Album Of The Day

Blues Rock Hit Team THE DEAD REDS Is Alive And Kicking On New Album ‘CIRCLE SERPENT’

Posted on by JL

28 July 2023

Band: THE DEAD REDS

Who: A six-piece band based in Lewes (East Sussex, UK), playing all original, dirty British blues, Americana, Psych and Rock n’ Roll. In the Summer of 2020, during lockdown, they released their fourth album Dictated Democracy (TUTV: great title).

New album: CIRCLE SERPENT

TDR: “We wrote these songs from the summer onwards, thriving off the additional songwriting input from Mark Wood since joining the band in April. We wanted to record the songs as live as possible, and thanks to the lovely space at Metway, we were able to make this a reality! We recorded all 8 of these songs in the live room over those 6 days. We couldn’t be happier with how they have turned out.”

TUTV: It all starts with a sort of voodo-trance warm-up with blood-curdling guitars, a floating flute, bits of glowing harmonica and a spellbinding vocal part by goosebumps singer Beth Lees on opener Brothers And Sisters. Afterward the heat is turned up on Son
Of America, Table 10, Last Train At Midnight and The Hunter with the fiery Americana voice
of Mark Woods. Psychobilly-like swamp blues at its hottest. Another sultry example is Last Train At Midnight.

In between, you can stomp your feet on Blood and Dirt spiced with sharp-edged guitar play, and take a breather on heartfelt tune Ships and the tremendously beautiful ballad Stand Up Tall, where Lees and Woods enchant with a most gripping duet and an acoustic guitar gently weeps.

It’s not like I’m a blues expert, but trust me you don’t have to be one at all to
hear and feel the emotive energy, the striking heart-and-soul vocality, the versatile
musical expertise and the vehement ardency of the flaming flare-ups, all at play here.

Dress cowboy smart and start a fiesta.

STREAM

BUY


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THE DEAD REDS: Facebook – Instagram

FREAKIN’ DISCO Invite You To Their Freak In / Freak Out Summer Rave Soundtrack ‘TOTEM’

Posted on by JL

26 July 2023

Band: FREAKIN’ DISCO
Who: Techno-electro act
from Budapest, Hungary

New album: TOTEM

Their 3rd full length, featuring Steve Dub. The Los Angeles-based DJ and world-renowned turntablist with almost 2 decades of experience in the industry, who worked with several big names such as The Chemical Brothers, Justin Timberlake and Gwen Stefani.

Turn Up The Volume: For all you rave addicts out there, here’s the soundtrack to start and end all 24-hour parties with, all summer long. Expect a vibrant dancefloor mix of 80s acid house (Face Yourself / Fox / Plant), trance Chem Bros techno (Freakin’ Disco / Fox), a funky disco thrill (Gekko), a creepy ambient cut (Eat The Dream) and a doom bass-drone closer (Wolf). Use the repeat button and pirouette yourself into a non-stop rapture. Be ready for a freakin’ disco marathon.

Single/clip: Freak Out

Album


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FREAKIN’ DISCO: Facebook – Instagram

SNÕÕPER – Blitzkrieg Punk Sensation Unleashed Their Riotous Rat Race Debut Album (Shorter Than The RAMONES’ Debut LP)

Posted on by JL

22 July 2023

SNÕÕPER are a 5-piece trash-and-slash pop-punk combo (they’re up somewhere in
there on the album’s front) front Nashville, TN who got hyped almost from the moment they started screaming, a couple of years ago.

Yesterday, they released their long-awaited debut LP
titled SUPER SNÕÕPER via Jack White‘s label.

Third Man Records explains: “Snõõper (the Project) began as a collaboration between local Nashville punk mainstay Connor Cummins and Blair Tramel, an early education teacher with a sideline in wickedly funny animation and art. As their cassette tapes and homemade videos began to find scattered fans around the world, the duo brought the Project to the live stage in late 2021 and Snõõper (the Band) was born.”

KERRANG‘s verdict : “There might be a heavy dose of sarcasm in the seams of its shell-suited soul, but Super Snõõper is never arch or cynical. Rather, it’s an exhilarating endorphin rush you’ll want to return to again and again.” 8/10.

TUTV: Imagine Devo on amphetamines. Think B-52‘s on acid. Faster than the Ramones
and 6 minutes (!) shorter than their 1976 debut LP. Adrenaline mixed with caffeine mixed with epo. A fitting fitness record for people with ADHD. It’s a riot grrrl rat race. Go first to the gym to work out for a couple of hours and then come back to play the record and go super gaga.

KEY TRACK

STREAM ALBUM


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BUY ALBUM


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LIVE

SNÕÕPER: Instagram

Former Britpop Heroes BLUR Have Their New Melancholic Album ‘THE BALLAD OF DARREN’ Out Now

Posted on by JL

21 July 2023

Today Brit-pop-rock icons BLUR launched their
9th LP, baptized The Ballad Of Darren. Their first
in 8 years (The Magic Whip came out in 2015).

Pre-order info here.

The artwork depicts a photo of the Gourock Pool
in Renfrewshire (Scotland) by British photographer
Martin Parr.

