The Dollyrots - "Make Me Hot"

I love living in a world where the radio hit can still be a thing. A week ago, I was listening to the Underground Garage while I was doing laundry. A certain song came on and hit me with a chorus that made my head spin. That song was "Make Me Hot", a recent single from Wicked Cool recording artists The Dollyrots. This tune is the ultimate blast of California pop-punk sunshine - a signature of this particular duo since the early 2000s. It's admirable that Kelly and Luis have been able to keep this band going for so long without changing their style or losing their spark. And hell: if you can do bubblegum punk this well, why would you ever stop?! "Make Me Hot" comes on nice and steady, and then that chorus absolutely explodes with hooks! It's the kind of huge-sounding, mega-catchy pop song that you wish they still played on the radio. Except it actually is being played on the radio! On the 7", it's backed by a high-spirited, rocked-out cover of the old Lisa Loeb hit "Stay (I Missed You)". And speaking of covers, The Dollyrots recently utilized their quarantine time to record a really damn good version of "Teenage Kicks" that you can download for free from their Bandcamp. I know "Teenage Kicks" has been covered to death, but this is easily one of the best versions I've heard anyone do. If you didn't realize The Dollyrots were still around, you will be pleased to discover that they sound as good as ever. And if you've been following their recent output, you probably think this review is many weeks overdue. I won't argue!



-L.R.

https://thedollyrotswcr.bandcamp.com/album/make-me-hot
https://thedollyrots.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/thedollyrots
https://www.facebook.com/WickedCoolRecords

Kiss Disease - self titled EP

Oh man! Today we've got ourselves some killer punk rock and roll out of Finland! Kiss Disease hails from Helsinki and sounds like it was raised on a steady diet of The Stooges, MC5, and the New York Dolls. Can't go wrong there, eh? The band has released a four-song EP that just might set the world on fire..literally. I just love how trashy, blown-out, and flat-out ferocious these four cuts are. Singer Ella Laine tears into every note with force, attitude, and a badassery that just can't be denied. And those guitars are absolutely scorching! You might be thinking "Scandinavian band + Detroit influence = action rock", and I do hear a little of that on "Cripple the Bastard" (which you can surely surmise is not a ballad). But this band has got plenty of roll to go with the rock, and overall this is just great high energy punk music that ought to be played obnoxiously loud while you jump around and go crazy. It's always great to hear a record that makes 90% of the punk rock and roll bands out there sound lifeless and tame! 7-inch out now on Lempi & Sylvi Discs!



-L.R.

https://kissdisease.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/kissdisease/
https://www.discogs.com/Kiss-Disease-Kiss-Disease/release/15312290

The Fragments - Incomplete Sentences

Being the late '90s/early 2000s punk history geek that I am, I'm delighted to discover much of the music of my (relative) youth popping up on digital platforms. You could call me nostalgic, but I prefer to believe that many of the bands I championed in my salad days have simply held up really well. The eastern Wisconsin punk scene of that era remains largely overlooked and is very much worthy of further review. On that note, a near complete discography of The Fragments has made its way to Bandcamp. The Fragments are probably best known outside of Wisconsin for their split CD with Modern Machines which came out in late 2002. They had a sound that was quintessentially Midwestern: poppy punk with real guts and plenty of rough edges. Eric Apnea and Andy Junk are most often associated with other bands they were in (Teenage Rejects, Catholic Boys, Holy Shit!), but The Fragments were pretty awesome in their own right. Eric, Andy, and Jeff Caissie all contributed songs...and it turns out there were plenty of songs! Incomplete Sentences (best title ever!) compiles songs recorded in various sessions from 2000 through 2003. At 25 tracks, you get the good, the bad, and the ugly of The Fragments. I dig that this was catchy punk that didn't sound like all the other catchy punk you've heard in your life. Listening to these songs today, I can hear bits and pieces of everything from early Lookout! Records to The Replacements & Husker Du to Naked Raygun to The Figgs' punkier-leaning stuff. I won't lie and say that all 25 tracks are essential (or even listenable). But if you're going to document what The Fragments were, this warts and all approach was definitely the way to go. Adding historical importance is the fact that Justin Perkins, who would go on to become one of the most respected studio engineers in the music industry, recorded most of this stuff. If you played six degrees of separation with the members of this band, you could probably link The Fragments to darn near every great punk/garage band to come out of Wisconsin in the 2000s. Incomplete Sentences will be a real treat for all who witnessed The Fragments firsthand - and a totally a fun listen even for those who didn't.  



