Author Archives: Jack Mesenbourg

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About Jack Mesenbourg

Jack Mesenbourg is a writer, musician, photographer, and artist from Minneapolis. He has spent his years hopping around the country, scribbling notes & scratching pictures in poorly organized journals along the way. Traveling with him have been his passions and distractions such as music, gardening, baseball, cooking and finding good local beer. Hopefully his projects provide you with some insight, provoke some thinking or at least give you a little amusement.

Album Review- John Mailander’s Forecast – Little Wheel // Hope Looming 

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One woman and six men are seated on a low brick bench in front of a similar wall. They all appear happy.

Band photo by Steph Heath with Smiling Eyes Media 

This is a new group / collective to me and I also had not heard of John Mailander prior to getting the opportunity to preview this album.  Much thanks to Erin Scholze at Dreamspider Publicity for the opportunity as I really enjoyed this EP.

The first song on this release is an interpretation of Buffy Sainte-Marie’s “Little Wheel Spin and Spin” which first came out on the 1966 album of the same title.  The opening thirty seconds set a slightly tense vibe with a sharp melody line that is tempered by some softer touches.  Train’s vocals ride the edge of the sonic atmosphere here, mostly in front but occasionally falling back, swallowed up in a wave of emotive sound.  The arrangement does a great job of continuing to build tension behind the vocal, gradually bringing in sparse but dynamic percussion.  The song continues to wind itself up through the first three minutes.  The most interesting part for me is that you do not get a big release here, no great cascade that finally breaks the tension.  It kind of washes itself out through the interplay of the instruments and leaves things unresolved at the end.  

“Hope, Looming” is next and this is a purely instrumental track.  It starts wistful and slow with a  quiet guitar melody punctuated by a stark bass and light piano touches.  The arrangement here is very well done, shifting toward a tone that grows more uplifting as other instruments join in.   As you cross over the 2:05 mark of this song things change as the rhythm section gains prominence and the beat quickens.  It is quiet at first and then volume builds along with a blooming musical atmosphere that gathers force and energy.  Right after the four minute mark it dissolves into atmospheric keys followed by aggressive percussion and then a final section that I think can be interpreted several ways but it left me with mostly a nostalgic feeling.  

The final track is “(turnstile)” and although it is a short fifty-five seconds this one is interesting enough to warrant multiple loops of listening.  I will leave you to sort it out when you have a chance to give this album as listen.  

Overall I really enjoyed this EP and felt that the listening and emotional experience it delivered was quite noteworthy.  I would recommend that you get a copy (see purchase link below), find some quiet space and really tune in to the music,  

Vote here to nominate this for my best of 2026 list: 

Musicians on this are:  John Mailander (fiddle, piano, electronics), Ethan Jodziewicz (upright & electric bass), Chris Lippincott (pedal steel guitar, Wurlitzer), Dean Miller (tenor saxophone), Mark Raudabaugh (drums, percussion) and Jake Stargel (acoustic guitar).  Special guest doing vocals on “Little Wheel Spin and Spin” – Kristina Train.

Streaming link: 

https://ffm.to/pkmbjow

Purchase link: 

https://johnmailander.bandcamp.com/album/little-wheel-hope-looming

Please let me know your opinion in the comment section below

Interested in more info on this Artist?

https://www.johnmailander.com

https://www.instagram.com/johnmailander

Just a few ideas if you have the time:  purchase music when you can as streaming does not pay much even times a thousand, support and get to know your local community, live well and be a good neighbor 🙂 


Album Review- Horace Pinker / Raging Nathans Split EP

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Four men stand on a music stage backlit by the spotlights.

Horace Pinker band photo Dee Dee Kohl

Now this is a great idea for a split EP and I was happy to hear about it from Mike Cubillos at Earshot Media.   I have previously reviewed Horace Pinker and as mentioned there they have released some music which still remains on my favorites list.  If you have not checked out Copper Regret yet well…there is a mission for you.  I have also heard that their 2022 album House of Cards just got a physical re-release from People of Punk Rock.  As for The Raging Nathans, they run quite a ways back with me also.  I believe I heard parts of Losing It early in 2015 and songs like “Free Parking” and “How To Validate Anything” are high points there.  Rad Girlfriend Records re-issued that album in 2024 although I have not listened to that version.  Their self-titled EP from 2012 is also a great 7-song set including what I consider to be the best version of “Going Down” (which also appears on Losing It).  They have an extensive catalog which you can check out on their Bandcamp page.  

