[engl] Founded in Helsinki in 2018, The Mike Bell Cartel is a mix of the best aspects of 60's garage rock and pop: guitars ring, melodies seduce, fuzz growls, farfisa rumbles, stammer rumbles and rhythm takes your feet down. The band includes familiar faces from the Helsinki underworld: Miikka Siira aka Mike Bell (Mike Bell & The Belltones), Pekka Laine (The Hypnomen), Ville Särmä (Dancing Bear), Samuel Abaijón (The Valkyrians) and Aapee Heinola (Hard Action). The Mike Bell Cartell’s debut album will be released in early 2022.

[engl] Illustrious Memphian creative Alijca Trout (Sweet Knives, Lost Sounds, River City Tanlines) returns with a new single under her solo-slash-group venture, Alicja-pop. Following in the haunting garage-pop reverberations of 2021's, "Howlin'", A-pop weave together a crisp double-A side of wistful r'n'r gold. "I'm Here I'm There" rides a driving rhythm beneath Trout's icy cool and confident layered vocals. Both propulsive and ethereal - stretching seamlessly to the flip, "Not Gonna Be Dumb", a euphoric dip into post-punk. Coated in synth and a piercing guitar lead, chants of "Time...it wa-a-a-aves you on" harmonize in a chilling finish to Alicja-pop's latest slice of brilliance.

[engl] Powerpop Pearls!

[engl] Copenhagen punk rock/power pop band BIG MESS is a pile of hooks and energy. Taking their cues from the timeless masters of melody, loud guitars and high BPMs, their music packs an infectious punch. CLEANING UP WITH is the band's fourth full length and its first collaboration with UK-based label Specialist Subject. The album shows Big Mess at their most accomplished yet, and shows total dedication to reaching the ultimate in hit making. Imagine a singles compilation by your favourite band and you get the idea. Songwriting is key for Big Mess - as much Brill Building sparkle as hardcore punk economy, with no room for duds. Lyrically, the songs are heartfelt and occasionally stupid, with the dangers and difficulties of existence and the joys of rocking holding equal importance. Having been a band for nearly a decade, Big Mess’ playing is instinctive, effortless and relentless topped with vocals that combine a hooky sense of melody and rhythm with the right amount of desperation. This time the band adds a refreshingly shameless amount of backing vocals and harmonies that only add to the effective singalong quality.

[engl] perfect Powerpop from 1981.

[engl] This one is subtitled 'The Lost Tapes,' but it is not a reissue because in fact it was never released - until now! Forty years after their final recording session, Los Angeles-based power pop The Bings is releasing its debut album. The 16-track master tapes sat forgotten in a California bedroom closet until they were discovered in a filing cabinet during the 2020 lockdown.The Bings' 'Power Pop Planet - The Lost Tapes' is a literal time capsule from the pre-MTV 1980s, when new wave, punk, and power pop were still underground genres that flourished mainly in New York and Hollywood clubs. Driven by the songwriting of David Chrenko, and fueled by big guitars and 3-part harmonies, what you are listening to is the great "lost" album of the 1980s from The Bings: 'Power Pop Planet - The Lost Tapes.'LP comes with insert (liner notes and photos).

[engl] What do you expect when of the best Rock’n’Roll groups of today come down with the godfather of punk to write and record music? The result is “Mars is for Martians”, one of the best songs of the Martians to date. They wrote the music, Iggy the lyrics and they recorded it together.

[engl] Second Album from Brad Marino (The Connection, New Trocaderos, Rydells).

[engl] FLOUR is the long-awaited, much-anticipated, full-course follow-up to Buzzsaws — Brower’s debut album from 2018. Sure, there’s been tasty snacks and treats to sustain folks along the way: several singles worth, and a totally authentic “LIVE” ALBUM. But this is the fresh new long-player platter you’ve hungered for. Again, recorded entirely by Nat, at home and in the practice space (that is, various different practice spaces, thanks to unruly landlords) in Brooklyn. The recording project spanned several years due to touring, gigging, and rehearsing with the myriad of bands that form the Brower Cinematic Universe (including the live band, Brower; plus Josephine Network, Nancy, Metalleg, and The Wand-ers), not to mention working the many day-jobs it requires to barely sustain life in NYC. FLOUR is benefited by this kind of “slow” practice, where time lends itself to exploration. One gets a sense of Brower’s freedom to stretch out and try new things, new instrumentation, and take a deeper dive into the songwriting always brewing between his ears. In Brower’s kitchen, his recipe for FLOUR was created, tasted, tested, reworked, revisited, and rebuilt—from scratch—to the delight of the most choosy of rock ‘n’ roll gourmands and punk rock bon vivants. As they say, good food takes time. Now, once again, Brower is served.

[engl] The Cherry Pies are a bittersweet band from Turin composed of Veronica Zucca, Stefano Isaia (Movie Star Junkies, LAME), Nicola Lotta (Love Trap, GGR) and Riccardo Salvini (Indianizer, Love Trap). Their sound draws heavily from garage punk and American folk, from Reigning Sound to Jonathan Richman, passing through country ballads by Lee Hazlewood and Nancy Sinatra.

[engl] From the foxhole of the Rust Belt, Choncy fleshes out a frenzied, multifaceted approach to punk with their sophomore album, 20X MULTIPLIER. The Cincinnati four-piece delivers an intoxicating 9-song 12” tinged with personality and dumb luck following Community Chest, their 2023 debut on Feel It Records. 20X MULTIPLIER was recorded to tape at The Bomb Shelter in Nashville by Joe and Jack Tellman, providing a raw and unhinged sound. Choncy hones in on their sonic persona by bridging the gaps between angular post-punk and abrasive hardcore, pushing their sound to its absolute limits. With a chaotic mix of relentless bass, sharp drums, splintering guitars, and off-kilter vocals, Choncy provides a glimpse into the grotesque realities of life. Lead single "Dead Meat" shows the group putting their own spin on contemporary punk, segueing into "Default", an anthem for those who will be forever indebted to the neoliberal institutions. The album is filled with profit margins, budget cuts, and man-made horrors beyond your comprehension. Choncy’s 20X MULTIPLIER displays a maniacal yet ingenious approach to punk that can only be compared to hitting a slot machine jackpot or maybe committing tax fraud and running for the Secretary of Defense. Let this record be a proclamation of what could have been - if only they knew the right numbers to pick.

[engl] Choncy’s 'Community Chest' is an itch-scratching debut album shaped by post-punk, garage, and hardcore-adjacent music. The album confronts the trials and tribulations of the modern day workforce culture day-by-day in the Rust Belt. The four piece band out of Cincinnati, Ohio embraces their original punk sound through uniquely biting vocals and fluctuating shrill guitars, all kept together with a potent and driving rhythm section. The album was recorded to tape at Amish Studios with Joe Tellman in Nashville, Tennessee. “Company Man”, the album's lead single, capitalizes on its post-punk rhythm and witty vocals, while “Beehive” parallels modern hardcore music. Choncy passionately shape their Midwestern identity across 'Community Chest' with an original sonic and visual prowess.

[engl] You surely know that Japan is crazy for Powerpop in any direction, they just LOVE it, the Bubblegum or 70ties blended, the rocking and rolling type, the kind of that make your hearts explode (sic!).... and of course there are hundreds of powerpop bands there - and MOST of them are actually pretty good, but few stand out, and THE CHOOSERS are definitely in the Top 3.