Sunday, October 19, 2025

The Let Down - Awake


Life has been crazy lately, and there have been things I've been meaning to write about that keep getting put off. When it comes to the new EP from Austin, Texas's The Let Down, the putting off ends today. To employ a baseball metaphor, Awake is a fastball blazing right over the plate of my musical taste. This band's style of classic power pop with a whole lot of power is absolutely my cup of tea. All four of these songs are A-side–worthy, and I think any power pop fan will be jazzed about this EP. The Let Down was formed by longtime friends Evan Charles (vocals, guitar) and Chris Ritchie (vocals, bass). The band is rounded out by Z Lynch (guitar, backing vocals) and Jordan Cook (drums). These are great melodic songs with punchy guitars and catchy leads, and I am very excited to hear more. A very promising debut!

Satch Kerans Band - Gotta Be Better (Five Short Stories)


Given that short stories and great pop songs are two of my favorite things in life, I was intrigued by the latest EP from the Satch Kerans Band. Satch Kerans is a veteran Boston-based singer/songwriter who likes to write songs that tell stories. But he's not the typical singer/songwriter strumming an acoustic guitar and stripping everything down to just words and music. Backed by his band (George Hall on lead guitar, Jamie Griffith on bass, and Roger Brockelbank on drums), Kerans presents his stories as full-blown rock songs with pop hooks. Produced by the legendary David Minehan, Gotta Be Better (Five Short Stories) occupies a unique space in today's music scene. It brings together elements of Boston garage rock, melodic pop-rock, folk, and heartland rock in a way that's genuinely original. Kerans has a distinctive singing voice that I very much enjoy, and I love the idea that rock and roll can be literature (and vice versa). And the stories are quite compelling. "Gotta Be Better" is a true story about a time Kerans got arrested on the way home from a Red Sox game back in the late '80s — and the lessons he learned from that experience. "Do Ya" is a remembrance of late nights on the North Shore — you know, that window of time "when nothing good happens." Elsewhere, "Helen of Troy (New York)" and "Wearing His Pain" are portraits of strong women who overcome tough circumstances. "Those Lies" is a reflection on the consequences of telling lies. Spoiler alert: it doesn't end well! 

Musically, this EP covers a nice range of styles. "Gotta Be Better" and "Helen of Troy (New York)" sound a little like Tom Petty if he'd been from Boston. "Do Ya" brings to mind '70s Stones. "Those Lies" is old school '60s garage rock a la Boston's own The Remains. "Wearing His Pain," the EP's lone ballad, ought to hit a sweet spot for Replacements fans. Of course the lyrics are tremendous. Kerans is a gifted lyricist who successfully mixes deeply personal reflections with vivid character sketches. But the music is no afterthought, and these songs genuinely rock. If you dig quality songwriting and storytelling and enjoy good, solid American rock 'n' roll, you will find much to like in the Satch Kerans Band and this excellent new EP.

Rob Moss and Skin-Tight Skin/The False Positives - "Caveman"/"A Rocket Ship to You"

This is my fifth review of a split single involving Rob Moss and Skin-Tight Skin. The band's new collaboration with Boston's The False Positives is far and away my favorite installment in the series to date, and I've been a big fan of all of them. So yeah, this one is especially great! 

By now, you know the drill: Rob Moss and Skin-Tight Skin get together with one of their favorite bands or artists, and they each record one of the other's songs. The False Positives are a band I've been following since the pandemic days. They have an old school East Coast garage rock sound that pairs perfectly with Moss's '70s glam-punk approach. What I like about this split is that both bands absolutely bring it with their performances. And they each chose one of the other's finest songs! If you want to hear Rob Moss and Skin-Tight Skin and The False Positives at their absolute best, you need to check out this single. The False Positives cover "A Rocket Ship to You" off of Moss's 2022 album NOW WITH MORE ROCKETS. In contrast to the anthemic old school punk feel of the original, The False Positives' version brings a rawer and more fiery garage rock energy. Dave and his band honor the spirit of the original, but they definitely make the song their own and even inject a little Stooges flair. As a fan of fun, filthy rock 'n' roll, I must say this track really hits a sweet spot for me. This is the most powerful and fierce The False Positives have ever sounded on tape! 

On their half of the split, Rob Moss and Skin-Tight Skin tear into "Caveman," a fantastic song which appears on The False Positives' 2022 album Demos. Clive Wright (Broken English, Cock Robin) is featured on lead guitar, and he tears it up. I love that Moss and his band glammed up this Boston-style garage rock banger. They also added some amazing new lyrics and came up with a new outro. Moss is always such a presence on vocals, and he's in top form here. I'm talking charisma for days! If you had never heard of either of these bands before, hearing this song would make you an instant fan of both. What a killer track! 

If you haven't kept up with all these split singles from Rob Moss and Skin-Tight Skin, you are seriously missing out. Start with this one!

Saturday, October 18, 2025

Cindy Lawson - "The Reckoning"


The great Cindy Lawson is bringing the heat! Back with her first new release since 2023's Don't Come Crying To Me EP, the Minneapolis rock legend makes her Hygh Tension Records debut with the powerful single "The Reckoning." Backed by her usual band (Jerry Lefkowitz on guitar, Dave Randall on bass, and Mark Devaraj on drums), Lawson is in full old school punk rock mode on this storming track. This is a song with a message, and it comes through loud and clear. "This song is for anyone who's been burned, betrayed, and silenced,” says Lawson. "It's that universal satisfaction when someone evil finally gets taken down. And for me, it's not just about them—it's about reclaiming the part of myself they tried to destroy." One gets the sense that this song is very personal for Lawson, and she sings the hell out of it. Her voice has never sounded better, and the passion she puts into this track will just about give you chills. When she screams, "Karma's a bitch, but so am I!", I can imagine a million formerly silenced voices erupting in deafening exultation. At a moment in the world where it feels like evil is winning, this song is an urgent ray of hope. Sooner or later, the reckoning comes.

Vista Blue - The Shift Is Dead


Mike Patton loves baseball, and he loves The Queen Is Dead by The Smiths. And because he loves doing dumb things, he decided to make a baseball-themed EP with song titles derived from The Queen Is Dead. And so now we have The Shift Is Dead, the latest EP from Vista Blue. I approve of this message. It's hard to deny that The Queen Is Dead is one of the greatest albums ever made. The likelihood that Morrissey would be appalled by this release is icing on the cake. Indeed, the shift is dead. I just wish they'd killed it before it ended Ryan Howard's career. 

In addition to the title track, the songs on this EP include "Frankly, Mr. Manfred," "Never Had No Salary Cap Ever," "Bigmouth Strikes Out Again," "The Boy With the Motorola Patch on His Side," and "Some Bats Are Bigger Than Others." As far as I'm concerned, this is just about the most hilarious thing ever. The specific group of people who are super-fans of both The Smiths and American baseball (and would thus get the jokes) is a very exclusive club, but that's what makes this so fun. Even Mick Fletcher, who probably doesn't get all the jokes, is raving about this release from across the pond. There may literally be over 100,000 new songs getting released every day in this modern musical landscape, but these are the first six in history to make baseball puns out of Smiths song titles. As far as doing dumb things goes, this is genius-level stuff from Mike and Mark. 

The title track is vintage Vista Blue: a pop-punk song leaning a little more pop than punk. I love that this song is about baseball but not really about baseball. It has a charm that brings to mind the Mr. T. Experience. More in a straight-forward pop-punk vein, "Frankly, Mr. Manfred" finds Mike appealing to The Commissioner of Baseball for a redress of his grievances concerning the "automatic runner" rule in extra innings. I think we can all agree that this is the stupidest rule in the history of professional sports, and I certainly hope Mr. Manfred is listening. Clocking in at just 16 seconds, "Never Had No Salary Cap Ever" makes in a point in a hurry by hilariously repeating the refrain "Hey Dodgers! Defer This!" I would expect nothing less from the band that gave us the classic song "Hey, Bruce Springsteen, What's a Speedball?" "Bigmouth Strikes Out Again" has a great title to live up to and does not disappoint. Chicago Cubs fans are sure to enjoy the pure pop goodness of "The Boy With the Motorola Patch on His Side." "Some Bats Are Bigger Than Others" is a reminder of why I love this band so much. At a time when so many pop-punk bands are writing songs for 40-year-olds, Vista Blue excels at writing songs for eight-year-olds. When it comes to mixing fun, education, and simplicity, this song is about as good as it gets. I will never tire of Vista Blue writing songs about baseball bats. 

