Indie Rock

New album: Liquid Mike || A Beer Can And A Bouquet

Back to Marquette we go! Liquid Mike returns with their third full-length, and it’s everything I could’ve hoped for. Liquid Mike is fronted by Mike Maple who frequently pops up on our site with his own music and contributions in the work of the extremely talented circle of musicians from Marquette. Cody Marecek of Yard Waste (drums), Monica Nelson (synths), and Raymond Little (guitar – make sure to check out his excellent solo record) round out Liquid Mike on A Beer Can And A Bouquet.

Liquid Mike have kept all the good parts about their previous record Stuntman. They still very much sound like a punchy and energetic indie rock/powerpop hybrid in the vein of Midtown, Piebald, Laika’s Orbit and The Promise Ring. Liquid Mike pour their heart and soul in these nine new recordings. The band calls it their most collaborative effort to date and had a blast creating the record. It shows. Songs like Lease Agreement, Elmer’s Glue, Snoozer, I’ll Get Back To You all stand out, and the quality throughout the record is consistently strong. There is a bittersweet element to the record though. Drummer Cody Marecek moved away recently, and the future of the band is unclear. Will it mark the end of Liquid Mike? Will they continue with a different drummer? Will the band become a recording project exclusively?

The final song on A Beer Can And A Bouquet is called There’s No Rock and Roll No More // Death to Liquid Mike. It starts out as a melancholic campfire acoustic track, and finishes as a loud instrumental track. The song kinda hurts and hits hard, even though I’m sure the people involved with or without each other will continue to create music worth our ears. I cross my fingers that this is not the last thing we hear from Liquid Mike. But whatever happens, thanx for burning bright Liquid Mike!




Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Norm Archer || Flying Cloud Terrace

Will Pearce is a home recording enthusiast from Portsmouth (UK). He releases his solo music under the name Norm Archer, and Flying Cloud Terrace is a collection of songs he’s been working on since 2017. Pearce does everything on the record, helped out only on drums on some of the tracks by Ben Whyntie.

I’ve been sitting on this record for a while, but somehow keep returning to it. Each time I find new elements about the record to like, again surprised how good these songs are. You can tell that Pearce likes to take his time with his music. They do not sound like first take lo-fi home demos at all, but like accomplished full band recordings. The songs are well constructed, and Pearce clearly knows his way around hooks and delayed rewards. And as songs like South Parade, A Human Not, and The Seatbelt Won’t Release show, Pearce has a knack for writing memorable melodies.

If you are looking for a quality powerpop/britpop record, give this one a try.




Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New EP: Electric Pets || Rhinoceros EP

Please meet UK four-piece Electric Pets, who may well become new indie darlings now their four-track debut Rhinoceros EP is released. Their name and cover art already reveals this is a band that gives well-known images and music from the past an electrifying modern jacket. Emma Buckley (vocals), Phil Wagg (guitars), Pete Darrington (bass) and Adam Grace (drums) forge influences from bluesy garage rock and folky indie pop, 60’s surf and girl groups, soul and electronica, into a post-rock sound that is made for 2022. The musicians claim to be a sleazy dive-bar band, but with that they do themselves short, because these songs – idiosyncratic but appealing, both hard and soft, versatile but unambiguous – are simply too good.

Rhinoceros EP is out now digitally and on CD through Reckless Yes. Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Dogbreth || Believe This Rain

Believe This Rain is album #5 by Dogbreth if I’m not mistaken. Every two or three years, Dogbreth releases a record, and the sound of the band has evolved constantly which has been a joy to witness. On their latest record, Dogbreth have constructed a house build from equal parts Big Staresque powerpop and ’00s indie rock, incorporating some subtle americana elements. Believe This Rain is inviting and makes you feel at home right away. It’s the kind of record that you can enjoy on a superficial level, but has sufficient layers to draw in more attentive listeners.

Believe This Rain sounds like the kind of record that could have been huge two decades ago. It’s a diverse record that contains subdued acoustic guitar pop, laid back indie rock, and sweet powerpop, and I’m not skipping any of the songs. Out now through Phat ‘n’ Phunky.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Phat n Phunky

Catching Up To Four Releases You’ve Probably Already Heard

We don’t usually do this, but the Summer break makes it hard to catch up. In this post I share some releases which I’d love to write about more extensively, but given our backlog and the fact that these releases already received significant attention elsewhere (and deservedly so), I’m sharing them in a quick post. You’ve probably already came across these records, but if not, enjoy!

New album: The Paranoid Style || For Executive Meeting

This summer, Paul Gorman‘s enhanced / revised third edition of The Wild World of Barney Bubbles was published, a wantlist-worthy book with well-known / remarkable Pop Art record sleeves and posters. The influence of the late graphic artist is further evidenced by The Paranoid Style’s new full-length album kicking off with a tribute to the master: “I literally kick the stereo when things get dark // It’s Carlene’s C’est C Bon LP // And Bubbles did the artwork.” It’s not the only more or less familiar name to pop up here: singer-songwriter Elizabeth Nelson’s stories on For Executive Meeting also feature Steve Cropper, P.G. Wodehouse, Doug Yule, Jack Kerouac and John Prine, and she mourns the loss of David Berman and Adam Schlesinger. The intelligent lyrics are supported by equally sophisticated music, in which a jumble of pop, rock and country influences are forged into a whole – you can also consider the twelve songs here as Pop Art – that continues to fascinate.

