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New album: Autogramm || Music That Humans Can Play

By / / Power Pop, Punk / 1 Comment

Just a couple of songs in and it becomes clear that the meter on Autogramm’s third album tilts heavily towards new wave, ’80s revivalism, and irresistible feel-good tunes. Autogramm brought in Lars Swenson (Catheters, Bread & Butter) as an additional member during the making of Music That Humans Can Play – a record born in the heatwave of 2022. They sound rock-solid, tight and inspired as a four-piece, and ’80s synths and majestic hooks go hand in hand on the new LP.

Everything sounds big and crisp. Whether by chance or deliberate intent, Autogramm has crafted a record that could easily have dominated the charts four decades ago, offering an impressive array of potential singles. Born Loser (with MTV-ready video), Mapee (Don’t Screw Up), Hey Allie and Love Is For Fools all are candidates, while the upbeat Plastic Punks and Westbound are personal favorites.

I can’t help but perceive the title as a commentary on the threat posed by A.I. The authentic ’80s vibe and songwriting on Music That Humans Can Play is so striking, it prompts the question: Could artificial intelligence truly craft something of this caliber if fed prompts from the defining bands of the power pop and new wave era? I doubt it. The album resonates so profoundly human, it is a confident challenge of the capabilities of A.I. by a band in absolute top form.

Music That Humans Can Play is out now on Stomp Records and Beluga Records. Stoked that this band is touring Europe next Spring!


Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Stomp Records || Beluga

New album: Big Mess || Cleaning Up With

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

One-word review of Cleaning Up With, the fourth album by Big Mess: WOW!

Big Mess’ new LP, their first for Specialist Subject Records, is an explosive mix of punk, pop and rock’n’roll. This essentially is a pop record built on barely contained youthful energy and a wall of noise. Big Mess keep a high gear on these twelve songs, each one peppered with infectious melodies. Everything is flying frenziedly around, and Big Mess effortlessly switch from street punk influences (Working, Shit On My Shoe) to powerpop’n’roll (Doo-Lang Doo-Lang, Hangin’ Round). Opening track Grooving sets off the record on the right foot, and each time you think you’ve found your favorite track on the record, Big Mess throws another standout at you. Like Telephone, a gritty powerpop classic in the making, or Messy Xmas, a sloppy theme track that is plain fun.

Perhaps somebody put something in their drink, somebody gave them their number (and they decided to use it), or they finally discovered who put the bomp in the bomp bah bomp bah bomp and the ram in the rama lama ding dong? Who knows, but the Copenhagen quartet sounds better than before. Warning: Cleaning Up With Big Mess is addictive.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Specialist Subject

New album: Wurld Series || The Giant’s Lawn

By / / Indie Rock / Leave a Comment

A downside of not being a native English speaker is that you sometimes misinterpret certain phrases. I wanted to start my write-up about the new Wurld Series LP The Giants’s Lawn by stating that the band from Christchurch (NZ) are not dialing it in. Then I looked up its meaning and discovered that I should actually state that Wurld Series are absolutely dialing it in on their new LP – I mistook the phrase for phoning it in. On their last LP What’s Growing, Wurld Series appealed to fans of classic indie rock. On The Giant’s Lawn they worked hard and meticulously on creating their own niche in the indie rock landscape. It’s an ambitious display of skill and talent.

The resulting record is not just a collection of songs to shuffle into a playlist, it’s an album that’s best experienced as a cohesive whole. The broad spectrum of influences channeled by Wurld Series and the deliberate sequencing on The Giant’s Lawn creates an organic ebb and flow, contributing to its collective strength. Some tracks offer immediate gratification reminiscent of their previous record – like Lord Of Shelves, Resplendent Fortress, and Friend To Man And Traffic. However, on other songs, Wurld Series experiment with a wider array of instruments, styles and even felines(!), yielding a more expansive sonic range. While the dividends of these tracks may unfold more gradually, they enrich the overall experience of listening to The Giant’s Lawn.

In a world where supply of entertainment is limitless and demand for attention extremely high, The Giant’s Lawn stands out as a bold artistic move, one that challenges, surprises, rewards and nourishes.

Out now on Melted Ice Cream (New Zealand & Rest of the World), Meritorio Records (Europe & USA).




Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Meritorio || Discogs

New album: Owen Adamcik || Ickle Stardust’s Crime

By / / Garage Rock, Punk / Leave a Comment

“A few months ago I was arrested for standing up for my girlfriend. This is the album I made when I got out of jail.”

As if the prolific punkrock’n’roll prodigy Owen Adamcik needed any more inspiration, now this happened? Whether it is under his own name, or under his alter ego’s Ickle Stardust and Owen Hollywood, Adamcik is churning out songs like a manic maniac. I wouldn’t be surprised if he wrote and recorded his new 22-song album Ickle Stardust’s Crime in one sitting, all 24 minutes of it. The songs sound like first takes, imperfect and glorious, with punk and rock’n’roll history shining through in most if not all of these songs. Listen to incel bait, which sounds like a draft of an Exploding Hearts track, hot doggage which sounds like early Descendents, or the Bubblegum Ramonesey do you wanna hangout tonight? Adamcik seemingly can do it all, from primitive proto-garage to ’77 UK pop punk and from American hardcorepunk to ’70s rock’n’roll romanticism.