The first two tracks on this release are from the Nathans and they start off with “Running in Place” which has a fantastic and buzzy guitar intro that is soon followed by fast, heavy drums.  That rhythm section keeps up a relentless energy that defines the sound and vibe of this song.  Next is “The Devil’s Watch” which has a pretty groovy cyclical beat and a few interesting vocal moments.  

A black and white photo of four male musicians playing music on a stage.

Horace Pinker starts their set with “Another Way” which jumps out fast and does not slow down.  The final thirty seconds on this song were the highlight for me, kind of a musical breakdown / crash out that mirrors the lyrical theme.   They close out the EP with “Redeemer” which features a prominent rhythm line as the drums and bass weave in and out to provide a punchy texture.  The guitar provides the lighter side of the sound here, kind of an echoing, shimmering vibe that rounds out the tone very well.  

Put together these four songs make for a solid release featuring these two standout bands.  

This split EP (on Red Girlfriend Records) is out now! 

Vote here to nominate this for my best of 2026 list: 

Streaming link:

And you can order this right here: 

https://radgirlfriendrecords.bandcamp.com/album/split-6

Check this video for Horace Pinker’s “Three Against Me” which is not on this EP but was part of their Now and the Future album from last year. 

Please let me know your opinion in the comment section below

Interested in more info on this Artist?

https://www.instagram.com/horacepinker47/

https://horacepinker.bandcamp.com/music

https://theragingnathans.bandcamp.com/music

https://www.instagram.com/theragingnathans/

Prior review links 

Song Review- Horace Pinker- “Call It a Day” from the album Now and the Future

Just a few ideas if you have the time:  purchase music when you can as streaming does not pay much even times a thousand, support and get to know your local community, live well and be a good neighbor 🙂 

Song Review- Plague Vendor- “Unc”

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Four casually dressed men stand in front of a barbed wire fence and are looking toward the viewer. On the other side of the fence is a backed in van with the rear door open.

Any day that there is some new Plague Vendor music out is a good one around here so we definitely had a whole happy moment when this song dropped April 24th.  

Loud and brash right from the start, “Unc” manages to offset that energy with some pointed lyrics that interject a few moments of humor along the way to lighten the mood.   The rhythm section here is hard and choppy and this one careens along for 1:39 feeling like a fast car gunning for the nearest cliff.   It is a fun ride in my opinion and a new album from these guys is hopefully out there somewhere…close.  

Vote here to nominate this for my best of 2026 list: 

Musicians on this: Brandon Blaine (vocals), Luke Perine (drums, percussion), Henri Cash (guitar), Michael Perez (bass) 

You can check this one now on your usual steaming platforms.

And if you have 45 minutes to watch come concert video…check out this great set from 2025!

Please let me know your opinion in the comment section below

Interested in more info on this Artist?

https://www.instagram.com/plaguevendor

https://plaguevendor.com/

https://plaguelyfe.bandcamp.com/track/rumble

Prior review links 

Song Review- Plague Vendor “Run”

Just a few ideas if you have the time:  purchase music when you can as streaming does not pay much even times a thousand, support and get to know your local community, live well and be a good neighbor 🙂  

Song Review- Belvedere – Crimson from the upcoming album Seven Years of Bad Luck

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Four casually dressed men stand in front of a tall fence and a wall with colorful graffiti.

Photo by Dominic Gendron, album artwork by Seb Theriault (SterioDesign) 

This great band from Calgary (Alberta – Canada!) goes way back to the mid 90’s although I did not pick up on anything from them until either 2016 or 2017.  This would have been their album The Revenge of the Fifth which was released in early 2016 and first heard by me on a now defunct Internet radio station.  Several songs from that album (“Years,” “Red Pawn’s Race” and the tittle track) still remain in various rotations and playlists for me to this day.   Getting the heads up that this single dropped on April 21st and that a new album will follow was definitely good news.  

This track has a nice loud start before dropping into a strong vocal offset by a sharp drum line.   Throughout the song you get a healthy dose of buzzy guitars and an aggressive bass that has a few prominent moments all to itself.  Belvedere’s sound is a little more refined than prior releases but they give up nothing in regard to energy and maintain the sense of a real driving purpose behind the music.  This is a really great melodic punk song and the full album will be released on June 19th via Thousand Islands Records.  

