Stylistically, this is a big shift for Andresa — from budget punk to noisy indie rock. It's also a big shift in tone. These songs represent part of his grief cycle. The title track was written a couple months before Suryati's passing. "I never knew the meaning of the song by then," says Andresa, "but I do now, as if my future self in the past writes songs for me in the present time." What an incredibly profound thing to say! Andresa wrote "The Time Machine" after his mother's passing as he was cleaning up her room and viewing old photographs of when she was young and full of life. This caused him to reflect on his own days as a young adult, realizing that his mother was once just like him, and that if he's lucky, he'll live to be as old as she was when she passed. These reflections have changed the way he views life. He's found himself wanting to live in the present, spending time with the people he loves, "not thinking too much about the future or regretting past." Again, that's remarkably profound.
Doing a punk/garage/power pop type blog, I don't often write about music that brings me to tears. But holy cow, Andresa has really hit all the right notes here. And the thing is that this isn't him doing something different just for the sake of experimentation. This is true personal inspiration. It's as if the songs came to him, and he pulls off this more indie pop style remarkably well. He fills these songs with genuine feeling and remarkable wisdom for such a young man. The reason why music (along with all art) exists is to create something that speaks to the human experience, to reflect on the things that are most important in life. What could be more important in life than the love of a parent — someone who brought us into this world and helped mold us into who we are? And lately as I've been thinking a lot about how much I'm like my mother, these songs have me wanting to cherish the time I still have with her. Andresa may have created this music to help process his grief, but I'm so happy that he realized these songs needed to be shared with the world. If you're a fan of his, you absolutely need to have this single.
There are not many bands who are 27 years into their existence and can rightfully be described as being at the top of their game. That's doubly true for pop-punk bands. But here are The Young Hasselhoffs at the peak of their craft, coming off their two best albums, Life Got In The Way and Dear Departed. The new single is a sneak peak of what's to come in the third installment of this trilogy. The upbeat, punchy "Adeline" brings a touch of an old Green Day feel but is very much in keeping with the Hoffs' recent musical direction. This is pop-punk for grown-ups, crafted and executed to near-perfection by three guys who truly understand what great pop music is all about. "Come Back Marie" is kind of giving a Weezer energy, which is something a little different for this band. Both of these songs are A-side worthy, so it makes sense that the 7" is self-titled. If you weren't already jazzed for the new album, you will be now!
The decision to keep these songs off the streaming sites was meant as a way to honor the hard work and dedication that John and Tricia put into keeping Mom's Basement Records going strong. Sometimes as music fans, we take for granted how much you have to bust your ass to keep an independent record label going. The Young Hasselhoffs wanted to give a little something back. Giving away 200 copies of a 7" record might seem like an insane idea. But this is the ten-year anniversary of the world's greatest pop-punk record label. Go big or go home!
Not wanting to leave their fans in the U.K., E.U., and Japan out in the cold, The Young Hasselhoffs have also created a CD version of this single (with a bonus track!) that will be given away with orders from Brassneck Records, Stardumb Records, and Waterslide Records. So please check in with those labels to find out how you can get your hands on this special gift. If you're ordering from Mom's Basement, please make sure you follow the instructions!
So for this review and this review only, we can pretend it's 1996 again and you have to order something I reviewed without being able to listen to it first and make sure I'm not full of shit. Then again, you can certainly listen to whatever else you're ordering in advance. This was my 2024 label of the year for a reason. If it comes from Mom's Basement, you know it doesn't suck!
It all started with Yaffa inviting Rags to come to his home studio in Mallorca, Spain and record a couple of new tunes he'd been working on. And sure enough, Rags, Maxwell, and Yaffa caught lightning in a bottle. This wasn't just a Rich Ragany solo project — it was a new band! And so here we have "Brand New"/"The Start", released on European Phonographic. By now you ought to know what to expect: powerful, anthemic rock 'n' roll that's full of heart and soul. The lead track is a full-on Rags-style glam/punk/rock 'n' roll sing-along anthem. He's been writing songs like this for years, and it never stops being exciting. And how amazing is it to have Sami freaking Yaffa playing on a song like this? I've got chills! B-side "The Start" is another Rags specialty: a song that starts off sounding gentle and restrained, and then suddenly that chorus hits like a ton of bricks! These are both great songs, and the recording sounds amazing. I can't help visualizing these three guys rocking out in the Spanish countryside with the windows and doors wide open, bringing these songs to life in a way that Rags could never have foreseen. That sounds like the stuff of a future legend! This is likely not the last we'll hear from The Sideshows. For now, crank this debut loud and enjoy!
I suppose waiting a decade between LPs is a great way to solve the problem of the "difficult third album"! Granted, Time Won't Bring Me Down was recorded over a long period of time. So it's not like Jeff Burke waited ten years to write a new batch of songs. But still, the considerable space between Silent Kill and Time Won't Bring Me Down has allowed for a natural progression in Radioactivity's sound. There are still quite a few songs here that "sound like Radioactivity." The title track, "Watch Me Bleed," "Why," and "One Day" all find Burke (along with bandmates Daniel Fried, Gregory Rutherford, and Mark Ryan) putting on a clinic on how fast, hook-laden punk-pop ought to sound. Burke's musical style has been frequently imitated, and it's nice to be reminded that he's still the master. But at least half of this album is a significant progression from Silent Kill. Songs like "This Time" and "Ignorance Is Bliss" sound like classic Radioactivity but with more pace and breathing room — perhaps less punk-pop and more pure pop. "Analog Ways" and "I Thought" find the band firmly and comfortably in indie pop territory. "Shell," which approaches five minutes in running time, is such an ambitiously intense track that you might find yourself asking what band you're listening to. Album closer "Pain" is a moody, masterfully-crafted slow-burner.
The appropriately-titled Time Won't Bring Me Down is here to assert that Radioactivity is back with a vengeance and poised to remain a vital force in the contemporary music scene. Far from merely rehashing his past glories, Jeff Burke is still growing and evolving as a songwriter — while still holding on to enough of his signature style to keep everyone happy. This album sets in place a seamless transition from what Radioactivity once was to what Radioactivity will be in the future. This is a genuinely modern punk rock record and a truly masterful effort. For fans of Jeff Burke and Radioactivity, this was absolutely worth the wait.
