The Fat Angel Sings

Dead Pioneers should be the soundtrack to your discontent this summer as the country celebrates its milestone birthday with nary a mention of the genocides that occurred to “Make America Great Again”. The band, led by artist Gregg Deal, are on the rise with their brand of acerbic, rage-filled punk

Gregg Deal worries about life in America right now. As a man with Native American roots, he understands division and oppression. On Dead Pioneers’ new album “Wagon Burner”, he says there’s great responsibility in saying what needs to be said about where things are at. “There’s a lot to be fixed on its best day. But we’re going backwards…”

Dead Pioneers blaze a path through modern punk-rock with a sound that harks back to the days of 90’s west-coast American punk, but with a strong lyrical focus on Gregg Deal’s indigenous heritage, and cultural issues in the USA as a whole. A brilliantly hefty, scathing blast of noisy punk rock. Just what we need.

Sonically, you can hear greats like Dead Kennedys (not the inspiration for the band name, though, by the way), Suicidal Tendencies, and Minutemen, with the rebellious heart of Public Enemy. The lead single from their newest, “Wagon Burner”, is “Nazi Teeth”, a rager with guest vocals from Stephanie Byrne of Cheap Perfume. “Nazis, fascists, and incel scum, go back to where you came from,” snarls Deal.

It’s a powerful opening salvo, and the rest of the tracks build on the promise of their previous releases. Sleaford Mods show up for “The Worst Among Us”, and “Never Alone” is an upbeat ode to punk rock’s ability to save lives that features the Interrupters. In the late 1980s, hip-hop was the real world’s CNN. In 2026, it’s easy to hear Dead Pioneers carrying the torch with these songs. 

‘The Worst Among Us’ by Dead Pioneers, featuring Jason Williamson.
Taken from the album ‘Wagon Burner’

It still feels ridiculous to say this, but Sugar, the extremely sick alt-rock power trio that Bob Mould led in the ’90s, are back together. They’re playing shows, and they’re putting out new music. Since reassembling last year, Sugar have released two singles, “House Of Dead Memories” and “Long Live Love.” The band will sell a limited 7″ with both songs on the dates of their upcoming North American tour. Today, they drop a third song, and it’s about phone addiction and AI thievery, two problems that didn’t exist during Sugar’s first run.

Sugar’s new song “Keep Looping” is a piece of incensed, charged-up power–pop that’s over in less than two and a half minutes. I love the scrambling, desperate, melodic guitar solo and the judicious use of tambourine. In a press release, Mould says, “Living in SF, I have a love/hate relationship with AI. It’s bringing my city back to life, but at what cost to society and the environment? And do we trust the current regime to do the right thing with this new tech?

The new song has more snarl, and the lyrics say it all: A touch of dopamine. The steady beat of the drum. Get used to the constant hum of the Lie.”

Bassist David Barbe says, “‘Keep Looping’ might be my favourite of the new Sugar songs. Just like so many other things that quite literally keep looping in my head, this song gets stuck in my brain quite a bit. The combination of the intensity of the main riff and the elevation of the bridge checks a lot of boxes for me. As was the case with ‘House Of Dead Memories’ and ‘Long Live Love,‘ I am stoked for it to finally be unleashed for public consumption.”

“Keep Looping” is out now on Granary Music/BMG. “Keep Looping” is the third new song from the iconic alternative rock trio SUGAR, following on from “House of Dead Memories” and “Long Live Love” after the bands triumphant return after three decades.

Following their recent return to the UK and Europe in May/June 2026, the US tour starts in Denver CO August 11th 2026.

A new Joy Division box set, described as the band’s “first-ever official collection of live concert recordings,” has been announced.

Joy Division was active from 1976 to 1980 and released just two albums during their brief but incredibly influential run. Beyond their significant musical impact, the cover artwork for their 1979 album, “Unknown Pleasures“, has become an iconic image in alternative music. 

Given the band’s short lifespan, the Joy Division nostalgia machine has churned out no shortage of live material. Never before, though, has so much of it been compiled in one place. Now, as the surviving band members prepare for Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction, Rhino has assembled just that in “Eternal (Live)” a box set of 16 complete live albums, spread across 14 CDs, with a couple of DVDs thrown in for good measure. Among the concert recordings are three full concerts being released for the very first time and several more full recordings of shows that have been excerpted, to varying extents, for past releases.

Joy Division disbanded in 1980 following the death of frontman Ian Curtis, who was 23. The rest of the band — guitarist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris — then founded New Order alongside keyboardist Gillian Gilbert. 

