Garage Rock

New album: Pleasants || Rocanrol In Mono

From the moment I first heard Karaoke Booth, I became a fan of Pleasants, the new solo endeavour of Al Uminium (aka Alex “Human Fly” Patching of Aborted Tortoises, Ghoulies, and Dennis Cometti). I know it’s still early, but I’ve already penned it down as this year’s most blatantly fun punk tune. Ever since, I’ve been eagerly been awaiting the debut LP, and now that it has arrived – courtesy of Under The gun Records, it exceeds all expectations.

Rocanrol In Mono delivers 21 minutes of pure, unadulterated punk energy, with songs stripped down to their core for maximum enjoyment. Al Uminium’s knack for crafting catchy pop melodies shines brightly, elevating the already hyperactive lo-fi tunes to incite pogo mayhem in any bar, barn, basement or bedroom. While the record comes at you at full force, leaving you almost breathless you with its bluntness, Uminium sprinkles his songs with sufficient twists to escape monotony. There are hints of Jay Reatardesque garagepunk, and the guitar playing in several songs shares more than a little dna with Johnny Ramone. Meanwhile, the occasional synth interjections add a quirky “egg punk” flavor to the mix. Surely, fans of Uminium’s other bands but also contemporaties like Teevee Repairmann will undoubtedly find much to love here.

Going back to that Karaoke Booth tune? Turns out it wasn’t a fluke but rather indicative of the consistently high caliber of Rocanrol In Mono. HITS!!!!



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Discogs || Under The Gun

New album: The Wylde Tryfles || Outta Tyme

French garage punk outfit The Wylde Tryfles have released their fourth album, titled Outta Tyme, but it doesn’t matter at all that their music is rooted in the 60s. The ten new songs by Lubna Bangs (vocals, organ), Francy Fuzz (guitar), Olivier Dunet (bass) and Dorian Gardener (drums), including a cover of The Savoy’s Can It Be, sound as exciting and infectious as can be. You know what that means: fuzz to the max, a bouncing organ, an unstoppable beat, sing-along harmonies and wild screams, raucous and ready for the dance floor. Still completely contemporary in our world.




Outta Tyme is out now digitally and on vinyl LP through Soundflat Records.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Discogs || Soundflat

New album: Still Animals || Still Animals

This one came out two weeks ago, kinda bubbled under at first, then quickly grew on me. It’s the Still Animals’ self-titled debut LP. The band from Missouri is a mix of veteran presence and young blood, which may explain how the ten songs sound old fashioned yet lively. This is stripped down garage rock-‘n’-roll that is pretty ugly (in a good way), and Still Animals Look Kool, and sound fun. Though perhaps technically, garage is an incorrect description as the band recorded the LP in a 130 year old limestone Mound City basement. And no, I do not have information about the current state of the limestone.

LP out now at Slovenly.


Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Drunk Mums || Beer Baby

A lot of the Australian garage bands we cover are tight, loud and angry (think Split System, Stiff Richards). Drunk Mums are loud and angry as well, but they use their frustrations as fuel for partying hard, and their sound is loose and dirty.  They don’t aim to dazzle you with exceptionally complicated or clever songwriting, and this should come to the surprise of no one given the band’s name, they are here to provide a good time. On that note, let’s bring out the mission accomplished banner for their new LP Beer Baby.

This is one fun record, filled with catchy choruses you will be belting out before you know it. Drunk Mums start the record strongly with New Australia and the standout garagepunknroll tune Slippin’ Up. They don’t just hit early, they hit often, like in the bittersweet and hilarious end-of-humanity punk anthem Apocalypse and the brash and snotty Livin’ At Night. Drunk Mums strike a perfect balance between infectious hooks and gritty attitude on Beer Baby, and is recommended listening for fans of bands like Dirty Fences, Skeggs, The Pinheads.

Beer Baby is out now via Legless Records, Gaga Music and Bachelor Records.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Discogs

New album: Subterranean Street Society || Bleep

While on the road I listened to this new release without any prior knowledge, and was blown away by the wealth of ideas, the combination of styles, the feeling of both fun and urgency, and the amazing production. I’m talking about Bleep, the new full-length album by Subterranean Street Society, a Danish-Dutch alternative rock trio featuring Louis Puggaard-Müller (vocals, guitar, piano, lyrics), Ivo Johan Schot (bass, synth, guitars, vocals) and Joost Koevoets (drums, synth, harmonium, vocals). In twelve original songs they shift from bluesy garage rock to subdued folk pop and everything in between (always with those convincing raw vocals), where they don’t shy away from tempo changes, catchy sing-along harmonies, cinematic soundscapes and vintage cassette tape noise. In a similar way, the lyrics are at one moment manic and menacing and at other times light and vulnerable (they address questions on war, smartphones, freedom of speech, and polarization), just like the atmosphere that the music exudes, sliding from intense to uplifting and back. It makes it an intriguing and exciting journey with much to discover.



