Kurt Baker - "I Like Her A Lot"

Oh man! The second advance single to drop from Kurt Baker's new album After Party is absolute GOLD! "I Like Her A Lot" is immediately recognizable as the fruit of the Kurt Baker/Wyatt Funderburk songwriting partnership. As talented as these two are individually, something magical happens when they work together. After Party, out later this month on Wicked Cool Records, will complete their trilogy of collaborative albums. "I Like Her A Lot" brings the '80s rock influenced power pop sound I fell in love with when I first heard Brand New Beat eight years ago! You've got guitars blasting over a strong melody, a simple but totally undeniable hook, and lyrics that appeal to the eternal teenager in all of us. What's not to love? If all of that wasn't already cool enough, the music video for this song is essentially the greatest trailer ever made for the cult classic horror flick Rock 'n' Roll Nightmare! If you've never seen this essential piece of cinema, you'll want to now. After Party will be out two weeks from tomorrow. Spoiler alert: it's great! 

-L.R.

https://kurtbakerwcr.bandcamp.com/track/over-you
https://www.facebook.com/KurtBakerMusic
https://www.instagram.com/kurtmiltonbaker/
https://www.facebook.com/WickedCoolRecords

Rum Bar Records ROCKTOBER (Free Digital) label sampler

Who's ready for another Rum Bar Records sampler? Malibu Lou released a deluxe label sampler this summer, and now he's back with a massive, 39-track fall edition called ROCKTOBER! Like all of the previous samplers, ROCKTOBER is a free download showcasing the amazing bands and artists that make Rum Bar Records one of the world's top independent record labels. It covers musical styles ranging from garage to punk to glam to greasy rock and roll to hard rock to power pop to psychedelic rock to pub rock to country rock to dirty blues. Many of these tracks are from recent or upcoming releases. If you still haven't picked up the latest from The Yum Yums (a lot of people's album of the year!), Jerry Lehane, Geoff Palmer & Lucy Ellis, The Hi-End, and The Idolizers, you can hear choice selections from all of those releases. And if you're looking for a preview of Rum Bar's stacked slate of October releases, you can check out tracks from Gallows Birds, The Lemon Drop Gang, The Short Fuses, Natalie Sweet, French Girls, and The Shang Hi Los. For those who are still entirely unfamiliar with the Rum Bar catalog, label favorites like Watts, Cheap Cassettes, Indonesian Junk, Muck & The Mires, Brad Marino, The Dirty Truckers, Mono In Stereo, and Justine and the Unclean make appearances as well. I also dug the cool track from Electraluxx - who, having been on Melted Records, are as O.G. Rum Bar as it gets! The big new discoveries for me this time were French Girls (Phoenix-based pop/punk/garage band featuring veteran musicians Che Beret and Chiffon Baton) and The Lemon Drop Gang (Tucson-based group starring the legendary Johnny O'Halloran and his wife Steph). Both deliver ace pop rock and roll songs that really made my ears perk up. Brace yourself for the Rum Bar Arizona takeover! 

Fans of Rum Bar Records may already own many of the songs on ROCKTOBER. But they might find an unreleased track or two for their efforts! The real audience here is people who know of the label but might only have a couple releases. Lou has been putting out a tremendous amount of great music lately in a variety of musical styles. For the bargain price of free, you can get a nice taste of what Rum Bar is up to right now. And while the downside might be that most of this stuff is previously released, that might actually be the upside as well. There's no filler here: just great tunes from a bunch of fantastic Rum Bar releases. Download and enjoy!

-L.R.

https://rumbarrecords.bandcamp.com/album/rum-bar-records-rocktober-free-digital-label-sampler

