Meredith – Meredith III, EP (2015)

Meredith - Meredith III, EP (2015)

Meredith - Meredith III, EP (2015) Guitarist/singer Fred Lefranc and drummer Ben Delacroix are back with their third installment, a four track EP.
The previus EP, released last year “The Shape Of Things To Come” was an intense, modern mixture of alternative rock and metal with roots back to grunge and garage/noise rock. Now they sound more consolidated, mature if you prefer. The raw fury is there, but it got a polished make-up now which don’t mean they get any softer. The two guys managed to create a complex and intense music and surprisingly they filled up the spaces smartly, everything it’s nicely balanced. Rebels with cause – if you know what I mean.
I always liked about Meredith that they sound passionate and personal, they open up honestly and sometimes bring up unpleasant subjects like abuses or domestic violence with fair simplicity. Can’t fix issues if we refuse to step up and speak up. Read more Meredith – Meredith III, EP (2015)

Snurfu – Play This Game (2014)

Snurfu 2014

Snurfu 2014 It’s not brain surgery, but only rock’n’roll and it feels good as it is. And probably it’s not much left to say because it’s that type of rock you love it or hate, but if you love it, you will have to play it loud and grab a beer!
While I have wrote about their debut EP “Bag of Bones” back in 2009, recently I wrote about Massive and their ass-kicker world-wide re-released debut album “Full Throttle” and it seems that the good old rock’n’roll it’s back in trends again. Well, probably it’s still not fancy as the electronic layers and bass drops, but I still can’t think of something better if you gonna have a party!
Fans of AC/DC and Massive will enjoy it, but it also have a nice glam/sleaze touch here and there. Sometimes feels like Poison and Motorhead are jamming together. Songs like “Boo”, “Stepto-Cock” or the title track will ringing in your ears for days. More like this, please! Read more Snurfu – Play This Game (2014)

’68 – In Humor And Sadness (2014)

'68 - In Humor And Sadness (2014)

'68 - In Humor And Sadness (2014) I admit, I was afraid this will be another noiscore/crossover post-hardcore whatever album, but fortunately I was wrong. If you miss the raw energy and fury of the Bleach era Kurt Cobain, but you’re even more hardcore and garage punk oriented, it’s very possible that “In Humor And Sadness” might be your next very best friend. It’s neat, it’s wild, it’s in your face, still quite musical and hitting instantly, getting under your skin quickly and for good.
’68 was formed in 2013 by guitarist and vocalist Josh Scogin formerly of Norma Jean and The Chariot and drummer Michael McClellan. They released same year a self-released EP titled “Midnight” including two tracks: “Three is a Crowd” and “Third Time is a Charm”. The initial pressing of Midnight sold out in less than one day, and the indie label No Sleep Records re-released it with new artwork on April 1, 2014.
In May 2014, ’68 announced they signing to Good Fight Music and eOne Music for the release of their debut album, “In Humor and Sadness”, due to be released on July 8, 2014. To promote the album, ’68 released a pair of YouTube videos, which had to be played in unison in order to hear “Track Two: E”. Such a wild idea, isn’t it??! The song “Track One: R” was also available for online streaming ahead of the album’s release. Read more ’68 – In Humor And Sadness (2014)

Wildmen – Wildmen (2013)

Hippies are back and they seems furious. Punk-like furious. White Stripes fans will gonna love it.
Hailing from the heart of the old empire – Rome, Italy -, Wildmen is a duo made of Giacomo Mancini and Matteo Vallicelli. Their self-titled debut album was release on 14th March on Shit Music For Shit People. Ten pounding, raw sounding, unpolished garage rock with roots back to the 70s and both to hard rock and psychedelic flavoured experimental rock. Energetic, sometimes quite wild and violently noisy, but fun throughout. This is Rock’N’Roll on steroid or on any other illegal drug. Read more Wildmen – Wildmen (2013)

Plymouth Fury – Vaudeville (2012)

Plymouth Fury - Vaudeville (2012) With roots back to The Stooges and the grooves and melodies of The Dandy Warhols, merging the fury of The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion with the straight simplicity of the Danish Surf rockers The Good The Bad, juggling between the rawness of The Velvet Underground and the new blues spirit of The Black Keys, the French Plymouth Fury serve us a hot and noisy, garage flavored rock with resonances to Spaghetti westerns with Tarantino vibe.
The trio, Worzo – guitar and vocals, Will – bass and vocals, and Stephane Kurdijaka – drums, has been formed in 2007 in Paris, and so far they shared the stage with bands such as Division Of Laura Lee, The Elektrocution, The Bombettes, Favez, It’s Not Not, Magic People, TV Buddah and King of Conspiracy. They have one thing on their minds: to burn all those places down! And honestly, this 70’s taste-like, unpolished, straight and noisy rock it’s just perfect for a hell of an evening down in the club! Read more Plymouth Fury – Vaudeville (2012)

Blue Willa – Blue Willa (2013)

Blue Willa Blue Willa is the debut album by the Italian art rock quartet bearing that same name. The band had been touring and recording for years under the name Baby Blue, but then they decide it that the time has come for change and came up with a brand new identity: Blue Willa.
They explains: “Continuing a story which lasted seven years and three records so far, we decided to carry on our pursuit for a sound that would fit neatly onto our ideas asking a person we unquestionably loved to help us fulfill it.
We called on Carla Bozulich, whom we had met in Florence some four years ago, and she immediately got involved and interested in our plans.
We spent ten days in the Italian countryside, working side by side with her and our sound engineer, Davide Cristiani. Carla took care of our songs and sounds, proposing shapes and a whole new imagery for them. She made our sounds feel aquatic, ringing and overturned: a sort of underwater punk rock music from the Thirties.
This music then went on to be mixed and fixed on the Himalayan mountainside and in Paris: it is a pleasant thought for us to imagine that something from these places – as well from our provinces – got entangled and caught inside these songs.”
And well, this is really a journey to folk flavored punk, psychedelic rock and vivid experimentalism, but also to yet undiscovered places, unrevealed sounds. Read more Blue Willa – Blue Willa (2013)

Inflatable Best Friend – DMT Bike Ride (2013)

Inflatable Best Friend -  DMT Bike Ride 2013 Noisy and raw garage punk(rock) rides twisted into some weird psychedelic trips and flavored with lo-fi, drone contortions – this is the menu on the debut album by this Michigan based and DIY devoted band. Not for those who are in the search of the perfect crystal sound and are only comfortable with the polished and mainly over-produced, but tasteless, and inconsistent fancy products of the almighty digital era. No, these guys will take you back to their garage, will tear the walls down at the house party in some suburb or in the basement of some filthy and obscure club. This taste like life, sounds messy and full of trouble as reality, wear perfectly with cheap beer, sleepless nights and lost memories.
With roots back to The Velvet Underground and Lou Reed (“Circus Dog”), but with the fury and energy of Sonic Youth (“I Wanna Ride a Sabertooth”), Inflatable Best Friend will shake you up and grind you down, and rock you into weird, vivid dreams only to crash you down again. This is legal, but dangerous stuff. Read more Inflatable Best Friend – DMT Bike Ride (2013)

Junkyard Birds – Freewheeling Free Will (2012)

The kickstarter “High Heels And Leather Boots” reminds me of Iggy’s “The Passenger”, it’s an enjoyable ride, although it’s a genuine, “bad to the bone”, wicked and dirty, garage Rock anthem. And Iggy’s name, the reflection of his wild spirit returns here and there along the album. But more present it’s the ghost of Lemmy, with roots back to Hawkwind and wings spread out to Motörhead.
Junkyard Birds find their own noisy path of raw, loud and distorted Rock perfumed with Blues resonances and turning into Psychedelic and Stoner shades. Fans of MC5 or Stooges, as well as fans of Blue Oyster Cult, Hawkwind or Fu Manchu and Monster Magnet will definitively gonna enjoy the ride along Junkyard Birds. But sometimes they reminded me of Cathedral too. Read more Junkyard Birds – Freewheeling Free Will (2012)

Topsy The Great – STEFFALD (2012)

This is genuine, noisy, garage taste like, Avant-garde Rock band, somewhere between Big Black, Sonic Youth and H.P. Zinker. Topsy The Great’s debut album will be out on vinyl in September on fromSCRATCH Records. We’ve got 12 grinding, contorted, noisy Rock tracks, delivered by this Italian trio consist of guitarist Emanuele Ravalli, bass player Alessandro Gambassi and drummer Lorenzo “Bob” Coppini. They call their own style “Tesla-Core”, which is actually pretty clever and appropriate, while among their influences they name bands such as Black Sabbath, Black Flag, Big Black, Sonic Youth, Lightning Bolt, Fugazi, Oshinoko Bunker Orchestra and Melvins. This is a quite intense mixture of Punk rooted Garage Rock with Hardcore intensity and experimental/Avant-garde taste like (truly Progressive) Post-Rock. Got to listen this to feel it, understand it, but once you will got the taste of it, once when everything came through, you will love it and finally you will scream for more. Although, the recording is pretty raw sounding – bet it was recorded live -, the material is enjoyable and the trip is exhaustive, but worth every single minute of it. Read more Topsy The Great – STEFFALD (2012)

EndAnd – Adventures of Fi in Space (2012)

This is Garage Rock, with one leg back to the 70’s and the other kicking into the future, merging Noise and Alternative Rock influences, blinking with an eye to Psychedelia, but adding some Punk attitude and “no future” easiness, they delivering raw, biting, but definitively tasty and smartly layered mixture of Garage/Punk Rock where gentle melodies, smoothly played chords are make an efficient pair with the overdrives and driving, energetic riffs, pounding drums and buzzing basses.
Resulting from merging two EP’s, “Adventures of Hi-Fi in Space”, and “Adventures of Lo-Fi in Space”, both released in June 2012, this LP consist of quite different recordings, from polished studio quality works to all sort of DIY style recordings, including digital 4 track, analog 4 track, live recording, and minimal pro tools editing. Still the album sounds compact, every piece fits right in. And if you are into real Underground, truly experimental Rock, edge cutting stuffs, not only on the surface, but diving deep, EndAnd worth at least a chance.
And for orientation, think of Cloud Nothings, The Ramones, Helmet, Polvo, Jay Reatard, Gang of Four, Wavves, The Pixies, Guided By Voices, The Melvins, Nirvana, etc. Read more EndAnd – Adventures of Fi in Space (2012)