Dusted || The 10 Best Cover Songs Of September 2021

By / / Alternative Rock, Funk & Soul, Garage Rock, Indie Rock, Power Pop, Punk / 1 Comment

Not all new music is really new, as many artists occasionally play a song they know from one of their heroes. Often they are songs that deserve to be dusted and polished, simply because they should not be forgotten. Some of those cover versions are so good, we’d like to put a spotlight on them. Chosen from a wide range, here are – in alphabetical order – ten of our favorite covers from last month – links to the pages where you can add them to your wantlist included.

96 Tears || Cover: Oort Clod || Original: ? & The Mysterians
Manchester-based five-piece Oort Clod released a nice 12-track split EP (together with Priceless Bodies), on which the 1966 garage rock single is doused with a post-punk sauce. Out on cassette through Alphaville Records.

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New album: The Mother Gurus || The Mother Gurus LP

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

The Mother Gurus is a trio from Melbourne, a city that harbours an infinite number of bands. Last week, the band released their 8-song self-titled debut album. And I have to say, I’m intrigued. The Mother Gurus mixes alternative ’90s guitars with the vocal harmonies of the ’60s and the psychedelic rock of the ’70s. It’s all there in the standout album opener As Far As I Can Tell (Papercut), which sounds like The Resonars playing early Nirvana or vice versa.

The record is not available in full on Bandcamp (yet?), so below is an earlier version of the song. You can stream the album in full on Spotify and the other streaming sites I guess. Anyhow, The Mother Gurus provide a cool mashup of styles that work surprisingly well.



Add to wantlist? Nothing to by, just stream it for now.

New album: Megadose || Wild & Free

By / / Indie Rock / 1 Comment

Megadose are from the US state of Washington and feature Stephen Steen (vocals, guitars, organ), along with James Kasinger (drums), Laura Seniow (bass) and Mikey Ferrario (guitar). Their debut LP Wild & Free is produced by Trevor Spencer, who not only gave a the record a crisp, airy and all around great sound, he also provided backing vocals and additional instrumentation (melotron & keyboard). Musically, Megadose put their own spin on ’00s indierock which takes me back to the time where Bands of Horses, The Shins, Fleet Foxes and Frightened Rabbit suddenly appeared on the airwaves.

Wild & Free is the kind of record that slowly wins you over. The guitarplay particularly takes the spotlight, and deservedly so. But for me, it’s the interplay with the other instruments and the constant dynamics between more upbeat parts and more introspected ones, and more focused and more loose parts that made me play this record several times this week. I discover something new to like with each listen. Wild & Free is a timely record, with a season appropriate cover. Autumn’s here folks!



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Molly Hanmer & The Midnight Tokers || Get Loose

By / / Alternative Rock, Blues & Roots / Leave a Comment

You don’t hear them like this often: Molly Hanmer writes strong songs, knows how to play guitar and harmonica, is blessed with a sensual but powerful voice, and if that isn’t enough, she also has good taste. Along with her band – Keith Palmer (drums, backup vocals), Alan Hampton (bass), Claudia Miles (back-up vocals), John Bird (keyboards), Mickey Madden (lead guitar), and guests Joe Sublett (saxophones ), and Mark Pender (trumpet) – the American garage rocker / pop punker has released their sophomore full-length album Get Loose, with nine original songs, and a nice cover of CCR’s Born on the Bayou. This is swinging, bluesful soul (or: soulful blues) infused with psychedelic folk, roots rock, and even gospel, both musical and lyrical highlight after highlight. You don’t hear them like this often.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Sam Johnson || Along the Dark Edges of Everything

By / / Country & Folk / Leave a Comment

Boston-based singer / songwriter / guitarist Sam Johnson spent the past decade as frontman for post-hardcore outfit Choke Up, but in addition to his punk rock voice, he also has a country heart. He lets that heart speak on his debut solo album Along the Dark Edges of Everything, and that sounds softer than what we were used to from him. But as other noisemakers have proven before – think of Frank Turner or Fred Lee – the step to less ferocious solo work can turn out well, because the quality remains and perhaps comes across even more powerful. Here we hear twelve songs with thoughtful lyrics about gratitude and grief, stories about lost youth and travelling, over a mix of folk, Americana, and indie rock music. The observation that these tracks are beautiful certainly doesn’t mean that it’s a boring or passive album, because a patient approach can also rock hard. For example, listen to Black Sheep Wine, a love song to Sam’s wife, and Wildfire, that explores the delicate moments between finding passion and burning out in your creative endeavors.

“It’s not the fading of the flame that really scares me // It’s how little I want it back”

Along the Dark Edges of Everything is out now digitally and on vinyl LP through What We Talk About Records.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: The Smallgoods || Lost In The Woods

By / / Indie Pop, Psych / Leave a Comment

Good news: after almost ten years of radio silence, Melbourne four-piece The Smallgoods return with a new full-length album, Lost in the Woods. Not being able to find the way is in itself a good reason not to make music for a while, but luckily the wandering has provided fresh inspiration, because Lachlan Franklin, Gus Franklin, Ben Mason and Ben Donnan have written and recorded ten beautiful new melodies and lyrics. The song titles alone are appropriate and poetic at the same time: Where’ve You Been All This Time, On With the Show, Hurry Up & Slow Down, A Month of Sundays, Settle Down, etc. This is dreamy indie pop mixed with psych and folk rock influences, a wonderful autumn soundtrack. This comeback couldn’t be much stronger.

