Niek

New album: XXX Piss || XXX Piss

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

When your co-worker, a mainstream music loving person who knows you run a music blog, asks if you discovered any cool new music over the weekend, do you always tell them the truth?

Well, I took a liking this new band featuring members of The Hussy and Proud Parents.

“What are they called?”

Heather Sawyer and Liam Casey.

“No, I mean the band”.

You wouldn’t like ’em.

“Just tell me, I’ll google them.”

You wouldn’t like them, they play a wild and anarchic brand of garage pop that is scrappy, fun and playful. But much too ramshackle for your taste.

“Tell me.”

You sure?

“Yeah!”

Okay, they are called XXX Piss.

“…”

Please don’t Google them at the office. I’ll send you a link.

The debut album of XXX Piss is out now on Winsconsin label Nightbell Records.




Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Palehound || Eye On The Bat

By / / Indie Rock / Leave a Comment

Wow. Is it me, or does Palehound sound razor sharp on their new album Eye Of The Bat. Few records in recent days has managed to reach this level of urgency, this level of vulnerability, and this level of authenticity. Eli Kempner uses words as arrows on a mission, and sings them with so much honesty and rawness, there is just no denying Eye On The Bat. This is powerful stuff, haunting and awesome.

Listening to Eye On The Bat feels a bit like opening my favorite book. I can find something memorable on each page. Kempner opens songs with lines like “I didn’t wanna see that bloody hand on your stomach that night,” “I’ve become the person I’d wanna punch in the face,” and “We broke up on Independence Day, crying while the next door neighbors raged.” Even though you are reluctant to discover the backstory to these outpourings, it’s impossible to look away. You want to know what happened. The music almost works as a soundtrack to the lyrics, sounding more ominously, hushed or cathartic depending on the emotions Kempner wants to evoke.

Kempner has created the perfect record for lovers of books, and the perfect short story collection for lovers of music. Eye On The Bat is a special kind of record. It is out now on Polyvinyl Records.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Polyvinyl

New EP: The Ape-ettes || Simply

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

In their early days, Ontario trio The Ape-ettes were literally basement rockers writing and playing garage music in one of the members’ basement. A promising self-titled album kickstarted the band’s career in 2017. It’s been fairly silent around the band in recent years, but they now return with a EP that is co-released by two labels that put out a lot of stuff that is right in our wheelhouse: Reta Records (Canada) and Snappy Little Numbers (USA).

Of the four songs, Rémi alone makes purchasing the Simply EP worthwhile. It’s like a forgotten early ’80s power pop hit out of France. Songs like this never fail to to excite me. Hearing Protection is another banger fans of upbeat garage pop will appreciate. Trampoline is a midpaced garage rocker, seductively sung over a repetitive chord progression. Inner Child shows a more subtle and constrained side of The Ape-ettes. The Simply EP is pretty diverse and a whole lot of fun. Out now on 7″!



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Discogs || Reta || Snappy Little Numbers

New album: Pedico || Beach Boys Demos

By / / Garage Rock, Punk / 1 Comment

Every time Pedico (New York) puts out new music, I find myself opening a new post and start writing almost right away. Their releases are THAT reliably fun.

Pedico are a 50/50 band. It’s like they flip a coin, and based on the result they will release a record full of originals or a cover record. Of course, the outcome of this coin toss is inconsequential. Without exception, the tunes they record will be super straightforward and extremely infectious – not all that surprising as Ramones and Beach Boys seem to be the only music they listen to.

The latest coin toss resulted in a new Beach Boys cover album. In a sense, it’s a do-over of the Beach Boys cover record they did in 2014. Pedico’s Jake explains: “In all honesty I wasn’t that crazy about how it turned out. It was recorded across various studios with a lot of internal band turmoil (much like the beach boys themselves haha). We always wanted to do one that featured a few other tunes, alternate versions, and with a little bit more of a garage (rather than punk) vibe.” Well, while I don’t see that much wrong with the previous Beach Boys tribute, the new one is a blast. It’s more diverse, less raucous, but without losing any of the fun and energy of the previous Pedico records.




Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New single: Bart And The Brats & The Battlebeats || Chickpea Records Presents An International Garage Split: Vol. 7

By / / Garage Rock, Punk / 1 Comment

In today’s episode of How Many Songs Can You Fit On A 7″ record, the contestants are Bart And The Brats (France) and The Battlebeats (Indonesia) who each take on one side of the vinyl disc. Let’s start with Bart’s side. He delivers four songs that were recorded in the same sessions of his acclamed Assorted Cuts LP – released last month. All four songs are rippers, a mutated KBD take on the Ramones. On The Battlebeats side, we find five songs which strengthen The Battlebeats’ reputation as one of the most exciting garagepunk bands around.

Four and five makes nine. Nine songs! That’s good value for your money, particularly if you consider the quality of the tunes. Buy the 7th volume of the International Garage Split at Chickpea Records.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp (BatB) || Bandcamp (TBb) || Discogs

New EP: Goat Yoga || Don’t You Think I Wanna Go?

