After being mightily impressed with the self-titled debut, which was packed to bursting with absolute bangers. Huge melodies wrapped up in a spitfire volley of garage rock n roll. Energy and lo-fi garage rock n roll goodness tunes that burrowed into your ear, sticking to your brain like a huge happy virus. Of course I was gonna be all over this bad boy.

Join me as I lead you through the band’s “difficult” second album. Or as the case may be, the piece of piss second album that hits as hard as the first and is possibly more impressive due to them treading the same furrow and pulling out another bunch of delights. It can’t be this easy, can it? Why don’t all bands pay this much attention to detail and kick out the jams this wonderfully sounding?

‘Searching for the Truth’ opens the record with a rasping 100mph beaming smiling heartbeat packed with melody and handcaps, gang singalong vocals sounding like a long lost Gen X banger. Check out the guitar licks, they are fired from the heart of a band that loves what they deliver.

Basically, it’s a loud rock n roll album packed with great tunes played with joy and excitement and at ear-splitting volumes, or at least that’s where they are best played. ‘OUT IN THE NIGHT’ and ‘speedball are perfect examples, dripping with snot and sweat in equal measures.

It’s not all Crash Bang Wallop mind (Ok, mostly it is) ‘Let’s Go’ is cool as ice from its swaggering tempo to the finger clicks and hand claps it’s a beautiful thing. Like an avalanche of rock n roll, you don’t mind being crushed by it as the speakers are tested to the sonic max. Short and razor sharp, these tunes come thick and fast. Rapid snare rolls and clanging guitar chords, Angel Face ooze snotty rock n roll, and I for one love it.

Let’s keep it short and sharp, and let’s not give the game away. Come join me, get excited for a band that delivers the rock n roll. I mean, what else have you got planned? Whatever it is that’ll be this good, that lasts less than half an hour? ok, simmer down, you filthy animals. Put the beer in the fridge, turn the stereo up, then slip this bad boy on; it’ll make you fall in love with punk rock n roll. This is exactly how it should be done. Get these cats on tour with Cavemen, that would be one nuclear hot show right there, no holds barred wild ride rock n roll, Buy it!

Buy Here

Author: Dom Daley

Covers albums can be hit and miss affairs. There are plenty out there, the good, the bad and the ugly. Well, with 5 studio albums, 2 compilations and an album of artists covering their own songs, London-based collective The Urban Voodoo Machine have surely earned the right to release a covers collection of their very own.

Chief songwriter Paul-Ronney Angel certainly thinks so. And in a world saturated with AI versions of your favourite songs reimagined as funk, soul or reggae, it seems fitting the one of the most exciting live bands around take 11 songs (some familiar, some not so familiar) and record them using real instruments, played by real musicians in a real recording studio.

For me, the essence of a good cover version is to put your own stamp on it and create your own masterpiece from an already existing piece of art. The Urban Voodoo Machine do just that with the opening song of ‘Other People’s Children’. Their take on the AC/DC classic ‘Hell’s Bells’ was actually recorded many moons ago for a Classic Rock compilation CD (remember those?). Who knew that injecting some bourbon-soaked gypsy blues bop n’ stroll music would work so damn well? With that iconic riff picked on an acoustic guitar and a horns & brushed beats accompaniment, PR and his band of brothers do the unimaginable and make the song their own.

It’s a strong start, but they keep the pace up with a rip-roaring one-two that really captures the live feel of the band. You could argue that ‘Rhinestone Cowboy’ and The Stones ‘Factory Girl’ were made to be covered by Paul at his most inebriated, and the delivery just fits the feel of songs. Its captured beautifully, as our ringleader wails whisky-soaked tones over crashing, rustic instrumentation. The latter especially works so well with banjo and horns to the fore, creating a gypsy style party vibe.

Noone can deny the pop suss of ABBA, and ‘Chiquitita’ has never been tackled with such drunken aplomb. Side 1 ends with a spaghetti western drenched version of ‘Destiny Angel, an emotive song written by sadly departed founding member Nick Marsh. It has been re-recorded here with the help of members of Nick’s family.

Side 2 carries on the tribute to lost members theme with ‘The Lodger’, a song written by Mark Gilligan, who played with the band on and off for many years. His son Tristan joins the band on guitar for this Pogues inspired folky ditty, it’s a killer tribute. Originally a hit for The Standells in 1966, ‘Dirty Water’ is a rock n’ roll party that sounds like about 5 UVM songs rolled into one. With a faster pace and a fistful of energy, it’s probably my favourite song on the record right now.

Ry Cooder’s ‘Across The Borderline’, with its re-tagged “London, you’re my home” refrain is topical and suitably delivered in an acoustic based, gypsy blues style. The late night ‘live in the studio’ vibes continue with the smoky ‘Jimmy Jazz’, where PR and his harmonica take the spotlight to do justice to The Clash and make this London Calling cut even more jazzy.

The Urban Voodoo Machine love a good instrumental and if you’ve seen them live, you may well have seen them open with the classic ‘Popcorn’. Here it comes on like it’s been ripped straight from a Tarantino movie. The gospel classic ‘I’ll Fly Away’ brings things to a close nicely, a song the band play regularly in their other incarnation as The Urban Voodoo Machine Marching Band, who play funerals with a New Orleans style twist. Maybe I’ll get them booked in for my send off!

The live energy Of The Urban Voodoo Machine is captured magnificently by Alex McGowan at Space Eko Studios, and the great thing about this album is that it sounds like a regular Urban Voodoo Machine record. They bring the party every time, whether it’s their own songs or these other people’s children that they have made their own.

Like I said at the beginning, covers albums are hit & miss affairs, and this one is very much a hit as far as I’m concerned.

Buy Here

Author: Ben Hughes

40 YEARS OF  ‘I DON’T WANT TO GROW UP‘  WITH DEFINITIVE REISSUE OUT NOVEMBER 21

Org Music continues its acclaimed reissue campaign with the band’s second album, featuring multiple formats, exclusive color variants, and a special “Punk Note” edition with artwork by John Yates inspired by Blue Note jazz classics.

Pre Order Here

“…featured the most singable tunes the band had ever written. ‘Good Good Things’, ‘In Love This Way’, and ‘Can’t Go Back’ were positively sunny by Descendents standards; the Beach Boys-gone-punk vibe was an obvious precursor to Weezer.”- Jenny Eliscu

“When the four want to be straight up and perfectly poppy, they can and do with smashing success, with surprisingly mature, emotional lyrics and playing that doesn’t rely on all-speed all the time.”-All Music

Los Angeles, CA — Org Music is proud to announce the reissue of I Don’t Want To Grow Up, the landmark second album from legendary punk pioneers Descendents, arriving November 21, 2025. The reissue will be available across formats—LP, CD, and cassette—alongside a special Punk Note LP edition featuring alternate packaging.

This release marks the second installment in Org Music’s ongoing reissue campaign with Descendents, who recently reclaimed ownership of their master recordings. Following the acclaimed reissue of Milo Goes To College, this new edition brings fresh attention to one of the band’s most beloved albums—arriving just in time for its 40th anniversary.

Originally released in 1985 on New Alliance Records, the label founded by Minutemen’s D. Boon and Mike Watt, I Don’t Want To Grow Up was recorded after vocalist Milo Aukerman returned from college. It also marked the first of two albums to feature guitarist Ray Cooper. With brighter melodies and sharper hooks than its predecessor, the record helped the band avoid the dreaded sophomore slump while cementing their status as one of punk’s most influential voices.

Among the many formats, fans will find a standout: a limited Punk Note edition designed by John Yates (Stealworks). Inspired by the iconic Blue Note jazz label artwork of Reid Miles and Francis Wolff, these reimagined covers bring a bold, visual reinterpretation of punk history. The Punk Note series began with Org Music’s celebrated Bad Brains reissues, and continues here with deluxe case-wrapped jackets and new liner notes by BrooklynVegan senior editor Andrew Sacher.

