Band: PEEPING DREXELS Who: Post-punk misfits from South London who announced their past UK gigs with this message: “Come through to the show of your liking to witness the degradation of our already poor physical and mental health in musical form.” Say no more.
This amazeballs extended play came out back in April, but before last Saturday night, I had never heard of this London gang of outcasts. But seeing them turning up the heat in the historicParadiso Club in Amsterdam as part of the yearly (actually 2 editions per year) London Calling Festival, a showcase for up and coming bands (mostly from the UK), was pretty fucktastic and made them the talk of the night.
Why? If you start with some early Talking Heads‘ mania, followed by crashing Apocalypse drones, then you switch to some casual piano touches and 60s echoing guitars, and you end in a depressive lullaby way and you do all of this in one song with a flabbergasting resonance you’ll understand why the whole venue went apeshit and left their sweat on
the beer-drained floor for the whole wall-of-barbwire-sledgehammer-beats and post-punk orgasms filled gig.
Need a reference? Last Saturday Peeping Drexels made me feel what I felt so many times when seeing their mates Fat White Family slash and trash stages. You know, that feeling of pumped-up confidence to go out in the street and kick some fascists’ asses. Hell bloody hell yeah!
Enough talking. Do your miserable post-lockdown state of
mind a favour and buy yourself some more BAD TIME.
Talking about being productive. The two charismatic rock queens Lindsey Troy and Julie Edwards from the city of angels, Los Angeles
released two EPs and their 3rd LP titled Marriage (with some of
the EP songs on it) this year.
Extended Play American Cockroach is the one I listened to the most
with its two steamrollers (I Like Crime / American Cockroach) and two
slower beauties (Give Me A Sign / Better Off With Nothing).
This cool black leather duo turns darkness into a stroboscopic
disco place where you can shadow dance yourself dizzy.
Their electro electricity, doomed drones, Goth echoes, eerie
baritone vocals, and synth riffs that stick as first-class glue
have both a mind-intoxicating impact and a sensual feel.
Thunder and lighting beats for the twilight hours.
Their brisk 6-track EP is a fitting soundtrack
to kick another virus year into oblivion.
I discovered these London misfits last October in Amsterdam playing there
as part of an indoor festival at the legendary Paradiso club. What I felt was
what felt so many times when seeing their mates Fat White Family slash and
trash stages.
You know, that feeling of pumped-up confidence to go out in
the street and kick some fascists’ asses. Hell bloody hell yeah!
Bad Time will tell you all about it…
. 4. ‘This Sceptic Isle’ by SHATTERCONES (London, UK)
Who: Politically outspoken rock outfit from London.
Opener Ghoul Driver sets the tremendously torrid tone of this jaw-dropping
extended play. An ominous outburst that threatens to explode any second. Say Goodbye both surprises and impresses with its longing Mexican tango
melodiousness.
Fulminating stroke Butterly Room is an acrimonious reflection on the state
of chaotic Brexit England and closer The Man Who Ate Capitalism progresses
at a funeral pace, lamenting and dolesome. Throughout, ill-omened vocals
cause goosebumps.
TMCF is a British pop/rock duo unafraid to blend ambience
with indie hooks to create a psychedelic experience. Formed
in a time of hopelessness.
Expect an instrumental synth/guitar opener (The Space In Between), a shadowy
prog-roller-coaster with twists and turns, and a magnetic bass riff (Thaumaturgy),
darkwavish pop-scapes (From Green To Grey / Collapse), a sparkling dreamtune (The Lions Den ) and a euphonic, vocal symphony with mellow piano touches
(Soon The World Goes Black). Top!
I discovered this brilliant post-punk turbo last month at an indoor festival in Amsterdam. The whole crowd went bananas. These motherrockers slash and trash with a burning vehemence and a flabbergasting fervency. Miami Lounge is the crackerjack opener of this year’s released 5-track EP Bad Time.
Now it’s your turn to discover this awesome London squad.
Earlier this month this dynamite hit team blew all punters away with their jaw-dropping gig in my hometown Ghent (Belgium). They razzled and dazzled with ebullient exertion, blistering British bluster, and a fuck Brexit fierceness. The roof went off.
Ded Würst, their newest single, is nothing less
than a nasty and filthy sledgehammer. Das super!
6. ‘His Ilk’ by BRONSON ARM (Kalamazoo, Michigan, US)
From Michigan here come 2 Pc Noisey Slacker Psychedelic Sludge Punks.
They joined Canada-based indie label Off White House Records
this year with a big bang.
Their newest outburst is a riffin’ rollercoaster that makes the hair in
your neck stand up with its metallic resonance and relentless bass
frenzy. Add nightmarish vocals and I’m sure Santa Claus will run
away in fear.
