[engl] Like the millennial squishing of dumb rock into diamonds that eventually adorn dames' fingers, it's the geezers—intimate with dreams crushed by the hard knox of indifference—who're truly capable of squeezing out acerbic pop gems that burn hot. They know. SCUPPER's MIKE JANSON licked gold encrusted sushi bowls with the darlings of alt rock supremacy during his time with LYNNFIELD PIONEERS. They issued two weirdly great long players on Matador in the mid '90s, only to have their ruins smote upon the mountainside of pop culture refuse. No less an aficionado of such things as Aging Baldini at Fuckin' Record Reviews hailed Janson as "the Goffin/King of basement power bomp." Janson's since fleshed out his new blood vision with bassist ANDREW SHUMWAY (defected from the Jersey City suburban basement Lizzy/Priest smoke out collective A?SS, where he traded u?mlauty riffs with The Mad Scene’s Brian Turner and former Crucifucks drummer Steve Shelley) and drummer RICHARD AMARI, who brings a level of combustible professionalism with which indie rockers are too often unfamiliar. Together, they're as sharp and tight as a giant burning orb stuffed inside the velvet balcony at Radio City. Based on the youthful energy bouncing off all corners of “Everything,” Scupper haven’t lost a step in the downtime. Both “Everything” and its flip, “Drown Me Out,” nail the kind of surging, harmony-laden melodic punk that Superchunk used to specialize in. But Scupper’s newest single is no mere nostalgia trip—these songs are flesh and blood and standing right in front of you.

[engl] On Affective Design, his second opus on Kythibong, Seal of Quality cooks an other chiptunes recipe. Like the last time, he plays with keyboards, guitar, gameboy and voice. But for this new album, he adds a poppy twist that allows that sort of energetic quietness specific to the long distance runner. Drink an orange juice, press play, and go.

[engl] Baton Rouge, LA, has produced a trio of musicians that seem to have come to the 2010's via the 1990's, and they call themselves Secret Smoker. This debut LP has the sonic, political, and emotional hallmarks of bands like Hoover, 400 Years, Amber Inn, Wolves, and Sleepytime Trio, while maintaining a discernible identity of its own. Featuring former members of We Are The Living, and active participants of the Hungry Ghost Collective, these guys are intent upon driving home passionate "emo" the way you knew it before the shopping malls got a hold of it. If you like your music with movement and meaning, dig in!

[engl] Seine is an ever-changing project by Croatian singer-songwriter Ivan S?c?apec. It currently operates from Zagreb as a power duo with Dimitrij Petrovic? on drums. Following the breakup of their former band Vlasta Popic? in 2015, they focused on Seine and actively toured the Balkans and Europe, earning a reputation for their dazzling and heartfelt performances. Their debut ‘Sno Sna’ (Moonlee Records, Vox Project), one of the best regional debuts of the year, was released in 2017. Seine's 2nd album '22' brings forth an amorphous genre-bending sound, combining elements of noise and alternative rock, trip hop and no wave with sporadic cabaret undertones. The pair continues its exploration of the intriguing, ill-lighted and downtempo moods that have defined their debut while putting a new emphasis on dissonance and atonality. '22' showcases intricate arrangements and muscular instrumentation, its seven hook-laden tracks slowly drifting through melancholy waters. The electrified acoustic guitar and drum set are still the backbone, but they have expanded their sonic palette with piercing electronic textures, classical instruments samples and driving polyrhythms. The resulting leftfield grooves engage the listener in a noisy introspective dance. Seine’s music still gravitates around Ivan's easily recognizable soul-searching androgynous voice. His is a timbre of a man with puffy eyes, a sombre heart and turbulent spirit. In his dark and waggish verses, he wryly explores the triangle between money, war and transcendence from a beyond-good-and-evil standpoint. The days of love songs are dead, long live money poetics!

[engl] Seine's debut album ‘Sno sna’ is a showcase of dreamy acoustic strumming, psychedelic bass lines and minimalistic though hearty drum patterns interwoven into a tale of love and longing. Half a minute into the record, you're immediately transfixed by Ivan SCapec's idiosyncratic vocal timbre with a quaint feminine character in the vein of Cigarettes After Sex. The pathos of his delivery also reminds us of the emo mavericks Sunny Day Real Estate. But the gist of Seine’s musical expression lies in the prominent acoustic guitar. While songs like 'Privatno tijelo' (Private Body), the pseudo nursery rhyme 'Bubamara' (Ladybug) and centrepiece ‘Ljubav’ (Love) might recall the work of Sufjan Stevens, and while the track ‘Janko’ is an obvious nod to Serbo-Croatian folk songs, most of the tracks possess a more introspective, oftentimes melancholic mid-nineties character not far from the likes of Smashing Pumpkins. 'Sno Sna' may be listened to as a punk’s tale in the disguise of a folk record, or vice versa, a heartfelt folk album gone punk.

