Sharing the sharing.
Slippers is the new project of Los Angeles-based artist and musician Madeline BB. Her debut LP, So You Like Slippers?, is ten charmingly (thanks Sam) snappy, jangly, twee-as-fu** power-pop tunes that only get better with each and every spin. Check out “XTC 1000” and “The Bus” (below) for a sample.
So You Like Slippers? is out now via Lame-O Records. You should get it! I love Slippers the band, I hate slippers the slippers. Enjoy.
Sasha Bolof’s new album, Tabitha, is 10 tracks of fuzzed-out, warm, guitar-driven tunes based on the lives of ten fictional (or are they) characters. It’s like a dream-pop / shoegaze / post-punk / art-rock hodgepodge, but unlike the definition of a hodgepodge, Sasha blends these styles seamlessly, like they all belong together.
Check out “June,” “Jane,” and “Michelle” (below) for a sample of how rad this album is. It’s the perfect album to close the summer with.
Tabitha is out now via Cruisin Records. Go get it. Enjoy.
Teenage Tom Petties’ set out to “make a 90’s-era power-pop record” on their third album in as many years (and only 9 months after their sophomore release, Hotbox Daydreams, and second self-titled album). I say they achieved that goal (and then some), as much of the guitar work and vocal harmonies throughout the record remind me a lot of 90’s-era Flaming Lips and Fountains of Wayne.
TTP is highly addictive, like Pringles. It’s a head-bobber from start to finish, that’s for sure, featuring eleven melodic, power-pop bangers. Check out “Tuff Top” and “Dumb Enough” (below) for a taste.
Teenage Tom Petties is out now via Safe Suburban Home. Enjoy.
Oakland band What’s Important are releasing their latest album, bloodsoaked castle, today. Their PR refers to their sound as “mutant pop,” and their Bandcamp page calls it “castle pop.” I don’t know what either of those genres / sub-genres mean. What I do know is that bloodsoaked castle contains some glitchy, pop punk meets electro pop goodness. Check out “i think about it a lot” (below) for a taste.
bloodsoaked castle is out now via Cherub Dream Records. Get it. Enjoy.
Chicago band Trash Fiasco’s new album Exist As Instructed is my new favorite thing!
The singer sounds like H.R., Jello, Elvis, Ian Curtis, Peter Murphy and Corey Glover. Crazy!
I love the mix–kick and bass to the front–forcing the guitar to fight it’s way through the muck.
I love that the vocals sound like they were recorded in a bathroom.
HELL! Even the album cover is incredible. Put that shit on a t-shirt!
This is magical, sludgy, garage-core punk rock!
Check out “Rat Brains”, “Chimney Smoke”, and “Turned To Prey” below. Do it!
Exist As Instructed is out now and available digitally from Trash Fiasco’s Bandcamp page. Go there and buy this right now.
Featuring members of Sinks, Neo Neos, Citric Dummies, Color Tv, green/blue, Retainers, Dummy, the Soviettes, IV, and Awesome Snakes, the new single (below) “Car Accident” from Bermuda Squares could only kick ass—and it does!
Their debut LP Outsider hits the streets in May via Feel It Records and judging by the first single it’s going to be a doozy. Enjoy.
When you’re scrolling through many emails trying to get caught up but also not miss anything and you come across “CIRCLE JERKS x DESCENDENTS release split cover EP today…” you stop everything you are doing and buy it and immediately, anxiously anticipate its arrival.
The split EP is in honor of their co-headlining tour that starts on March 15 in Tempe, AZ (you can find the rest of the tour dates below). It’s just as amazing as you can imagine it to be. It has Descendents doing the Circle Jerks’ “Red Tape,” “I Want Some Skank,” and “Beverly Hills.” As well as Circle Jerks doing Descendents’ “Kabuki Girl” and “Hope.”
You can get this from the bands during the tour and online via Trust Records. It is not available in any other way. GO GET THIS NOW!
