Nervous Tick and The Zipper Lips - Surrounded By Monsters

Hailing from Buffalo, New York, the splendidly named Nervous Tick and The Zipper Lips, the brainchild of Eric 'Biff' Bifaro, announced themselves in 2017 with a Self Titled demo ep. Fast forward to 2020 and in an attempt to show that creativity can still exist in these uncertain times they released a split ep with Science Man titled The Corvid Collaborations : Vol I. This was swiftly followed by Vol II which was a joint affair with Ricky Hell. A busy year was rounded off in October with a 7 track cassette titled Something's Gotta Bleed which was released by cool Turkish label Kafadan Kontak.

2021 looks as though it'll be just as productive as we've already been treated to The Covid Collaborations Vol III which this time around also featured Obsoletism and saw Biff aided by Robbie Brake. It's 3 tracks per band and it's a whole bunch of eggy fun so grab it on Bandcamp

Surrounded By Monsters stands out from an impressive selection of songs so it is the one I am going with today.

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Lande Hekt - Whiskey

Lande Hekt is fron Exeter, UK and is best known for her work in Muncie Girls and recently released a solo album titled Going To Hell.

These are songs about wondering if you’ll ever allow yourself to be happy, and they energetically list off the reasons why you might not be. Many of them are populated by questions that have no answers. I am going with opening track “Whiskey” which is made up of nothing but questions, piling up on top of each other to the point of absurdity. Hekt’s voice sounds passive at the beginning, letting these questions hang in the air, but as the song goes on these questions shift in tone. The instruments change, an acoustic guitar builds up into an electric one, and Hekt’s final line (“Is it the feeling of not having to pretend?”) sounds less like a question and more like a wish.

The album is very lyrics heavy, the music is spare and straightforward, the vocals lay high in the mix—it’s as though Hekt wants to be sure the listener doesn’t miss a word. Musically, the album mostly trades in folky punk. It is beautiful.

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Viagra Boys - Girls & Boys

These are a post punk band from Stockholm, Sweden who cross many genres and influences. I've been regularly playing the new album since it came out a couple of weeks back. It is one of those that is probably listened start to finish. It is hard to know what is serious and what is not but it has satirical post-punk bangers with a ‘yeehaw!’ spirit. If most of these songs were indeed intended as a half-joke, they make it clear it’s not directed at the outside world any more than themselves.

“We wrote these songs at a time when I had been in a long-term relationship, taking drugs every day, and being an asshole,” Viagra Boys’ American-born frontman Sebastian Murphy explains of the band’s upcoming album, Welfare Jazz. “I didn’t really realise what an asshole I was until it was too late, and a lot of the record has to do with coming to terms with the fact that I’d set the wrong goals for myself.”

I am going with the absurdist death-disco alternative dancefloor filler Girls & Boys which takes us on a surreal, saxophone-smattered tour of outdated gender roles. It is a self-aware throwback to their party days with some Nick Cave / The Birthday Party-style burst of dissonance thrown in. It accentuates the agony behind its oddly danceable melodies.

Celebration Summer - I Don’t Want To Be A Burden

Celebration Summer are a four piece band from Washington DC brought together by a shared love of late 80s/early 90s melodic punk rock. Channeling bands such as Leatherface, Samiam and Hot Water Music, Celebration Summer released their debut EP (excluding a demo and a cover) Against The Gun on Little Rocket Records in November of 2020.

I Don’t Want To Be A Burden begins with some uptempo guitars before some sharp vocals come in. Something that always catches my attention is when a song starts with a question so my ears well and truly pricked when I heard the opening line of “what did it mean?” This is a song about self improvement and trying to save a relationship, perhaps something most of us have related to at some point in time. This is definitely a song that is listened to best when it’s really, really loud.

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Good Friend - Erin Rose Drinks On Shift

On December the 11th, Irish punk trio Good Friend surprised us all with the release of their long awaited new EP. Titled The Erin Rose EP, it comes four years after their last Red Scare release Ride The Storm. This was the release that made me aware of the band and it’s been a long four years waiting for some new stuff.

Erin Rose Drinks On Shift opens the 3 track EP. This is a generous slab of mid-tempo heartfelt punk rock. The song gets off to a nice energetic start and there is a bit of a comforting feeling when lead singer Adam’s vocals come in. Something I really loved about the first half of the song is that it feels like a big sing-along despite not being the most bombastic of tracks. I guess this has something to do with the melody that really hooks itself into your head. As we enter into the second half of the song there is a bridge that ups the tempo of the song and things seem to get a bit louder which ensures a big finale.

Good Friend are one of the European punk scene’s best kept secrets. Fingers crossed we’ll be able to check them out when they tour with Red City Radio. Eventually.

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Plastic Flamingos - Boardwalk Dairy Queen

Plastic Flamingos are a four piece band from Durham, North Carolina. Playing a mix of summer inspired pop punk with hints of 90s skate punk and power pop, the band who consist of Brian Summer (vocals/guitar), Elliot Schelske (guitar), Ryan Quinlan (bass) and Kevin Gavagan (drums) released their debut album Halloween Beach Party over halloween weekend of 2020.

What really drew me to this album was just how relatable a lot of the songs are. This will make the album accessible to a lot of people. I’m so impressed with the lyrics throughout the entire album. Musically it’s fun and breezy, if you don’t want to get too deep into the lyrics and just have a good time you can do that too.

Boardwalk Dairy Queen is a sweet song about love at first sight. This song is all about the lyrics. Brian does a fantastic job of making the lyrics feel visual; it’s very easy to imagine the movie of this song. The band have also managed to make the song feel quite urgent as well. I put this down to some chugging guitars and a pounding drumbeat. There’s also a nice surprise when the band get a ukulele out to add to the sweetness of the song.

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Slow Faction - Culture War

You know what you're getting from Slow Faction, they haven't changed much from their early days but they remain topical, honest and very good indeed. They speak from the heart. They care. 

Backed by the band's trademark '77 influenced punk backbeat, frontman John Youens bemoans the rise of social media bots spreading fake news and seeking to influence opinion. He shakes his head in despair at the lack of serious journalism as journalists toe the company line rather than shine a light on grubby goings on. He despairs that smoke and mirror trickery has left us fighting amongst ourselves whilst the agenda pushers pretty much get a free pass to line their pockets. 

You can get the new song from Bandcamp as a name your price download. If you're a fan of intelligent, old school punk music then hopefully you've already availed yourself of their extensive back catalogue.

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Mark Murphy And The Meds - Alone Again Nor

Mark Murphy returns with his new band Mark Murphy And The Meds. If his name doesn't ring a bell it should. The Liverpudlian guitarist/vocalist has graced a number of great bands including Crocodile God, The No Marks and Hey Maxine.

Backed by a bunch of close acquaintances he's back with more top notch melodic punk rock. A new 10 track debut album has been recorded and is being mixed so we shouldn't have to wait too long for that.

A jaunty little introduction to a band that I have high hopes for, this is Alone Again Nor...

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The Smog - Set In Stone

The Smog are a 3 piece post punk band from Osaka, Japan and amongst the list of influences on their Bandcamp page are the likes of The Fall, Wire, Outsiders and Desperate Bicycles.

They recently released a new 7" which many are saying is = their best yet and it is available from Going Underground Records

As well as the influences listed above, there is a definite nod in the direction of Girls At Our Best's Getting Nowhere Fast at the start before Gang of Four style staccato guitar work kicks in. Whilst definitely wearing their 80's influences proudly upon their sleeves they still manage to sound fresh and very catchy indeed.

This is Set In Stone

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Five Hundred Bucks - Spinal

Five Hundred Bucks are an 90's influenced pop punk band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They remind me of 90's Green Day, which of course is not a bad thing.

They have a couple of tracks out there so far and I am going with the first of two tracks on their latest EP, This Welcome Mat is a Landmine, which is Spinal. It is all about the nostalgia for me and took me back to Dookie / Insomniac era Green Day. Lovely stuff.

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Reverse - Broken Windows

Reverse first started in the early 90s. Hailing from Stoke in the UK and once described as a gritty, melodic, hardcore band on the Damaged Goods label, for me they always also had a definite pop-punk bearing.

