Author: Jerry Actually

Rotten Flag – We Are…

So I had a chance to check out “We Are…” the sophomore album by Gothenburg Sweden’s very own DIY punk rock band Rotten Flag. Trying to put this band into a category was a little difficult, and I landed on Punk. They are a punk bands punk band. Picture Cock Sparrer and Angelic Upstarts with a splash of Ramones for good measure. This album is twelve short tracks of simple riffs and alternating vocal stylings that range from hoarse growling to a semi-melodic tone that will keep you invested. 

Boasting a somewhat apolitical stance with the first track Oxymoron Stereotype, you’ll get the impression that they’d rather spend the short time given to each song (averaging well under two minutes) discussing the more important things in life like drinking, doing drugs, and having promiscuous sex. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. But they do take a more political stand later in the album with the songs When We Attack, and Damnation. The song The Evil of Religion sounds exactly like you’d expect from the title. 

This album embodies that classic punk attitude of railing against conformity and giving the middle finger to authority figures with a shit eating grin. It’s the kind of punk your parents tried to warn you about. Rotten Flag clearly doesn’t give a shit about your PC sensibilities, so if you’re easily offended by a little off-colour language then this might not be a great choice for you. Personally I find it refreshing. They seem like they’d be either the most fun guys at the party, or the most terrifying. 

All in all, it’s a thoroughly enjoyable album. My personal favourites include We Are…, You Didn’t Hear It On The Radio, and Do You Wanna Be My Anarchy. I will definitely be looking for the LP when it finally comes out, and will be keeping an eye on these guys for their third album. And considering that their first release “the band from the pubs” came out in December 2021 I Will be expecting something possibly in early 2023 or so. Maybe that’s just wishful thinking on my part though. 

Keep up the good work guys! 

Jëffy 

The album will be released on streaming platforms on January, 31st 2022, with a vinyl release to follow as production allows.

SOUL GLO ANNOUNCE NEW ALBUM DIASPORA PROBLEMS

SOUL GLO
ANNOUNCE NEW ALBUM
DIASPORA PROBLEMS
OUT CD/DIGITAL MARCH 25 VIA EPITAPH
& ON VINYL VIA SECRET VOICE
SHIPPING LATE 2022

SHARE NEW TRACK
“JUMP!! (OR GET JUMPED!!!)((BY THE FUTURE))”
WATCH | LISTEN

ON TOUR WITH CIRCA SURVIVE
BEGINNING FEBRUARY 6

ARTWORK

Revolutionary Philadelphia hardcore band, Soul Glo is thrilled to announce their fourth studio album Diaspora Problems due out digitally on March 25. The album will be available on vinyl via Secret Voice, expected to ship late 2022. Pre-orders are available now, here.

Today, the band shares the first glimpse of the forthcoming album with “Jump!! (Or Get Jumped!!!)((by the future)),” a hardcore whirlwind of justified rage, spinning like a verbal circle pit with a steady drumbeat and swirling guitars. Lyrically, Soul Glo examine the disposability of Black art and its creators and the mental anguish of having “big big plans” in a time when a future is not guaranteed. “Many artists feel as though time is a consistent adversary when it comes to the production of their work, but there is a population of people within this group who fear even more the probability of their time permanently coming to a close before they can enjoy the fruit of their labor,” explains the band. “Many Black artists who reach superstar status do so posthumously or have a limited amount of time to establish their legacy.” Throughout the track, Soul Glo breakdown genre walls blending hip-hop, hardcore, and punk channeling the flow of Migos and Three 6 Mafia mixed with the hardcore likings of Warthog, Converge’s You Fail Me-era, and screamo cacophony akin to City of Caterpillar.

CHECK OUT “JUMP!! (OR GET JUMPED!!!)((BY THE FUTURE))” NOW
WATCH | LISTEN

Conceptualized over the course of 2016 to 2021, Diaspora Problems was recorded in an unfinished warehouse and the band’s practice space during the hottest parts of summer 2021.

The self-produced albumexplores an artist and individuals’ self-doubt and self-hate, past traumas that can only be worked out in adulthood, financial instability and how it affects an artist, the effects of institutional and state violence, and the power of community that delivered Soul Glo through each struggle the band has endured from their inception and before. Soul Glo’s lyrics are uncompromising, written to raise awareness of social justice issues, and designed to make you look inward.

