Ashley Reaks – This Is Planet Grot LP (Born Wrong)
Reaks is a man
of many talents. He is visual artist mostly focusing in collage work. He is a
stand-up comedian/poet and he is also a multi-instrumental who has released
several LP’s that have dealt in pop, dub, rock and many other musical worlds.
On This Is Planet Grot, Reaks, who
sings, plays guitar and bass, sticks to punk, rock and early alternative. In
some ways this reminds me of early Art Brut with its nods to early Fall and
sarcasm. The other parts of Planet Grot
is a hard hitting ’82 UK punk/Killing Joke that is busy calling out society’s
issues much like his art does. – Ed
Stuart
Bad Sports – Living With Secrets EP (Dirtnap)
Living With Secrets was originally going to be released as
separate singles, but Dirtnap decided to combine them all together into a
7-song EP. It has been awhile since hearing from Bad Sports, but that’s no
surprise. Bad Sports make up pieces of Radioactivity, Video and OBN III’s. Living With Secrets is ’77 Saints punk
with a rock n’ roll heart especially on songs like “Done With Death” and “Where
Are You?” Bad Sports also shows a darker swampier side on songs like “Anymore.”
– Ed Stuart
Berwanger – Exorcism Rock LP (Doghouse)
Berwanger may be
a man caught in two worlds on Exorcism
Rock. He’s one part dwelling in a punk-pop world, very lightly, and the
other part dwelling in an arena rock world. Exorcism
Rock is an ode to bands like Cheap Trick, Badfinger or a poppier Kiss,
bands who were actually able to pull off this feat. Unfortunately, that was the
‘70’s and this is the ‘10’s, an era where getting fans to come see your band
live instead of watching a YouTube clip is a hard task. Berwanger’s songwriting
is a clear nod to ‘70’s pop-infused rock that would fill the radio waves and
arena seats in equal measure. – Ed Stuart
Bitter Sweet Kicks – Eat Your Young LP (Beast)
According to the
Bitter Sweet Kick’s bandcamp page, Eat
Your Young was released in 2014. So, I’m not sure if Beast just re-released
the LP or not. At this point, I’ll just think yes. Enough of that and on to the
band, Bitter Sweet Kicks are loud, ballsy, blues driven rock n’ roll band from
Australia. The band hails from St. Kilda in Melbourne, which is a renowned
music haven in Australia. Some parts swampy blues, early AC/DC and MC5. – Ed Stuart
Bouncing Souls – Simplicity LP (Rise)
Bouncing Souls
are back with their tenth LP, Simplicity,
which sees a return to form. Bouncing Souls made their name by writing earnest
pogo-pop-punk tunes that fans could relate too and much of Simplicity is no different. The Souls do show their age, which any
band would after 20 years, but they don’t sacrifice any of their core music
trademarks either. I’m not sure how will get many new converts Simplicity will get, but it shouldn’t
lose any either. – Ed Stuart
As if playing in
Sonic Avenues and First Base weren’t enough, some of these members decided to
form another band called Brat Kings. As if Canada needed another band we should
be listening too, but they went and formed it anyway. Hypnopedia is far less pop than both First Base and Sonic Avenues
would ever dream of. Instead, Brat Kings are a fast paced garage influenced
punk band much like Marked Men and early Hives without The Hives brand of
self-referential hype. ’77 Ramones on a whole lot of coffee with some indie
bits thrown in. – Ed Stuart
Charlie ‘Ungry – Who Is My Killer 7” (Hozac
Archival)
Not quite punk,
not quite glam and not quite NWOBHM. Well if that’s the case, then what are
they then? Good question. Charlie ‘Ungry rose from the ashes of Yellow Bird set
to take the UK punk world by storm. Unfortunately, for them at the time, the
stars weren’t aligned. “Who Is My Killer?” is a real mix of punk rhythm,
glam/NWOHBM guitar and glam vocals. What I find interesting about ‘Ungry is
that musically they aren’t far from Rich Kids/Eddie and The Hot Rods territory,
who got far more accolades, but were arguable unsung heroes themselves. Charlie
‘Ungry gets a second chance with this EP and thanks to Hozac Archival. These
three songs were taken from an LP’s worth of material. ‘Ungry does a really
good job throughout this single blending Slade, Sweet, Rich Kids with some
NWOBHM guitar. – Ed Stuart
Choke Chains – Choke Chain 7” (Solid Sex
Lovie Doll)
Bantam Rooster,
Dirtbombs and some Chinese Millionaires members get together to make this noisy
lo-fi garage punk with a layer of scuzz dripped all over it. With the pedigree
of former bands, the listener shouldn’t be surprised at all by the sound.
