Indie Rock

New album: Comic Sans || Todas las cosas que nos salieron mal

Eight tracks of twinkly emo perfection from Spain's finest

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

I think this marks the third time we’re writing about Spanish twinkly and mathy emo revivalists Comic Sans, but they keep giving me reasons to pick up my megaphone and shout to the world that they deserve your attention. Todas las cosas que nos salieron mal translates to something like “All the Things That Went Wrong For Us,” which sounds like a downer of a record. But play a song like He descubierto mi silla favorita and get ready for the full emotional workout: shoulders relaxing from the opening twinkle, heart rate increasing from the ensuing rush, then everything mellowing out again when the band takes a detour into gorgeous instrumental territory. It’s a killer track on a killer record, with its main downside being that it’s only eight tracks long.

The Midwest emo of Comic Sans is definitely on the more accessible side of the genre. Don’t expect a shouting match or chaotic screamo leanings. Comic Sans have more of a melodic ’90s punk rock vibe that sometimes reminds me of Millencolin, which means they’re as concerned with hooks as they are with intricate guitar interplay. But what I love most about this band is their razor-smooth guitar work—those intertwining, sparkling guitar lines that feel both technically impressive and emotionally immediate. That shit is addictive as hell.

Todas las cosas que nos salieron mal walks the tightrope between emo’s vulnerability and punk’s forward momentum without leaning too heavily on either. It’s the kind of record that works whether you’re paying close attention to the guitar parts or just letting the whole thing wash over you. Either way, you’re in good hands.

Buy the LP of Todas las cosas que nos salieron mal at Bcore Disc, Through Love Records, Saltamarges, Discos 17 Dolores and Stiff Slack.


Add to wantlist: Bandcamp (BCore) || Though Love || Saltamarges

EP Review: Del Paxton || Dog Eared

Del Paxton take their time on these three new songs and it pays off beautifully

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

Del Paxton popped back onto my radar when I stumbled upon Fourmile, the new cross-continental project featuring Del Paxton’s Dylan Englander. Turns out Del Paxton themselves are still very much active too, dropping a new three-song digital EP today that will also appear on a split 12″ with Retirement Party via Storm Chasers LTD.

Clocking in at about 16 minutes, Dog Eared is bad news for people who prefer their songs quick and to the point, but great news for listeners who enjoy following a band wherever the song wants to go. Del Paxton clearly have the chops to make those journeys worthwhile, and these songs are some of the best work of the band yet.

Opener Another Earth begins as an upbeat emo rocker before drifting into a hazy, wandering middle section, lifted by beautiful guest vocals from Julia Steiner of Ratboys, before snapping back to reality. The title track glides along on twinkling guitars that almost feel meditative, though around the three-minute mark the tension builds toward a more cathartic release, showing both sides of the band’s personality in one go.

Closer Out plays with familiar emo tools, odd time signatures, start-stop dynamics, quiet-loud shifts, and does it with real flair. Coincidentally, it might also be the closest Del Paxton have come to writing an Algernon Cadwallader song.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Swirls || Surge

A jolt of scruffy guitars and sarcastic energy

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

Surge, the sophomore album by French post-punk quartet Swirls, thrives on the same scrappy charm that powered their 2024 debut Top of the Line, but this time the amps crackle a little louder and the nerves sit closer to the surface. The eleven new tracks present wiry riffs, tossed-off hooks, and a kind of organized chaos that feels both careless and oddly precise. Many bands attempt this blend, but few land on something this original, diverting, and consistently captivating on the dancefloor. It’s restless, punchy, and surprisingly sincere: a garage-punk-tinged jolt that expresses burnout, boredom, and brief flashes of joy. Bonus points for the energizing vocals.



Surge—recorded and mixed by Hugo Allard—is out digitally and on vinyl LP through Howlin’ Banana Records and A Tant Rêver Du Roi Records.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp (Howlin’ Banana) || Bandcamp (ATRDRTant Rêver Du Roi) || ATRDR || Howlin’ Banana

New album: Motorists || Never Sing Alone

Toronto shapeshifters deliver their most ambitious and pop-oriented record yet

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

I like the first two Motorists albums, but the Toronto band aren’t the kind where liking one record automatically translates to liking the others as the band is unafraid to shake things up. The band’s third, Never Sing Alone, continues that trajectory. It’s by far their most pop-oriented record, shedding a lot of their post-punk and power pop feathers to create a guitar pop album with broader appeal and wider ambition.

