Dark Thoughts' Must Be Nice is either the last great punk rock album of the 2010s or the first great punk rock album of the 2020s. Take your pick! This is the Philly trio's third album since 2016, and it feels like they've just capped a holy trinity of modern-day punk rock. I think it's almost unfair to categorize this band as "Ramonescore". Instead I'd just say they're a great punk rock band who happen to be inspired by the Ramones (and what great punk band isn't?). Dark Thoughts haven't really altered their approach since their first album. Only two tracks on Must Be Nice exceed two minutes. And as always, the band's m.o. is to keep it simple & catchy and write deceptively good tunes. The songs leave you wanting more, and then the album ultimately does the same. Dark Thoughts could write the manual on how to worship at the altar of the Ramones without trying to be the Ramones. The closing title track hints at some room for growth/expansion of the band's core sound, so don't be surprised if Dark Thoughts top themselves again in a year or so. Must Be Nice officially releases January 17th on Drunken Sailor and Stupid Bag Records!
How about I start a new decade with a complete change in my musical tastes? Just kidding! I've been a sucker for '77-style punk rock since I was just a young buck music reviewer back in the '90s, and that will likely not change for as long as I'm breathing air. I can always count on Wanda Records to feature the best '77 bands from Europe and beyond. Berlin's Not The Ones have released a couple albums and a single on Wanda in the past, and their new 7" is another cool nod to the U.K. two-chord sound circa 1977-79. The title B-Side might have you thinking this is some kind of outtakes collection, but I don't believe that's the case at all. Lead track "Mona & Lucy" is the real keeper here: a very Adverts-sounding number that you can sing and strum along with to your heart's content. It's followed by a couple more original tunes: one sung in English, the other in German. The latter track, "Wär schön, wenn Du bleibst", is a slower tempo love song in a minimalist Ramones tradition. If you like the classic '77 sound with a German accent, you will definitely dig this band. And be sure to check out Not The Ones' terrific 2016 long player Just A Bad Mood if you haven't already!
It's New Year's Eve, so you know what that means: my annual best-of-the-year write-up! Amazingly, this is the ninth time I've done this with this particular blog. I never imagined F & L lasting eight years...or even five! Yet here we are. 2019 was another banner year for new music - to the point where I could not possibly limit myself to a top 20 albums list. So I've extended it to a top 25, and even then I had to make some very painful cuts. On that note, let's go ahead and dive in to my fave stuff of the year. Streaming links (if available) have been provided so you can listen for yourself! Top 25 Albums of 2019
25. The Short Fuses - Dawn of the Deaf
Georgia, Justin, and Travis are back after a 16-year hiatus with a full-on epic rockout of an album. A modern-day protest record fueled by an affinity for horror. What could be more perfect?
24. The Cavemen - Night After Night
Branching out from their scuzzy and vicious core sound, The Cavemen pay homage to their '50s/'60s rock and roll influences on this surprisingly catchy garage/punk record.
23. PlasticHeads -Nowhere To Run
Snotty '77 punk smashing head-on into early '80s hardcore, featuring Jon Sharron (Brutal Knights/Career Suicide/Chokehold).
22. The Safes - Winning Combination
When The Safes promised that something different was coming, they weren't kidding! For this album, the Brothers O'Malley assembled a veritable orchestra of cousins, nieces, and nephews and crafted a whimsical gem of baroque pop.
21. Moral Panic- self titled
19 minutes of blistering garage punk by way of late '70s American Midwest. It was no accident that they covered the Pagans!
20. Los Pepes - Positive Negative
On their fourth album, these Brits finally nail down the "Motörhead gone power pop" sound they've been aiming for all along.
19. Freak Genes -III
Andrew and Charlie go all-in on synth-pop on their delightfully weird third album. This band has made me fall back in love with new wave and post-punk music.
18. Corner Boys - Waiting For 2020
Sadly, these guys are already broken up. They sure left us on a high note! Poppy, bratty punk that sounds straight out of 1979 with lyrics lamenting our doomed modern world.
