Hooper - Carry Your Own Saints 12"

 
Snappy Little Numbers (2026)

It seems inconcievable to me that the first time I wrote about Hooper was 14 years ago.  I picked up a 7" of theirs and it not only kicked off my fandom of the band, but opened the door to the world of the entire Snappy Little Numbers label. It was definitely an important record that I acquired up over the years and it's led me to so many great things, not the least of which are the various Hooper releases that have come out in the intervening years.  The news one is in the form of a 12" EP called Carry Your Own Saints.

Now, longtime readers may or may not remember that I am predisposed to dislike 12" EPs.  I cannot explain exactly why I find them annoying, but I do.  If you don't have enough songs for a full album, either wait or just put out a 7".  That's just one of my weird rules that I don't expect anyone else to follow, but there's just something so much more satisfying to me to have a full album to listen to.  But enough whining about other people not doing the exact, weirdly specific thing that I want, there's new Hooper songs to discuss.

I was a little worried at first as the EP doesn't really start off with a bang.  "Dulouz" is a pretty slow song, that kind of keeps grooving to its lower-mid tempo energy and just sort of stays there.  There's no big hook or anything to really smack you in the face and announce their arrival.  It feels like the band is setting the table for the songs that follow, which would work better on a full length than it does on an EP where there's a much smaller table to set.

Luckily, things pick up immediately for the second track, "92U."  Here we have the fuzzier, more energetic Hooper that I have known and loved all of this time.  The rest of the EP carries on in this tradition.  This isn't to say that the other four songs are all fast ones, but they have the energy and the hooks that I'm used to getting from this band.  

Each time Hooper puts out a release it's never really the same thing that you've gotten before.  While the band usually has a certain tone that they stick to, the songs themselves tend to be pretty varied overall.  I can always point to my favorites from each album and can also find a couple that don't connect with me quite the same way.  I'm not going to lie, I prefer it when they are uptempo, but as long as they sneak in a good hook, I can get down with something more subdued as well.  I also want to call out the cool little lyric booklet/zine thing that this EP comes with.  It really stands out as a nice addition to the whole package.

Carry Your Own Saints is a good EP.  With "92U" and "Farther" you have 2 songs that would be standouts on any of their albums.  "Arclight" and "Lurid Blue" slow things down a bit, but still have the hooks and energy that I'm looking for.  "Dulouz" isn't really my bag, though I think it would probably make more sense to me in the context of a full album (yes, I am going to beat that EP stuff into the ground today, sorry).  All in all, it's a fun release and definitely worth grabbing if you're a fan of the band.  

Hooper - Carry Your Own Saints:

https://snappylittlenumbers.bandcamp.com/album/carry-your-own-saints

Casual - Demo Sessions 12"

Dope Folks (2019)

Every Wednesday, 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 thirty 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.

This weekend I'm going to go see Hieroglyphics play live for the first time.  Though I have seen Del The Funky Homosapien and Souls Of Mischief, I've never seen the whole crew together.  One of the main reasons I want to see this show so badly is to finally be able to see Casual live.  Casual's debut album, Fear Itself, is in my upper echelon of hip hops albums.  I'm always in search of anything that sounds like the early 90s Hieroglyphics sound, often to no avail.  But what better way to find sounds like that than from the people that made them originally.  

Dope Folks put out this EP a few years ago that has six Casual songs that predate Fear Itself.  While EPs are not my favorite way to consume songs (which I know is blasphemy in hip hop, but I just love listening to all length albums), there was no way that I wasn't going to pick this up.  Though like a lot of things I'm writing about lately, it's taken me years to get around to saying something on this site about it.  

Of the six songs, one of them is a remix of the Fear Itself standout, "Me-O-Mi-O."  I do love me an early 90s remix.  To this day I'll contend that the remixed version of Del The Funky Homosapien's "Wrongplace" is superior to the original and it's not the only song I feel that way about.  I don't really think this remix is better than the album version, but that one is an all timer and has been lodged in my head for over 30 years.  The remix is an interesting take on it, but is more of a novelty for me on this release.

The main events are the five previously unreleased tracks.  They vary in quality both from a sound quality standpoint (these are demos after all) and song quality.  Some of the slower tracks like "Fear No Evil" and "Gotta Lotta" don't hit as hard for me.  The production and beats are OK, but they don't really service Casual's flow in the way that much of his classic material does. 

That isn't the case at all with side two of this EP.  "Where They At," Can You Feel It?" and "Rippers" all hit it out of the park.  The beats are more uptempo than what you'll find on the first side and this lets Casual uncork his rapid fire lyrical madness.  He's got an effortless flow that veers from freestyles to battle raps to punchlines, sometimes all in the same bar.  He's one of the most overlooked MCs out there and the fact that he was cranking out songs like this when he was still in high school (which is also when I was in high school) flabbergasts me.

Casual - Demo Sessions 12":

https://soundcloud.com/dope-folks-records/casual-fear-no-evil-demo-sessions-ep-coming-soon?in=dope-folks-records/sets/df0094-casual-demo-sessions-ep#t=0:00

Short Dogs Grow - Quit While You're Young 12"

 
Lil' Hunka Gold (2025)

Short Dogs Grow sent me this 12" of theirs which is the first release that the band has done since the late 1980s.  They were/are based out of San Francisco and put out a couple of LPs on Rough Trade once upon a time.  This new EP has two of the four original members, Tom Pitts and Carmela Thompson, joined by a new drummer.  

I wasn't super familiar with the band's original work, so I checked out a few songs and they were pretty fast, kind of fuzzy guitar rock that isn't really out of place in the mid to late 80s Bay Area scene.  This new EP leans on a lot more of an rootsy rock and roll sound, with songs that don't have the same sort of mph as the older ones I listened to.  These are decidedly mid tempo and while they lean towards that alt country sound a bit, have a little more aggression and punk influence.

Main singer Tom Pitts' vocals are definitely an acquired taste, and thus far, I have not acquired that taste.  They've got a warble to them that really jumps out from the music in a way that I personally find distracting, though others may find to be the highlight of the group.  I know a fair amount of people who can't get into Leatherface because they don't like Frankie Stubbs' vocals, yet for me, they are one of the main reasons I love that band so much.

This isn't bad, it's a solid EP with well written songs.  If you like some root in your music, might be up your alley more than mine.

Short Dogs Grow - Quit While You're Young:
https://shortdogsgrow.bandcamp.com/album/quit-while-youre-young

Surrender - Summer Never Comes CD

Waterslide (2024)

I am still trying to catch up on writing about 2024 albums and I'm trying to focus on the ones that ended up on my year end best of list.  It's not super common for me to put an EP on my year end album list, but the six songs that Surrender have served up on this EP are so great that it's impossible to listen to it and not proclaim it as one of the very best releases of last year.

Surrender comes to us with a pedigree that immediately catches my attention.  When you've got members of bands like the Hum Hums and CSS coming together to make a new band of punchy, punked-up power pop, it's probably unlikely that I'm not going to love it.  And boy oh boy, do I love this EP.

It's fast enough that you can hear the pop punk influences shining through, but they wrangle harmonies in a way that stands so much higher than most bands, giving it a timeless sound that you can just as easily trace to the Beach Boys as you can some of the more notable power pop bands of the 70s.  

I just love everything about this and the only way that I think it could be better is if it was a full length album.  Hopefully we'll get one of those sooner than later and in the mean time I have to try to get myself a copy of their first EP from 2015.  2015?  I sure hope we don't have to wait another nine years for more Surrender music.

Surrender - Summer Never Comes:
https://watersliderecords.bandcamp.com/album/summer-never-comes

Bad Idea - Breakout 12" - Red Vinyl

Self Released (2024)

I wrote about Bad Idea's full length, Sonic Hellride, last year.  This year, they followed it up with a five song, 12" EP.  I'll throw in my obligatory complaint that I really don't like EPs as I prefer a full length or a single if you want to get less than a full course meal out into the world.  It just always seems like a waste to press up an LP but not put an LPs worth of music on it.  But that's far from a complaint unique to Bad Idea, they're just the record in front of me right now.

