Unicorn Dogs - "Sad Adult"/"Replaceable"

Could Unicorn Dogs be any more on fire right now? Their fantastic debut album Age Typical Junk Behavior just got a vinyl release on the illustrious Jolly Ronnie Records. They will be playing Mom's Basement Fest this weekend. And they have another album called Closer to Death on the way! In advance of the album, they've released a teaser single. And once again, this band does not disappoint! "Sad Adult" is vintage Unicorn Dogs — an anthemic, passionate shot of pop-punk for grown-ups. This song is about coping with mid-life angst. You know that feeling that you're a shell of the person you used to be and are running out of time (literally)? Well that's what these guys are singing about here. I love that this is a song about being a sad adult but not wanting to be a sad adult. I can appreciate the distinction, and I admire the frank self-awareness of these lyrics. And when that chorus hits with all that power, you feel like not all hope is lost. If there's not a way out of this middle-aged depression, there's at least the catharsis of venting at the top of your lungs. And when you consider that the B-side, "Replaceable," is about how AI is going to take all our jobs and leave us destitute and useless, "Sad Adult" seems almost optimistic in comparison. That album title is really starting to make sense, eh? I love this band so much!

-L.R.

https://unicorndogs.bandcamp.com/album/closer-to-closer-to-death
https://www.facebook.com/unicorn.dogs.music/
https://www.instagram.com/unicorndogsmusic/
https://www.jollyronnie.com/product/unicorn-dogs

Hormones - Hot For Hormones

Boom! One of my most highly-anticipated albums of this year is finally out, and it's every bit the non-stop sing-along extravaganza I was expecting. Melbourne-based Hormones, aka the hottest band in the world, burst on the scene earlier this year with the irresistible punk-pop single "Out of the House, Out of the Closet." I instantly knew I loved this band, and subsequent singles were no letdown. And now we have Hot For Hormones, which dishes out 14 songs of Ramones-inspired punk rock which examine life and love from a trans woman's point of view. As a songwriter, Betty combines heart, humor, honesty, and introspection in a way that's both endearing and powerful. Singer Joseph Ling gives her words a literal voice, oozing vulnerability and an unassuming charm. Betty effectively tells her story through these songs, reflecting on what it's like to navigate romance, personal relationships, and everyday life as a recently transitioned trans woman. 

From start to finish, this is a truly perfect pop-punk album. Even when the songs get serious ("You Don't Have A Son" and "When I Was A Boy{I Was Really A Girl}" in particular are intensely personal and deeply moving), this remains a super-fun and thoroughly delightful album to listen to. The approach is simple yet masterfully executed — the band powers through one song after another of buzzsaw three-chord punk with candy-sweet pop hooks. No song goes past three minutes, and most go barely past two. Really, this is the way an album should be. Some songs will make you laugh; others might make you cry; almost all of them will be stuck in your head for weeks on end. Of course the singles are all included here, but some of the previously unreleased songs ("Birthday Dress," "Poppers & Ritalin," "Got My Head Straight {The Rest of Me Got Gay}") would have been great singles in their own right. I can't wait to hear what my music reviewer brother and fellow Hormones fan King Ralph thinks of "Birthday Dress"! 

Hormones are a band that are putting love and positivity into the universe, and that's exactly the kind of energy the world needs right now. It is my hope that a great many people will hear this album and feel less alone and more comfortable in their own skin. If Hormones turn out to be someone else's Hayley Smith, that will be a beautiful thing. One anthem at a time, Hot For Hormones affirms trans rights and trans wrongs. And at a broader level, this album will be relatable to anyone who has ever struggled to find love and acceptance in this often cruel world. As expected, this is one of my favorite albums of 2025.

-L.R.

https://open.spotify.com/album/0xnVe6Zf3jX3DX1fGTaduJ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pavz5M9tl0s&list=OLAK5uy_lW_USzLq81tzblel3VWYHnLdudIXg86Ho
https://hormonesforall.bandcamp.com/album/hot-for-hormones
https://www.instagram.com/hormonesforall/

https://www.tiktok.com/@hormonesforall

The Overjoyed - "Don't Listen!"

Hot track alert! Arthur tipped me off to a great new single from The Overjoyed, a power pop/punk band based in Athens, Greece. This band has been releasing music since the early 2010s and has several releases available on Bandcamp. "Don't Listen!" could not be any more up my alley. It's a fast and infectious blast of high-spirited poppy punk with surprisingly heavy lyrics about confronting your personal demons. Clocking in well under two minutes, this high energy earworm definitely leaves me wanting more. I'm feeling early Green Day vibes, and I've got no complaints about that at all. A new album is in the works, and I will be looking forward to it!

-L.R.

https://open.spotify.com/track/0qp8rPsy4o06dD1ymBg9Yd
https://theoverjoyed.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/theoverjoyed/
https://www.instagram.com/theoverjoyed/

The Remote Controls - Too Tough

Out on Mom's Basement Records and Fail Harmonic Records, the latest album from Indianapolis's The Remote Controls brings back fond memories of when I was first getting into punk rock back in the '90s. From the moment I pushed play, I was ready to jump in the pit. Too Tough powers through 14 songs in 25 minutes in a high-speed punk rock style that's truly exhilarating. Not quite pop-punk and not quite snotty hardcore punk, The Remote Controls fall somewhere perfectly in between. This album totally could have come out on Dr. Strange Records thirty years ago! These guys have played shows with Sloppy Seconds, The Queers, Descendents, and Screeching Weasel. Suffice it to say that if you like those bands, you'll love The Remote Controls! This album is relentless in dishing out fast, melodic punk tunes that are plenty tough and catchy as hell. You just don't hear that many bands occupying this lane these days, and these guys do it very well. Excellent stuff from the American Midwest! 

-L.R.

https://momsbasementrecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-remote-controls-too-tough
https://theremotecontrols.bandcamp.com/album/too-tough
https://open.spotify.com/album/1ggQfl1my4wkjt2FxP2l3v
https://momsbasementrecords.bigcartel.com/product/the-remote-controls-too-tough-lp-or-cd
https://www.instagram.com/theremotecontrols/

https://failharmonicrecords.com/
https://www.momsbasementrecords.com/

https://www.facebook.com/theremotecontrols317/

Vista Blue - "Sister Golden Hair"

As someone who loves pop-punk and is secretly obsessed with '70s soft rock, I am part of the target audience for Vista Blue's latest single. I may, in fact, be the entire target audience. Both these songs are covers of AM gold standards. "Sister Golden Hair" was a chart-topper for America in 1975 (and is on my Mt. Rushmore of soft rock songs). "For All We Know" was a #3 smash for The Carpenters in 1971 and prior to that a Grammy-winning track on the Lovers and Other Strangers movie soundtrack. The band has gone very minimalist with the liner notes, so I have no idea what exactly inspired this project. But what's not to love here? These are classic silky-smooth pop songs treated in vintage Vista Blue style. Mark did a terrific job with the arrangements, and Mike adds his undeniable vocal charm. Those backing vocals are like butter! If you understand that all great pop-punk songs must fundamentally be great pop songs, you'll get why this single is such a treat. This being Vista Blue's first release in nearly six months might not seem like a big deal. But by this band's standards, it kind of is. Even with the punchier delivery, these songs exude a warm, autumnal breeze. This is definitely a single for me to listen to while I, clad in a light sweatshirt, saunter through the leaf-covered streets pondering a weekend full of pecan ale, ginger snap cookies, chili in the slow cooker, and college football on TV. A fall without new Vista Blue music would have been a nightmarish scenario worthy of a Rankin/Bass production, but now we no longer have to consider such a fate. And yes, they totally nailed the slide guitar part on "Sister Golden Hair"!

-L.R.

https://wearevistablue.bandcamp.com/album/sister-golden-hair
https://www.facebook.com/wearevistablue/

The Oxys - Casting Pearls Before Swine

The Oxys from Austin, Texas have unleashed a monster of an album on Casting Pearls Before Swine — their third full-length release. As the biblical title suggests, this is not a collection of songs for the faint-hearted. With a stated intention of "wrangling fans out of their world weary despondency," the band is pretty damn clear about its mission on this LP. These songs will grab you by the throat! 

