Indie Rock

New album: Bee Bee Sea || Stanzini Can Be Allright

An inspired band finds broader horizons

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

Bee Bee Sea have never been short on hooks, attitude, or ideas, but Stanzini Can Be Allright might be their most ambitious move yet — a scrappy, heartfelt garage-rock love letter to the place that shaped them. If their recent “punk opera” 7″ hinted at a band stretching their formula, the full-length confirms it: Bee Bee Sea are further widening their playground without losing a shred of their unruly charm. The three It’s All About the Music cuts from the 7″ land here as well, but they’re now surrounded by songs that flesh out the band’s world with more swagger, more swing, and more stories.

Inspired in spirit by the Gizmos’ Midwest Can Be Alright, the trio channel their own version of small-town mythology. Musically, this is still Bee Bee Sea — buzzing riffs, caffeinated rhythms, and a melodic instinct most bands would kill for — but the edges have expanded. There’s egg-punk twitch, GBV-style scrappiness, post punk urgency, and plenty of wiry, jangly sparkle.

Twelve tracks and a whole lot of personality. Stanzini Can Be Allright is Bee Bee Sea proving once again that great garage rock can come from anywhere, and that the middle of nowhere “can be allright” when you’re loud enough to shake it awake. LP/CD/TAPE out now on Wild Honey Records.


Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

Dusted || The Best New Cover Songs Of November 2025

By / / Alternative Rock, Country & Folk, Funk & Soul, Garage Rock, Indie Pop, Indie Rock, Power Pop, Punk / Leave a Comment

Not all new music is really new, as many artists cover songs. Sometimes these are songs by their favorite artists, eg as a tribute to such a musical hero for a special reason, or they simply feel that a song deserves to be dusted and polished to reacquaint fans with great songs from the past. Other times, bands cover songs as a parody. Regardless of intent, some of those cover versions are so good or so much fun, we’d like to put a spotlight on them. Chosen from a wide range, here are—in random order—a bunch of successful covers from last month—links to the pages where you can add them to your wantlist included.

Regular visitors to this monthly column will notice the absence of reviews like those you’ve read in previous years. At the same time, you’ll see more than the usual ten choice cuts embedded. Less text, more music—I assume you’re okay with that!?

Its The Most Wonderful Time of The Year (Andy Williams) by Kiss the Scientist — from Happy Holidays EP (Take This To Heart Records)

The Man Comes Around (Johnny Cash) by Pulp — from The Man Comes Around 12″ (Rough Trade Records)

I Don’t Want to Get Over You (The Magnetic Fields) by Superchunk — digital track (Merge Records)

We can’t share all 50-100 nice covers we encounter on average, just a selection of top picks. Read on for covers of songs by Buzzcocks, Tom Waits, Prince, and more. Let us know if anything is missing that we shouldn’t have overlooked.

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New album: Tulpa || Monster Of The Week

Sweet on the surface, dangerous in the undertow

By / / Indie Rock, Jangle Pop / Leave a Comment

Allegedly, a Tulpa is a mythical being manifested into existence through the act of concentrated thought, like an imaginary friend brought to life, but (sometimes) scarier. Leeds, UK-based musicians Josie Kirk (vocals, bass), Daniel Hyndman (guitar), Myles Kirk (guitar), and Mike Ainsley (drums) derived the name for their new band from the phenomenon, and it is probably not without reason that their debut full-length is titled Monster Of The Week—it feels similarly summoned.

It’s a set of eleven songs that move between charming jangle pop and biting indie rock. You’ll hear clear vocals and warm melodies, but also guitar outbursts and screams. That tension between sweetness on the surface and danger in the depths surprises again and again, and explodes towards the end of the record in Raw Nerve, then closes with the amazing earworm Whose Side Are You On?—made for the repeat button, but that actually applies to the entire album.




Monster Of The Week—recorded by Jamie Lockhart—is out now digitally, on CD and vinyl LP, through Skep Wax Records.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Beth Seymour & The Lizzies || Outside, You’d Love Me To Death

From crisis to clarity in twelve fierce tracks

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

Barely three months after Beth Seymour & The Lizzies’ debut full-length landed, we’re already treated to its follow-up. Outside, You’d Love Me To Death continues the story arc begun on the first record—only this time, the lens is even sharper. And when I say “story,” I don’t mean fiction. As mentioned in our Gimme 5 feature with Beth earlier this month, she goes full autobiographical here, pulling from the year since coming out as transgender, writing with a candor that’s raw, unfiltered, and emotionally fearless. The debut mapped the breakdown; the new album documents the rebuilding.

Sonically, the two albums sit close together—no surprise, as much of the material was recorded around the same time. But what unites them isn’t just the sessions; it’s the band’s ability to make raw, vulnerable indie/alt punk feel strangely uplifting. Case in point: the opening one-two punch. Jiminy Crickets traces the messy, exhilarating process of becoming real in your own skin, and Sam Raimi honors the person who sat beside Seymour through the darkness, turning private panic into shared light.

Characters In A Film stands out by sounding like it fell in from another universe—a playful, strange, and oddly endearing track about the messiness of real world character development. Meanwhile, I Only Want To Break Your Hearts is a killer indie-punk burner aimed squarely at people whose “unconditional” love turned out to have plenty of conditions.

The arc that began with Hellboy—a song about emotional walls and isolation— three months ago comes full circle here with Horse Girl, a triumphant closer about finally stepping into freedom. It’s the moment the door swings open—and Seymour doesn’t look back.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp 

Gimme 5! Oliver Daltrey (Clock Radio) Honors Five Songwriters Who Influenced ‘Turfin’ Out The Maniacs’

By / / Country & Folk, Indie Pop, Indie Rock / Leave a Comment

There’s so much music released every week that plenty of great records slip by unnoticed. That nearly happened to Turfin’ Out the Maniacs, the jangly debut album from English slacker-rock outfit Clock Radio, but half a year after its release, the album still surfaced—we called it one of those rare discoveries that feels both familiar and freshly inspired—and now it’s even building a kind of momentum. Rightly so, because it’s alt-pop gold with lived-in magic.

I’ve recommended this band more than any other this month, and the ten songs only grew more intriguing with time. A good reason to ask frontman Oliver Daltrey about his sources of inspiration, right? In an earlier conversation he’d already mentioned that we share many musical interests and passions (and a few friends), but for our Gimme 5! feature he chose to spotlight five songwriters who influenced Turfin’ Out The Maniacs.

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New album: Brutalligators || Still Here

Indie punk with a large beating heart

By / / Indie Rock, Punk / Leave a Comment

Hitchin (UK) quartet Brutalligators sound bright and lively on their second LP, a fully DIY project recorded, produced, and mixed by drummer Rhys Kirkman. Their blend of melodic punk rock with classic indie-rock rhythms and guitar lines hits that sweet spot of indie punk done right.

At first blush, this isn’t an angry record tackling grand societal or political issues. Instead, the songs orbit relationships, identity, and gender—topics that, coincidentally or not, feel increasingly politicized. But Brutalligators approach them with warmth and defiance rather than bitterness. You hear it clearly in Nice Try, where the line “I’m still here and I’m alive, so fuck you, nice try” lands like a small victory rather than a snarl. The resilient catch phrase of “being still here” pops up elsewhere on the record as well.

Brutalligators have created a record that breathes—loud anthems, softer admissions from a band sounding very comfortable where they are right now. Buy Still Here at Fika Recordings.


Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New EP: cisma || contra o tempo

A debut from São Paulo that lands with conviction

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

A quick detour to São Paulo brings us to a release from a band I can’t seem to dig up much info on. What I do know: they’re called cisma, and their six-song contra o tempo sounds far too assured to be anyone’s first rodeo. They play a strain of punk that’s instantly accessible but cut with a post-punk edge, carried by vocals with just the right snarl and attitude.

The band’s own description mentions mod and power pop—labels I wouldn’t immediately pin on their sound, but they do hint at the melodic streak running through these songs. Either way, cisma feel like a band arriving fully formed. Definitely one to keep an eye on.


Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New EP: Horse Chops || Hinterland EP

The trio is noisy enough to earn detention, sweet enough to talk their way out of it

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

Canadian indie rock trio Horse Chops ride back in with Hinterland, a sharp new 4-track EP that doubles down on everything charmingly unruly about their sound. Built by Newfoundland & Labrador scene vets Adam Beardsworth (guitar, vocals), Neil Targett (bass, vocals), and Craig Caines (drums, percussion), the band has been quietly carving out its own corner of college radio over the past two years—you previously read about their first and second EP in these columns. The third one pushes that momentum forward with familiar-feeling influences, fuzzed-up riffs, jangly pop instincts, and the kind of melodic left turns that feel both scrappy and instantly addictive. As always, there are countless catchy phrases that are difficult to forget. “Hinterland, who’s who? // Well I really don’t know but I hope that it’s you // I do I do I do I do I do.”


The Hinterland EP is out digitally (self-released). For fans of Vampire Weekend, Spoon, Two Door Cinema Club.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Sharp Pins || Balloon Balloon Balloon

Kai Slater's well of inspiration seems infinite and we all win

By / / Indie Rock, Jangle Pop, Power Pop, Psych / Leave a Comment

Kai Slater is only just getting started, yet he’s already racked up more accolades than most musicians working in the lo-fi, left-of-the-dial guitar-pop trenches. And honestly? Every bit of praise is warranted. Slater is a spectacular talent, releasing his third Sharp Pins record in as many years (Turtle Rock in 2023, Radio DDR earlier this year), and as good as those were, Balloon Balloon Balloon feels like his most fully realized work yet. At some point you start to wonder how he keeps both feet on the ground while sending underground music fans sky-high on these melodies.

It’s impossible not to compare the new Sharp Pins LP to the new Tony Molina record that came out just a week ago—both have 21 songs, yet Balloon Balloon Balloon runs nearly twice as long. Both are jangly and crammed with ideas, riffs, and killer hooks. But where Molina sounds increasingly pristine, Sharp Pins operate in a different aesthetic universe: scrappier, fuzzier, more psych-leaning, more power-pop punch, more distortion, and quirkier around the edges. They complement each other beautifully, but they’re not interchangeable. And yet, if you’re wired for this kind of music, you could spin both albums for the rest of 2025 and call the year a win.

Will Sharp Pins become the Guided By Voices of the next generation? Hard to say. But right now, Slater’s well of inspiration seems bottomless—and Balloon Balloon Balloon is further proof he’s on a serious tear. Buy now at K & Perennial Records.


Add to wantlist: Bandcamp | Discogs

EP review: Video Store || Everything Looks Better at Night

A Comeback EP That Feels Like a Reunion With Old Friends

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

Rotterdam’s Video Store celebrate their tenth anniversary this year, but it hasn’t exactly been a nonstop party. After a burst of activity in the early days, the band went quiet for seven long years between their 2018 split with Zero Zero Zero (on Shield Recordings) and this brand-new six-track EP.

The wait pays off. These 20-plus minutes deliver a kind of heartfelt, melody-forward punk-adjacent indie rock that you simply don’t hear much anymore—at least not at this level. Hardly surprising when you look at the lineup: guitarist/vocalist Aart (Face Tomorrow, Malkovich), guitarist/vocalist Harm (Backfire!, Modern Life Is War, No Turning Back, Razor Crusade, Reaching Forward, The Dead Cvlt), bassist/vocalist Julian (Sepiroth, The Dead Cvlt), and drummer Jeroen (KillTraitors, Miasmata). It’s basically an all-star team of the Dutch punk and indie underground.

Expect earnest, surging rock songs that keep you on a loose leash—letting you breathe, reflect, and then jump back in for the band’s big, communal call-and-response moments. Think the restless energy of the Our Band Could Be Your Life bands, stitched together with the emotional pull of Midwestern emo. Excellent stuff, truly. Video Store sound like a band returning not out of nostalgia, but because they clearly still have something to say.

The Everything Looks Better at Night EP is out now on Static Screen Records.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

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