Los Pepes vs Dark Thoughts

Los Pepes

Two bands that I've been really digging lately have been London's Los Pepes and Philly's Dark Thoughts. For whatever reason, when I hear one, I am instantly put in the mood for the other and both band's new LP's have been following the other for months now. It's like both bands have such a complimentary (or if it was 2000 I'd use the word "simpatico") sound to one another. Is it the fact that they are both melodic punk bands? Or dare I say "Pop Punk" bands? I would prefer the former over the latter in this case. No disrespect to the proud pop punkers, I mean it. 

Dark Thoughts

To me, when someone says the term "pop punk" an instant image forms in my head of a 16 year old kid with baggy shorts, and a backwards baseball hat singing about the squishy thing they found in their shorts. When I hear the term "melodic punk" I picture bands like Moral Crux or The Hex Dispensers. Is one better than the other? No, not necessarily. Do I sometimes have a hankering for hearing someone singing in a forced nasally voice about that squishy thing that fell out of their shorts? Absolutely! But to me, Dark Thoughts and Los Pepes are melodic punk bands that I have come to love dearly. Both bands released amazing LP's in 2025. Here's a quick look back at both of them and what makes them so special to me. 

Los Pepes - Out Of The Void LP Wanda, Spaghetty Town, Beluga Music, Ghost Highway Recordings

Los Pepes have been dubbed "the loudest power pop band on earth" by a writer far more clever and astute than me. However, I can certainly get behind that statement! On the band's 6th LP, guitars burst out of your speakers like a bucking rodeo bronco right out of the gate! And you better be listening to this record loud or just put it away until you have the room to yourself because quiet is something this band doesn't do! Ben Perrier's vocals are a smooth chaser in contrast to the loud guitars and catchy ass riffs that he and Gui Rujao ram down your ear hole on both sides of this record! With this much weight bearing down on the pleasure centers of your brain, you need a solid rhythm section to tether the tunes down so they don't get too light and airy and that's exactly what you get here with Seisuke Nakagawa's punchy bass work and Kris Hood's solid drumming! Los Pepes are one of the best bands out there, no matter what label you want to slap on them. They serve up melodic rock n roll delivered with punk rock fists to your face. 

Dark Thoughts - Highway To The End LP (2025) Drunken Sailor, Stupid Bag Records 

Dark Thoughts approach to their music definitely comes at us like a rock n roll Ramones bazooka! Oh and you better believe these songs are bubble gum in your hair catchy, and they're being played something close to what I believe to be cheetah speed! This is the band's fourth LP and it only appears that Dark Thought's songs are actually gaining in momentum like a comet's trajectory on a crash course with your very soul! Lead singer and guitarist Jim Shomo pounds one song out after the other in a speed strumming delivery, those guitar stings are most surely bending and straining to maximum test capacity. Meanwhile bass player Amy Opsasnick and drummer Daniel Cox provide a solid wall for these songs to bounce off of and really take flight. Think of the vocals and guitar as the bullet train and the rhythm section as the tunnel and the rails. All units must operate at peak performance for the songs to really blast off and imbed themselves into the slimy folds of your undeserving brain. All 11 songs on this record do that thoroughly and effectively. Your slimy brain is your problem. 

Loose Lips Interview!

Photo by Danysha Harriott

Interview conducted with Nadine Muller, Drummer and Vocalist in Loose Lips

Shock Treatment: Can we start off by telling me who all is currently in the Loose Lips rock n roll express and what everyone does to keep the train rolling? 

Nadine Muller: I play the drums, Josh is on guitar and Ethan plays bass and we all do vocals!

In our real lives, I work as a freelance hair and makeup artist.

I’ve been running my own business for a while now. Ethan has worn many hats in the 2 years that I've known him but he is currently putting up gig posters and Josh is a fulltime rock dog.

ST: Tell me a bit about how you all met and decided to form Loose Lips? 

Nadine: Josh and I met on a tour my other band (The Prize) did supporting his other band (The Chats). We hit it off straight away and became good pals. 

We were putting a split 7” with our respective bands and decided to write a song together which we never actually got time to record before the split 7’ was due to come out. The song ‘One More Chance’ became the first Loose Lips song we released.

