous mind control capabilities of the
Internet. I wish this release wasn’t quite as lo-fi
as it is, because this deserves to be herd more clearly.
 THE
CRIBS – Night Network (Sonic Blew Records, www.thecribs.com)
In 2017 The UK band The Cribs released their LP, “24-7
Rock Star Shit,” recorded by Steve Albini. It became
their fourth consecutive UK Top Ten album. The band, who had
earned multiple Q and NME awards, quickly parted ways with
their longtime management company, but soon found that the
legal implications meant they were unable to record or tour.
It almost ended the band. But a year later, the band was asked
to open for Foo Fighters at Eithad Stadium in Manchester.
They were discussing their woes with their new friend, Dave
Grohl who simply told them to come to L.A. and record in his
studio. Now, three years later, even with the band scattered
across great distances (Portland, Oregon, New York City, and
the UK), they’re back with “Night Network,”
their eight full-length LP. And even though they’re
a modern rock band playing music in 2020, you can hear the
Beatles’ influence in some of these songs. They sound
like someone took power pop and tried to engineer it into
sounding more like indie rock. Listen “Running Into
You,” the second song of the LP, and you’ll see
what I mean. The hooks are very 60s, but the engineering gives
the guitars a very buzzy fuzzy Jesus and Mary Chain sort of
sound. And “Screaming In Suburbia,” even though
it’s a slower number with a ballad-ish feel (though
it’s mid-tempo, not slow), feels like it’s got
mid-period Beatles sounds underneath the production. I like
“Goodbye,” the track that opens the LP. It opens
with a vocal chorale, oddly distorted music underneath, and
once the song gets going it’s got a retro 60s pop feel,
full of reverb and sadness, Beach Boys style melody and harmonies.
The distorted guitar line slays me. I also like “I Don’t
Know Who You Are,” a track that starts cleanly and gets
more and more distortion as it evolves toward the end. There’s
a heavily distorted guitar lick that’s repeated over
and over that sends chills through my body, too. Besides these
few songs, I just can’t get into this, despite repeated
listening. There’s too much sameness, too little variety
in the sound. The tempos of every song are pretty close to
each other, there’s little dynamic change. It’s
OK, I guess. I guess?
 THE
FLAT FIVE – Another World (Pravda Records, www.pravdamusic.com)
Well, isn’t this just a little ray of sunshine to light
up the bleakness of 2020? The Flat Five are a group of Chicago
musicians, including Kelly Hogan and Nora O'Connor (Neko Case,
The Decemberists), Scott Ligon and Casey McDonough (NRBQ)
and Alex Hall (J.D. McPherson). These in-demand musicians
stole time away from their other endeavors over a more than
one-year period to put together this eclectic collection of
pop, jazz, and country tunes. And while they aren’t
going to set the world on fire, they’re light and pleasant,
just the antidote for these dark times. “Drip a Drop”
is a blend of pop, rock, and a touch of R&B, with a retro
AM radio flair. I adore the breezy jazz tune, “Look
at the Birdy, sounding like something right out of a smoky
club from the 1950s. “I Don’t Even Care”
is another pop tune, with a cute bounce and rays of 70s sunshine
and rainbows. We even get a heartbreaking country folk tune
in “The Great State of Texas,” a pretty waltz
played on piano, bass, and brushed drums with harmonica accompaniment.
It’s a song of farewell, recounting all of the things
the narrator will miss, particularly their dearest love, as
the day of execution at the prison arrives in the “great”
state of Texas. Another waltz is the pretty, jazzy “Girl
of Virginia;” the bass harmonica that’s used to
punctuate some of the phrases is quite effective, and the
piano and brushed drums are lovely. “Butterflies Don’t
Bite” sounds like something right out of the Herb Alpert
catalog, with its Latin jazz aesthetic, with marimba underneath
the trumpet. “Over and Out,” which closes the
LP has a bit of Latin jazz, too, but seems more to be the
sort of easy listening pop that was popular in the 1960s.
Overall, like I said, there’s nothing striking or groundbreaking
here, but it’s a nice breath of pleasant fresh air to
take one’s mind off all the ills swirling around us,
an escape.
 GOINGS
– It’s For You (Know Hope Records, www.knowhoperecords.com)
After last year’s three-song EP, this is the debut full-length
LP for this Philadelphia band. And the band is a conundrum.
Some of these tracks are brilliant, sparkling mathish pop
music, while some of them are very slick-sounding commercial
pop music. And some tracks are both. For example, the opening
track, “Phone Numbers,” has some great math-like
rhythms and the bright keyboards add a shimmer to the song.
But the gliding harmonized vocals are a little too slick for
my tastes. “Blue Sky,” on the other hand, is one
of the best tracks of the LP, with sections of nice indie
pop and sections of intense instrumental gymnastics. The vocals
in the more animated sections are quite enthusiastic. “Trying-Dying”
sounds like a modern indie updating of an 80s new wave song,
which is kind of odd. I’m not sure the synth tone selected
for the song quite goes with the melody, sounding more like
cheap sci-fi than pop. And “Haircut” stands out
from the rest of the tracks, but not in a good way. This track
sounds too much like commercial pop music; with a slightly
funky melodic line, it sounds like something a boy band might
perform. I do enjoy “It’s For You,” with
its flittering guitars and breezy melody. “Elevator”
is an interesting track that has parts that sound like dull
adult contemporary rock and parts that are rhythmically challenging
and brilliant. So, overall it’s a mixed bag –
the musicianship is amazing and some of the arrangements are
exciting and demanding of the listener’s attention,
while other parts are uninspiring and characterless.
 HOMECAMP
– Did We Return As Something Else (Wiretap Records,
www.wiretaprecords.com)
I’ve commented before on the consistency and care with
which Wiretap boss Rob Castellon curates the bands for his
label. But Homecamp is completely different from anything
Wiretap has put out, and unlike anything you’ve likely
listened to on a regular basis. Big emotional melodies ebb
and swell, with synths, faux strings, and sometimes piano
providing the primary instrumentals. Boy-band style harmonization
is featured in the vocals. The result bears no relationship
to punk, pop punk, post punk, indie rock, or any of the related
genres we’ve come to expect from Wiretap’s growing
stable of bands. Instead, this is big ballad-like pop rock,
the kind of stuff you might see someone perform on a darkened
stage with just a spotlight on them, maybe with superimposed
video of waterfalls and other natural surroundings. Kind of
the new age of emo-pop? And it’s not just a couple of
slow songs and a few faster ones – it’s all the
same sort of ambient emo-pop ballad stuff. I really could
not get into this.
 THE
JUNIOR LEAGUE – Fall Back + Summer of Lies (Kool Kat
Musik, www.koolkatmusik.com)
“Summer of Lies” is a 4-song EP released digitally
earlier this year and “Fall Back” was originally
released a decade ago under the name of the force behind The
Junior League, “ Joe Adragna. What we get here are the
EP plus a bonus song (a cover of The Beach Boys’ “’Til
I Die”) and the LP, remixed, remastered, resequenced,
and in some cases rerecorded, and there are a couple of bonus
songs here, too. The sounds are actually quite varied, ranging
from jangly retro pop rock to more modern indie sounds and
singer-songwriter fare. My favorites are those more retro
jangly songs, like the opening track, “You’re
Gonna Die Alone.” The guitar jangle reminds me a bit
of The Beatles’ “Here Comes the Sun,” but
this song has hints of twang, too, and the deep growling bass
is cool. “Leave Me Resigned” is another with that
British Invasion sound, but tempered with some more modern
indie and a clear singer-songwriter vision. The title track
from the “Fall Back” LP has a gorgeous lush sound,
and the guitar sound is spot on. This one actually makes me
think about the fall, with cooling temperatures, leaves changing
colors, and cloudy skies. “Depot Park” reminds
me of a pared back remix of something J. Robbins (Jawbox,
burning Airlines) might have written but as the song evolves
it gets thicker and richer, adding more instrumentation, including
piano and violin. “Like Nothing Else” has a 70s
folk-rock sound, and a jazzy feel added by the gorgeous Fender
Rhodes sounding keyboards and flute-tuned synths. Those are
the songs that stand out the most to me, with the rest being
solid indie songs, if a little on the softer side.
The “Summer of Lies” EP, recorded a decade
later, has more twang in the songs, yet still has a retro
pop flair, as can be heard on the opening track, “Summer
of Flies.” It’s got more than a hint of 60s
pop and a bit of country in the mix, but there’s a
high-pitched guitar buzzing around, I guess supposed to
represent the flies? It’s annoying, but then, so are
flies. “Make Up Your Mind” has a 70s protest
song vibe that’s been softened. “Out On The
Side” creates a quiet gospel atmosphere, and “Didn’t
Want to Have to Do It” is lounge-jazz-pop. As far
as that Beach Boys cover, I could have done without it.
It’s the weakest track of the bunch, in my opinion,
with multi-tracked harmonized vocals and keyboards/synths.
It sounds like it was recorded as an afterthought, and the
vocal mixing doesn’t sound right. But overall, The
Junior League is a pleasant listen: pop sounds with a soft
edge.
 MORAL
MAZES – Gold Beach Fortress (Rad Girlfriend Records,
www.radgirlfriendrecords.com, Little Rocket Records, www.littlerocket.co.uk)
Moral Mazes is the new band featuring members of Jawbox, Office
of Future Plans, and Airstream Futures, with Jeff Dean on
guitar, J. Robbins on bass, and Darren Zentek on drums. The
band uses a rotating roster of guests for vocals, with Jonah
Matranga featured on their previous release and Michael Feerick
on this one (their Facebook page also lists Bob Nanna, so
perhaps there’s another couple of songs awaiting a future
release?). The two songs here are lush indie rock, with full
guitars, tough drums, and smooth, dreamy vocals. The A-side
is the title track, a mid-tempo rocker with dense, luxuriant
guitars and ethereal vocals. The B-side track, “Illinoise
by Numbers,” is slower, dreamier, yet with a more deliberate
beat, and I think the better of two excellent tracks. We need
more than singles, though…
 SPENCER
CULLUM’S COIN COLLECTION (yk Records, www.ykrecords.com)
That this debut LP sounds like the psychedelic folk-pop music
of 1960s and 1970s Great Britain is not a surprise, because
Nashville resident Spencer Cullum relocated there from London
(by way of Detroit). He spends much of his time as an in-demand
studio musician for the likes of Kesha, Caitlin Rose, Deer
Tick, Miranda Lambert, and Little Big Town. But now, Cullum
is emerging from studio anonymity to focus on music of his
own. “I wanted to write a very quintessential English
folk record, but with really good Nashville players."
Cullum says. And if you’ve ever watched English neo-pagan
films of the 1970s, such as The Wicker Man, you’ll realize
that Cullum has succeeded. Blending both acoustic guitar and
electric steel guitar, Cullum creates that psychedelic neo-pagan
folk atmosphere, and you feel transported. The waltz time
opening track, “Jack of Fools” is a perfect example
of this, Cullum’s vocals singing softly and casually.
And the obsession with nature that was contained in the British
neo-pagan movement, mirroring the island’s religious
beliefs of the pre-Roman Celtic tribes, comes through in the
opening of “To Be Blinkered.” The track opens
with the sounds of birdsong, before the quiet acoustic guitar,
piano, tapping percussion, and smooth subtle vocals begin.
It’s quietly gorgeous. “Imminent Shadow”
crosses psychedelic folks with quiet acoustic sounds a la
Nick Drake, and is one of the prettiest songs on the LP, with
flute and bass clarinet swelling and ebbing in the background
as the acoustic guitar plays a winding melodic line. There
are some sounds that are somewhat different, lest you think
this is a one-note album. “Tombre Enmorsheux”
is less psychedelic folk than it is straight up 70s light
pop music, while “Dieterich Buxtehude” is an ambient
instrumental track with some 70s prog rock aspects, and “The
Dusty Floor” transforms from psychedelic folk to a Pink
Floyd inspired rock song at the halfway mark. If you’re
looking for something calming to listen to this winter while
curled up in front of the fireplace, this would be a good
record to include in your playlist.
 THE
CASKET LOTTERY – Short Songs for End Times (Wiretap
Records, www.wiretaprecords.com / Second Nature Recordings,
www.secondnaturerecordings.com)
This is the first new LP from The Casket Lottery since 2012’s
“Real Fear.” And that LP was released in their
short-lived 2012 reunion, their previous release coming in
2003. The first few songs of this newest LP are nothing short
of outstanding. They’re a throwback to 90s post-hardcore
and post-emo, with a huge sound, lots of angular yet smooth
chord changes, and plenty of meter shifts. I love the opening
track, “You Are a Knife.” It’s powerful
post-hardcore, with angular guitar stabs, a throbbing bass
line, and jutting meter changes. Vocals are sung/shouted with
intensity. The whole package reminds me of some of the bands
I used to love back in the 90s. Even better is “Big
Heart Closed Mind,” which is no less powerful, but is
smoother and more melodic and has more meter changes, and
the guitar lines are gorgeous. “More Blood” goes
a step further in making things smoother and less acute. It
still packs an emotional wallop, though. Some of the songs
are less my taste, however, sounding more like the overblown,
slick “emo” of the 2000s. “Sisyphus Blues”
falls into this category, a quieter, smoother angst-filled
song. “Unalone” is even quieter and smoother,
and even less my taste. A number of the songs lie somewhere
between these extremes, though, such as “Trust As a
Weapon.” It has some of the angularity and meter changes,
but it’s also got a silkier, more polished sound. Same
thing with the closer, “Sad Dream,” which has
a bit of jangle in it, smoothness, yet some angularity. I
really wish there were more songs like those few I really
liked, because those were excellent. I do feel that fans of
2000s post-emo are going to eat this up, because it definitely
is better than the run of the mill 2000s emo band.
 DEENA
– Some Days (www.deenashoshkes.com)
New Jersey singer/songwriter/rocker Deena Shoshkes of The
Cucumbers has released a couple of LPs now under her own name,
and now we get this new single, featuring two new songs, “Dance
The Night Away” and “Thursday.” The A-side
is a classic retro rocker with a bluesy country edge, while
the B-side is more of a classic rock song, but still with
a bit of blues mixed in, kind of like a Rolling Stones song.
Both are smooth and light, maybe a little too light, but they’re
pleasant and bouncy enough.
 DIVIDED
HEAVEN FEATURING LYDIA LOVELESS – They Poisoned Our
Fathers (Smartpunk Records, www.smartpunk.com)
Two of great singer-songwriters team up on this new single
from Divided Heaven. Jeff Berman, the driving force behind
Divided Heaven, and Lydia Loveless, who recently released
an amazing album of her own (see further down in this column
for that review) bring us a powerful song that’s not
only an anti-Trump protest song, but it’s also a heart-wrenching
song about the generational divide that’s alienating
parents and children from one another. There are lyrics referencing
the use of fear to motivate voters, and how fear turns to
hatred, about how religion and patriotism have been turned
into nothing more than tools to control a population. The
numbness that society now has to mass shootings, lives worth
less than in death, and a driving profit motive for everything
are all decried. But even more distressing are the lyrics
about how the fear and hatred have infected our older family
members, negative emotions motivating their decisions, and
the chorus that declares, “There ain’t enough
love / There ain’t enough to change your mind / There
ain’t enough love to change your mind / Have I failed
you like the way that you failed me? / There ain’t enough
love.” Berman and Loveless’ vocals complement
each other perfectly, and the music is what we’ve come
to expect from Divided Heaven, loaded with emotion. It’s
been a couple years since Divided Heaven’s last LP came
out, and this timely single makes me yearn for a new one.
 THE
GOALIE’S ANXIETY AT THE PENALTY KICK – Ways
of Hearing (Count Your Lucky Stars Records, countyourluckystars.limitedrun.com)
The Philadelphia band with an impossibly long name and impossibly
large roster (six to seven members!) are releasing their debut
LP, and it features ten quietly lush songs. The first track,
“An Olive Coat,” reminds me of Slint, but with
dueling male and female vocals winding around each other,
and with violin weeping a counter-melody. The song starts
with quiet breathy vocals over subtly jangly guitar. The violin
comes in, as do keyboards, drums, and another guitar, yet
despite the number of instruments playing, the song still
feels hushed. “We Love You So Much” follows, with
the same sense of stillness, but it slowly builds, the violin
soaring. I really like the mostly acoustic “The Best
of all Possible Worlds,” which is an understated pop
song, delicate plinks from a keyboard punctuating the melody.
I adore the contrasting vocals on this song, with the male
lead almost whispering and the female lead more emphatic.
“The Cat Stands On My Arm” is gorgeous and fairly
even until we get two thirds through, when it suddenly builds,
and the distorted guitar harmonics fill the space, the violin
getting more intense, and the whole thing creating a huge
dreamy soundscape. The whole album is like this, very understated,
very pretty, with those wonderfully contrasting vocals. I
like this.
 HOUSEGHOST
(Rad Girlfriend Records, www.radgirlfriendrecords.com /
Cat’s Claw Records, catsclawrecords.bigcartel.com)
While one would think from the band name and the cover art
that this Dayton, Ohio band are a seasonal one-trick spooky
punk band, nothing could be further from the truth. Sure,
there are some songs that reference some eerie things, but
take a closer look at the cover. Those jack-o-lanterns are
smiling and cuddling. And the songs are more about typical
pop punk themes of loneliness, depression, isolation, and
self-loathing, which can be scary enough when you’re
trying to make your way through life. Musically, the songs
range from driving punk rock to bouncy pop punk, from pop
to near hardcore. That said, that opening track, “Book
of Shadows,” sure opens on a dark theme, and then turns
into a killer of a driving punk track, dark and briskly brooding.
I really like “Darling,” which reminds me of a
brighter, poppier Marked Men. “Hollow Hallway”
is an excellent retro pop song with a rocking edge. I like
the mix of goth punk and hardcore on “Marceline,”
giving it a cool retro 80s sound, while “Zozo”
is a great hardcore track with just the right amount of melody
and pop bounce. “In a Box” is even harder edged,
but then we also get the slower, poppier “Deep Inside
Your Heart,” which is almost the pop punk equivalent
of a romantic crooning song. If Houseghost ever decide to
rearrange and rerecord some of their songs, this would perfect
to slow down considerably and smooth out; it would be so sad,
with lyrics about a person with a heart of stone living life
alone. “Yellow Wallpaper” is the least punk track
of the LP, starting with a thinner quieter sound, then midpoint
turning into a big dreamy shoegaze track. The closing track
is a cover of The Cure song “Boys Don’t Cry,”
and it will make you wonder why it wasn’t recorded this
way to begin with! It’s more thickly arranged than the
original, with a great wall of sound from the guitars, and
the tempo is just a tick quicker, giving the song a bouncier
feel. One of the things that make this record such a good
listen is the variety. Not only are there differences in the
basic sound of the various tracks, the trading off of lead
vocals between the brother and sister duo of Nick and Kayla
Hamby, the founders of Houseghost, keeps things varied and
interesting. Varied and interesting are always good.
 LOVE
TRACTOR (Happy Happy Birthday To Me Records, www.hhbtm.com)
In the early 1980s, as the first wave of punk rock died out
and gave way to hardcore, there was also the rise of college
radio and indie rock. Nowhere was this scene more focused
than in Athens, Georgia, where the B-52’s had already
made a name for themselves, and R.E.M. was beginning to make
waves. One band that also came to the fore was Love Tractor,
formed in 1980 by fellow art students Mark Cline, Michael
Richmond, and Armistead Wellford. Their debut self-titled
LP was released two years later on Georgia indie label DB
records, which had also released early records from the B-52’s,
Pylon, Chris Stamey and others. Heading into the studio to
record what was supposed to be their first single, they worked
so fast that they just kept on laying down more tracks, essentially
playing them “live” just as they would at a show.
When they reached eleven songs, they stopped, and their debut
album was ready. Though the band would eventually grow to
include vocals, their early material was fully instrumental.
You can hear hints of the new wave sounds of the day in the
melodies, and you can hear the first beginnings of the guitar
jangle that would morph into indie rock and indie pop. Though
Love Tractor were a distinctly different band than contemporaries
The B-52’s, who played new wave party pop, I can hear
some of the same bass and guitar sounds in some of these songs.
Listen to “Buy Me A Million Dollars,” the first
track, and tell me you don’t hear it. Being an instrumental
band, the tracks aren’t “songs,” but can
be thought of as sonic art. The result is that the album is
more “cerebral” than an album of songs. The lyrics
of a song often tell you what to think about the song, but
when it’s instrumental, you have to think about it more,
immerse yourself in the music, and let it set a mood. I find
it fascinating that “Sixty Degrees Below,” which
one would think would sound frigid, instead sounds sunny and
warm. “Motorcade” has an air of mystery mixed
with the sounds of pomp and self-importance. I love the segments
when the bass and guitar play in unison, the bass playing
a rising line. And the funky pomposity of the other segments
is fun. The synths play an X-Files sounding theme, too, adding
to the mysteriousness. And the album sequencing is done well,
too. As “Festival” fades out, then “Cowboy
Songs” begins, I’m stricken by how well they go
together, the rock solid tempo of both being the same, and
the bass lines being complementary. The bright jangle of the
guitar in the latter song and the angular bass make it a favorite.
“Wheel of Pleasure” definitely gives the sense
of spinning and whirling, and I really like “Chilly
Damn Willy,” a song named for the famous cartoon character.
