Apparently, Liquid Mike has existed over the course of several singles, EPs, and albums released on Bandcamp since 2021 to the awareness of virtually no one beyond very online DIY discourse types, but now — almost overnight — their name has been astroturfed onto every major publication with the release of their breakthrough effort, Paul Bunyan’s Slingshot (reminder: your monthly check in the amount of $2,000.00 made out to your publicist is due by month’s end for that one, guys.) That’s always a suss trajectory, but with the industry being the industry it is these days, you’ve got to move past the business jumps and look at the music at face value. Turns out that Marquette indie rock quartet spearheaded by mail carrier musician Mike Maple have a solid grasp on writing flawlessly executed rock music that delivers the goods with an undeniably catchiness with crossover scene potential. Some may disagree with the use of the term “power-pop” in their direction, but at the very minimum, alternative power-pop that throws back to Fountains of Wayne and still sticks to the blown out speakers today with dazy, Ovlov, and Tony Molina is where Liquid Mike’s sustenance lies. Letting grit rest on their surface in turn cozies up nicely next to the indie rock, punk and hardcore kids’ alike playlists whether they’re in need of a hook to reel them in from the pit or give the stand-and-nod-your-head crowd a bit of a push. That being said, Paul Bunyan’s Slingshot is the kind of album that hits a certain, simple feel good spot upon pressing play. Whether they’re here for a long time remains to be seen (or maybe it already has — most tracks don’t go beyond two minutes in length and the album clocks in at just around 25 minutes…,) but for now, they’re here for a good time*.

_{*Even if a lot of the songs are, in fact, about really bad or really weird times.}

Highlights: “Drug Dealer”, “USPS”, “American Caveman”

Liquid Mike’s Paul Bunyan’s Slingshot is available now.

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