New EP: Clean Lines || Nuisance

The real deal in rock-'n'-roll brilliance

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

Members of Circle Jerks, The Briefs, Boss Martians, and Geraldine Fibbers have joined forces as Clean Lines, the latest rock-’n’-roll fantasy unleashed by the ever-reliable Spaghetty Town Records (US), Ghost Highway Recordings (Spain), and Wanda Records (Germany).

Clean Lines hit that sweet spot between rock-’n’-roll, power pop, and glam, where bratty attitude, big hooks, and killer guitar riffs reign supreme. Wannabes? Hardly. These folks are the real deal. Spin So Sharp and In The Way for some high-octane earworms, or soak in the groovy vibes of the title track Nuisance. This EP is packed with everything you’d want and more—hooky, sharp, and pure fun.

Add to wantlist: Spaghetty Town || Wanda Records || Ghost Highway

New Album: Bike Notes || Bike Notes

A new pop punk band with old school chops

By / / Punk / Leave a Comment

I’ve seen debates online about whether 15-minute pop-punk records deserve a spot on AOTY lists—or if they should be considered short-format releases instead. Bike Notes, however, aren’t taking any chances. This new Edinburgh band shies away from sub-two-minute songs but never drags, even when they cross the three-minute mark.

Featuring members of The Murderburgers, Wrong Life, and The Walking Targets, Bike Notes deliver their debut with the confidence and polish of seasoned veterans. They fuse classic ’90s pop-punk with a late ’00s/early ’10s edge, evoking the energy of bands like The Copyrights, The Methadones, and The Dopamines. It’s one of those records you can dive into without hesitation.

Bike Notes is out now on CD via Limited Fun (Scotland), Bloated Kat (US), and Waterslide (Japan).



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Walter Daniels and the Del Valle Trustees || Work Release

High-voltage blues-punk energy meets gritty storytelling

By / / Garage Rock / Leave a Comment

After a more than satisfying Coffee Break, it is time for a Work Release. That’s right, American blues-punk pioneer Walter Daniels (Big Foot Chester, Black Joe Lewis & Cool Breeze, Jack O’Fire, Meet Your Death, South Filthy, The Bloodsucking Go-Devils, etc.) is back, along with his band The Del Valle Trustees. They have crafted eleven new garage rock songs, versatile gems with a live feel—the music and vocals as well as the lyrics are all about raw, powerful and soulful. In addition to the strong originals, they deliver successful covers of Strychnine (The Sonics), 11 Months and 29 Days (Johnny Paycheck) and One Step Closer (Tim Kerr & Mike Carroll). Dancing is not excluded.




Work Release, engineered by Roky Moon & Kurtis D. Machler, is out now digitally and on vinyl LP through Chaputa! Records and Ghost Highway Recordings. Featuring Walter Daniels (vocals, harmonica, nose flute), Evan Whitehead (guitar, backing vocals), Kevin Curtin (mandolin, backing vocals), Scott Stewart (electric and stand-up bass, backing vocals), and Matt Hammer (drums), with guest musicians Texacala Jones and Henri Herbert on select tracks.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Chaputa! || Ghost Highway

New album: Seudo Youth || Nobody Gets Down Like…

15 minutes of classic hardcore bliss

By / / Punk / Leave a Comment

Like a whirlwind out of nowhere, Nobody Gets Down Like… makes an explosive entrance and wastes no time turning your space into chaos. This debut album delivers 15 minutes of high-octane Southern Californian hardcore punk that hits like a triple espresso injected straight into your veins.

Seudo Youth—featuring members of G.U.N.N., Diode, Advoids, and People’s Temple—showcases a deep love for hardcore punk and a sharp understanding of what makes the genre great. The formula is simple but effective: relentless instrumentation played at breakneck speed and delivered with infectious passion.

Classic hardcore at its finest, Nobody Gets Down Like… is a no-frills, adrenaline-fueled record that demands repeat listens. Out now on 12″ through Going Underground Records.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: The Cong || Bally Broads

How the synergy of craft and technology leads to a unique sound

By / / Psych / Leave a Comment

Eight months have passed since we introduced you to The Cong, the anonymous trio of musicians—disguised as monkeys—who dare to admit that they use AI as a tool for time travel experimentation (this is the short summary of the extensive explanation of their creative process that I got first hand: the composition, structure, chords and lyrics are all organic, then filtered through AI systems to sound more like the era and genres they want to sound like, then re-edited, re-mixed and mastered—it’s basically a big hybrid that takes a lot of work). In the meantime they’ve shared 19 other releases—76 songs, if I counted correctly—that are interesting, exuberant and versatile to say the least, which certainly also applies to the video arena they’ve moved into.

Enough reasons to turn the spotlight on last month’s Bally Broads LP, where Jungle Jim, Ursus and Bubbles perform psychedelic and progressive rock in an imaginary circus from bygone times. Whatever you think of the underlying method, the result is idiosyncratic, original and colorful, an entertaining listen full of crazy surprises.



Bally Broads is out digitally and on 12″ vinyl through Slimecore.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New Compilation: Various Artists || Star Charms

Inscrutable Records curates a can’t miss "pop and other flavors" compilation

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

Holy macaroni—essential tape alert! Inscrutable Records, self-proclaimed purveyors of “pop and other flavors,” have released Star Charms, a compilation showcasing three standout acts from the U.S. Midwest. Each band contributes three songs firmly rooted in the outsider pop universe, making for a must-hear release.

