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Category: Album Review

  • The Prosecco Diaries by Femmes Voyous

    The Prosecco Diaries by Femmes Voyous

    Album: The Prosecco Diaries 

    Artist: Femmes Voyous

    Released: July, 07, 2025; Witch House Studios 

    Punk bands fronted by ladies, while not unicorn rare, are not exactly a dime a dozen the way punk bands packed full of dudes are. So, when you tell me that I should check one out, I am always happy to oblige. Femmes Voyous hails from Edmonton, Canada and as their name suggests (Rogue Women in French) aren’t your stereotypical “girl power” packing pop princesses. Their music is loud with in your face lyrics that are often as humorous as they are scathing. 

    The opening song on the album is “Phoenix and Raven”. It is as much a thesis statement for the album as it is a punk rock girl boss anthem. Immediately as the guitars kick in and the drums start pounding, you can tell you’re going to have a good time with this song; something, if you like this song, I can guarantee will continue for the rest of the album. I really can’t overstate how this song stakes its flag securely in the ground and declares—this band is two girlfriends out to have a good time rocking out together.    

    “Candy” is another that really sets the stage. The guitar work is fantastic. The lyrics are poppy and fun in a way that really works with the metaphor the song employs. It is an extremely well put together rock song. So much so that I wouldn’t fault you if you looked up the song credits to see if it’s a cover. It is of course not, but wouldn’t be out of place on a Blondie album, no doubt. 

    Now “Punk Rock Boys” is where the Femmes Voyous’s scathing humor really shines. It is an ode to shitty boyfriends of the punk rock variety. I have no idea who the person is who inspired the song but consider that dweeb thoroughly roasted. When the chorus comes in, then they hit you with the lyric, “I loved his crusty ways” it’s so meta; I just find it endlessly hilarious. It’s my favorite song, followed in a close second by “Dive Bar”. Another great, upbeat song in the same vain as Phoenix and Raven, but this one includes a great bit, featuring a mock phone call from a boyfriend. In my head canon its the same crusty dude from Punk Rock Boys, but who knows. In it, the the boyfriend is whining about who is going to make him breakfast and the line “Your Fucking Mom” is dropped and again it just kills me. Like damn, go off queen. 

    “The Prosecco Diaries” as a freshman offering goes hard. It is a blast from beginning to end. It’s all about showing you a good time and quite possibly might even fight you if you try to be a curmudgeon. If you didn’t have fun by the end of it, you should probably go to the doctor and make sure you’re not dead.  

    If you like the album I reviewed here and want to support the artist as well as this blog please consider picking up the album via this affiliate link—> Purchase The Prosecco Diaries by Femmes Voyous digitally via Amazon Music 

  • Wayne’s World/Almost Alive from Dustin’s Kitchen by Little Tiny Knife

    Wayne’s World/Almost Alive from Dustin’s Kitchen by Little Tiny Knife

    Album: Wayne’s World/ Almost Alive from Dustin’s Kitchen

    Artist: Little Tiny Knife 

    Released: July 31, 2025; Self Release 

    Little Tiny Knife is a band from the Sacramento area. They were founded by Josiah Masteller and include members such as Jim Soltero and Brianna Carmel. You may remember them from their solo work being featured on the blog last year. This will be their first full album release, having only a single and a feature released prior.

    Their album, “Wayne’s World/Almost Alive from Dustin’s Kitchen” represents a departure from Little Tiny knife’s perviously released work, which focused on delivering a chiptune accompaniment along side folkesque vocals. With this album, what they do deliver is a solid indie folk offering with a punk infused ethos. Probably the best display of this ethos is found in the song “Roll up Your Sleeves”. It is a melody driven ballad about making the world better by standing up to oppressors through actions like punching Nazis. This is the track that really sold me on the album. I was like, “damn, y’all I’m really digging your game”. This is my favorite song, hands down.

    “Spaceman” has pretty somber subject matter dealing with domestic abuse from the P.O.V. of someone struggling with the aftermath from outside the immediate relationship. Honestly, I was initially perplexed by the spaceman analogy and assumed that it was a reference for a specific person or an inside “joke” but the more I thought about it, the more I am convinced it’s a reference to the 1950’s sitcom the Honeymooners. The blow hard main character infamously used space travel as a threatening metaphor for domestic abuse. While the core message of the song is definitely stark, the song still manages to have a catchy rhythm in parts and has a great vocal delivery.

    The last song I want to draw attention to is “Tired of Driving”. This is because this particular song is a revision of a single they released in 2023 that originally came with a chiptune treatment. The new song is more mellow and the chiptune has been replaced with acoustic melodies, tambourine and a bass line provided by Jim Soltero on the up right bass that I would go as far as to say slaps. While I love me a good chiptune, I would willingly trade it for the up right base lines that are laced throughout not only this song, but the album. It is hard to deny that this version really brings it in every way that maters.  

    Despite “Wayne’s World/Almost Alive From Dustin’s Kitchen” being Little Tiny Knife’s first album, it presents a depth and maturity that you can only get from veterans of their local scene. The Little Tiny Knife Discography just leveled up, big time. Fans of folk should give it a listen or also if you are a fan of the kazoo. Yes, they’ve got a kazoo, some people are just cool like that.

    If you like the album I reviewed here and want to support the artist as well as this blog please consider picking up the album via this affiliate link—-> Purchase Wayne’s World/Almost Alive from Dustin’s Kitchen via Amazon Music