Mannequin Pussy – Patience

Has Mannequin Pussy made the best rock album of this summer?  Continue reading

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black midi – Schlagenheim

Punk is dead, long live punk! Or what’s left of it.  Continue reading

Kevin Morby – City Music

kevin_morby_city music_front_coverClose your eyes. Imagine being on your way to work, standing in a ram-packed train… oh right I forgot you don’t need your imagination for that. It’s part of your daily routine. Although you would be wise to close your eyes every now and then and listen to Kevin Morby who made some nice music to commute by.    Continue reading

Lola Montez – Kolaveri Di (2013)

Lola Montez (front)Wearing clean socks to a punk concert? If such a question doesn’t grab one’s attention, well, there must be something wrong with you. Nevertheless during the previous Strudelfest, people who indented to visit the showcase of Lola Montez were actually asked wear a fresh pair. So be warned, expect the unexpected. The band, named after a famous Irish dancer from the seventieth century, consists of four members: Dutchmen Floris van Bergeijk (guitar), Daan Vroon (drums), Joram Tornij (bass) and the German vocalist Ariadna Rubio Lleó. Naturally new bands play on small scale events to make a name for themselves.  Lola Montez did so since 2010 and simultaneously worked on their first full length album which they released last February. To mark this special moment, the band decided to break away from common standards and released Kolaveri Di in a former horse breeding farm in the shadow of Utrecht (The Netherlands). Next to this the albums artwork is also worth mentioning. The front and back cover is remarkably artistic and cardboard case is sewed together by hand, making each disk an unique product. Once more Lola Montez grabs one’s attention. And now that they have, it’s time to hear if they can live up to this. Continue reading

Bad Religion – True North (2013)

Bad Religion - True NorthWith sixteen albums under their belt and a career spanning over three decades, the American punk rock band Bad Religion is nothing short of an institute. From an impressive run back in the old days with classics like Against the Grain, Generator and Suffer, to the mainstream success of the nineties (and the release of some truly mediocre work in a Brett Gurewitz-less line-up) and the subsequent return to Epitaph Records, the band has seen some incredible highs as well as a few lows, and are still around to underline the fact that no, punk is not dead at all. Continue reading