Lightheaded – Thinking, Dreaming, Scheming!

With an ever shifting line up built around the core songwriting partnership of Stephen Stec and Cynthia Rittenbach, Lightheaded’s pure pop juggernaut continues to build giddy momentum with new EP Thinking, Dreaming, Scheming!

This latest release sees the New Jersey based beat group swathed in dusty reverb, their relentless riffs and melodic wonder cutting through the haze like some kind of long lost secret you’ve just been let in on.

From opener Same Drop’s cute call and response refrain to closer Crash Landing of the Clod’s lush girl group harmonies, Thinking, Dreaming, Scheming! is a breathless indie pop triumph from a band that continues to go from strength to strength. Wonderful.

Lightheaded – Same Drop

Thinking, Dreaming, Scheming! is available now via Slumberland Records (US) and Skep Wax (UK) on vinyl, cassette or digital download. Order here.

Dragged Up – Blake’s Tape

Riding a relentless wave of restless creativity and blessed with a punishing knack for chaos and groove, Glasgow art-punks Dragged Up return with new single Blake’s Tape.

Combining the fun and fluidity of nineties indie with the pulsating drive of post-punk, Blake’s Tape is an absolute blast. Front loaded with fuzz-heavy riffing and enthralling rhythmic shifts, the track twists the band’s uniquely genre-defying sound into their most focussed statement yet.

B’side Clachan Dubh dials up the intensity, its pounding guitar attack fighting furiously against duelling vocals dripping with attitude. Every Dragged Up release is a huge deal around these parts, and this might just be my favourite yet.

Dragged Up are: Eva Gnatiuk (guitar/vocals), Simon Shaw (guitar/vocals) and Stephen Mors (drums), with Alpha Michelle (bass/backing vocals) and Sophie Sexon (flute/violin/backing vocals) guesting on this release.

Blake’s Tape is available to download here. You can also pick up physical editions via Rare Vitamin Records here.

Cover art by Lauren Peters.

Live dates:

Leeds – 24/06/25 – Brudenell Social Club

Glasgow 25/06/25 – St Luke’s

Manchester 26/06/25 – Gorilla

(Above dates supporting The Hard Quartet.)

Friday 1st Aug: Leith Depot, EDINBURGH (w / David Lance Callahan)

Saturday 2nd Aug: Twa Tams, PERTH (w / The Chunks + Shinlifter + Crocodile Tears)

Friday 8th Aug: Fulfordgate Club, YORK (w / Juku + Pea Soup)

Saturday 9th Aug: The Grayston Unity, HALIFAX (w / Callis)

Sunday 10th Aug: The New Continental, PRESTON – Preston Pop Festival

Friday 15th Aug: The Vault, NEWTON STEWART (w / Alex Neilson)

Tony Jay – faithless

Originally recorded to coincide with the band’s recently completed Japanese tour, faithless is the latest lofi revelation from Bay Area fogpop auteurs Tony Jay.

Boasting a new line up and drawing influence from the band’s favourite Japanese artists Les Rallizes Dénudés and Shizuka, faithless unwinds in a hazy slowcore blur of fractured greyscale psychedelia.

Ocean deep basslines gently propel layer upon layer of shattering guitar lines, with rhythms marking moments in time with gripping finality. In amongst these shimmering soundscapes, Mike Ramos lays down his lyrics with barely a whisper, enticing the listener into his weary world.

Whilst it seems unnecessary to single out individual tracks on an album that works so wonderfully well as a whole, special mention must be given to a spectacular cover of The Gabys’ Familiar Dreams, featuring April Magazine’s Kati Mashikian.

Tony Jay are: Michael Ramos, Kelsey Faber, Cameron Baker, Ida Belisle and Evie Brown.

faithless is available for digital download here. UK readers can buy the cassette here.

heavymetalkids.uk ep.25

My latest radio show is now available to stream via Podbean, Apple, Mixcloud, Deezer and other leading apps.

