• Song of the Day: “Gabba Gabba Hey Creep!” by Le Bang

    Song of the Day: “Gabba Gabba Hey Creep!” by Le Bang

    Song of the Day: “Gabba Gabba Hey Creep!” by Le Bang

    Here’s a second straight dose of fresh yet familiar-sounding garage Ramonescore. This time around, it’s from the Death From Above 1979 playbook of being all rhythm section, all the time.

    Indeed, the New York punks in Le Bang play by their own rules as a trio with simply a vocalist, a bassist and a drummer. Budget rock stunner “Gabba Gabba Hey Creep!” reverse engineers elements of the music that made most of us punks to begin with– all from a woman’s point of view. Meaning they’re exactly the type of band that our Song of the Day barrage intends to celebrate.

    “Gabba Gabba Hey Creep!” is from the LP Robot Island, an eclectic collection of outsider rock ‘n’ roll from last December.

    For more about Le Bang and their Paris born-and-bred lead singer Lola Lancón, check out this fantastic feature from New York’s The Deli.

    READ MORE: Song of the Day: “Millions of Dead Proud Boys/ Panty Line From the 317” by Panty Line

  • Song of the Day: “Anti-Social” by Watermelon

    Song of the Day: “Anti-Social” by Watermelon

    Song of the Day: “Anti-Social” by Watermelon

    Think of Chicago trio Watermelon as garage Ramonescore. That’s because they’d sound more at home on, say, Slovenly than a revived Lookout Records.* Instead, their self-titled debut came last summer via another outsider rock powerhouse in San Antonio’s Dirt Cult Records.

    Clocking in at less than a minute and a half, “Anti-Social” begins the album with an energy (and an attitude) comparable to “We’re a Happy Family” and other timeless Ramones gems. Usually, comparisons to the Beatles of punk rock feel a little too on the nose, and such praise might be an unfair expectation to place on any band. On the flipside, it’s accurate, and a group with a song titled “Johnny Ramone” (which deliciously calls him out his shit) obviously wears their primary influence on their sleeves. And if the likes of Shonen Knife (yay!) and The Queers (ew) can forge their own identity, so can Watermelon.

    Back to Dirt Cult, their more recent catalog features not just reissued music by the Australian band X but also the totally in our wheelhouse work of High School, Taxi Girls and Cut Piece.

    * No shade at Lookout because they’re responsible for this.

    READ MORE: Song of the Day: “Punk City USA” by Warp

  • Song of the Day: “Millions of Dead Proud Boys/ Panty Line From the 317” by Panty Line

    Song of the Day: “Millions of Dead Proud Boys/ Panty Line From the 317” by Panty Line

    Song of the Day: “Millions of Dead Proud Boys/ Panty Line From the 317” by Panty Line

    A stellar record that’s just a few weeks old, Indiana-based Panty Line’s self-titled EP brings a trans perspective to anti-fascist protest music of the classic hardcore punk variety.

    MDC (and not just because of the song title) plus queercore equals “Millions of Dead Proud Boys/ Panty Line From the 317.” Better yet, it’s comparable to when Gayrilla Biscuits (a real band featuring the talents of Mike Fudge and Zack Gay La Rocha) reworked Youth of Today’s already gay-titled “Standing Hard” into “Get Hard.”

    We’ve done Lilith’s work today if  anyone clicks on the Gayrilla Biscuits hyperlink AND gives the Panty Line EP a listen.

    READ MORE: Song of the Day: “Splash the Fash” by Cootie Cuties

  • Song of the Day: “Punk City USA” by Warp

    Song of the Day: “Punk City USA” by Warp

    Song of the Day: “Punk City USA” by Warp

    “Punk City USA’s” got it all– sick riffs for days, a hulking rhythm section, furious yet funny lyrics and vocals that sound like Allison Wolfe fronting Pissed Jeans. Fuck yeah.

    As for Warp, their “ex-members of” situation runs deep, with the five bandmates’ individual discographies including Otzi, The Mallard, Blank Square and other Bay Area standouts from the last 15 years or so. Most notably, Andrew Luttrell played alongside Ty Segall in Party Fowl and in one of the best early century garage-punk groups, The Traditional Fools. (San Francisco must be like Atlanta in that seemingly every cool, new band from there involves people from projects you already love. (Look up Whiphouse. We’ll get to them soon.))

    “Punk City USA” closes Warp’s six-song Automatic Gratuity record, which arrived last summer.

