Album Review- Josh Tarp & the Still – Vigilante  

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A blond man dressed in a jean jacket and while t-shirt looks at the camera.

Yes indeed, this one is from a long time ago (2014!) but I do like to look back at some classics from the past.  I did not come across this until about 2020 or so,  maybe on a steaming service, maybe on Bandcamp…not 100% sure although I did end up purchasing it eventually via that latter platform.  

The title track, which also opens the album, caught me off guard at first as it features a clapping pattern with a stark vocal from Tarp.  That rhythmic beat slowly builds by adding just a touch of instrumentation along with one of the few effective uses of “Shhhh” I have ever heard in a song.  That is followed by “A Ghost In The Radio” which uses a different but also very effective backbeat and some wispy guitar work that gives a sense of fleeting energy and sells the “chase” theme mentioned in the song.  

Next up is “Iowa,” a track with a bit of a folk and country vibe to it.  There is a buzzy bass on the front of the sound that I like and the lyrics tell a tale of heading out from home with a bit of a dreamy feeling.  

“Drink You Straight” is a singer-songwriter classic with a “lost love” storyline and slow march pacing that includes some piano / keyboard action.  It gets just a little bit long for me sometimes but other times I do not notice that issue at all.  The album closes out on “Glory” which you think would be the one I would mention as long (5:06) but the composition of this song keeps it from feeling that way.  It comes in on a strumming guitar with vocals and that forms the foundation which is joined at various times by light drum work and piano.  It is an interesting listen every time.  

This whole album is a really worthy early effort from the band and one you should check out when you have the time.  

This group does have newer music also of course (most recently “Scars”) which you can find on your steaming platforms – and they do put on a great live show if you have the chance to catch them out there in the wild.

Check out more of the music and information on the Bandcamp page https://joshtarp.bandcamp.com/album/vigilante-ep

And please think about purchasing this song after you listen – streaming music does not pay much even times a thousand…

Support your locals when you get a chance – they need you 🙂 

Let me know you think! 

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

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Three men stand in an alleyway looking toward the camera. They are dressed casually and look slightly defiant.

Some bands really do just keep on being able to being energy, power and great sound to their music and Horace Pinker has been proving that for quite awhile now.   Being able to preview their new album (it will be out by the time you read this) was very cool and much appreciation to Mike Cubillos at Earshot Media for that opportunity. 

Way back in 1995 I had heard most of what I believe was their first full length album Powertools.   I later picked it up myself and songs like “Punker than GBH” (which includes a rolling name check of some great bands including MC5, TSOL and etc) and “No Thoughts” became regular parts of my rotation.  

They have released a bunch of music since then with Copper Regret and House of Cards being favorites of mine.  You can check out their Bandcamp page to sample some of those other songs.  

https://horacepinker.bandcamp.com/

Now and the Future (brought to you by the great People of Punk Rock Records) has ten songs that all bring volume and energy, representing three musicians who are fully in the groove with their music and each other.  I chose “Call It a Day” (the lead track on the album) for this review because it really caught my attention right away, which I guess means it works well as a #1 track!  Buzzy guitars and drums lead off with a pulsing bass line riding over the top and that spirit continues through the entire song.   In the press release Horace Pinker describe it quite well themselves, saying that it:

“refines melodic punk and hardcore influences into a two-and-half minute blast of sonic energy”

If you want to give this song a listen you can check it here:

Musicians on this are:  Scott Eastman (guitar, vocals), Bryan Jones (drums) and Greg Mytych (bass, vocals).

You can order the album here (and the vinyl looks pretty darn cool) along with some other HP swag and merchandise:

Horace Pinker

Go out and talk to your neighbors – community is powerful 🙂 

Album Review- abandcalledlove- Thriving Season

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Five men standing together in an urban setting under a bridge. They look like they are close friends.

One of my favorite things about listening to all kinds of music is that moment when I hear an album and as the last few notes play out my reaction is, “Well, hmmmm…interesting…very interesting.”  You have to picture me with a slightly quizzical look on my face, staring out my studio window with one eyebrow raised.  In those moments I know that I have experienced some sounds that I need a few extra moments to analyze and process.  The why’s of that are many but in the case of this EP from abandcalledlove it was the stylistic mix and range of the five songs that took a few more listen-throughs to grasp.  

