New album: Cherry Cheeks || D.O. & The Bytes

By / / Garage Rock, Punk / 1 Comment

“When you think you have a choice… you’re just a dataset. When you think you have a voice… you’re just a dataset,” Kyle Harms sings early on the brand new (third) Cherry Cheeks LP. Later on, he kicks off the insanely catchy Cruel Bore by stating “I love my A.I. girlfriend.” If there was any doubt of where Kyle Harms’ mind is right now, D.O. & The Bytes is very much a punk record for 2026.

The album tackles life in an increasingly digital world, and it doesn’t shy away from sounding digital either. Synths play a prominent role throughout, while the songs balance genuine frustration with the playful weirdness of the mutant punk scene. At the same time, there is a filthy thowback sound to this with many of the riffs trace their DNA back to late-’70s punk. The poppy one-two punch of Cruel Bore and D.O. Gets Hitched even carries a strong Dickies vibe. Cherry Cheeks feels like one of those rare projects that could unite punk kids from multiple generations.

The label describes the album as “a rock opera by way of a Saturday morning cartoon,” and that’s not far off. The sequencing hints at a larger narrative that gradually reveals itself with repeated listens. Opener D.O. Theme could easily soundtrack a quirky Cartoon Network show, but the arc underneath is far less innocent. D.O, The digital protagonist finds itself pursued by forces seeking to erase its memories, while themes of surveillance, algorithmic control, digital isolation, identity, and the commodification of our online lives lurk beneath the surface.

Still, you don’t need to follow the plot to enjoy this thing. The songs are ridiculously catchy. Seriously, catch-freakin’-y. Harms, handling virtually everything himself, has outdone himself here. And when closer Bytes Ballad arrives, all those ones and zeros reveal a surprisingly human heart.

D.O. & The Bytes is out today on Total Punk Records.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Total Punk

New EP: The Gnomes || More

Melbourne quartet turn up their amps on their winning formula

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

For their new EP, Jay Millar and The Gnomes crank up the amps, giving their ’60s beat revivalism an extra kick. Opener Thinking of Me lands much closer to fellow Australian bands like Loose Lips and The Unknowns than, say, The Beatles. It is sharper, louder, and packed with the kind of energy that belongs in a sweaty club or basement.

The other three songs are a little closer to The Gnomes’ previous output, with Magic Man emerging as the latest standout. You can practically see the crowd packed around the stage, bouncing along to the band.

The added crunch and confidence on the More EP should only add fuel to the growing hype around The Gnomes. To our ears, that makes perfect sense. This is throwback rock-‘n’-roll done right.


Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New EP: The Mutant Band || Just Play Rock And Roll

Rockabilly's simplest pleasures still go a long way

By / / Garage Rock, Surf / Leave a Comment

The Mutant Band is the one-man garage-rock wrecking crew of Barcelona’s Diego Santillán, and his Just Play Rock And Roll EP does exactly what its title promises. Across six lean, fired-up cuts, the multi-instrumentalist tears through a wonderfully scrappy mix of primitive garage rock, psychobilly swagger, and twangy surf riffs, keeping things raw, loud, and gloriously uncomplicated. The chants are every bit as direct as the music (“If you feel so bad // Or you feel so sad // Just play rock and roll”), but that’s precisely the point.

These short tunes aren’t interested in overthinking anything; they’re built on instinct, energy, and the enduring belief that a fuzzed-out guitar and a good beat can solve at least a few of life’s problems. Fast, fun, and refreshingly unpretentious, this is rock ‘n’ roll reduced to its most essential ingredients.


Just Play Rock And Roll is out digitally (self-released).

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: La Famiglia || Alphabet Mafia

Beth Seymour goes for a Big Beth Beatdown

By / / Punk / Leave a Comment

There is no stopping Beth Seymour. In recent years alone she has released an alt-rocking autobiographical duology with The Lizzies and one of the finest Ramonescore records of the decade so far with Hormones. Now comes another project, La Famiglia, and naturally it heads off in a different direction altogether.

Alphabet Mafia is rooted in melodic hardcore, with Dag Nasty, AFI, Madball, and G.L.O.S.S. serving as useful reference points. It is as fierce as it is melodic, with Seymour, who wrote, recorded, and produced the entire album herself, howling and screaming her way through songs that occasionally echo some of hardcore’s most beloved melodies, chord progressions and dynamics.

This is the first La Famiglia record since Seymour came out as transgender, and that experience sits at the heart of the album. These songs turn transition, alienation, and backlash into a defiant hardcore narrative about self-recognition, mutual defense, and refusing to shrink to fit someone else’s idea of punk or gender.

In a genre that prides itself on challenging norms, Alphabet Mafia feels like a reminder of what punk is supposed to be in the first place.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Zoh Amba || Eyes Full

Rough-cut guitar songs as vessels for healing and transcendence

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

With Eyes Full, versatile musician Zoh Amba steps away from the avant-garde saxophone world that first made their name and returns home, to Kingsport, Tennessee, and to their first instrument, the guitar. Recorded live with guitarist Kevin Hyland and drummer Jim White, the album blends ragged acoustic blues, Appalachian folk, and bursts of scorched alt-rock into something intriguingly idiosyncratic, deeply personal, and spiritually charged.

The thirteen songs are as pure as can be, delivered with fire and carried by raw and unguarded vocals declaiming stories of working-class lives, redemption, and hard-earned grace. A rough-cut instrumental backdrop lends them an even greater sense of urgency and vulnerability. Eyes Full is a fearless, heart-on-sleeve record that finds beauty, dignity, and mercy in overlooked places.



Eyes Full is out digitally, on CD and vinyl LP, through Matador Records.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Discogs || Matador

New album: Gimic || New Traditions

Bristol's Gimic push hardcore into exciting territory on debut LP

By / / Punk / Leave a Comment

When Drunken Sailor Records releases something new, you can safely assume it’s worth your time. And, in the case of Bristol quartet Gimic, probably your money as well.

Despite forming six years ago and already releasing a pair of excellent 7″s through Crew Cuts Records, New Traditions is only now their full-length debut. Based on these twelve songs, the band certainly hasn’t spent that time sitting around. The passion and urgency is palpable throughout.

While this is unmistakably a hardcore punk record, Gimic refuse to mosh by numbers. Instead, they push and pull at the genre from all angles. Every member leaves a distinct mark on the music. The singer attacks every line as if it actually matters, the guitar and bass frequently lock into intricate, almost mathy interplay, and the drumming is exceptional, navigating constant shifts in pace and intensity without ever losing momentum.

Most importantly, New Traditions never becomes predictable. It functions as a pressure valve for frustration and anxiety, but one built with genuine creativity and ambition. By the time the title track arrives midway through the album, Gimic reveal an emotional depth that occasionally brings Touché Amoré to mind.

A fierce and refreshing debut from a band determined to do things their own way.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Drunken Sailor

New album: The Sensitive || The Sensitive Complete Discography

Compiling all of the output from Jakarta's twee pop band extraordinaire

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

Indonesia continues to be one of the most exciting places on the planet for indie pop. Unfortunately, in the case of Jakarta twee-pop outfit The Sensitive, the magic appears to be coming to an end. If I’m reading the liner notes from Untune Records correctly, this compilation serves as the band’s final release, with farewell performances scheduled for Jakarta Popfest over the weekend.

As such, The Sensitive Complete Discography gathers the band’s entire recorded output from 2018 to 2026: 23 songs of jangly, stripped-down indie pop built from simple ingredients. A drum machine, guitar, bass, a handful of melodies, and an obvious devotion to the genre. Whether The Sensitive was a one-person operation or not, the music carries the intimacy and determination of a true DIY project.

The compilation includes covers of beloved indie-pop touchstones by The Wake (On Our Honeymoon), Lawrence of Belgravia (We’re Selfish and Lazy and Greedy), Blueboy (Too Good To Be True), The Pastels (Nothing To Be Done), and Mighty Mighty (Where Would I Be). Just as revealing are the originals. Song titles like Forever Twee, Indiepop Politics, and Anoa Records Is My Shepherd radiate a powerful “if you know, you know” energy. This is music made by someone who didn’t just listen to indie pop but genuinely lived inside it.

