Tag: garage punk

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Wine Lips Share Breakneck Ripper “Stimulation”

Toronto-based outfit Wine Lips started back in 2015 as a part-time project between its founding members Cam Hilborn (vocals, guitar) and Aurora Evans (drums). But with the release of 2017’s self-titled debut, the band quickly amassed international attention, which resulted in tours across North America, followed by an unexpected tour of Hong Kong and China in 2018.

2019’s sophomore album Stressor was released to critical praise. Multiple album tracks charted on North American and European radio, with several being featured in broadcast and Netflix series. Building upon a growing profile, the Canadian outfit embarked on some rather relentless touring.

Much like everyone else, the COVID-19 pandemic threw a monkey wrench into the band’s plans and aspirations. The Canadian band used the enforced downtime to fully dedicate themselves to crating and writing their third album 2021’s Mushroom Death Sex Bummer Party, which was released to widespread critical praise across 35 countries. The album has amassed over 20 million streams on Spotify — and the vinyl release is currently in its seventh pressing with nine different color variants. The album’s lead track “Eyes” was licensed to a bevy of films, series and video games, including ABC’s The Rookie, Hockey Night in Canada (I guess stereotypes are true) Population 11 and a lengthy list of others. Much more relentless touring to support the album ensued, and the venues were the largest they ever played — and mostly sold-out.

The Toronto-based outfit’s latest album Super Mega Ultra was recorded by Simon Larochette at Ontario-based studio, The Sugar Shack. Super Mega Ultra is the band’s most ambitious album to date, and it sees the band exploring new thematic territory while firmly cementing a sound and approach that meshes psych rock, garage rock and punk rock.

“It’s tough writing a new record when you’re always on tour,” Wine Lips’ Cam Hilborn says in press notes. “The previous album seemed to be doing really well and at times I felt like I was hitting a wall creatively. Long story short, I think this album turned out great. Simon always brings a good vibe at the Sugar Shack and we were able to try some new ideas and capture the energy without straying too far from our roots. Excited to see where these songs take us in the future.” 

Super Mega Ultra‘s latest single is a breakneck ripper anchored around scorching riffage, enormous mosh pit friendly hooks and choruses paired with punchily delivered vocals. Play loud, headbang with your friends — or better yet, open up that pit, y’all!

“I started writing ‘Stimulation’ during our break in 2020,” the band’s Cam Hilborn explains..”I might have put it on the shelf for a bit but one day the chorus just poured out of me and the rest of the song started to make more sense and came more naturally. It was the first song I demoed for the new record and it kind of became the benchmark.”

Direted by Ciarán Downes, the accompanying video for “Stimulation” starts with the band desperately seeking out a tambourine player. The first few tambourine players just don’t seem to work out for the band. They initially dismiss the third one they meet, but when he turns into a mix of The Incredible Hulk and Firestarter, inspired by the rejection and mockery of his closest ones, the band relents, partially out of fear — and partially because that fire thing is pretty fucking cool.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Frankie and The Witch Fingers Share an Apocalyptic Ripper

Since initially forming in Bloomington, IN over a decade ago, the acclaimed Los Angeles-based psych rock outfit Frankie and the Witch Fingers — currently founding duo Dylan Sizemore (vocals, guitar) and Josh Menashe (lead guitar, synth), along with Death Valley Girls‘ Nikki “Pickle” Smith (bass) and Mike Watt’s Nick Aguilar (drums) — have a long-held reputation for restless experimentation rooted in the multiple permutations of their lineups, and for a high-powered and scuzzy, garage punk meets thrash punk take on psych rock paired with absurdist lyrics, frequently fueled by dreams, hallucinations, paranoia and lust. The result is material that can be simultaneously mischievous, menacing and dreamlike. 

Slated for a September 1, 2023 release through Greenway Records/The Reverberation Appreciation Society, the Los Angeles-based JOVM mainstays’ forthcoming seventh album, Data Doom is built around the cerebral yet visceral songwriting of the outfit’s co-founders, while marking the first written and recorded material featuring Smith and Aguilar.

In crafting what may arguably be their most rhythmically complex work to date, the band drew heavily from each member’s distinct sensibilities: Smith tapped into her extensive background in West African drumming, an art form she first discovered through her music instructor parents. Aguilar leaned into formative influences like longtime Fela Kuti drummer Tony Allen.