17. Extra Arms - Up From Here
Extra Arms' second album as a full band is surprisingly punk-influenced, but still in that classic '90s loud alt-rock vein. Having laid his soul bare writing a record about a trying year in his life, Ryan Allen has achieved his finest moment as an artist.
16. Amyl and the Sniffers - self titled
The hype is massive. That doesn't mean it's not a great record. It's awesome to hear young folks stoked on Aussie hard rock and punk records made long before they were born create something new and exciting. "Gacked On Anger" is the next great generational anthem.
15. Indonesian Junk - Spiderbites
Yet another fine album of glam-punk power pop trash awesomeness from this criminally underrated Milwaukee outfit.
14. Sweet Things - In Borrowed Shoes, On Borrowed Time
The kings of boozy rock and roll finally deliver an LP, and it's epic. Exile On Main St. meets the streets of New York!
13. Geoff Palmer - Pulling Out All The Stops
Solo debut from the Connection singer/guitarist takes a deep dive into his pop-punk roots. A pop-punk album you're sure to love even if you don't like pop-punk.
12. TV Crime -Metal Town
The eagerly anticipated debut from Nottingham's finest did not disappoint. An album chock full of pub rock/power pop/'77 punk hits!
11. Trampoline Team - self titled
This album is an absolute steamroller of trashy, snotty punk rock.
10. More Kicks - self titled
London trio featuring James Sullivan (Suspect Parts) debuts with one of the best pure pop albums you'll ever hear.
9. The Control Freaks - She's The Bomb
If I describe this record as the perfect combination of Supercharger, The Rip Offs, Infections, and Zodiac Killers, am I just stating the obvious?
8. Beach Patrol -Levity
Domenic
and Preston made the long trek from
Green Bay to the Philly suburbs to record this terrific little album
with Pete Donnelly (who also filled in on bass). This just might be Beach
Patrol's best album yet! Check this one out if you want to hear a great
songwriter at the top of his game.
7. Gino and the Goons - Do The Get Around/Off The Rails
I'm kind of cheating here by allowing
two records to share one spot. Isn't that mathematically impossible?
Nothing is impossible in the world of Gino and the Goons - one of the
greatest rock and roll bands going.
6. Nato Coles and The Blue Diamond Band - Flyover
The long awaited second LP from America's most
beloved heartland rock and roll bar band is a stunning collection of
rockers, ballads, and anthems.
5. Midnite Snaxxx - Music Inside
The Snaxxx take a creative and delightfully
adventurous turn on their brilliant third long player. Early LA punk,
post-punk/new wave, and '90s DIY influences come together for a new and
original sound. 4. The Whiffs -Another Whiff
Instant power pop classic from the American heartland!
3. Brad Marino - Extra Credit
Joey Ramone and Chuck Berry walk into a bar and run into the Rolling Stones.
2. Natalie Sweet - Oh, By The Way... Backed by an all-star cast of players (Travis Ramin, Morten Henriksen, Devin Jorgenson), the former Shanghais lead singer delivers 13 tracks of fab-o punky power pop for fans of the Ramones, Blondie, and everything in between.
1. Pale Lips - After Dark And finally we arrive at the big one...my album of the year! This selection is not likely to shock anyone. After Dark was sitting in the #1 slot at the start of the year, and for nearly 12 months it has warded off all challengers. You know Pale Lips are my favorite band, right? After Dark is the best thing they've released in their five year existence. This has been the one album of 2019 that I just can't stop listening to. It gives me a lift when I'm feeling blah and heightens my mood when I'm feeling good. These songs are catchy and fun to listen to, but they're also full of substance and smarts and tremendous humor. "I'm A Witch" should have been a smash hit on seven continents. Nearly a year after I first heard it, "That Old Ghost Don't Lie" still gives me chills. This album is recommended to all fans of great music as well as anyone with an interest in witches, ghosts, werewolves, aliens, and boys. Vinyl still available in case you've been snoozing all year!
