By The Barman
Having trouble keeping up with the plethora of new releases each week? Too much music, too many formats.
The struggle is real.
Welcome to The I-94 Bar's semi-regular round-up of new music that might appeal to Barflies.
First cabs of the rank are Wollongong, New South Wales, performance art-punks The Leftards who are calling it a day after almost a decade.
Their swansong release, “Bread and Circuses”, is available via their Bandcamp.
Breaking up? Mainman Ronny Wreckless explained: “Yeah mate calling it a day with this band after nine years. Gonna take a break and start something new late this year.”
"Bread and Circuses" isn't afraid to step outside classic punk rock's strictures. Tracks like "Cult of Zionology" and "No Ambition" marry feedback to big rock sounds and political commentary. "Dumbing It Down" takes a shot at mass media.
The Leftards were Lez Miserable on guitars, Capitan Rosa on drums, General Striker on bass and backing vocals and Ronny Wreckless on vocals and stage props (aka "percussion"). You’ll find the seven-track mini album here.
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Dion Lunadon might be best known in Australasia as New Zealand rock machine The D4’s singer-guitarist but he’s been carving out a solo artist career from his adopted home base of the USA for some years.
He’s attracted praise from no less than Henry Rollins who said: “I don’t think there’s a single track that Mr. Lunadon has done that is not worth checking out…and live? Forget it! So cool.”
Lunadon is releasing an LP of rare or previously unheard songs recorded over the last decade called “Rare Gems Volume One”. The first single is “Dead or Alive” and album pre-orders for all formats are open here.
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Melbourne veterans Nick Barker and the Reptiles always will be a bar band at heart. Most comfortable in the type of small sticky-carpet rooms that were the heart and soul of the Australian live music scene in the ‘80s and ‘90s. Now in 2026 they are releasing a "new" EP, “Loose Vol II”.
The release is ex-The Wreckery member Nick’s first release since 2009. He says: "I found an old cassette marked rehearsal in biro and when I finally found a cassette player, I realised it was one of our very early sessions. Made me realise how much I missed the guys and that we really were a band that was the some of its parts, no one particularly brilliant but together something just clicked"
“Loose Vol II” is available to stream now on all major streaming platforms. A limited CD is available via Golden Robot Records here.
