The song “Feather” is about experiencing burn out as a creator against the routine of working to pay the bills. In the music video, an artist going about his routine is followed around by members of the band who take the scraps of his crumpled thrown up artwork to have a fight with the balled up artwork like snowballs.The video is warm and fun, much like the progressive groove matched with the earnest lyrics.
The video was directed by vocalist/bassist, Kevin Silveira. “Feather” features the artwork of Melon Bobby instagram.com/melonbobby Simple Minded Symphony will be available on all streaming platforms Tuesday, August 22. Vinyl pre-orders begin today at Ska Punk International: skapunkinternational.com
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
The Dirty Nil, Ontario’s rock ‘n’ roll torchbearers, are emerging with their fourth album, Free Rein to Passions, and it’s a return to a more reckless approach for the JUNO Award-winning trio. In order to incinerate their apparatus, they had to destroy it completely. After experimenting with some smoother, more radio-friendly sounds on 2021’s Fuck Art, The Nil promptly returned to the studio and got back to the basics of what their band is about at its core—thrashy riffs, bashed out drums, and levels-to-the-max volume.
Set for release on May 26th, 2023 via Dine Alone Records, click here to pre-order Free Rein to Passions now.
“Fuck Art had a lot of singing on it. There were not a lot of parts where you could just jam out on riffs,” says frontman Luke Bentham. “Free Rein to Passions is a bit of a nastier record where we didn’t sweat the small insignificant details. If it sounded cool, we went with it.” The band pays homage to some of their loudest, gnarliest influences on Free Rein to Passions, with subtle nods to everything from Power Trip to the Jesus Lizard.
On the album’s catchy first single, “Nicer Guy,” The Nil reminds listeners that they also still wield the power to stitch a perfect, infectious pop hook into their rock fabric. “I’d been sitting on some of the guitar parts for a long time, husbanding them for a suitably righteous song,” Bentham explains. “In the depths of lockdown, I dusted them off and came up with the words. It was a happy day in an otherwise lonely time. Special shoutout to Kyle‘s extremely tight playing and Sam‘s stampeding elephant bass. Sincerity can feel uncomfortable, but this one feels right.”
Watch the accompanying “Nicer Guy” music video now.
Debt Cemetary strikes again with the aggressive new single “Let’s Murderlize ‘Em!”. This hard-hitting release explodes with huge vocal harmonies and ripping guitar riffs that soar throughout the track. Inspired by the height of the civil rights movements that spanned across the globe in 2020, the song reflects the thoughts and feelings of guitarist/vocalist Eddie Knowlton. Mixed and mastered by Matt Gauthier, this latest release from Debt Cemetary shows a new side to the band while keeping true to their original and unique brand of fast punk.
This latest single is further proof that Debt Cemetary is on the rise to bigger and better things.
Alberta Canada’s Trashed Ambulance has unveiled the new standalone single “Cyntax Error,” which follows on the heels of the band’s third LP, 2022’s critically celebrated ‘Future Considerations.’
The single is a loving tribute to Thousand Islands Records label co-owner and label manager Cynthia Charpentier, in honor of her recent birthday. The band says, “When a great friend/mom-ager turns 40, you have to make sure she feels the love. This song is an ode to Cynthia for always kicking ass and taking names while being the best gal East of the Saskatchewan River!”
Cyntax Error Written by Josh Hauta, Jason Ezeard, and Riley Bourne Guitar/Vocals – Josh Hauta Bass/Vocals – Jason Ezeard Drum/Vocals – Riley Bourne Additional Vocals – Casey Lewis Recorded at Echo Base Studio in Calgary, Alberta Recorded, engineered, and produced by Casey Lewis. Mixed and mastered by Casey Lewis.
Inspired by the likes of Pulley, Face to Face, and The Flatliners, Trashed Ambulance continues to churn out gloriously angry yet hopeful punk anthems! Formed in 2014, Trashed Ambulance has survived a plethora of member changes and hangovers to continue forging ahead as a reputable option in the Central Alberta punk scene.
With a handful of EPs, LPs, CDs, and cassettes already under their belt, the boys hit Echo Base Studio in Calgary to work with Casey Lewis (Belvedere) on their most recent LP ‘Future Considerations.’ To date, the band has shared the stage with such punk juggernauts as Face to Face, Belvedere, Voodoo Glowskulls, The Real McKenzies, The Murderburgers, and Ten Foot Pole and have even made an appearance at Pouzza Fest – Montreal’s annual premiere punk fest.
