The Vandals - Live Fast, Diarrhea (re-issue)

Produced by guitarist Warren Fitzgerald, the album features the band’s current lineup, including Fitzgerald, singer Dave Quackenbush, renowned studio drummer Josh Freese, and bassist Joe Escalante, who remains the longest-running member of the group. Despite the band’s tongue-in-cheek humor, nonsensical lyrics, and downright silliness, The Vandals’ musicianship is no joke. The four-piece is in top form on Live Fast, Diarrhea – from Freese’s rapid-fire drumming and Escalante’s tight bass lines to Fitzgerald’s relentless, hard-driving guitar lines, and Quackenbush’s nimble vocals.

CRACKUPS - Greetings From Earth

When it comes to garage rock and punk it’s easy to say you’ve heard it all before. CRACKUPS makes mincemeat of such preconceptions because this an entirely new animal.

As loud as a power saw. As fast as a shark. As tight as a duck’s arse. Check, check and check. It’s the quality of the songs that makes all the difference: CRACKUPS’ craftsmanship is undeniable with clever structures that mercilessly plunge every music fan into an orgy of riotous but superior garage punk.

Shades Apart - Eternal Echo

Shades Apart are back with their first album in almost twenty years! The band released their previous two albums, Eyewitness (1999) and Sonic Boom (2001), with Universal Records and have been rather quiet since. The New Jersey power-rock trio have found a new home, in their own backyard, with NJ indie label Hellminded Records and are ready to release Eternal Echo later this summer. Eternal Echo is a return to form consisting of ten supercharged power-pop and rock songs that meet somewhere between their earlier work on Seeing Things and Eyewitness.