Self-produced by the proudly DIY-minded band and recorded direct to tape by the band’s Menashe, Data Doom ultimately took shape through countless sessions in their Southeast L.A.-based rehearsal space, with the band allowing themselves unlimited time to explore their gloriously strange impulses. “There was no pressure and no real time constraint for this record, and because of that the creativity flowed in a very free way that probably wouldn’t have happened if we’d been on the clock in a studio,” Frankie and the Witch’s Dylan Sizemore says in press notes. “It showed us that the more we take the time to communicate and share our ideas with each other, the more it feeds our creative energy and helps us to make something we’re all really excited about.”

While showcasing the expansive and eccentric musicality of past efforts like 2020’s Monsters Eating People Eating Monsters . . ., Data Doom reportedly features nine high-wattage songs built with both dizzying intricacy and completely unfettered imagination. 

Earlier this year, I wrote about “Mild Davis,” an expansive, stream-of-consciousness-driven song that sees the acclaimed JOVM mainstays cycling through a whirlwind of rhythms and textures paired with dexterous guitar work, proggy synths and a series of mind-bending solos. Seemingly drawing from Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo-era DEVO, acid jazz freakouts, garage psych and space rock, while influenced by Miles Davis‘ early 70s electric period, “Mild Davis” may arguably be the wildest, face-melting ripper I’ve come across this year. “We worked on that for two weeks straight, puzzle-piecing together different parts into one very weird and stream-of-consciousness song that’s mostly in a 7/4 time signature,” the JOVM mainstay outfit’s Josh Menashe recalls.

Lyrically, the song sees Sizemore shifting between savagely despairing the state of the world and resolutely dreaming of a brighter future. “I wrote ‘Mild Davis’ in a moment of feeling pessimistic about what technology is doing to our society, especially as AI is creeping to the forefront more and more,” says Sizemore. “But then the bridge comes from a more optimistic perspective, where it’s questioning whether we could reboot the whole system and start all over.”

“Empire,” Data Doom‘s final preview is seven minutes of scorching guitar riffs, thunderous drumming and intense, apocalyptic-laden lyrics. Play loud and open up that pit right now!

Directed by Kevin Fermini and featuring corrupted knight and ship design by Gage Lindsten, creature designs by Carlo Schievano and titles and matte paintings by Jordan Warren, the accompanying video for “Empire” is a trippy and nightmarish intergalactic romp with weird otherworldly creatures that bring Metroid to mind.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Frankie and the Witch Fingers Share Expansive, Face-Melting Ripper “Mild Davis”

Since initially forming in Bloomington, IN well over a decade ago, the acclaimed Los Angeles-based psych rock outfit Frankie and the Witch Fingers — currently founding duo Dylan Sizemore (vocals, guitar) and Josh Menashe (lead guitar, synth), along with Death Valley Girls‘ Nikki “Pickle” Smith (bass) and Mike Watt’s Nick Aguilar (drums) — have a long-held reputation for restless experimentation rooted in the multiple permutations of their lineups, and for a high-powered and scuzzy, garage punk meets thrash punk take on psych rock paired with absurdist lyrics, frequently fueled by dreams, hallucinations, paranoia and lust. And as a result, their material can be simultaneously mischievous, menacing and dreamlike.

Slated for a September 1, 2023 release through Greenway Records/The Reverberation Appreciation Society, the Los Angeles-based JOVM mainstays’ forthcoming seventh album, Data Doom is built around the cerebral yet viscerally songwriting of the outfit’s co-founders, while marking the first written and recorded material featuring Smith and Aguilar.

In crafting what may arguably be their most rhythmically complex work to date, the band drew heavily from each member’s distinct sensibilities: Smith tapped into her extensive background in West African drumming, an art form she first discovered through her music instructor parents. Aguilar leaned into formative influences like longtime Fela Kuti drummer Tony Allen.

