YES was/is a much lauded and renowned prog-rock group from London.
Their most remarkable and successful period was the one with their
original line-up (Jon Anderson, Chris Squire, Steve Howe, Tony Kaye and Bill Bruford) between 1968 and 1981, with 10 LPs including their best
ever Relayer. Magical singer Jon Anderson left the band in 1980.
The band is still active with guitarist Steve Howe as the only original member.
All artwork was designed by artist Roger Dean
except for Time And A Word which was developed
by Laurence Sackman and co-ordinated by Graphreaks.
VV come up with the 4th new track (stream them all below). MARY BOONE resonates like a glowing pop symphony with an
angelic church choir, trippy percussion and merry piano fragments.
Magnificent composition.
Portland‘s groove junks fabricated their 10th LP with Rockmaker.
“The hitmakers celebrate their 30th year together with a sprinkle of glitter on their grime. Accompanied by guests Debbie Harry, Slash, and Pixies’ Frank Black,The Dandy Warhols wrangle paranoia, untangle anxious discontent, and lust after life while the dance grooves go deeper, heady drones get weirder, and riffage fit for bong rips hammers. Rockmaker is the Dandy‘s clearest statement yet, at no sacrifice to their outré leanings. This is the sound of outsider alt-psych fixtures looking in as the walls come down.”
Courtney Taylor-Taylor (frontman): Overall, Rockmaker is the manifestation
of our desire to hear a record of heavy raw punk and metal guitar riffs, but it has
its own alley.”
TUTV: As a long-time fan I like the smell of a new Warhols album all day long. Rockmaker has, overall, a dark psychedelic timbre and a twilight tone with
industrial rock drones all over it. The distortion mixer and eerie stories take
them to a pretty obscure territory where the sun isn’t invited.
Mind you, Portland‘s trailblazers still are, first and foremost, a mean riff-loaded groove machine with an instant impact on your hips, sounding as if it was recorded in a batcave, with Trent Reznor taking care of the production, rather than in a conventional studio with
a sane engineer.
As we know, heroin is so passé, but it looks like the band will have a feel-good summer
of hate-filled with alcohol, marijuana, (lou) weed, cocaine, nicotine, LSD, and mushrooms.
All summer’s (il)legal raves will start and end with Rockmaker. Welcome to the Dandy Warhols‘ psychedelic Terrordome. Be ready for a wild ride.
“Hazy, heady, hedonistic and hopeful – Gold Control is Jeen’s fourth album this decade.
The luminous ten tracker glides along the same trajectory as its predecessors while maintaining its own identity. Grunge. Garage. Psych-rock. Punk. Tinges of Shoegaze.
Her influences continue to shine as she crafts them into her own vehicle with ease. Jeen joined creative forces once again with long-time collaborator Canadian indie musician and producer Ian Blurton who has taken the role of co-producer on her last five albums.”
TUTV: The three main elements that make this album special are Jeen’s remarkable
voice, her high-quality songwriting expertise, and the heart-and-soul passion that streams throughout the record. Whether Jeen rocks out, muses, or swings moods, she always holds your aural attention.
The cliché is accurate here, ‘no fillers, all killers’. 10 intoxicating, 10 solid gold songs.
This first-rate longplayer should get at least the same attention as Sheryl Crow‘s
new one.
Super Manchester duo and long-time friends Liam Gallagher and The Stone Roses‘
guitar hero JOHN SQUIRE got together and canned this collaborative longplayer.
Liam: “I think John’s a top songwriter. Everyone always bangs on about him as a guitarist,
but he’s a top songwriter too, man, no two ways about it as far as I’m concerned. There’s not enough of his music out there, whether it’s with the Roses or himself. It’s good to see him back writing songs and fucking good ones. The melodies are mega and then the guitars are a given. But I think even when you take all the fucking guitars off, you can play the songs all on acoustic and they’ll all still blow your mind.”
TUTV: This is a lazy psych-blues album made by two lazy rock stars that sounds as if they made it about 30 years ago. Most tunes could be leftovers from The Stone Roses‘ 2nd and final 1994 LP Second Coming, the one on which Squire played his guitar exactly the way Jimmy Page did in Led Zeppelin for years. And Liam is Liam. Arms together on his back and letting his pipes do the talking. The two Manchester heroes just did what they wanted to do, making an album together, no more, no less. But I can’t stop playing it.
JuJu is the brainchild of Sicilian multi-instrumentalist and producer Gioele Valenti.
