
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kkzIwhoCRcRGt5Ylhg5W7aIncuNx69P8U
Snappy Little Numbers / Fail Harmonic / Bearded Punk (2025, Reissue)
Endorsed by You was originally released back in the year 2000 and was The Gamits debut full length. I know this, because i looked it up. I've never been all that familiar with The Gamits. I have a split 7" with them on it somewhere in my collection (I assumed filed under "G" or "M"), but I really don't remember it as it was part of a 7" subscription series I was in over a decade ago. Before that I did know their name, but mostly from hanging around the Vinyl Collective message board in the mid 2000s.
Putting on this album is the first time I've heard much of anything by The Gamits. I wasn't going in with any idea of what they sounded like, aside from the fact that I knew they were pop punk and I do have a good record by Discreature Comfort, the newer band fronted by The Gamits' Chris Fogel. For whatever reason, despite my unfamiliarity with them, they kind of sounded like I thought they would. Pretty good pop punk, with the occasional song or section of a song that has the sort of drumming that makes me nuts.
There's this galloping, super fast drum beat in pop punk that I most closely associate with NOFX, but creeps out into many, many bands (even ones I love like Snuff). It's one of those things that immediately makes me tune out and think, "oh, it's this kind of pop punk." And while that is definitely not the case for the vast majority of this Gamits record, when it does pop up, I immediately get frustrated.
And that frustration is mostly because I do like the bulk of this album. The guitars have the big crunchy sound that I dig. The vocals and choruses remind me a little bit of Hospital Job (though, due to when each of those bands were releasing records, it's actually the other way around). At its core, it's a well done pop punk record. It's just at its best when they slow things down just a bit and lean into the pop side of pop punk. And if the occasional drum gallop isn't a weirdly specific pet peeve for you like it is for me, I think this is a record worth checking out.
The Gamits - Endorsed By You:
https://snappylittlenumbers.bandcamp.com/album/endorsed-by-you-reissue
Death Waltz / Mondo (2023)
The third film in the Heisei Godzilla series was 1991's Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah. In addition to the return of one of Godzilla's most famous adversaries came the return of the man who in many ways defines what Godzilla soundtracks should sound like, composer Akira Ifukube. But more on the soundtrack in a moment.
I'm definitely the sort of person that prefers Showa Godzilla movies, but there is a lot to like about many of the later entries as well. That said, I do struggle to find too many positive things to say about Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah. Now, admittedly, I'm probably due for a rewatch as it's been likely ten years or so since I last watched it, but most of my memories are pretty negative.
It has this really convoluted and kind of stupid time travel storyline that involves aliens tricking humans into bringing muppets back in time to stop Godzilla from being created and creating King Ghidorah instead. The plot holes are larger than both monsters combined and It's really a slog to get through it. The fights are fine and Mecha-King Ghidorah is a monster design I really like a lot, but as a whole, right up their as my least favorite of the era.
On the other side of the coin is the soundtrack and having Ifukube back is one of the saving graces of the movie. His themes are appropriately dark or triumphant, depending on what mood needs to be set and I honestly can't imagine how much worse the movie might have been without his score holding things together.
The LP looks great, I really dig the artwork, though I do wish the art was more cohesive across the various LP releases. It's great to have these soundtracks on vinyl finally, but in a lot of ways that only frustrates me more that the Heisei series wasn't completed. As a reminder, the Godzilla vs. Biollante soundtrack should have been the one I wrote about this week, but it never came out.
Godzilla vs King Ghidorah Soundtrack:
https://youtu.be/gFKQ5QS6vIY?si=2JLiqknoNSEBm6o3
Big Neck (2025)
Bandcamp says this came out on December 30th or 2024. I don't think that can really count as a 2024 release can it? You truly only had two days to listen to it before 2025 came roaring in. I think you have to count this as a 2025 release personally, so I will. And with that little bit of housekeeping out of the way, let's talk about the second Cyclo Sonic album.
When I wrote about their prior record in 2022, I mentioned that I liked their guitar riffing, but wasn't the hugest fan of the vocals. On their second album, I still mostly feel the same, but there are improvements on both fronts.
As far as the music goes, everything sounds tighter and crisper. Not in an overproduced sort of way, but the fuzzy chords have a little bit more shine to them now. They just sound brighter and in turn, better. From a vocal standpoint, there are still those moments where we tread closer to the glam side of things, with the track "Prethentown" perhaps being the biggest example on the album. But most songs are upbeat, the good kind of aggressive with some catchy hooks thrown in for good measure. I think this is an improvement on their debut.
