Garage Rock

New album: Faz Waltz || Endless Beat

Faz La Rocca (vocals, piano, guitar), Diego Angelini (bass) and Marco Galimberti (drums) of Italian power trio Faz Waltz have exchanged their glittering glam rock jacket for greasy rock ‘n’ roll shoes, and it suits them well. They may look a bit further into the past for inspiration these days – the 50s instead of the 70s – but their knack for infectious melodies is still as present as ever. On their latest full-length Endless Beat – the album title is as telling as the stylish black and white cover art – with which they continue the path started with 2022’s On The Ball LP, you’ll hear ten energetic and exciting original songs within 24 minutes. The record kicks off with Rave A​-​Comin’ and Jackal Hop, known from their year-end list worthy 7″ from last November. More wild and dirty floor fillers follow, but also two doo-wop-like ballads to catch your breath. No matter the pace, they’re nothing but killers, with catchy choruses and naturally those awesome gravelly vocals. I’ve got a feeling for the way Faz Waltz rolls.



Endless Beat, produced by Brown Barcella & Faz La Rocca, is out now digitally and on vinyl LP through Spaghetty Town Records (US) / Ghost Highway Recordings (Spain) / Head Perfume Records (Germany). For fans of Daddy Long Legs, Televisionaries, The Schizophonics.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Discogs || Faz Waltz

New album: The Follies || Permanent Present Tense

Feel It Records, where do you keep finding these bands? Whether it’s angular post punk, quirky protopunk or classic punk and garage rock, this label consistently unearths bands with that elusive extra special something.

The Follies are the most recent revelation on the Feel It roster. The band’s debut LP Permanent Present Tense arrives with a strong pulse, a lively soul and its own character. This is garage pop-‘n’-roll played by punks who build on the 70s psychedelic rock, jangle and protopunk portion of their respective collections. Yet, beneath the surface, echoes of other decades of rock, roll, pop and soul add even more layers of depth. There is a familiarity to the sound of The Follies, but try to come up with direct comparable artists and it becomes pretty challenging.

Who are behind this marvelous debut? Take a look at the members and their past ventures and it starts to make a bit more sense why The Follies burst onto the scene like a roaring beast seemingly out of nowhere. The Follies are Evan Radigan (Vanity, Raw Meat), Michael Liebman (Vanity, Impediments, VEXX, Rik and the Pigs) Jess Poplawski (Survival, Twisted Thing) & Chris Bowman (Ajax).

Permanent Present Tense is one of those records that will elevate any record collection. Highly recommended!




Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Feel It

New album: The Drowns || Blacked Out

Seattle-based punk ‘n’ roll outfit The Drowns released the songs Just The Way She Goes and 1979 Trans Am last November on a year-end list-worthy 7″, and if you haven’t bought it yet, you can now also find these tunes on their new full-length album Blacked Out.

There are twelve tracks in total here, in which gravelly vocals and infectious guitar riffs are wrapped in a coat of street punk and glam rock – that’s what Aaron-Rev Peters, Andy Wylie, Jake Margolis and Simon Short can do, and they do it very well. It’s impossible not to smile when hearing the cover of Chinnichap’s 1973 classic Dynamite (Mud’s Dyna-Mite), a worthy successor to their earlier take on The Sweet’s Ballroom Blitz, but the originals are actually just as appealing and entertaining. For optimal effect, all clichés are pulled out – greasy guitar licks, stomping drums, whoo-hoo gang vocals, handclaps – just the way we like it. After eleven bangers with a big sound, the ballad Born To Die in NYC closes the record, and it doesn’t even feel out of place because it comes from the same hearts.




Blacked Out, produced by Ted Hutt, is out now digitally, on CD and vinyl LP through Pirates Press Records.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Pirates Press

New album: Levitation Room || Strange Weather

At first listen, it doesn’t seem that special what Los Angeles-based neo-psychedelic pop outfit Levitation Room does, but give the ten new songs on their third album Strange Weather a few spins and a different world opens up. It’s a cosmic journey of half an hour that largely sounds dreamy, warm and cinematic – occasionally erupting, but always evoking a feeling of escapism in technicolor images. As they angelically convey in recent single Heaven: “Soft are the strings // That descend down on me.”


Strange Weather is out now digitally, on CD and vinyl LP, through Greenway Records / The Reverberation Appreciation Society.

Add to wantlist: Discogs || Greenway || Levitation

New single: Danny’s Favorites || Silent Movies b/w Turn My Motor On

Yes! Danny’s Favorites is back! The band created one of my favorite jams of 2020, and it turned out to be the first of many appearances of the mastermind behind the band on our blog. I’m talking about Trevor Lake – we wrote about his work with Sweet Pete, The Shine, and multiple times about Televisionaries. Oh, and don’t miss out his Gimme 5 feature on our site. In short, we are pretty terrible at hiding our fandom of the fellow.

In all of his musical endeavours, Trevor Lake’s talent for writing fast classic rock’n’roll nuggets shines bright. Danny’s Favorites, which is all Trevor Lake on the new recordings, is probably the most punk-oriented. Like his previous tape, the new tunes have a healthy dose of Good Vibrations  – I am referring to the legendary Belfast label, not the Beach Boys song.  But to be fair, Lake does make the B-side of the single, a reworked version of Kirsty MacColl’s Turn My Motor On, sound kinda Beach Boy-ish. The cover is a freakin’ blast, and I would play it more often If I could only stop playing the other song on the single. Silent Movies, what a hit! It’s a Trevor Lake original, a song he wrote in his head while dry locking his basement after a mold outbreak. Skills!


Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Tandoori Knights || 14 Hits That Don’t Quit

Anyone who knows the work of prolific Canadian musicians King Khan and Bloodshot Bill can estimate what to expect from their joint project Tandoori Knights. Last year they made an individual impression with The Invaders film score and the Psyche-O-Billy LP respectively, but this new album – the follow-up to 2010’s Curry Up – is a different story. In just 19 minutes they bring 14 diverse songs to the table, tunes that are as lo-fi, raw, messy and gritty as they are infectious, humorous, charming and uplifting. Titles such as Bacon is Too Good, Boo, Chkn Blvd, Honey Glazed and Oil Me Up reveal that we shouldn’t take it all too seriously, but that doesn’t detract from the purity and entertainment value. The rattling combinations – in glorious mono – of garage rock, R&B, country, rockabilly and Eastern influences works very well, and the distinctive vocals complement each other wonderfully.

A continuation of the collaboration between these two idiosyncratic and experienced legends, that couldn’t really go wrong, but it might be even more fun than hoped for.




14 Hits That Don’t Quit is out now digitally and on vinyl LP through Rad Girlfriend Records.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Rad Girlfriend

New single The Courettes || Shake!

Not to be confused with the cover of Taylor Swift’s Shake It Off, with which the fabulous Courettes ended last year, here’s their new (original) single Shake!, which is actually a lot more electrifying. Flávia & Martin Couri already have quite a few killer songs to their name, but this untamed floor filler is their biggest hit to date – irresistibly fuzzy, groovy and catchy. It’s a promising taster of the next album by the Brazilian/Danish garage rock duo, the follow-up to 2021’s Back In Mono, expected next September. B-side You Woo Me, not available online yet (update March 1: it’s here, and it’s pretty amazing), is exclusive to this 45. Cool stuff!


Shake! c/w You Woo Me, produced by Søren Christensen & The Courettes, is out now digitally and on gold colored 7″ vinyl through Damaged Goods Records.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Damaged Goods

New vinyl compilation: Various Artists || Blow My Mind! The Doré-Era-Mira Punk & Psych Legacy

There have been countless compilations with garage rock unknowns from the mid-60s, but rough diamonds are still being dug up or recycled. On Blow My Mind!, twenty-five nuggets are brought together by Ace’s rock ‘n’ roll fanatic Alec Palao, tracks released on the record labels Doré, Era and Mira at the time. This selection was released on CD in 2021 through Big Beat Records, but thanks to Munster Records it is now also available on vinyl for the first time. Fans of the genre will already know or have many of these tunes (from bands like The Lyrics, The Leaves, The Syndicate, The Motion, The Wrench, etc.), but regardless, this is one not to be missed, also because the original 45s are not affordable. If you’re not yet convinced, check out the snippets via the Bandcamp embed below.



Blow My Mind! is out now on vinyl 2LP through Munster Records. It’s the natural sequel to the Lost Innocence Garpax 1960s Punk & Psych collection.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp 

New album: Os Overdoses || All Killers! No Feelers!

Os Overdoses are a noise rock trio from Queens, New York, who have found a dark space in Morto, Portugal to play mesmerizing dark music. We’re talking about Joey Overdose aka João Pimenta (vocals, guitar), Jannet Overdose aka Francisca Sousa (vocals, keys) and Johnny Overdose aka João Martins (guitar, backing vocals), who unflappably manage to combine the hypnotic sound of Suicide with the nonchalant cool of Colleen Green. On their debut album All Killers! No Feelers! you’ll find eight tracks, each around five minutes long, in which gloomy lyrics and striking guitar riffs try to keep you on your toes, but a repetitive rhythm section slowly but surely brings you into a trance.



All Killers! No Feelers!, recorded & produced by José Arantes, is out now digitally and on vinyl LP through Dirty Filthy Records (UK), Echodelick Records (US) and Socorro (Europe).

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Discogs || Dirty Filthy

New single: The Prize / The Unknowns || Split

It hasn’t been officially announced I believe, but at some point this year, Melbourne power pop sensation The Prize will release their debut full length. I can’t hardly wait, but in the meantime The Prize joins forces for a 7″ split single with another stellar band from Australia, The Unknowns – you may remember them for their excellent 2023 East Coast Low LP. The single is out for pre-order at Bargain Bin Records, a label from the Sunshine Coast of Australia who are amassing an impressive roster that also includes The Chats, Dennis Cometti, C.O.F.F.I.N., Rick N The Sickos and King Khan.

I can’t vouch for the entire single, but the A-sides of both bands are available for streaming, and both enhance the reputation these bands are building. In case of The Prize, One Day At A Time is super catchy guitar-driven power pop with an energetic heartbeat. In case of The Unknowns, Heart In Two is poppy garage rock with the subtlety of a punch to the face. Its “Oh oh, Oh-Yeah, you’re breaking my heart in two” chorus will have you singing along the first time you hear it.

Hopefully, the B-side tracks will be online soon, because it will be hard to track down this single outside of Australia.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp (The Unknowns) || Bandcamp (The Prize)

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