-L.R.

https://thefragmentsgb.bandcamp.com/

Sugar Snow - "He Knows I Love Him Too Much"

Not so long ago, I reviewed a truly delightful song by Boston power pop band Kid Gulliver. Sugar Snow, the solo project of Kid Gulliver's lead singer Simone Berk, has just released something equally amazing. Sugar Snow entered Iso Booth: The Goffin and King Foundation's Quarantine Cover Contest...and was named one of the contest's 14 winners! After hearing Sugar Snow's entry, I can understand why it won! Berk chose to cover "He Knows I Love Him Too Much", written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King in 1961 for the Paris Sisters. Making a record under quarantine can be quite a challenge when you have to record at home. But Berk and producer Brian Charles came up with a creative way to not record at home. Charles worked in the studio and ran a mic out to Berk's car. That's right: they turned her car into a recording booth! What came out of this process is a truly stunning version of one of Goffin and King's most overlooked classics. It shows tremendous love for the lyrics and melody of the song as conceived by Goffin and King. But it doesn't just copy the original recording. This minimalist interpretation actually makes the song even more powerful. Berk's vocal is absolutely gorgeous, and it's mesmerizing to hear the way she feels every word she sings. The arrangement is perfect in its simplicity. Berk's vocal is the centerpiece of the song, blending beautifully with Charles's warm, twangy guitar track (My god, that tone!). This recording reminds me why I love cover songs. First and foremost, it honors the artistry of the songwriters. But it also demonstrates that making someone else's song your own is an art form in its own right. I think we've all pulled up besides someone who was singing in their car before, but never has it sounded this good! Check out the video below to witness the making of this song for yourself!



-L.R.

https://sugarsnowmusic.bandcamp.com/track/he-knows-i-love-him-too-much
https://www.facebook.com/sugarsnowmusic
https://www.thegoffinkingfoundation.org/

Dirty Truckers - Second Dose

What happens when one best-of compilation is not enough? You make another! Dirty Truckers, one of 21st Century America's finest roots/country rock and roll bands, were very well represented by the Rum Bar Records collection "Best Of"  a couple years back. But the world demanded more, and Rum Bar has released a sequel called Second Dose. Longtime fans will be familiar with these 10 tracks, some of which date all the way back to the band's 2001 debut album Bush League. You can call this alt-country or Americana if you want. But unlike some of the stuff that gets labeled in such a way, this is real rock and roll!

Singer/guitarist Tom Baker has been an acclaimed performer on the Rum Bar roster both as a solo artist and with his band The Snakes. The success of these projects has definitely created a demand for more of these old Dirty Truckers recordings to be unearthed from the vaults. As deep as "Best Of" went, it was by no means an exhaustive collection of essential Dirty Truckers tracks. Second Dose fills in the gaps. The Replacements-inspired rocker "Feedback" is a top-tier Dirty Truckers number which is appearing for the first time on a physical format. "Back To Back" is the rare country rock song that's authentically country and actually rocks. "Not Missing A Thing" is no-nonsense Stonesy rock and roll that's full of heart and guts. Perhaps my favorite thing about this particular collection is that it's heavy on covers. It's cool to hear Baker and company tip the cap to huge influences like Lyres ("Help You Ann"), Nick Lowe ("Raging Eyes"), and of course The Replacements ("Sixteen Blue"). I love how "Raging Eyes" is transformed into a full-on dive bar ripper. And the "Sixteen Blue" cover is absolutely extraordinary - as the Dirty Truckers re-imagine one of Paul Westerberg's classics as an epic country ballad.

With The Dirty Truckers' original catalog long out of print, the band along with Malibu Lou have really stepped up to get all of this great music back into circulation. The uninitiated should still start with "Best Of", but you'll quickly be lining up for a Second Dose. Both of these discs should be part of any decent bar's re-opening kit. For now, grab a six-pack from the fridge and make your home bar the best in town!




