Tag Archives: Illinois

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 🙂 

Album Review- Time Thieves – If You Survive

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Three men and one woman stand outside a shop that looks like a convenience store. They look happy.

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! 

You can check out more of the music and information on the Bandcamp page https://timethieveschicago.bandcamp.com

Your community – us and you and everyone else – is powerful…remember to support and engage.

And please 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- Sleepwalk- “Flesh” (re-mastered) off the album Splatter b/w “Hit the Ground” (acoustic).

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A black and white photo of four men in baseball caps. They look a little grim and unhappy.

Cool news here on two fronts:

This band’s 2018 full LP release Splatter is now out on vinyl for the first time – unfortunately both limited runs of 100 have already sold out…but maybe the label (Quiet Panic) will gift us with another release? 

The first track off of that album (“Flesh”) has also been remastered and is out as a single with the b-side being a nice acoustic take on “Hit the Ground” which can be found on their 2021 album Underneath the Shade.

I thought “Flesh” was great when I first heard it back when it was originally released and this remastered version gives it just a little more lightness than the original.  It also has a cleaner edge to some of the sound without taking away from the gritty, booming texture that makes it such a good song.  

If you get a chance to listen to the Shade version of “Hit the Ground” you will hear a track with quite a bit of frontal distortion and a slightly discordant melody popping up occasionally in the background.  It is a song with a loud, tragic story and the music matches that vibe.  The acoustic take on the b-side of this release takes a different approach, smoothing out the sound and delivering the same story with a more reflective and soft tone. The edginess is gone but still hits home.  The two songs here are also good counterpoints to each other in style and composition.  

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

https://orcd.co/flesh

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

Check out the awesomeness of your local community when you have a chance! 

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 🙂 

Song Review- Showoff  – “Get Home” from the album Haverstraw 

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In case anyone wants a random mission…I give you this.  Showoff has a very good early album (it might have been their first?) called “Around the Corner Fudge is Made” (and no, I have no idea what that is all about) that was on cassette.  I at least never saw it in any other format.  If you are picking your way through any random sale bins out there and see it…pick it up and shoot me a message – I’ll be happy to pay up to get it.  They came across my radar back in the last 90’s when they were on tour with Goldfinger…which seems like a really long time ago.  

Their last release that I knew of was “Midwest Side Story” but I learned in checking things out while I was writing this that they also released a single (“Bitter Pill”) in 2023.  The lineup has evolved along the way and now consists of Chris Envy, Evan Thorne, Mickey Molinari, Steve Envy and Brian Steinseifer.  This new album on Manic Kat Records just dropped recently and after giving it a listen I can say…they can still bring it!  Their energy is still very present and the sounds are good!  

They recently released a video for “Crimson”, the first track on this album and you can check that out below.  Personally though my favorite song is “Get Home” which opens on vocals and thumping rhythm.  The chorus develops into a great sound mix with guitars punching through nicely.  This track stays driving and energetic all the way through to the end.  

Check out that “Crimson video here:  

Easy streaming link for the album here:

If you go out and give “Get Home” or any (or all!) parts of this album a listen…think about purchasing it if you can as steaming music does not pay well even times a thousand. 

Your local community and you are powerful! 

Song Review- The Copyrights “In There Somewhere” from the album New Ghosts

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Some bands…with some songs… just have the ability to bring you some good old nostalgic vibes and feelings.. That is exactly what happened when I hit play on this recent release from The Copyrights.   Just try it out for yourself and you will know what I mean. 

This track opens nicely with some heavy drums that spring open into a great opening lyric “Joy, I need to drag you down, it feels like its been so long since we’ve had it out.”  The guitar distortion really sets the mood for this song and is offset nicely by the punchy bass line…and it all goes out on a nice noisy build that abruptly cuts off…very cool.

You can check out more of the music and information on the Bandcamp page https://thecopyrights.bandcamp.com/

Please remember to get out there and support all of your locals…community is powerful! 

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

Song Review- Alliance “Wingspan” from the album Alliance

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What can I say…give me some great saxophone and I am hooked from go. 

This track is their take on a Mulgrew Miller original from an album of the same name released in 1987.  I really enjoy the way the saxophone comes right in at the beginning and maintains a place near the front for the first half of this composition.  It has a slight edge of the frantic about it (to me anyway).  The piano section that starts around the 1:40 mark is a nice counterpoint, a little less edgy but not lulling anyone to sleep for sure.  An engaging drum solo clears the palate for about thirty seconds and then everyone comes back together to finish this track out.  The clarity of the individual moments on this song, combined with the great skill of the musicians together, really make for a good musical memory:) 

You can check out more of the music and information on the Bandcamp page https://shiftingparadigmrecords.bandcamp.com/album/alliance

As always, please get out and support all of your locals – community is powerful:)

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

Song Review- Commit This To Memory “Variant” from the album Meant To Be

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Seeing an up-and-coming band start to get their music out into the universe again is always a special moment.   This band popped up a few years ago with their debut EP Home and then faded a bit (although maybe not in their local area…could have just been out of my view).  Anyway, back then I thought they had a good foundation to build on and this new album, which was released December 16th, builds on that for sure.  They were a little bit angsty on that debut EP (not a crime…just a function of age 🙂 and have grown a bit since that time.  

I selected this song because I find it to be an outlier in terms of their general sound which usually rides comfortably in the pop punk lane.   This track has more of a gravely tone & groove to it.  It opens with a rock-styled drum and guitar section and maintains that throughout with the vocals being a little more toward the punk side of things.  Overall, this is a well done, fast-paced song, direct and to the point at 2:49 in length.  

You can check out more of the music and information on the Bandcamp page https://committhistomemory.bandcamp.com/

Please remember to support your local businesses, bands, musicians, artists…and people 🙂 …community is powerful!  

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

Song Review -Off With Their Heads “Be Good” from the album Calm / Collected 

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Hey!  Great news for me (and hopefully some of you) as there is a new Off With Their Heads release just out this week 🙂  

I selected this track (which leads off the album) as it is such a good example of the great music this band puts together every time to surround the raw emotions of Ryan Young’s lyrics.   This song comes in lightly on some guitars and a simple drum beat that provides an effective foundation for the moment when Ryan comes in with that raspy and powerful voice.  I always tell people when you want sincerity in your song lyrics…just listen to OWTH.   And a special high five moment for the slightly odd way this track goes out…you will have to listen to it yourself and see what you think.

If you have the inclination, this entire album is really good and definitely worth a purchase.  

You can check out more of the music and information on the Bandcamp page https://dasowth.bandcamp.com

As always, remember to support your local bands and businesses – community is powerful 🙂 

Song Review -DEHD “Stars” from the album Blue Skies

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Song Review -DEHD “Stars” from the album Blue Skies

What can I say…I love this band and have been a fan for awhile.  I had previously heard “Bad Love” off this album which I believe was an early release on Bandcamp.  Having just checked back in and saw this entire album was available I had to jump at the chance to review one song 🙂

This track (and the album as a whole) is a very familiar DEHD song in all of the best ways…slightly eccentric guitar & smooth vocals from Jason Balla, simple & poignant rhythm from Eric McGrady and bellicose vocals & bass from Emily Kempf.  Listening to this song puts you in the mood to break out into a hypnotic dance groove.  

You can check out more of the music and information on the Bandcamp page https://dehdforever.bandcamp.com

You can also check out my review of their album “Water” here https://jackmesenbourg.com/2021/05/16/album-review-dehd-water/

Please remember to support your local musicians 🙂 – community is powerful.