Like their album from last year, this EP has songs very much in the straight up punk rock space, occasionally leaning towards a more hardcore sound and sometimes having a garage-y sort of vibe.  In general this sort of thing is fine for me, but it's also not the kind of music that typically fits neatly into my wheelhouse.  I'm usually into a poppier sound...

Which the band is obviously capable of after one listen to the best song on here "Too Good To Die."  Does that main chord progression sound kind of familiar, of course, but they band still gets milage out of it by putting their own spin on things.  And as I mentioned last time I wrote about the band, they have a really great singer which helps them stand head and shoulders above other bands with similar sounds, who always seem to have uniquely shitty singers.

I think folks that are into meat and potatoes punk rock more than I am will get more milage out of this EP than I do.  It wouldn't surprise me for someone to listen to this and have the exact opposite opinion as me and think "Too Good To Die" stands out in a less than positive way from the others.  But I think we'd all agree that Bad Idea is very good at whatever they are doing.

Bad Idea - Breakout 12":
https://badideampls.bandcamp.com/album/breakout

despAIR jordan - Before Your Wings Gave Out 12" - Gray Vinyl

Snappy Little Numbers (2022)

despAIR jordan (did they think people might not get the joke if they didn't capitalize AIR?) is a Denver based band, like so many others that are part of the Snappy Little Numbers universe.  They also sound completely different than pretty much any other band on SNL which is part of the reason that I'm always interested to see what the label will do next.  Though admittedly, I tend to like the pop punk sounding stuff the best.

despAIR jordan is not pop punk.  They have a late 80s, early 90s shoegaze alternative sound that makes me think of bands like The Cure or Depeche Mode, particularly in regards to the vocals.  The songs are pretty slow, deliberate and long.  there are six songs on the vinyl, though the download comes with four extras.  I'm not sure if it was a timing reason that those songs weren't on the vinyl or if it's because it would have been too long to fit everything.

I can't say this is my favorite record I've heard lately.  I like my rock a bit crunchier and/or more upbeat and these songs kind of just feel like downers to me.  That said, they do as good a job as anyone with this style of music.  The musicianship is strong and the production is great.  It's just that for me, this kind of thing just tends to fade into the background when I listen to it.

despAIR jordan - Before Your Wings Gave Out:
https://snappylittlenumbers.bandcamp.com/album/before-your-wings-gave-out-deluxe-digital-with-hell-year-ep

Science Man - Demo Cassette

More Power Tapes (2018)

OK, as I clean up the tape backlog, I cannot fathom how I have one from 2018 still hanging around.  Seriously, this is almost three years old?  I sure feel like a scumbag for never listening to it until now.  Not that I probably would have had much to say about it three years ago that differs from what I think about it now.

It's all right for the most part.  The production is pretty solid and it sounds better than your typical demo tape that has a skull on the cover.  The guitars are kind of sludgy on purpose and the vocals have a harsh edge to them that kind of vary back and forth between growling, changing and yelling.  There's something about the song "Science Monster" that feels like it could have been a noise B side to a Beck Mellow Gold era release, but not one of the ones I'd listen to all that much.

The band appears to have gone on to put out two full length records and a 7" since this tape came out.  Maybe it'll be a collector's item someday.  I don't know that I would have expected them to go on to great things based on this tape, but it's not anywhere near as bad as some of the others I've listened to over the years.

Science Man - Demo:

https://scienceman.bandcamp.com/album/demo

Casual / Souls of Mischief / Extra Prolific - A Low Down Dirty Shame 12"

Jive (1994)

Every Wednesday, 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.

