Five Bucks, Eyes and Flys, Salem Trials, The Khats, K. Board and the Skreens, Rudy Now & The Negative Cutters, Legless Crabs, Legless Trials, Desiccate, Noose Sweat, Atoxxico, Shifty Poles, Tin-ear

A new demo from a band called Five Bucks on Poland's almighty Syf Records label. Italian "eggpunk," sounds great:

I did an interview with Syf Records a while back, but haven't been keeping up with their releases like I should.

Tetryron Tapes out of Buffalo has a new full length digital release called "Manic AM" from a band called Eyes and Flys. Haven't listened to all of it yet but Tetryon puts out cool stuff and the first track, "Asbestos Fiber on a Sunbeam," is quality garage psych-punk:

Both Syf and Tetryon are cool tape labels. I've been daydreaming for a while about making a little CNQ boutique label. I tried once before, put out Dr. Nod's awesome Top Tips (see sidebar for ordering info!). Maybe it's time to try to something like that again.

Speaking of cool labels, not a week goes by that Metal Postcard Records doesn't have some new stuff to share. I played both of these bands on my most recent KPISS.FM show. Salem Trials is producing radical tunes at a gazillion miles a minute, and The Khats is the same guy who does K. Board and the Skreens, I think. Great stuff:

And don't forget, also from MP, the latest from Rudy Now and the Negative Cutters:

...oh and the latest Legless Crabs and Legless Trials!:

I've been having so much fun with the KPISS.FM radio show (next one is August 13, at 5P EST, btdubs), and the caster.fm show I turn on and blab into the aetheyr when I feel like it, then post it to Mixcloud. But a blog post can be a hoot too. So let's do an old fashioned CNQ dive into Bandcamp new releases and see what pops up:

First thing of interest, Desiccate's "noisy fuck punk" demo from Hamilton, Ontario. I gotta say, there's nothing better than a noisey demo tape:

More righteous noise, this from Vancouver:

Mexican punk from 1988!:

Synth-punk from London:

Finally, some bitchin' rock'n'roll from Saint Edward Island:

Jeffrey Lewis (New York); Sour Blue (Los Angeles); Rick Treffers (Netherlands); Gasp (Sweden); and Last Wars (New Jersey)

Working on an interview with The Mangfather Bob Katz. Bob turned me on to an artist I'd never heard of before, Jeffrey Lewis, and I have just been blown away listening to him all day. The latest thing on his Bandcamp page is The Jeffrey Lewis & Peter Stampfel Band: Both Ways (The Great Lost 2017 Double Album!). Lewis is a New York boy, and a cult figure at this point, who also does comic books. When I see a guy my age doing what I'd like to do, in this instance making great tunes and creating comic books, I'm always a little jealous. But these songs I've heard of his today are so great, my jealousy is overshadowed by the joy his off-kilter songs immedietly brought me. Weird, unique, utterly listenable:

Schema EP is a 7 track digital release from LA band Sour Blue. Their introductory e-mail describes them as "dream pop melted into...IDM, shoegaze, (and) ambient...(with) lots of tape experiments, warping, (and) sound design." I'm not as hip as I used to be, if I ever even was, and had to look up IDM -- "intelligent dance music." At any rate, it's cool stuff, worth checking out:

Rick Treffers' final single, "The Earth is Turning Round the Sun," from his digital album, Looking for a Place to Stay, is good stuff. Indie pop from the Netherlands:

The new Gasp video is cool. Gasp is from Sweden:

Last Wars' latest two song digital release is bitchin'. The first song, "Pale Fire," is Tubeway Army meets the Wipers, I'm super into it. Last Wars is from New Jersey:

Well, My Friends, I Hope All Is Well With (You & Yours)

Punk from Canada:

Heck yeh, industrial-style synth punk from California:

Rick Treffers (Netherlands); Gasp (Sweden); The Bordellos (UK); The Conspiracy (UK); The Chris Rolling Squad (France); Last Wars (New Jersey); and Adam Holtz (Alabama)

A while ago I featured singer songwriter Rick Treffers from the Netherlands, and his new release, Looking For A Place To Stay, is now out on Bandcamp and streaming services. 12 song album, I haven't gotten a chance to listen to all of it yet, but the few songs I've listened to confirm my suspicion that Treffers is a talent. Highly pleasant indie pop. Here's the video for the first song on the album, "Time Is Really Running Out"

