Glam Rock

New album: Handgrenade Hearts || Pull The Pin

Glam-punk with the safety removed [pun intended]

By / / Glam Rock, Punk / Leave a Comment

When a band calls itself Handgrenade Hearts, names its debut album Pull The Pin, and puts the title in giant pink letters next to heart-shaped hand grenades, what does your brain immediately expect?

Ding ding ding! If you guessed glam-punk rock ‘n’ roll, give yourself a prize.

Pull The Pin delivers exactly that, and then some. You may remember Handgrenade Hearts from last December’s excellent So Fresh compilation. With sixty five (!) bands on that release, it’s understandable if they slipped past you, but their contribution Generation appears here as well and still sounds like a lost classic someone forgot to tell us about. In fact, I had to double-check whether Handgrenade Hearts were really a 2026 band. They look like they should still be getting asked for ID at venues.

All twelve songs are original compositions recorded this year in their hometown of Melbourne, which for a while now has been the answer to every question that starts with “where are all these great underground bands coming from?”

Generation is far from the only instant earworm. Cold Heart has a chorus that feels familiar in the best possible way (“You have a cold, cold heart / Yes, you do”), while Handgrenade Hearts itself works as the band’s own mission statement disguised as a singalong anthem. Then there are the gloriously punked-up rushes of I Feel Alright and Confusion, which hit with the kind of sleazy energy that makes you want to knock over a drink and start a band.

I’ve been banging on about the current rock ‘n’ roll renaissance all year, and Handgrenade Hearts have arrived to claim the glam-stained, leather-jacketed corner of it. Good times!

Pull The Pin is out now on LP through Love Soldier Records.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

The Loose Ends || June 2026

By / / Alternative Rock, Blues & Roots, Country & Folk, Garage Rock, Glam Rock, Indie Pop, Indie Rock, Jangle Pop, Power Pop, Psych, Punk / Leave a Comment

There are more wantlist-worthy releases than time to cover them all. Starting this year, Loose Ends is our monthly fix for the great records that slipped through the cracks. Expect a key track and quick take on each release (40+ this month!), and a link to add it to your shelves.

Annual Leaf || Sign of the Bellbird
In April’s Loose Ends, we’ve put the spotlight on the most recent EP from these Melbourne indie pop janglers and slackers. This new CD compiles that EP and songs from 5 other releases of the past 5 years. Turns out Annual Leaf have been great for a while!

Baby Jane || Surfing To Hell
This Barcelona “kebab punk” riot grrrl quartet looks like trouble and sounds even better. Fast, loud, and gloriously unruly.

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New single: Seely Jurgens Band || It’s So Hard b/w Happy Birthday John

Further proof that rock 'n' roll bromances work

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

The rock ‘n’ roll bromance between Kyle Seely (Sheer Mag) and Justin Jurgens (Dust Star, Ingrates) keeps producing rock classics, bringing the seventies back in style. I’m still not sure whether this string of singles, this being our fifth write-up on Seely Jurgens Band after also featuring them in a Gimme 5, will eventually become a full-length. If it does, these two tracks may well be the most instantly crowd-pleasing of the bunch. They’re the duo’s most AM radio-ready songs yet.

It’s So Hard finds Seely Jurgens Band at their most empathetic and melodic, with lines like “And it’s ok if you wanna cry // Don’t forget it feels good to try.” Give it af figurative flipover over (this being a digital single) and Happy Birthday John has Jurgens in top form, repeating the birthday wish often enough to lodge itself in your brain without ever becoming annoying. That’s harder to pull off than it sounds.

For a band that somehow still feels like a well-kept secret, Seely and Jurgens are batting a ridiculous average.


Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: The Satisfactory || The Satisfactory

Classic songwriting instincts meet youthful ambition

By / / Alternative Rock, Garage Rock, Glam Rock, Indie Pop / Leave a Comment

Let’s take a look at The Satisfactory, a genre-defying four-piece from Montreal, led by singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Salvador Vaughan. Despite the appealing band name, they are anything but formulaic, blending a variety of rock ’n’ roll influences with a freshness, warmth, and personality all their own. Their eponymous debut album has ten tracks, starting with the glam rock stomper I’m Jesus (“If Jesus was an astronaut”) and closing with the acoustic folk-pop ballad Setting Sun, while exploring other genres in between.

