Former The Smiths legend Johnny Marr and New Order voice Bernard Sumner
teamed up as ELECTRONIC for a total of 3 longplayers (between 1989 and 1998)
with their eponymous debut LP as their best (to my ears). Synth-pop at its brisky
best.
It was released on 27 May 1991, today 35 years ago.
It peaked at #2 in the UK and sold more than 1 million
copies worldwide.
Vox (English music monthly) said: “Electronic is simply a 100 per cent pure
distillation of Marr and Sumner’s respective talents. Hit single ‘Get the Message’
has it in a nutshell: it breaks no new ground; it simply achieves perfection”
Artist: SPRING TIM CULL Who: Musical moniker of Liverpool singer-songwriter Tess Corr. Inspired by PJ Harvey, QOTSA, and NIN, she produces a dark alt rock sound with elements of grunge, industrial, indie, shoegaze & goth, resulting in powerful fuzz-heavy outbursts & softer episodes, scattered with serrated guitar & synth elements.
“The song is was inspired by a devastating news article about how a whole pack of wolves was illegally poisoned in the Apennine mountains in Italy in 2023 by a suspected farmer. The song is sung from the point of view of a mother wolf warning her cub about the dangers of humans: how they have exploited their habitat for their own means, and view wolves as a threat.
This story made Tender Claws think about human-wildlife coexistence on a wider scale and how it is so imbalanced and unfair, and how nature is often disrespected, disregarded or taken for granted.”
TUTV: Spring Time Cull displays a monumental sonority, generated by a towering drum/guitar clash and glueing synths. Thunder and lightning everywhere, while Corr‘s gothesque voice completes the sonic presence of horror and evil in the air. This
spine-chilling thrill sends shivers down your spine. Helter skelter.
“I saw something I hope you never have to see
Six black death bags in the shapes of us
Another pack that were unfortunate
Victims of the spring time cull”
Muscular British rock topliners NOTHING BUT THIEVES just announced the upcoming birth of their 5th full-length. It’s named Stray Dogs and will arrive on September 25th.
Bill Orcutt (left) and Mabe Fratti. Composite: PR Image/Melissa Luna
Artists: BILL ORCUTT &MABE FRATTI Who: Miami-based veteran guitarist and the
praised, young Guatemalan cellist and vocalist.
The Guardian (English newspaper) says: “The Guatemalan newcomer
and US veteran find striking common ground on an intimate collaboration
full of agitation, complexity and uncanny chemistry.”
Another batch of 5 new, stellar tracks have
been added to Turn Up The Volume’s Jukebox.
Turn it up.
ALL TOGETHER
. TRACK BY TRACK
Artist: LIDO PIMIENTA Who: Columbia-born songstress based in Toronto, Canada.
As much as she is an iconoclast, Pimienta is a healer who
has expanded sonically since 2010.
Track: TOXICA
Piece from her forthcoming 4th LP,
titled Caribenya. Out on July 17th.
More info here.
Album artwork
TUTV: Hurray! Summer is here (almost). This is the kind of titillating tunes that boost
your state of mind. Tóxica‘s hip-swinging swagger, triggered by exotic African beats, and her high-spirited voice create a beach party atmosphere, although lyrically the song is
less positive, drawing attention to toxic relationships.
Artists: LUNAR TWIN Who: A dark, cinematic dream-wave duo, based between Hawai, Los Angeles
and Salt Lake City, blending dreamy soundscapes with soulful, nostalgic energy.
“It’s a story as old as the earth and it’s also a story of this very moment.
It’s about searching alone through the darkness, crossing a desert of
the soul.”
TUTV: Expect a synth ear-massage incited by trance-like
trip-hop vibes and dream-stimulating impulses.
Track: THE ENDLESS BORDER
First single from their sophomore LP,
out later in the year.
TUTV: Moody music for glowing sunsets, heartened by a steady-going rhythm section and mellow vocals, while glistening guitar sparks enliven this dreamy pop tune with its Western feel.
Press info: “As most of us go through life’s formative stages, there are often
two lanes of maturity and fulfillment that casually intertwine, with each helping
inform and propel the other.
One is establishing who we are as a person, while discovering a sense of identity
and comfort as our true selves; and the other is finding our community along the
way, seeking refuge and safety in those that exist, and persist, closest to us.
Those lanes converge and come to the forefront of Jesus The Dinosaur’s introspective
debut album, Nothing To The Branches, a record that acts as a portal into a different
kind of emotive headspace.”
Tommy Ng (frontman) “The statement that we are making with this album is that we’re here! The songs cover a range of things from complex relationship dynamics to gender identity to anxiety attacks. But at our core, the music we make is really more about being involved in an intimate collaborative creation process together and finding our own expressions within it.”
“Our chemistry is everything! We’ve been friends for a long time. They are my closest friends.
It allows for the process of music writing to be very intimate and vulnerable and expansive. There’s space for everyone to have their expressions, and we all want to work together and
feel seen.”
TUTV: On this debut, the band explore gender identity, relationship dynamics, anxiety,
and escapism. Musically, they embed these life-important issues in gentle, charming, candid and acoustic-euphonious reveries. Luring indie folk that triggers self-analysing daydreaming.
The ruminative balladry of Bon Iver and Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy comes to mind. Nothing To The Branches embraces a similar heart-and-soul stirring melancholia, wrapped in introvertive reveries such as Lifetime, Not Yr Boy, I Miss My Friend and fervent tunes (Agender, Empty Space, Sweet Nothing and Looking For A Way Out). Great vocals too from Ng and guitarist Hannah Foxman on Can’t Say.
I’m sure many young people out there can relate to the covered
topics on this brave and frank debut. Kudos to Jesus The Dinosaur.
A haunting, dark, and ominous masterstroke with Indian,
Middle Eastern, and Eastern European influences and lyrics
about grief and loss. The Stones at their mystical best.
It also hit the top spot in the US
and in several countries in Europe.
I see a red door and I want it painted black
No colors anymore I want them to turn black
I see the girls walk by dressed in their summer clothes
I have to turn my head until my darkness goes
