28 October 2023
(Jim: right / William: left)
WILLIAM ADAM REID was born on 28 October 1958 in Glasgow, Scotland .
Happy 65 to the distorted and feedback wizard of The Jesus And Mary Chain.
The legendary pop noise band, fronted by his younger brother Jim, 62 next month.
To celebrate their 1985 debut single Never Understand.
TJAMC: Instagram – Bio – Discography
28 October 2023
The Aussie psych-prog-rockers have their 25th LP
in 13 years out, titled THE SILVER CORD.
It’s their second of the year, following, take a deep breath: PetroDragonic Apocalypse Or, Dawn Of Eternal Night: An Annihilation Of Planet Earth And The Beginning Of Merciless Damnation.
UNCUT Magazine: The Aussie Maestros deliver seven concise tracks of electronica, largely indebted to Giorgio Moroder but with ventures into many of those elements Moroder inspired, from disco to techno and even jungle.
TUTV: The incredibly productive misfits step into another sonic universe – leaving
their by now familiar psych-prog rock one – this time. No guitars here, unless they
mixed them unrecognizably. It’s all about experimenting with electronica, synths
and related devices, all the way through.
Their hurried psychedelic rainbow sound is still intact, yet it resonates more like EBM
for post-punk indies. Inventive but in the end still the Aussies we know. And guess what, there are only 7 songs, and for the first time not one reaching the 5-minute mark.
But for their fanatic fans, in order to avoid withdrawal symptoms, the band remixed
all 7 songs – with each one not shorter than 10 minutes – and pressed them on an
extra vinyl edition. You can also stream the whole shebang here on Spotify.
Score: 3.5/5.
.
KG & TLW: Facebook – Website
Daily electricity to load your batteries
28 October 2023
Artist: MARC VALENTINE
Who: Flamboyant British singer-songwriter who
released his debut album Future Obscure last year.
New single: SKELETON KEY
The B-side is a cover version of The Shirelles’ No 1 US hit
Will You Love Me Tomorrow from 1960. Available as a download
and a limited-edition coloured vinyl 7” with picture sleeve. Buy here
Valentine: “When the idea for Skeleton Key came to me, I was imagining the colours and dialogue of a suspenseful opening scene from a late ’60s Hammer horror film. It’s a song about discovering the darker side of someone and the futile attempt to escape the emotional powers that can unlock everything – though, as usual, there’s a dash of dark humour.”
TUTV: Fast forward from the start. Skeleton Key speeds with electrical panache
caused by ignited guitars producing a tsunami of reckless riffs. Sounds like glam
pop punk turmoil to my eager ears. A head-twisting and hair-rising bolide.
Add tense drumming, Valentine‘s frisky vocals and the cutting chorus, and you know
this zippy tune will play on your headphones more than once and as it’s about discovering the dark side of someone – remember Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, you definitely need to add it to your Halloween playlist.
WATCH/LISTEN
STREAM
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MARC VALENTINE: Facebook – Instagram
TUTV: Facebook – Instagram – Twitter
Daily noise that works faster than any stimulant
28 October 2023
Press photo
Baltimore‘s synth pop act FUTURE ISLANDS present their 7th LP,
baptized People Who Aren’t There Anymore next year, on January 26.
Press info: Where they’ve pursued ever-higher energy anthems in the past, they’ve
turned inward this time, and unlocked a new level of ferocity, delivering some of their most inspiring and most heartbreaking tracks by doing the opposite: taking their time, making each breath, each syllable, each cymbal crash count. The result is a powerful, defining statement from a group of musicians that have made the best album of their career.
Along with the info of the album FI shared another
new single – already the 4th – named THE TOWER.
A pure synth-pop pearl. An instant hit.
WATCH/LISTEN
All 4 singles
.
FUTURE ISLANDS: Instagram – Website
27 October 2023
The late great John Prine – who passed away at the age of 73, three years
ago, due to that nasty coronavirus – wasn’t fond of commercial success.
(photo on top: cover of his ‘September 1978’ LP)
Standout longplayers
27 October 2023
Press photo: Kelsey Hunter Ayres
New Jersey‘s rock idols THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM
launched their 6th LP, named HISTORY BOOKS today.
Order info here.
Rough Trade: “Like so many of the most essential rock bands, The Gaslight Anthem have a rare gift for finding glory in the inescapable pain of being alive. On their new album History Books, the New Jersey-bred four-piece bring their soulful breed of punk to ten thrilling songs exploring everything from mortality to mental illness to the more precarious dimensions of human connection.”
Brian Fallon (vocalist/guitarist): “A lot of this record is questioning all the bad stuff we see in the world and the difficult things we go through in life, and asking how to deal with it. I think the answer is that we’re all in this together and that somehow makes it okay, even when it’s anything but easy. The main message of the album is empathy.”
TUTV: Vintage Americana folk-rock delivered with evocative emotions and
heart-whole ardency. Less firework than before, more reflective musings and
twilight meditations. Bruce Springsteen joined them on the anthemic title track
and left his shadow in the studio afterward, as you can hear on touching ballads
Autumn and Empires, and on aflame rocker Little Fires .
Brian Fallon‘s impassioned voice brings Bright Eyes‘ Conor Oberst
one to mind. Vocally, he’s the song’s life-experienced painter.
Overall History Books is an affecting record that will grow with every listen,
it features multiple rad tunes you want to go back to more than once.
Singles/clips: Little Fires / History Books
– LITTLE FIRES –
– HISTORY BOOKS –
ALBUM
UK/Europe Dates
THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM: Instagram – Bio – Discography
New striking strokes
27 October 2023
Band: MISS CHAIN & THE BROKEN WHEELS (Italy)
Who: A charming blonde psychologist with a passion for rock’n’roll.
