Sunday, October 04, 2026

Cindy Lawson - ¡Long Live the Resistance!


¡Long Live the Resistance!, the new EP from Cindy Lawson, is exactly what the title promises: a collection of raging, defiant songs that push back against an authoritarianism state and billionaire class that oppress with unchecked power. Out on Rum Bar Records, the EP is available on CD and limited edition 10" vinyl. 

Lawson (The Clams), a legendary figure in the later '80s Twin Cities music scene, has had quite the career renaissance in the 2020s. Her fantastic EPs New Tricks and Don't Come Crying To Me were standout indie/garage rock releases in 2022 and 2023. Last year's single "The Reckoning" was exactly the anthem my discouraged heart needed — a furious assertion that evil individuals will ultimately have to square up with unforgiving karma. It was a noticeable shift in style for Lawson, and it was a thrill to hear her and her band find inspiration and energy in raw, impassioned old school punk rock. The song returns as the lead track on the new EP — followed by three new songs inspired by ICE's takeover of Minneapolis. 

What is a proper response when the powers-that-be brutalize communities, trample all over fundamental human rights, and murder their own citizens? You push back any way you can. Not only has Cindy Lawson taken street-level action in her own community, she has also used her platform as a musician to inspire resistance. Again, she and her band (Jerry Lefkowitz on guitar, Pony Hixon Smith on bass, and Mark Devaraj on drums) utilize fierce, fiery punk rock as their vessel for social protest. I swear Lawson has been drinking from the fountain of youth. She sounds so focused, energized, and full of conviction. When it comes to righteous indignation, there's no denying she wears it well. "Burn," "Eat the Rich," and "Howard Zinn Died for Your Sins" hold nothing back. They are pissed-off, uncompromising, and fearless. They take the fight to the bullies. They speak truth to power. And as I always say about protest music, the key is that these would be powerhouse songs even if the lyrics weren't political. Lawson is such a force of nature on these tracks, and her band matches her energy at every turn. So it's not that the music is bigger than the message; it's that the music amplifies the message. If you're out there in the fight, this is your soundtrack. These are your rallying cries. 

¡Long Live the Resistance! does not shy away from being exactly what it aims to be. Cindy Lawson is not here to negotiate a consensus or implore people to "agree to disagree" with her. She doesn't give a flying fuck if you don't like her politics. She's here to speak her truth and stand up for what she believes in. She's here to speak for everyone who's angry and appalled about injustice in America. And it hits all the harder because this is personal for her. There's a great tradition of punk rock as protest music, and Cindy Lawson is keeping the fire burning at this present and crucial moment.

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Saturday, October 03, 2026

The Exbats - My Dinner With Crumar


If you put on the new Exbats album without any advance knowledge of what the band had been cooking up the last couple years, you were probably shocked out of your shoes. The Exbats falling in love with synthesizers and drum machines is something literally no one could have seen coming. But of course this bold departure is an unequivocal success. It's the freaking Exbats! Anything they touch turns to gold!

So here's the story behind My Dinner With Crumar. The Exbats became massively inspired by Sweeping Promises a few years back, and a close friendship between the bands was formed. The Exbats were intrigued by the idea of recording in Sweeping Promises' house studio, and Caufield Schnug kindly agreed to record them. So the band trekked from Bisbee, Arizona to Lawrence, Kansas four different times between the summer of 2024 and the spring of this year and made a record. I love the idea of bands inspiring and pushing each other to grow and evolve. The Exbats would not have been able to make this exact record in any other studio. The band discovered the Crumar Orchestrator (an Italian string synth from the '70s) in the studio and realized it perfectly fit the mood they were going for. And hence we have the name of the album. Yes, it's really, really different. But it's also really, really great. The McLains took a really huge swing with this album, and they knocked it out of the park. 