Cyclo Sonic - Heathentown:
https://bigneckrecords1.bandcamp.com/album/heathentown
Death Waltz / Mondo (2021)
When Waxwork put our their Showa box set of Godzilla soundtracks in 2021, I had barely finished opening the mailing box before I started thinking about what they could do with a Heisei era box set. Unfortunately, that was not to be as Mondo imprint Death Waltz stepped in instead. I would have preferred the consistency of Waxwork doing it, but I figured that Mondo does really nice work, so even though these will end up being more expensive in the long run, they'll still be nice.
My plan was to write about these in order of movie release date, so when Mondo started releasing the soundtracks out of order, mixing Millennium series with Heisei series, I figured I'd just have to wait a bit. Well, here we are well over a year since the last Godzilla soundtrack was released. Mondo never put one out for 1989's Godzilla vs. Biollante or 2004's Godzilla Final Wars.
I think it's incredibly lame that they never completed either series and I wonder if it had anything to do with the shake up a few years back where the founders of Mondo were forced out of the company by parent company Funko. A dumb situation that reeks of the sort of corporate nonsense that drives me up the wall.
Regardless, I have already waited way to long to write about these Godzilla LPs and I'm ready to finally start filing them away in my collection. So on Fridays for the next few months, I'll be writing about some Godzilla soundtracks. Starting with the soundtrack to Godzilla's return in the 80's, appropriately called The Return of Godzilla. At least in Japan, in America is was released as Godzilla 1985 and had scenes inserted of Raymond Burr posing and Dr. Pepper product placement. The first time I saw Godzilla 1985 was whenever the first airing of it happened on TV. I remember I was at my dad's house and it was shown during primetime, unlike the usual Saturday or Sunday afternoon showings that I was used to on channel 9 or 11. I also remember a lot of Dr. Pepper commercials, including at least one that had Godzilla in it.
The movie itself seemed very fancy and flashy to me as technology in movies had certainly evolved since the last time Godzilla was stomping around Tokyo. It never felt connected to those earlier movies to me back then (which in fairness, storyline-wise it wasn't), but as I've gotten older I hold a similar nostalgia for it as I do the Showa series ones. But I'm burying the lead about the movie, and about the soundtrack; The Return of Godzilla is kind of boring.
Composed by Reijiro Koroku, the film's score is mostly dark, very brooding and only offers brief moments of respite from that dourness. The Super X fight at the end is a notable exception as it has a fairly upbeat and triumphant military motif, but a lot of the soundtrack is just a downer. The movie is kind of the same way. There's some good building smashing action, but it's done in such a heavy handed, trying to be serious manner that it zaps some of the fun out of things. Don't get me wrong, I like the movie and the soundtrack at the end of the day, but I definitely rank them lower when compared to most Godzilla movies and scores.
The LP that Mondo has given us is good, for the most part. I can't say I love the art on the cover. While I like the idea, the execution doesn't do much for me. Godzilla just looks weird. There is a very cool pop-up Godziulla built into the center of the gatefold, but of everything Mondo bothered to actually release, this is the artwork I probably like the least.
This write up is probably way longer than most of the others will be as I had to set the stage a bit. Next up on the Godzilla filmography is Godzilla vs. Biollante. But again, Mondo never released that soundtrack so I'm going to have to skip it and go right to the movie after that next Friday. I just hope someone, anyone (hey Waxwork!) releases the Biollante soundtrack on vinyl someday. It's a glaring hole in the collection and really frustrates me.
The Return Of Godzilla Soundtrack:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLp7o1q38PjxHybeS3MHxg8uX7Wcdzyp3X
Debauch Mood (2024)
Arcadian Starship is a group fronted by Shirahama, who was also in Sleeping Aides and Razor Blades. They put out a full length a couple of years ago that I didn't get as the bits I heard of it didn't light my world on fire. My understanding is that album was more of a solo endeavor, but on this 7", Arcadian Starship is reimagined as a full band.
Japanese powerpop/poppunk is often the best version of those genres, especially these days. Arcadian Starship dabbles in both and I can hear the influence of the 90s UK scene, sort of like a Mega City Four, but it's filtered through a power pop lense that has echos of The Cute Lepers. As you can imagine, this is great, upbeat music with lovely choruses and lightly fuzzed out guitar work.
