Saturday, September 13, 2025

The Idolizers - Ka-Boom!


From New York, New York, The Idolizers play full fury, real deal punk rock 'n' roll that just straight-up rips. Out on Sioux Records, Ka-Boom! is the band's third release and first since 2022. The title pretty much says it all, doesn't it? With a style rooted in '70s punk that also incorporates garage rock and a little power pop, The Idolizers bring the energy from the get-go. This is old school New York punk just the way it ought to be — with scorching guitars, a blistering rhythm section, and attitude for days. While certainly the band's most musically varied release to date, it finds these guys rocking harder than ever. Call it '77 punk. Call it action rock. Call it garage rock. Call it whatever you want. This is rock 'n' roll music that will set your hair on fire, and it ought to be illegal to not play this record super-loud. Vinyl is limited to 300 copies. You know what to do!

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Sunday, September 07, 2025

The Chelsea Curve - "Never Come Down"


When The Chelsea Curve promised it would have a big year in 2025, the band meant it! "Never Come Down" is the Boston trio's second new single in as many months, and it's a bit of a curveball. But here's the thing about curveballs: they make you very hard to beat! Out on Rum Bar Records, "Never Come Down" is the first CC song to feature guitarist Tim Gillis on lead vocals. And while the band is known for its punky mod-pop sound, this song takes things in a slightly different direction: think vintage later '90s Brit-pop with a pinch of '60s psych. This is the "biggest" the Curve has sounded on record. The guitars and drums are arena-sized, and so are the hooks. And of course, with this being a Chelsea Curve song, there's tremendous substance to the lyrics. The song is about about the desire to feel completely free and unlimited. Can't we all relate to the idea of opening up ourselves to every possibility and just feeling the electricity of life flow through us? Surely an unfettered life is a great thing to aspire to. This just might be your new personal anthem! A little birdie told me that we can expect some more surprising turns from The Chelsea Curve in the near future, so let's buckle up and enjoy the ride!

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Dany Laj Et Les Looks - "Ça Va"


That's right, folks: this is a new Dany Laj and The Looks review! I'm always pumped to hear from this band, who are longtime favorites of mine and longtime favorites of just about everyone they meet! "Ça Va" is the band's new single and first release in over a year. It's the group's first-ever track to be sung exclusively in French. Fun fact: I took five years of French in school mostly because I became enamored with French Canadian culture due to being a hockey fanatic. I have forgotten almost everything I learned, but I do remember the expression "Ça va"! Laj describes this as "a song about staying the course, even when everything seems to be going wrong." Holy smokes: that's a sentiment the world needs now more than ever! What good is life if you can't hold on to the hope that things will eventually get better? For this track, Dany and Jeanette are joined by drummer Andrew Moszynski. It's everything you'd expect from Dany Laj Et Les Looks: garage rock meets power pop radiating pure joyful energy. At just two-and-a-half minutes, the song will leave you wanting more. It will also leave you smiling and truly believing yourself when you utter the words "Ça va." The video definitely captures the spirit of the song. And as always, Dany and  Jeanette's hat game is unrivaled. This single is the first release from an upcoming French-language project, so keep your eyes peeled for more information. My Canadian friends can catch Dany Laj Et Les Looks on tour this fall. You want some dates? Here are some dates!

09:20 Wakefield QC, Festivale De La Musique
09:26 North Bay ON, The Block Public House w/ Bettie and The Bandits, Low Class Hero
09:27 Cobalt ON, Miner's Tavern w/ Running Late
09:28 Sault Ste Marie ON, PITS Pop-Up w/ Tye Lawless Co.
09:30 Winnipeg MB, Bulldog's
10:03 Medicine Hat AB, Casa Amigo's
10:05 Edmonton AB, Blakbar
10:08 Calgary AB, The Palomino Steakhouse
10:10 Gibson's BC, Tapworks
10:11 Vancouver BC, Green Auto w/ Car, Night Court, Transmitors
10:13 Penticton BC, The Hub
10:14 Kelowna BC, Dunnenzies
10:15 Red Deer AB, Vin L Den
10:17 Thunder Bay ON, Black Pirates Pub
10:18 Sudbury ON, Townehouse Tavern
11:28 London ON, Rum Runners w/ Lowest Of The Low
11:29 Windsor ON, Meteor w/ Lowest Of The Low

Go Habs Go (except when they're playing the Flyers 😃)!