Alternatively, you can now listen directly via the embed below…

Playlist: Monday 16th June

  1. Brian Wilson – Surf’s Up
  2. Lone Striker – Never Blown A Kiss (LOWMOON Remix)  https://hiddenbayrecords.bandcamp.com/album/lone-striker
  3. Autocamper – Red Flowers  https://autocamper.bandcamp.com/album/what-do-you-do-all-day
  4. Ryli – Friend Collector  https://dandyboyrecords.bandcamp.com/album/come-and-get-me
  5. Lightheaded – Same Drop  https://areyoufeelinglightheaded.bandcamp.com/album/thinking-dreaming-scheming
  6. Modern Nature – Pharoah  https://modernnature.bandcamp.com/album/the-heat-warps
  7. Sea Fever – Able Eyes https://seafeverband.bandcamp.com/album/surface-sound-2
  8. Living Dream – Mist (Surrounds Me)  https://inscrutablerecords.bandcamp.com/album/absolute-devotion
  9. Chameleons – Savours Are A Dangerous Thing  https://www.plastichead.com/artist/chameleons
  10. Now – A Hat To Match  https://nowww.bandcamp.com/album/now-does-the-trick
  11. The Wind-Ups – (That’s Just My) Dream Girl https://thewind-ups.bandcamp.com/album/confection
  12. Dragged Up – Blake’s Tape  https://draggedup.bandcamp.com/track/blakes-tape
  13. Dancer – Just Say Yes  https://dancermusicgroup.bandcamp.com/album/more-or-less
  14. Rhymies – The Hesperian (Again)  https://dandyboyrecords.bandcamp.com/album/i-dream-watching
  15. Section 25 – The Beast 
  16. Linda Smith – I See Your Face  https://lindasmith2.bandcamp.com/album/till-another-time-1988-1996
  17. Cindy – Song 23  https://toughloverecords.bandcamp.com/album/cindy-free-advice
  18. April Magazine – Shrine  https://aprilmagazine.bandcamp.com/album/sunday-music-for-an-overpass-2025-remaster
  19. Cuneiform Tabs – Orbital Rings  https://cuneiformtabs.bandcamp.com/album/age
  20. Tony Jay – Familiar Dreams  https://tonyjay.bandcamp.com/album/faithless
  21. Mt. Misery – You Call My Name  https://mtmisery.bandcamp.com/album/love-in-mind
  22. Chime School – Say Hello  https://chimeschool.bandcamp.com/album/the-boy-who-ran-the-paisley-hotel
  23. Red Pants – On A Wire  https://redred.bandcamp.com/album/not-quite-there-yet
  24. The Reds, Pinks & Purples – Slow Torture Of An Hourly Wage  https://theredspinksandpurples.bandcamp.com/album/the-past-is-a-garden-i-never-fed
  25. Hectorine – Arrow Of Love  https://hectorine.bandcamp.com/album/arrow-of-love
  26. Anna Domino – Everyday, I Don’t  https://lesdisquesducrepuscule.bandcamp.com/album/east-and-west
  27. The Beach Boys – ‘Til I Die

Hectorine – Arrow of Love

There is a tenderness and directness at the centre of Sarah Gagnon’s songwriting that stands alone amongst the busy and beautiful Bay Area underground. Unabashed and unafraid, she wears her heart on her sleeve, wrapping her incomparable vocals around soulful dreampop melodies steeped in magic.

New album Arrow of Love, Gagnon’s third under the Hectorine banner, is an indisputable triumph, assured in its conception and emphatic in its delivery. Assisted by key Bay Area players such as Itinerant Home Recordings’ Geoff Saba and long-time collaborator Max Stanley, the album’s sumptuous arrangements ebb and flow beautifully. From Is Love An Illusion’s weary battlecry through to the all-consuming hope that drives penultimate track Take A Chance With Me, no stone is left unturned in Gagnon’s search for truth, meaning and understanding. Essential.

Hectorine – Take A Chance With Me

Arrow of Love is available now via Take a Turn Records. You can order vinyl or digital here. UK readers can pick up the physical at Monorail.

heavymetalkids ep.24

My latest radio show is now available to stream via Podbean, Apple, Mixcloud, Deezer and other leading apps.

