Ooooooohhhhhhh shit this is good. Also, good morning, how are you? Good? Have a nice weekend? Great, now back to this good shit. “Time” by The Bad Man is skronky, grimy, gritty, funky, sweaty, dirty rock n’ roll of the finest kind and if you ain’t ready for that kind of week GET ON OUR LEVEL. There’s a hint of young Rollins in the vocals, but instead of Black Flag it’s as if he got to fill in for Iggy on a loose Stooges jam session where they played around with a ska riff. It not only grooves but it moves like street walking cheetah going one step beyond and is one of the best things to be sent to us in a long, long time.
June 20, 2022
Week Starter – The Bad Man
June 14, 2022
Tuesday Tip-Off: Daughterman
Transparency disclosure yada yada yada – Daughterman is the solo musical project of weekly contributor J.R. Mcintire. This album is being reviewed by Postcard Editor.
J.R. Mcintire has been a busy bee of late. Not only did his group Arctic Char release their debut album at the start of the year, but now just a scant few months later comes Part Deuxde, the second album under his solo brand Daughterman. Whereas the first DM album showcased a diverse range of rock n’ roll styles, this one is a bit more focused affair both sonically and lyrically. The album largely deals with the stresses, insecurities and feelings of being lost in life, but as should be evident from both the title of the album and the opening track – “Never Forget (to remember the ones who never forgot to remember to never surrender)” – Mcintire’s sense of humor is still at play as well. This is most on display in the Bungle-esque “The Scold” where they dunk on anti-vax conspiracy theorists with an assist from SCRAM’s Mike Jeffers (also a PE contributor). Deuxde finds Mcintire still playing with various styles – from full on metal to delicate piano ballads and just about everything in between – but this go round there’s a thread connecting it all and that thread is what keeps pulling you back for repeat listens.
June 10, 2022
Week Ender – Making Movies
“XOPA” isn’t just the best Afro-Latin rock track you’ll hear from, checks notes, Kansas City this week it’s also most likely the best Afro-Latin rock track you’ll hear all year from all corners of the globe. KC’s own Making Movies bring the rhythms and melodies you expect in a traditional leaning Latin banger but give it enough grit, rasp, dirt and urgency to make it rock as well as swing. Just like how Los Fabulous Cadillacs changed the ska game in the 80’s by incorporating South American styles and rhythms (as well as a hearty dose of rock) Making Movies reinvigorates two genres by seamlessly blending them. They’re not the only ones out there working a Latin rock nexus, but if “XOPA” is any indicator they’re leaps and bounds above the rest.
April 11, 2022
Week Starter – Life Stuff
If there’s one piece of optimism we’ve gleaned from running this blog over the years it is this: lo-fi bedroom/basement rock n’ roll will never die. No matter what the world throws at us, young people (and occasionally not so young people) will fight the boredom and the darkness with a couple of mics and banger of a tune. One does not fight the darkness by sending demos to big labels, the darkness is fought by those who say “fuck it, this rips, let’s just put it out there.” Life Stuff is such a darkness fighter and “Finger Gun” is their silver bullets filled with garlic punching holes of light through the haters.
(Full disclosure, we watched the Blade series this weekend)
Anyway, all that is to say this song does indeed rip, and even if you didn’t spend your weekend with Wesley Snipes it’ll still find it’s way onto your favorites playlist.
April 11, 2022
Mike’s Monday Muse – Calexico
John Convertino and Joey Burns first met when they were playing with Howe Gelb in Giant Sand in the early 90s before going on to form Calexico. El Mirador is the 13th studio album of captivating cactus community rock-n-roll from arguably the world’s best band.
April 8, 2022
Friday 5×5
Today we micro reviews of songs with macro vibes. Check out the latest from TombSnakes, The Deepest Shade, LocalBlac with Hina Kawago, Onyda and Adam Yas after the jump.
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April 5, 2022
Tuesday Tip-Off: Saxon Jenkins
We, like most of our fellow elders, have a healthy hatred of the TikTok generation. Millions of young people chasing fame by lip syncing words sung by others and doing the latest dance trend and telling dad jokes that have been around forever. Essentially doing anything other than showing some sort of talent or heaven forbid, an original thought. So you can understand our hesitation when we saw the babyface of Saxon Jenkins and the ring light + green screen music video for “Heart Attack,” but it wasn’t long before this plucky Australian teen won us over by A) singing and playing his own song and B) that song being pretty good. Before you pull up your Michael Jordan “Fuck Them Kids” meme give it a spin and realize that this kid has written a catchy straight forward rock n’ roll number in the vein of The Hives (albeit on the poppier side), something we can always use more of.
April 1, 2022
Friday 5×5
No foolin’ we got five great songs that need little help from us to sell them, because they’re that good. Check out the latest from Andrew Vogt, a-tota-so, Monokino, Declan McNulty and Wrong Eagle after the jump.
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March 23, 2022
The Midweekly – Dog Fashion Disco
The Midweekly is our column from Mike Jeffers; lead singer of Chicago punk stalwarts SCRAM, music junkie and all around righteous dude.
Sometimes it’s a haunted house, or a freakshow. Could be a kinky burlesque, or a twisted carnival act. No matter the flavor of this variety show the house band will always be Dog Fashion Disco. Close to 25 years ago this experimental hard rock group oozed out of Maryland, and after a few lineup changes and a hiatus, they are still creeping and crawling. Cult Classic is the latest album from DFD. It’s nine tracks of metal riffs, circus organs, and ska horns, with complex structures and infectious hooks. Todd Smith, singer and the only member who’s been a constant in the band, whispers, roars, and croons out images from horror, sci fi, and other dark corners of pop culture, with some of the cleverest writing found in this genre. In these tunes there’s a lot of smirking, and poking fun at the way we view the macabre. Long time fans might notice this record lacking a bit of the more exploratory elements from DFD’s past releases, but they haven’t lost their edge. As long as the reptile woman is still strip teasing for the pagan ghosts, DFD will provide the soundtrack.
March 14, 2022
Week Starter – Electric Candlelight
It’s spring break week here in the midwestern college town that PE is based in, and though our days of storming the beaches of Florida like some horny Normandy are long behind us, some habits die hard. Seasonal habits like cranking tunes that make us feel wild and invincible, at least until the hangover kicks in and the new tattoo we don’t remember getting starts to scab over. “Don’t Turn” by Electric Candlelight is such a song. There’s a deep seated, almost genetic, love of classic rock imbued in every midwesterner, and so a barn burner that sounds like John Fogerty fronting the James Gang has our number in a way that few things ever will. Whenever a band wears their influences so prominently there’s a conversation to be had about authenticity and intent, but when the song in question is this good do we really care? As another band that moved past their own tribute phase once said “It’s only rock n’ roll, but I like it.”