The Beaten Hearts - 2010 recordings

I love that this blog has been around so long now that I can sometimes review bands I wrote about years ago and people will be like, "Who the hell were they?" If you've never heard The Beaten Hearts, that's okay. You get to hear them now! 

The availability of the 2010 recordings of The Beaten Hearts on Bandcamp ought to be a huge deal for fans of 21st century garage punk and Canadian punk in general. This was Brian LaManna's band in between The Valentine Killers and Phone Jerks. The lineup also included Derek Lounder and Jeremy O'Neill from Fear of Lipstick, former Teenage Hurricane and future Phone Jerk Tyler Boutilier, and the legend himself, Mr. Ray Auffrey. In retrospect, we can all wonder how in the world we ever forgot about a super-group like this! Perhaps it was because they only released two singles. Six of these songs were released on 7" records in 2011 (on Maladroit Records and the venerable Sonic Jett Records). Five have never been officially released until now. In my original review, I dropped all the usual band comparisons (New Bomb Turks, Humpers, Dead Boys, Saints, Teenage Head, Pagans) but also commended the quality of the songwriting. Listening back to these songs now, I'm noticing a melodic, heart-on-sleeve sensibility that reminds me somewhat of Pat Todd. 

While the importance of The Beaten Hearts as a precursor to The Phone Jerks or a hint of what a second Valentine Killers album could have been are cool things in their own right, the music would be worth revisiting even if this had been a band of nobodies. Brian's talents as a songwriter and especially as a lyricist are super-underrated, and there are more than a few gems in this set. When people are releasing fanatic bootleg compilations of 2010s Canadian punk rock a few decades from now, "Red Line Gurls" will certainly be a go-to cut. "Back to the Deadline" brings to mind Iggy Pop fronting The Saints and is a stone cold ripper. "(This Is) How It Ends," which Brian wrote about his mother's death, is the kind of powerful ballad that I wish more punk groups would have the nerve to try. Was there any doubt that Joel Jett, with his impeccable taste, was not going to pass up releasing these songs on his label? "Badlands," the A-side of the band's second 7", is a scorching homage o.g. Cleveland punk rock with lyrics inspired by Terrence Malick's classic film. "Rhonda Lynn" is excellent poppy garage punk rock 'n' roll that will get your toes tapping and your head bobbing. "AM Sound" finds the band again worshipping at the church of The Saints, and who's going to complain? "She's Stimming Outta Control" is the original version of a song that would become one of the best Phone Jerks tunes. This is a hugely personal and significant song for Brian, and the world is a better place for having it in it (twice). 

How crazy is it that these songs were recorded 15 years ago? I am happy to report that they hold up great in the light of 2025. I know we live at a time in which there's so much stuff out there. There are more things to listen to than we have time to listen to. But if you dig soulful garage punk with a '90s feel and a power pop heart, The Beaten Hearts are an essential listen. I'm always talking about how Canada freaking owned punk rock in the early 2010s, and this album ought to be part of that conversation.

-L.R.

https://beatenhearts.bandcamp.com/album/the-beaten-hearts-2010-recordings

CB Kiddo - Heavy Is the Head (two​-​song demo)

If CB Kiddo eventually compiles all their singles from this year, they're going to have one of the best albums of the year. I'm saving a top ten spot on my list already. Emily is back with Heavy Is the Head, her fourth digital single of 2024, and she continues to construct a universe where garage punk and power pop are quarreling siblings and The Muffs are a veritable religion. "Never Been Wrong" is another catchy blast of low budget poppy punk goodness. "Choking on Your Insides" is a brilliant rendition of all an all-time great MOTO song that suddenly feels more relevant than ever. If you don't love this, you're a jerk. 

-L.R.

https://kiddo27.bandcamp.com/album/heavy-is-the-head-two-song-demo

CB Kiddo - CB Kiddo Explodes!

