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.
Very nice to see this track drop on October 17th (via Punkerton Records) which follows the release earlier this year of “Turn This Up” which I reviewed here back in July.
This new single is a great follow-up and starts on a quick drum fill backed up by powerful guitar riffs and a pulsing bass accentuating every beat. Lead singer Dizzy Doll’s vocals, snarly and soaring all at the same time, punch through the music nicely and there is also a ripping guitar moment around 2:08. A really good, melodic punk style tune with plenty of volume and power!
These two singles definitely have me eagerly anticipating Yard Sale which is set to come out on December 12th. Described in the Earshot Media press release as a “raw and reflective punk rock scrapbook — a record built from the pieces of a life lived loud, lost, and learned the hard way,” I believe this one should be well worth the wait.
Musicians (in addition to Dizzy Doll) are: Daniel Marchelewski (guitar, vocals), Mason Cohen (drums), Mitchell Rhein (lead guitar) and Mina Maziekis (bass).
Check it out on your favorite streaming channel (link below) – and let me know your thoughts about it – music makes for good conversation 🙂
This group is a new one to me and they just dropped this single October 17th on Sell The Heart Records. The press release from Earshot Media noted that the group channels “the energy and urgency of punk rock through stripped-down, acoustic-driven arrangements.” Well, that sounded pretty interesting so I gave it a listen and was impressed.
It definitely has a spare and grassroots vibe right from the start; a couple quick, bare guitar chords and then a raw and edgy vocal that spells out some pretty basic life moments and experiences such as “trying to figure out what our body has left.” That general groove stays true throughout the song which also features some dual vocal parts that feel anguished and hopeful all at the same time. This is a good tune in the tradition of punk but with the interesting acoustic style and arrangement.
Musicians on this are: Jeremy Quitko and Travis Johnides
This should be out there to listen to on your favorite channels now.
And if you have the inclination…think about purchasing it if you can as steaming music does not pay well even times a thousand.
Ever since I reviewed the early single “All This Time” from this album I had been (patiently?) waiting for my pre-ordered copy to arrive. It finally did show up last week and I have been happily listening to it since then.
One of the best things about Sidereal Days (Day 1) is that it sounds awesome. Every selection just breathes like it is alive and takes you on a sonic journey to the setting of each story Scorzari is telling. Making a record that has such great quality and depth of sound across all instruments and vocals takes a lot of patient planning, careful execution and talented production work – much appreciation to the group of people that brought this album together.
There are ten tracks including three extended play selections (“And Carries Me Away” at 8:10, “Endgame” 7:31 and “Grace” 7:14) that are quite notable for the fact that they do not feel strung out at all. Instead, they incorporate diverse instrumentation, engaging composition and Scorzari’s simple yet so very real-to-life lyrics to create these interesting and evocative short stories. I have hit repeat on the CD player multiple times after each of these comes to an end just to go through that experience again.
The other songs on this album are more traditional in length and there is one (“From Your Heart”) which I think may be the shortest Bill Scorzari tune of all time at 2:21 in length. It is a powerful 2+ minutes though with a simple guitar melody supported by haunting strings and pedal steel, wistful mandolin, a faint piano and a few magical dobro moments. A couple other favorites of mine are “All This Time” (my prior review here) and “Did We Tie.”
“Tie” is a slow-paced song with a few notable elements; an organ that adds some subtle but poignant texture, percussion (including some muted cymbal crashes) that peeks out at just the right moments and a deliberate pacing that almost seems like a slow march. Also, the mix on this track is wonderfully subtle and intricate – get those good headphones on if you have them, sit back and just let this one come alive for you. I also have to use this track as an example of why I think Scorzari’s lyrics are so unique and powerful. One line of this song goes like this: “Who’s the bigger fool between you and I.” That would be enough for many songwriters but then there is a little stop after which he adds, “or did we tie?” It is a simple thing really but it is those kinds of extra little add-ons that caught my attention early in my experience with his songs and I think it is pretty cool. There are plenty of other examples of this on the record and on his others but “Endgame” here is a great one for a full introduction to his lyrical style.
A set of great musicians play on this album other than Scorzari including: Brad Talley, Neilson Hubbard, Michael Rinne, Chelsea McGough, Danny Mitchell, Megan McCormick, Cindy Richardson Walker, Joshua Britt, Marie Lewey, Juan Solorzano and Eamon McLoughlin.
You can check out more of the music and information here:
Let’s briefly jump back in time to 2020 when I picked up on this band due to Ryan Young’s (Off With Their Heads) involvement with their album Space. I believe that was their debut recording although they had been around a few years before at that point so I may be incorrect. It is a worthy set of eleven songs in the pop punk space with more synthesizers than you might expect…but it works really well. A few highlights off that album are “Canned” and “You Should Know.” It is still available for digital purchase on their Bandcamp page. Since then they have released a series of singles including a groovy cover of “Major Tom” (Peter Shilling) and an EP called Come Home (check out the title track which is a full-power loud guitars and hammering drums rocker.)
This new EP has five songs that lead off with “Fool’s Gold” which has a great guitar intro that sets up the power vibe for the track. It settles down in a few places but always returns to that pulsing guitar and a heavy rhythm groove. That is followed by “Stare at the Sun” and “Anymore” which are good power pop tracks that have some interesting lyrics. A change of pace happens with “Dirge (If You Survive)” a song that does have a funeral feeling to it but one played at high volume and with a lot of distortion. It is a pretty darn good listen if you ask me. The final track is “Offer What You May” which is a spare, quiet song that is short, to the point and a good end cap for this EP.
Overall, this album is a really good follow up to Come Home and worth picking up for your collection!
