In discussing the legacy of Modern English’s material, we have been known to define it as a catalog that ages gracefully. After listening to the group’s newest album, 1 2 3 4, we are happy to report our estimation has remained truthful.

Apart from the single “Long In The Tooth”, our first taste of 1 2 3 4 came in the form of the band’s KEXP live session. Featured alongside an energetic rendition of “I Melt With You”, the band debuted two additional tracks from the then-forthcoming 1 2 3 4 album (“Genius”, “Crazy Lovers”, first recorded performance of “Long In The Tooth”). Upon release of the KEXP session, we incessantly replayed the live versions of these tracks, impatiently awaiting the record’s official release. By the time we caught Modern English at the Space Ballroom (Hamden, CT), frontman Robbie Grey directly asked us (from the stage) how we were able to sing along to their performance of “Crazy Lovers”, as the tune had yet to be officially released as a single.

“KEXP! Love that song… When’s the record coming out?!”, we replied with eagerness. Having now heard the entirety of the band’s latest offering, we cannot help but give it a glowing endorsement.

Looking past the undeniable energy of opener “Long In The Tooth” (One of our favorite releases from 2023), the anthemic “Not My Leader” does a great job at keeping the album lively while delivering Modern English’s refined sense of pop-infectiousness. Being the band’s first new release in nearly a decade, it truly feels like no time was lost! The same can be said for “Not Fake” and “Exploding”, which begin to reveal the moodier/introspective side of 1 2 3 4. Lyrically, the record sees Grey reflecting on pre-established political and societal constructs, though never venturing off into a plateau of sameness or parody. Now a veteran of his craft, Grey simultaneously guides Modern English through some of their most intense and blissful material across 1 2 3 4. The post-apocalyptic instrumental of “Exploding” (featuring a wonderful bassline courtesy of Michael Conroy!) sounds at home with “I Know Your Soul”, our pick for hypothetical fourth single. Through it all, Grey’s versatility as a frontman keeps the album’s sonic variety feeling like a well-curated collection of tunes. 

The majority of 1 2 3 4 sees Modern English playing to their strengths as a post-punk institution, until the welcomed experimentation of the closing track, “Voices”. Aptly titled, “Voices” is a mainly a capella tune that blends Modern English’s trademark sound with Pet Sounds-era Beach Boys harmonies. Tackling intense themes of detachment and disillusionment, the understated instrumental approach to “Voices” makes for an unpredictable and cool way to finalize an excellent album. For any fans of post-punk and music of the alternative variety, be grateful that bands like Modern English are still capable of writing great, new music. Over 40 years since the band’s initial formation, they have continued to cement their legacy as one of the greats with 1 2 3 4.

The full release of Modern English’s newest album, 1 2 3 4, occurred this past Friday! Serving as the band’s first new album in nine years, we are happy to report that the album’s singles served as a precursor to the fantastic album that it is. We will dive deeper into things during our full review (Check back Wednesday!), but just know it has yet to leave our regular rotation. Two months into 2024, the band have firmly entered themselves in the running for the best release of the year.

If a great new album from Modern English did not satisfy your post-punk craving, you can turn to the recently reunited pairing of Mark Burgess and Reg Smithies for more.

In case you have yet to hear; The Chameleons will be returning to the United States for a 2024 tour! Kicking off at the end of May, the run will be one of the longest since the return of original guitarist, Reg Smithies. The tour sees the band playing their essential 1986 release Strange Times in its entirety, which is sure to be a treat for longtime fans. For any Connecticut locals, be sure to catch the band at Hamden’s Space Ballroom on August 9 (Tickets available here). Additional dates are scheduled to be announced soon, but we remain elated to have the chance to catch this legendary group. August cannot come soon enough!

Aside from major developments in the post-punk world, we had the chance to listen to What A Fucking Nightmare, the latest offering from The Chisel. We had reported positively on the album’s singles, though we felt the energy of the record dissipate as its runtime wore on. Maybe What A Fucking Nightmare just needs to spend some more time with us, but The Chisel have not sparked anything revelationary within us on this record. Is it fun? Sure. Has it stuck with us? Not particularly. Have a listen above and decide for yourself.

Be sure to stay tuned here for more content this week… Looking forward to this week’s edition of Out Of Circulation (Thursday, 2-3 PM EST on WNHU). Cheers!

Another week is here! Thank you to any and all of our new readers.

