From Tokyo with lo-fi love: Angel Face make their Oz debut

Wild Tokyo punks Angel Face, are headliners of the nearly sold-out Half-Baked #2 show with The Breadmakers at The Gem in Collingwood on November 21. They’ve now added three more Victorian shows to their brief tour: November 19 at The Vineyard in St Kilda , November 20 at The Social Club in Balnarring. (a freebie) and November 21 at Old Bar with Mach Pelican and Handgrendade Hearts. 

Angel Face is the latest band for Fink, guitarist and iconic figure on the Japanese garage-punk scene and formerly of the legendary Teengenerate. He’s joined by bass player Toyozo (who appeared at Half-Baked #1 with Tokyo's fuzzed-out '60s styled garage-punkers The Fadeaways), wild woman skins basher Rayco and a freak who calls himself Hercules up front (and sometimes handcuffed to the microphone.)

Angel Face has two albums on US label Slovenly Recordings - one of which is reviewed here - with a special limited edition tour LP , “Home To Roost”, being sold exclusively at shows.

The Barman cornered Fink by email this week and posed some questions. Here’s the result.

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• angel face
• slovenly recordings
• teengenerate
• fink

Tantichrist on a bike! These Inner Westies have lots to say

Tantichrist – Tantichrist (Evil Tone)

Try as hard as I can, I can’t divorce Tantichrist frontman Nicky Steps from his alter ego in Australia Uber Alles, the country’s best and maybe only Dead Kennedys tribute act. That’s not such a bad thing, considering how good a Jello he makes and the sonic and lyrical similarities in Tantichrist.

So the basics: Tantichrist is a four-piece from Sydney's woke Inner Western heartland and this is their debut album. It’s on Evil Tone who never miss. It’s raucous and sometimes melodic punk rock – or more correctly, rock punk – that’s tightly wound and lytically charged. 

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• punk rock
• evil tone records
• tantichrist

Meeting Easy Action label boss Carlton Sandercock - Head On

A few weeks ago, we brought you the first review of "Head On 1974", the fast-looming Iggy and the Stooges double CD, throwing a new light on their infamous Michigan Palace swansong, along with gigs in Toronto and San Francisco.  This package is the latest in an amazing run of historical documents from UK label Easy Action.

The sneak preview prompted I-94 Bar reviewer Robert Brokenmouth to prevail on the man behind it, Easy Action honcho Carlton Sandercock, to have a chat. Here's the result. 

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• iggy pop
• stooges
• carlton-sandercock
• david bowie
• heavy liquid
• iggy and the stooges
• easy action records
• head on 1974
• t-rex

Tales from Adelaide's musical underworld

My Pronoun Is Legend – Smashed Crab (self released)
Democracy is Dead - Sickhunt Elektro (self released)

As many of you know, I live in Adelaide. Save your fake sympathy and cod-mockery.

There are crap things about the place, certainly. While it's a small, eminently walkable town, almost all the public statues are dreadful and the city is a no-go area before, during and after car-race weekend, Fringe Time and “Womud”, as well as assorted sporting events.

Some folk I know live in or out past the Adelaide Hills and only venture to the city to use the airport.

Lucky bastards.

Adelaide has a multi-faceted music underworld, however, and some of it is quite mucky in flavour - as well as being incredibly tempting. Let's take a couple of examples, coincidentally featuring two of the most undiscovered Adelaide musicians in the history of musicians not being discovered. Scott Kennedy (guitar and vox), and Adam Mondayitis (drums, and many other instruments) are two of them who are Smashed Crab.