Gasp is solid Swedish three piece punk. They've released a new single, "Least Expected," which is rad. Here's that, as well as the video for their previous single, "Dragging Through Mud." Also rad:

The Bordellos have a new double A-side due out on Metal Postcard Records, "Be My Maybe" and "David Bowie," and it's getting difficult for me to think critically about a Bordellos track, I just think they're the coolest no matter what. Dan's baritone vox (see also: Vukovar, Beauty Stab) is always in fashion, and his pop Brian knows how to write earworms. They are truly my 21st century heroes. While you wait for "Be My Maybe" and "David Bowie," here's their most recent double A-side from Metal Postcard, in case you missed it:

Also from Metal Postcard, I managed to miss this: weirdo pop duo The Conspiracy, with an 18 song album called Apple Zapple. Check out the title track, killer diller:

France's The Chris Rolling Squad released their second album back in April, Cannonball Holocaust, available streaming on Bandcamp or on vinyl. Motörhead-inspired rock'n'roll for sure:

New Jersey's Last Wars have a bitchin' new single, a cover of Flipper's "Get Away." Lo-fi moog-punk excellence:

Alabama's Adam Holtz has a "new" track up on Youtube -- it's actually a 20 year old recording, originally done on a 4 track analog tape porta-studio machine. More super-cool stuff from one of CNQ's favorite singer-songwriters:

A Return 2 Form

So anyway. I've been thinking about the blog and getting back into it. Here's a quick manifesto. I want to:

1. Have fun listening to and writing about new music. I reserve the right to have fun and write about other things as well.

2. Help underground artists reach a handful of cool folks with a discerning ear and a wide range of taste -- and yeh, after 9 years, I'm talking about you, friend-o! Turns out you're cool af.

3. Bandcamp, Youtube, and Soundcloud links are the easiest way for me to share your stuff. If you want me to disseminate your awesome sounds to my extremely limited audience, send me a Bandcamp, Youtube, or Soundclound link.

4. I want to keep up with the blog in a way that it doesn't become a headache for me.

So after kvetching about it for a good two or three years I finally tried my hand at actual music reviews. The end all be all of that experiment was, it made keeping up with the blog feel more like an assignment, or a job, than a fun way to listen and share music I like and my dummy thoughts. And jeeze, all I wanna do is have fun -- doing something actively not fun is just not in my DNA, if I'm not doing it as a transactionary precaution so I don't end up homeless. Thanks Capitalism!

Moving forward, I'll probably get a wild hair to do actual critical reviews every now and then, but mostly I'd rather listen to something, say 'hey that's cool,' share it on the blog with a quick note on where the artists are from and what kinda music it is, why I think it's cool, and move along.

If you contact me and I don't respond or post about your tunes, I hereby apologize.

I'm currently playing Cyberpunk 2077, and really getting into it. In upcoming posts if I rant a little about my leftist politics, or reminisce about some old music video or album I enjoy, don't give me shit about it.

That's all I was doing with CNQ for the longest time anyway. Maybe there is a place for CNQ in the current 2021 music-related blogosphere. Maybe some people like the same stuff I like, and enjoy suggestions.

Since its inception in 2012, CNQ has been ad-free. So there's that.

Syf Records is a DIY label from Poland. The catalog is 9 releases, all noisy lo-fi weird shit. Some of it snythy. I've really been enjoying it, especially this:

Plaguestate is hardcore scream-o stuff from the Bay Area. At first the vocals turned me off, that type of screaming typically is just not my bag, but by the end of this 4 song EP, I was impressed. Recommend a listen:

From Buffalo, NY's Swimming Faith Records, the score to an invisible horror movie Surf punk excellence:

The 12" is still available on Big Neck Records out of Virginia:

Holy mackerel, the Mangfather Bob Katz's new album, "Six Cans of Olives" is an inspriation. Just absolute magic:

The Mangfather Bob Katz · Six Cans of Olives

Finally, don't forget to check out the new Bordellos and Salem Trials from Metal Postcard Records: