[engl] For many years, Tommy Marolda has been a versatile member of the American music industry: a multi-instrumentalist, producer, engineer, composer, Grammy-nominated songwriter...the list goes on. But record nerds like me know Tommy because of a single weekend in 1979. He was scheduled to record demos with the Smithereens in his New Jersey home studio, but their last-minute cancelation gave Tommy a small window to record something of his own. After three days of hitting the record button and dashing back to his instruments, Tommy had more than 30 slabs of pop perfection on tape, 12 of which became his seminal power pop LP 'The Toms'. Other tracks from that weekend session have trickled out via reissues of 'The Toms' over the years, but little did anyone know Tommy recorded enough material to fill up three long players! Presented here are the last of the 1979 Toms sessions. Savor them like the rare commodities that they are."

[engl] The Welders were an all-female Punk Pop band from St. Louis, MO. Formed by four young, teenage women in 1975; they started playing shows in 1976, in one of the toughest climates to get booked for bands playing original material. The Welders bonded over their love of The Monkees, The Beatles and early glam rock. The comedy of the National Lampoon Radio Hour and the Marx Brothers were just as big of an influence. The Welders played several shows in the St. Louis metro area and eventually caught the attention of a local photographer and newspaper owner. He financed a recording session in 1979, with plans to release a four song EP. The newspaper folded before the release could happen, and all that survived was a cassette copy of the recordings. The Welders continued for a couple more years after recording the EP. They had brief line up changes, and added an organ which shifted their sound more towards a '60s garage pop sound. They were ahead of their time again, pre-dating most of the neo-garage explosion of the '80s. By 1981, the band had moved on to other interests. In 2010 BDR Records (a sub-label of Rerun, designated for St. Louis area artists) issued that previously unreleased EP. The EP was well received worldwide and has been sold out for several years. This new collection includes a newly remastered and improved version of the 1979 EP tracks, along with other studio, rehearsal and live recordings. The LP includes a large, six panel insert filled with amazing photos of the band.

[engl] Can you smell what The Whiffs are cookin? Hint: it’s not Phish, Meatloaf or a String Cheese Incident. Nope – Kansas City’s prodigal sons of power pop are sticking to what they know on Another Whiff, their debut full-length for Dig! Records. Since 2017’s Take A Whiff EP, the band has been busy allowing their auditory aromas to ripen with the addition of Joey Rubbish (of The Rubs) for a fuller, more robust sonic bouquet. While the band can still get it up for Stiff Records – their pop-centric punk remains in full force – the album takes detours down lonelier roads in broken-hearted ballads from the heartland. No rocks left unturned on a journey forged by pioneers like Chilton and later Westerberg, the looming legacy of Petty and the cosmic country harmonies of The Byrds before them. In a year’s span, The Whiffs took their time recording, on and off, in their makeshift basement practice space: Electric Babyland. This pace and environs allowed the new lineup to coalesce, and get tour-tight on the road with La Luz, Bad Sports and Patsy’s Rats. The result is a unique album that is at once sprawling in direction and precise in execution, with all the sonic stank you’d expect from sweaty beer plied basement sessions. Out of the gate, “Shakin All Over” will register to all of the senses, like you’re squatting in the corner of the basement, imbibing with the band and absorbing every hit from Jake’s C&C kit (note the frivolous plug for Jake’s drum company). After untold nights into the wee hours of the morning, 14 tracks emerged as Another Whiff. Expertly recorded by Joey, mixed by Vince Lawhon and mastered by Jordan Richardson; the final package sounds like the sum of its parts, and all the beers in between. Another Whiff shirks a sell-by date and trends de jour, in favor of honest guitar driven, vocally infectious love songs for the ages. Timeless tunes and the triple-threat of Rory, Zach and Joey’s vocals set The Whiffs apart from their peers. Three distinct songwriters with their own personal flavors, delivering three-part harmonies for a unique rotation of upbeat punk belters (“Now I Know”), achy ballads (“She”) and triumphant tearjerkers (“How Could You”) that our troubled troubadours dispense like a Greatest Hits Factory for the last half-century of all of our all-time favorites.

[engl] After a cassette and a full lenght called “Another Whiff”, here is the long awaited next album of these Kansas City Powerpop Sensations! HEY YOU! Get a whiff of this: Scratch ‘N’ Sniff by The Whiffs — the second album by Kansas City’s foremost power pop foursome is upon us! Not unlike their first album (Another Whiff), and as rock critic Jon Harrison heralds in the album’s liner notes: “this sophomoric offering provides all of the things you love about The Whiffs.” … Now, if you’re asking yourself ‘what do I love about the Whiffs’? Here’s a clue: SONGS. You love The Whiffs’ songs! And now Scratch ‘N’ Sniff’s got 13 new boffo numbers brimming with the hook-laden, never-far-from-the-bar pub-rock snarl The Whiffs nail everytime. The Whiffs are less recording artists than a band of journeymen, from the drums Jake Cardwell (C&C Drum Co.) built-by-hand, to Joey Rubbish’s home recording studio (Club Sandwich). It’s only natural Scratch ‘N’ Sniff is a homegrown production from the floor (tom) up, and was recorded in the band’s living room. The songs are all their own too. Whether penned by Cameron (Rory), Campbell (Zach) or Rubbish (Joey), they all stink of The Whiffs broken-in power pop confectionery. A close listen will reveal the cracks of many-a-can and roommates laughing at vocal takes. As such, everyone’s invited to Scratch ‘N’ Sniff and dive in!