The Cain Pit
Sorrow EP
(Self-issued)
Dust would swirl 'round the porch, should hill-folk buck dance to "Punkgrass" so velocitous. Doghouse hightails it forward, direct drums abreast. Guitars both electric and acoustic hustle. Voices fuse in sublime union, while blurred fingers pluck banjo strings of fury. Mohawks in the Appalachions? Moonshine made music.
Recommended: "Alder," "I Just Thought You Should Know," "White Lines," "Platform," "Roses"
Videos: "Alder" "Platform"
The Prannies
Prandemonium!
(Self-issued)
Not without cause does this backflip combo assert they reflect English '60s rock and '80s New Wave, among other touchstones: elements like jangly guitar, sprightly rhythms, and quirkily accented vocals punch in. The Flamin' Groovies and Skeletons ("world's greatest bar band") also are summoned to mind. This sprang from the middle-American state of Indiana, meaning eccentric gestures are balanced with substantial ones.
Recommended: "You Tell Me," "Modest Ride," "When I Was Your Age," "See Where It Goes," "Begging You," "Something Like That," "How To Be Happy"
The Holy Hand Grenades
"Goodbye Orion" single
(Self-issued)
A threesome that, per their Facebook bio, began as a Punk cell but transmogrified into a Power Pop one (as advancing age can bring redefinition). Amendment, though, was not all-consuming. While accessible construction draws, performance remains headlong and, after a fashion, pugnacious. Their hearts are in the charge. This new racer follows February's Times Like These EP.
Amazon (UK)
Huck It
"Sinister Girl" single
(Self-issued)
Success is grabbed by surly back-street guerillas armed with instruments set on demolition and the smarts to keep it simple and short. Lyrics bespeak warped adoration: "Your mouth is like a pretty scar / painted with crimson blood." Slams into pile-up collision.
The Soapbox Saints
Play It Cool
(Studio C-57D)
Gracing the disc at hand are roots-rock tunes that jump happily and with ingratiating grins. Rockabilly's twang appears, as do Country inclinations (those being of the Real variety, not the insipid and commercialized counterfeit ones others peddle). Agile guitar sparks the enterprise and grips with purposefulness, but all players leap to the brisk task. Sonorous harmonies are plentiful; they lend heft to shrewd constructions. Action is incribed in ten-story letters.
Recommended: "Looking For Love," "No Time," "Rose-Colored Glasses," "Please," "Shake," "Let's Stroll," "Troublemakers," "Soapbox"
Video: "Looking For Love"
Kevin Daly
Under My Cadillac
(Fervor Records)
Without so much as a "howdy-hi," Kevin and hands explode into jumped-up, down-home musicalizing that romps eagerly and in beloved old-ways character. Nimbly picked, steel-guitared Country with double-time rhythm and high spirits in its pumping blood. When ensuing numbers moderate (slightly) the ecstatic pace, they do so in manners that underscore redoubtable capacities; only players who know their business can excel instrumentally while shaking the roof with fun fun fun.
Recommended: "Under My Cadillac," "Lap Dog," "Won't Start"
Video: "Under My Cadillac"
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Ghost Ride EP
(Rad Girlfriend Records)
It's glorious when Rock'n'Roll busts out in all directions. In this instance, fervor is communicated tunefully and with fleet-footed ebullience. For all its engaging vim, it minds accessibility's requisites - never to the detriment of robustness, but always toward its benefit.
Recommended: "Ghost Ride," "Three Chords," "Barto's Bliss," "Torneo Del Purgatorio"
Video: "Three Chords"
