Monday, June 10, 2024

Rich Ragany - You Can Get Dark with Me

I know this is around the 20th time that I have championed the songwriting talents of Mr. Rich Ragany, but I have to say that ole Rags has truly outdone himself with his new album You Can Get Dark with Me (out this Friday on Barrel And Squidger Records). In the aftermath of What We Do (To Not Let Go), his arena-sized swan song with his band The Digressions, Rags wanted to go in a more intimate direction with his next release. But rather than simply going the typical homemade "unplugged" route, Rags had a more interesting idea: he would "deconstruct to reconstruct." He recorded all these songs at home on the very day they were written. The tracks were later fleshed out in the studio with producer Andy Brook and the Digressions' rhythm section of Simon Maxwell and Ricky McGuire. Rags also traveled back to his hometown of Calgary to work on a few tracks with his pal Russ Broom. Notably, the final mixes of these tracks still include Rags' original homemade recordings. The whole point of this approach was to capture the spur-of-the-moment solitary inspiration of the songs while also highlighting how they blossomed into something even better. Sometimes songwriters try and simplify things. Other times, they try and stretch themselves. Here Rags has done both, creating songs that sound meticulously-crafted without losing their direct, personal feel. You might guess that all those guitars were overdubbed in the studio. Nope, that's actually Rags in his bathroom with an acoustic guitar. I kid you not!

Music reviewers (myself included...ha ha) are sometimes full of it when they hail every favorite artist's new release as their best yet. But there's no way I can't say You Can Get Dark with Me is the best album Rich Ragany has ever put his name on. He has been on quite a run over the past decade, releasing three albums with The Role Models, three with The Digressions, and now his proper solo debut. All of these previous records were excellent and among the best long players of their year. But Rags has never delivered a more powerful or consistent collection of songs than the one he will drop on Friday. You Can Get Dark with Me contains 10 songs, and every single one of them would have been a standout track on any of Rags' previous releases. To call this album "filler-free" is an understatement. What stands out to me is how seamless Rags' growth as a songwriter has been — building off his roots in punk rock and power pop yet very quickly transcending genre. It's very hard to put a label on You Can Get Dark with Me because it simply sounds like Rich Ragany. And who says we need to label music? Rags put his soul into these songs. His voice, his flair for melody, his knack for anthemic hooks, and his relatability as a songwriter are the stuff of a genuine original. And after three decades plus of slugging it out in the world of rock 'n' roll, he's just now hitting his creative peak. I promise to call him out if his next record sounds like Warrant, but something tells me I won't have to worry about that. 

Of course the album title is worthy of mention. It was inspired by something Scott Sorry said to Rags, and it speaks to what so many of these songs are truly about. When it comes to friendship (or any kind of close relationship), some of our most meaningful interactions stem from hard times. We support our friends when they struggle, and we use our strength to lift them up. Other times our friends do this for us. Sometimes this leads to dark conversations, but those dark conversations can be lifelines for us or the people we love. The people willing to get dark with you are the people you need in your life. It goes without saying that You Can Get Dark with Me gets a little dark, but it's dark in a way that's honest and intimate and invigorating for the soul. Rags has a way of writing about topics such as trauma, addiction, grief, alienation, and self-doubt as if he's talking directly to a friend. If you don't know him, you'll feel like you do after you listen to this album. Surely that's one of the marks of a great songwriter. Singling out individual tracks is a difficult task on an album as strong as this one. That said, "You Can Get Dark with Me" is a powerful ballad worthy of its inspired title. "Sierra Bonita," redolent of '80s new wave and post-punk, meets every possible definition of an anthem. "Tragic Celebration" is deeply-moving and inspiring — and quite possibly the best song Rags has ever written. "Worth," which passionately justifies all the struggles, sacrifices, trials, and tribulations that go into a life of a musician, puts an emphatic end mark on an extraordinary album.  

Due to the way it as created, You Can Get Dark with Me is a very unique album. It does come off as more intimate and personal than What We Do (To Not Let Go), yet it's no less anthemic. It's a great album to listen to while you're taking a long walk or sitting alone on the porch reflecting on the meaning of life. These songs will hit deep in your soul, but they'll also make you want to pump your fist, sing along, jubilantly dance in public, and relish feeling alive. Now four paragraphs deep into this piece, I'm surely preaching to the choir if I proclaim Rich Ragany one of the best songwriters out there. But if you do need some convincing, You Can Get Dark with Me is the album to listen to. Order it here!

