Garage Rock

New album: Bark || Loud

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

Singing bassist Tim Lee and singing drummer Susan Bauer Lee are not only a married couple, but they also make up rock ‘n’ roll duo Bark. The veterans of the American DIY indie rock scene, now based in Water Valley, Mississippi, borrow elements from garage rock and power pop (and heartland rock and British invasion pop), but we can’t really label their music as such. On their new album Loud – that title was only a matter of time – you’ll hear ten uplifting and catchy songs full of cheerful melodies and catchy harmony choruses. Tunes that are original but sound familiar upon first listen, easy to fall in love with.




Loud is out now digitally and on vinyl LP through Dial Back Sound / Cool Dog Sound. Also featuring Matt Patton (backup vocals, bass), Bronson Tew (guitar), Jay Gonzales (keys), Schaefer Llana (backup vocals) and Jimbo Mathus (organ, tambourine).

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New single: Friends Of Cesar Romero & The Manxx || Friends Of Cesar Romero & The Manxx

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

The mutual appreciation between Friends Of Cesar Romero and record label Snappy Little Numbers makes total sense, doesn’t it? I mean, is there a better way to describe the concise power pop songs of J. Waylon Porcupine than snappy little numbers? The latest FOCR release is another welcome addition to the impressive catalog of FOCR and SLN. On the single, FOCR is matched with Denver three-piece The Manxx. Each of the bands contribute a song, and they team up to do a raucous cover of Feel Real Good by The Drags. FOCR’s You Lied is an eighty second garage power pop banger built on a proto-garage rock riff and organ. Super catchy of course. That also applies to You’re Losing Me by The Manxx with its surfy guitar licks and talksinging that is full of bite.

Buy now (name-your-price-download) at Snappy Little Numbers.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New EP: The Underbites || Four Songs About Girls

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

NYC quartet The Underbites released their debut LP Sort It Out in 2022. The follow-up EP is called Four Songs About Girls and features four songs…well you get the picture. The EP contains eleven minutes of ’70s powerpop’n’roll and ’90s poppy punkrock (RIYL Swingin’ Utters) – Three originals, one Little Richard cover (The Girl Can’t Help It). Unpretentious yet convincing, The Underbites are here to provide a good old time.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: The Suttles || Third Stroke

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

The Suttles are a Parisian band who wish they were around in the late ’70s supporting the likes the Jam, the Undertones, The Beat and Joe Jackson. Formed in 2020, Third Stroke is the third LP of The Suttles. It’s due for release September 22 on Topsy Turvy Records, but it’s already available on Bandcamp – not sure whether this is intentional or someone pressed the public instead of the private function. No complaints on our part, Third Stroke is another fine release by the band, a record that sits nicely next to recent LPs by Les Lullies and Cyanide Pills. Let’s say that seventies power pop, mod and pop punk are in trusted hands with Max, Julian and Fred. The nine originals (sung alternately in English and French, and even one in Spanish) are supplemented with a cover of Fairchild’s 1971 bubblegum powerpop gem I’d Like To Make You Mine.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Las G​ó​nadas || Ruido Ácido

By / / Garage Rock / Leave a Comment

Spanish label Family Spree Recordings has once again unearthed an unpolished gem. Las G​ó​nadas are a garage rock outfit featuring Jesús Estapa, Juan Carlos Peinado, Luis Zapata and Manuel López, who blast 60s inspired commotion from the speakers. With their debut album Ruido Ácido (translated: Acid Noise) they deliver ten raucous, fuzzy tracks (including two successful covers: Me Siento Loco (Los Yetis) and Maldita Identidad (The Escapades’ I Tell No Lies)), in which mean guitars, swinging organ melodies and gritty vocals fight for attention without getting in each other’s way. A feast for the mind.



Ruido Ácido is out now digitally and on vinyl LP through Family Spree Recordings.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: The Bo Derek’s || Porca Miseria

By / / Garage Rock / Leave a Comment

You and I know rock ‘n’ roll isn’t a sinking ship, right? Gallic pub rock trio The Bo Derek’s are taking no chances, throwing in a lifeline: their third full-length album Porca Miseria contains thirteen exciting tunes that show that the genre is alive and well. To avoid any misunderstandings, they shout out their mission in one of the standout tracks – Salvar el rock’n’roll – but actually the music speaks for itself. Oscar Avendaño (guitar, vocals), Jorge “Lorre” Martín (bass) and Rufus “El Guarro” Martín (drums) deliver bluesy garage rock tunes with a swinging rhythm section, grittily sung in Spanish. Their cover of Ike & Tina Turner’s Nutbush City Limits is very nice, but the original tracks here are just as appealing.




Porca Miseria is out now digitally and on vinyl LP through Family Spree Recordings.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Discogs

New single: Wild Billy Childish & CTMF || Traces Of You

By / / Funk & Soul, Garage Rock / Leave a Comment

Wild Billy Childish & CTMF (aka The Chatham Forts) released the pretty awesome LP Failure Not Success early this year, but of course there’s more where that came from. Here’s a new 45 featuring two recordings of the beautiful new song Traces Of You, a long and more polished version on the addictive A side, a short and rawer demo version on the flip side. Billy (guitar, bass), Juju (vocals, bass, guitar) and Wolf (drums, percussion) show their sensitive side, influenced by the 60s girl group sound, but the usual frayed edge is not lacking. Another classic in the making.

Traces Of You, written & sung by Julie Hamper, produced by William ‘Spook’ Loveday, and engineered by Jim Riley, is out now digitally and on vinyl 7″ through Spinout Nuggets.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Spinout Productions

New EP: The Capellas || Take Your Chance With​.​.​.

By / / Funk & Soul, Garage Rock / Leave a Comment

The umpteenth project from Elsa Whittaker (lead vocals), Mike Whittaker (guitar, backing vocals), Matthew “Mole” Lambert (bass, backing vocals) and Yan Quellien (drums), and they also hit the mark as soulful rhythm & blues band The Capellas. Their debut EP has four original songs – in a better world they would all be hits – with a vintage girl group feel, which are as sympathetic and seductive as they are groovy and danceable. Hip-shaking guitars, funky drumming, perfumed vocals and catchy choruses, what’s not to like?


Take Your Chance With The Capellas, written by Elsa & Mike Whittaker, is out now digitally and on vinyl 7″ through Sweet Grooves Records.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Sweet Grooves

New album: Brian Damage || Previous Episodes

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

Hyperactive Columbus, Ohio-based singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Brian Baker plays/played in bands like DANA, D.O.T.S., Hydrone, Brat Curse, Astro Fang, Yakuza Heart Attack, Smug Brothers and Jet Kid Committee, but somehow he still has enough time and inspiration to create and record music under the resourceful DIY moniker of Brian Damage. On his third album Previous Episodes you’ll hear eleven energetic, contemporary garage rock songs in which heavy guitars and vintage synths go hand in hand. Between the grit, distortion and soundscapes you can detect influences from indie rock, power pop and DIY punk, with a good idea and appealing melody in every track.



Previous Episodes, recorded & mixed by Alex Douglas, is out now digitally and on limited edition cassette through Just Because Records.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Discogs

New album: Tha Retail Simps || Live On Cool Street

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

Tha Retail Simps is one of the most exciting rock’n’roll bands of the past couple of years. Exhibit A: the band’s 2022 debut. Exhibit B: the band’s follow up LP Live On Cool Street, which is out now on Total Punk Records. Describing Tha Retail Simps is rather difficult. You could call them as a punk take on Velvet Underground and you would not be wrong. Tha Retail Simps are so much more than that though. Press play on Live On Cool Street and you’ll come across ferocious punkrock’n’roll, but also guitar solo’s and riffs, Northern Soul as well (listen to Weapon Of The Mystic, which is one of the highlights on the new LP). The exuberant playing of Tha Retail Simps is contagious, and at the center of their sound there is a highly combustible mix of musical influences. Think of the most boring, least inspired band you know and you’ll find Tha Retail Simps at its polar opposite. Live On Cool Street should be required listening for anyone on a bland musical diet. If there is any record that should wake them up and reconnect them with the sheer excitement that music can bring, it will be this one.




Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Discogs

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