[engl] "Wanderlust and Hardships" is Saturday's Heroes’ fourth and most ambitious album yet, with each song taking the listener on a journey through the highs and lows of life. The album features 10 hard-hitting tracks of high-energy melodic punk rock that explore a range of themes such as emigration, addiction, love and loss. Tied together it creates the perfect representation of a band making an album where all bets are off.

[engl] Debut 7? by what i’d say is the best current punkband from germany:SAUFKNAST out of Hamburg/Kiel playing rawish Hardcore/Punk with a touch of NDW vibes. The band is quite new but blew everyone’s mind who had the chance to see them.

[engl] Geez. Do you remember the skateboard legend Tony Alva? Or that bald dude from Bad Religion and Circle Jerks (to be fair, Greg Hetson used to have hair back in the day)? Do you know what that singer from Dead Fucking Last, Crazy Tom, has been up to lately?

[engl] Over the last five years, there’s been no shortage of TOTAL CONTROL-type bands on the international scene. I’m here to tell you that SCHIACH is one of the finer such units. Maybe that’s because their influences stretch all the way back to the original German post-punk scene and they utilize drum machines as effectively as they use guitars. In accordance with the genre, 2 is packed full of paranoia. All manner of clanking sounds ricochet around the agitated vocals, often sounding like a parody of industrial-influenced club music; a lo-tech MY LIFE WITH THE THRILL KILL KULT, perhaps. But instead of sending up Christianity and hard rock, SCHIACH seems to be mocking modern surveillance culture, and that’s something this reviewer can get behind. - MRR

[engl] The Scientists’ pre-“Swampland” days in Perth are brilliantly encapsulated on this collection of mostly unreleased live material from ’78 and ‘79. These were the days when former Victims and future Hoodoo Gurus drummer James Baker led the band alongside guitarist/singer Kim Salmon, and when their poster read "Rock’n’Roll in the tradition of The Groovies and The Heartbreakers". The Perth-based line-ups of The Scientists recorded the brilliant "Frantic Romantic" single and self-titled EP highlighted by "Last Night." They also recorded a posthumously released LP - the 'pink album' - which came as a massive disappointment due to bad production and a reduced line-up. “Not For Sale: Live’ 78/79” is a collection of live and rehearsal tracks that captures the band making the same noises as on those 45's, and presents live versions of the fan faves and vastly superior versions of most of the LP tracks as well as coughing up a bunch of hitherto unreleased originals and covers to boot. This is "The Legendary Scientists" - as they were dubbing themselves within months of forming - as they should be heard. The main set comes from late 1979; a live-to-air broadcast from Melbourne’s 3RRR. "Frantic Romantic" was in the shops and the EP was in the can. If you only know tracks like "It’ll Never Happen Again," "That Girl. "Making a Scene" and, "She Said She Loves Me" from the limp pink album versions you’ll be knocked sideways by the raucous and rocking versions here. Covers of The New York Dolls, the Groovies ("Slow Death" and their version of "Have You Seen My Baby") and The Undertones' "Teenage Kicks" are a bit throwaway but show where their heads were at. And yes, a couple of these appeared back on the 'fan club' cassette "Rubber Never Sleeps" back in '82 and have since appeared on other collections, but those were third or fourth generation cassette dupes. What we have here is the whole set, taken directly from 3RRR's master reels. The same line-up is also present on a handful of primitive live recordings, made by a friend at one of the group's regular haunts, the Governor Broome Hotel in ‘79. What they lack in clarity they make up by letting us hear some otherwise lost original tunes. Play this really loud and it sounds like you're right there in the pub - shitty PA and all. The original "Kinda Girl" is maybe the pick here; it's James and Kim channelling their beloved Troggs. Also included, for the first time anywhere, is a Scientists’ version of "Drop Out", a Baker/Salmon song that its writers later made famous with The Beasts of Bourbon. The 2LP edition also includes some covers from this show: The Velvet Underground’s "There She Goes Again", The Searchers’ "When You Walk In the Room", and the early '70s Masters Apprentices rocker “Turn Up Your Radio”. First 1000 copies pressed on PINK VINYL The band's short-lived original line-up, featuring Roddy Radalj on rhythm guitar and Boris Sujdovic on bass, also finally gets proper representation here in the last bracket of songs, which presents, for the first time (minus a couple of tracks on the CD), the complete 'Loft Sessions.' This was the name informally given later to a 1978 tape recorded live - in a loft. The undoubted jewel here is the lengthy "Baby You’re Not For Sale," an ambitious Velvet Underground-inspired piece that namechecks the Groovies and gathers momentum to end more than 10 minutes after it starts, in a beautiful racket. Again, a couple of these recordings have appeared on other Scientists collections, but not “Baby You’re Not for Sale”. Packaged with rare and unseen images, an original 1979 Roadrunner magazine feature by Kim Williams (of the Summer Suns, and co-writer of “Swampland”) and additional notes by Grown Up Wrong!’s Dave Laing. “Not For Sale: Live ‘78/’79” provides a thrilling glimpse into what an album by the "Legendary" Scientists might've sounded like if it had been recorded in 1979. With the current incarnation of the band touring the US again and performing the likes of "Last Night" and "Frantic Romantic”, this collection is an essential listen for all Scientists fans, no matter which line-up they prefer.

