TRACK PREMIERE: TESTORS "Scary" (1976)





"Sonny Vincent is a true punk pioneer, we all know that already. But did you know how deep this man's well of punk madness really goes?" Well, it’s taken seven long years since that statement was made, but luckily, here we are with a full LP’s worth of those recordings we’d wondered about, providing a pivotal glimpse into one of NYC’s most shadowy figures of the underground. It’s almost incredulous that his rock’n roll lineage goes back this far, with his first recording made while home on leave from the Vietnam War, and yet he was still a part of ...

continue reading TRACK PREMIERE: TESTORS "Scary" (1976)...

TRACK PREMIERE: Velveteen Rabbit "Star In The Making"





There’s a secret world of stylish glam pop music most people will never encounter, the stuff dreams are made of, and with very limited access to outsiders. Modern execution is barely ever fruitful in this realm, yet there are still a few droplets of liquified genius that seep out of the cracks from time to time, and Velveteen Rabbit (ex-members of The Jeanies) have that special something in spades. A sparkling debut so glaring in its brilliance and pomp, it’s almost reaching levels of absurdity, but yet always remains tactfully cognizant. Building on the flashy and ...

continue reading TRACK PREMIERE: Velveteen Rabbit "Star In The Making"...

TRACK PREMIERE: Trampoline Team "Come Here Alone"





New Orleans' most vicious byproduct is back with their most impressive effort to date. If you like your showers scalding, your sun blinding, and your brain crushed into a fine powder and then blown into your face, then this band is definitely for you. Trampoline Team’s sophomore LP is here and it’s got everything real punk is lacking these days. Toxic tonality, gutteral enunciation, and a guitar/bass/ drums onslaught that just doesn’t let up until you’re withered, drained, and left in a puddle of black fluid. The new LP is a step in the right direction from their ...

continue reading TRACK PREMIERE: Trampoline Team "Come Here Alone"...

EXHUMED: The Anemic Boyfriends 7"





Here we are with the official reissue of the incredible, unforgettable, and oh so elusively un-comped Anemic Boyfriends, one of the only punk movements of such power and grace from the fair state of Alaska that can come to any stretch of the mind. Lead by the inimitable Louise Disease, The Anemic Boyfriends’ uber-punk classic “Fake I.D.” is one of the most riveting, jarring, and arresting TEEN PUNK blasts you will EVER hear, and you will NOT forget it. As the title track from their second 7” single released in 1981 on Red Sweater Records, “Fake I.D.” is not just ...

continue reading EXHUMED: The Anemic Boyfriends 7"...

VIDEO FEED: The Velvet Underground in Dallas 1969





BEHOLD! The impossibly rare late 60s video of the Velvet Underground has been recently unearthed! In October of 1969, the Velvets played the Dallas Peace Moratorium, and it was captured on color video, now complete with sound. Also included is a brief interview with Sterling Morrison, among several live snippets of VU songs being performed live at the outdoor event, almost 50 years ago. It's not a complete set by any means, but even the slightest live color footage of the Velvet Underground in the 60s is enough to warrant excitement, so kick back and pop this frame into full-screen ...

continue reading VIDEO FEED: The Velvet Underground in Dallas 1969...

BREAKING SOUNDS: Nots 3 LP





Killer Memphis noise punk band NOTS strikes again with their signature brand of poignant paranoia on their third album 3.” Roughly 30 minutes of minimalist No-wave terror emerges from the forceful, impending doom of political commentary delivered over hellscape post-punk. Throbbing bass, psychedelic stabbing guitar, spooky synth, and ever-steady drums are cloaked in a vocal echo that slaps back exponentially with gang-vocal poetry that rattles around your brain, back and forth between the left and right ears, until the next song tugs you into another dark, inescapable chamber. It’s as if NOTS wants to teach society a lesson. ...

continue reading BREAKING SOUNDS: Nots 3 LP...

INTERVIEW: Nikki Corvette is Rock ‘N’ Roll Fun





Despite the salty punk stares and indifferent attitudes in the band’s photos, Nikki & the Corvette’s sound is cheerful and infectious. Nikki & the Corvettes formed and recorded their self-titled and only studio album in the late ‘70s in Detroit. It was released in 1980 by Bomp! It includes 12 upbeat bangers that interlace powerpop and garage rock with vocal nods to girl groups of the early ‘60s. The subject matter ranges from a rambunctious beach party to teenage romance. Nikki’s experience as a fan and creator of music is pure. A lifelong fan and concert-attendee of various music genres, ...

continue reading INTERVIEW: Nikki Corvette is Rock ‘N’ Roll Fun ...

ALBUM STREAM: Nun The Dome LP





It is instructive that NUN released their first single five years ago with a track named ‘Cronenberg’. Their new LP THE DOME opens with a track named ‘Wake In Fright’, and presents a conceptual framework inspired by R. Buckminster Fuller that arms the record with a cohesive horror. On THE DOME, NUN’s development echoes the first wave of post-punk and Industrial music, from the malevolent broken electronics of Throbbing Gristle to the sensual trance of Chris and Cosey, or Human League’s journey from the turgid grind of ‘Being Boiled’ to the giddy synth-pop of DARE. An example: in contrast to ...

continue reading ALBUM STREAM: Nun The Dome LP...

