Another killer Raydios 7"!

In a review last summer, I dared to pose the question of whether or not The Raydios are approaching the greatness of Teengenerate. My verdict was something along the lines of "The signs point to yes." And now, in the wake of yet another fantastic single from The Raydios, I'm all in. For real! In my humble opinion, The Raydios are making records right now that stack up with the best of Teengenerate. If you think I've lost my mind, I am perfectly okay with that. Teengenerate was arguably the greatest band of the '90s. But The Raydios are absolutely on fire right now, and I highly advise snagging their recent output while it's still in print!

"Craps", the latest Raydios single, came out on Secret Mission Records at the end of 2015. 500 copies were pressed, and very few remain. This release continues the direction taken on last year's "Brand New Kid" 7". Basically, Fink has taken that jolt of energy he got from playing those Teengenerate reunion shows and injected it into the music of The Raydios. For me, the band is hitting the best of both worlds: the wild and trashy spirit of Teengerate meets classic '70s punk a la Ramones/Dictators. If you've previously dismissed The Raydios as sounding too "tame" in comparison to Teengenerate, "Craps" ought to change your mind. It's a ripper! And B-side "Teacher's Pet" is vintage Raydios: chock full of hooks, yet super tough. 

Hit up Secret Mission Records to grab a copy of "Craps" while the getting's good. And if you still don't own The Raydios "Brand New Kid"" 7" on Slovenly Recordings, you need that one as well! Don't miss out on one of the best punk rock bands on the planet!



-L.R. 

http://secretmissionrecords.com/ 
https://www.facebook.com/secretmissionrecords/ 
https://www.facebook.com/The-Raydios-153062848082743/ 

Meet Tom Baker & The Snakes!

In the grand tradition of Boston rock n' roll, Tom Baker & The Snakes love guitars so much that they need three of them going at the same time (or four if you count the bass!). That's a whole lot of loud - something I wholeheartedly endorse! Featuring members of bands like Worshipper, Watts, Township, The Dirty Truckers, and Gymnasium, this Somerville, Massachusetts outfit recently released a digital EP on Rum Bar Records in advance of a full-length album due out later this year. The EP is called 4 Stars, and it's well worth checking out if you like no-bullshit barroom rock n' roll in the Rolling Stones/Faces mold. From the full-on sonic blast of "Waitin' For Nothing" to the hints of a softer side on "Doll Eyes" to the glorious Replacements worship of "High And Tight", 4 Stars shows multiple facets of Tom Baker & The Snakes. It's the perfect EP to blast on your front porch this spring while you sip a cold one and enjoy the weather. My only real complaint is that I'm left wanting more. I guess that's not really a complaint at all! Expect a full-length album this fall!



-L.R. 

https://rumbarrecords.bandcamp.com/album/4-stars-ep
https://www.facebook.com/Tom-Baker-and-the-Snakes-710384235745928/
http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/TomBakerandtheSnakes
https://www.facebook.com/RumBarRecords

New Ricky Rat record!

Ricky Rat is an all-time great in my book. When melody in punk music was all but dead in the late '80s, his legendary Trash Brats kept the faith with a first generation punk sound forged under the influence of glam and power pop. Detroit's favorite sons, Trash Brats were at the forefront of the '77 and glam punk revivals of the '90s - releasing the classic albums The Joke's On You and Out of the Closet. Two decades later, guitarist Ricky Rat hasn't altered his musical mission in the slightest. As a solo artist, he remains fixed on that sweet spot where the Ramones, Generation X, and New York Dolls intersect. Joyful Rage, his brand-new 12" EP, is his finest solo work to date.