It's one thing to release one of the year's best singles, but CB Kiddo has already reached hat trick status less than halfway through 2024. New single CB Kiddo Explodes! is the most fun you can have for free in three minutes without violating any laws or long-standing moral codes. Without question, Emily has one of the best voices in punk rock, and now she's filling the world with insanely catchy lo-fi poppy punk songs and pictures of adorable pups. If you're not already in the fan club, what in the world are you waiting for? In my book, there are maybe five or six legitimate silver linings to the world having to live through a deadly pandemic, and one of them is the existence of CB Kiddo. These new tunes, "Explode" and "Out of My Mind," are every bit as good as the previous tracks. Emily knows how to bang out a hooky punk tune with perfect efficiency. I'm shocked that some world-renowned record label hasn't already dispatched representatives to Moncton to sample the finest donairs and secure a deal for a CB Kiddo vinyl release. It's only a matter of time, right? 

-L.R.  

https://kiddo27.bandcamp.com/album/cb-kiddo-explodes

CB Kiddo - "Running to You"

A couple weeks back, I tipped you off to the arrival of your new favorite band. Anyone reading this who hasn't already downloaded CB Kiddo's first demo and mailed in their fan club application is either a robot or a Red Hot Chili Peppers fan. Emily could have retired from music right then and there and still had the coolest single of 2024. But luckily she has not retired from music, and she quickly got to work on topping the lo-fi punk-pop magnificence of her debut. No less of an authority than Mick Fletcher has proclaimed that CB Kiddo graduates from the halls of the very good and enters the realm of greatness on this new single titled "Running To You." Perhaps I'm being influenced by the cover of the Forgotten Rebels' "Tell Me You Love Me" on the virtual B-side, but there's just something about these recordings that is quintessentially Canadian. Clearly there's something in the air or the water or the pizza dough up North that couldn't be replicated elsewhere. If someone pressed these tunes onto a 45 and claimed they were recorded during a Maritime blizzard in 1980, no one would have any reason to suspect that was a lie. "Running to You" is a scruffy powerpop/punk earworm that will have you pounding that repeat button until half your day is shot. And the cover of "Tell Me You Love Me" is outrageously good. If you didn't already know the song was a classic, you will now. Emily Williston has been one of the best punk vocalists going for a number of years, and now her songwriting talents are really getting the chance to shine with CB Kiddo. If you're into glammy, garagey, old school pop-punk, you should be running in direction of "Running to You."

-L.R.

https://kiddo27.bandcamp.com/album/running-to-you-digital-single

Tidal Bores - demo

I know a lot of us have been waiting for this one for a while, and here it is: the first publicly-released recordings from Moncton's newest garage punk sensations the Tidal Bores! I did my best not to break down and cry when Phone Jerks split — figuring that some former Phone Jerks would start new projects and that the awesomeness would ultimately be multiplied. It's looking like I called that right with all the amazing TJ Cabot releases I've enjoyed in recent years. And now the world can be introduced to the Tidal Bores — a group featuring members of Phone Jerks, Impulse Items, Whore Gasms, Small Package, Adhesives, and Valentine Killers. Brian LaManna is on lead vocals. If you know his musical influences, you will have a good idea of what to expect from the Tidal Bores. What I like about this demo from Tidal Bores is that it really is a demo. These tracks are live off the floor. The band isn't throwing the songs online and calling it an EP. This is the kind of thing that used to come out on cassette tape back in the day: a band's raw first recordings that hint at its potential but aren't necessarily meant to represent a finished product. And now thanks to the magic of technology, a demo tape can be digital — which means more people can hear it, and less money is spent on postage. With this little taste of Tidal Bores, we get a feel for what the band is all about. These songs rip hard, walking the fine line between 1981 hardcore and Pagans-style OG budget punk. "Zero Hour" is the only original track. "Civilization's Dying" is a cover of the Zero Boys classic. "Methanol" is a re-working of a song Brian co-wrote when he was in the Valentine Killers back in the late 20th century. Put together, these songs sure fit the tenor of the times. If someone had handed me a tape like this back in the day, and I had gone home and pressed play, I would have gone nuts. And now here we all are, getting in on the ground floor with the Tidal Bores together. I'm looking forward to a proper EP!