Vote here to nominate this for my best of 2026 list: 

Musicians on this are:  Casey Lewis (drums, vocals), Dan Wollach (guitar, vocals). Steven Rawles (vocals, guitar) and Ryan Mumby (bass, vocals).

Streaming and pre-order here! 

https://bfan.link/belvedere-crimson

Please let me know your opinion in the comment section below

Interested in more info on this Artist?

https://belvederepunkrock.com/

https://www.instagram.com/belvederebandofficial

Just a few ideas if you have the time:  purchase music when you can as streaming does not pay much even times a thousand, support and get to know your local community, live well and be a good neighbor 🙂 

Song Review- Gottlieb – “I Started Carrying a Knife Today” from the upcoming album The Far Fallen Fruit

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Four casually dressed men stand under a bridge.

Band photo by Alex Webster

Although I had heard a few bits and pieces of info about this band prior to getting the chance to preview this single (thanks to Mike Cubillos at Earshot Media) I had not given their music much extended listening time.  The one prior release I had spun a few times was “Sidewalk” (2024) and that was a pretty dense song, both in tone and message…good but heavy.  

Gottlieb is known as a political band but this new track definitely is a personal one with a deep message centered quite literally on the song title.   Although the music starts off with a little bit of a peppy bounce it is quickly covered by some tense, tight guitar playing and a thundering rhythm section.  Accompanied by an urgent and angry vocal this song is tempestuous as hell, a 2:27 minute release of coiled energy.   

The full album is set for a May 1st drop via Quite Panic.

Vote here to nominate this for my best of 2026 list: 

Streaming link:

https://orcd.co/istartedcarryingaknifetoday

Pre-order some limited edition vinyl right here:

Please let me know your opinion in the comment section below

Interested in more info on this Artist?

https://www.instagram.com/gottlieb_punk/

https://gottlieblosangeles.bandcamp.com/

Just a few ideas if you have the time:  purchase music when you can as streaming does not pay much even times a thousand, support and get to know your local community, live well and be a good neighbor 🙂

Album Review- Ultrabomb – The Bridges That We Burn

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Three casually dressed men stand looking toward the viewer. They appear to be happy.

Band photo by Greg Norton

I was definitely super excited when I got the chance to preview this album, especially as the bands that the musicians here have been associated with (Hüsker Dü, Soul Asylum and Social Distortion among others) are integral parts of the sprawling soundtrack of my life.  Outside of their work with those groups I have also followed and been a fan of their other projects and seeing them all together on this Ultrabomb release is basically epic in my opinion.   

The lead-off track here (“Darwin Awards”) is a real powerhouse that comes in on blazing guitars and is soon joined by an energetic vocal.  This one runs on full power all the way through to the end.   The next song “Divert / Deflect” picks up on a nice, heavy drum line, something you can feel coming right through your speakers.  A punchy guitar riff carries along with it from there and combines with a chanting vocal to give a protest anthem vibe.   “Artificial Stars” is next (prior posted review here) and then you dive into an amazing wave of bass on “Zombie Zeroes.”  That texture lays a great foundation for a spirited, run-around the stage kind of musical composition…I bet it plays great at a live show.   

My favorite is up next (“No Cap”) and I have to say I had a whole flashback experience every time I played it.  There are distinct parts to the song’s arrangement and for me they were a kind of perfect kaleidoscope of the sounds and energy of the 1980’s punk / alternative scene, especially in the Twin Cities area.  I will just leave it at…this one is awesome. 

The number six track on this album is “Sicko Rants” and it is a pop-punk rocker all the way through; from melodic guitar lines to jumpy drums and a sassy vocal performance.   Following along after is “Checked Out” which starts on an urgent, demanding rhythm sound interlaced around a cascading guitar riff.  While that driving force remains in place throughout the song, there is a nice counterpoint provided by a more mellow vocal track on the verses.  There is also an excellent, multi-part bridge that runs from 1:45 – 2:33.  “Looking Forward In Anger” (very cool bass in this one also) is followed by “BSS” which has a heavy groove and a conversational-style vocal until the chorus.  At that point it switches into a brief but wild breakdown with all instruments at max power.  This one is indeed about BS and it is not happy about it at all. 

