Atlanta’s The Carolyn are one of the great “under the radar” punk bands. Billing themselves as a melodic punk band who “make music for overthinkers”, their classic sound – drawing heavily from the classic influence of Face To Face and Strike Anywhere – relies as much on rousing hooks and huge, accessible melodies as punky riffs.
Category Archives: Album & EP Reviews
AVERY FRIEDMAN – New Thing
Brooklyn’s Avery Friedman only began playing live shows in 2024, and didn’t spend years honing her sound before the recording and release of her 2025 debut ‘New Thing’, so the album’s songs still have an element of freshness and occasional naivete. You couldn’t call the material raw, though, or even suggest its potential has been sold short in any way. The best of the record’s eight songs represent brilliantly crafted indie pop, often sharing a sound that’s much older than Friedman’s years, but everything is presented in a hugely confident manner.
DECREPIT YOUTHS – Love Psycho Kill Machine EP
When it comes to creating crossover sounds, Newcastle’s Decrepit Youths don’t mess around. The three tracks that make up their ‘Love Psycho Kill Machine’ EP take in influences from metal, hardcore, darkwave and industrial, only to spit everything back as an angry, but very distinctive noise; one that feels very assured for a band that’s still relatively new at the time of this release.
MEGAFAUNA & HOMESICK GHOSTS – Nature Is Healing EP
An array of inaudible voices greets the listener at the beginning of this EP, almost as if eavesdropping on a field recording of train station announcements sourced from a damaged cassette. With the arrival of a repeated three note keyboard riff lurking beneath a world of ambient sounds – ranging from something that sounds like the rhythmic clatter of trains on tracks, to noises that evoke imagery of workmen shifting huge piles of rubble – it’s clear that this listening experience will be more about creating a mood than enjoying any “traditional” music.
MAX RAEL – The Enemy Is Us
Barely three lines into the opening number of his solo debut, experimental musician Max Rael has already embraced differences not being like anyone else and told his audience he feels exhausted. The frankness in which the artist’s neuro divergence is discussed throughout ‘Slightly Less Than Human’ is a signifier of the album’s honest approach as a whole. ‘We Are The Enemy’ isn’t so much a collection of songs; more a world of personal statements, shared with a heart and disarming honesty, but also with the hope that Rael will attract kindred spirits. Obviously, this doesn’t aim for a broad commercial potential, but as albums go, it’s never less than interesting.