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Perilous - "Glass Of Something"


Perilous has just concluded its summer of singles with another smash! "Glass Of Something" is the fifth installment in what has been a truly flawless series. Every one of these singles has been a total banger, and "Glass Of Something" is no different. When it comes to old school punk with a pop heart and a rock 'n' roll edge, Perilous is about as good as it gets. "Glass Of Something" espouses a philosophy that most people would be well-served to adopt: there's almost nothing that can't be worked out between two people whilst they are sitting down and enjoying some tasty beverages. This is not necessarily intended as a political song, but perhaps that's the whole point. Sometimes we can reach our greatest understandings in all avenues of life over a glass of something. Bob Cat originally wrote this song with Robby Petrella for their band Hurtin' Units, and Perilous decided to bring it back with some additional lyrics by Pauline. The song really works as a Perilous track. It's a great pop song with real deal punk attitude, and it was produced by one of the very best in the business: Mr. Kurt Reil! It's a little sad that this run of summer singles has concluded, but I can assure you that we still have a lot to look forward to from Perilous. The summer of 2025 will be forever remembered as The Summer of Perilous!

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Friday, September 05, 2025

Loose Lips - Last Laugh


Aussie punk/rock 'n' roll super-group Loose Lips have finally released their debut album, and of course it's a crackling affair. Loose Lips are Nadine Muller (the Prize), Josh Hardy (The Chats, The Unknowns), and Ethan Stahl (Chubby and the Gang, the Prize, Street Sweeper). Out on DIG! Records, Last Laugh is exactly the kind of record you'd expect from these folks. Think OG '70s punk meets power pop meets glam rock meets no-nonsense pub rock 'n' roll, served up with a swagger that's uniquely Australian. This is such a classic sound done right. There's nothing better than a three-chord rock 'n' roll band writing killer tunes and rocking the hell out of them. If you're a fan of The Unknowns and The Prize, well this has been your lucky year. The Unknowns just released a brilliant album, and The Prize has a debut long player coming soon. And then you have Loose Lips, who are essentially the best of both worlds. Last Laugh is a lean-and-mean affair at 10 songs in 24 minutes. It's everything that rock 'n' roll ought to be: loud, exciting, and a whole lot of fun. You won't want to miss this one!


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Ricky Rochelle - Second Layer


As I stated a while back, my first reaction to Ricky Rochelle's new album Second Layer was simply, "Wow!" On this release, Ricky has not only demonstrated the potential of pop-punk as a genuinely adult genre of music but also bravely bared his soul to the entire world. Heavily inspired by his difficult and complicated relationship with his father (who passed away in 2023), Second Layer is a record that a lot of people might call "dark." I'll just call it intensely personal, and this album only makes me love Ricky even more as an artist and human. I don't know if I would ever have the guts to put myself out there the way Ricky has on this album. And the beauty of it is that this is deeply relatable stuff he's singing about. When he reflects on living trough trauma and abuse and how it still fills him with self-doubt, he's connecting with so many people who've been in that exact place. The last five songs on the album in particular work as a cohesive narrative, and clearly that sequencing was intentional. Ricky doesn't hold back. You can feel the pain, anger, and desperation in the words, lyrics, and music. And when it culminates in forgiveness in "Before It Was Too Late," it's a powerful resolution. I'm actually tearing up as I type this. 

Elsewhere on Second Layer, Ricky devotes the songs "Lovers Escape," "Good News, I Love You," and "Highlight Reel" to perhaps my favorite topic of them all: marital love. So it's not like the album is all a big bummer. But that's how real life is. You can have amazing and terrible things going on in your life at the same time, which is exactly how it was for Ricky Rochelle at the time this album was being written. The musical diversity in these songs fits well with the range of emotions covered throughout the album. "Lovers Escape" and "Highlight Reel" are squarely in pop-punk territory — but definitely more pop than punk. "Good News, I Love You" sounds like Sting wrote a good song for the first time in 40 years. "So Fucking Beautiful" and "Can't Forget the Terror" are full-on 2000s modern rock. "Psychotic Reaction" and "Self-Doubt" bring to mind '90s skate-core/melodic punk. "Before It Was Too Late" is beautiful and largely electronically-driven  — a risky undertaking that paid off marvelously. 

