If you watch only one installment among the 112 we’ve published so far in this series about artists responding to fascism, make sure it’s this one featuring Low Cut Connie. The rock musician’s impressive intelligence, history of engaging in protests and fearless bravery in speaking truth to power raise him to oracle status. Most Americans are confused, afraid and paralyzed by the federal government’s unconscionable, vicious and deadly assaults by a paramilitary force that answers only to Donald Trump. Low Cut Connie is calm, focused and clear-eyed about fighting fascism with unflinching strength and unwavering compassion simultaneously.
Continue readingOn Tyranny: Low Cut Connie’s Crystal-Clear Analysis of Authoritarian America And How to Fight Back
Posted in Features, Interviews, On Tyranny with tags Low Cut Connie on 02/14/2026 by Kurt OrzeckNew Releases 2.13.26: Converge, Black Heart Procession, Angel Du$t, Nude Party, Pilgrims
Posted in New Releases with tags Angel Du$t, Black Heart Procession, Converge, Nude Party on 02/13/2026 by Kurt OrzeckWe double-dog dare you to find a more thorough list of releases made available today …
2.13.26
A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie – Before Artistry EP (Highbridge the Label/300)
Abrasive Trees – Carved Skull single (Argonauta)
Actors – CTRL single (Artoffact)
Ana Sky – King of Hearts single (Black Box)
Ásgeir – Julia (One Little Independent)
Angel Du$t – Cold 2 the Touch (Run for Cover)
• Father John Misty, Drug Church, Angel Du$t, White Reaper, Mclusky Confirmed for Boise’s Treefort Music Fest
Paul Anka – Inspirations of Life and Love (Green Hill/ Sun Label)
B2K – TBA (BPC)
Black Heart Procession – 1 reissue (Solid Brass)
• Black Heart Procession’s ‘Hearts & Tanks’ EP: Two Cent Reviewearts & Tanks EP review
Boy Golden – Best of Our Possible Lives (feat. Pino Palladino) (Six Shooter)
Chet Faker – Love for Strangers (BMG)
Clay Street Unit – Sin & Squalor (Leo33)
Converge – Love Is Not Enough (Deathwish/Epitaph)
Cuco – Cucombia single (Interscope)
Damage Control with Leather Strip – Rage single (Metropolis)
Dog Bless – Nothings Going Well single (self-release)
Earth Tongue – Dungeon Vision (produced by Ty Segall) (In the Red)
Continue readingPet Sounds #81: Bassist/Vocalist for Art-Rockers Products Band Says She ‘Simply Would Not Be Here Without’ Her Cats
Posted in Features, Interviews, Pet Sounds with tags Products BAnd on 02/12/2026 by Kurt Orzeck
Minneapolis’ Products Band are as stylistically sinuous as their moniker is amorphous. Pulling primarily from R.E.M.’s best art-rock material, the crunchiness of Pavement and the Replacements’ dalliances with punk, Products Band have no qualms about dipping their toes in just about any body of water – or pool of liquid, for that matter. Those statements are verifiable on the quartet’s second full-length, Some Sudden Weather (Solid Brass), which came out in October 2023.
Products Band consists of Jo Kellen (guitar, vocals, synths), Konner Johnson (drums, percussion, synths), Alex Hanson (guitars, vocals, piano) and Jack Woolsey (bass, vocals). Woolsey and Johnson jumped at the opportunity to participate in the one and only –or at least extensive – online series in which musicians gush over their pets.
In the 81st edition of Pet Sounds, we learned a little bit about the music that Products Band produces – and we learned an awful lot about bassist/vocalist Wooley’s two pets: Casper, a gray cat that is 7.5 year old; and Disney, a 5-year-old black cat. To answer questions you probably have already, Disney the cat isn’t sponsored by Mickey Mouse’s mega-corporation, and Casper is indeed friendly but not a ghost. Whoa, ghost cats … now that’s a great idea for a movie.