Diaspora Problems is only the beginning of what will undoubtedly be a bright future for Soul Glo, as well as a forecast for what the band is capable of musically. Hardcore punk is at the precipice of a sonic revolution as a higher variance of people find room for themselves and the expression of their lived experience within the genre. More and more people will be injecting a cultural identity and offering a narrative previously unheard and/or underappreciated by punk rockers and kindred spirits the world over. Diaspora Problems is not aiming to be the only album like it that exists, but instead one of many entries in a new dawn for rock music.

Soul Glo is Pierce Jordan (vocals), Ruben Polo (guitar), GG Guerra (bass, vocals, programming), and TJ Stevenson (drums).

DIASPORA PROBLEMS TRACKLIST
1. Gold Chain Punk (whogonbeatmyass?)
2. Coming Correct Is Cheaper
3. Thumbsucker
4. Fucked Up If True
5.Jump!! (Or Get Jumped!!!)((by the future))
6. Driponomics (ft. Mother Maryrose)
7. (Five Years And) My Family
8. The Thangs I Carry (ft. Bearcat)
9. We Wants Revenge
10. John J (ft. Kathryn Edwards and Zula Wildheart)
11. GODBLESSYALLREALGOOD
12. Spiritual Level Of Gang Shit (ft. Mckinley Dixon and Lojii)

Soul Glo will hit the road with Circa Survive and Tigers Jaw in North America starting February 6 in Fort Lauderdale, FL. January 7 – February 5 dates have been postponed, reschedule information coming soon. 

SOUL GLO TOUR DATES
with Circa Survive & Tigers Jaw
2/6                   Ft. Lauderdale, FL                  Revolution
2/8                   St Petersburg, FL                   Jannus Live
2/9                   Orlando, FL                             House of Blues
2/11                 Atlanta, GA                             Masquerade
2/12                 Charlotte, NC                          The Fillmore
2/13                 Richmond, VA                        The National
2/15                 Nashville, TN                          Cannery Ballroom
2/16                 Louisville, KY                          Mercury Ballroom
2/18                 Cincinnati, OH                        Bogarts
2/19                 Detroit, MI                               The Majestic
2/20                 Toronto, ON                            Opera House
2/22                 Montreal, QC                          Fairmont Theatre
2/23                 Albany, NY                             Empire Live
2/25                 Boston, MA                             House of Blues
2/26                 Hartford, CT                            The Webster
2/27                 Brooklyn, NY                          Brooklyn Steel
3/1                   Pittsburgh, PA                        Stage AE
3/2                   Baltimore, MD                         Rams Head Live
3/4                   Philadelphia, PA                     Union Transfer
3/5                   Philadelphia, PA                     Union Transfer

SOUL GLO BY MITCHELL WOCJIK

For more information on Soul Glo, visit:
BANDCAMP | INSTAGRAM | TWITTER | FACEBOOK

Charger Premieres New Song/Video “Rolling Through The Night” On Revolver

New album Warhorse available for pre-order

Watch here: https://www.revolvermag.com/music/dinos-blood-rivers-face-melting-see-chargers-epic-video-rollin-through-night

East Bay, CA — January 6, 2022 — CHARGER has premiered their music video for “Rolling Through The Night” over at Revolver –  which is the first single from their highly anticipated new record Warhorse. The incredible animated video was created by Ben Clarkson (Jimkata, Death Angel). The album, along with bundles, new merch, and a limited edition 7”, are now available for pre-order on Pirates Press Records’ webstore and will be available in local record stores on March 18th, 2022.

The band says “The song is essentially about living ‘Wild and free I’m riding on the wind, numb to fear or pain.’ A feeling of invincibility and living your life to just go out and own every night and get into whatever you can find.”

The powerhouse trio consists of McGee, Matt Freeman (Rancid, Operation Ivy) singing and playing bass, and Jason Willer (UK Subs, Jello Biafra’s Guantanamo School of Medicine) who drums and sings too.

After months of being locked away writing new songs, the band went into Atomic Garden Studios in Oakland for two weeks to record, Warhorse is the follow-up to the band’s previous releases on Pirates Press Records – their debut self-titled EP and two singles “Watch Your Back” and “Stay Down.”