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

Goat Yoga, that sounds just crazy enough to be an actual thing in today’s society. I did a quick check on Google, and wouldn’t you know it, for the past 20 minutes I’ve been watching Youtube videos of Goat Yoga retreats, rubbing my forehead in the process. Don’t get me wrong, I love goats. I think they are one of the funnest animals on the planet. But Goat Yoga? Really?

How did I get here? It’s all because of a band called Goat Yoga. They are from Brooklyn and make the kind of music I have a soft spot for. Goat Yoga are not unlike Local Drags in the sense that they fuse the pace, hooks and pop sensibilities of powerpop with the energy and straightforwardness of pop punk. There is also a touch of Brit pop to the sound of Goat Yoga, particularly on the title track.

Despite their silly name, the six songs on the Don’t You Think I Wanna Go EP show enough promise to make me want to follow Goat Yoga. The band, that is.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New EP: The Goods || E.P.

By / / Power Pop / Leave a Comment

The Goods is a perfect band name. After all, a band confident or cocky enough to state upfront they have what it takes, what more could you want? I’d say, bring it on! But in the case of new Oakland outfit The Goods, there is an alternative explanation for picking the name. They are fronted by Rob Good, who has paid his dues in bands like Sob Stories, Cocktails, and Re-Volts. As such, The Goods may be Good’s attempt to become 2023’s version of the Ramones, even though at least for now, his fellow members on their debut EP have not adopted the Good surname yet. They are drummer Paul Wiseman of Not and seasoned session bassist Cherron Arens.

The influences for The Goods? Redd Kross, Young Guv, Tom Petty, Matthew Sweet, The Jam, Green Day and Cheap Trick. Those are decades-spanning, and it shows. The Goods manage to sound both classic and modern in their songs, both clean and powerful, and they hit 3 for 3 with David Jones Is Dead, Dear Angeline and I’m Not The Only One. Make it 4 for 4 if you include the digital only bonus track Hear Me. The press release explicitly states how The Goods is no retro-revivalist vanity project. These are songs with a heart and soul of their own. Like Rob Good says about his debut with The Goods: “Music is ultimately a labor of love, and if you love the music you’re making it shines through in the songs. We had a blast making this record and I think it shows.”

E.P. is out now through Dandy Boy Records. Fans of power pop should be all over it.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Max Bien Kahn || When I Cross It Off

By / / Country & Folk, Indie Pop, Indie Rock / Leave a Comment

Max Bien Kahn first made an appearance on our site two years ago with his Max and the Martians project. His return is a glorious one. When I Cross It Off is released under his full name, even though a lot of the Martians also contributed to the record, like Esther Rose, Ross Farbe and Ray Micarelli (Video Age), and Duff Thompson (The Lostines) – the latter also doing a lot of technical aspects of the recording. The album was recorded in 2019 and 2020, which leds me to believe that is was recorded around the same time as his 2021 All The Same record with the Martians. When I Cross It Off sure has a similar feel to it. It is a life-affirming record.

The album title refers to The List, a song about how easy it is to add and how great it feels to cross something off your list. It’s just one example how Max Bien Kahn makes the mundane sound poetic. He doesn’t need a lot of words to evoke a story or induce a feeling with his songs. It’s almost effortless. Helped out by gorgous arrangements, When I Cross It Off is a generous record that can be appreciated upon multiple levels.

Out now through Mashed Potato Records (LP) and Perpetual Doom (Tape).


Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Mashed Potato || Perpetual Doom

New album: Bad Mother || Hesitation

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

New can be a relative adjective when speaking of a record that has just been released. In case of Bad Mother (Chicago), they recorded Side A of their Hesitation LP in 2020, and Side B in 2021. That feels like ages ago! It is out just now at Religious Records on two variants: Transparent Red and Transparent Smoke vinyl. I am not sure what the band’s current line up is, but throughout the years Bad Mother has had members of The Jetbirds, Poison Boys, The Frantic and Tuk Smith & The Restless Hearts. Current Skid Row drummer Rob Hammersmith plays on the Side B songs.

Bad Mother are an American rock’n’roll band by heart. There are touches of Seventies’ rock and powerpop but also of ’80s pop metal. I’d almost use glam as well, but there is a blue collar vibe to the songs of Bad Mother, not unlike the music of Nato Coles and The Blue Diamond Band.

Hesitation is not available for streaming on Bandcamp unfortunately, but you can order the record there. You can also listen to it on most of the streaming platforms. If you’re not on those platforms and want a bigger sample than the video below, listen to Enemy, Right Down The Road and Drove which are my favorites on the album.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: 2M80 || 2M80

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

2M80 is a new project by Vinny Earley of Vaguess and Staz Lindes of The Paranoyds. Their debut full length is out now on a very limited Tape run through Under The Gun Records. It’s pretty special.

From opener What Trent Does, 2M80 will draw you in with tunes that seem to come straight from the Velvet Underground and Flying Nun songbooks. Some songs are scrappy art rock, others are jangly pop nuggets, some are faster and upbeat, still others are slow and seductive. The delivery has a spontaneous feel to it, the production sounds loose, the vocal interplay sure is complementary, and the songwriting is top notch throughout. Highly recommended!




Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

Scroll to Top