Showing posts with label Sweet Time. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sweet Time. Show all posts

Monday, December 15, 2025

The Control Freaks - TV Generation


Here's what you were waiting for, kids! Back with their fourth album, The Control Freaks do what The Control Freaks do best. I couldn't quite put my finger on why I enjoy this band so much until Greg Lowery himself described the music he writes as "fast, catchy, stupid punk rock." YES! That's it! TV Generation, out today on Sweet Time Records, is 12 tracks of fast, catchy, stupid punk rock done to perfection. To me, there's nothing harder to do in music than write simple songs. So the genius of Greg Lowery should not go unappreciated. If you liked the first three Control Freaks album, you are sure to like this one as well. And if you didn't like the first three Control Freaks albums, there's almost no way you're reading this right now. 

It has occurred to me that today's punk rock scene would be far better off if there were more bands out there still ripping off Greg Lowery. But in the absence of that, at least we can count on Greg Lowery to still sound like Greg Lowery. For TV Generation, the band lineup has changed. Amy Munoz returns on rhythm guitar and vocals. Matt K. Shrugg (Zodiac Killers, Losin' Streaks) is on lead guitar. New drummer totally Mike kills it, but you might not want to get too attached to him since he has already left the band. As for the album, you know what to expect. Every song clocks in somewhere around two minutes, and there's no messing around with a winning formula. This is fun and brilliantly dumb three-chord punk rock with a fuck-you attitude and songs that will have you bobbing your head and singing along. With the opening 1-2 punch of "Burn It Down" and "TV Generation," you are quickly assured that the G.O.A.T.'s magic touch remains fully in tact. No aspirations of modernization or maturity are apparent. Songs like "Pathetic," "Panic Attack," "Please Don't Hate Me," and "You're So Revolting" live up to their promising titles. 

Leave it to Sweet Time Records, which has become THE label for primo garage punk in the 2020s, to have the good sense to put out this record. Is this the best Control Freaks album yet? Well I certainly won't say that it's not! The first 100 copies are on neon green vinyl. And in case you've been living in a cave since 2017 and don't own any of The Control Freaks' albums, you can get all four in a very limited edition box set for just 80 bucks. Now that's a deal and a steal!

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Friday, August 29, 2025

Tin Foil - "Sadonka" (Video Premiere)


Detroit's Tin Foil has a new album out today on Almost Ready Records and Sweet Time Records along with a brand-new music video for the track "Sadonka." The album is called Chicken Sandwich, and it's the band's third full-length. The album title was inspired by what the band members ate for lunch every day when they were recording it! This record was literally powered by Nashville hot chicken sandwiches! As you may have surmised, simply Googling "Tin Foil Chicken Sandwich" is not likely to lead you to much information pertaining to this record. Thankfully, the music speaks for itself. I am delighted to premiere the "Sadonka" music video. When I first heard this track, I couldn't quite put into words what I was hearing. But I knew I liked it! This song brings to mind old school Midwestern proto-punk but with a more modern, slacker-ish edge to it. It's weird in a way that's genuinely endearing and noisy in a way that's pleasing to the ear. In all the best ways, Tin Foil sounds like a band from Detroit ought to. If you dig this song, you will certainly want to check out the whole album (which totally rules).  You know Sweet Time never puts out a bad record!

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Saturday, May 03, 2025

Bart and the Brats - Missed Hits


Bart and the Brats have been a model of consistency since 2021 — releasing six 7" singles, a 10" EP, and now three proper LPs. You always know what you're getting from Bart: smashing '77-style punk rock with a '90s garage punk feel. Anything this one-man-band releases is an essential purchase. But I must concur with King Ralph, who maintains that Bart's new album Missed Hits is even better than we could have expected. Out on the illustrious Sweet Time Records, Missed Hits is everything you've ever loved about Bart and the Brats taken to the next level. This is Bart's best batch of tunes to date, and the energy level is off the charts. Again recording with producer extraordinaire Lo'Spider, Bart attains the perfect sound for a punk rock record: raw & lo-fi but most definitely not low quality. And when it comes to Bart and the Brats, variety is always the spice of life. This album dishes out a perfect mix of Ramones-style thumpers, old school three-chord snot-rockets, mid-paced punk tunes, and fast & furious rippers along with a few nods to more modern garage punk and a scorching, chillingly relevant cover of The Kids' classic "Fascist Cops." If Bart and the Brats always sounded like a '77 UK punk band releasing music on Rip Off Records, Missed Hits leans into that vibe (Jim Kuczkowski mastered the album!) while also bringing more 21st century garage punk influences into the mix. The album as a whole reflects on the struggle to stay sane in these very insane times, and the urgency of this theme is palpable in the music. Crank up these tunes, jump around, shout along, and rage against all that ails this messed-up world!

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Monday, September 02, 2024

Love Collector - First Night/Last Night of Leather


Boom! Austin-based band Love Collector hits me just where I like it on its new EP First Night/Last Night of Leather. Out on the ever-dependable Sweet Time Records, this blistering four-songer brings four tracks of snotty, shout-along '77-style punk rock 'n' roll straight out of the garage. If my math is correct, this is Love Collector's first release in 12 years, but thankfully the band has no use for maturity or artistic progression. These songs freaking rip! If you love pure punk rock with energy, guts, and hooks all day long, this EP is a must-buy. Another smash hit from Sweet Time!

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Friday, June 07, 2024

Premiere: Moron's Morons - "Slash Dance" b/w "I'm Afraid You Will Die"


I am honored to premiere the new single from Moron's Morons, Warsaw's most dangerous punk rock 'n' roll band! "Slash Dance" b/w "I'm Afraid You Will Die" will be releasing next week on Sweet Time Records, a label which has been absolutely killing it over the last couple years. And speaking of killing it, these two new tracks from Moron's Morons are not for the faint of heart! I've always admired this band for its commitment to keeping some shock value in punk rock yet never letting that be secondary to writing great songs. This new record just might be the best thing the Morons have ever put out. It's a raging double shot of blood & guts '70s punk rock 'n' roll that's tailor-made for the 7" format. "Slash Dance," with its wonderfully demented vocal, buzzsaw guitars, and powerhouse drums & bass, is seductive in the most sick & twisted way. Ya gotta love it! On the B-side, the blistering "I'm Afraid You Will Die" absolutely lives up to its title. If you're a longtime fan, you know you're gonna need this record. And for anyone interested in the very best of today's garage/punk/rock 'n' roll, I highly recommend this release along with the full catalogs of Moron's Morons and Sweet Time. Stay tuned to Sweet Time's Bandcamp for updates! 

    

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Saturday, May 11, 2024

The Battlebeats - Meet Your Maker


I was quite surprised when I realized that The Battlebeats' new album Meet Your Maker is only the band's second full-length album — and first in four years! Andresa Nugraha has kept his one-man-band in the conversation with a series of killer 7" releases on various labels, but Meet Your Maker is the first proper album from The Battlebeats since Search and Destroy was released back in March of 2020. Funny how that album came out, and the world was never the same. Not surprisingly, there has been quite a musical growth between albums. Andresa is clearly a better musician than he was four years ago, and that's a good thing since he literally plays everything on this record. And as a songwriter, he's come quite a way from simply worshipping at the altar of Teengenerate (not that there was anything wrong with that!). On Meet Your Maker, we're hearing a less lo-fi, harder-edged, and more ferocious-sounding Battlebeats. Elements of action rock, high octane '90s punk rock 'n' roll, and blood & guts American punk rock have been injected into the mix, but overall this is still garage punk at its absolute finest. The running joke about one-man-groups is that you don't have to worry about creative differences breaking up the band. But you do have to figure how to keep your band progressing in a way that makes sense. Meet Your Maker is a considerable progression from Search and Destroy, but it still sounds like The Battlebeats. When it comes to modern-day garage punk rock 'n' roll, it just doesn't get much better than this. Andresa has developed into a fantastic guitarist and more confident vocalist, and he has expanded on his musical influences without fundamentally altering his approach to songwriting. What results is an absolute ripper of an album that you all need to own. Vinyl is out on Sweet Time Records in multiple colors. Go!
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Wednesday, July 12, 2023

Stef + The Sleeveens - "Give My Regards To The Dancing Girls"


On their debut record, Nashville's Stef + The Sleeveens thrill with a pair of infectious & life-affirming rock and roll tunes. Stef is Dublin-born songwriter Stefan Murphy (The Mighty Stef). The Sleeveens are Ryan Sweeney (Cheap Time, Hans Condor, Sweet Time Records) on drums, Eli Steele (Sweet Knives) on guitar, and Jamie Mechan on bass. "Give My Regards To The Dancing Girls," out now on Sweet Time Records, features an A-side that is hands down one of the year's best songs. I was intrigued by the idea of a single clocking in at over five minutes. That intrigue quickly turned to pure delight once the music started. "Give My Regards To The Dancing Girls" is an epic rocker inspired by the pandemic — a moment in time when the very idea of dancing in public spaces and living joyfully seemed under great threat. This song is nothing less than an anthem. Murphy sings with tremendous passion and conviction while The Sleeveens rock out like there's no tomorrow (holy cow — that lead guitar!). I can't help getting teary-eyed hearing lyrics like these:

Give my regards 
To the dancing girls
And all you dancing people 
All over this world 
May you reap ten times the love
The love that you sow
And may there be sweet music 
Every place you go

Are those words to live by, or what? If you believe in the power of rock and roll to lift the soul and bring deeper meaning to human existence, this is absolutely the song for you. Combining Murphy's poetry and vocal presence with the driving energy of a first rate punky rock and roll garage band proves to be a winning recipe. On the B-side, the mid-tempo punk-pop tune "Small Talk With Jonathan" is literally about hanging out with Jonathan Richman after a show. I'm assuming it's based on a true story, and it's every bit as fun and uplifting as you'd expect a song about Jonathan Richman to be. If this record doesn't make you smile, you are most definitely dead inside. Mechan engineered and produced these tracks at his 302 Sounds studio in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee, and they sound totally amazing. You can't ask for a better debut record than this. It's good to know a full-length album is coming in 2024!

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Wednesday, February 15, 2023

Moron's Morons - High​-​Tension Situation (Album Premiere)


It is my pleasure to premiere the brand-new (and best-yet) album from Warsaw's garage punk rock and roll destroyers Moron's Morons! Releasing next Friday on Sweet Time, High​-​Tension Situation is an absolute monster of a record which oozes attitude and energy from the first note of "Knife at Your Throat" to the final strains of "You Make My Nightmares Wet." This album delivers everything you've come to expect from a Moron's Morons record: speed, aggression, a killer beat, and lyrics so wrong that they have to be right. The vibe here is a perfect mix of dark and deviant, but the songs themselves never take a back seat to the edginess of the lyrics. Moron's Morons is a freaking great rock and roll band firing on all cylinders. High​-​Tension Situation rolls together all of this band's stylistic influences ('60s garage rock, '70s punk, '80s hardcore, and '90s trash) to create one of the most savagely thrilling garage punk albums of recent memory. Just listen to songs like "Psychosis Diagnosis" and "Fueled By Hate." Those would be ripping tunes even if they singing about weather patterns or cat food. Surely you can surmise that "Possessed To Fuck" is not a ballad. I'm picking up a lot of Damned/old school death punk influence on this record as well, which is especially palpable on the terrific "Nightvisions" and a great cover of TSOL's "Nothin' for You." Sweet Time has graciously provided a full album stream below. Give it a listen. If you like what you hear, you can pre-order High​-​Tension Situation on vinyl or CD. The album will be officially out February 24th! 

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Sunday, November 22, 2020

Sweet Time RNR Comp!


Wow, Sweet Time Records has just released the best punk rock compilation I've heard in forever! You know how sometimes comps are dumping grounds for lesser songs that bands just happened to have lying around? Well that's most definitely NOT the case with the Sweet Time RNR Comp! This 26-track extravaganza collects high-quality songs from some of the best bands from today's international punk/garage/rock and roll scene. A global pandemic made it impossible for the Sweet By Sweet Time festival to be held this year. This compilation is a response to that. All payments over the set minimum on physical sales and all proceeds from digital sales will be distributed to the music venues in Nashville that would have hosted Sweet By Sweet Time 3. 

It goes without saying that many of the bands appearing on this compilation would have performed at this year's festival. But even if you have no prior connection to Sweet Time or the Nashville rock and roll scene, you can appreciate this comp as a showcase for the amazing punk and garage music that's now coming from all over the planet. While featuring a great variety of bands from all over the punk rock spectrum, Sweet Time RNR Comp! definitely hits the sweet spot for me with lots of garage punk, trashy rock and roll, and catchy old style punk rock. A few of these bands (Midnite Snaxxx, Mononegatives, Sick Bags, Lifters) have been featured before on this blog. And then there are others that I'm hearing for the first time (I had absolute wow moments with Love Collector, Daddy Sisters, and Primary Sound!). Across these 26 songs, you get a taste of everything from the bad-ass old school punk rock and roll of Ladrones to the poppy garage of NightFreak to the crazed lo-fi hardcore of Schizos to the '60s garage rock stylings of Thee Fine Lines to the raging trash of Modern Convenience to the DIY glam rock of Brower. And the quality of the selections is strong all the way down the line. Some of these songs were previously released, but many of them are exclusive to this album. While this comp gives you a great feel for the kind of music that Ryan is all about, it doesn't really come off like an advertisement for Sweet Time. It's more of a representation of how great punk rock music still is in 2020. You just might spend hours discovering new bands and hopping around the Internet trying to find out more about them. Trust me - I speak from experience! 


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