Recorded with the best backing band in the Midwest (Max Colliva, Brian McCarty, Troy Toma), the six-track Joyful Rage is vintage Ricky Rat. It's punk rock for people who love pop, and it's pop for people who love punk rock. All the songs play to Rat's strengths- his melodic style of guitar playing and undeniable flair for writing hook-laden punk songs. Lyrically, this release leans towards personal reflections on the past that will definitely strike a chord with most fans. "Hey Remember" is an anthem for all of us '70s kids who grew up on cool music, while the brilliant closing track "Bad Pictures" makes a wonderfully profound observation about life. Even when the songs are pretty much pure pop (like "Virtual Kiss"), Rat's everyman vocals and undying belief in the power of three chords keep things firmly in the spirit of first wave punk rock. I really don't have to tell you why Ricky Rat is one of my favorite guitar players - these songs make the point far more eloquently than I ever could! Joyful Rage is guaranteed to delight old fans...and win over a whole lot of new ones as well! Hit up Bellayache Records to order a copy on pink or black vinyl! 



-L.R. 

https://bellyacherecords.bandcamp.com/album/joyful-rage
http://bellyacherecords.com/ricky-rat-joyful-rage/
https://www.facebook.com/Ricky-Rat-178157855577175/
https://rickyrat.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/bellyacherecords/
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rickyrat
https://www.reverbnation.com/rickyrat

Introducing Cold Callers!

Supergroup alert! Cold Callers feature Marco from No Front Teeth Records, The Gaggers, Miscalculations, Disco Lepers, etc. teaming up with members of Los Pepes (one of my five favorite bands of the moment!). The band recently released its debut single: "Alright Girl" b/w "Spying On Me". I continue to marvel at how Marco can have dozens of projects going at the same time and still manage to have them all sound a little different. Cold Callers are one of the most unique bands I've heard in a while. Essentially they're playing '60s inspired jangly power pop, but there are hints of post-punk and psychedelia coming through as well. The A-side takes it back to the roots of power pop - bringing to mind early to mid '60s Who and Brit-obsessed American garage bands like The Choir. I dig! "Spying On Me" is in a somewhat similar vein but more overtly post-punk influenced. I'd describe the mood of the song as alluringly creepy. It's haunting yet quite beautiful. This could almost be a Miscalculations song!

All in all, this is a fantastic debut single from Cold Callers. Both songs are really sticking in my head. Get the vinyl from Wanda Records!



-L.R. 

https://wandarecords.bandcamp.com/album/alright-girl-spying-on-me-ep
http://www.wandarecords.de/

The Loblaws/Vista Blue split CD out now!

Update! Last month I featured some fantastic new recordings from the Nashville power pop band Vista Blue and mentioned that they were slated to appear a split CD with The Loblaws (Mike and Todd Patton's band pre Vista Blue). I am very happy to announce that the digital album is now out on Radiant Radish Records - with a CD release expected in May. All in all, you get seven Loblaws songs, four Vista Blue songs, and three Loblaws songs recorded by Vista Blue. The Loblaws were one of the best pop-punk bands around circa the late 2000s (the unreleased "Banana Stand", included here, is a lost classic of the genre). F & L favorite Wyatt Funderburk was in the band, and he has songwriting credits on three of these tracks. While this release is technically a split between two different bands, it flows like a single album. You get to hear the subtle evolution of Mike Patton as a songwriter. The Loblaws, heavily influenced by both the modern alt-pop of Weezer and the harmonies of early rock n' roll, were by no means a generic pop-punk band. And I'd describe Vista Blue as a power pop band that very much embraces its pop-punk roots. Simply put, you should buy this album if you like pop! It celebrates the legacy of one band while declaring a bright future for another. And a $6 download for a collection this good is a downright steal! Stay tuned to Vista Blue's Facebook page for further news on the CD release!



-L.R. 

http://radiantradish.bandcamp.com/album/the-loblaws-vista-blue-split
https://wearevistablue.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/wearevistablue/

Juvie: the debut album!