“This is an album about the dignity of labor and the courage of workers who refuse to give up hope, even as the modern world arrays itself ever more exploitatively against their interests.” – Elizabeth Nelson

The Paranoid Style, named after Richard Hofstadter’s observations on 1964 American politics, is a savvy rock band from Washington, D.C., featuring Elizabeth Nelson (vocals), Timothy Bracy (guitar), William Corrin (bass, harmonica), Jon Langmead (drums) and William Matheny (guitar, keyboards). Patterson Hood (Drive-By Truckers) is a guest on I’d Bet My Land And Titles. After eleven originals, the album closes with a cover of Rosanne Cash’s Seven Year Ache.

For Executive Meeting is out now digitally and on vinyl LP through Bar/None Records.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Bar/None Records || Discogs

Gimme 5! Peter Matthew Bauer (The Walkmen) Shares 5 Recent Favorites In Anticipation Of His New LP Flowers



With ‘Gimme 5!’ we take a peek into the collections of artists we admire. The premise is simple: artists WE like share five records THEY love.

Depending on your frame of reference and location, The Walkmen were either wildly succesful in the ’00s or criminally underrated. I, for one, am a huge fan of the band’s discography. Unlike other bands, the Walkmen’s demise did not end the musical careers of its individual members. In fact, they continue to gather critical acclaim with their solo (see Hamilton Leithauser, Walter Martin, Paul Maroon, and Peter Matthew Bauer) and band careers (Matt Barrick with Muzz). A close look at all of these projects reveals the diverse talents and musical interests of the individuals that made up the Walkmen.

In anticipation of his third record (Flowers), we reached out to The Walkmen’s bass player Peter Matthew Bauer to provide a Gimme 5 feature. He kindly obliged, and his list is as diverse as I’d hoped it would be. Part of this has to do with his own record label (and management company) Fortune Tellers Music. The Flowers LP, which will be out September 23 on Fortune Tellers – pre-order now) is a reflection of the different artists Bauer works or has worked with. Currently, three teaser singles have been released and none of them sound alike, yet all of them are of interest. Whereas Skulls has hints of The Walkmen, Knife Fighter starts out as an acoustic folk song that grows into something bigger and more exciting along the way. That also applies to Miracles, a gorgeous and particularly powerful track where Bauer constantly builds and releases tension. Continue reading below to hear the song and discover Bauer’s Gimme 5.

New EP: You’re The Best || You’re The Best

Besides their hard-to-googleness, I have few facts to share about Portland (Oregon) catchy and jangly indie(post)punk four-piece You’re The Best. But here are some thoughts on their self-titled debut EP:

* If you have time to listen to just one song today, make it Lonely In The Streets. It’s one of my favorites of late.
* The band is sonically diverse. Oak Parks has a tasty bouncy B-52’s vibe, Rise Up and Blue Lives Don’t Exist have the instant rush of the lo-fi underground pop of bands like Neutrals and Mick Trouble, Fuck You Ted is laid back slacker rock.
* I absolutely love this EP. What a stellar debut.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Dust Star || Open Up That Heart

Cende were a short lived band channeling the short and infectious songwriting qualities of Mark Ryan and Jeff Burke (Marked Men) – and yes, the band name was a reference to Descendents. If you haven’t heard Cende, go listen to songs like Don’t Want To, Bed and End. SO GOOD! So when I read that Lame-O Records were releasing a new “roll your windows down” powerpop project by Cende’s singer Cameron Wisch, my expectations went through the roof. That project is Dust Star and amazingly also includes Justin Jurgens, who not only played in Sirs but is also one half of the amazing new punky powerpop band Ingrates.

Given the people involved and the mark of approval by the ever reliable Lame-O Records, Dust Star is everything I could hope for. Open Up That Heart is a killer debut with instant likeability and infinite replay value. Jurgens and Wisch visit every corner of the powerpop universe on the record. They go from Marked Men/Dirtnap Record territory (Back To The Start, Too Late) to Teenage Fanclub country (Open Up That Heart), to Pixies area (Can’t Stop Thinking Of You) to ’70s arena rock (Work It Out), to garage pop (Feel It Without Trying, Turn Up The Heat). And then there is I’m Waiting For You, which sounds like a mashup of The Zombies and Velvet Underground. Whatever route or direction Dust Star takes, they never get lost. They pile on strong melody after strong melody, and pointed song after pointed song.

Open Up That Heart is the kind of record to skip the wantlist and add to your collection straight away.




Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Lame-O

New EP: Curfews || Psalms To Strip To

Summer break’s over, which means it’s been at least three weeks since we last covered a band from Marquette, Michigan. Curfews is an indie rock outfit started by Corey Sustarich aka Corey Curfews in 2017. The Psalms To Strip To EP is the band’s latest and greatest release to date. Joined by Mike Maple (Liquid Mike) on guitar (Maple also recorded and produced the EP) and Nick Erickson on drums and bass, Sustarich’s songwriting shines brightest on Death In Spring, Yesterday’s Flowers and Throphy Case. Curfews are in no rush to get to the sweet parts, but when they do, the rewards are easy pickings. Good stuff!

“Sun starts shining on the dawn of a new age // And I start saying bitter things I thought I’d never say // Yesterday’s flowers wilting in the vase // Can you still look at me the same?”



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

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