https://www.facebook.com/RumBarRecords

MAGA Youth - self titled

Post election 2016, it was declared by many that a Donald Trump presidency would lead to a revival of the angry, politically-charged punk rock that characterized the Ronald Reagan years in America. While I would argue that political punk rock never really went away, I understood the point. Four years later, I would say that these predictions have been largely realized. In many genres of music (not just punk), artists concerned with social justice and resisting the rising tide of white supremacy and fascism have had a lot to write about. If you're inspired and energized by political punk rock, there's plenty of it out there. Whether or not any of it stacks up to the Reagan era stuff is a matter of personal opinion. This brings me to the mysterious MAGA Youth. This band consists of five old punk rockers who decided to re-do actual political punk songs from the '80s and revise the lyrics to reflect life in the Trump era. That's a pretty neat idea in my book. The band's debut EP is made up of updated versions of classic tracks by Reagan Youth, Wasted Youth, Youth Brigade DC, 7 Seconds, and DayGlo Abortions. These guys have taken the hardcore punk sound of 30-40 years ago and made it topical for 2020. There's a lot of political punk that I just can't get into because it doesn't speak to me musically. But MAGA Youth definitely hits the old school punk sweet spot for me. These songs have me pumping my fist and raring to go. And if the band decides that a second EP is necessary, there will be no shortage of old songs or new problems to choose from! All money collected from the sale of this EP will be donated to the Southern Poverty Law Center to fight hate groups, teach tolerance, and seek racial justice. 

-L.R.

https://magayouth.bandcamp.com/album/maga-youth

https://www.splcenter.org/

Travoltas - "Find You There"

For the 25th volume of its Something To Do Music for Something To Do People series, Something To Do Records has something really special for us! "Find You There" is the new single from Netherlands pop legends Travoltas, and it's an absolute slice of heaven! For 30 years and running, Travoltas have been the world's preeminent Beach Boys inspired pop-punk band. To the best of my knowledge, "Find You There" is the band's first new song in over three years. It was written by Daan van Hooff and is the band's first recording with Tim van Doorn behind the keys and on backing vocals. This, my friends, is classic Travoltas. It's that rare pop song that can clock in at nearly four minutes and not seem like it's twice as long as it should be! Perry and the boys have never sounded better. The melodies and harmonies on this track are simply to die for, and I just love how the song tugs at your heartstrings. This is the song a 24-year-old Brian Wilson would have recorded if he'd time traveled to the late '90s and joined a pop-punk band. It sounds like it should be playing over the closing credits to an epic love story movie. While Travoltas have been so good at this sort of thing for decades, this just might be their ultimate Pet Sounds moment. If you believe in fate, romance, and true love, put on some headphones and bask in 234 seconds of pop bliss!

-L.R.

https://somethingtodorecords.bandcamp.com/album/something-to-do-music-for-something-to-do-people-vol-25
https://www.facebook.com/therealtravoltas/
https://www.facebook.com/SomethingToDoRecords/

Guerrilla Teens - All The Hits

So we barely had time to cry in our collective beers over the breakup of the mighty Lovesores before Scott "Deluxe" Drake and Saul Koll resurfaced in the exciting new rock and roll force Guerrilla Teens. It was as if the music gods would not allow us to endure a pandemic without a ray of hope. Also on board were ex Humpers guitarist (and O.G. Lovesore) Jeff Fieldhouse, Epoxies/Sex Crime/Suicide Notes drummer Tim Connolly, and bassist Anna Anderson (Suicide Notes). Now that is a bona fide Portland, Oregon punk rock super group! Guerrilla Teens hit the ground running by recording ten killer demo tracks, which were released as five separate digital singles that came and went in the blink of an eye. If you snoozed, you lost. But now you get another crack at all these tunes....if you hurry! 

Launched as a fundraiser for The Oregon Wildfire Relief Fund, All The Hits compiles all of Guerrilla Teens' COVID demos into one blockbuster digital album. This collection is not likely to be available permanently, so I advise jumping on it now! Just as it would have been an oversimplification to call Lovesores a reboot of The Humpers, it's not fully accurate to consider Guerrilla Teens a continuation of Lovesores. But it's no stretch to say that all three of the aforementioned bands are cut from the same cloth. No doubt about it, Scott "Deluxe" Drake is one of the greatest lead singers that rock and roll music has ever produced. After 35 years+ in the game, he sounds as fierce, focused, and fiery as ever. And now he's backed by an epic guitar tandem and a red-hot rhythm section. As you would expect, Guerrilla Teens don't veer too far from that sleazy '70s punk by way of the Stones and Chuck Berry lane ("Tell Me What To Do" and "Black Weather" could easily be mistaken for lost Humpers tracks). But with this particular band, I'm also sensing an affinity for old school garage rock and Stiv Bators inspired dark pop. There are plenty of songs here that will rock the snot out of you but also a few that suggest that Drake and friends have some tricks up their sleeve. And keep in mind that these are all demos recorded in isolation. If it's ever safe for Guerrilla Teens to mingle with the outside world, you all won't know what hit you. 

