This takes me back to Dread Zeppelin and in a good way. Rather than trying to be clever, the mixing of The Ramones and Dub actually breathes new life into both dimensions, it's subtle & in your face at the same time & like the aforementioned D.Z. works at all levels.
Inspired by theory: what if a punk rock band like The Ramones would have met at another part of the globe, but at a similar decade?
Inspired by theory: what if a punk rock band like The Ramones would have met at another part of the globe, but at a similar decade? What if they wouldn’t have formed in NYC but Kingston, and how would they had expressed their anti-stance while being inspired by Toots & The Maytals and King Tubby instead of MC5 and the Stooges? A probably bizarre theory – even though they all share a common origin that just took different paths at different parts of the globe: Rock’n’Roll.
But bizarre theories and creating a musically vision are nothing new to the Dubmones: emerged from the entourage of 2008’s dubXanne (The Police In Dub), this latest project does give an insight how it might have sounded if The Ramones would have created their songs in a different way, by still keeping its original attitude and band’s message.
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Scott C. Park’s debut full-length, Crossing the Line (due 23 May 2025), is a raw, deeply personal body of work that lands with quiet confidence and undeniable authenticity. Scott allowed this record to unfold organically, creating an eclectic yet focused indie rock album, unburdened by genre expectations. There's a warmth and looseness here - think Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and early Pavement, but with a melodic sensibility that pulls from Nirvana and early Sheryl Crow.
Each track feels lived-in, performed with the synergy of a well-oiled live band rather than a polished studio machine. And while Scott cites influences ranging from John Frusciante to Courtney Barnett, the record feels distinctly his own, rooted in personal stories and shaped by a willingness to follow musical instinct rather than trend.
The album title Crossing the Line carries multiple layers, each explored with lyrical nuance. The first half of the album deals with the pragmatic slog of daily life and human experience, crossing the line from youth to adulthood, while the second half deals with the transition from faith to skepticism. It’s deeply autobiographical, but never alienating, Scott’s reflections are specific yet universally resonant.
One of the more poetic threads comes from his familial maritime tradition. “Crossing the line” refers not just to personal thresholds, but also to an old merchant navy ceremony for sailors crossing the equator, where roles are reversed and traditions are honoured.
Opener and last single ‘Rose Pink Sky’, is a meditation on the soul-crushing routines of adulthood, working a day job, chasing funding, holding onto creative dreams through the haze of fatigue. The lyrics are filled with wit (a huge ‘Don’t Stop Believin’’ joke in verse two) and the guitar solo is, in Scott’s words, “like a slingshot rollercoaster launch”, exhilarating, explosive, and deeply satisfying.
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| Photo - Ellie Carr |
Nashville-based songwriter Emily Hines announces her debut album These Days, out August 1 via Keeled Scales. Today she shares the lead single "My Own Way." "This is the last song I wrote for the record. I wrote it on my porch in Nashville. I felt stuck in place and needed to sing myself out of it."
"This recording ended up playing an important role in shaping the sound of the album. At first, we weren’t planning to track any live drums on the record. We enjoyed playing with drum machines, and the cassette presented some challenges to recording live drums. But we got in an experimental mood one day and asked our friend John-Ruben Medina to play on it for us. We were so happy with how it sounded that it inspired us to record live drums on some of the other songs as well."
A self-described chronically-sincere farm girl, Hines grew up on a farm in rural Ohio before moving to Nashville where she played in other songwriters’ projects before recording her own songs on a 4-track cassette recorder.
Hines worked with producer Henry Park. Together they drew inspiration from acts like Duster, Laura Marling, and Karen Dalton to record simply and add layers one at a time.
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