What I love about My Dinner With Crumar is that all those electronic instruments (there are also a Moog Grandmother, Oberheim DMX, and Pulsar 23 in the mix) aren't just there for show. They serve a purpose and fit a more modern, atmospheric wall of sound. The programming here is beautiful and very intentional. You can still hear the band's love for '60s pop and girl groups coming through, but on this record, the McLains advance their time machine into the heyday of new wave and synth-pop. A five minute, 31-second slow-burning epic is an interesting choice for a lead track, but "Will You See Me in the Morning" really is the perfect table-setter for this album. It's a bold, emphatic statement. If "I Only See You When I'm Dancing" sounds like classic Exbats turned electronic dance band, I suppose that's exactly what it is! "Back Where You Belong" is picture-perfect new wave pop. "Come and Get Me" is funky, punky disco-pop and a certified earworm. "Call Me An Idiot One More Time" ought to be a smash hit on every continent. Songs like "Falling Into Something" and "Nobody Told Me I Was Dead" aren't that far off from The Exbats of old, yet they sound perfectly in place on this record. "Hide My Baby," which Franksteins together The Shangri-Las and Velvet Underground, will be the track of choice for those who always like a punkier Exbats. And how about a synth-pop reprise of the band's old favorite "Hercules" to remind us that what's old can always be new?  

I will admit that I was a little dubious when I started listening to My Dinner With Crumar. I'd been waiting a long time for the band to release music, and I wasn't sure I was ready for a synth-pop Exbats. But my skepticism was very short-lived since the songs are just so undeniable. Given that this band had been so long known for a traditional guitar-based rock style, it was a gutsy move to embrace synthetic sounds. But whatever instincts were guiding Inez, Kenny, and friends as they conceived, wrote, and recorded this album must have been deemed by the music gods. They knew what kind of album they wanted to make. And with a lot of help from their friends, they made it. This record turned out to be everything I was hoping for and then some. 

I don't think there's anything better for a band than catching that jolt of inspiration and finding yourself super-excited about a new direction. The first rule of making music is that you have to love what you're doing. Whether or not anyone else loves what you're doing is largely out of your hands, but I don't think My Dinner With Crumar will have many people hopping off the Exbats train. If anything, more people will be jumping on. Any time I talk about the best bands out there right now, The Exbats are always in the conversation. They are a reminder that new, exciting music is still out there if you care to look for it. That remains truer than ever. As this band, now 16 years into its story, enters its self-described "middle period," I can't help but be pumped about what's still to come.

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Friday, October 02, 2026

Psychotic Youth - Ready Go


When it comes to power pop and garage rock, Psychotic Youth is at the head of the master class and aging like fine wine. Ready Go is the band's 18th album (and fifth since reforming in 2015). It sounds like...Psychotic Youth! This album is exactly what you'd expect it to be: a perfect blend of power pop, punk-pop, garage, and surf rock (all the best things in life!) that doesn't concern itself one bit with breaking new ground. There aren't a whole lot of bands that can get away with staying in the same lane forever. But when you practically invented this lane, and you can turn out records this good, why not keep doing what you do?! It's a beautiful thing to hear Psychotic Youth in vintage style and vintage form. Jörgen Red Westman remains in peak power as a songwriter, and the band still sounds like it's having a great time making this kind of music. 60 is the new 30! 

Ready Go is not just a passable effort from a classic band. It can stand toe-to-toe with the best of this band's albums. Not quite as lyrically bleak as the last album Happy Songs, this is a full-on return to form. Garage rippers like "Rat Race," "Breakdown," and the surfy "Predator" show that these guys can still rock and roll with the best of 'em. But power pop is the prevailing style here, and that's apparent from the opening strains of the upbeat and irresistibly catchy title track. Likewise, "Back To You," "Can't Get Enough of You," and the smash hit "Girls" are the sorts of songs that Psychotic Youth built its brand on. "Endless Summer" is a joyous callback to the heyday of beach-pop. The band's choices in cover songs (The Plimsouls' classic "Now" and Phil Seymour's "I Found a Love") tell you everything about the vibe and energy it was going for with this record. It's an album to play in the car with the windows down or put on at your next house party. Just push play, and it's summertime any day of the year.  

It's still hard to believe that we went without new music from Psychotic Youth throughout the 2000s and most of the 2010s. But here these guys are in 2026, sounding truly timeless. Is Ready Go a fan-pleasing kind of record? It absolutely is, and let's not make the mistake of thinking that's a bad thing. In this Year of Power Pop, you'll want to be sure to make some room for the OGs!