The reissue will be available in the following variants:

Widely Available Formats:

  • Black LP
  • “Banana Peel” LP
  • Punk Note Edition (Black Vinyl)
  • CD
  • Cassette (Yellow)

Limited / Exclusive Variants:

  • Punk Note Edition (Transparent Yellow LP) — Org Music Exclusive
  • “Oxblood Docs” LP — Descendents Exclusive
  • Ocean LP — BrooklynVegan
  • Pink LP — Zia Records Exclusive
  • Green Bay LP — 1-2-3-4-GO! Records
  • Bubble Gum LP — Going Underground Records & Seasick Records Exclusive
  • Black LP with Exclusive Obi Strip — Celebrated Summer Records
  • Purple Swirl Cassette — Tapehead City Exclusive

With I Don’t Want To Grow Up, Descendents sharpened their signature mix of melody and urgency, laying down a blueprint that countless punk bands would follow. Forty years later, the album still feels raw, relatable, and essential—now reintroduced in a definitive reissue that honors its enduring legacy.

More reissues are on deck. The campaign will continue with Enjoy!, ALL, Bonus Fat, and beyond—each release overseen by the band themselves, ensuring the music is presented exactly as they intend.

This effort isn’t just a trip down memory lane—it’s about preserving the work, honoring the intent behind it, and opening the door for a new generation to discover one of punk’s most influential catalogs.

Pre-orders and variant details available at:

https://bio.to/descendents

Follow Descendents:
[Webstore] | [Instagram] | [Facebook]

Long time readers will be fmiliar with Bitch Queens and  Harry Darling & Melchior Quitt well the Queens are no more but Harry and Mel moved on and didn’t stand still and New Saints were born. Having seen the pair perform at the Hip Priests finale its great to finally get my ears around their synth drenched adjit punk pop hybrid thats thumping away at my skull.

Kicking off with the nasty bruising ‘Top Tier Lizard’ its more an amped up Depeche Mode with a bad attitude , no make that a stinkin attitude. Hot on the heels is the polished brain worm of ‘Probem Child’ with its twitching samples and pulvarising heavy riffs its a mash up of styles that shouldn’t work but it dovetails perfectly. Now if only Manson heard these two he’d have them writing for him all day long.

In a dark sweaty electronic club or in a smelly bar that sells Maidens brew this would work perfectly as long as its dark dank and the dry ice is plentyful New Saints are pulversing as ‘Shitsphere’ takes centre stage waving the middle finger in your face, excellent.

The MO is simple, polished production that hits the sweet spot time after time with well constructed songs that mix and mash electronic with hard rock riffage but the songs weave very nicely. ‘Born Annihilated’ begins with some well executed rapping before th ebeats are joined by that riff and Boom!

Put the Ket and MDMA down its not needed here this album will fuck your brain up if you play it loud and hard enough. The format is simple rince and repeat pen a great riff, accesorise it with tweaks and blips then turn the fucker up – ‘Billionaire Schmillionaire’ is a perfect example and oh I forgot great lyrics.

Its not all crash bang wallop mind, oh no sir. ‘City Of Thieves’ is like 80s Scorpions balladeering but a bit darker even if does a handbreak turn when the guitars go to be replaced by synths. Before the head fuck of the last minute. Huge.

‘Fck The Algorithm’ is punk as fuck but in a futuristic world – when worlds collide into a chaotic meltdown but one that is very appealing and highly addictive. Twelve tracks brought to a crashing halt as ‘Pitch Black’ is a war of the worlds spoken words address before one last hurah! and we slam dance into the distance with our glow sticks on fire hailing these New Saints as the future, All hail New Saints, and long live New Saints you mad pair of noisy bastards. Buy it!