-L.R.

https://tidalbores.bandcamp.com/album/demo
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100092916728442
https://www.instagram.com/tidal.bores

TJ Cabot - Pissin Ammo

I have done TJ Cabot a great disservice with the nature of my coverage of his recent run of home-recorded output. In focusing on rumor mongering over the disintegration of his musical partnership with his backing band Thee Artificial Rejects (and in particular, his turbulent relationship with multi-instrumentalist, street preacher, and suspected embezzler Millhouse Deville), I have shifted the focus away from the stunning quality of the recordings themselves  — which on their own merits stand as top-tier specimens of 21st Century budget punk. The newly-released Pissin Ammo is the third in TJ's trilogy of digital EPs released this year, following February's SD Action and July's King Grove. Cumulatively, these three releases form an album's worth of material that rivals the best of this year's punk rock LPs. And having received the sad news that Phone Jerks are no more, I find myself valuing these recordings all the more deeply. Thus it serves no point for me to mention how a debate over pizza toppings or a broken promise to not draft Calle Jarnkrok in fantasy hockey may have led to TJ Cabot having to record Pissin Ammo all by his lonesome. Far more significant is that this is some of his best stuff to date — probably his most essential release since his legendary and now out-of-print debut Demos Recorded in the Anus of the Maritimes came out in early pandemic times and saved us all from eternal despair. 

Pissin Ammo is nothing short of what we've come to expect from TJ Cabot. It's raw, raging, and equally conducive to mild toe-tapping and the thrusting of one's fist in the direction of deserving targets. As always, TJ kicks up a blistering mish-mash of turn-of-the-millennium budget trash, early American punk rock, and no-fucks-given snot-core. "Explanations" finds TJ temporarily possessed by "I Got A Right" era Iggy Pop. "J​.​A​.​G. Turned Me Into A Mutant" pulls off the "hardcore Devo" thing as well as I've ever heard it pulled off. The Wonderful Grand Band cover "Spin Out" is a stone cold banger and an indispensable lesson in Maritimes popular culture history. Saving the best for last, the title track is so full of piss and vinegar that it almost makes Phone Jerks sound like a yacht rock band. What a fine way to cap off a trilogy! The sound quality is absolutely textbook for a budget/garage punk release. You're always walking that fine line where you want to retain the savage rawness of a recording without making it sound like shit. With James O'Toole working his mastering magic, these tracks hit that sweet spot just north of sounding like shit. 

I know a $14 investment in three digital EPs is a big ask in inflationary times, but I think TJ Cabot's entire 2022 trilogy essentially functions like what might have been the top punk rock album of 2004. Perhaps some enterprising and progressively-minded label folk will bid for the opportunity to compile these releases onto a long playing record. It's a bummer that I will never have occasion to write about Phone Jerks again, but that band did its job and made garage punk great again. And something tells me that all the ex-Jerks (TJ Cabot included) will be regularly featured on these virtual pages for many years to come.

-L.R.

https://tjcabot.bandcamp.com/album/pissin-ammo-ep-2022

Phone Jerks - "Christmas on the Floor"

Here's an appropriate post for a Christmas Eve! But honestly, a new Phone Jerks release is like a holiday onto itself! !Christmas on the Floor! is the fruit of Phone Jerks' first recording session in nearly two years. The title track is an E-Jerk original about going on a Christmas bender. The song is a classic jolt of garage punk with a '50s rock and roll touch. Those lead guitars are hot, and there's just no denying that Emily has one of the coolest voices in all of punk rock. Even if you have no interest in Christmas music whatsoever, you can just choose to view this as a song about drinking. As I see Santa passed out under the tree, I can only say that a man deserves a drink or two after delivering packages for 42 hours straight. On the "flip side", "Let's Go" is a cover of the pub punk classic by The Reducers - a song that Phone Jerks were destined to record eventually. And they sure do it justice! All in all, this is a wonderfully pleasing Phone Jerks "comeback" (ha ha). Kudos to Andrew Farrell and James O'Toole for their fine work in the production of this recording. This is what budget rock is supposed to sound like! In the spirit of the season, this single is free. So go grab it and play it tonight as you get into the holiday spirit (or better yet, get into the holiday spirits).

-L.R.

https://phonejerks.bandcamp.com/album/christmas-on-the-floor
https://www.facebook.com/Monctongaragepunk/

TJ Cabot & Thee Artificial Rejects - Digital/Tape

Well I guess the cat's out of the bag. Goodbye Boozy Records, that veritable institution of lo-fi trash, has identified the previously mysterious TJ Cabot & Thee Artificial Rejects as the home recorded solo project of Tyler from Phone Jerks. This revelation accompanies the label's release of the latest ear-battering product of Tyler's recording under the influence. This EP is available as a digital release from Goodbye Boozy's Bandcamp. In addition, 14 cassette copies were made - of which none remain at the time of this review (I guess if you've ever considered Tyler a sellout, you are now technically correct). The release of exactly 14 copies seems like an oddly specific choice. Was this based on a meticulously-calculated projection of how many people world-wide would actually buy it? Does it represent the number of adult beverages that fueled the conception, recording, and production of the EP? Is this a subtle tribute to Maple Leaf great Dave Keon?

This release is something quite different from Phone Jerks, and it's actually quite different from the previous TJ Cabot demos. It's...what's the word I'm looking for...weirder? Yeah, that's it! "What's In It" is really great Devo-inspired minimalist punk rock, the second in what we can all hope will be a long string of songs written about Tyler and Emily's beloved greyhound Donair. "On The Menu" sounds like a rare Stooges cut that could have been released as a Rip Off Records 45 (and if it couldn't be on ROR, Goodbye Boozy is surely the next best thing!). It's the most straight-forward punker track on this EP - a raging ball of hate hurled at some of the most despicable individuals known to humanity: foodies. I can laugh at this one become I'm kind of a foodie myself (If Tyler ever does a song about craft beer dudes, I'm really in for it). I appreciate that this track sounds less like the work of one man at home and more like the creation of a full band that routinely caps off its recording sessions with fistfights and crime sprees. To finish, "Kissin the Causeway" is a weird as fuck cover of a song by Cape Breton, Nova Scotia legends Buddy and the Boys. Common reactions to this track so far have been "What the hell is this?!" and "God, turn that off!". But if you consider the TJ Cabot project to be an on-going tribute to the land of Tyler's upbringing, then this cover choice makes perfect sense. Goodbye Boozy, a label with the stated mission of releasing "crude and minimal records", has most definitely found a kindred spirit.



-L.R.

https://goodbyeboozydigital.bandcamp.com/album/digital-tape
https://tjcabot.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/Goodbye-Boozy-records-290057827714548/

TJ Cabot & Thee Artificial Rejects - Demos Recorded in the Anus of the Maritimes

TJ Cabot & Thee Artificial Rejects' Demos Recorded in the Anus of the Maritimes arrived in a mysterious package with a return address simply stating "Atlantic Canada" and a warning about the explosive capabilities of its contents. I donned protective gear and dug in, quickly receiving a jolt of trashy, aggressive punk rock that practically screamed 2005. Remember that period of time when raw, blown-out garage punk got even rawer and more blown out? TJ Cabot & Thee Artificial Rejects have taken up that crusade, walking that fine line between being really catchy and hurting your ears. On this recording, the band tears through 10 tracks of ripping garage punk that's informed by everything from the Stooges to the Saints to the Angry Samoans to Sick Thoughts (no alliteration intended, except perhaps by the band itself).

Forensics tests have indicated that more than one maritime province may have had a hand in the ultimate completion of this project, although my geography team has not been able to fully verify the accuracy of the album title. Suffice it to say that this is the garage punk album of the year so far. The tunes are killer, and the sound is lo-fi in a super tough way. "I Am The Enemy" had me bobbing my head with such a raging intensity that objects were flying off my desk and pets were glaring in disapproval. "Occipital Neuralgia" is what might happen if you tried to re-write "I Got A Right" to make it even nastier. "Vile Converted Mind" is obnoxious Samoans-inspired budget trash worthy of 1999. "Using You/Using Me" sounds like it could have been the lead track on a Rip Off Records 45 from the label's heyday. Since this is a purely digital release, I can't quite tell you to place this album on your shelf next to your Real Losers and Catholic Boys LPs. But I trust you to use your imagination. If pandemic punk turns into its own genre, this is your new gold standard.

