Some hate them, some love them. Anyway, he’s on the cover of (the) Rolling Stone and
had a very personal interview with the legendary mag about Tears, Trauma, and Those
Bad Habits. Read the full interview HERE.
All or nothing for Ed.
30 March 2023
BAND: DEATH VALLEY GIRLS
WHO: Garage rock fury from Los Angeles, led by
vocalist/guitarist/organist and charismatic voodoo
doll Bonnie Bloomgarden
ALBUM: ISLANDS IN THE SKY – 5th LP
(Photo by Turn Up The Volume – Brussels – 20 Feb 2023)
TUTV: Islands In The Sky feels like the perfect follow-up to Under The Spell Of Joy (2020), sonically as well as lyrically. On the latter Bonnie Bloomgarden wanted to experience the potential and possibility of joy. On the new LP, she’s still under the spell of looking and finding joy but also and most of all spiritual freedom as only then nothing can happen anymore to her as she reveals on the standout track When I’m Free.
Musically it’s simply their best achievement (so far) because of the coherent first-rate songwriting quality, the richly layered orchestrations, Bloomgarden‘s full-hearted vocal
dynamism and the top production. Not one dull moment with Death Valley Girls.
BUY/STREAM
.
DVG: Facebook – Instagram
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
BAND: SLEAFORD MODS
WHO: English rap-punk poets feat.
loudmouth Jason Williamson and
multi-instrumentalist Andrew Fearn.
ALBUM: UK GRIM – the duo’s 7th LP
Jason Williamson: “Maybe we are proud of the country. Maybe we are proud to be English. Maybe I’m proud of the horrible grey streets and the shit weather and the stupid fashions I find myself investing in. It’s just that the English we’re proud of being is absolutely nothing like the English the authorities want to try and promote.”
TUTV: It’s Sleaford Mods by very good numbers. A familiar sounding record with its
sharp-teethed grim-UK rants (Brexit didn’t benefit the country in many ways and the ongoing right-wing Tories‘ incompetence isn’t a blessing either, never was) and, sonically, with its catchy and irresistible simplicity that still activates your limbs without asking.
The mods never disappoint.
STREAM
.
SLEAFORD MODS: Facebook – Instagram
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
BAND: THE DARTS
WHO: All female garage rock engine
from Phoenix, Arizona.
ALBUM: SNAKE OIL – 4th LP
Holy smoke! The Darts roll faster and harder than a steamroller on full speed. Snake Oil is without a shadow of a doubt their best longplayer so far. It feels like the record is infused with all their lockdown frustration. Tons of relentless energy, a non-stop appetite for a garage rock tsunami and the decibels turned up.
Centre-stage Nicole Laurenne sings her heart out as never before while her 60s-sounding organ spices things up all the way. Now and then the Phoenix turbo slow down and give us a chance to fill our oxyen tank. The Darts are unquestionably at the top of their blistering game. Hell-bloody-hell-yeah!
BUY/STREAM
.
THE DARTS: Facebook – Instagram
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
BAND: EYEMOUTH
WHO: This musical project started in Gothenburg, Sweden in 2014 and presents a soundscape based on electronic backgrounds and a more classic rock instrumentation blended with mellotrons, vibraphone, santur, harmonium and other alluring sounding instruments. In short, atmospheric psychedelic darkness with occult undertones.
ALBUM: A HEADLONG FALL INTO THE VAST OCEAN OF ANXIETY
TUTV: Eyemouth is not a band, it’s a sort of spiritual experience, floating from the past
to the present with an eye on the future. This new sonically versatile opus is another explorative voyage into their mythical world. Expect atmospheric synth-scapes for soundtracks of sci-fi movies, mellow Pink Floyd echoes,,dark-electro-wave surrealism
and an overall symphonic sonority.
All greatly orchestrated with both classical and futuristic-sounding structures. At times composer Marcus Lilja‘s ghostly voice comes on, but for the greatest part, this record bathes in instrumental grandeur embracing the power of nature.
STREAM/BUY
.
EYEMOUTH: Spotify – Linktree
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
BAND: XIU XIU
WHO: American experimental band, formed in 2002 by singer-songwriter Jamie Stewart
in San Jose, California who worked with artists such as. Mitski, Sharon Van Etten, Deerhoof, Chelsea Wolfe, Twin Shadow as well as with avant-garde composers like Charlemagne Palestine.
ALBUM: IGNORE GRIEF – their 13th
(Press photo)
TUTV: This is not happy music, this is grim reality music, this is truly fascinating
music. Cinematic electronics, orchestral maneuvers in the dark. Experimental and
sonic David Lynch exploration. Give it a couple of spins and you’ll find out that Xiu Xiu‘s bone-chilling world is more accessible than you thought at first. Their orchestral maneuvers in the dark are fascinating. Grand accomplishment
STREAM/BUY
.
XX: Facebook – Instagram
New striking strokes
30 March 2023
The twang country veterans COWBOY JUNKIES from Toronto, CA announced the advent of their 16th LP, baptized SUCH FEROCIOUS BEAUTY with this message on their Facebook account.
“Hi Everyone. We have some exciting news….we have a new album coming out on June 2nd and today you can watch and listen to the first song, “What I Lost”. You can also pre-order the album on vinyl and CD and there are even a few limited edition coloured vinyl options, if you are so inclined. The new album is called “Such Ferocious Beauty” and we’ll have lots more to
say about it as the album release date gets closer. Enjoy!”.
Pre-order info HERE.
First single WHAT I LOST is a bittersweet sparkler of a song.
Sorrowful and heavy-hearted with Margo Timmins‘s mourning
voice as entrancing as ever.
“I woke up this morning
I didn’t know who I was
I looked at the room
And didn’t know where I was
Or if I ever was”
Listen/ Watch.
COWBOY JUNKIES: Facebook – Instagram
I have second thoughts about getting up today.
Artist: THE TALLEST MAN ON EARTH
Who: The stage name of 39-year old,
Swedish singer-songwriter Kristian Matsson.
New album: HENRY ST. – his 6th
Out: 14 April 2023 – order details here
Matsson: “Henry St. is the most playful, most me album yet, because it covers so many
of the different noises in my head. When you overthink things, you get further away from
your original ideas. And God knows I overthink things when I’m by myself. Having been away from it taught me that making music and performing is what I’m doing for the rest of my life, and I’m so grateful for it. It has given me new confidence and playfulness. This is what I do.
It’s unconditional.”
Singles: Every Little Heart / Henry St.
– EVERY LITTLE HEART –
– HENRY ST. –
TOUR 2023
Great bands from the past
One of the most genuine Brit punk bands of
the late ’70s was, unquestionably, X-RAY SPEX.
School friends Marianne Joan Elliott-Saidn, loudmouth Poly Styrene, and
Susan Whitby, saxophonist Lora Logic, started the group in 1976 and made
an instant intense impact on London’s punk scene with loud and clear feminist
punk manifestos, but they also ranted about the consumer society, environment
issues and other essential daily life problems.
They sounded amazing, they looked amazing and they
made an amazing debut LP with Germ Free Adolescents.
By 1979 Styrene left the band an did some solo work and
later X-Ray Spex had some reunion shows, but in 2011 Poly
was diagnosed with breast cancer. She didn’t survive the
cruel attack on her body. She was only 53. R.I.P.
Three great X-Ray moments.
– THE DAY THE WORLD TURNED DAY GLO –
– IDENTITY –
– OH BONDAGE! UP YOURS! –
(Saxy live version. ACE!)
Some people think little girls should be seen and not heard
But I think “oh bondage, up yours!”
One-two-three-four!
Bind me, tie me, chain me to the wall
I wanna be a slave to you all
Oh bondage, up yours
Oh bondage, no more
X-RAY SPEX: Story
New striking strokes
29 March 2023
(Press photo)
Band: CRAWLERS
Who: Alternative Liverpool 4-piece
speaking/playing/screaming out.
Work: Last year’s debut mixtape Loud Without Noise
New single: THAT TIME OF YEAR ALWAYS
Holly Minto (vocalist): “‘That Time Of Year Always’ encompasses the feeling of envying your younger self before the trauma hits in your early 20’s. It’s about missing the ignorance that you had in your childhood; that reflection process which usually happens for me during the winter seasons. Being older, you realise that despite thinking these thoughts stem from seasonal depression, it’s normal to feel that longing for your youth all year round, and to constantly have your younger self in mind when reminiscing about what once was.”
This is what amplified pop grandeur is about.
Gripping, spry, and rousing inflamed with
sonic and vocal vehemence.
Feel the ardency.
CRAWLERS: Instagram – Website
Inspired by Steven Blush‘s book American Hardcore: A Tribal History (cover of the book this 2006 film is a chronicle of the underground hardcore punk years from 1979 to 1986. With interviews and rare live footage from artists such as Black Flag, Bad Brains, Minor Threat, SS Decontrol and the Dead Kennedys.
More info here.
Original trailer.
American Hardcore: A Tribal History by Steven Blush
Daily electricity to load your batteries
29 March 2023
Photo credit: Mark Maryanovich
Band: THE MANIC BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB
Who: The musical project of Canadian siblings Bela and Fernando Ferreira, born out of a desire to escape from the mundane, and instead, form a refuge for misfits. After being raised strict Catholics and shipped off to Portugal to live with their grandmother–a former nun–the siblings decided to run the other way, and refuse to become submissive and apathetic, like a modern-day Bonnie & Clyde.
New single: WE’LL BE FINE
The first shared piece of the duo’s upcoming,
self-titled 5-track debut EP, out on 13 July.
Fernando about the song: “We all live with the mistakes we’ve made. Maybe the tattoo you regret, the relationship you should have never been in, the words you should have said, what you should have not said, or maybe the time we’ve wasted. He continues,”‘We’ll Be Fine’ is about letting go of all of those things. I really believe that even when nothing around us makes sense, and as much of a mess as life may seem at times, for whatever reason, we are exactly where we are meant to be. There is a plan for us all.”
Beware, Bonnie & Clyde are coming your way (Photo credit: Mark Maryanovich)
TUTV: We’ll Be Fine is an arresting and bloodcurdling discharge that focuses on the aftermath of a painful relation-breakup. Slowly but surely the sensitive forcefulness and the tense emotions at play drag you into this absorbing, mid-tempo cry-out with Bela Ferreira‘s sky-scraping vocals sending shivers down your spine when the heart-and-soul stirring chorus comes up. The orchestrated musical progression emphasizes the melodrama of this sterling composition just perfectly. A prime score!
The eye-catching, accompanying video clip, directed by Ernie Vasquez, follows a man who decides to walk away from his mundane life in search of something greater. Unbound to
a nine-to-five job, he attempts to truly discover freedom and independence.
Watch/listen.
Als streaming on Spotify.