New album: Joey Joesph || Do You Bongo?

Joey Cook used to play in psych indie pop outfit Pomegranates, but currently records and performs as Joey Joesph – which I keep reading as Joey Joseph. Despite several releases preceding Do You Bongo, it is the first post-Promegranates work I’ve heard from Cook/Joesph. The record is hard to overlook though. Opener Bellezebub immediately grabs your attention with its Warm Sodaesque retro powerpop. From there on out, Do You Bongo is a delightfully weird mesh (mess?) of sounds and styles. There is proto punk, glam, power pop, synth pop, rock’n’roll, psychelic rock, and new wave. Psychedelic Baby Magazine sums it up as “rock & roll through a lens shaped by Saturday morning cartoons, half-remembered AM pop, and home-recording hero worship,” and that makes totally sense once you’ve listened to the record.

As such, you probably won’t like all of the songs on Do You Bongo, but the gems here (like Bellezebub, Little Brother, Rock & Roll Music, I Feel Nervous and Bongo 3) make the trip worthwhile nonetheless. Cool concept, cool execution.


Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Pinoles || Just Wanna

And now for something completely…similar? Pinoles (Pinole, California) aren’t trying to put square pegs in round holes on their debut album Just Wanna. Expect pop punk that makes up what it lacks in originality with fun and infectious energy. The influences of Pinoles are easy to guess, but what I like most about their new record is the early Green Day meets Riverdales vibe.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Liquid Mike || A Beer Can And A Bouquet

Back to Marquette we go! Liquid Mike returns with their third full-length, and it’s everything I could’ve hoped for. Liquid Mike is fronted by Mike Maple who frequently pops up on our site with his own music and contributions in the work of the extremely talented circle of musicians from Marquette. Cody Marecek of Yard Waste (drums), Monica Nelson (synths), and Raymond Little (guitar – make sure to check out his excellent solo record) round out Liquid Mike on A Beer Can And A Bouquet.

Liquid Mike have kept all the good parts about their previous record Stuntman. They still very much sound like a punchy and energetic indie rock/powerpop hybrid in the vein of Midtown, Piebald, Laika’s Orbit and The Promise Ring. Liquid Mike pour their heart and soul in these nine new recordings. The band calls it their most collaborative effort to date and had a blast creating the record. It shows. Songs like Lease Agreement, Elmer’s Glue, Snoozer, I’ll Get Back To You all stand out, and the quality throughout the record is consistently strong. There is a bittersweet element to the record though. Drummer Cody Marecek moved away recently, and the future of the band is unclear. Will it mark the end of Liquid Mike? Will they continue with a different drummer? Will the band become a recording project exclusively?

The final song on A Beer Can And A Bouquet is called There’s No Rock and Roll No More // Death to Liquid Mike. It starts out as a melancholic campfire acoustic track, and finishes as a loud instrumental track. The song kinda hurts and hits hard, even though I’m sure the people involved with or without each other will continue to create music worth our ears. I cross my fingers that this is not the last thing we hear from Liquid Mike. But whatever happens, thanx for burning bright Liquid Mike!




Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Norm Archer || Flying Cloud Terrace

Will Pearce is a home recording enthusiast from Portsmouth (UK). He releases his solo music under the name Norm Archer, and Flying Cloud Terrace is a collection of songs he’s been working on since 2017. Pearce does everything on the record, helped out only on drums on some of the tracks by Ben Whyntie.

I’ve been sitting on this record for a while, but somehow keep returning to it. Each time I find new elements about the record to like, again surprised how good these songs are. You can tell that Pearce likes to take his time with his music. They do not sound like first take lo-fi home demos at all, but like accomplished full band recordings. The songs are well constructed, and Pearce clearly knows his way around hooks and delayed rewards. And as songs like South Parade, A Human Not, and The Seatbelt Won’t Release show, Pearce has a knack for writing memorable melodies.

If you are looking for a quality powerpop/britpop record, give this one a try.




Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New EP: Electric Pets || Rhinoceros EP

Please meet UK four-piece Electric Pets, who may well become new indie darlings now their four-track debut Rhinoceros EP is released. Their name and cover art already reveals this is a band that gives well-known images and music from the past an electrifying modern jacket. Emma Buckley (vocals), Phil Wagg (guitars), Pete Darrington (bass) and Adam Grace (drums) forge influences from bluesy garage rock and folky indie pop, 60’s surf and girl groups, soul and electronica, into a post-rock sound that is made for 2022. The musicians claim to be a sleazy dive-bar band, but with that they do themselves short, because these songs – idiosyncratic but appealing, both hard and soft, versatile but unambiguous – are simply too good.

Rhinoceros EP is out now digitally and on CD through Reckless Yes. Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Dogbreth || Believe This Rain

Believe This Rain is album #5 by Dogbreth if I’m not mistaken. Every two or three years, Dogbreth releases a record, and the sound of the band has evolved constantly which has been a joy to witness. On their latest record, Dogbreth have constructed a house build from equal parts Big Staresque powerpop and ’00s indie rock, incorporating some subtle americana elements. Believe This Rain is inviting and makes you feel at home right away. It’s the kind of record that you can enjoy on a superficial level, but has sufficient layers to draw in more attentive listeners.

Believe This Rain sounds like the kind of record that could have been huge two decades ago. It’s a diverse record that contains subdued acoustic guitar pop, laid back indie rock, and sweet powerpop, and I’m not skipping any of the songs. Out now through Phat ‘n’ Phunky.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Phat n Phunky

“New” album: The Frowning Clouds || Gospel Sounds & More from the Church of Scientology

In 2010, Australian folk-rock / pop-psych band The Frowning Clouds released their debut album Listen Closelier, which was followed in 2013 by the Whereabouts LP. However, the band had recorded more songs at the time, 8 of which ended up on Gospel Sound From The Church Of Scientology, a European tour cassette in a (quickly sold out) edition of only 100 copies. Good news: that tour tape, two tracks that never actually came out and a handful of non-album singles have now been brought together on the LP Gospel Sounds & More from the Church of Scientology – a total of 14 original tunes from the period 2011/2012. This 60’s inspired garage rock sounds just as contemporary, pure and delightful as the popular work of bands like The Growlers, Night Beats, The Murlocs and The Limiñanas – hopefully it will earn The Frowning Clouds just as much appreciation, that would be well deserved.

Gospel Sounds & More from the Church of Scientology is out now digitally and on vinyl LP through Anti Fade Records.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Discogs

New album: Les Rencards || Les Rencards

For those who can’t get enough of 60’s inspired garage rock, here’s the self-titled debut album by Brazilian / Catalan / French four-piece Les Rencards. Just because it’s their first joint record doesn’t mean that Merli Marlowe (vocals), Marc Argenter (guitar), Gabriel Camargo Nogueira (bass) and Ian Kay (drums) are new to the fuzz front – they’ve already performed in Les Mortettes, Els Trons, Thee Grandaddies, Flashback V, The 54321s, Missing Souls and The Cavemen Five, amongst other bands. You’ll hear 11 pretty cool “yé-yé punk” songs, sung in French, with all the elements that make this genre timeless (the raw sound,  the primitive beat and nice guitar outbursts), but actually a little more than that (the enthralling chants and movements of the front woman, the functional use of organ, saxophone and gang vocals). Put on your dancing shoes and let yourself be enchanted.

Les Rencards is out now digitally and on vinyl LP trough Groovie Records / Marlowe Records.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

Catching Up To Four Releases You’ve Probably Already Heard

We don’t usually do this, but the Summer break makes it hard to catch up. In this post I share some releases which I’d love to write about more extensively, but given our backlog and the fact that these releases already received significant attention elsewhere (and deservedly so), I’m sharing them in a quick post. You’ve probably already came across these records, but if not, enjoy!

New EP: Torneo De Verano || Aunque Todo Esté Roto

On route to catching up to all of the great music that was released during our Summer break, let’s make a quick detour to Rosario (Argentina) for some sunny, punky and synthy indie pop. Torneo De Verano are a four-piece who, judged by their new four-song Aunque Todo Esté Roto EP,  like their music short, sweet and upbeat. The EP follows their 2020 debut album Poemas De Barrio and their 2018 self-titled EP. It features three originals – all fun headboppers, and a cover of a Valentin Y Los Volcanes song.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

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