I have to admit that prior to the press release from Broken Jukebox Media hitting my inbox I was not familiar with Terry Klein. Based on that lack of knowledge I was not sure what to expect from an album titled Hill Country Folk Music. It is set to drop November 7th but I had the good fortune to get a sneak peek. There are many avenues down the folk highway so I hit play to find out which one this album was traveling along.
The lead-off track here is “Try” which comes in nice and easy with country music slow-dance vibes and a catchy mandolin accompaniment. Klein’s vocals are earnest and direct, telling a simple but poignant story of keeping on through adversity. It almost has a defiant tone about overcoming challenges. There is also an alternate version of this song (“Try Again”) as the final selection on the album which changes the energy from hopeful to weary and worn out. It is an interesting study in the ways a tune can be molded by an artist though musical composition and vocal delivery.
That song is followed by “I Used to Be Cool” which is the first single and already available to stream. It has a different style than “Try” with guitars right away and a subtle drum – kind of an alt-county feel. The topic here is what you might expect (getting older and associated things) but told with some heartfelt nostalgia.
Nine more tracks follow and one of the most interesting things about all of them collectively is that these range in style, tone and pace. You get a good mix of the two styles already mentioned above along with some Americana, bluegrass and one that could easily fit in a pop song rotation. I think it is mission accomplished for Klein who is quoted as saying this about how he thinks is regard to song mix on his albums:
“I scrupulously avoid making my records all one thing, all one sound. Dynamics are important.”
This is an engaging album that keeps you on your toes throughout and delivers good songs while telling stories about real people, their lives and experiences.
Check that single out on your favorite streaming channel – and let me know your thoughts about it – music makes for good conversation 🙂
And if you have the inclination …think about purchasing it if you can as steaming music does not pay well even times a thousand.
You can keep an eye out for any pre-order / pre-save info that might come out via Klein’s website terrykleinmusic.com
Remember all of the cool things about your own local community!
Good news recently as it was announced that this great band (whose decision a couple of years ago to go on hiatus was understandable but still lamented by me) has signed to Epitaph. They also dropped this new single “Napoleon” which was described by singer Sam Quartin on the labels’ website:
“This song is about wanting to change and no longer being interested in complaining about a problem or situation. It’s about trying to live in the solution.”
The track is a solid comeback for The Bobby Lees and it is very nice to hear some new music from them – looking forward to what comes next!
Musicians (in addition to Quartin): Macky Bowman (drums) and Kendall Wind (bass).
Well, I have to admit that I was not expecting to see this song pop up in any new way as it had been a very long time since it was originally released. This album was a regular monster of punk awesomeness back when it was originally put out on A-F Records in 2003. I definitely found them back at that time because of their association with Duane Peters from U.S. Bombs. He produced this album for them which was a follow-up to their 2002 debut What Are You Afraid Of? which I never found a copy of after hearing it one time at someone’s house in SoCal.
The good people at Punkerton Records are now putting Blastin’ Away! out again both digitally and on vinyl. That is all set to drop January 2, 2026 but you can check this great throwback (and still relevant) punk anthem on steaming here:
I had the chance to preview it thanks to Earshot Media and Punkerton and it was just as I remembered it. Coming in on a chant of the song title over a raw drum line it quickly kicks up on ripping guitars and bass. The vocals are raw and loud with a feisty rhythm and a call & response section worthy of Rancid. This vintage track is still strong today and it is great to see it getting some new exposure and hopefully some new fans.
Pre-saves help the label and the band and you can set yours up here:
And also get a pre-order of that cool vinyl (with limited edition colors …of which the blue, black and white splatter is pretty sweet and what I ordered) here:
Today we take a little journey into the wonderful world of Meklit and this amazing album. There are a lot of great things going on throughout the nine tracks here. The arrangements range from traditional to spiritual, jazz and folk and each one will have a different effect on you. Meklit, who is from Ethiopia and currently based in California, has a rich voice that imparts feeling into everyone of these songs. Now I am not going to claim that I understand most of the lyrics due to my own limitations on other languages but I am hopeful that someday either the singer herself or someone else will explain them to me. The tracks though are artfully arranged and you can pick up on the emotion and feeling behind them just from that and the vocal styling.
There are a couple songs that do have either all or mostly English lyrics and I picked one of them here for this review. It begins on a really unique stringed instrument sound which I found out (from some of the liner notes) is a krar. That instrument stays throughout, setting a pulsing rhythm that gives a feeling of running just in front of the vocals. There is a gentle percussion and bass accompaniment filling out the musical space along with an alluring saxophone (I had to listen a few times to catch it…but it was worth it for sure). A very interesting piece of music and one that will stick with you.
Musicians on this are: Meklit (vocals and krar), Howard Wiley (tenor and alto saxophone), Kibrom Birhane (microcosm), Marco Peris Coppola (percussion), Sam Bevan (upright bass and guitar) and Colin Douglas (drums).
My first exposure to this band was earlier this year when they released a split with Heartwells containing “The Squid” and “Killin’ Me Now.” I read about it and then never had a chance to give it a listen. The fact that they were working with Heartwells though was interesting as I am already a fan. I later went back and checked out Stoke Signals 2024 album Make Dying Fun and was impressed. My favorite track there is “Burning Daylight” with “Nothing to Worry About” a close second.
There is something delightfully chaotic about this new single which starts on plenty of volume and energy. In addition to a drum line that sets a feisty tone this song also features some nice pace changes. Melodic guitar riffs and bass grooves fill space between the vocal sections which, other than the bridge, are delivered at a fast clip. This is a good song and a bit more aggressive and edgy than their previous work. The album comes out October 31st on Hey! Fever Records.
Musicians on this are: Jordan Calhoun (bass), Giuliano Messina (vocals, guitar), Chris Perez (guitar, vocals) and Michael Nusbaum (drums).
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