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

New EP: Holiday Ghosts || Credit Note EP

I’ve been thinking a lot about this essay by Daniel Dylan Wray that was published this week in The Guardian. It’s on a topic I think many of our readers can relate to, that is, the worrisome development that people around us stop listening to new music. Suddenly, your passionate pleas to get friends to check out that new favorite band of yours are met with indifference. Your friends rather discuss what tv shows they’ve been watching of late.

The phenomenon of musical paralysis was one of our main reasons for starting Add To Wantlist, almost like a call to arms. There is just way too much good music out there to simply ignore. And if there is one band able to reignite people’s enthusiasm for musical discovery, it’s Holiday Ghosts from the Southern coast of the UK. Their songs are delightfully ramshackle, non-pretentious and have a spontaneity that induces a positive mood within seconds. Their new four song EP (Credit Note) is no exception. Ten seconds in and you’ll feel the corners of your mouth rising, you heart beating faster, the dark clouds above your head parting and the weight of your shoulders getting lighter. If you need prove that it never gets old listening to new music, listen to Holiday Ghosts.

The Credit Note EP is out now on double 7″ (with two vinyl only bonus tracks) through Fat Cat Records.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Fat Cat

New album: Whimsyland || Whimsyland

I don’t like theme parks. Still, as someone who played simulation games like Theme Park and Rollercoaster Tycoon, I’m no stranger to the unadulterated fun of building your own theme park. Here is Chadd Derkins though, taking the concept to a whole other level by imagineering a concept album about the fictional Whimsyland. Derkins uses a simple and slightly outrageous formula: Theme Park + pop punk + Summer which he multiplies by getting a lot of his musician friends involved. The bottom line? Max fun. Whimsyland is a celebration of the inner kid in all of us and reignites that spark of discovering pop punk for the first time.

Envisioning this concept is one, but making it into something great is something else. You’ve got to appreciate Derkins for that alone. But I think I appreciate Derkins’  generosity the most. Whimsyland could have been a maniacal solo ego document. Instead, Derkins involved close to 50 of his musician friends to make the record happen. Whimsyland is very much a pop punk (dirt pop!) fest, and that wide cast of characters gives each and every song a distinct sound or vibe. Simmering underneath these songs are bonds of friendship and a shared love for pop punk.

Send this record to all of your pop punk friends and challenge them to discover the most musicians involved in the project. To get you started, here are some bands that are involved: The Ergs, Copyrights, Science Police, Dear Landlord, Big Eyes, The Steinways, House Boat, Short Attention, For Science, Full Of Fancy, Dirt Bike Annie, Triple Bypass!, J. Prozac, Weird Skin, The Soviettes, Sea Lilies, Lipstick Homicide, Jabber, The Kung Fu Monkeys, and The Young Rochelles. Find the complete list of contributing artists by clicking on the individual tracks on Bloated Kat’s Bandcamp page.

True story, I hate Theme Parks, but I can’t wait to visit Whimsyland again.




Whimsyland will be available on CD and vinyl through Bloated Kat, Worst Idea, and Waterslide Records – pre-order now, this one will go fast.
Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Bloated Kat

New album: The Paranoid Style || For Executive Meeting

This summer, Paul Gorman‘s enhanced / revised third edition of The Wild World of Barney Bubbles was published, a wantlist-worthy book with well-known / remarkable Pop Art record sleeves and posters. The influence of the late graphic artist is further evidenced by The Paranoid Style’s new full-length album kicking off with a tribute to the master: “I literally kick the stereo when things get dark // It’s Carlene’s C’est C Bon LP // And Bubbles did the artwork.” It’s not the only more or less familiar name to pop up here: singer-songwriter Elizabeth Nelson’s stories on For Executive Meeting also feature Steve Cropper, P.G. Wodehouse, Doug Yule, Jack Kerouac and John Prine, and she mourns the loss of David Berman and Adam Schlesinger. The intelligent lyrics are supported by equally sophisticated music, in which a jumble of pop, rock and country influences are forged into a whole – you can also consider the twelve songs here as Pop Art – that continues to fascinate.

“This is an album about the dignity of labor and the courage of workers who refuse to give up hope, even as the modern world arrays itself ever more exploitatively against their interests.” – Elizabeth Nelson

The Paranoid Style, named after Richard Hofstadter’s observations on 1964 American politics, is a savvy rock band from Washington, D.C., featuring Elizabeth Nelson (vocals), Timothy Bracy (guitar), William Corrin (bass, harmonica), Jon Langmead (drums) and William Matheny (guitar, keyboards). Patterson Hood (Drive-By Truckers) is a guest on I’d Bet My Land And Titles. After eleven originals, the album closes with a cover of Rosanne Cash’s Seven Year Ache.

For Executive Meeting is out now digitally and on vinyl LP through Bar/None Records.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Bar/None Records || Discogs

New album: Dune Rats || Real Rare Whale

How does Australian garage punk trio Dune Rats manage to write catchy hit after catchy hit every time? On their fourth full-length album Real Rare Whale, Danny Beausa (guitar, vocals), BC Michaels (drums) and Brett Jansch (bass) bring ten new bangers that again will put a big smile on your face. Their goal was to create an album that was opposite to the negativity going on in the world (‘From the first track to the last, each song was written with the sole purpose of being the “other songs” to what we were hearing on the radio. It’s hands down the fastest, funnest and most insane album we’ve ever recorded (…), that will be epic to play live to thousands of sweaty bodies having a great time.’) and they succeeded. You can dance carefree to tunes about the band members’ favorite pastimes (Drink All Day and Skate Or Don’t), skewed stories about nights they can’t remember (What A Memorable Night), changing the world (Space Cadet), couch surfing (Dumb TV), teenage crushes (Pamela Aniston) and dreaming of a better time (the atypical but standout track UP). Party time!