Honorable Mentions Baby Shakes - Cause a Scene
Mikey Erg - Waxbuilt Castles
Proto Idiot- Find Out For Themselves
Johnathan Pushkar - Straighten Up
The Yoohoos - Up Goes The Rocket
Top Five EPs of 2019
5. The SUCK - In-Cog-Neat-O Is this an LP or an EP? I see 12 inches of vinyl, I think LP. I see 8 tracks in 14 minutes, I swing to EP. Maybe I'm just rigging the field to the benefit of a local band. Ah, the spoils of having your own blog! Don't call it Ramonescore - it's street rock! Finally you get that record you've been waiting for with songs about Mexican bogeymen, death machines, the ruthlessly competitive sport of flip cup, creepy dudes at vape stores, and the
tangled web of love interests complicating the plot of the Twilight franchise. Spencer still believes he was dating Katy Perry...
4. The Smart Shoppers - self titled
From Green Bay, Wisconsin, The Smart Shoppers do a punked-up version of goofball new wave. New record coming in 2020!
3. The Cheap Cassettes - See Her In Action
When Chaz and Kevin from the Dimestore
Haloes first formed The Cheap Cassettes, this was generally considered
to be their "power pop" band. But you could already hear some power pop
in the last Haloes album, and you can often hear the glam-punk/rock and
roll bleeding into the Cheap Cassettes. This is the Cheap Cassettes
release that most reminds me of the Dimestore Haloes.
2. Vista Blue - Hit The Floor!
For
Vista Blue's first ever recording in a "real" studio, the band went
all-in and recorded at the legendary Ardent Studios in Memphis. VB often
hovers somewhere between pop-punk and power pop, but this release
swings all the way to the latter. "Big Stars" is nothing short of
magical.
1. Phone Jerks - 10 x 10
At ten songs, this might have qualified as an album. But it's a ten-inch, so let's just call it an EP. A little bit meaner/tougher sounding than last year's LP, but still a must-listen for any fan of late '90s/early 2000s Rip Off Records. The 100th release from Alien Snatch Records!
Top Five Singles of 2019
5. Devious Ones - "She's Waiting For Me"
Devious Ones have been longtime favorites of mine, and I love how they can continually surprise me! "She's Waiting For Me" is like nothing they've done before: a heartfelt breakup song with a pub rock edge. On the flip, "The Straggle Is Real" is pop with a capital P!
4. The Prostitutes - "Nineteen"
23 years after their debut single, Kevin McGovern still has the Prostitutes going strong. A perfect example of how punk music can "grow up" and still be full of power and intensity.
3. The Sorels - "She's In The Gang"
The debut single from both The Sorels and Reta Records. "She's In The Gang" is an instant smash of '60s girl group pop by way of the Ramones and New York Dolls.
2. The Reflectors - "Teenage Hearts"
Ex members of LA power pop band Images debut with an absolute gem of a single.
1. The Speedways - "Seen Better Days"
A classic power pop 45 from Matt Julian and his mates. A-side is a remixed version of the best track from the band's brilliant debut album Just Another Regular Summer. B-side is an amazing take on the Kirsty MacColl classic "They Don't Know". New single coming next week!
Best 2018 Album Released on Vinyl in 2019 Jordan Jones - self titled
Originally released on tape last year by Burger Records, the debut solo album from Jordan Jones received a proper vinyl release from Beluga and Spaghetty Town Records in 2019. One of the best power pop records of the last several years! On that note.... Best Song of 2019 Jordan Jones - "Rumors Girls"
This would have been a #1 smash hit if they still played real pop songs on the radio.
Masters Class Album of the Year Psychotic Youth - 21
I give this award every year to the best album by a band that's 25 years or more into existence. 21 finds one of the greatest garage rock/power pop bands sounding in peak form. After 34 years, Psychotic Youth still sounds like Psychotic Youth!
