- Local
- Community
- Journalism
Support the independent voice of Phoenix and help keep the future of New Times free.
Mitchell Hillman listens to more local music than just about anyone in the Valley. He presents his picks for best new local music in his column, Right
Injury Reserve — "All This Money"
Injury Reserve is at it again with their second single from their forthcoming album, Floss. Quick on the heels of "Oh Shit!!!" comes "All This Money," and one thing is for sure, Floss cannot get here soon enough based entirely on these first two singles. I'm not alone; if you Google "Injury Reserve Floss" the second choice that pops up is "Injury Reserve Floss release date." No word yet when that will happen, but I have to hand it to them — they know how to build anticipation. "All This Money" is so fucking good I can hardly stand it. I just keep watching the video over and over again, playing the track on an endless loop. First of
The Sink Or Swim — "Blame It On Me"
A few weeks ago, The Sink Or Swim released their second EP of the year with High Tides, and it's really three more singles. In the early '90s this would be called a maxi-single, featuring two or three a-sides. "Glass Eye" was the first one to really catch my ear, but after a few dozen listens to the collection, "Blame It On Me" seems to have made a nest in my head. It may be due to seeing them live a few times since the EP release, but this song is always a stunner in their live set, and I haven't left a show of theirs in the last month or so where that's not ringing in my head. Part of the reason is that this is a vocal masterpiece for lead singer Nate
Saddles — "Face Paint"
It seems consistent with the inconsistent Saddles to put their second single out two weeks after
The Real Fits — "Take A While"
The Real Fits are the band formerly referred to as Fits, so now, in real
Painting Fences — "Here I Stand"
Painting Fences recently released an amazing full-length album that I've been indulging in all week. I had checked their Soundcloud earlier this week and was surprised to find Through Glass ready and waiting. I figured I'd give the first few tracks a spin, and then went through the album twice. Painting Fences is Seth Norman (bass and vocals), Johnny Norman (guitars), and Nick Martin (drums) and Through Glass is simply just great rock 'n' roll through and through. I keep coming back to "Here I Stand" because it crosses KISS with Cheap Trick, with wonderfully strident vocals by Norman in the vein of Pete Shelley of Buzzcocks or Feargal Sharkey from the Undertones, and drums straight out of the hair metal days. It's a goddamn great combo, and this is easily one of my favorite songs of the year. It drives me completely out of my mind because it's so steeped in all the right things about all sides of the glam rock era. It's as much punk as it is power pop as it is straight-up shoulder-to-the-boulder rock 'n' roll. It comes off as a celebration of sound, of a love found in a groove, and it just goes with it. This is the kind of vigor that makes
Keep Phoenix New Times Free... Since we started Phoenix New Times, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Phoenix, and we would like to keep it that way. Offering our readers free access to incisive coverage of local news, food and culture. Producing stories on everything from political scandals to the hottest new bands, with gutsy reporting, stylish writing, and staffers who've won everything from the Society of Professional Journalists' Sigma Delta Chi feature-writing award to the Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism. But with local journalism's existence under siege and advertising revenue setbacks having a larger impact, it is important now more than ever for us to rally support behind funding our local journalism. You can help by participating in our "I Support" membership program, allowing us to keep covering Phoenix with no paywalls.