Garage Rock

New EP: Spectators || Spectators

The soundtrack to shouting at the television

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“Shattered! Shattered!” goes the hooky chorus of the stellar opening track on the debut EP from Lyon-via-Berlin quartet Spectators. The self-titled release is out now on Sorcerer, the DIY label whose head honcho also happens to play in the band.

More importantly, Spectators rule in gloriously throwback fashion. Their sound lives at the intersection of pub rock and street punk, where power pop hooks spill onto the sidewalk and classic rock riffs blast through open barroom doors. It’s familiar territory, sure, but Spectators play it with enough conviction and energy to make it feel fresh again.

While Shattered initially reeled me in, the four songs that follow sealed the deal. The band even wrote the timely anthem for spectators everywhere watching billion-dollar football spectacles, complaining about the super villain company organizing the thing, and somehow still tuning in for the next match. The next time I catch myself complaining about a match, I’ll think back to these lines:

“Spectator, what a deadly game we played today / Sat on our ass and nothing changed in any way.”

The Spectators EP is out now on tape.


Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Disco Lizards || Life Lessons

Bad habits and big riffs

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

To manage expectations, the question “Do you like rock ‘n’ roll?” is the first thing you’ll hear when you click the Play button. East London’s Disco Lizards return with Life Lessons, a loud and loose sophomore album that sounds bigger and bolder than the hooky indie rock they first unleashed on 2020’s Ride Ride Ride. Across eleven punchy tracks, the band fully steps into their own identity, pairing melodic garage-rock riffs and punk-infused basslines with confident, new wave-indebted vocals and the kind of self-evident energy built for sweaty club shows and sun-soaked festival afternoons.

Beneath the humor and laddish charm, Matt Stolworthy’s lyrics capture the absurdities of modern life. The struggle with burnout, digital overload, rising costs, social disconnection, and the endless pressure to keep moving forward, meet every frustration with wit, optimism, and a determination not to take things too seriously. Whether celebrating holidays, calling out toxic personalities, laughing at social-media obsession with “Double D’s advertising Sidney Sweeney jeans,” or embracing the reality of a dad bod, Disco Lizards make everyday chaos sound like a party.




Fun fact: the band name is taken from the lyrics of Arctic Monkeys’ Science Fiction: “I feel rougher than a disco lizard tongue along your cheek.”

Disco Lizards’ Life Lessons, produced, mixed, and mastered by Werkhouse (Ian Flynn), is out digitally and on vinyl LP (self-released).

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New EP: T.J. Cabot || Palm Springs

T.J. Cabot keeps it filthy and fantastic

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In the universe of T.J. Cabot, words like trash, dirt, and grime aren’t insults. They’re guiding principles. Last seen around these parts with that excellent Real Rejects 10″, Cabot returns with Palm Springs, a new batch of songs recorded in the dusty basement practice space of The Phone Jerks. Dust, it turns out, belongs on the list as well.

These aren’t musty tunes, though. Recorded on the bare essentials of recording equipment, Palm Springs doesn’t exactly beg to be experienced through expensive audiophile headphones. Then again, if you’re the type of person obsessing over audio fidelity, there’s a decent chance these songs weren’t made for you in the first place.

This is music aimed squarely below the neck. Turn off your brain, turn up the volume, and let yourself get swept away by the raw excitement. Cabot’s garage punk remains gloriously dirty and trashy, but underneath all that grit are songs so catchy they practically demand repeat plays.

Sometimes that’s all you need.


Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New single: The Forty Fours || Now She’s Gone

British Invasion spirit recharged with youthful bite

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Released a few weeks ago, but now that an official video has arrived, we can finally share something here (how can words truly capture a song if you cannot hear its pulse?), and as soon as you see it you will immediately understand why. Now She’s Gone, the first single from London trio The Forty Fours, is a sharp burst of Merseybeat-inspired guitar pop. Built on melody, harmony, and urgency, it conducts Beatlesque memorability through youthful fire, likeable and ecstatic as can be. The B-side, a spirited cover of Baby, Please Don’t Go (the well-known traditional popularized by Big Joe Williams), confirms their palpable love for rock ‘n’ roll’s pioneers.

