Niek

New EP: Cluttered || Accidents

By / / Indie Pop, Punk / Leave a Comment

Did you know there is an ongoing war against clutter? Writers are taught clutter is a disease of dullness and unclarity. And home owners increasingly go full Marie Kondo on their house, throwing away much of their belongings and keep the remainder organized. So yeah, clutter is something to avoid, which makes Cluttered such a great band name for a punk band. I am talking about Halifax queer pop punk band Cluttered, who just released a new EP called Accidents. The irony, of course, is that Cluttered play music that is in fact very economical and efficient: two-minute anthems that are somewhere at the midpoint of the classic pop punk sound from the Bay Area and the modern indie punk sound of bands like Radiator Hospital. Catchy and direct, with a healthy dose of quirkiness and dual (trial? quadral?) vocals that give the songs even more energy and melody.

Cluttered is somewhat of a supergroup of the Halifax punk scene, including Matty Grace (Future Girls, Weekend Dads, and of another quarantine project we wrote about a while back: Modern Cynics), Becca Dalley (Designosaur), Danny Bailey and Dylan Mombourquette (Jabber, Crunchcoat). And Cassia Hardy (Wares) sings on one of the tracks of Accidents,The Toll. I planned on writing about the band’s first EP, which contains one of my favorite songs that came out of the pandemic: Pandemic Year (Watching my fading youth // circle the drain // Waiting for tomorrow to start and today to end repeat again // Whats this about a finish line?). That EP is just as cool as the new one. Fortunately, both EPs are now conveniently available on one CD. Just want the tape? The band only made 69. Yep.

Update (9/23): Both EPS are now available on one convenient platter of vinyl!



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Bloated Kat Records

New album: Modern Haze || An LA EP

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

Let’s start this monday off right with a vintage psych pop banger from LA based Modern Haze. Grab some coffee or tea, and press play. Open your work mail, and let An LA EP be the soundtrack to your morning. With jangly guitars, soothing voice, pleasant harmonies, Modern Haze answer the age old question: What would The Zombies sound like if Mac DeMarco and Kevin Morby were in that band? Yes, this could be a pretty good week after all.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Randells || Kicks

By / / Power Pop, Punk / 1 Comment

After about 30 seconds of album opener and title track Kicks, the Randells sing “All I want // All I need // Is some bubblegum punk.” It’s a call to action, because the Swedish band is here to bring exactly that. Sure, the cartoonesque and pretty cool album cover of a kick-ass girl with bubblegum under her Chuck Taylors is not necessarily original. The same applies to the music, but I have no issue with at all when the songs are this catchy and fun. The Randells are like the adolescent love child of Teenage Bottlerocket and The Yum Yums who causes an earworm pandemic. If I had to do an one word review of this record, it would be HITS! Out now on Monster Zero Records.




Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Monster Zero

New album: Various Artists || …And Out Come The Lawsuits

By / / Punk / Leave a Comment

Question: What is best punk record of the nineties? If you are like me, Rancid’s 1995 classic …And Out Come The Wolves likely is the first (or one of the first) to come to mind. To celebrate the 256th anniversary of the record, two Californialabels have teamed up and invited local bands to cover the record in full. Here is the result, a front-to-back reimagination of the record: …And Out Come The Lawsuits. For a record where the originals admittedly leave hardly any room for improvement, I’m thoroughly enjoying these covers. Most of the songs stay true to the originals, but some bands completely deconstruct their song to create something new – with mixed results. But overall, this compilation is a blast, and additional evidence of just how good these songs by Rancid are, and forever will be.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Lavasocks || Sell The Heart

New album: Brad Marino || Looking For Trouble

By / / Power Pop / 1 Comment

It’s here at last, Looking For Trouble aka the new Brad Marino record. And let’s be honest, if you’ve ever heard his music, you kind of know what to expect right? Brad Marino is in the major league of powerpop, and I suspect that  at this point in his career, he doesn’t even have to try to write a more than decent record. It’s evident from album opener Even The Score however that Marino did in fact try.  A lot actually. Even The Score opens a time portal to early seventies Stones – one of his biggest infuences, Marino explained earlier on our blog. It’s also Marino’s first attempt at adding some slide guitar to his songs, which I think works extremely well.

Even The Score is followed by Taillights Fade, a tune I am fairly certain will get people dancing at shows, or at the very least having a blast. Local Show is another one to put a smile on my face (“It’s a local show || Which means nobody will go”). It even has a Leader Of The Pack like monologue (“Hey man, can you get me on the guest list?”) – the video is a cameo fest. I could go on, singling out tracks, but it’s basically hit upon hit. Marino draws influences from rock-‘n’-roll history, and these songs sound instantly familiar. There are nods to classic rock, Phil Spector (the new version of False Alarm), Beach Boys (Take Your Time), girl group (Fell In Love Again) and pop punk (Something For Nothing and What Do You Know).