The guitar lines are hard to describe, but the jangle is great,
and the tune is full of different hooks. The music on this
LP may not be the party music of The B-52’s, and may
not have had the indie-rock impact of R.E.M.’s songs,
but Love Tractor had enormous influence in the early days
of the Athens scene, making this an essential LP.
 PUP
– This Place Sucks Ass (Rise Records, www.riserecords.com)
I was supposed to see PUP last spring at their appearance
at The Casbah, a small dive of a venue in San Diego with a
storied history. PUP never play clubs that small anymore,
and it promised to be a sweaty time full of bruises and fun.
Then the pandemic hit and shows started getting cancelled
or postponed. PUP’s tour was rescheduled to the fall,
and I was to see them on a Tuesday night in October. OK, still
at the Casbah, it will still be crazy, right? The coronavirus
had other ideas, and the tour is now rescheduled for October
– of 2021. But all is not lost! PUP came to the rescue
of fans with a new six-song EP! I’ve heard some people
comment that maybe these are “leftover” tracks
from the “Morbid Stuff” LP recording sessions.
Whether they are or not, I think this EP is tremendously good.
Besides the usual PUP sort of raucous pop punk songs about
deep anxiety and personality disorders, we get songs that
are constructed a little differently, with more dissonance,
more funkiness, even bits of European ethnic folk music! If
these are leftovers from “Morbid Stuff,” it’s
not because they’re lesser songs, it’s because
they didn’t fit, stylistically. I love the differences
in these songs, too. The chorus on “Rot,” which
opens the EP, is standard enough PUP material, but the verses
and bridge are more dissonant, less melodic, harder and darker.
And isn’t it great? “Anaphylaxis” opens
with shrieking dissonant guitars, and then becomes a crazy
off-kilter waltz, with a twisting time signature and skipped
beats, sounding like a rock and roll folk song from deep in
central Europe, but played by angry musicians. It’s
all a frenzy, and you can feel the disorientation of someone
suffering from anaphylactic shock. “I never knew I was
anaphylactic,” the song begins, “I took the medicine,
it wasn’t working.” You can feel everything spinning
out of control, as the song recounts every bad thing that
results, including a trip to the hospital to get pumped full
of chemicals. “A.M. 180” is an uncharacteristically
“pretty” song for PUP, with smooth vocals in the
verses, guitars jangling. But the instrumental chorus is big
and fuzzed out, even as it has a poppy bounce. And it’s
a sappy love song, to boot, about doing everything and nothing,
as long as it’s together. “Whatever, together,”
the outro repeats. The closing track is the shortest, the
most intense, and the best, in my opinion. It’s called
“Edmonton,” and I wanted it to be a little longer.
NOMEANSNO style angularity and funky bass join with dissonant
guitars and manic vocals, twisted lyrics about singing songs
about killing your friends, getting up on stage and performing,
feeling guilty later, getting drunk and leaning on the urinal
thinking about missing birthdays and funerals. Are you guys
OK? Well, hopefully OK enough to keep pumping out more great
records like this one.
 REAL(S)
– D.L.S.B. (Music As Insurgent Art Records, www.facebook.com/Musicasinsurgentart)
London’s REAL(s) has been dropping singles for a year
and half, and now present their debut LP. D.L.S.B. is “Deep
Love Song Bomb,” is not just the name of the LP, it’s
the art collective the group founded, as the band’s
bio says, “to use all forms of art & creativity,
combined with a collection of philosophies including Lorca’s
Duende & DaDaist surrealism, seeking to highlight the
inconsistencies and cracks in the facade of reality, conjuring
a breaking in the chains of our past so we might step into
a future that has long been unclaimed.” OK. Music As
Insurgent Art are releasing this LP in conjunction with Dirty
Water Records, which is know for putting out the best garage
and sleaze rock on their side of the Atlantic. So I expected
something gritty and primitive. And the opening track, the
appropriately titled “Sleazer,” met and exceeded
my expectations. Noisy, lo-fi, rocking garage music came out
of my speakers…but with a difference. Amidst the distortion
was a bouncy pop song, and layered in with the feedback and
sonic muck were interesting electronic effects, like a garage
band on an acid trip making art. “Stop Freaking Out”
continues the journey, still rooted in garage rock and pop,
but the spacey feel gets amped up even more, and this song
reminds me of Ohio’s great psych-punk garage rock band,
Vacation. I like, too, the retro inspired “Wilhelm Scream,”
with hints of 50s doo-wop in the melodic line, but with garage
rock sensibility and an acid-trip psychedelic veneer over
the whole thing. Things take a major turn with “Up The
Slopes,” which has a much more retro 80s art rock sound,
with cool spaced out meanderings and sparkling synths. Two-thirds
through the track it resolves into a dreamy pop song, with
overloaded reverb and distortion, epic horns blaring a fanfare-like
sound. “From The Seed” blends 80s Joy Division/New
Order with modern indie and dream pop sounds to create an
original sound, while “Dark Web Messiah” takes
the dreaminess to new levels. The B-side songs continue the
themes of combining retro art rock, post-punk, psych, garage
rock, and dream pop, with different amounts making up each
track. “M.I.C. Blasters” brings back some of the
raucousness of those first couple of garage rock tracks while
maintaining a strong dose of post punk, while the closer,
“For Al Eternity,” has some very eerie background
jingly music and whispered voices in the introduction, while
the song itself is pretty retro pop, with an ordered chaos
to the chorus. REAL(s) provide an LP that’s both familiar
sounding and fresh, varied yet consistent. I can’t wait
for more.
 SCIENCE
MAN – Science Man II (Big Neck Records, www.bigneckrecords.com)
Science Man is the alter-ego solo project of John Toohill,
utilizing drum machine, guitar, and vocals. Wait, that came
out sounding too sterile. Science Man is noisy, messy punk
fucking rawk! From the greasy garage of “Top of the
Crown” and “Brazilian Napkins,” to the manic
punk noise of “Hit the Switch” and “Into
the Rift,” this is intense stuff. The drum machine pounds
with precision, while the distorted guitar noises cut like
a jagged knife, one that’s not so sharp, so it shreds
rather than slices. Toohill’s vocals match the ferocity
of the music, belted out with the fervor and fanaticism of
an unholy preacher. This is the kind of music that’s
going to mow down everything in its path, you included. The
exceptions to this rule include the penultimate track, ”Keeper
of the Wyrm,” which features steel drum rhythms and
mysterious electronics providing the image of a clockwork
in my mind. It’s oddly relaxing and hypnotic. And the
closing track, “The Gift,” which is a slow, pounding
song with evil intent. The drum machine pounds at a dirge’s
pace, with the bass giving a single note melodic line, the
guitar snarling and laughing as Toohil’s shouts a lyrical
incantation. When you come out the other side of this record,
you’re going to be changed. You will never be the same
again. You can’t go back. Not ever.
 THELONIOUS
MONSTER – Oh That Monster (www.theloniousmonster.com)
The on-again off-again Thelonious Monster is back on again,
for the third time. Originally active from 1984 to 1994, then
again from 2004 to 2011, the band is back with their first
LP since 2004’s “California Clam Chowder.”
I can’t claim to be well versed in the band’s
back catalog or history. Though I’ve often heard the
name and thought it a clever play on influential jazz pianist
and composer Thelonious Monk’s name, I never really
listened to the band’s output. So I come with no expectations
or preconceived notions. And I find that I enjoy the ten songs
on the album, and their blend of pop, jazz, and funk. I really
enjoy the variety of sounds exhibited, mixing things up and
not getting stuck in any one musical rut.
“Disappear” opens the LP with some strong post-punk
power, including awesome angular guitar jabs that make it
a favorite. The layering of found sounds and electronics
toward the end give it an interesting texture. I like the
power pop of “Trouble,” and the Beatles-like
line in parts of it. “Elijah” mixes surf and
western sounds in a cool way “Sixteen Angels”
is an awesome jazz-inspired track. I love the smooth guitars
and the soaring saxophone. The song has that feel of a smoky
club, late night, and cheap whiskey. The track slowly builds
in intensity, getting louder and more emphatic, and around
the midpoint there’s a dueling saxophone solo, and
the guitar joins in with some deep psych licks. The whole
thing gets pretty chaotic and free jazz-fusion, and it’s
glorious. “La Divorce” has just the sort of
L.A. R&B sound you would think it should, sounding like
something from a movie soundtrack. I love the bright folk
of “Day After Day,” something made possible
by the mandolin and acoustic guitars, and toward the end
of the song the tenor sax reminds me of Saturday Night Live’s
band with a nice bluesy riff. The closing track, “The
Faraway,” is epic. It starts out as a quiet folk tune
on banjo, goes through an acid trip phase, with weird found
sounds, tape looks, reverb and twisted psychedelic melody.
The last thirty seconds get big and profound sounding for
a huge finish. Love it.
I’m not sure if Thelonious Monster has always had
this wonderful variety, but this record sure is fascinating
to listen to. It’s a journey through different magical
lands, in a sense. I may check out some of the earlier releases
now.
 ISAAC
ROTHER AND THE PHANTOMS – "Witches Brew"
(www.isaacrother.com)
Blending together R&B, surf, and horror-garage genres
of rock and roll, Isaac Rother and the Phantoms have a spooky
new single just in time for the Halloween season. With vocals
influenced by Screaming Jay Hawkins, Rother sings of the titular
potion, how to make it, and what it’s good for –
of course to cure what ails you. The guitar is loaded with
reverb, bass and drums pulled back in the mix, with sultry
backing vocals, providing an eerie sound. Put this on repeat
to scare away the trick or treating kids trying to spread
their virus to you!
 ARRICA
ROSE & THE …’S – Once in a Lullaby
(pOprOck records, www.arricarose.com)
I last reviewed music from Arrica Rose a couple of years ago,
and most of that record was OK, but forgettable. Except for
the last song of the LP, which was a quiet, dreamy mash-up
of “Video Killed The Radio Star” and “What
a Wonderful World” that floored me. Thankfully, this
new single is in a similar vein. Acoustic and electric guitars,
piano, and ethereal electronics blend with Rose’s breathy
vocals to create a dreamlike mash-up of “Somewhere Over
the Rainbow” and the protest songs “For What It’s
Worth” by Buffalo Springfield and “Ohio,”
the Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young song about the Kent State
massacre by the Ohio National Guard. The result is a hazy
introspective track that examines the ills plaguing our nation
and imagining a time or place where the strife and hatred
are gone. It’s a timely song, and executed beautifully.
The song choices for this mash-up were perfect, with lyrics
from “Ohio” pointing the finger at the use of
police and federal troops to quell protests against police
brutality and murder this year (So we gotta get down to it
/ Soldiers are cutting us down / Should have been done long
ago / What if you knew her / And found her dead on the ground
/ How can you run when you know). Arrica Rose & the …’s
are apparently working on a new EP due early next year, and
I hope those songs follow this trend. Simply beautiful.
 BIKE
THIEFS – Leaking (Stomp Records, www.stomprecords.com)
This punk rock trio from Toronto who don’t know how
to spell the plural of “thief” present their debut
full-length LP. It gives me a lot of interesting B-52’s
vibes, Talking Heads too, and especially the obscure Washington,
D.C. 80s art punk band 9353. With just guitar, bass, and drums
(Marko Woloshyn, Kris Pandierada, and Andrew Fasken, respectively),
the sound is a little thin in places, but the band do extremely
well with what they’ve got. A lot of the tracks have
interesting angular stop-start instrumentals with hints of
new wave mixed with the punk. Woloshyn’s vocals are
spoken or shouted (really spoken loudly more than shouted)
rather than sung. The lyrics are often repeated and contain
wry humor. There’s a song called “Connie’s
Got a New Phone,” for example. It opens with some guitar
dissonance, then smooths out, with lovely guitar harmonics
on the chorus. The lyrics are emphatically spoken, with lines
like “No functioning adult should own a pet lizard”
and other non-sequiturs. I love “You’re Allowed
Your Feelings;” it’s got a great driving bass
line and a drum beat that’ll get you moving. Lyrics
at times sound like a lecture, sometimes like a huckster salesman,
and other times are sung. The instrumentals alternate between
sparse punctuation and lush sounds. The stabs from the guitar
will pierce your heart and soul. “Financial Cancer”
is a chaotic noisy punk track with show tune aspirations,
so grandiose it is. “Flyover State” is an outlier,
with a dreamy sound and lyrics that are sung. As the song
evolves, the instrumentals get bigger and Woloshyn’s
vocals get more intense to the point of actual shouting. The
result is a fairly emotional song, much more so than the rest
of the LP. “Ideas Guy” is another of the more
melodic songs, with a leisurely pace and relaxed singing –
for the most part; at times the heat gets cranked up nicely,
and the use of guitar dissonance is quite effective at developing
tension in an otherwise placid track. With their fresh unique
sound, Bike Thiefs may not have stolen my bike, but they’ve
stolen my heart. <insert rim shot here>
 HiGH
– Out My Scope (Strange Daisy Records, www.strangedaisyrecords.com
/ Ashtray Monument, ashtraymonumentcol.wixsite.com/mysite)
NOLA’s HiGH – that could be a complete sentence
right there – are back with their third full-length
LP, the first since 2017’s “Evil Gene,”
which made its way onto my year-end “best of”
list. So “Out My Scope” has a lot to live up to.
This new LP is certainly more varied than the last one, spanning
more genres and sounds. On this outing the band veers somewhat
away from the power pop and punk influenced songs and more
toward indie rock and indie pop. There’s more variety
in tempo and texture of these songs, too. And longtime readers
of my Jersey Beat reviews column will know that I love variety.
“Oldest Things” opens the LP, and is one of the
songs that still do have a punk edge to it, but it’s
got cool touches like the guitar solos that sound like they
have a sense of humor. “Coupon Neptune” is the
most pop punk/street punk track of the LP, and it’s
a real blast.
Now to that variety. The songs seem to alternate between
faster, harder rocking tracks and slower, quieter ones.
I really love “Smartest Things,” a quieter indie
track that reminds me of some of the best of 90s indie.
“Ten At Zero” is also a slower track, this one
reminding me of grunge, but not quite as heavy and thickly
arranged. “Bon’s Breath” is an awesome
bass-driven track with simple yet cool angular lines in
minimalist repetition. “Milkweed” is some lovely
indie pop, another ballad-ish track with a quiet intensity.
And “Overdrawn” has an amazing jazzy edge to
its rock. The closing track, “Crooked,” has
a nice poppy bounce to it, and a gorgeous smoothness. And
that smoothness is something most of these tracks have in
common – they’re smoother and more relaxed than
those on “Evil Gene.” They exude more confidence,
in that respect. Is “Out Of My Scope” a “better”
album than “Evil Gene?” They’re different,
and they’re both really good. This is recommended.
 KNEELING
IN PISS – Music For Peasants (Anyway Records, www.anyway-records.com)
With a name like Kneeling In Piss, you would have certain
expectations for what the band would sound like. And you would
be very, very wrong. They’re not punk or grindcore;
they’re jangly indie pop! Last year, the band had released
“Tour De Force,” their debut full-length. And
just before the pandemic lockdown, they released a single
and announced a four-song EP, both of which were to be harbingers
of another LP to be released later in the year. Well, here
we are, and the LP has not come to fruition, perhaps another
victim of COVID-19. But we do get another four-song EP, so
that’s something. Fronted by Alex Mussawir (formerly
of Future Nuns), the Columbus, Ohio quartet (guitar, bass,
drums, and keyboards) play light indie pop songs that are
a reflections of the banality of everyday weirdoes. On the
synth-heavy “Music For Peasants,” which opens
the EP, the song seems to be about how people (peasants) seem
to be isolated, alienated and alone, and we do things to feel
less alone. I like “Pervert Today,” which has
a driving booming bass and thick dark guitars with a clean,
clear sound. Vocals are delivered in a deadpan style, even
as the music gets very emphatic. I think the song may be about
the incompleteness of people, as one verse references “Sophisticated
but cheap / A piano with no keys / A gun with no trigger /
A gun with no trigger.” But we don’t realize it,
as another verse says, “I feel right when I’m
wrong.” “Sofia Coppola” is another synth-fueled
track, with drum machine and keyboards driving the song about
wanting to leave Ohio after the recession is over, to work
in movies with the actress, as if it’s the most normal
thing in the world. The closer is an ode to the odd, in “I
Love the Avant Garde,” Piano and twangy guitar plunk
out a toy-like melody. Yep, Kneeling In Piss was quite a surprise
– a good surprise.
 MYLITTLEBROTHER
– Howl (Big Stir Records, www.bigstirrecords.com)
Recorded in 2019, before anyone had heard of the coronavirus,
Cumbrian band mylittlebrother has finally released their sophomore
LP. Located in the far northwest of England, just at the border
with Scotland, Cumbria is mostly made up of the Lake District
National Park, lots of little villages, and the County Town
of Carlisle. It seems an unlikely place for an indie-pop band
to spring forth, but then, the small towns in the north of
England have produced several excellent bands. mylittlebrother
trend toward the lighter side of the musical spectrum, playing
songs that have tinges of psych and folk rock. The songs glide
smoothly and there are few rough edges, musically; it’s
all light and airy. Lyrically, the songs get a bit darker
than the melodies might imply. “It was largely written
during a pretty rough period for me, and it reflects that”
says vocalist and primary songwriter Will Harris. “’Howl’
takes you through hope, joy, anger, fear, loss, and ultimately,
back to hope again, but all with catchy tunes.” Harris’
vocals remind me of the neo-pagan folk that was coming out
of England in the 1970s, for some reason. They have an informal
but intentioned sound, and Harris’ northern accent is
clearly intact. Songs like the opener, “Play Hard,”
have a definite retro 70s psychedelic folk-rock bent and a
pleasantly casual tone. Even stronger in that retro 70s sound
is “Janey,” one of the album’s lead singles.
The other lead single, the album’s title track, “Howl,”
blends a bit of bubblegum ballad and Beatles-esque pop into
a song of pining for lost love. “ After the first verses
explain everything that was wrong with the relationship, a
subsequent verse declares, “But if you wanted, I could
fall for you again / Just Howl.” The song that really
grabbed my attention, though, was “Chicago.” Of
course, since that’s where I’m originally from.
Its melody cries it for it to be played louder, grittier,
and heavier than it is here, at least portions of the song.
It’s like a suite in three movements, with the first
movement being wannabe metal that should be played with an
early Black Sabbath ferocity, the second a gorgeous chorale,
and the third is some rock and fucking roll. “Time of
Our Lives” reminds me of a more modern version of a
Burt Bacharach song with an indie flavor. So bottom line,
is this a good record? Well, it isn’t a bad record.
I do wish there was more intensity to some of the tracks,
though.
 POPULATION
II – À La Ô Terre (Castle Face Records,
www.castlefacerecords.com)
Psychedelic jams fill the ten tracks on this new LP from Montreal’s
Population II. The trio give us 45 minutes of mostly instrumental
music, punctuated with occasional lyrics in French, but added
more as another instrument than actual “songs.”
Hypnotic and mesmerizing, some of the tracks are long-form
jams while others are short fragments or introductions. Take
the spacey trance jams of bands like Amon Duul II or Can,
make them harder edged with garage rock sensibilities, and
you’ve got an idea of what Population II sounds like
on this, their debut LP. “Introspection” opens
the LP with a cacophonous scream of instruments, then resolves
to a bluesy jam, and evolves into a buzzy, searing guitar
fueled rockfest with interjections from a jazzy saxophone.
The mysterious sounding “Les Vents” starts smoothly,
with beautiful harp creating a very science-fiction-like atmosphere,
with the bass walking through the stars, the organ shining
brightly. Like other tracks, it evolves, the organ giving
way to electric guitar, but not giving up any of the mystery.
Halfway through, the guitar takes complete control, plunging
into the closest star, the hellish flames burning everything
around. Suddenly, the fire is out and we’re again in
the coldness of space, near silence broken only by the return
of the organ. “Il eut un Silence dans le Ciel”
is a frantic caterwauling at the start, that gets a little
funky, while “Attraction” is a sultry slow burner.
Yes, these tracks are jams, yes, this is “out there,”
but it’s damn cool and unlike many jams, it morphs with
much variety. If you live in a state where weed is legal,
I’m guessing this will be even better under the influence.
 RALPHIE’S
RED RYDERS – You’ll Shoot Your Eye Out (Radiant
Radish Records, radiantradish.storenvy.com)
In one of the most anticipated reunions in a long time, Ralphie,
Schwartz, and Flick entered Carbine Action Studios in downtown
Hohman, Indiana this past summer to lay down the dozen tracks
contained in this first release from the Red Ryders in many
years. And it comes just as the holiday season starts to crank
up, so the timing couldn’t be more perfect. Guest appearances
at this session include Mike, Mark, Reese, Christopher, Donna,
Beth, Manny, Randy, Grover, and Scut. Of course, if you’re
paying attention, nearly none of the above is true. Mike Patton
and friends are giving us another wonderful themed record,
just as they do with their Vista Blue records. But this time,
we don’t only get a season or holiday to celebrate,
we get one of the most beloved holiday movies, based on the
stories of American national treasure, the late Jean Shepherd.
