Martin Meyer’s left a bit of the debris behind for a slightly more pop path with Soup Activists. The band’s been growing some goodness in the gardens of their EP collection and with a new single and an album on the way for Feel It, the Activists hit hard with “Johnny.” bit.ly/4hG2Zuc

Softjaw are bountiful on the hooks and never slight on the swoons. The newest single from the record, “Poor Disguise” sways on a surge of strums, and hums along on a blanket of harmonies. It’s a glittering, buffed-clean vision of power pop that’s hard to shake. bit.ly/3UhpNsH

A much needed retrospective of The Catburgers. It’s almost inconceivable that the band wasn’t scooped up & sent out via Flexi to every corner of the DIY world in the ‘80s. With a fizz fixed to the amps and huge strums hung with hooks ’n harmonies, the band vaults through pop pinwheels bit.ly/4hQdAmq

Sylvie settles onto the speakers with a reclined atmosphere, a rumpled, cowl-necked charm that scans the horizon as the sun dips and the city lights start to glow on on the hills. “Not Looking Back Anymore” coats the soul like cognac and clove; wistful but never wallowing. bit.ly/4yu3RJ7

Yutori ゆとり swirls around the listener in snow drifts. It’s an environment that invites the listener in, an activation of the senses that widens the panorama of any listener. The hearth-warmth of the LP radiates, tying together the edges of jazz, folk, & a flicker of pastoral psych. bit.ly/4jFz1cw

Portland's Big Top (feat mems of Blues Lawyer & Venkman) offers up their new video, lacing animation & practical pieces into a cityscape that feels right out of a dream.“Take Care” sways in the sun, an easy strumming indie pop treat that’s prime fodder for West Coast jangle-pop lovers bit.ly/4zfzYga

The 2nd single from Tom Henry's new album doesn’t dust up his pop sound, but instead leans deep into the Big Star / Emitt Rhodes/ Apple Records revue. Henry turns out big hooks hung on jangles & a dream-laden delivery that drops him into the swoon over sneer variety of early power pop bit.ly/3TRi7wW

Proving they can grip onto grunge just as quickly as garage, The Gnomes make a shift on “Batteries” to a thick, molten sound that’s crusted in fuzz. It’s the band at their heaviest, still surfing through the static of the past but rolling the dial forward a few decades to the ‘90s. bit.ly/3VxtTxc

Andy Boay gets lost even further in the clouds, offering up a reverb-drenched pop nugget that should appeal to ardent Animal Collective fans as well as the kosmiche travelers tuned to A.R. & Machines. White nears a kind of choral grace that turns any room into a vaulted cathedral. bit.ly/4zoj27v

Howlin’ Rain tackles a curio of covers for the new record. For the latest, Miller picks out a new version of Inuit rock band Sugluk’s “Fall Away.” With a slightly acidic burn & a Western lean, the band turn the song into a stageside burner that’s opens up the cut’s Crazy Horse romp. bit.ly/4B7Y4eK

Emmett Morris’ new LP slipped out a few of weeks back & it’s packed with hi-NRG roadhouse rippers that let some of the more back porch fare fade away on the Western winds. The record ropes in a few familiar faces, including longtime site regulars Matthew ‘Doc’ Dunn & Julianna Riolino. bit.ly/4dp58cC

There’s darkness on Knifethrowers, a sound that comes through in the squelch of synths and the dusted ambiance of drum machines. Through clenched teeth the click and clamor of rhythms emerge, set fire by Kryssi’s fevered leads. Mountain Movers find euphoria through friction bit.ly/4eazOyr

Allison de Groot & Rich Ruth envelop her stringwork in a world of kosmiche synths & glass-capsuled textures. It moves from shimmering pieces that bounce strings through prisms & percolation to something more stripped back without feeling like anything less than an embryonic journey. bit.ly/4rRqqFN

“Bottled Lightning,” sharpens the focus on Whitney's Playland's pop sound. Fuming guitars with a fuzz crunch lead the way, opening space for Inna’s dream-glazed vocals. The song comes on like a quiet storm, a deluge of ‘90s-nipping growl culled from all the best corners bit.ly/4dlCf0U

As Briar Daniel Romano takes an autumnal swerve towards 70s folk that brings to mind Judee Sill & The Roches. The lilting first single from Briar joins a growing cadre of wood-paneled folk that’s been filling the speakers, making a comfortable shelfmate for Beefheart & McQuinn & Fuses bit.ly/4xTxy5P

“Cosmic Love” reclines into jangle, letting harmonies hang like smoke rings over the top of the track. The song slips in slow, sidling through a chug that’s unhurried & hang-dog, but The Sprouts push the gas on the closing moments, finding an ecstasy somewhere in the storm of strums. bit.ly/4y2MJtF

The record is enamored with the feeling of being adrift. It’s a nice mirror to the political and social battering that takes place daily. The loss of control, the overwhelming rise all around us, the predators among the depths; they’re all there in Linda’s Head. bit.ly/3Vfa9hM

20th anniversary celebration starts tomorrow! Tickets to both shows here! link.dice.fm/mnH8nrE0S6b?...

Another smudged single from Aluminum. “Distant Noise” is a hazy, heady cut that’s propulsive & pillowy at the same time. The band’s latest finds them pushing towards pop a bit more & it’s clear that they’re able to balance the shift without losing the fizz they were founded on bit.ly/4yrcrZC

With a corrosive heart, a new Ryley Walker single takes an abrasive turn. The track balances restrained rage and bone-deep exhaustion; a nod to the day-wage erosion, the heartland heads who just want to get through, the tape-scratch experimenters, and the minimal-tone treaders. bit.ly/4iWaCza

Hunter Watts has spent years backing up West Coast luminaries like Sylvie & Drugdealer, time well spent leading up to his honeysuckle-hued debut for Valentine Recording Studios. Check out a live alternate take of the title track to his new EP. bit.ly/4AFeiM5

Flowers Must Die decamped to Silence, the remote studio that was the site of recordings by Bo Hansson, Kebnekajse, & Träd Gräs Och Stenar. The former commune was a hub of creativity and the band harnesses the energies that flowed through the walls, wires, and waters of the studio. bit.ly/4humFBh

Real excited for longtime favorites @glenndonaldson.bsky.social to close out the anniversary weekend next Saturday. Come see the West Coast jangle pop outfit head up a stacked bill with Simon Joyner and Jeanines! link.dice.fm/RwfrzPqbO6b?...

The Klittens dip into Northwest ‘90s fare that feels like it’s chewing on the chaff of college rock’s rise to radio regulars. They never tip far from the brittle end of the bandwidth, always eyeing Kleenex & the Young Marbles in the corner even as they tear into Sleater-Kinney’s crown bit.ly/3VDmHzs

SOFTJAW leans towards the ‘70s power pop model, letting a little snarl into the mix, stacking strum and harmonies with nods towards the Memphis pocket and the flash of Cheap Trick. “Love Can’t Kill You” is a bright-lighted jangler that dips the guitars in crunch. bit.ly/477CUjb

Just about into the run up to these RSTB anniversary shows next week and It’s great to have Garcia Peoples at the head of night 1. The band’s been a perennial RSTB favorite. Come see them light up the stage at Tubby’s with Weak Signal! link.dice.fm/MWVeEqV6I6b?...

Belbury Poly dives deep through hand-painted paperback covers & into the arms of ‘80s sword & sorcery films with an engrossing zeal. Somewhere in the badlands of Beastmaster, Krull, & Conan, Jupp is lurking with a synth in hand & a percolating riff that rolls down like poisoned sweat bit.ly/4dUiLR6

Crying Lauging injects a post-punk ethos to the wracked rhythms of some of their more academic peers. The record is steeped in the same hypnotic pulses and vortex of repetition, but there’s a more stripped and shredded approach to the lock groove grind of modern meditative jazz. bit.ly/47gl7Ge

I posted an early, live version of “Stretch Bath” a while back, but on tape the cut gains a heaviness & headiness that explores the full bounds of the studio. Opening with a crash of drums, Yr Knives pushes into tensile shards of guitar before they seethe & swell with an oceanic force bit.ly/4d3xWan

I’m very excited that Simon Joyner is joining The Reds Pinks and Purples and Jeanines for day 2 of Raven’s 20th anniversary celebration on 10/3. Always a live favorite, Simon captivates on stage! link.dice.fm/j6i3yrlNF6b?...