A song like The Damage is a throwback to Motorists’ sonic style on their debut, showing they can play that sound in their sleep. But clearly, this band’s aims for something bigger. Frogman sounds like Bay Area jangle pop. Scattered White Horses blends classic indie rock with classic pop singing. Diogenes has that quirky, playful indie rock sound that had a moment in the ’00s (think Spinto Band). The Man in The Circular Window has a psych pop vibe. There’s a lot to unpack, but the wrapping is easy on the ears.

Admittedly, I initially dismissed this record because I had so much other stuff piling up. But around my third spin, things started to click. Now, I’m starting to believe this is the band’s best record yet. Spending time with Never Sing Alone pays off. Put this one in the grower bin.

Out now on We Are Time Records.


Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Discogs

New single: The Boojums || Scott Pilgrim / Karate Man

A love letter to Halifax indie rock

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

There are plenty of reasons to cover another band’s songs. Near the top of the list is paying tribute to artists you genuinely love.

The Boojums, a band that hardly needs outside material to kick ass, still manage to do exactly that on their new 7″, which features two well-chosen covers. The Nova Scotia group went into the studio with a clear mission: celebrate the local heroes who helped shape their sound. They shout out Sloan, Thrush Hermit, and Jale, and take on Plumtree’s Scott Pilgrim and The Super Friendz’s Karate Man.

These are not radical reinventions. The Boojums stick fairly close to the originals, but their scrappy garage edge gives both songs an extra jolt of energy. The approach works beautifully, and I am especially grateful for the introduction of just how great Karate Man is.

In fact, this single sent me straight down a small rabbit hole. How did I miss The Super Friendz’s Sticktoitiveness all these years? Better late than never.


Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Bory || Never Turns to Night

Sunshine melodies, fuzzy guitars

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

“We’ll burn that bridge when we get to it,” sings Brenden Ramirez on the second LP by his band Bory (Portland, Oregon), Never Turns to Night. The mix-up of two familiar idioms suggests either a lack of careful planning or a self-aware shrug that not every decision will turn out great. Most likely it is a bit of both.

That attitude fits the laid-back mood of the record. Some will call it power pop, others alternative guitar pop, maybe even sunshine pop, but most of Never Turns to Night sits comfortably in the lane of accessible, melodic indie rock. For reference points, think Guided by Voices, Dinosaur Jr., and Teenage Fanclub. Obvious names perhaps, but good ones. Bory borrow from that lineage while softening the edges, giving the songs a kind, warm glow. You could also throw The Apples in Stereo and Superdrag into the mix.

Better yet, just play the record and decide for yourself if Bory’s execution works for you. To my ears, these songs pair nicely with sunlight or with a quiet afternoon at the office.

Never Turns to Night is out now via Bleak Enterprise.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Dust Star || Big Smash

Cameron Wisch and Justin Jurgens reach for the sky on this AOTY contender

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

“Are you ready?” chants the opening track Keep it Heavy, and honestly, it doesn’t matter if you answer yes or no because Dust Star are coming at you full-speed regardless. This is the sound of Cameron Wisch (Cende, Soft Surface) and Justin Jurgens (Ingrates, Seely Jurgens Band) deciding that their 2022 debut Open Up That Heart was just the warm-up and it’s time to see what happens when they really open the taps.

What happens is Big Smash, an album so stuffed with ambition, hooks, and rock ‘n’ roll styles that it feels like three records crammed into one without ever sounding bloated or overstuffed. This is Tenement’s Predatory Headlights levels of creative firepower. This is Daniel Romano switching genres mid-song and making it look easy. This is Liquid Mike energy but with two songwriters tag-teaming you into submission.

I don’t have liner notes so I can’t definitively say who wrote what, but Truth Reaper and Chain Reaction have that Wisch signature all over them: pedal to the floor, hooks for days, indie rock in permanent overdrive. Out of My Own Way and Living On The Ground channel that smooth old-time rock quality Jurgens has been perfecting lately. Saturday Night is basically just choruses stacked on top of choruses until the whole thing threatens to tip over from sheer joy. The title track teases you with just vocals and guitar before the full band crashes in like they’ve been waiting in the parking lot. Last Train Home From The City sounds like a pop punk band covering an Americana classic that doesn’t actually exist, but made you look anyway.