Ethan and Josh had met under similar circumstances- On tour. Ethan played in a UK band called Chubby and the Gang and he and Josh had toured and hung out so when Ethan moved to Melbourne and we all bumped into each other at the pub one night, Loose Lips was formed.

ST: As a kid or teenager, how did rock n roll find you and sink its hooks in your ears? What bands and/or records really made a lasting impression on you back then?

Nadine: I was lucky enough to grow up with rock’n’roll parents so I always had access to great records and my dad is a drummer so there was always a kit around to bang on.

I fell in love with the Ramones at a young age which has carried through my life. 

I was also very heavily inspired by Joan Jett and Debbie Harry of Blondie. 

My dad came home with a Shangri-Las record for me when I was a teenager and I played that to death. 

The Shangri-Las has been one of the predominant inspirations for Loose Lips. 

We all share a deep love for 60s groups such as the Ronettes and Martha and The Vandellas.

ST: What bands did you have in mind when starting Loose Lips? Did you have a particular sound in mind from the start?

Nadine: We wanted to do something that had a different feel to our other bands which are probably more classic power pop. We were keen to lean into a more New York Dolls glam thing but with our 60’s influences. 

ST: Loose Lips did a tour of Japan last year where you got to play with some other pretty killer bands out there! How did those shows go?

Nadine: We had a blast! Everyone was so lovely and all of the bands we played with were amazing. The Fadeaways, The Highmarts, Peanuts and Barbed Wire are just a few worth checking out!

ST: All of you are either currently or have been in some other really great bands like The Prize, The Chats, and Chubby & The Gang. What makes playing with Loose Lips a special, unique or just different of an experience than playing with your other bands? 

Nadine: It’s always exciting and fun to create music with new people when you really click and share the same vision. Loose Lips is a very uninhibited band and we really don’t overthink anything. 

For me, the Prize takes a different approach to writing and working on songs. There’s a lot more people to add their layers during the writing process and it’s maybe a bit more intricate. Whereas this band is probably more carefree and LOOSE!

Photo by Danysha Harriott

ST: You guys just released your absolutely stunning debut LP Last Laugh last year. Can you tell me a bit about how the experience was making it? 

Nadine: Thank you. Josh was given an 8 tack tape machine a few years ago so we decided to have a go at recording everything ourselves. We went to my parents house in the country and recorded it over a weekend. After we got all of the tracking done we spent a few days back in Melbourne in my loungeroom, with a tambourine or cowbell and did all of the overdubs. 

We had written most of the songs prior to the recording process but I think ‘Too Late to Call’ and ‘Tonight We Go’ Josh pulled out on the day!

ST: And speaking of Last Laugh, it was released on the great Dig! Records here in America. How did you hook up with that label? 

Nadine: We love DiG! Josh had hung out with Tim when he toured America with the Chats I believe and they had stayed in touch. I can’t remember who reached out to who but he expressed interest in doing a Loose Lips release and the feeling was mutual. 

If you’re a Rock'n'Roll and Power Pop lover make sure to check out the DIG catalog! 

So many great bands on that label.

ST: What lies ahead for Loose Lips in 2026? 

Nadine: Well! We actually just recorded 4 tracks (on the 8 track tape machine again) a few weeks ago and are going to be putting out a split 12” with Fast Kids! It will of course be coming out on DIG. TBC on the dates but hopefully in the next few months!

ST: Where can people go to hear your music or buy your records either online or in person? 

Nadne: You can buy directly through our Bandcamp in Australia or DIG Records in America and hopefully in most of your cool, local record stores!

DIG! Records Bandcamp

Sweet Reaper Interview

Interview with Seth Pettersen, singer, songwriter for Sweet Reaper

Shock Treatment: As a songwriter and musician, what band or musical act made you want to pick up a guitar and learn how to play and write your own music?
Sweet Reaper: One of the first memories I have of music really taking control of my whole being was when I was about 4 years old, watching The Pound Puppies Movie. There’s a scene where the Pound Puppies do a cover of Danny and the Juniors’ “At the Hop,” and I remember it resonating with me in a really strong way. I realized even then that music does something to you—it made me lose control. I ran around the room, completely excited.

