Band: PINK ROOM (Belgium) Who: Deafening turbo from Belgium
Pick: HAIL SATAN The InsaneSpaceMountainThunderDomeMIX by Micha Volders
Last March these wall-of-clamorous-noise maniacs released their
second LP (stream below), titled Putain Royale.
Turn Up The Volume wrote: “The essential message of this new powerhouse
album is loud and clear: noise-challenging turbo Pink Room is here to stay! Their
tsunami energy is beyond any decibel regulation. Again, loudmouth Bart Cocquyt
leads the rip-roaring troops. As I said before, his vocal range is out-of-this-world.”
One of the albums’ boiling singles was HAIL SATAN. A badass motherrocker
now remixed under the banner: InsaneSpaceMountainThunderDomeMIX.
A filthy, fervid, and fanatical piece of fucktasy.
Band: PINK ROOM (Belgium) Who: Three vociferous noiseniks
Album: PUTAIN ROYALE – 2nd LP Released: 12 March 2021
Turn Up The Volume says: The essential message of this new powerhouse album is
loud and clear: noise-challenging turbo Pink Room is here to stay! Their tsunami energy
is beyond any decibel regulation. Again, loudmouth Bart Cocquyt leads the rip-roaring troops. As I said before his vocal range is out-of-this-world. He easily could front a death metal band (Stay Black/Stay White) or a Nirvana reunion (Losing/Skin) or kick Ozzy Osbourne‘s ass (Hail Satan). Expect ear-shattering jackhammers, over-the-top frenzy, and an overall sonic lockdown paranoia.
Putain, putain, c’est vachement bien, nous sommes quand même tous des bohemiens.
Last week crushing bulldozerPINK ROOM shocked
the world with their second LP called PUTAIN ROYALE.
Turn Up The Volume wrote: “Rip-roaring lockdown paranoia. The essential
message of this new powerhouse album is loud and clear: noise-challenging turbo
Pink Room is here to stay! Their tsunami energy is beyond any decibel regulation.”
Attentive readers will immediately understand that this is one of the best
albums of 2021.
And here’s a fresh video clip. It’s a flaming one for my favorite track HAIL SATAN.
A merciless haymaker, a scrappy Molotov cocktail banging from start to finish like
a brutal sledgehammer. The mean Pink machine honors their best friend. Why?
The band’s favorite bar to get drunk is… hell!
What do you do when you get bored during these no-live-music times if you are a hungry-for-action-and-alcohol band? Well if you’re Belgian noiseniks PINK ROOM you buy a case of cheap champagne and one kilo of overdue oysters and you pretend you’re a rich pig like King-burger Elvis was.
But after a couple of hours, totally pissed and sick, you’re bored again and you decide to do something to share with other bored people, like us. So you write and record a fervid firecracker Nirvana forgot to write – because they were too busy to absorb first-class champagne and fresh oysters with the money they earned by smelling like teen spirits.
Now, back to the smelly garage of Pink Room. You call the cannonball you have just written LOSING (what else) and you make a video clip to promote your new steamy stunner. In that very clip, you show what a bored band does while being bored. Guess what? They drink bottles of cheap champagne and consume overdue oysters. Fun, right? You betcha!
Now you know what to drink and eat when you’re bored and you can do it all while
hopping around like a stoned kangaroo while LOSING is about to crush your speakers.
PINK ROOM is a derailed noise rock turbo led by red-hot-blooded motherrocker Bart Cocquyt. How do they actually sound, I hear you ask? Paranoid. Sickening. Ear-piercing. Horror-ific. Wrecked. Zonked. Verrückt. Deranged. Flipped. Uproarious. Disorderly. Mad. Vomiting. Hellish. Diabolic. Loudmouthed. Psychotic. Messed-up. Demonic. Apocalyptic.
Here’s this Belgian trio with two outbursts, LOVE and WASTED, from their debut LP …
One year ago they released their
maniacal blitzkrieg debut album ZUM KOTZEN. Stream/buy the sonic
havoc right here…
TUTV said: Manimal and Samara are a poetallica sensation. A new laser light at the end of
a mythical tunnel where anything can happen. Imagine Sylvia Plath fronting a theatrical and mind-challenging psychedelic noise band. Their debut album is a multi-faceted opus in sound and vision. Compelling poetry exploring life, death, birth, past, present, and future embedded
in a titanic thunder and lighting symphony going from perplexing metal to chill-out ambient. The final result is at times jaw-dropping, at times weirdly confusing, at times dumbfounding
but always flabbergasting and fascinating. When surreality becomes reality you know something is about to happen.
TUTV wrote: Gusto, high-spiritedness and anxiety are the keywords here.
This warm-blooded record is a heart-rending reflection of the group’s state of
2021 mind. A galvanizing collection of cohesive poignant emo songs influenced by
the disturbing way our troubled world is handling human issues, once-in-a-lifetime
dramas, and the personal turmoil of frontwoman Chavez. Her soul-stirring and
powerful (Aretha Franklin / young Tina Turner) voice, weeping guitars, and the
electrical intensity are at times overwhelming and heartbreaking. Impressive!
Released: 12 March 2021 – second LP TUTV wrote: “The essential message of this new powerhouse album is loud and clear:
noise-challenging turbo Pink Room is here to stay! Their tsunami energy is beyond any
decibel regulation. Again, loudmouth Bart Cocquyt leads the rip-roaring troops. As I said
before his vocal range is out-of-this-world. He easily could front a death metal band (Stay Black/Stay White) or a Nirvana reunion (Losing/Skin) or kick Ozzy Osbourne‘s ass (Hail Satan). Expect ear-shattering jackhammers, over-the-top frenzy, and an overall sonic lockdown paranoia.”
TUTV wrote: “The masters of drone rock are back, and they’re getting better over the years. Gigantic fuzz and buzz jackhammers but also some softer – yes, since they became fathers they let their heart & soul speak/play more – stuff. This stunning work will end up on many end-of-the-year lists.”
tutv wrote: “i’m damn sure this incredible punch-powered-punk-passion turbo was here before, about 40 years ago, inspiring bored kids like black flag , shellac, melvins, jello biafra, and other anarchist snotnoses, to leave home, steal guitars and drums in order to have some wild fun while scaring bad people with their deafening racket that’ll teach those old-fashioned adults watching fox.news all day long. so here they are back again, inspiring young social media junkies to steal guitars and drums instead of watching their phones all day long. home is where it all starts when you have no money to rent a smelly rehearsal room to rock your heads off. so you move into your own smelly basement and scream your poor lungs to pieces. listen up all you lost teenagers out there, play i became birds over and over again ’cause these hungry florida misfits can and will save your lives.”
Key track: sewn together from the membrane of the great sea cucumber
TUTV wrote: “A mix of the romantic crooner and the haunting crooner. Growing with every spin. Compelling orchestrations, classical arrangements, with Ellis showing his musical skills once more. Can’t remember when Cave made an average album. Did he, actually? Okay, Carnage once again on my headphones.”
TUTV wrote: “The rap and roll venom of Rage Against The Machine, the fuck-you-hypocrites grimness of Black Flag, the punky saxophone of X-Ray-Spex, the sharp poetic spit and sneer anarchy of Mark. E. Smith, the challenging spirit of an open-minded-plainspoken-asskicking-anti-establishement-and-other-scumbags force of doom and gloom. Sounds exactly like 2020/2021, like the end of the world as we know it, but also like an album that’s going
to be on my earphones for a long time.”
Ounsworth (mastermind): “The songs are politically motivated,
which is unusual for me. It’s about what I think we’re all experiencing
at the moment, certainly here in the United States, anyway, trying
to move forward amidst an almost cruel uncertainty.”
Turn Up The Volume: Riveting tunes, sharp-cutting reflections,
magical sparks, Ounsworth‘s feverish voice, and his glittery guitar
play make this LP the best one since the self-titled 2005 debut.
Bewitching all the way. My 2021 number one
Turn Up The Volume: Finally, Iceage do what they were expected to do for a long
time. Creating a standout album that makes the hair in the back of your neck stand
up. Melodramatic with ardency, impassioned with vigour, emotional with grimness. Charismatic frontman Elias Bender Rønnenfelt leads the troops as never before.
Turn Up The Volume: From outlandish sonority – think Scott Walker – to
Zappa-esque adventurousness, from a ‘normal’ song (Marlene Dietrich) to
free jazz weirdness. The sonic search of this impressively inventive band is
both inscrutable and intriguing.
Cavalcade confirms the experimental brilliance of their debut LP. Miles Davis going post-punk in the 21st Century.
Turn Up The Volume: The drop-dead gorgeous sisters in rock arms Lindsey Troy
and Julie Edwards celebrate their 10th year of producing high-powered turbulence.
Their bond is tighter than ever and their boogie-woogie more varied than ever.
Mind you, don’t expect a jazz record. Deap Vally are still about rocking ‘n rolling
while tackling their demons with vocal bravado and forthright ruminations.
Old skool punk ‘n’ roll? Absolutely. Any good? You betcha!
Amyl and her buddies made another blistering riff-manic-monster of
a hell fucking hell yeah record. Pogo madness is back. Sturm und drang
from start to finish. Holy Moly!
Turn Up The Volume: This black and white pearl is the work of
the romantic Cave crooner meeting the haunting Cave crooner. Idyllic
orchestrations, classical arrangements, and bad seed Warren Ellis
showing, once more, his refined grandeur.
Turn Up The Volume: Manimal and Samara are a poetallica sensation.
A new laser light at the end of a mythical and tenebrous tunnel.
Imagine Sylvia Plath fronting a mind-challenging, noise-exploring band.
Their debut album is a multi-faceted opus in sound and vision. Puzzling poetry
exploring life, death, birth, past, present, and future embedded in titanic thunder
and lighting symphonies going from perplexing metal to chill-out ambient.
Turn Up The Volume: The amplified haziness of Slowdive, the mystifying
soulfulness of Spacemen 3, the multi-layer-constructing skills of My Bloody
Valentine.
Hallucinating soundscapes, synth shadowplays, and guitars dueling with
each other while tireless drums dauntlessly beat, and wailing voices wander
in an enigmatic fog of reverberation.
This is what the (sur)real world of Ghost Patterns sounds like.
Turn Up The Volume: This time the bombastic rockers take another direction
to express their emotiveness. Moody, nostalgic, melancholically romantic with
frontman Brandon Flowers looking back at his teenage years in his hometown
Utah. Think Bruce Springsteen‘s sentimentality on his masterpiece Nebraska.
Overall an emotive and melodramatic
record without going over the top.
For some critics, it’s too mellow.
For me, its gripping mellowness
that works just fine.
Liz Lamere (Vega’s widow) remembers: “Our primary purpose for going into the studio
was to experiment with sound, not to ‘make records. I was playing the machines with Alan manipulating sounds. I played riffs while Alan morphed the sounds being channeled through the machines.’
Turn Up The Volume: Most of the lost albums that eventually came/come to the
surface one day should have stayed lost forever. If they were good enough to be
released the moment they were recorded they would have never ended up in a
smelly cellar or, worst case, in a trash can.
So what about Alan Vega’s lost one? One: it feels special to have the legend back.
Two: the album seems to come from a very dark mind, from the obscure places
of Vega‘s soul, creating a nightmarish and Kafkaesque chill-out atmosphere for
a 30-minute David Lynch film-noir.
Turn Up The Volume: The rap and roll venom of Rage Against The Machine, the
fuck-you-hypocrites grimness of Black Flag, the punky saxophone of X-Ray-Spex,
the sharp poetic spit and sneer anarchy of Mark. E. Smith, the challenging spirit
of open-minded-and-ass-kicking-anti-establishment doom and gloom crusaders.
