Browsing Tag

Garage Punk

The Spikes Twisted Garage Indie Rock into a Sardonic Snarl with Guns for the Children

Posted on 12 July 2025

The Spikes let the scuzz slither and the rhythm salivate in Guns for the Children, a single that dropped with a visceral music video a year ago and hits just as hard today with its garagey nods to psychobilly in its Cramps-y reminiscences, tempered by an indie post-punk slick stylistic monochromatics and echoes of Jim Morrison.

If you’re still mourning the loss of Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster and The Jim Jones Revue, Guns for the Children has all of the sardonic snarls, salaciously serpentine rhythms, and devil-may-care antagonism to set you right. Guns for the Children proves that subversion is a far better weapon than preaching in the vein of Bono in the vain attempt of changing the world while raising your profile; Guns for the Children holds a mirror up to the societal rot that’s tearing its way through the fabric of our desiccated reality.

The man behind the menace, Iago Haussman, is no stranger to channelling unrest into visceral forms. A multidisciplinary artist born in Rome and now splitting time between Berlin and New York, Haussman crafts with a cinematic sensibility shaped by a childhood spent on film sets. Through The Spikes, he transposes that grit into his art-punk poetry and monochrome sonic theatre. As he prepares to release a full album in 2026, he’s already pulling the thread tighter with more singles planned for this summer.

Guns for the Children is now available on all major streaming platforms; watch the video on YouTube. 


Review by Amelia Vandergast

LA’s Skittish Cracked the Whip of Existential Backlash with the Sardonic Alt-Indie Hit ‘Kicking In’

Posted on 7 May 2025

Skittish nestled into a niche between indie rock urgency and alt-pop accessibility with the release of Kicking In, a track that flirts and orders drinks at the bar for garage punk and nostalgic neo-pop to entice them into the stylings of this scorned yet superlative anthem that writhes through collective frustration.

They may be outliers on the airwaves through their refusal to fall into lines of monotony, but anyone searching for visceral authenticity and the opportunity to connect with an artist unafraid to wear their authenticity on their guitar strings will find their own form of reverie within Kicking In. The ennui resounds at a palpable level in spite of the high-octane energy of the earworm, which is battle-ready with euphoric choruses, razor-sharp angular indie guitar licks, and crooning vocal lines pinched with sardonic wit.

Jeff Noller’s DIY defiance has always been the pulse of Skittish, but with this new Los Angeles-based incarnation, he’s enlisted sonic arsonists including guitarist Chris Lahn, who carved searing licks into the heart of Kicking In, and drummer Ian Prince, who kept the rhythmic volatility simmering beneath the pop polish. It’s just one example of the genre-fluid chaos that defines the new EP Ugly Makes Pretty—a record that dances through its existential crises and punches back with hooks.

Kicking In is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify. 

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Spite Never Tasted So Sweet in the Snarling Alt-Indie-Punk Static of ‘Licorice’ by 92Steps

Posted on 1 May 2025
Skunk Radio Demos by 92Steps

With no interest in immaculate solos or the polished edges demanded by purists, 92Steps‘ lo-fi snarler Licorice tears through the pop-punk façade with a ragged confidence that sardonically smiles in the face of perfection. Produced in a Minneapolis flat, a family cabin, and a borrowed office space, Licorice is a product of unapologetic constraint—and it thrives in every rough-edged second.

A single-person operation run by Riley Schindler, 92Steps makes it clear from the get-go that this is punk for the disillusioned, the spiritually wrecked, and the quietly gluttonous. Drawing from the same well of misanthropy that fuelled the ‘90s, Licorice strips the polish away from pop-punk, delivering a snarled, lo-fi anthem of pure infectious volition—but there’s plenty more to hold onto than scorn.

Machiavellianly switching up vocal energy with deliberate abandon, the single doles out hooks with the sting of Fidlar and the songwriting stripes of The Offspring, forming a corrosively catchy callout aimed at a slick protagonist that’s easy to hate—probably because they’re hiding in everyone’s orbit.

It’s not clean. It’s not clever. It’s not trying to be. What Licorice is, however, is a shot of caustic humour on the vein of alt-indie-punk’s increasingly self-serious skin. There’s real venom in the charm, and sincerity stitched between the sneers.

Licorice is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Punk Fury and Bruised Egos: Itz Namo Lets Loose in ‘SCREAMING’

Posted on 26 October 2024

At just 20, Itz Namo from Grand Rapids, Michigan, has already carved his niche in the pop-punk rock scene by blending garagey grit with earworm-worthy hooks. What started as a musical joke during his high school years has now catapulted him into the alt-pop-punk spotlight with his latest single, ‘SCREAMING’.

Echoing the antagonised energy of Fidlar, Itz Namo exhibits a deft hand in weaving augmented instrumentals around razor-sharp hooks in the visceral confession of the humiliation that comes when you shoot your shot with someone way out of your league, only to be knocked back to reality. The track is a cathartic middle finger to rejection, and with any luck, it’ll be the anthem to blast in the ears of incels who sulk in frustration and lash out with contempt when it turns out feelings aren’t mutual.

Namo’s high-octane energy and raw delivery make the track an infectiously bouncy amalgamation of alt-pop punk chaos. Beneath the brash riffs and brimming aggression, there’s a deeper emotional core for anyone who has ever found themselves on the receiving end of romantic disappointment.

With ‘SCREAMING’, Itz Namo proves that his knack for blending personal confessions with high-energy punk is a goldmine for the genre. It’s only a matter of time before more people start tuning into the infectious chaos he’s bringing to the scene.

SCREAMING is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Ditch the Demon is out for blood in their sonic screening of garage goth glamour, Fright Night

Posted on 16 August 2024

Fans of Zombina and the Skeletones, Lesbian Bed Death and the Creepshow won’t want to miss the installation of horror and garage goth glamour, Fright Night, prised from the crypt of Ditch the Demon’s LP, Ain’t Dead Yet.

With the percussive pulse of punk and the phantasmic reanimations of new wave indie conjured by the guitars filtered through a psychedelic prog rock lens and the livewire energy rippling through the production as a courtesy of Amanda Brooks-Byron’s histrionically haunted vocals, Fright Night hits with an exhilarating horror punk intensity.

After forming in 2018, the Hastings-hailing powerhouse has made chilling waves with their scintillatingly dark sonic signature; the launch of their debut album in 2023 marked the zenith of the band’s career so far but with their infamous live shows, Ditch the Demon isn’t a band to underestimate.

Stream the official music video for Fright Night on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Drink the sonic Kool-Aid in Max Diaz’s twangy alt-punk Tour De Force, COWBOY CULT

Posted on 29 October 2023

The cowboy-hating Texan Max Diaz brought his seminal single, COWBOY CULT, to life via swathes of sardonic vitriol, potent enough to make every punky take on garage rock by Fidlar sound like a love letter to the universe.

While the instrumentals weave their way through bluesy entanglements, Diaz uses every lyrical line to roll with the punches in his heavyweight canter; even if you’ve never pulled on a pair of cowboy boots in your life, you will feel every drop of vindicating venom projected by the artist’s devil may care disdain towards his fellow Texans.

You’d think all of the controversy of his Machiavellian attacks on the people surrounding him who are hellbent on seeing the regression of social progress would leave him unpopular, but the streaming stats don’t lie. After racking up millions of streams on several of his tracks, he’s the pissed-off prince that wasn’t promised but rose through the ashes of redneck numbskullery regardless. We fucking adore him.

COWBOY CULT was released with the rest of the artist’s sophomore LP, METANOIA on October 13th; do yourselves a favour and stream the entire Tour De Force in full via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

dogbeach stuck it to the facade-preferring masses in his progressive melting pot of genre, Fake It

Posted on 24 December 2022

Traversing people’s proclivity to convince others to plaster a fake smile over valid emotions, the solo artist dogbeach (Bob Maschio) created a sardonically protestive hit out of his latest single, Fake It.

To stick it to the façade-preferring masses who wouldn’t know what hit them if a drop of empathy crawled between their synapses, dogbeach released a sun-soaked progressive alt-rock lament to their selfish ineptitude with compassion.

Switching between post-hardcore vocals and melodic pop choruses and playing with punk and alt-90s pop tones, he efficaciously encompassed the bemused rage that comes to fruition in the face of the audacity that adds to the stigma around mental health.

It is a sure-fire hit of vindication for anyone that knows the frustration of other people’s expectations. The playful reprise of “why would I do anything for you” hits the nail on the head with satisfying precision.

Stream Fake It on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Buzzcocks made it a little less grim up north with their single, Manchester Rain

Posted on 18 September 2022

‘When it rains, it pours’ seems to be the perfect adage to capture the deluge of dissatisfaction drizzling over the entirety of the UK. But Buzzcocks siphoned euphonic punk rock dynamism from the dismal atmosphere in their single, Manchester Rain, taken from their upcoming studio album, Sonics in the Soul.

Inspired by the relentless motivation of grassroots artists to keep the scene thriving in Manchester, Manchester Rain is a smorgasbord of riotous optimism. One that will stir even the most ennui-soaked souls through the blasts galvanic garagey guitars and assertively upbeat vocals that create hooks sharp enough to hang your leather jacket on.

In the tragic wake of Pete Shelley, co-founder and co-singer-songwriter Steve Diggle has kept the buzz reverberating through their iconic-since-the-70s-sound. Shelley would undoubtedly be proud of Buzzcocks continuing to stand at the vanguard of punk-rock euphoria.

Sonics in the Soul will release on CD, Vinyl and across streaming platforms on September 23rd. Until then, weather the precipitation in Manchester Rain on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

New Rock City – Da Ratman!: Bop-Worthy Dark Punk Rock from NYC with Scuzz

Posted on 5 December 2021
Da Ratman! - Single by New Rock City

With a scuzzy punk rock viciousness that could only have ever come from NYC, New Rock City’s latest single, Da Ratman!, is a blackened bop-worthy hit that could single-handedly and simultaneously restart the New Romantic and Horror Punk scenes.

With no two singles from the duo ever the same, they keep their fanbase guessing what revivalist tones they will deliver next. Based on Da Ratman! It’s safe to say that they know just how to pull different stylistic elements together to energetically complement each other. It’s as hooky as any Misfits track, jangly as Johnny Marr’s licks and comes with devilishly macabre undertones in the same vein as The Creepshow. Da Ratman! is a firecracker of a track that no one will regret hitting play on.

Da Datman! Is now available to stream and purchase via Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

billon dailey is set to make his hook-filled alt-indie-pop debut with ‘Pull on My Heartstrings’

Posted on 3 December 2021
billon dailey

If the Beach Boys made their debut in 2021 and picked up some Midwest Emo tendencies, their bright and instantly infectious melodies would have plenty in common with the ones found in singer-songwriter, billion daily’s triumph of a debut single, Pull on My Heartstrings.

The intricately and anthemically layered single breezes through the whole tonal spectrum as it runs through the frenetic choruses and verses where you can drink in the lush accordance of shimmering notes. It is anything but your average debut, which has plenty to do with the artist cutting his teeth as a songwriter under the moniker, iamsleepless, for years. After turning away from music to explore faith, having an existential crisis from that decision and returning to music armed with weed and a guitar, he started work on his debut release; we’re beyond glad that he did.

Pull on My Heartstrings is available to stream from December 3rd 2021. You can catch it for yourself on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast