"""Dark Thoughts, one of the few pop-punk bands it’s OK for hardcore folks to like."" Dark Thoughts: Must Be Nice 12” (Stupid Bag) Dark Thoughts’ 3rd LP is out, and I think it’s their best one yet. If you heard the first two, this one is a little different, with less of a stylized, Ramones-influenced sound. There are very few bells and whistles (except for the literal bells on the climactic closing track), and an apparently simple formula: take some smart and heartfelt lyrics, find a 3 or 4-chord progression that goes along with their tone, and bash it out as power chords with Ramones-style drums playing at an appropriate tempo (mid-paced to super fast, depending on the tone). For most bands, that would be a fast track to a bunch of generic and boring songs, but for Dark Thoughts the minimal ornamentation highlights how great these songs are. The lyrics give me all the feels (as the kids were saying in the not-too-distant past), and every track has the fist-pumping, energetic and anthemic sound that makes Dark Thoughts one of the few pop-punk bands it’s OK for hardcore folks to like. The overall tone and vibe is similar to what I consider the peak period of Screeching Weasel, i.e. their run of LPs from My Brain Hurts through How to Make Enemies and Irritate People, but if you whittled those records down to the faster, darker tracks like “Hanging Around,” “The Science of Myth,” “Every Night,” etc. Like most of the individual tracks, the LP is short, but it's such a thrilling listen that I often play it a few times in a row, something I rarely do with other records. I’ve been playing Must Be Nice since the digital version first went online back in December, and it shows no signs of leaving the “current listening” pile any time soon. - Daniel Lupton, Sorry State Records"

FAVORITE DAUGHTER is an intimate portrait of my grandmother Sylvia Weinstock and my mother Janet Isa, sheltering in place together in a lower Manhattan apartment during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sylvia was living alone for the first time in her life when after her partner of 69 years, my grandpa, Ben, passed away. Then her youngest daughter, Janet, moved in. This short documentary is both raw and charming, melancholy and funny—a portrait of two women with vastly different experiences coming together and supporting one another through the uncertainty of spending the next chapters of their lives “alone,” without a partner.

"The cast of Radioactivity reads like the credits to an all-star lineup of Texas punk and garage rock royalty, including members of The Marked Men, Mind Spiders, Bad Sports, Wax Museums, The Reds, VIDEO, and The Novice. Jeff Burke is one of the most distinctive songwriters in the punk rock underground, and these songs will sound instantly familiar to any fans of the aforementioned. Radioactivity's first LP was rightly hailed as a sort of sequel to The Marked Men's remarkable run through the first decade of the millennium, and while Silent Kill bears the unmistakable hallmarks of that band's tightly wound ""Denton sound,"" Radioactivity can now lay claim to a sonic territory of their very own. Burke's distinctive hooks dig as deep as ever, but the scope of his vision has expanded. Although the twelve songs on Silent Kill abide one strict rule--providing garage punk pleasure at all costs--Radioactivity bend that mandate in myriad ways. Breathless ragers like ""Battered"" and ""No Alarm"" are as fleet and raw as anything in the combined canon of Radioactivity's members, while mid-tempo heartbreakers ""Way Out,"" ""Connection"" and ""Where I Come From"" find Burke and company opening up their sound to let in a little tenderness. And then there are songs like ""Not Here"" or ""With You,"" which enact perfect unions of melody and kinetic energy. Admirers of Burke's legacy will be not only satisfied, but pleasantly surprised. Homebase: Denton, Texas Label: Dirtnap Records"

Claire Morales began performing when she was 13 years old, playing acoustic gigs at local coffee shops in North Texas. After singing in other acts throughout her teen years, she went on to form her own band in 2014, moving from acoustic to electric guitar and bringing in rock band instrumentation. February of 2015 saw the release of Claire's debut album Amaranthine. The record is a collection of dreamy, hazy rock songs centered around childhood, nostalgia, and coming of age. The LP garnered the attention of local publications and blogs (see press) and became a calling card for the various festivals and out of town shows the band took part in (including SXSW, 35 Denton, Norman Music Festival, Oaktopia, Thinline, Hot Water Hills, and Wildflower Music Fest). In early 2015, Claire began a collaborative covers project with various musician friends, including: Jena Pyle (Layer Cake / Sundae Crush), Ariel Hartley (Pearl Earl), Rachel Gollay (Gollay) and Dalton Kane (Bashe / Chinaski, the Fury). The project explores a variety of her musical influences from the 60s, featuring songs from muses such as Leonard Cohen, Nancy Sinatra, Patsy Cline, and the Everly Bros. The covers are a fun, quick way to work together with local musicians, get inspired, and stay busy between releases.

83-year-old Nimblewill Nomad is about to become the oldest person to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail. But he didn’t start at Springer Mountain, Georgia – his trek began on Flagg Mountain in Alabama, the true southern terminus of the Appalachian Mountain Range. Throughout his odyssey, he’s meeting hikers along the way and sharing the magic of Flagg Mountain, where he has been the caretaker for the past three years. With more than two decades and 50,000 miles of hiking experience behind him, will this really be his last last hike?