Following his third mighty funky album ‘Couch’ last September, Seattle based synthpop artist Paul Furio aka WATCH CLARK couldn’t resist to join the Christmas fun and gave us ‘MY BLACK HEART (LOVES CHRISTMAS WITH YOU)’. A banger of a Xmas tune even Santa Claus can’t resist to dance to. Although if you look closely at the lyrics it’s actually a sad and confused love song dominated by mixed festive emotions…
I’m a walking contradiction
Girl you know I’m sad and blue
But my black heart
Loves Christmas with you
On the other it sounds catchy as hell,
tune in and swing to the electro beats…
Turn Up The Volume looks back at his favourite concerts of 2019…
GIRL BAND – Botanique, Brussels – 7 November 2019
Here’s the original review…
Following the recent release of their second bone-crushing album, called THE TALKIES , Irish hair-raising noise 4-piece GIRL BAND are on the road to present you their collection of new soul-pulverizing eruptions mixed with some blasts from the past. Last Thursday they invaded Brussels.
It’s hard to put their chainsaw turbulence live on stage into words. You really need to
be there so your nerves can feel the horrific tension this near motionless quartet creates
on a podium. The bassist and guitarist follow a fuzzy, bloodcurdling path of their own, the drummer slashes fiercely while frontman Dara Kiely howls and screeches like someone who’s hooked on primal scream therapy. It’s remarkable that all the intimidating racket comes together as one coherent crusade going in the same tumultuous direction.
I witnessed that half of the sell-out crowd were fanatic fans and knew the songs by hard and that the other half, not entirely familiar with the band, wondered why this diabolic havoc was so overwhelming, so resistless and so soul-slicing. Yep, Girl Band is not your average noise rock band, they operate in a mind-boggling zone looking for disquietening ways to scare their worst demons, and they give you an opportunity to do the same from the very moment they unleash their nightmarish offensive. Thrashing performance!
Band: The Specials AKA Song: Nelson Mandela (produced by Elvis Costello) Released: 5 March 1984 – 35 years ago – stand-alone single Chart: peaked at #9 in the UK
Who: “A band that got driven by Manchester’s burgeoning post-industrial bubble to spawn
their shoegaze fantasies. The quintet’s meteoric rise is gaining interest from highly esteemed peers, with noted admirers including the likes of Nick McCabe, Mark Gardener, Simone Butler (Primal Scream) and Sean Lennon to name but a few.”
Track: PETRICHOR – first track from upcoming EP ‘Desolation Angel‘, out 10th January
Score: ‘Petrichor‘ sounds like a slow-burning psychedelic shoegaze symphony with sensitive moments interspersed with a wall of blistering guitars injecting this glowing
stunner with an intensely absorbing fervour and a highly feverish vibrancy. Imposing piece, impressive resonance and intoxicating vocality. Rad performance!
If you are a devoted fan of electronic music than you will certainly know Hungarian downtempo and chillwave duo BELAU. What started as a solo project by Péter Kedves three years ago turned into a band when Krisztián Buzás joined. They quickly released
their acclaimed debut album ‘‘The Odyssey’ which earned them an instant solid reputation in and around the dance scene.
The pair is now working on their second longplayer, planned to come out in the Spring
of 2020. Trippy lead single ‘Essence’ was launched last May and featured the warm and sensuous voice of Sophie Baker, who regularly works with famous British band Zero 7.
And here’s Belau‘s second single of their upcoming LP. ‘NATURAL POOL‘ is a slo-mo Tricky like electro groove moving smoothly while creating a relaxing effect that feels
like a mind massage. This is dreamy music to get lost in, inspiring music that will
trigger your imagination with its cinematic sonority and its soothing rhythm.
Turn Up The Volume looks back at his favourite concerts of 2019…
FALLING MAN – Charlatan, Ghent, Belgium – 12 April 2019
Here’s the original review…
Turn Up The Volume featured Belgian turbine FALLING MAN many times before because this rock machine knows the kick-ass art of turning a shaking cocktail of spellbinding riffs, bad-tempered licks, hammering drums and a haunting vox into memorable crackers, on record and on stage. And they do it with a heated heart and a stirring soul because they care about their shit! Which can’t be said of many label controlled fakers out there.
Yesterday the flamboyant combo hit their and my hometown of Ghent to celebrate the release of their brand new 4-track EP, entitled CANDY. Another striking piece of messed-up crackerjacks. The record kicks off with the awesome title track – a painkiller that works instantly – followed by the manic anxiety of PANIC ATTACK NO. 22, then a raging ANGRY KID hits you hard in the face before the band closes with B&D, a sort of ‘I’m you, you are me‘ identity crisis that gets under your skin without asking permission.
Live up there, on the podium, these new killers sounded even more obstreperous, more stocky and more burly than on vinyl. Oh yeah, their sonic nightmares get an extra injection of adrenalin when performed live. That’s what great bands do. They gave you the best of both worlds. Conclusion: FALLING MAN, is one of those rare acts that never disappoints because basically, this is what these motherrockers do ALL the time…
They groove till you move
They rock till you shock
They roll till you toll
They sneer till you cheer
They spit till you split
They trash till you splash
They spree till you candy…
JOE STRUMMER died, only 50, on 22 December 2002, 17 years ago today. He was a genuine artist. A tremendously gifted and committed musician and a social human
being with his heart and soul and mouth on the right place.
I chose his most gripping Bob Marley cover of ‘REDEMPTION SONG‘ to commemorate
the passing of this legend because if he had still been alive today Strummer would have definitely protested with razor-sharp words and challenging music against the dramatic loss of human solidarity and the rise of dangerous, narcissistic political leaders as we experience for some years now. His honest and outspoken voice is sadly missed. Rest
in peace, rest in freedom…
Turn Up The Volume looks back at his favourite concerts of 2019…
AMYL AND THE SNIFFERS – Het Bos, Antwerp, Belgium – 11 June 2019
Here’s the original review…
THE BAND
A non-stop volcanic rawk & roll bolide from down under, led by the charismatic and the stormy frontwoman Amyl Taylor. An uproarious Melbourne based punk turbine everybody is talking about right now. Imagine a lethal cocktail ofThe Runaways (Joan Jett‘s teenage band) and metallic furyPlasmatics (with the legendary Wendy O. Williams) fueled by an eruptive Motörhead drive. Final result: hot-tempered, neurotic and fiery pandemonium!
THE ALBUM
The band released their self-titled firework debut album last May. A boiling record filled with 70s influenced blitzkrieg jackhammers that drive you totally out-of-your-mind and want you to smash your head against the wall. Check the insane heat out right here…
. THE CONCERT
Yesterday the Aussie tornado invaded Antwerp, Belgium. Holy shit! What a gash gash gash!
Stage beast Amyl was all over the place, on and off the podium, while screaming, sneering and spitting at the top of her lungs assisted by an ecstatic mosh pit crowd that shouted the whole setlist along word by word. Kamikaze rock ‘n’ roll at its very best. SWEATY! FERVENT! LOUDMOUTHED! MAD! RED-HOT! RABID! RAZOR-SHARP! Terrifically breathtaking speedy tumult that does your hungry head in the way you really love it. Here’s a whirling idea of this gang’s dynamite craziness. Go and see them if you can…
