Mike & The Nerve – Fool’s Gold, False Idols

Similar artists: Hot Water Music, Bad Religion, Against Me!, A Wilhelm Scream

Genre: Punk

Mike & The Nerve make melodic punk music but want you to know that they’re ready to take to any stage with the fervour of a fundamentalist group tasked with planting a flag. 

If you follow sports, an unrecommendable bad habit, you might have seen news about all the science that goes into recruiting the right player. Teams of highly educated individuals measure every possible variable involved in a player’s game. They then run it through their fancy computers. And once they’re done, they interview the athlete’s teammates, coaches and parents. 

Finally, once the would-be sports superstar has proven to be worthy, there is just one more thing to assess. Will they run? No, this is not a question of whether they can run or how much they’ve once run in a game. The real question is whether they still have a desire to do it. Most of the time, the answer is “no.”

Punk-rock has a lot in common with sports, although few would want to admit that. Mike & The Nerve’s ‘Fool’s Gold, False Idols” isn’t just as militant as book-burning in Stockholm; it’s powered by musicians who want you to know that they’re ready to put in the work. Like their heroes, Against Me!, this is a group that wants to prove themselves every time you hear them and who do this, they think, for all the right reasons. 

Taubs – Information Overload

Similar artists: LCD Soundsystem, Parquet Courts, The Hives

Genre: Indietronica, Indie Pop, Garage Rock

Taubs are electro-punks yearning for a simpler time when drowning in e-mails, and self-help posts were just a long tale that they used to scare the children with.

It’s impressive to consider that some of the best records of all time were made by people with limited musical knowledge and few technical resources upon which to call. But what else were they going to do with their time? Would The Stogees have begun studying to be lawyers if it weren’t for music? Surely, Keith Richards wouldn’t be running a health food store if he hadn’t bothered with a guitar. 

There’s plenty more to entertain ourselves with these days. And there’s plenty more to terrorise ourselves with these days. The news cycle will never have a slow day. And regardless of your interest, there’s enough content out there to keep you occupied forever. Why make music, then? 

Taubs’ “Information Overload” is electro-punk music written about the fatigue of having to keep up with the world. In a different era, these folks might’ve been record collectors working as DJs on a Friday night. But now, like the rest of us, they have to fight really hard against complacency. It’s easier said than done now that we’re caught up with the news. 

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