What a time to be alive. I’m not referring to all the disturbing developments you hear about in the news media every day, but to the opportunities available to everyone to create and share music. Take American singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Ben Nothing, who has been doing this for years—under the moniker of How Down—simply because he can. “I just kinda like the whole process of putting songs together,” he explains when asked. On his new album Make Your Move he has collected 17 favorite tunes from the period 2015-2025. Although he claims that he wrote and recorded most of them in only about half an hour—”Sometimes they come from a very genuine and heartfelt place, but other times I’m just trying to make my friends laugh”—there is a lot to enjoy and discover here.

Expect lo-fi garage rock, with the older tracks tending towards raw punk. In all cases it is spontaneous and energetic, with heavy guitars, gravelly vocals and straightforward lyrics, and a surprising number of original ideas and ravishing moments.

Make Your Move is out now digitally (self-released).

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp