Ready for some Ramones & Beach Boys worship? Can’t wait for summer? Listen to Pedico! Pedico are from New York and feature Jake (guitar, vocals), Griff (bass, vocals) and Chris (drums). They roll out lo-fi surfy poppunk’n’roll tunes that are so addictive, I can’t stop playing them. And if you are a Youtube frequenter, they have that Beastie Boys knack for making fun videos as well. [continued below]
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Los Pepes are one of those bands where you know exactly what you get with each release: well executed sleazy UK powerpop’n’roll that is fast and catchy. I feel kinda bad that none of their releases have made it from my wantlist to my collection. That is about to change, because their latest double A-side single is all hits, zero misses. I am not even going to discuss which song on this single is my favorite. Let’s call it a hell of a draw. The 7″ inch will ship out early May. Don’t miss out on this one, pre-order now through the band or Black Wax Noise Division.
Add to wantlist: Bandcamp
With ‘Gimme 5!’ we take a peek into the collections of artists we admire. The premise is simple: artists WE like share 5 records THEY love.
Do you still own CDs? I do, but in all honesty, I hardly play them. The main purpose of my CD-collection nowadays is ice breaker in work-from-home videocalls. Still, it’s pretty sweet to be able to pick out some CDs, and rekindle your connection with them on long drives. That’s definitely the case for this week’s Gimme 5! artist Jiffy Marx – he will explain in a minute. Let me first say how happy I am that Jiffy wanted to share his list for this blog, because this guy knows how to write catchy tunes. He released an excellent solo single a couple of months ago, I wrote about that one here.
And this friday, he will release the second album of his band Autogramm. Autogramm are somewhat of a hybrid between ’80s powerpop, new wave and synth pop. The first song I ever heard from the band was the powerpop perfect Jessica Don’t Like Rock N Roll, and I’ve been keeping tabs on the band ever since. Spoiler alert for the new record: it’s pretty great; expect a review later this week. Here is a video for one of their new hits.
Okay, time to go to Jiffy’s list and let him do the talking. Enjoy!
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Gimme 5! || Jiffy Marx (Autogramm) Shares The Top 5 CDs That Are In His Truck Right NowRead More »
Will Stewart, Taylor Hollingsworth, Wes McDonald, Eric Wallace, and Chris McCauley: the five experienced frontmen who started The Blips together share lead vocals, guitar, and bass duties, and that works out really, really well. They wrote and recorded their self-titled debut album within a few months, but it sounds like they have been playing together for years. Above all, this LP contains ten energetic, catchy rock songs that you can never have enough of. It’s brave that they made a sequel to Wild Thing, but Throw Me Around, Yes Yes No Yes No and Same Do are even better. Hits! Out now digitally, on CD en vinyl LP through Cornelius Chapel Records. RIYL: Strange Boys, King Tuff, Nobunny, Jacuzzi Boys.
Add to wantlist at Bandcamp or your preferred other music service.
Lisasinson are a band on the verge of breaking out to a large audience. Don’t take my word for it; my antenna for sensing these things is usually well off. But the hit potential on their mini-LP Perdona Mamá is massive. Lisasinson (Spain) are an easy band to fall for. Their songs are upbeat and catchy, with plenty of group vocals and bubblegum for those who like their punky pop sugary sweet. They have fast pop songs for punk kids (Corazón, Discotea) and midpaced punk songs for indie pop kids (Tú Y Yo). Their videos are fun. And, they make you sing along to words you don’t understand: Volverte Enamoraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrr! That song is about falling in love apparently. Like I said, it’s easy to fall for this band. The nine-song ten-inch LP is available now through Elefant Records.
Add to wantlist: Bandcamp
Add To Wantlist is a ship with two captains who each sail a different musical course. As a result, we are not in each other’s way, but complement each other. In many cases we don’t understand why the other listens to certain bands, but we are on the same page for this Food Fight EP. These are four guys from France, from various other bands such as The Headliners, Cheap Riot, The Ready-Mades, and Abuse, who together strive to play powerpop / punk / mod / bubblegum in the tradition of The Clash, Real Kids, The Nips, The Nerves, and French acts like Les Calamites or Les Dogs. These four songs are a great proof of competence. Releases June 14 via Snap! Records Spain. The fact that the two opposites over here are fans, hopefully predicts a broader appreciation.
Add to wantlist: Bandcamp
Early 2020, Dazy released a three song digital single called Revolving Door. It was my first taste of the band, and the 90 second song Weatherman Got It Wrong hinted upon your-new-favorite-band material. Three months later, we are treated to an 8-song EP that shows even more potential: The Crowded Mind. Dazy play noisy and fuzzy altpop that will appeal to fans of Lemonheads and guitar-driven britpop. Underneath Dazy’s distorted sound are excellent pop songs, and tracks like See The Bottom, Right As Rain and Perpetual Motion would have received major air time in the nineties.
The crazy thing is, Dazy is not even a band. It’s a solo project by a music publicist (James Goodson). Goodson is also a member of grungepunk band Teen Death and poppunk band Bashful – make sure to check out their 2020 album Driving. Dazy’s releases are currently digital only. Let’s hope that Goodson ultimately will release his best tunes on a LP.
Add to wantlist: Bandcamp
I like it when a song has a meaningful or funny title, I also like it when there is a good story behind the music. Those two things undoubtedly apply to this rock ‘n’ roll tune. Highly prolific 90’s kid Brett Newski saw Canadian rock band Barenaked Ladies live when he was 13. That changed his life – their frontman Steven Page became his first musical hero – and he even went to work at McDonald’s to pay for his first guitar. Fast forward, last year Newski uncovered old notebooks of song ideas from that period while still in high school, including early lyrical ideas for the “coming of age” tune I Should’ve Listened to Ferris Bueller, which is now the lead track to It’s Hard to be a Person, a book and soundtrack album about defeating anxiety, surviving the world and having more fun. To complete the story: while finishing the song, Newski reached out to Steven Page to see if he would guest-vocal on the track. No sooner said than done. See and hear the result here, with illustrations from the book in the video. Likeable on multiple levels!
Add to wantlist: Bandcamp (music) || brettnewski.com (book)
PS For younger readers unfamiliar with the name mentioned in the song title: the teen comedy film Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986) is a classic.
The Magnolias were a jangly powerpop band from Minneapolis. They rocked, and Off The Hook is their best and most consistent album. It’s a record I frequently revisit, turning the volume up for songs like Tear Up This Town, Don’t Pack It In and When I’m Not (video below). You should listen to it.
Add to wantlist: Discogs
Lilac are Oisín & Cian Walsh, two brothers from Ireland with great hair. Lilac play fuzzy powerpop, with garagerock influences and dashes of britpop. On A-side Remember, No Regrets the band sounds like a mix of Ty Segall, Mikal Cronin, Ash and Weezer. It’s a spong that would have been a major hit twenty years ago. The video to the songs is built from archival sports footage and a joy to watch, aesthetically consistent with the vintage and colorful coverart for the single. Flipside (I’m) Pretending To Be Sad is a tad heavier but has an infectious chorus. Lilacs are fully DIY, homerecording, self-producing and releasing their single on their own label Rufus Records. They are an instant add to my bands-to-watch list.
Add to wantlist: Bandcamp