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Wang Wen

Invisible City
PELAGIC RECORDS (2018)

China isn’t the first country you think of when it comes to rock music but over the last two decades, Wang Wen has been placing their home on the musical map and in Invisible City the band brings a range of new emotion to their instrumental work. Wanting to record something warmer than the previous record, Sweet Home, Go!, the … Read more

Dear Boy

The Strawberry EP
Easy Hell (2019)

Los Angeles quartet Dear Boy are firm favourites in their hometown's indie scene, but their new EP suggests that they could go much further. Dear Boy is fronted by Ben Grey, formerly of indie darlings Scarlet Grey, with guitarist Austin Hayman, bassist Lucy Lawrence and drummer Keith Cooper completing the line-up. The band has been together since 2012 and they … Read more

Basement Benders

Shrapnel Songs
Dead Broke Rekerds (2019)

I recently wrote about Future Virgins, stating that the band tempers their anger, choosing more subtle reflection in their songwriting to express that always important human emotion. I guess I know where the band’s members let it out.Basement Benders play a somewhat lo-fi melodic punk with a lot of vocal tradeoffs that pull together with joined melodies. It’s a pop … Read more

ESC Life

Born To Be Mild
PDV Records/Last Exit Music/Ill In The Head Records/Bartolini Records (2019)

When I received the promo for Born To Be Mild the first thing that struck me was the artwork. It matched with the (previously discussed) EP, but not at all with their previous, debut album, Access All Areas. What I like about the artwork of Access All Areas is the dreamy, relaxed atmosphere that oozes from the picture. The artwork … Read more

The Bouncing Souls

Crucial Moments EP
Rise (2019)

This is the 30th year of The Bouncing Souls, which seems crazy in many ways – including that I’ve been listening to them for nearly 25 of those years. This year is a milestone for the band: a big international tour, this new EP, even a book of memorabilia for the diehards.I’ve had a bit of a love/indifferent relationship with … Read more

Good Shade

Way Out
Dirtnap (2019)

Dirtnap is a fascinating label in how they’ve developed a certain sound to their releases, regardless of what part of the world or what particular scene the musicians hail from. Sure, there’s the Marked Men connection with many of their releases, but that’s only a piece of what the label has put out.Good Shade is Shane Natalie, a one-man band … Read more

Pkew Pkew Pkew

Optimal Lifestyles
Dine Alone (2019)

There’s a lot I want to say about this album, but I’m torn because I try to keep things more positive. I’ve given it a lot of thought and a lot of listens, and I just don’t like it. At its best, it’s a pop-punk version of The Hold Steady – and that’s not in that oversimplified “recommended if you … Read more

Barnett + Coloccia

VLF
Sige (2019)

Alex Barnett and Faith Coloccia are both distinguished members of the experimental ambient music scene, and have already proved that they are a force to be reckoned with when they collaborate. The duo has previously released two intriguing records of experimental, drone goodness in their debut record Retrieval and their sophomore full-length Weld. What was striking about the collaborations of … Read more

Cellar Doors

Cellar Doors
Hear Here (2019)

The distance between San Francisco and Manchester is 5,000 miles, but Californian psychedelic trio Cellar Doors are determined to bridge that distance on their self-titled debut album. The band is already making waves across the Atlantic, having caught the attention of ex-Smiths drummer Mike Joyce and enlisting Inspiral Carpets frontman Stephen Holt as their manager, and their album sounds as … Read more

Hexvessel

All Tree
Secret Trees (2019)

Hexvessel’s pastoral folk has been gradually building momentum since their inception ten years ago and on All Tree, their fifth album, this forward motion comes to a beautifully morose head with songs that live in the undergrowth and call to mind ancient mossy forests and a longing for simpler times. While Hexvessel’s music is charming on the surface, what lies … Read more

Vandoliers

Forever
Bloodshot (2019)

There’s a lot to like on Forever, the third album from Vandoliers. They play a hybrid country-punk that’s a bit too upbeat for No Depression and too gritty for traditional country, while pulling influence from a number of Texas musical styles along the way. It’s a six-piece group, complete with guitar, drum, and bass, but also fiddle, brass, and more. … Read more

The Ejector Seats

Blueprint For A Miserable Existence
Collision Course Records (2018)

The Ejector Seats is a bit of a mystery band to me; it’s pretty hard to find anything about them online. I've learned about two other bands with this name, and a lot about ejector seats in general, but not a lot about the band in question. Discogs tells me the band members have adopted names like Fluffy, Ty Lennol, … Read more

American Steel

State of Grace
Fat Wreck Chords (2018)

American Steel always felt a bit under the radar, despite releasing albums on Lookout and Fat Wreck. While they’ve been on well-known labels, they don’t get the same accolades as some of their peers. It feels fitting, in that way, that the band just released a new 7” seemingly out of nowhere. The band hadn’t even played together in five … Read more

Beaten To Death

Agronomicon
Mas-Kina Records (2018)

Does fun belong in music? Or more specifically: does fun belong in grindcore? And I don’t mean the porn or gore variant (I admit, some of those guys make me smile occasionally), just your regular meat and taters grindcore. The crazy heavy metallers of Beaten To Death seem to think so. How else to explain this album title of song … Read more

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