[engl] Screaming at Traffic, a punk rock band from Winnipeg, Mb, are made up of Jacques Richer, Duncan Murta, Paul Colman, and Stefan St. Godard. Their no frills emo-punk riffing add to the group's frenzied live performance and raw yet melodic songwriting. After forming in May of 2017, Screaming at Traffic premiered their debut EP "S.A.T." via Idioteq.com, a Polish based zine. The song "Monstrosity" off the group's debut EP was featured in a Spotify playlist curated by the Montreal based website Punkanormal Activity. The EP also began charting on Earshot in October, reaching number 2 in Edmonton, and ranked 9th on the national loud charts. The band, who have gigged gig relentlessly since their debut have become notorious for their energetic live shows. They were quickly asked to share the stage with acts such as Greg Rekus, Mobina Galore, The Penske File, Prince Daddy & The Hyena, and Single Mothers. Upon returning from tour, Screaming at Traffic teamed up with Jordan Voth (Comeback Kid, Bleed American, Elder Abuse) to record and produce their debut full length. While recording the band caught the attention of Little Rocket Records (Leatherface, Daggermouth, Elder Abuse, etc.) and I Don’t Like Sports is the winning result.

[engl] "The scum of toytown is back! 20 years after their fantastic debut album ""Strike"", the band from Stevenage (UK) is back together and recorded a brand new full lenght LP in 2014. On here they feature a set of previously unrecorded older material alongside with new songs that sound just as they picked it up again where they left off in 1995. A festival of tuneful but subversive punk-MUSIC (yes, in capitals) merging the drive and rage of anarcho punk with reggae parts and hints of pop and dub groves. Transporting a personal yet punk political message across the listener. Sometimes full on powerful riffage, sometimes furious, sometimes melancolic and melodic, all at the same time, wrapped up in a top notch DIY production. SCUM OF TOYTOWN were a obscure phenomena of the 1990ies, rootet in the North London punk scene of the late 1970ies and 1980ies. They crawled out of the void and managed in their short existence to make a lasting impact on everyone fortunate enough to catch them either live or on record before they sunk into oblivion for unknown reason. They appeared on festivals and squats in central Europe and making everyone (seriously) move and dance along to their unique style of innovative sounding punkrock. Music that makes you toss a brick with a smile on your face. "

[engl] featuring Mike Watt, Andy Kerr and John No !! Somewhere between punk, power pop and LoFi indie, this third solo LP is by far one of his best release, filled with FUN and CATCHY tracks. A quick reminder... That’s a very special one because Seb invited some of his friends to play and sing his songs… Mike Watt from the Minutemen / fIREHOSE sings a new version of Ashtray, Andy Kerr from NoMeansNo sings SMS, John NO from the Fleshies and Street Eaters sings People, not to mention other talented guests such as his brother Fred on whistle, Oli Michel on drums and Alexandra Michel on bass on some songs as well.

[engl] Have you ever wondered what would happen if you start mixing the catchy melodies of ABBA and the sex appeal of Roxette with the heavenly guitar playing of the Marked Men and the attitude of Pippi Longstocking? Well, you should have done that once. Because now Sekunderna's debut album comes as a complete surprise and hits you unprepared in the pit of your stomach and in your heart. This can be dangerous, you are not that young anymore! 12 Power Pop Punk Rock songs with the very best sing-along recipe from Umeå.

[engl] Ah, the joy of sadness. Who invented it? The power pop punk rockers from Umeå! This is where this unique combination of melancholy, joy, too much snow and danceable melodies was born after all. It first arrives unsuspiciously and disguised as a simple band from the garage from around the block, but then it's more fun than a buttery croissant in the morning and it is more substantial than a freshly grated cereal. But simple my ass. 6 new songs. I love them all. If you like your punk rock poppy and your sadness hidden behind too much melody, if you like to carry your beer and your heart in cans, Sekunderna's second release on Rockstar Records is more than a rich breakfast. I guess I was hungry when I wrote this.

[engl] DIG! Records Archeological Division presents Strung Out on the Line, the all but lost private press powerhouse LP from SHATTERBOX. The band formed in 1979, at a major and sketchy (read: majorly sketchy) generational crossroads for what threatened to be the last gasp of Rock’n’roll in the ‘70s, and the new directions it’d take in the ‘80s. Recorded in their Seattle basement, the band utilized a mobile studio unit ala a low-rent D.I.Y. Exile Main on St., and self-released the album on New Year’s Day 1981 in an unknown – or, at least now forgotten – quantity, and an array of handmade album art designs: stencil and spray paint; paste-on Xerox cutout; and bare-white factory sleeves, SHATTERBOX never followed standard operating procedures and Strung Out on the Line captures the band’s wild and ragged original sound and style in full. Newly restored and re-mastered by David Eck from the original quarter-inch reels and housed in properly printed jackets with liner notes displaying the numerous versions of album art and an oral history from the band’s sole surviving member, Richard Pleasant, this LP is finally receiving the presentation it deserves – now, nearly forty years down the line. Rocketing through twelve brash and energetic cuts of exuberant Punk Rock and raw Power Pop, the album sonically falls somewhere between THE HEARTBREAKERS, NERVOUS EATERS and either –or, better yet – both iterations of THE GIZMOS. Archetypal subject matter ranging from Sex to Drugs and onto Rock‘n’roll are all addressed on tracks like “Anytime”, “Got To Have It”, “Dance Tonight”, “Just Can’t Help It”, “Go Down” and “Brand New Girl” – typically all in the same song! More complex themes surface on a Proustian examination of time (“Time”) and the quantifiable burden of modern life (“Too Much Traffic”), while the band’s own creative force can be summed up by the chorus to “Pop City”: Ain’t nothin but a rock song. Ain’t nothin but a pop song. Ain’t nothin but a punk song. So whose doin right or wrong? Strung Out on the Line is an unlikely album for rediscovery, given its diamond in the rough mystique – the precious few remaining copies fetch hundreds in collector circles – but fortunately for today’s rocker, there’s no expiration date on the musical contents contained herein. SHATTERBOX made their own way, shirking record industry conventions and sidestepping the musical trends touted by their Hardcore Punk and New Wave peers, to create something at once their own, and now ours again.