The “band” may be calling it a day, but this collection feels less like an ending than a permanent document of a scene, a sound, and a deep love for DIY pop music.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New EP: Sorry Monks || When In Rome

Timeless songwriting shines across a remarkably assured new collection

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

British singer-songwriter Oliver Paul Flanagan is one of those few contemporary indie pop artists who relentlessly push forward. Not only is the output under his Sorry Monks moniker almost impossible to keep up with, it consistently hits a high standard. Last March we wrote about his Flora and Fauna LP, and since then we have overlooked some other releases, but we really can’t ignore this new one.

The four songs on the When In Rome EP venture into Beatlesque territory, with clever pop hooks and warm vocal harmonies that bring about a slightly psychedelic and sunny mood. The title track, reportedly written as early as 2012, is the biggest hit here, a timeless hit for the ages. The remaining tunes hardly fall short, rewarding both instant affection and repeated listening. Hats off.

When In Rome is out digitally (self-released).

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New compilation: Various Artists || Pets Sounds

Super likeable animal appreciation from Skep Wax

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

A Skep Wax compilation featuring some of the finest indie pop bands around right now? Including Add To Wantlist favorites like The Cords, Brian Bilston and The Catenary Wires, U.S. Highball, Jetstream Pony, Swansea Sound, Special Friend, Railcard, and The Burning Hell? And every single song is about pets? Say no more. Let me just wait for my cat to stop sitting on the keyboard long enough to place an order.

As much as Gorilla Biscuits’ Cats and Dogs and Youth of Today’s No More remain a part of my diet, there is a special joy in hearing a bunch of brilliant songwriters devote their talents to the furry little weirdos that run our households. These are songs about companionship, unconditional love, minor destruction, and the strange reality that many of us happily rearrange our lives around animals who contribute very little to the mortgage.

If you’ve ever had a cat refuse to move from your lap, a dog greet you like you’ve returned from war after a ten-minute trip to the supermarket, or found yourself talking to a pet as if it were a roommate, there is plenty here to recognize. The talksinging Under A Cat by Brian Bilston and The Catenary Wires is worth the price of admission alone. Swansea Sound’s I Don’t Like Men In Uniform even lets a traumatized animal have its say.

This is not the kind of compilation where every track is exclusive to the compilation, but that’s hardly the point. What you get are 15 excellent songs about cats, dogs, and the humans they’ve successfully trained over the years.

Honestly, if you’re going to make a themed compilation, this is exactly how you do it. LP available for pre-order now, and go visit the release show on London on July 9th if you are in the vicinity.


Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Grapes of Grain || A Muted Hey

Understated charm in abundance

By / / Country & Folk, Indie Pop, Jangle Pop / Leave a Comment

There’s something instantly appealing about the title A Muted Hey. Thankfully, it’s attached to a record that’s equally easy to like: Grapes of Grain deliver another finely crafted collection of bittersweet songs that comfortably mingle jangly indie pop with warm alt-country. On this fourth album (from their back catalogue, 2024’s Painted Windows stands out for me), the Dutch band embraces a more rustic palette than before, weaving banjo, mandolin, and lap steel through the arrangements.

The ten new, original tracks sound spacious and clear, leaving room for occasional offbeat flourishes, always centered around a heartfelt melody and engaging vocals. There Are Too Many Words in This World, states the opening tune from which the record derives its title, but I wouldn’t have wanted to miss any of it. This is an unhurried and rewarding listen full of detail.



A Muted Hey is out digitally via Drag Days. Featuring Alexis Vos (vocals, guitar, bass) and Berend Jan Ike (vocals, guitars, bass, drums, piano, lap steel), with Franc Timmerman (drums, guitar, bass, percussion), Harm van Sleen (pedal steel, violin), Stefan Breuer (keys, guitar, backing vocals), Lara Taska (backing vocals), and Allie Crummy (backing vocals).

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

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