Real Rare Whale is out now on cassette, CD and vinyl LP through BMG / Ratbag Records.

Add to wantlist: Discogs || Dune Rats Store

New EP: HONK || Grand Opening

You probably didn’t know you need “trash can country” in your life, but UK six-piece HONK’s debut EP Grand Opening really makes this day a whole lot more fun. Chip Smitten (vocals, harmonica), Randy ‘Steel’ Harrison (lap steel, vocals), Yeehaw aka Calamity Hane (keys and vocals), The Saint (bass), Woody (guitar, vocals) and The Real Red Foley (drums) play ramshackle country with a punk feel, raw en lo-fi but swinging music that makes you happy. The titles of their first six songs that you hear here – 147 Ways To Say Howdy, Let The Dog See The Rabbit, Lazy River Blues, I’ve Made My Bed (But I’m Heading Out The Door), Rat Party and Sad Wimpy Dreams – not only speak volumes about their lifestyle and environment, but also give a good indication of what you can expect in terms of tunes. Who let the geese out?

Grand Opening is out now digitally and on cassette trough Fuzzkill Records.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

Gimme 5! Peter Matthew Bauer (The Walkmen) Shares 5 Recent Favorites In Anticipation Of His New LP Flowers



With ‘Gimme 5!’ we take a peek into the collections of artists we admire. The premise is simple: artists WE like share five records THEY love.

Depending on your frame of reference and location, The Walkmen were either wildly succesful in the ’00s or criminally underrated. I, for one, am a huge fan of the band’s discography. Unlike other bands, the Walkmen’s demise did not end the musical careers of its individual members. In fact, they continue to gather critical acclaim with their solo (see Hamilton Leithauser, Walter Martin, Paul Maroon, and Peter Matthew Bauer) and band careers (Matt Barrick with Muzz). A close look at all of these projects reveals the diverse talents and musical interests of the individuals that made up the Walkmen.

In anticipation of his third record (Flowers), we reached out to The Walkmen’s bass player Peter Matthew Bauer to provide a Gimme 5 feature. He kindly obliged, and his list is as diverse as I’d hoped it would be. Part of this has to do with his own record label (and management company) Fortune Tellers Music. The Flowers LP, which will be out September 23 on Fortune Tellers – pre-order now) is a reflection of the different artists Bauer works or has worked with. Currently, three teaser singles have been released and none of them sound alike, yet all of them are of interest. Whereas Skulls has hints of The Walkmen, Knife Fighter starts out as an acoustic folk song that grows into something bigger and more exciting along the way. That also applies to Miracles, a gorgeous and particularly powerful track where Bauer constantly builds and releases tension. Continue reading below to hear the song and discover Bauer’s Gimme 5.

New EP: The Special Pillow || Mind Wipe

Hoboken (New Jersey, US) four-piece The Special Pillow are back with a six-track psych folk / baroque pop EP with a 1960’s feel but a 2020’s connection. A slightly estranged but fascinating combination. How different would we listen to this sound without knowing its music history? “An empty slate // A really empty slate // Is really not so rare // And it’s really pretty great” (from title track Mind Wipe). However, we have to deal with first world problems. “Can you prove you’re not a robot? / Click all the boxes with traffic lights” (from Access Denied). Lyrics aren’t even necessary: Organic Panic could have been a forgotten soundtrack hit (love for the Bronx Zoo flamingos featured here!). Dan Cuddy (bass, vocals, moon guitar, keyboard, glockenspiel), Katie Gentile (violin, viola, vocals), Peter Stuart (guitars, vocals, electric sitar) and Eric Marc Cohen (drums, percussion, vocals) know how to surprise and captivate in every way.

Mind Wipe is out now digitally and on CD (self-released). Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: First Rodeo || First Rodeo

Please meet First Rodeo, the songwriting and recording project of Nathan Tucker (Cool Original, Strange Ranger) and Tim Howe (Vista House, The Great American Commute). After sending demos back and forth for a year and a half, the two longtime friends recorded their ideas in a friend’s cliff-side cabin, and voilà: here’s their self-titled debut LP, featuring ten beautiful songs with heartfelt lyrics, an authentic sound and captivating vocals. This is high-quality alt-country/Americana to get through a long road trip or a hot summer night in your backyard – music that quickly enters your heart.

First Rodeo is out now digitally and on cassette trough Forged Artifacts.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: The Gypsy Moths || Following The Races

Boston garage soul outfit The Gypsy Moths is back with a new album of genre- and era-transcending music that will appeal to fans of The Rolling Stones’ R&B and World Party’s alternative rock as well as Ryan Hamilton’s power pop and The Dogmatics’ pub rock. On Following The Races, this awesome band – Steve O’Brien (lead vocals), Chris Conway (guitar, backing vocals, percussion, piano), Phil Thompson (bass, backing vocals), Mark Donahue (keyboards, piano), Matt Miceli (drums, percussion , timpani) and Scott Miller (saxophone, flute, clarinet) – throws a dance party that we can’t get enough of. You get eight upbeat songs full of hooks (the pleasure of playing is splashing), but also a sensitive Xmas tune with bells (Maybe This Christmas) that feels a bit out of place now (let’s save that one for December). Can someone make a video for closing track We Can’t Go Home, with footage from The Gypsy Moths movie (1969)?

Following The Races is out digitally and on CD through Rum Bar Records.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

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