Dennis

New album: Joe Jennings MVPs || Nothing Wrong With Giving Up

Super duo scores with an infectious mix of power pop and garage rock and good ideas

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

As two valuable players from the American rock ‘n’ roll league team up, we don’t have to wait long for hits. Check it out: Joe Jennings (JJ & The Real Jerks, The Legendary Swagger, The Magnificent) on guitar, vocals, bass, sax and harmonica, with Matt Rendon (The Resonars, The Freezing Hands, The Lemon Drop Gang) on ​​drums, percussion and backing vocals, have just released their collaborative debut album Nothing Wrong With Giving Up. With a passionate mix of power pop and garage rock – energising riffs, thumping beats, inspired harmonies, a loose sound and catchy hooks as main ingredients – they score eleven times. Together they bring their best game for 27 minutes, a rewarding listen.




Nothing Wrong With Giving Up, recorded & mixed by Matt Rendo, is out now digitally, on CD via Rum Bar Records, and on vinyl LP through Take The City Records and Sweet Grooves Records.

Add to wantlist: Rum Bar @ Bandcamp || Sweet Grooves @ Bandcamp || Take The City @ Bandcamp || Sweet Grooves || Take The City

New single: Atlantic Thrills || Bone Rattle

A fresh 45 after a 10 year wait, only 50 copies available

By / / Garage Rock, Psych, Punk / Leave a Comment

It’s been ten years since the Providence, Rhode Island-based surf punks of Atlantic Thrills released their awesome self-titled debut LP (if you missed it at the time, I especially recommend the track Day At The Beach for introductory purposes). After their sophomore 2015 album Vices, things became quiet, until now. New track Bone Rattle is a raucous psychedelic garage rock stomper, an explosive three minutes that ticks all the right boxes, one that bites where you feel it.

Bone Rattle is out now digitally and on limited one sided clear lathe cut 7″ through Almost Ready Records. More new music from this amazing band is on the way!

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Discogs

New album: Sparrow Blue || No Lies, No Tricks

Dangerous rock 'n' roll with heavy riffs and amazingly powerful vocals

By / / Alternative Rock, Blues & Roots, Country & Folk / 1 Comment

Amongst The Black Crowes, Eagles of Death Metal, The Wild Swans and Them Crooked Vultures, there’s another feathered band flying around making loud noises to entertain their audience. Sparrow Blue is a bluesy hard rock band with a country twist from Edmonton, Alberta, featuring Desmond Parks (vocals), Jon Dombroski (guitar, vocals), Chad Plamondon (guitar), Caden Doyle (bass), Jack Hansen (bass), Russell McCann (percussion) and Liam Holm (drums). They released their sophomore full-length No Lies, No Tricks last June, but there are at least three reasons to share it now: their upcoming Canadian tour, the record hasn’t gotten the attention it deserves, and – most importantly – its ten songs are pretty good. Their sound is raw and dangerous and even slightly intimidating, with meaner-than-mean guitar solos and raspy love-it-or-hate-it vocals that blow you away, but it’s also heartfelt and passionate and living up to the album title. Straightforward rock ‘n’ roll that hits the mark.



No Lies, No Tricks, recorded & produced by Liam Holm & Jack Hansen, is out digitally and soon on vinyl LP (self-released).

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Sparrow Blue

New album: The Dictators || The Dictators

Fifty years into their career, NYC proto-punkers have lost none of their power

By / / Garage Rock, Punk / Leave a Comment

In the past few weeks we have already been treated to the return of veteran heroes such as The Okmoniks, Fastbacks, The BellRays, The Fleshtones and Nervous Eaters, and the mighty Dictators are now joining those illustrious names. Almost fifty years after their must-have debut LP Go Girl Crazy! (and twenty-three years after their last studio album D.F.F.D.), the New York City proto-punks have released a self-titled full-length featuring ten brand new tracks. Founding members Andy Shernoff (bass, vocals) and Ross The Boss (lead guitar, vocals), with Albert Bouchard (drums) and Keith Roth (lead vocals, guitar), are as convincing as ever, with appealing lyrics, mean riffs, potent vocals and contagious harmonies. Kicking things off with the aptly titled Let’s Get The Band Back Together (“Get off the couch, dust off the gear // Screw the kids, get the calendar clear // We’re gonna show ’em how to do it right // We’re gonna do a little rockin’ tonite”), towards the end of the record they pay tribute to their hometown in God Damn New York, and to the Ramones’ frontman in Sweet Joey. Straight-up rock ‘n’ roll, heavy and loud, just the way we’ll love it forever.



The Dictators’ self-titled new album is out now digitally via Valley Entertainment.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Valley

New single: Fleur || Nous Continuerons à Marcher Ensemble b​/​w Tu M’as Mise a Genoux

Fuzzy Nederbeat, somewhere between sweet and rough, always swinging

By / / Garage Rock / Leave a Comment

As a prelude to a new LP, Dutch yé-yé singer Fleur released the nice 45 Tu Es Un Être Parfait b​/​w Laisse​-​Moi Faire! six months ago, which she now follows up with Nous Continuerons à Marcher Ensemble b​ /​w Tu M’as Mise a Genoux (in both cases the A-side is taken from the upcoming album, the flip is 7″ exclusive). Both new tracks are uptempo and swinging, with attractive French vocals and ace backing by The Kryng—Mark ten Hoor (guitar), Peter Kroes (bass) and Arjan Spies (drums, guitar). Fuzzy Nederbeat that is somewhere between sweet and rough, live even with a punk edge, cool in every respect.

Nous Continuerons à Marcher Ensemble b​/​w Tu M’as Mise a Genoux is out now digital and on 7″ vinyl through Soundflat Records. Written by Mark ten Hoor, recorded, produced, mixed and mastered by Arjan Spies.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Soundflat

New album: Love, Burns || Blue

Veteran musician Phil Sutton strikes again

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

New York-based singer-songwriter Phil Sutton has some pretty good music to his name with Pale Lights (we wrote about their Waverly Place LP earlier this year), but he has also played in Comet Gain, Velocette, Kicker, Cinema Red and Blue, and a few other bands. With his solo project Love, Burns he now releases mini-album Blue—seven delicious tracks of melancholic indie pop—with memorable jangly guitar melodies, stirring sun-kissed vocals and flowing, realistic lyrics. Contrary to what you might expect based on the title, the sound is just as colorful as the cover art, and really easy to embrace.


Blue, recorded and mixed by Gary Olson, is out tomorrow on CD through Calico Cat Records, and on vinyl LP through Kleine Untergrund Schallplatten and Jigsaw Records. Also featuring Kyle Forester, Gary Olson and Hampus Öhman-Frölund, with Beth Arzy, Ben Phillipson, Suzanne Nienaber, Alex Curtin and Kenny Wachtel on select tracks.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Half Deaf Clatch || An Unquiet Mind

Prolific blues genius gives a poetic glimpse into his creative soul

By / / Blues & Roots / 2 Comments

After two thematic EPs this summer, a tribute to Skip James and the H​ä​Xan soundtrack, prolific British singer-songwriter Andrew McLatchie is back with yet another full-length album under his Half Deaf Clatch moniker. On An Unquiet Mind, his trademark sandpaper vocals and profound guitar strumming span eight understated blues songs. The poetic lyrics seem to say a lot about their genesis: “Such a simple scene, really quite mundane // Finding poetry in nothing, nothing but the rain” (from opener Nothing But The Rain), “Pick it up, play // Feel anxiety slowly drain away // Unwind, rewind, I say // These vibrations are a balm for the soul” (Of Wood And Wire), “Words crash down like waves on the shore // In a swell of mixed-up metaphor” (the title track), “Every song begins as an echo in silent space // An idea on a canvas made of air // Painting sound every colour is a frequency // The lows the highs, emotions flow right outta me” (A Blank Canvas), and so on—too many beautiful lines to quote. The coherence of music, voice and text is masterful here.



An Unquiet Mind, written, performed, recorded, mixed and mastered by A D McLatchie, is out now digitally, on cassette and CD, through the artist’s own label Speak Up Recordings.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New EP: British Birds || Sucking Funny

"Oh (oh) Oh (oh) Oh (oh) Oh (oh)"

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

Earlier this week we wrote about the latest album by The Bug Club, hereby also about the support act on their UK tour in November, a choice that makes perfect sense given their love for ‘burds wurds’. We’re talking about British Birds, the Chorley-based garage pop/indie rock/psych outfit featuring Bobby Mambo (lead vocals, guitar), Emma Townson (vocals, percussion), Ellie Winstanley (bass, backing vocals) and Lewis O’Neill (drums). Last January they flew over with their nice debut full-length In Search of Mr Rykyn, now they drop the wonderful Sucking Funny EP. We hear six confident and versatile songs chock full of hooks, where heavy guitars and sweet singing are just as easily combined as chucklesome lyrics with catchy harmonies (“Do do do doo” in My Bar, “Oh (oh) Oh (oh) Oh (oh) Oh (oh)” in Scowl). There is a lot going on and it is presented with a theatric feel, all very captivating. The audience at the upcoming live shows will be amazed.


Sucking Funny, written and produced by Robert Mambo Townson, is out now digitally and on CD (self-released).

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New EP: Draculina / The Fathoms || Our Kingdoms / Sinhella / Hard To Fathom / Funny Farm

Cool split 7" lets instrumentals do the talking

By / / Surf Music / Leave a Comment

Now this is a treat. Rock ‘n’ roll label MuSick Recordings has released a split 7″ that fans of instrumental surf music definitely should check out. The A-side is filled by Saint Petersburg’s exotica-tinged goth project Draculina, with remasters of the mysterious and funky songs Our Kingdoms and Sinhella, originally found on last year’s self-titled EP. The flipside celebrates the return of Boston surf rockers The Fathoms, who pit guitars against a saxophone in the hip-shaking tunes Hard To Fathom and Funny Farm, their first new recordings in 17 years—as good as their best work.


This split EP is out now digitally and on transparant blue with pink splatter 7″ vinyl through MuSick Recordings, with cool cover art by Ruttu (Draculina side) and Rockin’ Eugene (Fathoms side). The Draculina tracks feature Polina Draculina (bass) and Larry Mullins (drums, keys, percussion), with Evan Foster (guitar) on Our Kingdoms and Chris Barfield (guitar) on Sinhella. The Fathoms feature Frankie Blandino (lead guitar), John Sciascia (bass) and Stan Kozlowski (drums), with Rob Amaral (guitar) and Sax Gordon (saxophone).

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Lowland Circus || Heartless

Let the fall begin—this debut LP will keep you warm

By / / Country & Folk / Leave a Comment

Lowland Circus is a South Swedish roots rock band featuring Gustav Svensson (vocals, guitar), Andree Engström (guitar), David Jonsson Länne (keyboards, backing vocals), Dennis Stenmark (bass) and Mattias Samuelsson (drums). Their 2015 debut single Just Kids was a hit, yet we had to wait until now for their first full-length album, called Heartless. Its ten songs are atmospheric, intimate and magnetic, with strong folk-pop sensibilities, tempo changes and woo-hoo harmonies. They evoke all sorts of references, without being able to pinpoint who or what. This record is anything but heartless.

Heartless is out streaming via LLC Recordings. There’s also a vinyl LP, for now only available at gigs.

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