Following up on our post on the excellent Tha Retail Simps LP, here is some more rock-‘n’-roll weirdness. The Offsides are a new trio ( Paul Misuraca, Pietro O’Rourke and Keith Smith) from Detroit that plays a mix of r’n’n, blues and (post)punk.
My favorite song on this six song EP is Herky Jerky. The singer sounds a bit like Joe Strummer on the song, giving it the feel of a Clash outtake. The Cowboys are another reference point for the sound of The Offsides.
Interesting and eccentric first outing that definitely caught my interest. The Offsides EP is out now in a small run of 50 tapes at Detroit label Painters Tapes.
Do good thing arrive in twos? I guess so, because The Hannah Barberas just released a surprise EP AND announced their new full length – coming this summer through Spinout Nuggets (vinyl) and Subjangle (CD). If you don’t know the band yet, The Hannah Barberas are Damien, Lucy, Ian and Matthew, aka a bunch of DIY-ers, homerecorders, C86 and tweepop lovers from the UK.
EP opener When You Were My Boyfriend is also the first taste of the new album. It’s a delightful indiepop hit that aims straight for the heart…and succeeds within seconds. It’s probably my favorite song on the EP, although Try Hard is a standout as well with its use of a piano and cool guitar work. Harper Valley PTA is a fun closer and proof how The Hannah Barberas like to mix it up it terms of sounds and rhythms. It’s hard not to fall for the Hannah Barberas in these songs.
The EP is intentionally Bandcamp-only, in recognition of the platform’s support for artists during the pandemic. We love Bandcamp as well, but are a bit worried about upcoming changes now that they are owned by Epic Games. Fingers crossed that with the additional funds, Bandcamp will further improve rather than regress.
Solid release week if you like your indie rock upbeat, energetic and European. We already posted about the excellent new Eades (UK) record, and here is another solid release, this time from Norway. Beachheads are 2/4 Kvelertak, but Beachheads sounds more like Teenage Fanclub with a record collection full of ’80s underground pop and punk. Side note: another Kvelertak member released a sonically similar record last year as part of the Needs. That one was a pleasant surprise, but also raises the question: should Kvelertak become a powerpop band?
The second Beachheads record builds on the band’s first, but in addition to the color change in album covers (the band went from yellow to pink), Beachheads II is more laid-back and even more pop-oriented than the band’s debut, which I felt had a more punchy vibe overall. I haven’t made my mind up which version of Beachheads I prefer, but clearly these four dudes know how to write catchy tunes.
We listen to a lot of new music at ATW. If you are a regular visitor of our site, you know that being original or different is not a necessary part for great music in our book. Most of the releases we cover, I believe, have an instant likeability from mere exposure to similar sounds in the past, with just the right execution and a certain freshness to still excite us. And then, sometimes you come across a record whose individual parts may sound familiar, but its sum sounding totally different and surprising. The debut by Tha Retail Simps is a prime example.
Its press release reads: “What if the Velvet Underground had written ‘Wooly Bully’ and Sam The Sham ‘Sister Ray?’ If Ron House picked up some bongos and joined CCR or If Half Japanese and Hasil Adkins started a Meters cover band?” If that piqued your interest, wait until you hear the nine tracks on Reverberant Scratch: 9 Shots in tha Dark. What a thrill! There is so much to discover, so many detours. It rocks, it rolls, it confuses. It’s loud, it’s dirty and full of attitude, but also suprisingly gentle and nuanced. It’s punk, but will make audiences dance rather than pogo.
A couple of spins in, I still feel I’ve only touched the surface of understanding the true value of Reverberant Scratch: 9 Shots in tha Dark. And that is one of the many reasons why this needs to be in my collection ASAP. Available for streaming purposes now, vinyl expected to ship from Total Punk on March 25.
“Pub Rock, Power Pop, New Wave, whatever you want to call it was my inspiration for the sound of this record. Artists like Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe, Ted Leo, Squeeze & Blondie are huge influences of mine & I hope that even a shred of that comes through.”
