Former Fast Eddy frontman, Micah Morris,  serves up his first solo offering

Former Fast Eddy frontman, Micah Morris,  serves up his first solo offering

Mile high rocker Micah Morris has had his hands in the international punk rock n’ roll circuit for a long time. From his family roots in the Austin, Texas music scene, to his humble beginnings playing in a punk band in the mountains of Colorado, to busking on the 16th Street Mall, to his first Denver band Six Shooter, and on to the prolific band Fast Eddy, Morris continues to push forward into new territory with his music.

The songs Morris has authored have already been acclaimed internationally, such as Fast Eddy’s 2022 release “Take a Look”, which earned the title of “Coolest Song in the World” on Sirius XM’s Little Steven’s Underground Garage.

As the latest generation of his family’s musical legacy, Morris is the cousin of The Monkees own Michael Nesmith. His father Gene Morris is an accomplished musician of the Austin, Texas scene who played with the likes of yacht rock legend Christopher Cross, critically acclaimed guitarist Eric Johnson, and various members of Stevie Ray Vaughn’s Double Trouble. His mother Anne Norman was a production assistant to Carole King in her later 70’s era of recording.

“Tortilla Soup” is the first single from his upcoming solo record performed under the moniker of MICAH AND THE MIRRORS.  This new release was recorded and produced by Dan Dixon (credits with Doobie Brothers, Zac Brown, Ravagers, Queers)  and produced by Randy Michael (The Booze, Solid State Radio) in Atlanta, Georgia. All songs were written by Morris himself.

The future is looking bright for MICAH AND THE MIRRORS as his new music will challenge the boundaries of his former works as a reflection of Morris’ musical journey thus far and also his illuminated path forward as a solo artist!

A message from Micah

There’s a lot to say about this, but first of all I’ll say that it’s been a long time coming. A lot has changed for me lately, and ultimately it has all led me to this. I’m finally putting out a solo album. The ability to explore my own mind, soul, and emotions in relation to my music unencumbered is something that I have needed to do since I first picked up an instrument. I feel like the time has finally come to chase that dream.

This may seem like a departure for some, but for me, it’s an arrival. I promise to deliver the most raw and real version of what I have to offer. I’ll do what I can to keep rock n’ roll alive, if for no one else, then at least for myself.

Live fast and prosper 

First release from Micah Morris’ solo project Micah and the Mirrors. Full length record coming in April 2026 on Spaghetty Town Records.

Angel Face – ‘Out In The Streets’ (Slovenly Records)

Angel Face – ‘Out In The Streets’ (Slovenly Records)

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

The Urban Voodoo Machine – ‘Other People’s Children’ (Gypsy Hotel Records)

The Urban Voodoo Machine – ‘Other People’s Children’ (Gypsy Hotel Records)

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

Lipstick Vibrators – ‘Falling Down’ (Wanda Records)

Lipstick Vibrators – ‘Falling Down’ (Wanda Records)

I know punk rock ‘n’ roll happens in cycles, and whilst you wait for a void to be filled when one band of reprobates falls, you tend to hear several bands rise to the surface, and there’s no time like the present for a sleazy band of rock ‘n’ rollers to kick down the door with some rampant, distorted, sleazy rock ‘n’ roll. Lipstick Vibrators hail from the Seine and have been peddling their rock and roll since 2006, give or take a few hiatuses, but their brand of self-styled “Savage Rock’n’Roll” is most welcome from the dark, dank underbelly of Paris.

This, their third long player, is full to the brim of reckless wild riffs pushing their amps to the limit as they hack and slash through the weeds of rock n roll. The opener is a perfect example of what they’re all about, whereas ‘Revolution Baby’ enters Hip Priests territory with a thumping Stooges engine powering the rhythm along with some sleazy vocals barked out of a distorted speaker spitting punk rock n roll all over the listener. It’s suitably aggressive and wild, which is exactly what the rock ‘n’ roll doctor ordered for these wild times. It’s drinking music baby, dark and dangerous and bloody loud!

What’s not to like about the thunderous intro of ‘Partners In Crime’? It’s like pure Scabies- and James-inspired noise, and we totally approve. ‘Vivid Dreams’ is giving me UK Subs vibes on the intro, and then all hell breaks loose after the choppy guitar interlude.

