Punk

New single: Choke City & Wenches || Split 7″

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Remember seventies NYC punk revivalists Choke City? They are back, contributing two songs to a split single with Wenches. Drug Store Girl is a killer track and the updated version of Vacant Tonight is another example of Choke City’s mastery of the punk’n’roll genre. Whereas Choke City made a previous appearance on our site, Wenches is a new band for me. They play an exciting brand of punky hard rock that has a good deal of guitar slaying, rockin’ out and keeping things interesting.

The 7″ single is out now, with both bands having created their own DIY covers, limited to 50 hand numbered copies by each band.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp (Choke City) || Bandcamp (Wenches)

New post: Hellebores || Uncles

By / / Punk / 4 Comments

First thoughts after listening to Hellebores’ (Sydney) new LP Uncles: Those Aussie punks are looking for global anarchic domination aren’t they? That well of punk inspiration Down Under, it must dry up eventually right?  And yet, I have a hard time considering these Aussie punk bands as villains , they all sound sooooo gooooood! In case of Uncles, Hellebores’ second LP, we get another must hear poppy punk rock record out of Australia.

Hellebores feature members of Lawnsmell, Amateur Drunks, Chinese Burns Unit, and C.O.F.F.I.N.. Despite (or thanks to) the veteran presence in the band, Uncles contains a youthful energy on the 15 songs that is contagious. Cool guitar licks and riffs are the rule rather than the exception. The record is peppered with melody and classic pop punk harmonies, confidently delivered by Gina Monaco who sounds like a blend of Jenny Angelillo (Neighborhood Brats) and Brett Anderson (Donnas). Sonically, Uncles would have been a perfect fit on Lookout!, Mutant Pop or Go Kart Records. Honestly, I truly believe that if this record was released in the mid ’90s it would have been considered a classic of the time. More recently, if you like dirt pop labels like Bloated Kat and Worst Idea, this is a record to go crazy for. KILLER STUFF!



Uncles is out now on LP at Bluish Greenish Records and Evil Tone Records.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Discogs

New album: Nate Doyle || Welcome To My Breakdown

By / / Power Pop, Punk / Leave a Comment

It’s Summer 2023, and while the pandemic has become endemic, and the release of pandemic records is slowing down, there is still music coming out that was recorded out of opportunity and necessity during the lockdowns. Nate Doyle probably picked one of my favorite titles for a pandemic record yet: Welcome To My Breakdown. For those unfamiliar with Nate Doyle, he played alongside Geoff Palmer in The Guts and She’s A Guy. That alone tells you that Welcome To My Breakdown sounds a lot more upbeat that the title implies, even though the themes obviously are filled with dread and longing. Expect to hear pop punk in the vein of Green Day’s Warning LP. Catchy, midpaced and written, played and sung by someone who clearly knows what he’s doing. Highlights include One Memory, Want You Around, Young And Dumb and the title track.



Welcome To My Breakdown is out now on Dobler Records.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

Dusted || The 10 Best Cover Songs Of July 2023

By / / Alternative Rock, Blues & Roots, Funk & Soul, Garage Rock, Indie Pop, Jangle Pop, Psych, Punk / Leave a Comment

Not all new music is really new, as many artists cover songs. Sometimes these are songs by their favorite artists, eg as a tribute to such a musical hero for a special reason, or they simply feel that a song deserves to be dusted and polished to reacquaint fans with great songs from the past. Other times, bands cover songs as a parody. Regardless of intent, some of those cover versions are so good or so much fun, we’d like to put a spotlight on them. Chosen from a wide range, here are – in random order – ten of our favorite covers from last month – links to the pages where you can add them to your wantlist included.

July brought us tributes to Pierre Kezdy of Naked Raygun (Godspeed), Bob Dylan (Bob for Bob), Nick Drake (The Endless Colored Ways), The La Bamba soundtrack (by Classic Pat) and Beach Boys (by Pedico), to name a few, but probably most notable in the cover area were the A.I. generated Barbie Girl version by (not) Johnny Cash and FIDLAR’s take on Limp Bizkit’s Nookie. However, we prefer some other releases.

Big Mouth || Cover: Geoff Palmer || Original: The Muffs
How cool is this? An International Tribute to The Muffs, that sounds like a great idea, right? Let’s thank Argentinian community label Grudda Records for making this a reality. You get no less than 26 punk rock acts that play a song by the amazing band of the late Kim Shattuck, including Caroline & The Treats, The Queers, The Hawaiians, Janelles, Fievre, F.A.N.T.A., Beatnik Termites and Geoff Palmer. You’ll understand how difficult it is to choose just one track.

