Punk

New EP: Probably Nancy || Probably Nancy

By / / Garage Rock, Punk / Leave a Comment

Based on the band name and cover art you might expect sweet innocent music, but Probably Nancy screams pretty loud and mean. The Berlin-based queerpunk band featuring Giorgia Job (vocals, guitar, harmonica), Nuria Koala (bass) and Liliana Zieniawa (drums) know how to turn their displeasures into very strong songs. Wedding Killer, with heavy guitar riffs, growling vocals and fierce lyrics (about a horrific crime in which a suitcase with a girl’s body was found), hits the hardest. But if any song had any chance of becoming a hit, it would be Sugar Mommy ♥ $.

Probably Nancy is out now digitally (self-released). Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Moron’s Morons || High-Tension Situation

By / / Punk / 2 Comments

Having released music on Slovenly Recordings and No Front Teeth Records should tell you a lot about what to expect from Polish finest and loudest garagepunks Moron’s Morons. The band’s second LP is out today, this time through Sweet Time Records. It’s another hard hittin’ gritty punk’n’roll sleazefest of a record. High-Tension Situation contains 11 originals and one T.S.O.L cover (Nothin’ For You). Expect a lot of old school punk attitude from a band that doesn’t take themselves to seriously but play their instruments like their lives depend on it.




Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Pavlov’s Puss || Tungsten Hearts Club.

By / / Country & Folk, Garage Rock, Indie Rock, Punk / Leave a Comment

Pavlov’s Puss mission statement? To bring you “cute as all hell garage rock made for top 40 radio.” Pavlov’s Puss are a band of veterans from the Christchurch (NZ) music scene fronted by Andrew “Ox” O’Connell who is joined by Joe Sampson, Chris Andrews and Rory Dalley. A band featuring members of The Ruling Elite, The Palace of Wisdom, Salad Boys, and Best Bets, that must be something special right?

Tungsten Hearts Club. definitely sounds unique. The record sounds almost like a primitive ’60s punk record, like a punk version of Bob Dylan. Somewhere It Is Summer is probably the most conventional track on the record, it’s a straighforward garage hit in the vein of Jack Oblivian. But in most songs, Pavlov’s Puss are freed by the expectations or boundaries of any genre. The guitar work and instrumentation and the lo-fi recording breathes a sense of spontaneity and effortlessness that combined with the talksinging of O’Connell all add to the magical appeal of Pavlov’s Puss.

Tungsten Hearts Club. is a scrappy and exciting piece of work.




Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New EP: Engage || Eight Songs

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I’m midway Alex Anesiadis’ 800+ page book We Can Be The New Wind, and so far it’s been a great source for (re)discovering some great ’80’s hardcore, punk, powerpop and indierock records. It may explain why I found myself excited about several recent hardcore releases, most noticeably Planet On A Chain’s Boxed In LP (Revelation Records) and Engage’s Eight Songs 7″ (Last Ride Records).

Let’s zoom in on the latter. Engage are youth crew revivalists from Perth (Australia). Their latest EP has Eight Songs (duh) that manage to fit on a 7″. The short burst of energy and aggression are perfect for fans of the classic hardcore sound, although Engage also play a mean solo – listen to the standout Ignorance On Parade!



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Last Ride

New album: Nära Döden || Slänger Ingenting

By / / Alternative Rock, Indie Rock, Punk / Leave a Comment

Back to Scandinavia we go for another batch of catchy indiepunk tunes, this time from the debut LP of Nära Döden (Near Death). Nära Döden sound full of grit, almost kind of grungey, although they rely less on soft-loud dynamics than most bands in said genre. Most of the songs on Slänger Ingenting are pretty loud and uptempo, and the band’s main vocalist sings like there is something on the line. A band that shows a lot of heart and sound pretty rockin’ while doin’ that. What’s not to like?

Slänger Ingenting is out now through Swedish label Septembernatt.

Add to wantlist: Streaming only

New album: Beta M​á​ximo || Contra El Vicio Espa​ñ​ol

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Spanish record label Grabaciones Bonicas listed easy listening as one of the tags on Bandcamp for the new Beta Máximo Tape. If you are familiar with Beta Máximo’s music, this is pretty funny. But I guess on certain planets the ten songs on Contra El Vicio Espa​ñ​ol may very well be regarded as easy listening. To the average human ear however, they will sound coming from something nonhuman, an extraterrestial being perhaps. Honestly, lightspeed has nothing on these mutant punksongs. And yet, Beta Máximo apparently knows exactly to which coordinates they are headed, and the catchiness of these tunes makes me want to follow them. If only I remembered where I kept my spaceship.




Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New single: Operants || Chevy Malibu

By / / Power Pop, Punk / Leave a Comment

Operants are an offbeat quirky proto punk band from New Jersey, at least that’s what they sound like on their new two-song single. I’ve previously compared the band to The Cowboys and although I stand by that, Operants sound unique and different and this makes them all the more likeable.

The Chevy Malibu single is out on Tape through Defective Tapes in a limited run of 26 copies.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New single: Varonas || Ahora Mejor

By / / Power Pop, Punk / Leave a Comment

Varonas are from Madrid and feature members Mallory Knox, Thee Girlfriends, Suckin’ Dicks and Vigilante Gitano. For a band with veteran presence and experience, they sound particularly lively on their latest single. The vocal attack of Varonas’ two female singers give the sunny rock’n’roll infused punkrock a distinctiveness I appreciate a lot. This is the second single of the band, and the second time we write about them. Two out of two is pretty good, let’s make it three!

Ahora Mejor is available through Delia Records, Snap! Records Spain and Folc Records.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New EP: Irreplaceable Beings || Pasadena Ave

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I’ve been on a sunny punkrock kick of late, and here’s another release that caught my interest: The Pasadena Ave EP by Irreplaceable Beings (Reno, Nevada) aka Screeching Weasel drummer Pierre Marche and Christopher A Fox (Boss’ Daughter). Perhaps I should call this pop punk instead, this is some infectious stuff.

Draw a triangle between Green Day, Bouncing Souls and Allister and you’ll find Irreplaceable Beings somewhere in the middle.




Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New single: The Jansen || Observasi Sinting

By / / Indie Pop, Punk / Leave a Comment

Indonesian three piece The Jansen found a place in my heart with last year’s Banal Semakin Binal. It’s the record where the band tightened up their sound and playing relative to their earlier releases – that admittedly had a lot of charm already. I wrote this about Banal Semakin Binal: “It is packed with mid-paced pop punk hits for fans of Dirtnap and Alien Snatch Records and the late ’70s sound of Buzzcocks and Undertones.” While I would have been perfectly happy if The Jansen had stayed close to that sound, their new three-song single is an explicit statement that The Jansen intend to broaden their horizons: their musical direction will be “crazier in the future.” They have also picked up a new member (Karina ‘Nina’ Restiani) and are now a four piece.

The first impression of this new direction? The Observasi Sinting single has two pretty sweet and catchy indie pop tracks that are hard to find fault with. Surprisingly, they also recorded an acoustic track that is really likeable. Looking forward to follow this band wherever they take us next.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

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