New album: Big School || Don’t Cry I’ll Be Right Back

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

By now, the list of bands and labels I follow on Bandcamp is so huge, I frequently get surprised by a notification mail of a new release by a band I totally forgot about. Take Big School out of Welland (Canada). They released one of the catchiest records of 2018 with It’s Really Real. Five years later, Big School return with Don’t Cry I’ll Be Right Back. And boy, this band seems incapable of writing a song that doesn’t provide an instant sugar rush.

Compared to their previous output, Big School sound bigger and more polished than before, almost like they don’t care anymore if they are considered as a power pop, a pop punk, an alt pop, a garage or an arena rock band. Put Big School in a small local venue or in a hockey arena, and they will fill the room and reach the back of the room no matter what.

Don’t Cry I’ll Be Right Back is a sticky sweet confectionary masquerading as power pop punk. Think of it as Def Leppard, The Lemonheads, Jacuzzi Boys and All-American Rejects in one convenient bubblegum wrapped package. Needless to say, I’m lovin’ this record.





Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Lewsberg || Out And About

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

If you were to create a word cloud of the reviews Lewsberg‘s work has received so far, ‘The Velvet Underground’, ‘minimalism’, ‘repetitive’ and ‘melancholy’ would probably appear the largest. That’s understandable, but it’s fascinating how the Rotterdam art pop / crank wave outfit has developed into much more than that. Their new (fourth) album, Out And About, is as poetic and bewitching as ever, both in terms of lyrics and the way they are recited, but the current line-up – Arie van Vliet (guitar, violin, vocals), Shalita Dietrich (bass guitar, vocals), Michiel Klein (guitar, keys) and Marrit Meinema (drums, vocals) – sounds warmer and lighter than before, and the alternation between male and female Sprechgesang works well. Some evidence below: listen to standout tracks There’s A Poet In The Bushes (a wonderful story about “an unusual but harmless situation”) and Canines (an earworm violin melody), and be enchanted. This record is at times dreamy, at other moments energetic, but always unique.



Out And About, produced by Yulya Divakova, is out now digitally, on CD and vinyl LP through Lewsberg Records / 12XU.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Discogs 

New EP: The Uppers || Manic Melodies

By / / Glam Rock, Power Pop, Punk / Leave a Comment

Wanda Records is one of those label on a mission to keep the spirit of ’77 punk and power pop alive. They are succesful at doing exactly that, just take a quick look at their roster, or just press play on their latest release. It is a 4-song EP by The Uppers (Missouri) that follows their sold out debut EP on on Boulevard Trash and No Front Teeth.

Stimulation is quite the EP opener. The bam-bam bam-bam-bam drums and guitars set the tone for a high octane powerpop’n’roll fest. It is followed by the glammy and bratty Madam Please, and the insanely catchy pop punk hit Don’t Start. That chorus! The Uppers close the EP with Slide, which sounds like a lost anthem from the late ’70s UK punk scene.

If your battery needs charging, try playing the Manic Melodies EP and you are good to go. It is out now through Wanda, Boulevard Trash and Spaghetty Town Records.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: The Record Company || The 4th Album

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

In essence, Los Angeles trio The Record Company plays modern blues rock, but Chris Vos (guitar, amazing gritty lead vocals, harmonica), Alex Stiff (bass, backing vocals) and Marc Cazorla (drums, backing vocals) deliver it with so much swagger that their sound stands out from the crowd. The 4th Album is a groove-packed treat (if I were a hip-hop producer, I could even find some nice samples here), featuring ten energetic songs in which a tight rhythm machine and powerhouse voices bring each other to great heights – raw and honest, intimate and danceable. As a long-time fan I’m far from objective (the new music evokes the excitement of their first work), but I would still like to give it the stamp of irresistibility. And I really need that I Don’t Dance On Mondays shirt.

The 4th Album, self-produced, is out now on CD and vinyl LP through Round Hill Records.

Add to wantlist: Discogs || The Record Company

New album: The Planes || Dark Matter Recycling Co.

By / / Indie Rock / Leave a Comment

Dark Matter Recycling Co. is the ninth official release by NYC jangly indie rockers The Planes. Solid, dependable, and honest are just some of the thoughts poppin’ up while listening to their latest batch of songs. Dark Matter Recycling Co. will not change the direction of the planet, it’s not earth shattering original or anything like that. But it rocks pretty hard for a subtle record, it’s quite layered for a straightforward rock record, and sounds rather diverse for a coherent collection of tunes. It’s something worth diving into. Favorite songs: the head bop inducing Thrift Store and the jangly power pop of Between The Frames.



Dark Matter Recycling Co. is out now on LP at Totally Real Records (US) and Safe Suburban Home Records (UK).

