New single: Miesha And The Spanks || I Can’t Wait / Dig Me Out

Miesha And The Spanks are a duo from Calgary – Treaty 7 Territory to be precise, but more on that later. Miesha refers to Miesha Louie, The Spanks are a nod to the revolving cast of drummers that supported her on stage. Her latest and longest partner is Sean Hamilton. The two play a powerful brand of soulful garage rock that sounds kinda huge and full of hit potential. The first time I heard I Can’t Wait, I was blown away by Miesha’s voice. The song is super catchy and honestly should be a major hit. If you’re like me, this song alone makes you want to buy this 7″ asap.

The flipside Dig Me Out again showcases Miesha’s amazing voice, but is  much darker and emotionally heavy. The song is a tribute to the lost children of North American residential schools. Those schools aimed to “kill the Indian in the child”, and while this is bad enough in itself, those schools did much much worse than that. The discovery of 215 unmarked graves in the former Kamloops Indian Residential School is just one of many examples. These atrocities are unfathomable and hard to think about, and yet it important to learn about these dark facts*. Miesha And The Spanks show that music can be a powerful tool to raise awareness. Make sure to watch the video to the song.

Buy this 7″ at Reta Records.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

* The Kuper Island podcast (CBC) was hard to listen to, but taught me a lot about these residential schools

New EP: Swansea Sound || Music Lover

Obviously we really liked Swansea Sound’s 2021 Live At The Rum Puncheon LP, with which band members Amelia Fletcher (vocals), Hue Williams (vocals), Rob Pursey (guitar, bass) and Ian Button drums) also indicated not to be a big fan of corporate business. So I was somewhat surprised that they release their new 3-track EP on a Christmas card, featuring notorious faces from the dark side in the accompanying video. When I then heard the sarcastic lyrics, it became clear how we should see this. The brand new lead single Music Lover is a short, punk pop tribute to Daniel Ek, the co-founder and CEO of Spotify who earns much more more from music than the artists on his platform. The song is a hell of an earworm, which other musicians will sing along loudly. The CD also includes Happy Christmas To Me and Cheap Trick cover Merry Christmas Darlings, previously released on a limited edition 7″ single that sold out quickly last Christmas.

The Music Lover EP is out today digitally and on CD in a Christmas card through Skep Wax. You can have the card signed by the band, or left blank so you can write your own festive messages to loved ones.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

PS  Swansea Sound will release a new full-length in 2023!

New album: Farewell Horizontal || Tales Of Woah

This is the third time we we write about Melbourne duo Farewell Horizontal. In part, this is due to the prolific nature of the band. Anytime they have recorded ten songs they are content with, they drop a new album. Tales Of Woah is the latest – their fourth in two years. There are a lot of reasons why I feel Farewell Horizontal needs more listeners. Their integrity is one: the band prefers an old school website over social media and donate about all of their proceeds to good cases. Their sense of humour’s another. The band’s blogpost with track-by-track commentary on the new album is recommended reading, full of lines like: “My mum is from rural Ireland. Long story short, I have an accordion.”

But I don’t just write about this band because they are good and funny human beings. Their music is simply too good to ignore. Tales Of Woah is 28 minutes of indie rock goodness. Ten mostly upbeat songs “about existential crises, old computer games, cynicism, voyeur landlords, sellouts, having a cold in summer, the struggles of the DIY artist, and arseholes who live by the sea.” That last part refers to Brighton’s Full Of Arseholes, the first of several standouts on the record. My favorite part of the record is the hit dense sequence of The System Works, I Don’t Understand Anything Anymore and Never Give Up (Unless You’re an Asshole).

According to the band, Tales Of Woah is their best record yet. They are not wrong.




Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: MICH || Nuts

Amsterdam-based indie pop band MICH is back with their third album, simply called Nuts, just as short and sweet as their tunes. In less than half an hour, the five-piece delivers twelve bouncy songs with cheerful melodies and gloomy lyrics. The music has a melancholic 1980s feel, with rhythmic synths, jangly guitars and dreamy vocals. The sound is more summery than autumnal, but I guess this would also work very well at an illegal dance party in a barely lit warehouse in the middle of the night.

Nuts is out now digitally, on CD and vinyl LP (picture disc) through Excelsior Recordings. On the record you hear Pieter Janssen aka Piet Parra (you also may recognize his artwork), Sofie Winterson, Bastiaan Bosma (Aux Raus), Rimer London and Mick Johan. Live on stage the band consists of Sofie Winterson, Bastiaan Bosma, Mick Johan, Benny Komala, Marc Kniphorst and Barend Brieffies.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Discogs || Excelsior

New single: The Kimberly Steaks / No Matter || Split

The split 7″ is a winning concept, especially when both bands rock and are trying to outdo each other in writing the best songs. This Kimberley Steaks (Scotland) & No Matter (N.Ireland) split single is a bit like a Federer – Nadal matchup: Both play a different style, yet both hit hard and are evenly matched, making the audience the ultimate winners regardless of the outcome. To be sure, both bands play poppy punk rock, but The Kimberley Steaks sound like early Green Day, while No Matter sound more like a mix of The Copyrights and Teen Idols.