Even if I make a minor deduction for not including a song referencing the greatest Smiths song of all-time, "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out," I have to give The Shift Is Dead an "A." It possesses the same degree of musical variety that has made Vista Blue's Clear Eyes, Full Hearts one of my favorite albums of the year. And as I prepare to hate-watch the Dodgers in the World Series, the timing of this release could not be any better. This is a delightful little EP for fans of Vista Blue, The Smiths, baseball, and possibly all three. Now excuse me while I go cry in my Festbier over the realization that Kyle Schwarber may have played his last game as a Philadelphia Phillie. 

Sunday, October 12, 2025

Ryan Allen - One Week Off

Ryan Allen has given us his own version of one of those "How I spent my summer vacation" essays. One Week Off, his second album of 2025, is the the fruit of an August staycation. In that one week, he literally made a record all by himself. He sat down with some songs he'd demoed in the past, found a whole bunch of them that worked as a single album, and created this gem of a power pop record. These songs are mostly from 2021-22. A few are from 2024, and one is brand new. But One Week Off doesn't come off like a collection of leftovers. This is genuinely one of Allen's best albums, and it's definitely the hardest he has ever rocked as a solo artist. 

What kind of talent do you have to have the luxury to write songs this good and then put them on the shelf? But it's not just about talent — it's also about work ethic. Ryan Allen writes a lot of songs. And when you're that prolific, you're bound to have some gems that you can save for a rainy day (or a week off from work). He intended this to be an "upbeat, no-frills, punch-you-in-the-face rock record," and that's precisely what it is. His last album, Livin’ On The Prayer On The Edge, was all over the place by design. One Week Off is a little more focused on that power pop by way of '90s indie rock with a touch melodic punk style that is Allen's forte. If you enjoyed his 2016 album Basement Punk, you're gonna be into this one as well. Allen played everything on this record and produced it at home on a Digital Audio Workstation. Then he had Paul Miner work his mixing and mastering magic and make it sound like a million bucks. It's crazy to think that songs like "Bloody Gums" and "Simple Pleasures" went unrecorded and unreleased for so long. If "Sick of Content," "Do It All Again," and "When Is Everybody Gonna Step?" aren't anthems for these times, I don't know what is. 

When I hear about an artist putting out two albums in a year, that means one of two things to me. Either you're contracted to a soulless major label in the late '70s, or you're making music for the sheer love of it. In the case of One Week Off, we know which one it is. Be sure not to miss Allen's recent contribution to the Is It Power Pop?! series over at Remember the Lightning

Brad Marino - "Voodoo"


It's no secret that Brad Marino is one of my favorite musical artists. I recently reviewed him for the 25th time, and it's not out of the question that I'll review him 25 more times (at least!). He's back with a new vinyl single out on the German label LIGHTHOUSE Punkrock. "Voodoo" is the first song from Marino's next album Agent of Chaos, which will be out next spring. Joining Marino on this track are the secret weapon Bobby Davis on bass, the great Gene Champagne on drums, and the legend Ron Mullens on keyboards. Now that's one heck of a band! This is one of the most straight-forward power pop songs that Marino has ever written, and of course it's a hit! Marino is always so good about writing about doomed romantic relationships, and on this track he employs some seasonally appropriate horror metaphors to emphasize the extent of the doom. This is a rockin' and super-catchy tune with wonderfully clever lyrics. Without ever straying too far from his signature musical style, Marino manages to never disappoint. That is certainly the case with "Voodoo." One listen to this song is all it takes to know that the album is gonna be hot! The B-side, exclusive to this single, is a cover of one of the best Jesus and Mary Chain songs, "Between Planets." It's in many ways faithful to the original, but for sure it has been Marino-fied. Come on, man: it's a new Brad Marino single! You know you need it!