New single: Wild Billy Childish & The Chatham Singers || Troubled Mind / Ranscombe Farm Boogie

By / / Blues & Roots, Garage Rock / 1 Comment

British artist Billy Childish regularly recycles his own work, and this time Troubled Mind – The Buff Medways version (2002) can be found on several best of compilations, but with Thee Headcoats he recorded it more than ten years earlier, as Troubled Times – gets an extra life, as the A-side of a new 45 from Spinout Nuggets. The gritty blues sauce, with howling harmonica and guitars, works great here. Flipside Ranscombe Farm Boogie is an amazing, instrumental blues stomper, taken from the Kings Of The Medway Delta LP (2020), but even better in this format.

Troubled Mind b/w Ranscombe Farm Boogie, produced by William ‘Spook’ Loveday, is out now digitally and on vinyl 7″ through Spinout Nuggets. Featuring Billy Childish (vocals, guitar), Julie Hamper (bass), ‘Bludy’ Jim Riley (harp) and Wolf Howard (drums).

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Spinout Productions

New EP: Terra Twin || Head Leaking

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

A few months ago British art rock outfit Terra Twin captured our hearts with enchanting shows at the Left of the Dial festival, their debut EP Head Leaking reinforces the feeling that Maxim Baldry (vocals, guitar), Lewis Spear (guitar), Jonny Thwaites (bass) and Alex Wadstein (drums) have a lot to offer. Dark but compelling indie rock, that is. The five tracks here are all hits, with memorable hooks and earworm choruses, which become even more striking thanks to some entertaining videos.


Head Leaking, produced by James Dring, is out now on the streaming services (self-released).

New album: Sick Fizz || The Future Is The Pits

By / / Garage Rock, Glam Rock / Leave a Comment

Sick Fizz self-describe as “acid flavoured bubblegum,” and while I can’t speak from personal experience, the band’s sound sure is as weird and trippy as it is sweet and sticky. The latest Sick Fizz LP The Future Is The Pits has got me wondering if it is a lost ‘70’s side project by Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss produced by Jerry Kasenetz and Jeff Katz.

But no, this animated take on glamstomp’n’roll comes out of Bathurst, Australia and is created by three musicians that go by the comic book names Foxy Von Fizz, Fa La Fizz and Dave Javu. Clearly, they do not take themselves too seriously, but they sure know how to put the fun in rock’n’roll. If you’re are looking for a good time and if you like your bubblegum with balls, ask for Sick Fizz at your local record dealer.

The Future Is The Pits is the Sick Fizz’s second LP. It is out now on Dead Beat Records.




Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Dead Beat Records

New EP: Helko Spillovey || I Think Of You Too Much

By / / Indie Rock / Leave a Comment

Helko Spillovey is a cool name for a band. And while it sounds like a fictional character from a classic novel, the name actually refers to a distant relative of drummer Dylan Bender, who is one of the founding members of the North Dakota quartet. The other members are Ben Braunagel (vocals, guitar), Sky Froelich (guitar) and Ansen Boehm (bass).

Helko Spillovey’s first cut is a five-song EP called I Think Of You Too Much. Helko Spillovey present themselves as a slacker indie rock outfit with folk and emo tendencies and play that style really well. Their debut EP has several songs screaming for your attention – Elevator and Cheap Trick are my personal favorites.

Pretty sure this won’t be the last we hear from this band. I’ll be listening!



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Chayse Porter || Endless / Boundless

By / / Indie Pop, Jangle Pop, Psych / Leave a Comment

Birmingham (US)-based singer-songwriter Chayse Porter has just released his new (third) album, entitled Endless / Boundless. Its nine songs do not offer endless boogie or boundless chaos, the lyrics of the title track reveal a more poetic nature: “When the memories start cascading down // Where can you run to reach higher ground // Whisper softly, your prayer to the sky // Erase them all, just leave them to die.” It’s all about diverse indie folk/pop sprinkled with an easily digestible psych sauce. Alienating at times, but always warm, hazy and atmospheric, with jangly guitars, endearing vocals and melancholic melodies.



Endless / Boundless, composed & produced by Chayse Porter, is out now digitally and on vinyl LP through Earth Libraries.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Earth Libraries

New album: False Tracks || Hymn For Terror

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

Jayme Guokas, Mike Hammel, Greg Pavlovcak and Jamie Wilson are veterans of the underground music scene in Philadelphia and DC. You may know them from their work in bands like The Ropers, Lilys, The Snow Fairies, Ex Friends, The Saturday People, Pink Skull, Royal Shoals, Last Wave and The Vexers. Since 2016, they have united under the moniker False Tracks, culminating in their latest achievement – an ambitious and adventurous 14-song LP called Hymn For Terror.

