Alternative Rock

New album: Little Barrie & Malcolm Catto || Electric War

UK trio rises above itself on groovy trip through mind-blowing soundscapes

By / / Alternative Rock, Blues & Roots, Psych / Leave a Comment

Rock ‘n’ roll, blues, psych, funk, soul, kraut and jazz fight a respectful battle, with spiritual guitar licks and a hypnotic groove driven by motorik rhythms and sample-worthy breakbeats as weapons of choice. That’s right, Little Barrie is back on the front lines. Singer/guitarist Barrie Cadogan, bassist Lewis Wharton and drummer Malcolm Catto up their game on their new full-length album Electric War, a cinematic and exciting journey along rock’s experimental edges.

The seasoned musicians use their arsenal of skills and creativity to the fullest in eight songs that are both laid-back and intense. Few are given the ability to make rhythms and melodies sound so controlled, intelligent and tight, while at the same time conveying the freshness of a spontaneous jam. While the distinctive vocals are as enchanting as ever, the instrumental seven and a half minutes of Creaky show that they can also tell a compelling story without words.



Electric War it out now digitally, on CD and vinyl LP, through Easy Eye Sound.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Discogs || Easy Eye

New EP: Percy Higgins || Art Machine

"Captain Beckheart's Doomsday Party"

By / / Alternative Rock, Psych / Leave a Comment

And now for something completely different, we turn to Percy Higgins, an eclectic noise project by British one-man band Adam Kingsley. In his own words: “It’s off-kilter music, a tonic for the rhythmically bored mixing elements of art rock, psych, and hip hop. It’s like Beck, The Birthday Party, Captain Beefheart’s Magic Band, and MF Doom all crammed into one room in an East London flat. It’s Captain Beckheart’s Doomsday Party.”

Listening to the five tracks on his Art Machine EP is like wandering around the enticing shop windows of a busy, foreign city in the middle of the night, a trip through colorful impressions that come to you but that you can’t grasp. A transfixing experience, in which you’ll notice something different the next time.

Art Machine is currently only available via streaming services.

New reissue: Terminal || Am I Doing It Right / Hold On

Two superb 80s singles back in print

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

Look how good a reason we have to celebrate Throwback Thursday once again.

Terminal were a short-lived but compelling post-punk band from North Wales, with two awesome singles—Hold On (1980) and Am I Doing It Right (1982)—to their name. With a raw, moody sound that echoes the disaffection of the era, they carved out a small but memorable place in the UK underground scene. The original 45s are pretty rare, so let’s be thankful to French label Fish & Cheap Records for bringing the aforementioned A-sides together on a new 7”—only 200 made, so act fast.

Driving rhythms, wobbly melodies, cool vocals and earworm choruses, delivered with Stones-esque swagger—these should have been worldwide hits.


Am I Doing It Right / Hold On is out now digitally and on limited 7″ vinyl through Fish & Cheap Records.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Discogs

New album: Lily of the Sea || Slow Violence

A mythic tapestry woven into a striking debut LP

By / / Alternative Rock / Leave a Comment

Lily of the Sea is the indie rock project of New York City-based mixed media artist and musician Lily McMahan. Slow Violence is her full-length debut album featuring twelve multi-dimensional songs full of emotion and experience. With one foot in the raw heyday of grunge, and the other in a colorful cosmos where boundaries between folk art, mythology, nature and consciousness blur, she creates dreamscapes of grace, grief and grit. Expect explosive rhythms, electrifying guitar work and extraordinary vocals, in hand-dyed hymns for a fractured world.

Slow Violence, produced by Franklin Rice, is streaming only for now (self-released).

New EP: Grandmas House || Anything For You

Wrangled emotions, soulful grit, and a characterful sound

By / / Alternative Rock, Punk / Leave a Comment

The grungy punk rock of Bristol’s Grandmas House is slowly but surely winning over more and more hearts, the result of endless touring and a steady streak of earworm tunes. Where their earlier tunes intrigued and impressed with boisterous music and thundering vocals, on their latest EP Anything For You the use of sandpaper leads towards a more polished sound. The five new songs—created in a period full of grief, loss, and illness—excel in amazing rhythms and repetitive themes, most powerfully with “I’ll do everything for you” in standout track Slaughterhouse. Brought with character and emotion, every word hits home. Unique and memorable, Grandmas House is rock solid.



Anything For You—recorded, mixed, and produced by Scott Barnett—is out now digitally on 10″ vinyl through Duchess Box Records.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Discogs

New album: Jeff Timm || Meltdown

A raw and poetic journey through collapse and clarity

By / / Alternative Rock, Blues & Roots / Leave a Comment

Meltdown is the sophomore full-length album by Poughkeepsie, New York native Jeff Timm. Don’t be discouraged by the title, because the ten songs are not only about breaking down but also about building back up. The singer/songwriter hears some dark echoes of the past in the back of his mind, but he also has a keen eye for what’s going on now, resulting in an urgent ode to resilience and reckoning.

These are heartfelt stories set to roots rock—solid but soulful Americana—in which hard and soft naturally go hand in hand, just like Tom Petty could do. Together they make up a pure and powerful record, with a live feel and a big sound.



Meltdown—recorded, mixed, and mastered by Ray Ketchem—is out now digitally via Magic Door Record Label. Featuring Jeff Timm (vocals, acoustic guitar), with James Mastro (electric guitars, bass, mandolin), Kevin March (drums), and Renee LoBue (backing vocals), except for You Know Better, with Phil Chieco (electric guitars), John VanLuyk (bass), and Mike Wallner (drums).

