New album: Cut Worms || Cut Worms

By / / Country & Folk, Indie Pop / Leave a Comment

Five years ago I was standing in a small concert venue in Utrecht (Netherlands) watching in awe how Max Clarke (Cut Worms) played song after song of flawless pop. I don’t recall many people attending, but the Add To Wantlist crew was present, and this website was still something we might do someday “if time would allow it.” I had no idea that five years later I’d be writing about the new Cut Worms LP as recommended new music. Using the term recommended takes self-constraint, because I’m seriously loving this LP. You see, the past week I was away with the family, spending most time offline, and if I heard any music it was on the radio or from the kids’ playlists – pretty terrible on all accounts. But then, on Friday morning I found some time to check out the new releases – I guess this becomes habitual when you run a website like this. Before I knew it, I had played the self-titled Cut Worms album front-to-back, remembering what I love about discovering new music. Being blown away by a new song never gets old, even when that song sounds familiar. And in case of the new Cut Worms, you get song after song like that. Let’s not overcomplicate the descriptions: few present day songwriters have mastered the timeless pop classic as well as Max Clarke. It may not be your thing, but it’s hard to find fault with this record.

Cut Worms is out now through Jagjaguwar.


Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Discogs

New album: The Penske File || Half Glow

By / / Indie Rock, Punk / Leave a Comment

Big hooks, a strong sense of melody and anthemic choruses sung with a lot of heart and soul. That’s what you get with the new The Penske File record Half Glow. I guess The Menzingers, Pup, Spanish Love Songs are safe comparables to the sound of The Penske File, and honestly, I think they perform at that level on Half Glow. The Penske File fully deliver on a record that should satisfy the appetite of the org core, indie punk and punk rock crowd. Add the Ontario band to your list of reasons to be excited about the state of punk rock in 2023.

Half Glow is out now on Stomp Records.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Discogs

New album: Sleepy Jean || Shoot Me In A Dream

By / / Blues & Roots, Country & Folk, Funk & Soul / Leave a Comment

It’s not that often you hear vocals that blend Amy Winehouse’s soul, Tami Neilson’s tears and Dusty Springfield’s passion, but listen to Sleepy Jean‘s Once Held My Heart and be enchanted (goosebumps alert at 1:55). It’s one of the standout tracks from her debut full-length Shoot Me In A Dream, following up on her first EP Idle Hands (2021).

Sleepy Jean is the moniker of Canadian singer-songwriter Katelynn Gatta (her friends say Katey). Not only does she have an amazing and versatile voice, she also knows how to create strong songs with relatable personal lyrics. There are eleven of them here, atmospheric, melancholic and cinematic – a combination of alt-country and space age pop with surf and spaghetti western influences – with a 60s feel. Wonderful.



Shoot Me in a Dream, largely produced by Dajaun Martineau, is out now digitally via Flying Colors Music. Featuring Sleepy Jean (vocals, acoustic guitar), Dan Serre (electric guitars, bass), Marshall Bureau (drums, percussion, vibraphone), Bryden Baird (horns), Benjamin Goerzen (cello, contrabass), Waylon Glintz (bass), Brian Barber (organ, synth) and Kelsey Gatta (background vocals).

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New single: Buffalo Paradise || What’s Not To Like?

By / / Alternative Rock / Leave a Comment

What’s Not To Like? We regularly write it in our reviews, and think it much more often. That alone is a good reason to share a single with that title here, especially if the music lives up to expectations. Sydney-based alt-rock five-piece Buffalo Paradise can’t be accused of modesty, because everything from these two new songs exudes eagerness and enthusiasm to turn them into hits this summer. Both the title track and Dressed Like Me are sunny, radio-friendly and punchy, laid-back but full of hooks and with a nice sharp edge.

What’s Not To Like?, produced by Jack Garzonio & Stefan Du Randt, is out now on the streaming services (self-released).

New album: Mainland Break || One Way Ticket to Midnight

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

Denver, Colorado’s Mainland Break – Evan Oliver (vocals, acoustic guitar, keys), Kevin Kohl (vocals, bass), Travis Rice (guitar, synthesizer), Ian Gassman (guitar) and Steven Hennig (drums) – play jangling indie rock (or rocking jangle pop), which they do in a pretty exciting way. After their debut EP Short Stay (May 2019), they now return with their first full-length album. As its title suggests, the One Way Ticket to Midnight LP takes us “through a lonely, reflective night that recalls distant friendships, lost love, and missed opportunity” – from sundown to sunrise. The idea is good, the execution even better. The lyrics are appealing (“I’m out tonight // To bark at the moon // My hair swept back // By a Dio tune” – from the title track), but it’s the way they are declaimed – polyphonic and infectious – that makes them come alive. However, it’s the tight guitars and thumping beats – energetic and inspired – that really make this record a glorious experience.




