Frankfurt’s DULAC deliver their debut album filled with melancholic punkrock much in the vein of certain Pacific Northwest bands blended in with the Revolution Summer era DC sound and a local twist that makes their sound uniquely their own. Ten songs in total, the LP comes with a digital download.

Deep Ends is the second LP from Canadian Rifle, arguably Chicago’s best melodic hardcore band. The band plays confessional punk with brash vocals (reminiscent of Leatherface and early Jawebreaker) with themes that range from crossing lines when you know you shouldn’t, trying to keep something alive when you’re running on empty, as well as struggles with addiction. Needless to say, it’s pretty bleak in its lyrical and musical approach, but played with an angered energy that’ll keep you fist pumping for the duration. Pretty fucking great for a band with no dreams and no goals.

"This is music that’s less for the ‘shirts off, dudes on’ crowd and more for the ‘loner glowering in the back of the bar, leave me the fuck alone’ set.” Maximum Rocknroll

Portland again! The melodic WIPERS-influenced Punkrock-sound from this city seems to have a new climax at the moment with cool records by RED DONS, ESTRANGED and AUTISTIC YOUTH, just to name a few. And you can also add DEFECT DEFECT to those hi- quality bands! I named the main references before, if you need more hints just listen to Germany’s finest IDLE HANDS and imagine them with a more powerful Punk-scratch. Am I wrong if I suggest that DEFECT DEFECT listened to some old MISFITS-records, too?! I hear a lot of “Oh OhOh’s” in the lyrics, it’s very catchy, very “sing -along”... The record runs on 45 rpm, comes with a lyric-sheet and has 8 fine songs on it. Nice package! (Bernd) - CRKO

The Mandates are a punk/power-pop quartet based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Formed in 2010, Matt Sikkens, Jimmy Sixx, Kirch N. Destroy and their drummer, Tahoe, have dedicated the most ambitious few years of their lives to writing the best '77 pop punk anthems their minds can arrange. Taking cues from classic acts like Teenage Head, Thin Lizzy, New York Dolls and The Jam, The Mandates have forged through their music scene, creating something vintage and yet somehow maintaining a modern appeal. The 12" follow-up to their first single "Take You to the Dance" os boasting their most danceable choruses and inspired lyrics to date. This full length vinyl release, produced by Portland punk rock aficionado Pat Kearns (Exploding Hearts, Nice Boys, Red Dons, Clorox Girls) is a passionate and earnest endeavour.

The debut LP by California's mighty MUNDO MUERTO! Retaining the melody of the earlier 7" and 12" eps but with a harder, faster edge this LP is by far their best material to date. 11 tracks of pure hardcore punk greatness. From the build up on the first track to the last note this smokes all the way through!
The Spanish vocals only add to the amazingness of this record and all the "whoa" parts will have you singing along even if you don't speak the language. This is some absolutely raging punk in the Spanish tradition, equally influenced by more melodic bands like Eskorbuto and RIP and the more raw bands. What you get is basic, four-the-floor hardcore with catchy as fuck, whoa-soaked vocals over the top of it. This thing is jam-packed to the hilt with hooks... fans of Vaaska and Peligro Social will dig HARD. Catch the Histeria!!!

David West (Rank/Xerox, Total Control, Lace Curtain) delivers 5 new songs of his shoe gaze driven earnest unashamed guitar pop. 5 songs of wonderful frosted jangle, sad pop post punk with potential ear wings that let you melt away under the sun on some beach. Just beautiful.

"OUT ON A LIMB are a German band that play driving post punk. The singer has dry, spoken/sung approach and to me sounds like he has an English accent. In fact the music makes me think of late '70s or early '80s English post punk. A not-so-arty WIRE or the FALL perhaps with a touch of JOY DIVISION. The guitars have some good melodic leads and interplay. And in fact the last two numbers up the arty-ante a little with these long, slow dirges or by mixing up the dynamics and adding a little vocal effect. Worth checking out." MAXIMUM ROCK'N'ROLL

If Ty Segall and Tim Presley’s White Fence are our era’s New York Dolls and Velvets, then Portland’s Welcome Home Walker could easily be our Brownsville Station: comparatively clean but subversively hip Americana about girls, parties, and, um... taking baths (see how clean this is?), too raw to be the Georgia Satellites but too aw-shucks to be garage. Singer and guitarist Devin Clark’s voice (which stayed too far in the background during his stint in the far more Dolls-like Soda Pop Kids), had the kind of hoarse adrenaline-fueled Mark Arm delivery that announces itself as a party from the get-go, and that, combined with his raw guitar riffs, might obscure the fact that some of these lyrics are damned clever. Besides the aforementioned bath opus “Suds” (which is exactly what it sounds like—perhaps the best rock song about bathing since “Splish Splash”), I can’t get enough of “It’s Not Enough,” a Costello-ey almost-ballad about women who “pull away like you never needed anything/but Choo Choo, you know you got all of your steam from me.” And perhaps my favorite is “Listen Up, Mac,” secretly advice to a girl whose chemical consumption is making her too skeletal to be sexy: “Uh uh, String Bean, just keep your nose clean.” Diction isn’t exactly Clark’s goal with the vocals—luckily the awesome vinyl package comes with lyrics and hand-detailed chunks of other albums pasted on! Who knows, your copy might have Michael Jackson and the Ninja Turtles. -Dan Collins - L.A. RECORD

