From Blown Speakers

Monday, March 16, 2026
every inch of my earth and sky/you can occupy/cover me entirely

I went down to the Pearl on Saturday to catch the first (hopefully of many) Girls to the Front Fest.

I showed up a little late, but your ticket got you back to back bands from 5:30pm to almost 1am, all of whom were fronted by women or non-binary folx.

Everyone I caught was great, but (now with much more limited knowledge than I had back in the day) have I mentioned that Piss is Vancouver's best band?

Album of the week

ELUCID and Sebb Bash - I Guess You Had To Be There

Apparently Sebb Bash is the Alchemist's favourite producer, which is a much better co-sign than anything I could write here. ELUCID remains one of the best working rappers and that all adds up to create his best solo effort to date.

Song of the week

Iceage - Star

One of my favourite tunes from last year, Neko Case's "Wreck," used space as the backdrop for a love song.

Iceage's first new song in half a decade doesn't share the same sonic space--"Wreck" is giddy and bright with swirling orchestration, while "Star" is driven forward by a propulsive post-punk bassline--but they both use celestial bodies to explain just how powerful love can be. Elias Rønnenfelt's got a lot of lusty lyrics, but he's in full

"Star" finds the--I always want to say "kids" with Iceage, because they were when they started releasing records--guys sounding the most dance-punk that they ever have. The guitars go from funky riff to jangle and back again, before breaking down into sheets of noise at the end that are kinda reminiscent of those early Rapture jams. With respect to all those 00s band (many of whom I loved!), Rønnenfelt's a much more powerful singer and he croons his way through this one.

More heat

Gouge Away - Figurine

Gouge Away recorded this live to tape and managed to capture all the fury of their shows. It's their first release since 2024, their first for new label Run For Cover, and their first with Ovlov/Pet Fox guitarist Theo Hartlett in the fold.

Catch 'em with Wednesday on April 24th where they'll play this at the proper volume (much louder than you are likely willing to play it in your home).

Kevin Morby - Die Young

I'm too old to die young and I'm going to at least try to survive until this record is out on May 15th.

Kacey Musgraves - Dry Spell

Kinda early to call it, but this is easily gonna be 2026's funniest song about not fucking.

Maria Taylor feat. Conor Oberst - Sorry I Was Yours

This one sounds straight off of a 2003 Saddle Creek comp (complimentary).

now playing: Gladie - I Want That For You

posted by Quinn @ 8:56 p.m. Comments:0

Monday, March 09, 2026
cha-cha-cha-cha-cha-cha-champion/you'll get yours

Album of the week

Johnny Blue Skies & the Dark Clouds - Mutiny After Midnight

This one got announced as a physical media only release (which is still cool as hell), but last Monday it just showed up on YouTube.

I have never been much of a Sturgill Simpson guy, but I don't mean that as any sort of commentary on the quality of his musical output (which is insanely good).

That said, Sound & Fury is very easily my favourite Sturgill release. And while this doesn't have the exact same sound, it has the same swagger to it.

Song of the week

Juvenile feat. Megan Thee Stallion - BBB

I saw some comment about this song that was something along the lines of "Megan's back on her one note again" and motherfucker do you think that's a bad thing? Megan hits that one note like a 90s Neil Young solo, my guy.

Classic of the week 1

Fugazi - Albini Sessions

There were bootlegs out there, but for whatever reason, even though I have a hard drive full of the most niche remixes, live recordings, alternate versions, etc, I'd never bothered to track this down.

But also, who knows how those mp3s would've sounded. And now we get to hear them in all their perfectly produced glory.

Of course, the thing about the sessions that Fugazi did with Steve in '92, is that the band wasn't particularly thrilled with how they played most of the songs, which is why they scrapped the recordings and re-did everything that would eventually become my personal favourite Fugazi album.

I'm glad they did what they did--the version of In on the Kill Taker that we got was better. But what a treat to hear these songs the way they were put to tape the first time, after all these years.

Some things are notably worse. The version of "Smallpox Champion" falls pretty flat the way it's played (it still fucking rocks though, ofc). But it's got that classic Albini production sound, including the snare drum that sounds like it's being played from the direct centre of your brain. And onthe flip side, the version of "Public Witness Program" absolutely rips.

If you love Fugazi, this is a must listen. And it's exclusively on Bandcamp with all the proceeds going to the Letters Charity that Steve was so involved in, so it's also a must buy.

Classic of the week 2

Fontaines D.C. - Black Boys on Mopeds (Sinead O'Connor Cover)

It was a great week for cover versions, mostly driven by the release of the Help (2) benefit for War Child.

