Cincinnati trio Artificial Go are back with 10 new tracks of razor-sharp, jangly post-punk with their latest and greatest LP, Musical Chairs.
Musical Chairs’ songs are masterfully written and arranged, with Angie Willcut’s—mostly—deadpan vocal delivery tying it all together. Check out “Circles,” “Red Convertible,” and the incredible—mostly instrumental—”Sky Burial” (below) for a taste
Musical Chairs is out today via Feel It Records; I highly recommend it. I highly, highly recommend it for fans of bands like Suburban Lawns, Lithics, ESG, and the like. Enjoy.
Hailing from bands like Smokers, Nuisance, The Peechees, The Pattern, Papercuts, and Jim Yoshii Pile Up, Bay Area band Grey Causeway are a supergroup of sorts or at least super experienced at their craft. The new single, “I-580,” is a jangly, post-punk number that begs to be played on repeat. You can check it out below.
They are releasing their debut self-titled LP at the end of May via Dandy Boy Records.
Alex MacKay, the bassist for Nation of Language, has released a new album under his solo project, Cutouts. The album, titled Snakeskin, is a captivating blend of shimmering synths and vocals layered over pulsating beats and bass lines. It defies easy categorization, occupying a space between synth-pop and darkwave with its unique fusion of dark and heavy elements. From the opening track “Narc” with its growling bass and driving beat, Snakeskin immediately commands attention and refuses to let go. I highly recommend it.
Check out “Narc” and “Paw of the Monkey” below for a taste.
Snakeskin is self-released and out now. It’s available digitally via Cutouts’ Bandcamp and on vinyl from Cutouts’ website. Alex only pressed 500 so don’t sleep! Enjoy.
These are certainly challenging times, and it’s easy to get caught up in the negativity that surrounds us. I’ve been struggling with this myself, constantly dwelling on everything from political turmoil to personal uncertainties.
However, I had a surprisingly uplifting experience this morning. While driving to work, I listened to the new album, How Lucky To Be Somebody, by Portland, Maine’s little oso, and it was truly transformative. For 36 glorious minutes, the jangly guitars, dreamy vocals, and driving rhythm section swept away all my anxieties. Thank goodness for music!
little oso’s How Lucky To Be Somebody is out now via Repeating Cloud. It’s a charming* record that reminds me of bands like Camera Obscura and The Umbrellas, to name a couple. Check out one of their standout tracks, “Other People’s Lives” (below), and get your hands on this record. Enjoy.
Humdrum’s (a new project from Chicago’s Loren Vanderbilt III) debut LP, Every Heaven, is ten perfectly crafted pop songs that are full of meaning and instantly transport listeners back to a time when bands like The Cure, (IRS-era) R.E.M., New Order, and Modern English (that’s right! tell me you don’t hear a little “I Melt With You” in Humdrum’s “Eternal Blue”) were ruling the (good) airwaves. Check out “Superbloom” and “Eternal Blue” (below) to hear for yourself.
Every Heaven is out today on Slumberland Records. You can get it from us at 3hive Record Lounge as well. I cannot recommend this album highly enough. Enjoy.
Cincinnati band The Serfs are about to head out on a European/UK tour, but before they do, they decided to drop a steamy new 7″ with two incredible, dark wave, dance-club-days-of-yore bangers, “Paid In Full” and “Regen” (spin them below).
The 7-incher is available now on Trouble In Mind’s Bandcamp page; get it before it’s gone or get the digital files; either way, put these super-rad songs in your earholes. PS: Grab a hold of something when you press play because you’re going to want to start shaking stuff. Enjoy.
2024 EU/UK TOUR DATES:
29.10.2024 CZ Prague @ Underdogs 30.10.2024 DE Dresden @ Heartbreak 31.10.2024 AT Wien @ Das Lot 01.11.2024 AT Linz @ Kapu 03.11.2024 IT Bologna @ Freakout 04.11.2024 CH Biel @ Gurzelen Club Social 05.11.2024 CH Geneve @ L’Usine 06.11.2024 FR Lyon @ Sonic 08.11.2024 ES Barcelona @ Upload 09.11.2024 FR Toulouse @ Skatepark Le Petit 10.11.2024 FR Bordeaux @ La Maison d’Allez les filles 12.11.2024 FR Paris @ L’Olympic Café 13.11.2024 UK London @ Boston Music Room 14.11.2024 UK Bristol @ Dust 15.11.2024 UK Liverpool @ Rough Trade 16.11.2024 UK Glasgow @ Stereo 17.11.2024 UK Manchester @ The Peer Hat 19.11.2024 BE Antwerp @ JC Bouckenborgh 20.11.2024 BE Kortrijk @ Wilde Westen 21.11.2024 DE Koln @ Privat 22.11.2024 DE Frankfurt @ Mousonturm 23.11.2024 DE Berlin @ Neu Zukunft
Glasgow band Nightshift are back with their latest album, Homosapien. It’s eleven tracks of melodic, slowed-down (to a near slowcore pace) post-punk. The added instrumentation, like accordion, melodica, violin, and trombone, is highly effective and gives Nightshift’s sound a new level of depth. Check out “Sure Look” (below) for a taste.
Homosapien is out on Friday (07/26) via Trouble In Mind Records. Judging from the singles it should be a good one. Enjoy.
Blab School is a rad new band out of North Carolina. The band consists of Ryan Seagrist (Discount, The Kitchen), Elizabeth Killian (Teens In Trouble, Glowing Stars), Dave Cantwell (Analogue, Cold Sides, In the Year of the Pig), and Fikri Yucel (Veronique Diabolique). I found out about these guys when I read “FOR FANS OF: Bad Religion, Buzzcocks, Descendants, Drive Like Jehu, The Faction, The Fucking Champs, Gang of Four, Green Day, The Hives, Hot Snakes, Jawbox, The Jesus Lizard, Les Savy Fav, Lightning Bolt, Meatbodies, Melt-Banana, Metz, Osees, Pipe, Pissed Jeans, Pretty Girls Make Graves, Superchunk, The Thermals” on Fort Lowell’s Instagram page, teasing their debut album. I was able to get my ears on a sneak peek from my friends at Fort Lowell, and I have been hooked ever since.
We are beyond stoked to bring you the premiere of the first single, “Scrolls”, from their incredible debut, self-titled album. “Scrolls” exceeded all my expectations from the list of “for fans of” above. It is a burner from the get-go with punishing drums, chunky bass lines, and razor-sharp guitars, sounding like Pretty Girls Make Graves meets Superchunk!
Blab School comes out in June via Fort Lowell Records. This is a must have record! You can pre-order it here and pre-save “Scrolls” here. Enjoy.
Glasgow’s Dancer are back, nine months removed from releasing their self-titled EP back in February. Their new EP, As Well, is five more tracks of sharp-edged, jangly, post-punk-ish goodness. Get a load of “Chill Pill” and “Pulp Thriller” below; you’re going to dig them if you don’t already.
As Well is out now on cassette and digitally via Gold Mold Records. I’m super stoked on it. I know you’ll be stoked on it. Go and get it, and enjoy.
Melenas are back with a magnificent new album titled Ahora. This quartet out of Pamplona, Spain have it all dialed in – I’m talking jangly guitars, pulsing synths, fuzz, gaze, gauze, noise, you name it, it’s probably in there.
Ahora is (as I said in a previous post) 10 tracks of kraut-meets-Stereolab, electro-pop goodness. Check out “Bang” below; it’s so rad, I find myself humming or whistling it all day.
