Dennis

New single: Nile Marr || How We Drift

By / / Indie Rock / Leave a Comment

At the end of 2020, Nile Marr released his debut album Are You Happy Now?, on his own label Oldham Street Records. Now the UK singer/songwriter/guitarist – his first name is a tribute to Chic’s Nile Rodgers, his last name was passed on by his father Johnny (then The Smiths, now solo) – is back with two new songs, in my humble opinion the best he has recorded to date. A-side How We Drift is a powerful, up-tempo track with some great hooks, but the quieter Only Time Can Break Your Heart on the B-side is the real hit here – one you won’t get out of your head after one listen. Accessible indie pop/rock that every self-respecting radio station should add to its playlist right away.

“I’ve been keeping up with the Joneses // Turned out they’ve got a great family band // And they know all of the big hits // The songs about love that only you understand”

How We Drift  is out now digitally and on vinyl 7″ through Park The Van Records.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Discogs

New album: TAPE TOY || Honey, WTF

By / / Indie Rock / Leave a Comment

When I saw the cover art, for a moment I thought that Nobunny was back at the front, but this release has nothing to do with American garage rocker Justin Champlin, recognizable by his bunny mask. No, this is the Dutch “bubble grunge” band TAPE TOY, and Honey, WTF is their highly anticipated debut album. In recent years we have already heard several entertaining singles from the Amsterdam four-piece, with Dive Deeper (2019) as their biggest hit, but now there is finally a first full-length – created from a broken heart and a grieving process, and musically rooted in 90’s indie rock with quiet/loud dynamics. It may be less exuberant than their previous work, but the more mature, serious and personal character of the 12 new songs has resulted in a well-balanced record that gets better and better after a few spins.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Flaming Top Hat || Photographs And Water

By / / Indie Rock / 2 Comments

The first days of the new year I enjoyed myself with Photographs And Water, Flaming Top Hat’s debut album that came out on the penultimate day of last year. The 9 electronic indie rock songs here – more than 46 minutes in total – are raw, honest and intriguing. Flaming Top Hat is a solo project by Ellie Blake. Especially for a solo effort, the tracks are surprisingly diverse and rich, with quiet/loud dynamics, complex structures and long, personal lyrics. I asked Ellie how her music came about: “A lot of the songs come from the general stress of relocating yourself and not really knowing who you are and what to define yourself by, influenced by a big move I did across the summer from West Virginia where I lived for 6 years and had a semi-solid grasp on life, to Oregon, where I don’t know anyone and I’ve gotta sort myself out and figure out like what I need to do and meet new people and all that because there’s no status quo to rely on. This arguably most comes through on my personal favorites, The Bathroom Floor Song, a ten-minute-long possibly narrative song that’s vaguely about my life from September, when I arrived in Oregon, to late December when I finished the album. Most of the other songs serve as just little snapshots of emotion influenced by little moments in my life and the music I’ve been listening to, such as interpolation of The Beach Boys’ song I’m Waiting for the Day at the end of Rigor Mortis (Summer).” For me, Talk About Your Day stands out: it’s just as melancholic and slightly gloomy as the rest, but most relatable, and ending with some good vibrations.

Photographs And Water is out now digitally. Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New EP: Bruiser Queen || Play The Welders

By / / Garage Rock, Punk / 1 Comment

In our monthly cover overview ‘Dusted’, I recently wrote that St Louis, Missouri all-girl punk band The Welders deserve more fame – the reissue of their only release, recorded in 1979, is hard to find – and look now: fellow citizens Bruiser Queen cover three of their testy songs.

Last year, a friend of The Welders reached out to the garage rock duo – Bruiser Queen are Morgan Nusbaum (vocals, guitar) and Jason Potter (drums) – to play a private birthday party for Stephanie von Drasek (The Welders’ singer 1975-78). That was so much fun and successful, that they’ve now also recorded and released these tracks. Listen below to their excellent, enthusiastic pop punk versions of P-E-R-V-E-R-T, Debutantes In Bondage, and S-O-S Now. Cool to hear how the originals are being done justice and get a new life.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

PS   Great news for those who want the original work in their collection: next week Bachelor Records and Rerun Records co-release The Welders’ Our Own Oddities 1977-81 LP, a new collection featuring newly remastered and improved version of the 1979 EP tracks, along with other studio, rehearsal and live recordings. Add to wantlist!

New album: Sys Malakian || Unknown Creatures

By / / Garage Rock, Surf / Leave a Comment

Waves roll into the new year from Mexico, waves that spawn the surf guitar sound of Sys Malakian. The cover art and title of his new long player, Unknown Creatures, reveal that this isn’t necessarily summer music. No, this is mysterious, alternative surf rock with song titles like Infinite Space, Bioluminiscencia, and Giant Squid Domain. The guitar virtuoso creates a cinematic atmosphere, where all 12 instrumental tracks hold your attention, and despite the lack of lyrics manage to conjure up stories in your brain.

Unknown Creatures is out now digitally and on random color vinyl LP through Otitis Media Records.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Otitis Media Records

Dusted || The 10 Best Cover Songs Of December 2021

By / / Alternative Rock, Blues & Roots, Country & Folk, Garage Rock, Indie Rock, Power Pop, Punk / 1 Comment

Not all new music is really new, as many artists cover songs. Sometimes these are songs by their favorite artists, eg as a tribute to such a musical hero for a special reason, or they simply feel that a song deserves to be dusted and polished to reacquaint fans with great songs from the past. Other times, bands cover songs as a parody. Regardless of intent, some of those cover versions are so good or so much fun, we’d like to put a spotlight on them. Chosen from a wide range, here are – in random order – ten of our favorite covers from last month – links to the pages where you can add them to your wantlist included.