It's so good, it really does make me want to give that first full length another chance, but more than anything I'm looking forward to seeing what this group does in the future. A whole album of songs like this is something I would sign up for immediately.
Arcadian Starship - No Feelings 7":
https://debauchmood.bandcamp.com/album/arcadian-starship-no-feelings-7
Sounds Rad (2024, Reissue)
It's taken me way too long to write about the Sounds Rad reissue of this Dr. Frank record. It came out last year and is (sort of?) part of the Sounds Rad Mr. T Experience reissue campaign. I'm eagerly waiting for the next entry in that series. It's been a little quiet lately, but I keep hoping the next one announced will be Making Things With Light. Maybe my favorite Mr. T Experience record, but definitely the one I would really like to hear a remastered and spruced up version of.
But today, we have the Dr. Frank solo record from 1999. I remember after Love As Dead had come out there were already rumors and scuttlebutt about a Dr. Frank solo record. Based on the recent string of acoustic songs on Mr. T Experience records, I had assumed that a solo record would be more of that with just Frank and a guitar.
What we got instead was a record of predominantly full band rock songs that to be honest, mostly don't really sound all that different from the Mr. T Experience records of the era. I was really disappointed by this at the time and truthfully, I didn't really listen to the record all that often. As the years went by, I didn't remember much from it aside from the "Knock Knock" song, which was admittedly fun.
When the reissue was announced, I was again kind of disappointed that it was 'taking' a spot from a Mr. T Experience album that could have been released instead. But, I didn't have this on vinyl and figured it was time to give the album a shot again. Especially as all of the Sounds Rad reissues have been excellent, and the die cut vinyl sleeve on this one was particularly cool looking. And I'm glad I did, it's better than I remember it being and listening to it without a preconceived notion of what I thought it should be let me appreciate the record more for what it is.
In a lot of ways, I think it's an even stronger record than Revenge Is Sweet And So Are You, another one that I didn't appreciate as much at the time, but ended up enjoying more when I went back to it many years later. It's more varied in sound and kind of has a ramshackle mix tape sort of vibe to it as opposed to the glossiness of Revenge. And there are a handful of acoustic songs on here too, so it's not like that section was completely ignored or anything.
In hindsight, I should have given this album more of a chance 25 years ago, but I had less patience back then and was always looking for that next amazing thing. A lot of times, I never found it and ignored some pretty good stuff that was sitting right under my nose.
Dr. Frank - Show Business Is My Life:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mFjGDEION3dzNaLpeg99Nt7EV_suLDB9k
Numero Group (2025)
This is the last of the 3 recent Numero box sets I've picked up. Like the Boys Life and Boilermaker sets before, Numero has done an fantastic job with this set. It has all of the bells and whistles you come to expect from their releases: great artwork, great liner notes, great sound and a thorough track listing.
Clikitat Ikatowi is a band name that I think I first heard of when Mario Rubalcaba joined Rocket From The Crypt. The band was no more at that point and I didn't back track and hunt down any of their records that I had missed. I'm not even sure why, as I usually tend to do that. But their scarcity or my unfamiliarity with them just made them one of those bands that I kept meaning to get to, but never did. Numero did the hard work for me and have compiled all of their songs from their lone proper full length, an EP, their demo and compilation appearances.
It's another one of those instances where I wish I had been listening to this band all along. I especially think that had I been able to hear them in the 90s when I was exploring bands like Unwound, Karp and godHeadsilo, I probably would have become very attached. Honestly, they blow Karp and godHeadsilo out of the water and are every bit as compelling as the best moments of Unwound even if the sound isn't completely similar.
They're also a band that shows quite a bit of growth from release to release. While you can definitely tell they are the same band all the way through, they really coalesce into a tight knit unit by the time we get to their swan song, River of Souls. Those songs have a tumultuous churning quality two them, while at the same time displaying a cohesion where you know the band is never going to lose track of the plot. It's a sign of what a great band they were and what a jackass I have been for not listening to them all this time.
Clikatat Ikatowi – The Trials And Tribulations Of...:
https://clikatatikatowi.bandcamp.com/album/the-trials-and-tribulations-of
Little Rocket / Sounds of Subterrania / Waterslide / Rad Girlfriend (2025)
Roach Squad is a band made of Hugo Mudie from The Sainte Catherines, Alex Keane from City Mouse, Sim Robson from nowhere else that Discogs is aware of and Graeme Philliskirk and Frankie Stubbs from Leatherface. Graeme and Hugo were also in Medictations with the late Dickie Hammond, and that group is what I see the most similarities to when it comes to the sounds of Roach Squad. And that's a good thing.