The guys already have some Western Canadian tour dates lined up and plan on terrorizing as many pubs, curling rinks, and bowling alleys as they can play this year.
SLUDGEWORTH, CHICAGO PUNK PIONEERS, TO RELEASE ’95 COMPILATION, LOSERS OF THE YEAR, ON VINYL FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME
For the uninitiated,Sludgeworth are Chicago punk pioneers from the 1980’s that released a posthumous collection/discography album on Lookout Records back in the day — and it sold tens of thousands of copies, which was impressive for a defunct band. With members of Screeching Weasel, they had obvious leanings towards melodic punk, but they also had a quintessential Midwest sound mixed in with some post-punk. Think Naked Raygun and Fugazi.
And now, for the first time ever, Red Scare Industries is releasing Sludgeworth’s first and only LP, Losers of the Year, on vinyl and streaming services. The CD/digital version is getting two previously unreleased tracks: “To Be The Same” and “Here For A While.”
The reissue also comes with live photos from back in the day and liner notes featuring contributions from Naked Raygun’s Jeff Pezzati, Rise Against’s Joe Principe, Mikey Erg, Dillinger Four’s Patrick Costello, and more. It comes out on Friday, December 9 (pre-order).
“This has been in the works for well over 5 years. I know Dan (Sludgeworth singer) from The Methadones records we did. He gave me the green light, but it took ages to track down the audio for this. When I finally had the good sense to contact Chrisser (Appelgren, President/Owner of Lookout Records) he immediately wrote back that he had one last shoe box of tapes, but it was unlikely. Minutes later I got an email that was basically, ‘Ope, I’ll be damned, it’s in here!’ He overnighted me the DAT tape and that was the first promising sign! He’s one of the real heroes of this salvage project. Something else I found out: not easy to transfer a DAT tape these days! I know all sortsa fancy studios, but no one can keep a machine in working order because they’re impossible to maintain. And since THE VERY LAST copy of the master audio were in my hands, I wasn’t about to put it in the mail. Next stroke of luck was that I learned Arik from Creep Records still had a working machine and he hooked me up. He’s hero #2 in this tale! When we were transferring files he was like, ‘Damn, this is good!’ Yet another promising sign! Obviously the art was lost to the winds and there’s literally no band pic or promo shot, so Eric from Wall of Youth had his work cut out for him, but he pulled it off. The final package came out great: we got a buncha live shots and some blurbs from Sludgeworth’s contemporaries. Folks like Jeff from Naked Raygun, Joe from Rise Against, Mikey Erg, Patrick from Dillinger Four, etc. It took some time to cobble together, but I think people will be stoked to finally have a vinyl copy of this.”– Toby, Red Scare
1. Waste It Away 2. Someday 3. Anytime 4. Only One 5. Another Day 6. I Analyze 7. Never Say Never 8. Follow 9. Over And Over 10. She’s Not Disposable 11. Cry Baby 12. Nearest One To Stand Behind 13. Angry Man 14. Two Feet On The Ground 15. You And I 16. To Be The Same* 17. Here For A While* *CD Only Bonus Tracks
“fast, snotty old-school melodic hardcore… even if these are middle-aged guys with decades in the game, they still bring that fired-up teenage rage” – Stereogum
“a melodic hardcore ripper that sounds like the exact middle ground between Lifetime and Minor Threat” – Brooklyn Vegan
Today, Beach Rats drop their debut album Rat Beat via Epitaph Records. An impressive lineup of punk rock lifers, the band is comprised of vocalist Ari Katz (Lifetime,) guitarist Pete Steinkopf (Bouncing Souls,) bassist Bryan Keinlen (Bouncing Souls,) guitarist Brian Baker (Bad Religion, Minor Threat) & Danny Windas on drums. Not wanting to take themselves too seriously, the band formed merely over a love of the genre. These are veterans of hardcore punk having fun and trying replicate the feeling and sound of what it was like to make punk music in the 80’s.
“You’re gonna get authentic punk and hardcore from BEACH RATS because we are all from the 80’s,” Bryan Kienlen comments. “It’s literally taking it back to some of our biggest influences like Negative Approach and Poison Idea, and of course, Minor Threat.”
Beach Rats came to be as each member found themselves settled in the beach community of Asbury Park, New Jersey. The crew started up when Pete, Bryan and Ari performed punk covers together for the first time at the funeral for Vision front man, Dave Franklin. After releasing an EP in 2018 and performing a slew of high-energy shows, the global pandemic gave the band a reason to get back to recording. The majority of the songs on Rat Beat were conceptualized and rehearsed in the basement of Brian Baker’s home and then tracked by Eric Bennett at Lakehouse Studios in only one day.
