Beebe Gallini - "Dusty"

It was just a month ago that I wrote about the release of Beebe Gallini's terrific digital EP East Side Story. In addition to making this EP available to the listening public, Beebe Gallini has also been working on a new album called Pandemos. This album started as a way for the band to share demos of original tracks with its new guitar player. As more and more demos were recorded and the pandemic shut down live shows and full band rehearsals, the band decided that they had themselves an album! Pandemos will be out on this spring. In the way of a preview, the band has released the single "Dusty". The "pandemic" version of Beebe Gallini functions as a trio with Miss Georgia Peach on vocals and guitar, Amy Larson Pearson on bass, and Travis Ramin moving from guitar to drums (they'll be back to a foursome when life returns to normal). Given that almost all of the band's recorded tracks to date have been covers, it's going to be very exciting to hear a bunch of Beebe Gallini originals! If "Dusty" is any indication, Pandemos is gonna be one of 2021's must-hear albums! On this track, the band tears into some great high energy rock and roll with a pop sensibility. "Dusty", an ode to a girl who just can't stay home, hits you with a killer hook literally within two seconds! And my god, Miss Georgia Peach can flat-out sing! But you knew that already, didn't you? If the latest Short Fuses album is a little "too rock" for your tastes, you may find Beebe Gallini far more to your liking. Look for Pandemos in March on Rum Bar Records!

P.S. - that cover art is the best thing ever! 

-L.R.

https://rumbarrecords.bandcamp.com/track/dusty-free-digital-download-single
https://www.facebook.com/RumBarRecords
http://beebegallini.com/
https://www.facebook.com/WeAreBeebeGallini

Trash Brats - self titled (30th anniversary vinyl reissue)

Detroit's legendary Trash Brats have been a huge part of my musical universe going back to my early days in the record-reviewing racket. Here was a band that was too punk for the glam rockers, too glam for the punks, and probably too pop for either! If nowadays "glam-punk" is a thing, that's largely because the Trash Brats and a few like-minded bands made it a thing through years of exciting live performances and stellar releases that attracted devoted fans the old-fashioned way. It all started 30 years ago with the release of the Trash Brats' self titled debut album. This would be the first of four proper albums released by the Trash Brats. It was originally released on cassette but had never come out on vinyl until earlier this month. The 30th anniversary vinyl reissue of Trash Brats is the first release on Jim Rinn's I-94 Recordings in nearly 20 years! The bubblegum pink vinyl sold out in 24 hours, and the fancy wax mage art vinyl sold out in a few days (I wasn't joking about the fans being devoted!). The album is still available on 180-gram black vinyl and well worth owning whether you're a longtime Trash Brats fan or just discovering the band for the first time. It's also available from the streaming sites if you just want to hear the songs again. Featuring fan favorite cuts like "Don't Wanna Dance", "Bubblegum Girl", "3873 Marlborough Street", "Gas Boy", and "S-M-U-T", this remains the definitive Trash Brats release. Grab a copy while you can!

-L.R.

https://i-94recordings.com/collections/frontpage/products/trash-brats-s-t-lp-preorder-ships-in-december-2020
https://www.facebook.com/I-94-Recordings-113204123938004/
https://open.spotify.com/album/0GrjvFHdDE4LJ2WdxGisLM

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/

Hayley and the Crushers - "Church of Flag"

I've been so immersed in work lately that I did not notice until yesterday that a brand-new Hayley and the Crushers cassingle came out four days ago! My god, I'm losing my touch! "Church of Flag" is the new song - a tune the band loved so much that it recorded it twice! "Church of Flag" is a song about growing old and still holding on to the ideals of punk rock. Now that's a subject that is near and dear to the hearts of a lot of us. As I rapidly approach the big 5-0, this song really strikes a chord with me. I'll grant you that it's been a long time since I've looked the part. But in spirit, I'm still that same punk rocker kid who started doing zines decades ago. I can remember the first time I heard a Black Flag tape, and it seems like only yesterday! 

Needless to say, "Church of Flag" is one of the "punkest" tracks Hayley and the Crushers have ever done. And I love it! It captures the excitement of first discovering punk rock and how you may or may not hold on to that feeling as you grow up and grow old. That's a timeless theme in our world, and "Church of Flag" will be tremendously inspiring to all of you who are still keeping the faith. Hayley sings lead on the A-side. And then, in a rare lead vocal appearance, Dr. Cain sings the same song on the B-side. Who sang it better? If I took a position, I would surely be courting controversy. So I'll just say I love both versions. With the cassette single being limited to a small amount of copies, I figured it was my civic duty to get this thing reviewed ASAP! Hayley and the Crushers kicked off 2020 so auspiciously with the release of the incredible album Vintage Millennial. Now after much hardship and despair, the year ends on an uplifting note with another joyful release from the Crusherverse. Things can only get better!

-L.R. 

https://hayleyandthecrushers.bandcamp.com/album/church-of-flag
https://www.hayleyandthecrushers.com/
https://www.facebook.com/hayleyandthecrushers

Nasty Party - "Celebration"

You know I'm always a sucker for some really well-done '77-style punk rock. And on that note, the debut EP from Nasty Party is right up my alley. Based in Sydney and London, Nasty Party is a duo consisting of Nasty Simon and Rhys Nasty. "Celebration" is the name of the EP, which is a free download via Bandcamp. These three tracks walk the fine line between first wave punk rock and new wave, yet they manage to sound fully current in 2020. Much of that has to do with the lyrics - which are clever, politically & socially oriented, and indeed quite nasty! Let's just say that these gentlemen are not afraid to tell us what they really think about the current state of the world and the people who occupy it! Wire and the Buzzcocks are influences both stated and palpable, and I'm picking up on some '77-era Talking Heads inspirations in the title track. But what I like is that Nasty Party don't sound like a band you've heard a thousand times before. They've managed to create music that feeds into the anger of the moment but is still full of hooks. And while their songs will inspire you to think, they'll also make you wanna get up and dance. "What the Fuck Are You Into?" is nothing less than an anthem for our times. "Sturm and Drang" fires shots at "influencers" (amen to that!) and features spectacular lines such as these:

Cover and spray your filth elsewhere,
You anti-coagulant scum.
Stop looking at your mates for cues,
Cos time waits for no-one.
For fiddle and sticks lay my daydreams,
In a world where we walk and don't run.
Syphoning pieces of half-truths,
From a digital trail of crumbs.

Wow! Now that is how you write lyrics!  "Celebration" for me is cause for celebration - it marks the arrival of a new and exciting punk rock group that I hope has more in store for us in 2021. If you dig old school punk/new wave with a modern edge, you'd be crazy to pass on this free EP!

-L.R.

https://nastyparty.bandcamp.com/album/celebration
https://www.facebook.com/nastypartyaustralia
https://www.instagram.com/nastyparty2019/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDdAXF-iNWJ5-_VP7GCCKlA

The Speedways - "This Is About A Girl Who Loves The Sun"

Today's post falls under the category of "for super fans only". The latest single from The Speedways consists of two songs that were released months ago plus a live track. If you've never heard The Speedways before, your best starting point is the band's latest LP Radio Sounds - in my opinion, the best power pop album of the last several years. But if you're already a massive Speedways fan as I am, "This Is About A Girl Who Loves The Sun" will be an essential addition to your record collection. Why? Well, because vinyl records are freaking cool! This one is a limited edition release from Snap! Records/Hurrah Musica on yellow sun-colored vinyl! 

I like that the band chose "This Is About A Girl Who Loves The Sun" as the third single from Radio Sounds. It's not an obvious choice for a single. It's more of a "deep cut" - the kind of grand, dramatic song that The Speedways always place at the end of an album side. This one is really heartbreaking. Poor Marilyn brought so much happiness to others yet experienced so little of her own. "The Day I Call You Mine" is also from Radio Sounds and probably my favorite song on the album. This just as easily could have been the A-side, but I love that they flipped it. The track exclusive to this release is a live version of "Just Another Regular Summer", the song that ended Side 1 of the album of the same name. This, of course, is the first recorded version of this song to feature the full band lineup of The Speedways. It was recorded at The Windmill Pub in Brixton this past September. The band has released that entire live performance as a digital EP titled Sunday Will Never Be The Same. Each purchase of the new 7" comes with a free download of the live EP. So if you're a Speedways super fan, that's a sweet deal. And if you're not a Speedways super fan, there's no way you've read so far. God, I love this band!

-L.R.

https://thespeedways.bandcamp.com/album/this-is-about-a-girl-who-loves-the-sun-the-day-i-call-you-mine-single

https://snaprecordsspain.bandcamp.com/album/this-is-about-a-girl-who-loves-the-sun-ep-fun-7041

https://www.facebook.com/JustAnotherRegularSummer/

https://www.facebook.com/SnapRecordSpain/

Classic Ruins - Forget About It

Well this is kind of a big deal! Boston garage rock and roll legends Classic Ruins have released their first new album since 1989! Out on Rum Bar Records, Forget About It features a handful of new songs along with some assorted odds and ends of recent vintage. I suppose you could say that this album is heavily "padded". Five of nine tracks are covers, and three of those are instrumentals. But after 31 years, I'll gladly take a new Classic Ruins record any way it comes. And besides, the covers are all really great! It's been a running joke of mine that Malibu Lou will eventually add every great Boston garage/rock and roll band to his roster. But in all seriousness, he seems to be well on his way! Outside of the Real Kids and Dogmatics, it does not get any more "Boston" than Classic Ruins! And Forget About It is vintage Classic Ruins. Penned by longtime singer/guitarist Frank Rowe, the title track and "Little OCD" are quintessential shots of bar band rock and roll with a garage edge. "Cheap Champagne", written and performed by Jeff Crane, is in a similar vein. This is Classic Ruins doing what Classic Ruins have always done so well: dishing out rockin', hook-laden tunes that worship at the altar of the Rolling Stones, Chuck Berry, and everything in between. Labelmate Tom Baker will surely approve! Highlights of the cover selections include the Larry Williams classic "Bad Boy", Link Wray's "Rawhide", and the 1958 Jerry Byrne side "Lights Out" - written by Dr. John before he was Dr. John! And if you've always wanted to hear a surf instrumental version of "Please Please Me", your time has come. Whether you're a Boston music fanatic or just a lover of old school rock and roll, you just can't go wrong with Forget About It.

-L.R.   

https://rumbarrecords.bandcamp.com/album/forget-about-it
https://www.facebook.com/RumBarRecords