The compilation, titled “Eternal“, is due out September. It consists of 192 tracks sourced from 16 live performances, including the final Joy Division concert in 1980, spread over 14 CDs. The package also includes two DVDs featuring two-and-a-half hours of live footage.

The audio is a fairly even mix of sound desk recordings and fan bootlegs, with some spliced together to get the best audio quality. There are also two radio broadcast recordings, both previously released: one from Paris nightclub Les Bains Douches and the other from Amsterdam’s Paradiso. The pair of DVDs comprise two and a half hours of concert footage, much of it unreleased, and a new edit of Joy Division – A Malcolm Whitehead Film. The full set was mastered at Abbey Road Studios and comes with a 16-page book of notes from Simon Armitage and photography by Anton Corbijn and Kevin Cummins.

The live shows included is Hope And Anchor, London **Previously unreleased** 1st March, 1979 Bowdon Vale Youth Club, Altrincham :“Exercise One” from a sound desk recording, the rest of the show is a matrix of the sound desk recording and an audience recording by Malcolm Whitehead  14th March, 1979. the next set is from Acklam Hall, London **Previously unreleased** recording  17th May, 1979.  The Factory, Manchester **Previously unheard recording** 13th July, 1979  YMCA, London 2nd August, 1979, Futurama One Festival, Leeds  8th September, 1979, Les Bains Douches, Paris  18th December, 1979, Paradiso, Amsterdam 11th January, 1980
Audio source: Radio broadcast recording, VARA.

Effenaar, Eindhoven 18th January, 1980, The Warehouse, Preston  28th February, 1980  The Lyceum, London  29th February, 1980, : The Moonlight Club, London 2nd April, 1980  Winter Gardens, Malvern 5th April, 1980 Ajanta Theatre, Derby 19th April, 1980 High Hall, Birmingham  2nd May, 1980

You can listen to a rendition of the song “Transmission,” recorded in Paris in December 1979, out now.

With 16 performances across 14 CDs, sourced from audience-recorded cassettes, soundboard tapes and broadcast recordings. The music was mastered at Abbey Road Studios.

The set will also include two DVDs featuring video recordings of the band onstage. The set features two previously unreleased shows and three previously unheard recordings. It also includes their final live performance at Birmingham’s High Hall in 1980. Singer Curtis died by suicide in May 1980, shortly before the band was to start its first U.S. tour.

Joy Division will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in November along with New Order, the band they became. Bassist Peter Hook said he would never play with his old bandmates again, shutting down any speculation that the group would reunite at the Rock Hall induction ceremony on November in Los Angeles.

“I haven’t spoken to Bernard [Sumner, singer and guitarist] for … I didn’t even speak to him,” Hook has said, when 2026’s class was announced. “He spoke at me. That’ll be 15 years. Steve [Morris, drummer] and I spoke about four or five years ago, but that wasn’t a friendly moment. And I haven’t spoken to Gillian [Gilbert, keyboardist] in 15 years. So, it doesn’t look good.

“They’d have to reach out and try and form some kind of relationship. You can’t just go ‘truce for the night’ after what we’ve been through. If you knew what we’ve been through, you wouldn’t even suggest it. That’s the thing. Nobody knows what you went through.”

“Eternal (Live)” is being touted as Joy Division’s “first official collection of live concert recordings.”

Dani Miller has learned to cope with a world gone mad. On “Reality Star”, her third album with Surfbort, the singer shares her earned wisdom, nutty obsessions, and weird tangents to the crushing riffs of her blissfully eccentric punk rock band. Most of the songs are barely two minutes and rock hard, starting with “Lucky,” as Miller offers some dazed philosophy: “I love it when you call me on the phone / And tell me that you saw a UFO … Life is beautiful if you just let go.”

This is hand-made punk rock that keeps the hardcore cliches at arm’s length, but the record still delivers speedy blasts of noisy melody on “Hot Chicks Cold Beer” and “FUGOMF” (a handy acronym for “Fuck You Get Out of My Face”).

The L.A. band’s line-up remains a revolving door of comrades built upon the foundation of Surfbort founders Miller and drummer Sean Powell, with new guitarist Adam Laidlaw thrashing the irresistible riffs.

There’s a bit of Pixies guitar and vocal textures on “Notorious Brat,” as Miller sings, “Delusionally in love with living / My heart is empty but I keep giving.” Words of wisdom from the DIY underground.