This is a promising start that makes us look forward to their forthcoming debut album, scheduled for later this year.

Now She’s Gone b/w Baby, Please Don’t Go—produced by Roman Jugg—is out on limited 7″ vinyl through Blow Up Records. Featuring Oliver Harriss (guitar, vocals), Jason Bazeley (bass, vocals), and Andrew Stander (drums, vocals.

Add to wantlist: Blow Up

New single: Shampoo || Don’t Call Me Baby b/w Marble Eyes

Members of Nylon and Teenage Halloween reveal their doo-wop hearts and garage-pop souls

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

Here’s a new band called Shampoo. No, not that one. This Shampoo was formed in 2024 by Nylon members Justin Lombardo and Peter Gargano, later joined by Brandon Hakim of Teenage Halloween, and based on this debut 7″, they seem intent on making up for lost time.

The two songs here draw heavily from the timeless appeal of ’50s and ’60s pop, doo-wop, and rock-‘n’-roll, while adding just enough beachy garage-pop sparkle to keep things feeling fresh. Fans of The Shimmering Stars will find plenty to love.

Expect classic songwriting. Expect sweet harmonies. Expect choruses that feel instantly familiar in the best possible way. Don’t Call Me Baby and Marble Eyes are polished without losing their charm, romantic in that big-hearted, bubblegum-pop way, and packed with the kind of melodies that start renting space in your head immediately.

If this is your first introduction to Shampoo, consider it a strong one. The 7″ is out now on Tilted Zine, with an EP featuring three additional songs arriving shortly.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Stop Calling Me Frank || Miles To Go

Sax-fuelled chaos from a pub rock spirit

By / / Garage Rock, Power Pop / 1 Comment

Boston’s Stop Calling Me Frank return with Miles To Go, a loud, loose blast of working-class garage rock and soulful rhythm & blues drawing on power pop energy and pub rock grit. Previous records—Spider In My Beer And Other Songs (2019) and Haberdashed (2020)—made it onto my year-end list at the time, and since this band refuses trends, the new record is cut from the same cloth, thankfully.

We get eleven raw tracks bursting with ragged hooks, built for thirsty, sweat-soaked live shows. The cover of Whiskey in the Jar ranks among the most spirited versions of the traditional, but it’s the originals that really lock in the band’s identity, especially Good Enough, which bookends the album in two slightly different versions as both opener and closer. Heartfelt vocals and punchy guitar work drive things forward, but it’s the riotous, honking sax that gives this music its unmistakable bite and personality.



Miles To Go—produced by Ed Valauskas—is out digitally and on CD through Rum Bar Records. Featuring Lennie Donohoe (lead vocals), David Forbes (guitar, backing vocals), Jeff Ousborne (guitar, backing vocals), Terry O’Malley (saxophone, harmony vocals, organ, piano), Dan Casparriello (bass, harmony vocals), and Eddie Barese (drums).

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Oddfellows || Oddfellows

Members of Marked Men, High Tension Wires, The Reds, and Mind Spiders breathe new life in Oddfellows, finally release debut album

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Let’s go back to late 1994, when a short-lived band started making noise in Texas. At the time, nobody could have known that Chris Pullman, Mark Ryan, and Mike Throneberry would later go on to play in some of the most beloved garage punk and power pop bands of the next three decades. Back then, they were simply Oddfellows.

The original band barely lasted long enough to leave behind a single 7″, but its members would later form or join bands such as Marked Men, High Tension Wires, The Reds, and Mind Spiders. Three decades later, the trio reunited, recruited Peter Salisbury (Mind Spiders) on guitar, and finally recorded a full-length album.

At just under 30 minutes, Oddfellows delivers 13 new songs plus a fresh take on The Reds’ I Hate Rules (which absolutely belongs on any classic punk playlist). Released through Dirtnap and Wild Honey, the record feels perfectly at home on both labels. The band’s dirt-pop DNA is immediately recognizable, and the album sounds pretty much exactly how you’d hope a record involving these musicians would sound.

