“It’s ridiculous that people are still trying to defend these fucking bastards,” Insecticide singer Jon Egan says about ICE, showing not even the slightest attempt to mince words. Nor should he; not only are the atrocities perpetuated on people of color in particular occurring more than ever before, Egan provides the voice for arguably the most exciting grindcore band in Philadelphia.
Along with guitarist Ethan Kedem, Egan formed the gnarly band in 2022, and despite lineup changes that have taken place since then, Insecticide prove they are still very much on top of their game with their just-released 7-inch, RAID. (If you don’t get that the record’s title is a reference to ICE, you must not have read the preceding paragraph.)
Avid readers of The Bad Penny‘s Pet Sounds series may recall that one of the earliest installments revolved around Captain, the trusty cocker spaniel of iconoclastic renaissance man and Bad Penny hero Justin Pearson. Well, we have some sad news to report: Captain is experiencing a health crisis after a treacherous run-in with a skunk resulted in a cancer diagnosis requiring surgery. If you’d like to pitch in to help Captain live for at least another year or two, donate on GoFundMe.
Between the Sword and the Neck, the fourth album by DC hardcore punks NØ MAN, cuts like a knife as it demands that the genocide of the Palestinian people be choked into submission.
Sam Burton – a member of the cherished Captured Tracks family – released his third solo effort, Fairweather Friend, on October 30. Tonight, he presents material from it (and his previous efforts, of course) to European audiences during a seven-date stretch that will see the singer/songwriter perform in London, Paris, Dublin and elsewhere. Burton will open for Captured Tracks cohorts Widowspeak, a duo out from New York.
The Bqd Penny had the good fortune of catching up with Burton last month, and while we initially intended the interview to be an installment in our ongoing series On Tyranny, we were so captivated by his new record that our talk encompassed a substantial discuss of his new material as well. So today we bring you the part of the interview that revolves around Burton’s growth as an artist, for which he has L.A. to thank; and in the coming days, we’ll roll out the portion of our conversation that address the genocide in Palestine.
Chances are you haven’t heard music that resembles what K Records band Tía Rosa are crafting. Minimalist, childlike and playful, they call their sound “música para gozar” – or “music for enjoying” in English.
That accurate description of Tía Rosa’s tranquilizing sound belies the hard work that band members JJ, Gabriel Gutierrez and Sam put into the making of their music, the latest of which came out Friday in the form of their new LP, Thirteen Automatic Dreams.
With a record that reflects an innocent, pleasant and serene world that could not be more unrepresentative of the one in which we currently live, listening to Tía Rosa is the equivalent of eating lotus leaves.
Desert rock – and perhaps Queens of the Stone Age and Kyuss too – probably wouldn’t exist without Mario Lalli. His presence is ubiquitous in the scene, by virtue of his leadership in bands like Fatso Jetson and Yawning Man, the integral production role he played in Josh Homme’s Desert Sessions projects that laid the groundwork for QOTSA albums, and beyond.
Now, Lalli is roaring back with a bevy of new projects and ventures, including solo material, represses of Fatso Jetson records and a new album by yet another one of his bands, Rubber Snake Charmers. The desert-rock collective actually formed in 2010, with a lineup that was as loose as its sound. Members past and present include Robby Krieger of The Doors, Brant Bjork, Gary Arce, Nick Oliveri, Alain Johannes, Joe Baiza and Sean Wheeler.
If you don’t love, appreciate or at least respect Canada – especially under the authoritarian regime us Americans are suffering through – then you’re on the wrong website. Much like Scandinavian countries, Canada is home to some of the kindest people on the planet … which is not a statement that’s mutually exclusive from their propensity for producing prodigious rock talent.
While a brand-new band, Calgary’s Victoria Lies are well aware of this fact. Hell, they’re making the music to prove it. Released less than two weeks ago, their debut album, Vendetta (Black Cat), is an ambitious concept album that addresses all the wrong turns humanity has made and that have thus led us to the global disarray in which we are all currently mired.
