Dissimulator

Dissimulator | Lower Form Resistance | 3hive.com
Dissimulator | Lower Form Resistance | 3hive.com

“HOLY SHIT!” That’s what I said to myself after every song on Montreal band Dissimulator’s debut LP, Lower Form Resistance—an awe-inspiring, 43+ minute assault on the senses. See my text below to my buddy Jason…

The musicianship within the band is almost otherworldly. They are tighter than an MFer. The constant pummeling from the kick drum alone is enough to beg for mercy and for MORE at the same time. The fact that they are making music like this as a three-piece is ridiculous!

Lower Form Resistance is out now on 20 Buck Spin. It’s amazing. It’s like Voivod gone death metal. It’s the best metal album I’ve listened to in years, possibly ever—that’s right, I just went there!

You can get Lower Form Resistance on vinyl from us here or 20 Buck Spin here. Enjoy.

Gemm

Gemm | Spun Out | 3hive.com
Gemm | Spun Out | 3hive.com

Phoenix, Arizona 4-piece Gemm are back with their latest EP, Spun Out—a 90’s alt rock throwback that immediately makes me think of bands like Hum and Far. Check out “Trying To Feel” and “Split” (below) for a taste of their nostalgic goodness.

Spun Out is out now on Protagonist Music and available via Gemm’s Bandcamp page and on vinyl from Protagonist.

Snag it. Roll down the windows of your Eagle Talon and crank it. Enjoy.


CIRCLE JERKS x DESCENDENTS

Circle Jerks | Descendents | Split 7" | 3hive.com
Circle Jerks | Descendents | Split 7" | 3hive.com

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

Blab School | Blab School | 3hive.com
Blab School | Blab School | 3hive.com

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.

Torrey

Torrey | Torrey | 3hive.com
Torrey | Torrey | 3hive.com

Oakland band Torrey weaves the twelve tracks contained on their new self-titled album in, out, and through bits of shoegaze, indie pop, jangle pop, and rock. Creating an infectious 35 minutes of listening pleasure and a definite contender for album of the year.

Check out “Bounce”, “Hawaii” and “Slow Blues” below for a taste.

Torrey is out now on Slumberland Records. You NEED this records in your life. Enjoy.



Porcine

Porcine | Porcine | 3hive.com
Porcine | Porcine | 3hive.com

If a shimmering, dreamy, jangly style of shoegaze is your thing, then the Barnsley, UK trio, Porcine, might be your new favorite band. They just released their third album via Safe Suburban Home and it is fantastic!

Check out album opener “Stop The World” and “Time Never Moves” (below) for a taste.

Porcine is out now on Safe Suburban Home Records. Enjoy.

FEN FEN

FEN FEN | National Threat | 3hive.com
FEN FEN | National Threat | 3hive.com

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.

robounoishi

robounoishi | milkgazer 2024 | 3hive.com
robounoishi | milkgazer 2024 | 3hive.com

Ten things I know or don’t know about robounoishi:

  1. I don’t know how to pronounce or write the name of the band and WordPress will not code kanji.
  2. They are from Tokyo….. I think.
  3. They are putting out some incredible dream-pop/shoegaze music right now.
  4. Their new album milkgazer 2024 is one of my favorite new releases so far this year.
  5. I do not know or cannot tell if robounoishi is a band or a singular entity or even real.
  6. They are on Twitter @robouno__ishi.
  7. You can and should buy all their music from their Bandcamp page.
  8. You can and should stream all their music on Spotify, however their is one album there that doesn’t look like theirs.
  9. You can stream “black out” and “revival”, my favorite tracks from the album below.
  10. You will enjoy this music if you have a soul.

SNõõPER

Snooper | Super Snooper | 3hive.com
Snooper | Super Snooper | 3hive.com

Remember 2013? 10+ years ago, a Northwest Indiana band started something odd, catchy, edgy and wacky in a stick-it-to-the-man type of way. Egg Punk, ever heard of it?  If you have, you can thank Egg Punk legends The Coneheads for the birth of this odd subgenre of punk that features cheap synths, frantic drum machines, and sarcastic vocals. 

Years later we have a project called Snõõper out of Nashville that channels the original ideas and sounds of this movement, taking obvious inspiration from The Coneheads’ pacing and lyrical flow. Their 2023 debut album, Super Snõõper, is a fast-paced Egg Punk album that feels like ADHD personified in the best possible way. This album gives off a lot of Gen Z energy – hyper, energetic, cynical, and youthful. 

The track “Powerball” (below) gives an energy that makes you want to walk away from your workstation and start to dance in the break room. The whole album is a quick listen, clocking at 22 minutes and 58 seconds. That can feel like a lot when you’re in the second half of this album. The track “Music for Spies” wastes no time, and gives no time to relax. Moments like this can make it feel like the album is never going to end. But, by the time it’s over, I feel like I need more.

Overall this project is a positive for the genre. The sound makes me want to explore Egg Punk even more, which has me digging into Prison Affair or The Coneheads for their take on the oddball genre. Looking forward to future projects by these guys. 

OSEES

OSEES | Intercepted Message | 3hive.com
OSEES | Intercepted Message | 3hive.com

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.