Singles Club – October and the leaves are stripped bare

Singles Club – October and the leaves are stripped bare

Eel Men – ‘Are You There God Its Me’ (NFT Records) Jangly jarring guitars over a good melody is always going to be a single to grab the attention. This one is backed by a metronomic robotic backbeat and guitar lick that is part Devo and part Kraftwerk and a spoonful of Buzzcocks for good measure.   There that’s the yardstick to aim for three classic bands thrown into the punk rock melting pot and out pops the Eel Men

 

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Kurt Baker – ‘Keep It Tight’ (Wicked Cool Records) It’s fair to say that this cover of the Single Bullet theory song is held dear by Mr Baker so much so he burnt a cdr of the song from vinyl and ended up covering it here.  Coolest song in the world by underground garage sounds about right. Kurt Baker should be huge I guess those of us in the know will just have to hold on to that secret until the rest of the world catch up with us and Bakers genius.  until then Keep it tight kids

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Delusions Of Grandeur – ‘Self Titled’ (Self Released)  Lockdown blues got to some Hip Priests and a couple of Bitch Queens and out birthed Delusions Of Grandeur.  A noisy (obviously) chug through four blistering tracks of tunes that if the backyard Babies wanted to get back into the groove they should listen to.  With guitar licks sparking off the wheels of this Punk and Roll beauty as the EP opens with the bashful ‘Drinking My Life Away’  with some gang vocals on the chorus as these gents trade licks.  Sing-a-long drinkathon.  Nice.  ‘Shits Fucked’ is sped-up snarled punk n roll that just about summed up the past 18 months rather nicely.

 

If you ever loved the really early ‘Get some Action Now’ era Hellacopters and hankered after some Dragons meets a healthy dose of Gluecifer then this is a no-brainer. With a nod to some spicey Motorhead on the closing track which is never a bad place to be.   Excellent EP from top to bottom. Four track 7″ available on gold, white or black vinyl – Buy It Here

 

Steve Conte – ‘Flyin’ (Wicked Cool Record) with a cool acoustic song Conte is Flyin.  The latest track off the upcoming album, ‘Bronx Cheer’ its a song in the mould of The Faces balladeering meets classic early Black Crowes.  Steve says of ‘Flyin’, “This one goes back to 1994. We jammed on this in my rehearsal studio very organically and I came up with the lyrics later. I did a few demos of it over the years and it never left my consciousness.”  The lyrics focus on perseverance and how, “in the face of adversity, disappointment and trauma, a person of strong will can keep going for their dreams.”  Whilst the track has a wonderful sound from the acoustic to the earthy Drum sound and the snap of the snare it showcases Conte’s vocals really well and the track has a really earthy sound.  It’s all about light and shade it doesn’t always have t be full-tilt rock and roll.  Great tune.   You can pre order the album Here

 

 

Billy Idol – ‘The Roadside’ EP (Dark Horse Records) Four tracks of vital idol with opener ‘Rita Hayworth’ with his familiar snarl and curled lip vocal it’s glossy and has that Idol pound on the rhythm and slick gang vocals on the chorus.  What’s not to like?  it is what it is.

Seconds out and the King Rocker cranks up the laid-back acoustic guitar for ‘Bitter Taste’ it’s a reflective side of Idol and one he’s used to good effect on his last couple of records. ‘U Don’t Have To Kiss Me Like That’ sees a pop beat and some female vocals puncturing the wall of sound It’s a big sound and made for the American market and another side of Idol he’s used to great effect throughout his career.   To be fair he could write this stuff in his sleep. Drum machine at the ready as he goes for the reflective cool sound on the EP closer which to be fair is a decent tune and his vocals sound really good but I’d have prefered an album please Billy rather than an EP.

 

Cutters – ‘Midnight Bus’ (Self Release) A cover of Betty McQuade’s 1961 hit ‘Midnight Bus’ sees Australian Punks give the tune a bloody good tuning to be fair.  There is no question in my mind that the most impressive new records are coming from down under where there seems to be a hell of a lot of great bands currently kicking the shit out of instruments all over the continent.