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Bad Bad Bird || Si Brutal

Bad Bad Bird turn up the charm on their debut LP

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

It’s funny how quickly a new record can win you over when the first song you hear is as irresistible as Toi et moi tout l’été. It kicks off Si Brutal, the debut album from Bad Bad Bird—a four-piece from Nantes (France) we first wrote about in 2022. Bad Bad Bird sings in their native tongue and plays alt pop with a bright, slightly pop punk edge.

Let’s call it a 50/50 split: half the tracks lean into alt pop, the other half into catchy, faster-paced pop punk. While I personally gravitate toward the more high-energy tunes, the variety gives the record depth. Vocalist Madeleine stands out in either mode—her delivery is articulate, emotional, and easy to fall for.

Si Brutal is out now on LP and tape via Kicking Records. A strong debut that promises more good things ahead.


Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Gum Parker || The Brakes

Repeating Cloud head honcho debuts new jangly and scrappy indie rock band

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

Gum Parker sounds like the name of a cartoon detective or a scrappy sidekick in a coming-of-age comic book—but turns out, it’s actually a tool used to hold gum in place. Who knew? (Not me!) Either way, it has a quirky charm and makes for a pretty great band name.

The project is the brainchild of Galen Richmond (of Repeating Cloud Records, Lemon Pitch, and Teenage Tom Petties), who unlike his past group efforts, takes on full songwriting duties here. The Gum Parker lineup is rounded out by Kate Sullivan-Jones (The Outfits, The English Muffins), Jeff Hamm (Lemon Pitch, TTP, Wood Burning Cat), and Jason Unterreiner (Wood Burning Cat).

Richmond’s songwriting leans hard into the jangly, scrappy side of indie rock—think ‘90s college radio and early ‘00s DIY. The music kinda makes sense if you’re familiar with his label’s roster, but Gum Parker doesn’t let itself compare directly to any band out there. There’s zero pretense and plenty of charm. Songs like Two Subarus and Only Boxes feel loose and lived-in in the best way, with just enough ragged energy to feel spontaneous. Gum Parker even flirt with punk pace and volume at times, letting bursts of tension punch through the jangle. You get the sense that these songs would translate very well to the stage.

Trading vocal duties between Richmond and Sullivan-Jones brings a welcome variety. They both have unique voices that feel raw and unfiltered—like the kind of singing you believe immediately, no polish required.

The Brakes is out now on Repeating Cloud Records. It’s a low-key gem with high replay value.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Dauber || Falling Down

Thirteen bursts of energy, heart, and distortion by members of Screaming Females, KMES, and Verse

By / / Alternative Rock, Punk / Leave a Comment

When you run a music blog alongside a day job and personal life, you start relying on certain heuristics to spot wantlist-worthy releases. Maybe it’s a label whose taste consistently aligns with yours. Or a musician whose name in the liner notes guarantees something worthwhile. Mike Abbate is one of those musicians. He played bass in Screaming Females, co-founded New Jersey’s State Champion Records, and recently put out a killer record as KMES. Last year, he returned with another project—Dauber—alongside Jenna Fairey (also from KMES) and Quinn Murphy (Love Letter, ex-Death of Nation, Verse).

Dauber’s full-length debut Falling Down features the two excellent teaser tracks from last year’s single—the all-thrills title track and the punchy No Use For A Pig—plus a whole lot more. Dauber might be a trio, but they make a glorious racket. This isn’t music chasing perfection; it’s music chasing feeling—and it nails it. These 13 songs are scrappy, dynamic, and radiating punk rock joy. The guitar work in particular is a standout: from the first track on, licks and riffs come flying at you. It’s infectious and, frankly, exhilarating.

Dauber are carving out a gritty little niche for themselves—part ’80s American underground, part hyperactive basement show energy—with just the right mix of melody and menace. Here’s hoping they’re here to stay.

Falling Down is out now on CD, TAPE and LP respectively at Dromedary Records, State Champion Records, and Recess Records.




Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Dromedary || Recess || State Champion

New album: Wisconsin Anger Team || Beyond The Everest Crater III

One of punk rock’s best-kept secrets keeps the streak alive

By / / Alternative Rock, Punk / Leave a Comment

There was a time when the worst thing that could happen to a hairsprayed rock band was being accused of using synths instead of guitars. Later, “sellout” became the word to fear for indie acts. Fast forward to 2025, and now we’re apparently at the point where artists feel the need to clarify they didn’t use AI. One of my favorite current punk troubadours—Wisconsin Anger Team—now solemnly affirms that “generative AI was not used at any point for any aspect of this album, including the writing, recording, artwork, or layout.”

Now that that’s out of the way: the new record is all fire.

Beyond The Everest Crater III is the band’s fifth album in as many years. It follows 2023’s Archie and completes a trilogy with Beyond The Everest Crater I and II. That’s right—here’s a band that’s been quietly building something special, gaining fans one human being at a time. The new LP only reinforces the fact that there’s zero reason Wisconsin Anger Team should remain punk rock’s best-kept secret.

They’re the kind of band that swims against the algorithmic current—writing sustainable, substantial songs in a world obsessed with the next fleeting dopamine hit. These aren’t tracks to have on in the background while you scroll through your phone. These are songs that ask for your full attention. They make you want to read along with the lyrics—even when the subject matter gets pretty dark. They push the faders into the red and play their hearts out to spark something human in a disenchanted world.

But I digress. This record shreds.
Press play. Repeat.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

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