My mom was a piano player growing up, so she taught me a few chords on the piano. My cousin Kathy was going to UCSB for a while when I was a kid, and she’d come over occasionally and show me a couple guitar chords. Once I learned a few, I didn’t really know any cover songs, so I just sat there with your basic C and G chords and started writing melodies. I didn’t really know what I was doing, but in essence, that’s how I began songwriting.

ST: Tell me about how Sweet Reaper started. Is this the sound you intended from the beginning of this project or did it change once things started rolling?
SR: Sweet Reaper started around 2015, after I broke my ankle skateboarding on my way to work. I was out of work for a long time recovering from surgery, and during that time I was home with my instruments—guitar, bass, and a drum machine. I recorded a record called Sweet Reaper, but it was released under my solo name, Seth Pettersen.

After I healed up and the record came out, I asked Sasha, my wife, and Danny, one of my best friends, to come jam some of the songs. We played together a few times and eventually played a house party in Ventura. At that point, it was still just under my name. Shortly after that show, I realized how much fun it was playing with those two and decided we should just call ourselves Sweet Reaper. I was kind of done playing under my own name—no one knew how to spell it or say it, and honestly, it just felt boring. Once we started jamming as Sweet Reaper, the songs took on a different shape. They became more aggressive but still melodic—more up-tempo and more thoughtfully arranged. Danny brought a lot of dynamic movement to the bass, and Sasha was just an animal on the drums. I also think part of the change came from wanting to impress them. Whenever I came in with a riff, I really wanted it to be something they’d be excited about, so I stopped bringing in anything I didn’t fully believe in.

ST: Pretty much everything Sweet Reaper has put out has been released by the fine folks at Alien Snatch! Records. How did you hook up with them?
SR: This all came together right around the beginning of COVID. We had just recorded our third record, Closer Still, and thought it would be really cool if someone put it out on vinyl. We didn’t have high expectations, but we noticed that Alien Snatch! Records out of Berlin had released stuff by Radioactivity, who I was a huge fan of.

As kind of a shot in the dark, Sasha reached out to Daniel at Alien Snatch!, and he ended up being into it and wanting to release the record. That was incredibly exciting for us. After Closer Still came out, he asked if he could also put out our first two releases, which really sealed the relationship. That led to Alien Snatch! putting out all three of our full-lengths, followed by our Microdose EP. So when it came time to release Still Nothing, it was a total no-brainer—we’d already planned it with Daniel well in advance.

ST: Tell me what a Sweet Reaper live show is like? What would you like your live audience to walk away thinking after seeing you perform?
SR: A Sweet Reaper live show is pretty no-frills. The three of us just show up and try to play as hard, fast, and as well as we possibly can. We always get a little nervous, but we give it everything we have. What you’re seeing is us trying to present the truest version of our songs.

We’re very much a songwriting band, so we don’t focus on creating an over-the-top live spectacle. We just want to play the songs loud, fast, and tight. I hope people walk away thinking this is a band that knows how to write a song and gives it their all onstage. I also really hope there’s movement in the crowd. That back-and-forth energy between the band and the audience is what I live for—the wilder the crowd gets, the harder we push back.

ST: What typically inspires your lyrics? Can you perhaps tell me about a time where lyrical inspiration occurred at the weirdest time?
SW: My lyrics usually come from whatever’s happening in my life at the time. Writing has always been really cathartic for me—it’s how I process things I might not even fully understand yet. A lot of the time, I’ll look back at lyrics later and suddenly realize exactly what I was working through, even if I didn’t know it in the moment.

The best lyrics often come from the most unexpected places. I think of it like getting struck by lightning—when a song is good, it usually comes together fast. Ideas hit at weird times. I’ll dream about lyrics or be talking to someone while words are forming in the back of my head.

One example is our song “Sidekick.” The idea came after I bought a Fender Sidekick amp from Goodwill. I brought it home, started playing through it, and found myself singing “Sidekick.” It started out as a song about the amp, but it quickly turned into something else. I ended up writing it about my wife, Sasha, as a way to honor her and how important she is to me. She’s way more than a sidekick, but the word became a kind of shorthand for our bond and what we mean to each other.