Self-produced by the proudly DIY-minded band and recorded direct to tape by the band’s Menashe, Data Doom ultimately took shape through countless sessions in their Southeast L.A.-based rehearsal space, with the band allowing themselves unlimited time to explore their gloriously strange impulses. “There was no pressure and no real time constraint for this record, and because of that the creativity flowed in a very free way that probably wouldn’t have happened if we’d been on the clock in a studio,” Frankie and the Witch’s Dylan Sizemore says in press notes. “It showed us that the more we take the time to communicate and share our ideas with each other, the more it feeds our creative energy and helps us to make something we’re all really excited about.”

While showcasing the expansive and eccentric musicality of past efforts like 2020’s Monsters Eating People Eating Monsters . . ., Data Doom reportedly features nine high-wattage songs built with both dizzying intricacy and completely unfettered imagination.

Data Doom‘s latest single “Mild Davis” is a expansive, stream of consciousness-driven song that sees the acclaimed JOVM mainstays cycling through a whirlwind of rhythms and textures paired with dexterous guitar work, proggy synths and a series of mind-bending solos. Seemingly drawing from Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo-era DEVO, acid jazz freakouts, garage psych and space rock, while influenced by Miles Davis‘ early 70s electric period, “Mild Davis” may arguably be the wildest, face-melting ripper I’ve come across this year. “We worked on that for two weeks straight, puzzle-piecing together different parts into one very weird and stream-of-consciousness song that’s mostly in a 7/4 time signature,” the JOVM mainstay outfit’s Josh Menashe recalls.

Lyrically, the song sees Sizemore shifting between savagely despairing the state of the world and resolutely dreaming of a brighter future. “I wrote ‘Mild Davis’ in a moment of feeling pessimistic about what technology is doing to our society, especially as AI is creeping to the forefront more and more,” says Sizemore. “But then the bridge comes from a more optimistic perspective, where it’s questioning whether we could reboot the whole system and start all over.”

The song is accompanied with a fittingly mind-melting, animated video that places the band in a surrealistic hellscape of technology, fascism and destruction.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Miranda and the Beat Share a Feral, New Ripper

New York-based garage punks Miranda and the Beat — currently founding duo Miranda Zipse (vocals, guitar) and Kim Sollecito (drums) with Dylan Fernandez (Farfisa) and Alvin Jackson (bass) — can trace their origins back to a small California town, where the band’s founding duo met. Zipse, a high school dropout, had been working for her mom’s estate sale business going through dead people’s belongings and making up melodies in her head as she went about it to pass the time. Some of those melodies became the band’s first songs.

After playing shows locally, the duo decided to visit NYC, and during that visit, they tried their chops playing shows around town. When they’re friends, The Mystery Lights went on tour, the pair shacked up in their friends’ apartment and simply decided to never leave. The pair gave up their possession and a humdrum, everyday sort of existence in the hopes of making it as a real band.

Zipse and Sollecito shared a bed, looked for work and spent their time honing their craft. They met Dylan Fernandez when he delivered weed to a guy Zipse was dating at the duo’s apartment. Fernandez then joined the band. A years later, after Kate Gutwald’s departure, the band added Fernandez’s little brother Alvin Jackson. The band then continued to play around town, and eventually wrote what would become their highly-anticipated full-length debut. Building upon a growing profile, the New York-based garage punks opened for The King Khan and BBQ Show‘s seven-week long US and Canadian tour, also further cementing their reputation as a must-see live act.

The legendary King Khan, the self-professed “Emperor of R&B” says of the band “I never thought I would see someone be able to play guitar with the ferocity of Link Wray, and sing like Lydia Lunch had a nuclear meltdown and morphed into Etta James and Yma Sumac. Miranda and the Beat ARE the quintessential heirs to our rock n’ roll throne… May the circle remain unbroken. Consider the torch has not only been passed but its fiery tale is ready to set the whole world on fire all over again.”

Miranda and the Beat’s highly-anticipated, self-titled, full-length debut is slated for a May 26, 2023 release through Ernest Jennings Record Co./King Khang’s Khannibalism. The Nick Zinner-produced and-mixed album is reportedly a hallucinogenic ode to the canon of soul, garage punk, pure R&B and mayhem.

The album’s latest single “Concrete” is an old-fashioned sweaty, grimy and downright feral ripper built around fuzzy power chord-driven riffage, a forcefully propulsive rhythmic chug paired with Zipse’s powerhouse vocal range. Swaggering, gritty, nasty garage punk full of booze, piss and spittle ain’t dead y’all — and Ms. Zipse and company are here to get in your face and remind you of it. Play this one as loud as you can fucking stand it!