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Sunday, June 09, 2024

Lesser Creatures - Entertainment System


On their new album Entertainment System, Lesser Creatures continue to be an exception to the rule that I'm totally over "snotty" pop-punk. Nick Spoon and his new bandmates Tyler Adams and Lilly Koloski take me back to the mid-'90s when DIY pop-punk was exploding and you had all these bands who obviously loved Screeching Weasel but were still really rad because they were young, scrappy, and enthusiastic. It was a super-fun time to be into music, and I fondly recall combing the pages of fanzines in search of new pop-punk bands to check out. Thirty years later, Lesser Creatures recapture the spirit of that scene. On Entertainment System, Lesser Creatures totally lean into their '90s pop-punk influences. They're not trying to break new ground, and they're not going to try and change your mind if this type of music isn't your thing. But if want to hear tried-and-true pop-punk that's catchy as heck and played with tremendous enthusiasm, this is the album for you. Nick Spoon may sound like you took Ben Weasel, Joey Vindictive, and B.A. from Sloppy Seconds and tossed them in a blender, yet his approach doesn't come as affected or overly labored. I think that's just what he sounds like, and I have to admit I kind of love his vocals! As a songwriter, he adds his own clever, creative, and often humorous lyrical flair to this familiar musical style, and what results are songs that are genuinely fun to listen to. With this version of Lesser Creatures, we have three true believers in pop-punk. And we need true believers in music just as much as we need innovators. If you ever played your cassette copy of My Brain Hurts daily for months or lived for the moment when that Mutant Pop Records envelope showed up in your mailbox, Entertainment System will be music to your ears. 


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Saturday, June 08, 2024

CB Kiddo - CB Kiddo Explodes!


It's one thing to release one of the year's best singles, but CB Kiddo has already reached hat trick status less than halfway through 2024. New single CB Kiddo Explodes! is the most fun you can have for free in three minutes without violating any laws or long-standing moral codes. Without question, Emily has one of the best voices in punk rock, and now she's filling the world with insanely catchy lo-fi poppy punk songs and pictures of adorable pups. If you're not already in the fan club, what in the world are you waiting for? In my book, there are maybe five or six legitimate silver linings to the world having to live through a deadly pandemic, and one of them is the existence of CB Kiddo. These new tunes, "Explode" and "Out of My Mind," are every bit as good as the previous tracks. Emily knows how to bang out a hooky punk tune with perfect efficiency. I'm shocked that some world-renowned record label hasn't already dispatched representatives to Moncton to sample the finest donairs and secure a deal for a CB Kiddo vinyl release. It's only a matter of time, right? 

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Friday, June 07, 2024

Premiere: Moron's Morons - "Slash Dance" b/w "I'm Afraid You Will Die"


I am honored to premiere the new single from Moron's Morons, Warsaw's most dangerous punk rock 'n' roll band! "Slash Dance" b/w "I'm Afraid You Will Die" will be releasing next week on Sweet Time Records, a label which has been absolutely killing it over the last couple years. And speaking of killing it, these two new tracks from Moron's Morons are not for the faint of heart! I've always admired this band for its commitment to keeping some shock value in punk rock yet never letting that be secondary to writing great songs. This new record just might be the best thing the Morons have ever put out. It's a raging double shot of blood & guts '70s punk rock 'n' roll that's tailor-made for the 7" format. "Slash Dance," with its wonderfully demented vocal, buzzsaw guitars, and powerhouse drums & bass, is seductive in the most sick & twisted way. Ya gotta love it! On the B-side, the blistering "I'm Afraid You Will Die" absolutely lives up to its title. If you're a longtime fan, you know you're gonna need this record. And for anyone interested in the very best of today's garage/punk/rock 'n' roll, I highly recommend this release along with the full catalogs of Moron's Morons and Sweet Time. Stay tuned to Sweet Time's Bandcamp for updates! 