We'll be taking a short break from new publications this week, but feel free to use this time to review any publications you may have missed and/or the Out Of Circulation archive! We will be hosting a new episode of Out Of Circulation this Thursday (2-3 PM EST on WNHU), but no new articles.
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In the meantime, join us in revisiting Low's fantastic Things We Lost in the Fire album via the YouTube stream above!

Welcome to the end of the week! Thank you to anyone who tuned into yesterday's episode of Out Of Circulation.

If you have not kept up to date with the Out Of Circulation episode archive, take today to catch up with what we have done. Our last few episodes have featured some of our strongest selections thus far... Yesterday's edition of Out Of Circulation being no exception. Give it a listen!

In other news, we are checking out TANGK; the latest from the divisive post-punk group, IDLES. While our love for the group began to fizzle out with the release of 2020's Ultra Mono, the musical ideas introduced on TANGK exemplify growth/maturity in an interesting way. While our first few listens have not left us with a Joy as an Act of Resistance-sized imprint, the energy of their earlier releases seems filtered through a Gang of Four-esque filter on TANGK. Having the chance to preview the album a few days in advance at Redscroll Records' listening party, we can at least offer that the new IDLES album is a solid entry into their discography. Our favorite track,  "Gift Horse", is linked above for your listening pleasure.

Enjoy today & thank you for your continued support!

The earliest days of punk saw many bands venture into unfamiliar territory with their sound. While the late 80s gave birth to genres such as post-hardcore and crossover, early attempts at “expanding” the depth of punk rock fell on deaf ears. From SSD’s infamous attempt to go glam on How We Rock to Bad Religion’s progressive rock folly Into The Unknown, the genre’s earliest years resulted in many half-baked attempts to push boundaries. Decades onward, we have stumbled upon one band that truly got it right: The Ruts. The group’s name is mostly synonymous with their legendary The Crack album, though what happened after the album’s release has been unfairly marginalized over time.

To most, here is how the story of The Ruts unfolds after the release of The Crack: 
After recording some live John Peel Sessions, the band would eventually release their “Staring at the Rude Boys” (b/w “Love in Vain”) single. Shortly after its release, vocalist Malcom Owen would be found dead of a heroin overdose. Leaving the band without a frontman, The Ruts would only reform with Henry Rollins as their frontman for a one-night show in 2007 (A benefit show for The Ruts’ guitarist Paul Fox, who passed away from cancer later that year), cementing the band’s legacy as brief-yet-monumental to many. This narrative is factual, but it glosses over the formation of Ruts D.C., a three-piece consisting of the remaining members of The Ruts.

You could argue that Ruts D.C. should be treated as a separate entity altogether, but the songwriting prowess that made The Crack a seminal release is all-too present on the first Ruts D.C. release, 1981’s Animal Now. Instead of picking up where The Crack left off, the remaining members of The Ruts (Paul Fox, Segs Jennings, and Dave Ruffy) turned their attention to the burgeoning new wave movement of the 80s. Still toying with the dub reggae edge that defined The Ruts (look no further than “Fools”, one of the best dub cuts the group has written), the group’s transition to new wave feels natural. Compared to the aforementioned SSD and Bad Religion albums, Animal Now is a record that has merit aside from name value. Even if The Ruts had nothing to do with the songs that comprise Animal Now, we would champion it as an under regarded new wave gem. That said, having the precision instrumentation that defined The Ruts behind Animal Now only makes it better!

 “Mirror Smashed” is the closest Animal Now comes to sonic similarity with The Crack. Serving as the record’s opener, it was smart of Fox, Jennings, and Ruffy to reintroduce themselves with something familiar. That said, “Mirror Smashed” is still full of surprises! The elasticity of the rhythm section is classically-The Ruts, though the track’s saxophone freakout middle section is uncharted territory. While the tonality of Animal Now quickly changes with “Dangerous Minds” and “Slow Down”, you would be hard pressed to not call the record cohesive. At this point, it is clear that the musicians that comprised The Ruts always had musical ambitions that stretched beyond standard punk fanfare.

“Dangerous Minds” and “Slow Down” both echo sounds that The Cure would trademark with their earliest releases (think Seventeen Seconds and Faith if they got a bit rowdy). After our first listen, we were simply blown away by the range covered by this trio. The saxophone solos of Gary Barnacle also work to the record’s benefit, as he turns in his best performance on standout “Different View”. While we could detail the greatness of latter half tracks “No Time To Kill” and “Walk Or Run”, we implore that you dedicate time to digging up Animal Now.

