Discography by Denmark's Gorilla Angreb was a complete impulse buy. I'd never heard them before I picked up the record at Generation; one of my friends who likes awesome music really digs them, so I thought, "why the hell not?" I put it on at work the next day and the first thing that comes to mind is X. Then I think, "nah, X Ray Spex". My coworker puts on The Avengers right after the record's done and that, my dear friends, pretty much sums up Gorilla Angreb.

Unlike The Avengers, X or the X Ray Spex though, Gorilla Angreb were a current band (formed in 1999), even though their sound first had me guessing they from the '70s or '80s. I say were a current band though, as they broke up only a couple of months ago. What a shame, as I hear they're a terrific live band!

Not sure what other projects members of Gorilla Angreb are up to right now, but Simon (bass) is also in Los Retardos.

From Discography (Feral Ward, 2006): *Bedretider *Pa Patrulje *Long Island

Discography and other Gorilla Angreb merch are available from the Los Retardos site. Look for the links at the bottom!

Gorilla Angreb on Myspace

Official Los Retardos site
Los Retardos on Myspace

Labels: 2006, Denmark, Gorilla Angreb, punk

I'm not sure they live up to their name sake: Portland, OR's Nice Boys don't really play rock 'n' roll, at least not in the Rose Tattoo sense. They're purely power pop and they really have the retro sound (and even look) down pat. I guess it's worth mentioning that lead guitarist/vocalist Terry Six's was a member of punk/power pop Exploding Hearts (RIP), but the 'Hearts were more Undertones/Buzzcocks while the Nice Boys are more Cheap Trick/Boomtown Rats/Records. One thing that they 'Hearts and 'Boys have in common though is that they're both basically really hooky and catchy and their songs are damn infectious.

I was late catching the Nice Boys virus; they only really gained my attention last month at Brooklyn's Radio Heartbeat Power Pop Festival. They played the first night, opening for Nikki Corvette & 20/20. My 'Boys fix was delayed however since I was unable to buy their self-titled debut at the 'fest due to a lack of merch person at their table each of the five times I went there.

To tell you the truth though, I was kinda disappointed with Nice Boys the album. Don't get me wrong, the songs on there are killer, but the production is kinda... eh. It gets really slow and draggy at times and the vocals sound kinda dead - really different from the Nice Boys I saw at Southpaw. The record doesn't really live up to the band.

With that said, I'm still gonna give you guys a couple of my personal favorites from that album.

From Nice Boys: * Johnny Guitar * Teenage Nights

Find the Nice Boys on Myspace and get their album from Birdman Records!

Labels: 2006, Exploding Hearts, Nice Boys, Portland, power pop, USA

Ahhh, the Mind Controls - yet another brilliant Mark Sultan project. Faster than King Khan & BBQ but more soulful than Les Sexareenos, this one is a great blend of Sultan's multiple projects, all of which simply scream rock 'n' roll.

Mind Controls S/T 2006 Dirtnap/P.Trash

*Take A Message *Prelude to a Fight *Bite Your Tongue

They get a lot of Lurkers comparisons, which I can also see.

The Mind Controls' S/T is avaialable from Dirtnap (US) and P.Trash (UK/Euro), two labels which seem to continually have amazing releases.

Labels: 2006, Canada, Mark Sultan, punk, rock 'n' roll