“Choke Chain” is the lo-fi rocker on this 7-inch while “Mayan Starship” is the
dirge-y Stooges meets Suicide number. – Ed Stuart
Color TV – Demos 7” (Self-Release/Drunken
Sailor)
Originally
self-released as a batch of demos in 2015, this has been re-released as 7-inch
on Drunken Sailor. Color TV hail from Minneapolis and have members from Welcome
Home Walker, Retainers and Cheap Time. You could argue to hearing bits of early
Husker Du, but Color TV sticks to more of Marked Men regiment. ’77 punk-pop
blasts recorded a little dirty and played at faster pace than most Buzzcocks
loving power-pop/punk bands play. – Ed Stuart
The Conquerors – Wyld Time LP (High Dive)
At first, The Conquerors
fool you into thinking this will be an early Strokes influenced LP with their
opening track, “Yes I Know,” which wouldn’t have been bad. Instead, Wyld Time reveals it’s ’63-’65
Beatles/British Beat/’60’s R&B heart shortly after. The Conquerors really
capture the era with their songwriting and production especially on “This Is
It” and “Can’t You See.” It’s one thing to capture the visual aesthetic of a
musical era with sharp suits and bowl haircuts, but it’s the songs that have to
be dialed to make it really work and on Wyld
Time, The Conquerors do just
that. – Ed Stuart
Dark Thoughts – S/T LP (Drunken
Sailor/Stupid Bag)
It’s one thing
to be totally influenced by one particular band and then another to pull off a
band based off that band and last, do it incredibly well. Dark Thoughts is that
band. There is an endless conveyor belt of bands that want to be/are The
Ramones and most don’t do them much justice. Dark Thoughts on, S/T, have beaten the odds and have done
it so surprisingly well you wonder how they pulled it off. Yes, it’s Ramones
based, but skuzzier with helpings of Spits and Marked Men influence here.
Sometimes you just have to do something simple really well and that’s what Dark
Thoughts have done. – Ed Stuart
Deadnotes – I’ll Kiss Your Fears Out Of Your Face LP (KROD)
Germany’s
Deadnotes are influenced and driven by ’00’s mainstream era pop-punk and emo
bands. I’ll Kiss Your Fears Out Of Your
Face will push the listener to their commitment’s end with the mix of
styles and length of songs. Deadnotes push the envelope to 7-8 minutes per song
on this LP, which can be a big ask in age of short attention spans. – Ed Stuart
Dead On The Wire – Lonely Hearts 7” (No
Front Teeth)
’77 So Cal
influenced mid-tempo street punk from San Diego. Dead On The Wire would fit at
home nicely on Hostage just as it does on No Front Teeth. Lonely Hearts is a Stiff Little Fingers/early US Bombs two guitar
attack with gang vocals and big choruses. Dead On The Wire 7-inch comes with
four songs, but if you buy the digital you get two extra tracks. – Ed Stuart
Dirty Fences – Hit A Homer 7” (Obey)
Hit A Homer is one of two follow up singles to the
superb Full Tramp. Dirty Fences
combine ’77 NYC rock n’ roll with pop hooks much like the Heartbreakers and
Dictators did. The A-side, “Colleen” adds some ‘80’s pop radio influences to
make this song another solid hit from Dirty Fences. The B-side is their version
of The Equals “Michael and The Slipper Tree,” which sticks pretty close to the
original. Hit A Homer was recorded in
the middle of a tour and released as a tour 7-inch, but don’t think of this as
a throw away at all because it’s not. – Ed Stuart
Dog Party – ‘Till You’re Mine LP (Asian
Man)
Dog Party is two
college-aged sisters who have been playing together since they were kids in
middle school. One sings and plays guitar while the other plays drums. ‘Til You’re Mine, the band’s fifth LP,
is pop-punk much like ‘90’s Lookout mixed with ‘00’s pop-punk without venturing
far from three chord Ramones territory.
– Ed Stuart
Futuro – Habitos Ruins LP (Dirt
Cult)
Futuro, from Sao
Paulo, Brazil, were formed out of the ashes of B.U.S.H.. No, it’s not the ‘90’s
alternative band with a string of surprising radio hits. Futuro, which now
features Camila from Pushmongos on vocal duty, sings entirely in Portuguese.
Habitos Ruins start’s off like ’82 hardcore, but it’s actually much more than
that when the other influences start to show themselves. There are bits of
Wipers, dark-pop melodies of T.S.O.L. and some early Sonic Youth style riffs
infused into the high-energy machine of Futuro. – Ed Stuart
Jonesy – S/T 7” (No Front Teeth)
Well, the song
titles aren’t going to win friends with the PC crowd, but punk rock wasn’t
really about winning friends anyway. “(I Wanna) Bang Bang You” and “(I Wanna)
Cum On Your Face” are both really good catchy songs and pretty clear on what
they want. These songs have all the rock n’ roll charm and sleaze of early Dead
Boys mixed with power-pop hooks. This 7-inch might be the sequel to “Caught
With The Meat In Your Mouth.” Jonesy, from Canada (of course), features Vinny
from the Clean Cuts and Fanatiques, who leads these girl chasing band armed
with ’77 NYC rock n’ roll with a pop heart. – Ed Stuart
The Meetup – High School Sweethearts LP (Discos
Regresivos)
Spain has a very
talked about power-pop scene and Barcelona’s The Meetup fit right in the middle
of it. The Meetup describe themselves as Exploding Hearts, which I would
disagree with because they don’t have the gritty distortion that gave the
Hearts a dirty unpolished edge. Instead, The Meetup plays a clean mod jangle
pop. High School Sweethearts is the
kind of sweet pop played by guys in sharp suits whom scooter back and forth
between practices. Think more along the lines of Lambrettas and numerous Mod
revival bands from ’77-’79 era with touches of The Plimsouls. – Ed Stuart
Mike Rep and The Quotas – Hellbender 1975-1978 LP (Hozac Archival)
Unearthed from
vaults are Mike Rep and The Quotas. Where Hozac Archival finds these bands, I’m
not sure? Hellbender is full of never
heard before basement recorded songs from Rep and The Quotas. Mike Rep maybe
best known for the single “Rocket To Nowhere,” which is not featured on Hellbender. Rep is a proto-punk hailing
from Ohio, a musical hotbed at the time, who plays a mix of Captain Beefheart
meets sludgy Stooges. – Ed Stuart
Nerve Button – Same LP (Wanda)
Should I rave
about how Nerve Button is another good Canadian band? Yes, I will. Nerve Button
plays a fun and loose ’77 punk rock n’ roll much like Teenage Head with
Dictators tongue-in-cheek lyrics. There is a cassette version which features a
cover of “Saturday Night” by Bay City Rollers, but the Wanda LP doesn’t feature
it and you won’t miss it. Same is a
ripper of an LP from a surprisingly unknown band who should be getting far more
attention than what they currently are. – Ed Stuart
Patsy’s Rats – Rock N’ Roll Friend 7” (La-Ti-Da)
Patsy’s Rats are
Christian from Mean Jeans and Patsy whose dad was in Giant Sand. “Rock N’ Roll
Friend” was written for Mikey Zeus from Pop Zeus whose life was tragically cut
short in an automobile accident last year and boy what a killer song the band
wrote for him. “Rock N’ Roll Friend” is an instant classic in the early Cars
vein with Debbie Harry doing lead vocals. “Hard Time Karen” and it’s fellow
B-side partner, “It’s Gonna Hurt” are just as good. The real winner here is