The accompanying video employs slickly edited footage from Velveeeta cheesy B horror movies, including a Roger Corman-like intro about a haunted house, some childlike drawings of ghosts and other creepy crawlies, eyeballs, a beating heart and more.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: JOVM Mainstays Otoboke Beaver Shares a New Ripper

Kyoto, Japan-based garage punk outfit and JOVM MAINSTAYS  Otoboke Beaver(おとぼけビ～バ～ in Japanese) — Accorinrin (vocals, guitar), Yoyoyoshie (guitar, vocals), Hirochan (bass, vocals) and Kahokiss (drums, vocals) — can trace their origins back to when the band’s members met at Kyoto University‘s music club. 

Otoboke Beaver quickly built a profile both locally and nationally for their unique pairing of incredibly dexterous musicianship with Accorinrin’s confrontational stage presence. When Damnably Records released the Okoshiyasu!! Otoboke Beaver compilation, the Japanese punk rockers began to receive international airplay from BBC Radio 6′s Gideon Coe and Tom Ravenscroft, XFM’s John Kennedy, as well as praise from the likes of Pitchfork, NPR, i-D and The Fader.

Building upon their rapidly growing profile, the Japanese punk rockers made critically applauded, attention-grabbing appearances across the global festival circuit that included stops at SXSW, FujiRock Festival, and 2018’s Coachella Festival, as well as a lengthy UK tour with a sold-out show at London‘s 100 Club.

2019 saw the release of ITEKOMA HITS, an effort that featured “Anata Watashi Daita Ato Yome No Meshi” and “Don’t light my fire,” two feral rippers that possessed elements of noise punk, no wave, prog rock and riot grrl punk, as well as the breakneck “I’m tired of your repeating story.” 

In early 2020, the Kyoto-based punk rockers quit their day jobs in order to embark on a highly-anticipated world tour to support ITEKOMA HITS. They were able to complete the two-week European leg but they were about to embark on their first Stateside tour ever when the COVID-19 pandemic struck, forcing the band to quickly return back home.

With touring out of the question, the band worked on new material, which they recorded between lockdowns at Osaka-based LM Studio. The end result is the band’s latest full-length effort, Super Champon. Released earlier this year through Damnably Records, the album’s title is derived from champon, a Japanese word that means a mixture or jumble of things of very different types.

“It’s a mixture of songs from love to food, life and JASRAC (Japanese Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers),” the band explains. “Our music is genre-less and has various elements. We hope that it will be our masterpiece of chaos music. It also sounds like champion.” Thematically, the album sees the band pushing band on the societal pressure to reproduce, calling out ridiculous judgements on what gives a woman value, and reacting to uninvited advice and comments from patronizing idiots and more.

In the lead-up to the album’s release, I managed to write about two album singles:

  • “I am not maternal,” a defiantly feminist, breakneck, mosh pit friendly ripper meant to be played as loudly as humanly possible.

  • “PARDON?,” a feral, tempo-shifting thrash punk ripper, full of furious riffage and howled lyrical refrains in English and Japanese. The song is a playful retelling of situation the band often finds themselves in: unrelenting, unsolicited and fervent points of views. 

The acclaimed Kyoto-based punk rock/garage rock outfit will be embarking on a highly-anticipated, rapidly selling-out North American tour that includes a sold-out October 5, 2022 stop at Music Hall of Williamsburg. Tour dates are below., and you can purchase tickets and check out more information here: https://www.otobokebeaver.com/tour/

Interestingly, the band’s latest single “Chu Chu Song” can trace its origins back to 2009 — and was the first song that they wrote together. Originally, only previously heard at live shows and as an exclusive to crowdfunding supports in 2017, the track derives its title from the Japanese onomatopoeia for “kiss kiss.” Unsurprisingly, the song is yet another furious ripper featuring scorching riffage paired with rapid-fire key changes and intricate vocal harmonies that thematically discusses the seemingly endless push and pull of relationships.