TRACK PREMIERE: The Reaction "The Kid's Arrived" (1979)





It’s been said innumerable times, but really try to imagine the shock to popular western culture known as punk rock on a global scale in a pre-nternet world. Information and trends traveled and mutated incomparably to that of today. Major cities with their individual character and long history of rock ’n’ roll laid claim to a bold new era with full embrace both sonically and visually; it was a fast moving storm that had the music industry grappling to keep up with the massive new wave of independently produced music. In smaller places however, punk was a loosely defined ‘no ...

continue reading TRACK PREMIERE: The Reaction "The Kid's Arrived" (1979)...

TRACK PREMIERE: BABY GRANDE "Getting Away With Murder" (1976)





“It’s Something Very Strange And it’s Coming Out of the Past” – Steve Kilbey, 1976. Canberra, Australia in the mid 1970s: Teenagers Steve Kilbey, Dave Scotland, Joe Lee, Ken Wiley, and and Peter Koppes form the ultimate amalgamation of sneering, vicious glam rock, BABY GRANDE, out of the ashes of the short-lived, Precious Little. Taking cues from Roxy Music, Alice Cooper, Stooges, Bowie, T. Rex, and other sub-level trash-decadents, BABY GRANDE rode their own wave and carved out their own sound, but with some high-profile opening slots for AC/DC in 1975, their salacious glitter rock was too late for the ...

continue reading TRACK PREMIERE: BABY GRANDE "Getting Away With Murder" (1976)...

TRACK PREMIERE: Des Demonas "Bay of Pigs"





Washington DC band Des Demonas have exploded into the national consciousness with a debut LP on In The Red a few months back, and they're not letting up now. We've got the world premiere of their latest single "Bay of Pigs" streaming here today, as diseased organ-soaked and fizz-drenched as it can get. If you couldn't tell already, sometimes a song is just tailor-made for VoT, and "Bay of Pigs" keeps it real with it's pounding chorus "Living like a Victim of Tiiiiiime" so naturally this works on many levels. Featuring a guitar player from Kid Congo & ...

continue reading TRACK PREMIERE: Des Demonas "Bay of Pigs"...

EXHUMED: Bruce Moody Rainy Day 7" (1982)





We're back with a newly discovered set of pop-centric tunes from Bruce Moody, one of the 80s power pop names that's been bouncing around for years and has only recently been investigated. Meanbean Records are the archaeologists to be praised here, cultivating not one but two full EPs of previously unreleased material, and we have two tracks streaming here for your listening pleasure, from the recently released Get Fresh! EP. Lush pop arrangements accompany a brilliant home recording job and both tracks (along with two more unreleased studio numbers) have that perfect summer breeze wafting through them, just what you ...

continue reading EXHUMED: Bruce Moody Rainy Day 7" (1982)...

VIDEO FEED: 'Rock Its Your Decision' (1982 Christian Anti-Rock Film)





Nice religious kid Jeff loves God. He also loves rock music. And he loves some pretty decent groups, too. None that the viewer can listen to, though - God doesn't like modern rock but He does respects copyright laws, looks like. His parents are at their wits end listening to that "junk". His church pastor tries telling him that he must make a decision between rock and The Rock of Ages. His friends don't see the problem with listening to music he likes. So the question is posed: can you follow the teachings of Jesus AND rock and roll all ...

continue reading VIDEO FEED: 'Rock Its Your Decision' (1982 Christian Anti-Rock Film)...

EXHUMED: Shatterbox Strung Out On The Line LP (1981)





We've got a real gem of a reissue LP here folks, Seattle post-glam band Shatterbox wasn't a name you heard in Northwest Punk history circles, yet in 1981, well after the original 70s glam rock wave had passed and a few solid years before it was in full bloom in its secondary West Coast phase. As with most scenes at the time, exploding with the hardcore sound and still stuck between trends, Shatterbox were too late for the party and too early at the same time. Fans of The Dogmatics will drool over "Dance Tonight" and any even casual fans ...

continue reading EXHUMED: Shatterbox Strung Out On The Line LP (1981)...

VIDEO PREMIERE: Gentle Leader XIV "Chambers of Your Heart"





Dream pop will always hold onto a certain New Wave romanticism tied directly to the early 1980s, and if its pulled off well, it can be just as good as it's precursors. Combine a dreary post-punk theme to this equation and you're looking at a sound that's hard to pull yourself away from, it'll just suck you right in. Chicago's Gentle Leader XIV are aiming for the gray bleakness of your hardened heart with "Chambers of Your Heart" which we've got the video premiere for here today for you. A polished pulse to keep you in line, distant ...

continue reading VIDEO PREMIERE: Gentle Leader XIV "Chambers of Your Heart"...

EXHUMED: The Stiffs 'Dad's A Pig' 1978





The Stiffs were slated to be the first-ever punk band out of Vancouver with a record, but circumstances, as they were at the time, stopped that reality from happening, dead in it's tracks. In 1978 home-spun Punk Rock was sweeping North America as well as most other locales and The Stiffs were the band that started the seeds of insidious deviancy in the City of Glass, and although their corrupt energy was ahead of the other local degenerates, you would have to wait 40 long years before these tracks ever saw a proper vinyl pressing. As a precursor to both ...

continue reading EXHUMED: The Stiffs 'Dad's A Pig' 1978...

TRACK PREMIERE: Ruby Karinto "Always Now" (Section 25)





There’s a lot to absorb with a band like Ruby Karinto, yet another band on HoZac without any guitars, although they’ve got so much going on sound-wise, you won’t even miss ‘em. With a spaced-out and throbbing rhythm section, gurgling Moog squelches, and an impeccable Japanese front woman, it’s a sensory assault from all angles and it’s just the perfectly refreshing blast of No Wave art-pop you’ve been waiting for. The 4-piece band emerged from the Victoria, British Columbia underground a few years ago, self-releasing their impressive debut 7” EP with three impossibly catchy tracks, bopping with mesmerizing ...

continue reading TRACK PREMIERE: Ruby Karinto "Always Now" (Section 25)...

VIDEO FEED: Passions: The Mick Ronson Story





With all the well deserved hype about the Beside Bowie documentary, (just released on Hulu) don’t overlook another gem. In a 2017 episode of the UK TV series Passions, Gary Kemp of Spandau Ballet visits Ronson/Bowie historical sites, while interviewing Bowie fans and associates. Kemp’s eloquent and wonderfully melodramatic presentation is sometimes funny, in its painfully sincere deification of his hero. When interviewing John Cambridge of pre-Bowie band The Rats, I was floored to hear clips of another early 70’s heavy metal project called merely Ronno. Fitting, because Ronno is some trademark Mick Ronson balls out rock ‘n’ roll! What, ...

continue reading VIDEO FEED: Passions: The Mick Ronson Story...

TRACK PREMIERE: Cafe Racer "Two Times A Day"





Chicago's Cafe Racer have come a long way over the past few years, from the remains of the glorious Gross Pointe, known as one of the city's finest noisy garage punk bands, came this vastly different new project from Michael Santana (and an entirely new ensemble), who have made huge strides in an immensely challenging new direction. Gone is the desperation-packed punk grovel and sneer, and in comes the luscious hypnotic waves of Jesus And Mary Chain-style phenobarbital downer grooves. "Some Candy Talking" is the reference point here, and it's great pivot stylistically, and their intense ...

continue reading TRACK PREMIERE: Cafe Racer "Two Times A Day"...

TRACK PREMIERE: Beastii "Summer of '81"





Chicago's Beastii are back with yet another knockout for your soft-boiled brain, and this week we've got a track premiere from the upcoming Our Voltage compilation on Girlsville, with their snarling and perfect cover of early 80s UK punk The Violators' "Summer of '81." Brooding and ethereal, with tension galore and that delicious cascade from misty death rock into melodic punk just can't be beat. The female vocals dart back & forth between lush walls of echo into a visceral & pummeling production that's just as invigorating as the last drink you've had thrown in your ...

continue reading TRACK PREMIERE: Beastii "Summer of '81" ...

BREAKING SOUNDS: Holograms Surrender LP





Stockholm's icy minimalists, and abysmal post punk envelope-pushers, Holograms are back with Surrender, their third full-length and first for Push My Buttons, and its just in time for the winter freeze to set in here in America. Jutting out from behind a thunderous backbone and delicate and spidery guitar interplay, you instantly hear Robert Smith's inflection, but Holograms are really a lot more complex than a simple rip off, as each track develops it's own personality, and it just gets darker and bleaker from there. From jarring post punk anthems to somber and sludgy death rock cavity-fillers, this ...

continue reading BREAKING SOUNDS: Holograms Surrender LP...

RIP: David Peel - NYC Legend / Punk Icon





I wish I could say something profound in memory of David Peel. If there was a Brain Lapse #2, he would have been interviewed along with Giorgio Moroder (the bubblegum years), the October Cherries guys, and the Hudson Brothers. But now David’s dead. It speaks volumes that Peel is completely unknown outside of counterculture circles. As an artist, he was dismissed and ignored. The Trouser Press Record Guide could have squeezed him in between their entries for the Pedaljets and Pegboy … but they didn’t. The 1300+ page All Music Guide to Rock omitted him in print between Ann Peebles ...

continue reading RIP: David Peel - NYC Legend / Punk Icon...

SUNDAY MATINEE: Terror On Tour (1980)





Here we are, Finally! The elusive punk-shock-rock classic Terror on Tour is back in full, streaming right here uninterrupted, and ready to drop jaws across the land. Since we took a trollop through the bloody snow with last year's Christmas horror collection, it's time to give you what you REALLY WANT, and boy does Terror on Tour deliver. Played by actual Chicago area power pop band The Names who were one of the first bands released on the Cary Baker's seminal Chicago label Fiction Records, but here in disguise, they are known as The Clowns, and someone is claiming they ...

continue reading SUNDAY MATINEE: Terror On Tour (1980)...