The lead track here “love” is a short 39 seconds of breathy vocals over a hammering but subdued keyboard and a bass you can feel.  It builds into a swell of atmosphere before clipping out perfectly as the second song “INFINITE” drops right into place.  That one is a power-pop anthem through and through with soaring guitars, tight drums and strong vocals that set a tone of hopeful anticipation.  

Then along comes the middle track “A Liar!” which has much more of a rock feel to the music but opens with an almost spoken word vocal over a prominent drum line.  That vocal style carries through much of the song although the chorus is full-blown modern rock.   The bridge outro also builds up a glorious amount of noise before buzzing out on static.  

On my first listen to this EP the next song “The Love I Can’t Let Go” started playing and I was instantly transported to the 80’s…I half-expected a Simon LeBon cameo…it was a cool start for sure.   Much of the style of the music stays in that retro pop-rock groove and the piano at the end if a perfect counterpoint to the rest of the song. 

Closing out on the ballad “untitled / new year theme” is a nice finishing touch.   There are some very thoughtful lyrics set against a quiet, slightly nostalgic feeling musical composition.  After you listen through a few times the melody sticks with you and the meaning of those lyrics can change a bit depending on your mood.  

So, I did manage to sort that all out and it was a pretty nice journey.  This is a very good EP (coming out September 26th via Valiant Sound Co.) with a range of styles played and sung by accomplished musicians that are in great form.  I know that they have been garnering much positive buzz and this release should add to their momentum.  

“A Liar!” is the first single off of this EP and you can check it here on YouTube:

And you can do a pre-save for the album here:

https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/abandcalledlove/thriving-season-2/

Musicians are: Ryan Chandler Love (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Blake Aldridge (guitar, vocals, keyboards, percussion), Austin Yagle (drums, percussion, keyboard, vocals), Ian Joshua Riley (guitar, keyboard, vocal) and Brooks Roberts (bass, vocals). 

Please remember to support your local community artists, bands and businesses! 

Release Alert! Treasure Pains & Spares  – Split EP

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Five men wearing t-shirts & standing in front of a grey building looking toward the camera.

Yes, I did just cover Treasure Pains new single “Left To Give” back on August 31st, a track that is actually part of this upcoming EP.  I am less familiar with Spares although I had heard their song “Stalemate” off their eponymous EP which came out earlier this year.  I thought it was an interesting bit of music with an eerie rhythm and melody joined by clipped vocals.  

I had the good fortune to be able to preview this split EP in full and it is definitely a nice set of four songs.  Other than “Left To Give” Treasure Pains also contribute “Strike,” a driving, fuzzy guitar, jumpy drum, screaming vocal piece on the harder side of pop punk. 

The two songs from Spares are “Joke” and “New Indignities.”  That first track has a really cool atmospheric tone with a lilting melody.  It runs 6 minutes and gets a little dense at points but keeps your attention with some jumpy pace changes and interesting lyrics.   The second one is a quick 2:42 of blistering guitars, non-stop vocals and an interesting synth accompaniment.  

This is set to drop from Wiretap Records / Council Records on September 26th and pre-orders can be placed here: 

https://council-records.bandcamp.com/album/split

A couple videos are out (one from each band) if you want a preview of this music:  

three men and one woman toward the camera. Three are resting against a back wall while one man is closer to the viewer.

Your local community needs you –  Get out there and meet some people 🙂

Song Review- 84 Tigers – “Two Rivers” (featuring Rocky Votolato) from the upcoming album Nothing Ends

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Three men in dark clothing, standing in front of a backlit window and brick wall, looking at the camera

Back in the days when Small Brown Bike was a fairly active band (late 90’s to mid 10’s…and maybe a little longer as I did lose track of them around that time) I had a conflicted relationship with their music.  They had insightful lyrics, bare bones and very real much of the time, that could really get you thinking.  For me songs like “Just Bones” (off the album Fell & Found) and “A Declaration of Sorts” (The River Bed) are powerful music.  At times though they had some distracting arrangements that left me a little puzzled (…which could well have been my own issue but still…those was my thoughts at the time).  Anyway, I still liked the band and listened.  On a side note there is a pretty cool release called Recollected (on the Old Point Light Bandcamp page) that has a lot of their music on it including demos, B-sides, some covers, etc.