When thinking of a way to create a forceful first impression for the new record, the band knew they wanted to work with Clarkson to create a video that would get everyone talking. “For the video, we really liked Death Angel’s video for ‘Aggressor’ by Ben.  We reached out to him and talked about a more metaphorical approach, and so we mentioned something about a flying car. He said ‘how about a flying pterodactyl over a river of blood?’ and that’s all we needed to hear. Ben went and did his thing and created a great story encapsulating that feeling of invincibility into what we think is a kick-ass video where our guy’s face melts off as he rides his pterodactyl and becomes one with the universe. We think. Anyway, it’s fucking awesome,” adds guitarist Andrew McGee.

(L to R: Matt Freeman, Jason Willer, Andrew McGee)

Formed in 2018, Charger was very much a musical challenge between a few lifers in the punk scene who wanted to push each other to dig deep into their shared roots, influences, and musical passions, to create something truly exciting. As a result, Charger’s music feels indebted to the giants, but not reliant on them. There is plenty of space for growth and innovation within this decades-old blueprint of how to make someone’s heart race and blood pump.

The new album Warhorse is now available for pre-order along with a limited edition 7”, bundles that include a bag of (incredible) CHARGER COFFEE, and new merch like a skateboard deck, shirts, and a hoodie. All of this is available on the Pirates Press Records’ webstore.

Charger is:
Matt Freeman – vocals/bass
Jason Willer – drums/vocals
Andrew McGee – guitar/vocals

The Sleights – It’s Not That Easy

Click here to listen to It’s Not That Easy

This band includes members of the Nobodys, who are most famous for out-Guttermouthing Guttermouth as the shittiest, most mysogynistic punk band of the 90s. With song titles like “She Can’t Say No”, “Kielbasa Queen”, and “Just Another Cunt”, it was surprising to me even then that they were embraced to the extent they were. Here’s a lyrical sample from a 2001 album, “I like young girls. I like the way they smell. I like their pretty curls. Their parents can go to hell”.

Look, I don’t know if any of the chief songwriters are in The Sleights, but why the fuck would you even put it in your bio? Aren’t you embarrassed now? You should be. I’m not even a super PC dude when it comes to my punk rock, I love The Dwarves and Cosmic Psychos, but there is a big difference between those bands and the Nobodys. In an effort to be fair, there is also a dude from The Lillingtons in here, who as far as I know are NOT sexual predators. Also to be fair, this band is factually not The Nobodys.

They are The Sleights and sound like mid-tempo Good Riddance with Samiam-style vocals. Subject matter seems to focus on the vague interpersonal negative feelings of 40-something-year-old bearded white dudes in black band T-shirts, and also on alcohol. I am, regrettably, the target demographic. I have to say though, I like this more each time I listen to it.

The song “Fucked Up” in particular, even though it clocks in at nearly four and half minutes, has some Wrath of Khan strength ear worms and does not seem overly long. I went a few days between listens, and the song had burrowed its way into my brain enough that it was echoing around in there. Lots of echoing in there. Mostly of other mid-tempo punk rock and stupid things I regret saying between the years 1989-present.

In conclusion, The Sleights are sort of good. It’s better than I could do. Maybe when they hangout together and get deep enough into the night, they speak in hushed tones to one another about how fucking dumb The Nobodys were and how they’re better people now. Maybe the guilt of having been in The Nobodys is what echoes around in their brains.

–Zach Akenson

Tracks:
1. It’s Not That Easy
2. I Don’t Give a Damn
3. Skin and Bone
4. Fucked Up
5. Faded
6. The Morgue

Special Duties – 7 Days A Week

So I had a chance to check out the new album 7 Days a Week by English punk band Special Duties. If you’re in the mood for an old-school Oi! sound that’s been polished up and produced in a much more modern way, then look no further, 7 Days a Week is exactly that. 

This album is chock full songs about social issues, addiction, and class struggle, as well as some songs that feel like you should be singing along to while tipping back pints in an English pub. And that is exactly what you’d expect from these guys.

At first pass the album kinda falls flat and seems like the lyrics were put together in a hasty, hap-hazard fashion. Subsequent listening will have you singing along to the better constructed tunes like the albums namesake 7 Days a Week and Punks and Bootboys. The songs Fight Back, Rebel and Time Bomb show a more aggressive side of the band and are my personal favourites from this release. 