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Datenight (US) || Clueless And Hangless

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

Datenight (US) released Mother’s Day right around the start of Summer. It was a messy lo-fi ball of excitement kinda record. The end of Summer officially is still a week away, but would you look at that, Datenight (US) have just released another one! Clueless And Hangless sees the Nashville band continue the trajectory of Mother’s Day of becoming less frantic and loud as their earlier work. There still is plenty of nervous energy though, and the lo-fi recordings have a demo like feel to them. Who knows, perhaps these are actual demo’s or stuff the band had lying around from previous recording sessions. It’s hard to tell with a band like Datenight (US). It’s not like they provide any information alongside the release.

At the same time, the underproduced quality of the songs has always been part of the appeal of the band. On Clueless And Hangless, Datenight (US) bounce around between punk, garage slacker rock, indie rock and powerpop. It’s a fuzzy unhinged mix that is packed with poppy hooks.




Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Subsonic Eye || All Around You

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

Singapore indie rockers Subsonic Eye live by the rule that we are one with nature and that nature is all around us, even when you are living in a heavily populated or industrialized area. Hence the All Around You title for the band’s fourth LP, which is out now at Topshelf Records. Like nature and urban area colliding, there is a constant tension between harmony and dissonance on the ten songs on All Around You.  This record captivates from start to finish. Poppy indie rock that is certified fresh!




Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Topshelf

New album: Middlebees || In the Wild

By / / Alternative Rock / Leave a Comment

Jon Manos is a singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalist based in Atlanta, Georgia, who brings his ideas to fruition under the moniker of Middlebees, with a little help from a rotating line-up* of other musicians. The cover art of his debut LP In the Wild caught my attention, the music kept it. We are presented with twelve soulful, poppy rock songs that are somewhat reminiscent of The Gaslight Anthem, but less heavy and more cheerful. I assume that the first lines of the title song, with which the album starts, are significant for its creation: “You wanna get something started but you got nothing in your hands // You wanna scream at the top of your lungs but no one understands.” More important is the feeling you get from this music, which is well expressed at the end of closing track People, Places, Faces and Names: “If you do what feels true // Doesn’t matter what nobody thinks of you // After na na na na na na na na na // Na na na na na na na na // Na na na na na na na na na na // Na na na na na na na na // Mmm mmm.”




In the Wild, written by Jon Manos (you hear his vocals, guitar, bass, percussion, synths) and mixed by David Johansson, is out digitally via RockMartian Records. *Also featuring, on selected tracks, are Ben Cato (drums, percussion), Jeremy Nichols (bass, guitar), Neemias Teixeira (keys), Charlie Pinkard (guitar), Francesca Prattico (drums), Manuel Trabucco (sax), Claude Lumley (French horn), Antonie Verskovski (marimba, vibraphone), Artem Kori (sax, trombone, trumpet), and Matt Giella (trumpet).

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New Single: Flash || Eztek Ber Besteik

By / / Punk / Leave a Comment

The debut album by Flash (Basque Country, Spain) was one of the more exciting punk records of 2022. Earlier this month, Flash released a teaser three song cassingle to bring along on their US West Coast Tour. Happy to announce that Flash have lost none of their shine. They still are a band of reckless and adventurous punks, and Eztek Ber Besteik is a five minute explosion of energy, melody and speed.




Eztek Ber Besteik is out on La Vida Es Un Mus Discos.
Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Connie Cunningham and the Creeps || Going, Going, Going Gone – The Rare Recordings of Connie Cunningham and The Creeps, Vol. 1

By / / Blues & Roots, Country & Folk, Indie Pop, Indie Rock, Uncategorized / Leave a Comment

Method actors aren’t that uncommon (Joaquin Phoenix, Daniel Day-Lewis come to mind quickly), but what about method musicians? Here is one: Nick Kinsey, a veteran musician who played with the likes of Waxhatchee, Kevin Morby, AC Newman, Hand Habits, and Cold War Kids. For his latest project he took on the persona of “fictional weirdo and failed session musician” Connie Cunningham. It wasn’t just a way to escape writer’s block, it was a purposeful move to create something special, a way to satisfy his dream of stumbling, in his new farmland house, on lost recordings from some eccentric artist who’d previously lived there.

The approach pays dividends in full. Going, Going, Going Gone is a quirky record full of songs that are timeless, yet sound like they were recorded in the fifties or sixties, or perhaps even earlier. It all sounds dreamy and orchestral, like Tom Waits meets Sufjan Stevens, going from latin to beach boys, from jazz to girl group – How delightful are those backing vocals by The Creeps (Cassandra Jenkins and Annie Nero) on title track Going, Going, Going Gone? Nick Kinsey has created something magical with this project, something to dive into and wrap yourself around with. So much to unpack!

The Vol. 1 in the album title suggests that there are even more Cunningham treasures lying around in Kinsey’s attic. I can’t wait to find out.




Going, Going, Going Gone – The Rare Recordings of Connie Cunningham and The Creeps, Vol. 1 is out now on LP at Earth Libraries. Also involved in the recordings: Josh Kaufman, Mike Irwin, Oliver Hill, and Jared Samuel.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Earth Libraries

Scroll to Top