If you’re familiar with the sounds of Vista Blue (and
you should be, really), you’ll know what to expect here:
buzzy guitars, bright gleaming keyboards, and harmonized vocals,
all done in a Ramonescore meets Beach Boys style. And if you’re
familiar with the movie (or better yet, the stories upon which
it’s based) you’ll recognize the vignettes that
inspired each of these songs. “My Decoder Ring”
of course refers to the time Ralphie mailed away to get Little
Orphan Annie’s decoder ring and his dismay when he decoded
his first secret message. “I Can’t Put My Arms
Down” recalls the time Ralphie’s mom got little
brother Randy ready to walk to school in the Indiana winter,
with so many layers and so much bulk that he literally couldn’t
put his arms down. Who can forget the “Bumpus Hounds”
that ruined Christmas dinner? There’s a promotional
spot for Higbee’s, the department store in Hohman where
Ralphie and Randy have a momentous encounter with Santa Claus
and his elves. There’s even a song about the anticipation
of getting an A+ on one’s assigned homework, the theme
about the perfect Christmas gift. The closing track, “Electric
Sex,” recalls what’s arguably the most famous
scene in the film, the major award won by Ralphie’s
old man and displayed proudly in the front window, at least
temporarily, to mom’s dismay. The doo-wop captures the
confusing longings Ralphie felt as he eyed the Nehi leg lamp.
If you’re a fan of Vista Blue, Ramonescore, or A Christmas
Story, this is something you gotta hear.
 LOVE
EQUALS DEATH / THE STATIC AGE – Split EP (Say-10 Records,
www.say-10.com)
Say-10, purveyor of records and skateboards, is releasing
one of the oddest pairings I’ve ever heard on a split
EP. The two tracks from “Love Equals Death”
are big, muscular punk rock with loads of whoa-ohs and lots
of skate punk energy. The two songs from The Static Age
are synth and guitar driven, with a more expansive pop sound,
including dark vocals and bright electronics. Taken separately
both a good on their own merits. But back-to-back listening
to both is jarring.
 KURT
BAKER – After Party (Wicked Cool Records, www.wickedcoolrecords.com)
Ex-pat Kurt Baker is one of the bright lights keeping the
flames of power pop lit. The former Leftovers member has been
living in Spain, and the records he puts out there with the
Kurt Baker Combo have tended to lie a little more toward the
pop punk end of the spectrum. But with this, his US-based
band, it’s unabashed power pop, and I hear Elvis Costello
and Beatles influences in some of the dozen new songs here.
These are sparkling and poppy, with tons of hooks. I really
love “New Direction,” the song that opens the
LP. It’s a mid-tempo loper, and Baker sounds so much
like Elvis Costello here it’s eerie. The song is about
the realization that, after a breakup, life goes on and can
be even better. The chorus has big vocals and the song has
a bright sound, like the new outlook on life reflected in
the lyrics. “I Like Her A Lot” is another great
one, with a fast moving melodic line, lyrics filling every
space, and “Waiting For You” has bits of mid period
Beatles sounds. The harmonies are spot on and the piano playing
the melody is pretty. “Good” is an interesting
track, with a reggae feel, crossed with power pop, and lots
of Elvis Costello mixed in. “She Don’t Really
Love You, Dude” is one of the edgier tracks on the album,
with rough and ready guitar tone and a driving beat. The keyboard
solo is simple, but works, especially as the baton as handed
off to the guitars. And the spoken word in the middle of the
track, after the bridge is hilarious: “Hey man, I hate
to break it to you, but the fact is, she doesn’t love
anybody.” The tongue in cheek bossa nova lounge song,
“A Song and a Drink” is nice, too, but more fluff
than substance. “Over You” sounds like it could
have been written and recorded in the 1980s, and it could
have come from the Journey song catalog. The harmonized vocals
on the chorus, the melodic line, it’s all there. And
“Keep Dreaming” is a lighter song, the chimes
giving it a little bit of a holiday feel. These two are the
songs I didn’t like quite as much as the others, sounding
more commercial and AM pop radio oriented. But this is another
solid effort from Baker, and another reason power pop is still
a vital genre.
 THE
LINE – Sour to Punker (ImageArt Records, thelinemusic.bandcamp.com/album/sour-to-punker)
Originally formed back in the 1990s, The Line hail from Orange
County, California. And yes, the four-piece are true to their
roots, with a strong Orange County 1990s punk sound, though
they lean more to the metallic/progressive rock end of the
OC punk spectrum than the skate punk end. The songs are mid
tempo, with big guitars and dark melodies. Five of the six
tracks on this EP were recorded late last year, but one song,
“Harmony Do You Miss We,” was written and recorded
during the pandemic, the “we” meant to be a reference
to the scene unity we’re all missing without shows,
hugs, and high fives. That song has a sad yet hopeful sound.
“Strange Modesty II” may be the most “punk”
sounding track of the bunch, a little poppier and with a faster,
brighter feel, while “Modem 2K” is the most outright
metal song on the EP. Overall, the songs really don’t
do much for me. Modern OC punk isn’t one of my favorite
genres, and the gang vocals on these tracks could use a little
work – they sound a bit out of tune and a little unenthused.
 SKELETON
ARMY – GovernMental Disorder (skeletonarmypunk.bandcamp.com)
Skeleton Army is a four piece DIY punk band from the Phoenix,
Arizona area, and this is their debut full-length LP. They
call themselves “good old punk rock,” and that’s
an accurate description. The Southern California/OC old school
punk sound is strong with these guys, with speedy songs, simple
melodies, and crunchy guitars. The lyrics, too, reflect a
mix of the early Orange County punk tradition, ranging from
political topics to funny punk. Back before “skate punk”
became a different sound in the 1990s and 2000s, it was hardcore
made by bands like JFA (also from Arizona), Code of Honor,
and others, and Skeleton Army exhibits a lot of that sound.
“Fuck the DEA” is probably one of my favorite
tracks of the album, blending political and party lyrics with
bouncy fun punk rock that reminds me of Chicago’s Slammin’
Watusis. Some of the songs express an old school punk attitude,
such as “Go Uck Yourself” (that’s not a
typo, thought the lyrics do include the “F”),
the chorus of which has the simple lyrics, “Why don’t
you just go fuck yourself” repeated. The music is dark,
speedy, and hard as nails. And “Motherfucker”
is a slower one with a bounce, lots of whoa ohs. The chorus
of “You motherfucker” repeated multiple times
is sung pretty casually, without bile. Familial dissension
is on display in “Ultimate Disappointment,” in
which we hear “I’m not sorry, mom / That I don’t
believe in your god / I hope you can forgive me / For losing
my religion.” This one’s slower and sludgier.
As a burrito fan, another favorite is “Killibertos,”
a punk rock ode to the corner taco shops all over the southwest
(but the best ones are in San Diego). The song is dark, loud,
and angry, as it sings about the foods that will “give
me a fuckin’ heart attack.” And “Eat Your
Vegetables” reminds me of the old satirical straight-edge
band, Crucial Youth, who sang songs about practicing good
dental hygiene, among others. Skeleton Army isn’t blazing
any new trails, of course, but they’re just like your
dependable local punk band that you can see open the show
when an old 80s punk band comes touring through.
 PROFESOR
GALACTICO/THE PARANOIAS - Nightmare / Hope To See You Next
Year Split EP (My Grito, mygrito.limitedrun.com)
My Grito is a new imprint of Wiretap Records, the LA label
that has made a big splash in its mere five years of existence.
Co-founded by Wiretap boss Rob Castellon and longtime friend
Oscar Toledo, My Grito’s mission is to support Latin/Latinx
artists in various mediums, including music, visual arts,
comedy, and more. One of their early releases is this split
EP from Profesor Galactico and The Paranoias. The “A
side” includes five songs from Profesor Galactico, a
self-taught musician who blends ska, punk, alternative, and
hip hop styles into a unique fusion. His songs range from
melodic and bouncy to dark and edgy. I really like “Alien,”
his opening song. It uses a Theremin to create an eerie otherworldly
effect, and the song alternates between skankin’ and
hard-edged post-hardcore mixed with hip-hop. I’m not
the biggest ska fan, but the horns on “Move It Or Lose
It” are done really well. The track itself is kind of
jazzy post-hardcore in places and ska in others, and the harmonized
backing vocals are nice and smooth. The “B side”
contains four tracks from The Paranoias, self-styled as “your
ladies favorite band.” They’ve been playing around
the west coast for several years, with a mix of smooth ska
fusion, R&B, reggae, soul, jazz, and punk. I really like
the smooth mix of ska, Latin jazz and alternative pop in “Next
Year,” and “Global Warming” is a hard-hitting
song blending metallic rock with surf and horror. Their closing
track, “Papeles,” (“Papers”) starts
as a pretty acoustic power-pop song that sound like something
that could have come from The Beatles. Halfway through it
changes into a more modern bouncy indie pop song that recapitulates
“Next Year,” but with a very different feel. I’ve
always been impressed at the job Wiretap has done with curating
the artists on their label, so I’m looking forward to
what they do with My Grito. They’re off to a good start.
 THE
PURPLE WITCH OF CULVER – Eulogy for a Sunbeam (Loantaka
Records, www.loantaka-records.com)
Saxophonist Sarah Safaie and producer/ multi-instrumentalist
Evan Taylor are back with another new single to be released
on Taylor’s Loantaka Records imprint. As with their
previous single, “Trig,” which I reviewed a few
weeks back, the duo blend jazz, funk, hip-hop, chill-out EDM,
and spoken word beat poetry to create something cool and unique.
I think I like this new single even more than the previous
one. A tribal drumbeat lasts throughout, and the bulk of the
song has a sparkly 70s funk mixed with electronics and rock
and roll guitar. Safaie’s deadpan reading of the lyrics
comes across as stream of consciousness and I love the jazzy
horn punctuations that appear throughout the song. This is
great stuff.
 THE
FIRMLY CROOKED - Daren Gratton And The Firmly Crooked
(thefirmlycrooked.bandcamp.com)
Daren Gratton previously fronted the long gone St. Louis band
The Haddonfields. After that ended, he played solo for a time,
but in the last couple of years he’s been playing with
Grave Neighbors and The Firmly Crooked, the latter of which
is now releasing its debut full-length LP. The songs are,
for the most part, solid Midwestern melodic punk rock. The
Chicago influence of bands like Pegboy and Naked Raygun is
evident, with muscular guitars and a strong melody, but the
melodic lines in some of the songs are more modern sounding
pop punk. The opening track, “Until You’re Gone,”
could have come from Pegboy ca. 1990. There’s loads
of power and a slightly dark sounding melody. Gratton belts
out the lyrics with an emphatic intensity. And while “Laughing
Prophet of Doom” starts out slower and more quietly,
it gets bigger and stronger at the halfway mark. “All
I Can Remember” has a thick Midwest melodic punk sound,
too, mixed with more of a modern pop punk feel. As the album
evolves, the punk sound does, too, “Northface”
and subsequent songs have a more modern pop feel mixed in
with the punk.
There are other sounds on this LP, making it sometimes
sound disjoined. “Laughing Prophet of Doom”
has hints of Americana tinges to its punk rock. “Always
Say Never” is a chill pop punk tune with buzzy guitars,
reminding me a bit of Vista Blue. “She’s Groundhog’s
Day” has an indie dreaminess to it, with open guitar
sounds and bits of jangle underneath.
The least successful song of the album is the solo acoustic
“Star Fall Down.” The guitar sounds unfortunately
out of tune and Gratton’s vocals sound lethargic and
raspy. Likewise, the full-band “So Many Miles”
feels thin and tired, needing a boost of energy to get going.
The closing track is the most surprising and most fun.
“You Were Never Here” is a pop punk song, played
on acoustic guitar, but there are drums here, too. The guitar
is played in an almost flamenco style, rapid strumming burning
up the speakers. It’s the most different from the
rest of the tracks, and is an unexpected burst of brightness.
My favorites, other than that final song, are mostly in
the first half of the album, those broad shouldered songs
with the more powerful punk sound. Half of the album is
solid and strong, but the other half is inconsistent, with
a couple of tracks falling short.
 HIROKI
TANAKA – Kaigo Kioku Kyoku (hirokikyoku.bandcamp.com)
Before I go into detail, just know that this debut solo LP
from Hiroki Tanaka is jaw dropping. It’s beautiful and
it’s touching. The album’s title translates to
“Caregiving Memory Songs,” and the eight amazing
tracks document Tanaka’s experience as a caregiver to
his grandmother, suffering from Alzheimer’s disease,
and his uncle with terminal cancer. The music includes sounds
made by meaningful objects, voice recordings of his relatives,
and has the structure of hymns and Japanese folk songs. Tanaka
has been making music in the Toronto area since his teenage
years, and after his experiences caring for his relatives
in the same house in which he grew up, he felt compelled to
strike out on his own and create these songs as sort of a
sonic archive, preserving his own memories and those of his
relatives. An interesting touch on the album is that many
of the percussion sounds on the record were made by recording
objects in the house, including everything from the sound
of a cupboard closing to the clinking together of two glasses.
The album opens with “Bare Hallways,” which
includes recordings of his grandmother singing something,
and then the music begins. It’s delicate, with acoustic
guitar, steel guitar, piano, percussion, and some synths.
The song is quiet, wispy, and dreamlike, speaking about
seeing his grandmother living in her past memories. “Eternal
Host” features synths up front, and after an eerie
opening, it continues with distorted guitars playing what
sounds like a hymn, and falsetto vocals speaking directly
to the disorientation of illness. The music resolves into
something jazzy and sparkly, bluesy vocals singing about
the feelings Tanaka experienced as a caregiver. “Exile
from home eternal host / Can’t leave you alone eternal
host / Bathe and feed each day eternal host / Dazzle you
with shame eternal host / I can’t go on I must go
on I’m rolling stones.” The pain is clear in
Tanaka’s voice, torn between love for his family and
his desire to live his own life.
“Inori Intro” is an astounding short track,
mixing field recordings of a traditional Japanese gong with
a beautiful vocal choir singing an excerpt from the hymn
"Inori" by Genzo Miwa. Just close your eyes when
you listen to this one, feel the hairs stand up on the back
of your neck, and be transported to another place. Then
listen to the pretty waltz, “Inori,” a song
in which Tanaka explains the torn feelings, but this time
afraid that if he lets people know his grandmother is reaching
the end of her life they’ll take her away from him,
“And you’ll forget, you’ll forget me too.”
As the music swirls, electric guitar playing and an electrified
violin playing a distorted soaring melody, it’s hard
not to shed a tear.
“Snowdrop” opens with vocal ambience and a
spine-chilling rendition of the Japanese folk song, “Sakura,”
punctuated with various sounds, including a cuckoo clock.
The bulk of this lengthy track, though, gorgeous ambient
music played beneath a recorded conversation someone had
with Tanaka’s grandmother, asking her questions about
where she grew up, her favorite holiday, and her garden.
The snowdrops of the title are the small flowers in the
garden, flowers that push their way up through the frozen
earth early in the spring. The next track opens with a recording
of a Japanese choir woman from the eldercare facility Tanaka’s
grandmother stayed in. The song the choir is singing is
“Aoi Me No Ningyo,” which translates to “Blue
Eyed Doll,” the title of this track. The song seems
to be a catharsis, his feelings upon the death of his grandmother,
Some of the lyrics reference her coming to North America
as a child: “Frightened like a child that sailed to
a foreign shore,” and he thanks her for helping him
grow as a man, singing, “You gave me the courage to
care, and to show / I want to thank you for this blue eyed
doll.”
Following this is a short, lovely interlude performed on
harp, “Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence,” performed
by Jacqueline Goring. It’s an ancient liturgical chant,
likely dating back to around AD 275, but was collected in
the Divine Liturgy of St. James. Performed on the harp it
sounds less like liturgical music and more like an ancient
folk song. And the ending track is ”Utopia,”
a sad song of remembrance when the end has come. The soaring
trumpet echoes a life gloriously lived, as Tanaka sings
the closing lines, “Thinking there has been no better
time / It’s time / It’s time / It’s time
/ It’s time / It’s time.”
This is a very emotional record, very personal, very devastating,
and very beautiful.
 DARREN
JESSEE – Remover (Bar/None Records, www.bar-none.com)
Easy listening music for the indie generation? Ben Folds Five
alum Darren Jessee presents his sophomore LP, following up
2018’s “The Jane, Room 217,” with ten songs
of soft, easy, quiet songs. Acoustic guitar and violin choir
synthesizer feature prominently in the arrangements, occasionally
punctuated by French horns (or more synths) yielding the same
aesthetic for today’s graduates from the indie scene
to adulthood that our parents and grandparents had from 1001
Strings and Percy Faith. The arrangements range from sparse
to full and lush, but the tempos are uniformly relaxed and
lazy. Some of the songs might be reasonably successful as
singer-songwriter material, but the arrangements and production
here give them a sound that’s too close to the modern
equivalent of what we used to call “elevator music”
or “Muzak.” There’s a feeling of ennui that
runs through all these tracks, the vocals sung at such an
even keel, seemingly bereft of any emotion. Put this on when
you’re having trouble falling asleep.
 ANGORA
DEBS (Secret Center Records, www.facebook.com/secretcenterrecords)
Angora Debs’ bio calls them “Oakland’s answer
to Pete Shelley and Dan Treacy, attempting to write pop songs
and smile between meltdowns.” And that’s probably
pretty spot-on for this group that play songs that teeter
on the edge of punk and power pop. With members located an
hour and a half apart in Oakland and Sacramento, California,
practicing may be tricky, but hell, the performances on this
five song EP show they’re doing just fine. With lo-fi
production giving it a garage edge, tons of hooks and loads
of jangle, this is brilliant music in the vein of The Buzzcocks.
Songs like “B-side” and “Camel Lights”
have a mid-tempo lope and a good time rock and roll feel.
I really love the manic “Cross Your Fingers,”
with a speedier, crazier sound, more punk and more garage,
but no less melodic and poppy. Even better is “Photograph,”
another banger that reminds me of Radioactivity blended with
The Bananas, not surprising since one of the Angora Debs is
also in The Bananas. The closing track, “Your Shitty
Diary,” is a great pop punk sing-along, and I can imagine
being in a little club or DIY space with a bunch of friends,
all jumping around and singing this with big smiles on our
faces. Angora Debs may be best known as the club that Laverne
and Shirley belonged to in the sit-com, but from now on, I’ll
know it as a band I want to listen to more and more.
 ANTAGONIZERS
ATL – Black Clouds (Pirates Press Records, www.piratespressrecords.com)
The ATL in their name refers to their hometown of Atlanta,
yet Antagonizers ATL harken back more to the days of British
working class Oi than any music that ever came out of the
southern USA. Big sing along punk is the order of the day
on this new single, and it’s got a classic sound.
Put this on and you’ll feel just like you’re
in a pub in 1984 London. The band is tight and play with
equal measures of fun and anger, resulting in a great listen.
 DFMK
(La Escalera Records, www.laescaleradistro.com)
The long awaited, oft delayed debut full length LP from Tijuana’s
DFMK has finally arrived! Produced by Tyson “Chicken”
AnniCharico, better known as the bassist and vocalist of Dead
To Me, DFMK’s LP finally came into being with the cooperation
of many labels, including La Escalera Records (which is handling
distribution), A-F Records, Rad Girlfriend Records, Tiny Dragon
Music, Puercords, and Constructivismo Distro. If you’ve
been living under a rock, DFMK is simply one of the most dynamic
rock and roll bands making music today. Taking cues from punk
rock and hardcore, from proto punks like The Stooges and MC5,
from garage punk and even The Ramones, DFMK sing songs in
Spanish about living life on the edge and in the margins,
about nihilism and drug abuse, about hangovers from long nights
in shitty dive bars, about broken hearts and good times. Their
past EPs were good, but Chicken’s production on this
LP has really done the band justice, because it sounds great,
and it does an amazing job of capturing the sound and the
feeling of the band on vinyl. This is no bullshit, take no
prisoners, balls out guerilla rock and roll. Cap’s vocals
are shouted and sung with attitude rivaling that of Mick Jagger
and with more enthusiasm and élan than the Rolling
Stone could ever muster. Songs rang from the powerful and
speedy punk fueled songs like “Mal Presentimiento”
and “Miedo y Aversion,” to the more mid-tempo
good-time rockers like “Donde Apunta la Aguja”
and “Year of the Snake,” which closes the LP on
an old school metallic note.
That opening track, “Mal Presentimiento,” or
“Bad Feeling,” speaks to the nihilism of just
living for the moment. “I’ve got a bad feeling,
I don’t trust the future, I bet it all for today,”
is the refrain in the chorus, and one of the verses includes,
“I don’t have any reasons, I only do it for
fun / I still have my life, death hasn’t taken it
away / I play with my life, ‘cause there is nothing
better to do / I play with my life, ‘cause there is
nothing to lose.” I mean, how punk is that? Echoes
on a theme from Minor Threat are in the song, “Fuera
de Lugar,” which means “Out of Step.”
The short one minute blast of a song celebrates not being
normal, and even references the image on the cover of Minor
Threat’s famous record with the line, “I am
a black sheep on the outskirts of society / Out of step,
It’s where I want to be.”
