The Lemon Drop Gang - Wreckless Eyeballs

The Gang is back, and you have been properly warned! Wreckless Eyeballs is the sixth in a string of singles released by desert-pop superheroes The Lemon Drop Gang between 2023 and today. Like most of the installments in the series, it arrived without prior notice. One day, I wasn't even thinking about new music from The Lemon Drop Gang; the next, new songs were stampeding out of my headphones and making plans for permanent residency in my head. 

Me calling The LDG the best band on the Rum Bar Records roster is no hot take. And every new release adds to the growing mountain of evidence. On a surface level, this is a band that almost anyone who reads this blog can enjoy. Garage pop with a punk rock urgency is a vital part of all our musical diets. But at a deeper level, you've never heard a band quite like this one. The way this band can milk such a pleasurable listening experience out of the darkest and strangest subject matter never ceases to amaze me. Even their most bitter pills hit the tongue like hard candy. Every song is a window into the brilliant and utterly unique mind of Steph O'Halloran. Even on record, her presence is commanding and enthralling. Her songwriting partnership with husband Johnny produces an enticing sonic stew with a rare depth of flavor. 

The title track of the new EP was something I never could have anticipated: a haunting, five-minute Western epic that breaks completely from the band's usual two-minute minimalism. Steph sounds like she's purging poison from her soul, and the musical performances (hey there, D. Walker and Matt Rendon!) are so flawless that an instrumental remix on track 2 was fully warranted. You could be a skeptic and call a second version of "Wreckless Eyeballs" superfluous, but there's something fascinating about hearing the same desert dirge repeated with J. Clay Koweek's pedal steel essentially doing the "singing." It's like they're both the same song but also not the same song. Who knew we needed ten minutes of "Wreckless Eyeballs"? I will always admire a band that's willing to take chances on an idea that not everyone will get. 

The final track "Comin' To Get Him" was originally done by Steph's old band Tulip Sweet and Her Trail of Tears. Here it receives a proper Lemon Drop Gang makeover — finding the band back in the fuzzy garage punk/pop lane with a hint of spy flick soundtrack. Steph's vocal is fierce, and those lyrics are totally bonkers in the very best way. Johnny kills it on guitar, and that rhythm section locks in tightly. That hook is worth its weight in gold. If ever a song needed to be revived for the world of 2026, this was it! 

With 13 new tracks released since its first album came out, The Lemon Drop Gang more or less has a whole second LP already in virtual existence. They could comp these tracks now and instantly have one of the best albums of the year. Whether that project is imminent or a little further down the road remains to be seen. But if you're not keeping up with all this stuff, you're missing out on one of the most extraordinary indie bands of the moment. Head on up to the bar and let Lou hook you up with this triple shot of spiked punch!

-L.R.

https://rumbarrecords.bandcamp.com/album/wreckless-eyeballs-comin-to-get-him
https://www.facebook.com/lemondropgang/
https://www.facebook.com/RumBarRecords
https://www.instagram.com/rumbarrecords/

Dany Laj And The Looks - "Tell It To You"

Oh boy! We've got another new track from Dany Laj And The Looks! And it's a dandy! "Tell It To You" is the second single off the band's album If Looks Could Kill, which will be out September 18th on Toronto's Having Fun Records. I like this track because it adds some really cool layers to the usual pop-rock approach. It starts off a little laidback before really hitting its stride in the chorus. Dany has some really interesting things going on with his guitar tone on this record. I love the way his guitar and Jeanette's bass bob and weave around each other in such a striking way. The song comments on one of the worst aspects of modern life — the way public discourse is dominated by supposed truths that are anything but. A lesser songwriter may have been too heavy-handed with the topic. But this song takes a more subtle and human approach, holding off on the snark until the final verse, and even then its comes off as perfectly good-natured. How is it that we're knee-deep in the Information Age and people are more prone than ever to believing the dumbest things? The "three chords and the truth" approach to music has never been vital, and "Tell It To You" is exactly what the doctor ordered. When that chorus hits, it hits hard. Based on the singles that have been released so far, I can't help but be excited about If Looks Could Kill coming out next month — one day before NHL preseason starts! Let's go!

-L.R.

https://danylaj.bandcamp.com/album/if-looks-could-kill
https://open.spotify.com/album/1P1VGMxn9cRKzD7bxSTP76
https://danylajandthelooks.com/
https://www.instagram.com/danylajandthelooks/
https://www.facebook.com/danylaj/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5EtqynwyQ07yDHQFc6muJg