“Rock N’ Roll Friend;” a song so good in it’s classic simplicity that I had to
force myself to stop listening to it so I wouldn’t run the possible risk of ever
becoming tired of it. – Ed Stuart
Paul Jacobs – Waiting For The Grave 7” (Solid
Sex Lovie Doll)
Paul Jacobs
seems to be a prolific one-man garage rock dynamo. He has a slew of releases
dating back to 2012. Jacobs is heavy on reverb with a garage punk that mixes
Cramps and Back From Grave stuff in a lo-fi blender. – Ed Stuart
Pleasers – Such A Fool 7” (Goodbye
Boozy)
Pleasers are the
new band from Matthew Melton of Warm Soda and Bare Wires. Melton has left San
Francisco and moved to Austin and it didn’t take him very long to get a new
band going. Pleasers are more Stooges/Dictators/proto punk than his previous
projects. While Warm Soda seemed happy in their Cars slick pop world, Pleasers
would be Melton’s tougher alter ego born from dirty Thunders/NYC riffs played
with more abandon. Such A Fool is the
third single from the band in rapid succession and one for fans of Melton as
well as ‘70’s Detroit/NYC punk. – Ed
Stuart
Real Tears – Too Cool To Rock LP (Snask)
Real Tears carry
the Undertones/Buzzcocks/Dickies torch and do it with such grace. Too Cool To Rock is full of short,
sharp, catchy songs just like how they used to play them in ‘77. Real Tears mix
high-energy power-pop/punk and some melodic pop on songs like “Far Away.” Real
Tears are really for the short attention spans; it’s 15 songs in about 20
minutes. Well done from guys from Rotten Mind. – Ed Stuart
Red Mass – Re-Mi-Si 7” (Solid Sex
Lovie Doll)
Red Mass is a
Roy Vucino project. He is also in Birds of Paradise, Luxury Rides, Daylight
Lovers and many other bands. Red Mass is more post-punk, but since it’s a Vucino
project it doesn’t stay musically consistent throughout. Case in point, “Space
Rock N’ Roll” sounds like ‘50’s Buddy Holly/Elvis rock n’ roll/rockabilly,
while the two preceding songs, “Re-Mi-Si” and “Supersonic” are post-punk. “Wish
Me Luck” sounds like bedroom pop that gets closer to Wipers with indie rock
melodicism. I think Vucino writes a bunch of songs then decides which projects
they end up and this four-song batch is Re-Mi-Si
– Ed Stuart
The Rejecters – She’s So Fine 7” (Solid
Sex Lovie Doll)
Members of The
Irritations and Daylights Lovers are back with The Rejecters. She’s So Fine is full of ’77-’79
punk/new wave with touches of garage rock n’ roll. “Sally Mae” leans heavily
toward the melodic nature of many UK bands of ’77-79 era. The B-Side seems to a
lean more towards rock n’ roll/punk/garage side. “Blackballed” and “Hiroshima
Hop” are both fun and venture more into Saints territory with some Radio
Birdman inspired leads. Good stuff. – Ed Stuart
Richmond Sluts – 60 Cycles of Love LP (Rock
Box)
There is that
notion about it takes ten years to become an overnight sensation. Does it take
fifteen years to release a follow-up to a debut LP? In the case of Richmond
Sluts it does, but not because they weren’t trying. Richmond Sluts may be more popular
now then they were the last time around, thanks to skateboard videos and the
Internet. On their debut, Richmond Sluts were a punked up, farfisa soaked,
garage-influenced mix of Seeds and New York Dolls, full of energy while playing
raucous live shows. 60 Cycles Of Love
is the long awaited follow up and Sluts are in the mid-period Rolling Stones,
think the Mick Taylor era. The “Trash” style has given way to a mellower Stones