Editor's note: Due to a legal dispute with Millhouse Deville, several tracks from this original recording have been removed from Bandcamp. My sources tell me that a mysterious third party will be intervening to bring the missing material back into circulation. I will keep you posted.



-L.R.

https://tjcabot.bandcamp.com/album/tj-cabot-thee-artificial-rejects

Phone Jerks - Out the Gate

If Phone Jerks' recent 10-inch full length was not quite full enough for your satisfaction, you should be glad to hear that the band's new EP Out the Gate restores those missing couple of inches and tacks on another five for good measure. That makes 17 inches in all - essentially a full album and 42% of another. No one is getting short-changed on this band's watch! And while Out the Gate is comprised of songs recorded in the same sessions that produced Phone Jerks' two albums, it would be a huge mistake to refer to this material as "scraps". These songs weren't cut from their respective albums so much as they were being saved for a killer 7". The Moncton (yeah, that's in Canada) foursome clearly gets that punk music was made to be played on 7" vinyl. So here we have it - a joint release between Resurrection Records from the USA and Wanda Records from Germany (the Germans sure love Phone Jerks, and why wouldn't they?!). With this EP largely being a continuation/extension of last year's 10 x 10, it's logical that the vibe is similar. These songs hit that sweet spot where Rip Off Records circa 1997 and Sire Records circa 1977 smash into each other at full speed. And true to the band's intentions, this is indeed an absolute ripper of an EP. The title track (an ode to the failed racing career of Emily and Tyler's greyhound Donair) will send you straight to budget trash paradise. "Gospel" is a raging kick in the teeth a la first album Saints. "Kill Kill" falls somewhere in between and must immediately be considered a classic Phone Jerks song. And I love how the band can take Protex's "Don't Ring Me Up" and make it sound like something Teengenerate might have written!

No less of a authority than the distinguished Mick Fletcher has placed Phone Jerks in the highest pantheon of present-day garage punk, and I concur wholeheartedly. I just love how raw and tough these recordings sound (the guitars, as the kids say, are fire). James from Outtacontroller (who have a new album coming out NEXT MONTH!) re-mixed these tracks and absolutely deserves some kind of award. I think in the beginning of Phone Jerks, there was the novelty of "Holy crap! It's just so great that we still have bands that sound like this!" But with each passing release, I'm more struck by what great songwriters all of these fine individuals are. That's right, I'm saying it: Phone Jerks aren't just cool - they're actually good! If you like old style punk rock that's equal parts guts and hooks, this is a must-hear band. The digital version of Out the Gate includes a bonus cover of "Drive Me Crazy" by The Penetrators. Talk about a perfect choice in cover material! I would generally recommend that all fans of The Penetrators check out Phone Jerks and that all fans of Phone Jerks check out The Penetrators. And they really nailed this rendition of "Drive Me Crazy". If they ever needed to, they could totally headline the Catalina Wine Mixer as Atlantic Canada's preeminent 1980s Penetrators cover band. Vinyl ships this coming Saturday. You can order now over at the Resurrection Bandcamp!



-L.R.

https://resurrectionrecords.bandcamp.com/album/out-the-gate 
https://www.facebook.com/Monctongaragepunk/ 
https://phonejerks.bandcamp.com/ 
https://www.facebook.com/GetResurrected 

Phone Jerks - 10 x 10

Wow! Wasn't it just a year ago that Phone Jerks suddenly turned up on Alien Snatch Records with a debut long player that ultimately became my 2018 album of the year? Here they are already with an even better followup! 10 x 10 won't be my 2019 album of the year for the simple reason that it's a 10-inch record and thus technically not an LP. I do realize that the fabled 10-inch is not everyone's favorite format. But I'm a big fan, and I think Phone Jerks have utilized it in the way the music gods intended (see also, Problematics' Blown Out and Teengenerate's Savage). 

I don't know how to put this, but 10 x 10 is kind of a big deal. It's Alien Snatch's 100th release, and it also commemorates the label's 20th anniversary (I remember Alien Snatch 001 quite well: it was The Johnnies' 12 Steps To Nowhere, and never in my then 28 years had I ever handled such a thick slab of vinyl!). The title is of course a reference to this being 10 songs on a ten-inch record. But it's also the mathematical computation that equals 100 releases. Look at those Jerks with their clever hidden meanings! I'm not suggesting that Daniel has been plotting for years to make this his 100th release. But seriously: can you think of a band that better exemplifies the spirit of a label that has kept the heart of garage punk/'77 punk/power pop beating for two decades and counting? Between these four band members, they probably own a solid majority of those 100 releases. And of course Phone Jerks hearken back to those exciting times of later '90s trash punk rock and roll that certainly inspired a young man from Germany to start his own record label.

What I noticed pretty quickly about 10 x 10 is that it's a tougher-sounding affair than the self-titled LP. It's less of a budget rock party record and more of a straight-up ripping rock record. The '70s punk influence is more prevalent, and the band members take turns sounding properly fed-up on lead vocals (what was Nicholas McNally doing to these people in the studio?!). At times I'm reminded of a more pissed-off Rip Offs (wouldn't that just be Zodiac Killers?!). And Brian's songs in particular bring a Saints/Lazy Cowgirls edge that was not as pronounced on the last record. With the band pairing down the 16 songs it prepared for this release to the ten strongest cuts, 10 x 10 is the ultimate in all-killer, no-filler. All four Jerks contribute essential tracks. "Benchwarmer" is Tyler's attempt at writing a Makers song, and who can deny that the world needs way more of that sort of thing? Andrew's "Vehicular Manslaughter" makes me nostalgic for a time when I could compare a dozen bands to the Dead Boys every year. Emily's "Frigg Off" has to be the most "eastern Canadian" song title ever. It's about people who are easier to get along with when you see them as little as possible. That's kind of hilarious, but I bet everyone reading this can relate! "U-Turn To Jane's" tells the true story of when Tyler and Emily were both nearly killed just trying to get a pizza. My overall fave track is "She's Stimming Out", a song Brian wrote about the days of his daughter's autism diagnosis. This track rips it up like "Demolition Girl" crashing into "Sonic Reducer", creating the perfect energy for a tune that could not be any more loving and uplifting. This song makes me proud to be a human being. 

I give 10 x 10 a ten out of ten. Every track is a smash...in the face! It's rather fortunate for me that Phone Jerks chose to release this as a 10-inch 45. When album of the year time rolls around, I will be spared the difficult choice between Phone Jerks and certain label mates/country mates of theirs. No civil wars will be breaking out on my watch! If the self-titled LP was best suited for the world famous "Who are they ripping off here?" drinking game, 10 x 10 is more like the record you put on when you feel like punching someone. I think for the practicality of everyday life, this record may be even more useful. If you still insist on hating ten-inch records, just think of this as two killer 7-inches that magically flip themselves over. Happy birthday, Alien Snatch! I will have the German beer flowing all day in your honor!



-L.R.

https://aliensnatch.bandcamp.com/album/phone-jerks-10x10 
https://phonejerks.bandcamp.com/ 
http://www.aliensnatch.de/ 
https://www.facebook.com/Monctongaragepunk/ 
https://www.facebook.com/ALIEN.SNATCH.RECORDS 

Phone Jerks - self titled

WHAT?! Phone Jerks have released an album? On Alien Snatch Records?! One of my favorite bands put out a record on one of my all-time favorite labels, and nobody knew anything about it until a week ago?! Now that was a fiercely-guarded secret! Respect!