“Ya No Quiero Ser Punk” is a rager that translates
to “I Don’t Wanna Be Punk Anymore,” and
it points a damning finger at the punk scene today, driven
more by a desire to conform than to be an individual. “I
don’t care about today’s fashion trends / Because
I am busy being me / I don’t want to be “punk”
anymore,” Cap sings, and the last line of the song,
“I want to be me, I don’t care about you, I
just want to be PUNK.” Make punk gritty and individualistic
again! It’s not all doom and gloom with DFMK. They
celebrate their hometown of Tijuana with the rocker, “Ciudad
de Nadie” (City of No one). It sings the praises of
the all night parties, up ‘til dawn, drinking “caguamas”
(40 oz beers) and snorting a little blow. And “Frida
no es Sofia” (Frida isn’t Sofia) isn’t
about a misidentified woman, it’s an attack on “fake
news,” the propaganda that spews from the government
and the media.
If you’ve never had the chance to see a live DFMK
show, you damn well better hope this pandemic goes away
soon and they get back to touring, because it’s something
not to be missed. If they harnessed the energy emitted by
DFMK they could eliminate fossil fuels and solve the climate
crisis overnight.
 JACO
– DOSE (Cornelius Chapel Records, www.corneliuschapelrecords.com)
Jake Waltzman, recording under the Jaco moniker, is collaborating
with Cornelius Chapel Records on a trilogy of releases, and
this represents the second installment. Though he’s
primarily a drummer, Waltzman is a multi-instrumentalist,
and steps out of his role in other local bands to front his
solo effort, working with friend and band mate Lester Nuby
III to forge this forty-some minutes of pop music. Guitar,
bass, drums, and keyboards blend together to create smooth,
easy pop-rock songs worthy of your local adult contemporary
radio station. These are not charged with power, and aren’t
going to get you jumping around the room. Instead, these are
the sorts of songs to have on in the background when you have
your grown-up former indie-kid friends over for a wine and
cheese party. Especially the opener, “Bluebird,”
which has a loungy, jazzy feel, courtesy of the vibraphone
and breezy island beat. “Faberge” and “In
the Sea” have pretentions of being power pop tracks,
but lack the power to pull it off, and instead are just even
keeled pop tunes with nice jangly guitars and smooth synths.
Some of the songs have tinges of mild psychedelic influence,
like “Outer Space,” with the synths tuned to sound
like an organ, so it sounds like a 70s jam. These songs are
just too lethargic for my tastes, and really never get me
going.
 LENNY
LASHLEY’S GANG OF ONE – Lenny Lashley’s
Gang of One Live (Pirate’s Press Records, www.piratespressrecords.com)
Not terribly long ago I reviewed a full band album from Lenny,
and noted that he was New England’s answer to Bruce
Springsteen, playing strong working class rock and roll. Now
here he is, as the “gang of one,” performing solo
acoustic, live. The ten songs here were recorded in front
of a real audience (remember them?) pre-pandemic, at the Button
Factory Stage in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. And I know some
people cringe at the thought of solo acoustic, especially
now, after six months of live streams of people sitting on
their couches playing acoustic guitar for us. But I’ve
long been a sucker for good singer-songwriter fare, and, if
anything, Lashley presents something I like even more than
his full band music. There’s a more intimate feel, more
heartfelt. Especially in songs like “Judy,” a
pleading for a straying love to come home. I don’t know
if it’s based on personal experience or not, but it
feels like it could be. “Lonesome” drips with
devastating sadness and regret. And “Hooligans”
is a fun reminiscence of youthful energy and hijinks in the
old days of the Boston punk scene. It uses the famous international
“olé olé olé” soccer chant
to open and close the song (soccer hooligans!), and has lyrics
that reference famous Boston venues like the long gone Rat
and references hanging out in Central Square (in Cambridge),
a punk hangout where The Middle East music venue is. Beyond
those references, it’s just about hanging out with your
friends and getting into trouble, having the best time of
your life. I really love the ballad “Two Robbers,”
a song that tells the story of traveling on the road and being
accosted by two robbers. It has the feeling of an old song
out of the mists of time, perhaps from the Highlands of Scotland.
The song’s protagonist defends himself, but the feelings
of guilt over having killed someone are there. I do like solo
acoustic, and I like this record.
 LESLIE
PEREIRA & THE LAZY HEROES – Good Karma (Big Stir
Records, www.bigstirrecords.com)
After last year’s debut LP, Leslie Pereira and the Lazy
Heroes return with their sophomore effort. The dozen songs
on offer range from melodic indie rock to bouncy pop, some
songs with a near punk edge, others smoother and more relaxed.
The album opens with the title track, and it has a great retro
sound, feeling like those guitar fueled songs on the edge
between punk and power pop that populated the left end of
the radio dial in the early days of the new wave. These kinds
of songs were a great antidote to the fizzy synth pop that
was found everywhere else on the radio. I like the jangle
of “If I Could,” a song with a retro 60s pop sound
blended with 80s power pop. Another good one is the Latin-flavored
“Hot Tamale,” alternating between the smooth bouncy
verses and harder edgier chorus and bridge. The big vocals
and darker feel of “Slip” remind me of the great
band Heart. “Time To Rock” ranges from garage
rock to post punk; I especially like the angular guitar breaks
that come after the chorus that remind me a lot of some of
the post punk sounds of the 80s, and the guitar tone is spot
on. “So Hard” is another one with different feels
in different parts of the song. It’s got big grungy
parts, some sassy seductive parts, and some parts that just
rock out. One thing all the songs on this record have in common
is a sense of fun. You can tell that the band are having a
blast; there’s a sense of snarky sarcasm in the music,
loads of attitude, and lots of good times.
 SEIZED
UP – Brace Yourself (Pirates Press Records, www.piratespressrecords.com)
There’s been a lot more angry music coming out the last
few years, and understandably so. The country and, indeed,
the world, have gotten a lot more fucked up, with the rise
of far-right fascism and corruption in government, police
brutality more out of control than ever, and now a global
pandemic. Enter Seized Up, a quartet of seasoned hardcore
veterans. Seized Up was formed in Santa Cruz, California in
early 2019 with Bl’ast singer Clifford Dinsmore, Fast
Asleep guitarist Danny B., Good Riddance bassist Chuck Platt
and The Distillers drummer Andy Granelli. And they are pissed
off as hell. The eleven tracks on this debut LP are a mix
of hardcore and post-hardcore, loud and bitter, angry and
dissonant. With songs like “Tent City Exodus,”
“Taking Back the Neighborhood,” and “Terminal
Disarray,” the band covers topics such as the rising
tide of homelessness, growing gentrification causing displacement
of entire communities, and the increasing lawlessness of our
corrupt politicians and business leaders. The anger is palpable,
the songs played loudly and at breakneck speed, chord changes
coming with acute angularity, guitars screaming, drums hammering
the point. This record is a call to action, a demand to end
complacency, and an entreaty to take to the streets and take
back what has been taken from us. As the album cover says,
“In the age of information, ignorance is a choice.”
Seized Up is sounding the clarion call. It’s time for
everyone to respond.
 THE
SLACKERS – Blue (Pirates Press Records, www.piratespressrecords.com)
New York reggae and rock steady legends The Slackers, who
recently signed with Pirates Press to rerelease some of their
LPs, have been giving us a few new singles, as well. The latest
of these is “Blue,” a classic reggae song, complete
with a dub version on the B-side. All the hallmarks of reggae
are here, horns, a strong backbeat, and a hazy lazy tempo
and feel. The instrumentation feels thin to me, especially
compared to the excellent rock steady single they released
a few months back. The dub version seems to merely add more
reverb and a few tape loops, and doesn’t really change
the sound or feel much. I like reggae, but this single didn’t
do it for me.
 JON
SNODGRASS – Tace (A-F Records, www.a-frecords.com)
Jon Snodgrass should need no introduction, but in case you’re
new to music, Snodgrass is a founding member of Drag The River,
Scorpios, and Armchair Martian. He’s been doing a lot
of solo records as well as releasing records with various
friends, though, and “Tace” is but the latest.
Though this one is not credited as an “and Friends”
LP, there are several guest appearances of note, including
Stephen Eggerton and Karl Alvarez (Descendents, ALL), Zach
Blair (Rise Against, GWAR, The Drakulas) Neil Hennessy (The
Lawrence Arms, The Falcon), Joey Cape (Lagwagon, Bad Astronaut),
Stacey Dee (Bad Cop/Bad Cop), Mikey Erg (The Ergs, Worriers),
and more.
There are some great moments of levity on the LP, such
as the opening track, a short conversation about whether
someone needs to take a shower before going into the swimming
pool, and the closing title track, featuring some cheesy
organ and a bit of conversation from the studio. In between
there are plenty of punkish Americana songs and good ol’
rock and roll. I like “Bad New Lands,” a pretty
powerful, raucous song. It’s got a country rock flavor,
but it’s definitely a punk rock descendant. “Footage”
is even more strongly alt-country influenced, yet it also
reminds me of some mid-period Hüsker Dü songs,
and Snodgrass’ raspy vocals sometimes sound kind of
like Bob Mould’s. Even more overtly countrified is
“Don’t Break Her Heart,” from the twangy
sound to the subject matter. This one I can clearly hear
as a solo acoustic song, as well.
The album is loaded with contrasts, showing off Snodgrass’
wonderful range, both in writing and performing. For example,
“BoyzIIMen” is a lovely delicate track, with
acoustic guitar, piano, and vocals, but right after it is
“1-2-3-4,” a huge bluesy song with noisy buzzy
guitars. “The Sequal” is another raucous track
that has that slight Americana sound, but plenty of punk
power. And while I’m normally not one for guitar solos,
this song has one that’s simple and strong, and the
way it soars is beautiful.
The most heartwarming part of the record, though, has to
be the pair of tracks, “Indoor-Outdoor Type”
and “Go Baseball…,” the former being a
field recording of Snodgrass at a baseball game with one
of his kids, and the latter being Snodgrass talking to his
kid about a song the kid wrote, then he plays it. His kid
even interrupts and corrects him on the lyrics! This is
sure to bring a smile to your face and cause a bit of a
chuckle to scape your lips. And the whole record will be
something you’re sure to enjoy.
 THE
URETHRAS – Patronized (Pirates Press Records, www.piratespressrecords.com)
The Urethras are a band of teenagers who were voted “most
likely to start a circle pit at a Bay Area punk rock show,”
according to their press bio. This is the debut single for
the California kids, and though the recording quality could
use some work, this is the pissed off hardcore I remember
from the early 80s. The music is super simple, fast and loud,
with angry lyrics shouted with lots of piss and vinegar. The
instrumentals sound like were recorded inside a glass jar
or something, but it can’t dilute the ire. That it’s
teenagers making this retro punk music is pretty unreal. This
is sure to get you moshing in da pit!
 ZERO
ZEROES (Drunken Sailor Records, www.drunkensailorrecords.co.uk)
My first impression when I first started listening to this
was that I liked the dark menacing punk sound. “Mouth
Full of Snakes” is a punch-in-the-gut track with garage
undertones and a bleak sense of gloom looming. As I listened
further, though, I felt like I was listening to the same song
on repeat. Taken individually, each song is solid, vigorous,
muscular sounding punk with a sense of despair. When taken
as an album, there’s too little variation from track
to track. I kind of do have a favorite track, though, and
it’s “Face Up to the Mist.” Though the band
is from Germany and writing their music in 2020, this song
reminds me of 1980s Naked Raygun a bit in some ways, and it
adds in some surf guitar sounds. These touches make it stand
out from the rest of the album – which is great dark
punk, but the sort of songs that will be enjoyed when they
pop up in shuffle mode, rather than listened to straight through.
 ATTIC
SALT – Get Wise (Jump Start Records, www.jumpstartrecords.com)
Coming out of America’s heartland, Springfield, Illinois,
Attic Salt are back with their sophomore LP. The record contains
ten songs of great, melodic poppy music, right on the edge
between pop punk and indie pop. In comparison to 2017’s
self-titled debut, the sound here is somewhat cleaner and
more mature, but no less exciting. Guitarists Alyssa Currie
and Andy Harmon are still there, taking turns on lead vocals,
providing a welcome variety in sound texture. The melodies
are bouncy, the guitar sound jangly and big, creating a wall
of sound that surrounds you and hugs you. Favorite song is
“Mud,” which opens with acoustic guitar and Currie
singing depressing lyrics about being in a rut. “We
still hang out at the same bars / Still talking about weather
/ Driving in all our shit cars / Pray for something better
/ Sometimes you call it a night / So I close out and head
home / Sometimes we wake up together / It makes us feel more
alone.” I mean, how depressing is that? After the initial
verses, the full band comes in, Currie’s vocals still
sounding glum amidst the brightness of the instrumentals.
It’s one of the things pop punk does best: putting a
happy face on the shittiest of life experiences, and this
song is a prime example of how it’s done. I also really
like the opener, the incongruously titled, “Last Song.”
Currie’s vocals really shine here, and the tough guitars
manage to sound sweet and sparkly. And “Fool 4 U”
has a nice grunge feel mixed in with this song about longing
for a connection with someone else. The guitars play a simple
repeating line consisting of just a couple of chords, deep
and loud, while Currie sings about being alone and wanting
to take a chance on love, even knowing it might end up leaving
her heartbroken. Great stuff.
 CHRISTIAN
SINGLES – Maybe Another Time (Mt. St. Mtn., wwwmtstmtn.com)
Rob I. Miller, the Oakland-based musician who is known for
Mall Walk and Blues Lawyer, is releasing his debut solo LP
under the Christian Singles moniker. The songs were written
in the early days of the pandemic stay-at-home orders, but
the songs are not a reflection of that, or even of the mass
protests for racial justice and police reform that has held
the nation in its grips since the late spring. It was the
return of his father’s cancer that caused Miller to
take stock, dredging up unresolved issues and bringing a sense
of urgency to try to bring about a resolution, or at least
articulate them. The nine songs that resulted speak about
the difficult questions we all face when it comes to family
and forgiveness. The music makes generous use of acoustic
guitar and electronics, and many of the songs are attractively
moody. Some get noisy or dissonant. These sorts of songs are
my favorites on this record. Such is the case with the opening
track, “Bury.” Starting out quietly with just
acoustic guitar and vocals, drums, reverb, and glimmering
electronics are added. As the song continues to build we get
a wall of noise from the synths, distortion overloading, even
as the glimmery mood of the electronics and the smooth vocals
continue underneath. The lyrics are a direct reference to
questions of familial relationships and buried feelings. It’s
an extremely effective way to open the LP. “My memory
of you is in the junk drawer of my mind,” begins the
next track, “Junk Drawer.” “’Cause
all that stuff that we went through is the stuff I don’t
want to find.” It’s a reference to how we all
try to bury bad feelings, things we don’t care to revisit.
As another song about difficulties of relating to one’s
family members, “Junk Drawer” has a cool, laid
back feel, with reverb on the drums, acoustic and electric
guitar and keyboards, with the synths interjecting some interesting
bleeps. It’s pretty and sad sounding at the same time,
like being depressed while sitting on the beach of a tropical
island. I like the lope of “Keep Your Head Down,”
and its lonely hollow sound. Toward the end of the track after
the lyrics are done, we hear an answering machine message,
presumably from Miller’s father, apologizing multiple
times for missing an earlier call, and perhaps for other things,
asking to get together. “A Dream Ends Without Starting”
has a deep gospel folk sound focused on acoustic guitar, and
a Bob Dylan twang in the vocals. It has a great driving feel,
like a train song, moving ever forward with huge momentum.
“Nothing is new, I know I shouldn’t worry / But
when you leave it’s always in a hurry,” sings
Miller, possibly referencing the difficulty of making a connection
with his father. And I really like the penultimate song, “By
Design.” It starts out quietly, with keyboards and vocals,
but there are unsettled electronics making noise in the background,
sounding like thousands of frogs at night, growing more insistent
as the song progresses. But it’s when we get to the
middle that things explode and get really good. The drums
and keyboards get loud, overloaded and distorted, with the
vocals and acoustic guitar underneath. There’s a sense
of chaos, but with an order at the center of it, just as even
within the chaos of broken trust in a family, there are still
those bonds that hold us together lurking underneath. The
closer is “Back The Way I Came,” and it’s
got some unsettled twang to it, a country folk tune that’s
gotten turned around. The odd effects are pretty cool. It
took me a few listens for this record to sink in, and I’m
really glad I stuck with it, because it’s worth it.
 DEATH
VALLEY GIRLS – Under the Spell of Joy (Suicide Squeeze
Records, www.suicidesqueeze.net)
They aren’t from Death Valley (they’re from LA)
and they’re not all girls (there’s one man in
this band of mostly women). Nonetheless, Death Valley Girls
provide something unique. Imagine mixing dark goth, dream
pop, light power pop, and garage rock and roll. The opening
track, “Hypnagogia,” is a great example of the
darker side of Death Valley Girls. Everything about it says,
“mysterious,” from the reverb to the swirling
atmospheric keyboards, the wailing saxophone pulled to the
background, and the arcane unison vocals slowly rising in
volume and anger. Hypnagogia is that space between sleep and
wakefulness, and is an apt name for the feelings evoked by
this track. Most of the other tracks are quite different from
that opener, featuring a cross between pop and garage. Like
“Hold My Hand,” a song that bounces and has pop
hooks like a good power pop song, but it also has the feel
of a classic garage rock song, courtesy of the keyboards.
When we get to the close of the song, things get big and dreamy,
too. The title track blends garage rock with some of that
dark mysteriousness, the keyboards, reverb, and sax vying
for dominance. “Bliss Out” is a favorite, with
sweet pop melding with edgy garage, making it a favorite.
As the track comes to a close it slows, and sounds almost
like an Angelo Badalamente song from Twin Peaks, getting retro
and dreamy. The aptly named “Universe” has a huge,
expansive sound, full of dreamy wonderment. Occasionally the
songs turn into a bit of a jam, like on “10 Day Miracle
Challenge,” which is also the hardest garage rock song
of the LP. And “I’d Rather Be Dreaming”
has a retro feel, a pleading quality like some of the 1950s
early rock and roll songs. There’s enough variety in
these songs, yet enough cohesiveness, to make this a pretty
good listen.
 JOE
GIDDINGS – Better From Here (Kool Kat Records, www.koolkatmusik.com)
Kool Kat’s giving a physical release to this 2016 digital
only release, and the first since Giddings’ 2014 collection
of covers. The dozen songs here mix power pop, a show tune
sensibility, hints of mid period Beatles-esque aesthetic,
some good ol’ rock and roll, and a heavy dose to 1970s
AM radio. There are harmonized vocals aplenty, reminding me
heavily of the bygone era of bubblegum pop. The title track
is one that brings show tunes to mind, as it’s got a
very theatrical sort of sound. It’s a classic introductory
kind of track, and it even references The Beatles in its lyrics.
“Amity Horror” has plenty of bounce, and the synth
gives it a sparkly sound. The deeply multi-tracked harmonized
vocals give it that bubblegum pop sound, but it’s got
a glam-power-pop edge to it, too. Favorite songs include “Tin
Foil Crush,” a rockin’ tune with crunchy guitars
and some nice pop hooks. The harmonized vocals, too, give
it that retro AM radio sound. “Rock and Roll”
is even harder-edged in places, but still definitely pop.
I like the odd key signatures the guitars go through, trying
to make the song sound tougher, even as the melody and vocals
are lighter and poppier. It’s an interesting contrast.
And the contrast between the smooth vocals and jangly chorus
with the edgy guitars in the verses is nice. I’m not
quite as thrilled with “Always Raining Somewhere,”
which has a country flair to it, with slide guitar and organ.
It’s one kind of rock and roll I could never get into.
And “Brand New Day” has a down-home beat against
jangly 60s pop guitars that’s a little jarring. Overall,
the songs here aren’t going to set the world on fire,
but they are solid pop rock.
 LOST
IN SOCIETY – Love and War (Wiretap Records, www.wiretaprecords.com)
Asbury Park, NJ punk stalwarts Lost In Society aren’t
letting a little thing like a pandemic slow them down. After
releasing a Clash tribute EP earlier this summer, they’re
back with a five-song EP. These songs are raucous, great stuff,
really strong edgy pop punk. I absolutely love the opening
track. “All Is Fair,” which has big, bright, striding
guitars, and gives the EP it’s name. “All is fair
in love and war / So I don’t wanna be so fair no more,”
sings Zach Moyle, with a pleading, gravelly voice. Politics
and current events play a part in the lead single, “We
Want Change.” “We Want Change basically encapsulates
our current frustration and outrage at what is going on in
our country right now,” says Moyle. “We’re
seeing a system that supports violence against marginalized
groups and doesn’t hold their peers accountable for
their actions.” And the powerfully dark punk song opens
with the question to police, “How does it feel, living
with impunity? / So quick to shoot, never time to take the
blame?” The song points the damning finger at cops for
their ties to white supremacist organizations, and the huge
gang vocals throughout the song demand “We want change!
We want change! We want fucking change!” The instrumentals
are fairly simple, but provide a strong base (and the bass
is strong here, too) for the important lyrics. I like the
way “Prescribed Paranoia” blends punk and grunge,
sort of in the way The Dirty Nil does, but in a way that sounds
more raw. Likewise, the slower closing track, “Stubborn,”
is a slower, grungier one that rocks, and I could easily hear
this as a Dirty Nil tune. I had not heard this band before,
even though they’ve been around since 2004. But I definitely
will be watching for them now, because this is a great record.