“With ‘Apocalypse Is God’s Spolier‘, JuJu once again redefines the game. This album not only signifies an evolution from their established sound but also marks a return to their roots and a more pronounced embrace of “Western” imagery. The new LP embraces that blend of western Post Punk, Shoegaze, Darkwave, Industrial, Synth-pop and then anchors it to the Tribal and Occult Psych elements of JuJu‘s origins.”
TUTV: Valenti is a jam champ and a groove master creating electrifying, trance-like vibrations that transfer you to the dark side of your mind where you can freely fantasize and explore your own psyche. Circling Krautrock-like psychedelia is all over this new record. Choir chants and spacey percussion cause a tribal atmosphere à la The Brian Jonestown Massacre and The Dandy Warhols. Mind-bending, dream-triggering, and soul-stirring as always. Another top mission accomplished.
“Helsinki-based outfit Aves (Eino, Juntti, and Antti) release their immersive new album, Transformations. This record has been a long time coming and the band sees it as the amalgamation of the members’ personal journeys. Dealing with mental health and addiction as well as inner healing and transformation, the album offers a profound yet joyous expression of freedom and change. The new album features collaborations with Icelandic artist JFDR and Danish singer Lydmor, known for her powerful performances.”
TUTV: If you’re an ardent Tama Impala fan and you can’t wait for their new album (last
one, The Slow Rush, dates from 2020) you really need to disover this ear-gratifying record packed with synth-infused, silver-lined and shimmering musings, all served with starry-eyed harmonies and magnific orchestrations. The mixed-emotions songs float in the air and are there for you to grab, embrace and enjoy. Dream-pop bliss at its magnetic best. No need to hurry, mister Kevin Parker, we have Aves.
Welsh rock tandem (Grant Nicholas and Taka Hirose) FEEDER
unchain their 12th LP, a double one, titled BLACK/RED, next
Friday on 5 April.
Grant Nicholas (vocalist/guitarist): “I really wanted the album to be split in two parts for
the listener, CD1 and CD2, black and red rather than be one long player, almost like a musical production with an interval. Making it was a very creative time for me as a writer and a real labour of love. Making the Black / Red album for me personally was a musical pilgrimage and
I feel the end result is undeniable Feeder.”
They just dropped new track #7 (out of 18). HEY YOU is a mesmeric mid-tempo ballad
growing in ardor along its romanticizing way.
“Pray if you want to
I say pray
We’ve got nothing left to lose (Lose)
Faith (Faith) comes a calling (Calling)
And I’ll be there for you
I said pray if you want to
And I’ll be there with you”
Boston‘s hefty garage blues-rock act released their new EP The Red Angel.
Six barbed wire bursts is what you get. To give you a loud and clear idea
here’s the closing crusher Wave Out Sunkiss.
S o f t e r is a psychedelic shoegaze stunner, a multi-layered symphony propelled
by about a thousand guitars, a mind-boggling bass riff, and combative drums, while Rebecca Dow‘s ghostly vocals scrape the sky. What a titanic thrill.
This disco-punk sucker-punch is just perfect to start and end all (il)legal
club nights with. High Value Man is a jiving bass-insane jackhammer that
doubles your adrenaline production on the spot and triggers your hottest
body contortions.
The orgastic ‘dance with me’ chorus revs up the sultry temperature and invites you to go mental, like a kangaroo on E. London‘s boiling dancefloor wackadoos Warmduscher should take these Welshmen/woman on the road with them. Frisky fun guaranteed. Machos not allowed.
Seattle‘s rock giants led by towering voice Eddie Vedder are back in business.
They canned their 12th longplayer, called it Dark Matter and they will share
it with the world on April 19.
Single Running sounds like if Vedder & Co
found their young razor-blade rock legs again.
This dazzling electronic duo conjure their influences of EBM, techno and electropop,
their sound is an intoxicating mix of analog synthetics and seductive vocals, touching
on themes of desire and despair, domination and submission.
They have a new 3-track, titled Inservio out, with opener Lights Down Low
as my favorite. An electro booster with a tantalizing techno beat à la The Prodigy
that rotates irresistibly, non-stop.
Spring is in the air, titillating tunes are in the air, like this frisky one
that circles around a disco beat in overdrive, and has an instantaneous,
activating impact on your eager limbs.
Lively vocals and a jumpy synth chorus augment the briskness at play here.
