Oddfellows “Oddfellows” 2026. Dirtnap Records, Green Noise exclusive clear vinyl variant. Texas OG punks reunited! The band first got together in ’94, played a bit, sort of split into a zillion (famous) pieces and have now reformed for their first LP (they did put out a 7″ in ’95). Oddfellows features Chris Pulliam (The Reds, High Tension Wires) on guitar, bass and vocals; Mark Ryan (The Reds, The Marked Men, High Tension Wires, O-D-EX, Radioactivity, Mind Spiders) also on guitar, bass, and vocals; and Mike Throneberry (The Reds, The Marked Men, Mind Spiders, Mazinga Phaser, Stumptone) on drums and vocals. Meaning we’ve seen Ryan and Throneberry play at least a couple of times at Dirtnap Fests since a few of those bands are also on the Dirtnap label. Oddfellows is punchy poppy garage punk, exactly the Dirtnap vibe, and it’s great! SO many bangers! The snotty “I Hate Rules,” the messy lo-fi “Late on Love,” the ass-shaking “Eraser,” the jangly and incongruously mod happy/snappy “I Burned Your Lawn,” the odd (but awesome) jangle-grunge of “You’ll Never Get to Mars” (think The Kinks meets Screaming Trees – it’s weird but totally works) – what a fun record!

I cannot find a single live performance of this Oddfellows band (there are other ones out there, a rabbit hole I’m not willing to fall into) so here’s The Marked Men’s full set from Dirtnap Fest 2025 at X-Ray Arcade and yes we were there.

Avengers “We Are the One” 1977. Originally released on Dangerhouse Records, this version limited edition repress, blue vinyl on Superior Viaduct. We got to see the first wave SanFran punks last week at their first and most likely last show in Milwaukee on the 49th(!!!) anniversary of their very first show on June 11th 1977. “We Are the One” was the Avengers first single (this 3 song 7″ is considered an EP for whatever reason); all three tracks would appear on their 1983 album Avengers. Besides being an excellent straightforward punk anthem, it also is notable as the first time a West Coast punk band issued music on an independent label (Dangerhouse). They of course played “We Are the One” (video of Thursday’s performance below, recorded by Joe), one of their best-known tracks, plus a slew of other old favorites like “The American in Me” and “White N****r” which they obviously have changed the title and lyrics to (“Gold Digger is it’s new name/lyrics). Also on the 7” is “I Believe in Me” and “Car Crash” which I think they played but honestly I can’t remember at this point.

The Sleeveens “National Anthem” 2026. Goner Records, limited edition white vinyl variant. The latest from Dublin/Nashville punks – love these guys! We’ve been fans since even before their debut LP (on Dirtnap Records) was released having gotten the inside scoop from Dirtnap Ken back in late 2023 or early 2024. National Anthem is a raucous garage soaked good time, reminiscent of the 70s punk sound (The Clash, Ramones, Buzzcocks and Stiff Little Fingers — I think two of the Nashville-based band members still do tech for SLF tours – here’s a photo of Sleeven bassist, who also recorded and mixed National Anthem – doing guitar tech before the Stiff Little Fingers set at Punk Rock Bowling in 2024 ): fun, melodic and a bit snotty. There’s even a bit 60s-style girl group energy (which is of course also like the Ramones) meets jangly power pop (think early Elvis Costello) on “My Pretend Girlfriend” and some country twang on the title track “National Anthem” (though it is sarcastic AF). As usual, my top tracks are the bangers like the opener “If I Was a Casual,” “Six Counties Punk” and the snappy “Cowboy Queen.” Despite the album’s name, there’s just one song that I’d describe having an anthemic sound: the hypnotic, driving “Town of Horseheads” that definitely leans into heavy garage psych territory.  There’s just one cover on National Anthem – “The Rat” originally by The Walkmen (2004) and since I’m not familiar with that indie rock band I’ll just go ahead and say The Sleeveens version is great.