Ondadrops Vol. 8

Dead Ghosts

Four Canadians with a passion for garage, the 60s, lo-fi and c&w. Their discography is already sizeable, including some excellent singles, a live album and a self-titled record from 2010, but it's this year that they nail it with the splendid "Can't Get No".

Los Vigilantes are the standard-bearers of Latin rock'n'roll on our compilation. They come from San Juan, sing in Spanish, and run around with fellow Puerto Rican troublemakers like Davila 666 and Las Ardillas, often sharing members between bands. Of this highly dangerous trio, Los Vigilantes represent the more pop and romantic side, declaring their love for hardcore, the Beatles and the Stones (there's a cover of "Paint It, Black" by them on the tribute album "Their Hispanic Majesties Request"), Spanish punk new wave, blues and Michael Jackson - but on their records (almost all on Slovenly Records, the latest being this year's EP "Me Siento Azul") you can strongly feel their Latin roots and rock'n'roll foundations.

Good Habits

Good Habits (probably to be written with a 'The' in front) are a trio made up of Jeff Mannix, Molly Enochson and Luke Ferguson, hailing from Iowa City. At the end of 2012 they released their debut LP, "Never Leaving", from which "Get Protection" is taken. Their sound is an explosive rock'n'roll that pits a raucous, 90s-indie-style voice against a powerful, dynamic guitar attack. To keep it short and simple, there's really only one thing to say: their record is a bomb, and if the band hailed not from Iowa but from California, these three kids would today be counted among the undisputed heroes of the world of pop songcraft.

Sensibles are Stella, Giacomo, Gabriele and Filippo, and they write songs somewhere between punk-rock and power-pop, the two genres they love and that have influenced them most. The band was born in a sweltering Po Valley summer in 2009, out of a desire to escape boredom, have fun and try to pick up girls. After several line-up changes and a couple of splits, in 2012 they recorded and pressed their first self-produced 7", which was warmly received even "across the border" and allowed them to play in Europe and the US. At the moment they're working on their debut LP, due out in the fall. "Confetti Blizzard" is a preview of the new record, pure Shivvers style with a bittersweet aftertaste.

The Midwest Beat

Hailing from the same city as "Happy Days", Milwaukee, Midwest Beat have been performing their own take on Americana since 2005 - somewhere between lively country and British Invasion-style beat - packed with vocal harmonies that clearly echo the Byrds, the Kinks and the Zombies. They already have two LPs under their belt, "At The Gates" and "Gone Not Lost", along with a rich collection of early singles and EPs.

Bingers

Bingers are a young trio from Chicago, with just a couple of EPs under their belt so far (including the promising "Land Lobster"). They describe themselves as "two guitars, drums, whoa-oh-ohs, and ooh-la-lahs", and their sound spans garage-fuzz, bubblegum and surf-rock. Besides a markedly punk attitude, from the Ramones and the Oblivians they've also inherited that little habit of sharing a common, blatantly fake surname. Their track "Fuzzy" will open their upcoming EP, "Blow It Away" - we were lucky enough to hear it in advance, and surprised to find it packed with all the blues and soul richness of the Chicago sound.

Pop Zeus is the project of Mickey Hodges, a big Brooklyn guy who two years ago recorded his debut record by borrowing all the gear and playing every instrument himself, just like his idols Prince, Stevie Wonder and Todd Rundgren. The result is his self-titled debut, released on cassette by Burger Records, and within the label's wild, endlessly sprawling catalogue, Mickey joins the ranks of oddball characters hovering between lightweight power-pop and an almost hypnagogic nostalgia for the '70s and '80s.

Astrid (Miss Chain), Silva, Franz and Brown (The Broken Heels), with four singles, an album already on its second reissue, and various world tours behind them, can be considered veterans of the three-minute song. Their power-pop is enriched by a passion for country and rhythm'n'blues, putting them in the same company as other homegrown projects like Vermillion Sands, Mojomatics or Movie Star Junkies. This year saw the release of "Dawn", their second album, from which they offer us a rawer, more rock'n'roll version of "Don't Look Back".

Youthbitch are four guys based in Portland, Oregon, but transplanted from Illinois, St. Louis and Idaho. The best introduction to the band came from Willamette Week, describing "Don't Fuck This Up", their second LP, released in August 2012 on Jonny Cat Records, like this: "It's the best local document of this kind of sound since Exploding Hearts' 'Guitar Romantic', and deserves a prime spot alongside Gentleman Jesse's self-titled debut on the map of contemporary classics".

Rune, Dan and Victor come from Södertälje, Sweden, and in the three years since their debut they've already racked up an album, four singles and a couple of European tours. Stylistically, they blend a solid punk approach with a nod to the '60s and the power-pop of the Nerves.

The #1s are a foursome, Sean Goucher, Eddie, Cian and Conor, from Dublin. They met through mutual friends while playing in their previous bands, Crowd Control, Loose Nut, Pacifics and Spungos. They play music explicitly inspired by the powerpop-punk of the late '70s, and their sound is unmistakably steeped in all the urban teenage angst typical of bands from across the Irish Sea. Their discography consists of a single, from which the track featured on our compilation is taken, and a cassette titled "Italy '90", dedicated to Tony Cascarino.

Nightmare Boyzzz

Staunchly faithful to the DIY philosophy, Nightmare Boyzzz are a quartet from Muscle Shoals, Alabama, with a couple of 7"s to their name so far ("Nuclear Summer" being the most interesting). They play a power-pop that betrays curious affinities with both the punk of the Germs and the more traditional sunshine-pop of the Beach Boys brand.

Future Primitives

Future Primitives are a trio from Cape Town, South Africa. Active since 2011 and devoted to analog sound and bands like the Sonics, the 13th Floor Elevators and Gun Club, they play a garage revival with clear debts to the psychedelic bands of late-60s California. They recently debuted with two LPs: the collection of unreleased tracks "This Here's The Future Primitives" and the covers record "Songs We Taught Ourselves", more an out-and-out tribute than a hidden homage to the Cramps.

Rip-Offs

The Rip-Offs formed in 2012 in Boston after original members Vincent Amati and Brad Stengel had started a project called Belinda and Her Ugly Friends. The band recorded their first EP, "Mid-Atlantic Love Song", back in March of this year. Their declared influences range from 60s doo-wop to 70s punk to 90s indie, name-checking the Testors, Nervous Eaters, Guided by Voices, Jan and Dean and Bent Shapes. By the end of this year they're planning a new record featuring "Dig My Pride", the track included on the compilation in its noisy but heartfelt demo version, which at times brings to mind the old Nerves demos!

Shrapnelles

As their own bio puts it, "a gang of women raised by wolves in the great province of Alberta, Canada". The Shrapnelles are four hellraisers who already have a legendary single under their belt, 2011's Asscalibur, on which they mix Gun Club, surf and garage punk in perfect doses. 

Raw Nerves are from Auckland, New Zealand, but have no intention of following in the footsteps of the bands that over the decades made Dunedin Pop famous. Matt on bass, Rory on guitar, Rob on drums and Dave could easily be mistaken for a Californian band, so devoted is their sound to 50s rock'n'roll, though roughed up in the manner of the tuneful bands of recent years. Their entire discography sits on Bandcamp and consists of a few 2011 demos, a couple of killer singles ("Nazi!"), the self-titled 2012 debut album and this year's "Sunburn" EP, from which "I Don't Want You Around" is a gorgeous outtake.

Little Richards

With a name like that, how could we not get in touch with them right away? When we asked the band for a bio, this is what they told us: WE'RE THE LITTLE RICHARDS! WE LUV SPELLING ERRORZ, CAPS LOCK, PLAGIARISM, POWER CHORDS, AND THE RAMONES! WE CRUMB FROM DA NORTHSHORE OF MASSACHUSETTS, USA!

Still have any doubts they're heroes?

Othermen are the band led by guitarist, singer and pompadour-sporting frontman Max Frechette, backed by Yelpin'Rico on bass, High Kicks Oweinama on organ, Hollerin'Seanzi on drums and Jabberjawin' (if we've correctly translated the wild bio posted on Facebook). They're from New York, and it shows: they walk the same sidewalks already worn down by the Cramps and all the other rock'n'roll marauders of those fierce years, their sound is vicious and vintage, and they could easily stand alongside the likes of Jon Spencer. Their 2010 debut, "Just Pallin' Aroun' With The Othermen", featured anthems like "I'm Drunk" and "Pizza", while their new record is due out shortly, previewed here by the deranged "We Love You".

Zoltars

Zoltars come from Austin, Texas, and formed two years ago; unlike their compilation-mates, they gradually evolved their sound starting from guiding lights Violent Femmes, Modern Lovers and Beat Happening, arriving at the Barrett-esque psychedelia of last year's excellent debut. This year they're expected to follow it up with a new album.

Bazooka are Xanthos, John, Billy and Panos, four Greek lads originally from Volos who moved to Athens. They've been together since 2008, and after a self-produced EP and a single, they landed on Slovenly in 2012; this year they released their self-titled debut. Alongside Acid Baby Jesus, Gay Anniversary and Kodomina 3, they make up the most credible blacklipsian cell operating in Europe, and of this bunch Bazooka are the hardest-hitting, not least because they play with two drummers. We strongly suspect there's a connection between the band's name and the bouzoukia, the traditional Greek mandolins.

All the tracks featured on OndaDrops have been made available by the artists for free download. OndaRock makes no claim of ownership over these tracks, which remain the exclusive property of their respective copyright holders, artists, record labels and publishing companies.

All songs included in OndaDrops are provided by artists and intended for free download. OndaRock makes no claims of ownership to any of the songs, that are sole property of their copyrights, artists, record labels and publishing companies.