When you have two members of Leatherface in your group, with Frankie being one of them, the odds are really stacked that I'm going to be interested in your band. And Roach Squad does not disappoint, serving up the sort of gritty, melodic punk that in many ways is my absolute favorite kind of music to listen to. It has that 90s UK vibe, with gruff, but melodic vocals courtesy of Hugo Mudie on 12 of the 13 tracks. Now, while there is a definitely a part of me that's thinking to myself, "self, why is Frankie only singing on one of these songs," Hugo carries the vocal duties exceptionally well, just as he did with Medictations.
Frankie does step in on "I Wonder," which is a treat. But the rest of the time he and Graeme are holding down the band with excellent guitar interplay, with those trademark riffs and dynamics that have made me a fan of this sort of thing for 30 years now. It's a super consistent record from start to finish and while I wouldn't say that there's a specific song or two that stands above the pack, the pack of songs as a whole is pretty stellar. An easy recommendation as one of the best albums of 2025 so far. If you read this website even somewhat regularly, I cannot fathom you not digging this.
Roach Squad - Roach Squad:
https://roachsquad.bandcamp.com/album/roach-squad
Numero Group (2024, Reissue)
I was reasonably plugged in to a lot of music that was happening in the mid 90s. I followed as much as I could and bought as much as I could afford. Yet despite my best efforts, there are bands that slipped through the cracks for me and Boilermaker is one of them. You'd think that being from southern California would have helped get them on my radar considering how much I tried to follow what was happening in San Diego, but it wasn't until many years after they stopped playing that I had even heard of them, let alone heard them. Full disclosure, listening to this box set was the first time I have heard the vast, vast majority of these songs.
But it's records like this that I think the phrase "better late than never" was invented for. Boilermaker is a pretty great band. They're in that post punk, emo adjacent wheelhouse if you want to throw around genre specifications that don't really mean a whole hell of a lot any more. What I can say, in my dumb way, is that they're a noisy rock band, that has just enough melody to make their angst palatable to me. There are times, particularly in the vocals, that I'm reminded of fellow California cohorts, No Knife. There are other times where the vibes feel more midwestern in nature, bringing to mind new label mates and last week's box set stars Boys Life.
As with most Numero offerings, this box set is a triumph. Complete to a fault with all of their albums and an singles along with some demos and live material. The box set itself is gorgeous with their usual perfectly executed liner notes book that helps tell the story of this band. The closest thing I have to a complaint is that two of the songs are included on a bonus 7" that went out to the first 500 orders and those songs aren't part of the larger box set. I have the 7", so I'm good - but it is a little strange to me that it feels like an add on. I'm sure there's a reason for that, I'm just not sure what it is. Other than that minor quibble, it's another home run from Numero.
Boilermaker – Not Enough Time To Get Anything Halfway Done:
https://boilermakernumero.bandcamp.com/album/not-enough-time-to-get-anything-halfway-done
Numero Group (2024)
Boys Life was a band that I originally discovered while writing for my college newspaper. In my dealings with Cargo records, they sent me a review copy of Departures and Landfalls and I was immediately taken with it. While I tended to prefer the poppier strains of that wave of emo, something about Boys Life really connected with me. Or I guess it's more accurate to say that Departures and Landfalls connected with me, for whatever reason, I never hunted down their other records the way I did for most bands of that era.
Luckily, Numero has done the hunting for me. Which is a relief as that first album in particular was very rarely available and when it was always seemed to be priced outside of my comfort zone. This box set solves that problem by gathering up both Boys Life full lengths along side of every other song from their demo and various 7"s. There's even some live tracks as a bonus.
It's those first two albums that are the biggest draws for me and both sound fantastic as part of this set, I've been kicking myself that it took me so long to finally hear the self titled one as it's really great and something I really should have been listening to for years at this point. The singles/demo part of this box set is also outstanding. A lot of those early songs did end up on the first album, but typically different versions, so I enjoy having access to everything. Plus there's still a solid amount of songs not on either full length. The live material is nice to have, but I'm not really a live record guy, so it's probably the bit I'm least interested in.
Of course, Numero comes correct with outstanding packaging on this release. Everything is given the extra primo good treatment and the accompanying liner notes really are more of a book than just notes for the albums. If there was a label to tackle this project, I couldn't think of a better one than Numero. There are so many bands I'd like to see them give this sort of treatment to; Seaweed, Christie Front Drive, No Knife...but they could start by doing Chisel, who thus far have only had one of their LPs reissued on Numero Group. Gimme a box!