They often drew comparisons to their very British contemporaries Snuff, Leatherface, China Drum et al, particularly as I think they recorded a few times in Newcastle, which possibly involved Frankie Stubbs's input, and they also played a gig there with China Drum after they'd split.

After going their separate ways in 1997, they briefly reformed putting out an album, Chasing Ghosts, on the Japanese SP Records in 2011, only to split again. Now, it seems, they're still not done and they're back again. They might not be prolific, but my god, they're durable.

Broken Windows is currently my favourite on the album. It builds for the first 20 seconds or so with guitar then drums, before the vocals start and the song really kicks off.

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Baldhead and the Dreads - Smoke Weed Pet Dogs

Playing their own unique brand of ska punk that they’ve dubbed Paul Smith Core, with no gigs this last year the band decided to use their spare time to make their second EP. Released by INiiT Records in November, the EP is titled Battle Of Armadogeon and was recorded in bedrooms during the first lockdown. This EP really shows a band coming on leaps and bounds.

I am sharing the opening track Smoke Weed Pet Dogs. For those unfamiliar with the band, drugs and dogs made up a big portion of their debut EP, It’ll Be Fiiine…, and it’s nice to see them not stepping away from their roots. Co-vocalist James takes the lead on the song which is extremely catchy. I think a big part of why people have grown to love Baldhead so much is that a lot of songs are quite simple, easily accessible and a lot of fun.

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Bicep - Glue

Bicep are an electronic music production and DJ duo from Belfast and currently based in London consisting of Andrew Ferguson and Matthew McBriar. They have a new album coming out in a few weeks and after the teaser tracks I am looking forward to what it will bring. Fingers crossed. Rather than a track from the upcoming album I am going with what is still, currently at least, my favourite track by them. It was released back in 2017 and I remember a mate sending me it with the statement "listen to this, it is the sound of actual endorphins flooding my body". It reminds me of when you're walking back home in the morning after a night out. You feel free but tired, you feel happy but sad that the night is over. Put your phone down and headphones on and get lost in it. It is what I often do when this comes on. 

The Struggle - Tension Rising

The Struggle are a street punk / oi band from Darlington who feature Chris Wright from Crashed Out, Gimp Fist bassist Chris Wright as well as Laze (drums) and Tom Chapman (guitar).

Due to other commitments the band called it a day back in 2019 but they've left a "last will and testament" in the form of a 2 song ep which is out now on Pirates Press Records. The band has decided that all proceeds from the release will go to BOOM in Leeds. BOOM is a grassroots venue near and dear to the band’s hearts which has played host to many punk, metal, and rock gigs throughout the years, and like most independent music venues, can use help amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. BOOM LEEDS is now on the brink of permanent closure due to Covid-19 and needs to Crowdfund to survive. In the absence of any income and being unable to open - the venue has accrued substantial debts that will force the venue into permanent closure. Any profits from this release will help keep the wolves from the door. 

Unsurprisingly, given the pedigree of the band members, the ep is a winner. Anthemic choruses and gang vocals abound. It's a fitting farewell that'll go down a storm with punks and skins everywhere. 

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[BOOM] LEEDS

The Wraith - Warhead

The Wraith are a dark punk/deathrock band from Los Angeles and line up with Kaz Alvis (guitar/vocals), Davey Bales (vocals), Anatolii Lövochkin (drums) and Paul Rogers (bass/vocals). Their sound mixes up elements of 80's UK post punk (Death Cult, Killing Joke, Chameleons) with Southern Californian deathrock (T.S.O.L., Samhain) and their 2019 debut album, Gloom Ballet, saw critics hurling glowing reviews in their direction. 

Warhead is a UK Subs cover and is a darkly delicious take on a classic and can be found on a split cassette with Cheltenham horror punks, Screaming Dead, who contribute a song called Pretty Mess.

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Bent Out Of Shape - Paying Tribute

Bent Out Of Shape are an Oi Punk band from The Netherlands and they released an impressive demo back in April and returned at the back end of the year with an excellent 7" titled Who Laughs Last.

Who Laughs Last is 4 tracks that'll appeal to fans of Blitz, Cock Sparrer, The Beltones etc with the title track revealing that though this is a new project, the members of the band are genre veterans who have carried on with their passion of making music despite being told they'd be better off getting proper jobs. Lost In The System is about struggling to get by and how we should pull together to survive whilst the closing track is a love letter to their home of Fryslân.