84 Tigers features two of the members of Small Brown Bike (Mike & Ben Reed) along with Jono Diener from the Swellers.  A good starting point for music from that Michigan band is their 2012 album Running Out of Places to Go.  

84 Tigers had a release back in 2022 called Time in the Lighthouse that I totally failed to pick up on apparently so this “Two Rivers” track was my entry point for their music.  It is also a tribute to Travis Dopp (Small Brown Bike) who passed away in 2023.  Mike Reed commented on this track in a recent press release from Earshot Media:

“‘Two Rivers’ is a tribute to Travis Dopp (Small Brown Bike). Some of his lyrics are quoted in the song. When Rocky and I realized that we had both written songs with the word ‘River’ in the title separately, it was cosmic fate that brought him into the song. I had no idea what it would become, but he took it to new heights and I still get choked up when I hear it.”

The song begins on a cycling drum and guitar riff and keeps a quick beat accompanied by a strung out lyric line before slowing way down for a reflective moment.   It keeps that tandem sound throughout, kind of a rushing feeling toward the brief spaces of quiet.  A nice combination with sincere lyrics that are a fitting tribute to Dopp.

You can get a listen to this track on YouTube here:

You can pre-save the album (scheduled to drop October 17th on Spartan Records) here:

https://orcd.co/tworivers

Or pre-order at the Spartan Records website: 

84 Tigers

And support your locals – community is powerful

Song Review – Treasure Pains  –  “Left To Give” 

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Three men and one woman, casually dressed and looking toward the viewer. They look comfortable and at ease.

As I am always tracking the news as it pertains to Wiretap Records (seriously one of the very best punk labels in the country) I was happy to see this song released on that label.  I had been following this band’s music since the latter part of 2024, drawn to it by the fact that it involved Kyle Woodall, the great drummer from Wolvesx4 (that being another band you should check out pronto – a good intro point is their 2023 album cursecursecurse).  The first release from Treasure Pains was Charming (also on Wiretap Records) and it was a solid album that interlaced elements of melodic punk with the lighter side of post hardcore.

This new track is definitely more aggressive than their earlier songs, opening on a heavy bass line before cutting into a very loud and aggressive guitar and vocal onslaught.  The drums are right at the front of the sound throughout, driving along a song that also has a pretty cool guitar riff ringing out through the last minute or so.  I like this slightly harder sound from Treasure Pains – it keep the melodic vibe but with a tougher touch.  

You can check out more of the music and information on the Bandcamp page https://wiretaprecords.bandcamp.com/track/left-to-give

And please remember to support your local community 🙂

And maybe think about purchasing this song after you listen – streaming music does not pay much even times a thousand…

Let me know you think!

Song Review- Midnight Peg- “Swallow” from the upcoming album Skinnin

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2 women and 3 men, dressed in black, looking at the camera. In general they look either happy or defiant.

Having previously reviewed another release from this upcoming album (“Thirstland” on June 2nd) I definitely wanted to check this one out.  Given the energy and power of that earlier song I was curious to hear if those levels were sustained and how they both might give a sense of what that album will be like.  Well the answers to that would be: Definitely! And Skinning is very likely to be a real powerhouse record! 

“Swallow” breathes a little bit at the beginning, a gentle pulse rising and falling for about twenty seconds…you might find yourself getting into an introspective groove.  It then cuts abruptly to booming guitars, bass & drums before a vocal charged with fury joins up.  The bridge, which comes around 1:22 steps the tempo down and brings back that breathing space for a moment, a break that works nicely among the volume and speed of the rest of this track.  

Musicians on this are: Eric Neilson (guitar, vocals), Raquel “Rocky” Mann (vocals, lyrics), Brian Lin (bass), Jeffrey Sterling Brannen (drums), Jasmin Molnar (guitar). 

Check it out on your favorite streaming channel (link below) – and let me know your thoughts about it – music makes for good conversation. 

https://bfan.link/MidnigthPeg-swallow

And if you have the inclination …think about purchasing it if you can as steaming music does not pay well even times a thousand. 

And support your locals – community is powerful!