Bodega step away from the minimalist post-punk of their early releases on “All Inside Aquarium”, embracing a broader, more melodic approach built on big hooks, guitar-driven energy and classic alternative rock influences. Drawing inspiration from the late-’80s and early-’90s sounds of bands like The Stone Roses and Jane’s Addiction, the album finds the group leaning into riffs, solos and expansive songwriting.

Lyrically, the record shifts focus too. Rather than tackling overtly political themes, songwriters Ben Hozie and Nikki Belfiglio explore more personal, playful and poetic territory, bringing a different perspective to the band’s sharp observational style.

Alongside the album, Bodega have created a series of companion singles featuring exclusive non-album B-sides unavailable digitally, reflecting the band’s enthusiasm for the art of the standalone single.

Following the back-to-back releases of Everything Must Go and Chain Yer Dragon in 2025, Goose return with “Big Modern!”, a vibrant next chapter that expands the band’s signature indie rock sound with neon-lit inspired synths, driving rhythms, and soaring anthemic hooks. New tracks like “Good2B” and “Good Times // End Times” arrive alongside fan favorites “Big Modern” and “Torero,” capturing Goose’s adventurous spirit while delivering some of their most bold and dynamic studio recordings yet.

Rick Mitarotonda (vocals, guitar), Peter Anspach (vocals, keys, guitar), Trevor Weekz (bass), and Cotter Ellis (drums) — traverse genres with their unique brand of irresistible songcraft, fluid musicianship, and spirited improvisational performance.

Following the back-to-back releases of “Everything Must Go” and “Chain Yer Dragon” in 2025, Goose return with “Big Modern!“, a vibrant next chapter that expands the band’s signature indie rock sound with neon-lit inspired synths, driving rhythms, and soaring anthemic hooks.

New tracks like “Good2B” and “Good Times // End Times” arrive alongside fan favourites “Big Modern” and “Torero,” capturing Goose’s adventurous spirit while delivering some of their most bold and dynamic studio recordings yet.

Some bands are meant for the stage. Though their studio recordings are excellent as is, Philly alt-country outfit Florry are undoubtedly most at home under the lights—and we should all count ourselves lucky for it. The band’s third LP, the sparkly, down-home “Sounds Like…“, was released just last year, and it begs to be played in front of real people, with all the slip-ups and improvisations and idiosyncrasies that follow. But if you were unlucky enough to miss out on their accompanying tour, don’t worry. Florry’s gifted us the next best thing: an amalgam of intimate performances from New Hampshire, Ohio, and a few early pieces from Leeds and Philly, “Smells Like…Florry Live As Hell” is as much a celebration of the country-rock genre itself as it is the album in question.

Francie Medosch’s drawl, already a force of nature, is buoyed further by her live-performance crackles and whoops; John Murray’s slicing guitar riffs are even more impressive when steeped in the buzziness of an on-stage amp.

When “Sounds Like…” came out last May, there was little argument that it would be an instant classic—a. It was a fiery ball of energy, an ode to big band alt-country and a wrangling of the best and brightest of the DIY scene. Replete with pedal steel and harmonica, twinkly fiddles and warbled croons, it was the kind of sound that made you want to make your own life worth singing about. Guided by Alex Farrar’s expert hand, “Sounds Like…” was near-perfect. How, then, to improve upon an album that already strove to touch the sun? 

I raise as my first piece of evidence two live renditions of my favorite single from the album: “Pretty Eyes Lorraine,” a well-worn, electric guitar-led, harmonica-heavy love song in the tradition of the modern troubadour. Ragged and sweet, Medosch’s nasal, Dylan-esque vocals shine as she screeches and crows with the heaviness of flailing love. The song, already off-the-cuff, spills out of its constraints entirely when lent the emotional landscape of a live performance. An acoustic version offered at the record’s end reins those emotions inward without dimming their fire. Plaintive and ecstatic, burning and soft, the pared-back tune takes on a new sense of pathos when stripped of its rip-roaring momentum.

The album features another dual interpretation in “Take My Heart”: one version a roiling, bluesy electric; the other a stripped-down acoustic, all harmonica and head-voice. Florry’s eclectic range feels inarguable; it’s a showcase of their ability to flip seamlessly between the raucous and the intimate, and, at their best moments, to squish the two together into something new and unique.

