The chance to write a Blondie review in 2026 is giving me all the feels. Parallel Lines was my first-ever purchased album, and that was so long ago that it was an 8-track tape. I can’t think of many bands that have been more important than Blondie in influencing the general style of music that this blog centers itself around. Due out in February, High Noon will be the first new Blondie album in a decade. It will also be the last Blondie recording to feature the late, great Clem Burke on drums. “Spectral Eyes,” the advance single, is an instant fan-pleaser. Although the song was written by Johnny Marr (who also plays guitar on the track), it sounds uniquely like Blondie. There’s no question about what band you’re listening to, and you’re just grateful to live in a world that still has Blondie in it. Glen Matlock guest stars on bass, so this track is truly star-studded. But it’s the ageless Debbie Harry who shines the brightest. My friends, she has still got it. What a glorious four minutes of music we have here! I can’t wait to hear the whole record!
One thing that always brings me joy is being able to follow a band from the very start — to hear that initial promise and experience the group’s progression and growth in real time. I swear it feels like it was just a couple years ago that Self-Cut Bangs emerged as one couple’s pandemic home recording project and one of the most pleasant surprises of 2020. But no, that was six years ago (yeah, really!). And the project was such a smashing success that Self-Cut Bangs became a bona fide, permanent band. And now another four years have passed since the band released its second and most recent album, Circle Around The Free. So what have Self-Cut Bangs been up to since 2022? Quite a lot, actually! Two pairs of band members got married. One of them had their first baby. And so the title of the new album, Growth Spurts, makes perfect sense. The band says the record is “inspired by and about the rapid musical, romantic and familial growth within the band.” What’s not to love about that?
To recap: Self-Cut Bangs feature two married couples in Cayley and Shawn Petsche and Nicola and Dillon Cavanagh-Whitfield along with Joel Nye. They describe themselves as “like Fleetwood Mac, but replacing the drama and drugs with more guitar solos.” Sign me up for that, please! I notoriously love family bands, and I notoriously like Canadian bands. And on this third long player, SCB has fully realized a sound that’s super appealing to me, one that lives at the intersection of the power pop/indie rock/arena rock Venn diagram. On this release, the band noticeably expands its repertoire but doesn’t stray from its love for simple, hooky rock songs that are just the right mix of thunder and sugar. A band that’s equal parts Redd Kross, Blondie, New Pornographers, and April Wine is either going to be an absolute mess or just about the best thing ever, and this evolved, more adult-oriented version Self-Cut Bangs is truly firing on all cylinders. Of course more power pop-ish tunes like “Stonewalled” and “Be My Shelter” have become fast favorites, but I’m just as keen on pure rockers such as “Witness” and “Baby Blues.” Elsewhere, the likes of “Ouroboros,” “One Day,” and “Hot for Me” acknowledge post-punk, glam, and butt-kicking garage rock influences that have become defining pieces of the modern-day indie/punk underground.
Growth Spurts is the work of five talented individuals who have grown as both musicians and people since we last heard from them. I love the idea that you can become more serious and self-reflective in your songwriting without abandoning that fundamental mission to make the kind of music you wish they still played on the radio. This is an album that’s simple and satisfying and at the same time deeply relatable on a human level. Somehow these songs pull from the past and still manage to sound like the present and future of rock ‘n’ roll. File this under “well worth the wait”!
Live Review: Erja Lyytinen + Ross Harding The Half Moon, Putney October 15th, 2026 Reviewer / Photographer – Paul Dubbelman Finnish blues-rocker Erja Lyytinen brought her particular brand of heavy blues-rock to The Half Moon, Putney on the penultimate night of her European tour celebrating her half-century on this planet. The trio delivered a storming set, […]
Here’s a review that I almost don’t need to write! You see there’s a new EP out from Guerrilla Teens, and you already know it’s going to be great. This is my eighth time writing about this Portland, Oregon–based rock ‘n’ roll powerhouse, and I never tire of further spreading the gospel. There’s just some kind of magic that happens when Scott “Deluxe” Drake and Jeff Fieldhouse write songs together. That’s a history that goes back decades. And with Saul Koll, Tim Connolly, and Anna Andersen lining up with them, they continue to rip it up relentlessly. You can still hear those familiar influences running from ’50s rock ‘n’ roll through the Stones, garage rock, and early punk. But this isn’t The Humpers. This isn’t Lovesores. It’s Guerrilla fucking Teens, and they’re cooking up the real-deal rock ‘n’ roll of today. These folks have the fire and the fury, the chops, and the tunes. At a lean five tracks, Sympathy for the Decibel is a quick-hitting, all-action affair. The title track is the fist-pumping, shout-along anthem you hoped it would be. Songs like “Ghost of New Orleans” and “You’re Looking Good” tear into the old school punk rock ‘n’ roll style with a vigor and a venom that decades-younger bands would hope to emulate. “Spider Bouquet” has that darker garage rock edge that has been a signature for Guerrilla Teens.
Sympathy for the Decibel delivers the goods just as you knew it would. Last year’s Monkey’s Paw was probably a new high point for Guerrilla Teens, and this follow-up keeps the momentum going. It’s amazing to think that a band that came into existence as a pandemic project has blossomed into one of the defining bands of modern-day punk rock ‘n’ roll — a reminder that this kind of music is still very much alive and kicking all kinds of ass. If you’re balking at the steep price for a Bandcamp download, there’s a reason for that. This thing is coming out very soon on 10″ clear pink vinyl on Sonic Jett Records, and that’s the purchase you ought to be waiting for. Stay tuned for the ordering details!
The godfather of shock rock, responsible for such hits as I’m Eighteen and School’s Out, adds that it’s “great” he played a part in shaping the grandstanding of future figures in heavier music.
“Death metal is still hard rock,” Cooper asserts. “It’s still guitar-driven hard rock, with a different attitude. It was really just bands… not necessarily living that lifestyle, but doing what I was doing – playing characters up there. I think that’s great.”
The singer, who became a born-against Christian in the early 80s, adds that the Satanic themes often prevalent in death metal imagery don’t offend him: “Being a Christian, people would say, ‘What about these death metal bands who are anti this or that?’ I’d go, ‘Hey, they’re yelling at God. I think he can take it.’”
Multiple death metal artists have paid tribute to Alice Cooper or covered his material. Finnish stars Children Of Bodom included a cover of Cooper’s song Bed Of Nails on their 2004 EP Trashed, Lost And Strungout. Similarly, Chuck Schuldiner, the late Death founder often called the “godfather” of the genre, repeatedly stated that his favourite band was Kiss, whose theatrical, face-painted presentation was inspired by Cooper.
Death metal has influenced some of the artists in Cooper’s camp. Last year, his longtime lead guitar player, Nita Strauss, said that Gothenburg melodic death metal act In Flames were her personal “Beatles”.
“In Flames is, you know, the band that I always list as my favorite band,” she told Guitar World, “and when I was growing up and getting into heavy music, I was always really drawn by these sort of inversions and chords that Swedish melodic death metal bands used.”
I’ve never been a massive fan of prog-rock in its mainstream form, but there’s something about Boss Keloid’s take on the genre, that I just can’t help but like. I’ve seen them a few times live, notably in the back of a pub in Bolton many years ago, and latterly supporting Green Lung in Manchester in 2023, so it’s about time I saw them once again.
“Float & Aperture” is the follow up to 2021’s fabulous “Family the Smiling Thrush” and the band have said that their “writing process was more collaborative, experimental and challenging than ever” so it all bodes well for this release. The album has seven songs, with the lyrics drawing on personal experiences, difficulties and life lessons, and we are introduced to them via first song “Breeze”.
It springs to life instantly, the percussion and drum work from Ste Arands pops through, as the guitars from Paul Swarbrick and Alex Hurst, play off each other extremely well, creating tension and atmosphere. Hurst displays true emotion in his vocals and tells a story each time he addresses the mic, but the rhythm floats effortlessly and is an audible treat. Hurst’s vocal talents are on full display across the entirety of “Pedestal” and when combined with the far-reaching musical arrangements, it’s another epic song.
What is evident is that the group have pushed themselves further than ever, and they explain that “we wanted more focus and enjoyment around the interplay and dynamics between melody and rhythm” and on lead single “Landslide” they have learnt to accept “that we are all our worst own enemy”. It’s a deep look inside the quartet, but the rhythms drop in and out like a dolphin playing with tourists in the ocean.
They display crushing, complex melodies, but have periods of serene calm that make the music all consuming and immersive. The basslines from Liam Pendlebury-Green have real depth and get stronger the more you listen to the album, with the wonderfully graceful and elegant “Weight” up next, that has pockets of combustible riffs that play with your mind a little bit. The expansive nature of their music is on full display for all to take in, and “Aros” continues their own journey of discovery.
They’ve left the two shortest songs until the end, beginning with a sumptuous bass intro on “Accord” as the melody drifts towards some sort of mythical land. It has the wonderful line which will resonate with so many, as Hurst emphasises the words “Don’t invest in people who are going to steal your time”. As across all the album, the stars of the show are the moving melodies and infectious rhythms and there’s no letting up on the final track “Sanguine”. It further demonstrates their innovative nature whilst simultaneously being impassioned and fiery as it draws to a close and your head can fully digest what you’ve just listened to.