This song is about being proud of their skinhead roots and it's called Paying Tribute...

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Joyce Manor - Constant Headache

Joyce Manor is an American rock band from Torrance, California, formed in 2008. The band consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Barry Johnson, guitarist Chase Knobbe, bassist and back-up vocalist Matt Ebert, and drummer Pat Ware. Their eponymously titled debut studio album was released 10 years ago this week.

To mark the occasion I am sharing the closing track from the album Constant Headache. Great catchy song with some great lyrics.

Sleaford Mods Ft. Amy Taylor - Nudge It

Nottingham electro post-punk duo Sleaford Mods seem to split opinion in a way not many others do. They have a new album titled Spare Ribs out tomorrow.

Lead single Mork N Mindy and 2nd teaser track Shortcummings presented evidence that the album would be up there with their best and now they present one final submission in the form of a collaboration with Amy Taylor (who you'll know from Amyl And The Sniffers). This is called Nudge It.

Hell is for Heroes - Out of Sight

 Hell Is for Heroes are an English post-hardcore band from London. Founder members Will McGonagle and Joe Birch (previously of Symposium) were joined by James Findlay, Tom O'Donoghue and later Justin Schlosberg. The band played their formative shows in West London throughout 2001.

After two independently released singles, Hell Is for Heroes released their debut album in February 2003 on EMI. The Neon Handshake was produced and recorded in Los Angeles at Sound City Studios and mixed in Umeå, Sweden at Tonteknik by Pelle Henricsson and Eskil Lövström. Their debut album was voted the 58th best British rock album ever, by the readers of Kerrang! magazine in the 19 February 2005 issue.

I am sharing Out Of Sight which is the second track from the album. It has a great riff and a great mix of vocals and the right balance of loud and quiet.

What Did You Expect? - A.C.A.B.

What Did You Expect? have been releasing DIY political punk for a couple of years and this latest release is a song called A.C.A.B. which is a rip roaring singalong bolstered by backing vocals from Mike McKinnon, Afro Hamurai, Sober Dave & Beck Butler. It's a brief but energetic put down of police brutality and all proceeds go towards funding Black Lives Matter, Stand Against Racism & Inequality NAACP Legal Defense Fund.  You can get it as a name your price download

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Burial - Archangel

Something different to the general theme of tracks posted so far. Burial, is a British electronic musician from South London. He has various releases under his belt and pops up out of the blue now and then with some great collabs. The first time I properly heard his stuff was on a driving holiday trip through Eastern Europe and we played his album Unture on repeat. The stand out track on this for me is Archangel. It's quite a dark track that, if push comes to shove, I'd class as garage/break beat. Every time I hear the album it echoes quiet, rainy streets lit by streetlights. So atmospheric. Flying Lotus cites this as one of his favourite artists that isn't on his label and is quoted as saying that nothing he's ever heard sounds so "London". Exactly what it does for me.

Give it a go, it might surprise you.

Tony Sly - Soulmate

Tony Sly was lead singer / songwriter in the USA skate punk band No Use For A Name that formed around the mid-90's that also included future Foo Fighter Chris Shiflett, before taking the popular route of many other punkers (Chuck Ragan, Dave Hause, Joey Cape, etc) take into acoustic music. Today I am posting Soulmate which is the acoustic version of the song he did for No Use For A Name. It is a great song, with some good lyrics and just has a nice comforting feel to it. It appears on his "Acoustic 2" album which is 12 songs, 10 of them are acoustic renditions of songs by the singers' respective bands - Lagwagon and No Use for a Name, with each member also contributing one previously unreleased song. This is Tony Sly's last release before his death.

Chaser - 2020

Chaser are a melodic skate punk band from Orange County, California. Established 2000. Back in September they released a new EP titled "Look Alive". I am going with a track releaded this year called "2020". It is a great melodic punk song that kind of reminded me of modern Souls, but better!

