With their dayglo color schemes, bouncy rhythm, and hyper-caffeinated chrosuses, QWAM, at first glance, seem to come from a different dimension where New Wave was never derailed by grunge and the mall is still the center of culture. Throughout their high energy debut album, the band decisively pulls from some ‘80s thematic troupes- the mall, the prom as the pinnacle of popularity, and television as a portal to the outside world. But therein lies the trick- though their view seems to come from a

                When it comes to pop-punk, there are a lot of names that get thrown around as being at the forefront of the genre. One band that doesn’t get enough credit, are Shonen Knife. Hailing from Japan, they’ve been putting out infectiously poppy punk rock since the early 1980’s. While their early work was primarily in Japanese, they were still able to capture the attention of American audiences to the point K Records began releasing their material in 1985. By 1991 Kurt Cobain, who was

Slingshot Dakota has always been one of my favourite bands in the indie/emo genre. When I really got into music I'd say on a personal basis around 2012, Dark Hearts stood out to me at a time when I also became obsessed with Topshelf Records' roster. 2016's Break followed suit and really reinforced that candy/synth/pop also was a signature the band would wear well on its sleeve, cultivating something to appeal to the mainstream as well. Come Heavy Banding, it feels like a mor

Australia’s Amyl and the Sniffers made a quick name for themselves via two routes: First, their initial blast of three EP/Singles constituted two handfuls of absolute rippers. Each track seemed catchier than the last, perhaps channeling the early fire of west coast punk rock, as ignited by the indomitable charisma of singer Amy Taylor. She was explosive, angry, and funny. Imagine, maybe, Debbie Harry’s crazier, more lighthearted cousin. Second, their wardrobe was something of a shock to us North

Here’s the key to the Darts- Despite all the slamming garage rock riffs, despite the spooky Munsters keyboard, despite the Shining-twins style choruses, they’re willing to let themselves be vulnerable. Case in point, “Don’t Hold My Hand” explicitly details, “don’t hold my hand / you don’t know how deep that cuts me.” It’s just a line or two, but yet, like many a-great lyrics, we know the exact picture that the band is painting even though they only need about five seconds to convey it. But even

Lust for Youth are a Swedish-Danish duo who are entering their tenth year of existence, and have gone through nearly as many musical evolutions in that time. While they started off playing a harsh and esoteric mix of industrial, noise and minimal synth atmosphere, by 2013’s Perfect View, a dancier and slightly more melodic vibe was emerging. On the following year’s International, they had morphed into a full-on, balearic beat-tinged synthpop band, and it was absolutely wonderful

The Silver Machine might borrow their namesake from Hawkwind mythology, but thankfully, this release isn’t pure Hawkwind worship. You can’t out-Brock Dave Brock and you certainly can’t out-Nik-Turner Nik Turner. So wisely, the band uses the general cosmic ethos of the iconic space rockers and transforms that into something as inspired by Hawkwind’s own inspirations as it is inspired by the acid-naughts themselves.

Standing on Bare Ground thrives in big, open spaces that

There’s something to be said about a band that does one thing, and does it really well. That’s Latte . What Latte does is write songs that could have been on the first three Ramones albums. They might play a little faster, but you get the idea. Latte is an Italian trio that has been around since 1997, and Next to Ruin is their 8th full length. It’s also the first record on their own Phocomelic Music label. I can’t speak to the band’s earliest material, but the last three albums ha

I’ve been listening to music with a critical ear for more than 30 years. It’s not very often that something catches me off guard. That is to say, it’s not very often that a record makes me wonder, “What the hell is going on here?”. That’s where I found myself with Downtown Brown and CaliFlorida. I remember having a similar reaction the one time that I saw them live a few years back. Downtown Brown has actually been around since 2001. The trio once called Detroit home, but has since rel