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Tuesday, September 29, 2026

Pavid Vermin - The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore


Back with an addendum to last year's dandy full-length The Life of a Showgirl, Glenn Robinson delivers a new EP of snappy, crackling, poppy punk rock from his stellar one-man project Pavid Vermin. You know what to expect: crisp, hard-hitting pop-punk tunes with killer hooks and lyrics that are sure to make you chuckle. And this release, with lyrics inspired by Robinson's pals Joey Herbz and Ryan Minter, is particularly well-suited for those with limited attention spans or limited time. With four songs in four minutes, he's not fooling around! You've got songs about barfing up a co-worker's contribution to the company potluck, the city of Cleveland, the dangers of inhaling iodine vapors, and a '90s porn flick called Babylon. Yes, it's clear that Glenn Robinson can write a catchy tune about any topic under the sun! He literally wrote and recorded this EP in just a little over two hours last Thursday morning. I hate to overuse the term "genius," but sometimes it's apropos.

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Josephine Network - Little Spells


Two new albums in six months? It seems we might have entered a portal to 1981, but Little Spells is no contractual obligation from Josephine Network. It just shows that Josephine is on a creative roll, and we are all very fortunate to be able to enjoy it! 

If the last album Hooked was Josephine's lean into the louder, more arena-rocking side of power pop, Little Spells is more of a pure pop record — albeit one that isn't afraid to rock when it needs to. Recorded with Olive Faber from Sunflower Bean over the winter/spring of 2024-25, Little Spells is a charming little guitar pop record that deserves to be appreciated in its own right. Of course Hooked is a hard act to follow, but if you're a Josephine Network fan, Little Spells will not leave you wanting. I might, in fact, like this album a little more than Hooked since I'm such a geek for that '70s by way of the '60s classic power pop sound that looms large here. 

Josephine's knack for writing melodious two-minute pop songs with infectious hooks and clever lyrics is on display from start to finish. "Gotta Get Outta My Heart" is vintage Josephine and a perfect tone-setter. With its blend of sweet melody and playful sexual energy, "Bumpin' Into You" would not have sounded out of place on Hooked. "He's Not Mine" could almost be The Monkees, and I mean that as nothing less than a supreme compliment. "Music Turns Me Round" is giving Stones meet Big Star, and I've got no complaints. The album's middle section finds Josephine in her sweet spot of Beatles-influenced textbook power pop. If you listen to this record, be ready for the jangly "Put A Guitar In Her Hands" to be stuck in your head all week. "I Could Say No" kicks up some Raspberries-style harmonies via George Harrison pop majesty. "Little Spell" is gentle and sweet and simply makes my heart smile. The appropriately-titled "Magnificent" walks a delicate line between '60s pop and '70s AM radio/soft rock. Then to finish the record, we get some pleasing changes of pace with the thoughtful rocker "Tall Buildings" and the stripped-down, piano-driven "Sisters" — an anthem of love and affirmation. 

This 2026 is turning into one for the history books for fans of power pop & indie pop, and my attitude is that we should take the time to appreciate the embarrassment of riches that the music gods have blessed us with. "Too much" good music is an absolutely wonderful problem to have. I may have not set any records for speed in getting this review of Little Spells into public view, but the silver lining is that I had a few weeks to simply enjoy the record before I had to start thinking about what I wanted to say about it. If one new album from Josephine Network this year was a cause for celebration, two is even better! There are a few things in life that I literally never get tired of, and a well-written pop song with hummable melodies and an earworm chorus is certainly one of them. And I appreciate how Josephine wears her love for recording and performing on her sleeve. A great pop-rock record ought to be something that you can turn to when you want to feel good, and Little Spells definitely falls into that category. What a gem! 

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Sunday, September 27, 2026

Rob Moss - "The More I Scroll"


Rob Moss is back with a new single that is hitting me really hard. Moss, whom many of you know from his days with Government Issue and Artificial Peace, has established himself as a unique and prolific lead artist in recent years. "The More I Scroll" takes his distinctively gruff punk rock/post-punk style and weaves in the spiritual influence of Johnny Cash. 