After reading Jimmy Doyle (The Fad) describing these influences for his first solo record at Brooklynvegan, I was already halfway in. Then I heard the real thing and it doesn’t disappoint at all. If anything, Going Gray sounds more modern than I’d expected, but it’s full of heartfelt uptempo guitar pop hits, none of which hit the three minute mark.
Apparently, the record has been on the shelf for a long time, and we still have to wait until September for the vinyl to arrive. Going Gray was recorded right before the pandemic hit with a strong supporting cast consisting of Tim Hildebrand, Brittany Luna (both of Catbite, who we covered before), Ian Farmer (Modern Baseball/Slaughter Beach, Dog), and Eric Osman (Cherry, Lame-O Records). Let’s hope Doyle and friends wrote more songs in the meantime, because I’d like more of this, please!
Any project involving Jackson Reid Briggs is worth checking out in my book. We’ve already covered his solo release and his full band release last year, and here’s his latest project. In Split System, Reid Briggs fronts a strong cast of characters from other cool bands like Stiff Richard, Speed Week, The Black Heart Death Cult and No Zu. Are you excited yet? Wait until you hear the four songs on their self-titled debut EP.
Split System’s brand of garagepunk absolutely rocks. It blows my mind that these songs were recorded remotely via e-mail. The amount of energy and aggression these dudes have injected in the recordings must have infuriated their neighbors. And it won’t be the last neighbors these Australians will drive crazy, because there is only one way to play this EP: LOUD!
When a band is called Clown Sounds, the best you can hope for is a case of underpromise and overdeliver. That is exactly what Clown Sounds do with Born Under A Bad Sigh. This shouldn’t come as a surprise I guess, given that the band consists of a crew of people associated with Recess Records, Toys That Kill, The Underground Road To Candyland, and Nos Da.
Born Under A Bad Sigh is a messy yet exciting collection of punkrock tunes that keeps you on your toes. Thoughout it all, Clowns Sounds make you feel part of their community and the fun they have together. Want to be a bigger part of their community? Pay $20 or more for this name your price and your name will be on the sleeve as an executive producer. Pay $40 (or more) and your likeness will be included in the comic insert that will be included in the LP release.
Awesome new band alert! From Fresno, California straight to our hearts comes Bad Spring. If you like angsty college rock, dreamy powerpop, or rockin’ ’90s altpop, this should be on the top of your listening pile right now.
The biggest appeal of the two songs on Bad Spring’s debut single? The contrast between the heavy yet strummy and jangly guitars (so good!) and the dreamy Teenage Fanclubesque vocals and harmonies.
Bad Spring has arrived and I’m all in! Tape 1 is out now (on tape of course) on Forever Never Ends Records.
As soon as you put on Pity Party by Philly four-piece Swerves, you get why the band is often compared to Modern Baseball and Soccer Mommy. Although the title track is a drumless introspected acoustic track, the four remaining tunes are in a battle of indiepunk catchiness and pop sensibilities. The winner at any given moment may be Every Weekend, Imposter Syndrome, or noooo don’t peak in high school you’re so sexy aha.
What it comes down to with Swerves is that as soon as Karolina Ross starts singing, you are hooked. Pity Party is out now through Sockhead Records.
Veteran singer-songwriter Paul Zinnard lives in Madrid, but his new minialbum Formula H sounds very American. To add to the confusion, Zinnard’s real name is Carlos Oliver and he is actually from Mallorca. He used to play in The Bolivians and The Pauls, and has been releasing solo records for over a decade.
First thought that came up while listening to his latest record: Paul Westerberg goes Americana? Not sure if that is fair to either artist, but I’m thoroughly enjoying Formula H. It’s a laid back record and Zinnard has a great voice with just enough sandpaper to keep this from getting too polished. On Formula H, Zinnard wears his influences on his sleeve. In addition to Westerberg, there’s a bit of Dylan, and a lot of Petty.
Fun fact: the album cover photo was shot by Zinnard’s dad in 1971 in Mallorca.