The final two selections are “Last Time” (a swinging punk tune and standby for the cool guitar solo at the 2:00 mark) and “Mosquito Crucifixion.”  This last song comes out of the gate fast and loud with a tight, well-played instrument combo.  It is nothing less than a triumphant sound explosion to cap off a very strong set of eleven tracks.  

Overall The Bridges That We Burn is an excellent album from these accomplished musicians.  They have an innate sense of how to craft powerful, interesting music that stays mostly in the punk lane but has some extra depth and a few nice side-steps along the way.   Picking up a copy of this one is highly recommended!  It is out May 1st via DC-Jam Records / Virgin Music Group.

Vote here to nominate this for my best of 2026 list: 

Musicians on this are:  Greg Norton (bass, backing vocals), Derek O’Brien (drums, backing vocals) and Ryan Smith (lead vocals, guitar)

You can check out the “No Cap” video here:

Please let me know your opinion in the comment section below

Interested in more info on this Artist?

https://linktr.ee/ultrabomb

Prior review links 

Release Alert! Ultrabomb – “Artificial Stars” off the upcoming album The Bridges That We Burn

Just a few ideas if you have the time:  purchase music when you can as streaming does not pay much even times a thousand, support and get to know your local community, live well and be a good neighbor 🙂 

Song Review- Pleasure Pill – “Feel Alive” from the upcoming EP Alive 

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Five men sit on a cement stairs boarded by a black brick wall.

Before you jump on checking out this new song from Pleasure Pill…if you want to hear something pretty darn good from their back catalog check out “I’d Rather Be” which came out in 2024.  

This new single, out in advance of the April 24th full EP release on Quiet Panic, definitely rolls out on a very comfortable, easy-going groove that leads into a dreamy-style vocal line.  Pulled along by a strong multiple-guitar wall of sound and drums that come out on top at just the right moments this song has a nice kind of buzzy energy.  If you have a few extra study moments you can spend some time following the bass line as it weaves around the sonic structure here, adding a nice, pulsing foundation.  This track grew on me the more I listened and is a great peek at what is to come on Alive in a couple weeks.  

Vote here to nominate this for my best of 2026 list: 

You can check out the video for this now right here: 

Streaming link:

https://orcd.co/pleasurepill-feelalive

Pre-order the limited edition vinyl here:

PLEASURE PILL

Please let me know your opinion in the comment section below

Interested in more info on this Artist?

https://www.instagram.com/pleasurepillusa/

https://www.instagram.com/pleasurepillusa

Just a few ideas if you have the time:  purchase music when you can as streaming does not pay much even times a thousand, support and get to know your local community, live well and be a good neighbor 🙂  

Song Review- Mad Tab – “Awake” from the upcoming album Alas! The Bomb Voyage…

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Four men standing against a graffitied brick wall look slightly downward toward the viewer. They appear a little defiant and edgy.

Band photo by Roxy Wheeler

Well, I had not heard of this band before getting the heads up from Mike Cubillos at Earshot Media and am quite happy that I got the chance to listen to it early (it is out now via Norwood Fisher’s InnaNuttshell Reekordingz).  Along the road to learning more I also was able to read a very interesting bio on this group who go all the way back to 2006 and a gig at a bowling alley.  I am sure they can tell their own story much better than me but suffice it to say that there has been a colorful history and it is very cool to see them now ready to put this new single (and soon the full album) out into the world.   They have a few other songs out there if you want to check out some historical sounds.

Coming in on a slightly muted, melodic bass groove that has kind of a comforting feel to it this track quickly picks up a nice, heavy drum line and a lively tempo.  The choruses have some nice group vocals and the guitar sound is loud and poignant.   An interesting and unexpected element on this tune is added by some keys that add a unique foundation to the sound.   I really enjoyed listening to this and am looking forward to the album release.  

Vote here to nominate this for my best of 2026 list: 

Musicians on this are: Dave Tab, Gram Tab, Scott Beattie and Rob Wheeler 

You can stream this here now: 

https://orcd.co/MadTabAwake?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio

Check the high energy video out here: 

Please let me know your opinion in the comment section below

Interested in more info on this Artist?

https://beacons.ai/madtabmusic

Just a few ideas if you have the time:  purchase music when you can as streaming does not pay much even times a thousand, support and get to know your local community, live well and be a good neighbor 🙂