The songs are both lovingly familiar and upliftingly alive, written with an unmistakable knack for big-hearted melodies and vivid imagery. The lyrics unite wit, vulnerability, and romantic yearning with timeless songwriting craft: “I wonder why the Joneses cut their yellow roses // As I pass their door today // Henry’s left the garden, Sydney’s shut her curtain // And I’ve the feeling somethings changed.” This is the sound of a young band arriving with purpose, armed with the hooks and strut to make an impact far beyond their local scene.



The Satisfactory’s self-titled debut album—produced by Aran Winter and Spencer Smallbridge—is out digitally (self-released). Featuring Salvador Vaughan (vocals, guitar, percussion, harmonica, melodica, keyboard, tabla), Chris George (guitar), Juan Felipe Quintero (bass), and Vaughn Newey (drums), with Henry Sherman (saxophone), Aran Winter (backing vocals), and Ziggy Edwards (horn) on select tracks.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Astrologer || Maiden America

Garage pop for crate diggers and daydreamers

By / / Garage Rock, Glam Rock, Jangle Pop, Power Pop, Psych / Leave a Comment

“Mid-fi powerjangle & pop oddities” is how Astrologer describe themselves, and for once, the self-assessment is spot on. On their third album, Maiden America, Andy Cline and Candy Caballero blend garage pop with decades of pop and rock’n’roll history, creating eight songs that feel less like quirky curiosities and more like hidden treasures.

The duo cast a surprisingly wide net here, hopping effortlessly between jangly guitars, power-pop hooks, and offbeat flourishes without ever losing sight of the song. The result is a compact but rewarding listen that reveals a new detail with each spin.

The album may be oddly absent from Bandcamp, making it harder to point you toward individual highlights, but the opening run of Clarion Call, Drug of Choice, and Coyote is as good a place to start as any. Better yet, dive into the whole thing.

Maiden America is out now on LP via Lolipop.

Add to wantlist: Lolipop Records

The Loose Ends || May 2026

By / / Alternative Rock, Blues & Roots, Country & Folk, Funk & Soul, Garage Rock, Glam Rock, Indie Pop, Indie Rock, Jangle Pop, Power Pop, Psych, Punk, Surf / Leave a Comment

There are more wantlist-worthy releases than time to cover them all. Starting this year, Loose Ends is our monthly fix for the great records that slipped through the cracks. Expect a key track and quick take on each release (40+ this month!), and a link to add it to your shelves.

Above Me || Soften The Blows
Debut LP on Dandy Boy Records from this non average dream pop project by Rick Altieri (Blue Ocean, Aluminum).

Big Nothing || Big Nothing
The third album from this indie punk/alt country/guitar pop/classic rock a-bit-of-everything band from Philadelphia just dropped their third album (with a new lineup) on Dead Broke Records. It is another fine slice of warmblooded, bighearted basement pop.

Blitzer || The New Conspiracy
Ten fierce blasts of post-punk on this exciting debut LP from Berlin trio Blitzer. Urgent, tense, and full of forward momentum. Out now through Mangel Records.


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The Loose Ends || May 2026Read More »

Album review: The Escape Society || The Escape Society

Fuzzed-out hooks and glam-soaked optimism on a psychedelic joyride

By / / Alternative Rock, Glam Rock, Psych / Leave a Comment

The Teletubbies are hardly the poster children for hazardous riffs and hard-hitting drums, although after a few mind-altering substances, those wide-eyed colors might start making a strange kind of sense. Still, the toddler’s icons take center stage in the video for Derelicts in the Fungus Shed, a 2024 single from The Escape Society. The track appears on the Ottawa band’s self-titled debut full-length, a nine-song collection that now gathers the standout singles from the past three years into something that plays less like an introduction and more like a greatest hits set.

Bandcamp lists The Escape Society as progressive rock, alternative rock, garage rock, glam, power pop, and psychedelic rock, and miraculously the band lives up to all those tags, turning big hooks and crazy ideas into kaleidoscopic dancefloor-ready anthems with genuine heart. Theatrical and over-the-top, surreal and infectious? Yes, actually, but it is anything but childish, with fun above all.