You can hear traces of early Marked Men and Mind Spiders throughout, but I also love how songs like Time and I Burned Your Lawn drift into Nerves-style power pop territory. Oddfellows understand that simplicity can be a superpower. Give these guys two minutes and they’ll throw a garage-pop gem your way built from a handful of chords, a memorable hook, and just enough repetition to lodge itself permanently in your brain.

Not everything races by at full speed, though. Songs like Draw The Line, Yeah Yeah Yeah, and Think Twice reveal a more relaxed, patient side of the band. Which makes sense. After all, there are 31 years between the debut single and the debut album. Turns out some things really are worth the wait.



Add to wanlist: Bandcamp || Wild Honey || Dirtnap

New album: Cherry Cheeks || D.O. & The Bytes

By / / Garage Rock, Punk / 1 Comment

“When you think you have a choice… you’re just a dataset. When you think you have a voice… you’re just a dataset,” Kyle Harms sings early on the brand new (third) Cherry Cheeks LP. Later on, he kicks off the insanely catchy Cruel Bore by stating “I love my A.I. girlfriend.” If there was any doubt of where Kyle Harms’ mind is right now, D.O. & The Bytes is very much a punk record for 2026.

The album tackles life in an increasingly digital world, and it doesn’t shy away from sounding digital either. Synths play a prominent role throughout, while the songs balance genuine frustration with the playful weirdness of the mutant punk scene. At the same time, there is a filthy thowback sound to this with many of the riffs trace their DNA back to late-’70s punk. The poppy one-two punch of Cruel Bore and D.O. Gets Hitched even carries a strong Dickies vibe. Cherry Cheeks feels like one of those rare projects that could unite punk kids from multiple generations.

The label describes the album as “a rock opera by way of a Saturday morning cartoon,” and that’s not far off. The sequencing hints at a larger narrative that gradually reveals itself with repeated listens. Opener D.O. Theme could easily soundtrack a quirky Cartoon Network show, but the arc underneath is far less innocent. D.O, The digital protagonist finds itself pursued by forces seeking to erase its memories, while themes of surveillance, algorithmic control, digital isolation, identity, and the commodification of our online lives lurk beneath the surface.

Still, you don’t need to follow the plot to enjoy this thing. The songs are ridiculously catchy. Seriously, catch-freakin’-y. Harms, handling virtually everything himself, has outdone himself here. And when closer Bytes Ballad arrives, all those ones and zeros reveal a surprisingly human heart.

D.O. & The Bytes is out today on Total Punk Records.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Total Punk

New EP: The Gnomes || More

Melbourne quartet turn up their amps on their winning formula

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For their new EP, Jay Millar and The Gnomes crank up the amps, giving their ’60s beat revivalism an extra kick. Opener Thinking of Me lands much closer to fellow Australian bands like Loose Lips and The Unknowns than, say, The Beatles. It is sharper, louder, and packed with the kind of energy that belongs in a sweaty club or basement.

The other three songs are a little closer to The Gnomes’ previous output, with Magic Man emerging as the latest standout. You can practically see the crowd packed around the stage, bouncing along to the band.

The added crunch and confidence on the More EP should only add fuel to the growing hype around The Gnomes. To our ears, that makes perfect sense. This is throwback rock-‘n’-roll done right.


Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New EP: The Mutant Band || Just Play Rock And Roll

Rockabilly's simplest pleasures still go a long way

By / / Garage Rock, Surf / Leave a Comment

The Mutant Band is the one-man garage-rock wrecking crew of Barcelona’s Diego Santillán, and his Just Play Rock And Roll EP does exactly what its title promises. Across six lean, fired-up cuts, the multi-instrumentalist tears through a wonderfully scrappy mix of primitive garage rock, psychobilly swagger, and twangy surf riffs, keeping things raw, loud, and gloriously uncomplicated. The chants are every bit as direct as the music (“If you feel so bad // Or you feel so sad // Just play rock and roll”), but that’s precisely the point.

These short tunes aren’t interested in overthinking anything; they’re built on instinct, energy, and the enduring belief that a fuzzed-out guitar and a good beat can solve at least a few of life’s problems. Fast, fun, and refreshingly unpretentious, this is rock ‘n’ roll reduced to its most essential ingredients.


Just Play Rock And Roll is out digitally (self-released).

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

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