Continue reading10 Best Free Bandcamp Downloads #9: NORMANS, Aidan Baker, Nadja, Convulsing, Gloios, Twilight Sad
Posted in Interviews, MP3s with tags Aidan Baker, Convulsing, Earthbound, Gloios, Nadja, NORMANS, Subtle Body, Twilight Sad, Ultima, VTB on 02/12/2026 by Kurt Orzeck
Strapped for cash but hungry for great music? The Bad Penny is here to help. Well, musicians and Bandcamp are the ones actually doing the heavy lifting, but we’re saving you some precious time by curating the best freebies we came across on the site since the last edition of this series. So here’s a rundown of 10 rad songs, albums and EPs – most of them released last month – that The Bad Penny decided to share because we love you.
(Note: If you’re financially capable of supporting any of these artists and/or labels, please consider doing so.)
1. Aidan Baker & Wario Pianesi – 4Rooms (January 2026)
From the Bandcamp description: “4Rooms is the improv session recorded live by Aidan Baker (Nadja) and Wario Pianesi (Mrs Bhutan) in Berlin at Hinterraum on Oct. 24, 2024. Mastered by Riccardo Gamondi at unSalice studio.”
2. Nadja – Seemannsgarn (Church In Session) (January 2026)
This is an ambient/drone live track that Nadja performed with Leah Buckareff on bass guitar and Aidan Baker on electric guitar and drum machine, They recorded the 42-minute song in a church in Berlin.
Happy Birthday to Chynna Phillips of Wilson Phillips! (Guilty Pleasure)
Posted in Features, Guilty Pleasures, Happy Birthday with tags Chynna Phillips, Wilson Phillips on 02/12/2026 by Kurt Orzeck
Beloved chanteuse Chynna Phillips, daughter of the Mamas & the Papas linchpins John and Michelle Phillips, turns 58 years young today. Chynna, along with Brian Wilson’s daughters Carnie and Wendy Wilson, shattered nepo-baby stereotypes by delivering one of the best Top 40 tunes of 1990: “Hold On.”
You might be wondering why this website is paying homage to Wilson Phillips, a defiantly mainstream pop trio that some consider to be cringe-level saccharine. The Bad Penny‘s retort? We’re all entitled to a few guilty pleasures, and it’s a safe bet that this writer isn’t the only one who both adores extreme heavy metal and knows the lyrics to “Hold On” by heart.
Continue readingTwo Cent Review: Colossal Rains’ ‘Feral Sorrow’
Posted in Album Reviews, Reviews with tags Colossal Rains on 02/11/2026 by Kurt Orzeck
An offshoot of Blacklisted, Colossal Rains’ debut album embraces the joy of hardcore while dipping into something doomier with haunting production that eschews bright and clean sounds. Go to FLOOD to read my full review of Feral Sorrow.
Happy Birthday to Meshuggah Co-Founder and Lead Guitarist Fredrik Thordendal, and BRMC Chief Peter Hayes!
Posted in Features, Happy Birthday with tags Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, BRMC, Fredrik Thordendal, Meshuggah, Peter Hayes on 02/11/2026 by Kurt Orzeck🎈Fredrik Thordendal🎈
Fredrik Thordendal, Meshuggah’s lead guitarist who also cofounded the band in 1987, turns 55 today. Meshuggah toured exhaustively and exhaustedly in support of their last studio album, Immutable, following its release in April 2022. They haven’t played in concert since June 27, 2025, probably because they’re finally getting some well-deserved rest.
🎈Peter Hayes🎈
Meanwhile, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club frontman Peter Hayes turns the big 5-0 today. Since releasing 2018’s Wrong Creatures, the slick rock band has focused on touring instead of releasing new material. The closest BRMC came was packing their three-LP, 20th anniversary deluxe edition box set of Howl with previously issued songs, copious photos, handwritten lyrics, and more goodies from the era.
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