[Garage Punk] ITCHES - “House Animal Included”
Band/Artist: ITCHES
Release Title: House Animal Included
Release Date: January 5, 2026
Label: Wap Shoo Wap Records
Format: Digital, LP
Genre: Punk, Garage Rock, 60’s Garage, Garage Punk
Country: Belgium
Hailing from the “slums of Los Kempos”, Belgian three-piece ITCHES woke up from cryogenic sleep paralysis in 2020 and have been creeping onto stages ever since. Their sound is pickled in cheap canned beer and built on a loud, wired mix of garage rock’n’roll, 60s freakbeat, proto-punk, krautrock, and heavy psych jangle. They take cues from garage staples like Black Lips and Ty Segall, then push it through the unhinged energy of Thee Oh Sees, landing somewhere chaotic but locked-in.
Frontman Philippe Aguilar Peeters (half Belgian, half Colombian, born in Belgium and raised in Mexico) brings a big, Hendrix-shaped guitar tone and a writing style that never plays it safe. Backing him are Arno Sels on drums and Hendrik van den Berk on bass. Together, they’ve built a reputation for tight-but-wild live sets and a signature sound that’s stayed one of the Belgian underground’s best-kept secrets, if you can catch them in the flesh.
After the rough-and-ready 2022 EP Kingdom Upstairs (seven tracks blasted out in a weekend, recorded mostly live on a four-track cassette recorder), ITCHES released their debut album Two Flies In One Clap in 2024, expanding the palette without losing the DIY bite. By 2025, they’d crawled through most of the Belgian circuit, crossed into the Netherlands for the occasional bender, and landed festival slots including Gentse Feesten, Sjock Festival, Brakrock, Rock Olmen, and Rockwood.
Their second album, House Animal Included, is their most direct love letter to 60s garage-punk yet, shot through with the spirit of Back From The Grave comps, but still carrying flashes of late-70s punk snap and a bit of 90s swagger. What started as Philippe’s obsession with digging up obscure ’60s records spiralled into a full-blown fixation, and the album ties it all together: fuzzy Kinks-like riffs, spaghetti-western touches, Byrds-esque harmonies, and gritty garage-punk shredding, twisting classic pop shapes into something raw, loud, and alive. Lead single “Fake Smile” sets the tone: clap-along, sing-along, feel-good, with just enough dirt under the nails.
The A-side was recorded by the full band in April 2024. The B-side (except “Mahahual”) pulls from songs Philippe recorded solo over the past few years. “Without You” is based on a track by The Frowning Clouds, reimagined with new lyrics. In April 2026, ITCHES head out on a European tour in collaboration with Wild Wax Shows.
Tracklist:
- INDIANS
- HURRY
- SUPERFICIAL SOUL
- FAKE SMILE
- DONE
- MAHAUAL
- ANALOGUE CURSE
- WITHOUT YOU
- KILL THE TEASE
- BY HEART
Line-up:
Philippe Aguilar Peeters - vocals, guitar
Arno Sels - drums
Hendrik van den Berk - bass, vocals
Recording info:
Mixed by Arno Sels
Mastered by Rafael Valles Hilario
For fans of: Black Lips, Mystery Lights, Jacuzzi Boys, Allah-Las
Links:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itches.band/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5ZGstqv9gWYzM1JARAKz8b?si=OkJUK0DzQFCsWmf12OafIA
Bandcamp: https://wapshoowaprecords.bandcamp.com/album/itches-house-animal-included-album
If you wish to receive the full promo, please, get in touch: catia@againstpr.com