Mustard Plug – Fall Apart

Mustard Plug have shared the video for their new track “Fall Apart” off their upcoming album, Where Did All My Friends Go? Out in September on Bad Time Records.

Grand Rapids ska-punk legends Mustard Plug are back with their 8th studio album titled Where Did All My Friends Go? that will be released on Friday, September 8th. The band will be joining the ever growing and exciting roster of Bad Time Records who have carefully cultivated a community around all things ska over the last five years. Once again, Mustard Plug have teamed up with Bill Stevenson and Jason Livermore at the infamous Blasting Room to produce an album that captures everything that has made Mustard Plug a fan favorite over the last 30 years. Mustard Plug will be touring in support of Where Did All My Friends Go? throughout the rest of 2023 and will be linking up with Toasters, Half Past Two, Matomska!, Big D and the Kids Table, The Slackers, and Stop the Presses on select dates. 

Tour Dates:
September 7th @ Reggie’s – Chicago, IL
September 8th @ Magic Bag – Detroit, MI
September 9th @ Pyramid Scheme – Grand Rapids, MI
September 10th @ Grog Shop – Cleveland, OH
October 6th @ El Corazon – Seattle, WA
October 7th @ Dante’s – Portland, OR
October 8th @ John Henry’s – Eugene, OR
October 9th @ Cornerstone – Berkeley, CA
October 10th @ Catalyst Atrium – Santa Cruz, CA
October 11th @ Goldfield Trading Post – Sacramento, CA
October 12th @ Knitting Factory – Hollywood, CA
October 13th @ Garden Amp – Garden Grove, CA
October 14th @ Nile Theater – Mesa, AZ
October 14th @ The Holding Company – San Diego, CA
October 28th @ Heartwood (FEST) – Gainesville, FL
October 29th @ High Dive (FEST) – Gainesville, FL
November 9th @ X-Ray Arcade – Milwaukee, WI
November 10th @ Uptown VFW – Minneapolis, MN
November 11th @ High Noon Saloon – Madison, WI
November 12th @ Blueberry Hill (Duck Room) – St. Louis, MO
December 13th @ Rumba Cafe – Columbus, OH
December 14th @ Black Cat – Washington D.C.
December 15th @ Broken Goblet Brewing – Bensalem, PA
December 16th @ Brooklyn Bowl – Brooklyn, NY
December 17th @ The Sinclair – Cambridge, MA

Snuff – Crepuscolo Dorato

Long-running UK punks Snuff are releasing a new album titled ‘Crepuscolo Dorato Della Bruschetta Borsetta Calzetta Cacchetta Trombetta Lambretta Giallo Ossido, Ooooooh Così Magnifico!’ ( or ‘Crepuscolo Dorato’ for short)

Following on the heels of “There’s A Lot Of It About” (well, heels and a pandemic) Crepuscolo Dorato offers 10 tracks of inimitable Snuff style. I’ve heard it likened to Motown Punk, or Punk Soul Blues, but no matter how you want to define the band’s sound, it’s unmistakably Snuff.

I’m sure you know about Snuff, if not you can read a bit more about them here. It’s a wild ride. The band has gone through fits and starts since ‘86, with name changes and numerous side projects such as Guns N Wankers, and Billy No Mates. Despite the hurdles of time and personnel changes, Snuff has managed to put out solid material over the years. 

The songs are of a shortish nature and rarely break the three minute mark. There is a rather rhythmic, punchy feel to the album that helps lock you into its groove. It makes all the Motown references make a lot of sense. The core is still very much punk rock, however, with all that you’d want punk rock to entail. 

Standout tracks on the new album include “Green Glass Chippings”, and a cover of Curtis Mayfield’s “Hard Times”. The keys on the latter are electric, no pun intended. 

Grab a copy when you can. The pre-order is up now.

Cheers!
Jerry Actually

FFO: Leatherface, No Use For A Name, Hi-Standard

Tracks:

1. Looks Alright From Here
2. Green Glass Chippings
3. One Of Those Days
4. Fish N’ Chips
5. Hard Times
6. Barba Gelata
7. Lemon Curd
8. Stolen From View
9. Small F
10. Bing Bong

Dan Vapid and The Cheats Share New Single “Runaway Jane”

DAN VAPID AND THE CHEATS SHARE NEW SINGLE, “RUNAWAY JANE” OFF UPCOMING ALBUM ESCAPE VELOCITY

OUT NOVEMBER 5
ECCENTRIC POP RECORDS

Artwork by Justin Santora

STREAM
SPOTIFY  |  SOUNDCLOUD

1. Come Find Me
2. Burning Questions
3. Middle America
4. Cyber World
5. The Talk
6. Guilt and Relief
7. Runaway Jane
8. Robots
9. Teenage Wallflower
10. Tears are Falling
11. Bitter and Sour
12. Maybe Tomorrow
13. Midnight Blue

(WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 13 2021) — In January of 2020, Dan Vapid and the Cheats began recording their fourth full-length album at Encapsulated Studios in St. Louis, Missouri. They opted to stop the session due to the Coronavirus pandemic and it sat in limbo for over a year. Upon receiving the Covid-19 vaccine, singer Dan Vapid continued the session in the summer of 2021. Now they are ready to release their fourth full-length, Escape Velocity, due out on November 5th via Eccentric Pop Records. Listen to the single “Runaway Jane” here.