For those that like their new wave on the edgier side, one of the UK’s greatest punk bands made the record for you! Let us know your favorite track on Animal Now below.

​Another Superbowl has come and gone; We're ready to get back to what we do here!

Last week was quite eventful in regards to new releases! If you have yet to check out our recent recap of the best recent releases, give it a look.

In the meantime, join us in taking in the sounds of the criminally overlooked Animal Now LP from Ruts DC. While we have fancied ourselves huge fans of The Ruts' classic The Crack, we only recently hit upon what The Ruts became after the tragic loss of Malcolm Owen. Animal Now sees the group adopt some new wave and nearly-goth elements to their now iconic sound... Listen up to prep for our classic retrospective this Wednesday!

Closing a week rich with new releases, we have decided to dedicate today to covering all that we were able to listen to! To summarize, there is no shortage of great new singles and upcoming releases to look forward to. Check out some of our thoughts below:

Beth Gibbons - “Floating On A Moment”

What needs to be restated about the greatness of Beth Gibbons? Her voice is directly responsible for making Dummy and Portishead’s catalog an essential piece of the 90s alternative puzzle. Her 2002 collaboration with Rustin Man (Out Of Season) served as her first non-Portishead release, though her upcoming album (Lives Outgrown, out May 17 via Domino) will be her first true solo release. Decades into her career, Gibbons has successfully hit on something new while playing to her strengths. The vocals of “Floating On A Moment” exhibit a delicacy that is classically Gibbons, only now accompanied by a primal instrumental that still has enough low end to propel it forward. Lyrically, Gibbons’ commentary on aging and mortality is the definition of authentic reflection.

​For all these reasons, “Floating On A Moment” is our favorite release of the week. May 17 cannot come soon enough!

Higher Power - “Absolute Bloom”

Unfortunately, the latest release from Higher Power feels like a let down. Having discovered the band through their fantastic 27 Miles Underwater record, the band’s bouncy and melodic take on hardcore made their sound quite unique. While comparisons of vocalist Jimmy Wizard’s delivery to Perry Farrell are not totally off-base, Higher Power has done a great job at mixing melodicism and edge to define their sound. On their newest single, “Absolute Bloom”, the metallic edge that we have come to expect from Higher Power is all but absent. We here at Noise Is Power love a great melodic tune (see our next entry!), but “Absolute Bloom” was not a track that stuck with us. That said, based on past releases, we hope for a return to form for Higher Power soon! 

The Lemon Twigs - “They Don’t Know How To Fall In Place” 

Again, The Brothers D’addario release another great single that features another self-fulfilling prophecy of a title. Releasing one of 2023’s best albums (Everything Harmony), The Lemon Twigs have announced its follow up, A Dream Is All We Know (out May 3 via Captured Tracks). While a quick follow-up to such a great album can be worrisome, “My Golden Years” and “They Don’t Know How To Fall In Place” have eased any of our fears. The track’s modulations and prominent keyboards harken back to the Sunflower-era Beach Boys pop of Everything Harmony; Music to our ears! The Lemon Twigs continue to establish themselves as one of rock’s hardest working bands… Looking forward to the new LP.

Crush Your Soul - S/T EP

Leeway, Raekwon, Merauder.
These three monumental influences collide with Mindforce’s Jay Petagine, who surprise-dropped the debut EP from his new project (Crush Your Soul) this Thursday! Released via Streets Of Hate and mixed by Taylor Young, Petagine is backed by members of Recycled Earth, Scarab, Gridiron, and Simulakra. Safe to say, the entirety of Crush Your Soul’s debut release is a fun listen that is informed by many of modern hardcore’s founding fathers. From the EP’s artwork (paying homage to Leeway’s 1995 LP, Open Mouth Kiss) to the Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… (Raekwon) inspired interludes, this EP packs a lot of passion into a short runtime. A vibrant and great release… Keep ‘em coming!

Did you have a favorite new release this week? Sound off in the comments.

The Germs’ GI is a record that has fostered many intellectual conversations. Now that it has made a return to major streaming platforms, it is time to listen.

