Mr. P. Reviews Dope Music
Out Control’s New Single, “Apocalyptic Calamity” is Out Now!
Another rad Aussie punk band! The last one I did was La Familglia and then there was From the Other Side. Glad to keep getting this stuff. Makes me want to visit Australia more and more. The more punk bands I know, the more chances I can catch a rad show at least one night of the vacation—and these dudes would be great to see.
Dryerfire’s New Single, “Brain Rot”, is my anarcho punk song of the month!
Dryerfire is my kind of hardcore punk - raw, fast, aggressive and yet somehow still catchy while also fueling my soul with righteous anger from their anarcho lyrics all the while causing me to somehow still smile because the song is so fucking fuck!
A.N.J.A.’s New Single “Stimulation” Hits You So Good in The Right Spot, that You’ll Feel Almost a Little Bad about How Good it Feels!
My wife and I couldn’t get a sitter tonight, so we couldn’t travel into the city to see L7. As such, I’m stuck at home, and I’m gonna dig in and enjoy A.N.JA. - a garage rock, grunge, torrent of awesome that reminds me at least a little of L7 and other riot grrrl-esque bands while also throwing in some horror punk and maybe even touches of pyschobilly a la The Cramps.
Germany’s Blast Bomb Brings the Proverbial “Hammer Blow” Down with Their New Single!
About 20 years ago, my old harDCcore band did a tour throughout Germany and other parts of Eastern Europe. We were a three piece, so we brought a two-piece band with us not knowing that most nights only two bands played, so I’ve always felt robbed of getting to experience all of the possible Germany, Slovakian, etc. bands that I could have seen. Hearing this brings that pain back but in a good way. Pain in that this is the sort of band I wish we had played with each night but sadly didn’t, and good in that I have found a new band across the pond to fucking enjoy.
Soul Meets Body hailing from the DC/Bal-more scene liken themselves to PUP, Taking Back Sunday and Jeff Rosenstock which makes sense to me, but what I heard reminded more of The Max Levine Ensemble and even a touch of Operation: Cliff Clavin/Disarm/Devil Is Electric and maybe a touch of Run Rabbit Run or Escape from the Zoo. In other words it’s got the Folky pop punk emo sound that DC often generates, and I could see them being on Planet X records back in the day.
Big Mess’s New Single “Future Legend” is Out Now!
Big Mess are anything but. They are a dope ass blend of 70’s British punk a la Cock Sparrer or the Adverts mixed with some Ramonescore and just a sprinkle of garage rock. Their first single “Future Legend” off their is a stellar rock song that I’d be happy to drive fast to, sing along to or just do that nodding in affirmation while drinking a beer at a show that shows that I’m totally into what’s been played.
Need a kick ass song that also supports a kickass cause? The Owen Guns “Trans Rights are Human Rights” are for you!
If this alone doesn’t want to make you buy the single, “"New charity single 'Trans Rights are Human Rights' with proceeds from Bandcamp sales going to Transcend Australia, a registered charity that supports families and their trans and non binary children." then a listen to the music of this banger should. It’s very old school 80’s hardcore punk when not all punk was hardcore and before any hardcore had become metal. Fast without being breakneck thrash, gruffly sung vocals and the driving power of punk rock behind it all.
Greed Culture Releases New Single Off of Death of Us EP!
Greed Culture may be the Death of Us, but if this new single, “Breakthrough Sight”, is any indication of the what to expect on from their new EP, then it may also bring us new life.
“For all of those who have felt the need to hide” - Katie MF has the song for you!
If you don’t instantly feel the Against Me!, Laura Jane Grace or Frank Turner vibe from this in the first ten seconds, then you need to get your ears checked. But this isn’t just a carbon copy, this is real authentic and emphatical punk rock with touches of folk and pure rock n’ fucking roll.
Gloom Girl MFG’s New EP, Factory, is an Energetic Unmanufactured Punch of Grunge/Punk!
I hit play on Gloom Girl MFG’s first song, “Litter Bug” on their new four song EP, Factory, and I was instantly into it. It’s got that mixture of grunge punk from bands like Bantam (members of the Lunachicks) and the vocals on this first track remind me of the earlier releases by Juliette (Lewis) and The Licks. I’d also throw in a touch of PJ Harvey in their or the Pretenders.