Sounds like 2021, like the end of the world as we know it.
Turn Up The Volume says: Like Pavement going prog rock with the sound- exploring
state of mind of Mogwai. Jazzy and classical music textures make sure your curious mind
is focused all the time. And singer Isaac Wood‘s voice resonates freakishly identical to the chilling voice of American songwriter Conor Oberst from indie band Bright Eyes.
It’s not a happy record, but who needs a tsunami of cheesy pop tunes in these science-fiction-like times, anyway. I know it’s their first time, but these hungry noise crusaders
will stun us again in the future.
Turn Up The Volume wrote: Gusto, high-spiritedness, and anxiety are the
keywords here. This warm-blooded record is a heart-rending reflection of the
group’s state of 2021 mind. A galvanizing collection of cohesive poignant emo
songs influenced by the disturbing way our troubled world is handling human
issues, once-in-a-lifetime dramas, and the personal turmoil of frontwoman Eline Chavez.
Her soul-stirring and powerful (Aretha Franklin / young Tina Turner) vox, the weeping
guitars, and the electrical intensity are at times overwhelming and heartbreaking. Impressive!
Turn Up The Volume: The essential message of this new powerhouse album is loud and clear: noise-challenging turbo Pink Room is here to stay! Their tsunami energy is beyond any decibel regulation. Again, loudmouth Bart Cocquyt leads the rip-roaring trio.
As I said before his vocal range is out-of-this-world. He easily could front a death metal band (Stay Black/Stay White) or a Nirvana reunion (Losing/Skin) or kick Ozzy Osbourne‘s ass (Hail Satan). Expect ear-shattering jackhammers, over-the-top frenzy, and clamorous lockdown paranoia.
Putain, putain, c’est vachement bien, nous sommes quand même tous des bohemiens.
Turn Up The Volume‘s 15 Knockout Tracks for March 2021!
A fervid fusion of rhapsodic rippers and clashing crackerjacks.
‘High Horse’ by DEAP VALLY (LA, California)
When the utterly cool Deap Vally queen cats invite their friends you may expect firework like this blues-rock steamer featuring KT Tunstall & Peaches. Stream/buy the full stellar Digital Dream EP here.
‘Stay’ by ONISM E (New York)
A soul-stirring and electrifying top track – from one of, yes, the best albums of 2021 –
by this rad emo-striking NY-based outfit. Stream/buy ‘Survivors’ LP here.
. ‘White Elephant’ by NICK CAVE & WARREN ELLIS (Australia)
What can I say? Cave & Ellis made a brilliant longplayer called Carnage and White Elephant is its most impressive piece (to my ears). Mind-boggling.
‘Not To’ by WOLF VAN WYMEERSCH (Belgium)
Melancholia at its starry-eyed synth-pop best. Here’s a romantic at heart, going solo, who’s sanely obsessed with creating music, playing music, and enjoying music, if possible all at the same time. Damon Albarn‘s moody side comes to mind.
‘Five Finger Exploding Heart Technique’ by OK COOL (Chicago, US)
A sonic shot of riot grrrl guitar-pop that has an instant impact on your body activity. You just want to go out and scoot in the street, feel ecstatic, and hear your heart beat madly. These are 130 thrilling seconds you want to relive over and over again.
‘I Want Noise’ by LOBSTERBOMB (Berlin)
What you get here is Bikini Kill‘s raw outcries, L7‘s detonating gusto, B-52‘s rock lobster’s liveliness and catchy aaah-aaahh-aaaah chants. A boosting injection of Riot Grrrl adrenalin. A punk-fun knockout.
. ‘Hail Satan’ byPINK ROOM (Belgium)
A merciless haymaker, a scrappy Molotov cocktail banging from start to finish
like a brutal sledgehammer. The mean Pink machine honors their best friend.