The last of the Casual singles from the golden era is this three-way split EP that also features fellow Hieroglyphics acts Souls of Mischief and Extra Prolific.  It features songs from the soundtrack of a movie called A Low Down Dirty Shame, which I've never seen despite it starring Keenon Ivory Waynes and me being a huge a huge fan of I'm Gonna Git You Sucka.  Maybe I need to check it out one day.

As far as this single goes, we get two versions of an exclusive Casual song called "Later On."  The LP version features a laid back, storytelling vibe with a a jazzy drum vibe, some keyboards in the hook and some atmospheric chatter in the background.  It's not my favorite Casual song from this era as I prefer Casual when he's hitting a little harder, but lyrically there's good stuff here.  The remix of this is far superior in my opinion.  It has a completely different vocal take and some new lyrics over a beat that is still slower in tempo, but hits much harder than the LP version.

Souls of Mischief contribute "Get The Girl, Grab The Money and Run." The LP version probably isn't as strong as anything on their 93 'Til Infinity album that was released the previous year, but it's still a strong offering.  Hiero was operating at a level so much higher than most at this time, even their lesser tracks can hang with the best of the era.  The Souls remix has a beat that's a bit more minimalistic than the LP version.  It's good, but in this instance I think the one the put on the album was better.

Lastly we have the Extra Prolific track "In Front of the Kids."  Nothing really to see here as this is also on the Like It Should Be full length, so nothing exclusive here.  It's not even one of the better songs on that album.  This EP should be a perfect bridge from writing about Casual singles to writing about Souls of Mischief singles, but those Souls singles are expensive and I don't have them all yet.  Hopefully one day.

Casual - "Later On":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEZjTN-k15M&ab_channel=Casual-Topic

Souls of Mischief - "Get The Girl, Grab The Money and Run":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRzuTjbIqco&ab_channel=SoulsOfMischiefVEVO

 

The Skitchers - Gleam Another Cube Cassette

Poop Stick (2019)

As I mentioned last week, I'm trying to organize and get through this pile of tapes that I need to write about.  This one from The Skitchers seems to have been here sing 2019, which I find crazy, but then again so was last week's tape.  And I'm usually so organized.

I like the bright orange artwork and Gleam Another Cube is a pretty funny name for an EP, but there's nothing about the music that I find all that interesting.  These are short, fast skate punk songs.  Gravel-throated singer, on top of simple guitar riffs and straightforward drum tempos.  Is it good skate punk or bad skate punk? Honestly, I don't know as it's not really my bag.  It sounds amateurish, but to some that's a selling point I think.

When I'm writing about these kind of bands I run out of things to say pretty quickly.  They sound like a high school band that I wouldn't want to go see play.  I cannot imagine every listening to this tape again.  But skate punk or high school band aficionados might find something in it that I don't, so have at it if that's the sort of thing you're into. 

The Skitchers - Gleam Another Cube:
https://poopstick.bandcamp.com/album/gleam-another-cube

The Mr. T Experience - ...And The Women Who Love Them LP - Silver Vinyl

Sounds Rad (2020, Reissue)

When I wrote about the red vinyl version of the first Mr. T Experience album a few weeks ago, I said that one of the reasons I liked having it in my collection as it was a building block for a band that would become one of my all time favorites.  Everybody's Entitled to their Own Opinion was an album I tracked down after I had been listening to the band for a bit.  The most recent Mr. T Experience record that was available when I heard them for the first time was this EP, ...And The Women Who Love Them.

The first time I heard the Mr. T Experience was on the 1995 Slice of Lemon compilation.  They did a cover of the Schoolhouse Rock song "Adjectives" and that's what made me go look for more of their music.  I wonder how many people discovered them from that compilation.  I'm guessing it probably wasn't many.

I am not totally positive ATWWLT was the very first Mr. T Experience album I bought.  I picked up this one, Our Bodies Ourselves and Making Things With Light all around the same time.  They are the three MTX records I've known the longest and in a lot of ways they will always be fighting each other for the top spot of being my favorite (Along with Love As Dead, which would come out the following year in 1996).

