Artwork: “The cover art was painted by a hero of ours: Erin Sullivan @mr_erin
of the excellent band of the excellent band A Frames who have been have our
biggest inspiration for starting this project so it’s a full circle moment for us.”
Check the firm, bass/drum propelled, fired-up guitars
motorized, and robustly vocal jackhammer No Woods.
Hip-hop champ, producer, entrepreneur and Beyoncé‘s husband JAY-Z released his widely applauded 6th album, titled THE BLUEPRINT
on 11 September 2001, 25 years ago.
#1 in the US, (only) #30 in the UK
At the time of the album’s recording, Jay-Z was awaiting two criminal trials, one for gun possession and another for assault, and had become one of hip-hop’s most dissed artists, receiving insults from rappers such as Nas, Prodigy, and Jadakiss.
The Blueprint was universally acclaimed by music critics, particularly for Jay-Z‘s
performance and the album’s soul-based soundscape. It is widely regarded as
one of the greatest albums in the hip-hop genre.
Its impact is evident in the way it influenced a generation of artists, such as Kendrick
Lamar and J. Cole, shaping the sound and direction of hip-hop in the years that followed.
Entertainment Weekly said: “One of the greatest
poets ever to pick up a mic released his magnum opus.”
Okereke wrote the record in the wake
of a more than decade-long relationship.
“Every lyric you’re hearing on this record was something that
actuallyhappened to me. I had to tell the story, from start to
finish.”
📸 Charlie Pryor
Clash Magazine‘s verdict: “‘Anatomy Of A Brief Romance’ is a chronological account of a relationship from first glance to final goodbye. It may not be among their finest work, but ‘Anatomy Of A Brief Romance’ is surely a cathartic release for its composer and for listeners who see their own experiences reflected in it.”
TUTV: This new Bloc Party sounds like some old Bloc Party records, but not the great
ones (like the first 2) but the okay ones. Sonically, there are just not enough top-shelf tunes (except for the bright-eyed and bushy-tailed singles and a couple of other chipper ones), too many lukewarm pieces.
Lyrically, as aforementioned, all 14 songs (too many) serve to tell the story – from start
to finish – of a past Okereke relationship (so why didn’t you make it a solo one, Kele?). I always have mixed emotions about relationship albums. Does the partner like it that his/her love life goes public? What is her/his side of the story? And I’m not really interested in so many details of someone else’s romances. File this anatomy next to BC’s other just okay full-lengths.
The album takes its name from an actual Michigan law that prohibits local governments from banning single-use plastic bags. After relocating to Kalamazoo in Michigan with his wife and daughter a number of years ago, Andrew was drawn into a campaign to hold a local factory to account for its use of toxic pollutants, and that experience largely inspired A Ban On Plastic Bag Bans.
TUTV: Liars are back with a big bang, big beats and a big tune.
TUTV: This madcap, head-spinning synth-guitar jam doubles your adrenalin
production from the get-go but not for long. After only 92 seconds, they pull
the plug and your brainfucking breakfast is abruptly over. No worries. Press
the repeat button, on repeat, and satisfy your sonic appetite all day long.
“Originally entitled ‘Ode To Irene’s Cunt’ (and shortened for radio friendly purposes), it draws inspiration from Le Con D’Irene, a surrealist erotic novel from 1928 by French author Louis Aragon about a man’s relationship with an imaginary vulva, whilst reflecting on how we can allow relationships and visions to be birthed and accepting unexplained unconditional connection.”
The single comes ahead of a live album, titled Live At The Portland Arms
and out on 16th October 2026. It was recorded in Cambridge when the band
were supporting Lydia Lunch. Artwork here above.
TUTV: Goosebumps from start to finish. This dark-colored, psychedelic wandering progresses like a serpent following its prey, slow and determined to attack when the moment is right. Near-whispering vocals, ominous pace, minimalistic drum-guitar instrumentation, like an Interpol jam stripped to the bone. Spine-chilling.
Band:BRITISH BIRDS Who: Resolutely DIY outfit
from Chorley, Lancashire.
Track: SCARY MOVIES
New single from their upcoming album
named Murmurate, Oscillate’ out on
October 16th.
The song is a poignant description of band members Bobby and Emma’s grandfather,
who delighted in showing them horror films when they were kids – giving them
sneak previews of the darkness they’d come to embrace as adults.
TUTV: This straightforward, jangly footstomper arouses your limbs from the kick-off.
A persistent drum/bass tandem hits unyieldingly, with panache, all the way through,
while agitated vocals and buzzing guitars go forth and back. Striking stroke.
“‘Dying In Reverse’ is essentially about a fresh start or a rebirth of sorts. More in terms of death to ego, renewing the mind and heart. The journey of turning your perspective away from self in order to see more clearly through the lens of love and connect to deeper purpose.”
TUTV: 2nd single in 3 months and announcement of tour dates in 2027
hint definitely, maybe to a new album. But first, this moody groover.
The record won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album.
Rolling Stone wrote: “On ‘Love and Theft’, he turns this fantasy into a stone-cold Dylan
classic. ‘Love and Theft’ takes us on a full-blown tour of American song in all its burlesque splendor, which includes, of course, Dylan’s own psychedelic mutations of the blues.
Talk about bringing it all back home: Dylan veers into country, ragtime, vaudeville, deep blues, cocktail-lounge corn, the minstrel show and the kind of rockabilly he must have bashed out with his high school band more than forty years ago. “
TUTV: My favorite singer-songwriter-performer of all-time went
back, once more, to the decades he loves the most, the 50s and 60s,
and returned with his umpteenth triumph.
I woke up this morning
I could barely breathe
Just an empty impression
In the bed there you used to be
I want a kiss from your lips
I want an eye for an eye
I woke up this morning to an empty sky
Empty sky, empty sky
I woke up this morning to an empty sky
Empty sky, empty sky
I woke up this morning to an empty sky
Blood on the streets
Blood flowin’ down
I hear the blood of my blood
Cryin’ from the ground
Empty sky, empty sky
I woke up this morning to the empty sky
Empty sky, empty sky
I woke up this morning to an empty sky
On the plains of Jordan
I cut my bow from the wood
Of this tree of evil
Of this tree of good
I want a kiss from your lips
I want an eye for an eye
I woke up this morning to the empty sky
Empty sky, empty sky
I woke up this morning to an empty sky
Empty sky, empty sky
I woke up this morning to the empty sky
Empty sky, empty sky
I woke up this morning to an empty sky