Dennis

New album: The Laughing Chimes || In This Town

By / / Jangle Pop / 5 Comments

It’s not a goal in itself, but when you discover really good music that hardly anyone seems to know about, it’s pretty cool. That’s the feeling I had when listening to In This Town, the debut album about life in a small town by The Laughing Chimes. The humble indie rock / jangle pop band – brothers Evan and Quinn Seurkamp – plays 11 sympathetic melodic tunes that I can’t get enough of. It is precisely for these kinds of discoveries that we started this website, so that you can enjoy it too.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New single: Josh Del || Who Do You Love

By / / Funk & Soul / Leave a Comment

Josh Del’s music encapsulates the time growing up in the scorching desert of the Coachella Valley. And although I’m a long way from there, it comes across loud and clear when he sings ‘I can’t believe this is happening’. His new (digital) single Who Do You Love is a slow soul / blues tune that probably will give you goosebumps. Raspy vocals, a bluesy guitar and heartfelt emotion, I love it.

Add to wantlist: original version || acoustic version (both “pay what you want” downloads at Bandcamp)

New album: Carambolage || On bouge en ville

By / / Indie Rock / Leave a Comment

One of my favorite songs of 2019 was Soupeur by Carambolage, a great catchy tune that you can mix seamlessly into Plastic Bertrand’s Ça Plane Pour Moi at your party – success guaranteed. That song was on an self-titled EP with 4 tracks, now followed by a full-length with 9 new songs. The guitars of the debut have been pushed to the background by synthesizers – the album is a combination of disco, post-punk and rock influences – but the upbeat melodies and French lyrics are strong again, impossible not to move your feet. Out now through Musique d’Aperitif Records. Judge yourself.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

…

New album: Carambolage || On bouge en villeRead More »

New album: Nervous Twitch || Nervous Twitch

By / / Punk / Leave a Comment

English pop-punk band Nervous Twitch have released their fourth full-length album, the first to be self-titled. More music in the tradition of the Ramones, just what we need at this moment. The 3-piece play straightforward rock & roll (‘hook filled fuzzy new wave pop songs’, in their own words) and deliver their songs convincingly (‘fuck you I’m stronger than ever’, singer Erin Rumble shouts in Not Everyone’s Out To Get Me), and the organ that appears between the bass, guitar and drums provides a surprising element. This is a cool one. The LP is out now through Reckless Yes.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

…

New album: Nervous Twitch || Nervous TwitchRead More »

New song: Bad Western || Sun In Yr Eyes

By / / Indie Pop / Leave a Comment

The Canadian four-piece indie rock band Bad Western released this happy song, one that you immediately sing along, one that you hope to hear on long car rides, one that I keep for my summer vacation playlist. Sun In Yr Eyes is available to stream / buy now, with all proceeds from the song going to support Eva’s, a charity in Toronto that helps homeless and at-risk youth.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Rats On Rafts || Excerpts From Chapter 3: The Mind Runs A Net Of Rabbit Paths

By / / Punk / Leave a Comment

Last week I had The Moon Is Big on the turntable again, the 2011 debut album by Rats On Rafts. Still a good one, but what a development the Rotterdam post-punks have gone through since then, if you compare it with their new, self-produced third LP (or actually their fourth, if you also count the collaboration with De Kift, and why shouldn’t we). Not only the album title is more complex, the music is also a lot richer and more varied; it adds new maturity and a conceptual feel that pulls the extremes of their sound together. You will hear influences from a tour through Japan, but a listen is a journey in itself, a thrilling psyche-fueled journey with rhythmic kabuki modal mood swings, thunderstorms, digital beeps, traffic noise, and cacophonous reverb-drenched sound. I advise you to experience the album as a trip from start to finish, but the video below for the track A Trail Of Wind And Fire gives you a taste of what to expect.

Out now through Fire Records and (own label) Kurious Recordings.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Discogs || Fire || Rats On Rafts

New album: Waltzer || Time Traveler

By / / Indie Rock / Leave a Comment

Waltzer is a project helmed by multi-hyphenate songwriter Sophie Sputnik. With such a great name, you don’t actually need a stage name, but that didn’t feel right. Waltzer may be a moniker, but it contains ever-evolving multitudes. It’s also a character, a persona, a songwriting collaboration unit, a one-woman project, a sketch-comedy routine, even a TV show. Let’s focus on the music here: Time Traveler is Waltzer’s debut full-length album, the end result of years of work (the song Destroyer is 10 years old). The LP takes some time to win you over, but is varied and engaging enough to give it a shot. Out now via Side Hustle Records.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

…

New album: Waltzer || Time TravelerRead More »

New album: Still Corners || The Last Exit

By / / Indie Pop / Leave a Comment

As a change from all the guitar violence of the past few days on this blog, I would like to share with you the new LP from Still Corners, a release from last week that I keep coming back to. ‘It’s about the myth and folklore of the open road. In a world where everyone thinks all the corners of the map are filled in, Still Corners believe there’s something beyond what we see and feel, something eternal in the landscape of those never-ending drives.’ The Last Exit gets under your skin: 11 songs that are dreamy, cinematic, atmospheric, and hypnotic. Out now through Wrecking Light Records.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Discogs || Cargo Records

…

New album: Still Corners || The Last ExitRead More »

New EP: Camp Trash || Downtiming

By / / Indie Rock / Leave a Comment

Now this is a compelling debut EP. The American indie rock band Camp Trash has released a 7″ with four songs rooted in the 90s / 2000s that you really should listen to. Strong songs with appealing lyrics, performed by a singer with a great voice and a band that knows how to play driving rhythms. Out now through Count Your Lucky Stars. Reportedly Bryan, Keegan, Alex, and Levi are busy in the studio recording their first full-length album, which should be out later this year.

‘I play songs the songs I wrote with Keegan // peeling off the labels on medicine // pretending it’s nothing don’t worry about me // I just need someone to worry without me asking’

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || CYLS

New single: Scooter James || Way Too Heavy / Felt The Sun

By / / Blues & Roots / Leave a Comment

Scooter James formed Pinhead Circus in 1992, a punk band that made noise for ten years. After a stopover in Love Me Destroyer, his next project Tin Horn Prayer found him in the element that fit him best as he became older and wiser (for example watch the video for Crime Scene Cleanup Team). This is where he reshaped his voice and his relationship with music, the road to now be a solo artist (we saw with Frank Turner that the road from punk band to solo folk artist can lead to success). Scooter James’ first single We Bend / Dear Friends was released a year ago and now there is a follow-up, of which A-side Way Too Heavy in particular is worth your time, not in the least because of that great snarly voice. Now digitally available through Snappy Little Numbers Quality Audio Recordings.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp (pay what you want download)

Scroll to Top