The covers (there are also some originals mixed in there) run the gamut from "fun enough" to "stunners," but in an era when compilations don't even make a ton of sense, it's amazing how essential everything sounds as an album.

The good Irish lads in Fontaines just play it straight on this Sinead O'Connor all timer, but that's really all they had to do. Grian Chatten sounds great and it's lovely to hear the band, who really carry the torch of political activism that Sinead did, do this song by this artist.

Classic of the week 3

Olivia Rodrigo - The Book of Love (Magnetic Fields Cover)

69 Love Songs was much more of a songwriting exercise for Stephen Merritt than any sort of confessional, but that doesn't mean that some of the songs don't sound like they've got someone's entire being buried in them.

This one's been done a lot, but Olivia put together what's arguably the best cover by pinning her heart right to her sleeve and sanding away some of that big pop sheen.

Classic of the week 4

Turnstile - I Wanna Be Adored (Stone Roses Cover)

Turnstile simultaneously keep things very faithful to the original and also make this sound like it's a Turnstile song and sometimes those are the very best covers.

Also, depending on the day of the week, I might tell you that this the best bass riff of all time (on another day of the week, it might be a different Roses one).

More heat

Greg Mendez - I Wanna Feel Pretty

Ronboy - I Am Only Playing

Sprints - Trickle Down

now playing: Ratboys - The World, So Madly

posted by Quinn @ 1:12 a.m. Comments:0

Sunday, March 01, 2026
it’s true that I told a lie or two/only once or twice, and just for you

Album of the Week

joyride! - joyride and friends!

joyride! has a Bandcamp page, but as far as I can tell, no website or Instagram, so I had no idea this was coming out and didn't find out about it until a week after it did.

They put out three LPs in pretty quick succession in the from 2013 - 2016 and two of them were part of the wave of Salinas Records releases from last decade (see also: All Dogs, Swearin', Radiator Hospital) that I absolutely loved. And then they sort of disappeared until 2022's Miracle Question (that I also loved).

And then it was radio silence again until joyride and friends! appeared.

Even though they've got an extended musical family along for the ride, this certainly isn't a reinvention of their sound, which is great. They're doing what they do best and this is another helping of perfect NorCal pop-punk.

Song of the week

Mitski - That White Cat

If you asked me "was that last Mitski album good?," I would universally say yes, but for whatever reason, none of her releases have really grabbed me since Puberty 2, but Nothing's About to Happen to Me might end that streak. This one's my favourite of the bunch.

Classic of the week

All Dogs - Georgia

Hey, it's one of those bands from Salinas Records' heyday. This one's a loosie that first appeared on The Le Sigh, Vol II, the--as the name would suggest--second compilation from the gone, but fondly remembered music website that lived from 2012-2017.

It's my favourite All Dogs track.

now playing: Sturgill Simpson - Mutiny After Midnight

posted by Quinn @ 11:39 p.m. Comments:0

Monday, February 16, 2026
i'm not sure what i'm afraid of/maybe love is a selfish game

Album of the week

Remember Sports - The Refrigerator

Their best album and maybe the best pop-punk album of the year so far (which is saying a lot, even though we're only a month and a half in).

If you don't already have Wednesday tickets, catch 'em at the Wise on April 24th.

Song of the week

Gladie - Brace Yourself

A contender for 2026 pop-punk album of the year.

Classic of the week

Fugees - The Score

Happy 30th birthday to this perfect record.

More heat

Kevin Morby - Javelin

Cashier - Part From Me

now playing: Pavement - Spit on a Stranger

posted by Quinn @ 10:48 p.m. Comments:0

Monday, February 09, 2026
whiskey in the summertime/the bugs are writing books with their еyes

Album of the week

Ratboys - Singin' to an Empty Chair

Every Ratboys album is a good one, but it really felt like they leveled up on "The Window" and this one seems like another massive step forward for a band that was already great.

I have a pretty wide range of genres and styles of music that I like, but this kinda indie, kinda pop, kinda emo, a little bit country stuff is really my wheelhouse and Singin' to an Empty Chair feels like a canonical entry into that loose catalogue of music.

Pitchfork gave it Best New Music. They also assigned Ivy Nelson to do the review and they basically only give her heavy hitters.

Tom Breihan interviewed Julie Steiner to do a track-by-track breakdown over at Stereogum as well.

Song of the week

Chat Pile - Masks

The boys from Oklahoma bringing their absolute best (like, for real, this might be their best song) for this one-off Sub Pop 7" that features a Nirvana cover--of Bleach's closer, "Sifting"--on the b-side.