The alias of British singer-songwriter of Bobby Anderson.
Never Ready is a vicious droning blast. Wïlderman rankles,
rages, and has a bad taste in his mouth. Never ready for
her look and her voice. 133 seconds of sonic sex.
Hot groove, hot intensity, hot slam dunk. Fucktastic!
8. I Don’t’ Love You Anymore’ by CHATEAU CHATEAU (Tucson, Arizona, US)
Glam and glitter riot tattoo grrl Blue attracts all attention,
sonically as well as visually. She swirls and scintillates on this
new kick while cursing idiots who hate the LGBTQ+ community,
who hate tattoos, and who hate anybody who doesn’t live by
their ultra-conservative rules.
To hell with all these idiots.
Meanwhile, enjoy this jangly earworm that sticks as
first-class glue and reaches an aural orgasm every
time the chorus pops up.
With Absent Transient they show their masterly skills of writing ear-and-mind
pleasing pop tunes charged-up with rotating riffs and dreamy vocal harmonies.
When an old skool DJ teams up with Pulp’s Jarvis Cocker you
get a sizzling acid house corker to start and end all upcoming New Year’s Eve parties with.
13. ‘What You Keep Telling Yourself’ by DOWN WITH SPACE (Montreal, Canada)
The motorik and magnetic rhythm of this electronic exploit makes your head
turn 360°. The catching combination of near whispering vocals, scintillating David
Gilmour guitar vibrance and cybernated elegance create an overall ear-ecstatic
vibe culminating in a dynamic finale.
Expect flashy echoes of the 80s British New Romantics movement with
this instant catching pop spark, fueled with glimmering guitar/play,
impassioned vocals, and a non-stop drum beat.
This sugary pop bliss feels good at first, better the second time,
and the best with all other spins. Great pop-ular music is about
lifting up the listener’s mood to a euphoric level for about
3/4 minutes. Easier said than done, but not here.
Still is a glorious harmonious touchy-feely gem that appeals from
the kick-off with Gardiner‘s tantalising voice and Kuras‘ vitalizing
guitar ravishment. Add a delirious chorus and you have yourself
a 24-Carat top thrill.
This Italian singer-songwriter, born Patrizio Ottavianiiter,
produces a blend of psychedelic rock and Arabic harmonies.
Knight Of Cups is the latest single in a series of monthly releases this year.
Electric dream-pop at its tempting best. Sparkling, spirited, and seductive.
Nell Smith is a 13-year old fan of Oklahoma’s eccentric stargazers Flaming Lips
(one of my all-time fav bands). Frontman Wayne Coyne spotted her at one point
as she attended several gigs with her father. They got in touch and after Coyne
found out that she’s a singer he proposed her to work with the band on a Nick
Cave tribute album he already had in mind for some time.
They got all in the studio and the result is a 9-song Nick Cave
covers album baptized Where The Viaduct Looms with
the nightingale voice of Nell as the heroine in the middle.
You can stream the brand new record on Spotify
One of the standouts is her version of
the heart and soul ballad The Ship Song.
19. ‘Always Together With You’ by SPIRITUALIZED (Rugby, UK)
Jason Pierce and his orchestra have a new LP,
called Everything Was Beautiful coming on
25 February 2022
With this spellbinding symphony, he does what he does so splendidly for so long. This
first new piece is another soulful spiritual growing slowly into a gospel-like trance. Epic!
Last June mega-star-crooner Cave and his bad seed friend Warren Ellis
signed for one of the best LPs of 2021 with their astonishing Carnage opus.
And they’re not done yet. The duo releases the soundtrack they wrote for the French nature documentary Panthère Des Neiges (The Snow Leopard)on 17 December.
Here’s the magnificent taster We Are Not Alone.
A characteristic Cave humdinger. Tender and gripping.
Watch the magic, hear the magic…
See/hear you next month with the best 20 knockouts of 2021…
Steamy Philadelphia quartet SPiN have a brand new red-hot jackhammer out called THOUGHT I KNEW YOU. A break-up-blast, groovin’ and movin’ to a hellish beat.
Imagine metal-glam legends Kiss and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame stars Cheap Trick
having a kick-ass jam while watching 1960’s sexy and sultry horror filmPeeping Tom.
I Thought I Knew You pumps up your stream of adrenalin when the bang-your-head chorus kicks in. It’s an offer you can’t refuse. Hop ‘n’ pop around like a stoned monkey,
it’ll help you to fight your lockdown blues. C’mon get out of your lazy bed, look the Devil
in the eyes and start a fire.
This impassioned stunner kept growing on me the past few months. Why?