One Way Ticket to Midnight, produced by Mark Anderson, is out now digitally, on CD and vinyl LP (self-released). RIYL: Rolling Blackouts C.F., Ducks Ltd., R.E.M., Kiwi Jr.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New EP: The Wind-up Birds || “Pop​.​Thinking” (with E-shaped Stories video premiere)

By / / Alternative Rock, Indie Rock / 1 Comment

The Wind-up Birds are an energetic post-punk four-piece based in Leeds (UK), active for about twenty years, and probably that’s why they are so much better and smarter than most bands that want to piggyback on the recent revival of the genre. On their new EP Pop​.​Thinking, you’ll hear four pieces of evidence of this – idea-stuffed, haunting and urgent. Paul Ackroyd (vocals), Mat Forrest (guitar, back-up vocals), Ben Dawson (bass) and Oli Jefferson (drums) deliver convincing poetry reading, stirring tempo changes and gripping harmony choruses, pulsing rhythms and mean guitar riffs, and omnipresent swinging keyboard melodies. But who’s that mysterious band member touching the keys? That question is central to the video for opening track E-shaped Stories, which we proudly premiere here. It may be the best music video of the year, at least the one with the most suspense so far, with images that give the lyrics – picking on Netflix binge culture – a double meaning (“I hope by the end that you fill in all the blanks // I’ll be so happy but I won’t say thanks”). Even if you might not get a satisfactory answer, these four songs are very worthwhile.

The E-shaped Stories video is created by Hyve Music. The Pop​.​Thinking EP is out now digitally and on CD through Sturdy Records.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: SLW cc Watt || Purple Pie Plow

By / / Psych / Leave a Comment

And now for something completely different, as the title and cover art imply. Purple Pie Plow is the new full-length album from American psychedelic art-rock duo SLW cc Watt: singer-songwriter/guitarist-keyboardist/illustrator Samuel Locke Ward and singer/bassist Mike Watt are back with a whopping 24 new tracks, though nearly half of them are short spoken or musical interludes (‘spiels’ – unobtrusive like most hip-hop skits but actually functional and entertaining). The ‘ordinary songs’ are not really ordinary either, but a weird and eclectic mix of psych-pop with glam, noir-jazz and doo-wop influences laced with saxophone melodies, which amazingly form an organic unity. This record, which originated from a remote collaboration, is a cinematic trip along fascinating stories.


Purple Pie Plow is out now digitally and on vinyl LP through Kill Rock Stars. Also featuring Dean Clean (drums, percussion), Joe Jack Talcum (guitar, keys) and Bob Bucko JR (sax, flute).

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Kill Rock Stars

New album: Snõõper || Super Sn​õ​õ​per

By / / Punk / Leave a Comment

Snõõper are a band from Nashville that has been making waves in the punk scene since 2020. They are one of those bands that is able to attract new fans to the scene and make you excited about the future of punk. After a couple of singles and EPs and a live record, their debut full-length is finally out now, and it is great.

I am going to keep this short as the sound of Snõõper may be easy to describe, but it’s much harder to do justice to the experience of actually listening to it and witnessing the band at work. Basically, Snõõper sound like they play original nursery rhymes sung over mutant punk played at lightspeed blasted at full volume. It’s kinda crazy but it works.

Super Sn​õ​õ​per is out now on Third Man Records.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Discogs

New EP: Ra Ra Viper || Pound For Pound

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

Ra Ra Viper are an Australian indie rock outfit featuring Oliver Bolt (vocals, guitar), Oliver Kruk (lead guitar), Jack Tesser (guitar, backing vocals), Julian Sanders (bass) and Harry Tesser (drums, backing vocals). In 2021 they released their debut EP Kawaii, which is now successfully followed by the six-track Pound For Pound EP. Personally I like sing-along stomper Sally (She Lies) the most, but I guess this is one of those bands where every listener has their own favorite tune. Expect vibrant music full of hooks, blissful, dynamic en energetic, with memorable guitar riffs and clever song structures. These guys are reportedly even more impressive live, so you know what to do.

Pound For Pound, produced/recorded/mixed by Andrew Lawson, is out now streaming and on vinyl 12″ (self-released). For fans of The Strokes, Noah Dillon, Razorlight, Eades, Kings of Leon.

Add to wantlist: Ra Ra Viper

New album: Life Strike || Peak Dystopia

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

If not for the occasional reference to modernity, Life Strike appear to come straight out of the postpunk/new wave scene of 1980s UK or the pop underground scene of New Zealand from the same era. Early R.E.M. and The Chills come to mind as well when listening to the latest LP by the Melbourne three-piece. Then again, Life Strike have a sci-fi feel to it in terms of mood and themes, so they may in fact be time travellers from four decades ago, who knows. I think they describe their sound as apocalypse pop, which I think is very cool. That also applies to how I’d rate Peak Dystopia: very cool, with no shortage of exceptional songs.

Peak Dystopia is out now on Stable Label (Australia) and Bobo Integral (Rest of the World).




Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Bobo Integral

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