Cementing The Seams

Smug Brothers are another excellent lo-fi indie-pop group from Ohio who take their cues from the likes of Big Star and Guided By Voices (with whom they evidently share a drummer).  The 18 songs on "Fortune Rumors" float around from different eras and influences to give the whole album a lot of variety, but maintain its simplicity well enough.  Some songs are decidedly Beatles-esque while others sound like Superchunk.  If you dig anything the Tinhorn Planet has been releasing lately then you should check this out.

FFO: Guided By Voices, The Gifted Children, The Strungs

Stream and download at Bandcamp

Oh man, I almost forgot to post this.  Sleepies are back for the first time since releasing one of 2010's best LPs with a 2 song digital EP called "Hot Singles".  The Brooklyn band offers up more of the same snotty post-punk riffage that made me fall in love with the their LP last year.  If you aren't listening to this band, you're doing it wrong.

Stream and download at Bandcamp

Part three of this block of lady punk posts comes to us by way of another duo called Bad Banana.  Actually they now play with some other people but that is a minor semantic detail (because as we all know; duo means 'danger').  Anyhow this 7" just came out on Puzzle Pieces Records and is the perfect follow up to their 10 song demo "Crushfield".  With additional accompaniment and time behind the mixing board Bad Banana have gone from recorded-in-a-bathroom lo-fi pop punk to whatever comes next.  4 tracks of truly infectious summer jams that should have me biking, skating and flipping this record over and over until September.

Stream some of the demo tracks on Muxtape

Buy it from Puzzle Pieces

Listen at Bandcamp

Buy it from Mountain Man

It is officially spring (for me anyway), and as everyone knows that means it is pop-punk season.  To kick off what hopefully becomes a string of related posts, I feel it necessary to post this EP by New Jersey trio Big Eyes.  This is perfect sunny weather, bike riding music.  Think The Runaways (oh yeah did I mention the singer was a lady?) mixed with proto pop-punk ala The Ramones.  Throw in some modern punk flair and a pretty strong surf influence and you have all the parts for Big Eyes.  I really hope this band releases an LP.

Buy it from Tankcrimes

People need to start hearing this shit.

Peep this post for info regarding the purchase of this record album

Go to Europe from April 25th to June 6th to see these guys.

This is one of those obligatory 'I support everything this band does' posts.  Back in late '09/early '10 (like forever ago dudes) I could have crashed the Ex Wife bandwagon by myself considering the speed with which I jumped aboard the hype train.  It seems like this EP is getting a lot of attention,  but it may just be my frame of reference.  On this (supposedly their final release) Ex Wife has added a bassist and relaxed a little bit.  At first I wasn't sure if I was a fan of their slower sound but after a few listens I realized it didn't make much of a difference. They still write killer songs that seem to evoke some level of emotional reaction from me that few bands can.  As a swan song "June" is appropriately melancholy, but what it misses in energy it makes up for in composition.  This band could have been something else and this proves it.

FFO: The other Ex Wife releases, the emo revival

Stream and download at Bandcamp

If you have any taste at all then you can probably skip this post because you definitely know everything it contains.  Or you could read it anyway and feel smug about how cool you are. If you have for some idiotic reason have not listened this band yet, then prepare to punch your genitals in regret/self-actualization. Either way the Big Kids will still be the best pop-punk band in the US/world/universe and they will still have 2011 by the balls with all the great music they are putting out.

Firstly, both the Hoop Dreams tape (Mountain Man Records) and LP (Protagonist) have been repressed.

Secondly, the Kids have a slew of NEW music being released.  Their split 7" with Koalacaust has been out and shipping from Mountain Man (see above) for a few weeks now. 

Mountain Man also has their newest EP "Don't Be A Baby" on cassette up for preorder right now.  A 7" version of said EP is available from Top Shelf for preorder as well.  These should be shipping in the next few weeks.

Soon enough they will also be releasing a split 7" with pop-punk freight train Joyce Manor.  Look for it soon at Solidarity Records.

AND, this summer Big Kids will be headed to europe to tour, but before that they'll be releasing a new LP stateside with Protagonist.

Excited yet?

Stream some new tracks at Bandcamp

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