New album: PRISONER || PRISONER

A curious collision where opposites attract

By / / Alternative Rock, Garage Rock, Psych / Leave a Comment

You and I couldn’t make it up, but PRISONER proves that a love triangle between psychedelic garage rock, melodic synth pop, and cinematic opera singing can work very well. The French six-piece delivers a self-titled full-lengther in which fuzz-heavy guitars, motorik rhythms, and insistent repetition blend seamlessly with trombone, keyboards, and vocal melodrama.

The result also feels indebted to vintage movies, krautrock, post-punk, country twang, surf, new wave, and rhythm & blues, yet never settles comfortably into any one of them. Largely instrumental, these fourteen songs—plus three digital only bonus tracks—favor atmosphere and energy over conventional song structures, with one composition naturally bleeding into the next.

Whenever Susanne Pemmerl’s voice enters the picture, which fortunately happens regularly, the album gains another dimension, and we can only listen with a mix of admiration and amazement. With plenty of character and imagination, PRISONER builds its own strange universe, remarkably evocative, best experienced as one continuous trip.


The eponymous PRISONER album is out on CD and vinyl LP through Wicked Cool Records. Featuring Susanne Pemmerl (lead vocals), Philippe “Philos” Simon-Girard (guitar), Lucas Gentilhomme (keyboards), Sébastien Grienti (bass), Marcus Hett (trombone), and Étienne Meyer (drums).

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || The Orchard

New album: Scott Gagner || Sweet Tooth

A colorful dose of power pop with substance behind the sunshine

By / / Indie Pop, Power Pop / Leave a Comment

Scott Gagner‘s eighth album Sweet Tooth infuses classic guitar-pop with much-needed optimistic spirit: “I am trading in this blue disguise // For a pair of technicolor eyes” (from opening track Beyond the Blue). Written and recorded during the January federal ICE siege in Minneapolis, the ten new songs deliberately reject despair, instead wrapping their unmistakable emotional weight in bright melodies, lush harmonies, vintage synths, and a continuous supply of alluring hooks.

Rather than ignoring the world’s anxieties, the singer-songwriter counters them with music that celebrates joy as an act of non-violent resistance (at Sweet Sweet Music Blog he says he feels that people are ready for something upbeat, positive, and hopeful, and I can only endorse that). The lyrics explore the fragile balance between doubt and hope, suggesting that even life’s loveliest moments gain meaning because they exist alongside uncertainty: “Sugar rush spreading all over town // Who knew something so sweet would finally bring us down” (from Sugar Rush—bonus points for the absurd video).

This record proves that feel-good pop doesn’t have to be lightweight; sometimes the most uplifting records are also the ones most aware of the darkness they refuse to surrender to.



Sweet Tooth, recorded by Matt Patrick, is out digitally (self-released). Featuring Scott Gagner (vocals, guitars, sitar, bass, piano, synth, organs, percussion), Sam Graber (bass), Tim Zhorne (drums), Rachel Hunter (backing vocals), and Matt Patrick (bass, organ).

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New compilation: Drug Bug || Songs Of A Drug Bug

Lots to discover in these 67 singles, demos, and rarities

By / / Alternative Rock, Garage Rock, Indie Pop, Psych / Leave a Comment

It has been less than two weeks since we wrote about Drug Bug‘s latest release, but apparently there is much more where Grapefruit Technique came from. Surfing the momentum (cool to see that there are more and more enthusiasts), Alex Amesbury has collected no less than 67 songs here, divided into three sections, each announced with a 1-second word: ‘singlets’, ‘demos’, and ‘rarities’. The tunes we already knew from recent EPs are included (very nice to have them together), but it is actually much more than that.

We find ourselves in the realm of lo-fi music that lies somewhere between bedroom punk, garage rock, and folk-pop, with influences that reveal a deep knowledge of and feel for the good side of music history, ranging from doo-wop to psych. Lyrics revolve around obsessive love, loneliness, and self-destructive impulses, capturing the messy space where longing, dependency, and emotional turmoil collide. There is a wealth of material to uncover here, and with the quality matching the quantity, its jangly charm reveals surprising depth.