The Oxys were formed out of a songwriting partnership between guitarist Ginchy (Dead Boys, Sylvain Sylvain) and vocalist Phil D. I'm always stoked to hear new bands playing real deal '77-style punk rock 'n' roll, but The Oxys are far more than just your standard old school punk revivalists. This band combines the grit and danger of early American gutter punk with the darkly melodic sensibility and catchy lead guitar work of early '80s SoCal punk. And lyrically, this band has its finger on the pulse of contemporary life and all that ails it. Casting Pearls Before Swine takes a good, hard look at the modern psyche — exploring themes ranging from lust to obsession to toxic relationships to betrayal to the survival instinct to cold-hearted killers and our sometimes disturbing fascination with them. That's some dark stuff, but this album is not a difficult listen. This is fierce, furious music that ought to be cranked loudly while you shout along and pump your fist in the air. Those lead guitars are absolute fire, and Phil sings with full conviction about "the universal tension between human acts that harm, and yet stimulate us." Not content to just go a million miles an hour all the time, The Oxys show they know how to pace themselves on the menacing slow-burner "Eaten Alive (the ballad of Joe Ball)" and the macabre closer "Drop of Blood." 

While not exactly a "horror punk" record, Casting Pearls Before Swine does seem a fitting release for this time of the year when we love to embrace our strange attraction to all things horrifying. For months I've been trying to explain why I'm always creeped out when the ice cream truck comes through my development, and now "Mr. Softee" makes it all so clear. If you dig nasty, in-your-face punk rock that has something meaningful to say about the human experience, this is the album for you. Get it from Cleopatra Records!

-L.R.

https://theoxysatx.bandcamp.com/album/casting-pearls-before-swine
https://open.spotify.com/album/25GCHx7sDFGXejxzwu2B2t
https://theoxys.com/
https://www.facebook.com/theoxysband/
https://www.instagram.com/the.oxys/
https://cleorecs.com/products/the-oxys-casting-pearls-before-swine-black-vinyl-lp?srsltid=AfmBOoo829X9upVArSJO7HJstactZM6eAyMXC_pCcC-IuCkgFUO85JY3

Teenage Bottlerocket - Ready To Roll

I received a request to review Teenage Bottlerocket's new album, so I thought, "Why not check it out?" I have not really kept up with this band's output over the past decade, and now I'm suspecting that I've been seriously missing out. Shame on me! Ready To Roll (out on Pirates Press Records) is the band's 10th album. How much could a pop-punk band have left to give us after ten albums? In the case of Teenage Bottlerocket, the answer is quite a lot! Ready To Roll is one of the best pop-punk albums I've heard in recent years. Listening to this record, you can tell how much fun the band had while making it. The energy and enthusiasm are palpable. And fortunately, that translates into an album that's super-fun to listen to as well. These guys really brought some great tunes to the table. And even though this is a Teenage Bottlerocket album through and through, it also finds the band trying some new things. 

"She's the Shit" is an A+ pop-punk song. 24-year-old me would have loved it, and 54-year-old me digs it just as much. Plus I relate to it on a personal level. "Post Mortem Depression" finds Kody Templeman stirring up some early Lillingtons style magic, and I couldn't be happier. Songs like "I Want To Die on My Birthday," "All About It," and "Home To You" will satisfy anyone (like me) who can never get enough of '90s-style pop-punk. Elsewhere, the band dishes out a party rock anthem with "Ready To Roll," pushes it fast and furiously on the punk ripper "High-Speed Yoga," delivers horror punk thrills on "Giant Bug from Planet Q13," and brings to mind the heyday of The Cure and Psychedelic Furs on the new wave inspired tracks "True To You" and "I Figured Out That I'm Stupid." I'm also a huge fan of the Miguel Chen–penned "Taquero," which is sing-along old school punk done to perfection. "Afraid of the Dark" closes the album in truly anthemic fashion, and them I'm ready to listen to the whole thing all over again! 

Teenage Bottlerocket has been in the game for a quarter century now, yet Ready To Roll sounds like the work of a band that has never felt more excited and inspired to make music. These guys have pumped new life into a tried-and-true style of music. This album doesn't abandon the band's core approach, but it expands it in ways that totally make sense. And from start to finish, these songs are freaking awesome (both musically and lyrically). Somehow TBR has come through with an album that's on the poppier side of pop-punk yet still rocks your face off. That, my friends, is the secret sauce. Great recommendation, Mark!

-L.R.

https://teenagebottlerocket.bandcamp.com/album/ready-to-roll
https://open.spotify.com/album/3YsqEMjl5R4tYQIltDdhot
https://teenagebottlerocket.com/
https://www.instagram.com/teenagebottlerocket/
https://www.facebook.com/teenagebottlerocketofficial
https://shop.piratespressrecords.com/collections/ppr421?srsltid=AfmBOoqKtYRDh5-bNpRBuImkyldEN7TPYt_nf0lvvjscsMwZNWGp0Ixc