‘Two Fisted Drinker’ is a beautiful, reckless noise; this album just gets better and better. In fact, it’s so sweet it could eat itself. Twelve songs in thirty-five minutes from top to bottom are loaded with bangers. ‘Burning Inside’ is a savage beast before the full-throttle whiplash of ‘Workers’ cuts loose.

Before we’re done, there’s the ragged ‘Do The Pop’ something of a Cramps-meets-Ramones speed paying homage to those who paved the way in some uber-cool punk rock genres. The Johnny Thunders guitar breaks are most welcome over the solid backbeat.

It’s not all crash bang wallop (almost but not quite). ‘Lockdown’ is a hypnotic rhythm and a more restrained charge with an emphasis on the groove and melody. Then, just to remind you what these cats are all about, they pull out all the stops for one last attack, and ‘Amphetamine’ is unleashed before we go back in for seconds. What a great record and a fine example of high-octane sleazy punk rock ‘n’ roll. Viva la Revolución, brothers. Go get a copy of this before it’s all gone.

Buy Here

Carnage Inc. – ‘Carnage Inc.’ (Independent)

Carnage Inc. – ‘Carnage Inc.’ (Independent)

Indian thrash mongers Carnage Inc. have been around since 2011. They have built up a steady following through gigging intensely. Carnage Inc. have released an EP and a full album in the form of Tenebris, which was unleashed in 2019.

The band’s latest effort is a self-titled EP consisting of five tracks of molten metal. Carnage Inc. sounds like a combination of early Anthrax, Exodus and Testament, and there are tinges of more traditional heavy metal; Judas Priest, Savatage and Queensryche come to mind.

There are some absolute bangers on display here. The band are more than competent musicians, and they can write a metal tune or two. Pounding double kick drums, crunchy riffs and tasty guitar solos are the order of the day. The tracks are well constructed with great production. Epik is my favourite song on the EP. It reminds me of Fistful of Metal era of Anthrax with its raw production and full-on headbanging effect. I’ve played the EP many times since sitting down to review it. It really is fantastic. I’m off to check more of Carnage Inc.’s back catalogue!

If you love your ‘80s metal, be sure to check out Carnage Inc. and you’ll see that thrash is alive and thriving. Horns up!

Buy Here

Author: Kenny Kendrick

AUSTRALIAS MINI SKIRT RELEASE NEW SINGLE ‘BEEN A WHILE’

AUSTRALIAS MINI SKIRT RELEASE NEW SINGLE ‘BEEN A WHILE’

NEW ALBUM ‘ALL THAT WE KNOW’ TO BE RELEASED NOVEMBER 14TH VIA BAD VIBRATIONS

PRE-ORDER HERE:

Five long years since their debut album ‘Casino’ snuck into the ears of punk enthusiasts around the world, Mini Skirt’s second full length album, ‘All That We Know’, is now ready to hurl at the world. The Australian pub-punkers continue to deliver their brand of jagged, raw political Aussie grit, delving deeper and leaning harder into their signature blend of Australian punk, ‘All That We Know’ solidifies Mini Skirt’s position at the forefront of a socially inspired noisescape.

Following the release of their ‘Pottsville River’ single last month, Mini Skirt are ready to lob another molten musical grenade at an unsuspecting music world with ‘Been A While’ – a hypnotic, grinding garage disturbance that in just over two minutes, manages to sound like The Fall colliding headlong with Eddy Current Suppression Ring.

“This track was written probably four or so years ago in our first proper writing session for the album, we’d hired a hall out in the hills behind where we live and stayed there for a couple of nights in sleeping bags on the floor,” remembers frontman Jacob Boylan. “I’d just got back from a visit to where I grew up for a funeral and was rattled by the mindset of the mates I’d grown up with that were at the funeral. It’s a bit of a heavy one. I loved the tempo of what the lads put together and fit my headspace like a glove.”

All grit and no glamour, Mini Skirt’s noisy new body of work is underpinned by lyricist and visual artist Jacob Boylan, painting a picture of the modern social climate, every verse and chorus a well-crafted and concise assessment that has the listener replaying each line to be sure they don’t miss a word. This is, as always, laid on top of the dirty, driving guitar/bass tones and skin splitting drums that have helped Mini Skirt to develop their own sound in a heavily saturated and competitive corner of rock’n’roll. Paying homage to Australian pioneers such as X and Radio Birdman, Mini Skirt’s sound remains raw and honest. 