From their brand new, ace album Putain Royale.
‘One + One’ by DEATH FROM ABOVE 1979 (Canada)
With Is 4 Lovers the Canadian champions of drone noise rock made one of their best
full-lengths (so far). And the lead-single ‘1 + 1’ feels like a bulldozer coming at you.
‘Crank Bugs’ by RADIO SILENCE (Newcastle upon Tyne, UK)
Blustery guitars all over the place, manic drum hits, and combative Richard Hell vocals. 2021 is the new Orwellian 1984. From their red-hot-blooded debut EP ISOLATION.
. ‘Cimmerian’ by SLAP RASH (Manchester, UK)
After an ominous word-spoken intro this industrial hammer blow explodes like
a raging volcano and singer Amelia starts her enigmatic and nightmarish rant
about obscene abuse. Insane masterstroke with a hell-raising shock-chorus.
. ‘Living In Dystopia’ by CRUX (Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK) Crux translate their justified discontent, about our messed-up world, in this razor-sharp-cutting-power-stroke with pounding punch. A bludgeoning Royal Blood groove is the firm backbone throughout this stormy stunner. Wham bloody wham bam.
‘Hunted From Below’ by EMPTY HEAD (Belgium)
Sonic madness, mind-crushing paranoia, and muscled tumult all rolled into one bad motherrocker of an electro-shock wallop. You can smell the scent of scorching punk frenzy. Nasty, filthy and vicious! Totally insane!
‘Electric Yerevan’ by SERJ TANKIAN (LA, California) System Of A Down loudmouth Taikan rocks like hell, sings like hell and raps like hell. What
a titanic voice! Fuck SOAD, welcome Serj. From his fresh smelling solo EP Elasticity.
‘Hourglass’ by GLASS VIOLET (Bristol, UK)
Multiple waves of blistering guitars infiltrate your greedy ears, while a persistent drumbeat activates your feet and makes your head spin. When the flamboyant chorus pops up with a fervent flair à la The Killers you know and you feel that Hourglass is amplified top pop bliss with a dark lyrical twist.
. ‘Unspoken’ by ANNIE TAYLOR (Switzerland)
A troubled love reverie with a sorrowful touch. Heartbreaking romanticism at its balladesque best, notable for its vocal splendour and silver-toned resonance.
A sweet little pearl.
Today Bandcamp supports musicians everywhere by waiving its revenue share and rallying the Bandcamp community to put much-needed money directly into the artists’ pockets. Hail hail Bandcamp!
Turn Up The Volume selected 10 standout records you should definitely consider to
buy. Awesome album that will boost your adrenalin in these troubled times.
Here we go…
‘Black City‘ by RICH GIRLS
Music for the midnight hours.
Companion for moony moments.
. ‘Bejahung’ by ELEFANT
A synthtastic motherrocker. A schizophrenic
adventure. A crazed mindfucker.
. ‘A Life Extinct’ by CROSS WIRES
Blistering post punk that tackles
the grim times we experience with
a biting potency.
.
‘My War Is Your War‘ by DEUX FURIEUSES
A beseeching and vociferous call-up
for solidarity, unity, universal respect.
. ‘Ghost’ by FALLING MAN
Manic anxiety. Haunting stories.
Red-hot riffs. Top stuff!
. ‘Experiments In The Dark‘ EP byWHERE WE SLEEP
Mesmerizing electro grooves,
Fascinating and emotive.
. ‘Run Amok‘ by THE GLÜCKS
Devilish garage havoc.
Smoking hullabaloo.
. ‘I Like You But Not Like That’ by THE DARTS
Sultry, steamy, snappy, savage,
sensual, sweltering,sizzling.
. ‘Zum Kotzen‘ by PINK ROOM
Twenty minutes of madness
Clamorous vomit. Punk rage.
. ‘Crux’ by MECHANIMAL
Electro ‘drone n roll’and
atmospheric soundscapes.
