February 18, 2025

Motorbike and Private Lives announce new albums!

Believe it or not, Spring is just around the corner. We have somehow survived the hardest part of the winter—and the reward is new music from your rowdy pals in Cincy's Motorbike and Montreal punk chanteurs Private Lives. Both albums drop March 21 just in time for longer days filled with sunshine and daydreams. As if that wasn’t enough, the most lovable dummies in the whole wide world, Citric Dummies, get their LP repressed along with the LP from cerebral post-punk rockers Optic Sink to please the yin and the yang of your personality. Represses of Motorbike's first ripper and the Smirk LP are also in the pipeline. And finally, to help you get through the last days of winter, Sweeping Promises' classic debut, Hunger For A Way Out has been repressed and is ready to ship. Hang in there, y’all, we’ve almost made it!

Motorbike - Kick It Over

(artwork: Jamie Morrison / photo: Alex Barton)

"Currency" premiere + interview at Paperface Zine
Bandcamp - Kick It Over
Preorder LP/CD direct from Feel It (Releases March 21)

Like a white-knuckled ride through the haunted moor—Motorbike roars back triumphant. Jerri’s collarbone has since set but the dust is yet to settle and the smell of burnt rubber remains. Five players, ten tracks, and enough RPMs to kick off your old lady.

This second Motorbike album builds on the power of their self-titled '23 debut while seeing the band emphasize more complex song structure and collaborative writing. Recorded in an Ohio basement between busy schedules, sometimes live, over a six month period, Kick It Over represents a true group effort to let the cats out the bag and onto tape.

Raise your glass, pump some gas, Kick It Over.

Private Lives - Salt of the Earth

(artwork: Josh Herlihey / photo: Aabid Yussef)

"Psychic Beat" video premiere at Raven Sings The Blues
Bandcamp - Salt of the Earth
Preorder LP direct from Feel It (releases March 21)

More musically accomplished, more obsessively self-questioning, and with equally energetic yet simply deceiving performances, Salt of The Earth finds Private Lives coming into their own. The Montreal group of hitmakers—vocalist Jackie Blenkarn, guitarist Chance Hutchison, bassist Josh Herlihey, and drummer Drew Demers—swerve through a bumper-to-bumper sprawl of charging vocals, searing guitar lines, and a bolting rhythm section that proves sheer rock ‘n’ roll is still very much alive. Where their debut LP Hit Record was a snapshot of a band in motion, Salt of The Earth is a perfect result of the group's rapid evolution, undercutting power pop conventions and challenging itself track after track. “I Get Around” and “Be Your Girl” refuse to keep their foot off the pedal with their snappy and primitive at best garage rock while the simply deceptive pop charm of “Wrong Again” is slashed, spurted, and jangled. “On My Own” bursts through the speakers with its one-two punch of ‘60s girl group melodies and “Psychic Beat” and “Dealer’s Choice” are a glorious jolt of high-power guitar bliss. In a time of derivative punk trends, Salt of The Earth is a refreshing take for pure pop for now people.
—JM / Paperface Zine

Private Lives - Psychic Beat