SNõõPER

Remember 2013? 10+ years ago, a Northwest Indiana band started something odd, catchy, edgy and wacky in a stick-it-to-the-man type of way. Egg Punk, ever heard of it?  If you have, you can thank Egg Punk legends The Coneheads for the birth of this odd subgenre of punk that features cheap synths, frantic drum machines, …

OSEES

With each new OSEES album there are always two questions: 1) Will they change the spelling of their name again? 2) What musical genre pairing will John Dwyer make you fall in love with this time?  With Intercepted Message, they stick with the OSEES name as they have on their last three albums (they’ve gone …

The Umbrellas

San Francisco’s The Umbrellas are back with their sophomore effort “fairweather friend” and 10 more tracks of pop perfection — shimmering, jangly, edgy, power-pop perfection. These words are not hyperbole either, this album is flawless. It’s impossible to highlight a track or two, so I’ll take the easy way out and post the singles below. …

Double Life

Los Angeles duo Double Life are channeling all the goods from 90’s post-hardcore, including powerful, groove-heavy drums, spacey vocals, chunky bass lines, and fuzzed-out guitar. Their first single and title track, “Indifferent Stars” (below), reminds me of bands like Jawbox and Failure with a bit of “Seven”-era Sunny Day Real Estate-like ferocity. Double Life’s self-released, …

Feeling Figures

Montreal’s Feeling Figures touch about every “indie” genre on their debut long-player, Migration Magic, which is out now on K/perennialdeath. There’s garage punk (“Dream Death”), jangle pop (“Across The Line”), the noisy Sonic Youth-ish “Sink”, and even a saloon-style piano ballad (“I Should Tell You”). Not to mention that every song is covered in an …

Armand Hammer

This post was written by our great friend Jeremy. I challenge any musical outfit in the world to create a more thought-provoking and challenging piece of music than Armand Hammer’s We Buy Diabetic Test Strips, because I haven’t heard one this year. Just as their past three albums have, this release makes me feel like …

billy woods & Kenny Segal

billy woods, half of Armand Hammer, dropped his 13th studio album, Maps. This is his second  album with producer Kenny Segal following their critically acclaimed 2019 album, Hiding Places. The duo keep building on their early 2010s underground, experimental hip-hop sound – giving vulnerable, eerie, and tense vibes throughout. The sounds and emotions of Maps …

Guilherme Coutinho E O Grupo Stalo

Guilherme Coutinho e o Grupo Stalo is the Brazilian album that you both never knew existed and never knew you needed. A true treasure of a find, the album incorporates elements of funk, fast-paced samba, tropicália, MPB (música popular brasileira, or Brazilian popular music), American-style jazz, and bossa nova. It’s lo-fi but highly technical, surprising, …

Mint Field

Mint Field are a duo out of Mexico City, Mexico. Their new album Aprender a Ser (Learning To Be) is a shimmery ride through bits of dream pop, shoegaze and trip hop (that’s a bit of a stretch, but I’m going with it). The slightly blurry, yet shiny image used for the album cover describes …

Dancer

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 …