Album Review- Jubal Lee Young- Squirrels

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A man in a cowboy hat, turning to look back at the camera. He is wearing sunglasses and a collared shirt. photo by Chuck Shanlever

This album just came out about a week ago and when I saw the press release from Broken Jukebox Media I was brought back to a song by Young off his self-titled album from 2007.  That song, “Deep South Blues,” has this great horn opening, kind of a haunting blues piece played like a funeral march.  It is fantastic and has stuck with me all these years.  There are no horns to open any of the songs on this new album but it all works out just fine anyway.

After listening through several times I picked “It’s Gonna Be All Right” as my favorite, mostly because it is such a slow-paced  number.  Those always intrigue me as I know how hard it can be to pull off that kind of down tempo successfully (for me at least).  This track comes in on a mournful fiddle sound which continues to set the background tone throughout the song.  The other instruments are not subdued as much as they are gracefully and quietly present, just rising up briefly for short moments.   Vocal quality is on-point, strong and clear with lyrics more hopeful than the mood of the song.  

The rest of the tracks on Squirrels are good listens also with other noteworthy songs for me being “Dumb Luck,” “Lost in Hollywood” and “Parts.”  These, along with the rest of the selections, span across several genres although they are all grounded somewhere in the classic country / Americana & folk space.  There are up-tempo dancers, honky-tonk thumpers and more to enjoy here and it all works together very well. 

Check it out on your favorite streaming channel – and let me know your thoughts about it – music makes for good conversation! 

You can also check out more info about Jubal Lee Young at his website here:

https://juballeeyoung.com/

And if you have the inclination …think about purchasing it if you can as steaming music does not pay well even times a thousand. 

As always, please remember to support your local community and artists 🙂 

Release Alert! Dillinger Four- “Like Sprewells on a Wheelchair”

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Four men in jeans and black t-shirts walking toward the camera - one has his shirt pulled up over his face. They seem to be enjoying themselves.

This song just dropped and as D4 is just a terrific band I wanted to put the word out right away. This is an old one and the last place I remember it being available was on a Rock Against Bush release – Volume 2 as it turned out once I checked Discogs.  

As usual, this track brings all the loud guitars and bass, crashing drums and vocal fury of a lot of Dillinger Four’s music.  There is also a bit of melody hanging out in there, just enough to keep things moving along nicely.  It has a nice long lead in before the lyrics and then it drives hard right to the end – awesome! 

Musicians on this are: Eric Funk (vocals, guitar), Patrick Costello (bass), Billy Morisette (guitar, vocals) and Lane Pederson (drums). 

You can give it a listen here (and maybe think about purchasing it if you are so inclined):

Album Review- Pulley & Fire Sale – Split Personality – split 7 “

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Five men (two sitting and three standing) looking at the camera with one man staring slightly off the viewers left. They look content and at ease.

I definitely do not need a second reminder to review any new music from Pulley as songs like “Cashed in” (from Esteem Driven Engine) and “Empty” (Together Again for the First Time) have been part of the mixtape of my life.  And…speaking of tapes, here is another one of my requests for you:  There was a promo cassette that had three songs from Esteem Driven Engine on it that was out sometime in the late 90’s.  If you ever see one…give me a shout please.  Pulley is a great band live also although it has been awhile since I saw them.  I know less about Fire Sale but the associated bands of the musicians (The Ataris, 22 Jacks, No Use for a Name and Ann Beretta among others) are some favorites of mine.  I had previously head their song “A Fool’s Errand” and found it pretty groovy.  

The Pulley songs on this new 7” split (“Write a Note If You Leave” and “Torn Apart by Time”) are right in that melodic punk space.  These tracks have tight instrumentation and a refined composition accompanied by some straight-forward and heartfelt lyrics.  There is much to enjoy between the hammering drum line, booming bass and some screaming guitar moments.  I would pick “Torn Apart by Time” as my personal favorite on this album. 

There is a bit of a different tone and feel to the Fire Side songs “An Archaic Construct” and “Call of the Void.”  These are a little more raw and edgy, backed up by a wall of distortion and buzzy energy.  That distortion drowns out a little bit of the other instrument sounds in a couple places but it all works out really well overall.  You can catch some nice guitar moments on these songs also.

The four tracks on this release fit well together and represent both bands creative approach and high energy.  You can listen to these on repeat for awhile!    This music is coming out on Negative Progression Records on September 5th and you can get a limited edition vinyl right here:

https://shop.negativeprogressionrecords.com/

And support your locals – community is powerful!