Punk

New EP: the Floppy-Pinkies || Bet It

Tokyo trio evoking the charm of flipping through a '90s punk comp

By / / Punk / Leave a Comment

Bet It is the new four-song EP by Tokyo melodic punk rock trio the Floppy-Pinkies. It’s already their fourth EP, and the band has also released two albums (we covered the last one).

For me, this is one of those bands that makes me nostalgic for those cheap punk label compilations from the ’90s, where each next track could introduce you to your new favorite band. Those comps felt like treasure hunts. messy, inconsistent, but full of discovery, where the magic was in not knowing what hit you next. With their catchy, three-minute songs—highly energetic and nicely unpolished—the Floppy-Pinkies tap straight into that spirit. There’s a strong ’90s feel here, but also plenty of contemporary charm.

Bet It is out now on 10-inch and CD via Glitter Record Industry.


Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: The Melmacs || EUPHANCHOLIA

A fizzy blast of hooks, heart, and high-energy charm

By / / Garage Rock, Power Pop, Punk / Leave a Comment

Four years after their year-end list worthy debut LP Good Advice, German rock ‘n’ roll quartet The Melmacs has lost none of its enthusiasm. In fact, the twelve original songs on their sophomore album EUPHANCHOLIA exceed all expectations. Max, Connie, Bimmi, and Remo Melmac stir a good dose of fun and idiosyncrasy into the basic ingredients of power pop, garage rock, and proto-punk in the cauldron of magic potion, leading to an explosion of hits and hooks. One catchy tune follows another, fueled by a relentless organ and infectious harmonies that feel universally inviting (I can imagine that a remix of standout track Keep On could also make EDM fans go wild). Big energy, loud fun, and a wink of rebellion; an Electric Night guaranteed.



EUPHANCHOLIA—recorded by Max Melmac—is out now digitally and on vinyl LP through Bakraufarfita Records, Spaghetty Town Records, and Wanda Records.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Discogs || Bakraufarfita || Spaghetty Town || Wanda

New album: Stepmother || Absurdus Manifestus

Rock muscle with punk blood

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

Melbourne power trio Stepmother is fronted by Annihilation Time’s Graham Clise, alongside Lee Parker (Deafwish) and Robert Muiños (Saskwatch). On their second LP Absurdus Manifestus, they deliver twelve originals and a cover of Journey to the Center of the Mind.

This is a rock record at heart, but punk in spirit. The reference points make sense. Blue Cheer, The Pink Fairies, Nervous Eaters, The Damned. It is loud, riff-driven, and built to move air. Tracks like New World and Gimme Mine hit with that instant adrenaline rush, the kind of riffs that demand you turn the volume up. Running straight into Beast and Man, that stretch is the record’s peak. Still, there is plenty to grab onto elsewhere. Fast, catchy burners like What’s New, Space Invader, and Don’t Be Long keep things moving.

This is no-frills, high-energy rock done right. Nothing fancy, just riffs, volume, and a band that knows exactly what it wants to sound like.



LP out now on Tee Pee Records.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Discogs

New EP: Tiikeri || Punk On Tärkeää

Finnish punks play with melody, meaning, and zero cynicism

By / / Punk / Leave a Comment

I stumbled onto Tiikeri back in 2023, and ever since I have had a soft spot for a band that takes the punk ethos seriously and plays with a sincerity and lack of cynicism that feels rare. Their latest is a four-song 7″ that is no-brain add to wantlist.

These songs, which I ran through a translator as Tiikeri sing in their native language, channel outsider frustration into pure DIY defiance. Punk shows up here less as a genre and more as a way to stay sane, both shield and fuel. A translated line from Parempi kuin tänään says it best: “I know punk’s message alone won’t change the world, but it gives me hope, and I won’t give up.”

For Tiikeri, punk is love. In a world that increasingly rewards self-interest and a lack of empathy, that kind of openness feels quietly radical. It might even be the most punk thing here.

Sonically, this is classic Tiikeri. Late ’70s-leaning, melodic punk for fans of Undertones, Buzzcocks, and the Good Vibrations scene. Fast, catchy, and full of heart.

7″ out now on General Speech, Tiikeri Records, and Vox Populi.


Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Discogs

New EP: POSITRONIX || Miss Universe

Philadelphia quarter sounding wired, tense, and fully alive

By / / Garage Rock, Punk / Leave a Comment

Wow. Philadelphia’s POSITRONIX is one of those bands that earns the all caps. Their new 12″ EP Miss Universe oozes attitude, bark, and a sharp sense of melody.

Call it post-punk or punked-up new wave, it hardly matters. These songs were recorded live to tape and feel wired and immediate, proof that underground music is still very much alive. There is grit in the sound, but also real craft. The title track alone is one of my favorite things I have heard this year.

Do not mistake melody for comfort though. This is not a happy band. Underneath the noise, it is all power games and disillusionment. Broken systems, hollow promises, and people caught between pushing back and giving in. Trying to find something real in the wreckage.

It makes the whole EP feel like a flower forcing its way through concrete. Harsh surroundings, but finding beauty in the mess.

Buy the 12″ via Abandon Everything Records.


Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Protex || Sticking With You

Legendary Belfast punk band ages gracefully

By / / Garage Rock, Punk / Leave a Comment

How do you age gracefully as punks? Protex were around before most of us were even here, part of the late ’70s Good Vibrations wave that produced some of the best songs this genre has to offer. Hard to imagine anyone back then thinking about what this music would sound like five decades later, let alone the people making it.

In the case of Protex, day jobs are done and dusted. What is left is a band of extremely cool granddads and uncles who still show up, still play, still write. Sticking With You, out now on Bachelor Records, proves that is not just a nostalgia exercise. This is still punk in spirit, but it comes wrapped in something more measured. They are not trying to recreate their teenage years, and they are not chasing speed for the sake of it. Instead, they lean into a loose, confident rock sound with a clear punk backbone.

If their 2022 come-back album Wicked Ways proved Protex still had some fire in them, Sticking With You shows they have settled into a new identity. The melodic instincts that were already there in ’78 are still front and center, but the angst has given way to warmth and ease. The songs breathe more and the playing stretches out just enough. There is something quietly defiant about this record. No rush, no posturing, just a band that knows exactly who they are and plays to that strength.

Sticking With You is a highly enjoyable listen and, honestly, an impressive achievement. Because let’s face it, nobody expects a group of punk lifers to sound this good this far down the line.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Bachelor

New album: Taste Testors || Come Back

An all downstrokes hit fest by members of The Briefs, Cute Lepers, Appaloosa and The Greatest Hits

By / / Garage Rock, Power Pop, Punk / 1 Comment

A little over a year after their self-titled debut, Taste Testors return with Come Back, out now on Moodkiller Records. Eleven songs, no messing around, and the kind of record only lifers in this corner of garage pop punk and power pop could pull off.

Call it a Seattle supergroup if you want. Steve E. Nix (The Briefs, The Cute Lepers, Steve E. Nix & The Famous Lizards), Leif Larson (Appaloosa), Nils Larson (The Greatest Hits), and Hollywood Hudson (ex-The Cute Lepers) know exactly what they are doing. The blueprint is strict: “all downstrokes, no bass lines, no guitar solos, no filler.” Those rules lock the band into a Ramones-style framework, but they never feel boxed in. There is enough melody and personality here to keep things moving.

The record comes out swinging with I Don’t Like Working On The Weekend and I’m Waiting For Something Lame, the latter boosted by those sweet “oooweehooo” harmonies. The fast ones hit hard and stick, I’m Gonna Be Buried in Hollywood Cemetery plays like a ready-made ramonescore staple, and Little Baby cranks the source material by The Blue Rondos into overdrive. Elsewhere, midpaced tracks like I Might Be Thinkin’ About You and It Isn’t Very Pretty slow things down just enough to add some breathing room, leaning a bit more toward straight rock without losing the thread.

This is all killer, no filler done right. Tight, catchy, and played with total conviction.

The appeal might look obvious on paper given the lineup, but Come Back does more than deliver.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New single: xray xeroxx || I Just Wanna Have Fun With You

Songs about the end of the world have no business being this fun.

By / / Punk / Leave a Comment

I did not plan on writing about the latest xray xeroxx single. Plenty of music, plenty of work. Then I pressed play. The title track is a killer pop punk tune, built for right now. “I wanna ignore reality with you.” Societal collapse does not get more romantic than that.

Then Adios Muchachos! kicks in and that was it. New post, no hesitation. Ninety seconds, a flood of lyrics, and Anthony Kapfer delivering them like he is racing the clock. You almost run out of breath just listening. Call it: it is not my global pandemic if I cannot pogo to it. And laugh at it. Sample lyric: “i have a bunch of friends // who shared a plate of nachos // so we might as well say // adios muchachos.”

Songs about the end of the world have no business being this fun. Good thing no one told xray xeroxx.


Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New EP: Mr Radical || Promo

Fast, clean, and ready to explode

By / / Punk / Leave a Comment

Here is a six-song EP built to rally the hardcore punks. Straight out of the O.C., Mr Radical arrive swinging, and on the strength of these tracks alone, they feel destined to become a scene favorite.

They are fast, tight, and ferocious, but they keep things clean and stripped down. This is old school hardcore in the best sense. Aggressive without turning into a blunt instrument, driven by energy rather than posturing. The excitement is immediate. Drumrolls, breakdowns, velocity. Blink and you are already catching up.

Chances are this is not news to you. Promo has been floating around for a couple of months, only now landing here thanks to a cassette release by Serial Bowl Records.

The average Mr Radical song clocks in around 100 seconds. That is all it takes. One track and you get the full picture. No filler, no drag, just impact.


Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New EP: Wasted Youth Club || Shared Whining

Loud and restless as always, catchier than ever

By / / Psych, Punk / Leave a Comment

Dutch psych-punk quartet Wasted Youth Club return with Shared Whining, stretching their sound ambitiously in five loud tracks that explode with fuzz and energy. Sven van Vessem (vocals, guitar), Tim Habraken (guitar), Reinier Wiskerke (bass), and Jitze Miedeme (drums) have been around for a few years, and know how to get their audience moving, but rarely have they sounded as catchy as in the new songs, with Bad Blood and Lights Out leading the way. RIYL: Parquet Courts, Ty Segall, Frankie and the Witch Fingers.


The Shared Whining EP is out digitally and on cassette through Le Cèpe Records.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

Scroll to Top