The single (out now through Brassneck Records) features 2 new songs from each band. The digital version includes 2 bonus tracks with each band covering a song by the other.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Brassneck

New album: Marlovers || Antartica

Spanish twee pop outfit Marlovers cite Teenage Fanclub, Fountains of Wayne, Belle and Sebastian, The New Pornographers and Alvvays as their examples – excellent influences – nevertheless they still have a sound of their own. The band has been active since 2005, but their new full-length album Antartica is their freshest sounding output to date. Although the album title suggests otherwise, you’ll hear twelve sympathetic jangle pop songs with summery melodies and bright vocals.

Antartica is out now digitally and on CD via RockCD Records. The band consists of Marina Mullor (vocals), Simó Reus (guitar), Guillermo Bauza (bass, keys, electric drums, some guitar) and Carlos Gonzalez (drums), the new LP also features Alberto Santolaria (vocals, guitar).

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Tamara Luonto || Honeymoon

The Finnish four piece Tamara Luonto started around five years ago, steadily building a live reputation in their homeland. This week, they dropped their 8-song debut LP Honeymoon (on Humu Records / Hillotehdas / Lempi & Sylvi Discs), and it’s an extremely fun listen, even though I truly have no idea what these songs are about. Tamara Luonto operate on a continuum between punk and indiepop, constantly incorporating influences from powerpop, garage and rock’n’roll. Their songs are charming and full of pop. If you liked that Teini-Pää LP we wrote about a while back, make sure to check this one out as well, or vice versa.


Add to wantlist: Humu Records

New album: The Beatpack || All Good things (Turn To Dust)

Over 30 years ago, UK garage rock band The Beatpack conquered Europe with untamed live shows and a few Billy Childish produced releases, including debut album Could You Walk On Water ‎(1991), then suddenly they disappeared from the scene. They’ve now been back at the front for 10 years, and their sophomore LP All Good Things (Turn to Dust) is finally here. Hugh Dellar (vocals, harmonica, percussion), Simon Harvey (guitars, vocals, percussion), Will Bourton (bass, percussion, vocals, autoharp, thumb piano) en Charlie Gurney (drums, percussion, vocals) haven’t lost any energy. Assisted by John Cheeseman (piano, organ, harpsichord, harmonium, Wurlitzer), Terry Edwards (saxophone, trumpet, flugelhorn), Sam Enthoven (theremin), and Adrian Tuft-Smith & Louis Wiggett (backing vocals) they recorded 12 new songs that are short but powerful and as raw as they are surprising. This is raucous rock ‘n’ roll as it was played in the 60’s, with splashes of punk, R&B, blues and psych added. Not dusty at all.

All Good things (Turn To Dust) is out now digitally and on vinyl LP through Spinout Nuggets.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Spinout Productons

New album: New Buck Biloxi || Cellular Automaton

I had no problem with the old Buck Biloxi, but I have to admit that the New Buck Biloxi (aka Robert Craig) sound particularly sharp on their new record Cellular Automaton – out now through Total Punk Records. Cellular Automaton is 16 minutes of primitive punk, but it’s less thrashy and more accessible than the old Buck Biloxi. It’s also more of a team effort compared to the solo at home recordings of the old Buck Biloxi. The self-critical Craig has this to say in Paperface Zine: “This might be my first record that I don’t dislike at all, but I had to re-do it a bunch of times to get it that way.”

I agree that the more diligent approach worked out well. Plenty of people will not dislike this record enough to put it on their wantlists.




Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Sharp Class || Tales Of A Teenage Mind

A while back we covered a two song single by Midland (UK) mod revivalists Sharp Class. The band’s debut album Tales Of A Teenage Mind is out now, and shows a band ready to breathe new life in the mod movement. This record should come with a warning, because in no time you’ll be getting a haircut and start browsing for Lambretta scooters, new boots, and slim fit suits.

The three lads in Sharp Class cite power pop, soul, rock’n’roll and punk as influences, and it’s impossible not to refer to The Jam while listening to Sharp Class – although The Clash and more recent bands like The Tranzmitors and Fashionism come to mind as well. The band’s sound may sound all too familiar for some, but I see that as one of Sharp Class’ strengths. The ten songs on Tales Of A Teenage Mind are so well executed you have to be a real cynic to dismiss the jolt of excitement Sharp Class brings to the table.




Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

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