Alternatively, you can now listen directly via the embed below…

Playlist: Monday 19th May

  1. Lone Striker – Never Blown A Kiss https://hiddenbayrecords.bandcamp.com/album/lone-striker
  2. Rhymies – I Dream Watching https://dandyboyrecords.bandcamp.com/album/i-dream-watching
  3. Sea Fever – Go To Ground https://seafever.tmstor.es
  4. Autocamper – Again https://autocamper.bandcamp.com/album/what-do-you-do-all-day
  5. Lunchbox – Letter From Overend https://tim-and-donna-lunchbox.bandcamp.com/album/evolver
  6. Whitney’s Playland – Long Rehearsal https://whitneysplayland.bandcamp.com/album/long-rehearsal
  7. Lightheaded – The View From Your Room https://areyoufeelinglightheaded.bandcamp.com/album/thinking-dreaming-scheming
  8. Jeanines – What’s Lost https://jeanines.bandcamp.com/album/how-long-can-it-last
  9. Ryli – Medicine Speed https://dandyboyrecords.bandcamp.com/album/come-and-get-me
  10. Artsick – Ghost Of Myself https://artsick.bandcamp.com/album/fingers-crossed
  11. Ryan Davis & the Roadhouse Band – New Threats From The Soul https://sophomorelounge.bandcamp.com/album/ryan-davis-the-roadhouse-band-new-threats-from-the-soul
  12. Ulrika Spacek – Interesting Corners https://ulrikaspacek.bandcamp.com/track/interesting-corners
  13. Index For Working Musik – Sister https://indexforworkingmusik.bandcamp.com/album/which-direction-goes-the-beam
  14. Midding – Good Boy https://middingband.bandcamp.com/album/nowhere-near-today
  15. Hattie Cooke – Mistaken https://hattiecooke.bandcamp.com/album/bliss-land-2
  16. LOWMOON – Find A Reason https://safesuburbanhomerecords.bandcamp.com/album/cathedrals
  17. Red Pants – All Your Pink Stars https://redred.bandcamp.com/album/when-we-were-dancing
  18. Now – The Ballad Of Joy Bang https://nowww.bandcamp.com/album/now-does-the-trick
  19. The Pennys – One Million Things https://mtstmtn.bandcamp.com/album/the-pennys
  20. Hospital – Dad On Vacation https://hospitalsf.bandcamp.com/album/ii
  21. Daltons Fen – Mead Head Mick Goes (demo) https://www.instagram.com/daltonsfen?igsh=Z2R3bzVucHFiZzJi
  22. The Tumbledryer Babies – Compassion Fatigue https://thetumbledryerbabies.com/album/my-dinner-with-andrew
  23. Hectorine – Take A Chance With Me https://hectorine.bandcamp.com/album/arrow-of-love
  24. Arthur Russell – Planted A Thought https://arthurrussell.bandcamp.com/album/love-is-overtaking-me
  25. Linda Smith – I So Liked Spring https://lindasmith2.bandcamp.com/album/i-so-liked-spring-2
  26. Cindy – A Trumpet On The Hillside (demo) https://slothmate.bandcamp.com/album/cindy-standard-candle
  27. Seablite – Blink Each Day https://seablite.bandcamp.com/album/lemon-lights
  28. Mo Dotti – For Anyone And You https://mo-dotti.bandcamp.com/album/opaque
  29. Aluminum – Everything https://aluminum.bandcamp.com/album/fully-beat
  30. The Velvet Underground – Ride Into The Sun

Whitney’s Playland – Long Rehearsal

It’s no secret that this blog fell hard for Bay Area duo Whitney’s Playland’s 2023 debut Sunset Sea Breeze. Loaded with charm, melody and garage indie riffing, the album captured hearts from the very first listen. 

With Inna Showalter (Magic Fig, Blades of Joy, Modern Charms) and George Tarlson (Grandma’s Boyfriend) now joined by Evan Showalter (Blank Square) and Paul DeMartini as an expanded four piece, new 7” Long Rehearsal sees the band’s sound evolve and flourish in glorious technicolour.

Introspective but enrapturing, Inna Showalter’s vocals and spirit provide the beating heart of the three jangle pop gems that make up the release. The immediacy of the title track is tempered beautifully by expansive closer Talk, with melody and magic abounding throughout.

Long Rehearsal releases 20th June, split between Dandy Boy Records (US) and Meritorio Records (EU). You can preorder the vinyl or digital here.

Autocamper – Again

Manchester fourpiece Autocamper have had my heart ever since I watched them scurrying mischievously around Oslo Hackney following their triumphant set in support of Bay Area jangle heroes The Umbrellas early last year. There is a gritty realness to the band’s sound that truly sets them apart.

New single Again presents a band gloriously in their stride, primed and ready to take on the indie pop world. Glistening pure pop melodies dance in and around urgent jangle and driving rhythms, building on the momentum of last year’s cassette singles. It’s a gloriously giddy introduction to their highly anticipated debut album What Do You Do All Day? Essential.

Autocamper are: Harry Williams (bass), Arthur “Junior” Robinson (drums/vocals), Niamh Purtill (keyboards/vocals), Jack Harkins (guitar/vocals).

What Do You Do All Day? releases 11th July via Safe Suburban Home (UK) and Slumberland Records (US). You can preorder the vinyl or CD here.

Rhymies – I Dream Watching

Fresh out on the relentlessly dependable Oakland based Dandy Boy Records comes this solo debut from Seablite’s Lauren Matsui. Trading in that group’s multi-layered dreamgaze in favour of melody drenched electronics, Rhymies’ inaugural EP I Dream Watching is a giddy synth-pop triumph.

From the pulsating urgency of the title track’s soaring chorus through to The Hesperian (Again)’s sweepingly atmospheric climax there is a purity to Matsui’s rhythmic explorations that is both spellbinding and highly addictive. I Dream Watching serves as a devastatingly effective introduction to a project loaded with promise and purpose.

Rhymies – I Dream Watching

I Dream Watching is available now on vinyl or digital download, buy here.

The Pennys – s/t

I have been excited to hear the first fruits of this collaboration between Bay Area underground heroes Michael Ramos (Tony Jay/Flowertown) and R.E. Seraphin ever since it was first mentioned in my interview with the latter, published last year.

Say Something sways soothingly in perfect alignment with where I’d expect the pairs music to land. Drenched in melody, it brings Ramos’ fragile but full hearted dreampop out into the light, whilst simultaneously softening Seraphin’s power pop edges into a hazy blur. Working in unhurried harmony, magic abounds.

The Pennys self titled debut EP arrives 1st May via Mt.St.Mtn. You can pre-order the vinyl here.