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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