Boys Life – Home Is A Highway
https://boyslife.bandcamp.com/album/home-is-a-highway
Spaghetty Town / Wanda (2024)
This album was sent to me along with the Peawees album I wrote about a few weeks back. I didn't know Bambies before getting this LP, but I'm pleased to make their introduction. This band is from Montreal and I guess has been going since 2014. Snotty Angels is their second full length, with their first one having been release on tape only, it seems.
I was mildly trepidatious before playing this, as snotty isn't usually a descriptor used for the bulk of the bands I'm into. I can't tell you how many times I've put on a record where the music is promising only to have it ruined by someone who absolutely can't sing in any capacity. Luckily, that didn't happen with Bambies. While the vocals do certainly have an element of 'snot' to them, it's not to the point where the growl takes over and the tunes become painful. There's enough melody still coming through to carry the songs and when you add in the backing vocals, we've got some nice choruses going on here.
Musically, this is some really nice jangly power-pop-punk-garage type stuff. I'm reminded a bit of the the two Love Boat records that came out on Alien Snatch quite a few years ago. There's also a bit of The Cute Lepers mixed in as well. It's upbeat, the musicianship is on point and is just a generally enjoyable record. A pleasant bonus with another record I was already looking forward to.
Bambies - Snotty Angels:
https://thebambies.bandcamp.com/album/snotty-angels
Sub Pop (2024, Reissue)
The Supersuckers are a band that I discovered around the same time as I discovered Rocket From The Crypt and the two bands often seemed like they went hand in hand, at least to a certain segment of fans. As the years have gone by, it's felt like that cross section of fans has gotten smaller and smaller. I think that is at least in part because of how the two bands' catalogs diverged around the late 90s. I always thought that The Supersuckers started to embrace their metal influences more than their punk ones. At least for me, that was more than enough to make me less interested in their other albums.
But I really do still like a lot of the early Supersuckers material. La Mano Cornuda was my introduction to The Supersuckers and that album along with The Sacrilicious Sounds of... are the two of theirs that I always dug the most. I never had The Smoke of Hell or The Songs All Sound The Same compilation album, but a buddy of mine in high school did. So while I heard them back then, I then went decades without hearing them again.
I was excited when Sub Pop finally rereleased The Smoke of Hell. Here was my chance to add the vinyl to my collection without paying the collectors prices that the original pressing of the album had been going for. This version is on red vinyl and is a somewhat limited reissue with 2000 copies pressed.
All these years later, I think I see some of the things that I don't like about The Supersuckers more than I did back then. Again, those pesky metal influences are there and while maybe they are sharing the bill with a louder, riff based punk sound..they are still there. No aspect of metal has ever been anything I've been interested in, so for me, The Supersuckers are at their best when they're just barrelling ahead with simpler chord progressions and the catchy hook in the chorus. I'm sure a lot of folks would argue about how catchy some of these songs are, but these guys have always known how to write a pop hook, they often just bury it under a cloud of whiskey and attitude.
Again, I'm happy to finally add this to the collection. While it's not my favorite Supersuckers release, there's plenty of good stuff on it. I'm still debating on whether or not I need to hunt down a copy of The Songs Still Sound The Same or not. That one kind of completed the quadrilogy of the Supersuckers albums that I have interest in.
The Supersuckers - The Smoke Of Hell:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mCWoW4jMnbefNh13LkZKsLmsO9q8CTSWY
Rhino / Elektra (2024, Reissue)
I had made a point to call out Chocolate and Cheese in my end of the year post as one of the best reissues of 2024 that I just didn't have enough time to write about before 2024 concluded. Well, here we are in April and I'm finally getting to it. Perhaps a bit of a disservice to such a fine album, but that's just the way things go sometimes.
Ween was a group that was recommended to me by my friend Pat. As I was getting obsessively into Beck at the time, he thought that Ween would also be up my alley. Completely unheard, I went out and picked up Pure Guava as well as Chocolate and Cheese pretty much at the same time. I vaguely remember getting them the same day, but at different stores, but we're talking 1994 here, so I cannot say my memory for events like that is still sharp 31 years later. I loved both records immediately, though I gravitated more towards Pure Guava, which remains my favorite in Ween's catalog.
That's not to take anything away from Chocolate and Cheese as it has stood the test of time as being my second favorite Ween album. It's not quite as sprawling and weird as Pure Guava can get, though it is sprawling and weird in its own way. I think it plays a little bit better as an album and definitely has more cohesive songs in general, despite the dizzying array of styles throughout the album. You go from the lounge inspired crooning of "Take Me Away" to the fuzzed out yelling of "I Can't Put My Finger on It" to the perfect pop of "Roses are Free" and "What The Deaner Was Talkin' About." And every single one of these fits perfectly in the context of the album. Quite the feat.
This 30th anniversary edition is a triple LP with the third disc essentially being a new album of unreleased outtakes and a few demos. You can, and I do, listen to it as a completely separate entry in the Ween canon and it holds up with most songs of that era. This makes it absulotely the essential version of Chocolate and Cheese and I was happy to double dip on this one. Boy oh boy, do I wish they would put out one of these for Pure Guava as well.
Ween - Chocolate and Cheese:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_m6KA_G_DkUhl9UwCPVH1JD4ovzP4Um6dI
Swami (2025)
As the years have gone by and more music by John Reis has entered the world, I've found that I've had an increasingly difficult time writing about new records and finding ways to describe said music accurately or interestingly. His bands have been such a gigantic part of my life for over 30 years now, and the sounds that he crafts are in a way part of the lifeblood that keeps me functioning day to day. I realize that sounds a little heavy handed and perhaps kind of stupid, but I guess what I'm trying to say is that if there's a soundtrack to my life, John is absolutely one of its main composers.
Time To Let You Down is is third record as Swami John Reis including a one album detour as Swami & The Bed Of Nails. Of the the three, this one is my favorite. The first album, Ride The Wild Night, was build on top of a lot of acoustic guitar and piano. The second, All Of This Awaits You, was more electric with a focus on tight, economical songs. This third one probably has more in common with All Of This Awaits you sonically, but with a more diverse array of song styles. There's tight, hook filled pop songs like "Prince of the Parade" right along side of slower, more deliberate songs with noisier guitar bursts like "Fed to the Dogs."
There's so much to love here and it's definitely the record that has gotten the most repeated listens for me so far this year. There's even a cover of the Kamen Rider theme song. He'll be in NJ next week and I'm really looking forward to hearing these new songs live.
Regarding the different versions released, the main release that's in stores is a limited to 1500 copies pressing on yellow swirl vinyl. There are an additional 500 copies that are limited on black vinyl. 300 of these were sold via the Swami webstore and the remaining 200 copies are being sold on the upcoming tour dates. And if you want to hunt even more, 136 random orders from the Swami webshop also received a Swami Mystery Wax 7". These are 7"s that the Swami has affixed a label onto so that you don't know what it is until played. These are typically older 45s and my copy ended up being "My Meloncholy Baby" b/w "Really Need Your Love by The Marcels. A fun little bonus.
Swami John Reis - Time To Let You Down:
https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=uOIpCbqDL-w
90s Tapes (2024, Reissue)
Granary / BMG (2025)
If you were to give an award out for the most consistent rock and roller over the past 30 years or so, one could make a really strong argument to give that award to Bob Mould. Plain and simple, he's a guy that pretty much always puts out good records. Sure there were some that weren't quite as great as others and the less said about his forays into electronic music, the better - but, as a whole, he's got quite the catalog.
Here We Go Crazy is his latest album and it follows his string of upbeat, aggressive rock records that he's been consistently releasing since 2012's The Silver Age. It's just as good as any of them. Lot's of great songs, with poignant lyrics. Bob's definitely got a lot to say about the state of the world these days, though he does it in a way that doesn't beat you over the head with a hammer about it. It's still a record that's enjoyable to listen to and isn't designed to bum you out so much as to maybe give you a bit of hope that we'll get through it.
If there's a negative here, it's that this record is just as good as any of the other records he's put out recently. Again, they are all really good, but I find that most of them end up sitting on my record shelf after that initial flurry of listens because it's a new release. I think part of the problem is that if I'm really in the mood to listen to Bob Mould, I'll probably grab on of the Sugar records or The Silver Age. Those are the records that really connect with me. Here We Go Crazy isn't quite at the level of those, so I have a feeling I'll probably grab it if I want to listen to Bob Mould, but for whatever reason don't feel like listening to one of my favorites.
Comparisons to other Bob Mould records aside, Here We Go Crazy is a great listen. It's got everything I'm looking for in a Bob Mould record with no disappointments. I'd be shocked if it didn't end up being one of my favorites of the year. Maybe he just needs to put out a few intentionally bad records to make me appreciate how good records like this one is.
