Band: THE ANTI-QUEENS Who: The fiercely talented and dynamic duo of Emily Bones and Valerie Knox, who bring
a punk-rock energy that challenges the male-dominated music industry. Known for their electrifying live performances, they’ve gained a reputation for their unstoppable energy and powerful stage presence.
New single: DOOMED AGAIN
The first shared piece from their upcoming album Disenchanted, out on 17 May. Pre-order info here.
New album artwork
TUTV: Imperishable rock bitch Courtney Love recently hinted at a Hole reunion.
Obviously not a premature April Fools’ Day joke as they just dropped their
crash-and-crush comeback single Doomed Again.
Oops, my mistake. It’s the new titanic punk torpedo by Canadian hit-and-run turbo The Anti-Queens, but to my defence I can say that these two afire Amazons match Hole‘s roasting aggressiveness and Love’s vocal in-your-face fury, so maybe we don’t need those celebrity skins back again after all. I’m fully pro-Queens, so should your ears be too.
A-wouldn’t it be nice to get on with me neighbors?
But they make it very clear they’ve got no room for ravers
They stop me from groovin’, they bang on me wall (what’s going on in there?)
They doing me crust in, it’s no good at all, ah
Lazy Sunday afternoon
I’ve got no mind to worry
I close my eyes and drift away
Here we all are sittin’ in a rainbow
Go blimey, hello, Mrs. Jones
How’s old Bert’s lumbago? (He mustn’t grumble)
I’ll sing you a song with no words and no tune
(Tweedle-dee bite) to sing in the khazi while you suss out the moon, oh yeah
Lazy Sunday afternoon, ah
I’ve got no mind to worry, ah
Close my eyes and drift away, ah
GOSSIP (1999–2016, 2019–2020, 2023–present), the disco-pop-punk trio
from Arkansas, led by the great voice/face Beth Ditto have their 6th LP,
called Real Power, their first in 14 years, out now.
Press info: The album marks a reunion with acclaimed producer Rick Rubin, who helmed the band’s pivotal 2009 album Music For Men. Recorded at Rubin’s home studio in Kauai, the process was temporarily halted by the pandemic and resumed when restrictions lifted. The result is an 11-track celebration of the galvanizing might of music, the joy of creative expression, and the power of chosen family in the aftermath of collective and personal trauma. The timing is ripe for a Gossip reunion, and Real Power heralds a new maturity
and renewed sense of purpose for the trio.
Ditto: “When we began, so much about Gossip was about running away—that was always in the musi. We survived. We came from nothing, and we got the fuck out of there. And to be here 20 years later and still making music together is just incredible.”
NME says: ‘Real Power’ is Gossip’s first release since reuniting in 2019. A focused and polished collection, these 11 tracks find the band continuing a career-long trajectory of shaving down their roughest edges. A “celebration of creative expression”, according to force-of-nature frontwoman Beth Ditto, Gossip’s sixth studio effort sees the trio bend into various new shapes that sharply reframe a host of the band’s familiar tropes. A joyous and compassionate return, ‘Real Power’ proves that Gossip’s clear-headed maturity has ensured they achieve its titular sentiment. Score: 4/5.
TUTV: Musically Real Power sounds more like a new Beth Ditto solo record
than a collective Gossip effort. Well, both Ditto and Gossip got away from their early
disco-punk firework days for a very long time now. So, many years older and more
life-experienced now, they combined their forces once again to make a record that
reflects their grown-up present and their jiving joy of still making music together
25 years after they hit the scene for the first time.
They skip the high-powered punk-infused, now irrelevant, cry outs of yesteryear and
go directly to a series of mid-tempo, sway-swing-along pop tunes for lazy summer garden parties for all ages (Act Of God / Real Power / Crazy Again / Give It Up For Love).
Titillating music that made zippy images pop up in my mind of soul diva Chaka Kan backed by Nile Rodger’s funky Chic freaks. Gossip also provide some laid-back, feel-good melodies (Tell Me Something / Edge Of The Sun / Tough / Peace And Quiet) to close the evening at decent hours with a big smile on everybody’s happy faces. Welcome back.
Singles/Clips: Crazy Again / Real Power / Act Of God
The news just came in that a deluxe 5CD and 1 Blu-Ray Audio set,
called ROCK ‘N’ ROLL STAR! will be out on June 147.
‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Star!’ contains 29 unreleased tracks, covers early songwriting demos, recordings from The Arnold Corns, rehearsals at Haddon Hall, BBC sessions, singles, live performances, plus out-takes and alternative versions from the original album recording sessions, which have been newly mixed by original album producer, Ken Scott.
Here’s a taster. A Ziggy Stardust demo, recorded by Bowie on vocal
and acoustic guitar in March 1971 at Haddon Hall in Beckenham.
The audio-only Blu-Ray disc features the definitive 2012 remaster of the original Ziggy Stardust album in 96kHz/24bit PCM stereo, plus the album and additional mixes from 2003 in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 as well as the singles, out-takes and alternative versions in 96kHz/24 bit PCM stereo.
Rock ‘n’ Roll Star! also contains two books. The first is an extensive 112-page book with detailed liner notes, memorabilia, contemporary reviews and articles, rare photographs, as well as brand-new notes and interviews. Accompanying the main book is a 36-page compiled reproduction of Bowie’s personal Ziggy-era notebooks.
Who: Toronto-based rock trio formed in 2016. Known for delivering scorching live performances and dazzling crowds, The Vaniers have become a staple in the Toronto
music scene, celebrated for their high-octane shows and catchy tunes. Two years ago
they released their debut album All Together Now. Last year the 3-piece started
working towards their sophomore LP.
New single: CHARLIE
The second shared track, following Faces,
from their new, upcoming LP.
Single artwork (The Vaniers / Pablo Campos)
Diego Paz (bass/vocals): “Believe it or not, “Charlie,” and most of the songs on this record, were stolen from us. Our hard drives, all of our work up to that point, disappeared overnight. To keep it short, we had to start the entire process again. Of course, we were gutted when it happened, but looking back on it, the songs went through more deliberation as a result. The second time around, we really doubled down on some of the risks we took, and through that
we feel we made some of our most sincere music that is truest to ourselves as artists, and as people.”
TUTV: Charlie pumps up your bloodstream’s flow from the kick-off, pushed by a mean bass-riff and propulsive drums while Weezer-esque guitar riffage and agitated vocals add extra oomph to get you in an eye-blink-182, out of your lazy couch and bounce around like if your ass is on fire. Hail hail rawk ‘n’ bloody roll.
Band: MEWN Who: Indie group that ‘offers an antidote of sincerity against the indifference of
modern culture, set apart from their contemporaries by their emotional resonance
and a more heartfelt approach to their social and political critique.‘
New single: ASK ME NOW
Title track of their new EP, coming late April.
Daniel Bluer: “I’m floating above the chaos, living on a cloud, watching it all happen, attempting not to explode. We wanted to combine the class and pop leanings of American
acts like Big Thief and Father John Misty with the long form experimentation of the current UK post-punk-rock scene.”
TUTV: Power pop splendour at its gripping best. Ask Me Now is a bittersweet symphony that grabs you by the throat all the way and has a spellbinding impact on your senses. It resonates like an architectural composition that grows in magnitude and intensity along its 7-minute journey. Sparkling guitar lines à la Interpol, riveting melodiousness, orchestral arrangements, and feverish vocals combine for an epic tour de force. Breathtaking score.
Scottish post-punk legends Jim and William Reid aka THE JESUS AND MARY CHAIN have been around for ages, although they only made/recorded 7 studio LPs in their 40-year career (with an 8-year hiatus between 1999-2007). But, wait, here’s their brand new 8th
one, titled GLASGOW EYES is out now.
Photo by Mel Bulter
Pitchfork: “Beneath its electronic veneer, Glasgow Eyes sounds curiously settled. The synthesized arrangements are something of a sleight of hand, disguising how the Jesus and Mary Chain aren’t abandoning their old obsessions; they’re still singing about longing and decadence. Ultimately, what’s different about Glasgow Eyes is not the form but the tenor. As they advance into middle age, the tension between the Reid brothers has dissipated, giving Glasgow Eyes an unusually congenial spirit.”
TUTV: No expiration date for the Reid Bros, yet. With Glasgow Eyes they come up with a solid tunes-stuffed record, many young bands would sell their souls for. It’s The Jesus And Mary Chain by numbers, rad numbers that is. They added a lot of synth structures to their music here, but still sound as crystal clear, as polished and as vocally glamorously smooth as ever, even when they rock out with their familiar flamboyance (Venal Joy / American Born / jamcod / Girl71 with its Lou Reed‘s ‘Vicious‘ riff). It’s who they are, it’s what set them apart.
The presence of Krautrock-like electronics is at its best on stylized grooves Discothèque, Silver Strings, and Second Of June, while vintage TJAMC psychocandy pop is audible on Pure Poor, Chemical Animal and The Eagles and The Beatles (citing 60s icons Stones, Beatles, Small Faces, Bob Dylan and more). And to close the album and their appetite for the swinging sixties we get a, and makes you wonder why.
Final verdict: the Glaswegian brothers Jim and William Reid still have
that desirous look in their eyes to create most entertaining pop pizzazz.
58-year-old British synth-pop star MOBY celebrates the 25th anniversary of his millionseller LP PLAY on 17 May. For the occasion he’ll play a handful of dates in
Europe this September.
Moby: “It’s been over 10 years since I’ve toured, but someone reminded me that 2024 is the 25th anniversary of the release of ‘Play’, so it seemed like it might not be the worst idea to do
a short European tour to commemorate and celebrate. The show will feature well known songs from ‘Play’, but also a bunch of audience favorites, like ‘Extreme Ways,’ ‘We Are All Made Of Stars,’ ‘When It’s Cold I’d Like to Die,’ and even some old rave bangers like ‘Feeling So Real’ and ‘Go.’”
But he’s looking forward too with the news that he has canned
a new longplayer. It’s baptized ALWAYS CENTRED AT NIGHT and
sees the day of light on June 14.
It features guests on all 13 songs.
“For the last 30 years, I’ve worked with amazing singers – everyone from David Bowie
to Freddie Mercury, Gregory Porter to Jill Scott. ‘Always Centered At Night’ continues my
love of collaborating, but has a focus of working with amazing singers who might not be
as well known as David Bowie and Gregory Porter.”
The first single, called DARK DAYS , is a soulfully styled synth-pop
pearl featuring the marvellous voice of Lady Blackbird
The recordings of album number 13, a double one, are finished.
It’s baptized RAMPEN ( Amp: Alien Pop Music) and will show up
on April 5.
Press info: “Einstürzende Neubauten present their new album Rampen (amp – alien pop music) . Since the band was founded on April 1, 1980, Einstürzende Neubauten have been shifting the parameters of mainstream and subculture to make the inaudible audible—perhaps the unheard as well. This experimental field research, spanning more than four decades, is now entering the next stage. In its 44th year of existence, the band is going back to its roots while redefining itself. It’s a change in self-image, for which the Berlin quintet plus one has created its own genre—alien pop music.”
First single IST IST is a jittery piece of intoxicating music,
circling around a Sturm und Drang bass riff. Faszinierend.