"CHEMICALS are punks on drugs, whose hot-wired Trashpunkjunk can be associated with O.C. Beachsounds of the "Führers..."-SMOGTOWN or GEARS and the MEAN JEANS on Pepp not canned beer, with their in your face "Screw you!"-nihilis as life's central philosophy and that was released in 2009 on vinyl. I myself haven't noticed CHEMICALS for way too long; it's time to praise them without restraint, to see their 1.5 minute punksmasher between middle finger salute and chronic liver infection as hope. And yes, they are the kind of band whose name you should get tattooed under your BLACK FLAG bars, whose slogan "Wanna die drinkin’ peppermint schnapps!" will be endorsed enthusiastically lots of places. Jonny Cat - Headhoncho of the label with the same name - has gathered RED DONS personnel to fire off 12 opinionated and unadorned snotgrenades into the Plastic Punk ranks and to build an album whose shortness and versatility doesn't give you a second to breathe; killer record! Don't frown upon the meager distribution situation: the band will release their second album before the end of the year, tour Europe in April 2013 and will bring a repress of this record." OX-Fanzine

For people who've invested a lot of time and energy mapping the vast, complicated genome of the local punk community, Portland's Chemicals are something of a supergroup. Comprising members of Cyclops, Triggers, Sleepwalkers, RIP and Straitjacket—among countless others—the band plays loose-limbed garage punk, free of frills but not without surprisese, It's powerful stuff, sounding like the product of lifers who've been around the dirty, trash-strewn block a few times...

On MY HELL, the Bakersfield Four blast through 6 tracks of hardcore punk a la NAKED RAYGUN, ARTICLES OF FAITH, BORN AGAINST, etc. After a handful of EPs, an LP on MAGIC BULLET and a few thousand miles worth of touring, it is clear that LOSER LIFE have mastered their Chicago meets DC by way of Bakersfield sound. With lyrics focusing on disconnection and the inability to function properly in a relationship without falling into the realm of self pity, MY HELL is perfect punk music for when the skies are cloudy and gray!!

Denim, glitter, platforms, and leather of the mind. That’s what the Marvelous Darlings sound like. Oh, plus strutting, pouting, and ‘tude. Ask any first-gen L.A. punk rocker what they were listening to pre-’77, and they were all about Cooper, Bowie, Sweet, T.Rex. It’s about power, taste, and shit from a different cosmos. The Marvelous Darlings—masterminded by Ben Cook—bleed figurative chest hair, sequins, male lip gloss, and gun powder. I’m thinking, considering all their output, that they’re standing toe-to-toe with The Lee Harvey Oswald Band: powerpop with glitterglam, wham-bam ma’am tendencies done right. – Todd Taylor - RAZORCAKE

Fronted by JUSTIN MAURER of the CLOROX GIRLS and featuring CHRIS BRIEF of ehm THE BRIEFS on drums, SMAIL from THE SHOCKS on bass and SULLI from RIPCHORD on guitar, they deliver great poppy punkgems with a hint of 60s beat. This 7" is the follow up to their great 17 TELEVISION EP on DERANGED RECORDS. MAN EATER on the A-Side is one hell of powerpoppy anthem and on the B-Side the band blasts through MODERN LOVERS' SHE CRACKED.

The debut 4 song 7" by Berlin based BLANK PAGES. Members were / are active in bands like IDLE HANDS, MODERN PETS, LIES FEED THE MACHINE and DRAMAMINE. They pick up the torch from IDLE HANDS playing meldoic punkrock with a certain WIPERS twist and offer 4 songs on this EP.

An absolute treasure! I've really been digging this band for the last couple of years since they do the moody punk thing so well without trying to copy the WIPERS (like so many others can't seem to help but do). AUTISTIC YOUTH are a bit faster and snottier than some other Northwest bands, yet they toss an infectious melody into the mix that makes their songs so listenable and memorable. NO HOPE FOR THE KIDS comes to mind as having a similar type of approach. And now this new album seriously steps it up a notch and i can say without hesitation that this is way better than the excellent LANDMINE BEACH LP. IDLE MINDS finds the band perfecting melody but still retaining punk attitude and cool lyrics. There's a bit of an early DAG NASTY sound at times, and at others the catchiness of a band like the OBSERVERS. Excuse me while I flip this over for the third time... (BG) - MAXIMUM ROCK'N'ROLL

Formed in Vienna by permateens who believe in the power of sixteeen years olds! Trying hard in squeezing out some tunes out of their shitty gear while drinking loads of beer. Somebody told me that their musick sounds like G.G. Allin and Roy Orbison in some kind of heavy petting infight while Paul Collins is having dinner with Cindy Lauper in a fancy fish restaurant. Duh!? By the way, these four punx recently got beaten up backstage by Jesse Pinkman, Snoop Lion and Lindsay Lohan during the opening ceremony of The World Bong Championships!