If you've ever been a fan of Ricky Rochelle, the chances that you'll love Second Layer are basically 100%. He remains a charming and endearing vocalist and a songwriter with a tremendous flair for catchy hooks. This album finds him building off his signature pop-punk style but really pushing the boundaries in terms of the kinds of songs he writes. To say he put his heart and soul into this release would be an understatement. If you're going to go to the trouble to write songs and put them into the universe for an eternity, why not speak your truth? If "pop-punk for grown-ups" is a real genre of music, Second Layer is one of its defining works.

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Norcos Y Horchata - precious little album


It's hard to believe that it has been more than three years since Norcos Y Horchata released Forever Disheveled, its debut album. I recently proclaimed Forever Disheveled my 8th-favorite album of the half-decade. Needless to say, I had considerable expectations for NYH's long-awaited sophomore LP. 

Out today on Take The City Records, Eccentric Pop Records, and Rust On The Blade, precious little album does not disappoint. But nor is it quite the album that anyone would have expected it to be. Just when you thought you has this band pigeonholed, Amado and the gang have gone out and reinvented themselves (somewhat). This record is the perfect combination of surprising and satisfying. A few tracks ("BYOBV," "Previous Ones," "Live, Laugh, Toaster Bath") find NYH in its familiar lane of tough melodic punk rock with a Midwestern soul. And they are all certified bangers! But elsewhere, the band finds itself trying new things and incorporating different influences in a way that feels like more than just a natural progression. Right off the bat with "The Artist + The Art," you can hear more of an early UK post-punk and '77 art-punk influence in the songwriting and musicianship. It still sounds like Norcos Y Horchata, but it's not the same Norcos Y Horchata. The song chugs along with speed and power, but it has so many layers that even its layers have layers. Elsewhere, "Lake Ave Traffic" finds the band soaring to new heights of anthemic grandeur. "Hack Away" is pure hardcore punk and positively thrilling. "I Deal In Three Chord Currency" is rumbling rock 'n' roll stripped to its bare bones and then twisted into something you've genuinely never heard before. The sweet-natured duet "Tuckered Out" is unlike anything this band has done before: a song that's hauntingly beautiful yet still a snappy good time. "Carbondale" finds the album concluding back in anthem territory and giving major new wave energy. 

Different people might take away different things from precious little album. You might hear Naked Raygun, and maybe I'm hearing the bands that influenced Naked Raygun. There are plenty of nods to classic Midwestern American punk rock, but it never feels like Norcos Y Horchata is copying any particular band. If I tried to jot down all the influences I thought I heard, I'd end up with writer's cramp. Impressively, this album ambitiously expands NYH's signature sound without straying too far from all the qualities that made this band so great to begin with. The thing about these songs is that they were obviously written to be performed live. So even as the band pushes itself creatively, its primary mission is still to deliver songs that will make you wanna jump around like a maniac, sing along at the top of your lungs, and thank the music gods for blessing this doomed planet with the life-sustaining gift of rock 'n' roll. Amado's lyrics, which range from philosophical to hilarious to pissed-off to introspective to inspiring, are really amazing and a massively underrated part of his skill set. It's mind-blowing to think about how something that started as Amado's pandemic solo home-recording project has grown into this — undoubtedly one of the greatest American punk rock bands going right now. 

It's always a tall order to follow up a great debut punk rock LP, but precious little album surpasses its predecessor by leaps and bounds. From start to finish, these are just great fucking songs. And all the players involved do incredible work on this record. This is one of those albums that will remind you why you fell in love with punk rock in the first place. Vinyl is available now via Bandcamp, and I'd recommend you snag a copy ASAP. Also, Norcos Y Horchata fall tour dates have just been announced, so head on over to the band's social media pages for more info!

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