Alien Snatch Records has been setting the standard for what a punk rock label ought to be for 20 years now. From assembling a roster including the likes of the Kidnappers, Real Losers, Fevers, Yum Yums, Minds, and Leg Hounds in its early 2000s heyday to releasing brilliant music by current-day bands such as Freak Genes and The #1s, Alien Snatch has remained a go-to for any fan of garage-punk and power pop. Moncton, New Brunswick's mighty Phone Jerks could not be a more fitting addition to the Alien Snatch family. Their debut LP hearkens back to countless beloved garage-punk LPs of the '90s and early 2000s. And I gotta tell you the thing is absolutely KILLER! Upon hearing "Nothing There", you just might find yourself convinced that The Rip Offs have gotten back together! Alien Snatch honcho Daniel has astutely pointed out that he could have released this album in any year of the label's history. These tunes are that timeless. Of course Phone Jerks sound like a band that could have been peers with Loli and the Chones, The Metros, Teengenerate, etc. Yet they also align perfectly with modern-day greats like Gino & The Goons and Sick Thoughts. This, my friends, is garage-punk the way it ought to be: trashy, lo-fi, and intentionally devoid of originality. Why are there not more bands like this in 2018?!

Being four upstanding Canadians who value your hard-earned dollar, Phone Jerks have delivered almost entirely brand-new material for this debut album (along with covers of "Revolution" by Australia's X and "Violence, Anarchy, Baby, Mother, Daddy-O, Dig" by Newfoundland punk legends Da Slyme). No tracks from the Goodbye Boozy 7" have been repeated, and only two songs re-appear from the band's demo tape. The instant you dig into "Bitchiker", you will find yourself fondly recalling a time when every new Rip Off Records release was an event worth celebrating. And come on: how can an album that begins with a song about killing someone not be the best record of the year?! These songs are all so ripping and catchy and tremendously fun to listen to. This is an album that you just have to crank super loud. And half the fun of this record is going through it track by track and asking, "Who are they ripping off here?"! The fact that Phone Jerks have three different lead singers makes it all that much cooler. Emily, Tyler, and Brian each bring something unique to the table (and you know, they all seem intent on smashing that table). The production (kudos Dave Belliveau and James O'Toole!) is spot-on for what budget rock ought to be. You know how modern-day reviewers are so fond of using "crackling" as an adjective? This album is crackling. Literally. 

So why aren't there more bands like Phone Jerks in 2018? I don't know, but maybe there will be after their debut album makes the rounds! Canada is ahead of the curve as always (especially in Moncton, where they observe the Atlantic Time Zone). With me poised to name an Alien Snatch release album of the year, it sure feels like old times!



-L.R.

https://aliensnatch.bandcamp.com/album/phone-jerks-s-t 
https://phonejerks.bandcamp.com/ 
http://www.aliensnatch.de/ 
https://www.facebook.com/ALIEN.SNATCH.RECORDS 

Phone Jerks - ...Can't Stand The Maritimes/No Funswick

So Phone Jerks just might be my favorite new band of the year. Well, actually "new" band is not really an accurate term. This Moncton, New Brunswick foursome has been in existence since 2014 and did release an all-covers digital EP last year. But it wasn't until this year that Phone Jerks put out original material. And let me tell you: this shit is HOT! ...Can't Stand The Maritimes is the band's first vinyl record - a short and not-so-sweet one-sided 45 released by the always fantastic Goodbye Boozy Records. The group has also put out a limited (as in only 30 copies!) cassette called No Funswick. If you long for the glory days of garage punk/budget rock/lo-fi trash, you need to get over to Phone Jerks' Bandcamp and download everything the band has released so far! This is a band that totally hits the mark for garage punk - right down to the blown-out fidelity, primitive & furious musicianship, and take-no-shit attitude. You can hear the influence of classic bands like Teengenerate and Supercharger along with a mean streak rivaling newer acts such as Sick Thoughts and The Cavemen. It's really cool that all four band members take turns on lead vocals. You have a total group effort here, which shows in an abundance of killer tunes. The single is an absolute ripper, and I have to expect that there will be a few more of those coming our way in the very near future. In 2017, the term "garage" means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. To me it means raw and trashy, and I've been eagerly awaiting more bands along those lines. Phone Jerks are exactly what I had in mind!



-L.R.

https://phonejerks.bandcamp.com/album/no-funswick-3-demo-cassette
https://www.facebook.com/Goodbye-Boozy-records-290057827714548/