Out Now: “Chicken Business” by PLZ RSPND!
PLZ RSPND’s name evokes a sort of self-deprecation similar to The Replacements name or songs such as Offspring’s “Self-Esteem” or half of The Descendents’ catalog. Their new song which strikes upon the often touted value of beer has a sound that reminded me of Osker, but if they were more of a party band like Murphy’s Law.
This new single, “Wishful Thinking”, by Slunk sounds like some Age of the Quarrel era Cro-Mags shit with maybe some Sheer Terror.
It’s like I’m back at the Capitol Ballroom in DC in the 1990s and this one of the bands playing the Hardcore Superbowl that year. And they are killing it!
“Having a Bad Time Having a Ball" by the Australia’s La Famiglia is an electrifying track combining 80's hardcore, 90's skate punk, and indie rock to create a unique and captivating sound.
So this is killing me. The way the vocals are sung from the tone to the way the syllables are being held reminds me of a specific song and band, and I can’t fucking put my finger on it. I’ve shared it with some friends and gotten some suggestions that maybe I was thinking of 7 Seconds or Dave Smalley era Dag Nasty, but neither of those is quiet right. I’ll give a free 7” to the person who listens to this and figures it out.
Gaba Groove’s new ska punk single, “Fire” premiered today…just in time for their show at the Whiskey with The Dickies, so give it a listen and get out to that show to sing along.
While not breaking any ska punk ground, the song does lay back a bit more into that reggae vibe which as fun vibe to the song. I could totally see this being on an Asian Man Records comp back in the 1990s.
“Chaperone" by No More Blue Tomorrow is a track that effortlessly blends elements of country, punk, and folk to create a unique and engaging musical experience.
Drawing comparisons to iconic artists like Johnny Cash, The Clash and recent artists like Old Man Markley, Tim Barry and Frank Turner, Chaperone manages to carve out their own distinct sound while paying homage to the those who've influenced them.
The UK’s University provides a blistering soundscape of hardcore and noise music with emphatically screamed vocals (but in a non-cookie monster way)
Their new song, “Notre Dame Made Out of Flesh” starts off with lightly distorted guitar that makes me think this will be a garage rock tune, then I start hearing the feedback and sense the impending explosion that is about to occur.
Goroh Releases “Room of Mirrors” a Metalcore Assault!
"Room of Mirrors" by Goroh is a blistering hardcore metal track that serves as a testament to their distinctive sound and unapologetic approach.
SnakeSnakeWhale Bring that Midwestern Emo Pop Punk with a DC Posthardcore Energy!
I'm loving what I hear come out of Asheville these days with bands like Busy Weather and Cardboard Colony and SnakeSnakeWhale is no exception. To call it pop punk or emo punk sells it far to short. Their new single, “You’ll Get That On These Big Jobs” hooked me from the get go with its urgency and earnestness. Any DC area people remember Fallout Countdown? That’s what this sounds like. I feel I could be back at Wilson Center in DC or the Charm City Artspace in Baltimore.
Check Your Pressure By The Deflators brilliantly blends CBGS era punk rock with 80’s New Wave and modern garage rock!
A few weeks ago, I reviewed “Liar, Liar” by The Deflators and called it a Ramonescore classic. Now it’s time to delve into the whole EP, Check Your Pressure, starting with their next single, "I Need to Know," which is less of an in-your-face punk tune and serves more as a poignant and emotionally charged punk rock anthem. The lyrics delve into the tumultuous realm of relationships and the agonizing uncertainty that often accompanies them.
Cherub Tree Delivers a Fiery Anthem Against a Chauvinistic Society
Hailing from my hometown of DC, Cherub Tree, mix the rage and volatility that the DC hardcore scene is known with what The Washington City Paper referred to as Bubblegum Grunge. Their newest singe, “I’m Not Yours, I Never Was” is another salve of Rock and Roe where bands have given their middle finger response to the patriarchy imposed on them by Supreme Court which is merely a tool of the misogynistic system that still believes that women don’t deserve a choice in what happens to their own bodies.