“Dip Myself In Like an Ice Cream Cone,” track two on the live album, is a sugary-sweet tune bolstered by Medosch’s effortless, lilting twang and Murray’s searing guitar. Its joyous, loose progression is that of a band becoming itself. “I was hoping to use this song to talk about / Something that had been going on but I could not get it out,” Medosch croons as pedal steel and drums blossom behind her. It’s a lovely, self-possessed tune—an encapsulation of ease and the joy of performance. That clear love of craft shines through each of the album’s fourteen tracks (the last of which, in true DIY fashion, is only available on cassette). Other highlights include: two NRBQ covers and a potent, stripped-back performance of “Drunk and High.”

“Smells Like…’s reaches a zenith during “First it was a movie, then it was a book,” an Odyssean journey that shrieks through almost eight minutes of heat and shows off the band’s technical prowess. Sliding guitars, silky-smooth hammer-ons, and easy, expert enunciation all make for a live performance so messily perfect it feels near-miraculous. The boiling, buzzing song rolls through hills and valleys, giving space to each band member’s unique skills. It’s so replete with sound, so full and alive, that it’s hard to imagine the walls of the venue weren’t vibrating with sheer energy. It crescendoes and explodes and spirals into itself like a black hole, a star collapsing. It makes you want to be a middle-aged guy with a long, scruffy mustache. It makes you want to learn two-step. It makes you want to buy a truck. 

Florry is a heart bursting at the seams, a late summer afternoon where the sun never sets, a weird Tuesday at a shitty dive bar. The group has a singular ability to convey a feeling of youthful expanse, especially when stripped of their post-production bells and whistles. That the tape is only available (for now) on Bandcamp only adds to its homespun ethos. Florry boasts generational talent, with or without the accoutrements of the modern musical landscape. They’re this decade’s Crazy Horse—Shakey harmonicas, slippery chords, Econoline van, and all. On “Smells Like… Florry Live as Hell“, they make that impossible to forget. [Dear Life Records]

While Florry’s 2023 album “The Holey Bible” literally sounded like people sitting around a campfire and singing folk and country songs together, this year’s “Sounds Like… Florry!” captures the energy of this live rock band that’s been on the road these past couple years, and it’s the best representation of their sound yet. The jammy, guitar-solo-happy band sound like the Grateful Dead and Crazy Horse at their scrappiest, with a little bit of Dinosaur Jr’s sludgefeast in the mix, and they’ve got the memorable hooks to bring those instrumental freak outs back down to earth. (There’s some Bob Dylan in there too.)

If that combo of bands sounds a little like MJ Lenderman & the Wind on paper, it may come as no surprise that The Wind member Colin Miller (who also released a great solo album this year) co-produced and engineered the album at the MJ Lenderman/Wednesday crew’s go-to studio Drop of Sun, and they also finished writing the album during a three-day session at the now-defunct Haw Creek compound where Wednesday/Wind members used to live. 

The promise of a Florry show, a now familiar caravan that has been honed over ambitiously trekked zig zags across America and Europe since the release of Dear Life Records debut “The Holey Bible”, is the redemptive promise and prodigal joy of rock and roll guitar music. Bred in the crackling warmth of the Philadelphia DIY scene, and forged with the alloys of community action, queer liberation, and bedroom poetry, bandleader Francie Medosch and her absolute unit of collaborators have put in the work of sharpening their homespun tools to take up the mantle of the great lip-puckering rock and roll tradition pioneered by the likes of The Band and the Rolling Stones, but with proudly displayed Aimee Mann and Yo La Tengo bumper stickers on the rusty frame of the truck.

At any second, the wheels could come off but they are steering just fine. For “Sounds Like..”., Florry’s sophomore effort as a fully realized band, Medosch and co. decamped to Drop of Sun studios in the nest of the Blue Ridge Mountains to record with Asheville wunderkind Colin Miller, a critical voice behind the records of MJ Lenderman, Wednesday, and Merce Lemon and a powerful songwriter in his own right. Three powerhouse days in late 2023 solidified writing work done by the band earlier that summer in the now defunct Haw Creek compound under Miller’s guiding suggestion.

The result is a portrait of a ripping band cresting towards the height of their powers, uniquely equipped to capture a wildly loving, barn-burning camcorder clip of a turbulent trip with your best friends, without dipping into nostalgia bait. Lyrically, Medosch’s utterances are both careful and excessive, the product of sifting through the rubble of classic good-time media, and finding what works for both her and her community to reach the heights of abandon.

“The Holey Bible” sounded secluded from the world, but “Sounds Like…” is a melting pot of all the influence you absorb and all the places you go as a traveling band.