The Fall-Outs were a brilliant garage rock n' roll band out of Seattle that were around in some form or another from the mid 1980's to the early 2000's. My admiration grew even more for this band when I found out they got their name from the title of the last episode of the 1960's British TV series The Prisoner.  The band uniquely combined Beatle's like harmonies, melodic 60's jangle pop riffs, all backed by The Who's explosive energy and wrapped up in The Jam's unparallelled coolness. The Fall-Outs was started by singer and guitarist David Holmes and bass player Shannon McConnel who were old high school pals. Later they added drummer Dino Lencioni who answered a "drummer wanted" flyer that was strategically placed in "The Who" section of a local record store. Holmes and Lencioni remained as the only constants throughout the band's lifespan. McConnel was in and out, being replaced by various other bass players including Mudhoney...

  The first Taste Testors LP came out just prior to me starting Shock Treatment and by the time I got my head on straight and figuring out what exactly I wanted to do with the blog, it had passed me by. However, just a year later these crazy cats go and drop another new LP, just so I could write about it. So very kind of them, thank you boys!  In case you aren't familiar with Taste Testors, they are currently dug into the Seattle area and feature current and former members of bands like The Briefs, The Cheap Cassettes, Appaloosa and all sorts of other killer bands from that area. Both of the Taste Testors LP's came out on Moodkiller Records. A label that I must admit I wasn't too familiar with. But they've been around for a while, putting out records here and there since 2005. Come Back  is a direct sequel to The Taste Testors last LP. Like, it picks up right where the last one left off. Is that a bad thing? Absolutely not in my little black book! If you...

This is my first time hearing this band, and I'm glad they popped up on my radar like an aircraft coming in for an unauthorized landing. This is also my first taste of Dandy Boy Records and I am absolutely astounded by their releases the more I dig into their catalog. I can't believe they've eluded me since 2017! SOFTJAW are from Long Beach, California and apparently only stepped out on to the world's stage in 2024. Since then, they've released a number of digital singles and an EP. This here LP collects all of those digital releases plus a Paul Collins Beat cover of "Working Too Hard" and the 23 Jewels song "Playing Bogart". Both of these classics fit perfectly in the bands repertoire.   Softjaw by SOFTJAW This is THE best straight forward power pop records I've heard in a really long time. When a band attempts the genre, if done right, you don't need any more suffix or prefix words to better describe the music, everything yo...

Mod Lang - Borrowed Time LP - (Just Add Water Records) There is something so wonderfully refreshing about the ten songs here on this record that Detroit's Mod Lang and Just Add Water Records have masterfully collected and decided to gift the undeserving world. This record's got mid 70"s stomp and roll with thick heel drum beats and melodies so bright you can almost feel the warmth of the sun shining on your face. Like on a long, carefree summers day when you and your friends decide to drive to the local Dairy Queen with the top down. And the biggest priority in your life is how you're going to get noticed by that one person you want to notice you. And you keep debating weather or not to go to that lame ass party across town that you normally wouldn't go, but you heard they might be there. And that changes everything. Mod Lang remind me musically of early 70's bands like the Scottish band Middle Of The Road. Since we're on the subject of 70's and Scotla...

I remember four things, right off the top of my head from 1996. I remember collecting Beanie Babies like a fiend with my Mom. We'd drive all around town, from store to store looking for our next beanie fix. I remember playing Mario Kart 64 like a wild eyed maniac, often times shunning food and drink just for the opportunity to play more. I remember being so excited to finally get a Marvel Vs. DC comic book. And I remember buying punk rock records, lot's and lot's of punk records.  I was lucky to have discovered underground punk music just a few years prior. I didn't know if it was because I was at such a formative age in 1996, but I always held the music that came out during that time particularity close to my heart. I think of it as such a golden era for the genera. But I can tell you one thing, out of the three things I mentioned remembering about 1996, the one thing I still do is listen to the records that came out then. I haven't played Mario Kart, read that cra...

I used to love gathering up all the music I've listened to throughout the year when I used write for Audio Ammunition and now I'm glad I have a new platform to do it once again. I enjoy reflecting on the year through these records; where I was when I first heard them, or remembering the excitement of listening to them for the first time. Often times I get surprised that some of these records have only been in my life for such a short a time. 2025 was an unbelievable year for underground rock n roll. It took me so long to gather the records I loved the most and whittle the list down to something manageable. I used to have a method of ranking records but I realized it was foolish. I used to rank records by how much I actually played them throughout the year. Sounds legitimate right? Well, then I thought about this: I love the movies 2001 A Space Odyssey and Back To The Future. I am not in the mood to watch the former as often as I am the latter. Does that mean I like Back To The...