New album: The Drowns || Blacked Out

By / / Garage Rock, Glam Rock, Punk / 1 Comment

Seattle-based punk ‘n’ roll outfit The Drowns released the songs Just The Way She Goes and 1979 Trans Am last November on a year-end list-worthy 7″, and if you haven’t bought it yet, you can now also find these tunes on their new full-length album Blacked Out.

There are twelve tracks in total here, in which gravelly vocals and infectious guitar riffs are wrapped in a coat of street punk and glam rock – that’s what Aaron-Rev Peters, Andy Wylie, Jake Margolis and Simon Short can do, and they do it very well. It’s impossible not to smile when hearing the cover of Chinnichap’s 1973 classic Dynamite (Mud’s Dyna-Mite), a worthy successor to their earlier take on The Sweet’s Ballroom Blitz, but the originals are actually just as appealing and entertaining. For optimal effect, all clichés are pulled out – greasy guitar licks, stomping drums, whoo-hoo gang vocals, handclaps – just the way we like it. After eleven bangers with a big sound, the ballad Born To Die in NYC closes the record, and it doesn’t even feel out of place because it comes from the same hearts.




Blacked Out, produced by Ted Hutt, is out now digitally, on CD and vinyl LP through Pirates Press Records.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Pirates Press

New album: Circles || still.

By / / Alternative Rock, Punk / Leave a Comment

The new LP by Nantes (France) five-piece Circles (established 2017) is something to get excited about. Like the album art for diverges from typical hardcore punk aesthetics, so does the music included on still..

To be fair, it’s impossible not to namedrop the legendary DC label Dischord Records and the mid-’80s Revolution Summer while writing about still. Parts of the record directly bring Dag Nasty, Embrace and Rites Of Spring to mind, but let’s not dwell on these comparisions. Circles have a mind, talent and sound of their own, finding inventive ways to update an all too familiar sound, unhindered by genre expectations or scene social pressure.

For a thirty-minute record, still. has a lot too offer. LP out now at Shield Recordings and Extinction Burst.



Circles recorded the album at Studio des Moulins with Piermo Broggi. Brian McTernan (of course!) did the mixing and mastering still. at Salad Days Studio.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Shield || Extinction Burst

New album: Bloodstains || Bloodstains

By / / Punk / Leave a Comment

Orange County’s Bloodstains released their demo in 2020, followed it up with an EP in 2023, and this week they released their biggest and best release yet, their self-titled debut album.

Bloodstains is a punk rock record, and by the sound of it, the four members (David Espinoza, Vince Catanho, Nick Espinoza, and Cesar Marin) are fans of classic American hardcorepunk. Their sound is kinda dark and agressive, and I think the subtle new wave and postpunk influences work really well and refreshing.


Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Levitation Room || Strange Weather

By / / Garage Rock, Psych / Leave a Comment

At first listen, it doesn’t seem that special what Los Angeles-based neo-psychedelic pop outfit Levitation Room does, but give the ten new songs on their third album Strange Weather a few spins and a different world opens up. It’s a cosmic journey of half an hour that largely sounds dreamy, warm and cinematic – occasionally erupting, but always evoking a feeling of escapism in technicolor images. As they angelically convey in recent single Heaven: “Soft are the strings // That descend down on me.”


Strange Weather is out now digitally, on CD and vinyl LP, through Greenway Records / The Reverberation Appreciation Society.

Add to wantlist: Discogs || Greenway || Levitation

New single: Danny’s Favorites || Silent Movies b/w Turn My Motor On

By / / Garage Rock, Punk / Leave a Comment

Yes! Danny’s Favorites is back! The band created one of my favorite jams of 2020, and it turned out to be the first of many appearances of the mastermind behind the band on our blog. I’m talking about Trevor Lake – we wrote about his work with Sweet Pete, The Shine, and multiple times about Televisionaries. Oh, and don’t miss out his Gimme 5 feature on our site. In short, we are pretty terrible at hiding our fandom of the fellow.

In all of his musical endeavours, Trevor Lake’s talent for writing fast classic rock’n’roll nuggets shines bright. Danny’s Favorites, which is all Trevor Lake on the new recordings, is probably the most punk-oriented. Like his previous tape, the new tunes have a healthy dose of Good Vibrations  – I am referring to the legendary Belfast label, not the Beach Boys song.  But to be fair, Lake does make the B-side of the single, a reworked version of Kirsty MacColl’s Turn My Motor On, sound kinda Beach Boy-ish. The cover is a freakin’ blast, and I would play it more often If I could only stop playing the other song on the single. Silent Movies, what a hit! It’s a Trevor Lake original, a song he wrote in his head while dry locking his basement after a mold outbreak. Skills!


Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Tandoori Knights || 14 Hits That Don’t Quit

By / / Garage Rock, Punk / Leave a Comment

Anyone who knows the work of prolific Canadian musicians King Khan and Bloodshot Bill can estimate what to expect from their joint project Tandoori Knights. Last year they made an individual impression with The Invaders film score and the Psyche-O-Billy LP respectively, but this new album – the follow-up to 2010’s Curry Up – is a different story. In just 19 minutes they bring 14 diverse songs to the table, tunes that are as lo-fi, raw, messy and gritty as they are infectious, humorous, charming and uplifting. Titles such as Bacon is Too Good, Boo, Chkn Blvd, Honey Glazed and Oil Me Up reveal that we shouldn’t take it all too seriously, but that doesn’t detract from the purity and entertainment value. The rattling combinations – in glorious mono – of garage rock, R&B, country, rockabilly and Eastern influences works very well, and the distinctive vocals complement each other wonderfully.

A continuation of the collaboration between these two idiosyncratic and experienced legends, that couldn’t really go wrong, but it might be even more fun than hoped for.




14 Hits That Don’t Quit is out now digitally and on vinyl LP through Rad Girlfriend Records.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Rad Girlfriend

New album: Lazy Sunday || Another Summer

By / / Punk / Leave a Comment

I have a soft spot for poppy indie punk – a mix of energetic indie rock and ’90s pop punk. Portland quartet Lazy Sunday know exactly where to hit me with their debut LP Another Summer. The eleven songs on the LP are concise, melancholic, and often played with a contagious energy. Everything sounds fresh and crisp, and the fuzzy guitars, tight but loose drumming, and sweet (often dual) vocals complement each other nicely.

Long Con, Flutter, and Differentiation are some of my favorite songs on Another Summer. Peaches is another, and its “I’m not bitter, just a bit sad” is just one example of how Lazy Sunday can build a great tune over a simple line. It is easy to see why Salinas records picked up this band, as DNA tests might uncover them as younger siblings of fellow Salinas bands Radiator Hospital, Joyride!.

The super likeable Another Summer is out now on LP.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Discogs

New single: Les Dynamites || Uzi Kinrot / Sea Gull

By / / Surf Music / Leave a Comment

Ready for some Middle Eastern grooves? Jerusalem, Israel-based trio Les Dynamites return with a 45 featuring two funky instrumentals that sound happier than you probably would expect. Roy Bar-Tour (guitar, keys), Atzmon Avrahami (drums) and Adam Yodfat (sousaphone) mix Mediterranean and classic surf rock with Balkan and Yemini folk, a sound you don’t hear too often. On A-side Uzi Kinrot, named after guitarists Uzi Feinerman and Uri Kinrot from surf rock outfit Boom Pam, you’ll hear earworm melodies plus infectious handclaps and traditional shouts. B-side Sea Gull is a successful, more surfy tribute to Greek-Israeli guitarist/singer Aris San, just as exciting. If political leaders were half as unifying as these music, the world would be a better place.

Uzi Kinrot b/w Sea Gull, produced by Uri Wertheim, is out now digitally and on 7″ vinyl through Batov Records.

Add to want list: Bandcamp

New single The Courettes || Shake!

By / / Funk & Soul, Garage Rock / Leave a Comment

Not to be confused with the cover of Taylor Swift’s Shake It Off, with which the fabulous Courettes ended last year, here’s their new (original) single Shake!, which is actually a lot more electrifying. Flávia & Martin Couri already have quite a few killer songs to their name, but this untamed floor filler is their biggest hit to date – irresistibly fuzzy, groovy and catchy. It’s a promising taster of the next album by the Brazilian/Danish garage rock duo, the follow-up to 2021’s Back In Mono, expected next September. B-side You Woo Me, not available online yet (update March 1: it’s here, and it’s pretty amazing), is exclusive to this 45. Cool stuff!


Shake! c/w You Woo Me, produced by Søren Christensen & The Courettes, is out now digitally and on gold colored 7″ vinyl through Damaged Goods Records.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Damaged Goods

New album: Gentlemen Rogues || Surface Noise

By / / Alternative Rock, Indie Rock, Power Pop / Leave a Comment

Finally, the wait is over. Surface Noise, the new Gentlemen Rogues LP has arrived! The band from Austin has never been the most prolific, and the gaps between releases are pretty huge. Perhaps this is due to work, family and other life demands, but I like to believe it is because they spent so much time sharpening their hooks and making small adjustments to craft their songs to perfection. The attention to detail sure would explain the impressive strength of Surface Noise.

Surface Noise features two old favorites in Do The Resurrection! and Francy, but it’s mostly new tunes, each one another shot to the heart of aggressive guitar pop enthusiasts. Songs like Half Empty, Half Fool and Never The Bride will have you tapping your foot and nodding along in no time. That also applies to the standout Involuntary Solitary with its infectious hooks and clever wordplay. Gentlemen Rogues are bit like the Hold Steady in the sense that they have a huge rockin’ sound with the vocals and guitars taking a prominent spot in the mix. But whereas Craig Finn and his buddies build on a foundation of classic rock, the roots of Gentlemen Rogue lies more in ‘90’s altpop reminiscent of Superdrag – or Lemonheads on steroids.

I guess what I’m trying to say, this is a kickass record. Surface Noise is out now at Double Helix Records and Shifting Sounds.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Discogs

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