New music from around CoCo County

CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CA (May 21, 2025) — This month, I’m highlighting a handful of very different releases from right here in Contra Costa County. These local offerings are readily available on all streaming platforms and online music stores.

Punchy punk from Pinole

East Bay punk band Pinoles just released a six pack of fist-pumping bangers. With songs averaging 2½ minutes each, the EP is appropriately titled “The Short 6.” It offers more of Pinoles’ fun, catchy, pop-punk energy, delivered with their highest production level yet.

While previous releases were studio captures of Pinoles playing together, the trio was more meticulous when working on “The Short 6.” They employed individual tracking and added personnel – male and female backing vocalists and a second guitarist – for optimal results. They recorded the EP at Tin Roof Recording in Fallon, Nev., produced by Zac Damon (of Screeching Weasel, Squirtgun and Zionks!) and mastered by acclaimed punk producer and musician Mass Giorgini.

Fans of Ramones and Green Day will definitely want to check out “The Short 6.”

Post-rock/shoegaze from El Cerrito

On May 12, Moraga Volcanics released the follow-up to their 2021 debut album “Freeze-Thaw.” The sophomore release “Point Nemo” delivers more of the band’s signature sound – a hypnotic hybrid of shoegaze and post-rock – with more emphasis on pedal-based guitar effects.

Guitarist and vocalist Jeff Holt elaborates on the new direction: “The songs are more vocal-forward, despite sometimes abandoning the typical verse/chorus structure entirely. It’s a darker album, thematically and lyrically, reflecting on where our heads have been since the release of our first album.”

Titled after the oceanic pole of inaccessibility, “Point Nemo” is anchored by a bedrock of impeccably steady drumming, allowing for unbridled exploration of guitar-driven sound without drifting too far from accessibility.

Post-hardcore from Moraga

The post-hardcore outfit Dorsette has just dropped their fourth offering, a self-produced EP titled “From a Garden.” Described by the band as “a labor of love created over a short, busy summer in a hot garage with the fan (usually) turned off (to reduce noise, of course),” this EP exudes a raw, independent spirit reminiscent of the 1990s underground.

With dynamic ranges and vocals that won’t be bothered with concern for pitch perfection, Dorsette provides a sound that’s a welcome callback to the stylings of Hum, Slint and Dinosaur Jr.

Guitarist and vocalist Palmer Hightower readily acknowledges their influences: “We owe a lot to Sonic Youth and Swirlies, for sure. We change guitar tunings for almost every song, and all the dynamic shifts in our music are sort of trying to emulate the magic that Swirlies conjured up on their second album.”

“From a Garden” ironically sounds as if it were actually coming from inside a dark room with heavy blackout curtains, lit only by those thin beams of dusty sunlight that manage to peer in.

New rock genre from Martinez

Drawing influence from Frank Zappa, Deerhoof, St. Vincent and Radiohead, the adventurous Blue, Indeed delivers the unexpected with their latest EP, “Cromagnon Boogie.”

As lead guitarist Louie Lewis explains, the band feels they’ve focused their self-described “spazzy art-rock” sound into a new sound they consider its own genre: “This EP is different from our previous releases in that we made a concerted effort to create a genre we affectionately call ‘Cro-Magnon Rock.’ It was recorded with a degree of creative input from Jason Kick, our sound engineer.”

Intrigued readers can get an idea of this sound by sitting with the excitable opener “Steveland,” which has countless changes in time, key and mood. If that’s your cup of tea, the rest of “Cromagnon Boogie” will assuredly be a delightfully wild ride.

For more recent releases from independent bands and artists from all around the Bay Area, tune into 90.5 KVHS at 7 p.m. every Sunday and Thursday, or visit thebeatofdiablo.com and click on the “New Releases” link.

Contact Dave Hughes at MrDaveHughes@gmail.com.

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