“Accent” Sweeping Promises

This way: Accent

Sweeping Promises is an American duo from Boston, Massachusetts, now based in Lawrence, Kansas, consisting of Lira Mondal and Caufield Schnug. Multi-instrumentalist Spenser Gralla has toured as their live drummer since 2019.

The band's origin traces back to their meeting during their undergraduate years at Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas, in 2008. Initially part of various musical endeavors, they found themselves writing exclusively together, solidifying a trust and respect that would define their collaboration over the next decade. In their early years, the duo navigated the Arkansas music scene, contributing to various projects. However, it was during a spontaneous jam session in an abandoned science lab-turned-art space in Boston that Sweeping Promises formed in late 2019. During the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic, the band relocated to Lawrence, Kansas, where they bought a house and attached studio.

Sweeping Promises garnered attention with their debut album, Hunger for a Way Out released in August 2020. The album showcased a distinctive post-punk sound characterized by raw energy, angular guitars, and melodic vocals. The critical acclaim for the album marked Sweeping Promises as a noteworthy addition to the post-punk music landscape. Notably, Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Zine declared the album their favorite release of 2020, praising its simplicity, spirit, and thrilling qualities.

In June 2023, Sweeping Promises unveiled their second album, titled Good Living Is Coming For You. The recording process is notable for its departure from the single-mic technique employed in their debut. In an interview discussing the album, Caufield Schnug, one half of the duo, emphasized the significance of recording in diverse and imprecise spaces, rejecting the control-centric mindset often associated with modern recordings. 

[Spotify] Accent 

“Everybody Thinks Everybody Else is Dead Bad” The Skodas

This way: Everybody Thinks Everybody Else is Dead Bad

This from 1981. Punk band from Bristol, The Skodas are:

Richard Nelson - beat

Annie - English language

Jason Pitchers - low frequencies

Andy Moule - interesting parts 

[Spotify] Everybody Thinks Everybody Else is Dead Bad 

“How I lost . . .” Spunky Onions

This way: How I lost my Virginity

Spunky Onions formed in London late 1976 and although they had many different names including The Russians, The New Bastards, and The Ten Sausages, it was essentially Mat Ducasse [Matthew James Duguid] – who himself explained, “We never could agree on a name and went through scores of them.”

The Ghetto Berries was yet another band name and was used on the flip-side to the Spunky Onions one and only single released on Templebeat Records in 1979.

Spunky Onions dissolved soon after into yet more bands and Mat Ducasse continues to write and perform music to this day in numerous projects. In 2015 the Glasgow based label Optimo Music – run by JD Twitch [aka Keith McIvor of the band Optimo] released the compilation [Cease & Desist] DIY (Cult Classics From The Post-Punk Era 1978-82) which features “(mostly) 7" singles recorded in the UK between 1978 and 1982 that showcase the DIY spirit of those times” and included Spunky Onions’ ‘How I Lost My Virginity’. 

[Spotify] How I lost my Virginity 

“New Ways” CC Dust

This way: New Ways

CC Dust members MaryJane Dunphe and David Jaques focus on other musical projects currently. 

The Band: CC Dust was a synth-pop duo formed in Olympia, Washington.

Current Status: According to Night School Records, the project is on hiatus while both artists pursue separate ventures, including Dunphe's active solo career. 

[Spotify] New Ways 

“Kick Me” Starcrawler

This way: Kick Me

Starcrawler is an American rock band from Los Angeles, formed in 2015. The band consists of lead singer Arrow de Wilde, guitarist Henri Cash, bassist Tim Franco, drummer Seth Carolina, and pedal steel/guitar player Bill Cash. They have released three studio albums: Starcrawler (2018), Devour You (2019) and She Said (2022). Starcrawler lead singer Arrow de Wilde and guitarist Henri Cash both attended Los Angeles' Grand Arts High School. De Wilde is the child of photographer Autumn de Wilde and drummer Aaron Sperske.

In the summer of 2015, Arrow de Wilde and Austin Smith came together to collaborate in making music. When the school year began in 2015/2016, the two decided to recruit new members, a guitarist and bassist. One day during school Wilde saw Henri Cash and asked, "You look cool, do you play guitar?" Cash was carrying a tuba at the time. Wilde later recruited bassist Tim Franco. In an interview with FY Magazine when asked about the origins of the name Starcrawler, drummer Austin Smith said, "It’s something I just came up with, random word association." Arrow added, "We got our first show booked and didn't have a name."

[Spotify] Kick Me 

“Factory Girl” The Roches

This way: Factory Girl

The Roches were an American vocal trio of sisters Maggie, Terre and Suzzy Roche, from Park Ridge, New Jersey.

In the late 1960s, eldest sister Maggie (October 26, 1951 – January 21, 2017) and middle sister Terre (pronounced "Terry", born April 10, 1953) attended Park Ridge High School, but dropped out of school to tour as a duo. Maggie wrote most of the songs, with Terre contributing to a few. The sisters got a break when Paul Simon brought them in as backup singers on his 1973 album There Goes Rhymin' Simon. They got his assistance (along with an appearance by the Oak Ridge Boys) on their only album as a duo, Seductive Reasoning (1975).

Later in the 1970s youngest sister Suzzy (rhymes with "fuzzy", born September 29, 1956) joined the group to form the Roches trio. Around this time, they parlayed bartending jobs at the Greenwich Village folk venue Gerde's Folk City into stage appearances, an experience they commemorated in their song "Face Down at Folk City" (from Another World, 1985). There they met many of their future singing and songwriting collaborators. Terre was now writing songs as well, and by the time of their first album as a trio, The Roches (1979), Suzzy had also begun writing. Robert Fripp produced the album. Maggie's "The Married Men" from this album was eventually to become the songwriting trio's biggest hit—not for them, but for Phoebe Snow. After Snow and Linda Ronstadt performed the song in a duet on Saturday Night Live, the Roches were invited to perform on the show a few months later in 1979 at Simon's behest. They did two songs, both unreleased at the time: "Bobby's Song" and "The Hallelujah Chorus".

[Spotify] Factory Girl 

“Pretty Green” The Jam

This way: Pretty Green

Sound Affects is the fifth studio album by the English rock band the Jam. The album was released on 28 November 1980 by Polydor Records. It is the only Jam album to be co-produced by the band themselves, and contains the only album track co-written by the entire band, "Music for the Last Couple".

The cover art is a pastiche of the artwork used on various Sound Effects records produced by the BBC during the 1970s.

Jam frontman Paul Weller has opined that Sound Affects is the Jam's best album.

Noted musical influences on Sound Affects include groups such as Wire, Gang of Four, and Joy Division and, particularly evident in Rick Buckler's drumming. Paul Weller has freely admitted that the Beatles' Revolver was a major influence on much of the material on Sound Affects.

"Start!" is built around an almost exact copy of the bass-line from the Beatles' "Taxman", the first track on Revolver, and includes a homage to its guitar solo. "Pretty Green" includes a funk bass-line and rhythm with melodic guitar breaks and psychedelic sound effects. This from November 1980. 

[Spotify] Pretty Green 

“Speakers Don't Speak” Wolfgang Press

This way: Speakers Don't Speak

The Wolfgang Press are an English punk band, originally active from 1983 to 1995. The core of the band during that era was Michael Allen (vocals, bass), Mark Cox (keyboards), and Andrew Gray (guitar). They reformed in 2024 with Stephen Gray, brother of Andrew, replacing Cox, to release a new LP titled "A 2nd Shape" on Downwards Records. 

The group is best known for its 1992 international hit single "A Girl Like You". The official 4AD band profile describes them as "post-punk", which is a sit term I abhor. Transforming to "avant-dance groovers" with Queer. The group were frequently labelled "goth," though they denied the charge.

Allen's list of "important records" as of 1995 included De La Soul's 3 Feet High and Rising, Massive Attack's Blue Lines and "anything from Nick Cave and The Fall". He recalled that the record that "maybe started it all" for him was Public Image Ltd's Metal Box.

[Spotify] Speakers Don't Speak 

“Be Beautiful” The NaNaz

This way: Be Beautiful

Here's some good punk rock. The NaNaz are a riot in motion — a punk/alt rock collective proving attitude has no age limit. Born from music workshops and fuelled by raw energy, they deliver loud, honest, unapologetic noise. Spanning generations, they tear up expectations and bring chaos, community, and creativity to every stage. This isn’t nostalgia. This is now. This is The NaNaz.  

[Spotify] Be Beautiful 

“Close” School is Cool

This way: Close

More Belgums with a Dream. This track from 2020. 

[Spotify] Close 

“Love is the Future” Customs

This way: Love is the Future

Band from Belgium, est. 2008. Formed in Leuven during 2008, the Belgian indie rock quartet Customs drew early comparisons to Echo & the Bunnymen, the House of Love, and Cocteau Twins. Its members included lead vocalist Kristof Marie Albert Uittebroek, guitarist Jelle Florentinus Mark Janse, bassist Joan Willy August Govaerts, and drummer Ace Mirko Zec. The following year the band became the first artist ever granted residency at its hometown venue Het Depot, an honor that preceded the release of its debut single "Rex,"

[Spotify] Love is the Future 

“Run Through the Jungle” The Gun Club

This way: Run Through the Jungle

Great cover of CCRs Run through the Jungle. This is on their 2nd release produced by Chris Stein of Blobdie fame. Released in 1982. The Gun Club were an American rock band from Los Angeles that existed from 1979 to 1996, formed and led by singer-songwriter and guitarist Jeffrey Lee Pierce. They were notable as one of the first bands in the punk rock subculture to incorporate influences from blues, rockabilly, and country music. The Gun Club has been called a "tribal psychobilly blues" band, as well as initiators of punk blues and cowpunk – "He (Pierce) took Robert Johnson and pre-war acoustic blues and 'punkified' it. Up until then bands were drawing on Iggy & the Stooges and the New York Dolls but he took it back so much further for inspiration."