 WORKING
MEN’S CLUB (Heavenly Recordings, www.heavenlyrecordings.com)
Announced on the eve of the pandemic lockdown and originally
due to come out last June, Working Men’s Club’s
self-titled debut LP is finally seeing release, some four
months after its originally intended date. And it’s
obvious upon listening to these ten songs that the Yorkshire
teenagers that make up the band have old souls, because the
music contained herein is a throwback to 1980s new-wave dance
pop and post punk. The mechanical sounds of drum beats and
electronic keyboards echo the industrial beat of the factories
and steel mills that employed so many in the north of England
and are largely shut now. Vocals are mostly spoken in a deadpan,
as much of the bands of the genre did it, with only occasional
singing. Guitars punctuate the synthesizers with a funky sound
to help you get down. I’m reminded of early post-punk
bands, like The Pop Group or Dalek I Love You, that experimented
with mixing dance beats, synths, and a punk aesthetic. “A.A.A.A.”
has a huge synth sound, with deep rumbling bass, buzzy melodic
line, and a strong mechanized backbeat. Vocals also sound
synthetic, distorted and robotic. It’s like taking that
early post punk and mashing it up with more modern industrial
dance music, giving it a heavier darker feel. “John
Cooper Clarke” is an homage to the English performance
poet of the punk era, and features some great funky guitars
reminding me of the sound of Tackhead, the industrial hip-hop
group featuring Keith LeBlanc, Doug Wimbish, Skip McDonald,
and producer Adrian Sherwood. “White Rooms and People,”
with its disco beat and guitars, with spacey synths and spoken
vocals hammers home the post punk sound. I really like the
uncompromising “Be My Guest; its pounding rhythms and
raging guitar are relentless, and the synths provide the sound
of a thousand lost souls. “Cook A Coffee” is different
from a lot of the tracks because it makes more sparing use
of synths and more use of angry angular guitars. I do like
this blast from the past of an LP, but I could have done without
the twelve and a half minute jam at the end of the album.
The idea started out well enough, but it just extended needlessly.
But if you like early 80s post punk mashed up with hip-hop
and industrial, give this a spin.
 BOB
MOULD – Blue Hearts (Merge Records, www.mergerecords.com)
I’m going to start this with full disclosure. Hüsker
Dü is one of my all-time favorite bands. Some of their
songs are among my all-time favorite songs. The way they bridged
hardcore punk and melodic indie rock was groundbreaking. I
even bought and enjoyed Mould’s early solo stuff. But
most of his later output didn’t really do that much
for me. I know, heresy, but it just lacked the aggressiveness
I needed from Mould’s music. I drifted away. Until 2020,
with the current multiple crises facing our country, it seems
Mould has found his anger again, and when he released the
single “American Crisis” and announced this LP,
I got excited to hear his music for the first time in a couple
of decades. And here we are now, and “Blue Hearts”
is Mould’s best work since the late 1980s.
The opening acoustic track, “Heart on My Sleeve,”
is a perfect way to open this LP, with an emotional plea,
listing off the ills that are doing nothing but growing
more intense with time. The deep sadness and frustration
come through in the vocals, as Mould’s voice cracks
a couple of times. And then the album explodes with “Next
Generation.” The song is exciting and powerful, Mould’s
voice raging the way it used to, his guitar creating a wall
of sound that impossibly jangles. The real rage gets turned
on for the lead single, the aforementioned “American
Crisis.” Mould literally screams as the song opens,
and cries out, “I never thought I’d see this
bullshit again / To come of age in the ‘80s was bad
enough / We were marginalized and demonized / I watched
a lot of my generation die.” Those who do not learn
from history are doomed to repeat it, and so we are here,
but it’s even worse now, as we’ve become a nation
of armchair activists. “We wake up every day to see
a nation in flames / We click and we tweet / And we spread
these tales of blame,” Mould says, with a damning
tone. The fact that the generation that fought so hard for
change 40 years ago has now been made complacent is an intolerable
thought, but something that gets turned on us in the glaring
light of truth. The strongest lines come at the close of
the song: “Silence was death / Never forget / Silence
was death / Silence.” It’s a call to action
like no other.
“Fireball” comes next, and it’s one of
my favorites of the LP. It’s another rager, cacophonous
guitars pummeling us with noisy melody, Mould’s vocals
spitting venom more effectively than ever. The backing vocals
in the chorus glide smoothly in contrast to the leads, and
as the track comes to a conclusion, and the bedlam of the
instruments is rapidly faded out, save for a bit of guitar
feedback, those backing vocals are cranked up to reveal
the sound of a chorale in cathedral, with voices echoing
off the walls. It sends chills up my spine. “Forecast
of Rain” is a slower song, less noisy, musically,
but just as damning, lyrically. It lays bare the hypocrisy
of the “religious right,” asking a question
of the Almighty: “This love thy neighbor thing, does
it apply to all mankind? / Or only those who fit neatly
inside your narrow lines?” Turning to those who call
themselves the true believers, Mould exposes them for the
charlatans they are: “My truth is different than your
distortions and disguised interpretations twisting the words
of ancient times.” These so-called Christians reinterpret
passages from the Bible that they can twist to suit their
political ends while ignoring other parts that do not meet
their needs. The “forecast of rain” the title
alludes to is the forty days of rain needed to cleanse the
earth anew.
Other tracks I really like include “Siberian Butterfly,”
“Racing to the End,” and “Little Pieces.”
These are tracks that mix bouncy pop and hard-edged guitar
noise, the combination that made the Hüskers such a
great band. And that’s one of the things that make
Blue Hearts such a great record, too. That, and the words,
the explosive fury. These make this album one of the best
and one of the most important of 2020.
 LYDIA
LOVELESS – Daughter (Honey, You're Gonna Be Late Records,
lydialoveless.bandcamp.com)
Alt-country artist Lydia Loveless has ended her four-year
hiatus with “Daughter,” her first studio LP since
2016’s “Real.” The album documents a period
of intense change in Loveless’ life, including divorce
and moving away from her lifelong home of Columbus, Ohio.
The album title refers to a growing movement of feminism in
the country that includes billboards along roadsides “imploring
people not to hurt women because they were somebody’s
daughter or sister or mother,” says Loveless. After
her divorce she was living as an individual for the first
time, having jumped from her teen years right to marriage.
That, with her family turmoil and lack of maternal impulses,
defining herself as a daughter or sister did not give her
comfort.
“Alt-country” isn’t really an adequate
genre description for the music Loveless makes; there’s
definitely an indie pop element to it, as well. Think indie
music with a twang. The songs are uniformly heartfelt and
emotional. There’s nothing light and bouncy; it’s
all pretty deep introspective stuff. Take “Love Is
Not Enough,” one of the lead singles. I think it may
be my favorite of the album; with its jangly guitars it
has a retro power pop feel blended with the country twang
of Loveless’ vocals. The lyrics are pretty devastating,
about being in significantly different places in a relationship.
“Tell me how it feels to always see everything in
a major key,” the song asks, “When I’m
drowning in ennui.” “Love is not enough / I
wonder if it ever was / I shouldn’t have to break
you down to build me up” is the refrain. It’s
a recognition that relationships have to be on equal footing
to be successful, that just being in love isn’t enough.
The other lead single, “Wringer,” seems to be
an acceptance by Loveless of her role in her breakup. “How
did it come to this / Dividing of possessions? / Only reason
it got this far is your / Childish obsession / With everything
you thought I’d be / But could not deliver / All that
loving me ever did was run you through the wringer.”
But when that last line comes around again, it’s turned
around, to signify that a relationship is two people, and
its success or failure relies on both: “You give the
sweetest kisses dear / But you leave the stinger / All that
loving you ever did was run me through the wringer.”
The music on this one has an almost disco dance beat to
it, smoothly strummed guitars with a hint of funkiness.
“Never” is another track with a dance beat to
it after its otherworldly intro with piano and synth. It’s
a song of apology and acceptance. “And I know that
I’m not ever gonna get you back / Let me tell you
that I’m sorry ‘cause I owe you that,”
explains the chorus. Piano sadly plinks out some chords,
as the guitars jangle, the drums keeping a steady dance
beat, and through it all, Loveless gives her emotional confession.
“When You’re Gone” is another of the jangly
guitar tracks, and combing that with the deep bass notes
give the song an epic pop feel. In this case, being gone
refers to death, something that comes for all of us eventually.
“When you’re gone there will be no healing,
no moment of clarity / You will be dead, there will be no
reeling out into the street / ‘Cause there was never
anything I could do,” sings Loveless, declaring the
finality of death. And I adore the penultimate track “September,”
a quiet ballad with piano and strings. The backing vocals
on the chorus will send chills down your spine.
No, alt-country doesn’t do Loveless justice. Her
music is richer and more complex than that simple moniker
would imply.
 FULLER
– Crush Me (www.listentofuller.com)
It’s alt pop. No, it’s dance pop. As the little
girl says in the TV commercial and now famous meme, “Why
not both?” On his debut EP, J.P. Welsh is the man behind
Fuller. Relocated from Austin, Texas to Los Angeles at the
start of 2019, Welsh set to work with producer Eric Palmquist
to lay down the tracks that form this record. The tracks blend
a strong dance club beat with indie rock instrumentation and
indie pop hooks to create a fun sounding upbeat record. The
lyrics are not so bubbly, though, with themes of bad romance,
and anxiety. My favorite track is the opener, “Favorite
Poison.” It’s so sparkly and fizzy and fun, and
the lyrics liken one’s romantic partner to the titular
substance. “I stay out too late with you / Get too drunk
in front of you / I can’t tell my friend the truth /
You’re a bad habit and I’m a bad boyfriend”
says one verse. The title track has the strongest dance beat,
with a hard pounding bass, but the melody is smooth and poppy.
The lyrics are full of anxiety about lack of self-worth. “Take
a shot at my soul, take a shot at my soul / it’s not
worth much anymore / and I’m not one to deny it, so
/ If you steal my heart, if you steal my heart / You should
tear it apart / But let me down easy.” And “Sink
or Swim” continues the blend of dance and pop, this
time adding an element of dreaminess in the production. “Yr
So Retro” tries to add a harder rock and roll edge to
the mix, and I don’t think this recipe works quite as
well; the dark rock, dance beats, and dream pop guitar seem
to clash too much. “Change My Mind” feels pop
radio ready, and normally that would be as turn-off for me.
But there’s just something about Fuller that I really
like. The production might be slick and big-time ready, but
the melodies and hooks are solidly indie, and Fuller has hooked
me.
 MUCK
AND THE MIRES – Take Me Back to Planet Earth (Rum
Bar Records, www.rumbarrecords.com)
Just before the pandemic stay at home orders were issued,
Boston garage rockers Muck and the Mires released a single
from what was to be a forthcoming LP, due out this summer.
Perhaps COVID-19 had other ideas. But instead, in this autumnal
age, we get six new songs in one EP, all recoded during the
lockdown. The title track is pure retro early 60s fun, with
lyrics seemingly inspired by grade B sci-fi flicks of the
era. I love the jangle of “6 O’clock,” a
song with more pop than garage, but still 60s retro style.
It’s a self-assured song about not needing to make plans
on a Friday night, because he’s already got his “6
o’clock baby” to stay in with. As we get to “Hey
Sunshine,” the music continues to get poppier and lighter,
yet still with that solid 60s sound in the vein of the Beatles,
but somewhat rougher and gruffer. “She Blocked My Number”
blends garage and pop for a fun one, and the lyrics speak
to modern problems of telecommunications features introduced
much more recently than what the music style would imply.
The most timely is the closer, “Zoom Breakup,”
a bouncy garage pop tune about how much better it is to break
up over a zoom meeting than by writing a letter. I wonder
how many Zoom breakups there have been since the lockdown
started. We may not have gotten the LP (yet) but this EP is
great fun.
 RYAN
AND PONY – Moshi Moshi (Pravda Records, www.pravdamusic.com)
Here comes the debut LP from Ryan and Pony, a new project
featuring Ryan Smith and Pony Hixon-Smith, both of The Melismatics
(Ryan is also a member of another well-known Minneapolis band,
Soul Asylum), and Peter Anderson (Run Westy Run, The Ocean
Blue) on drums. On this debut LP, the trio mix dream-pop,
indie, EDM and post-punk, in different ratios on each song,
to create a unique sound that varies considerably from track
to track. After the dancey dreamy bubblegum opener, “Starry
Eyes,” “Start Making Sense” has a hard-edged
guitar sound, giving this track a grittier rock and roll feel,
though the contrasting vocals are smooth. “Fast As I
Can” is, for the most part, a relaxed easy pop track
that’s somewhat forgettable, except that just past the
halfway mark there’s an awesome bridge with some great
jazzy improvisation on different types of horns, and I wish
there was more of that. I do like the retro pop of “Be
Still My Baby,” the closely harmonized vocals reminiscent
of 60s pop, and “Cinematic” is aptly titled. It’s
got a big sound like something from a movie soundtrack, crossed
with Human League (who remembers 80s synth pop?). First Night
can’t decide if it wants to be dream pop or indie rock,
and I love that about it. It’s got a driving beat and
raucous guitars, but it also has plenty of reverb, cool synths,
and that wall of sound. Like some of the other songs, this
one has a bridge past the halfway mark that’s completely
different from the rest of the track, in this case it’s
almost metallic guitars and a head banging beat. “Take
It Or Leave It” sounds like it’s from a totally
different band, being a real rocker without any dream, pop,
or EDN pretense. It’s indie rock mixed with power pop
and glam, and it’s definitely a favorite. And the intro
to “Come Find Me” is gorgeous classical music
played on rock and roll instruments, leading into an incongruously
energetic pop ballad. The variety is breathtaking, but you
can (for the most part) still tell this is all from the same
band. This makes for a good listen.
 SHY
BOYS – Talk Loud (Polyvinyl Records, www.polyvinylrecords.com)
Shy Boys play smooth, sweet, bubblegum pop, influenced by
pop music of the 80s, but making use of synthesizers rather
than traditional guitar and bass. The harmonized vocals are
silken and the music is airy and light. The synths play repetitive
melodic lines in a mechanical manner, as the fragile sounding
vocals glide along. After a number of songs all in the moderate
tempo category with the same feel, we get “The Pool,”
which starts out with a gorgeous lounge piano until the synths
and drums come in, and I’m disappointed and long for
that piano, as the track becomes more of the same, albeit
with softer and less robotic keyboard sounds. “Trash,”
one of the lead singles, begins with a different sound, with
deep dark bass synth and unison vocals that sound menacing
– until it turns into synth-pop again. I like synths,
and I like bubblegum pop sometimes. But I just can’t
get into the overly insubstantial songs on this LP.
 SURFER
BLOOD – Carefree Theater (Kanine Records, www.kaninerecords.com)
A band plagued with tragedy and controversy, Surfer Blood
are back with their first LP of new original material since
2017’s “Snowdonia.” After front man John
Paul Pitts’ arrested for domestic assault, their brief
career on major label Warner Brothers’ Sire Records
imprint was over. But the band continued on indie label Joyful
Noise. Pitts initially pled not guilty, then did a “plea
and pass” deal in which he attended a program designed
to prevent a recurrence, and after completion the following
spring, charges were dropped. Pitts has maintained his innocence
throughout, and has not apologized for his actions. Today,
that would be the end of a band, but a mere seven years ago
it was business as usual for a band. Later, tragedy struck
again with the death of original guitarist Thomas Fakete’s
death from a rare form of cancer. This occurred shortly before
the release of “Snowdonia.” Now, more than three
years later, the band has returned to Kanine Records, the
band that released their first records more than a decade
ago. And it’s… OK. It’s smooth, even-keeled
alternative rock. Oh, sure, some of the songs are better than
average. I do like the dark wave “Karen,” with
its dance beat and 80s Manchester sound, dominated by the
prominent bass. “Unconditional” has a retro post-punk
pop sound, kind of reminding me of The Smiths, and the organ
warms things up nicely. And the gently plucked acoustic guitar
in the closing track, “Rose Bowl,” is lovely,
especially at the very end of the track. But other than these
moments, the songs are fine, but just too relaxed and don’t
grab my attention. There’s just out of the ordinary.
Just smooth, steady, uneventful songs.
 NICK
FRATER – Fast and Loose (Big Stir Records, www.bigstirrecords.com)
Growing up in the 1970s, I was exposed to a ton of top 40
AM radio, the music of Burt Bacharach, and all the bubblegum
music you can imagine. If Nick Frater was writing and recording
these songs 50 years ago, he’d be ruling the airwaves
along side Mr. B, whose easy pop rock hits “Raindrops
Keep Fallin’ On My Head,” “Say a Little
Prayer,” “I’ll Never Fall In Love Again,”
and more defined a decade. Frater’s music is a little
edgier than Bacharach’s hits, but not too much. “Let’s
Hear It For Love” is the first real “song,”
after the short instrumental intro title track. No, it’s
not a cover of the Smoking Popes’ great pop punk crooner,
though it does seem to use the idea behind that song’s
lyrics and even a little bit of the melody in the chorus.
Songs like “Luna,” with its organ and lightly
driving rhythm, have subtle hints of garage rock influence,
but the smoothness of the harmonized vocals are pure light
pop. “Cocaine Gurls” is a song about trying to
give up all the “bad things” that come from the
fast and loose rock and roll world, but getting pulled back
in by the titular characters. It’s a typically bouncy
pop with a little bit of power, but not quite enough to push
it over the top. “California Waits” is the epitome
of the 70s sugary pop sound, even including some glockenspiel,
and the guitar tone is spot on for the style. “Would
You Like To Go” sounds like it could have come from
the Sesame Street kids’ TV show, with a simple melody
and its sweet message of friendship. I do like “Buy
You Time,” which has a bit of retro doo-wop sound to
it, and features piano, synths, jangly guitar, bass and drums
in the mix. It’s got a strong back beat and an epic
quality to it. But most of this LP just doesn’t have
enough oomph. I was never a fan of 70s bubblegum pop.
 MERCY
MUSIC – Nothing In The Dark (Wiretap Records, www.wiretaprecords.com)
This is a simple review to write. This record is, in a word,
outstanding! The music is melodic, poppy, and edgy, all rolled
up into one. The hooks are prodigious, and the sound is bigger
than the three-piece they are. This band deserves to be much
bigger than they are right now. “Tuesday” is one
helluva song. The hooks are awesome, the melody pretty, the
playing and singing powerful – all the best put together
into one song. It’s pop punk, it’s power pop,
and it’s got some nice grunge touches, too. It’s
one of the best songs of the year so far, to my ears. And
the title track is another favorite. It’s just guitarist-vocalist
Brendan Scholz playing acoustic guitar and singing, but the
song is just so nice. Scholz can really write some great melodies.
And those lyrics are so…sad, a song about aloneness.
“When I go out I’ll be sure that I go out alone
/ We can be two lonely people the way it was before.”
Make me cry, Brendan. “Tell Me I’m Wrong”
blends the angst of emo, the melodic sensibilities of pop,
and the heaviness of grunge. The result is a strong rock and
roll song that you can’t decide if you want to dance
to it, cry to it, or head-bang to it. The closing track, “Even
If I’ve Lost,” is a real banger, too. You’re
going to want to get up and jump around when this one comes
on. It’s fast and bouncy and a ton of fun. This is a
strong contender for the 2020 Best of list.
PURPLE
WITCH OF CULVER – Trig (Loantaka Records, www.loantaka-records.com)
This is a new single from a new group, featuring saxophonist
Sarah Safaie and producer/ multi-instrumentalist Evan Taylor.
The track blends jazz, funk, hip-hop, chill-out EDM, and spoken
word beat poetry. A continuous pounding drumbeat interlocks
with the funky bass, and tenor sax interjects with some smooth
lines. Safaie’s deadpan vocals give us the words, and
a chill keyboard throws out some descending chords from time
to time. This isn’t typical Jersey Beat indie music,
but it’s certainly worthy of your attention.
 TEENAGE
HALLOWEEN (Don Giovanni Records, www.dongiovannirecords.com)
Fall is upon us, and it’s pumpkin spice season again.
Thankfully, Teenage Halloween, though named for the season’s
favorite holiday, doesn’t have any of the blandness
of the ubiquitous flavoring. They call themselves a power
pop band, but they aren’t. As much as I love good power
pop, Teenage Halloween sell themselves short with that description,
because the band’s sound is richer, more complex, and
more varied than would be implied by that simple genre label.
That makes their debut LP a winner. And yes, it’s their
debut. Even though the band has been kicking around since
2014, this is their first LP. But it was worth the wait. Vocalist
Luke Hendericks belts out the words with a folk punk power
and angst – but there’s no folk punk on the record!
It’s got that gravelly but higher pitched quality I
most associate with folk punk. Some of the songs have a great
epic quality, such as the opener, “Stationary.”
The song is expansive, yet raucous. It’s a great introduction
to the band and leaves me wanting to listen to more. I really
love the fast and loud “Holes,” which has punk
undertones, but has more of the sound of an indie pop song,
with great melodic hooks. And “SMH City, too, has great
power and great melody. Hendericks’ vocals really set
the tone for this song, giving it a scratchy edge and an urgency.
But that also comes from the pounding drums, thrumming bass,
and the screaming keyboards. “Summer Money” has
bright sound from Brandon Hakim’s saxophone that gives
the song a nice jangle, even as it has a retro rock and roll
beat. And I like the jazzy sound with bass, drums, and piano
in the closing track, “Turn Right, Goes Straight,”
as well as the clanging guitars,
The label’s write-up about the band on their website
says that Teenage Halloween’s sound is “rooted
in abundance,” and that’s an apt description.
The band has a big sound, and, as their bio states, “”lyrics
that grapple with vulnerability, community, extreme existentialism,
mental illness, and gender euphoria.” I especially
love that last term, as it juxtaposes with the condition
of “gender dysphoria.” Dysphoria is a defined
as a state of unease or dissatisfaction with life, while
euphoria is joy and celebration. This record was originally
slated to come out during the summer, and Teenage Halloween
were scheduled to play The Fest 19 in October. 2020 hasn’t
been kind to any bands. Hopefully 2021 will bring an end
to the pandemic, a return of live music, and a reinvigorated
Teenage Halloween, ready to tour, will be coming to a club
near you.
 TOBIN
SPROUT – Empty Horses (Fire Records, www.firerecords.com)
Tobin Sprout should be well known to most Jersey Beat readers.
He was a longtime member of Guided By Voices, penning some
of that band’s songs. With GBV’s Robert Pollard
he founded Airport 5, releasing a couple of LPs and numerous
singles. And “Empty Horses” is his seventh solo
LP. The ten songs here, for the most part, feel dusty and
lonesome, yielding the feeling of Sprout as troubadour, wandering
from place to place, singing his songs and telling his tales.
Part of this comes from his mastery of lo-fi recording. It’s
not so lo-fi as to be distracting, and not so slick as to
feel overproduced. It ends up with a nice DIY feel, as someone
doing the best he can with the tools he has. I particularly
love the piano sound he gets; it sounds like a home recording,
slightly distant, sad and lonesome. Part of it, too, comes
from Sprout’s vocal style; it has the weary and worn
sound of someone who’s seen and done way too much, and
needs to talk about it. There’s a decent variety in
the songs, though they’re all distinctly singer-songwriter
fare. There are some simple acoustic guitar and vocal songs,
the best of which is the simple “Every Sweet Soul.”
It’s a pure, gorgeous song, just acoustic guitar and
some overdubbed vocals and a pretty melody. Another great
one is “Antietam,” with acoustic guitar and wood
block percussion. It’s a song living a simple life growing
up amidst a sea of troubles, then joining the fight for freedom
and making the ultimate sacrifice. There are songs with electric
guitar, and some with slide guitar too, giving an Americana
alt-country feel. “Breaking Down” is a pretty
ballad in this category about the call of the road, the need
to go places, both literally and metaphorically. I really
like “The Man I Used to Know,” one of the two
“rock” songs of the LP. The heavy reverb and guitar
tone give it that lonely dusty sound. The other is “All
In My Sleep,” which has more of an indie rock sound
than the others, with buzzy guitar effects. As the song evolves
it adds piano and slide guitar, becoming a bit of an instrumental
jam. That piano features prominently in songs such as “On
Golden Rivers,” which also includes acoustic guitar
and strings (or string synth). The overdubbed backing vocals
are slightly out of sync with each other, giving it a “realistic”
sound of a group of singers gathered together, singing for
themselves. And the beautiful closing track is just piano
and vocals, “No Shame.” It’s a short one,
with a song that warns, “crawl away, you’re in
danger boy,” and then declares, “there’s
no shame on you, no shame.” There is no shame in self-preservation.
Though all the songs could qualify as ballads, and some of
the songs veer uncomfortably close to spiritual topics, there’s
still an honesty in these songs that make them appealing.
 BRIAN
CULLMAN – Winter Clothes (Sunnyside Records, www.sunnysiderecords.com)
Brian Cullman, formerly of OK Savant, is releasing a solo
LP, but it’s one that includes collaboration with a
number of other musicians, including Jimi Zhivago, who passed
away in late 2018 during work on this project. It took Cullman
a year to come back to these songs and complete the album.
The result is definitely singer-songwriter fare, but there’s
a lot of diversity from song to song, with some having a Bob
Dylan sort of vibe, others being more power pop, some adult
contemporary, and others country-folk. The variety is something
I personally praise every time I encounter it, and it keeps
the listener engaged. Favorites include “Down Down Down,”
a bluesy folk-rock jam that reminds me of Little Feat. “Wrong
Birthday” is the one that brings Dylan to mind pretty
quickly, or maybe a tamed Mick Jagger, with a song about being
at the wrong place in life for things to work out the way
you want. Speaking of the wrong place in life, “As A
Man Gets Older” is a sad, lovely folk tune about how
our lives change as we age. Delicately plucked acoustic guitars
provide the primary instruments, along with electric bass,
and the subtle backing vocals and organ are gorgeous. The
previously released “New Year’s Eve” is
here, also with a strong Dylan influence, about looking for
love at the holidays. But my favorite track of the LP has
to be “Wrong Girl.” Despite opening with mandolin,
this is an unabashed power pop track, something that could
have come from the pen of Paul Collins (of The Nerves and
The Beat). If you take out the organ, mandolin, and slide
guitar, this would be at home in any rock and roll club in
the country. This is coming out at just the right time, because
this is going to be a great listen on those cold rainy fall
days.
 IN
PARALLEL – Fashioner (Wiretap Records, www.wiretaprecords.com)
This is a very different record than anything Wiretap has
put out to date. This isn’t punk; it’s not pop
punk. It’s big expansive music, synth heavy, dripping
with dreaminess. It’s bass heavy, and has a strong beat,
so in that sense it reminds me, in some superficial ways,
of early New Order, but like a less emphatic, more ethereal
version. There’s definitely an ‘80s vibe in the
melodies and synths, but the arrangements are more modern.
“Six Over Eight” has moments that are swirly,
though most of it features deep growling bass and darkness,
but with a gauzy silkiness floating above it. The title track,
which bears the subtitle, “No Exit,” has a distinct
dance beat to it, bringing up memories of those 80s bands
even more strongly, but tempered with a modern rock sensibility.
“Deep Dark” is an interesting one in that it blends
the synth-dream-pop style with a 2000s melodic emo style.
The music and vocals are big and the production feels slick.
Maybe a bit too slick. “Leave it With The Ghost”
has a very deliberate beat, but it’s not really a dancey
song. It starts out on the quiet side and builds, the grumbling
bass and drums working in unison to create an air of tension,
while the heavily reverbed guitar and vocals try to give a
sense of ease. ”Threat of Heaven” closes things
out, starting as a quiet dreamy anthem. Halfway through, it
explodes into cacophony, with the bass and drums still holding
the center, keeping things aligned amidst what is otherwise
a soundtrack to chaos. Noise and buzzing come from the synths
and the guitars, the level rising, the feedback growing. These
last two tracks are my favorite of the EP, probably because
they have the richest texture of the quintet of songs. Overall,
Fashioner is not the sort of record I would seek out, but
it has its moments.
 BLAKE
JONES – The Homebound Tapes (Big Stir Records, www.bigstirrecords.com)
Music has gotten quieter and more intimate during the pandemic
shutdown, as people turn to home recording without full band
arrangements. And that’s the case with the aptly titled
“The Homebound Tapes,” from Big Stir Records’
founding father, Blake Jones. The half dozen tracks here are
quite varied, even as they’re mostly acoustically based,
as are most new home recorded releases. The opening song,
“The Last Song of Summer,” comes at a perfect
time, as we reach September and Labor Day weekend. It’s
delicate acoustic guitar, bass, and Jones’ vocals singing
a Neil Young-like song celebrating the ending of summer and
farewells in general. “Do the Lockdown Bossa Nova”
is an awesome track that features guitar, various percussion
instruments, and a theremin playing the Latin inspired melody.
It’s quirky and eerie; you can imagine ghostly apparitions
dancing to the Brazilian beat. “Three Jerks in a Jeep”
is my favorite of the record. It’s an understated garage
rock and roll song that rocks out quietly, while providing
a biting satirical commentary on conservative complaints about
this summer’s protests. I like the folksy waltz, “Homebound,”
performed on acoustic guitar and mandolin. It’s a ballad
about pulling up roots and moving during the global pandemic
lockdown, and it’s a pretty song, but sad, as it speaks
of leaving everything you’ve known for years and driving
along empty roads and shuttered restaurants. It’s also
apparently the true story of Big Stir’s Rex Broome’s
parents, who did just that at the outset of the stay at home
orders. The bookend of “The Last Song of Summer”
is called, well, “The First Song of Summer,” and
it’s a lighthearted song that feels like it could come
from a stage show, all happy and a bit silly. “Make
Peace” ends the EP, and it’s an anthem to the
sentiment, as Blake pleads that we do just that. Electric
guitar, piano, and drums give the song the feel of a quiet
march. And marching for justice and peace has been a central
part of 2020. Six songs, six sounds, six sentiments, all around
current themes. What could be better?
 NOi!SE
– Welcome to Tacoma (Pirates Press Records, www.piratespressrecords.com)
Tacoma, Washington’s street punks dropped a surprise
EP! Not only is it a surprise in that it was unannounced,
it’s a surprise that this is an all acoustic record,
sounding nothing like their usual raucous selves. There are
four tracks here, acoustic versions of fan favorites. “Dull
The Pain,” from “The Real Enemy” LP, instead
of being the relentless pounding song it was on the album,
it’s a pretty Latin-influenced number that I could see
a punk mariachi band playing. The vocals come through like
never before, too, and are deep and rich. “So I Drift
Away,” which comes from the album “The Scars We
Hide,” isn’t as drastic of a transformation, as
it changes from a gritty street punk song into a gritty folk-punk
song. And those sumptuous vocals just make this work so well.
On the same LP, “Rank and File” is noisy and a
bit chaotic, but here it’s luscious jangly dark folk
punk. “Rising Tide” may be my favorite song of
theirs, from the album of the same name. It’s a great
punk anthem with challenging intervals for singing. Here it
transforms to a fast paced crooner of a song, with wondrous
Morrissey-like vocals (but without the controversy). And it’s
still my favorite. Yes, this EP is a surprise in more than
one way, and it’s a welcome surprise.
 SILENT
ERA – Rotate the Mirror (Nervous Intent Records, nervousintent.bigcartel.com)
From Oakland, CA, Silent Era plays melodic hardcore –
but not the kind of modern melodic hardcore you’re thinking
of, not the kind that borders on metal. This is the kind of
post hardcore that was being made in the 80s, and that guitar
tone! It’s a very 80s punk sound, reminding me a lot
of Boston’s The Proletariat. It’s also got a dose
of California surf punk guitar thrown in, too. The music is
speedy, melodic, hard-edged, and even bouncy! Vocals are powerful
and clear. Some of the tracks are more melodic, some are super
fast and crunchy. I like both. “Say It Again”
is incredibly intense, the proverbial fast and loud punk music,
and it’s a standout. “Unserving Lie” is
one of the poppiest songs you’ll hear all year, but
it’s also one of the fastest and most cracking. It makes
it one of my favorites of the LP. The same can be said about
“The Hook.” The band is super tight and these
tunes are really punchy. Strongly recommended!
 SOULSIDE
– This Ship (Dischord Records, www.dischord.com)
You have no idea how excited I was when Soulside announced
this new record. I loved Soulside back in the day, and during
their very short tenure they put out some excellent records
that are still among my favorites. When they announced their
reunion for a few special shows in conjunction with the release
of the DC punk documentary, “Salad Days,” I actually
bought a plane ticket to fly to DC to catch their two shows
at The Black Cat. I thought that was that, but they continued
to play, making their way across the USA where I caught them
again at The Casbah in San Diego, and they toured Europe.
It was while they were overseas that they found time to get
into the studio and record their first new music since 1989,
and the result is “This Ship,” a two-song 7”
single whose download comes with a third bonus song. And,
while you can still recognize these new songs as Soulside,
they don’t sound identical to the songs they last released
over thirty years ago. And that’s good, because bands
should continue to evolve and grow. The songs are melodic
and powerful, with post-hardcore touches. The title track
makes great use of guitar feedback and noise, yielding an
urgent feel, while the guitar, bass, and drums provide a retro
surf garage pop feel mixed with, of course, a DC post-hardcore
sound. Of course, the lyrics are a political and social commentary,
in this case likening society to a ship that we all need to
work together to right, lest it capsize. The B-side of the
vinyl release, “Madeleine Said,” has a bit of
a Jawbox/J Robbins feel to it, with jangly dissonance in the
guitars, but a slower, more melodic, gliding vocal line above
that. The bonus track is “Survival,” and the same
jangly noisy guitars are there, but the song has a bit more
of a pop melody. It seemed impossible at first, then just
unlikely. But now, Soulside are back. I hope this is a harbinger
of a new full length LP to come.
 BEAUTIFUL
DUDES – Nite Songs (Dowd Records, www.dowdrecords.com)
Following up from their 7” release earlier this year,
Beautiful Dudes return with a six-song EP of dark, yet varied
indie rock. The songs all have a melancholy running through
them, yet each sounds distinctly different from the others.
“Nothing But the Black” opens the EP with the
most raucous of the tracks and a very 80s post punk feel.
“Beverly Hills” is a little poppier with lovely
guitar distortion, in the same way that The Jesus and Mary
Chain used noise and pop melody. “Nite Nite” brings
metal and grunge to the table, and “I Don’t Ever
Want To Get Out Of Bed” is a morose ballad, the depression
and gloom palpable. “The Champion” closes the
EP with an epic cacophony. But my favorite is the penultimate
track, “Today Is Just Today.” It has an 80s retro
sound like the opener, but it’s quieter, poppier, and
with a gritty blend of surf and western. The guitar sound
reminds me a lot of the The Plugz’ “Reel 10,”
the music from the climax of the film “Repo Man.”
The EP is nicely cohesive while maintaining a good variety.
 CHASER
– Look Alive (www.chaserpunkrock.com)
Two new songs from SoCal skate punks Chaser. The songs are
speedy and melodic, with plenty of harmonized whoa-oh vocals.
The Orange County melodic punk sound is strong in this pair
of songs. Of the two, I think the B-side, “Found Myself
Again,” gets the edge. It’s bouncier and poppier,
and I like the crunchiness of the bass and guitars. And best
of all, 100% of the proceeds from the sale of this record
will be donated to four worthy organizations, Equal Justice
Initiative, Educational First Steps, Crisis Aid International,
and Surfrider Foundation. You get good music and you get to
help the cause.
 COLD
YEARS – Paradise (eOne Music, www.entertainmentone.com)
Paradise is the debut LP from Scottish band Cold Years. Hailing
from Aberdeen, on Scotland’s east coast, the band joke’s
that the album’s title is a sarcastic reference to their
hometown, which is decidedly not a paradise. Musically, the
band play big, melodic, emotion-filled music that lies somewhere
between pop punk and alterative rock. It’s odd, because
the slick production and alternative rock sort of stuff is
a sound I don’t normally go for, but Cold Years have
enough of an edge to their music, enough of an urgent sound,
that I’m digging this record. Ross Gordon’s vocals
are heartfelt, something you can hear clearly from the opening
track of the LP, “31.” It starts with just acoustic
guitar and vocals, and the vocals are raspy and pleading.
Songs that stand out for me include those that have more of
the pop punk edge to them. “Life With A View”
is one such song, with great striding guitars and pleading
vocals. “Breathe” has a post-hardcore feel mixed
into the smoother pop punk and alternative rock sounds that
gives this track a bit of an edge. “Burn The House Down”
is one of the most intense tracks, too, and it’s my
favorite of the bunch. It’s intense, but very melodic.
One thing I notice about many of the tracks is that they start
off with a harder, edgier sound, and as the song evolves the
often smooth out, moving more toward the alternative pop punk
sounds. I wish they would maintain that edgier sound throughout
the songs. “Too Far Gone” is the opposite, though,
starting more quietly and getting bigger, moving through a
slick alternative rock phase and moving to a jumpy, boisterous,
poppy section. And the closer, “Hunter,” is just
beautiful, an acoustic song with guitar and Gordon’s
earnest singing. Yeah, I kinda unexpectedly dig this record.
 GODCASTER
– Long Haired Locusts (Ramp Local, www.ramplocal.com)
Mix together 70s funk and pop and a large dose of experimentalism
and you get Godcaster! “Rising from the underground
river of primordial goo that runs between New York City and
Philadelphia,” as the band say, this is the band’s
debut LP.” And it’s explosive, right from the
get-go. The opening track, humorously titled, “Even
Your Blood Is Electric,” has the funky sounds of a 70’s
TV cop show theme song. One thing this song has that’s
a common thread throughout the album is the use of flute and
keyboards playing melodic lines in unison. It gives these
songs a bright tone, and emphasizes the 70s influence, whether
the tracks are funky or poppy. I love not just these songs,
but their titles, too. “Don’t Make Stevie Wonder,”
“Christ in Capsule Form,” “All the Feral
Girls in the Universe,” and “Rapturous Climax”
are just a few examples. I really enjoy the way “Apparition
of Mother Mary In My Neighborhood” oscillates between
odd, off-kilter pop, funk, and chaotic avant-garde. “Sassy
Stick Boy,” with its flute and what sounds like glockenspiel,
opens with the sweet sound of a Sesame Street vignette. The
bits of guitar wah-pedal in the background emphasize the 70s
nature of the track, and even the pretty harmonized vocals
have hints of a condescending tone that we get in kids’
music. Besides having a pun for a title, “Don’t
Make Stevie Wonder” has some great funk and cacophonous
experimentalism that’s a blast to listen to. “Christ
In Capsule Form” is way too short, but it’s a
glorious hymn, sung in choral form – or as close to
that as you get from this collection of oddball musicians.
“Escape From the Challenger Deep” is a gorgeous
quiet ballad that also sounds like something that could have
come from a twisted version of Sesame Street until the halfway
mark when it undergoes a transformation into something out
of a manic psychedelic science fiction soundtrack. “Sexy
Heffer” is a fun one that starts off as a simple off-kilter
funk track, but gets wilder and more chaotic as it goes. There’s
one song that’s borderline punk, and that’s the
manic “The Skull!!!” The music is as emphatic
as those three exclamation marks imply, with a speedy tempo,
edgy guitars, and urgent sounding synths. Man, this is crazy,
refreshingly different stuff. Recommended.
 NEW
WAY VENDETTA – Cough Cool b/w 1984 (On The Floor)
(www.facebook.com/newwayvendetta)
New Way Vendetta is a collective of pro-mask radicals with
links to Christian Death, The Jackalopes, Electric Frankenstein,
Cricketbows, Shadow Project, C.O.H., Kathedral, Rozz Williams,
The Empire Hideous and more. On this debut release they offer
up one cover and one original. The cover is, of course, that
of the famous Misfits tune. New Way Vendetta slow the song
a bit, add tons of atmospheric synths, making it sound more
like something from a dystopian science fiction film. Some
other interesting touches: the emphasis on the lyric “cover
your face” and the introductory bit with a synthesized
voice ordering people to wear a face covering and maintain
social distancing. The original track on the “virtual
B-side” focuses on dark synth driven pop and gang vocals.
The lyrics provide a warning: “Big Brother is watching
you / Keeping track of your every move.” It’s
obvious these mysterious figures are having a laugh. Laugh
along.
 PROTON
PACKS – Paradox (Mom’s Basement Records, momsbasementrecords.bigcartel.com)
Italian punks Proton Packs are back with their fourth full-length
LP, and their second coming out of Mom’s Basement. Proton
Packs are Ramones-core, and they also claim The Misfits, Lillingtons,
Head, and Iron Maiden as influences. I guess I can see most
of that. The music is big and chunky, with loads of chukka-chukka
guitars. The songs are dark, too, with most of them being
modal or in minor keys. Individually, the songs are decent
enough, with a skate punk vibe. But there’s too much
sameness throughout the 14 tracks. There’s no variation
in tempo, no variation in the sound. With maybe the exception
of “Business As Unusual,” which includes a synth,
providing at least a little something different with an 80s
new wave vibe underneath the punk rock. “The Mystery
Zone” also uses synth, but only in the opening seconds,
and here and there through the track. Other than that, there’s
no difference in the sound of this track and any of the others.
It’s hard to tell when one track starts and the next
one ends, other than the moment of silence between them. Now,
don’t get me wrong, Proton Packs are a good band. The
songs are powerful and energetic. But there’s just too
much sameness here to keep my attention over a 33-minute span.
 SATURDAY’S
HEROES – Turn Up The Music! (Lövely Records,
www.llyrecords.com)
Swedish punk-fucking-rock! This is melodic punk, with plenty
of power and pop, lots of big gang vocals, and a party atmosphere.
I love the way the lead vocals are belted out. “We’re
All Done” opens the album with a great street punk
vibe and an anthemic quality. This is the kind of song that
gets everyone in the club singing along and jumping around.
Several of the songs are big street punk anthems, too, and
I hear a warm organ in the background – something
that’s becoming more common with bands of this genre.
“Dead of Night” starts with a great classic
melodic punk sound reminding me of Youth Brigade from back
in the 80s, then speeds up to become skate punk track, going
back and forth between slower and faster paces, giving it
a nice varied texture. “Seven Seas” has a great
loping rock and roll feel, and I love the great big “This
Is The End,” a track that sounds as if it closes out
their live sets (or did before the pandemic). “Turn
Up The Music” closes the mini LP, and is a favorite,
with a bluesy rock and roll sound for the first half, then
turning into a raucous street punk anthem. This is fun stuff.
 THE
HAPPY FITS – What Could Be Better (www.thehappyfits.com)
Well, damn! Nothing beats a record where you can just tell
the band had a blast making it, and I can hear the joy throughout
the ten songs on The Happy Fits’ sophomore LP. The three-piece
is made up of guitar (Ross Montieth), drums (Luke Davis) and….cello?
(Calvin Langman). Although Langman takes on most of the lead
vocals, all three sing, and harmonize, providing a thick,
rich vocal sound. The opening track (and lead single) is oddly
not representative of the rest of the LP, sounding completely
different from any other song. But it’s still a ton
of fun. It’s “Go Dumb,” and it’s pretty
rocking garage. The only change I would make to it might a
slight increase in the tempo, but it’s got a huge sound,
and man, that cello rocks! The balance of the LP is uniformly
upbeat joyous indie rock and pop, with the exception of the
penultimate “Get a Job,” which is a harder rocking
song, almost like grunge – but more like a grunge song
from a rock opera. The arrangement and writing are very theatrical
– and superb! In this dramatic aspect it reminds me
a little bit of Queen. The guitar and cello work as percussion
with the drums, pummeling away incessantly, propelling the
vocals. I love the exuberant “No Instructions,”
with its moments of Beatles-esque pop. The 50s doo-wop retro
pop of “Moving” is a ton of fun and I hear hints
of 60s cinema soundtrack and Latin influence, as well. Speaking
of Latin influence, “Two of Many” has it aplenty,
mixed with Afro-Caribbean beats, and it’s my favorite
track of the LP. Its energetic rhythm, breezy melody, and
huge vocals (including gloriously huge harmonies) are infectious,
and I dare you to listen to this song without getting up and
dancing. Another favorite is the delicate “The Garden.”
Plucked cello and guitar punctuate the beautiful soaring vocals.
Every single song on this record is gorgeous, beautiful, fun.
At the risk of sounding effusive, I will declare that this
record will end up on my list of the year’s best. Plus,
you can check out our fearless editor’s recent interview
with the band here.
 BLOODY
YOUR HANDS – Sunday Scaries (bloodyyourhands.bandcamp.com)
New York’s Bloody Your Hands brings us their third full-length
LP, the first since 2017’s “Monsters Never Die.”
And though it was written over a two-year period, its themes
of anxiety, isolation, hope, loss, exhaustion, death, and
struggling with adulthood are more relevant than ever. And
the ten songs here are nothing short of remarkably gorgeous.
My number one favorite of the album has to be the glorious
“Insincere Apologies,” a song of communications
breakdowns in relationships, the inability to be vulnerable
when confronted with threatening situations, and the feelings
of hopelessness that induces. The music oscillates between
a pretty delicate guitar line with an ominous bass and a loud
grunge rock and roll sound. It’s like when you try to
start a discussion about a bad situation, first apologetically,
then becoming defensive when confronted The chorus opens up,
like a person shouting, huge and expansive; “Wasted
and dysfunctional / Wasted and dysfunctional / Waste my breath,
like yelling at a wall.” I really like the opener, “Insomnia,”
too. The quick tempo in the instrumentals contrasts with the
slower glide of the vocals, the song seeming to be in 12/8
time, the vocals on the 4/4 rhythm and the instruments doing
a quick 3/4. There’s some cool 90s indie sounds in the
guitars on this one, with some pretty chord progressions.
“Checked Out” is, perhaps, the most punk-like
of the songs, with a strong pop punk edge, though the melody
and arrangement are of a more mature indie-rock nature. The
song deals with hating your job, but not being able to find
anything that pays well enough (“More money makes a
dent, but I’m not happy just paying rent,” declares
the chorus) and doing what you love just doesn’t pay.
The grunge-like hit of the LP is “Weird Winter,”
a song of self-loathing that has a big gang-vocal chorus of
“I am not your hero, I’ll never be.” The
verses deal with the paralysis one can feel, the struggle
between wanting to be with people and to just be alone, and
ending up lying in bed, letting yourself rot away. Themes
of isolation continue on the spoken word piece, “Isolation
By Design.” As an acoustic guitar plays quietly, a narrator
talks about the loneliness we all feel as we isolate ourselves,
even in a city as dense as New York, “It’s isolation
by design, to be surrounded by water, but dying of thirst,”
we’re told. “There Are Heroes In You” seems
to speak about being overly dependent on another person. “You’re
my home, you’re the only reason I am here,” the
song says. “We’re waiting for heroes, there are
heroes in you.” I love how the song starts out more
quietly in waltz time, then a about two thirds through, it
changes completely into a very dark, driving song in a 4/4
rhythm, the urgency palpable. I could continue talking about
each track and how good they are – because every track
is really that good. Every time I think I’ve picked
one favorite, another plays and I have to reevaluate. The
songs are inventive, original, very engaging, and varied.
This record is very recommended!
 CATHOLIC
GUILT – This Is What Honesty Sounds Like (Wiretap
Records, www.wiretaprecords.com)
Melbourne, Australia band Catholic Guilt are seeing American
release of their new EP via Southern California’s Wiretap
Records. The five-piece play big, expansive pop punk and emo
inspired music, similar in ways to what was being made in
the 2000s. There’s an epic quality these songs, and
the songs pack an emotional wallop. The opening track, “A
Boutique Affair,” is the lead single, and it ranges
from poppy indie rock to emo pop. The harmonized vocals are
very slick, with a commercial radio appeal. “Song of
the Renter” has a dusty western folk-punk feel to it,
with lyrics that seem to be about the greed of redevelopers
and land speculators, and the damage they do to the ability
of too many people to have an affordable place to live. “Life
In Three Part Harmony” lives its name. It also starts
quietly, and builds steadily. Just as life does. And “The
Awful Truth” has a jazzy swing and swagger to it, but
is just as big and emotional as the other tracks. “Nothing”
is the closer, and it has an anthemic quality to it, for a
big and strong finish. Catholic Guilt certainly are good at
what they do. If you enjoy this big emo style, you’re
going to love this EP.
 KID
DAD – In a Box (Long Branch Records, longbranchrecords.bigcartel.com)
On this debut LP from German band Kid Dad, are echoes of 1990s
Seattle mixed with modern dreaminess. This is slickly produced
alternative rock, with big dynamics and big production values.
The opening track, “A Prison Unseen,” is epic
in scale, with loud heavy guitars and shimmering keyboards.
Marius Vieth’s vocals are belted out powerfully, and
when the band pulls back we get quiet confidence. “Happy”
is straight up grunge, and the heaviest, hardest-hitting song
of the LP. The licks on the chorus sound oh so familiar, as
if Kurt Cobain himself could have written them. The heavy
reverb in the guitar on the quieter parts is cool, giving
those parts of the song a darker eerie feel. There are plenty
of songs in the vein of “(I Wish I Was) On Fire,”
a track that feels like it came from the 2000s. Melodic and
rocking, yet dreamy, and loaded with emotion, it’s the
kind of thing the alternative radio was full of back in the
day. Vieth’s vocals range from angst-filled to breathy,
echoing the big dynamic range of the instrumentals. If you
like this genre, Kid Dad acquit themselves quite well.
 LASSE
PASSAGE – Sunwards (Sofa Music, www.sofamusic.no)
Lasse Passage plays light, jazzy folk-pop. If you think you
hear a slight accent to his rich vocals, you’re right;
Passage hails from Norway. The opening track, “Miles
Away,” is my favorite of the LP. It starts out with
gorgeously dark, fluttery acoustic guitar and vocals. It’s
really beautiful singer-songwriter fare. The song starts to
get a little thicker with flute and synths, and then drums
join in and the folk turns to pop for a bit, before returning
to the fluttery guitar. I like the breeziness of “Heartbeat.”
It’s got an interesting blend of feelings; I get a sunny
beach day mixed with some rural Americana, with slide guitar
and horns in the arrangement. “Homecoming” is
a perfect exemplar of the majority of the songs on this LP.
It’s folksy pop music with a jazzy beat and horns in
the arrangement. “Sunwards” is another one on
the jazzier side of things, a nice bouncy beat, trumpet, a
light touch, and even whistling at the end. And I also love
“300.000 Francs,” a pretty song of memories, romantic
and otherwise. It’s a wistful tune, quiet and sad, full
of loss. The mix of acoustic guitar, piano, and brushed drums
is beautiful, and Passage’s vocals have a delicate touch.
The overall feel of the album is quite airy and weightless,
and listening to this record can help ease your burdens.
 ODD
ROBOT – A Late Night Quarantiniac (youtube.com/channel/
UCi3ifreFPcx9hgbAYCTOvJQ)
Odd Robot has decided to self-release acoustic versions of
some of their songs from their first two LPs, and their split
with Tiny Stills, plus a new one, as a digital only release,
available on Spotify and YouTube. And wow, the songs sound
completely different this way! Part of it is the acoustic
treatment, but more of it is a conscious decision on the part
of the robots to slow things down, take it easy, and not be
in such a manic rush. One of the best examples of this is
“Amnesiatic.” The original is raucous and loud,
if not speedy. The acoustic version is soft and solemn, just
the acoustic guitar and Andy Burris’ vocals, as pleading
and melodic as ever, though the emotive quality of his vocals
comes through even more clearly here. “Take Me Away”
transforms from an edgy pop punk anthem, with driving bass
and pounding drums, into an impassioned waltz time ballad.
On the “Amnesiatic” LP, the opening track, “Sell
Your Soul” is pounding pop punk song, but here it’s
delicate, with acoustic guitar and distant “percussion”
from what I think are hand claps. “I Am a Cortisol Factory”
is no longer the high-strung indie rocker of the track on
the split EP; instead it has some exquisite flamenco guitar
sounds and a much easier feel. “Boil Through”
undergoes a big change from poppy grunge rock and roll to
dusty western folk. My favorite Odd Robot song, “Green
and Yellow Wires” (which they never play live) is my
favorite of this acoustic LP, too. The part that hits me hardest
is the dueling guitars in the opening, something that is used
sparingly in the electric version. Here in the acoustic version
those guitars keep at each other throughout most of the song.
They’re lighter, too, and the song is slowed down and
becomes the romantic ballad it was always meant to be. The
new one is the country-like “Bartender’s Blues”
and it reminds me of some of the Chicago singer-songwriter
music I group up with, like Steve Goodman. The closer is “Knife
and a Cigarette,” from the debut LP “A Late Night
Panic.” Here, along with the acoustic guitar we get
bowed bass and violin, and it is achingly beautiful. Though
all but one of these tracks are previously released on other
records, this is a fresh, brand new LP that sounds like no
other Odd Robot record, and like their others, it’s
wonderful.
 SHEENJEK
– Unclever (Seventh Rule Recordings, www.seventhrule.com)
I’m not a big metal fan, and I usually don’t go
in for the really heavy stuff. But every once in awhile, a
heavy metallic band comes along that breaks all the “rules”
and makes music that I can really get into. Portland’s
Sheenjek is one such band. The music is definitely heavy,
hard-hitting stuff, but it’s also melodic, with strong
post-punk leanings. The band claims to have started as a book
club in their humorous press release, and that quickly disintegrated
into a demonstration of self-defense knife techniques and
joint rolling techniques. Too much booze, too much weed, and
too many books led to an extended drum solo that became the
band’s first live performance. Ha! “Monkey Brains”
is a bombastic track with some cool angular guitar lines that
remind me of some of the great post-hardcore post-emo stuff
from the 90s, and the track may be my favorite of the bunch.
It’s a little slower, but it’s loaded with tension
and sludgy bass. Magazine’s 1978 post-punk classic “The
Light Pours Out of Me” was famously covered by Ministry
in 2003, with a reasonably faithful and un-Ministry-like rendition.
Now Sheenjek is covering it, slowing it ever so slightly,
and sludging it up a lot. The angularity of the next song
title, “If Not Why Not If So How” reflects the
bit of angularity in the melody. It’s another that harkens
back to 90s post-hardcore and early emo, before emo turned
to screamo. I love the organized chaos in this one toward
the end, with the instruments all seeming to be playing different
dissonant lines, yet they all gel together into a coherent
whole. “Lazy Boy” changes character three quarters
of the way through. It starts out as just another heavy metallic
grungy sludgy song, with metallic guitar jammage. But with
just over two minutes remaining on the clock it complete changes
to an urgent melodic punk edged rocker with hints of DC emo
buried beneath the layers of noise. You can hear it in the
way the vocals are shouted out and the soaring sound of the
guitars. “Damocles” definitely shows its metal
roots, but it’s got some definite jangle going on here
and there. The closing track is “Bootlikker,”
and it’s where the band really shines. There’s
so much going on in this track, from the quiet opening notes
to the slow slushy intro, and then the gritty post-hardcore,
with an intense wall of sound. When the rhythms start getting
all mathish, it may leave your head spinning. The song keeps
shifting all over the place, and it’s a fascinating
listen. There are precious few heavy bands I’ll go out
of my way to see, Now I have one more, whenever live music
starts again, and should Sheenjek decide to come down the
coast.
 SLIGHT
OF – Other People (Dadstache Records, www.dadstacherecords.com)
Slight Of is an ever evolving collective of musicians centered
on the songs of New Yorker Jim Hill. The songs are unabashed
glam and power pop. Guitar, bass, drums, and keyboards make
up the instrumentation, and it’s interesting how the
different keyboard sounds dramatically change the feel of
the songs; sometimes they’re new wave bubblegum pop,
sometimes they’re more rock and roll, and sometimes
they have a dreamy sound. For example, the opening track,
“The Sims,” has buzzy poppy synths that dominate
the sugary sweet pop sound. The lyrics are less bubbly than
the music, referencing spending all night playing the titular
video game, wasting time “on a world that doesn’t
even exist. It may be an allegory for chasing unachievable
dreams, which would be pretty depressing. “Other People”
goes dark 80s rock and roll, with jangle reverb-laden guitars
and a warm organ tone, and lyrics about a relationship stuck
in a rut and gone cold, with thoughts drifting to the other
people in our lives. “Americana” has a vaguely,
well, Americana feel, and the vocals on the verses remind
me ever so slightly of Current 93’s David Tibet, half
sung, half spoken, with dismal lyrics. The song is about the
desperation of so many in America, how our lives never turn
out to be what we want or what the American Dream is supposed
to have promised. I like “Townie 490,” which sounds
like something Elvis Costello might have written, with a nice
power pop sound.
I’m not normally a big fan of the slower ballads,
but ironically my favorite tracks on this LP are such songs.
“Winter’s Maze” is a chilling song of
becoming inured to and feeling stuck in a toxic relationship.
“Oh what you do to me / You know it hurts so gracefully
/ These aching bones have come to know / The bruise that
makes them feel at home,” says one verse. The music
is spare and lonely sounding, with ethereal synths and bluesy
guitar. “Oh what you give to me / You take it so easily,”
another verse declares, as the music builds. “And
it feels like new when you walk in the room / If it were
warmer / Maybe I’d have the sense to leave.”
The song sends shivers through my soul. And “Hall
of Songs,” the penultimate track of the album, has
a sort of unearthly version of a 50s doo-wop ballad, a heavenly
choir providing backing vocals.
This sophomore release from Slight Of has some real downer
lyrics, man, but some of these songs are pretty cathartic.
This is the real emo, buddy.
 BENCHMARKS
– Summer, Slowly (benchmarks.bandcamp.com)
You would think that Benchmarks, hailing from Nashville, would
focus on country-tinged music, or at least “Americana”
influenced alternative rock. But they remind me more of a
cross between Austin, Texas band Big Loser (formerly known
as Free Kittens and Bread) and Divided Heaven (formerly of
Los Angeles, now calling the East Coast home). The music has
the emotional content of Divided Heaven, and the indie-nerd
song writing of Big Loser. The production is pretty slickly
done, the band is super tight, and the musicianship is stellar.
The overall feel is indie rock, but several of the songs are
definitely punk influenced. I like “Cicada Year, Pt.
1,” with its big rhythm guitars and strutting bass line,
and the lyrics that refer to how we enjoy the summer, never
giving a thought to the coming of winter, a reference to youthful
exuberance without a care of what will happen as we age. And
“Our Finest Hour” is a very timely song, about
how those of us born into privilege but committed to real
change for the better need to move back from trying to lead
and allow those most impacted by injustice to do so. We need
to listen, learn, and support the change that will bring about
a better society. It has big punk influenced guitars and some
great whoa-oh backing vocals. “The Price of Postcards”
is a pretty raucous one that I like, and the lyrics are one
of the inevitable tour songs – being away from home,
traveling from place to place, how everything is the same
but different everywhere – and missing the one you love.
When the song calms, there’s an organ that comes in
and gives a nice warm feel that’s not out of place,
as the lyrics referencing dreams of what will be when you
get home. The guitar solo, though, could be dropped as superfluous,
and the guitar wizardry thrown in at the end feels extraneous
and boastful. Another tour song makes an appearance, “Leave
the Light On.” This one is about growing weary of the
rut of touring, and planning to leave it all and go home.
It’s got one of the punkier feels, too, but also another
unnecessary guitar solo. And the arrangement of “Technicolor”
reminds me a lot of Big Loser, with the opening just being
guitar and vocals, before the whole band comes in, and then
revisiting that contrast throughout the song. “The Good
Fight reminds me a lot of Divided Heaven – the vocals
have some of that band’s vocalist Jeff Berman’s
sound. Sometimes the production goes a bit overboard, like
the use of “atmospheric” synths and guitar solos
on “Six One Way” and other songs. It ends up feeling
too slick and less honest. I think that’s what bums
me about all the guitar solos. They sound inauthentic and
don’t add to otherwise good songs. The closer is “Cicada
Year, Pt. 2,” and it picks up the theme from part one,
but this time it’s a song of acceptance instead of denial.
“Summer into autumn slips / let me embrace this transformation,
and embrace the life I own / and cherish all these songs upon
my lips.” Not just accepting aging and change, but embracing
it. Good advice for us all.
 DEVON
KAY AND THE SOLUTIONS – Limited Joy (A-F Records,
www.a-frecords.com)
You may be most familiar with Devon Kay from his role in the
band Direct Hit! but Devon has, for years, fronted his own
band, too. On this latest LP the band eschews the pop punk
of its past and has evolved to a bigger sound grounded in
ska punk. Yes, ska punk. The band is bigger, adding a trumpet
and trombone, plus synths. The songwriting is bigger, too,
to take advantage of all these new instruments. You’ve
possibly heard some of the singles they’ve been rolling
out in advance of the LP release, so you know what I mean.
The opening track was the most recent single, “Oh Glorious
Nothing,” and it’s a pretty glorious track, actually.
The glorious nothing referred to is oblivion, as in death,
and the song seems to be about the search for something, anything,
that can make you feel alive, but never finding it, and finding
solace in the end. The music is big, with horns and synths
providing a full sound, at one point with the horns and synths
sounding almost like a baroque ensemble. The other single
that was released ahead of the LP comes next, “Anything
At All,” and it has the same ska punk sound and a wonderfully
elaborate arrangement. There is a short time when the music
and the vocals get aggro, but it’s way too short. “252
Brighton Ave.” was previously released, as well, and
it has a vaguely Celtic rock feel that I like, as if The Pogues
decided to add a ska element to their songs. The horns in
this one are just gorgeous.
The first song of the LP not released ahead of the album,
“One Horse,” is a straight up pop song, with
processed vocals and heavy synths. The horns are still there,
seeming oddly out of place, but the lyrics are in line with
other songs. I hear references to time slipping away, and
Kay’s declaration “I don’t wanna be here,
I don’t wanna be alone.” This is one I could
almost hear breaking through to commercial success, if given
the opportunity. I like “In a Prairie State,”
which has the feel of a rock and roll song mixed with ska
– ska-rock instead of ska-punk? “Evermore”
takes the band in more of an indie direction, with a smooth
sound. The arrangement is complex with synths, guitars,
and horns playing interweaving lines. “His & Hearse”
is a big, fun sing-along, and the sound gets beautifully
thick. The closer is “Less Talk, Less Rock,”
and it reminds me of what PUP might sound like if they slowed
down a bit and added horns. The band are creating some wonderfully
involved arrangements that really make these songs stand
out. People who are expecting this band to stay stagnant
and keep playing the same old pop punk may be disappointed,
but if you like good music and are open to more than just
guitar, bass, and drums arrangements, prepare for a good
time.
 EXPERT
TIMING – Whichever, Whatever (Count Your Lucky Stars
Records, countyourluckystars.limitedrun.com)
Expert Timing are seem like two bands in one, which unite
on the final track of this new five-song EP. Two of the songs
that are sung mainly by bassist Katrina Snyder are lovely
indie pop. Two of the songs that are sung mainly by guitarist
Jeff Snyder are a bit grungier, definitely more indie rock
and outside the pop realm. I do tend to like the indie-pop
songs better. “Gravity” is a song of anxiety in
trying to plan life, but its unpredictability gets in the
way of that. Katrina’s vocals are pretty, and I like
the off-kilter rhythms that reflect the odd turns life can
take. I also like her song “Constant Melody,”
another pretty indie popper, this time with a smoother feel.
Of Jeff’s two songs, “Good Things” is a
downer of a song about how “Good things just don’t
just happen to me.” The mood of the music does feel
a little lighter than the lyrics would imply, especially when
the full band is playing – it’s a bit darker in
the intro, when it’s mainly the bass playing a very
Seattle line. And “Luckin’ Out” is even
more a descendant of the Pacific Northwest music scene. The
closing song, “My Body,” unites these two disparate
styles, melding Katrina’s pop side and Jeff’s
grunge. We get the dark grungy guitars and bass, but the lightness
of Katrina’s vocals and the start-stop melodic lines
of her songs. The song is also probably the most lyrically
important, on the topic of a woman’s right to control
her own body. An interesting dichotomy comes together.