ST: You released your new LP Still Nothing last year to much critical praise. Can you tell me a bit about how the recording process went?  

SW: It’s been really exciting seeing people respond to Still Nothing. It’s a record I’m incredibly proud of because it represents where we are right now as a band. Our writing feels more natural—we don’t have to overthink it anymore—and it really feels like we’ve leveled up.

The recording process was different this time. The album was recorded at two different times, with two different engineers, at two different studios. The first half was recorded with our friend Kaanan Tupper using his mobile 8-track setup, and the other half was recorded with Joel Jerome, who handled all of our other Sweet Reaper recordings.

I actually love that the record has different textures and tones. It’s not the same drum sound on every song—it has variation and nuance. We record live as much as possible and only add a few overdubs. Everything is kept pretty simple, with a focus on capturing energy and momentum in the studio.

ST: Speaking of Still Nothing and lyrical inspiration, the song “Thought Police” off of the new record is one of my favorites. Can you tell me the inspiration behind it? SW: “Thought Police” is my interpretation of where American society seems to be heading. It feels like we’re moving backward in a lot of ways, with more restrictions on what people are allowed to do, say, or believe. Some of it feels uncomfortably close to fascism.

The idea came from wondering how far that mindset could go—how long before people aren’t even free to think their own thoughts. I imagined a future where someone could be punished simply for what goes on in their head. It’s a simple idea, but it comes from a real concern that, if we’re not careful, we could end up somewhere like that.

ST: So after interviewing many bands in my years, I’ve noticed most fall into two categories that I like to call: knob jockeys or show junkies. In other words, people that would rather just tinker around and record or people that just want to play out. Which do you feel you mostly fall into? 
SR: As much as I love playing shows—and I’ve played some really great ones—I think I might love recording even more. I’m a total knob jockey. Messing around with tones, layers, and recording ideas makes me incredibly happy. I feel like a kid in a candy store.

When I have free time at home, my goal is usually to record something. I love trying to capture the energy as close to the moment of creation as possible. The closer you are to the song’s conception when you record it, the better it usually turns out. If I absolutely had to choose between recording and playing live, it’d be tough—but gun to my head, I’d say I’m more of a studio junkie than a show-goer.
ST: What does 2026 hold for Sweet Reaper
SR: 2026 is shaping up to be a big year. On a personal level, I’m set to graduate from nursing school in May, but before that we’re playing our album release show in Ventura on April 3rd, which I’m really excited about. We recently joked during practice that we’re going to make five more records before calling it quits. Hopefully that holds true. We already have the album names—we just need to write the songs.

ST: Where can people go to listen to your music and buy your records?
SW: You can find our music pretty much everywhere online. I recently uploaded Still Nothing in its entirety as one full video on YouTube, which I think is a fun way to experience it. We’re also on Bandcamp, which is the best place to support us directly. We’re selling cassettes of Still Nothing there, though the vinyl isn’t available on Bandcamp, yet.

In the U.S., vinyl is available through Green Noise Records. For international and European orders, Alien Snatch! Records offers great worldwide shipping options. I’ve got plans to put more stuff up on Bandcamp soon, but between school and everything else, it may take a little time.

Alien Snatch Records 

Alien Snatch Records Bandcamp 

The Retrospects Interview

Interview with Ian Manhire, singer/songwriter in The Retrospects

Shock Treatment: So Ian, I'd like to start off with some questions about you if that's ok? What band or musician first inspired you to want to write your own music?
Ian Manhire: I can't say for sure. Because I don't totally remember. It would have been at a young age. I took a lot of piano lessons as a kid. I remember in music lessons being less interested in learning the sheet music, and more interested in making up my own songs. I was in bands since a young age. I started playing drums in punk bands as a teenager, but never wrote the songs. Maybe contributed some ideas, as far as collaborative bands go. Through my 20's I continued playing drums in bands. I eventually started playing bass. Then I decided to pick up the guitar and learn how to play. The first band I picked up a guitar and stood behind the microphone was the White Wires. It was the first band I wrote the songs for. I had dabbled with some song writing in previous bands. But the WW was the first band. By this point I was deep into record collecting and deep into going to shows and festivals. Of course inspred by a massive list of hitmakers from before my time. I grew up listening to lots and lots of music. In terms of writing my own, I think I had been making melodies on various keyboards and guitars my whole life, then I saw young bands on stage, people my age, just electrifying my creativity. I was moved by the bands with hooks. The bands who above all else were writing catchy songs. I was moved by live shows by the Black Lips, the Clorox Girls, the Carbonas, the Marked Men, the Busy Signals, Jay Reatard, Lost Sounds, the Observers, Gentleman Jesse, the Tranzmitors, geez I could go on for hours! That opened up a whole world when I started writing my own songs. This interest in writing music has been strong. I am constantly chasing a catchy hook, or a great chorus! Lately with the Retrospects, the range of influences is detailed and long, but the top 3 is Giorgio, Rational Youth, and Cassie. I was lucky enough to see Rational Youth perform here in Ottawa at our sacred home the House of Targ. The use of the synthesizer to deliver a hook is so effective. The allure of the electronics. The chilling detail of the sound of the synthesizer. I have been making electronic music for a long time, messing around with synths, keyboards, drum machines, fruitty loops etc. But the latest obsession has been making it all on the synthesizer! The whole band. The whole song. Sequenced midi tracks. The idea of using electronics, DAWless, no computers, just midi and synthesizers, totally inspired me to travel to new places.

Photo by Ming Wu

ST: A lot of your lyrics seem so personal and introspective. What kinds of things actually inspire them?
IM: I usually think of each song on its own. Maybe if I really thought about it, there's a common thread. But I mostly approach them one at a time lyrically. My lyrical content is all about my own experience. I try to tell my own story. I talk about my joys, and I talk about my sorrows. I think about the delivery. I like things to be relatable. Anecdotal sometimes. Feel good. Positive. Inspiring. I think about the places these words could sound. I think about the events and the times and the people who could be there. I think about the band behind the lyrics and what we represent.

3. The Retrospects is your first musical project you've released since the last White Wires - III LP in 2010. What led to the decision to abandon the traditional guitar band model and go with synths and drum machines?
IM: Many years passed since WWIII. In that time I was busy building my family, my home, and my business. I continued playing music all along, although in a smaller capacity. There was a great band Voicemail, which I never finished, but it was awesome. We were channelling all of our favourite Northern Irish punk bands of the 70's. There was another band the New Calling, which was a stepping stone between the White Wires and Sedatives and the Retrospects. But the biggest single thing that departed from guitar based songwriting was meeting Chad, synth wizard in the Retrospects, who introduced me to the midi sequencer. During the pandemic, this became an obsession. I spent a lot of time learning about midi and synths, and drum machines, and sequencers. To the point where I just decided to go out and make an album. Actually, the second biggest tipping point for making a synth record was my friend Mike. Mike bought an 1850's stone church in rural Canada. Its epic. He turned it into a recording studio. I did a concrete job for him, building a new slab, on a handshake deal of trading my time for studio time. And that's how the Retrospects was born.

ST: You released the first S/T LP in 2024. Can you tell me about the experience you had making it at Studio Cimitiere?
IM: Studio Cimitiere is an incredible place. The destination recording experience of my dreams. It starts when you travel up the Ottawa Valley into the Pontiac. It's an hour drive through the beautiful canadian countryside. It's vast forests, and mighty rivers. Upon arriving at the church the feelings have already developed. I am moved every time I arrive there. The town is small, the church sits on a massive property in the center of the town, next to the legendary Ottawa Valley Tavern called Gavin's. With fabled tales of its working class roadhouse glory! The church and studio are owned and operated by Mike and Erin, who each built careers of significant musical and creative credibility in the Ottawa and Canadian scenes. The building is old. It is stunning and remote. Inside, the hall of the church is dedicated to the studio. It is outfitted with a long list of production gear, and many careful details, like microphones positioned in the peak of the vaulted ceiling to capture the acoustics of the room. Performing in there, especially singing in the church, is surreal. It is emotional. Honestly, I had to take a break in the first album vocal session because it hit me. Not because I am religious, I am not whatsoever, but because the magnitude of the opportunity. I felt very lucky to be there. Maybe you can hear that in the first album. It's 110. I was belting at top volume. There is so much I could say about this place. I've seen some incredible small performances in there. It's really special. One other cool thing is the bell tower! It's gotta be 50' tall, solid stone walls 3' thick. The baffles at the top are open air, so the sound in there carries through the town. Mike set up my guitar amp in there and recorded a room sound on it. I was so stoked on that. It sounded amazing!!

ST: And hot on the heels of the debut record you dropped the second LP Vaporwaves last year. How did the making of that LP go? Did you record it at the same place?
IM: Yeah, so second album, one year later. I was just really fired up after the first one. I had such a good time making the first one. I decided to do it again. It's basically the exact same approach as number 1. Same studio, same setup, same instrumentation. I added some new things on the second one, like a vocoder. I got a polyphonic vocoder which I could sequence melodies to, and sing through a microphone into. It's the best. When I discovered I could send midi to a keyboard vocoder, I got pretty friggin excited! In retrospect, I hear the 2nd album as a very maximal follow up to the first. There is a lot going on. I think there are some classic melodies on there, and some hooks that have some holding power. I personally love the song Take Them One. I think that could be on any of my previous bands records.

ST: Lastly, you released the super limited 7" single for your song "Shattered" on Fish and Cheap records. What led to the decision to go with them instead of Vintage Voltage, the label you released the LP's on.
IM: Yeah, that 7" was really fun. The boss from Fish and Cheap Records contacted me and asked if he could release 2x Retrospects songs on a 45. I let him pick the 2 songs, and then he did the art, which I love, and released a quite limited clear 7" in a paper sleeve. I think that's rad!
I personally live by Fred Cole's 10 commandments of Rock and Roll. Fred's first rule is release your own records. Don't wait for a knock at the door. If you don't believe in yourself why should anybody else. And if you flop, try, try again. I never sent this to any labels or asked anybody to do this. I just started up a new label, Vintage Voltage, and pressed 100 copies which I believe we can move at our live shows and at the local record shop.

ST: So Ian, you've done guitar rock, now synth pop, is there a musical genera you're holding back the urge to try your hand on?
IM: There is certainly more. I know it. I might do an acoustic piano and vocals album one day. That’s mostly how I practice. I also practice a lot on the acoustic guitar. I play drums in a psych punk band. It's the brainchild of local legend Dan Druff. His music is very minimal, ferocious, and intense. And I play bass with one of my favourite singer songwriters in town Andrew Vincent. Plus I have a Giorgio Moroder cover band with fellow Retrospect Chad...we're called the Giorgioz, and we're the number 1 Giorgio cover band in town!!

ST: Tell me about The Retrospects live shows. What was the crowd's reaction to hearing these songs live?
IM: Live, I think the band is brilliant. It works well at big parties, big nights, crowded dance floors. It is quite the spectacle. Any 5 piece band is. But this is 3x synthesizer players on stage with a drummer and a guitar player. It’s a different format too with keys bass. We always play a cover or 2. Which I think is important as an unknown. We only play when we are invited, and we have been really well received. At the end of 2025, we got to open for Alvilda on a Saturday night in Ottawa. It was one of my career highlights. I am obsessed with their band and their songs. It was so cool to be in that oversold room. And absolutely humbling to have Alvilda in the front row singing along with our songs!!!

Photo by Curtis Perry

ST: What lies in store for you and your music in 2026?
IM: I’m working on album #3 at the moment. It’s exciting. I'm changing direction on this one again, and going very minimal. More raw, more stripped down. Up tempo. Very pop. Trying to channel that Heroes of the Night era of private press hits.

ST: Where can people go to hear your music and buy your records?
IM: Our music is up on all the streaming sites and services. And our records are available at my local record shop the Record Center, for mail order too. Or you can book us a gig with all your friends in your disco garage and get one straight from the band!!

The Stunning New Wave Sounds of T-Red

T-Red - Partie 1984-1985 LP (Nausea Records)
This Belgian three piece formed in 1981 when the band members where still in high school! As you can see by the title of the record, the band was unfortunately short lived. Before disbanding however, they managed to record a 4-track promo tape called Partie, which is all included here. The fine folks at Nausea decided to include the band's 8 track demo to make this a bonafide full length release, and thank the maker they did! The original band members just uncovered these tracks just a couple of years ago! This is the kind of thing that actually does keep me up at night. The thought that a brilliant band like this exists in obscurity out there somewhere and it just passes me by like a warm breeze in the night. All of the tracks here have been restored and remastered too by the way and they sound great! The demo portion of this release sounds excellent, the production is a tiny bit leaner just because that's how it was originally recorded I'm sure, I mean hey, they were just demos after all. But otherwise those songs are virtually indistinguishable in quality from the fully produced Partie promo EP. T-Red's music has a classic New Wave sound that to me falls somewhere between New Order and early Echo & The Bunnymen. But the band definitely has a unique feel and sound that's all their own. Its not as bloated or anthem-y as New Order can get sometimes, but it has a sprinkle of that ol' McCulloch melancholy woven throughout. This is one release that I am truly grateful I caught before it went back into hiding for another 40 years. I don't think I'll survive another cycle like that! Nausea Records is now taking pre-orders for this, limited to only 200 on deluxe 12" blue vinyl so I suggest you move your ass! 

nausearecords.bandcamp.com

The Etters Rule All!

Sweet, sweet mother of all things musical and rhythmic, you have heard my desperate pleas! I shall never deny thee for the rest of my days! The ground has opened up in the Netherlands and from the bowels of the underworld, this band was spat forth for this world to marvel. For what I hear before me is one of the most ferocious, bile spewing garage punk bands I have ever heard in my lowly existence. The Etters are mean, they're nasty, and they hate everything there is to do about Christmas! I feel like my soul is not yet worthy to receive a gift such as this band. A Dutch punk rock trio with songs that are as catchy as they are dangerous, sweaty and rude. So what if it's sung entirely in Dutch! I can still feel the attitude you fuckers! I know The Etters are mocking me in that foreign tongue of theirs, I know I'm being spat upon and you know what?? I love it! Fury is a universal language and I hear what The Etters are hurling out, loud and clear, believe you me! I feel it in the marrow of my bones and in the shakiness of my knees when I listen to their records. I just know this band is singing about nothing but bad news. If you love bands like Loli and The Chones, The Ills, and The Spoiled Brats, drop what you're doing right now and go get these record! They're sure to be a hit with degenerates and petty criminals all around the world. 

The Etters - S/T 7" (Fish & Cheap)
The band consists of Jerry Hormone (of Jerry Hormone Ego Trip and The Apers) on guitar, Luna Becking on bass and Kate Oram on drums and they apparently they all take turns singing. I should mention that this record was limited to 50 copies and sold out so fast it blew the doors off the Fish & Cheap clubhouse. So chances of you getting your muddy little paws on this record are pretty slim and if you do, I salute you. This is a single sided record with three songs (that don't appear on the full length I should add) that collectively clock in at a little over 3 minutes. They're not throw aways either, hard, fast and aggressive is just the Etters style. The tracks, translated are "There's Nothing About You That I Don't Hate", "Cat Litter Breath", and "Eat My Snot". So as you can see, this 7"s does not feature a kinder, gentler Etters than on the LP. This is just as slap on the face, kick in the teeth punk rock you'd expect from this band and that's why I love them so. 

The Etters - Maken Je hartstille DOOD! LP (Fink City / Bachelor Records)
Let's get something out of the way, first thing. The translation of the record title is "Will Kill You!" If that doesn't say it all right there, if that doesn't paint a mental picture for you, I don't know what will! I talk so much about the Etters being so evil, nasty and mischievous, but what also really needs to be mentioned is that these songs rock, hard. They rock like so very few things on this planet have ever done. The riffs in the band's arsenal are played at a respectable, break neck velocity but somehow still manage to dart into your ear canal and straight into your bran to nest for a season. Not only are these songs constructed all super catchy like, but they're executed with unmatched attitude and surliness. And even Miles Davis once said that only 20 % of music are the notes being playing, and 80% is the attitude of the motherfucker playing them. You're move Etters. 

fishandcheaprecords.bandcamp

clampdownpressing.com/finkcity

bachelorrecords.com