Interesting angles in aggressive music is what floats our boat and Kent UK trio Scowl tick that box with this track, their second single, charmingly titled ‘Lord Porno’. In the punk-fuelled chorus the widescreen wall of distorted guitars crash and careen between the speakers while the rhythm section ushers the song along in the verses with a rolling, tumbling post-punk feel. Over it all, the … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Scowl – Lord Porno
Pummelling is an apt description of this new post-punk track from UK duo Torrid Horror (Caine and Maud). Across seven minutes they dispatch frantic organ-led ‘carnival in hell’ riffs and rhythms while the singer howls and barks across the maddening crowds. At its mid point it pauses to get it’s sonic breath back, inhaling, hands on knees before the waves settle amid a spoken word … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Torrid Horror – To Tear At The Sea
For single #2 from the forthcoming new Dino Jr album, Lou Barlow takes centrestage with his song ‘Garden’. The video clip for the song was directed by Lou and Adelle Barlow, with illustrations by John Moloney and animation by Chloe Hemingway. Of the song and video Lou says: “Everyone seemed to want a disruption in the order of American life, it seemed necessary. Then it happened. It began as … Continue reading NEW SINGLE: Dinosaur Jr – Garden
Sydney band The Holy Soul are back with ‘747’, the new single from their forthcoming Robyn Hitchcock-produced LP Get Old! Coming six years after their superb album Fortean Times, the track has a heavy psych garage feel with a bassline that lurches and rumbles with melody and menace in the verses before the song blossoms out of the shadows into a damn sweet descending, jangly … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: The Holy Soul – 747
See-sawing tension and a mix of post-hardcore and post-punk styles makes this new track from Chicago trio Nonagon a real delight. On ‘The Family Meal’ there’s the knottiness and angles of Fugazi mixed with the reaching melodies of Sunny Day Real Estate as the song lurches and churns. This new single comes from their full-length LP They Birds, released on March 3rd, 2021. Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Nonagon – The Family Meal
Endless Recordings has announced the signing of Australia’s Jack Ladder to its label roster. 2021 marks the 10th anniversary of his watershed album ‘Hurtsville’, originally released on the venerated Spunk Records. Recorded in the dead of winter in a rural NSW mansion, it left behind the shuffling soul of its predecessor (the Australian Music Prize shortlisted ‘Love is Gone’) for an austere chronicle of longing and loss. Produced by Burke Reid (The … Continue reading REISSUE NEWS: Jack Ladder signs to Endless Recordings, reissues Hurtsville
Wonky, wobbly guitar lines tumble and cascade out of the speakers with a li-fi charm on this new track from Pansy. It’s got that ramshackle vibe that reminds me of Australia’s RVG and Blank Realm. A 60’s backbeat and garage/surf-pop chime and jangle makes this a real gem. More than three years ago, Vivian McCall, of the band Jungle Green, began transitioning, a process which … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Pansy – Woman of Ur Dreams
Here’s a really nice upbeat slice of indie folk-rock from San Francisco artist Loco Tranquilo (Julian Gervasi). Surf guitars wobble, shimmer and jangle over the bubbly punch of the rhythm section. Gervasi adds the psychedelic folk vibe with a vocal style reminiscent of Devendra Banhart – that free-spirited, trippy, grinning-at-the-sun kind of sound. Recorded at Coyote Hearing Studios in collaboration with local producer Mackenzie Bunch (French … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Loco Tranquilo – Golden Flower
THE LEMONHEADS LOVEY (30TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION) FIRE RECORDS In 1990, Lovey was a huge step forward for Evan Dando and his Boston band The Lemonheads. It was their major label debut on Atlantic Records after releasing their first three albums in the previous three years. Those records were a collision of noisy melodic punk rock. Part Black Flag, part The Replacements. Co-founder Ben Daily had … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: The Lemonheads – Lovey (30th Anniversary Edition)
Dunedin and indeed NZ music royalty The Bats have been pretty busy of late. They released their new LP Foothills last year, to wide acclaim, and earlier this month they also intriguingly released an instrumental version of the album on Bandcamp which gives a really interesting twist on the songs, allowing the rhythm section of perpetual motion and those sparkling guitars to take centre stage. … Continue reading Bats Galore… New music from within and around The Bats
This new track from Toledo caught our ear with its super laidback vibe – all jangly guitars, backbeat drums and hazy falsetto vocal. It reminded us of a cross between Kurt Vile and Sydney’s CJ Stranger but on a much more mellow tip. Folky indie guitar dream pop. Toledo is the project of Daniel Alvarez and Jordan Dunn-Pilz from Brooklyn, NY and this track comes … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Toledo – Dog Has Its Day
Damien Binder is back with his new single ‘Here It Is’, the first taste of his forthcoming fifth solo album. New Zealand readers will be familiar with the trajectory of his career which began as the frontman for Auckland post-punk band Second Child from the late 80s and through the 90s. Damien’s now based in Perth and has teamed up with producer Matt Gio for … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Damien Binder – Here It Is
Doubtful Sounds 