[engl] The Shifters are from Melbourne. After releasing two stunning Full Lengths (one on Future Folklore, one on Trouble in Mind) and a few 7" on Digital Regress, Captured Tracks, a split LP with Parsnip and more ... This DLP collects a 25 songs of odds and ends, home recordings and more. All previously unreleased and those tunes show the wide range of Shifters greatness. Reminiscent of the Mekons, pastoral pop of ‘80s by Australian DIY legends like the PARTICLES and the CANNANES meeting VELVET UNDERGROUND-addled hazed anthems. "The SHIFTERS’ stark, repetitive minimalism and shambolic charms always owed more than a little bit to the FALL in their early years, and revisiting the material from the cassette now after Mark E. Smith’s passing only reinforces the psychic connection between the lackadaisical post-punk twang in “Captain Hindsight” and the cracked melodies of something like the FALL’s “Your Heart Out” from the Dragnet era." (maximum rock n roll) Releases were put on hold during 2020 due to covid so it was decided to put out a pay as you feel digital only compilation of odds + some ends, then release it on Bandcamp. Not long after we were approached by Insolito Records from Berlin asking if we were interested in releasing it as a boxed double LP. We thank them very much for giving us this opportunity. The Open Vault comprises unreleased studio recordings, early demos, live 4 track recordings, live iPhone and solo home demos tunes from The Shifters. All recorded between 2016 and 2020. Studio songs marked * were all part of an unreleased second album called Pyramid Scheme. Little gold studios consisted of a mud brick and hay igloo of sorts with a control room attached that was inside an old lingerie factory in Brunswick. Most of the album has now been released via singles, compilations etc. Home recordings marked - are demos and ideas put down onto Garageband with an old macbook. The only microphone used was the inbuilt one on the laptop. The drum ‘kit’ used is a miniature Spongebob Square Pants childrens set that MJ happily bought from a garage sale in Coburg for $25. These demos were not being made under the impression that they would ever be heard outside of the band themselves and more thought of as rough sketches for the band to manipulate and re record (as 3 of these ones were for various releases)? After sitting on hard drives for some time they started sounding more interesting.

[engl] For fans of late 80s Sonic Youth and early 90s Dishord and maybe Unwound, Polvo, Pavement.. Warm fuzzy layers of feedback and beautiful melodies all over the LP.

[engl] First solo release from Melbourne pop-rock singer/songwriter SIMON JULIFF Produced by Joel Silbersher (GOD / Hoss) and released on the newly revived Australian label Dog Meat Records Much-loved Melbourne rock 'n' roll label Dog Meat Records returns with first solo release from former singer/guitarist/songwriter of The Roys and God / Hoss / Powder Monkeys associate, Simon Juliff The first new Dog Meat release in over a quarter of a century is the new single “Stars”, taken from the forthcoming album of the same name, from reticent Melbourne pop-rock singer/songwriter Simon Juliff. Juliff, who was singer/guitarist/songwriter for Melbourne band The Roys in the ‘00s, was a friend of many of the ‘90s Melbourne bands on Dog Meat and nearly a Dog Meat signing with his first band The Evil Dead. Produced by long-time friend Joel Silbersher (God, Hoss, Tendrils etc) and featuring backing from members of Hoss and Kim Salmon & the Surrealists, “Stars” – both the new single and the forthcoming album - combines brightly dappled glimmers of classic pop-rock melodicism with a darkened, frazzled vibe.

[engl] Latest album from Bethlehem, PA, husband & wife, drums & keys, heavy pop duo Slingshot Dakota!

[engl] Axel, Clovis, Gwen and Victor wrote these catchy tunes, straight from the heart, with an energetic twenty something feel, lifted by Victor’s unique voice. Shadows of a spaced out Mac DeMarco partying with Tame Impala can be heard here and there, while the Walkmen surf with Grizzly Bear, to name a few of the band’s influences.

[engl] Acute altitude sickness may occur when we elevate too rapidly to 2500 meters. At extreme heights our bodies have a hard time distinguishing our oxygen and carbon dioxide levels which disorients and can even kill us. Despite the title, Slow Worries’ new album ‘Careful Climb’ deals with other causes of disorientation, manic highs and the lonely, angst-filled confusion that comes with trying to connect over space and time. When we are willingly rendering ourselves, in desperate late night movements, to nothing more than a data vault, a new low of some sorts. When bouncing back and trying to catch up with faster moving lovers. Trying to make sense of our value in an economy of secrets. Seeing that which we share for free, for sale elsewhere. Failing to live up to the standards we inadvertently helped to create. But all the reading into it aside, ‘Careful Climb’, soon to be released by Subroutine, Adagio830 and the first ever release on Breaking Records, is a joyful guitar-centered balancing act between 90’s licks and indie noise, full of fun despite it all and a fair amount of attitude because of it. Slow Worries wear their influences on their sleeves. Think The Breeders, Ovlov, Slant 6 or even Sheer Mag. This is recommended listening for those who love their indierock with a good hook. The new songs thematically center around time, space (mostly metaphysical) and movement. Live favorite ‘Runner’ as a quite literal example. But lean in and other songs tell a similar story. Respiratory cycles are a thing in the ecology of Slow Worries songs too, catching your breath and hitting the brakes as necessary tools for survival, relatable now more than ever.