Woo! On the heels of the great Travis Ramin assembling a treasure-laden Bandcamp page late last year, we have more exciting news from Travisland! His latest band, Juvie, has just released its first full-length album! It's called You Ain't Gonna Rock And Roll No More, and it's out on Italy's Surfin' Ki Records. Ramin (Tina and the Total Babes, The Fevers, The Short Fuses, Nikki Corvette and The Stingrays) has been a shining star of the garage and power pop scenes for two decades. And Juvie is up there with the very best of his bands. This Minneapolis outfit takes its primary inspiration from '70s music that sounded like '50s music (think Dave Edmunds, Gary Glitter, Sha Na Na). I've always had a soft spot for that "'50s in the '70s" genre of rock n' roll, and Juvie totally does it justice on this cookin' slab of wax. Stylistically, the album hops back and forth between bubblegum glam ("53rd & 4th"), power pop ("Love Crunch"), and good old rock n' roll ("Something Ain't Right"). And the songwriting is so spot-on that any of these tracks could pass for a cover of some forgotten golden oldie. Dave Edmunds himself would be proud to call "Hot Lisa" his own. "Tomahawk" and "Greaser's Fraud" just might launch a worldwide revival of the rock n' roll instrumental. "Little Diane" sounds like a track Shadow Morton might have cut with Dion or Del Shannon. "Go Wild, Go Really Wild" comes off like a number that got cut from the Grease soundtrack for being a little too dangerous.   

Seriously: how can you not love a band that comes up with a song called "You're Gonna Look Like A Monkey When You Get Old"?! The key to succeeding with this kind of music is to tap into the spirit of the '70s rock n' roll revival without crossing over into the dreaded novelty band category. That's no easy feat, but Juvie nails it. Of course the band is setting out to have great fun, but these songs are just too damn good to be dismissed as cruise ship nostalgia. Juvie, I'd say, fits perfectly on a label roster that includes the likes of Radio Days and Baby Shakes. The band's debut album is by no means an attempt to bring back rock n' roll. Rather it's an assertion that it never went away in the first place! Somewhere Bowzer is flexing his arm in admiration.

Note: order the album here! Surfin' Ki, hilariously, prices its Bandcamp downloads at over $1,000 each!



-L.R. 

https://surfinkirecords.bandcamp.com/album/you-aint-gonna-rock-and-roll-no-more
http://surfinkirecords.bigcartel.com/product/juvie-lp-preorder
https://www.facebook.com/Juvie-431066283764201
https://www.facebook.com/surfinkirecords
https://travisraminproducer.bandcamp.com/

New Slow Faction EP!

A couple months ago, I had to admit to the world that I had just gotten hip to Slow Faction. Hearing the London outfit's most recent demo and prior recordings, I definitely had a "Where has this band been all my life?!" moment. So of course I was paying attention to make sure that no further releases escaped my detection! On that note, I offer my highest recommendation to the band's brand-new EP This Machine Kills Fascists. Slow Faction is a band carrying on the good fight of The Clash - right down to the tried-and-true '77 style punk sound and lyrics that have insightful things to say about society and contemporary politics. As the band so astutely points out, the clampdown The Clash foresaw is happening right now. It's as true on Slow Faction's side of the pond as it is on mine. Now more than ever, we need those bands that ignite the flames of dissent and stick their necks out for what they believe is right. And while "political punk" is often heavy on the politics and light on quality tunes, Slow Faction understands that the message resonates more powerfully when the songs are great. Isn't that the lesson we learned from Angelic Upstarts, The Alarm, Stiff Little Fingers, etc.?

Throughout this outstanding EP, Slow Faction has a great deal to say about the state of the world. Whether the band is railing against the objectification of women ("Stupid") or skewering a culture that makes a televised spectacle out of manufacturing pop stars ("D-Lister"), its message is on-point and driven by genuine conviction. And the songwriting and production are top-notch. I love a band that aspires to write anthems, and lead track "Woody Guthrie" is precisely that. It's not just a tribute to the greatest protest singer that humanity has ever known - it's also a call for a new generation to rally against the forces that oppress. The band delivers its point with passion, urgency, and a chorus that was seemingly made for mass sing-alongs. If this song doesn't get you fired up to go out into the world and make a difference, I don't know what will! Woody and Joe would be proud.



-L.R. 

https://slowfaction.bandcamp.com/album/this-machine-kills-fascists
https://www.facebook.com/slow.faction/
https://www.reverbnation.com/slowfaction