Kathleen Hannah’s re-current battle with Lyme disease brought The Julie Ruin to a standstill not long after their debut album, Run Fast, was released in 2013. So back in April when they announced that they would be releasing their second record this July the internet went a little bit crazy. The prospect of this band being functioning again is incredible, a gift to the punk scene, and the single is just as keyboard heavy as you could have hoped for.

A steady minor guitar riff takes you through the first two verses accompanied only by Kathleen’s instantly recognisable vocals. As the chorus nears, there is a smattering of synth which gradually falls in to place with the guitar just as the drums kick in at the start of the chorus. There is a great sense of urgency as the instruments build up in to a battle like crescendo, the synth winning by a mile. Lyrically, the song is fairly intense. Kathleen’s poetic style here leaves the meaning behind 'I Decide' wide open to interpretation “You might be a thorn I witness to pain I just need to co-exist with but I, I’ll decide.”

Although only a glimpse of what The Julie Ruin is about to bestow upon us, 'I Decide' is a seriously exciting track that holds a lot of promise for the forthcoming album. Long live The Julie Ruin!

The Julie Ruin's latest album Hit Reset is available via Amazon & iTunes.

Tacocat are an excellent pop-punk-rock-surf band from Seattle. In their seven years together they have managed to put out a total of nine releases: four EPs, two tapes and three albums, Lost Time being the most recent. With such an extensive back catalogue behind them I can’t believe that I have never come across Tacocat before. They have such a great, effortless sound that radiates fun and conjures images of sunlit sidewalks; you never would have guessed that they were from Seattle!

Although there is an obvious feminist theme running through the album, the song content seems to vary from relatable to strange to downright mental (but like, in a good way). There isn’t a title track as such, rather the opening song, ‘Dana Katherine Scully’, is also a The X-Files reference in which the most commonly reported symptom of abduction, “Lost Time”, is mentioned. It really reminds me of old punk rock songs like The Ataris’ ‘My So Called Life’ (about Kris Roe’s love for Claire Danes) especially with lines like “She’s got the shoulder pads / No nonsense attitude.”

This sci-fi theme is continued in the super ‘60s surf-rock style tune ‘Night Swimming’: “I wanna see some UFOs” explains lead singer Emily Nokes, like it’s just what they get up to on a Tuesday evening. No drinking, no drugs, just well-behaved kids looking for some good clean fun down at the beach. At night. In the dark. With aliens. Love it.

Back to the feminism, Tacocat are well known for handling this subject with humour (there is no better song about periods than ‘Crimson Wave’, the video is pretty good too) something of which there is no shortage of on Lost Time. ‘Men Explain Things to Me’ is a brilliant example of their ability to take a negative subject and make it sound dance worthy: “Don’t tell me to calm down again… / My feelings won’t subdue just because you told them to.” These all too familiar words put to me in Nokes’ brilliantly subtle, almost deadpan voice has me super happy about meeting my next mansplainer; like I totally can’t wait to drown him with my positive righteousness whilst calling him out on his crap.

Hilarity aside, I love this album. It’s really exciting to me that Tacocat exists because there aren’t enough punk-rock bands writing songs about periods, one night stands, sci-fi and Horse Grrls (you really have to discover the beauty of that one for yourself).

Lost Time is available from iTunes and Amazon.