    READ MORE: Song of the Day: “Dream Come True” by Cola Cubes

  • Song of the Day: “Need For Speed” by Busted Head Racket

    Song of the Day: “Need For Speed” by Busted Head Racket

    Song of the Day: “Need For Speed” by Busted Head Racket

    One of many great solo bedroom projects-turned-bands from Australia, Busted Head Racket mirrors Tee Vee Repairman’s knack for garage-punk hooks and melodies as well as Snooper’s ability to craft beautifully bizarre songs around the most mundane topics. We’re comparing them to two of the best right from the jump– not out of laziness but because like a select few peers, Busted Head Racket sounds ready for Gonerfest and comparable stages.

    To back up such high praise, let’s consider “Need for Speed.” Bassist, singer and project founder Arden Guff excels at spinning a boring day at home into a worthwhile journal entry. Synths and other egg punk staples envelope her voice, mutating her blasé storytelling into a lo-fi punk masterwork.

    For more, revisit the 2023 album Junk Food (the title track’s from the Shonen Knife school of lyric writing, as you might hope) and keep an ear out for the record “Need For Speed” is from, Go! Go! Go! (out April 21 on Erste Theke Tontrager Records).

    READ MORE: Song of the Day: “Splash the Fash” by Cootie Cuties

  • Song of the Day: “Entrophy Cat” by Neon Kittens

    Song of the Day: “Entrophy Cat” by Neon Kittens

    Song of the Day: “Entrophy Cat” by Neon Kittens

    York in the UK’s Neon Kittens fly the New York no wave flag (the scene that brought us the women in Ut, amongst others) on their newest album It’s a NO Thing! The group’s name comes from misunderstood Ultravox! lyrics, and they namedrop PiL (and all things Jah Wobble, probably) and On-U Sound (and all things The Pop Group-adjacent, most likely) in their bio.

    For a quick sampler of an album that should be digested as a whole, get entranced for slightly over a minute by the uneasy yet beautiful track “Entrophy Cat.” If that’s in your wheelhouse, check out vocalist Nina K’s recent solo recordings. (In Neon Cat, she’s both a spoken-word poet and the director of chaos.)

    Sydney, Australia’s Metal Postcard imprint issued It’s a NO Thing! From the looks of things, the label’s responsible for a very extensive treasure trove of outsider sounds.

    READ MORE: Song of the Day: “Christ I Need A Piss” by Gaydar

  • Song of the Day: “Christ I Need A Piss” by Gaydar

    Song of the Day: “Christ I Need A Piss” by Gaydar

    Song of the Day: “Christ I Need A Piss” by Gaydar

    Our globe-trotting search for women and enby folx in not-lame punk bands takes us back to England, where neither rock ‘n’ roll nor balaclavas ever go out of style. This time, we’re introducing you all to Gaydar– the Newcastle Upon Tyne-based trio of Rachel Cowie, Mel Murtagh and Riley Teasdale.

    The third song shared by Gaydar so far, “Christ I Need A Piss” gets straight to the point. As the group sums up on Bandcamp, “Trans rights are human rights! Let us piss in fucking peace!”

    Musically, Gaydar’s most recent tune fits a queer punk lineage that stretches back to at least Anti-Scruni Faction. From the opening riff on, the most apt pile of band names and subgenre labels would definitely be “L7 meets Blue Cheer but as a budget rock band.”

    READ MORE: Song of the Day: “Working Class Anthem” by Doll Chaser

  • Song of the Day: “Merch Girl” by Fresh

    Song of the Day: “Merch Girl” by Fresh

    Song of the Day: “Merch Girl” by Fresh

    As you might’ve guessed, Fresh’s “Merch Girl” is the musings of someone who knows they could play guitar, sing and write songs as effectively as anyone who’s not been relegated to the supporting cast.

    You don’t have to work the merch table or even be feminine presenting to relate to our defiant dreamer. After all, feminism should be about wanting a level playing field for everyone. London’s Fresh knows how to convey that message in a memorable, melodic, emo-influenced song. (And as a bonus, singer-guitarist Kathryn Woods and fellow guitar-slinger Joely Smith shred ’90s throwback riffs throughout).

    The rest of the EP goes live on April 19. There’s two additional songs: Fresh original “Easy” and a cover of Linda Ronstadt’s “Long, Long Time.”

    READ MORE: Song of the Day: “ME” by Two Tonne Machete