Dennis

New EP: The City Feels || The Great Now

A collaborative tribute to resilience, community, and Toronto life

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

Toronto-based singer-songwriter Andrew Champion, recording as The City Feels, took the long road to his debut EP, The Great Now. A 2021 summer spark morphed into a five-year labor of love as life happened (surgery after a bike accident, audio engineering school, fatherhood). It ultimately led to this highly collaborative, triumphant blend of shimmering indie pop and melancholic 80s new wave, solid and charming. The addictive standout track The City Feels (like home) beams with civic pride, but the remaining four songs are also compelling. Although we were not previously aware of this creative process, the result was entirely worth the wait. Hopefully more will follow soon.


The Great Now is out now streaming via Murray B. Records. Featuring Andrew Champion (vocals, rhythm guitar), Adam Thurston (lead guitar), Lucina Rakotovao (bass), and Sam Pereira (drums).

Add to wantlist: PUSH

New album: Parlor Greens || Emeralds

Instrumental funk that actually says something

By / / Funk & Soul / Leave a Comment

Adam Scone (Scone Cash Players, The Sugarman 3) on organ. Jimmy James (True Loves, Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio) on guitar. And Tim Carman (GA-20) on drums. That is right, Loveland, Ohio’s Parlor Greens are back, having never really been away. It has been less than two years since their debut LP In Green We Dream came out, and singles like Eat Your Greens, Drop Top, and Emeralds came along in the meantime, as well as an inimitable Jolene cover. Those tunes are all present on their sophomore album, Emeralds, a tight, heavy, and emotionally resonant set that almost feels like a ‘best of’ compilation.

In essence, this is a grooving mix of soul, funk, and jazz, but the gritty character also gives the eleven songs an unmistakable rock vibe. All instrumental, until the voice of Jimmy’s mother can be heard in the subdued closing track Queen Of My Heart, a beautiful tribute since she is no longer with us. Road-tested chemistry meets something deeper here.




Emeralds—produced by Parlor Greens and Leroi Conroy—is out now digitally, on cassette, CD and vinyl LP, through Colemine Records.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Colemine || Discogs

New album: The Melmacs || EUPHANCHOLIA

A fizzy blast of hooks, heart, and high-energy charm

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

Four years after their year-end list worthy debut LP Good Advice, German rock ‘n’ roll quartet The Melmacs has lost none of its enthusiasm. In fact, the twelve original songs on their sophomore album EUPHANCHOLIA exceed all expectations. Max, Connie, Bimmi, and Remo Melmac stir a good dose of fun and idiosyncrasy into the basic ingredients of power pop, garage rock, and proto-punk in the cauldron of magic potion, leading to an explosion of hits and hooks. One catchy tune follows another, fueled by a relentless organ and infectious harmonies that feel universally inviting (I can imagine that a remix of standout track Keep On could also make EDM fans go wild). Big energy, loud fun, and a wink of rebellion; an Electric Night guaranteed.



EUPHANCHOLIA—recorded by Max Melmac—is out now digitally and on vinyl LP through Bakraufarfita Records, Spaghetty Town Records, and Wanda Records.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Discogs || Bakraufarfita || Spaghetty Town || Wanda

New album: Brown Horse || Total Dive

Small moments carry the weight of everything

By / / Country & Folk / Leave a Comment

British slacker twang outfit Brown Horse return to the wantlist with their third full-length album, Total Dive. Their skills and sound developed and polished, this latest effort feels carefully held, balancing melancholic toughness with hushed reflection. The ten new songs linger in the half-light, tracing quiet moments with a steady, unshowy confidence, especially reflected in the charismatic vocals and the slow-burn arrangements.

The poetic lyrics trace the quiet collapse and persistence of everyday life, where violence, memory, and emotional distance seep into ordinary moments that merge beauty and decay: “As soon as the darkness // Gives way to the light // The morning’s broken by a spike of spirit in flight // Your face through the cold glass // My hand on the wheel // What did I tell you about asking how I feel” (from Wreck). This is a record that resists drama but lands emotionally, finding something tender and unresolved in the spaces between indifference and fragility.



Total Dive—produced by Owen Turner—is out now digitally, on CD and vinyl LP, through Loose Music. Featuring Patrick Turner (guitar, vocals), Emma Tovell (lapl steel, bass), Nyle Holihan (guitar, banjo, bass), and Rowan Braham (keys, accordion), with Ben Rodwell (drums) and Neve Cariad (backing vocals).

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Discogs

New album: Iguana Death Cult || Guns Out

Wrestling doubt in a world on fire

By / / Garage Rock, Psych / Leave a Comment

Rotterdam’s Iguana Death Cult dial it back to their roots on their fourth full-lengther, Guns Out, following 2023’s exuberant Echo Palace LP. The ten new songs are a wiry, punch-drunk mix of psychedelic garage rock and danceable punk funk, with sharp riffs, pummeling drums, and Jeroen Reek’s frayed yelp cutting through themes of burnout, escapism, and uneasy self-reckoning.

The record excels in raw nerves, wild rhythms, and loud amps—chaotic, sweaty, and unpolished. Quirky lead single I Like It, It’s Nice, walking the line between satire and shrug, equal parts consumer critique and deadpan absurdity, could very well become the anthem of the upcoming festival summer. This band keeps growing, wired into the madness they’re trying to outrun.