Overall, Looking For Trouble is a celebration of rock-‘n’-roll history that should skip the wantlist and go straight to the collection. By the LP at Spaghetty Town (USA), Ghost Highway (Spain), or Beluga Records (Sweden). Rum Bar Records has the CD.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Spaghetty Town || Beluga Records || Rum Bar Records

New album: The Girls || Armed To The Teeth

By / / Garage Rock, Power Pop, Punk / 1 Comment

The Girls are a band from Wilmington (North Carolina) that cares more about rockin’ out than their Google ranking. It would be a shame if you missed out though. The eight songs on Armed To The Teeth will be right in your wheelhouse if you like your powerpop sleazy and with plenty of rock-‘n’-roll. The Girls have that confident swagger that makes this kind of music work. My favorite track on the album is Schools For Fools, a smooth addition to the extended history of rock songs about (not) going to school. RIYL: Wyldlife, Outtacontroller and Dangereens.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Pogy Et Les Kéfars || Dans Ton Rétro

By / / Power Pop, Punk / Leave a Comment

There is a certain je ne sais quo to French punk and powerpop that just works. One of my favorite discoveries of late is Dans Ton Rétro, the debut full-length by Pogy Et Les Kéfars from Marseille. Technically, a 2017 demo and an EP from 2019 precede Dans Ton Rétro, but it mark the band’s first record as a trio rather than a four-piece. More notable, Dans Ton Rétro is their first album completely sung in their native language, something that comes more natural to the band than singing in English.  The switch definitely pays off, because the French language makes this insanely catchy record even more irresistible. The nine songs on the LP are short, upbeat, angular, and tightly played. And, it’s easy to see this record embraced by fans of powerpop and punk all over the world. Lead single Dans Ma Parka is an absolute blast – watch the video below, and songs like Bye Bye Johnny and Kilomètre-heure are killer tracks as well.

If you told me this was a French classic from the early eighties, I probably wouldn’t have doubted it for a second. But no, Pogy Et Les Kéfars really is a current band, brought forth by an already strong underground scene in Marseille that also includes bands like Sun Sick, Les Hatepinks and Departure Kids. Though admittedly, the band’s inspirations come from a wide variety of music, including French chansons. I think that is reflected in the music, which is not 100% punk, or 100% powerpop, but harbors many influences.

Dans Ton Rétro was recorded at the end of 2019, but faced many pandemic related delays. I can only imagine the frustrations the band experienced after creating something this good and then having to wait this long for the world to hear it. But, let’s not get stuck in the past: Pogy Et Les Kéfars is waiting in the shadows staying sharp by rockin’ out in their music studio and a friend’s garden/living room, ready to conquer the world. I, for one, can’t wait for that. Dans Ton Rétro is out now on No Front Teeth (UK), Crapoulet (France) & Bitume Rugueux (France).



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Crapoulet Records || Bitume Rigueux || No Front Teeth

New album: Top Left Club || Shoulders At 90

By / / Garage Rock, Punk / Leave a Comment

Top Left Club are from Brighton (UK), and recently released their debut LP on the French label Beast Records. Don’t be fooled by the looks of the band or the album art that is clearly inspired by the classic Judas Priest album Screaming For Vengeance. Top Left Club are not a heavy metal band. On Shoulders At 90, which was written and recorded in two months and in a budget friendly manner, the band plays garagepunk seasoned with rippin’ guitars and dirty synths for extra rock-‘n’-roll swagger. Cool stuff, and RIP is an instant classic.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Beast Records

New Album: Evening Shadows || Evening Shadows

By / / Punk / 2 Comments

The weather here went from autumn to spring to summer in just seven days. This might help to explain why I’ve completely fallen for the self-titled debut album by Evening Shadows. Evening Shadows are a new all-star punk co-op with members of Valient Thorr, Strike Anywhere, ASG, and Toke. Whereas these bands all have a harder edge that goes from melodic hardcore to stoner metal, Evening Shadows blends old school pop punk with ’90s punkrock. Like a Screeching Weasel and Swingin’ Utters hybrid, the band plays midtempo pop punk that is tailor made for sunny weather. Evening Shadows is the kind of record you play front-to-back without ever feeling the need to skip tracks. More likely than not, you pause at certain songs and give them a second and third spin. I mean, songs like Psycho Chaperone, Karma Snake and Total Waste Of Time approach pop punk perfection. Out now on pretty yellow-black splatter vinyl on Eccentric Pop Records.

Add to wantlist: Eccentric Pop Records

New album: The Speedways || Borrowed & Blue

By / / Power Pop / Leave a Comment

One of the best powerpop bands of this era return with a an EP full of covers to keep us saturated until the release of their new album – their previous record made it #2 of my favorite records of 2020. The originals are by Hanoi Rocks, Abba, Kirsty MacColl, Billy Ocean, and Roky Erickson. The versions of The Speedways are respectful to the original versions, but played in the classic Speedways style. This is a band at the top of their game, and this EP is a mouth-watering appetizer for the new Speedways album.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Hurrah! Musica (vinyl) || Snap Records

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