Best New Album of Old Music
Candy Snatchers - Moronic Pleasures
Rescued from the dustbin of history by super-fan Jake Starr, Moronic Pleasures was the Candy Snatchers' rejected follow-up to their classic debut album. Many of these songs eventually turned up on the Human Zoo LP, but Moronic Pleasures blows that record away. If you want to hear one of the greatest '77-style punk rock and roll bands of the '90s at its most filthy and ferocious, check this record out. Thanks to Hound Gawd! Records, this album finally exists on vinyl!
Top Reissue of 2019
Protex - Strange Obsessions
The legendary Protex recorded a debut album back in 1979/80 that was slated for release on Polydor Records but ultimately shelved. Sing Sing Records finally gave the album a proper release in 2010, but it sold out almost instantly. Thanks to Bachelor Records, Strange Obsessions is back in print. Get it while you can!
Top Label of 2019
Alien Snatch Records What is this, 2003?! Alien Snatch celebrated its 20th anniversary by regaining its crown as the king of garage/punk record labels. It released my #1 LP and EP of 2019 along with two more albums in my top 25 and the immensely underrated Hay Fever by Real Tears. If you ever feel like entering a wormhole of endless Internet pleasure, I highly recommend perusing the Alien Snatch Bandcamp page!
Top Radio Show of 2019 Wassup Rocker Radio
Alex Kish broadcasts this weekly show out of Toledo, Ohio and plays the best punk, garage, and power pop from all over the world. Check out the WRR Facebook page for all the info on where to listen. Archived shows available here!
Well that's another year of great music in the books! Happy New Year, everyone. See you in the next decade!
As a companion piece to my recent post on my ten favorite albums of the 2010s, I thought it would be fun to also list my ten favorite bands of the decade. Of course you can expect some overlap between the two lists. But rather than focusing on individual albums, I'm looking at total body of work for the decade. And on that note, let's get on with it. Bandcamp links have been provided so you can hear the music for yourself!
10. The Shanghais
This is the only band on this list that never released a full-length album (although Natalie Sweet's recent solo debut was created largely from songs intended for the first Shanghais LP). Natalie and friends released three EPs full of power pop/girl group/bubblegum punk goodness that remain very much worthy of your attention. The entire discography can be had for 12 bucks from Bandcamp, and that's a (no pun intended) sweet deal!
9. Vista Blue
Come on! How was a band I've reviewed 20 times not going to make this list? Vista Blue is my favorite pop-punk band, but they lean far enough in the power pop direction to interest people who don't always listen to pop-punk. Among the band's incredible 32 releases available on Bandcamp, the vast majority are free downloads. If you've written VB off as a baseball band or a horror band or a Christmas band, well...Can they really be all of those things?
8. Phone Jerks
I spent much of the first half of this decade bitching about all of these so-called "garage" punk bands that had nothing to do with garage or punk. I found myself longing for the days when "garage punk" meant Teengenerate and Supercharger. Finally Phone Jerks answered my prayers.
7. The Dahlmanns
What a decade of music from The Dahlmanns! By my count, there have been 13 EPs and one album...and all of it gold. This band is what power pop music is all about, and you won't regret a cent you spend tracking down as much of the discography as you can!
6. Night Birds
I listed Born To Die In Suburbia as my third favorite album of the decade, but honestly I could just as easily have gone with Mutiny at Muscle Beach. And I'm still somewhat perplexed that last year's brilliant EP Roll Credits went so under the radar. Night Birds brought early '80s West Coast hardcore and surf punk to the eastern shores and ultimately became the top punk group of the decade. It's stunning how prophetic "Left In the Middle" proved to be.
4. The Cheap Cassettes
I've raved about this band's debut album, but honestly that was just the beginning. The Cheap Cassettes have done their best work on their three EPs released in recent years. The best in power pop meets first wave punk and rootsy rock and roll from these ex Dimestore Haloes and friends.
3. Midnite Snaxxx
Dulcinea Gonzalez, in my book, is her generation's most underrated punk rock songwriter/vocalist. The ex Loudmouth formed Midnite Snaxxx in the early part of the decade and navigated multiple lineups and a staggering musical progression over the course of three great albums. This band has touched on everything from garage to power pop to post-punk to old school California punk, and I've loved all of it!