At times the high quality of the recording feels like it takes away from the expected “punkness”. If that’s a thing… but this is just wishful thinking on my part I suppose. It’s not like we can expect modern engineers to deliberately make a band sound like shit… can we? 

All in all it’s a passable album, and if you grew up listening to the older British punk of the early 80s you should definitely at the very least, give this a try. I won’t be running out to get the first pressing or anything, but it might be fun to catch the live show at some point.

–Jëffy

Milquetoast – Caterwaul

I can’t pretend like I’m ever terribly excited to hear a band that has descriptors like “doom”, “stoner”, and “sludge”. This is mostly because modern bands who fall into these categories often take themselves too seriously, and frankly I just don’t understand why you’re so goddamn negative and serious if you’re blazing up all the time. Thankfully, Milquetoast does not fall into this genre trapping.

They have instead crafted a modern day album of AmRep-style bangers that sometimes even veers into old school hardcore goofiness, a la Flag of Democracy. Before grunge was called grunge and ruined by shit bands like Alice In Chains, it kind of sounded like this. There is definitely some excellent Mark Arm howling going on. I’m also hearing Cows, particularly in the way Milquetoast throws instrumental curve balls at you to keep things interesting.

I’m listening to this via a YouTube link, so it’s difficult to refer to specific tracks, but there’s enough variety on here to make the whole thing worth your time. This is a quality I’ve found lacking in other “doom” and “sludge” bands. Unless your band is exclusively marijuana referencing in the name, I don’t get the “stoner” part either.

Historically, AmRep, Mudhoney, and proto-grunge bands like Cosmic Psychos (who invented that blown out sound) have been way more famous for beer consumption. To me, this is drunk music more than stoner rock, and that’s a good thing. Whatever you like to do to your brain when you pretend like the world isn’t ending, do it while blasting Milquetoast. This is a super fun record that I wish I had a hard copy of. Highly (or drunkenly) recommended.

–Zach Akenson

Tracks:
Intro
Dead Inside
Recognize
Matapacos
Stoner Safari
Step Off
Space Force
Fake News Blues
Wall
Forgotten Death

Bio:
When Milquetoast (milk-ˌtōst) is used as an adjective, it means timid, meek, or unassertive. But you only need a single distorted power chord or unhinged howl from the Indiana trio’s punked-up party sludge to get sucker-punched by the band name’s irony. Milquetoast will kick 2022’s front door off its hinges with their debut LP mastered by Chris Fielding of the mighty Conan, appropriately named Caterwaul.

Formed in 2018 by vocalist/guitarist Ty Winslow, Milquetoast was devised as an expression of weirdo punk fury. In fact, it was Winslow’s penchant for loud riffs and cheeky vibes that initially lured vocalist/bassist Andy Bowerman as a collaborator.

“In a church 2.5 hours in the middle of nowhere,” Bowerman recalls, “I was looking out into the melee [of a mosh pit] and seeing crossdressing members of [Winslow’s then-band] Battersea riding each other around like jousting mounts. So the friendship came easy—and came often.”

After recruiting drumming dynamo Nick James, the band’s unique impish energy took shape. Gather the mops that soaked up sweat and blood from stages in the ’80s west coast punk and Seattle grunge scenes. Squeeze the fluids into a shot glass…

MILQUETOAST IS:
Ty – guitar and vocals
Andy – bass, vocals, and synth
Nick – drums

Video Premiere – Is It You? – The Witch and The Burro

An eerie tale of time travel and (possible) mistaken identity, “is it you” is a duet by The Witch and The Burro. The duo – comprised of Vic Ruggiero and lauren napier – filmed the spooky scenes in a haunted house in Baker City, OR. In between tour dates and plague pauses, they search for ghost towns amongst desert landscapes. “Is It You?” captures that feeling in both spirit and narrative.

So join the fortune teller and the wolf man, the witch and the burro…. They will embark on a tour – yet to be formally announced – in the new year, so keep an eye out. Lauren has just released The Mourning Moon Hangs Quietly – an intimate live recording offered on cassette by This and That Tapes. Vic is on the road with his band, The Slackers, (possibly) coming to a town near you.

HILLBILLY MOON EXPLOSION Reissue 3rd Album & Release Special 7” Vinyl!


Zürich Rockabilly Icons THE HILLBILLY MOON EXPLOSION Reissue 3rd Album & Release Special 7” Vinyl!

Los Angeles, CA – When last we heard from Swiss rockabilly phenoms The Hillbilly Moon Explosion, they had just inked a deal with U.S.-based label Cleopatra Records to reissue their first two albums, the incredible 2002 debut album, fittingly entitled Introducing The Hillbilly Moon Explosion, as well as the sophomore effort, Bourgeois Baby. Now comes the third album, the exquisite All Grown Up, which is being released on both CD in a slick digipak as well as on a limited-edition PURPLE SPLATTER vinyl in gatefold jacket. Originally released in 2007, All Grown Up, as the title suggests, shows the band maturing in both their songwriting and arranging talents, offering a diverse palette of blues, ska, jazz and early rock stylings.

Order the CD/LP:https://cleorecs.com/store/?s=hillbilly+moon+explosion+all+grown+up&post_type=product

Stream/download All Grown Up:https://orcd.co/o0vkq1a

And for an extra special holiday treat, the band has prepped a rockin’ RED & WHITE splatter 7″ featuring the lead-off track “Chick Habit” from their debut album backed with a gorgeous ballad “Many Tears Ago” from Bourgeois Baby. Makes for a perfect stocking stuffer!

Order the 7”:https://cleorecs.com/store/shop/the-hillbilly-moon-explosion-chick-habit-limited-edition-7-splatter-vinyl/

All Grown Up Tracklist:
1. Walk Italian
2. Need You to Stay
3. Live the Life
4. The Long Way Down
5. Putty in Your Hands
6. Brown Eyed Boy
7. Tornado
8. House of Bamboo
9. Somebody Changed the Lock
10. All Grown Up
11. Oh Oh Mojo
12. Little Lil
13. Midnight Track
14. Moonshine Song

The Linda Lindas Share New Track “Nino”

THE LINDA LINDAS
SHARE NEW TRACK “NINO”

ARTWORK

Los Angeles-based, all-female punk band The Linda Lindas have released the riff-laden power punk single “Nino.” The track, written for vocalist and guitarist Bela’s cat, is taken from the band’s forthcoming 2022 studio release. 

On the band’s 2020 self-titled EP, Bela wrote a song about her siamese cat “Monica.” However, her cat Nino wouldn’t leave her alone until he got a song too. It is finally Nino’s time to shine. According to the band, “if you listen carefully there is a real-life, remarkably talented cat named Lil Dude playing piano on it. (We have the footage!) Enjoy!”

CHECK OUT “NINO” NOW

“Nino” follows the viral smash hit “Racist, Sexist Boy,” and  “Oh!” which was featured in the trailer for the Netflix series “The Chair” starring Golden Globe winning actress, Sandra Oh.

ABOUT THE LINDA LINDAS
Formed in 2018, The Linda Lindas first played together when former Dum Dum Girls frontwoman Kristin Kontrol invited them to take the stage to play covers for Girlschool LA (a music and ideas festival focused on connecting and empowering women-identified artists, leaders, and voices). After forming their own band and playing DIY gigs around Los Angeles, they were asked to open for punk icon Alice Bag and for seminal riot grrrl band Bikini Kill at one of their 2019 reunion shows at the Hollywood Palladium. In time, the band began writing their own material, including a song featured in the 2020 Netflix documentary The Claudia Kishi Club.

The Linda Lindas released their self-titled, self-released debut EP in 2020 showcasing their high-energy and heartfelt brand of punk, naming Jawbreaker, The Go-Go’s, and The Alley Cats among their inspirations. Months later, they appeared in a key scene of Amy Poehler’s Moxie!

In May 2021, The Linda Lindas’ set at the Cypress Park branch of the L.A. Public Library was streamed as an AAPI Heritage Month event (the band members are Asian American, Latinx, or both). The bands blistering performance of “Racist, Sexist Boy,” amassed over four million views on Instagram, and earned major praise from the likes of Hayley Williams, Questlove, Flea, and members of Rage Against the Machine and Sonic Youth.

The Linda Lindas are Eloise (vocals, bass), Mila (vocals, drums), Bela (vocals, guitar), and Lucia (vocals, guitar).

PHOTO CREDIT: SANDY KIM

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE LINDA LINDAS, VISIT:
WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM

GREGOR BARNETT ANNOUNCES DEBUT RECORD

GREGOR BARNETT
ANNOUNCES DEBUT RECORD
DON’T GO THROWING ROSES IN MY GRAVE
OUT CD/DIGITAL FEBRUARY 18
& ON VINYL MARCH 18

SHARES TITLE TRACK
WATCH | LISTEN

ARTWORK

Gregor Barnett, guitarist/co-vocalist for The Menzingers, announces his debut release Don’t Go Throwing Roses In My Grave due out digitally and on CD February 18 via Epitaph Records. The album will be available on vinyl March 18.

Written and recorded in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Don’t Go Throwing Roses In My Grave is a sonic departure from Barnett’s more punk-leaning work with The Menzingers, drawing on the gritty, off-kilter Americana of Tom Waits or Warren Zevon as it faces down loss and doubt in search of relief and redemption. “It was this perfect storm,” says Barnett. “The band couldn’t tour, I was going through a really difficult time, and I was stuck at home watching my family struggle with illness and death and hardship. The only thing I could do was write my way through it.” 

“Writing’s always been my way of making sense of the world,” Barnett explains treating his early lockdown writing sessions as something akin to therapy, a place to process his anxiety about his family’s health and wellbeing and the grief that came with the passing of his grandfather. “I was writing because it felt good to write,” he adds. “But once I got three or four songs together, I began to realize that there was a story there and that I should be documenting how I felt as I made my way through this really challenging chapter.”

After working on demos and mapping out the project in his home studio in Philadelphia, Barnett brought the songs to longtime collaborator and producer Will Yip (Mannequin Pussy, Quicksand) for a two-and-a-half-week recording session. Barnett also enlisted Yip to play drums and brought in his Menzingers bandmates Eric Keen to play bass, Joe Godino to add percussion, and Tom May to take the record’s cover photo. The result is ten vulnerable and stripped-down tracks that serve as a reminder to cherish the ones we love and the connections we have with them in what precious little time we’ve been given.

Today, Barnett shares the title track, “Don’t Go Throwing Roses In My Grave,” in which he takes a look at the ritual of laying flowers in memory of the deceased; “It’s a beautiful way to honor the people we’ve lost, but I think a lot of times we forget to appreciate our relationships with those people while they’re still here,” he explains. “I wanted this song to be a celebration of life and what we have before it’s gone.”

CHECK OUT “DON’T GO THROWING ROSES IN MY GRAVE,” NOW
WATCH | LISTEN

DON’T GO THROWING ROSES IN MY GRAVE TRACK LISTING
1.     Oh Lord, What Do You Know?
2.     Driving Through the Night
3.     The First Dead Body I Ever Saw
4.     No Peace of Mind to Rest
5.     Talking to Your Tombstone
6.     Don’t Go Throwing Roses In My Grave
7.     Hurry Me Down to Hades
8.     Anthem For the One I Love
9.     At a Greyhound Station, Desperate
10.  Guest In Your House

In celebration of the record, Gregor Barnett will hit the road next spring beginning February 24 in Ashbury Park, NJ. Tickets are on sale Friday, November 12. For more information, visit https://gregorbarnett.com.

GREGOR BARNETT TOUR DATES
2/24        Asbury Park, NJ        House of Independents
2/25        New York, NY           Mercury Lounge
2/26        Philadelphia, PA       Johnny Brenda’s
2/27        Boston, MA               Sonia
3/1          Toronto, ON              Sneaky Dee’s
3/2          Cleveland, OH           Mahall’s
3/4          Chicago, IL                Beat Kitchen
3/5          Detroit, MI                 The Sanctuary
3/8          Nashville, TN             The End
3/9          Atlanta, GA                The Masquerade
3/10        Chapel Hill, NC         Local 506
3/11        Richmond, VA           The Camel
3/12        Washington, DC        Songbyrd

PHOTO CREDIT: TOM MAY

For more information on Gregor Barnett, visit:
WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TWITTER