We’ve already posted reviews of G​.​T​.​R​.​R​.​C.‘s compilation and Kepi Ghoulie & Vic Ruggiero‘s cover-rich album this month, I had to disregard Squid‘s Cover Versions EP because it is exclusive to Rough Trade shops, and I found out that I had overlooked a new, pretty good cover album by Deep Purple (Turning To Crime) last month, but these are ten other releases worth your attention.

Kiss Me Deadly || Cover: Chuck Prophet featuring Make Out Quartet || Original: Lita Ford
The most successful cover songs are often genre-transcending, with the covering artist differing considerably from the covered artist. That’s definitely the case here, where Chuck Prophet transforms Lita Ford’s 80s hard rock hit into a folk ballad with harmony vocals, acoustic guitar, violin and bells (not only the music but also the lyrics are more well-behaved now). It’s the closing song of four-track EP The Land That Time Forgot Revisited, out digitally through Yep Roc Records – Prophet re-recorded three songs of his most recent album, and this cover, live with a string quartet, on a linoleum floor on a rainy Tuesday afternoon in an empty barroom in San Francisco’s Mission District.

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Dusted || The 10 Best Cover Songs Of December 2021Read More »

Music Year-End List || Dennis’ Favorite Singles and EP’s of 2021

By / / Alternative Rock, Blues & Roots, Country & Folk, Funk & Soul, Garage Rock, Glam Rock, Indie Pop, Indie Rock, Jangle Pop, Power Pop, Psych, Punk / 6 Comments

You’ve already seen our lists with favorite albums – here‘s Niek’s list and there‘s mine – but also many shorter format releases were wantlist worthy. Below you can listen to an overview of the Top 50 singles and EPs that I thought were the best from 2021. I’ve excluded releases with songs that also appear on my album list. Links point to Discogs or Bandcamp (the headings), and to previously posted reviews (in the body text) – add to your wantlist (or collection) what you like!

1. Noah C Lekas || Sounds From The Shadow Factory
[Beat Poetry, US || Blind Owl] To be honest I haven’t been able to give this one as much attention as I would have liked. Not only because I mainly spent my time on full-length albums, but also for practical reasons: only two songs are shared on Bandcamp, YouTube, Soundcloud and Spotify, and unfortunately a physical copy wasn’t available in Europe (and sold out quickly in the US). Still, I didn’t doubt for a moment whether this should be at the top, simply because this was the most impressive release of the past year in all respects. Poems and rock music form a great combination here: “It’s jazz for the mind // It’s blues for the soul.” It’s Art!

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Music Year-End List || Dennis’ Favorite Singles and EP’s of 2021Read More »

New album: Gerry Bright and The Stokers || Stand Up! This Is…

By / / Garage Rock / Leave a Comment

Time for a rock ‘n’ roll party!? Here’s the sophomore album of French three-piece Gerry Bright and The Stokers, featuring 11 new energetic songs to shake what you’ve got. Their sound is inspired by raw sixties punk rock bands, with three chords and a frenzied rhythm. The Hammond organ plays the leading role, but the guitar, vocals, and drums try hard to measure up to that. Very cool that this kind of music is still being created, especially when it’s done so well. As the subtitle yells: Yeah!

Stand Up ! This is Gerry Bright and The Stokers is out now digitally, on CD and vinyl LP on Soundflat Records.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Discogs

New EP: Styrofawn || Abandonism

By / / Indie Pop / Leave a Comment

Please meet Mert Karaca, who just released his debut EP Abandonism under the moniker of Styrofawn. In the past his perfectionism got in the way, and he never thought his music was good enough, but a Leonardo da Vinci quote – “Art is never finished, only abandoned” – took away his reluctance to share his work with the world. In fact, the independent artist from Turkey now dived into the imperfection of lo-fi bedroom pop, and in no time he managed to write, play, arrange, record, produce, mix, and master these five shaky songs. Mert sent me an email asking if they’re good enough, and that you’re reading this means I replied positively. Uncertainty is not necessary – I really like this sound, with jangly guitars, appealing melodies, and slightly distorted vocals, and there’s nothing wrong with the lyrics either. With this talent and work ethic, we could be hearing a lot more good stuff from Styrofawn in the future. RIYL: Castlebeat, Acid Ghost, Juan Wauters.

“Some things take time // Some come out of the blue // A flash of lightning and I’m // Smitten with you”

Abandonism is out now digitally. Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: The Kryng || V

By / / Garage Rock / Leave a Comment

The prolific – well-known from various other projects – Dutch musicians Mark Ten Hoor (guitar, vocals, songwriting), Peter Kroes (bass, backing vocals), and Arjan Spies (drums, guitar, production) are back with their fifth full-length album under the moniker of The Kryng (you already know how much I like this new release, because it made it to my Year-End List). The trio perpetuate the 60’s in 12 original, fuzzy, and raucous garage rock tracks with defiant lyrics. The sound may be lo-fi and rough, but these are all strong beat songs, with good ideas in the background, and sing-along choruses and catchy melodies up front in the mix. It’s unbelievable how easily these guys can pull off some delicious hooks. This LP will blow you away, but once you get up, you want to hear hits like Thinking, Hide And Seek, Talk Too Loud and Quit You again.

V is out now digitally, on cassette and on vinyl LP through Bickerton Records.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Bickerton

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