Ready for some Ramones & Beach Boys worship? Can’t wait for summer? Listen to Pedico! Pedico are from New York and feature Jake (guitar, vocals), Griff (bass, vocals) and Chris (drums). They roll out lo-fi surfy poppunk’n’roll tunes that are so addictive, I can’t stop playing them. And if you are a Youtube frequenter, they have that Beastie Boys knack for making fun videos as well. [continued below]
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Los Pepes are one of those bands where you know exactly what you get with each release: well executed sleazy UK powerpop’n’roll that is fast and catchy. I feel kinda bad that none of their releases have made it from my wantlist to my collection. That is about to change, because their latest double A-side single is all hits, zero misses. I am not even going to discuss which song on this single is my favorite. Let’s call it a hell of a draw. The 7″ inch will ship out early May. Don’t miss out on this one, pre-order now through the band or Black Wax Noise Division.
Add to wantlist: Bandcamp
With ‘Gimme 5!’ we take a peek into the collections of artists we admire. The premise is simple: artists WE like share 5 records THEY love.
Do you still own CDs? I do, but in all honesty, I hardly play them. The main purpose of my CD-collection nowadays is ice breaker in work-from-home videocalls. Still, it’s pretty sweet to be able to pick out some CDs, and rekindle your connection with them on long drives. That’s definitely the case for this week’s Gimme 5! artist Jiffy Marx – he will explain in a minute. Let me first say how happy I am that Jiffy wanted to share his list for this blog, because this guy knows how to write catchy tunes. He released an excellent solo single a couple of months ago, I wrote about that one here.
And this friday, he will release the second album of his band Autogramm. Autogramm are somewhat of a hybrid between ’80s powerpop, new wave and synth pop. The first song I ever heard from the band was the powerpop perfect Jessica Don’t Like Rock N Roll, and I’ve been keeping tabs on the band ever since. Spoiler alert for the new record: it’s pretty great; expect a review later this week. Here is a video for one of their new hits.
Okay, time to go to Jiffy’s list and let him do the talking. Enjoy!
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Gimme 5! || Jiffy Marx (Autogramm) Shares The Top 5 CDs That Are In His Truck Right NowRead More »
Yeah, I know, we write about Australian bands A LOT. But the music that is coming out of Australia recently is just too good not to share. Well, at least Jet City Sports Club are from Sydney and not Melbourne, a particularly overrepresented city in our coverage. The bio of JCSC mentions ’90s grunge and britpop as influences, but I am not really picking that up from that the band’s sound. The four-piece makes the kind of indiepop I have a soft spot for: Crisp guitars, upbeat drumming and an amazing voice in singer Lilla Obradovic, who I believe would also fare well in an altcountry band. It’s full on pop music, but with sufficient pace and bite to please the alternative crowd. It’s not the sound you’d associate with a band named Jet City Sports Club. We shouldn’t take the bandname too seriously, the band explains: “We always had the idea of ‘X sports club’ as it’s a bit ironic as we aren’t very athletic, except maybe our bass player. Jet City just sounded cool so we ran with that. Seb, our bassist, plays soccer and loves the footy, as for the rest of us, we’re definitely not a hugely sporty group,”
JCSC show plenty of hit potential on the September Sun EP, and opener Bloodhounds is a prime example (listen below). And based on this performance of Redfern Station, the band’s live shows will live up to that promise. So yeah, another Australian band making the wantlist. It currently digital only, but there are plans for a physical release. The band also hopes to put out a full length eventually. Despite the murderous competition in their home continent, let’s hope a label will pick them up ASAP.
Add to wantlist: iTunes
Every now and then, you come across a release that instantly intrigues but is clouded in mystery. Case in point: The Blast Off Girls EP. Perth label Igloo Records released it earlier this month, but it sounds like it’s from a different era. Songs like You’ve Been Messin’, Je M’apelle Femme Fatale, and Wrong Side Of The Tracks would fit right in on those sixties garage/girl group compilations we all love.
The Blast Off Girls look like they are from that era as well, with band members in ’60s dresses, gogo boots and armed with ray guns. It’s a lot of fun, and I was surprised how little I could find about the release. Fortunately, I came across the FB page of one of the Blast Off Girls, Hayley Comet. I reached out, and she was kind enough to uncover some of the mystery surrounding The Blast Off Girls. Read below to find out more about this short-lived project.
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Reissue: The Blast Off Girls || The Blast Off Girls EP (w/ interview)Read More »
Lisasinson are a band on the verge of breaking out to a large audience. Don’t take my word for it; my antenna for sensing these things is usually well off. But the hit potential on their mini-LP Perdona Mamá is massive. Lisasinson (Spain) are an easy band to fall for. Their songs are upbeat and catchy, with plenty of group vocals and bubblegum for those who like their punky pop sugary sweet. They have fast pop songs for punk kids (Corazón, Discotea) and midpaced punk songs for indie pop kids (Tú Y Yo). Their videos are fun. And, they make you sing along to words you don’t understand: Volverte Enamoraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrr! That song is about falling in love apparently. Like I said, it’s easy to fall for this band. The nine-song ten-inch LP is available now through Elefant Records.
Add to wantlist: Bandcamp
There are at least two reasons why the new Proud Parents was on the top of my pile of new releases to check today. One: Proud Parents’ previous record was released on Dirtnap records. I essentially like every band Dirtnap puts out, and that record was a lot of fun. Two: Amos Pitsch (of Tenement and creator of one of my favorite records of the past decade) helped out with recording the record, together with some of his buddys from Dusk – disclaimer: I am interested in anything Amos is involved in.
And what a good way to start this day it is. On At Home With, the garage pop of Proud Parents blossoms as never before. The record has enough jangle, hooks, and catchy choruses to lure in the indie pop crowd, but also sufficient bite to keep the indie punk kids satisfied. I love the spontaneous nature of the record: the songs sound like they were recorded with the full band in one take and the record has the energy of a live show. But then, on closer inspection, you start to notice how well written these songs are, and how the band worked on adding harmonies and other cool elements to maximize their sound. And boy, did they succeed. There are worse places to be than At Home With… Proud Parents, and I can see myself returning to this feel good record often this year. Highly recommended. It’s available on cassette, but I sure hope they do a vinyl release rather sooner than later.
Add to wantlist: Bandcamp
Melbourne rough and tumble garagerockers Jackson Reid Briggs & The Heaters have been steadily putting out music since 2015. They just released their 5th LP (Waiting In A Corner), but only my first taste of the band. That’s a shame, because this is an excellent record. The band plays garage rock with heavy guitars, a rock-‘n’-roll groove and the intensity of hardcorepunk (not unlike Stiff Richards), albeit at a Hold Steady pace. A pitfall with this type of music can be that the music becomes one giant boring blur of noise, but the bands deftly sidesteps that misstep. Yes, this band is loud, and yes, this band will huff and puff and break down your house. But, there is plenty of melody, variety and cool guitar work to warrant your full attention. For this short-attention span listener, the band even gets away with two consecutive 5 minute songs in the middle of the album – Eaten Alive and Too Many Ears are simply to good to skip. If you love music that feels authentic, is intense and rocks like crazy, Waiting In A Corners is a treat. Out now through Legless Records (Australia) and next month on Drunken Sailor (UK).
Add to wantlist: Bandcamp
Fans of old school pop punk and punkrock rejoice! Among this week’s releases are not 1, not 2, not 3, but 4 awesome poppunk compilations! Is this a coordinated effort to return pop punk to the masses? Is it an attempt to make this planet a little better – three of the comps donate proceeds to charity, the fourth makes an explicit statement against shitty behavior like racism, sexism and homophobia. Is it meant to bring some light to a dark and depressed times? Likely, it’s all of the above. Ready to dive into a combined total of 120 pop punk classics? Click on read more to check them out.
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Remember being at live shows and sensing how the a band’s energy jumps over to the crowd, and vice versa? Remember seeing sweaty people pogo and jump on and off each other? If you have trouble recalling those experiences, listen to the new “album” by Aussie garagepoppunks Wavevom. Okay, short-length LP may be a better description for 2500 since its ten songs probably will fit on a 7″. Anyhow, the record offers 10 minutes of escapism with songs that are catchy, fun and full of energy and tailor made for partying with your mates. In the end, 2500 sounds like a celebration of being alive, despite the heavy lyrical content on battling mental health.
Add to wantlist: Bandcamp