2. Pale Lips
Definitely my favorite band of the latter part of the decade, with two great LPs and three terrific singles in the books since 2015. I remember first hearing about this band from Mick Fletcher. I swear the check's in the mail, mate!
1. The Connection
True story: I was a little out of the loop when I started this blog. Looking for bands to review, I noticed that my friend Dave Getzoff had played The Connection on his radio show. So I reviewed The Connection for the first of 13 times. And this ultimately led me to Kurt Baker, The New Trocaderos, Kris Rodgers, and so much more of my favorite music of the decade. The Connection would come to influence the musical direction of this blog over the years - combining my beloved punk and power pop with the timeless sounds of late '50s/early '60s rock and roll.
So there you have it! Hopefully I can do this again in another ten years!
For my final record review of the decade, I have the pleasure of writing about an album that really takes me back to my roots in punk music. I've often said that 1995 was my 1977, and I will forever be attached to the later '90s incarnation of '77 punk rock. Straight out of Tulsa, Oklahoma, The Stiffies play snotty '77 meets West Coast punk that would have been right at home on record labels like TKO, Pelado, and Radio Records circa the late '90s/early 2000s. Rub It In is the band's debut album, and it's out now on No Front Teeth Records. NFT is one of my go-to labels for '77 punk and one of my favorite labels, period. If it's on NFT, you know it rules! I love this sort of pure old school punk, and I'm a bit nostalgic for a time when I could review two or three bands like this every month. But nostalgia be damned - I like stuff like this because it's a timeless sound! I could throw a song like "My Baby Ain't Fun" or "I Don't Wanna Be Your Friend" on a mixed tape with everyone from The Stitches to The Trust Fund Babies to The Randumbs, and it would all fit together perfectly. I can definitely sense a kindred spirit relationship (and perhaps some overlapping membership?) with another Tulsa band The Wheelz. The Stiffies' sound has a little bit more of a punk rock and roll edge to it, but there's that some snotty attitude and penchant for catchy, sing-along tunes. Rub It In was made to be played at obnoxiously loud volumes while you guzzle beer with one hand and flip somebody off with the other. If you like old school punk by way of '90s California, this album will make you damn glad that bands like this still exist. As always, you'll want to hit up No Front Teeth Records for info on the alternate versions of the LP - which will be long gone if you snooze too long!
While the title of Jagger Holly's new split 10" with The Windowsill is obviously a joke, there's definitely a kernel of truth in there. Simply put, these are two of the best pop-punk bands out there right now. I'll go as far as to say that Jagger Holly is the best pop-punk band of the last ten years. And Rotterdam's star-studded The Windowsill ain't far behind! Saving The Genre, And You Know It... is a split release between Shield Recordings and Hey Pizza! Records. Hey Pizza! is the new Wisconsin-based label that released The New Rochelles' excellent cover version of the Ramones' Animal Boy I reviewed last month. I think the reason I love these two bands is that they are all-in on the pop side of pop-punk. They really honor the genre's rock and roll roots. Jagger Holly's four cuts here are all first-rate tunes bursting with catchy melodies, amazing guitar hooks, and lyrics that speak to the lovelorn teen in all of us. Jay is simply the most likeable vocalist in pop-punk, and boy can he ever write a damn fine pop song! On its half of the split, The Windowsill continues to favor Beach Boys influenced buzz-saw pop a la Travoltas or The Queers circa Don't Back Down. These songs display exquisite attention to melody and all of the hallmarks of classic pop going back to the '60s. While 98% of the people who've read this far are surely familiar with both of these bands, I highly recommend that the other 2% check out The Windowsill's latest album MYOKoM and Jagger Holly's modern classic The Last of the International Playboys. Vinyl for this split can be ordered from Hey Pizza! in the states and Shield Recordings in Europe. Pop-punk probably doesn't need to be saved. But if had to be, these two bands would sure be the ones to do it!