The Songs Of A Drug Bug compilation, performed and produced by Alex Drug, is out digitally (self-released), with some cassettes also in circulation.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Kye Alfred Hillig || Widowmaker Express

An intimate journey through heartbreak and hard-earned redemption

By / / Country & Folk / Leave a Comment

“I guess you could call this life // But that’s a loose definition // More like a complete waste of time.” These are the opening words on Widowmaker Express, the latest solo album by Kye Alfred Hillig, released just five months after his previous LP, The All-Night Costume Company, also a strong one.

You’ll understand that the eleven new tracks are not light fare; the Tacoma, Washington-based singer-songwriter turns a health scare into a searching meditation on fate and faith. The poetic lyrics follow a narrator who wrestles with devastating loss while questioning God and his own place in the world. Yet despite its emotional weight, these songs ultimately reject despair, tracing a slow path toward acceptance and hope by suggesting that healing, connection, and love are hard-won gifts that arrive only through patience and perseverance.

Lap steel, piano, strings, and ghostly textures allow every emotional shift to resonate without overwhelming the songs themselves. Rooted in alt-country and folk-rock, the record is understated but persistent, honest, and intense. The closing words? “Takes time, but birds sing after bad weather // Migrates to meet you // Murmurates in skies blue // When love is true, it’s slow coming together.”



Widowmaker Express—produced and recorded by Daniel G. Harmann—is out digitally and on CD via Danger Slow Fawns Records. Featuring Kye Alfred Hillig (vocals, guitar) and Daniel G Harmann (all additional instrumentation), with Bill Nordwall (piano), Graig Markel (lap steel), and Kyleen King (violin, viola) on select tracks.

Add to want list: Bandcamp

New album: Public Opinion || The Curse of Public Opinion

No pep talks, just plain good melodic punk rock

By / / Punk / Leave a Comment

Public Opinion’s second album is out today on Side One Dummy and doesn’t waste much time pretending everything will work out in the end. Instead, The Curse of Public Opinion bottles frustration, disappointment, and self-doubt into ten punk rock songs that are as melodic as they are bitter. Rather than offering motivational speeches or tidy resolutions, the Denver trio simply vents, which honestly feels a lot healthier than pretending you’re okay. Fortunately, they pair all that existential grumbling with enough swagger and hooks to keep things surprisingly fun. The Curse of Public Opinion is a confident, thoroughly likeable record.


Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New EP: Red Bird || The Follies

Surreal alt-rock with a freak-folk core

By / / Alternative Rock, Country & Folk / Leave a Comment

Anyone searching online for Red Bird will find the Northern Cardinal, the Angry Birds franchise, and a French action film at the top, but not these indie rockers from Oxnard, California. That is bound to change now that the band centered around singer-songwriter Manuel Chavez has released their debut EP titled The Follies.

The lyrics of its five songs revolve around memory, longing, emotional dependence, and the lingering impact of love and loss, presented through surreal, dreamlike imagery rather than straightforward storytelling. Musically it’s just as adventurous, with instruments, interplay, and structures that lean towards freak folk and refuse to do what is conventional; from energetic to subdued to even more dynamic, from strings to horns to vocal gymnastics, this flies at a high level.


The Follies—recorded and produced by Manuel Chavez—is out digitally via Lazy Bones. Featuring Manuel Chavez (vocals, guitar, piano), Cameron Esmaili (lead guitar, banjo), Sky Coggeshall (violin, vocals), Julian Martinez (bass), David Rodriguez (drums), and Javier Anguiano (trumpet, tenor saxophone), with Rey Arroyo (additional lead guitar) and Thee Jack Brown (additional alto saxophone) guesting on opener Domino.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New EP: The Something Ain’t Rights || Rotten In The Brain

The sound of punk lifers going eclectic

By / / Alternative Rock, Country & Folk, Punk / Leave a Comment

Don’t judge a book by its cover—the Rotten In The Brain EP sounds much lighter than you would expect based on the title and art. It is the debut release by Astoria, Oregon’s The Something Ain’t Rights, a new band emerging from the punk and garage rock underground, founded by Mike Vasquez (Sweatbox Studio). Yet the nine songs here never feel like a genre exercise, on the contrary. Rootsy twang plays a remarkably large role, but alongside the alt-country elements, you hear countless other influences, extending right up to wiry post-punk and soulful jazz. As if that weren’t fascinating enough, the eclectic and unpredictable mini-album captures a current world that is equal parts absurd, fractured, and strangely hopeful.