Be sure to grab All The Hits while you still can. Your purchase will be donated to The Oregon Wildfire Relief Fund. And while you're at it, check out the new single "Barbie's Reality House" that just dropped yesterday. Rock and roll will save us all!

-L.R.

https://guerrillateens.bandcamp.com/album/all-the-hits
https://www.facebook.com/Guerrilla-Teens-103324881410665/

The Shang Hi Los - "Sway Little Player"

 

Wow! When I heard that Dan Kopko (Watts) and Jen D'Angora (The Dents, The Downbeat 5) had started a new band together, I was 100 percent sure it would be great. But somehow the debut single from The Shang Hi Los is even better than I could have imagined. Boston does it again! The track is called "Sway Little Player", and it's the kind of rock and roll song you'll want to play on repeat all day (or is that just me?). Kopko and D'Angora are no strangers to any longtime follower of this blog. On "Sway Little Player", they share lead vocals and sound absolutely amazing as a tandem. They are joined by Lee Harrington (The Neighborhoods) on bass and Chuck Ferreira (Eddie Japan, Lonely Leesa & The Lost Cowboys) on drums - making The Shang Hi Los the latest in an endless line of Boston garage/punk supergroups. This particular track combines the spirit of late '50s/early '6os rock and roll with a cool punk/new wave edge (I'm getting huge Blondie vibes, which is never a bad thing!). Music doesn't get any more upbeat or catchy than this. If this song doesn't make you feel good about being alive, there is probably no hope for you. 

"Sway Little Player" releases today on Rum Bar Records, and I can't think of a more perfect addition to Malibu Lou's star-studded roster! It's not always easy to make a record in the middle of a pandemic. But Ed Valauskas, Dave Minehan, and Benny Grotto were able to team up to produce this perfect slice of joyful rock and roll. In addition, Harry McCoy produced the super fun music video embedded below. It gives you a great feel for what The Shang Hi Los are all about. What a debut. I am so excited to hear more! And if that's Dan's real hair, I am so jealous! 

 

-L.R.

https://theshanghilos.bandcamp.com/releases

https://www.facebook.com/ShangHiLos/

https://www.facebook.com/RumBarRecords/

https://watts.bandcamp.com/

https://jennydee.bandcamp.com/

MOM - Pleasure Island

I always love it when I can start off a month in style! Donny, Frank, and Luke - collectively known as MOM - released two of the year's best pure pop singles over the course of the summer. I've had quite a few people comment to me privately about much they enjoyed those singles ("Tonight" and "Don't Leave With My Heart"). Mike from Vista Blue even gave "Don't Leave With My Heart" a spin on his excellent radio show The Radiant Radish. MOM has spent much of this year recording its debut album Pleasure Island with good friend Harry Log "somewhere in the Swedish wilderness". The album was officially released last week via Bandcamp and Spotify. 

It goes without saying that Pleasure Island is a treat for pop fans and eternal teenagers everywhere. On this 11-track release, MOM combines the best elements of 1970s bubblegum, glam, and power pop along with a touch of early '80s new wave. Both singles are included along with brand-new hits like "Better Than You" and "Ordinary Girl". The band also includes some really strong ballads and deep cuts ("Hurt By You", "Talk To Me") that give the album a well-rounded feel. MOM has a somewhat unusual approach to making music, as Frank and Donny share guitar, drum, and synthesizer duties while Luke plays bass and some occasional cowbell. Donny is the primary songwriter, and he doesn't hold back on the sugar sweet melodies and radio hit hooks. This album is as pop as pop gets! If your record collection includes the likes of The Bay City Rollers, Nick Gilder, The Sweet, The Records, Milk 'N' Cookies, Racey, Mud, and Kidda Band, you will most definitely conclude that Pleasure Island is accurately titled. Look for a vinyl version sometime in the near future! 

-L.R.

https://mommusic.bandcamp.com/album/pleasure-island

https://www.facebook.com/musicbymom

https://www.instagram.com/musicbymom/?hl=sv