Buy Here

Author: Dom Daley

Holy fuck, I have to start by saying that my first spin was on ear-bleeding volumes, and as the title track burst through the ether, I felt quite emotional. The melody is exquisite and those gang vocals haven’t been heard since Turbonegro hit their zenith. Throughout the album trilogy ’Misanthropical House’, ’Algorithm and Blues’, and ’Research and Destroy’, were well above average, in fact, over ti.m,e I’d go so far as to say at times exceptional but his ‘November Boys’ is shaping up to be something else that blasts off into the red hot sun. The Good The Bad and The Zugly have limped their way through midlife crises and pubescent antics to release one mother fucker of a record from the opening pop sensible melodic bastards that ore the first two to ‘Norweigans Abroad’ which is a thrashing mother fucker of a track that is tight and raging and turning into everythinng you want it to sound like – turn it up please.

They might well be mediocre underachievers on the unglamorous Scandirock path to valhalla but fair play this eclipses everything they’ve done until here and maybe now people will take these slackers seriously and they will be championed for saving gumbo punk rock n roll single-handedly.

‘Dig A Ditch’ sounds like a heavy diet of UFO records and bad drugs for the length of the intro alone but man this record is making bad life choices seem like good ideas that have brought us to this point in life otherwise we’d have passed these nut jobs by and given them a wide birth, thankfully I’m not that sensible.

The bands press release is like it was lifted from a twin peaks script after some bad acid and too much vodka but the tunes will always be their saving grace when they’re this good. ‘Dig A Ditch’ could and should be a crossover radio hit anywhere and everywhere.

A snippet from the press kit reads as follows: “The fact remains: we have always been left behind ever since kindergarten (for those of us lucky enough to experience such a well-regulated institution). In sports, we were always picked last. Our finest effort was put into keeping the bench warm for all the tough and slick January boys whenever they got tired of scoring goals—and chicks. Our academic performances measured at impressively low standards. Lacking any ability to concentrate, our educational path was a fast track to the headmaster’s office and, eventually, special ed classes. Today, they would have stuffed us full of pills in no time.” Confused? Don’t be, join us and rejoice that we’ve got the best tunes just take the melody on ‘A Blazer In The Northern Sky’ and dance like nobody is watching and sing like nobody can hear you. It’s blissful, trust me.

‘Scandinavian CRISPR Brat’ is like their irresponsible hate anthem, but with a sweet melody and a riff to die for GBZ are on FIRE! The fact that there are only ten songs here fills me with sadness. I wish it were a double album with twenty tracks, such is the quality on offer, but he,y ten is fine and dandy. ‘FOMO’ is bone-crushing riff-a-rama as we’re almost at the finish line, it’s a burst on as we dash for the finish through a thrashingly good ‘Hadeland Hardcore’. The Stooges one-finger piano tonk on ‘All My Friends Are Dead Inside’ rings around my head before we sign off with the wonderful ‘New Kids on the Blockchain’ and we’re done. I’m going back in for more and might just play it on my headphones and see if I can just run as fast as I can for as long as I can to see if this album makes me go mental. What a fuckin monster of a record. Congrats GBZ, you have achieved a goal of writing and recording one hell of a record that is as good from the opening track to the closing track, and everything in between is pure fuckin fire (as the kids would say). Melodies to die for, riffs that are on point and life-affirming. The November Boys are here, and the summer isn’t even done yet. Buy this album; it might just be the best thing you hear all year.

Buy Here / Plastic Head in the UK: Here

Author: Dom Daley

The latest band hitting our collective ear drums on the Venn roster are Club Brat and what a punch to the ear drum they are. Joining the impressive Aerial Salad, High Viz, Split Dogs and Bob Vylan to name a few Club Brat have a pop sensibility about them but they wrap it in a velvet glove inside a boxing glove holding a sledge hammer.

’25 Cameras’ opens up this rapid four-track EP, and it’s everything you want to hear. Cool lyrics wrapped inside a hard-hitting, sharp guitar-driven song, is it indie post punk? Who knows who cares, it’s full of energy and packs a punch, that’s all you need to know, and once it’s in your ear, it’ll take something special to dislodge it.