This is the time of the year when I'm always busy finalizing my year-end top tens. But before I unveil my selections for 2019, I thought it would be fun to reflect back upon this entire decade. I'm not saying these are the "greatest" or "best" albums of the 2010s. They're just my personal favorites. These are the albums I keep going back to again and again - the ones I'll probably still be listening to in another ten years. Many of these were albums I highly acclaimed as soon as they came out. Others have grown on me. Let's get to it!
10. Sugar Stems - Can't Wait (2012)
Wisconsin's Sugar Stems were one of the top American power pop bands of the early 2010s. This, their second album, was originally released on Screaming Apple Records before getting an American release on Dirtnap Records. I enjoy all of this band's albums, but Can't Wait is where Betsy captured her greatest magic as a songwriter.
9. Pale Lips - After Dark (2019)
If I measured these releases purely based on how many times I've played them, this one would be at a disadvantage since it just came out this year. But I've got a feeling it will rise up these charts over the years. If After Dark is one of my top ten favorite albums of the decade, it has to be my #1 album of 2019, right? I would never reveal such things before New Year's Eve!
8. Something Fierce - Don't Be So Cruel(2011)
This was my first-ever album of the year for this blog. It still holds up. Kind of like what later Clash could have been.
7. Kurt Baker - Brand New Beat (2012)
I love all of Kurt's stuff. But something special happens when he and Wyatt Funderburk get together and write pop songs.
6. Midnite Snaxxx - Chew On This(2017)
Perhaps the finest modern-day example of how to do '77-inspired garage punk with power pop hooks. 5. The Cheap Cassettes - All Anxious, All The Time (2014) Chaz and Kevin originally released the bulk of these songs one at a time on their Bandcamp, so it was like we all got to experience the making of an album together. Great rootsy, punky power pop from these ex Dimestore Haloes.
4. The Dahlmanns -All Dahled Up (2011) Ramones-inspired punk meets power pop carried off to perfection. To this day, this remains the only Dahlmanns full-length album. True story: I was listening to a Dahlmanns song on Little Steven's Underground Garage one day in 2011 and it dawned on me that I needed to start writing about music again. The rest is history.
3. Night Birds - Born To Die In Suburbia (2013) THE punk rock band of the decade. All of their albums are great, but this is the one I'm most likely to put on when I'm in a Night Birds state of mind.
2. The Cry! - self titled (2011) A classic power pop album by way of '50s/'60s pop and rock and roll. Hard to believe all of these guys were under 21 when this record was made. A huge influence on the subsequent powerpop/punk of this decade.
1. Nato Coles- Promises To Deliver(2013) I've been a longtime Nato fan, but I think it was the Rum Bar Records reissue of Promises To Deliver that caused me to realize I loved this album even more than I realized. I first popped the CD into my car player four years ago, and I've never really stopped playing it. The best of Midwestern punk and heartland rock combined into one band. If I were a ball player, the title track would be my walk-up music. Honorable Mentions: Stiletto Boys - Liberator (2013)
First Base- Not That Bad (2017)
The Number Ones- self titled (2014)
Shanda and the Howlers - Trouble (2017)
Missing Monuments - Painted White (2011)
Bonus: Favorite Song of the 2010s
Doing a list like this, I can really see my true power pop colors coming out. But the above is definitely a nice overview of the sort of stuff I've enjoyed over the past decade. Man, there sure were some amazing albums that came out in the past ten years! If we bring singles collections into the conversation, I'd say it would be a fierce battle between Sheer Mag self-titled and Fashionism's Smash Singles for the top of that category. I think what I've loved best about this decade of music is the same thing I've loved the least: there's so much good stuff out there that it's literally impossible to hear all of it. To sum up the 2010s, I'd say this was the decade where I stopped complaining about mainstream music being such crap. I mean, come on. It's almost 2020. Who cares what they're playing on the radio?! If you like good music, this is a damn fine time to be alive.