The record closes out on the acoustic break the law for you: “Stand up for my girl, I’ll fight the demons of this worlds. Stand up for what’s right, I’ll get locked up for a night.” One night in jail, point made, 22 hits. All in all a good score.





Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Probleman || Kor har eg v​ø​rre i heile mett liv

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

Probleman (Trondheim, Norway) grabbed my interest with their debut EP last year. They hinted upon their debut album to be released in the first half of 2023. Apparently, it took a little longer but it is finally here. It is called Kor har eg v​ø​rre i heile mett liv (Where have I been all my life) and if it weren’t for the Norwegian in which these songs are sung, Probleman would be easily misidentified as an American band. But no, these emo tendencies and twinkly guitars are import only, Midtnorsk Emo for the win.

Kor har eg v​ø​rre i heile mett liv is out now on a very limited tape run of 60 at Slow Down Records.




Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New single: Scumming || Some Kind of Cap Swallower

By / / Indie Rock, Punk / Leave a Comment

You need not be Sherlock Holmes to induce that New Jersey duo Scumming are fans of Algernon Cadwallader. It’s right there in the title and cover art of their three-song single Some Kind of Cap Swallower – the nod to Algernon Cadwalladers’ Some Kind of Cadwallader album is far from subtle, nor should it be. The three songs are a poppy version of the mathy twinkly music of their heroes. “Twinkle Daddy Noodle Punk” is how the band’s Biff Swenson and Rudy Meier call it. It’s a familiar sound, but Scumming know how to execute. And honestly, that glockenspiel is hard to resist.

Released digitally by Mint 400 Records and physically by In The Clouds Records.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New EP: Jerry A & The Kings Of Oblivion || Life After Hate

By / / Garage Rock, Punk / Leave a Comment

Jerry A. Lang of Poison Idea is still kickin’ out the jams, brothers and sisters. His latest is a project alongside The Kings Of Oblivion who are actually Amsterdam street punkrock’n’rollers Savage Beat. The Life After Hate EP features two originals (the title track and Pink Clouds) that are both characterized by awesome guitar work and Jerry A. in top form. Four cover songs round out the EP and they are not the most likely picks in Blitzz (Degeneration), Pink Fairies (City Kids), Shitdogs (Reborn), Bonnie St. Claire & Unit Gloria (That’s My Music).

The Life After Hate EP is out now on a 12″ at American Leather and TKO Records.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Discogs

New album: Tyvek || Overground

By / / Alternative Rock, Punk / Leave a Comment

Buckle up! There is no time for a warming up excercise on Tyvek’s latest album Overground. The race is on from the get-go, propelling you into a hyperactive collision of guitars, bass, drums, saxophone, and the free-flowing delivery of a talk-singer. While it might flirt with punk or post-something, Overground is unmistakably Tyvek, showcasing the Detroit band in all its frenetic glory.

After ten songs, Tyvek finally take their foot of the gas, letting you cool off and catch your breath to the closing title track. By its end, you are all ready for another tour of Overground. LP put now on Ginkgo Records.




Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New Album: The Young Rochelles || Kicked to the Curb

By / / Power Pop, Punk / 1 Comment

Having aged a decade since their start in Long Beach (NY) in 2013, The Young Rochelles still are pop punk kids at heart. Just take a listen to their new LP Kicked To The Curb, the band’s second, which is out now through Sounds Rad. The record illustrates the increased skill and songwriting prowess the band picked up throughout the years. The record opening on a vocal performance that had me questioning if it were an outtake from the Zombies’ Odessey and Oracle sessions is just one example. The End Of Us is another early highlight on the record. At three quarts of the song, The Young Rochelles strip away all instruments, leaving only a drum-backed gang vocal of its infectious chorus. This well-executed maneuver, essentially a tried-and-true technique, works seamlessly.

I am finding something new to like about this album with each play, and every time I get a kick out of how well constructed and executed Vacation sounds. What a championship-level tune! Kicked To The Curb is not just testament of a more ambitious band, it also shows that the mixed emotions of a bad break-up and subsequently meeting your soulmate is pure oxygen to pen sugary pop punk hits.  The Young Rochelles, now with added hooks, bigger and better melodies, and pretty sweet harmonies, I like ’em!




Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Sounds Rad

New EP: Calling Hours || Say Less

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

Two years ago, Farside’s Popeye Vogelzang moved to Scranton (PA). Not because he’s a fan of the US version of The Office, but because he wanted to be with his soon-to-be wife. Landing in a different region, Vogelsang quickly started a new band with members of The Commercials and Don’t Sleep. Notably, this arrangement means that Don’t Sleep’s Garrett Rothman and Jim Bedorf currently share the stage with two iconic singers from the ’80s/’90s hardcore and punk scenes, with Dave Smalley being the other esteemed vocalist in the mix.

The Say Less EP is comprised of six heartland indie rock originals that are kind to the ears and a great vessel for the majestic voice of Popeye Vogelsang. Of the songs, Why Did It Have To Be Snakes and Heavy Future are probably closest to Farside, and Curtain Call stands out with its radio-friendly chorus. The EP ends on a high note with a masterfully executed cover of The Replacements’ Alex Chilton. Overall, I am enjoying this release a lot.

Like Farside, Calling Hours have found a home at Revelation Records. It blows my mind how much time has passed (and releases!) since REV: 69 (Farside’s final LP The Monroe Doctrine) and REV: 206 (this Calling Hours debut). Where did the time go?



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Revelation Records

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