Wine Lips: TV Dinner [Album Review]

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Wine Lips – TV Dinner

TV Dinner

Wine Lips — 2026

ReleasedAugust 28
Label Stomp Records Records
Produced By Cam Hilborn & Simon Larochette
Runtime35 min / 13 tracks

Album Review
Wine Lips • TV Dinner • Fuzzed Garage Punk

“Wine Lips turn TV Dinner into a molten mess of garage rock, punk energy, and exactly the right amount of chaos.”

A lot of critics put emphasis on pushing boundaries or artistic growth. What if there was more focus on kick ass fun? That’s exactly the question that Wine Lips poses with TV Dinner. With our current world and even the mundanities of life being skewed every which way, why not try and laugh in its face? Cam and Co. do exactly that. In fact, to quote Cam himself, “I wasn’t trying to take it too seriously or overthink anything, which probably helped with a lot of the subject matter.” Just like 2024’s Super Mega Ultra psychedelic whirlwind, Wine Lips grabs you by the ears and doesn’t let go.

For TV Dinner, not overthinking anything actually works to the band’s benefit. Figuratively, “Cut It” opens the album blazing a path right through your brain. “Projector” highlights drummer Aurora Evans on vocals, singing a very relatable mantra with some real DIY Tweens vibes. Tongue in cheek “Trip to the Doctor” feels like a lost Ty Segall B-side, with dread filled, monster sized harmonized riffs.

The main crux of TV Dinner is the raw, unpolished energy that drives the record forward. Songs like “Head On Backwards” and “Semi Detached Furnished Home” veer close to the fuck it all punk ethos of bands such as Pissed Jeans and Osees. Speaking of Osees, the final song, “Static On The Radio” cools that magma rock with the feel of early, absurdist albums such as Help, Castlemania, and Putrifiers II.

Wine Lips’ TV Dinner settles nicely into the group’s catalog. In what feels like an insane world, TV Dinner will help you bounce off the walls. This TV dinner is molten hot, has no nutritional value, and even has melted parts of the tray in it. That’s just the way Wine Lips wanted it.

Pivotal Tracks

“Trip To The Doctor”
Ty fans will find an immediate connection here. Calling out Frankie here for the song’s big, chunky chords. I also hear the powerful guitar of The Raconteurs here too!
“Semi Detached Furnished Home”
Sadly, one of the most relatable songs for late teens and twenty somethings. Also, a prime example of how simplicity is bliss. “SEMI DETACHED FURNISHED HOME!”
“Strip Club DJ”
Quirky and catchy, it carries shades of Hooded Fang. The title takes center stage, no pun intended, in another bouncy choral singalong built to be shouted at the top of your lungs.

Artists with Similar Fire

Frankie and the Witch Fingers
Wine Lips have shared the stage with them, and both bands favor chunky power chords and manic energy. Wine Lips go lighter on the psychedelics but share plenty of Frankie’s muscle.
Ty Segall
At their fuzziest, Wine Lips share plenty with Segall’s various projects. You can hear nods to Twins as well as the riffy, stringy fuzz of his trio FUZZ.
Osees
Not as rough and rowdy as the very punk-forward A Foul Form, the energy is still there. The album still careens around almost every corner like Osees’ psychedelic antics.

The Fire Note Rating: 3.5

The Fire Note Spin
3.5 out of 5

From an early age I’ve been in love with music. Whether it was queuing up Sesame Street vinyl on my Fisher Price turntable. Using our family stereo stack to rock out to Billy Idol, R.E.M, Talking Head, Green Day, and John “Cougar” Mellencamp with my dad. Brought up on the classic rock radio station really helped lay the proper foundation for what music was and what it could be. While I do listen to the entire musical spectrum, my favorites are Metal, Soul, Jazz, Shoegaze, and Psychedelic anything. Basically an emphasis on anything rock, I never turn down a good riff.

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