[Spotify] Run Through the Jungle 

“Mother of Pearl” Roxy Music

This way: Mother of Pearl

Roxy Music were an English rock band formed in 1970 by Bryan Ferry (lead vocals/keyboards/principal songwriter) and Graham Simpson (bass). By the time the band recorded their first album in early 1972, Ferry and Simpson were joined by Andy Mackay (saxophone/oboe), Phil Manzanera (guitar), Paul Thompson (drums) and Brian Eno (synthesizer). Simpson departed in mid-1972 – from which time the bassist position in the band went on to be unstable – while Eno was replaced by Eddie Jobson (synthesizer/keyboards/violin) in mid-1973. By 1980, the band was reduced to a core trio of Ferry, Mackay and Manzanera, augmented by various backing musicians. 

Beginning with their first album, Roxy Music became a successful act in Europe and Australia during the 1970s. The band pioneered more musically sophisticated elements of glam rock, significantly influencing early English punk music, and provided a model for many new wave acts while innovating elements of electronic composition. The group also conveyed their distinctive brand of visual and musical sophistication with their focus on glamorous fashions.

[Spotify] Mother of Pearl 

“Sugar Lump Lump”, Drink Me

This way: Sugar Lump Lump

Drink Me is a two-man acoustic band. Mark Amft sings lead vocals and alternates playing Fanta bottle (ridged you see, and played like a South American guiro), ukelele, slide guitar, accordion, tambourine and kazoo. Wynne Evans plays guitar and sings harmonies. Drink Me started in 1986. The band was originally conceived as a sort of experimental hard-core duo, inspired by the likes of Flipper and Pere Ubu. Mark sang and played drums and Wynne played electric guitar. After indulging in this type of delivery for a period of time, they figured a more genial approach would better get their craft across. A shift was in order. 

After hearing The Nairobi Sound, a record of dry guitar bands from Kenya, they went acoustic. For the past couple of years they have been performing as such; shining light on generally untouched subjects like singing clams, Grant's tomb and barnacled whales to the unadulterated delight of New York audiences. Their very theatrical live performances also stress flexibility. They are often times joined by other players on clarinet, fiddle, bass saxophone, banjo, etc......the permutations are endless like a dance hall cut-up session from a couple decades ago.

[Spotify] Sugar Lump Lump 

“Still in Error” The Human Hearts

This way: Still in Error

The Human Hearts is an indie rock and power-pop band based in Queens and Brooklyn, New York, fronted by veteran songwriter and musician Franklin Bruno.

Bruno has written music criticism for online and print publications such as The Village Voice. In 2004, he received a doctorate in philosophy from UCLA. As of 2020, he is a lecturer at SUNY Purchase. Previously was a faculty member at Pomona College, Northwestern University, and Bard College.

In addition to his own recordings, Bruno worked on The Mountain Goats albums Tallahassee and The Sunset Tree. He also records with The Mountain Goats frontman John Darnielle as The Extra Lens.Jenny Toomey and Calexico released Tempting, a collection of Bruno's songs, on Misra Records in December 2002.

Civics, the first album by Bruno's new band, The Human Hearts, was released by Tight Ship Records in 2007

[Spotify] Still in Error 

“Drop Out” White Hills

This way: Drop Out

White Hills is an American psychedelic rock band that was formed in 2003 in New York City. Founding members Dave W. (guitar and vocals) and Ego Sensation (bass, drums and vocals) have been the only constant members.

They have recorded over fifty releases including twelve full-length studio albums. Their music strikes "a riveting balance between heaviness and ethereality" combining elements of krautrock, post-punk, art rock, goth, psychedelic rock, metal, stoner rock, ambient and experimental music. They are often compared to Iggy Pop and the Stooges, Pink Floyd, Hawkwind, MC5 and Spiritualized.

The band's first album, No Game To Play, was a solo recording project by Dave W created in 2003 but not widely released until 2005 when Julian Cope issued a limited remix of the album as They've Got Blood Like We've Got Blood on his Fuck Off and Di label. Dave put together a three piece band composed of Ego Sensation on bass and Bob Bellomo on drums. In 2006, Julian Cope invited the band to open his show at KOKO in London.The band's next album Glitter Glamour Atrocity (self-released) garnered the attention of music journalists including Stewart Lee from the Sunday London Times and Pitchfork creating sudden visibility for the group.  

[Spotify] Drop Out 

“Shout” Devo

This way: Shout

It's time to SHOUT!. Devo is an American new wave band from Akron, Ohio, formed in 1973. Their classic line-up consisted of two sets of brothers, the Mothersbaughs (vocalist Mark and lead guitarist Bob) and the Casales (bassist Gerald and rhythm guitarist Bob), along with drummer Alan Myers. While the band is best known for their 1980 single "Whip It," their only top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, they continue to have a loyal following.

The band's sixth studio album, Shout (1984), which featured extensive use of the Fairlight CMI digital sampling synthesizer, was received poorly, and the expensive music video they'd produced for their cover of the Jimi Hendrix Experience's "Are You Experienced?" was criticized by some as being "disrespectful", all of which caused Warner Bros. to buy out the remainder of Devo's contract. Shortly thereafter, Myers left the band, citing creative unfulfillment.

[Spotify] Shout