Lost in the Woods is out now digitally and on vinyl LP through Lost And Lonesome.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: L’Resorts || Vacation

By / / Country & Folk, Indie Pop / 1 Comment

If the singers of L’Resorts sound familiar to you, it’s likely you have heard Vincent Kircher’s work in Jaill, or Martha Cannon’s in Lady Cannon. Under the L’Resorts moniker the duo are helped out by other veterans from the Milwaukee scene, and write folky (electric) americana pop tunes that are as pleasant as they are soothing. From what I’ve read, the duo started working together after Cannon send Kircher a Facebook message. At first, they did their recordings remotely, but when they finally met, their chemistry wasn’t just musical. Now the couple live together in Milwaukee.

L’Resorts is quite the departure from the garagepop of Jaill, although I could easily see album opener and title track Vacation reworked in a Jaill version. I love how the band namedrops Velvet Underground and Camera Obscura as influences, because these two acts signal of the bandwidth of the sound of L’Resorts on Vacation.: Pop music, but the good kind. And with an edge. The playful instrumentation of L’Resorts (listen to Bubbles for example) makes Vacation a joy to listen to, and the dual boy/girl vocals give the songs a timeless pop feel. Having been quite the fan of Kircher’s work in Jaill, I am kinda ashamed this is the first time I’ve heard about L’Resorts. But the band has been prolific since their start late 2018. Last year alone, they released two full lengths: Bad Love and Sad Happens (a fundraising kids album). In my book, L’Resorts are worth (re)visiting!



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Joshua Powell || Skeleton Party

By / / Psych / Leave a Comment

American singer / songwriter / multi-instrumentalist Joshua Powell celebrates a Skeleton Party on his new album, his first truly full band composition. That means that we have to introduce the band: next to Joshua Powell himself (vocals, guitars, synthesizers, programming, coins) they are Adam Shuntich (guitars, theremin, mutant koto, death star laser beam), Jacob Powell (drums, percussion, vocals ), and Josh Townsend (bass, programming) – each band member has songwriter credits. Their psychedelic / progressive indie rock music is no easy feat – layered in instruments, versatile in styles, kaleidoscopic in lyrics – and an Auto-Tune-esque experiment even somewhat disturbing, but that there’s so much to hear is also fascinating and intriguing. Anyway, listening to these eight songs – 46 minutes – is an impressive journey, a hallucinatory experience, and especially the guitar playing is great. As Powell warns in standout track Sad Boy at the Skeleton Party: “I can’t protect your delicate sensibilities // It happens how it happens when you get into it with me.” It will depend on your taste: are you joining this party or not?

Stream the full album below.

Skeleton Party is out now digitally, on CD and vinyl LP through Romanus Records.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Romanus Records

New single: Spells || Fangirl

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

Usually we don’t post single songs, but if there is a physical release we are happy to make an exception, but only if it’s as good as this one. In this case it is actually a magazine: the first edition of Fangirl. Each issue of the Colorado fan-zine revolves around one local band – bio, record reviews, interview – and comes with a 7” flexi disc with music by the featured band. Issue #1 features Denver five-piece Spells, which we also wrote about last month, performing the track Fangirl. It’s a lo-fi, super-catchy pop-punk song, whose enthusiastic, complementary sung lyrics you can’t get out of your head.

The orange translucent 7″ flexi disc with issue #1 of Fangirl is out now through Snappy Little Numbers Quality Audio Recordings. The digital-only single version is pay-what-you-want. Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Pep Talk || Live, Laugh, Lobotomy

By / / Punk / Leave a Comment

The line-up of Pep Talk reads like a cast of comic book characters: Rocky, Rookie, Guli, Azeem, Grivetis. You may know this gang from their work in The Young Rochelles, The New Rochelles, Sketchy, House Boat and The Steinways. Is Pep Talk is a nod to the Descendents song? I am not sure, but it’s a great name for the upbeat old school pop punk they blast out of the speakers. To be sure, Pep Talk sounds decidedly more Ramones and Screeching Weasel oriented than Descendents – CJ makes a cameo on Trespass.They are the kind of band that would fit perfectly on Lookout! Records, Mutant Pop or Stardumb and songs like Next To Me and Dumb Love would not look out of place on those infamous Lookout! samplers back in the ’90s. Next To Me has the most hit potential, and its pop perfect melody even works really well in a 8-bit chiptune remix.

There are a lot of pop punk bands that have cool fast songs, but the best bands also know how to write killer midpaced pop punk tracks. Pep Talk certainly pass that test with songs like Who Would’ve Thought and Big Big Baby. But still, most of Live, Laugh, Lobotomy though is tailor-made for people with short attention spans and a desire for speedy punk. Throughout it all, this record is a blast, and it’s kinda crazy that Hey Pizza! Records released it on the same day they as the Capgun Heroes debut LP. What a week for fans of pop punk!



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Hey Pizza! Records

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