Hymn For Terror sounds like False Tracks wants you to rediscover everything they feel was great about 80s music. While it can be classified as a rock record, each track unveils a distinct focus, accentuating various subgenres of guitar music, including new wave, post-punk, and punk rock. This approach yields a gratifying listening experience, with a healthy balance between easy-to-like songs and more challenging growers. It’s one of those records where your favorite song changes every time you play it. Right now, I’m hooked on the first three tracks, and Taste The Wall and Flooding Of The Nile are challengers. False Tracks’ version of The Kinks’ This Time Tomorrow is another highlight.

Hymn For Terror is out now through Strange Mono.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Strange Mono

New album: New album: His Lordship || His Lordship

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

Now WTF is going on here? How is it possible for two veteran musicians to make such loud noise with so many ideas and so much energy? We’re talking about His Lordship, the new side-project from James Walbourne (The Pretenders, The Pogues, The Rails) and Kristoffer Sonne (Chrissie Hynde, Willie Nelson), and their explosive self-titled debut LP under this moniker. Within half an hour we are presented with twelve diverse but always sharp and to the point songs, which sound like dirty garage punk, gritty alt-rock or wild rockabilly, but in a well-thought-out way for optimal impact. Breathtaking.


His Lordship’s self-titled album, co-produced by the band with David Wrench, is out now on CD and vinyl LP via Psychonaut Sounds.

Add to wantlist: Official Merchandise Store

New album: Rick N The Sickos || RNTS

By / / Punk / Leave a Comment

Straight from Brisbane, here to pierce your ears, bruise your ego and compromise your morals, are Rick N The Sickos. You may have seen the three members of the band perform with their other/previous projects The Chats, The Unknowns and Headlice. As Rick N The Sickos, they concord a classic budget garage punk sound.

The band recorded the 14-song RNTS late 2021 in the midst of the pandemic, and it’s not a stretch to see the project as three friends blowing off steam. The track list reads like the P.M.R.C.’s worst nightmare, while the songs are classic budget punk, with a generous dose of garage punk. RNTS may find its origin in pandemic frustration and boredom, it sounds loud and pissed off. But its off the cuff vibe is appealing, and honestly, it also is pretty funny.

All in all, a pretty kickass record if you like your punk filthy! RNTS is out now on Bargain Bin Records.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: The Umbrellas || Fairweather Friend

By / / Indie Pop, Jangle Pop / Leave a Comment

2021 was a banner year for jangle pop. That year, Quivers, Telephone Numbers, Massage, Chime School, The Laughing Chimes and The Umbrellas all made my favorite albums list. I am hoping that Fairweather Friend, which is the second album by The Umbrellas (San Francisco), marks the start of another tremendous year for underground pop. I know I am easily hyped up when it comes to great new music, but after a couple of spins it doesn’t feel hyperbolic at all to dub this one a modern classic.

Fairweather Friend sounds like a leap forward from their already pretty stellar self-titled debut. The record contains a lot of familiar ingredients that made past classics in this scene successful. And while you can point to that sense of recognition, you likely will do so without cynicism. Never a band shy of talents, perhaps the biggest talent of The Umbrellas is to make their sound feel original: despite all the familiar touchstones in their music, you feel like The Umbrellas are neither copy pasting nor plagiarizing. But, the band is also original in the sense that their sound is inventive and playful. Take a song like Toe The Line, with its wonderful juxtaposition of Beat Happening-like indie pop and frantic punk drumming. Gaming is another song where The Umbrellas speed things up, this time with supersweet vocals. Those same vocals shine bright in the unabashed pop hit Goodbye. Regardless of The Umbrellas playing it fast or slow, Fairweather Friend is too darn catchy to resist. The Umbrellas are not just playing the game, they’re owning it.

Fairweather Friend is out now through Slumberland and Tough Love Records.




Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Discogs

New album: Emperor Penguin || Gentlemen Thieves

By / / Power Pop / Leave a Comment

“I tried to write a song to tell you how I feel // But all my rhymes went wrong, in verses that reveal // Classical references are my Achilles heel.” Those are the telling first lines from I Wouldn’t Put It Like That, one of the standout tracks from the new full-length album by British power pop outfit Emperor Penguin. This time the four musicians have cast themselves in the role of Gentlemen Thieves: Neil Christie (vocals, guitar, keyboards) as the Cracksman, J.T. (vocals, bass, guitar, keyboards) as the German, Nigel Winfield (vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards) as Stiletto, and Richard Wilson (drums) as Springheel the Illusionist. An appealing idea that works out well in the twelve original songs here (all accompanied by nice videos), with stories inspired by various causes such as the Mesopotamian terracotta Burney Relief (What​’​s the Worst That Could Happen?) and the French nursery rhyme Frère Jacques aka Brother John (Sonnez les Matines). This is a dynamic, powerful and uplifting LP, full of hooks and fun, at times reminiscent of Elvis Costello. Pop art.




Gentlemen Thieves, produced by Jamie McEvoy, is out now digitally and on CD through Kool Kat Musik. Also featuring Lisa Mychols and Charlotte Guy on selected tracks.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Kool Kat

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