Jennifer Finch the bass player of all-female Californian rock band L7
from 1986-1996 and then, after the band’s hiatus, from 2014 to 2026,
sadly passed away last July due to brain cancer. She was 59.
The band decided to go ahead with their planned final tour, which
starts tonight in San Diego. Former L7 bassist Janis Tanaka will replace
the unfortunate Jennifer Finch.
They also shared a previously unreleased track today, called LOMA LINDA.
The song dates all back to 2003, when the band recorded the original demo alongside bassist Janis Tanaka. It’s available as a free download on their website for the next week.
Donita Sparks (vocalist/guitarist): “I was searching the band’s archives and came across this unfinished track from when Janis was in the bands. It still sounded rather fresh and very L7 so we recorded new vocals with new lyrics and some other additional tracks and cranked it out in a couple of days ahead of this upcoming tour. Gotta warn ya, we dig it and hope you do too.”
London‘s fast coming indie rockers KEO, formed in 2022 by brothers Finn Keogh (frontman/rhythm guitarist) and Conor Keogh (bass) released
their debut album Put A Smile On For Me .
Kerrang! says: “Keo, see, come from the same alternative tradition that
spawned Nirvana, Oasis and Radiohead. They wear their influences proudly
but lightly, melding classic alt.rock elements together in a way that feels
thrillingly fresh.”
The band will have an extensive tour in 2027, taking
them to North America, UK/IR and Europe in 2027.
Both hellacious punk punches, bundled under the heading PROMO 2026,
will be on their upcoming debut album, named Another Night Of Fun On Me
out early next year.
New Zealand‘s popular indie guitar-pop band THE BETHS released their
lauded 4th LP Straight Line Was A Lie last year in August, and they are
still flying around the world to promote it.
Soon they land in China for the first time for 2 gigs.
I have no clue what all those little images on the announcement
poster below stand for, but it’s a cool poster anyways.
“Nine Inch Nails is often called ‘industrial’. But I actually
here a lot of funk. Just listen to “Closer” and the foundation could be Stevie Wonder or George Clinton. Listening to Nine
Inch Nails feels like hearing the truth, so it get you abit closer
to God.”
Cincinnati‘s rock bigshots THE AFGHAN WHIGS celebrate their 40th anniversary as
a band this year. To cement the monumental moment, they treated our ears to their splendid 10th album, named Soft Control (you can stream it below), which landed
last August and spread the festive message on their current tour.
Last night they stopped in Antwerp at the historic ballroom venue called Roma.
Two songs in and frontman Greg Dulli wanted more light in the room: “You can see me, and I wanna see you too.” From there on, it was all feet on the pedals. The Whigs went for
a best-of and 4 tracks (My Lover / Jungle Roux / The Deepest Part Of The Darkest Show / Duvateen) from the new full-length Soft Control.
After 4 decades, the Whigs still have the electrifying energy and blazing brio of
young punks. On stage (as I experienced several times before) they become a
mean riff machine. It’s amps and sirens up, exceeding the permitted volume in
decibels. Yes, the Cincinnati crew are burningly LOUD. Hells bells.
Guess what, despite the roaring racket, Dulli‘s immense voice manages to come on
top of it all. Oh my, oh my. His lung capacity is off the charts, and he obviously enjoys
it to the full extent. Even in the quieter intervals ( Algiers / My Lover / Duvateen / It Kills),
you could still hear Dulli & Co outside of the venue.
Only the greats can still make great records and draw full houses after such an
expansive career. And Dulli, at 61, and his squad are far from done. Hats off to
these always-delivering gentlemen.
SETLIST
Jungle Roux
I’m Her Slave
Light as a Feather
What Jail Is Like
House of I
Toy Automatic
Going to Town
Debonair
My Lover
Algiers Somethin’ Hot
The Slide Song
Catch a Colt
The Deepest Part of the Darkest Show
It Kills
Please, Baby, Please
Fountain and Fairfax
My Enemy
Son of the South
Duvateen Summer’s Kiss
Into The Floor
Miles Iz Ded
Press info: “Over ten mind-bending and melodic tracks, it blends electro-pop anthems, cascading rave bangers, cowboy-tinged pitstops and swirling psychedelia. Into its lyrical orbit, the record pulls mentions of addiction, family ties, love, AI, ancestry, extra-terrestrials, Chris Tarrant, S&M, B&M, H&M and M&Ms.”
Mojo says: “Exhausting. But that’s the point.”
TUTV: Fat Dog are barking at the same tree here. They use their prize-winning
formula of their debut again. Electro-punk fireworks accompanied by boosting
bass riffage and drum beats and Joe Love‘s pushing voice. Their crescendo-going
vitality sounds both very familiar and still very inviting to crash the dancefloor and
chase your tail.
Artist: JOHNNY MARR Who: The former The Smiths‘ guitar hero, who played afterward
several years with Modest Mouse, also with The Pretenders, Brian
Ferry and many more.
Marr: “This is the record that’s been the most cathartic. The title came to me early in the process and became an inescapable idea. It seemed to sum up the way I think a lot of people are feeling. It’s all encompassing, but it’s not necessarily a negative statement. There’s a sense
of overwhelm in the culture brought about by technology, but looking at it with a different light, there could also be a sense of possibility.”
Clash Magazine says: “The Mancunian icon confronts modern
malaise and uncertainty with restless, life-affirming rock’n’roll.”
TUTV: Arguably his best solo effort. A series of top-drawer tunes, action-packed
guitar riffs and sparkling hooks as usual, with vocal striving. This charming man
made a notably arresting record, up there with The Smiths‘ work.
Louder Than War (UK) writes: “Six albums in and Blossoms are now at the level
where they’re filling arenas. Lyrically, songs come from day-to-day observations of
life, in particular, the process of becoming a different person once you get married
and settle down. The songs are laden with their trademark melodies, harmonies
and backing vocals that make them feel timeless.”
TUTV: The album’s title could easily have been one from a sugary love songs
compilation from the 60s. As it happens with many weddings poppy tunes make everybody hit the dancefloor.
Blossoms could be your fav band for your post-wedding ceremony party. Their feel-good, body-activating melodies are sickly sticky and instantly digestible. You don’t need to marry to pirouette around the Blossoms’ matrimony cake.
Band: THE FALL Who: The notorious Manchester post-punk gang
fronted by the late, crackbrained Mark E. Smith.
Album: POST SCRIPT
It features unused vocal recordings of Smith dating from 2001 to 2014.
Press info: It features 9 previously unreleased tracks from the band’s later era, Post Script finds The Fall at their rawest and most restless. These songs carry Smith’s caustic wit, hypnotic repetition and jagged post-punk energy with the same snarling authority that defined the band for decades.
TUTV: As a Fall fan, I’m not really impressed by this posthumous album. Several songs sound like demos, unfinished and chaotic, but not the chaotic The Fall way we know, and that makes your ears go berserk.
Mind you, overall it’s not a total hit-and-miss washout, but there’s so much great, galvanic, and anarchic The Fall music boisterousness out there to listen to again and again, and Post Script falls short of being special in the band’s mind-boggling catalogue.
Smith once said, “If it’s me and your granny on bongos, it’s The Fall”.
It seems like granny left the band a while ago.
TUTV: Back to the future with The Crystal Teardrop. They flew back to the swinging 60s; they bought records by The Mamas and Papas, The Byrds, Jefferson Airplane, Love and other related legends, then returned to the present and wrote/recorded/released their own sonic vision on swirling psych-pop-rock.
Sticky tunes, colourful choruses, layered vocals and jangly guitars mix organically
and turn Love You More in a brisk collection of entrancing thrills. The 60s were, still
are, and will always be an incorruptible inspiration for pop-ular music.
Jatkola: “‘Feel Today!’ is about feeling apathetic, uninspired, alone, and tired in a world that takes, expects, and doesn’t always give much back. At least, that’s how it feels sometimes. It’s a messed-up place and I feel messed up in it; this song is a reflection of that. There’s a bit of dry humor here and there, and there’s a twinge of hope, too.”
TUTV: Feel Today! generates high-voltage electricity from the outset. Thumping drums, jagged guitars, flashy synths, edgy vocals and a bang-on chorus combine for a chopping corker with the impact of a well-aimed uppercut.
Around the 2-minute mark, JATK take a moony moment for some escape-seeking pondering, accompanied by soothing piano, cello and viola play. Then it’s back to
decibels business with whipped-up force and energetic esprit. There’s always a
hopeful feel-better light at the end of the tunnel. Don’t miss it.
