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The New York Dolls: Reflections and Legacy

Music • March 30, 2026

I first discovered the New York Dolls in the mid-to-late 1980s, just as I was beginning to stretch the boundaries of my musical journey. Up until then, my exposure to music had mostly come through my parents, aunts, and uncles. They planted the initial seeds, and those seeds quickly grew, fueled by my insatiable curiosity for new sounds -- and, admittedly, by the limitations of a thin wallet. Back then, LPs were more affordable, and I often found myself trading records just to explore more of the music that captivated me. My first real brush with punk came through two neighbours who had attended boarding school somewhere in Ol’ Blighty, giving me a direct link to the early UK punk scene. Meanwhile, the radio was dominated by new wave, and I found myself drawn into the infectious energy of The Cars, Devo, Blondie, The Vapors, The Monks, Boomtown Rats, and any other catchy, rebellious sounds that punctuated the airwaves. But my musical journey didn’t stop there -- it was, in a sense, reborn. I began diving deeper into punk, hardcore and metal, and it was through this exploration that I finally encountered the New York Dolls. From the very first note, I was hooked. Their music struck me like a lightning bolt. I became a fervent, almost rabid fan, hunting down whatever I could afford, to the point where I once seriously considered buying Jerry Nolan’s pink drum stool. On June 19, 1991, I attended Johnny Thunders’ memorial show in … Read more

East End Redemption

Interviews • March 24, 2026

Punk’s never been about polish. It’s about passion, sweat, and the grind it takes to keep going when most people … Read more

Post Office Experiences

Music • March 10, 2026

In a different world, which we think was shortly before COVID and MAGA and all things bad and in ALL … Read more

Spite House

Interviews • March 7, 2026

There’s a quiet weight to Spite House that doesn’t rely on volume or spectacle. Their songs sit in the uncomfortable … Read more

Latest album reviews browse all

Vial

Hellhound
Trout Hole Records (2026)

I was really into the last Vial record, a quick burst of peppy and pointed brat punk. The early singles off Hellhound lean way more grunge, so I was curious how the band had developed in the past couple of years. And while my very first impressions of "Infected" and "Scorpio Moon" had me thinking of L7 and Nirvana, by … Read more

Mauled

When Your Eyes Are Shut
Silverback Gorilla Records (2026)

Deathcore has spent the last decade mutating into increasingly technical, polished, and theatrical territory. Some bands chase symphonic grandeur. Others lean into hyper-technical brutality. The Indianapolis wrecking crew named Mauled take a different approach on When Your Eyes Are Shut. They drag the genre back toward the raw chaos of its early years. This six track EP feels deliberately rooted … Read more

DMZ

The Lost Studio Sessions-1978
Crypt Records (2026)

The Lost Studio Sessions 1978 finally sets the record straight. This is the raw, ugly power the band’s debut never touched. For years, the DMZ legacy has been misunderstood because of that Sire LP. Look, it was the first record of theirs I ever heard and I still love it—but Flo & Eddie’s production smoothed over everything that made them … Read more

Mal Thursday Quintet

Mods & Gods
Chunk Archives Recordings, Teen Sound Records (2026)

Mods & Gods, the 2026 release from the Mal Thursday Quintet, is a full-throttle blast of Farfisa-driven energy and playful garage primitives. Mal Thursday has spent decades scraping the rust (which never sleeps) off the genre’s fuzz-soaked hemoglobin—nods to Sky Saxon, Roky Erickson, and Brian Jones are baked in. And yes, Mal has gotten around. Born in the thick of … Read more

Additional album reviews

Tigers Jaw

Lost on You
Hopeless (2026)

Tigers Jaw was formed in 2005 in Scranton, PA by high school friends. After a brief hiatus in 2013, the band is once again carefully crafting and delivering a sound … Read more

N.E. Vains

Running Down Pylons
Big Neck Records (2025)

N.E. Vains’ Running Down Pylons delivers that kind of glorious, basement-level destruction. You know, back in the ’70s when every basement had those flimsy swinging room-dividing doors, and your skinny … Read more

Poison The Well

Peace In Place
Sharptone (2026)

There’s no way to talk about Peace In Place without acknowledging the shadow it steps out from. Poison the Well isn’t just another reunited band dusting off an old name. … Read more

Bitter Branches

Let's Give The Land Back To The Animals
Equal Vision (2026)

Sometimes when you think of a town you think of a certain sound. Philadelphia is not one of those cities for me, as the bands I know from the area … Read more

Top Jimmy & The Rhythm Pigs

Pigus Drunkus Maximus (Reissue)
Blind Owl Records (2026)

If rock ’n’ roll ever had a smoky, beer-soaked, throbbing heartbeat, it lives in Top Jimmy & The Rhythm Pigs’ Pigus Drunkus Maximus. Recorded in 1981 but not released until … Read more

Dream Fatigue

No Requiem
Daze (2026)

There’s a particular tension that makes alternative rock compelling. I love the emotional push and pull between softness and eruption. On No Requiem, Massachusetts outfit Dream Fatigue thrive in that … Read more

The Went Wrongs

This Isn't What I Ordered
Transcendental Revolution (2026)

I'm not sure what's happening to me in middle age. I used to find samples clever and a nice change-of-pace technique on albums. But lately I feel like they interrupt … Read more

Spillings

Spillings
The Garotte (2026)

Spillings is a minimalist reconfiguration undertaken by two artists whose careers have been about genre deconstruction. The paths of Mathieu Ball and Liam Andrews have been running on parallel tracks, … Read more

News headlines browse all

Death Lens are Collecting Debts With New Video

Posted in Bands on March 30, 2026

Punk quartet, Death Lens, will release their new album, What's Left Now?, on April 24th via Epitaph. You can check out their newest video for the album's closer, "Debt Collector." Read more The band is currently wrapping up a stint with White Reaper and Drug Church, with only a few … Read more

Cory Shane releases 20 year old record, touring with Dead Meadow

Posted in Records on March 29, 2026

Cory Shane, ex-Dead Meadow and The Rondelles, has announced the release of a long-lost solo album, The Inverted Jenny Flies Again, out April 10 via Tekeli-li Records (vinyl) and Ghost … Read more

More Minus The Bear

Posted in Tours on March 28, 2026

Minus The Bear, who has been touring in support of the 20th anniversary deluxe edition of their Menos El Oso album (Suicide Squeeze), has added more US dates, including in … Read more

Get your Onesie ready

Posted in Bands on March 28, 2026

Brooklyn, NY power-pop band Onesie has a new album on the way, leading with a new video called "Meetcha At Minnies (The Captain's Song)." The song is inspired by an … Read more

J Mau & The Kiss Off with "Poison"

Posted in Bands on March 28, 2026

Punk musician Justin Maurer has a turned in a new direction with his J Mau & The Kiss Off project. Maurer, known as a member of Clorox Girls, L.A. Drugz, … Read more

Meet Whiplass Records

Posted in Labels on March 28, 2026

A new label called Whiplass Records is launching with the stated purpose of "support[ing] the burgeoning femme punk scene in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis/St. Paul." The first release will … Read more

New from Panopticon

Posted in Records on March 28, 2026

Panopticon has a new 2xLP called Det Hjemsøkte Hjertet out on May 8 via longtime label home Bindrune Recordings. The title translates to "The Haunted Heart." Inspired by the woods … Read more

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