The Rotten In The Brain EP is out digitally and on 12″ vinyl through Hovercraft Records. Featuring Mike Vasquez (vocals, guitar), Dan McClure (guitar), Alpha Rasmussen (bass), and Carrie Beveridge (drums).

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Mujeres || Es un Dolor Inexplicable

Barcelona's garage pop machine keeps rolling

By / / Garage Rock, Power Pop, Punk / Leave a Comment

Apparently, Mujeres’ new album came out months ago. It only recently appeared on Bandcamp and the usual streaming services, which probably sums up the band’s international profile rather well. In Spain, Mujeres has a devoted following. Elsewhere, they’re still far too easy to miss. We only discovered them after catching their brilliant set at Primavera Sound in their hometown of Barcelona. That was ten years ago. Es un Dolor Inexplicable, already the band’s seventh album, is another excellent reason to keep them on your radar.

From the opening one-two punch of Alucinante and Caen Imperios, Mujeres makes it clear they’re in the mood for catchy, punky garage pop with the accelerator pinned to the floor. The gang vocals are as infectious as the melodies, giving the whole record an irresistible communal feel. And the hooks just keep coming. Compared to their previous 2023 LP, the ambitious and rewarding Desde Flores y Entrañas, this is a more direct, no-nonsense affair. But rather than a step backwards, it’s a reminder how great Mujeres are in this kind of stuff.

We may be late to the party, but Es un Dolor Inexplicable still sounds like the soundtrack to the rest of the summer. Better late than never.

Out now on Sonido Muchacho.


Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Discogs

New album: Wet Denim || Bite Back

Indianapolis glamrockers hold nothing back on their debut album

By / / Garage Rock, Glam Rock, Power Pop, Punk / Leave a Comment

Let’s make a summer stop in Indianapolis, Indiana, because there’s a loud, gloriously over-the-top new four-piece in town. Wet Denim released its debut LP in mid-July via Mean City Records, and subtlety never even made it into the rehearsal room.

Wet Denim plays like it’s already headlining arenas. Tiny club? Stadium? Backyard barbecue? Doesn’t matter. Got pyro? Light it. Smoke machines? Crank ’em up. They charge into every song with the swagger of a band convinced the encore has already been earned. The riffs are huge, the solos bigger still, and the choruses arrive so naturally you’d think they accidentally stumbled into another anthem on the way to the next one. Their singer attacks every vocal as though replacement vocal cords are included in the tour budget.

Bite Back is a glam-rocking, boot-stomping, garage power poppin’ debut from a band that sounds delightfully out of step with the times. While some bands seem busy reinventing rock, Wet Denim is busy reminding us why people fell in love with loud guitars in the first place. Turns out that still works just fine.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Leandro Barbosa || ¿Pero Qué Sí? ¿Pero Qué No?

A borderless journey through displacement, dust and defiance

By / / Blues & Roots / Leave a Comment

Leandro Barbosa (Leo B. & Cigana Elétrica) exchanges band life for a solo career. In that role, his debut album ¿Pero Qué Sí? ¿Pero Qué No? inhabits the uncomfortable space between languages, cultures and musical traditions. The title (translated: “But what yes? But what no?”) echoes the charmingly broken Spanish spoken by many of his compatriots, but here it becomes a statement that identity is often found in imperfection.

Rather than claiming a single identity, the Brazilian singer-songwriter lets blues, Southern rock, and folk mingle naturally, creating a sound that feels as restless as the stories behind them. Drawing on decades of experience, he delivers no fewer than seventeen heartfelt songs—the closing five are unplugged—that embrace uncertainty without losing power. Most striking here, however, is that mighty voice, which makes every word count.



¿Pero Qué Sí? ¿Pero Qué No? is out digitally (self-released).

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

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