 L.A.
WITCH – Play With Fire (Suicide Squeeze Records, www.suicidesqueeze.net)
It’s cool that I just watched the Go Go’s documentary
on Showtime last night, and today I’m listening to L.A.
Witch. Not that this trio sound like the quintet that was
popular back in the 80s and helped drive MTV success. But
it’s that the Go Go’s were groundbreaking in that
they were all women who played their own instruments and wrote
their own songs, something unheard of back then. So many bands
have followed their lead and they are some great bands out
there now that wouldn’t have had a chance at success
without the Go Go’s. And, though we know L.A. Witch
are all women, what do they sound like if they aren’t
the pop music of their progenitors? This is dark garage power
pop, emphasis on the dark. There is heavy use of reverb, and
the vocals are relaxed to the point of sounding “under
the influence.” I hear psych and surf in the guitars,
and the keyboards provide a strong retro psych feel. “Dark
Horse” is a favorite, with its 6/8 meter, acoustic guitar,
and lighter touch. The organ gives it a strong warm retro
psych feel, like this is something out of the 60s peace and
love era. The vocals are dreamy and the whole song has a hazy
drugged feel. Past the halfway mark it changes to a 4/4 beat
for a bit and we get some guitar jamming going on. The opening
track, too, “Fire Starter,” has a mix of garage
psych, and surf, the soundtrack you might hear after taking
a downer and washing it down with a few shots of whiskey,
a smoky haze hanging overhead. I know it’s odd to keep
harping on this, but the songs on this LP would be the perfect
soundtrack for a movie with drug use scenes from the 60s and
70s. That’s a compliment – this is cool stuff.
 LEWIS
– Son On The Floor (Sona Baby Records, www.sonababyrecords.com)
Lewis is Christopher Lewis, formerly of the punk band Kinison.
This guy does it all – he writes the songs, he sings,
and he plays all the instruments. The music ranges from the
straight-ahead power pop of “She’s Fine”
to the grunge-lite of “Bathe Clean” and “Nervous
Too,” from the smooth indie rock of “What We Give”
to the sparkling psych pop of “Pargana.” “Settle
Down” is a driving rock and roll tune in a classic 70s
vein. The opening track, “TOBI,” has dark sound
to it, alternating between jangly pop on the verses and grunge-lite
during the chorus. It’s got an epic theatrical quality
to it that makes it one of my favorites of the album. That
glam-like power pop song, “She’s Fine,”
is another favorite. It brings up images of late 70s rock
and roll classics “blasting” through the little
transistor radio I had as a kid. “Pargana” is
not only sparkling psych pop, it’s big and sprawling,
especially that huge chorus. The acoustic guitar adds a nice
element to the song, giving it a bit of intimacy amidst the
massiveness of the song. The songs on this record are varied
enough to keep from getting stale, yet cohesive enough to
recognize they’re all from the same band.
 THE
SEWER RATS – Magic Summer (ProRawk Records, www.prorawkrecords.com)
The Sewer Rats are a German pop punk band seeing a US record
release, and a case of a European band that sounds very much
like a US pop punk band. The songs range from skate punk top
Ramones-core, with a strong Fat Wreck influence. The songs
are silly fun-punk, too, in the vein of bands like Teenage
Bottlerocket. There are songs like “I’m Quitting
My Job,” which has lyrics mostly repeating that title
phrase, then talks about going on tour. The band likes to
sing about what they don’t want to do, too. “Don’t
Wanna Go to the Dentist” is a skate punk track with
plenty of whoa-ohs and lyrics about the fear of dentists,
while “I Don’t Wanna Go to the Shrink No More”
is pure Ramones-core about the downside of seeing a therapist.
The aversion to going places gets especially desperate on
“Don’t Wanna Leave My Room No More,” a Green
Day influenced track with a mid-tempo lope and sad depressing
lyrics. I like the opening track, too, “Rejuvenate,”
about staying young in mind and deed – “It’s
time to rejuvenate! / Grab your board, let’s go skate!”
the song commands, after a found sound bite that states “Yes,
growing up is a problem.” The music is speedy, poppy,
bouncy and fun. There’s the requisite “love”
songs, “My Sweet Chun-Li” and “My Baby Is
at Groezrock (and I Am Not),” the latter a reference
to one of Europe’s major punk festivals. Look, The Sewer
Rats aren’t breaking any new ground here, and they aren’t
making any political statements. But the music is bouncy and
fun and they do a great job of it. You don’t go see
TBR or Masked Intruder for profundities, either, do you? A
nice release for the hot, magic summer (though this summer
seems to be cursed by black magic).
 SINGING
LUNGS – Phone From Car (Count Your Lucky Stars Records,
countyourluckystars.limitedrun.com)
Utilizing recordings techniques developed for the pandemic
lockdown, this EP was recorded entirely on band members’
iPhones, the resulting files passed around and mixed together.
The negative is that the result doesn’t sound nearly
as clean as something recorded in a studio. The positive is
that it allows Singing Lungs to get new music released. We
get four new songs of 90s style indie-punk, guitars jangling
furiously as the vocals are belted out with angsty emotion.
The songs are poppy without coming across as sappy or bubblegum.
My favorite is probably the simplest of the record, “Present
Tense.” It’s also the poppiest, and completely
lacking any pretension – it’s just a bouncy fun
one. “Come Down Hard” is a little more indie crossed
with power pop, and it’s got a bit of a hard edge to
it. The least successful song, in my opinion, is the closer,
“Walking and Crawling.” It’s the most different
from the others, trying to be sort of an indie ballad. I think
Singing Lungs works better when they’re rocking out
with a good edgy pop tune.
 SWALLOW’S
ROSE – Live, Love, Hate, and Hope (ProRawk Records,
www.prorawkrecords.com)
ProRawk is bringing European pop punk to America! Swallow’s
Rose is a German band, singing in English, and sounding like
they could have come from the West Coast of the United States.
The songs are uniformly uplifting, reminding me of Seattle’s
Success. There’s a thread of positivity throughout the
ten songs on this LP, and a big, glorious sound. The title
track opens the LP, and is a perfect introduction to the band
and their sound. Harmonized vocals, rapid tempo, big guitars,
and plenty of opportunities for the crowd to sing along are
here. I also really like “When We Were Kings.”
It’s got more than a bit of street punk sound and huge
gang vocals, bringing another Seattle band to mind, The Drowns
(which makes sense, since that band shares members with Success).
And “Our Song” is another favorite, with a strong
West Cost pop punk sound. Some of the songs stray from pop
punk into skate punk sounds, like “We Are Not Dead,”
a track that focuses on power and speed, taking more queues
from the Epitaph sound of bands like Bad Religion than from
pop punk. This song has a darker edge, too, like a lot of
skate punk. “Guns & Pain” blends skate punk
and hints of street punk and even a bit of a ska beat, big
vocals on the chorus and a dark edge. And the closer, “Promises,”
is a mix of dark skate punk and big whoa-oh pop punk vocals.
It always gets me when I hear European bands play a style
that I thought was so unique to a particular region in the
US. The world is, indeed, getting smaller, and we’re
all part of one community. Swallow’s Rose are showing
they are model citizens of our community.
 BELLHEAD
– Unicorn Bones (bellhead.bandcamp.com)
Bellhead is a unique duo, consisting of two basses and a drum
machine. Karen Righeimer plays the “low bass”
and sings, while Ivan Russia plays the “high bass,”
sings, and operates the drum machine. The music is post punk
melded with classic Chicago industrial dance “Wax Trax”
sounds. The opening track even channels a bit of Jello Biafra.
That song, “Snuff Film 1974,” is easily the darkest
of the quintet of tracks, about a snuff film in which a leather-clad
man murders a little girl, and the narrator is horrified,
declaring he doesn’t want to watch, but he never stops.
The basses growl viciously, and the drum machine pounds mercilessly,
some eerie electronic effects adding to the atmosphere. “Always
(Running After the Sun)” has a real retro 80s pop sound,
too, quieter, with the high bass and piano playing the melodic
lines with a far-away sound. I like the line in the lyrics
that says “Who says love is a victimless crime?”
in this love song about chasing after the one you want. Another
super dark one is the industrial “Knife.” “You
look so pretty. Under the dead lights / You won’t look
so pretty, when you feel my knife.” The bass grinds
and pounds with the drum machine, and noise effects swirl
through reverb during this sinister song of evil intent. Though
there are definite echoes of past genres in this EP, in today’s
musical environment it sounds fresh and unique, so different
from anything else being made today.
 ERA
BLEAK (Dirt Cult Records, www.dirtcultrecords.com)
The band’s name is perfect for our times, as this era
certainly is bleak. As band member Zach Brooks put it, "The
year is 2020 and we are living in a 1980s punk dystopian sci-fi
novel. A pandemic is raging. When we are not donning masks
to go out in public, we have nothing to do besides smoke legal
weed out of electronic cigarettes and lose ourselves in disinformation.
The president of the United States is Jello Biafra's worst
nightmare... a buffoon so grotesque we would have had a hard
time believing the character was realistic had our current
reality actually been a 1980s punk dystopian sci-fi novel.”
And as the opening track, from which the band takes their
name, states, “Things get shittier every week / No hope
for the future in this era bleak.” The music matches
the sentiment, too, with a spare, austere sound. The instrumentation
is thin, the vocals belted out in a way that’s part
spoken word, part singing, and the whole thing feels like
the soundtrack to a desolate post apocalyptic punk rock world.
Sometimes the guitars have an interesting surf sound, like
on “MRI,” one of my favorites of the LP. It’s
a twisted sort of surf sound, though, like trying to surf
a wave of dirt and trash in the ruins of a major city. “Option”
has an urgent feel to it, with the bass driving things hard
and the tempo picked up somewhat. It’s about the “panic
stricken overload” we can get when faced with too many
options in our modern consumer society. “Robot”
has a cool mechanical rhythm and guitar line, with lyrics
that are a call out to people who have no originality and
obey the dictates of society like robots. Even with the minimalist
instrumentation, Era Bleak manages to have the energy of an
80s hardcore band, and the combination of hardcore and sparseness
make for an interesting sound. Era Bleak is the soundtrack
of today.
 DRUG
COUPLE – Choose Your Own Apocalypse (PaperCup Music,
www.papercupmusic.com)
Drug Couple, the real-life couple of Becca and Miles Robinson,
began writing the songs for this, their sophomore EP, back
in 2016, when Donald Trump was campaigning and elected to
be president. The decided to focus on songs about what they
felt would be the coming apocalypse, though they did not now
how prescient they would be, with a global pandemic, protests
for equal rights and justice for racial minorities, and the
growing divide in this country, politically and socially,
leading 2020 to be a violent disaster of a year. The six songs
on the EP generally deal with falling in love during an apocalypse,
and holding onto that love tightly in the worst of times.
The opening track, “2027,” tells the story of
ghosts hanging out in New York City, seven years after the
apocalypse. I love how the song “No Legged Dog”
is a blend of bouncy melodic pop and noisy gritty rock. The
contrast between the fuzzed guitars and the bright keyboards,
between the pounding percussion and the boisterous melodies,
the urgent rhythms and relaxed vocals, is pretty marvelous.
A favorite track is “Bottomless,” and it’s
one of the most different from the others, with less noise,
a slower tempo, clear, sad vocals, and guitars that wobble
like they’re underwater. The title refers to love as
a bottomless pit, yet “I’ll love you more.”
“The Ghost” trades the guitar focus for percussion,
keyboards, and front and center vocals. This pretty one shimmers
and glimmers. This is pretty good stuff.
 FAIR
VISIONS – A Way Out (fairvisions.bandcamp.com)
Channeling bits of OMD, David Bowie and New Order, synth pop
purveyor Fair Visions offer up six songs of synth-driven new
wave/post punk pop on their debut EP. The creation of Ryan
Work, Fair Visions evokes the 80s with their darkly jangling
pop songs. “Feels Right” reflects on Work’s
move to New York City, with lyrics about feeling at home in
a new place, like it was not just meant to be, it was always
this way. The bass heavy song nevertheless has a distinct
pop feel and danceable rhythm. I like the contrasts in the
song, “Lay Out In the Sun.” Especially in the
first verse, the heavy synths and breezy vocals and acoustic
guitar play off nicely against each other, as the lyrics contrast
the idea of doing nothing but laying out in the sun with the
daily grind of eating, working, commuting, and repeating.
In the closing verse, lying out in the sun is used as a simile
for doing the things you want in life, rather than acting
out of obligation. “Oh don’t you want to lay out
in the sun? / And forget the things you left undone / You
see, you think, don’t act, regret, and repeat / Is it
too late too late to lay out in the sun?” The mechanical
rhythms, too, are a nice contrast to the freer guitars that
seem to swirl around. These songs are nice, but if I had one
suggestion it would be to vary the tone a bit. Using the same
synth tones on every song gets a bit overbearing.
 KICKED
IN THE TEETH – Death Adventure (Rare Vitamin Records,
rarevitaminrecords.bandcamp.com)
I hear a strong post-hardcore vibe here. Think bands like
Quicksand or Refused. This new 7” is being released
in conjunction with the first vinyl release of their debut
self-titled LP that came out late last year. “Dead Air”
is the A-side, and it’s very much heavy edgy post-hardcore,
yet there’s a strong melodic vein running through it.
The B-side is the title track, and it’s poppier, yet
still powerful and hard-hitting. Some of the melodic lines
even remind me of early Dischord hardcore. For that reason,
it’s my favorite of the two. But this band from Northwich,
a smallish town in the north of the UK, is now on my radar.
Good stuff.
 KILL
LINCOLN – Can’t Complain (Bad Time Records,
www.badtimerecords.com)
Do you like ska-punk? I’m talking all out pop-filled
punked out music with the joy and energy of ska, including
the horns. Then you’re going to love this DC band’s
latest LP. The music is uniformly bright and jumpy, and takes
the best aspects of sing-along pop punk and ska and mixes
them together. “Used Up” is a good one, with a
speedier tempo and some crunchy guitars. I like how many of
the songs could be easily rearranged to be straight-on pop
punk, and they would work just as well. It’s a sign
of solid songwriting how well these work. Listening to “Last
Ditch Denial” I can hear it in my mind without the horns,
and these songs work – but the horns add that bright
dimension. “Ignorance Is Bliss” is one that starts
as raging post hardcore, transforms to poppy ska punk, and
then goes into full-on ska. It showcases the breadth of these
musicians’ capabilities. “Confession Obsession”
is a favorite, too. It’s one of the quicker tracks,
and it moves easily between strong pop punk and all-out ska,
with some edgier post-hardcore parts. Speaking of edgier parts,
the opening of “Civil Surgery” is amazing, taking
pounding rock music and playing it with horns is genius. “Quarantine
Dream” is probably my favorite track of the LP; it rages
the hardest, but still maintains its bright pop bounce. The
horns do recede somewhat into the background on this one,
adding more of an aura of ska on this great pop punk track.
“Womb Envy” uses hardcore vocals over a skankin’
beat, and has a powerful metallic ending – with horns!
And the closer, “Can’t Complain,” has the
speediness and pop of a Pears track, though it has horns and
isn’t as hardcore. Do you like ska-punk? I normally
can take it or leave it, but Kill Lincoln does a fucking great
job with these songs.
 KNOWSO
– Specialtronics Green Vision (Drunken Sailor Records,
www.drunkensailorrecords.co.uk)
Well, they are from Ohio, after all, so the early Devo-like
mania makes sense. Angular melodic lines, guitar jabs, off-kilter
bass, and vocals that are spoken in unison mark the primary
sound from these Cleveland punk weirdoes. This stuff is so
different from just about any other music being made today
it’s like a shot in the arm to a stagnant music “industry.”
But just when you think you’ve got these oddballs figured
out, they throw a track like “Wrong Calculator”
at us. It’s a twisted spoken word piece about microbial
species with robotic “backing vocals” and dark
beeps and boops from synths and saxophones providing the “music.”
It’s from this track that the album takes its name,
as “green vision” and “blue vision”
and “specialtronics” are heard being spoken about.
“Green vision is two babies,” the robot voices
declare. And “Green vision is the first big step back”
according to the track’s narrator. Huh? Confusing and
comedic. “Peaceful and Extinct” is probably my
favorite of the LP, with a swingin’ vibe and some intense
sax noise interjections. This LP reminds me of some of the
awesome “out there” records that were being released
in the early to mid 80s, and is recommended if you’re
a weirdo, too.
 LIBRARIANS
WITH HICKEYS – Long Overdue (Big Stir Records, www.bigstirrecords.com)
I see what you did there with the album title… Librarians
With Hickeys took their time getting these songs recorded
and collected together for this, their debut album, so it
was, well, long overdue. For the most part, the dozen songs
on this LP are power pop, but with a light touch and just
a hint of psych. The opener, “Until There Was You,”
is a perfect example, with a mix of fuzzy and jangly guitars,
a quiet manner, but great pop hooks. I really like “Be
My Plus One,” the lovely delicate love song, and its
use of ukulele for a warm, twee sound, and the guest list
reference is a humorous touch. “Next Time” has
the sound of an 80s hit that could have been on MTV, halfway
between guitar driven power pop and dreamy new wave pop, sans
the synths, but with sax.
As pleasant as the front half of this album is, the back
half rules. Some of the songs are a little edgier, though
still smooth. There’s a heavier dose of psych in some
of them, and a little more power in the power pop. “Leave
Me Alone” cranks things up several notches with a
garage feel blended with psychedelic overtones. The effects
in the guitar tone are eerie and cool. “Poor Reception”
has some familiar sounding power pop hooks that grab me,
and it’s got a bridge that gets dark and goth-pop
sounding. “Looking For Home” uses piano to great
effect, with the guitars and organ providing a lonely sound,
but the piano a bright hopeful one. And I love the 80s Joy
Division/New Order meets Love and Rockets sound of “Silent
Stars.” Don’t end up paying a late fee –
get on this one now.
 PUBLIC
EYE – Music For Leisure (Drunken Sailor Records, www.drunkensailorrecords.co.uk)
Drunken Sailor had been on a noisy hardcore kick for a whole
bunch of its most recent releases, but their latest LP, from
Portland’s Public Eye, is the one of the most melodic
things I think I’ve ever heard from The Juice Man’s
DIY UK label. At first, given the sound of the band, I thought
they were a UK band, but no, they’re as American as
protesters being kidnapped in unmarked vans. With retro garage
pop instrumentals and droll nearly spoken word vocals, it
sounds like something that could have come from the intensely
creative post punk era of the late 70s and early 80s. The
guitars jangle as the vocals are belted out in a near deadpan,
everything just slightly lo-fi enough for the garage sound,
but not so lo-fi as to make these songs sound muddy. While
there isn’t a bad track on the LP, there are some standouts.
“Awful Questions” has a great mathish guitar hook
repeated over and over in the minimalist tradition, and it
rocks out quietly and subtly. “Neat Machines/Red Flags,”
has rhythmic changes giving a math-like feel, and repeating
minimalist lines, but this time there’s a smooth groove
going on, so almost a cool jazz kind of sound, during the
“Neat Machines” half of the track. “I Might
Go” uses its guitar licks and vocals to give the track
a sense of urgency, of the song being propelled forward. As
I said, I like every track here, but if I would have one criticism
is that there’s a little too much sameness from track
to track, but this is good stuff.
 THEE
DIRTY RATS – Humans Out (Mandinga Records, www.mandingarecords.bandcamp.com)
Post-garage duo Thee Dirty Rats, hailing from Sao Paulo, Brazil,
channel the gritty nature of one of the world’s largest
cities on this LP chock full of lo-fi post-apocalyptic rock
and roll. The rhythms are raw and primal, the guitars noisy
as all fuck. Lo-fi is putting it mildly. And minimalism seems
to be second nature to these two. The arrangements are super-sparse,
with the DIY drums and guitar, plus vocals and a “broken”
Moog synth being all there is. The lyrics are also reflective
of a world gone mad, with songs like “Universe Is Caos,”
which has lyrics “The universe is chaos / Stop, you’re
making it worse” as the drums pound and the guitar picks
out a simple repetitive melodic line. The robotic nature of
the song is in direct opposition to the idea of chaos, which
is pretty interesting. “Let’s Fight” is
a little thicker in the guitar sounds, and is about, well,
wanting to fight. “Modern Disease” has a funky
bass feel to it, while “Oh Oh” has a great raucous
garage rock sound. “Maze of Love” has a bluesy
edge to it, “TDR Will Make Dirty For All Ya Girls And
Boys” is a too short fun track that channels early Beastie
Boys. “Headache” is the most melodic track of
the LP, but that’s not saying much for this minimalist
duo, since melody is not really their thing. The closer is
the brilliant “Stop That Dance,” which, despite
its thin arrangement, has a full feel. The contrasting vocals,
the mechanical factory beat, and the grating guitars all join
forces to create music for the future new stone age. This
record isn’t going to be for everyone, but after there’s
nothing left of the world or its societies, this is the music
that will be left. Drink it up and get used to it.
For more of Paul Silver's reviews, click here...
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