There’s no grand unifying theme to this selection of records beyond the simple fact that they’ve been living rent-free in Rory Matthews’ head for weeks, months or in some cases years. Best known as a member of Gimic, the force behind Bristol’s Shitty Futures promotions, and part of the Specialist Subject Records crew, Rory brings a perspective shaped by deep involvement in the DIY underground rather than detached criticism. Punk, pop, hardcore and all the fertile grey areas in between are represented here by artists who understand that style is meaningless without conviction, and nostalgia is only worthwhile when it’s put to work. From melodic Finnish D-beat to millennial anthems, psychedelic hardcore and indie pop that still remembers how to swing, these LPs reaffirm why digging through new records remains a compulsion rather than a hobby and why doing the familiar well can still feel urgent.
Plasma – Mua Et Voi Omistaa LP
(Sorry State Records/ TLJH Records/Nunchaku Punks)
https://plasmapunk.bandcamp.com/album/mua-et-voi-omistaa
Debut album from this Finnish group. A lot more melody than the artwork and ‘members of’ list would lead you to believe, but still with enough primal D-beat edge to satisfy the hardened purist.
Kaleidoscope – Cities Of Fear LP
(La Vida Es In Mus)
https://lavidaesunmus.bandcamp.com/album/cities-of-fear
New York punks who put out a string of amazing records between 2016 and 2020. I didn’t realise quite how much I’d missed them as the collective members have produced a large amount of music in the last 5 years with groups such as Straw Man Army, Tower 7 and Destruxion Amerika, but Kaleidoscope’s psychedelic edge, and deadpan vocal delivery reminiscent in conviction and intelligence to the mighty Moss Icon put them top of the pile for me. This record sees them introducing a thrasher edge akin to early Corrosion Of Conformity or the like.
Puffer – Street Hassle LP
(Roachleg Records /Static Shock Records)
https://roachlegrecords.bandcamp.com/album/street-hassle
100% pure gold desperate rock’n’roll. Enough meat and potatoes for Blitz-revivalists, but with some high octane James Williamson/Greg Sage lead guitars to provide the melody beside a vocalist who does a convincing Dan from Spazz, and atop a furious groove from the rhythm section.
The Tubs – Cotton Crown LP
(Trouble In Mind)
https://thetubs.bandcamp.com/album/cotton-crown
It’s hard to describe this album without issuing seemingly backhanded compliments, so I’ll preface this by saying it is of incredibly high quality. Obvious comparisons to Richard Thompson and The Smiths (as with their previous album, at least one song is cast in the Chipmunk’d mould of Big Mouth Strikes Again) spring to mind, but thankfully singer Owen Williams is a slightly more compelling singer than the former, and less of a tosspot than the latter. Every song is an anthem for the shithead millennial and refreshes the familiar in the way good rock’n’roll should.
Jeanines – How Long Can It Last LP
(Skep Wax)
https://jeanines.bandcamp.com/album/how-long-can-it-last
New York indie pop with a slightly folk twang and a Motown-styled rhythm section, this band speaks so directly to my own musical ideals and sensibilities that each new release feels like a gift and this LP is no exception. Presumably the album title is in reference to the one song included to go beyond the two minute mark.
Electric Chair / Physique – Split LP
(Iron Lung Records)
https://ironlungrecords.bandcamp.com/album/split-lungs-277
Two of the most impassioned American hardcore bands of the modern era, each having graduated beyond the confines of genre-worship to match the other’s freak on a side of this disc. A perfect accompaniment to the era-defining Screaming Death compilation album from a couple of years ago.
Sharp Pins – Radio DDR LP
(K / Perennial)
https://sharppins.bandcamp.com/album/radio-ddr
I’ll admit that I’m slightly confused by the timeline of this band’s (in reality the solo studio project of 21 year old Kai Slater) releases, so while this came out online in an abridged version at the end of 2024, the vinyl street date puts it alongside one of three full-length albums as Sharp Pins in 2025. Lo-fi Byrdsian pop with the justifiedly self-assured delivery of Guided By Voices in their prime.
Fugitive Bubble – What Will Happen If We Stop? LP
(Sorry State Records)
https://sorrystaterecords.bandcamp.com/album/what-will-happen-if-we-stop
Olympia punk trio blending the most creative and exciting elements of early Dangerhouse/SST and UK DIY records without compromising the driving energy and sheer pogoability of the songs.
Silk Cuts – Tell Me It’s Not True LP
(Freak Scene)
https://silkcuts.bandcamp.com/album/tell-me-its-not-true
One of my favourites bands of the true UK indie underground. Silk Cuts boasts two distinctive and talented singer-songwriters but truly shine when they sing in harmony, bringing to mind long-buried fantasies of a Kirsty MacColl-fronted Sea Urchins. Sarah Lives!
Lavender Flu – Tracing The Sand By The Pool LP
(In The Red Recordings)
Each Lavender Flu record delivers surprises and delights in equal measure, and this time contributions from Miranda of The Spatulas and Shelby Jacobson help to enrich the sound of an amphetamine-riddled Modern Lovers jamming in a junkshop. The album closes with Jacobson delivering what I’m declaring to be the definitive version of Fleetwood Mac’s ‘It’s Alright’ with obvious reverence and sincerity.
Intro by Neus Ruiz, article by Rory Matthews
Heatwave Magazine 