Baker recalls, “We’d go down in the basement, put on masks, open the windows and we could play – within CDC guidelines! We couldn’t go to dinner at each other’s houses but we could practice.”
From the kick-off of “Bikes Out” and “Dress for Sick Sesh” to the roughshod melodicism of “Clorox Boys” or “Heavy Conversation” Rat Beat is an in-the moment snapshot of the five members’ distinct styles with no self-editing or second guessing. “The song ‘Summer’s End’ sums up a lot of what was going on for us when we were recording,” admits Ari Katz. “It was the end of the season which coincided with a lot of things that were ending in my life. It was fun to weave in that kind of imagery. Closing the beach, the town, switching over from the summer people to the faces you see in the winter and how that mirrors what was going on personally. In that sort of in-the-moment-ness of BEACH RATS, there’s an undeniable honesty.”
“as if Taking Back Sunday had attended the Guided By Voices school of songwriting,” NYT on “Gotta Let It Go”
“a hooky, straightforward rock band that can’t seem to miss, with a signature touch you can’t mistake no matter how much they tweak the details.” – Stereogum
“a refreshing burst of off-kilter rock—whether it’s emo, pop-punk, or indie rock. It’s just an undeniable jam.” – UPROXX on “Don’t Try”
“sounds like the Joyce Manor you fell in love with from the very beginning…” – SPIN on “Gotta Let It Go”
Today, Joyce Manor unveil their 6th studio album, 40 oz. To Fresno. Seeing the band return to form after a brief hiatus, it will undoubtedly please fans who have been waiting four years since 2018’s Million Dollars To Kill Me. The much anticipated record has songs that span over the last eight years, yet achieve a cohesion that marks the next chapter of Joyce Manor.
Vocalist Barry Johnson summarizes,“This album makes me think of our early tours, drinking a 40 in the van on a night drive blasting Guided By Voices and smoking cigarettes the whole way to Fresno.”
In celebration of the release, Joyce Manor have teamed up with local Los Angeles vegan fast food establishment, Burgerlords from the weekend of June 10th through June 12th. Fans and foodies alike can stop by and enjoy a unique vegan burrito created by the band, a branded hot sauce, as well as limited edition t-shirts and only 100 prints of an exclusive vinyl variant with an alternate album cover. Both the Highland Park and Chinatown, Los Angeles locations will be participating while supplies last.
Originally planning to take a break from music, Joyce Manor brought their latest project 40 oz to Fresno to life thanks to singer/guitarist Barry Johnson’s desire to keep writing during quarantine. Produced by Rob Schnapf (Elliott Smith, Tokyo Police Club, Joyce Manor’s ‘Cody’,) mixed by Tony Hoffer (Beck, Phoenix) with Tony Thaxton of Motion City Soundtrack on drums, a sense of liberation lies at the core of this project. It’s strangely fitting that the title was taken from an auto-corrected text message about Sublime. Those types of happy accidents are all over 40 oz. To Fresnoand are worth the subsequent sonic hangover.
Since forming in 2008, the pop-punk group has proved time and time again that they can capture listeners’ attention through catchy yet thought provoking lyrics, and high energy shows. Although they have an established sound that reflects the energetic and gritty nature of the band which fans have come to expect, they push the limits by experimenting throughout the recording process.
Joyce Manor is a band from Torrance, CA consisting of Barry Johnson (vocals/guitar), Chase Knobbe (guitar), and Matt Ebert (bass). Johnson and Knobbe started the band in 2008 in the Disneyland parking lot while sharing a bottle of cheap booze. Named after an apartment complex that Johnson would walk past every day, Joyce Manor made their debut as an acoustic two-piece. Quickly they learned that playing loud was much more fun and invited friends to join the lineup. The band has since released five studio albums; Joyce Manor (2011), Of All Things I Will Soon Grow Tired (2012), Never Hungover Again (2014), Cody (2016), Million Dollars to Kill Me (2018), and Songs From Northern Torrance (2020). Joyce Manor has toured extensively and has made festival appearances at FYF Fest, Coachella, Riot Fest, and others. Press accolades for Joyce Manor include support from Pitchfork, Stereogum, NPR, The New York Times, Brooklyn Vegan, SPIN, Rolling Stone, The FADER, and more.
