Punk

New album: Modern Cynics || Auditory Postcards

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Auditory Postcards is a fitting title for a record that plays 18 tracks in 19 minutes. I am referring to the first full length release by Modern Cynics,  which is the brainchild of Matty Grace of Future Girls. Matty plays all the instruments on Auditory Postcards, another quarantine project born out of isolation and  frustration.  Staying in line with a world full of restrictions, the lyrics to the songs were limited to 20 words or less.

Call it punkrock or quarantine core, there is a dark edge to these songs, creating a haunting listening experience that won’t be for everyone, but I am intrigued. Dirt Cult Records has a way of finding these sorts of bands. RIYL Mind Spiders.


Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Cereal Milk || Cereal Milk

By / / Indie Rock, Punk / Leave a Comment

From the moment I got into punkrock and hardcore back in the mid-nineties, I don’t think I ever fully grasped the concept of emo. To my ears, most of the music I was listening to oozed emotion. Whether it was anger, angst, hate, love, melancholy, hope(lessness) or feeling left out, I always felt that the best punk and hardcore bands have that emotional edge: they feel real, and whatever emotions they convey, they feel authentic, making them stand out from most mainstream music. As such, I struggle considering emo to be a distinct genre, but rather an almost necessary element of great punk and hardcore music. Perhaps this explains why I’ve taken an immediate liking to the self-titled record of Cereal Milk. Here is a band that literally is leaving it all out there: Cereal Milk no longer is a band and this posthumous record will be their final release. Some of its songs have been previously released, for example on the 2017 Amazing Singer Record comp by Emotional Response. Cereal Milk is an intense though melodic record, with a singer absolutely singing his heart out. It’s a dynamic record, with plenty of palm muting, cool guitar riffs, and well timed tempo and soft-loud variations. Shoutout to Californian label Phat ‘n’ Phunky for putting this out.

then, as they dropped the gates // and the bets were placed // your’s was against me // like some insider trade // you were privy to my fate // i’m the horse with the broken leg


Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New single: Sekunderna || Hjärtet EP

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Sekunderna have been described as the perfect mix between ABBA and Marked Men. That ABBA reference is far-fetched, even though the band is from Sweden. But clearly, Sekunderna know how to make their garage poppunk melodic and memorable. This EP stands out from the pack. Out now on a 7″ at Luftslott Records.


Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Discogs

New album: Sweet Soul || So Far No Further

By / / Power Pop, Punk / Leave a Comment

So Far No Further, the first album by Sweet Soul, provides 23 minutes of pop punk bliss. It does not sound like your typical pop punk record though. It is neither ramonescore nor overproduced poppunk of the 00’s. And although I hear ’90’s influences, Sweet Soul would have looked out of place on the top pop punk labels of that era, e.g.,  Lookout! Records, Fat Wreck and Epitaph. Sweet Soul apparently has roots in the hardcore scene, but their sound is neither agressive nor overly fast. Anyway, So Far No Further is most definitely a pop punk record. It is catchy as hell and full of hits. My current favorite is Noises Drown, a song that evokes Lemonheads and Big Drill Car.


Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || New Morality Zine

New video: FuckFuckFuck || Bad Habits

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Party punk bands that have been traveling along filthy concert stages for some time, think of FIDLAR or Black Lips, at a certain point become less wild. But there will always be long-haired rockers who will fill the need to pogo on songs about “Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll”. The Dutch band FuckFuckFuck takes that quite literally with their new single Bad Habits (Googling the combination of band name and song title is NSFW). As soon as the lockdown is over, it will probably go loose in all pubs as in the accompanying video. Enjoy your weekend!

Add to wantlist: Linktree

New Album: Hjelle || Det Måste Inte Vara Så Här

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

Hjelle is the singer for Swedish pubpunkband extraordinaire Bäddat För Trubbel. Det Måste Inte Vara Så Här (It Must Not Be Like This) is his third solorecord. It was released last month by the Swedish Ken Rock Label, but only just arrived on Spotify which is how I discovered its existence. The record consists of 15 short and sweet lo-fi tunes that border between pubrock and rock’n’roll with the occasional and very welcome sax-solo. If you like Bäddat För Trubbel, I am pretty sure you’ll dig this as well.

Add to wantlist: Discogs || Hepcat.se

New compilation: Various Artists || Fakes

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

I’ve always had a weak spot for cover compilations, particularly when the originals are classics and the recreations sound faster, angrier of weirder. So thank you, Drunk Dial Records for asking some of today’s best punk and garage acts to cover their favorite song of fictional artists from movies and tv shows. The result is a highly entertaining compilation. What about Pavid Vermin covering The Beets from ’90’s cartoon Doug? Or Jiffy Marx & kcar doing a delightfully weird version of Sugar Sugar? Or Berwanger doing Welcome to the Dollhouse? What about Careful making this Mitch & Mickey song actually sound good? And bless Charlie Continental for changing Wet Wet Wet’s Love is all Around into Covid’s All Around (“there was a start, there will be an end”). Though I hope this will ultimately get a physical release, it’s currently digital only. There are worse ways to spend $5. And if you need any further encouragement, all proceeds will be divided between the bands and four charities.


Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: The GTO’s || ¡No Están Muertos!

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The GTO’s are from Spain and play fast bubblegum poppunk in the vein of Screeching Weasel and The Queers. This type of music is made for summer, but I don’t mind at all that the band released their new record ¡No Están Muertos! in the middle of winter. The songs are catchy, the music is tight and the record injects a welcome burst of energy into my brain. Great album cover as well, which, if I am not mistaken, is taken from a Jack Kirby horror comic.


Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New single: The Chisel || Come See Me / Not The Only One

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The Chisel is Charlie Manning’s other band. Charlie, of course, is Chubby of Chubby And The Gang, who arguably released the greatest record of 2020. That does not mean that if you like Chubby And The Gang, you will automatically dig The Chisel. Or his previous classic straight edge hardcore project, Violent Reaction, who you should definitely check out. The Chisel sounds more hardcore, more street punk, more classic British punk. It’s angry, it’s furious. it’s confident, it works. Play it loud! Oi!


Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Discogs

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