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Era Bleak - Mind Control Tower

Era Bleak are Candy (vocals), Justin (bass), Zach (guitar) and Spiz (drums), they're from Portland, Oregon and they include members of Dark/Light and Piss Test. They put out a demo at the end of 2017 which was described as "angular, energetic, and a little bit snotty." It got a cassette release by Dirt Cult Records in 2018 and a number of the tracks feature on their self titled LP that was released last year.

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Dead Sheeran - Things Were Better in the Eighties

Dead Sheeran is the alter ego of Paul Catten ("I have a bunch of other music out under my own name and I wanted to keep this separate"), a Sleaford Mods fan from the south eastern Herefordshire town of Ross On Wye. A boxing coach who used to be in hardcore bands in his youth. He started this project to relieve the boredom of lockdown but it’s turned into the most successful thing he’s done in music. Imagine half Man Half Biscuit meets The Streets. A solitary artist, well versed in the dark side of the Force. One man and a trusty laptop, a victim of lockdown blues, he released his EP, A National Disgrace, at the beginning of November and it was possibly the sharpest, sweariest, funniest, lockdown album of the year. Punk Rock laptop hiphop made by a 50 year old bloke who treads a fine line between polemic, pisstake, profanity and profundity. It's not all topical angst though, there's also a nostalgic trip back in time to the days of Grange Hill, Hornby trains and Betamax video players. This is Things Were Better In The Eighties...

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Viboras - Non Lo So

Viboras are an Italian female fronted ska punk rock band who were formed back in 2003. They have extensively toured mainland Europe and played the prominent punk festivals. On Christmas Day they released a new track titled Non Lo So (translation: I do not know). Whilst I do not know what the lyrics are (they do come with an explicit warning), it is a catchy little track worth your time.

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The Dinz - I'm Alright

The Dinz are from Portsmouth and have that late 70's punk sound with a sprinkle of anarcho with a funk twist. They have a number of releases behind them and if you like your punk rock music to have that authentic, back in the day sound then The Dinz might be for you. This song is called I'm Alright.

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White Stains - Quarantine

White Stains are a punk rock band from Pittsburgh, USA. They take many punk and hardcore influences and make something new sounding whilst keeping it relevant. The vocalist somehow channels the voices of Darby Crash, Jerry from Poison Idea and Duane Peters when the U.S. Bombs were still great.

They recently released an excellent new EP titled Make Me Sick and it is currently name your price. At 10 tracks you would may think EP is the wrong title, but it is also 13 minutes long, so...

An early favourite is the very apt Quarantine, so that is what I am going with.

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Kill Lincoln - Civil Surgery

Kill Lincoln are a Ska Punk Rock band from Washington D.C. They have high energy, bouncing horn lines and big choruses – what more could you possibly want in your ska punk? "Gang vocals" you say? They have those as well. Earlier this year they released their album Can’t Complain and it is a great album that reminds me of later Less Than Jake, but better...

I could have gone with numerous tracks but have settled on is Civil Surgery. It has a fantastic extended introduction that will again have you dancing your socks off. The Kill Lincoln horn section is clearly one of the best in the genre at the moment and everything they do on Can’t Complain is creative and adds so much to the album. Of all the songs on the album, Civil Surgery perhaps takes you on the biggest ride. After the horn lead start we get to a slower paced verse that builds to a skate punk sounding chorus before the delicious horns come in. As we come towards the end of the song there’s a huge breakdown where Kill Lincoln take us on a heavier road which will allow listeners to really release some pent up aggression – this moment was really unexpected but was absolutely fantastic.

Tabloited - Tühi vaev

Tabloited are an Estonia band based in Tallinn who are influenced by both golden era punk such as The Ramones and The Clash plus local acts such as Vennaskond, J.M.K.E. and Psychoterror etc and feature Mart Niineste (vocals/guitar), Sander Päeren (guitar/vocals), Georgi Maksimov (bass) and Kallervo Karu (drums).

Late last year they releaased an EP titled Kaua võib? ( For How Long?) and is both catchy and melodic and although I'm not sure what the lyrics are, it's still a very enjoyable listen.

The ep's available as a name your price download on Bandcamp.

Death Cab For Cutie - The New Year

The New Year is the opening track from the Death Can album Transatlanticism and one I always think of on New Years Day.

 So this is the new year and I don't feel any different...

Let's hope 2021 is better than 2020.