Get up, stand up, take your blue suede shoes out of the closet and show us
your best hip moves. Shake your dancefloor fright off with this rad
head-over-heels twister.
Expect a synth-adrenalizing thrill, a head-spinning belter,
infused with whirlwind vocals and UK garage dynamics. Imagine The Streets on acid or Yard Act pressing the accelerator.
11. ‘Diana’ by AUTOGRAMM (Seattle/Chicago/Vancouver)
Photo by Dave Paterson
Diana comes out of the gates like a speed train and never looks back.
Dynamizing synths start the rapid trip, the powerhouse drum/bass
engine pushes the rotating rhythm with vivid vigour, and zippy vocals
complete the accelerating sonic picture.
No, I don’t speak/understand Spanish, but hey, there are a lot of English/American hardcore/punk bands that scream and shout in such a cacophonous way, that I have no clue whatsoever what they’re on about. Who of you understand, except the people from Iceland, what world-famous orchestral pop outfit Sigur Rós, are singing about? It’s always about the music first.
Oceans Sangrientos is a titanic psychedelic blast. Be ready for a wall-of-fuzzing-and-buzzing guitar attack. Think The Brian Jonestown Massacre turning up their amps to the max and coming up with layers of mind-blowing electricity. Blimey.
These Boston rockers let the good times roll. Op-Operator is a dynamite
power pop tune that gets you out of your bed, after a night on the town
and triggers your limbs to start partying all over again.
This is how British blues rock titans Royal Blood would sound if their producer
is a fanatic post-punk fan. Trying is a riff-rough roller coaster going forth and back.
The crude combination of hammering drums, stoner rock electricity, and yearning vocals create a shocking effect that bangs on and on. Yokophono not only try, they succeed with bold brio.
Nick Cave and his iconic bad seeds band have bagged album #18.
It’s called Wild Godand will hit the streets on August 30.
The title track is a sublime composition. The first part is crooner Cave as we know
him, but quickly the vocal passion and goosebumps intensity goes up and from halfway on, the song turns into an orchestral masterpiece, with a zealous hallelujah choir and an opera-like majesty. Best piece they wrote in years.
Blansjaar is an up-and-coming 21-year-old singer-songwriter
born in Amsterdam, raised in Oxford, now based in Brooklyn.
Anna Madonna echoes Ezra Koenig and Vampire Weekend. It’s a frolicsome tune that flutterers around in your head like a happy-go-lucky butterfly. A sweet little pop gem.
Worldcub are a group from North Wales piloted by brothers Cynyr (guitar & vocals) and Dion Hamer (drums & vocals). They produce material from their home studio on the hills of Eryri, splicing together elements of surf guitar music, kraut-rock grooves and hypnotic psych tinged Cymru vocal harmonies.
They have their new album ‘Back to the Beginning’ out 17th of May.
The title track gets under your skin from the kick-off with its
bass-pulsating groove, its breezy guitar sparks, and its layered,
affecting harmonies.
The 76-year-old singer-songwriter/producer has recorded his 15th solo
full-length, his first in 18 (!) years. The Other Side comes out on April 19.
First single ‘Waiting For You’ is a vintage romantic, longing, bittersweet, sentimental and good old ballad. I’m a sucker for lullabies like this (certainly after a day with lots of noisy music) that calm me down and touch my heart and soul. Burnett‘s warm voice and crystal guitar play turn this song into a wonderful, timeless, and charming musing. A universal love song.
The Nashville family band KINGS OF LEON announced the release of their 9th LP
a couple of weeks s ago. They titled it Can We Please Have Fun and will show up on
May 10.
Following the red-hot-roasting lead single Mustang (best track of the month
on TUTV’s list) KOL take it easy on their second new piece SPLIT SCREEN.
Female soul/funk trio LABELLE topped the UK Singles Chart 49 years ago today,
on 29 March 1975, with LADY MARMALADE. It was also #1 in the US and Canada.
The song was written in 1974 by Bob Crewe and Kenny Nolan for Nolan‘s disco group the Eleventh Hour
It’ll be a special edition pressed on Silver Nugget wax and housed in a silver laminated jacket. The booklet features liner notes by compilation producer & former Lou Reed publicist Bill Bentley, featuring photos by Mick Rock and Timothy Greenfield-Sanders
Angel Olsen and Maxim Ludwig are also part of the tribute. They cover Can’t Stand It, written by Reed for The Velvet Underground. I never heard Olsen performing on such a loud track.