Answering Machines (Chicago) serve up three scrappy lo-fi punk gems, their raw energy filtered through what feels like warped tape and an old-school beatbox. Good Flying Birds (Indianapolis) channel an underground pop vibe deeply influenced by the ’80s UK indie label scene. Meanwhile, Soup Activists (St. Louis) sound like they’ve been marinating in the sweet jangly essence of Dunedin records during an extended quarantine.

With not a single dud in the mix, Star Charms sets the 2025 bar high for compilation albums.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New EP: Jared Hart || The Condor

A heartfelt tribute to a dear friend

By / / Blues & Roots, Country & Folk / Leave a Comment

New Jersey-based singer-songwriter Jared Hart (Mercy Union, The Scandals) returns with three originals and a cover of Mac Miller’s Come Back To Earth, collected on an EP entitled The Condor. This first new solo offering in ten years examines our mortality and the lasting imprints that loved ones who have passed continue to place onto our own lives. It is one that had to be made: it is dedicated to the life and memory of his close friend Chris Duffy, who called himself The Condor.

You will understand that these are personal songs, pure and heartfelt, emphasized by those characteristic gritty vocals, but the guitars also cry along. It has everything roots rock should have.

The Condor, produced by Jared Hart & Matt Olsson, is out now digitally and on 12″ Coke bottle clear vinyl through Mt. Crushmore Records. Featuring Jared Hart (guitar, vocals) and Mark Masefield (keys, organ), with contributions fromMatt Olsson, Nick Jorgensen, Casey macalush, Tommy Gunn, Sean Carney and Rocky Catanese on select tracks.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Mt. Crushmore

New EP: Liquids || Tennessee Rose

A wild ride from these midwest punks

By / / Punk / Leave a Comment

It’s been a while since I last wrote about Liquids, back when they released what I thought was the best punk record of the year. Since then, the band has put out a steady stream of singles, odds and ends compilations, EPs, and albums—some of which, for reasons I can’t quite pin down, didn’t fully click with me. But that’s the beauty of Liquids: they do whatever they want. They’re never boring, and while not everything may land, your next favorite punk track could pop up at any moment.

Enter Tennessee Rose. WHAT. A. HIT! Clocking in at 130 seconds, this track is pure catchiness. Still distinctly lo-fi, it finds Liquids at their most melodic and accessible. It’s the perfect gateway for the remaining seven tracks on the EP, where the band unapologetically have fun doing whatever they please.

You’ll find a shredding instrumental, a blistering 50-second hardcore burst (Change), some brooding death rock (Pale Moon Dancer), and delightfully deconstructed covers of classics: Elvis Presley’s Promise Land (sic) and Sus Minds (sic!), and Dusty Springfield’s Sun of a Preacher Man (sic!!).

I guess what I am trying to say is that I had an absolute blast playing this one on repeat today.


Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New compilation: Various Artists || 4 Way Split LP

Heavy Lag, Sekunderna, Teenage Bigfoot, and TV Cop bring the heat

By / / Punk / Leave a Comment

On May 20, 2003, Rip Off Records and Dirtnap Records released the self-titled debut LP by Marked Men. Two decades later, we’re still feeling its ripple effects, with bands worldwide using Marked Men’s DNA as the blueprint for their music. The latest example is the 4 Way Split featuring Heavy Lag, Sekunderna, Teenage Bigfoot, and TV Cop—four bands that toured the East Coast together last year.

Each band contributes three songs, including a standout cover. Heavy Lag deliver a faithful rendition of Fan and the Bellows (The Chameleons), Sekunderna offer what might be my favorite California Sun cover of the 2000s, Teenage Bigfoot give Dreams (The Cranberries) a pop-punk twist, and TV Cop let loose on Flirtin’ With Disaster (Molly Hatchet).

While the covers are a fun bonus, it’s the original tracks that make this LP a must-have. Heavy Lag and Sekunderna, both Wantlist regulars, once again prove they’re top-tier in the Marked Men-inspired poppy punk rock realm. Adding to their pedigree, Jeff Burke of Marked Men fame recorded and mixed both bands’ tracks, and also mastered the entire compilation.

Teenage Bigfoot bring a raw, fast-paced ’90s melodic punk sound, while TV Cop (also making their return to the Wantlist) carve out their own indie-punk niche, blending pop-punk sensibilities with a touch of metal. This LP is an absolute blast, leaving me even more envious of those lucky enough to catch the bands’ joint 2024 tour. 4 Way Split is out now via Bloated Kat Records.




Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Amphibian Man || Ether

Instrumental surf metal from Ukraine, inspired by topics such as Crystallization, Transmutation and Purification

By / / Surf Music / Leave a Comment

Kyiv, Ukraine might not be the first place you think of when it comes to surf rock, but that’s where Amphibian Man aka Ivan Semeshchenko does just that. His latest album Ether consists of nine atmospheric instrumentals full of metal influences and reverb, excelling in layered guitar parts that bring original melodies to the table. It sounds like it’s emerging from the twilight zone, a bit heavy-handed, but definitely an absorbing listen.



Ether is out now digitally (self-released).

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

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