Earlier in 2025, Chicago’s Push Puppets issued their second album ‘Tethered Together’. Largely the brainchild of multi-instrumentalist/songwriter/producer Erich Specht, the record provides a listen that’s much richer than first impressions might suggest. Working from a solid rock pop base, the album takes in elements of old school college rock, strong orchestrations, and even a pinch of classic sounding prog via its guitar work. It’s very much the kind of album that sounds much better over time.
Category Archives: Album & EP Reviews
Watch: Silver Dollar Room share video clip for ‘Normal People’ ahead of new album
Scottish rock band Silver Dollar Room are set to release their eagerly awaited second album ‘It Can’t Rain All The Time’. As a piece of last minute promotion, they’ve shared the chunky ‘Normal People’ as the follow up single to the brilliant – and devastating – ‘Monsters’.
R.M.F.C. – Ecstatic Strife / Golden Trick
Following a handful of singles and EP’s, Australia’s R.M.F.C. finally released a full length album at the end of 2023. Although ‘Club Hits’ didn’t feature as much raw sounding material as ‘Television’ (a highlight from 2018’s ‘Hive’), its collection of short and sharp workouts made for great listening.
FIRE SALE / PULLEY – Split Personality EP
On a pair of earlier singles, US punkers Fire Sale demonstrated a perfect blend of power and melody. By channelling the skate punk aspects of early No Use For A Name and the melodic elements of The Ataris, their material shared an instantly classic sound which seemed tailor made for lovers of 90s punk. Their contributions to this split EP with the mighty Pulley – one of the 90s more underrated melodic punk acts – are very much in the same vein, but this only suggests that Fire Sale are the kind of band that genre fans can take to heart without fear of disappointment.
HIGHWAY QUEEN – Extendead Play EP
On their 2022 long player ‘Bitter Soul’, Finnish metallers Highway Queen very much flew the flag for a traditional approach. The album’s eight songs drew influence from a mid 80s Iron Maiden, with galloping riffs and twin lead guitars, from Michael Schenker via a very European sense of bombast, and a couple of Scandinavian hard rock rock acts from more recent times, which certainly helped their shamelessly old fashioned sound retain a pleasing sense of melody. Against their often familiar sounding riffs, vocalist Virpi Kääriäinen shared a strong vocal, and despite sometimes sounding a little buried within the band’s studio arrangements – at least on the faster numbers, the Whitesnake-esque title cut allowed for more clarity – it was obvious she had the kind of talent that would carry itself well in the live setting.