Bob Mould - Here We Go Crazy:
https://bobmould.bandcamp.com/album/here-we-go-crazy-3
Snappy Little Numbers (2025)
Zephr is back with Past Lives, a follow up to their debut LP from 2020. It seems inconceivable to me that was nearly five years ago already, but time does fly. I was glad to see Zephr made a second album. I liked their debu well enought, but more than anything I thought it showed a lot of potential for a band that may have still been coming into their own. Particularly given when that record came out.
The last time I wrote about Zephr I mentioned that, for me, they fit in nicely with the Dear Landlords and Off With Their Heads of the world. They bring similar things to the table: Aggressive vocals, dynamic guitar work and these folks definitely know their way around a hook. I did want to touch on the vocals in particular. I had made a comment about their debut that I didn't like one of the vocalists as much because his singing sounded a little strained to me. I don't feel that way at all about this new album. Both singers to a great job of carrying the melodies, while still maintaining that gravel-y roughness that works so well for this sort of thing.
In general, I think this record is an improvement from their debut. The songs feel a little more put together this time, and everything comes across tighter as a result. I like some ramshackle rock and roll as much as the next guy, but Zephr has just the right amount of polish that makes their record sound really big, but never falling victim to an artificial gloss. That's mostly just a dumb way for me to write that I think this record sounds really good.
Zephr - Past Lives:
https://snappylittlenumbers.bandcamp.com/album/past-lives
Dope Folks (2011, reissue)
On Wednesdays, in honor of Ed Lover Dance Day from Yo! MTV Raps, I take a break from rock and roll to write a little bit about hip hop. In the late 80s and early 90s hip hop ruled my musical life. During this often called 'Golden Era' I discovered so much incredible music. As I am slowly replacing the CDs I've had for twenty-five plus years with vinyl copies, I'm going to talk about some albums that had a really important impact on me during some very formative years.Michigan Independents Network (2012)
When I stumbled across Minutes' sophomore release, Roland, I was blown away by their scrappy take on jangly indie rock. Pretty much from that moment I started looking for their sold out, self titled debut album. I looked and looked and looked and added it to my Discogs want list and just waited. And waited. And waited. That stupid record never showed up for a decade. Then one day, there it was on Discogs for $20. I couldn't have bought it any faster.
Much like their album Roland, Minutes attack their songs with a reckless energy that reminds me a lot of Boat, with similarly successful results. At it's core, it's a Pavement leaning sound, but with a little more punk enthusiasm that keeps everything trucking along. I've had this record for a few months now, and while I certainly haven't listened to it as many times as I have Roland, I have listened to it enough times to proclaim it to be just as good. It's a tricky find, for sure, but I really recommend trying to track down both records if you can.
Minutes stopped putting out records after releasing Roland, but several members went on to release a couple of records under the similarly unsearchable name, Out. I can't say I dug those quite as much as Minutes, but all of them are worth checking out if you want to hear some 90s style indie rock.
Minutes - Minutes:
https://minutes.bandcamp.com/album/self-titled-lp
Hey Suburbia / Radiation (2025)
If you know me, you know that I think Bum is one of the greatest bands of all time. Their album, Wanna Smash Sensation ranks among my very favorites ever and I spent years and years hunting down their various singles, EPs and other releases. I was very pleasantly surprised to see that the same labels that reissued Wanna Smash Sensation in 2022 have come back with Kidd Bitz (& Glazed Rookies), a Bum singles and rarities compilation.
I'll start off with a minor quibble and that's the fact that this isn't an exhaustively complete compilation of Bum material. Admittedly, I'm one of those guys that wants every song, note and fart that a band cranks out to be part of these type of things and while this one has a lot of great on it, it's not everything. Some of it, I understand. A lot of the 7" A sides in Bum's catalog are tracks that were on Wanna Smash Sensation, so we probably don't need those. But there are others that aren't here and ones that are here that confuse me a bit, such as three of the eight songs from the Make It Or Break It 12". Regardless, it's not as complete as I'd maybe want it to be (likely spanning a double LP), but there's a metric ton of great songs on here.
A word of warning, when you first put this LP on, the fidelity of the original 7" versions of "A Promise is a Promise" and "Wedding Day" is not the greatest. It's also not the greatest on the actual original 7", so it's a source limitation, not a problem with the LP. Once you hit the third song, everything sounds bright, full and delightful. This compilation collects outstanding Bum songs from the At The Well 7", the Mrs. Rock and Roll 7", split 7"s with Innerface and Pingu, the aforementioned 12" and several compilation tracks. Spanning their entire existence you get Bum originals and five covers (They did a good amount of covers in their time).
As a maniac record collector, I did have all of these songs on singles and compilations before, but what no one had heard before this LP came out were the three previously unreleased songs. "1983" is a home recording by Rob Nesbitt from 1993 that is a good song and a nice way to close out side one of the record. The other two "Everything I Say Is Wrong" and "You, Down Again" are full band, killer Bum tunes that would have been a crime to leave shelved for all of eternity. It's really nice to be able to hear these two gems and for me, that's reason enough to pick this up.
Let's be honest though, even if I had every single song on here, I'd buy this. Of course there's the insane record collector thing creeping in again, but there's also the fact that it is really nice to be able to listen to all of these songs without having to go pull out nine different records or the old mix tapes I use to make to get at them. It's an essential addition to my record shelf and it just makes me greedy for more Bum songs. They should make some more of those...
Merge / Bigfish Sounds (2024)
This 7" was one that I wasn't aware of until I just saw it on Superchunk's Disccogs page when I was looking up something else. It's a split 7" with Not Wonk that was made for a Japanese Superchunk tour. There were 300 pressed in total and 100 of them were sold at the Merge 35 merch table, according to an Instagram post that Mac made that I found this morning. I wasn't at that show or at any of the Japanese tour dates and it's only through the kindness of my great friend Kazu that I have this in my collection.
Both songs on this 7" are acoustic, with the Superchunk side being a version of "Hyper Enough." "Hyper Enough" is probably my favorite Superchunk song, if I was forced to pick one, but at worst it's in my top three. I'm not positive that it's the Superchunk song that translates best acoustically though. It's significantly slower and delivered with Mac's vocals being a whole lot more gravelly than they were 30 years ago (it happens). It's certainly not bad and it's an interesting take on a song that I have loved for 30 years, but I can't really see myself listening to it very often.
Not Wonk is a band from Japan and I have their first two albums, which I like quite a bit. They've put out two more since then, but I don't have either of those. Their contribution is an acoustic take on a song called "Asshole." I'm not sure that there is a non-acoustic version of this one as it's not on either of the Not Wonk records I have and according to Discogs it's not on either of the ones I don't. It's also not a Beck cover. Like the Superchunk side, this is a slow song that while nice, isn't particularly exciting.
It probably sounds like I'm being negative about this record, but for what it is - a limited tour only 7" - it does everything it needs to. Only crazy, completist record collector people like me are going to miss it if it's not in their collection. But as a crazy, completist record collector, I am deeply and eternally grateful to Kazu for helping me keep my Superchunk 7" collection complete.
Chocodog (2023)
Back in 1994, a friend recommended Ween to me because he knew I was really getting into Beck and some of the other weirder strains of indie and punk rock. I ended up picking up Pure Guava and Chocolate & Cheese first. In particular, I became obsessed with Pure Guava. At a subsequent trip into NYC to go record shopping, I picked up the CD of The Pod from Generation Records (amazingly, still open as of now). The Pod never really connected with me the same way as the others and while I still have that CD, it wasn't one of the Ween records I gravitated towards when I was in the mood to listen to Ween.
As the years have gone by, that initial opinion I had is somewhat still accurate. It's still not one of my favorite Ween records and really cannot hold a candle to Pure Guava, Chocolate & Cheese, The Mollusk or 12 Golden Country Greats, I do find that it's a pretty fun album when I want to be reminded of why I started listening to Ween in the first place.
Since I'm not as intimately familiar with The Pod as I am those others, it's still something of a surprise when I put it on and start listening. I can still be taken back by the goofiness of a song about pork roll (I assume they mean Taylor Ham), egg and cheese or the oddness of an entire song being someone ordering Mexican food. It's still a tough listen at times as many of the songs are noisy and weird, but when those gems pop up, it's still rewarding.
I've never had this on vinyl, so it's a nice addition to the Ween collection. This pressing is on wacky colored and what sure feels like 180g vinyl. It's not advertised as 180g, but these are some think, heavy slabs of wax. I'm kind of glad I waited so long to get it as this is definitely the version I'd want to own.
Ween - The Pod:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_m29LtZ9U0OkNhLDwXIzlFtgI8OmcSBnbU