    

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Sunday, June 02, 2024

The Putz - On and Up and Out


With the exception of a Christmas single in 2022, The Putz had not released new music in four years. So it's a joy to have a new EP from one of the best pop-punk bands in the business — with more to come very soon! On and Up and Out is almost a concept record. So much of pop-punk as a genre exists because people break up with their significant others and want to wallow in misery. On this EP, Billy's songs essentially flip that idea upside down. On and Up and Out explores the silver linings of relationships meeting their demise. The cliché in the aftermath of a breakup is to say, "It was for the best." And that's usually bullshit. But sometimes it's not. Sometimes a bad breakup is an opportunity to reclaim your life and your freedom. Sometimes it's an escape from a toxic situation. Sometimes being alone is less miserable than being with someone who makes you miserable. The Putz is one of those rare bands that can get away with sticking to a defined musical style, and these four songs demonstrate why. This is pop-punk by the book — executed to perfection and (as the liner notes say) "guaranteed to get your toes tapping and fingers snapping." What more do you need! Enjoy these tunes now, and be on the lookout for a new Putz full-length coming soon on Mom's Basement Records!

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Pavid Vermin - Brutality Is My Only Friend


It's not often I use the word "genius" to describe a rock 'n' roll record, but what Glenn Robinson has done with his latest Pavid Vermin album is absolutely, positively a work of genius. A few years back, he was goofing around with a death metal song title generator. Then he got the idea to actually write songs based on these titles — but to make them sound like '50s and '60s rock 'n' roll! This might have been a jokey project if he had just written one song or gone through the motions with the songwriting. Instead, he worked for a few years to really perfect the material  — making sure the songs were legit good and up to his usual standards. Pavid Vermin for several years has been one of the most dependable "bands" in the pop-punk world. With this new album Brutality Is My Only Friend, we get the familiar spirit of Pavid Vermin. But this is not really a pop-punk record. It's an oldies-influenced pop rock 'n' roll record that is about as musically upbeat as it gets — creating quite a contrast to the absolutely brutal lyrics. Of course I was laughing the moment I heard the line "We'll all be dead in a couple of days" delivered as if it were the happiest phrase ever uttered. But the joke never wears thin since these songs are just so catchy and well-crafted. Essentially, Pavid Vermin has given us songs about murder, torture, dismemberment, and cannibalism that we can dance to. "Excremental Feast on the Decomposing Remnants of Humanity" is an infectious garage/beat party-starter. "Sacrificed by Cannibals at the Bottom of the Stairs to the Church of Blood" sounds like Elvis Costello and the Attractions if they'd gone really dark. "Baptized in Searing Acid in the Cesspool of the Necrotic Slaughterhouse" has a swinging '60s feel. "Tormented Corpse Exsanguination" could almost have been on the American Graffiti soundtrack! 

I suppose some people will check out this album and be like, "Man, that's messed up." But isn't that the whole point? Dark humor has always been a sweet spot for me, and the level of commitment to dark humor on this record is beyond impressive. These are genuinely some of the best songs in the Pavid Vermin catalog. The novel aspects of Brutality Is My Only Friend will grab your attention, but the quality of the execution will keep you coming back. The digital album is available now. A limited vinyl release is available from Memorable But Not Honorable Records. A CD release is coming June 14th on Rum Bar Records — which will be kicking off its summer of pop-punk by also releasing new albums from J Prozac and The Cretins on the very same day! Pre-orders are open, so step up to the bar!

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Saturday, June 01, 2024

Radar - self titled


Nearly four years after its debut EP, New York City punk rock band Radar releases its first full-length record on Dead Broke Rekerds. Radar — a band which features members of Meltaways, Adult Magic, Giant Peach, and Back-up Plan — plays rockin' poppy punk with a distinctive NYC flavor. That's a sound that it timeless to me, and the band's self-titled long player is a ripping great time. Only three of the 12 tracks exceed two minutes in length, and from start to finish, this record is an energetic, upbeat, and hooky affair. This is one of those albums that just seems to fly by. You get to the end and can't believe it's already over. So you just push play and start it over! If you like pop-punk with a fun attitude and some real guts to it, Radar is the band for you. I hope music like this never dies!

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