Not to be confused with similarly named NY band Very Okay, Very Happy are a pop punk outfit from Philadelphia. At their most positive, they are relatable to bands like Full Of Fancy. On the other end of the spectrum, such as on “Angry Swan”, they seem closer to Desaparecidos. The whole record is full of fun, catchy hooks fronted with passionate vocals. Even when the subject matter is about stray felines.
Fuzzy pop from a duo in Bermuda Dunes, SoCal. I am not the first person to say it, but I can’t avoid mentioning how much the vocals remind me of Jenny Lewis. Musically they’re not as similar, as the songs are typically limited to two minutes or less and seems to be closer to garage revival, or maybe shoegaze if it spent some more time in the sun.
Admittedly, when it came to choosing a song to post here, I am always going to be in favour of an Arrested Development reference. Four more years!
Colleen Green is a solo artist currently based in Oakland, California. The sound of her bedroom recordings ranges from fuzzy pop punk to swooning ballads and a lot more in between.
This is a cover of the 1957 song, originally recorded by the Don and Dewey duo. It feels like it could have been right at home on the Twin Peaks soundtrack years ago, as the vocals remind me a lot of Julee Cruise.
NONA are a punk rock trio from West Chester, Pennsylvania, led by Mimi Gallagher. Their influences seem to be firmly placed in the early-mid 90’s, and they take the best bits. In fact, the band are named after a character from the classic Nickelodeon sitcom Pete & Pete. Mimi’s vocals in particular make them sound like they should be on the Mallrats soundtrack, or playing Warped Tour ‘95. This isn’t to say that they’re entirely nostalgic sounding, there’s something young and carefree here. They sound like they’re having fun, too.
This is from their 7” split with Peeple Watchin’. It is also available on cassette and of course, through their Bandcamp.
I’ve never been one to judge a band by their album covers, but this demo tape has one of the best I’ve seen in a long time. Just take a moment to head over to their Bandcamp and have a look. I mean, you’re going to go there to listen to the rest of their material anyway, of course.
Tiny Teeth are a bit of a folk punk goodness from New Jersey. This song in particular has a toy piano. Yes! Where some bands like to throw in something like that to make them seem “quirky” without really adding anything, it genuinely works really great here.
I usually hear these sort of vocals in front of much harder music. It brings such a unique dynamic paired with this kind of musical outfit. It feels a lot warmer and more personal. I can’t wait to hear more from them.
This is from their second demo tape, Blood In The Soup.
Brooklyn trio featuring Allison Crutchfield. Allison has recently been featured in an article by the New York Times of all places, alongside her twin sister Katie. They played together in P.S. Eliot and Bad Banana, and are now involved in separate projects Waxahatchee and Swearin’. Considering the collective list of bands they’ve both been involved with, it’s especially impressive given that they’re only just in their early 20s.
Dear Marje only formed last year but could easily be placed alongside twee bands of yesteryear. They namedrop Tiger Trap in their own bio so it is certainly not a secret where their influences lie. Not to say the similarities are a bad thing in the least. This is fantastic.
Garage rock, in the most classic style, from Chicago. White Mystery is Miss Alex White on guitar/vocals and her brother “White” Francis on drums (I see what you did there). Everything written about them seems to instantly bring up their matching, massive curly red locks and I’m not really doing anything different considering I’m mentioning it first thing. Honestly though, they are some brilliant looking manes.
Miss Alex White (also known for her project “… with The Red Orchestra”) has been on a list of “Female Guitarists To Look Out For”. I know I’m a female music based blog, but I think she should just be a guitarist to look out for full stop. Also, her pipes are something to be reckoned with.
I found this band’s 7” in a record store about two years ago. It looks to be the only thing they ever did and there isn’t much more information. In fact, the only interview I have found mentions the fact that there is nothing out there about them. Sort of admirable, in a way? All I can find is that they are from Athens, GA and have a defunct Myspace page. Even their Last.fm counts for nothing more than a handful of listeners which is surprising given the content. Art-punk in the vein of classic Sonic Youth. Fantastic name, too.
Folk-punk from Oakland, California. It’s hard to find anything about them, although that could be down to the fact that most searches of their name result in crappy lite-rock playlists.
Most notably, this is a group who used their musical powers for good and set up the Bay Area Girls Rock Camp. Inspiring.
Aye Nako are a queercore/punk band from Brooklyn, New York. They seem to be commonly toted as pop punk but they’re arguably much heavier than most bands of that label, and apparently their newer material is making a further step away from it.
For a three piece, they have quite a lot of musical history among them as members have played in Little Lungs, Cheeky and Fleabag.
Hopefully their full length will be making its way out soon. The demo they released two years ago (which this song is from) is far too short for its brilliance.
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