A rich bass-heavy thump and volatile rhythmic urgency is the MO here. ‘Goodbye Pop Culture’ has the warm, rich Bass thump and those angular guitars chopping away through a twitching, crowded backdrop, excellent stuff and very accessible. Originally from Peterborough and now split between Bristol and London, the five-piece formed in 2023 and quickly earned a reputation for unpredictable live shows and a relentless DIY ethos, while still working with some of underground music’s most respected engineers. Club Brat has a statement EP, no question about it, now to follow it up with more live shows and then the album. On this evidence, they have nothing to worry about. ‘In It For The Money’ might not be what they’re about, but it’s like if Jane’s Addiction were from inner city UK and not Hollywood, California. It has the energy and drive, and most importantly, it has the tunes. The final cut is the rapid barking dog of a track, ‘Watch’ it’s heavy, fast but you can dance to it. Go pick up a copy and find out for yourself.

Fantastic EP buy it!

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Author: Dom Daley

Tour Dates – September

18 September — Leeds, Headingley Social Club

19 September — Stamford, Mama Liz’s Voodoo Lounge

20 September — Bristol, The Golden Lion

25 September — London, Hope & Anchor

26 September — Nottingham, JT Soar

October

2 October — Sheffield, The Washington

9 October — Birmingham, The Rainbow

10 October — Brighton, The Pipeline

We all have styles and bands that keep returning to our turntables, tablets, digital streaming or however we consume these days, and you can add to that labels that just get it and churn out reliably above-average music and new finds to add to our playlists and favourite new albums of the year list. One such label is the Scandi power poppin’ legends at Beluga who’ve done it again. If you are ever in doubt about your choices of music and bands to play, then I suggest you jump on board because the latest record off the quality-assured conveyor belt is the quirky named No Tears.

Now stay with me, it might have been originally released back in 2023 on  Luftslott Records. No Tears peddle pure Costello-infused Power Pop with added snot guitar pop. The whole shooting match is performed by the clever so-and-so called Christoffer Karlsson. The astute and top power poppers will know his day job is performing with the horror punkin power poppers The Dahmers as their lead vocalist, so the guy has pedigree.

Now you can check them another day because today it’s all about reengaging with No Tears and passing on the love and hopefully expanding the ownership of this fantastic record. The album kicks off with the rampant horn honkin’ blast that is ‘Dreamin’, and that’s it I’m all in. Energy, excellent playing and those honkin’ saxophone breaks laid over a wicked riff and thumping beat, it’s a freakin winner every day of the week. From the drum fills, the bass solo and then the rasping guitar break, this is kitchen sink rock n roll and some. Oh and handclaps

Once upon a time, this record would have been huge and hits galore all over the globe. There is a familiarity with the melodies in some of the songs, and the riffs are all borrowed from the good and great of history. Had Chris Stein penned some of the licks and arrangements around the time of ‘Eat To The Beat’, like ‘Get Away’. The sugar-sweet melodies are wrapped in raw guitars but smoothed over with some well-placed keys.

‘Same Old Story’ is banging and giving The Hives a good run for their money, and they’re playing arenas. The variety is excellent, pitching ‘Broken Mirror’ with its backbeat and dreamy breakdown alongside a good boogie ‘On 45’, then a curveball in the spaced out dreamy of the ‘Silence Is Speaking’ before signing off with the acoustic slide marching beat of ‘Without Your Love’ that features vocals from Beatrice Rosdahl adding some ye haw! to proceedings. What a fantastic breath of fresh air this record is, featuring eleven diverse songs making up a complete album that you should be checking out.

Get over to Beluga and tell em RPM sent you or else…

Buy Here

Author: Dom Daley

From the windswept, sheep-dotted cliffs of the Faroe Islands comes a band that are anything but pastoral. Joe & The Shitboys, self-described “queer vegan shitpunks”, have been raising hell, ruffling feathers, and flipping the script since their chaotic inception, and now they’re ready to unleash their debut LP, Greatest Shits, via Alcopop! Records.

A compilation of the band’s first three releases—each originally pressed on 7” vinyl due to their rapid-fire 10-minute lengths— ‘Greatest Shits’ also features a bunch of brand new tracks recorded straight to analogue tape. It’s a vital, venomous, and vibrantly unfiltered collection from one of punk’s most exhilarating and unique new voices, giving anything from down under a run for their bad hair cut money and (probably shit fashion sense).