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Dusted || The 10 Best Cover Songs Of July 2023Read More »

New album: JJ & The Real Jerks || Rat Beach

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

JJ & The Real Jerks’ 2022 album Mess You Up featured some of the best work of the L.A. band to date. Now imagine the eight songs from that record plus one from the Rock N’ Roll Manifesto 7inch Series combined with eight new songs that show the band has an even higher ceiling? That’s great news!

Hit up Rum Bar Records and look for the deluxe edition of the band’s new album Rat Beach on CD. You become owner of awesome artwork by Steve Nazar and an absolute clinic in blue collar American powerpop’n’roll. Razor sharp guitar work and strong melodies? Check! Check! The ease with which JJ & The Real Jerks churn out monsters like Rat Beach, Mile High Fight Club and Bridge Worth Burning is a thing of beauty and envy.




Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Great Legs || Free High Fives and Bad Advice

By / / Indie Rock, Punk / Leave a Comment

Looking for some dynamic and playful indiepunk? The new Great Legs album may be right up your alley. Great Legs are the duo of Noah Norcross and Joe Wysocki out of Long Beach (California). Their new record Free High Fives and Bad Advice reactivates the feeling of hearing Joyce Manor for the first time and that alone makes listening to this worthwhile – add in Piebald as a comparable and you should get a rough idea of the sound of Great Legs. The sequence of Horseshoe, Annie and HYBD is particularly enjoyable.

Cassettes available at Stay Tough Records.




Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Stay Tough Records

New album: The Oxys || Generation Irrelevant

By / / Glam Rock, Punk / Leave a Comment

That didn’t take long. A mere 8 months after their debut album (A Date With The Oxys), punk veterans The Oxys (their resumé includes Dead Boys, The Flash Boys, Sylvain Sylvain and M.O.D.) return with their sophomore LP for Dead Beat Records. It’s called Generation Irrelevant and it’s a little less glam and sleaze than their debut. Rest assured, it’s another punked up rock’n’roll fest! A celebration on multiple levels I must add, given that The Oxys’ vocalist “PunkRockPhil” Davis literally came back from the death right before recording the new LP – Davis was in a coma for several days. This may explain the lively and inspired recordings on Generation Irrelevant. Or perhaps it’s just how The Oxys roll.




Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: The Penske File || Half Glow

By / / Indie Rock, Punk / Leave a Comment

Big hooks, a strong sense of melody and anthemic choruses sung with a lot of heart and soul. That’s what you get with the new The Penske File record Half Glow. I guess The Menzingers, Pup, Spanish Love Songs are safe comparables to the sound of The Penske File, and honestly, I think they perform at that level on Half Glow. The Penske File fully deliver on a record that should satisfy the appetite of the org core, indie punk and punk rock crowd. Add the Ontario band to your list of reasons to be excited about the state of punk rock in 2023.

Half Glow is out now on Stomp Records.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Discogs

New album: Snõõper || Super Sn​õ​õ​per

By / / Punk / Leave a Comment

Snõõper are a band from Nashville that has been making waves in the punk scene since 2020. They are one of those bands that is able to attract new fans to the scene and make you excited about the future of punk. After a couple of singles and EPs and a live record, their debut full-length is finally out now, and it is great.

I am going to keep this short as the sound of Snõõper may be easy to describe, but it’s much harder to do justice to the experience of actually listening to it and witnessing the band at work. Basically, Snõõper sound like they play original nursery rhymes sung over mutant punk played at lightspeed blasted at full volume. It’s kinda crazy but it works.

Super Sn​õ​õ​per is out now on Third Man Records.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Discogs

New album: Fully Involved || Cold Blood

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Fully Involved is the one man project by Californian singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Mark Berman. In his own words he accidentally wrote a whole album about neurodivergence before he knew he had it. He talks about the ten pop-punk songs that make up Cold Blood, an LP with a liberating sound and telling lyrics: “I’ve willed extroversion // Out of utter desperation // Therapy of immersion // Just to fix my situation” (from opening track Publick Occurrences). Both musically and lyrically it’s a mixed bag of styles and emotions, inspired and characterful, intense but charming.



Cold Blood, produced/mixed/mastered by David Antonio Garcia, is out now digitally (self-released). Mark Berman was responsible for vocals, guitar, bass and drums. On several tracks you can also hear contributions from David Antonio Garcia (backing vocals, synths, percussion, bass, guitar), Briana Harley (organ, backing vocals), KE’ALA (organ, piano), Eddie Navega (lead guitar), Eric Perez (drums), Max Pugh (drums, guitar) and Jay Vesper (lead guitar, bass).

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

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