Straight out of Philadelphia, meet Gripper, a new five-piece whose debut demo has me all kinds of fired up. Better yet, just press play on Hold On and Crept Up and you’ll see why this feels like a new musical crush in the making. It’s punky garage rock from players who like their hard rock sharp-edged and swaggering, and they pull it off with a confidence that’s hard to ignore. The melodies cut cleanly through the noise, making every hook hit harder. Honestly, this is the kind of discovery that makes me grateful to have a blog — so I can shout about it to anyone who’ll listen. KILLER first set, dudes!!!

The 4-song Demo EP is out now through Crosshair Records.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp