New album: Refrigerator || So Long to Farewell

By / / Indie Rock / Leave a Comment

Refrigerator’s beautiful previous album High Desert Lows made it to the top of my Music Year-End List of 2018, so you’ll understand that expectations were high for successor So Long to Farewell, just released on vinyl LP – cover art by Jean Smith – through Shrimper Records. The new (12th!) album of the American lo-fi indie rock combo, formed in 1990 by Shrimper founder Dennis Callaci and his brother Allen, is strong again, but not an easy one. The fourteen songs have a richer band sound, more improvisational and experimental, more varied also. And then of course there are the dark lyrics. Anyway, an album worth giving it the time it deserves (Time Well Wasted, as the title of one of the tracks goes). So much respect for these guys. You won’t get it more indie than this.

Add to wantlist: Revolver USA || Grapefruit Distribution

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New album: The Smashing Times || Summer Inside

By / / Indie Pop, Jangle Pop / 1 Comment

Summer Inside is a collection of stuck-at-home basement recordings from The Smashing Times. The band members used to live in Seattle, but currently reside in Baltimore – affordable living for musicians and an influx of tech workers do not mix. The band draws their influence from The Pastels, Television Personalities and The Times, and the band’s name is a tip of the hat to the latter two bands (remember this Television Personalities song?). The band sounds completely different than some of the previous bands the members played in, like hardcorepunk acts Shook Ones, Ripped To Shreds, and postpunk art collective The New Love Syndicate. Summer Inside is a perfect album for jangle pop and C86 fanatics. It is absolutely unpolished, and mixes instantly likeable underground pop hit singles (sample three of these below), with some weirder more experimental tracks. To be honest, when we started our blog, I expected to write more often about this type of music, but for some reason, few records have clicked with me in what undeniably already is a niche genre. Summer Inside is a welcome exception, and hopefully a starting point for a solid indie pop summer, one that we can preferably spend outside. Summer Inside is out now on cassette on Painter Man Records, with more Smashing Times (“The lockdown has driven us mad”) in the works:  look for a new single this summer.




Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Painter Man Records

New album: Les Grys-Grys || To Fall Down

By / / Garage Rock / 1 Comment

The five French garage rockers from Les Grys-Grys spent eight years working on their music before releasing their awesome self-titled debut album in 2019. Two years later, here’s the follow-up LP, To Fall Down, available next month through Norton Records. This new record is a bit heavier and more varied – more mature? – and imho even better than the debut. Stand-out tracks include the enthralling “ballad” Watching My Idols Die, the powerful sing-along So long, the raucous Milk Cow Blues cover (their “signature tune” at live shows), and the energetic closing title song. A successful addition to the discography with garage rock ‘n’ roll as conceived in the 60’s, which we will enjoy for a long time to come.

Add to wantlist: Norton Records

UPDATE: Bad news. On July 26, the band announced its end: “Le groupe Grys-Grys n’est plus.” Their music lives on.

New album: Nevasca || Горки (Slides)

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

There was a time when you could pinpoint a specific style of music to a specific time and place. Nowadays, we live in a world that is so globalized that musical influences spread just as easily as a virus. So perhaps, I shouldn’t be surprised to hear Nevasca, a band from Northeastern Russia (St.  Petersburg), sound like an  authentic mid-to-late nineties emo band from the US midwest. Clearly, Nevasca have been living on a steady diet of Christie Front Drive, Mineral, American Football and Jimmy Eat World, and to be honest, there are worse proteins to use as building blocks of your own sound. The lyrics look like insane math equations to me, but I am really enjoying the music thus far. Definitely worth checking out.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Pardoner || Came Down Different

By / / Indie Rock / 1 Comment

Fans of indie rock can roughly be sorted into two categories: Those who have the new Pardoner record Came Down Different already penciled in their album-of-the-year lists and those who haven’t heard the record yet. Sure, this may be a bit of a hyperbole but it’s hard to find fault in the record. Came Down Different is the band’s third full-length, and their first for Bar/None Records. The record showcases Pardoner at their most concise, coherent and consistent selves yet, possibly aided by a short recording window: Came Down Different was recorded in just two days with producer Jack Shirley (Jeff Rosenstock, Joyce Manor), and that was right before the pandemic started – I’m pretty sure we will see an avalanche of postponed releases now that bands starting to see the possibility of actually touring again. There is a natural flow to the record, and the songs are short and sweet (e.g., listen to 70 second earworm I Wanna Get High To The Music), leaving you wanting more. They have that cool indie rock slacker vibe, but not at the expense of songwriting and musicianship. Plenty of hits (Donna Said, Spike, Broadway – I could go on…), noise (Lucky Day), and catharsis (Fuck You!) on this one. Talk to you later, I am going to give it another spin.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Bar/None