Hailing from Byron Bay in the Far North Coast of New South Wales, the four boys in Mini Skirt produce a timeless sound that’s rough as guts and truly ensconced in the essence of pub rock that captures the climate of current-day Australia. Things aren’t always picturesque and idyllic; the vocals are urgent and frustrated while the music has a rawness and melody, sonically painting a picture of the hope through the struggle.

‘All That We Know’ lands mixed and mastered by Mikey Young (Eddy Current Suppression Ring, Total Control) and is due to be self-released in Australia and via London-based label and gig promoters Bad Vibrations in the rest of the world.

Pre-order ‘All That We Know’ HERE:

New Saints – ‘V 1.0’ (Lux Noise)

New Saints – ‘V 1.0’ (Lux Noise)

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

HOME FRONT – ‘Watch It Die’

HOME FRONT – ‘Watch It Die’

NEW ALBUM ‘WATCH IT DIE’ COMING 14TH NOVEMBER 2025 VIA LA VIDA ES UN MUS DISCOS

HOME FRONT holds on to a particular kind of passion. The sort of thing that guides you – like a climbing vine steadily blanketing your bests and worsts, cutting through changes and impasses; victory and loss. This passion, their drive, is what makes a record like Watch It Die, their latest full-length for La Vida Es Un Mus, feel just right. For decades the duo’s Graeme MacKinnon and Clint Frazier have embedded themselves in grass roots music making, community building, and the overpowering ebbs and flows of diy punk.  With Home Front, formed in 2020, they’ve given their lifetime of experience a chance to distil and then power into this musically omnipotent project which equally conjures textured Tangerine Dream sounds in a film montage, or the pummelling soundtrack to the first steps taken towards winning the fight of your life.

Its lead single “Light Sleeper” sends energy waves rattling through speakers with all the urgency and volume of post punk/new wave/street punk. The track is available alongside its video which features a cast of characters including Home Front touring members Brandi Strauss (bass), Ian Rowley (guitar), and Warren Oostlander (drums).

Home Front’s nod to influences and the themes of their lyrics are direct and detailed while maintaining enough creative distance to feel universal and unique. The production has again been bolstered by a team of long time confidants making a huge and unique record under the humble and hard working circumstances of remote pre-production and choosing to do their recording in home studios in their home town in Edmonton, Alberta.

The architecture of ‘Watch It Die’ is simple – 12 songs of danceable, hummable, rousing and honest music that only Home Front could make. The emotion of this LP is what solidifies these musical notions into meaningful art. “For us, ultimately, this is music that comes out of loss and heartbreak and failure, but I hope people have a good time listening to us. You can get rowdy, you can get emotional, you can do whatever you want, but maybe with all of that freedom, we all take a second to reflect on all our fallen brothers and sisters and friends who may have slipped away.”

On previous revered recordings Games of Power (2023) and Think of the Lie (2021), Frazier and MacKinnon gave us a snapshot of a cynical and alienating world. A place where hope was tempered by insignificance, exhaustion takes us, and where 2,000,000 voices screaming in unison can still go unheard. Watch It Die instead of asking us why and how we got here, struggling to cope with the sadness of a desperate world, brings us their “step forward” moment. A dose of optimism and ownership in the bleakest of times in which maybe it doesn’t have to feel so bad to be alone or desperate. Where the passage of time is not coloured by the nostalgia of a lost youth but more toward the celebration of wisdom earned. Watch it Die owns the ills it describes and catapults us alongside its creators who have the confidence and presence of mind to live beyond their limitations.

Watch It Die continues along the path of Games of Power, but it isn’t just a sequel. It is a road map of hope. MacKinnon and Frazier state, “For all of us in Home Front, ‘Watch It Die’ comes at a very transformative time. Geopolitically, musically and in our personal lives. With friends and close family members dying, to massive uncertainty around the world, this album encapsulates what it’s like for us to step into a ‘new world’ where all the old adages of ‘everything is gonna work out fine’ feel like a joke. We watch rich people get richer while the rest of us struggle just to get by. We watch colonisers kill without consequence, and in an age of information at our fingertips we watch people choosing to be ignorant to what’s going on around them. ‘Watch It Die’ speaks about our own humanity, a rebirth into a new world and how we can never go back to the way things were. We suffer for their dreams, but in saying that we must recognise the importance of our own community and look to energise them to build a better way of life. We have always been an anti-war, anti-genocide, pro-peace band. We are against crimes to human rights and all of those struggling through the horrors of imperialism. We stand with the people of Palestine and we stand with the Canadian Indigenous communities who struggle to uphold treaty rights as well as basic human rights like clean drinking water and generational trauma. One takeaway from our music is to make a safe space where our community can come together to air out grievances and find a better way to a new future.”

Pre-Order / Pre-Save Watch It Die

 The band will play two shows in LA later this year:

Sat Nov 22 – Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Paladium w/ Cock Sparrer, Dillinger Four and Castillo
Sun Nov 23 – Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Paladium w/ Cock Sparrer, Dillinger Four and Generacion Suicida



‘WATCH IT DIE’  WILL BE RELEASED 14TH NOVEMBER 2025 VIA LA VIDA ES UN MUS DISCOS

PUNCHDRUNK SAINTS -DEBUT SELF-TITLED ALBUM – OCTOBER 24TH VIA CADIZ MUSIC

PUNCHDRUNK SAINTS -DEBUT SELF-TITLED ALBUM – OCTOBER 24TH VIA CADIZ MUSIC

ORDER HERE:

FEATURING COCKNEY REJECTS GUITARIST MICKY GEGGUS

As 2023 drew to a close, The Cockney Rejects’ guitarist and founder, Micky Geggus, after much soul searching, decided to leave the band that he created in 1979.

Along with original Rejects’ bassist, Vinny Riordan, Mick decided to break free from the confines of punk rock and to embark upon a project that encompassed his first love: hard, heavy, and at the same time, melodic, Rock. Mick’s love of rock music will be of no surprise to any fans of the Rejects, as the band confirmed their passion for more traditional rock sounds as far back as their Pete Way (UFO) produced album ‘The Wild Ones’ in ’82. 

Having already written several songs, Mick began a series of trips to producer Kevin Poree’s Canterbury studio where he began to lay down the tracks that would become the basis of the Punchdrunk Saints’ debut album.

Along with bassist, Riordan, and drummer, Reg Downer, the songs began to take on a distinct personality and feel, ranging from hard ‘n’ heavy anthems to searing, soulful ballads. This was exactly the mix that Geggus had envisaged. Now the search for a singer who could do justice to the material began.

Acting on a tip from Mick’s East London guitarist friends, (former Iron Maiden and Lionheart guitarist) Dennis Stratton, and Dave Edwards (who played in Remus Down Boulevard with Dennis Stratton and in Ramrod with Rory Gallagher), Mick discovered inexperienced but brilliant vocalist, Marc Salmon. The pair soon took the trip down to Poree’s studio in Canterbury and the results were phenomenal. “He’d done his homework,” said Geggus. “I was blown away by the control and power he demonstrated in that first session. I thought ‘fuck me, we really got something here. This band is gonna be incredible!’”

Fast forward a year, and the debut Punchdrunk Saints album is here. From the opening stomp of “Holy Mother” to the anthemic first single “I Wanna Know What It’s Like” and the heartfelt, uplifting “Come Home”, the Punchdrunk Saints debut is a 10-track masterclass in anthemic hard rock with every song a crafted gem in its own right. This album is refreshing, vital and new and if there’s any justice in this world it deserves to be heard at maximum volume in stadia across the globe!

Sadly, neither Vinny nor Reg could commit to the band long term, but Mick and Marc were soon blessed with the arrival of powerhouse drummer, Chris Nedzynski, and brilliant bass player for Leader of the Down, Tim Atkinson. Tim is the co-founder of Leader of the Down, who up until his passing in 2011, featured the late, great Würzel from Motörhead, and he has worked in the past with legends such as Lemmy, Whitfield Crane from Ugly Kid Joe and Bruce Foxton from The Jam, to name just a few). Tim and Chris both constitute a mighty rhythm section in what is now a unique outfit.

Punchdrunk Saints recently played their debut show at London’s legendary 100 Club to an ecstatic audience in an incendiary performance that surpassed already lofty expectations and included a guest appearance on guitar from former Iron Maiden six-stringer, Dennis Stratton.  

Make no mistake, the Punchdrunk Saints are here to stay. And then some.