-L.R.

https://rumbarrecords.bandcamp.com/album/second-dose
https://dirtytruckers.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/TheDirtyTruckers/
https://www.facebook.com/RumBarRecords

Moral Crux - The digital reissues!

Oh my god! Moral Crux has a Bandcamp?! I've been waiting for years for the Moral Crux catalog to make it to this particular platform - especially those earlier titles that have been out of print for a very long time. This is a very important band in my musical life. Back in the '90s, Moral Crux was my bridge from poppier punk stuff to the '77-style punk that would ultimately become my favorite music of all-time. And I guarantee that a lot of people who came up on pop-punk around the time I did have a similar story. Moral Crux is often associated with '90s pop-punk, and they even did a 7" with Mutant Pop Records. But they actually started in the early '80s, and to me they always had more of a pure '77 sound. James Farris and company took the melody-based punk style of the Ramones, Buzzcocks, and Generation X and combined it with the heart and mind of The Clash. For over 35 years, James has used this band as a platform to rail against injustice, abuses of power, and the dumbing down of American culture. Eventually Moral Crux got signed to Panic Button/Lookout! Records and released the excellent albums Something More Dangerous and Pop Culture Assassins. The titles now available on Bandcamp are earlier, much rawer-sounding releases and probably my three favorite Moral Crux albums. The self-titled album from 1987 is a total classic. ...And Nothing But The Truth (1993) and I Was A Teenage Teenager (1994) have been criminally overlooked for decades. I am stoked that these albums have been remastered and revived for our listening pleasure! Who ever said that political punk rock can't be catchy? If you like what you hear, be sure to also check out Moral Crux's most recent EP on Mooster Records! 



-L.R.

https://moralcrux.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/moralcruxofficial/

The Reflectors - First Impression

The month of power pop continues! If you'd told me back in January that 2020 would bring us a new Speedways single plus new albums from The Vapors, Duncan Reid and the Big Heads, Nick Piunti & The Complicated Men, and The Reflectors, I would have said we were in store for a really great year. I sure would have been wrong about that! But the fact that all of this music has come out in a matter of three weeks is pretty incredible (and perhaps very taxing on your budget!). Once I discovered that The Reflectors were putting out a full-length, that quickly became my most highly anticipated album of the year. Now it's here, and it does not disappointment!

Out on Time For Action Records, First Impression combines the best elements of late '70s/early '80s power pop with a touch of modern-day powerpop/punk. Three-quarters of The Reflectors used to be a terrific punk/pop trio called Images. James Carman (LA Drugz, Telephone Lovers, Maniac) moved from drums & vocals to guitar & vocals, with Johnny Reyes joining on drums. Although quite a few of the songs on this album date back to Images days, the change in band name seems to reflect (no pun intended, I swear!) a slight progression in sound. First Impression features 11 tracks of quintessential Southern California power pop. Carman and fellow singer/guitarist Nick Faciane write songs about classic themes like heartbreak, longing, and unrequited love. That's pretty much the power pop holy trinity right there, and these guys convey those emotions quite convincingly in their vocals. The best power pop has a way of delighting your senses and tearing out your heart at the same time. And that's the playbook The Reflectors follow: big punchy guitars, catchy melodies, and lyrics wrought with teenage frustration. Last year's outstanding single "Teenage Hearts" and the pre-album teaser "Champagne" set the bar pretty high, but the rest of songs prove to be just as good. I can't quite decide which track is the "hit" because nearly every song here sounds like one. That makes sense since these guys were able to cherry pick the best songs they've written over the last eight or nine years. Even down the final stretch of songs, I'm hearing tunes that easily could have been A-sides.

As expected, The Reflectors have placed themselves in the thick of the album of the year conversation with First Impression. This is classic power pop that feels new and fresh because, well, matters of the heart never go out of style! Whatever artificial intelligence Bandcamp used for its "If you like The Reflectors, you may also like.." feature was totally spot-on because the first two bands mentioned are The Whiffs and The Speedways. Add The Reflectors to that pair, and you've got the best of the new generation of power pop. If you want to feel 16 again, just put on First Impression and close your eyes.



-L.R.

https://reflectors.bandcamp.com/album/first-impression
https://www.facebook.com/thereflectorslosangeles/
https://www.timeforaction.de/shop/the-reflectors/first-impression
https://imagesmusic.bandcamp.com/