Tag: The Black Lips

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. 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: JOVM Mainstays The Bobby Lees Return with a DIY Visual for an Explosive New Single

Over the past roughly two years, the rapidly rising Woodstock, NY-based garage punk act The Bobby Lees — Sam Quartin (vocals, guitar), Kendall Wind (bass), Nick Casa (lead guitar), and Macky Bowman (drums)  — have begun to receive attention for a feral and frenzied take on garage punk and an unpredictable live show. And as a result, the rising punk rock act has opened for the likes of The Black Lips, Murphy’s Law, Boss Hog, Future Islands, Daddy Long Legs, The Chats, and Shannon & The Clams. 

Originally slated for a May 8, 2020 release through Alive Naturalsounds Records, The Bobby Lees’ 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 what still remains is that 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, I’ve written about three of the album’s singles, the breakneck and explosive “GutterMilk,” a feral and unhinged cover of f Bo Diddley’s “I’m A Man,”‘ that nods a bit at George Thorogood‘s famous cover but with a defiant, gender-bending boldness and the sweaty, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion-like “Move.” 

“Drive,” Skin Suit’s fourth and latest single continues a run of grungy and gritty garage punk centered around enormous power chords, mosh pit friendly hooks and a remarkably self-assured delivery. For such a young band, they seem poised to take over the world — with a youthful brashness and zero fucks given air. 

The recently released video for “Drive” features the band performing the song in front of a divey tattoo parlor, and it should give the viewer a great sense of the band’s frenetic and unpredictable live energy. 

“A couple of months ago we were heading down to Austin, TX for SXSW and playing shows along the way,” the members of The Bobby Lees explain in press notes. “By the time we got to Tulsa, Oklahoma our 9 SXSW shows had been cancelled because of the virus. So we made the best of our time in Tulsa and shot a video with our friends, while keeping a safe distance.”

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Bobby Lees Release a Feral New Single

Over the past 18 months or so, the rapidly rising Woodstock, NY-based garage punk act The Bobby Lees — Kendall Wind (bass), Nick Casa (lead guitar), and Macky Bowman (drums)  — have begun to receive attention for a feral and frenzied take on garage punk and an unpredictable live show. And as a result, the rising punk rock act has opened for the likes of The Black Lips, Murphy’s Law, Boss Hog, Future Islands, Daddy Long Legs, The Chats, and Shannon & The Clams. 

Slated for a May 8, 2020 release through Alive Naturalsounds Records, The Bobby Lees’ Jon Spencer-produced full-length album reportedly finds the band mixing classic, garage punk hits, raw and emotive storytelling and some of the most blistering and dexterous guitar work I’ve heard in the past few months. So far I’ve written about two of the album’s singles: the breakneck and explosive  Fever to Tell-era Yeah Yeah Yeahs-like “GutterMilk,” and a feral and unhinged cover of Bo Diddley’s “I’m A Man,”‘ that nods a bit at George Thorogood’s famous cover — but with a defiant, gender bending boldness. Building upon the reception of the album’s first two singles, the album’s third and latest single “Move” continues a run of feral and sweaty garage punk that sounds like Jon Spencer Blues Explosion on steroids. 

The recently released video captures the band playing live and goofing off while on tour — and it accurately captures the band’s youthful and infectious abandon. 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: The Bobby Lees’ Feral Take on a Blues Classic

The Bobby Lees are a young, rapidly rising Woodstock, NY-based garage punk act, featuring Kendall Wind (Bass), Nick Casa (Lead Guitar), and Macky Bowman (Drums) — and over the past 18 months or so, the band has received attention for a frenzied and energetic live show, opening for a who’s who of contemporary indie rock — including The Black Lips, Murphy’s Law, Boss Hog, Future Islands, Daddy Long Legs, The Chats, and Shannon & The Clams. 

SKIN SUIT, the Woodstock-based punk outfit’s forthcoming  Jon Spencer-produced full-length album is slated for a May 8, 2020 release through Alive Naturalsounds Records finds the band mixing classic garage punk hits, raw and emotive storytelling and some of the most blistering guitar work I’ve heard in some time. Now, as you may recall, last year I wrote about “GutterMilk,” 94 seconds of explosive punk that will remind some listeners of Fever to Tell-era Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Jon Spencer‘s work with The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. The forthcoming album’s second and latest single is a feral and unhinged cover of Bo Diddley’s “I’m A Man,”‘ that nods a bit at George Thorogood — but with a defiant, gender bending boldness. 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Up-and-Coming Garage Punk Act The Bobby Lees Release a Feral and Energetic Visual for “GutterMilk”

The Booby Lees are an up-and-coming Woodstock, NY-based garage punk act, comprised of Sam Quartin (vocals, guitar), Kendall Wind (Bass), Nick Casa (Lead Guitar), and Macky Bowman (Drums). And over the past year, the up-and-coming, garage punk quartet have honed their live show opening for The Black Lips, Murphy’s Law and Boss Hog. 

The band’s latest single, the Jon Spencer-produced “GuttterMilk” is 94 seconds of feral garage punk, centered around a rumbling and propulsive baseline, thundering drumming, buzzing and slashing guitars and Quartin’s howled vocals that nods at Fever to Tell-era Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Jon Spencer’s work with The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. 

Directed by John Swab, the recently released video employs a simple concept — the band performing the song with in an abandoned building with raw and hungry energy. 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Initially formed back in 2010 as a trio, Cincinnati, OH-based punk rock act Vacation quickly released a slew of tapes, singles and albums through a number of DIY labels while playing pop-inspired punk shows throughout the Midwest and the rest of the country. Since their formation, the band has expanded into a quartet while managing to balance prolificacy with a relentless touring schedule that has had the Cincinnati-based punk rockers opening for the likes of The Breeders, JOVM mainstays Screaming Females, The Black Lips, and others.

Back in 2016 Vacation recorded a two-part album Southern Grass: The Continuation of Rock ‘n’ Roll, a miscellaneous collection of basement punk ephemera, and by the time of the album’s release that July, the members of the band had returned to the studio to write and record their latest album Mouth Sounds #2699 slated for a release through Bloomington, IN-based Let’s Pretend Records later this week. Engineered by The Afghan Whigs‘ John Curley at Ultraseude Studio, Mouth Sounds #2699 reportedly finds the band at their most experimental with songs that nod at Tom Petty, krautrock and punk rock; in fact, the album’s latest single “Deflector Head” is a prime example of what the band specializes in — ragged, gritty and rousingly anthemic punk with decidedly Cheap Trick-like power pop leanings. It’s the sort of song that you should raise your beer as high as possible and shout along lustily to the hook — as rock ‘n’ roll should make you do.