Guns Out—recorded by Simon Akkermans—is out now digitally, on cassette and vinyl LP, through Greenway Records / Reverberation Appreciation Society. Featuring Jeroen Reek, Tobias Opschoor, Jimmy de Kok, and Uri Rennert.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Iguana Death Cult || Greenway || Levitation || The Orchard

New album: Hawel/McPhail || Sorrow Wonderland

Fuzz pedals and hard truths

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

On their sophomore album, Hamburg, Germany-based indie rock veterans Rick McPhail (Mint Mind, Tocotronic) and Frehn Hawel (Tigerbeat) take us to Sorrow Wonderland. It lies somewhere between grit and grace, floating on meaning and a stubborn sense of purpose. We discover twelve tracks of wiry garage rock, performed with a vicious punk intensity. Guitars bite, rhythms groove, vocals feel urgent, but there’s also a quiet acceptance underneath it all.

Covered in fuzz and captured in a GbVfi-like sound, this is one of those records that gets better and better with every spin. The first listen intrigues, the second draws you in, by the third you’re still uncovering new details, and before you know it, you’re fully hooked.




Sorrow Wonderland—recorded, mixed, and mastered by Richard Arthur McPhail—is out now digitally and on vinyl LP through La Pochette Surprise Records.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || La Pochette Surprise

New album: Femur || Tales From The Alley

Fuzzed-out fury with a razor-sharp edge

By / / Garage Rock, Psych / Leave a Comment

The riffs snarl, the rhythm section barrels forward, the hooks stick. Songwriter Arturo “King Jartur” Mazarro (vocals, rhythm guitars, harp, percussion), Mike “Lord Sali” from the House of Usher (lead guitar, backing vocals), Juanjo “The Wolfman” Crespo (bass), and Ivan “The Creature” Fragua (drums, percussion, backing vocals) tell fourteen Tales From The Alley.

As you might expect, Femur‘s fourth LP is loud and jagged, but otherwise they put their own spin on garage rock as we know it. The distinctive vocals function here as an instrument in their own right, reinforcing the mean guitars. This is focused madness doubling down on a fuzzed-out psych sound, raw energy refined into something lethal.



Tales From The Alley is out now digitally and on vinyl LP through Chaputa! Records.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Chaputa!

New album: Jessye DeSilva || Glitter Up The Dark

Joy, grief, and defiance intertwine in a transformative work

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

“Go play mindgames with your toys // I still got my punk rock joy // Take my rights but you can’t destroy // All my love and my punk rock joy.” Lines that are not essentially different from what you normally listen to on our blog, but the packaging by Boston-based singer-songwriter Jessye DeSilva is a completely different story, both in sound and meaning. On her third album, Glitter Up The Dark, she pushes her piano-led alt-Americana into bolder, brighter territory. Produced by (and created in close collaboration with) Aaron Lee Tasjan, the ten new songs thread 80s pop shimmer, 90s alt textures, and 00s theatrical sparkle through rootsy foundations, landing somewhere between confessional and cathartic.

At a time when the artist’s identity as a trans woman is under increasing threat, the lyrics about queer joy, identity, and resistance feel urgent but never heavy-handed, just as the artist’s sound and voice are distinctly her own: defiant, tender, and alive to possibility.



Glitter Up The Dark is out now digitally and on CD (self-released). Featuring Jessye DeSilva (lead vocals,piano, Wurlitzer, Fender Rhodes), Aaron Lee Tasjan (backing vocals, guitars, bass, organ, synths), and Matty Alger (backing vocals, drums, percussion, drum machine, synths), with Butch Walker (backing vocals, guitars), LaFemmeBear (backing vocals, and Adia Victoria (backing vocals) on select tracks.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Dirt Road Souls || (The Life and Times of) Johnny Moonshine

The kind of story that gets better every time it’s told

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

Dirt Road Souls may be a new band, but their skills and sound are as accomplished as can be. We are dealing here with Boston roots-rock veterans Davis Black aka Dave Yuknat (vocals, guitar), Brian Sargent (upright bass, vocals, mandolin), and Rick Weden (drums). Their debut record spins a myth: (The Life and Times of) Johnny Moonshine plays like a half-remembered barroom yarn, where truth matters less than feeling. Twelve dusty tracks sketch out the rise and unraveling of a small-town anti-hero with a taste for trouble, love, and late-night bad decisions that make better stories.

There’s a loose, lived-in charm and warmth to the remarkably soulful mix of bluesy Americana, country rock, and Southern gothic, with a knack for melody, at times reminiscent of the Rolling Stones. Obviously, the album is best experienced as a whole, but individual songs also hold up well; highlights include Next To You (a glimpse into rural small-town nightlife and the pure optimism of getting near the person you desire most), Dreams (Johnny and Jenny, now together, have a heart to heart—with guest vocals by Ava McCabe), Bright Light White Heat (the rebel’s luck runs out), and Whiskey Bottle Blues (the titular character makes more wrong choices). This is lived experience turned into music, hitting that sweet spot between romanticism and regret. I am an instant fan.



The “roots-rock opera” (The Life and Times of) Johnny Moonshine—written by Dave Yuknat, produced and recorded by Brian Sargent—is out now digitally (self-released).

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New EP: Alpha Pet || Alpha Pet

Wow!

By / / Alternative Rock, Garage Rock, Indie Rock / Leave a Comment

Although they prefer biting to being cuddled, Alpha Pet is certainly one to bring home. The art-rock band from Stockholm, Sweden, recently released their self-titled debut EP, which has everything it takes to score big on year-end lists (at least in mine, for what it’s worth). The six tracks showcase an electrifying mix of restless post-punk and melancholic new wave, rooted in the late 70s but streaked with ’80s reverb haze. Sharp guitars, an unruly rhythm section, and self-assured vocals deliver plenty of hooks and even more energy, infectious and danceable. Hits!

RIYL: Public Image Ltd., Gang Of Four, Pere Ubu, DEVO.



The Alpha Pet EP is out digitally via Rama Lama Records. Featuring Rocky Åberg (vocals, guitar), Freddi Ramel (guitar, backing vocals), Joakim Almén (bass, backing vocals), and Patrik Eklund (drums, backing vocals).

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

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