Best known for Seattle’s Dreamdecay, Justin R. Cruz Gallego aka J.R.C.G., is stepping out on his own with a solo debut. Due out November 8th via Castle Face Records, Gallego uses the opportunity to widen the experimental pallet previously explored by his band, starting with a hypnotic punk template and wandering from there.
Each song on Caution hits with memorable hooks and sharp melodic earworms, as evident on early singles “Buy My Life” and “Swallow”. Seven months later and the band remind you to keep listening to their record, over and over again until the song’s sound like second nature (which they will), courtesy of a new video for “Act Rich”.
Best known for playing drums in Squitch, Boston’s Denzil Leach is also a great solo musician, with a few EPs and singles released thus far. Their latest EP, Hot Shot, is due out October 1st via Erased! Tapes, a wonderfully lo-fi and slightly blown out mix of fuzz punk and basement sludge. It’s brash and loud but filled with a radiant spirit,.
Black Beach have taken influence from 80s industrial, dub, film scores, and free jazz to create their upcoming EP, Giallo, due out October 25th. Their sound feels uniquely inspired, with a special kind of sonic violence. The tonality on “Traffic Jam” is 100% noise rock, heavy as a ton of bricks, and it’s clear that Black Beach aren’t messing around.
His latest album, At Dust, is due out October 1st via Already Dead Tapes and Records, a fascinating album that layers glitchy electronics with dance grooves and a warped psychedelic flourish. It’s a great new addition to Robidoux’s generally unpredictable catalog. He’s pushing new ground, but there’s an accessibility to it.
In the two years since Austin’s Spray Paint released their last album, the band members have stayed busy releasing others projects that include the great Spiritual Mafia and During. You can now add Rider/Horse to the list, the latest effort from Spray Paint’s Cory Plump together with Chris Turco (Les Savy Fav, Trans Am).
Following the release of their EP, Toronto trio Motorists are ready to release their full length debut, Surrounded, due out September 3rd via Bobo Integral, We Are Time, and Debt Offensive Records. Continuing down the path that their EP set upon, the band continue refine their blend of jangle pop, motorik rhythms, and power-pop sheen
Due out via Super Wimpy Punch Records, the band have paired down to a power trio, with Seth Goldman handling both guitars and bass, in addition to the vocals. Recorded with Adam Reich and Nick Dooley, they bring out the best in the twin guitars of Goldman and Jay Fox, distorted fuzz riffs occupying a perfect sonic space.
Celestial Force, the sixth album under the Space Mountain moniker, finds Kinsler collaborating with Will Henriksen and Rachel Saltzman, lending violin and saxophone, respectively. Due out September 17th via Dust Etc label, there’s a wide expanse to the twang and rust of the songs, portraits of vast landscapes with a certain sense of stillness.
The outrageously named Fashion Pimps and the Glamazons are digging deep into the punk sludge on their debut album, Jazz 4 Johnny. Due out August 20th via Feel It Records, the Cleveland based band (mems of The Cowboy, Cloud Nothings, Donkey Bugs) make punk at its most sordid, with elements of no-wave and noise rock in the mix.
It’s been three years since Astral Swans’ last full length, Strange Prison, but today the project has announced a new self-titled album, due out October 8th via Victory Pool Records, an album said to be written in Swann’s head while taking walks around various cities (pre-pandemic) and then the same city (during the pandemic).
The past few years has seen Upset The Rhythm reissuing both of Normil Hawaiians’ classic albums as well as their “lost” record, Return of the Ranters. After a short pause, the reissues continue with Dark World, a new collection of the band’s earliest recordings from 1979 to 1981, comprised of their rawest pre-More Wealth Than Money output.
Sometimes all that has come before can’t prepare you for what comes next, which could be said about Mandatory Enjoyment, Dummy’s full length debut, out October 22nd via Trouble In Mind Records (Mountain Movers, FACS). It’s not so much that they’ve taken a hard stylistic turn from their EPs as much as they’ve distilled it down to perfection.
Do You Like Salt? captures the band at their artist punk best, engineered by Dischord staple Justin Moyer. Due out 8/20 via Crafted Sounds, it’s an album that finds its own groove, sputtering and darting around impeccably tight rhythms and an irreverent sense of humor, drawing comparisons to bands past (PYLON) and present (Fake Fruit).
LYSOL’s full length debut, Soup For My Family, is due out this Friday, July 30th. The Seattle punk band give us that “fuck it all” release we so desperately need from time to time (…most of the time). The album is raw and unfiltered, ripping with paint peeling riffs and furious rhythms that pound with a primitive garage punk intensity.
Baton Rouge duo Spllit had recorded Spllit Together in 2019 and released it at the beginning of 2020. That record has since been remastered by Sweeping Promises’ Caufield Schnug, and paired together with Darlene, a new A-Side length album, set for release together as Spllit Sides, due out July 30th via Feel it Records.
Sad Cactus’ next release is an exceptionally great split between NYC’s Gorgeous and Hadley, MA’s EIEIEIO (mems of Maxshh, Tundrastomper, Wishbone Zoe, etc), due out this Friday July 16th. The record is quick and experimental, pushing their art punk, post-hardcore, and freaked out indie rock toward something truly unhinged.
North Carolina’s Wednesday are set to return with their next proper album, the excellent Twin Plagues. Due out August 13th via Orindal Records (Lisa/Liza, Karima Walker, TJO), the band’s sophomore effort expands on the sounds and themes of their debut, but stretches out in territory the band have not previously explored.
Open For Business, the latest from Baltimore-via-Australia’s Smoke Bellow, is that kind of record that makes you want to stop everything and listen with undivided attention. Their sound can be described as minimalist, but the record is far from sparse as they weave and loop melodies into psych, post-punk, dream pop and kosmiche exploration.
