lambrini girls - who let the dogs out

Lambrini Girls: Who Let The Dogs Out (2025)

Don’t be put off by the label on the cover. Yes, Who Let The Dogs Out, the debut from UK punk outfit Lambrini Girls is, in fact, “Party Music For Gay, Angry Sluts”. At its bass throbbing heart though this is pissed off punk and post-punk executed with dance floor precision that resonates for anyone who’s had enough of where we are culturally, politically, and/or religiously. Or if you simply want to slam your head around and dance like it’s the end of the world. Lambrini Girls are angry, but they make sure they’re angry to a propulsive beat you can shake to, that’s for sure.

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bella and the bizarre

Bella and the Bizarre: Bella and the Bizarre (2024)

Sometimes you know nothing about an artist other than the label they’re on, and sometimes that label carries enough weight that you take a chance. In The Red Records is one of those labels, and when I was looking to pick up a specific album (the latest from Des Demonas) I spied the self titled debut full length from Bella and the Bizarre. Hailing from Germany and boasting some indie cred lineage (lead singer Bella Khan is the daughter of noted alternative artist King Khan) Bella and the Bizarre aims for and hits some seriously fun garage punk mixed with pure rock and roll swagger.

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bob mould - here we go crazy

Bob Mould: Here We Go Crazy (2025)

Bob Mould unlocks something in me, a rotted chest that tries to secure all my anxieties in tight. It fails, venting resentment and anger and pain at inopportune moments, like it has for most of this week. That’s how it was yesterday, and after hours of being on edge, trembling and trying (and failing) to hide a stem where my hand makes these weird repetitive motions like I’m casting spell to wish it all away, I drove home, putting on Here We Go Crazy, Mould’s latest solo album. I was driving 20 mph, cars all around me frustrated and gunning to get past the school zone, and the chorus to the title track came up and the chest unlocked, and if you looked though the windows you would have seen an old, bald man just lose it, sobbing as he vainly tried to sing along. And here’s the thing: that’s not the only Bob Mould song to do that to me.

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new york dolls - new york dolls

New York Dolls: New York Dolls (1973)

I’m sure it’d be cooler to say otherwise, to say I was a fan of the New York Dolls since the beginning, but the truth is I was a month old when their eponymous debut came out. And I didn’t know David Johansen at all, but I sure knew Buster Poindexter from all those videos on MTV and his role as the Ghost of Christmas Past in Scrooged. Eventually I did discover the band, but it was with their reunion album, the beautifully titled One Day It Will Please Us To Remember Even This. Backwards I travelled, finding their debut and carrying it with me for decades, bringing it out when I wanted something no other rock band was giving me, that bridge of classic Stones rock and roll swagger with the energy punk would bring in a few short years. And on the occasion of Johansen’s passing, I needed New York Dolls again.

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RSD 2022

Record Store Day 2022

I’m not one to usually get up and get on the line for Record Store Day; I’m more than content to head over to my local shop a few days later and pick through the remains, or order online. But the last few weeks have been a hotbed of anxiety, and I’ve been relying more and more on music in order to detach and decompress (hence the massive influx of incoming vinyl). So this morning I roused myself, showered, and with a hot cup of coffee took myself down to Needle + Groove Records to see if I could nab the few titles I was interested in.

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ramones - ramones

Ramones: Ramones (1976)

Day 21 of the #mayvinylchallenge asks us for our rare, our limited vinyl. And I’ll tell you, I had no intention of owning a rare copy of the debut from one of the greatest rock and roll bands of all time. Hell, I don’t even know if it is rare, but I haven’t found mention of it on any websites. Discogs has nothing, the Steve Hoffmann forums don’t mention it. So be it; that’s enough for me to count my weird-ass maybe valuable copy of the Ramones debut eponymous album for today’s entry. Really, any excuse will do…

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