Get a sense of the record by tasting their latest video, for “Truth and Sugar”:
Victoria’s Lies features no one named Victoria, the name of the British Columbia city: Jay Powell (bass), Chris Koehler (guitars), Brett Hetherington (vocals), James Cuncanon (drums) and Rory Fitzsimmons (guitars). The band graciously grouped together to assemble a list of what they consider to be the best bands that hail from Canada as part of our ongoing series The Bad Penny Passport. Take a shot of maple syrup and enjoy!
—
Protest the Hero
Protest is one of those once-in-a-generation bands that comes along and truly stands out. They aren’t the heaviest or most proggy, but they combine elements from each with a dash of punk and blistering technicality that makes me feel like I’m hearing music for the first time.
Adoring fans of ’90s blues bands – whether their fingertips are calloused from rifling through LPs in bins at record store shops or not – are likely familiar with The Loved Ones. Spawned in Oakland and led by Bart Davenport, the band isn’t to be confused with at least two other bands with the same name (one from Australia, the other from Philadelphia). This crew made a name for itself by opening for Junior Wells and John Lee Hooker.
The Loved Ones disbanded due to Davenport’s desire to record mellower music and play chiller concerts, but they reconvened intermittently in the ensuing years. Now the band is back again, this time with a new collection carrying the exclamatory title LATEST HITS! that came out late last month via SofaBurn/Lovemonk. The Loved Ones’ ambitions don’t end there; the band is also planning to tour, leapfrogging from the West Coast to the Netherlands to Spain.
Busy as The Loved Ones are at the moment, Davenport graciously granted us time to participate in The Bad Penny Passport, in which we touch base with musicians across the world to get their recommendations of bands in the area where they live, the genres they enjoy and so on. Below are Davenport’s picks of his go-to groups in Los Angeles, preceded by a taste of The Loved Ones’ new material.
Bart Davenport’s Top 10 Favorite L.A. Bands
Other Delights
Writer, producer and in-demand session drummer, Robin MacMillan has done something extraordinary assembling this A-Team of players. While Aaron M. Olson and Adron could easily make this top ten list for their solo projects, their contributions to Other Delights are no less crucial. Adron’s otherworldly non-lyrical soprano and spaghetti flavored guitar interweave with Aaron’s wrecking crew level bass and occasional midnight cowboy harmonica. Andrew Dorsett could be the Brian Auger of his generation with his cheeky Wander-licks on organ riding on a magic carpet of jazzy Wurlitzer chords. Meanwhile Robin sets the pace with a type of persuasive drumming not heard since your favorite Morricone soundtracks were recorded. Other Delights got their name from Herb Alpert and their sound is appropriately an ambitious mix of exotica, bossa nova, pop instrumental and plastic jazz. Get the album. Go to their show. I guarantee you’ll be grinning for hours afterwards.
Street Fruit
Philipp Minnig and Hans Dobratz go way back. They’ve been summoning the spirits together onstage since the late 90s. Their new group, Street Fruit is easily their best yet. Phil’s heavy wah-wah riffs and Hans’ existential frontman vibes find a perfect match with dynamic drummer Tiffanie Lanmon and stylishly pointed bassist Cyrus Gengras. I can tell these people love playing together and their chemistry is infectious. Each member does something uniquely their own and the four fit together like a jigsaw.
Avid readers of The Bad Penny‘s On Tyranny series are already acquainted with Boston-based protest-music rock band Major Spark, as vocalist/lyricist Mark Goodman recently contributed a list of what he considers to be the best protest albums and songs ever for us. (Check it out here.) The extremely generous band also granted us an interview to both further expand on their opinions about Authoritarian America, their recently released album Kill the Truth and much more. Joining Goodman in the conversation was multi-instrumentalist Brian Charles; their friendship has lasted almost their entire lives. Here’s a taste of Major Spark’s new record in video form, followed by the interview.
Still in their puppy years, London dance-punk experimentalists Fat Dog’s second LP reflects our world at a time when chaos reigns and no one seems to be bothering to snap a leash onto its collar.
