New album: Teenage Halloween || Till You Return

Teenage Halloween’s self-titled debut sneaked into my 2020 year-end list, and I’d probably place it much higher if I redid my list today. Few current bands rival the sheer exhilaration and vibrancy of Teenage Halloween’s melodic punk rock. Anthemic, communal, and raw energy are just some of the key words to describe the sound Teenage Halloween. I was really curious how the follow-up Till You Return would compare to the debut, given how the rough edges are such a major part of what I like about this band. No need to worry in this case. Where bands usually become more polished, calculated and showoff-ish with their second LP, Teenage Halloween’s new tracks may display increased skill, but they also exude the aggressivity and spontaneity of a band of hungry young pups. A pivotal factor in this is singer Luk Henderiks, who takes the ‘sing it like you mean it’ ethos to unprecedented heights.

Teenage Halloween play like there is something on the line. Touching upon themes like isolation, gender, and mental health, Teenage Halloween offer a place of solace and inspiration, their words slogans to rile behind. Till the End definitely beats my expectations. It’s out today at Don Giovanni Records.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Discogs

New album: Geoff Palmer || An Otherwise Negative Situation

Geoff Palmer’s 2019 solo debut Pulling Out All The Stops is a modern pop punk classic. With each subsequent record, Palmer has fearlessly ventured beyond the confines of his initial successful formula. The pace of the music has become more laid back, the songwriting more diverse and ambitious. That’s not a bad thing though, and so far it has been a blast to tag along to the route Geoff Palmer is taking. His latest destination? An Otherwise Negative Situation. It’s album #4, or #3 if you only count the original albums and exclude last year’s Dee Dee King cover record.

Geoff Palmer created An Otherwise Negative Situation with his buddies Kurt Baker and Zach Sprague. Both Palmer and Sprague were also involved in the making of Baker’s recent Rock ‘N’ Roll Club which helps to understand why both of these record sound equally inspired and fun. Clearly, the synergy between these artists is palpable or perhaps it is simply a result of their sheer enjoyment of playing together?

While the album title and tracks like Give it Up, Dark Thoughts and Stuck With You may imply darker tones, the overarching theme feels much lighter. What shines through on the new LP is a desire for life in general, seizing the moment, and extend kindness to yourselves and others. “I am feeling good, you’re feeling good, we’re feeling good”, Palmer sings repeatedly in We Run. And in closer Like A Dove, Palmer sings “You never know what tomorrow holds, all I know is life is gold.” And who else than Geoff Palmer could write a song about FOMO? Even when the term induces weariness, Palmer will have you singing along and shaking your head in disbelief how FOMO can sound this catchy, this celebratory. It’s an unabashed highlight of a record that already achieves a high standard.

Another favorite is Surfin’ Nesbreska, which is the most pop punk and most classic Geoff Palmer song of the bunch. Then again, perhaps it is time to reevaluate our perception of what classic Geoff Palmer entails. Geoff Palmer has become an artist who hasn’t necessarily outgrown pop punk but is carving his own niche one album by a time. Keep ’em coming Geoff!

An Otherwise Negative Situation is out now on Stardumb Records.


Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Discogs 

New album: Ponta Preta || Way Out West!

Four years after their self-titled debut EP and two years after their first full-length Tit’s Up, French psych pop/surf rock band Ponta Preta returns with their sophomore album Way Out West!. The four friends – Alexis Delekta, Félix Levious, Pierre Labaune and Valentin Gerdil – obviously share a common love for American West Coast music, but the way they combine psychedelic pop, garage rock and surf influences, it makes sense that they are releasing these nine new songs not before but after the summer. This is basically a laid-back autumn soundtrack with addictive guitar melodies and a melancholic atmosphere, but sharp edges reveal that the waves are slightly higher and more dangerous during this period.



Way Out West! is out now digitally and on vinyl LP through Le Surf Records.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Discogs

New album: The Rhynes || Everything The Wrong Way Round

As you may remember, The Rhynes (pronounced ‘reens’) is the side project of singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Joe Atkinson from Somerset, UK. Two years after his eponymous debut album, he returns with his second LP, entitled Everything The Wrong Way Round. It features ten original songs about love, life and nostalgia, which really put me in a great mood, what a wonderful sound. Tunes with chiming guitars, atmospheric keyboards and rich vocal harmonies, all by Atkinson himself (the drums are provided by Matty Bane from The Neville Staple Band), all equally attractive.

Everything The Wrong Way Round is out via Tiny Dog Records. Streaming only for now, but physical copies are reportedly on the way.

New album: Magnatech || Herr Magnatech Bittet Zum Tanz

Johannes Bernardus Verhoef was still in Ireland when we wrote about his previous release, but he has now ended up in Germany. I guessed that this explained the title of his fourth album under the moniker of Magnatech, Herr Magnatech Bittet Zum Tanz, but it turns out there is more to it: “It’s a journey that will lead you from the US to the UK, Netherlands, Germany, France and back to the Netherlands again.” Anyway, expect sixteen short instrumentals, as always a mix of surf-pop and Indo-rock influences. There are stompers and twist tunes as well as ballads and soundscapes, all original, cinematic and kind of danceable.



Herr Magnatech Bittet Zum Tanz is out now digitally and on CD through Sharawaji Records.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Dot Dash || 16 Again

Somewhere in our little rock’n’roll universe there is a person who has yet to have heard of Dot Dash, the band featuring members of The Saturday People, Julie Ocean, and Youth Brigade. That person probably is not alone. We all know it is not uncommon for amazing bands to fly under the radar. Fortunately, if there was ever a time to jump on the Dot Dash bandwagon, it is now.

The band just released their first vinyl LP 16 Again, which is comprised of 15 gems plucked from their illustrious discography and a Televison Personalities cover (Jackanory Stories). I am not sure who picked the songs, but that must have been both really easy and extremely hard. You see, the band has already released seven stellar full lengths (all on The Beautiful Music Label) and I have trouble thinking of one song by the band that I would label as either subpar or filler. As such, it may be a Herculean task, but you can’t really go wrong when making a greatest hits LP from the band’s output.

Thinking of amazing songs in Dot Dash’s discography is easy. Part of that is because of the memorable lines that are omnipresent in their lyrics and how they are delivered – the snarky “Don’t call it a jumper, you know it’s a sweater// Stop saying cheers no one says that here” from Unfair Weather, one of my favorite Dot Dash songs, is just one example of the word play that is permanently etched in my brain. It’s not just the words that get me every time, it is the band’s distinct sound as well, a sound that is warm and charming, rockin’ and melodic. Perhaps the most fitting term is generous. You could classify Dot Dash as power pop or jangle punk, and you wouldn’t be off the mark. The mod scene’s red white and blue hues are another hint of what to expect. But, whatever you call it, I think I prefer to describe 16 Again as a clinic. Fact: these songs still sound as fresh as the first time I’ve heard them.



LP available through Country Mile Records
Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New single: The Killing Floors || Too Far Gone b​/​w You Know It Ain’t Right

It took exactly three seconds to realize that I had to reach for the volume button, because five amazing minutes were about to follow. Stylish Los Angeles-based rock ‘n’ roll machine The Killing Floors makes it happen. Songwriter Jorge Martinez, Jr. (rhythm guitar, lead vocals), Mario Garcia, Jr. (lead guitar, backup vocals), Joel Isai Giron (organ, backup vocals), Timothy Conaway (bass) and Irbinn Daniel Rocha (drums) play raucous garage rock the way it was invented in the 1960s. Although they’ve been around for quite a while, this is their first stand-alone release on vinyl, and both A-side Too Far Gone and B-side You Know It Ain’t Right are pretty cool. Gritty vocals, a swinging organ, tight guitars, and a good dose of fuzz, everything you need to dance excitedly. To consume loudly.

Too Far Gone b​/​w You Know It Ain’t Right is out now digitally and on 7″ vinyl through Outro Records.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Outro Records

New EP: Satanic Togas || Your Choice

A couple of months ago, I witnessed Satanic Togas absolutely crushing it on a stage in Rotterdam on a double bill with the amazing Gee Tee. Somehow, I forgot to write about the amazing 7″ Euro Tour single the Australians brought with them. Here is a chance to make that right. The masked outfit’s latest single Your Choice has five songs of mutant punk from the dark side. Written, recorded and mixed by Satan, out now on 7″ at Sweet Time. You know you want it.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Tex Crick || Sweet Dreamin’

Tokyo-based Australian singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Tex Crick returns with his sophomore album Sweet Dreamin’ under his belt. It more than lives up to the title, because sweet and dreamy is what you get, although it could just as easily be called Warm Travelin’. The nine piano-led songs have a laid-back 70s vibe, Crick’s baritone vocals tell stories about love and sentiment in an introspective way. Poetic, jangly and stripped-back, sunny, sultry and atmospheric.


Sweet Dreamin’, written/performed/recorded/mixed/produced by Tex Crick, is out now digitally and on vinyl LP through Mac’s Record Label. Piano, pianet, guitar, bass, synthesizer, percussion and vocals performed by Tex Crick, drums by Miles Myjavec.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || MRL

New album: Dan Koshute || Intravolve

You won’t expect it when you hear it, but singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Dan Koshute recorded his new DIY indie-rock album Intravolve in a hidden studio in the back of a yoga studio in his hometown of Pittsburgh. He sings of hard-won personal truths and their contradictions derived from experiences of introspection and outlook, loss and lossless-ness and big time individuality. That still fits with yoga-like practices, but the intense, raw and direct way in which the eight original songs are delivered transcends that. Koshute again didn’t half-ass it: he plays every instrument on the record and it’s his distinctive multi-octave vocals that attract attention and convey a sense of urgency. Standout track For Reasons hits me the hardest, but the other tunes also evoke the opposite effect of what yoga would do, and most times that’s not a bad thing at all.

The self-produced Intravolve LP is out via Magna Persona Music, streaming only for now.

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