This new split 7" brings you two of Portland's finest punk combos at their peak. P.R.O.B.L.E.M.S. follow up their great MAKE IT THROUGH THE NIGHT LP (Doomtown Sounds / Static Age) with two new smashers of hard rocking punk with a hint of Fast Eddie / Philthy Animal Taylor era Motörhead thrown in the mix. CHEMICALS return with their fuzzed out garage mutant rock, rough and rowdy as usual, two bitchin' neckbreakers right there.

Limited white vinyl!

You don't have to be a music critic to hear a little John and Exene in this south-side three-piece's male-female vocal interplay, but Daylight Robbery doesn't stop with X... They combine the short sharp bursts of late-70s west-coast bands like the Bags and the Wipers with the present-day energy of sweat-soaked Pilsen house shows.

SONIC AVENUES are just four Montreal kids who started riffing punk tunes in 2006, but since getting swept up in the booming punk epicentre of neighbouring Ottawa, they've been catapulted into the ranks of the best pop-punk acts in Canada! After releasing a few singles, SONIC AVENUES dropped a bomb in late 2009 with their debut LP on Ottawa's infamous GOING GAGA RECORDS. Within a few short months, the record had sold-out twice, including our repress in cooperation with SABOTAGE RECORDS. Two years later, after obliterating eardrums from stages across North America and Europe, they returned home to record a crushing follow-up, Television Youth, this time prestigious Portland-based label DIRTNAP RECORDS will handle the pressing overseas. Featuring more of the over-driven guitars, infectious harmonized melodies and blazing 2-3 minute songs that powered their debut, the AVES have nonetheless pushed the limits into new territories with this latest offering. In short, TELEVISION YOUTH is punkier, poppier, louder and dirtier than anything they've done before. Armed with this devastating new arsenal, as well as ambitious touring plans spanning the (un)civilized world, SONIC AVENUES are sure to keep fists in the air and beers a-flyin' for years to come.

Drakulas present Raw Wave. Raw Wave is a collection of songs told from the different points of view of various characters in a fictional metropolis in our not too distant past. A bustling city center not unlike Times Square in the 70's filled with sin and sex is the backdrop where gangs, street preachers, sex addicts, pimps, prostitutes and pornographers live and work. People of this world describe the time period of these songs as the Raw Wave. A wave of new analog technology that hit the city wiping away many of the mores and pretense of the past.

Drakulas are from Austin, TX and feature members of Riverboat Gamblers and Rise Against, among others. This is their debut LP, following a 7” on Red Scare. This pretty much nails the sound the Texas branch of the extended Dirtnap family is infamous for. Vibrant, high energy, and dangerously catchy, Raw Wave is tailor-made for fans of The Marked Men, The Dickies, and vintage-era Riverboat Gamblers/High Tension Wires, with a killer recording by Mark Ryan and Jeff Burke at Cool Devices Studio in Ft. Worth, TX. And then there’s the lyrics, high-concept/low-brow weirdness that could only have come from the twisted mind of Gamblers frontman Mike Wiebe. Call it a super-group if you must, but don’t call it a side-project.

"Self-confessed purveyors of Hoodlum Rock and Roll, Mother's Children certainly know how to rock and roll, boys and girls, and if you've never heard them then this is your chance. Big and bashful this is pretty close to perfect power pop with melodies to die for and crashing guitars played with reckless abandon. Take the opener of 'Gang Is Back' then follow that rush up with the rapid one-two of 'Out Of The Dark' as it stomps 'n' rolls towards its chorus like the Biters never happened.

'Blue Citron Haze' gets into a fist fight with the Boys as it motors along with studs and bubblegum. 'Break It To Me' settles for a classic riff with guitar breaks poignantly placed as Mother's Children take this bad boy for a ride - not wanting to reinvent the power pop wheel they just jump on and ride the living shit out of it.

Hailing from Canada this four piece nail it song after song after song. Not posturing or trying to be something they're not they prefer to just write blisteringly good songs and rock the shit out of them. Sure 'Helen Mustn't Know' but why not? C'mon guys, let her in, I'm sure she'd love it. It's unashamedly unoriginal and has been done a million times, but on the other hand if it isn't broken don't fix it. This isn't brain surgery folks, this is rock and roll and Mother's Children sure do know how it's done properly.

They get their groove on for the bruising 'Not Fair' then follow it up with the superb 'Talk To Her', its power pop trash and full throttle rock and roll mixing up elements of '70s glam rock with bits of '77 punk and beyond. This middle section of the record is really, really strong songwise - 'Explode' is fantastic and reminds me of Stiv Bators when he tried his hand at this kinda punk powerpop. This record shines as bright as the sun and reeks of good times: Christ, 'Convince Me' is blissful and the acoustic driven 'Identical' is so snotty.

With twelve tracks on offer that harvest all that's good from several decades worth of power pop and punk rock and roll Mother's Children are really onto something here and have set the bar pretty damn high. With a European tour being organised for 2015 I only hope they decide to bring this noise to the UK so we can all get down to some shit kicking, huge grinning rock and roll." - UBER ROCK

Two new jams by these Canadian poprockin' punkers hot on the heels of their just completed Euro tour!