Once you get balls deep into this a mix of ragged punk mixed with the more artsy side like PAvement or DKs mixed in with early Lemonheads and a vibrant wreckless abandonment like ‘Wonderwall’ which sounds like the instruments tied to the back of a tractor and dragged around a field would sound like before the excellent tribute to wrestling legend ‘Macho Man Randy Savage’ kicks in.

So there might be thirty seven tracks here but you don’t need to dig deep to hear the three second blast of ‘Fuck’ or the eleven seconds of ‘Eat Ass You Fucking Coward’ you know the drill it might be nothing new but its a lot of fun and highly addictive.

With Joe taking the mic and a rotating cast of Shitboys behind him (currently Ziggy Shit, Johnny Shit, and Ollie Shit), the band became a lightning rod for resistance against the backwards, macho values that persist in their homeland’s music scene. Their goal? Skewer toxic culture with speed, wit, and the occasional ass joke. Job done and an album to be proud of, no matter what.

The band might not be on the tip of everyone’s tongue, but Iggy had them on board for Alley Pally recently, so the right people are getting involved, and on this evidence, it’s not hard to see why. Potty-mouthed and kicking out the jams, Beastie Boys meet a whole goofball bag full of original punks. Joe has the world at his feet, and songs like Mr Nobody sound effortless as well as timeless. Then to follow it up with a groovy ‘Fuck Everybody’ is a band dancing to their own beat, and that only like it or lump it I doubt they give a single shiney shit.

Who knows what Jooe and the gang will do next, but I’m all ears, but let’s live with this bad boy for a while yet.

Joe & The Shitboys are just getting started, they declare, so jump in and join us. Joe and the shitboys are de bomb as the cool kids say.

Buy Here

Author: Dom Daley

IDLES 

NEW TRACK “RABBIT RUN” FEATURES IN DARREN ARONOFSKY’S UPCOMING FILM ‘CAUGHT STEALING’

ONE OF FOUR ORIGINAL IDLES SONGS TO FEATURE IN THE FILM THE BAND ALSO PERFORM ITS SCORE, COMPOSED BY ROB SIMONSEN ‘CAUGHT STEALING’ SOUNDTRACK TO BE RELEASED DIGITALLY Later this week.

IDLES’ ‘TANGK’ era has been a triumph as the band achieved their second UK #1 album, earned three Grammy Award nominations (Best Rock Album, Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance), and earned international, across-the-board acclaim. They’ve excelled on the road too, with a phenomenal Other Stage headline set at Glastonbury, which saw NME’s five-star review state that they made “a claim to headline the Pyramid in the future.” Elsewhere they headlined Truck and End of the Road, and completed a UK headline tour that saw them perform to 20,000 people in London alone over two nights at Alexandra Palace – and there’s still this weekend’s Bristol Block Party shows left to come.

Yet as that era draws to a close, it’s still opening up remarkable creativity opportunities for the band. Drawing inspiration from the gritty energy of the 1990s New York punk scene that permeates Academy Award nominee Darren Aronofsky’s upcoming crime caper ‘Caught Stealing’, IDLES have contributed four original tracks to the project’s soundtrack as well as having recorded the full film score composed by Rob Simonsen (‘The Whale’, ‘Deadpool’, ‘Wolverine’). Also included is a striking cover of the Junior Marvin-penned ‘Police and Thieves’, a song famously covered by The Clash on their 1977 self-titled debut album.

‘Caught Stealing’ which will be released theatrically by Sony Pictures on August 29th, and its accompanying soundtrack album will be issued that same day via Partisan Records.

IDLES and Darren Aronofsky (‘Requiem for a Dream’, ‘The Wrestler’, ‘Black Swan’) quickly formed a creative kinship, united by a deep mutual respect for each other’s work. When Aronofsky began developing ‘Caught Stealing’ he turned to his favourite band to shape the film’s sonic identity.

ON AUGUST 29TH VIA PARTISAN RECORDS

Pics: Tom Ham

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