Bleep, produced by Ivo Johan Schot, is out now digitally, on CD and vinyl LP through Earth Works. The awesome cover art was done by Weronika Anna Marianna.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Found.ee || Polymoon

New single: The Liquorice Experiment || Pretty Baby

Garage rock five-piece The Liquorice Experiment, originating from Spain but based in the UK, return with a freshly pressed 45 featuring two new tracks that sound a bit different from what we heard on last year’s How Many Lies LP. More psychedelic blues, less stomping beat, still exciting and danceable. The boogie on A-side Pretty Baby and the hallucinatory Rattlesnake on the B-side have their own unique hooks, from an energizing drum break to catchy handclaps, and always those irresistible guitar riffs. Sultry and swinging, an irresistible release.


Pretty Baby b/w Rattlesnake is out now digitally and on vinyl 7″ through Rogue Records.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Discogs

New album: The White Wires || Singles And Rarities

Between 2008-2012 The White Wires were my most scrobbled band by hundreds of streams if not thousands. To say I have fond memories of the band, despite never seeing them perform live, would be an understatement. Hence my excitement to see the band suddenly pop up in my timeline everywhere.

The reason? This weekend, the band played a reunion show at a birthday bash of Dirty Donny Gillies, an artist that created some of the band’s artwork as well as directing a video. In the same week, White Wires singer/guitarist Ian Manhire also put a compilation of songs on the streaming services that weren’t on the White Wires Trilogy LPs. Included are the immense anthem Pogo Til I Puke Tonight, an alternative version of the classic Ha Ha Holiday, and their cover of Letter To G for the Nerves tribute compilation. There even is a previously unreleased song. It’s called Spy and it rocks. I guess this is how Beatles fans feel when an unreleased track is uncovered? By the way, White Wires fan Steve Adamyk pointed out that some tracks are missing, including the Ohio Express and Kinks covers. Manhire has promised to fix that soon.

The Singles and Rarities comp is a reminder of the sheer fun that White Wires brings to the table. Everything is on a budget in these minimalistic garage pop songs, except for the hooks. Oh my, those addictive hooks! It’s Alive Records immediately asked the band permission to release the compilation on vinyl. The band’s response was affirmative, so update your wantlist accordingly. And if that sounds formal, it’s only to hide my jittery excitement. Those LPs should arrive sometime this year, I guess.

This might also be a good time to mention that Ian Manhire has a new project out. As The Retrospects he plays synthy garage pop, almost like The White Wires provided the soundtrack to your favorite game at the Arcade hall. Expect a 13-song LP to drop this Summer.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Nervous Twitch || Odd Socks

Found quirky items while cleaning up? Flaunt them! Take an example of British garage pop trio Nervous Twitch, who proudly share Odd Socks with the world. We’re talking about a compilation album with 16 lost songs, a selection of original unreleased home recordings, B-sides, demos and contributions to various artists’ collections, plus a live Flatmates cover (I Could Be in Heaven) to round it all out. It concerns work from the past ten years, with two songs from 2014 (including a nice acoustic demo for Not That Smart), but with a focus on the period around 2020. Surprisingly it’s quite cohesive in sound (and fresher than you might expect from the cover art), but more importantly: there are more than a few hits here. Everything Erin Hyde (vocals, bass, keys, drums), Jamie Churchley (guitars, keys, backing vocals) and Ashley Goodall (drums) do it ramshackle, honest and charming, exactly what we like.




Odd Socks is out now digitally and on CD (self-released).

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: The Mings || Don’t Make Sense

International garage/surf punk trio The Mings arrive here with their third full-length album Don’t Make Sense. Dutch songwriter/guitarist/singer Dead Ming (69 Charger, The Great Munzini), French multi-instrumentalist King Ming (King Automatic, Thundercrack) and Brazilian drummer Wild Ming (The Dead Rocks, The Dirty Coal Train) constructed ten solid buildings, still shaking on their foundation through heavy guitar riffs, pounding drums and powerful vocals. Straightforward and somewhat intimidating, but oh so attractive to enter and get your dancing shoes filled with dirty sweat.



Don’t Make Sense is out now digitally and on vinyl LP trough Trash Wax Records.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Sheer Mag || Playing Favorites

If you’d ask me to list my favorite bands of the past decade, Sheer Mag is probably the first band I’d write down. Few bands can match the rush of excitement their music ignites. In fact, I’ll admit, there’s a slight tinge of nervousness that creeps in whenever they drop new tracks. It’s not just because of the lofty expectations they’ve set, but also because Sheer Mag operates in a realm all their own, effortlessly traversing across hard rock, metal, and disco within the same album.  The question of course, and herein lay my anxiety when the band’s latest LP Playing Favorites arrived on my doorstep, is how far they will stray from their guitar-driven roots toward a more pop-centric funk-a-delic sound?  More selfishly, will I actually like the record?

The short answer is HELL YES! Sheer Mag go from Thin Lizzy to Jackson Five, sometimes within the same breath, and they make it work. Playing Favorites has that special quality of triggering automatic responses and exclamations. Good luck sitting still to the title track and Eat It And Beat It – what a way to open the record! While listening to this record, my inner voice becomes a relentless cheerleader, showering the record with childlike enthusiasm and profanities of joy. Admittedly, Sheer Mag changes tones and styles on the remainder of the record. In lesser hands the incorporation of disco, funk, pub rock and country could have resulted in a mixed bag. But, to my ears, Sheer Mag melds it all together seamlessly. What a band, what a record!

Playing Favorites is out now on Third Man Records.


Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Discogs

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