Because frontwoman Angeline Chavez‘s voice balances somewhere between
the ones of a young Tina Turner and a flaming Aretha Franklin, because the
guitar play is overwhelming and because Stay is a superb tune.
The glorious 2021 No 1 hit in my book.
The opener of this year’s excellent debut album Survivors. Wanna learn more
about this Texan 4-piece? Read the interview with Turn Up The Volume here.
I saw this amazeballs post-punk turbo in action for the first
time at an indoor festival in Amsterdam, last November.
Holy smoke!
These motherrockers slash and trash with a burning vehemence and
a flabbergasting fervency. Miami Lounge (from their Bad Time EP) is
a perfect example of their mind-blowing mania.
Early last month I discovered this dynamite hit team from Brighton
when they blew all punters away with their blistering performance
in my hometown Ghent (Belgium).
They razzled and dazzled with ebullient exertion,
bewildered British bluster, and a fuck Brexit fierceness.
Their newest cut Ded Würst is nothing less than
a nasty and filthy sledgehammer. Hallelujah!
Samara and Manimal already scored Turn Up The Volume’s
best debut LP of 2021 with Full Spectrum.
This raw rollercoaster single came afterward. A slow-burning torch with
hellish flare-ups of Rammstein‘s Götterdämmerung hysterics and manic Manimal
riffage combined with Samara‘s spoken-word ode to the legendary American
confessional poet/writer Sylvia Plath hypnotizes and magnetizes.
8. ‘Night Is Mine’ by ULTRA SUNN (Bruxelles, Belgium)
This Belgian body-activating rave duo causes an instant flush of excitement with
booming beats, nightmarish resonance, murky dynamics, and ominous vocals.
When you mix D.A.F.‘s industrial vibes, Sisters Of Mercy‘s gloom and doom and Depeche Mode‘s pop-noir thrills, the final result is a dancefloor hit.
This queer five-piece from London dropped a notable full-length this year with
their brisk Hedge Fun LP where pop, rock and garage meet for a vitalizing feast.
My absolute favorite track is this energising earworm with phenomenal vocals
that make the hair in the back of my neck stand up. Just irresistible!
What can I say? Sad or happy song, Rich Girls make me always feel good
when they come on. Luisa Black‘s mesmerizing midnight vox is totally
glamorous and sensual and the band’s pop-noir melancholia is soul-stirring.
All New York City’s night bars without a Rich Girls track
on their Wurlitzer Jukebox should be closed. Immediately.
12. ‘Wherever It Takes Us’ by JAMES(Manchester, UK)
Remember them? Remember their massive hit ‘Sit Down’? James has never been really away since they hit the scene 40 years ago. And with this year’s All the Colours Of You album they prove why they still deserve attention. It’s an all ecstatic-pop killers, no silly fillers longplayer.
From the late great Suicide hero’s Mutator lost album that comes from a very dark place, from the deepest corners of Vega‘s soul, creating a pitch black and Kafkaesque chill-out atmosphere.
15. Not Alone But Not With You’ by ARXX (Brighton, UK)
A rollicking rocker from start to finish. These two frisky Brighton popsters know
how to make your head spin 360°. Fire your shrink, listen to this crackerjack two
times in the morning, twice in the evening, and on repeat in between and you’ll
feel euphoric. So much cheaper than therapy.
16. ‘Better Than Life’ by GLASS SANDS (London, UK)
The title track of one-man-London-band’s debut longplayer
(one of TUTV’s 2021 favorites) is a guitar-driven riff-hook-and-lick
belter. A swirling bang-on stroke. Absobloodylutely.
Charismatic front queen Bleu sparkles on this jangly jive that sticks as first-class glue and reaches an aural orgasm every time the chorus pops up. Her vox adrenalizes and vitalizes. Her vivaciousness is contagious. This pumped-up pop gem is contagious. You don’t need vaccination against this castle of a song.
Get up, stand up and fight for your right to dance yourself dizzy…
Faze Out is a slash and smash rant. An angry spit and sneer storm, a Sturm und Drang firestarter, 143 seconds of furious frustration is what you get. Retro organs clatter like if Doomsday is just around the corner, but Domestic sizzles like he’s a determined survivor who will not go down just like that.
‘Sucked into the vortex / it’s a Faze out /
you feel just like you’ll fade out …
20. ‘His Ilk’ by BRONSOM ARM (Kalamazoo, Michigan)
This rumbling steamroller bulldozes its way in slow motion, forth and back, while
a haunting vocal brouhaha causes a creepy noise experience. Whatever the song’s protagonist’s ilk is, it doesn’t sound like you want to be friends.
Hit the start button here…
Have all a pumped-up end of 2021 and a turned-up-volume 2022, music junkies!
TURN UP THE VOLUME 