A troubled singer-songwriter troubadour seeking eternal free drinks and
breaking hearts. A Sky Walker-lookalike nerd busy booking shows and
releasing records with his punk label. A curly young genius in A.I.
programming and analogue drumming.
New single: STORMS
Astrid Dante (singer-songwriter-guitarist) explains: “Psychotherapy enriched and still nourishes who I am. It also gave me a different perspective on living in this world, embracing complexity, curiosity and hope. ‘Storms’ talks about the need to jump inside of yourself, inside of relationships and into your past to live a different present. The only way is through, and if you don’t become aware of some stuff, you probably risk repeating endless dysfunctional loops, acting well-known old scripts that sometimes you didn’t even write yourself”.
TUTV: Storms is a sunlit ditty to warm up on winter days. It’s a spry jangly tune – think Liverpool’s one-time stars The La’s – that turns a smile on your face, that has a calming
effect on your restless mind. Dante‘s pithy vocals and glowing guitars inject this sweet
little pop thrill with joy and ice cream flavor. There’s always a light at the end of the tunnel.
Tune in.
.
MISS CHAIN AND THE BROKEN WHEELS: Facebook – Instagram
TUTV: Facebook – Instagram – Twitter
Daily electricity to load your batteries
27 October 2023
Artist: JOHN E VISTIC
Who: Multi-instrumentalist & award-winning London born
(raised in Australia) Bristol dwelling singer-songwriter.
New track/video: GUNZ GERMZ AND STEAL
Blistering piece from forthcoming EP, titled Humanz Are Bastardz,
out November 10 via Deaf Endling Collective.
Artwork new EP
TUTV: With crash-slash-and-smash hammer blows like this crushing one, you can
test the resilience of your stereo. Gunz Germz and Steal is insanity in sonic motion, swinging forth and back to attack over and over again, fired-up by chainsaw guitars
and diabolic howls to scare the shit out of Ozzy Osbourne.
Looks and sounds as if Doomsday is just around the corner along with Iggy Pop
who will be the merciless Judge. But ahead of the big bang play this out loud on
Halloween, your neighborhood will never be the same again. Hells bells!
The video is a tribute to the late great Kurt Cobain, recorded on the anniversary
of his death. You will see lots of objects and references to the famous Nirvana video
in the shoot. The song itself references the book by American scientist/author
Jaren Diamond.
WATCH/LISTEN/EXPLODE
JEV: Instagram – Facebook – Bandcamp
TUTV: Facebook – Instagram – Twitter
Great concert posters
This PIXIES poster should bring you in Halloween mood.
But look for your mind first…
27 October 2023
Fascinating and fast-rising Indonesian trio GRRL GANG are on a world-conquering
roll after releasing their critically acclaimed debut LP, titled SPUNKY! A swirling
collection of glam and glitter pop exaltation, irresistible fuzz and buzz tunes, with
hungry guitars flying all over the place and jumpy vocals/harmonies to spice it up.
The sassy spirit of Bikini Kill and 10 spiky crackers,
not longer than an average Ramones song.
Recently frontwoman Angeeta Sentana talked in-dept with legendary British
music bible NME about all things good but also about all bad things from the
past, like mental health problems, alcohol abuse and writer’s block.
“I thought, ‘I’ve gone through so much shit in my life.
If I overcame that, I can overcome anything’”
Read the full feature here.
Despite drawing anybody’s attention – indie and mainstream – right now,
and a big Southeast Asia tour starting this weekend Angee took the time for
a quick chat. Totally fabulous! But as usual, we start a Q & A with a slice
of music. We picked one of the rad singles from the longplayer.
Hello Angee,
When and how did GRRRL GANG got together?
“We first got together in 2016 at Jogja when the three of us were
still in college. I think each of us really wanted to form a band, and
I’m always grateful that we met at the right place at the right time.”
What’s the story behind the band’s name?
“It came from a jacket that I bought that had the name, “Girl Gang”, on it.”
Which track would you play to the people who never heard of you?
“I think “Spunky!” is a good start for most people.”
Your debut album SPUNKY! is out now. What does the title stands for, Angee?
“The title essentially describes what we want to convey in the album, which
is that you need to have a little bit of a “spunky” attitude to get through life.”
What did you want to express with the
album’s artwork and who developed it?
“So, we teamed up with Tiny Studio, our longtime collaborators, to design the album artwork. We just sent them the song files and asked them to visually interpret the songs.
We didn’t give them any prompts or references for it. What Tiny Studio wanted to express through the artwork is the emotional turbulences and inner turmoil that a young girl experiences.”
Were all three of you involved in the writing process?
“Yes, we planned to meet up at least once a week to sit down and
write the album together. I remember how hectic it was, especially
trying to work out each person’s schedules.”
Which music/artists inspired you when writing/making the record?
“The Go-Go’s and Sleater-Kinney inspired me
with their vocals, while Hole with their lyrics.”
Do all songs are in some way connected or do they all stand on their own?
“They are all connected in a single narrative, but I also wanted for the songs to
be able to stand on its own. Each song was based on a single event that I personally experienced, but we wanted to tie them all together and tell a story of how you can
find hope.”
RUDE AWAKENING is one of my favorite tracks.
What’s the song about and where was the video shot?
“Thank you! “Rude Awakening” is about realizing that you’re always
the odd one out, and how lonely it feels after said realization.
We shot the music video at Tiny Studio’s—the people
that worked on our artwork—compound.”
Suppose the album would be the soundtrack
for a movie, which want would it be?
“Shrek 2.”
What’s your ultimate goal, Angee
“To be able to buy a nice house from music.”
Thank you very much for taking the time for this Q & A, Angee.
May the road rise with Grrl Gang.
STREAM SPUNKY!
.
BUY SPUNKY!
.
GG: Instagram – Facebook