What I can say for sure is that I just loved this EP.  "Tapin' Up My Heart" was immediately a song that jumped out at me and I went crazy for the blown out guitar fuzz lead, start/stop verse and of course the incredibly well constructed lyrics.  The rest of the CD's six other tracks were equally great tackling relationship highs and lows with a sharp wit and even sharper hooks.  Then there was the secret hidden song.

The 7" version of the release had "Tapin' Up My Heart" and "My Stupid Life" from the CD, but it also had an unlisted acoustic song which I now know is called "How'd The Date End?"  When I used to put this song on mix tapes, I titled it myself as being called "Love Connection."  In the early 2000s, Lookout put out the ...And The Women Who Love Them - Special Addition CD.  When they did, they included "How'd The Date End?" but it was a different recording that had a few extra lines.  I hated it.  I felt like it was lacking the urgency of the version from my 7" and I didn't think the extra lyrics were worth sacrificing that energy.  Oomph goes a long way with me and the original version had the Oomph I was looking for.  I got a lot angrier about stupid things twenty years ago than I do now.

With this new vinyl version, the seven songs from the CD are present along with the original version of "How'd The Date End?"  All eight songs in one place and even better yet all finally on vinyl.  To say this record sounds great is the understatement of the year.  None of these songs have ever sounded as good as they do on this record.  I can't believe the fullness of everything that is just not present on my old CD version.

Also, I think I lucked out with my copy.  I put in dibs for the record as soon as it was an option from Sounds Rad, but the people who bought the MTX Forever compilation had first dibs on the dibs.  I didn't buy that comp because I already have those songs.  I'm on board for reissues of full albums that sound better, but I didn't need a Mr. T Experience best-of that wasn't a list of the songs I actually thought were the best.  So, by the time I got to place dibs, I was number seven on the overflow list.  Sadly no spot ever opened up and I was relegated to the second pressing that wasn't on 180g vinyl.  But let me tell you, the version they sent me is pretty damn heavy.  I don't have a scale that weighs in grams, but I think that maybe they had some leftover 180g versions and I still managed to get one even though I missed out.  Regardless which version I have, it sounds incredible.

I have no idea how this write up got so long.  In summary, all that you really need to know is that this is pretty much a perfect slice of mid 90s pop punk, presented as an incredible sounding version and finally compiling all of the tracks from the recording in one place.  You would be a fool not to have this in your collection.

The Mr. T Experience - ...And The Women Who Love Them (YouTube Music full album playlistL
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_lw4lASdWJVaKOg60udq5uTkSWO4LcHg_8

Snuff - The Wrath of Thoth 12" EP - Six Different Colors of Vinyl

10 Past 12 / Unless You Try (2020)

I don't know what's wrong with me.  I don't know why I need six copies of this 12".  But I do.  The first pressing of this EP occurred pretty much right as the pandemic was getting underway and my record buying income was reduced to essential nil.  I watched as the orange and green vinyl pressings of these albums sold out without me having bought them.  I scraped together enough cash to at least get the version that Unless You Try was selling, but I felt sad and incomplete.

Then, it was repressed on three more colors of vinyl.  So, I sold a 1980s Rat guitar pedal on eBay.  This gave me the money to pounce on the Snuff website when they miraculously found a few more of the sold out first pressing copies.  So I picked up four copies in total from them and the last one I needed on blue vinyl from Dead Broke.  This was too complicated for me, but I just can't help how much I love Snuff and have for decades.

The songs on here are quite good too.  Every Snuff record has at least a handful of transcendently incredible songs and this one is no exception.  Opener "Drink Freely From The Chalice of Lunacy" is not only in the running for best Snuff songs of the past fifteen years or so, it's also a pretty good description of the year 2020 as a whole.  Yes, have some.  All of the songs on this EP are fun and provide an excellent follow up to the last Snuff full length, There's A Lot Of It About.  I like the idea of more frequent Snuff releases, but next time I would prefer maybe two versions instead of six.