 

Cutters are right up there with the finest exports from Oz now get over to Bandcamp and check em out you might just fall in love with these punks.  Their mini lp ‘Australian War Crimes’ is a fuckin belter!  Here

 

 

Junkyard – ‘Lifer’ (Acetate Records) ‘Lifer’ backed by ‘Last Of A Dying Breed’ sees these Californian Rockers come out swinging. It’s hard-rocking licks with a thumping great rhythm section what were you expecting? If this was a new AC/DC track people would be hailing it as the second coming.  These guys are veterans of the hard rock scene and still have energy and a pocket full of tunes that cut it.  Never meant to reinvent the wheel just borrow it for the Hog their riding with this as the theme tune for burning rubber on the highway.

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The Professionals – ‘Spike Me Baby’ lifted from the new album  ‘SNAFU’ is Tom Spencer throwing his Loyalties tip into the Professionals jar and knocking out the best of both worlds.  Sure it’s not Jonesy but it has his blessing and once you’re over that it’s a really good song and why wouldn’t it be.  Its familiar has a rock-solid beat courtesy of Mr. Cook and a decent melody with some sweet guitar licks to boot.  If you’re wondering yes the album is rather good as well some excellent tunes on offer

 

Jackson Reid Briggs – ‘Fear/Move’ (Legless Records) Jackson Reid Briggs is back with a 4 track EP of punk/soul belters. Jackson got together with two mates a few days after the initial lockdown in Melbourne, Australia ended in November 2020. Noone except Jackson had heard the tracks yet but they smashed them out in a few hours in a storage unit.  Coming on like a ragged US Bombs its class punk rock n Roll.

 

From the opener ‘Fear’ through ‘The Chase’ which happens to be the pick of the four on offer here. ‘Move’ is a blast of ‘on the hoof’ punk rock with a swirling keyboard mixing up some great gang vocals and spat out lyrics. ‘Monster’ closes off this EP in grand style with a great thumping beat and chanted chorus with a cool guitar lick and some splendid handclaps.  Fantastic four to be fair and well worth checking out.    Buy Here

Singles Club – When September Ends

Singles Club – When September Ends

RICKY RAT-  “She Feels Like a Good Thing” b/w “Born in Detroit  (I-94 Recordings) Ricky has teamed up with his Rat Pack members Laura Mendoza (bass) and Joe Leone (drums) for 2 new studio tracks.  The “A” side is a brand new original and the “B” side is a cover of the classic “Born in Detroit” (The Rockets). The amazing Jimmie Bones guests on piano on this barnstormer.   A good time slice of Rock and Roll sees Ricky do what he does best just cruising down this Rock and Roll freeway kicking up the dust with some punk rock n roll with a catchy chorus and gang vocals that sound like one of those memorable nights out.

The B side is worth the money for this 45 alone.  Ripping it up with some cool as fuck piano licks to give the feel good kick this bit o boogie woogie needs.  Class!

Preorders are available at I-94Recordings.com (they will ship out August 20th).

 

Delusions Of Grandeur –  EP (Savage Magic Records) is the result of a bunch of mates from two different countries, recording songs remotely, to help kill the boredom of Lockdown 1.0.

It is not a band, there will be no gigs. It is a one off, 4 track 7” of songs that would have otherwise been left to rot on Austin’s hard drive if Mel hadn’t suggested that they should try recording them and see what happened.

Blah blah Hip Priests, blah blah Bitch Queens. It doesn’t sound particularly like either but it’s fast, bangin’ and has loads of guitar solos!  That’s a pretty succinct press release and right on the money to be fair.  Obviously, Mel’s vocals would point to the Bitch Queens comparison but the solos are pure hear n aid bliss wig out for guitarists especially on ‘Drinking My Life Away’.  One for the collectors of these bands involved but that would be doing these tunes a disservice because they are proper bangers and that’s why you should buy this record. Respect the Rock!  

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Chuck Norris Experiment – ‘This Will Leave A Mark’ (Transubstans Records / Ghost Highway Recordings)  is taken from the upcoming album with the same name, which will be released on September 17.   The single is released on all streaming services and download platforms! Spotify / YouTube

A clean sharp stab of high octane Action Rock from Sweden’s finest most uncompromising rockers giving fans and newcomers a nice little taster of what’s to come from Chuck and the gang.