The second half drops three songs over five minutes each, and not one of them feels like filler or an excuse to noodle around. Every second has a job and shows up to work.

I haven’t been able to put this record down, and I’m not even trying to fight it anymore. You know that cynical guy at the office who keeps insisting there are no exciting guitar bands anymore? Hand him this record. If Big Smash doesn’t flip him, nothing will. Cut your losses and move on.

LP available through Storm Chasers LTD.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Storm Chasers

New album: Goat Yoga || City Love Songs

Despicable wellness trend, excellent indie rock band

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

I am stating the obvious here, but goats are awesome. They are smart, curious, stubbornly independent. They break things, climb everything in sight, and eat whatever happens to be within reach. But goat yoga? I am fairly certain goats want no part of that urban wellness trend. On their personal dislike list it probably sits somewhere between getting hosed down and that annoying neighborhood kid who keeps stealing their carrots, though still comfortably above the slaughterhouse.

Should goat yoga be banned? Well, duh!

But can we keep Goat Yoga the band? We’ve covered this Brooklyn duo before and they have just released their debut full-length City Love Songs, and it is stacked with catchy indie rock that is hard to resist once you dip your toes in. The record sticks to a clear sonic lane, but critics will probably reach for different labels: alt-pop, jangly power pop, geek rock, indie punk. Any of those will do. Sounds a bit like a scrappier version of Hurry and Local Drags (or if you listen to Everything’s So Big: Pains of Being Pure at Heart). The takeaway is that the songs are hooky, punchy, and immediately likable.

So remember: Goat yoga: questionable lifestyle choice. Goat Yoga: great band.



Add to wantlist: bandcamp

New EP: Ryan Allen || They’re Coming For Us

Great songwriting as a coping mechanism and survival strategy

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

The always active Ryan Allen is scared and angry and frustrated, yet unlike most of us, he has the talent to channel all those emotions into fuel for writing catchy rock tunes. It’s a coping mechanism masquerading as a creative habit that, honestly, we are jealous of and grateful for. His new three-song EP, They’re Coming For Us, is a solo outing with Robby Miller on board as producer, mixer, and masterer.

The title sums it all up, and it’s not even figurative. The title track is a punk rock anthem that still has that Ryan Allen spark but carries an amount of venom normally reserved for his other project Big Life. This Ugly meanwhile displays his ’90s jangle power pop tendencies, its edge lying more in its message: the struggle of not wanting to believe people can act this rotten. Allen channels his inner Billy Bragg on closer Hurry Up And Wait, no percussion, just a plugged-in guitar and his voice delivering unvarnished truth.

This EP comes unexpected, but its urgency hits hard. Digital EP out now on Setterwind records, with all proceeds going to Democracy Forward.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Tamarack || Room Service!

"Lovesongs for the crumbling midwest"

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

Let me introduce you to Flint, Michigan’s Tamarack, which features Tanner Morgan (vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, bass guitar) and Braden Erard (percussion). Their new album Room Service! appears to be their debut full-length, following 2024’s Velveteen EP. It’s a ten-song affair: six brand new tunes plus four songs originally written for another EP but never released due to general unhappiness with the recordings. Coincidentally (or not!), several of these rerecorded tracks are among my favorites on Room Service!

The opening duo of Window Pane and Everything You’ve Heard give off that college rock vibe of a band understating its appeal, delivering melodies so casually you almost overlook how well written and effective they are. Hearing The Byrds, Bob Dylan, the Beach Boys, and Alex Chilton namedropped in a chorus tells you some of what to expect from this record (good rhyming, by the way). Another rerecorded song is Surfin ’63, which offers an enticing mix of slacker indie rock and surf rock. Of the truly new songs, the jangly Right Into You (I’ll Bloom) and Tangerin stand out, while Couldn’t Believe (Never Tell) reminds me of the songwriting and delivery of Shane Dupuy from Laika’s Orbit – which I love.

Throughout it all, Tamarack present themselves as a lo-fi and jangly indie rock outfit with fine ideas and even better songs.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

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