and ‘60’s psych where the guitars dictate the groove and rhythm. – Ed Stuart
Soft Candy – Bixarre Luv Pyramids 7” (Hozac)
Soft Candy are a
pop/psych band from Chicago. This 2-song 7” is their return after a brief
hiatus. The A-side, “Bixarre Luv Pyramids” is a nod to California pop like the
Byrds. Shimmering guitar pop that soaks in equal parts sun and reverb with a
touch of surf to make it just for the summer. “Song For Ellie Mae” is heavily
Beatles without being copyist. There is innocent yearning for a pure melodic
pop meets bubblegum that were gloriously rampant through the early to mid ‘60’s
with a tad bit psych influence on the lead melody. Soft Candy is really going
for the pop jugular on Bixarre Luv
Pyramids all the while harking back to the original sources of psych. – Ed
Stuart
Talkies – Never Fear 7” (La-Ti-Da)
Touted as one of
San Francisco’s bands to watch for in 2015, the Talkies have graced us
listeners with their debut single, Never
Fear. Talkies, from the East Bay, which is the Oakland and Berkeley side of
the bay, is led by Ray Seraphim who has been in Glitz and Legs. Never Fear is full of American power-pop
and was produced by Terry Six of Exploding Hearts and Nice Boys. “Never Fear”
and “Hollow” are Twilley/Tom Petty/Big Star driven melodic guitar pop leaning
more to the radio side and keeping the songs short and sweet. – Ed Stuart
Turquoise Feeling – S/T LP (Heel Turn)
Superchunk meets
the Rip-offs? Turquoise play a garage punk infused with late ‘80’s alternative
flourishes and a light touch of the Wipers. Turquoise Feeling are from the
Midwest and while this style isn’t wholly unfamiliar, it usually isn’t so lo-fi
either. S/T starts off with a dirty
rock blast in “Feverfew” and continues the game plan through the LP. I
sometimes wish the production were a little better to hear the pop leads buried
in the mix, but that would dull the edge of the guitars. – Ed Stuart
VA – Mild
In The Streets LP (Fat Wreck)
Punk goes
acoustic is really the theme of this compilation. Mild In The Streets, an obvious nod and ode to the Circle Jerks LP
title and the Garland Jeffreys song, “Wild In The Streets,” is full of bands
both new and old to the Fat roster. Mild
features group performances from Swingin’ Utters, Anti-Flag, Get Dead, Against
Me plus solo performances from members of Lagwagon, Bad Cop/Bad Cop and
Alkaline Trio. – Ed Stuart
Vicious Dreams – Somethin’ Vicious 7” (No
Front Teeth/Hovercraft/Swamp Cabbage)
Florida’s
Vicious Dreams are a female-fronted band that plays a ’77 mid-tempo punk rock
n’ roll mixed with melodic punk from members of Caffiends and Tuff Looks. Somethin’ Vicious is full of a band
incorporating both aforementioned styles throughout their songs without
venturing heavily into either territory. Imagine slower Avengers with melodic
punk and rock n’ roll riffs. – Ed
Stuart
1-800-BAND – High Beams LP (Almost
Ready)
Hot off the
heels of last year’s Diver Blue,
1-800-BAND are back with High Beams.
For High Beams, the band roped in
producer Mitch Easter who is known for working with a little known band named
R.E.M. in their early days. 1-800 has expanded the sound and influence range
for High Beams. While Diver Blue lent itself more to the
‘80’s, High Beams takes that starting
point and incorporates ‘70’s Tom Petty, Dwight Tilley and Americana ingredients
into their musical stew. – Ed Stuart
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