The Hangups - self titled EP

When it comes to pop-punk in the last couple of decades, Europe has been where it's at. Kevin Aper has had a lot to do with that, and today he runs the Austrian-based label Monster Zero Records. Monster Zero has released 65 records from mostly European bands - including some I've previously featured (e.g. Bat Bites, Barbecuties). I'm not fully sure how to explain why pop-punk continues to thrive in Europe. But I'd say it has something to do with Europeans being open to the idea that sometimes all music needs to be is fun. With a Monster Zero release, you know you're going to get tried-and-true pop-punk. That's certainly the case with the label's latest release from Malmö, Sweden's The Hangups. These guys are all-in on the Ramones, Lookout! Records, and the idea that "poppunk is the law". The band's self-titled EP is pop-punk by the book, and it's eight minutes, 25 seconds of head-bobbing good times. These tunes are catchy as can be, and they've got plenty of balls as well. The influences are obvious, but so what? If "Addicted" doesn't put you in a supremely wonderful mood, then you clearly hate pop-punk and should back away from this review before your day is entirely ruined. All I know is that if I had heard this record when I was 25, I would have immediately gotten a Hangups tattoo and booked a plane ticket to Sweden. This is pop-punk done faithfully and done really well. If you can appreciate that, The Hangups are definitely your band!



-L.R.

https://monsterzerorecords.bandcamp.com/album/s-t 
https://monsterzerorecords.com/products/hangups-the-s-t-7 
https://thehangups1.bandcamp.com/ 
https://www.facebook.com/MonsterZeroPunkrock/ 

The Top Ten 2018

It's an annual birthday tradition of mine to make a list of my favorite bands of all-time. The idea was always to see how this list changes as I grow older. Honestly, there has been little in the way of major movement since I started making these lists. And my #1 band hasn't changed in over 20 years. But with this year's top ten, I can see some reflections of my tastes evolving over time. I used to think of myself as a guy who loved '77-style punk and power pop. Yet today I gravitate a little less toward those two as separate genres and a little more towards bands that combined them. You'll see the Undertones and Real Kids entering my top ten and the Ramones moving up higher on the list. With me currently taking such an interest in bands that blur the distinctions between punk and power pop and rock n' roll, that has influenced the way I look at classic bands as well. At the end of the day, it's all just rock n' roll. You may also notice that my musical tastes remain mostly stuck in the '70s. But come on - that will probably still be true 20 years from now!

On to the list:
1. The Clash
2. AC/DC (Bon Scott era)
3. Husker Du
4. Ramones 
5. Material Issue 
6. Undertones
7. Rolling Stones
8. Dictators 
9. New York Dolls   
10. Real Kids 

 -L.R.

The Jackhammers - Your Problem Now

How about some PUNK ROCK today?! The Jackhammers hail from Glasgow, and their long list of band interests includes such things as belligerence, wanton destruction, auto-erotic asphyxiation, and public executions of bankers. Clearly this is not a group of sensitive singer/songwriters! Considering that these guys have cool names like Jim Shit, Andy Drankit, and Horace Cockpuppet, they certainly give themselves a lot to live up to. Well no problem, because their music rips! Your Problem Now is the band's latest 7", out now on the eternally dependable No Front Teeth Records. If you like raging old school punk rock with a nasty streak, the only thing that really needs to be said is that you need this record. What a crackler! Should you require any further hints about where these fellas are coming from, consider that they cover "Not Now No Way" by the almighty PAGANS and absolutely crush it! Get your mitts on this record, blast it obnoxiously loud, and piss off the neighbors. What else could you possibly need in life?!



-L.R.

https://thejackhammers.bandcamp.com/album/your-problem-now
http://www.nofrontteeth.co.uk/large-grid?lightbox=image_rdc
https://www.facebook.com/TheJackhammers/ 

The Dirty Truckers - "Best Of"

The Dirty Truckers are a band I've referenced a few times, both in reviews of Tom Baker and the Snakes and the Rum Bar Records reissue of the Tiger Stripes EP. I consider The Dirty Truckers to be one of the great American rock n' roll bands of recent times, and I was psyched to hear that Rum Bar was honoring the group with a deluxe best-of compilation. Simply titled "Best Of", this 22-track CD release collects material from all three Dirty Truckers albums: 2001's Bush League Romance, 2006's Washed and Ready, and 2008's Loose In The Joints. It also features cuts from Tiger Stripes, released in 2012. With the above albums only available today in digital formats, "Best Of" is a cool way to own most of the band's essential tracks on a single disc. If you enjoyed Tom Baker and the Snakes' album Lookout Tower last year, I think you'll find The Dirty Truckers to be very much in the same spirit. Nothing fancy here: just solid roots rock n' roll that draws just as much from the Stones and Steve Earle as it does from the Replacements and Soul Asylum. Close your eyes, and you can practically taste the cheap beer and smell the cigarette smoke. Given the international influence of a label like Rum Bar, this is a great opportunity for the rest of the world to discover one of the best-kept secrets of Boston rock n' roll. 22 songs for $10 is one hell of a bang for your buck, and the quality of this collection is just as impressive as the quantity. It really showcases what a fine songwriter Baker is. If you relate more to the rock n' roll side of alt-country, this one's well worth further exploration!



https://rumbarrecords.bandcamp.com/album/best-of
https://dirtytruckers.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/RumBarRecords/

Murph & The Gazorpos - Too Scared To Rock 'N' Roll

Charlie Murphy is one of my favorite people in rock n' roll. Even if he went out and started an a cappella quartet or a Haircut 100 tribute band, I would want to own every record he made. I first came to know him from his dynamite power pop project Murph & The Gazorpos, but I've quickly become a huge fan of all of his other bands as well. I'm hearing that the next Freak Genes album is gonna blow all of our heads off! While we await that LP, we now get to enjoy what could be the last Murph & The Gazorpos release for a while. Charlie is stepping away from this project to focus on other things, so as a parting gift he's given us a six-song digital EP that is the band's best yet in my humble opinion. Too Scared To Rock 'N' Roll wonderfully combines all of the things I love about Murph & The Gazorpos. It's chock full of A-grade power pop hooks, hyper-caffeinated punk energy, heartfelt vocals and lyrics, and enough scorching rock n' roll guitar to power a major metropolis. Just push play, and it's instant happiness! The title track was a standout of the recent Nerve Centre/Girlsville Neon Maniacs compilation. But even if you own that already, the remaining five tracks make this EP well worth the £6. Songs like "All Or Nothing" and "Wolf" are first-rate numbers walking those oh so fine lines that separate punk and pop and good old rock n' roll. "Another Beat" evokes the Exploding Hearts' "I'm A Pretender" without coming off like an inferior copy. "Picking Up The Pieces" makes me wanna jump up and down on my bed until I either break it or collapse from sheer exhaustion (sounds like a great way to spend a morning!).

I know I've said this two or three or seven times before, but I urge each and every one of you to purchase the entire Murph & The Gazorpos discography from the Nerve Centre Records Bandcamp. That will cost you a grand total of like $15, and that's an investment that will bring endless joy to any fan of peppy, punchy pop. Seriously: how could you not love this band?!!!



-L.R.

https://nervecentrerecords.bandcamp.com/album/murph-the-gazorpos-too-scared-to-rock-n-roll 
https://www.facebook.com/Murph-The-Gazorpos-194355557642608/ 
https://www.facebook.com/nervecentrerecords/ 

Brad Marino - "C'Mon C'Mon C'Mon"

Check out my favorite song of 2018 so far! Seriously, how can you go wrong with a title like "C'Mon C'Mon C'Mon"?! Considering that The Connection is the most-reviewed band in the history of this blog, it's pretty obvious that I'm a big Brad Marino fan. I've known for a while that he was working on some solo stuff, but I wasn't quite sure what to expect (beyond Mike Chaney assuring me that it was going to be killer!). The debut Brad Marino solo EP will be releasing later this year, but first we get the "C'Mon C'Mon C'Mon" digital single. I was wondering if solo Brad Marino was going to be more like solo Mick Jagger or more like solo Keith Richards. Well, actually, it's more like Nick Lowe fronting The Ramones in 1979! This is just a great upbeat power pop/rock n' roll song that will have you bobbing your head and clapping your hands almost immediately upon contact. We are getting close enough to spring for me to envision myself blasting this tune while I drive with the windows down! In true solo fashion, Marino authored the song and played all the instruments on the track. His pal and bandmate Kris Rodgers mixed the recording. The full solo EP is slated to arrive this summer following the release of the new Connection album. If you're a fan of The Connection and/or Brad Marino, this is shaping up to be a really great year!



-L.R.

https://bradmarino.bandcamp.com/ 
https://www.facebook.com/bradmarinomusic 

K7s - Take 1

Alright! This one is for the pop-punk fans! Take 1 is the debut album from Spanish super-trio K7s. I can only describe it as music for lovers of pop-punk made by lovers of pop-punk. If you're on the fence about pop-punk or outright hate it, this album won't turn you to the dark side. But if you're nuts about the 1990s Lookout! Records catalog and the generations of bands it inspired, Take 1 will send you straight to your happy place. My first impression of this album was, "This ought to be on Stardumb Records". Then I did a little digging. And sure enough, Stardumb is one of three labels (along with Rum Bar Records and Jolly Ronnie Records) collaborating to release this LP!

K7s are Luis Sanchez (Los Reactivos) on guitar and vocals, the great Kurt Baker on bass, and Jose Andres Albertos (Airbag) on drums. That's an awful lot of star power from the worlds of garage and power pop, but these guys had something far more specific in mind with this project. Take 1 is the kind of record that reminds me why I was so hooked on pop-punk in the days of my youth. Without apology, K7s knock out one perfect two minute pop song after another that worships at the altar of the Ramones, Screeching Weasel, Queers, and Green Day. This, my friends, is pop-punk by the book. You like buzzsaw guitars? Melodic leads? Sticky sweet melodies? Heart on sleeve lyrics? Take 1 delivers all of that in abundance, with tremendous production from Wyatt Funderburk that accentuates the pop and the punk. Sanchez is a likable presence on lead vocals who can pull off lovelorn and snotty with equal effectiveness. He really has a knack for writing these simple yet impossibly catchy pop songs. And as a musical trio, these three are as tight as it gets!

What I appreciate about Take 1 is that although it's a classic pop-punk record, you can't say that every song sounds the same. It's got everything from the textbook pop-punk of "Running Back To You" to the power pop leaning "All About Me" to the darker-sounding "Go Away" to the totally sappy "Your Lips Met Mine" to the punk rock kick in the nuts of "It's The CIA". Funderburk did a great job of letting the hooks shine while still playing up the inherent punch of this trio's attack. With a record like this, you don't really want to mess with the formula. What you do want to do is execute it to perfection, and that's what K7s have done so well. If you're looking for new ground to be broken, this is not your band. But if you desire a record that's a whole lot of fun and sure to have you singing along for weeks on end, Take 1 is hard to beat.



-L.R.

https://rumbarrecords.bandcamp.com/album/take-1 
https://www.facebook.com/k7sband 
https://stardumbrecords.com/products/k7s-take-1-lp 
https://www.facebook.com/JollyRonnie/ 
https://www.facebook.com/RumBarRecords/