Dennis

New EP: The Poppermost || Les Poppermost

By / / Garage Rock / Leave a Comment

Two years ago we were introduced to Scottish beat outfit The Poppermost, whose debut LP Hits To Spare revived The Beatles’ heyday. At the time it was still a solo effort by Joe Kane (Dr. Cosmo’s Tape Lab, The Owsley Sunshine), now they have grown into a full band* without the sound being substantially different. In one single day they recorded four new songs, using vintage Rickenbacker, Hofner, Gretsch, and Ludwig instruments – rhythm ‘n’ beat tunes that would all have been hits 59 years ago. However, the uplifting melodies and harmony vocals on this almost-eponymous EP also ensure that the sun will shine in 2023. Keep calm and carry on swinging.


Les Poppermost, written & produced by Joe Kane, is out now digitally and on vinyl 7″ through Rogue Records. *Featuring Joe Kane (lead vocals, piano), Richard Anderson (bass, vocals), Craig McGown (guitar, vocals) and Ross “Des” Wilson (drums, percussion).

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New EP: Las Yakets || Regresa El Rocanrol

By / / Garage Rock / Leave a Comment

Costa Rica three-piece Las Yakets celebrate their five-year anniversary with the new six-track EP Regresa El Rocanrol (translated: the rock ‘n’ roll is back). Surf rock meets garage punk in three instrumentals and three Spanish sung songs, all energetic and exciting. For the band – the current line-up consists of Carlos Orozco (guitar, vocals), Agustín Solís (bass) and Gabriel Meneses (drums) – it’s all about playing rock ‘n’ roll as it was done in 1966. That sounds even better in their native language: “Lo demás no me interesa // Hoy quiero perder la cabeza // Yo voy a tocar Rocanrol” (from Rocanrol). We won’t have to tell you that this comes with a lot of fun: “Ya no, no hay nada que hacer // Ya no, no hay donde tocar // Está muy mal querer solo // Un poco de diversión” (from standout track San José). We can only agree.



Regresa El Rocanrol, recorded & produced by Gabriel Meneses, is out now digitally (self-released).

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Thought Patrol || Thought Patrol

By / / Garage Rock, Psych / Leave a Comment

Thought Patrol (great band name, don’t you think?) is a psych rock trio from Sioux Falls, South Dakota (US), featuring Cain Rotert, Tianna Rotert and Jacob Vande Vegte. The nine songs they wrote, recorded and performed for their self-titled debut LP may be short, but are so powerful and energetic that you will be floored after 24 minutes. This is frantic indie rock with a psychedelic layer of chrome and dangerously sharp hooks – thumping beats, crunching guitars and irrepressible vocals, delivered as eager and loose as first output should sound. Mind-blowing.



Thought Patrol’s self-titled album, mixed & mastered by Will Beringer, is out now digitally via Louie the Dog Records.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New EP: Glitter Wizard || Kiss the Boot

By / / Glam Rock / Leave a Comment

Universal Music and Music On Vinyl recently released 2-LP Glam Rock Collected, a solid compilation of pop hits that everyone over 40 has heard too many times. It prompted me to dive into a hidden but sparkling corner of Bandcamp to see if there are any more contemporary bands – besides cool acts like Brower, Kissa and Hammered Satin – that keep the genre alive. That’s where I stumbled upon Glitter Wizard aka G Wiz, the San Francisco, California-based collective featuring Lorfin Terrafor (guitars, vocals), Wendy Stonehenge (lead vocals), Kandi Moon (bass, vocals), Doug Graves (synths, sequinser), Fancy Cymballs (drums, vocals), Screamin’ Lord Duff (vocals) and Geoff Yeaton (sax), who have been around the scene for a while, but returned last spring with mini-album Kiss the Boot. It features six hard stomping punk ‘n’ roll tracks that hark back to the junk shop aesthetic of the 1970s, including a cover of David Bowie’s Suffragette City and future classics like She’s a Star and Pogo Tonight. This gives hope for a more original volume 2 of Glam Rock Collected one day.



Kiss the Boot, recorded with with Paul Roessler, is out now digitally, on CD and vinyl 12″ through Kitten Robot Records.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Discogs || Kitten Robot

New album: Kitty & The Rooster || Ain’t Pussyfootin’ Around

By / / Garage Rock, Surf Music / Leave a Comment

A pussycat and a cock walk into a bar to make some noise. That sounds like the start of a bad joke, but actually it is the business model of Canadian rock ‘n’ roll duo Kitty & The Rooster. On their debut album One Gig Hard Drive (2018) they introduced themselves in opening song Kitty & The Rooster’s Official Bio (“We’re like The Black Keys, with better tits”), now Jodie Ponto on the stand-up cocktail drum kit and Noah Walker on electric guitar – they share vocal duties – are back with their second long player, Ain’t Pussyfootin’ Around. Expect eleven “true tales from the tour van” with explicit lyrics in which pretty cleverly worded humor is key, songs that elicit blushing and loud laughter during live shows (“Just when I was popping my rock n’ roll boner // A man tapped me on the shoulder, told me he was the owner // He said: You need a license for dancing in here // So could you tell all these people to get back in their chairs?”). However, all this is way more than a gimmick – musically the tracks are perfectly fine, an infectious and skilfully played mix of 60s-inspired surf rock and energetic rockabilly, with two voices that go together nicely. This record offers 35 minutes of danceable fun, and if you listen very closely you might even hear a deeper message.



Ain’t Pussyfootin’ Around, recorded & mixed by Corwin Fox, and mastered by Brock McFarlane, is out now digitally and on CD (self-released). Also featuring Jody Peck & Kathleen Nisbet aka The Cockettes on background vocals, and Tom Heuckendorff on organ & piano.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New single: Zack Keim || Better Days / Maggie

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

We liked Zack Keim‘s previous single Canyon / Alice, and are still looking forward to the sophomore LP from the Pittsburgh-based singer-songwriter, but his new 45 Better Days / Maggie will get us through the coming weeks. A-side Better Days should be a big summer hit – everything’s right here, from the summer melody and rich rhythms to the sing-along chorus with a nostalgic Beach Boys feel. B-side Maggie (watch the video here) is more subdued, but just as melancholy and seductive.

Better Days b/w Maggie is out this Friday, digitally and on vinyl 7″, through Action Weekend.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New single: The Low Spirits || You Lied b/w Never Said I Need You

By / / Garage Rock / Leave a Comment

Just a few months after Outta Sight b​/​w Evil Eye, the New York-based garage rockers of The Low Spirits return with another awesome 45 featuring two new – original – fuzz and farfisa driven hits. The swinging and rattling A-side You Lied is a guaranteed floor filler, electrifying and memorable. On B-side Never Said I Need You the tempo is slower but the playing and vocals are equally magnetic. Ryan Moore, Michael Maier, Richie DeJohn and Zachary Koch know how to use the best of the pioneers in such a way that 60 years later a new generation also has something to be excited about.

You Lied b/w Never Said I Need You is out now digitally and on vinyl 7″ through Outro Records.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Discogs || Outro

New album: Public Body || Big Mess

By / / Indie Rock / Leave a Comment

There seems to be no end to the current post-punk revival, a sign of the times but also of creative poverty, because there is much of the same in the continuous stream of new bands. Fortunately, there are positive exceptions, such as alt-punk 5-piece Public Body from Brighton/London (UK). Their goal was “to write the perfect soundtrack to whatever you do whilst procrastinating at your day job,” an ambition they quite successfully achieved with their debut LP Big Mess. Yes, they embrace the genre’s characteristics – bluntly worded: raw, dark, maniacal and repetitive music with talk-sung gloomy lyrics – but the ten songs here are delivered in a far more original, gripping and relatable way than in the mass of releases. Listen to lead single Break From Life (an ear worm anthem to sing along with), the pulsating dance floor smasher Overcooked (try to sit still) and the infectious standout track Mr Cats (with meowing melodies) – you can imagine that nightlife audiences will go hard on this.



Big Mess is out now digitally and on vinyl LP trough Fatcat Records.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Fatcat || Public Body

New album: J. Burd || Walking Home

By / / Garage Rock, Psych / Leave a Comment

J. Burd is a Californian singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalist whose music has transcended its initial description of bedroom experiments. Walking Home, Jay’s fourth full-length album, contains ten original garage psych tracks, all written, performed, recorded, mixed and mastered by the master himself – some friends provided additional vocals, drums, keys, guitars, sitar, flute and percussion. This is 28 minutes of intoxicating and at times exotic music, groovy and dreamy, sun-kissed and colourful.



Walking Home is out now digitally and on vinyl LP trough Baby Carrot Records. For fans of Night Beats, White Fence, Dead Ghosts.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Bag Of Cans || We Are A Band

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

For those who like their music crazy and quirky, here’s anarchic Norwich (UK) five-piece Bag of Cans. We’re talking about George Baker (no, not that one), Tom McGhie, George Bryce, Sam Watts and Joe Wilson, who are not only brimming with ideas but also have many instruments. “We are a band, aren’t we,” one of them asked cautiously at a rehearsal, a sincere remark that became their motto, and the title of their debut album. The We Are A Band LP came about slowly but surely during five years of sweat-drenched live shows and accompanying dressing room humor; in ten diverse and exuberant songs you’ll hear both the experience and enjoyment of all those hours of playing together (a lot happens, but it’s always infectious and attractive, with original hooks and witty harmony vocals), and the shameless absurdity that is at the heart of everything they do (how often do you hear lyrics about vasectomy, or about a stalking milkman with a drug problem?). Bag Of Cans can’t be pigeonholed in terms of genre, style or tempo, but they are a band for sure, a damn fun one – this is a record like an intimate slacker rock party that gets out of hand.



We Are A Band, produced/mixed/mastered by Jason Baldock, is out now digitally and on beer colored vinyl LP through Fierce Panda Records. Featuring George Baker (vocals, trumpet, piano, organ), Tom McGhie (fuitar, vocals), George Bryce (guitar, vocals, sax), Sam Watts (bass) and Joe Wilson (drums), joined by Robin Evans (slide guitar), Rob Milne (sax, clarinet) and Jason Baldock (organ, backing vocals). RIYL: The Bug Club, Personal Trainer, Dingus Khan.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Fierce Panda

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