Circle Jerks + Descendents Live Dates:
March 15 – Tempe, AZ – Marquee Theatre (SOLD OUT)
March 16 – Albuquerque, NM – El Rey Theater (SOLD OUT)
March 17 – El Paso, TX – Lowbrow Palace
March 19 – Houston, TX – House of Blues
March 20 – San Antonio, TX – Vibes Event Center
March 22 – Austin, TX – Stubb’s (SOLD OUT)
March 23 – Dallas, TX – House of Blues (SOLD OUT)
March 24 – Tulsa, OK – Cain’s Ballroom (SOLD OUT)
March 26 – Fayetteville, AR – JJ’s Live
March 27 – New Orleans, LA – Civic Theatre
March 29 – St. Petersburg, FL – Jannus Live (SOLD OUT)
March 30 – Ft. Lauderdale, FL – Revolution Live (SOLD OUT)
March 31 – Orlando, FL – House of Blues (SOLD OUT)
April 2 – Atlanta, GA – Masquerade Heaven (SOLD OUT)
April 3 – Nashville, TN – Brooklyn Bowl (SOLD OUT)
April 5 – Raleigh, NC – The Ritz (SOLD OUT)
April 6 – Richmond, VA – The National (SOLD OUT)
April 7 – Baltimore, MD – Rams Head Live (SOLD OUT)
April 9 – New Haven, CT – Toad’s Place (SOLD OUT)
April 11 – Philadelphia, PA – Franklin Music Hall
April 12 – Sayreville, NJ – Starland Ballroom (SOLD OUT)
April 13 – Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Paramount (SOLD OUT)
w/ Adolescents
Blab School is a rad new band out of North Carolina. The band consists of Ryan Seagrist (Discount, The Kitchen), Elizabeth Killian (Teens In Trouble, Glowing Stars), Dave Cantwell (Analogue, Cold Sides, In the Year of the Pig), and Fikri Yucel (Veronique Diabolique). I found out about these guys when I read “FOR FANS OF: Bad Religion, Buzzcocks, Descendants, Drive Like Jehu, The Faction, The Fucking Champs, Gang of Four, Green Day, The Hives, Hot Snakes, Jawbox, The Jesus Lizard, Les Savy Fav, Lightning Bolt, Meatbodies, Melt-Banana, Metz, Osees, Pipe, Pissed Jeans, Pretty Girls Make Graves, Superchunk, The Thermals” on Fort Lowell’s Instagram page, teasing their debut album. I was able to get my ears on a sneak peek from my friends at Fort Lowell, and I have been hooked ever since.
We are beyond stoked to bring you the premiere of the first single, “Scrolls”, from their incredible debut, self-titled album. “Scrolls” exceeded all my expectations from the list of “for fans of” above. It is a burner from the get-go with punishing drums, chunky bass lines, and razor-sharp guitars, sounding like Pretty Girls Make Graves meets Superchunk!
Blab School comes out in June via Fort Lowell Records. This is a must have record! You can pre-order it here and pre-save “Scrolls” here. Enjoy.
Detroit’s FEN FEN are near and dear to me. They are one of the first bands I played on my Sunday night radio show, The Virus on Radio 3hive (shameless plug). They released an incredible self-titled EP in late 2022 and are now releasing their debut long-player, National Threat, in May via Sweet Time Records.
Check out their first single, “Bub” (below); it’s an in-your-face, hardcore-punk blast that ends way too soon. I can’t wait for National Threat to drop, and I can’t recommend FEN FEN high enough. Enjoy.
With each new OSEES album there are always two questions: 1) Will they change the spelling of their name again? 2) What musical genre pairing will John Dwyer make you fall in love with this time?
With Intercepted Message, they stick with the OSEES name as they have on their last three albums (they’ve gone through six name variations in the past 20 years). And this time, Dwyer cooks up his classic punk/garage sound and iconic vocal package and pairs it with keyboardist Tomas Dolas, aka Mr. Elevator Synth, to create sometimes subtle and other times chaotic experimental synth disco and new wave-inspired beats with weird, wacky, and sometimes uncalled-for lyrics. The resulting heavy, creative synth sounds make you want to tap your foot occasionally but also make you scratch your head when followed up with more mellow tracks that feel out of place.
“Goon” and the title track give us a taste of the potential of this sound, only to be followed up by tracks like “Die Laughing” and “Chaus Heart” that have their own moments but stray away from the already established synth disco sound, making them feel out of place. Halfway through the album, Dwyer and Dolas start to explore and experiment with this new style by adding more layers. The track “The Fish Needs a Bike” gives you some of the most unique and odd content in this album by adding strong garage psych touches that makes you think acts like Ty Seagal, KGATLW and Frankie and the Witch Fingers.
Each time I listen to this album I keep finding something new I like about it, whether it’s some of the best experimental synth tracks of the year or some unique experimental sounds that the band could easily capitalize on in future projects. On the opposite side, the experimental sounds sometimes veer into chaos with so many colliding sounds and layers of noise. My own personal experience with the fan base suggests this might be a positive for OSEES diehards. Overall, this project is a great example of an experimental album that will most likely be looked back on as a springboard for ideas and sounds that Dwyer and Dolas will evolve on in the future.
Intercepted Message is out now via In The Red Records. You can also get it from the 3hive Record Lounge.