 

Confused – ‘I Want A Beer’ (Confused Records)  Get the WD 40 ready for those double bass pedals and heads down wait for the starting gun and Go!  Hardcore as fuck Confused go for it.   M.O.D., Agnostic Front, D.R.I.paved the way for this to come crashing the party.  Brutal. RIOT PRE-SAVE URL:  www.tinyurl.com/getriot
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Brian McCarty & the Jen-U-Wine Faux Diamond Band “Hamtramck Jukebox” b/w “A Place in the Sun” (I-94 Recordings) Brand new single from Brian McCarty.  The “A’ side pays tribute to Lili Karwowksi and her bar Lili’s 21 which was the hangout/hometown bar for the gang back in the day.

He was the vocalist and founding member of Detroit’s glam punk Trash Brats (1987-2002) and has been consistently putting out solo releases for the last 20+ years. A wonderfully sunny rocker with a tip of the hat to Detroit rockers whilst the flip side is a bright and breezy tip of the hat to Stevie Wonder with a rocking version of the song “A Place in the Sun”.   A blast from start to finish and a real ray of sunshine and hope in difficult times.  check it out! Here

 

 

FRVITS ‘Stupid Era’ (Slovenly Recordings)  A banging six tracks spread over a 7″ EP is VFM if ever I saw it.  This debut EP from Montreal’s first and only Dot Matrix Rock’n’Roll Band FRVITS. It’s thunderous hardcore space punk (or so they say).  It is ferocious to be fair, Fronted by Shit Vicious on a radioactive vox, and featuring Wind of Change (associate of PRIORS & DUCHESS SAYS), Krispy Karl, Alexander Ortiz, and Blag Dahlia/Jesus (DWARVES) with a vocal appearance on the penultimate track “Abortion Hoops.” This one is tough, fun, and as abstract as a frvit salad served in a urinal. Head fucked!

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Kris Rodgers and the Dirty Gems – Take Me To The Pilot’  (Wicked Cool Records) Kris Rodgers & The Dirty Gems’ upcoming album, Still Dirty, which was released in July on Wicked Cool Records.

THE Q-TIPS – ‘There Are Those Who Drill Violently!’ EP (Slovenly Records) Prepare your ears and numb your minds, puny humans. The Kids of the Drill Hole, known officially as Munich’s THE Q-TIPS, are here to scrub your auditory canals, getting rid of the grime and re-contaminating ‘em with their 2nd EP “There Are Those Who Drill Violently.” For their Slovenly debut, sequencer Ms. Juliette and programmer Mr. Brotzeit kick four cuts of crunchy and negative synth-punk screamers hysterically down your hear-holes. The sincerity of tracks llike “Full of Hate” and “Shut Your Face” is as real as you are stupid, but the humor never gets lost in translation.

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Indonesian Junk – ‘She Stands There’ (Rum Bar Records) Inspired choice of cover for a single. Didn’t see this one coming as the kings of sloppy loud dead boys glam-punk crowd Indonesian Junk do justice to the mighty Degeneration legacy by knocking out a blisteringly good take on this banger.
If you have to ask who Dgen were then their work here is done. Killer band does killer cover who’d have thunk it? Hooray to the Junkos you’ve done good here and we tip our hat to you guys tipping the hat to those guys.  Good times!
Ryan Hamilton – ‘Permanent Holiday’ (Wicked Cool Records)  ‘Permanent Holiday’ is the 8th track from Ryan’s 1221 project, where every 12th of the month, a new track is released, culminating in a full-length album at the end of the year.  This one is like a huge ray of sunshine the feel-good hit of the summer. A song about escapism and this never-ending pandemic or a hopeful future where the new normal rocks.  This might just be the tonic for that time.

KOMBI KILLERS – ‘ScuMo’  (Riot Records) oi oi heads down and lace up those docs. Brisbane’s old-school punk rockers KOMBI KILLERS have released their new single ‘ScuMo’ through Riot Records, and it is available on all digital platforms! blink and it’s done. no compromise and boot boy punk.  Not for the faint-hearted.