Before the band shared it as a standalone single, the track was featured on Adult Swim‘s Japan is Loud compilation curated by Toonami‘s Jonny Rej.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: JOVM Mainstays Otoboke beaver Share Anime and Manga Inspired Visual for Breakneck Ripper “I Am Not Maternal”

 Kyoto, Japan-based garage punk act Otoboke Beaver(おとぼけビ～バ～ in Japanese) — Accorinrin (vocals, guitar), Yoyoyoshie (guitar, vocals), Hirochan (bass, vocals) and Kahokiss (drums, vocals) — can trace their origins back to when the band member while being in Kyoto University‘s music club.

The Kyoto-based punk outfit quickly built a profile locally and nationally for pairing incredibly dexterous musicianship with Accorinrin’s confrontational stage presence. But when Damnably Records released the Okoshiyasu!! Otoboke Beaver compilation, Otoboke Beaver began to amass international airplay from BBC Radio 6′s Gideon Coe and Tom Ravenscroft, XFM’s John Kennedy, as well as praise from the likes of Pitchfork, NPR, i-D and The Fader.

Building upon a rapidly growing profile, the band made critically applauded, attention-grabbing appearances across the international festival circuit with stops at SXSW and FujiRock Festival. Their extensive global touring included a sold-out show at London‘s 100 Club. 2018 included an extensive UK tour and a stop at that year’s Coachella Festival.

2019 saw the release of ITEKOMA HITS, an effort that featured “Anata Watashi Daita Ato Yome No Meshi” and “Don’t light my fire,” two feral rippers that possessed elements of noise punk, no wave, prog rock and riot grrl punk, as well as the straightforward yet breakneck “I’m tired of your repeating story.”

At the beginning of 2020, the members of Otoboke Beaver quit their office days jobs in order to embark on a world tour. They completed a two week European tour and were about to embark on their first Stateside tour when the COVID-19 pandemic forced global quarantines and lockdowns. With touring out of the question, the band worked on new material, which they recorded between lockdowns at Osaka-based LM Studio.

The acclaimed, Japanese punk outfit’s newest album Super Champon is slated for a May 6, 2022 release through their longtime label home Damnably. The album’s title is derived from champon, a Japanese word that means a mixture or jumble of things of different types. “It’s a mixture of songs from love to food, life and JASRAC (Japanese Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers),” the band explains. “Our music is genre-less and has various elements. We hope that it will be our masterpiece of chaos music. It also sounds like champion.” 

Super Champon will feature two singles the band released back in 2020, “I am not maternal” and “Dirty old fart is waiting for my reaction.” “I am not maternal” continues a run of defiantly feminist, breakneck, mosh pit friendly ripper: big power chords, thunderous drumming and shouted lyrics. Play this one as loud as humanly possible.

The accompanying animated visual was created and animated by the band’s Yoyoyoshie and fittingly it’s an explosive array of bright colors, manga and anime-like characters getting fed up over traditional gender roles.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: JOVM Mainstays The Bobby Lees Release a Grungy Garage Punk Anthem

The Bobby Lees — Sam Quartin (vocals, guitar), Kendall Wind (bass), Nick Casa (lead guitar), and Macky Bowman (drums)  — are a rapidly rising, Woodstock, NY-based garage punk act have received attention for a feral and frenzied sound and and an unpredictable, high-energy live show. Adding to a growing profile, the act has opened for The Black Lips, Murphy’s Law, Boss Hog, Future Islands, Daddy Long Legs, The Chats, and Shannon & The Clams. 

The Woodstock-based JOVM mainstays’ Jon Spencer-produced full-length album Skin Suit has been pushed back to July 17, 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic —but as you may recall, the album finds the band crafting forceful and self-assured material centered around some of the most blistering and dexterous guitar work I’ve heard this year. So far, the band has released a handful of singles off the album including the breakneck “GutterMilk,” a feral and gender-bending over of Bo Diddley’s “I’m A Man,”‘ that nods at George Thorogood, the  Jon Spencer Blues Explosion-like “Move,” the gritty, garage punk ripper “Drive,” and a grudgy and feral cover of Richard Hell & The Voidoids‘ “Blank Generation.”

“Wendy,” Skin Suit’s sixth and latest single is a garage rock track full of sneering, old-school punk attitude and sultry come-ons that will further cement the band’s reputation for crafting grungy and feral rock.