New album: DUM1 || On A Dime

Another Bay Area secret to fall for

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

One of the joys of following the Bay Area underground is that every now and then a record shows up that feels too good to stay a secret. Whether it actually escapes the underground is another story. On A Dime, the debut LP from Oakland’s DUM1, has that kind of potential. I can imagine it becoming an indie-rock favorite passed around between friends, but I can just as easily imagine it remaining a hidden gem for those lucky enough to stumble across it.

Recorded entirely by Mack Narragan of CVCC and released by Take a Turn Records, On A Dime hits a sweet spot between jangly guitar pop, lo-fi indie rock, and power-pop punch. The warm melodies pull you in immediately, while the strummy 12-string guitars and occasional bursts of energy keep things from getting too sleepy. There’s a looseness to the recordings that makes the songs feel lived-in rather than unfinished.

Lyrically, Narragan circles grief, addiction, alienation, and the awkward process of figuring out who you are after life has knocked a few assumptions loose. The standout Ode To The Endlings turns loneliness and unfinished grief into something strangely comforting, No1sGood captures the feeling of being stuck between indecision and nostalgia. Even when the subject matter gets heavy, the melodies keep pulling the record toward the light.

The best thing about On A Dime is how quickly it settles in. One listen feels promising. Three listens later, you’re wondering why isn’t everyone talking about this record.


Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

 

New EP: Bart and the Brats || Brats Being Brats

Bart keeps the trashy Ramonescore machine running

By / / Garage Rock, Punk / Leave a Comment

Just when you think Bart De Vraantijk has finally run out of riffs, another 7″ appears. Brats Being Brats lands on Big Neck Records and does exactly what the title promises: no reinvention, no sudden prog ambitions, just more of that glorious budget-bin Ramonescore that Bart and the Brats have turned into an art form.

These songs have that classic BatB trick of sounding like they were written in about five minutes and somehow sticking in your head for days. The guitars buzz, the drums shove everything forward, and before you know it you’re halfway through the record wondering why a song that dumb is suddenly the thing you’ve been humming while making coffee.

If you’ve enjoyed previous BatB releases, you already know the deal: fast, catchy, slightly dumb in the best possible way, and impossible not to pogo to.


Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New EP: The Speed Dials || SD Demos

Meet your next favorite power-pop band

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

Few things get me more hyped than discovering a brand-new, ridiculously good power pop band. You know the type: the band name, artwork, and opening chords tell you almost everything you need to know before the first verse even arrives.

The name? The Speed Dials… which is also what you’ll be using to tell all your friends about them. HA!

The location? Philadelphia, PA.

The sound? Collegiate power pop loaded with hooks, jangly guitars, and a sneaky rock ‘n’ roll undercurrent, recorded in the basement of one of the three members.

But who are these people? They clearly didn’t just buy their instruments last week. These songs have the confidence of musicians who’ve already spent years figuring out how to write songs that stick. Turns out The Speed Dials feature members of two bands that have already landed on our radar, Log Flume and Civil Rats, plus Mango Safari, who I’ve only just discovered are worth diving into themselves.

And this is only the first demo? Somebody get the new favorite band banner ready!


Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Wreckage || Life On Display

Connecticut hardcore that hits hard and swerves harder

By / / Punk / Leave a Comment

Dennis will return shortly from a well-deserved break from work and blogging. But until that moment, I am taking full liberty to write about fast and loud music that will probably make him face palm, shake his head, and question some of my life choices.

Like the new Wreckage LP! My oh my, does this crew from Connecticut know exactly what works and what does not in hardcore punk. The label drops names like Judge, Uniform Choice, and Statue. The reference points heard by this blogger: Carry On and In My Eyes.

Classic old-school hardcore fury packed into a modern frame, with some seriously unexpected rock detours thrown into the mix. That final 80 seconds of Turn The Page? Absolutely not something you would expect to hear on a hardcore record. But damn if it does not work. And it is far from the only guitar blowout on the record. Honestly, it makes me appreciate Wreckage even more.

Wreckage is one kickass band, no doubt about it. Fast, loud, and clearly not interested in playing it safe. Out now on 12″ through Scheme Records.


Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Scheme

New album: THE CARP || TANGLED UP WITH THE TWO TAILED RAT

A new dose of unhinged punk from familiar faces

By / / Garage Rock, Punk / Leave a Comment

Before we start, let’s make one thing clear: we love Cruelster. I cannot emphasize that enough. The reason? We are about to put the spotlight on a band that contains all but one member of Cruelster, and THE CARP themselves have stated that the feelings of said member, Alex, might get hurt by people raging about THE CARP.

And we would obviously never want that. Causing emotional damage to Alex is not something we take lightly.

Then again, there is a song called Fuck Alex Karp, and my intelligence is unsure whether this is actually about said Alex or a different Alex and whether his feelings are safe after all. A complicated situation that requires a level of investigation far beyond the scope of this write-up.

So perhaps I should remain Schwiss here. Neutral. Careful. Completely unable to pick a side in this extremely delicate matter. I would hate for Alex to wake up tomorrow and discover that a small music blog has caused a personal crisis.

That said, if you are a fan of Cruelster, you may (or may not) like THE CARP as well. THE CARP sounds a little less unhinged, perhaps, but subtlety is still very much not at play here. It is punk though, and it is out on Total Punk Records.

I am fairly certain no human beings were harmed in the creation of this write-up. Alex’s feelings remain unknown. Now go listen to THE CARP. Or Cruelster. Or both.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Worms In Dirt || I Almost Touched a Fish

Seattle's Worms in Dirt play the right kind of folksy indie punk on second album

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

I’m usually a firm believer that folk and punk should leave each other well alone. Every now and then, though, a band chips away at that conviction. Pigeon Pit did. Seattle queer indie punks Worms In Dirt do too. The band first popped onto our radar in 2024, and this week they returned with their second album.

I Almost Touched a Fish races through ten songs in twenty plus minutes, hopping between indie folk punk, indie pop, and a handful of acoustic moments where the fiddle gets plenty of room to shine. It’s folk by implication, functioning like an undercurrent that quietly shapes the mood. Worms In Dirt have far more in common with a band like Radiator Hospital than Flogging Molly. And on a personal note, thank heaven for that.

This is a charming record that wins you over one song at a time. Completely DIY, completely unpretentious, and all the better for it.

Out now on CD and CS at CorpoRAT Records.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || CorpoRAT

New album: Inland Years || Nowadays

Lo-fi comfort for overstimulated brains

By / / Indie Rock, Jangle Pop / Leave a Comment

Thirteen songs in sixteen minutes? There have been less compelling reasons to start an argument online. But debating whether Nowadays, the latest release from Inland Years, is an EP or an album misses the point entirely. The important thing is that Ryan Daniels has once again packed a surprising amount of charm into a very small package.

The Brooklyn songwriter specializes in home-recorded jangle pop: chiming guitars, easygoing vocals, and melodies that feel far too beautiful to be trapped inside such delightfully lo-fi recordings. The songs arrive quickly, often disappearing before you’ve fully settled into them, but that’s part of the appeal. They function less like grand statements and more like little resets for an overstimulated brain.

If you’ve already spent time with Bill Fox, The Byrds, Guided by Voices, Tony Molina’s more recent work, or 2nd Grade, Inland Years feels like another secret handshake. One of the underground’s best-kept secrets, quietly releasing songs that are over almost as soon as they begin and somehow lingering long afterward. There are 13 new Inland Years originals here, with the record closing out with a cover of Gene Clark’s Dark of my Moon.

Nowadays is out now on BSDJ.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Handgrenade Hearts || Pull The Pin

Glam-punk with the safety removed [pun intended]

By / / Glam Rock, Punk / Leave a Comment

When a band calls itself Handgrenade Hearts, names its debut album Pull The Pin, and puts the title in giant pink letters next to heart-shaped hand grenades, what does your brain immediately expect?

Ding ding ding! If you guessed glam-punk rock ‘n’ roll, give yourself a prize.