Snuff - The Wrath Of Thoth (This is a link to one of those link tree things that take you to a bunch of places you can stream the record, but really you should just go buy the vinyl, shouldn't you?)
https://ditto.fm/the-wrath-of-throf

Falls - Egg Hunt CDEP

Too Smell (2018)

I'm a little delayed on writing about a few CDs that I mail ordered from Japan quite a while ago at this point.  I'm desperate to do another order, but that's not really viable at the moment.  Luckily I still have some to write about, but I do feel guilty that it took me so long to get to this Falls EP.

For those of you with steel trap memories, you may recall that Falls was one of the excellent bands to play the Waterslide/PopKid show when I went to Japan in 2017.  They made an instant fan of me that night and each release of theirs that I pick up only reinforces that feeling.  Whenever I hear them it always makes me think of those late 90s days where emo was becoming a thing in the US, but it hadn't quite become a dirty word just yet.

The bands that always come to mind when I listen to Falls are Silver Scooter, early Three Minute Movie (Especially those 2 killer songs on their Braid split and my favorite song of theirs, "Fish Don't Think, They Swim," on that 3" compilation CD) and lastly the quieter moments of the band Boys Life.  The 4 main songs on this EP are as strong as anything that I've heard by Falls so far.  If you have either of their other EPs that I wrote about and you liked them, there's no way you won't dig this one just as much.

Falls - Egg Hunt:
https://fallsband.bandcamp.com/album/egg-hunt

Dead Ex - Tokyo Beautiful Mess CD

DEX (2018)

Dead Ex is one of the many wonderful bands that Kazu from Waterslide has recommended to me.  While they actually have more of an American sound to them than most of the Japanese bands I tend to listen to, they still manage to inject an energy into their songs that sets them apart from other bands that are dabbling in this genre.

If I'm going to make an easy comparison, it's going to be that Dead Ex are traveling a path similar to Iron Chic or RVIVR.  Most songs are extremely melodic with powerful anthemic vocals and a good amount of "whoa's" and other gang style backing vocals. But then Dead Ex changes things up and breaks out an acoustic guitar and throws down a rootsy style song that sounds like what I imagine the Gaslight Anthem could sound like if they were actually good.

While this isn't one of those bands that I think everyone in the world should immediately seek out and buy, for those that tend to favor the type of punk rock that bands like Iron Chic are peddling, this EP will fit into your collection quite nice.

Dead Ex "Just One Time Anthem":
https://soundcloud.com/deadex/just-one-time-anthem

OUTOFSTYle - 追分e.p. CD

No, She Rode (2018)

OUTOFSTYle is a band that has been releasing records since 2004 and yet I somehow have only heard of them pretty recently.  This 6 song EP is the first release of theirs that I've gotten, but after playing these songs on repeat for a while, I really want to get my hands on the rest of their catalog.

This is everything that I love about Japanese pop punk. The songs are fast and rough around the edges, satisfying my punk rock needs.  But they are also melodic and catchy, showcasing great mastery of crafting a lasting hook that keeps me coming back over and over again.  They remind me of some of the glory days of Snuffy Smile.  Sort of like Blew, but a little gruffer, though not as gruff as say Sprocket Wheel.  I think they're somewhere int he middle of those two bands if I had to try to place them somewhere.

I love all six songs on this EP and once again, I am bowled over by a Japanese band playing the exact kind of punk rock that I want to listen to.  I've not been able to get a new pack of records from Japan in a while.  I really hope that things turnaround in the world and I can start buying some records again.  While I know in the grand scheme of things record shopping is not as important as some other things in life, but songs like these bring that spark of joy that only music can provide.  I have plenty of records to listen to, but there's something special about that next great discovery.

Ice Cube - Kill At Will 12"

Priority (1990)

Every Wednesday, 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 25+ 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.

I can't be positive, but I think the first time I ever heard Ice Cube was from one of the videos released from this EP.  If it wasn't from that, it was probably his guest appearance on the Public Enemy song "Burn Hollywood Burn."  The song from this EP that I remember super vividly from the Yo MTV Raps era was "Jackin' For Beats."

The fist thing that caught my ears was that the song starts off using the same music as the D-Nice song "Call Me D-Nice."  It then moves through beats of other songs of the era including sections that include Public Enemy, Digital Underground and others.  It wasn't a concept that made a ton of sense to me as a kid, but it made for a hell of a song and I really liked it even if I didn't totally understand what Cube was up to.  It holds up extremely well all of these years later and it really makes me think that D-Nice probably doesn't get as much credit as he deserves for his first album.

The rest of this EP is a mixed bag.  There's some interesting remixes of a couple of tracks from Ice Cube's debut album. There's a track of nothing but shout outs and a thirty second skit.  The next most famous song from this LP is "Dead Homiez."  It's a serious track, that is slower than a lot of what Cube was doing at the time.  It's not one that I ever really gravitated to.  Lyrically it's pretty powerful, but the delivery is so laid back that I think it loses some impact.  The other standout to me on this album is "The Product."  It's fast and Ice Cube is fierce on the mic.

To me, the best era of Ice Cube is Amerikka's Most Wanted, this EP and Death Certificate. There's a few good moments after that, but his first three releases are pretty untouchable.  The Kill At Will EP is definitely part of that really important era and I still would probably say "Jackin' for Beats" is my favorite Ice Cube song (at worst, it's a very close second to "Steady Mobbin").

Ice Cube - Kill At Will (Youtube full EP playlist):
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mdGm78GJnGjZFMJy4qBI8lA6NTibPX6So

Merger - S/T 12"

Impetus (2019)

I will be honest, I don't remember when I got this record.  It was sent to me for the purposes of reviewing on this site sometime last year, but it sort of vanished into the 'to do' pile.  I have not been able to buy many new records this year, and with the way things are deteriorating in the real world each day, it seems unlikely that I'll be buying many more in the short term.  The upside to that is that it gives me time to weed through the records that have been sitting around.  I guess if you want to send me a record to review, this is probably the best time to do that, just drop me an email first as the address on this site isn't going to be the best place to get a hold of me over the next month or so.

Back to Merger.  This is a six song 12" EP, which is my least favorite way to consume new music that isn't a cassette.  I'm always going to prefer a full length LP or a 7" for shorter endeavors.  That aside, the music itself is interesting.  While I can't really say that I like it or would be prone to listening to it very often, it's not bad.  There's a fuzzy chaos to it that I find endearing and there's solid energy behind the vocals.  The drummer is also particularly adept at keeping time amongst the various mood changes that take place during each song.

In my formative years when I was trying to find my way in punk rock, I ended up listening to a lot of Pacific Northwest bands like Karp, Unwound and Some Velvet Sidewalk.  I think that if I had heard this Merger LP back then, I'd probably have a different take on it than I do now.  This isn't for me, but there are likely folks out there that prefer the noisier side of the world that will be able to get down with this.

Merger - S/T 12":
https://merger.bandcamp.com/album/s-t

Armchair Martian - S/T Demo Tape

Snappy Little Numbers (2019)

I vividly remember Armchair Martian popping up in 1996.  I bought their first 7" at Flipside in Pompton Lakes NJ.  I really dug it and that's good news for this cassette as all three songs from that 7" are also on this reissue of Armchair Martian's first demo tape.  Of the other two songs, one of them appeared on the first AM full length and I believe the last one, "Dumb," is exclusive to this tape.

Armchair Martian were always a solid band.  They lean towards the melodic side of pop punk and like Brown Lobster Tank from earlier in the week, they have a lot in common with the Cruz style sound that was a fun thing back in the 90s.  You can hear some of the Big Drill Car sound, particularly in the guitar tone and big chunky riffs that make up the backbone of these songs.  These songs do hold up really well, though it probably helps matters that three of them are ones I've been pretty familiar with for quite some time.