New album: John Andrews and The Yawns || Cookbook

By / / Indie Pop / Leave a Comment

American singer/songwriter John Andrews and his imaginary band The Yawns are back with Cookbook, their third full-length album, out now digitally and on vinyl LP through Woodsist. It contains ten new calm, atmospheric songs with beautifully sung engaging lyrics, comparable to what we are used to from this label. Check out River of Doubt, for example: “If I’m swimming in that river of doubt, won’t you pull me out?” Or listen to the instrumental track Song for the Gonz, a score to 90’s street skateboarder Mark Gonzalez with a timeless, cartoon-like melody, which proves that lyrics aren’t always necessary to tell a story. Well done by that imaginary band.

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Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Discogs || Woodsist

New EP: Empty Head || Empty Head

By / / Alternative Rock / Leave a Comment

Last month, Belgian alternative rock band Empty Head caught our attention with an awesome animated video directed by punk ‘n’ roll artist King Rat (Gilles Deschamps) for their single Cosmic Rave. That’s one of the all equally good four tracks on their self-produced and self-titled debut EP, released today. The music of the five long-time friends is inspired by the (anti-)heroes from the 90’s and their “Under The Influence” playlist features bands like All Them Witches, Viagra Boys, Idles, and Triggerfinger. So you know what to expect. These are powerful songs with tempo changes, raging guitar riffs, haunting melodies, and dark, philosophical lyrics. Watch and listen below.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Astro Chicken || Different Town

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

New Yorkers Barney Miller and his good friend John Laprade are both singer / songwriter / multi-instrumentalist and as Astro Chicken they released their new album Different Town this week, digitally and on vinyl LP via DETOX Recordings. They deserve a podium just for their optimistic song Good Times Are Coming. Barney explains: “As Beatle George said, ‘All Things Must Pass’. It’s a sentiment that helped get me though the past year. It’s gotten me through personal issues. Family, work. Almost anything. The fact is that whatever bad is happening in your life or in the world, it will not last.” You can see this record as a settlement with the dark year we all just lived through. Fortunately: “Nothing lasts forever, but love comes close.” And: “I still got you, and I’m still here too.” So many beautiful lyrics and strong songs on this poppy, accessible rock album. As long as this kind of good music is being made, there is hope.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: TEKE::TEKE || Shirushi

By / / Psych / Leave a Comment

Get ready for an explorative and spiritual psychedelic trip. You can get lost in Shirushi‘s Dali-style cover art alone, but its cinematic and eclectic music is even more enchanting and mystic than that: a mix of classic Japanese balladry, surfy post-rock and folky psychedelia, with poetic Japanese lyrics melodically and conjuringly sung or whispered. This is the impressive debut album by TEKE::TEKE, a Montreal-based 7-piece featuring traditional Japanese instruments and a trombone alongside fuzzy guitars and a rhythm section to create a sound reminiscent of 1960’s / 70’s era psychedelic Japanese soundtracks. ‘Shirushi’ means ‘signs of great changes to come’, and that could just be the case for this band after this release. Out now digitally, on CD and vinyl LP trough Kill Rock Stars. The video for Meikyu gives you an idea of what to expect, but I advise you to immerse yourself in the full album.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Discogs || Kill Rock Stars

New EP: The Martial Arts || Getting Stranger By The Moment

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

Retropop easily can become too campy for my taste, but if it’s executed well, it can be quite delightful. I count Glasgow band The Martial Arts’ new EP (Getting Stranger By The Moment) in the latter category. The main draw of the EP is its lead single Bethany, which frontman Paul Kelly (of BMX Bandits, The Primary 5 and many more) colors with just the right sepia tones. If you are looking for an escape from your 2021 blues, give this one a spin.


Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Last Night In Glasgow

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