The Escape Society’s eponymous debut album—produced by Troy Huizinga and Dean Watson—is out digitally (self-released), Featuring Troy Huizinga (vocals, guitars, bass, synths, drum machine, percussion, handclaps, toy guns), Scott Norris (guitar, bass, backing vocals), Dean Watson (bass, backing vocals, drum machine, percussion, handclaps), and Jay Watts (drums, bass, percussion, backing vocals), with Jacob Elgin (guitar) and Stacy DuBois (backing vocals) guesting on select tracks.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Weird Bloom || Wrong Time Wrong Place

Road-worn glam rock with bubblegum-pink grease under its fingernails

By / / Glam Rock / Leave a Comment

The nice folks at Wild Honey have been on a roll lately, and their latest release is wantlist-worthy once again. Weird Bloom’s new long-player Wrong Time Wrong Place is all swagger, grit, and gloriously blown-out edges. The collective from Rome hits glam rock’s sweet spot right on the bullseye with big riffs, stomping rhythms, and just enough sleaze to keep things cool. It feels road-tested (it goes without saying that you really have to experience this kind of music live), and as it should be, it’s messy, loud, and undeniably fun.

There’s a loose, junk-shop appeal in the ten songs, where boogie grooves crash into fuzzed-out noise and bubblegum-poppy hooks emerge like neon signs through the haze. As you might expect, this is really about impact over intricacy, carried by repetition, volume, and attitude, exactly what you want when glam gets dragged through the gutter and comes out grinning. You know what to do: put on your platform boots and good mood, and let the next ballroom blitz begin.




Wrong Time Wrong Place—recorded by Edoardo Elia, produced by Luca Di Cataldo and David Comanducci—is out digitally and on vinyl LP through Wild Honey Records. Featuring Luca Di Cataldo, Adriano Bartoccini, David Comanducci, Mattia Micalich, Lorenzo Masini, and Edoardo Elia.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Drakulas || Midnight City

Third installment of this Rise Against & Riverboat Gamblers sideshow is another fun one!

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

A co-release between Dirtnap and Wild Honey is always good news. And a return of Drakulas, the concept band featuring Rise Against’s Zach Blair and Riverboat Gamblers’ Mike Wiebe, Rob Marchant, and Ian Walling, is one to greet with ears wide open. What started as a concept clearly took on a life of its own. On Midnight City, their third album, the band sound like a punk outfit dipping into early new wave, like they got a new haircut and picked up a few turtlenecks.

There’s a smoothness to the sound that goes beyond the usual scrappy feel of their labels’ rosters. Sure, there are straight-up pop punk hits here, like Singin’ With My Tongue Cut Out, Is It Enough?, and Guys Like Me, Girls Like You. But there’s also a groove and a slightly angular edge running through the record, like the band is nudging you toward the dancefloor if you dare. And if you don’t, that’s fine too, this thing still lands.

Midnight City might not click with everyone, but it’s easy to see people latching onto this hard. Worth diving into.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Dirtnap

New album: Crocodiles || Greetings From Hell

Nine albums in, Charles Rowell and Brandon Welchez are still blasting catchy awesomeness

By / / Alternative Rock, Garage Rock, Glam Rock, Punk / 1 Comment

I bet that when Charles Rowell and Brandon Welchez met twenty years ago, they didn’t expect to still be writing and recording music together in 2026, but here we are. Album number nine, Greetings From Hell. Not every Crocodiles record has stuck with me, but my fondness definitely kicked back in with 2023’s Upside Down In Heaven. Welchez’s throwback punk project Psychic Pigs from last year was another sign of particularly good form and morale.

Greetings From Hell keeps that momentum going. It’s a strong set of accessible garage pop and straight-up rock ’n roll. Crocodiles have always had a knack for writing songs that feel arena-sized, even if we’re lucky enough to catch them in much smaller rooms. Still Kids leans into the glam side, while I Dream of Genet dials up the melody even higher, both sticking fast.

Twenty years in and they still sound like they’re having a blast. Hard not to get pulled along with that.

LP out now on Wild Honey Records. Hey hey hey!


Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Wild Honey

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