PLRLS - Sleeping in a Dress

Sleeping in a Dress is the fourth full-length album from long-running Baltimore-based band PLRLS. And while I'm loathe to reach into my bag of cliches in just the second sentence of a review, I believe the phrase "breath of fresh air" sums up this record nicely. The world needs more music like this. This band combines creativity, quirkiness, a spirit of fun, and infectious hooks in a way that's classically new wave-ish yet genuinely contemporary. I hear elements of post-punk, power pop, punk rock, and indie rock all coming together as if the music gods had deemed it. The challenge of being inspired by later '70s/early '80s new wave yet creating music that sounds like 2026 is a formidable one, yet PLRLS pull off that very thing in impressive fashion. Each of the ten songs on Sleeping in a Dress is completely different from the others, yet there's clearly a vibe that ties it all together. If you like earworm pop songs that are kind of weird but also super endearing and sure to make you want to dance like a maniac, this album and band are for you. These folks sound like they had so much fun in both writing and recording this material. And the quality of the songs is maintained all the way to the final track. Very often, the term "post-punk" brings to mind dreary, emotionally-detached music. Well, PLRLS are the opposite of that. The moment I knew this album was special was when I tried to play it in the background while I was working and quickly found myself too distracted to work. Some music just refuses to live in the background. New wave is alive and well!

-L.R. 

https://pluralsband.bandcamp.com/album/sleeping-in-a-dress 
https://www.instagram.com/plrls
https://www.facebook.com/plurals.baltimore/
https://open.spotify.com/album/0EY1S8RNXmDqVidYSrm8XG
https://www.youtube.com/@plrlsbmore8212

Vista Blue - So Much Music!

I've noticed, and I am sure you have too: the sheer amount of music that's out there and available to listen to these days is vast, overwhelming, and growing exponentially. But leave it to Vista Blue to remind us that that's not necessarily a bad thing. On its new single "So Much Music!", the band reflects on this world we now live in. There really is so much music out there that no one could ever keep up with everything. We will all die without hearing hundreds of records we may have loved. You've got new bands and artists popping up every day. You've got reissues of old stuff you love and old stuff you may have never heard but would like to hear. Heck, The Glow Bots broke up in '98 while recording "Genie in the Amp," and their label just released the unmastered tracks on Bandcamp. But you know what? It's all OK! 

This song manages to poke fun at the deluge of music that's literally at our fingertips yet still frame it in an ultimately positive light. And the cover art is a tribute to all of you out there who love music too much to ever worry about there being too much of it. You can say that the worst thing about music today is that anyone can release a song. But isn't that also the best thing about music today? Aren't we better off without corporate suits dictating which music the world gets to hear? That would be like allowing one franchise to dominate Major League Baseball (oh, wait). Sure, with all the options people have for "consuming content," it's harder for bands to get anyone to listen or care. But still, you eventually find your niche and connect with your people. "So Much Music!" is a vintage Vista Blue song. It's upbeat pop-punk that mixes humor with a genuine spirit of love for music. In a way, it's like a sequel to  "Somebody's Favorite Band." You've got a lot of things going on in life and may never actually check out that new Chromadome EP. But someone out there knows every song by heart. 

On the virtual B-side, the faster, punkier "She Only Listens To Blue" is another love letter to music geekery. It's a simple concept, as it's about a girl who believes that the blue album is the only good Weezer record. I could probably start a war if I stated an opinion on this topic, so I'll just say a lot of you will have your own strong opinions one way or another. And isn't that the sort of thing that makes it so much fun to be a rock nerd? You may know someone who only listens to blue. You may be that person. But you probably don't have to travel far to find someone who is willing to die on the hill of Hurley having a couple of good songs. I like that the narrator in the song is a good sport about all of this. If two people with very different opinions about Weezer can maintain a functioning relationship, there has to be hope for this world. 

I know what you're thinking: What's Vista Blue doing releasing music on any day other than Friday? Well, you know there's so much music out there. Sundays are lighter traffic for new releases. And now you've got all week to find four minutes to listen to this gem of a single. Hey, all you bands out there putting music into the world: I salute you!

-L.R.

https://wearevistablue.bandcamp.com/album/so-much-music
https://open.spotify.com/artist/6wtk5nIPa1lkJ2kksHc1zk
https://www.facebook.com/wearevistablue/
https://www.instagram.com/wearevistablue/

Rob Moss and Skin-Tight Skin and The James Clark Institute - Split single

For the seventh time, Rob Moss and Skin-Tight Skin have released a digital split single that finds them swapping songs with another band or artist. If this just involved straight copies of the original songs (like you might hear at a live show), this series would have gotten stale by installment 2. But somehow Moss has turned the "Let's both cover one of each other's songs!" concept into a proper art form. I always look forward to these splits, and I'm always pleased by what I hear. Part of that is the musical diversity of the bands and artists Moss collaborates with. But an even bigger part of it is the approach.  

In this latest installment, Moss teams up with Toronto's The James Clark Institute. Moss notes that The James Clark Institute's cover of "A Donkey" (from Rob Moss and Skin-Tight Skin's album Now with More Rockets) is very, very different from the original. But he points out that's an entirely good thing. "That's what keeps me interested in doing this series of split singles, " he says. "The one rule is that no one does a note-for-note cover. But beyond that, there are no limits on how one goes about reinterpreting the other's song." You can really hear that no-limits philosophy coming to life on TJCI's version of "A Donkey." While the original is all fire, fury, and snarl, Clark reimagines it in his signature style of modern and slightly quirky guitar pop. It's fascinating to hear two very distinctive vocalists with extremely different styles put their stamps on the same song. Here the remake proves to be as powerful as the original but in an entirely different way. If you didn't know better, you'd think Clark wrote the song, part of which is because he made many changes to the lyrics. It would not sound out of place on any of his records. 

On their half of the split, Moss and Skin-Tight Skin cover "Bettie Page Rides A Donkey" from Clark's album Sideshow Unattraction. That's right: both songs on this release mention donkeys, which makes for a very cool connection. Moss, backed by Glenn Kowalski (from 7 Door Sedan) on lead guitar, Tom McNally on bass, and Steve Naff on drums, transforms Clark's stripped-down, melody-driven original into a deliberately paced and somewhat other-worldly glam-punk rocker. The significantly altered arrangement and Moss's cool, understated vocal delivery completely change the feel of the song. Moss and his band manage to honor the genius of Clark's original, but they don't hesitate to make it their own. This is what doing cover songs is all about! 

Out of all the split singles Moss has done since he launched this project in 2024, this particular one shows the highest degree of creative reinterpretation yet. If you appreciate someone else's song enough to want to record it yourself, you ought to appreciate it enough to want to make it your own. Both of these tracks here sound like almost completely new songs, and I love it! If you're a fan of Rob Moss and Skin-Tight Skin, be on the lookout for another split (with TA-80) in September and a Moss solo single in October!

-L.R.

https://skin-tight-rock.bandcamp.com/album/split-single-bettie-page-rides-a-donkey-a-donkey
https://www.facebook.com/RobMossAndSkinTightSkin/
https://www.instagram.com/rob_moss_and_skin_tight_skin/
https://www.clarkinstitute.com/
https://thejamesclarkinstitute.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/jamesclarkinstitute/
https://www.facebook.com/thejci/

Badzy - ...To The Bone

You've surely seen some of the rave reviews for ...To The Bone, the debut album from New Orleans-based Badzy. I sure don't disagree with anything I've read about this record. Three years in the making, ...To The Bone is pure energy and catchiness from start to finish. It hits that sweet spot where power pop, glammy punk rock 'n' roll, and big, hooky arena rock all crash into each other at full speed. There's no pretension to what these guys are doing. They are throwbacks to a time when rock 'n' roll was loud and fun but never afraid to be radio friendly. This is a great record to throw on when you're having a good time or want to be having a good time. The band's sound is the epitome of powerful pop, and it's plenty gritty enough to fit nicely within the underground punk rock 'n' roll bubble. But you can also tell that there's some Def Leppard, KISS, and Cheap Trick in its spiritual DNA. Sometimes the key with rock 'n' roll is not taking yourself too seriously but being damn serious about the craft of songwriting. Tracks like "Say That You Will," "Say You're Ready," and "Ain't That Enuff" would be radio hits in some alternative timeline where they still play real rock 'n' roll on commercial radio. "Shadows" is full-on classic power pop. "Ripped Outta Time" and "Bad Til I Die" venture into heavy metal territory without a trace of irony and kick all kinds of ass. This is an absolutely killer album. I can't help but be reminded of the early 2010s when the likes of The Mandates, Barreracudas, and WYLDLIFE were just coming on the scene. This year in music continues to please!

-L.R.

https://badzy.bandcamp.com/album/to-the-bone
https://www.instagram.com/badzyband/
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61592434407408

The Speed Dials - SD Demos

My first reaction to The Speed Dials' demo was "Wow!" I'm always excited to hear straight-forward power pop carried off with tremendous energy and perfect simplicity. And it didn't take me long to recognize a familiar voice on lead vocals. The Speed Dials are a little bit of a Philadelphia indie-pop supergroup. The band is made up of Brendan from Log Flume on guitar/vocals, Dale from Civil Rats/Dummest Records on bass, and Ryan from Mango Safari on drums. That's an impressive lineup, and the songs live up to the pedigree. You can hear elements of these guys' other bands, but The Speed Dials are a royal treat for fans of classic power pop. In this age of streaming, the line between a proper demo and a self-released home-recorded EP has been blurred. So I like that The Speed Dials are calling this a demo. It suggests that this is just the start of something much bigger. The band just played its first show on July 15th, and it is set to record a debut album in the fall. These four songs are just a little taste of what the album will be, and it's immediately obvious that these guys have got something special going. All these songs are really good, but the band was wise to lead with "Ordinary" —a bona fide hit in any era. And looking at the band's logo, I can't help but feel a little twinge of nostalgia for the age of landline phones! Remember when you had to physically pick up a phone to call your girlfriend or boyfriend? Power pop fans, you'll want to get in on the ground floor floor with The Speed Dials!

-L.R.

https://thespeeddials.bandcamp.com/album/sd-demos
https://www.instagram.com/thespeeddials.phl