Valley Songs – Little Girls (Playback Records)

If only all retrospective collections were half as fun - and done as well - as this look back on 1980s Los Angeles surfer girl power-poppers, Little Girls. There are 26 bouncy rave-ups on this CD, it’s accompanied by a booklet full of photos and liner notes, and it took an Australian label to put it out.

Little Girls were diminutive sisters Caron and Michele Maso, two Coloradoans transplanted to L.A. who turned heads as a duo at a 1980 party by singing alternative lyrics to “Anarchy in the UK”. Now, who hasn’t wanted to do that?

Things got serious after they met guitarist Kip Brown, freshly late of local punks SHOCK, while hanging out at The Troubadour club. A full band ensued.

Indie Sounds From The Cenny Coast - Various Artists (Vinil Records)

A lot of people try before they buy physical CDs or vinyl, whether it be via streaming or the ubiquitous Bandcamp website. 

Fair enough, too; If the various post offices around the globe are going to ream you and make you take out a second mortgage just to have something shipped across international borders in a padded envelope, you wanna be sure it’s music that’s worth playing more than once. 

Unless you’re one of those vinyl-fixated numb-nuts that buys every coloured variant of the latest release and photographs the sealed copies on a custom-built shelving unit for other fools to admire on Insta, you probably care more about the music than the medium.

Just remember, they’re records not vinyls, and that we’re here to help.

Cousin Betty – Cousin Betty (Vi-Nil Records)

You know you’re in for a different trip when the title of the opening track is: “If This Makes You Off Your Family, Please Contact Us For The Royalties”.

Cousin Betty are non-conformists in an age of conformity. Their music is a mix of hard-psych, high-energy Desert Sessions rock, industrial-tinged metal and lyrical blizzards. Sounds messy in print but somehow it works. 

The band is the brainchild of guitarist Damien Stofka (ex-Molten Universe) and vocalist-keyboardist Matt Downey (ex-Death Mattell). Originally a studio project, overseas airplay led to the assembly of a full-blown line-up. Members are scattered around Greater Sydney and its environs. Drummer Andi Dyson (Nitrocris), bassist Tara Doyle (Spurs For Jesus) and guitarist Astrid Carr (Madam Fatale, Quiet Carriage) completed the ranks and this is the debut long-player.

Revelation – Los Revelators (Los Revelators)

Kamloops? Sounds like what a car mechanic has for breakfast, right?

Nope. It is, in fact, a place. In Canadaaaa!

Placenamesa? Australia has a few beauties: Grong Grong, Iron Knob, Woy Woy, Sydney. 

But, I mean, Canada, right? They really know how to give a town a name, don't they?

Monks in Sexyland – The Owen Guns (Booker/Bastard Records)

Is it an EP, a mini-album or a long player from a bunch of minimalists? “Monks in Sexyland” clocks in at just eight songs over 13 minutes but who cares what tag you give it. It’s a burst of good old school punk rock Fun with a capital ‘F’.

If you’re wondering about the title, speculate no more. The I-94 Bar does the hard re3search so you don’t have to. An Australian monk by the name of Venerable Chhet went to court two years ago in a bid to stop A Current Affair airing a TV story about the alleged use of a church credit card at a chain of sex stores.

Resurrected – SSD (self released)

Based out of Hervey Bay in Queensland, SSD played every bar they could fine in the 1980s. They toured constantly, playing a mix of covers and some originals until way too much alcohol - and life - got in the way. So they decided to call time on the band…but not their friendship.

Fast-forward to 2023: SSD’s former members all found themselves living in good old Melbourne town - so why not record those originals that were written so long ago? Thank fuck they did because this six pack of tunes is a blast from start to finish.