I didn't get into Cool World nearly as much as God's Country, but this one's an absolute ripper.

More heat

Alexis Taylor - For a Toy

Hot Chip guy, I was unfamiliar with your solo (moving, sad balladry) game.

Weird Nightmare - Might See You There

Alex Edkins (who was one of the dudes in Metz) said he was listening to a lot of Undertones when he wrote this song and that checks the fuck out.

Friko - Seven Degrees

Big Hunky Dory/Ziggy Stardust vibes ("Life On Mars" in particular).

Mandy, Indiana feat. billy woods - Sicko!

Whitney Johnson, Lia Kohl, and Macie Stewart - dawn | pulse

Whitney Johnson, Lia Kohl, and Macie Stewart's forthcoming BODY SOUND features the three multidisciplinary artists on viola, cello, and violin, respectively, while they share wordless (very Julianna Barwick-like) vocal duties.

"dawn | pulse" is the official first single (and lead off track on the album) and follows last year's equally gorgeous "stone | piece" (here's a live version of that).

now playing: Blondie - Call Me

posted by Quinn @ 12:08 a.m. Comments:0

Monday, February 02, 2026
and when I think about your face, there's always something hard to place/the way the light would hit your features when we were hanging by the bleachers

Album of the week

Joyce Manor - I Used to Go to This Bar

For a long time, I didn't think I liked this band. And then when I started to second guess that, I went back to listen to their really early stuff and I remembered right--I, in fact, did not like them much at all (sorry to anyone who likes that lo-fi shit the best).

But after "All My Friends Are So Depressed" floored me last year, I went a little less far backwards and turns out that I would've loved them if I'd given them a second chance starting from Million Dollars to Kill Me onwards.

I Used to Go to This Bar sees them tinkering around the edges with their sound, sometimes to great success (the aforementioned Smiths tribute "All My Friends...") and sometimes less so ("After All You Put Me Through"), but the low points are buoyed by the high points of classic California pop-punk.

The title track opens with a brief Sum 41 homage of all things, before it shifts into "Blink 182 sings a Craig Finn song" territory (complimentary). And absolute ripper, "I Know Where Mark Chen Lives," simultaneously alludes to Television Personalities and the now enigmatic So-Cal pop punker via the title.

Joyce Manor play the Commodore on May 11th with Militarie Gun, Teen Mortgage, and Combat

Song of the week

Slowlight - Cruel Morning

I feel like the target market for this late-90s/early-00s kinda shoe gazey indie pop stuff, but when it hits, it really hits.

Classic of the week

Danzig - Twist of Cain

A PSA to let you know the first (and easily best) Danzig solo album is back in print on LP.

More heat

Sluice - Beadie

Probably kinda rude to say "I like this because it sounds like Bill Callahan" without posting any of the new Bill Callahan songs, but here we are.

Dutch Interiors - Ground Scores

"It's so silly [listening] to loves songs, while we teeter at that edge."

now playing: Bully - Milkman

posted by Quinn @ 4:54 p.m. Comments:0

Saturday, January 24, 2026
you hear the cheers from the rafters/like when vince was on the raptors

Album of the week

Roc Marciano - 656

I don't really know what there is to say at this point. Marci's output has been so consistently great and here he is at his best--when he's doing almost all the rapping and all of the production. Every time I listen, there's another line that jumps out at me as the best one and the beats are unimpeachable.

Song of the week

Mitski - Where's My Phone?

MFW I see a cat on the street doing something cute.

"Where's My Phone?" is the first single from Nothing's About To Happen To Me out February 27th on Dead Ocean

Classic of the week

Joyride! - Emergency Broadcast System

I'm not sure what made me put on this perfect slice of NorCal pop-punk this week, but I ended up listening to this album about six times in a row.

More heat

Snail Mail - Dead End

All the really good Snail Mail songs sound extremely similar to me (complimentary because I want more of them)

True Green - Italian Lightning

An entry into the canon of modern classic American indie singer-songwriter jams and all the proceeds go to mutual aid operations in the Twin Cities. Fuck ICE.

Lightning Bolt and OO|OO - Cloud Core

The boys from Lighting Bolt and YoshimiO from the Boredoms coming together for an absolute noise-punk masterclass.

Doll Spirit Vessel - Kissing My Cup

I go back and forth between, "this 90s revival thing is out of control" and "hell yes. fuck yeah." This one inspired the latter.

now playing: Califone - All My Friends Are Funeral Singers

posted by Quinn @ 11:10 p.m. Comments:0