Pull The Pin delivers exactly that, and then some. You may remember Handgrenade Hearts from last December’s excellent So Fresh compilation. With sixty five (!) bands on that release, it’s understandable if they slipped past you, but their contribution Generation appears here as well and still sounds like a lost classic someone forgot to tell us about. In fact, I had to double-check whether Handgrenade Hearts were really a 2026 band. They look like they should still be getting asked for ID at venues.

All twelve songs are original compositions recorded this year in their hometown of Melbourne, which for a while now has been the answer to every question that starts with “where are all these great underground bands coming from?”

Generation is far from the only instant earworm. Cold Heart has a chorus that feels familiar in the best possible way (“You have a cold, cold heart / Yes, you do”), while Handgrenade Hearts itself works as the band’s own mission statement disguised as a singalong anthem. Then there are the gloriously punked-up rushes of I Feel Alright and Confusion, which hit with the kind of sleazy energy that makes you want to knock over a drink and start a band.

I’ve been banging on about the current rock ‘n’ roll renaissance all year, and Handgrenade Hearts have arrived to claim the glam-stained, leather-jacketed corner of it. Good times!

Pull The Pin is out now on LP through Love Soldier Records.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Hurry || Zoned Out

Another alternative power pop gem from Matt Scottoline et al

By / / Alternative Rock, Power Pop / Leave a Comment

When Matt Scottoline announced a new Hurry record, he apparently wondered whether the world really needed another Hurry album. That feels like a very Matt Scottoline thing to worry about. The good news is that Zoned Out, the band’s sixth full-length and fourth for Lame-O Records, answers the question within the first minute: yes, absolutely.

I’ve loved Hurry ever since I first heard When I’m With You from their 2016 Guided Meditation LP, and what strikes me here is how the band sounds both unmistakably familiar and noticeably energized. The laid-back, bittersweet power pop is still there, but the guitars hit a little harder, the grooves have more swagger, and Scottoline sounds in full control. All Sunk In opens the record in classic Hurry fashion with a sweet vocal melody sung over a chugging power chords that drive the song, winning you over long before the rest of the instruments kick in after 40 seconds.

Teenage Fanclub remains the obvious north star, and Moving After You might be the clearest example yet. Having Gerard Love guest on the track feels like a power-pop fan fiction that somehow became real. The voices blend beautifully, and if you’re a Teenage Fanclub devotee, this song is basically catnip.

What makes Zoned Out special is the tension running through it. Scottoline writes about impending fatherhood, writer’s block, online dating awkwardness, and the terrifying realization that adult life eventually catches up with everyone. Yet he packages those anxieties in melodies so warm and inviting that you find yourself humming along to existential dread.

For a band called Hurry, they’ve always taken their time getting here. On Zoned Out, they are moving forward with purpose. It is out now on Lame-O Records.


Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Lame-O

New album: Neil Brogan || Near Broken Band

Belfast songsmith offering comfort and joy on latest album

By / / Indie Pop, Indie Rock, Jangle Pop / Leave a Comment

Neil Brogan’s new album sounds a lot like its 2024 predecessor Neil Brogan Band. Even the title feels like a sequel with a typo. Neil Brogan Band? Near Broken Band? Potatoes!

We’ve been fans of Brogan since his Sea Pinks and Girls Names days, and under his own name he continues to write jangly, breezy guitar-pop songs wrapped around that warm, instantly recognizable voice and the gentle punch of his drumming. The impressive thing is how effortlessly he reaches a level of melodic satisfaction that many songwriters spend entire careers chasing. You almost start taking it for granted.

Which is why it’s such a pleasure when Near Broken Band forces you to stop and appreciate the craftsmanship hiding inside all that easygoing charm. The opening stretch is sequenced beautifully, moving from the almost twee-punk bounce of Joys of Spring and Fast & Loose into the standout Sooner (Rather than Later). Built around a deceptively simple guitar riff, it’s the kind of song that tricks your brain into believing you’ve known it for years, only to make you hit repeat anyway.

Then Brogan follows it with Egg On Yr Face, a wonderfully playful tune with a chorus that’s hard not to grin at. By the time the album reaches its midpoint, Neil Brogan has done what Neil Brogan albums tend to do: quietly, unassumingly, and completely won you over. Again.


Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

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