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• bandcamp
• smashed crab
• sickhunt electro
• my pronoun is legend
• democracy is dead

Joeys Coop soars on a Sydney Sunday afternoon

 ^{Mark Roxburgh of Joeys Coop.}

Joeys Coop
+ Birdsville
The Union Hotel, Newtown, NSW

The Men From U.N.C.L.E
+ The Escapes
+ The LangLangs
MoshPit Bar, St Peters, NSW
Sunday, 8 November 2026
WORDS & IMAGES: The Barman

The Rugby League World Cup elimination match between Australia and Samoa is on TV tonight. It’s worth mentioning because the afternoon-early evening of rock and roll that preceded it was also A Game of Two Halves, the first of which I could only partially complete because of an unavoidable scheduling clash.

So an apology is in order.

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• died pretty
• joeys coop
• the escapes
• the men from uncle
• the langlangs

Dirty riffs fuel Tongue Action's debut LP

Tongue Action – Tongue Action (Heavy Medication)

Not enough sleaze-punk-glam bands in your sad social media feed? Streaming’s algorithms not doing it for you any more? Rock Action is wherever you find it and Tongue Action can be one more solution to your problem.

Tongue Action come from Colorado and members have been in bands like Killer Hearts and Electric Frankenstein. They play a blend of hard-edged sleaze rock with sprinklings of glam and metal. Alkthough they have other tracks available online via their own Bandcamp, this is their debut album and it rocks regally.

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• heavy medication records
• tongue action
• pablo ono
• electric frankenstein

"I've attracted a load of flack for not being Eric Burdon": Danny Handley on being an Animal

 _{Danny Handley with drummer John Steel. Mandy Tzaras photo.}

WORDS: Robert Brokenmouth
IMAGES: Mandy Tzaras

By now you'll have got over your Blue vs. Red US mid-term election hangover and are looking for a decent band to go and see. Try The Animals.

Despite announcing their 60th anniversary farewell tour two years back, it seems the band - particularly, original Animals member John Steel - seems reluctant to quit, and they're back in Australia for another long string of gigs. You may find this cynical, but the best rock bands are built to play live. Engage with their audience. People tell me how much the Stones love to play live: I call bullshit, they've hardly been a touring band for decades.

For those who still hold out for Eric Burdon, it's worth recalling that in 1960 Steel was a founder member of The Alan Price Combo (with Price, Hilton Valentine and Chas Chandler) who  morphed into The Animals two years later, when Burdon joined from The Pagans. While the band split in 1966, since 1977, on and off, Steel has been playing with or as The Animals/ The Animals and Friends, and since 1993 has rarely been off the road. Seems the man - and his band - are addicted to playing live. 

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• john steel
• australian tour
• danny handley
• the animals and friends

Posthumous "Action Breed" collection shows Italy's Loose were The Real Deal

Action Breed. The Early Stuff Remastered – Loose (self released)

“The best band you’ve never heard of” is an over-used term that needs to be stopped. But not before it’s been applied to Loose. If you’re here for the typical I-94 Bar fare, this long-defunct Italian band will sate your appetite. I shit you not.

It’s obvious that Loose (or sometimes The Loose) were strongly influenced by the Stooges, Radio Birdman and the Visitors. Their logo is a cop from Detroit’s forgotten boys. Just like the Darlinghurst darlings, their high-energy music weds overdriven guitars to keys and aggressive vocals. Throw in generous lashings of New Christs belligerence and you’ll be on the mark.

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• stooges
• new christs
• radio birdman
• actio breed
• loose

Thg Bawdies are back and are ready to party

Japanese beat-soul exponents The Bawdies return to Australia for the second time in two years playing venues much smaller than the stadiums they fill at home.

Formed in Tokyo in 2004 by four lifelong friends, The Bawdies have spent 20 years delivering their explosive take on rock ’n’ roll, rhythm & blues and soul. They’re inspired by legends like Little Richard, the Beatles, The Sonics and Ray Charles, and driven by Roy Watanabe’s unmistakably powerful voice.

From Fuji Rock to Budokan, The Bawdies have a reputation as one of Japan’s most exciting live bands and are touring on the back on a new album, “This Is The Party”. Tickets at toshimaeda.com

• australian tour
• the bawdies