It's a neat thing to have this cassette reissued and it's a cool thing to add to the collection.  But if Snappy Little Numbers really wants to blow some minds, let's get a vinyl reissue of the first Armchair Martian LP.  That's something my collection could really use.

Armchair Martian - S/T Demo Tape:
https://snappylittlenumbers.bandcamp.com/album/demo-reissue

Singing Lungs - Mutter Cassette

Count Your Lucky Stars (2019)

Whenever I get a cassette, it usually breaks down into one of three situations.  The first is that I already know and like the band, so I had no choice but to buy the cassette since there was no CD or vinyl release.  The second one is that one of those tape labels from Buffalo sent me another weirdo tape from some local band that has way too much yelling in it.  The final scenario is what I've experienced with Singing Lungs.  It showed up in the mail one day, isn't from upstate New York and actually has pretty solid artwork.  I was definitely more intrigued than usual.

That intrigue paid off with a pretty solid listen.  Singing Lungs are playing a relatively poppy strain of punk rock with crunchy Armchair Martian style guitars and earnest vocals that venture into a rootsy territory from time to time.  While I wouldn't classify them as the sort of band that's going to instantly catapult into your favorites list, all five songs are genuinely good and worth a listen.

The band also sent a full CD that I haven't listened to yet.  I figured I'd tackle the tape first at is was newer.  But this EP has left a good impression and I'm excited to check out some more tunes by these guys.

Singing Lungs - Mutter:
https://countyourluckystars.bandcamp.com/album/mutter

The First Part - Offset From The Normal 12" EP

Self Released (2019)

I was very pleasantly surprised to have this new 12" EP by The First Part show up at my door a couple of weeks ago.  I really liked a CDEP of theirs a few years back, but had honestly lost track of them a little bit.  As I get older, I notice I have a more difficult time keeping up on current bands and what they are up to.  I do my best, but inevitably things slip through the cracks for one reason or another.   I'm glad this EP didn't become one of them.

Boasting a former member of "90s pop punk sensations" Jill, I'm going to be inclined to like these guys since I was such a big Jill fan back in the day.  But if this record was a total turd, no amount of good will for a prior band would make me like the new one.  Crooked Fingers really blows, for example, and those first two Archers of Loaf records are among my very favorite ever.  Luckily, I can happily report that the four songs on this EP are pretty great.

One of the things I remember about the bands first EP is how I felt they had a similar, mid tempo pop structure that reminded me of bands like Hospital Job.  While I would still classify the tempo on the bulk of this EP as "mid," I feel like these songs have more of a pop punk feel to them.  Maybe a little closer to Jill, particularly in the vocal melodies.  My favorite song of the bunch is "We're No Strangers" and while it certainly doesn't feel dated, it makes me think back to the 90s in the best possible way.

This is a great record.  That said, I always have weird feelings for 12" EPs.  It always seems like it would make more sense to stick more songs on there.  Why not have thrown the songs from that first CDEP on the B side?  Anyway, my bizarre person feeling about EPs aside, this is a worthwhile record to check out for the pop kids out there.

The First Part - Offset From The Normal:
https://thefirstpart.bandcamp.com/album/offset-from-the-normal

The Half Hearts - S/T Cassette EP

Snappy Little Numbers (2019)

The Half Hearts have an energy about them that I really like.  They are a duo on this EP, just guitar and drums.  While I think bass guitar would flesh things out and make the songs sound fuller, they still have managed to create four really solid pop songs.

The band that comes to mind when listening to The Half Hearts is Title Tracks, in particular the first Title Tracks album In Blank.  It's a combination of the way the vocals are recorded and how crammed full of hooks the songs are.  I love In Blank, so having a band like The Half Hearts leaning in that same direction is something I can totally get behind.

This EP is a really cool introduction to The Half Hearts.  They are definitely onto something.  With a bass player, more songs and some vinyl, they could be a band really worth paying attention to.

The Half Hearts - S/T:
https://snappylittlenumbers.bandcamp.com/album/s-t-ep-sln-157