The tragic death of frontman Darby Crash, the Germs being guitarist Pat Smear’s band pre-Nirvana, and Joan Jett’s role of producer have become hot-button topics in relation to GI. Since the album’s release in 1979, physical copies have remained fairly difficult to obtain; further adding to the album’s mystique. For many of the modern era, the Germs name is synonymous with both relative obscurity and punk folklore… Strange, is it not? While the band’s history has been well-documented and discussed ad nauseam, we feel as if the actual music on GI has taken a back seat to its chaotic origin story. While it would be easy to claim “The record’s not that good… Their story was far more interesting than their music”, that could not be further from the truth. Making its return to many major streaming platforms this week, one fact remains clearer than ever:

GI is one of (if not the best) the most enduring and crucial documents of early punk and hardcore.

For a punk recording that dates back to the late 70s, the first notable quality of GI is the record’s fidelity. One could argue that punk is not an art form that requires pristine sound, but we attest that it is one of the assets that has kept GI vital. From the opening bass drum count-off of “What We Do Is Secret” (courtesy of Don Bolles), the bass of Lorna Doom and Pat Smear’s fiery guitar quickly find their own defined space in the mix. The band’s performance was captured in fine fashion, serving as a perfect soundtrack for Darby Crash to expel lyrical narratives of societal disappointment, governmental deception, and outsider politics. While records like Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols did a good job at documenting a punk band in a recorded format, GI is one of the few albums of the era that gets the energy and immediacy of the genre across. While Joan Jett’s true involvement in the album’s production has been brought into question, it does not change the fact that GI is an incredible sonic time capsule.

Onto the album’s material, it is difficult to not label nearly every track as a punk classic. The aforementioned “What We Do Is Secret”, “Communist Eyes”, “Land Of Treason”, and (of course) “Lexicon Devil” have earned their reputations due to decades of advocacy by those who love this record as much as us. That said, we are sure the appearance of “Lexicon Devil” in Grand Theft Auto V played a role, too! Deep cuts such as “Manimal” and “Dragon Lady” are just as aggressive and magnetic with their energy, which keeps GI on fire for its runtime of 38 minutes. That seems relatively standard, but the Germs were able to cram 16 bona fide classics into that brief window of time. If you have been unable to previously devote the time to GI, there is no better time than now to get familiar!

GI is now available on your streaming platform of choice.

Welcome back, everybody!

If you have yet to do so, be sure to check out our interview with Tony Ammendolia from Fudge & B4NK M4CHIN3! While we have no interview lined up for this week, we can ensure that we will have some exciting stuff headed your way shortly. 

In the meantime, we wanted to use today’s update to share Number One, the unfairly forgotten 1996 debut from Pist•On. Produced by Type O Negative keyboardist Josh Silver, Number One shares audible similarity with their critically acclaimed October Rust album (released the same year). Alongside standout tracks “Turbulent” and “Eight Sides”, a unique twist on The Smiths’ classic “Shoplifters of the World Unite” keeps you guessing on exactly how Pist•On utilizes a darkened atmosphere to create a fine offering of heavy 90s alternative. To kick your week off right, check out the stream of Number One linked above!

In collaboration with Merge Records, the Scottish indie legends will return with Look to the East, Look to the West, their first album of new material in over ten years.

The release of 2009's My Maudlin Career would establish Camera Obscura as one of the premier bands to come out of the indie-rock revival that took place in the 2000s. In the years since its release, the album's sizable impact on modern indie rock is still felt today. Look no further than Alvvays, whose vocalist Molly Rankin shares similar melodic and compositional ideas with Camera Obscura's Tracyanne Campbell. In the lead-up to Alvvays' heavily anticipated Blue Rev album, My Maudlin Career was often suggested as interim listening. Bright instrumentation, conversational lyrics, and featuring Camera Obscura covers in their live sets made it easy to draw the comparison. All that said, the rise in popularity of the style that Camera Obscura once perfected has made 2024 the perfect time for the band to return. However, after listening to "Big Love", one has to wonder if its a conscious effort by the band to step away from the style that has defined them.

Before diving in, it is unfair to solely associate Camera Obscura with the sounds of their biggest single, "The Sweetest Thing". While the track is a prime example of Campbell's sharp turn-of-phrase lyricism and features string accompaniment (commonplace for the band), it only brushes on the territory that the band would explore on the shuffling "You Told A Lie" and ballad "The False Contender". However, the country-infused melody and leadwork of "Big Love" has come off as surprising to us. We may not be quick to praise this track as an instant classic, but we remain intrigued for what Camera Obscura has to offer to the current landscape of indie music. Have a listen above!

Look to the East, Look to the West is out May 3 via Merge Records.