SmirkMaterialFeel It Records [2022] Nick Vicario and his project Smirk gained some deserved spotlight last year with the release of LP. The album combined tracks that originally appeared on two small run cassettes in 2020. Material now represents the first proper full length release from Smirk and it showcases an elevation in both songwriting and … Read more
DeliveryForever Giving HandshakesFeel It/Spoilsport/Anti Fade Records [2022] The intense pulsating rhythm in Delivery’s opening track, “Picture This,” will give you your first realization that their debut record, Forever Giving Handshakes, will be one of the tightest sounding post-punk debuts you have heard this year. The Melbourne five-piece work as one true musical force through all … Read more
DumbPray 4 TomorrowMint Records [2022] I really like it when you can hear progression with a band, but the overall group sound doesn’t drastically change. That is the case with Vancouver’s Dumb on their third full length, Pray 4 Tomorrow. The band has already produced two solid indie post-punk albums as Pray 4 Tomorrow carries … Read more
Ghost Funk OrchestraA New Kind Of LoveColemine/Karma Chief Records [2022] When Ghost Funk Orchestra’s debut LP for Karma Chief, Song For Paul, made its way onto turntables back in 2019, it felt like it was created in some alternate version of the early 1970s. Helmed by sonic mastermind Seth Applebaum, the band’s jazz-funk rhythms, psychedelic … Read more
Dropkick MurphysThis Machine Still Kills FascistsDummy Luck Music [2022] In 2003, Boston-based Celtic punk rock band Dropkick Murphys covered Woody Guthrie’s song “Gonna Be a Blackout Tonight” for their Blackout album, which brought them to the attention of Nora Guthrie, Woody’s daughter and Arlo’s sister, who’s also the President of the Woody Guthrie Foundation. In … Read more
Robyn HitchcockShufflemania!Tiny Ghost Records [2022] With 22 studio albums to his credit, and the subject of a concert film by Jonathan Demme, Robyn Hitchcock may be the most-celebrated British singer/songwriter that most people have never heard of. In the late 70’s, Hitchcock led a folk rock/psychedelic band called The Soft Boys, before going solo before … Read more
Dry CleaningStumpwork4AD [2022] After the release of their 2019 EP, Boundary Road Snacks and Drinks, TFN said that we couldn’t wait to hear how South London’s Dry Cleaning was going to progress. Well, we had to wait till last year to find out but Dry Cleaning’s debut LP, New Long Leg, was a post-punk master … Read more
PixiesDoggerelBMG [2022] Neil Young famously wrote that “it’s better to burn out than to fade away,” in his song “Hey Hey, My My (Out of the Blue/Into the Black)” in 1979, which appears to be a reflection on the death of Elvis, even though Young name drops Johnny Rotten in the lyric. The meaning is … Read more
AlvvaysBlue RevPolyvinyl Records [2022] For many bands there is still a standard process of releasing a new record every two or three years. More recently, we have seen some artists cranking out records even faster or just releasing a single here and there to what I believe is a focus to stay relevant. Now you … Read more
King Gizzard & The Lizard WizardIce, Death, Planets, Lungs, Mushrooms And LavaKGLW [2022] This is not the only King Gizzard review you’ll read on TFN in October. The Australian psych-prog song factory has announced three new albums coming out in quick succession this month, and Ice, Death, Planets, Lungs, Mushrooms and Lava is just the … Read more
2nd GradeEasy ListeningDouble Double Whammy [2022] Philadelphia’s 2nd Grade have returned with another fantastic dose of short burst power pop earworms on their third album Easy Listening. Musically and lyrically, Easy Listening is like a tribute record to some of the best in the genre that should bring to mind Teenage Fanclub, Big Star, Flamin’ … Read more
MJ LendermanBoat SongsDear Life Records [2022] Sometimes having too much music in a review stack can be a hindrance because you just know that you have overlooked something. It happens all the time around TFN because we are such a lean run machine as the third record from MJ Lenderman, which was released back in … Read more
Alex GGod Save The AnimalsDomino [2022] God Save The Animals is Alex Giannascoli’s, aka Alex G, ninth album at the young age of 29. He has been a staple on the indie DIY scene for years now and continues to push his own boundaries as a singer songwriter with every release. With God Save The … Read more
The Afghan WhigsHow Do You Burn?Royal Cream/BMG [2022] Greg Dulli has led The Afghan Whigs, which originally formed in Cincinnati, through two distinct yet memorable periods. The singer songwriter once described the band’s sonic ethos as an attempt to bring together the musical sensibilities of The Band, The Temptations, and Neil Young’s Crazy Horse, revealing … Read more
Ben HarperBloodline MaintenanceChrysalis Records [2022] Ben Harper’s longevity as an artist has been enriched by a series of smart collaborations. Known for favoring a Weissenborn lap slide guitar and opening for Dave Matthews’ Band and discovering Jack Johnson, Harper won jam band fans early on, before he and Johnson performed with reggae royalty Toots & … Read more
CLAMMCareChapter Music [2022] Melbourne punk power trio CLAMM have returned with a sophomore release in Care that is their most fierce and confident effort to date. Their songs rail against systematic power while funneling all that visceral raw emotion into a positive perspective. Basically, CLAMM keep their shit together and nail everything to the wall … Read more
The SadiesColder StreamsYep Roc Records [2022] Toronto band, The Sadies are practically a Canadian indie-rock institution. Playing a mix of rock, country, psychedelia and punk – often in the same song – the quartet has recorded and toured with the likes of Garth Hudson of The Band, Neil Young, Neko Case, John Doe of the … Read more
The Mountain GoatsBleed OutMerge Records [2022] Singer/songwriter John Darnielle and The Mountain Goats have been on a solid run for a while now, and here on their 21st studio outing they’re out for revenge. Well, to be more accurate, just as the band has released concept albums focused around themes like professional wrestling (Beat the … Read more
Tony MolinaIn The FadeSummer Shade/Run For Cover Records [2022] Hands down, veteran Bay Area talent Tony Molina writes some of the best under two-minute song bursts you will hear on the indie scene. His solo work released under his own name, since his pinnacle release Dissed And Dismissed (2013), has always been top notch and … Read more
FloristFloristDouble Double Whammy [2022] Sometimes you put on a record that you just know is going to be fantastic. That was the immediate vibe I had with Florist’s fourth LP as the instrumental track “June 9th Nighttime” opens the album. The track instantly builds a landscape of inclusion that wraps you in its intricacies and … Read more
Joseph AirportVector 23Joseph Airport Records [2022] On November 24th, 1971, during a Northwest Orient Airlines flight from Portland to Seattle, a man going by the name Dan Cooper handed one of the flight attendants a note. When she started to walk away without reading it, Cooper leaned toward her and said, “Miss, you’d better look … Read more
Adrian BelewElevatorBliss Entertainment/Ingrooves Music Group [2022] Adrian Belew may have played an essential role in King Crimson’s 80’s revival, accompanying Robert Fripp into the 90’s and early 2000’s, but the celebrated guitarist was first “discovered” by Frank Zappa, and went on to play supportive roles alongside David Bowie, Talking Heads and the Tom Tom Club, … Read more
PrincePrince And The Revolution: LiveLegacy Recordings [2022] The word “genius” probably gets thrown around too loosely when referring to talented pop and rock artists. Even the most successful artists often flow in and out of fashion, often those who’ve produced a recognized “masterpiece,” suffer from the dreaded sophomore curse or move all too soon from … Read more
Gus EnglehornDungeon MasterSecret City Records [2022] Montreal singer-songwriter Gus Englehorn’s sophomore record, Dungeon Master, may be one of the most unique listens you put to your ear this year. The album was written in a cabin but it sounds much bigger with its frequent rock out moments from Englehorn’s guitar mashing with his drummer and … Read more
Tedeshi Trucks BandI Am The Moon: I. CrescentFantasy/Concord Music [2022] When singer/songwriter Susan Tedeschi, already with six albums and a storied career to her credit, and slide guitar wunderkind and Allman Brothers Band acolyte Derek Trucks joined their romantic lives, and then their two bands together, it was obvious they were a courageous lot. Now, … Read more