Houseghost
Another Realm
Rad Girlfriend Records (2022)
Houseghost sprung up in late 2020, releasing their debut near Halloween. Two years later the ghost returns with more stories from Another Realm. The band features members of other bands and play poppy punk with a lot of harmonies. It’s peppy, catchy stuff that’s more about singalongs and pogoing than spitting vitriol. The band also has a theme or, arguably, … Read more
Houseghost
Houseghost
Rad Girlfriend Records (2020)
2020 is the year of a lot of things -- and a lot of concept records.But not a lot of ghost-themed concept records.Houseghost is an Ohio trio that shares vocals between a sister-brother team. The songs are about, well, having a ghost in the house and all the hijinks that might involve. It’s a theme, but relatively loose and playful. … Read more
Human Issue
Faceless. Nameless
Rad Girlfriend Records (2022)
Hunter Martinez is a scene vet, playing drums and/or guitar with Decent Criminal, Dwarves, and Slaughterboys, among others. In Human Issue, Martinez takes the lead. That’s not to say this is some dude-with-an-acoustic vanity project. Human Issue is a full-on punk band, with Martinez joined by a wide cast of collaborators on the 6-song EP: Rikk Agnew (Adolescents, Christian Death), … Read more
Mikey Erg
Mikey Erg
Rad Girlfriend Records (2021)
Mikey Erg deserves an honorary degree from somebody. The projects he fronts all have a healing, therapeutic quality, which is something we all need as the calendar flips.Billed as a “return to punk” after doing solo singer-with-a-guitar thing, the self-titled record is a statement that begins with its Clash nod cover. It’s loud and direct. It’s personal in that unique … Read more
Petty Larcenists
Stolen Chords and Lifted Riffs
Rad Girlfriend Records (2019)
You’ve heard of no depression music? I’m coining a new term here: depression punk.Opening song “Loud and Ugly” might be a good description of vocalist Jesse Thorson’s approach in general. His songwriting has always been outspoken and focused on personal flaws, pointing to the uglier elements in life. I always referred to the Pretty Boy Thorson bands as essentially country … Read more
Raging Nathans
Cheap Fame
Rad Girlfriend Records (2018)
This what pop-punk used to mean. On the record it’s clean and melodic, while the live show feels more aggressive and forceful. Think of those Ramones studio records and compare them to the live experience. Then throw in the pedigree of the band members here, splitting time in The Dopamines, The Slow Death, and The Queers. Two of those three … Read more
Raging Nathans
Oppositional Defiance
Rad Girlfriend Records (2020)
Boy do The Raging Nathans know how to start a record on a down note. The band plays melodic DIY pop-punk that’s of the verse-chorus-verse variety with driving rhythm to give it that extra oomph. While I tend to think of this kind of music as a little more light-hearted, the band cuts through that veneer instantly with “Tragedy Ghouls: … Read more
Raging Nathans
Still Spitting Blood
Rad Girlfriend Records (2022)
The Raging Nathans owe a lot of their sound to the ‘90s punk scene. One thing they don’t take after, though, is that need to put out an album of 15+ tracks. Still Spitting Blood comes just one year after Waste My Heart and it’s only 10-songs and 20-minutes in length. The quantity is probably there, but the band is … Read more
Raging Nathans
Waste My Heart
Rad Girlfriend Records (2021)
It’s the pop-punk conundrum. Raging Nathans are a distinct band -- yet they aren’t. On first listen their sound is familiar. Take Lookout Records and Ramones-inspired sing-alongs, add skatepunk urgency, put it in a blender and set to crush. It’s not an even mix of all the ingredients, rather familiar fragments with a lot of unique twists and turns when … Read more
Spells
Past Our Prime
Big Neck Records, Keep It a Secret Records, Rad Girlfriend Records, Shield Recordings, Snappy Little Numbers (2024)
Calling your record Past Our Prime and then having a song named “Past My Prime” is messing with my head as I write this. But while there is no arguing that SPELLS are a self-aware band, that’s about as much as they’ll really mess with the listener on this record, titled (again), Past Our Prime. Musically speaking, the band play … Read more
Starter Jackets
Dead Malls
Rad Girlfriend Records (2022)
Starter Jackets are a throwback. That’s no surprise given that they’re named after one of those brands that the jerks in my high school wore in the ‘90s. I was more a baggy skater jeans dude, but I’m old enough to get the joke. Moving to the present, with that nod to the past, it’s not surprising that the band … Read more
The Dopamines
80/20
Rad Girlfriend Records (2024)
On the brand new 80/20, The Dopamines break into a whoa-oh! about six seconds in, then their trademark shouted vocal tradeoffs. The first three songs on 80/20, their first album in 7 years, set the tone immediately. Back when they were a little more active, the group was often compared to Illinois pop-punk group The Copyrights. I bring that up … Read more
The Dopamines
Tales of Interest
Rad Girlfriend Records (2017)
It’s been a while since Ohio’s The Dopamines released a new record –2012 by the looks of things, and I honestly missed that one, so my most recent reference is 2010’s Expect the Worst. I know they’ve become parents or grown up or something along those lines, leading to more time between records. Does that also bleed into their music … Read more
The Slow Death
No Heaven
Rad Girlfriend Records (2013)
If you haven’t heard of The Slow Death by now, you probably aren’t as depressed as the majority of us. Luckily their new album No Heaven hits the spot for the more cynical listener. Which, lets face it, punk rock has never been about sugar coating the bullshit that comes with life. If it wasn’t the album cover with a … Read more
The Slow Death
Punishers
Rad Girlfriend Records (2017)
Punishers is the third LP from The Slow Death, fronted by ex-Pretty Boy Thorson & the Falling Angels mouthpiece Jesse Swan Thorson and backed by a rotating cast that includes Falling Angel Dave Strait, Dillinger Four’s Paddy Costello, The Ergs! Mike Yannich, and a slew of others depending on availability any given night. It’s also a natural extension of Pretty … Read more
What Goes Up
Laws of Gravity
Brassneck Records, Rad Girlfriend Records, Waterslide Records (2023)
Based on the name, pop-punk sounds like a limited genre. There are a million bands that sound like the Ramones. There are also a million copycats of that stuff that hit big in the early Aughts. But we aren’t going there… What Goes Up proves that you can make emotional, driving, yet poppy punk rock tunes that vary in sound … Read more