Listening to this song, I felt like Moss had somehow accessed my own dark thoughts. As the title suggests, the song is about doom scrolling. Moss sings about how his phone is full of depressing, troubling, and anxiety-inducing content — and the worse it gets, the more he's drawn to it. That's exactly the way it is for me and millions of others. We are literally addicted to technology — even when what that technology has to offer is really bad for our mental and physical health. And as Moss points out in this song, this endless doom scrolling makes us tune out many of the things in our lives that are actually really great. We just keep getting sucked deeper and deeper into the vortex of misery. 

Ultimately, though, the message of the song ends up being positive. There's a way out of this: just put the phone down! Perhaps that's easier said than done given the addictive nature of social media, but it can be done (as Moss sings) if we try. I do see the irony of me talking about the virtues of staying off of smartphones when I do a blog that many of you read and listen to on your smartphones. I often go onto social media to discover new music or find out what some of my favorite bands are up to. But it's the moderation I struggle with. One minute, I'm just going to check a couple things. The next thing you know, I'm caught up in all the rage bait, blatant misinformation, and toxic discourse and feeling really hopeless about the world. So yeah, I sure do see the value in staying off that phone as much as I can. Thank you, Rob Moss, for the jolt of hope! 

While Rob Moss is always going to sound like Rob Moss, "The More I Scroll" does find him offering his own take on a Johnny Cash and The Tennessee Three sound (think boom-chicka-boom drums, a walking bass line, and some country-ish lead guitar). Moss also does his best to emulate The Man In Black's vocal phrasing without resorting to straight-up imitation. By singing the song mostly in the first person singular and then switching to first person plural at the end, Moss makes the song immensely relatable. His own battle with social media addiction is something most of us know all too well, and his way out of the hole can be ours as well. A lot of what he's singing about is pretty dark, but it's all pointing towards the light. And who doesn't love some punkified Johnny Cash energy? All in all, this is one of Moss's best songs to date!

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Friday, September 25, 2026

Dany Laj And The Looks - If Looks Could Kill


This should have been a really simple review. If the only vital question about If Looks Could Kill, the new album from Dany Laj And The Looks (out today on Having Fun Records), is whether it moves me, the answer is a big old yes. End of story. Review over. Go buy the record. Time for me to grab a beer. 

Just kidding. 

If you're a longtime Dany Laj And The Looks fan, as I am, you'll sense that there's something a little different about this album — in an entirely good way. I'm not really talking about the style of the music. I'm talking more about the tone of the album. Broadly, this is still a high-energy power pop/rock 'n' roll record (always this band's bread and butter). But — perhaps because it was first conceived as solo album — it feels a little more "singer/songwriter-ish." It's more song-driven and less style-driven, and it seems particularly inspired by the state of the world we're currently living in. Certainly the album has its lighter moments, but overall, Dany had a lot of serious things on his mind while he was writing it. You can really hear him working through all that anger, sadness, confusion, self-doubt, and uncertainty. Of course I dig the super-fun, straight-forward power pop bangers like "Thanks for Ringing Us Up" and "Rock 'N Roll Figurines." But I'm especially drawn to the surprises. "Shelved" starts out a certain way and then takes a very sharp and unexpected turn (I knew The Looks were secretly a jam band!). "You Will Find Love" is a rootsy ballad that's very pretty and poignant. Likewise, "Breaking Down" shows a softer, more directly emotional side to this band. "Tell It To You" is an on-point takedown of a society that no longer values the truth. The epic closing track "Till the End" channels all that empathy for people who are struggling in these tough times into a resounding message of love and gratitude.  

And so, five years later, we finally get a new album from Dany Laj And The Looks. I will never say a band has topped its prior output unless I really believe it. This time, I can say it and mean it: If Looks Could Kill is the best album Dany and Jeanette have made together. I'm feeling it the way Brad Marchand felt P.K. Subban's check in 2010. It will remind you why you came to love rock 'n' roll in the first place. Every single song is a keeper. These tunes have heart, soul, and hooks galore. This may have started out as a solo project, but it came to life when Jeanette and David stepped in to help. And then the magic happened. I know I'm always trying to lure you into spending more money on records, but I promise this one is worth it. It's a power pop album. It's not a power pop album. And I love it.

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