The members of the Tampa, Florida band Merchandise started out as products of their city's estimable DIY punk scene, but their stated goal has always been to move their sound in a "pop" direction, to…   Read Story »

Here's a first -- the three best songs this week all had one common denominator: Nicki Minaj. It was the week of "Anaconda," of course, but Nicki also jumped in on tracks by Beyoncé and Juicy J, and…   Read Story »

I've already written at some length about Merchandise's upcoming LP, After The End, and most of my analysis of the album can be broken into three component pieces: stunned, breathless praise;…   Read Story »

Yeah, it was Weird Al Week round here -- from "Foil" to "Handy" to "Tacky" to "Word Crimes" to "Sports Song," Al coulda claimed spots 1 - 5 on this week's 5 Best Songs and no one would have disagreed…   Read Story »

Tampa's Merchandise were one of our 40 Best New Bands Of 2012, and we picked them to headline a Los Angeles show we curated in 2013, so I think it's fair to say we've been excited about the band for…   Read Story »

Earlier this year, Floridian postpunks Merchandise released USA '13, a split LP with fellow warehouse-show mainstays Milk Music and Destruction Unit. That record may have been the band's goodbye to…   Read Story »

Last month, Merchandise, Milk Music, and Destruction Unit came together to release a limited three-way split LP titled USA '13. The first of those bands put out the song "Figured Out" in anticipation…   Read Story »

The torrent of Record Store Day releases continues with a new split LP called USA '13 featuring Merchandise, Destruction Unit, and Milk Music via Chaos In Tejas imprint 540 Records. One of…   Read Story »

Floridian post-punks Merchandise have undergone quite a transformation since we named them one of the best new bands back in 2012. They expanded from a duo to a five-piece, moved into dreamier…   Read Story »

Fun Fun Fun Fest went down this past weekend in Austin, Texas, aka "the Live Music Capital Of The World." The Fest celebrated its eighth year with headliners M.I.A., Snoop Dogg, and Slayer, along…   Read Story »