“Escape Velocity exemplifies the trials and tribulations the Coronavirus pandemic has had on all of us. But life goes on. And the year hiatus made clear that this life is too short to not do what you love. The single, ‘Runaway Jane is inspired by John Updike’s novel, Rabbit, Run. I thought about what it would be like if a woman from a small town in Illinois left her husband without giving him a warning. I pictured a woman who felt she lived her entire life serving the prescribed roles in our society, only for it to blow into a middle-age existential crisis.”  – Dan Vapid

Dan Vapid And The Cheats is a punk rock band featuring singer, songwriter, and guitarist Dan Vapid. A veteran of the punk scene who has played in influential bands such as Screeching Weasel, The Riverdales, Sludgeworth, The Methadones, Noise By Numbers, The Mopes, and The Queers. The current lineup features Dan Vapid (Vocals/Guitar), Simon Lamb (guitars/vocals), Dillon Dunnagan (bass/vocals), and Gabe Usery (drums/vocals).

In 2013, they released their self-titled debut (recorded by Justin Perkins), a sophomore LP titled Two, produced by Matt Allison (Alkaline Trio, The Lawrence Arms), a split 7″ with Masked Intruder, a split 7″ with The Jetty Boys, and made an appearance on Our Lips Are Sealed – A Tribute to The Go-Go’s. Three, the band’s third full-length and first in six years, was released in 2019 via Eccentric Pop Records. Escape Velocity was engineered, mixed, and mastered by Gabe Usery at Encapsulated Studios in St. Louis, MO., and produced by Dan Vapid and Gabe Usery.  

Descendents Share New Track – That’s the Breaks

DESCENDENTS
SHARE NEW TRACK

“THAT’S THE BREAKS”

Today, legendary punk band Descendents share their new track “That’s The Breaks.” The track follows the politically-charged two-song single Suffrage, released ahead of the 2020 general election encouraging voting to take down the Trump administration. In triumph, “That’s The Breaks” serves as a farewell to 45 ahead of the upcoming inauguration.

“Loser.  Big time loser.  Delusional loser. SORE loser.  The time has come.  The time is now.  Just go, go, GO.  I don’t care how. Donald J. Trump, will you please go now!,” adds vocalist Milo Aukerman. “What’s it gonna take?  A gazillion dollars? (Oh wait, you already grifted that from supporters)… A get out of jail free card? (Only if our judicial system totally fails us)… A wooden stake through the heart?  Whatever we can do to make you go away, we need to do it.  And I don’t mean just leave the White House, I mean crawl back into your hole of hate and live out the rest of your life as a nobody.  A loser.  Because that’s what you are.  Worst. President. Ever.”

LISTEN TO “THAT’S THE BREAKS”

Formed in 1978 Descendents are Milo Aukerman (vocals), Stephen Egerton (guitar), Karl Alvarez (bass), and Bill Stevenson (drums). They have released seven studio albums, Milo Goes to College (1982), I Don’t Want to Grow Up (1985), Enjoy! (1986), All (1987), Everything Sucks (1996), Cool to Be You (2004), and Hypercaffium Spazzinate (2016).

DESCENDENTS BY KEVIN SCANLON

For more information on Descendents, visit:
WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK

Swingin’ Utters – Fistful of Hollow

© 2014 Fat Wreck Chords

Rating: ★★★★★★★★☆☆

fistful-of-hollow-croppedIt’s been a long time since I could drag my ass in front of a computer and be bothered to write anything at all. I’d like to blame it on a lot of things, but in truth, it’s my own fault. Thankfully there is a new album from $wingin’ Utter$ to kick me in the pants. Officially released today, the new album has been streamable through several outlets for a couple weeks now. If you haven’t already heard it, get on this!

15 tracks of both class sounding Utters and a new eclectic sound that brings new dimension to the bands punk rock pedigree. The tracks are arranged in a tilt-a-whirl of back and forth styles. From the angular opener, Alice and into the the title track, Fistfull of Hollow sees the band back to form and then bolting off of standard form into Tell Them Told You So. The album progresses in this manner throughout.

I can understand if it might be a bit off putting at first. There’s a lot of experimenting with styles that might leave some questioning the direction of the band. It’s my opinion that as a band matures, they’re going to either give over to experimentation or grow stale. To that end, it makes me think of how things changed on Let’s Go Bowling’s Stay Tuned release, or later era Clash. Yeah, maybe it wasn’t you thought it was supposed to be, but it was damn good.

Overall it’s a rewarding listen for old and new fans alike. At the end of the day, there’s nothing so far out of form that the familiar tracks won’t drag you back in to give the next tune a try.

–Jerry Actually