NME says: “Their brilliance continues The band’s joyous reunion only gets more emotional with this tear-jerking, soaring epic. Unlike many of their peers, there has never been a timelessness to a Blur album – that’s a good thing. When you listen to ‘Modern Life Is Rubbish’ now, you can feel disdain for the culture that surrounded them, or the raw confusion of heartbreak on 1999’s ‘13’; they have a way of transporting you to a precise moment or emotion. It’s why ‘The Ballad of Darren’ is so memorable and touching: you can feel it, everything, in every line sung or note played. Speaking to NME last week, Rowntree says that when they were recording, “everything we tried, worked”, and that “magic was in the air”. It is keenly felt here; may it never fade away.” Full review here. Score: 4/5.

TUTV: Lots of slow ones, lots of reflective musings, lots of romantic ballads (including Darren‘s one), lots of melancholia. They only rock out on the punked-up St. Charles Square.
To be honest, a surprisingly intimate record but it grows on you slowly but surely.

Singles/clips: The Narcissist / St. Charles Square

– THE NARCISSIST –

– ST. CHARLES SQUARE –

See you next month.
WOOHOO!

BLUR: Website – Instagram

ANOHNI And THE JOHNSONS Have Their New Heart-And-Motown-Soul Moving Album ‘MY BACK WAS A BRIDGE FOR YOU TO CROSS’ Out

Posted on by JL

8 July 2023

Band: ANOHNI AND THE JOHNSONS
Who: Singer/songwriter/visual artist
formerly named Antony (Hegarty) and
her backing band.

New album: MY BACK WAS A BRIDGE FOR YOU TO CROSS
The 5th longplayer.

Artwork: A portrait of Marsha P. Johnson (1945 – 1992), also known as
Malcolm Michaels Jr., by photographer Alvin Baltrop. She was an American gay
liberation activist and self-identified drag queen. Anohni admired her and met
her only once, at a gay parade in NYC, unfortunately, the day before she died

MOJO (British music monthly): “It’s a record of fierce seriousness, a demand for
engagement as inescapable and immediate as somebody shaking you by the shoulders.”
Score: 8/10.

TUTV: Think Marvin Gaye at its reflecting-and-electrifying soul best. Anohni doesn’t hide that she’s a big fan. The record’s big orchestrations and moody Motown vibes are obvious but don’t get the wrong idea, this is an Anohni record. Both introvert and extrovert, both intimate and open-hearted, both melodramatic and earnest. And her voice still is wholly absorbing. A glorious piece of work.

Singles/clips: I Must Change / Sliver Of Ice / Why I Am Alive Now?

– IT MUST CHANGE –

– SLIVER OF ICE –

– WHY I AM ALIVE NOW? –

ALBUM


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ANOHNI: Facebook – Instagram

Enigma Is Her Middle Name – PJ HARVEY Released Her 10th Album ‘I INSIDE THE OLD YEAR DYING’ Today

Posted on by JL

7 July 2023


Artwork album

PJ HARVEY has her 10th LP, named I INSIDE THE OLD YEAR DYING
out today. Order info here.

PJ: “After many years of work I am very happy to release this collection of new songs.
It was a difficult album to make and took time to find its strongest form, but it has
finally become all I hoped for it to be.”

Press statement: I Inside the Old Year Dying marks her first release in seven years, following UK number 1 LP The Hope Six Demolition Project. On this album, which was recorded with long-time creative collaborators John Parish and Flood, PJ Harvey builds
a sonic universe somehow located in a space between life’s opposites, and between
recent history and the ancient past. Scattered with biblical imagery and references to Shakespeare, all of these distinctions ultimately dissolve into something profoundly uplifting and redemptive.

NME says: “The album follows the life of a young girl, Ira-Abel Rawles, as she navigates a thorny path from childhood to adolescence. It’s set within an ever-changing landscape – like the one Harvey came from, and still inhabits, today – and it sounds like it’s from another era thanks to Harvey enunciating in dense, archaic Dorset dialect. Words like “drisk”, “drush” and “gawley” roll lushly from Harvey’s tongue, while field recordings of the surrounding countryside make it feel like Harvey’s most immersive album yet. “I think the album is about searching, looking… and seeking meaning,” Harvey said recently. While the meaning part is sometimes tough to decipher – far more so than her previous work – it’s not the answer here that’s important but the journey. It takes a little time to immerse yourself in Harvey’s world, but once there, you won’t want to leave.”. Score: 4/5.

TUTV: It’s hard, near impossible, to get into the dark corners of Harvey‘s mind, it always was. And this new record is no exception to it, unless you pick some things up here and there when she talks to the press about the LP, like here in an interview with British newspaper The Guardian. Enigma is her middle name, lyrically and sonically. But it’s
such a thrill to get into a PJ album, on repeat, and TRY to get to the core of it.

Singles/clips: A Child’s Question, August / I Inside The Old I Dying

– I INSIDE THE OLD I DYING –

– A CHILD’S QUESTION, AUGUST –

FULL ALBUM


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All tour dates sold-out despite the very expensive ticket prices.

PJ HARVEY: Website – Instagram

GRIAN CHATTEN – Voice/Face Of FONTAINES D.C. Has His Candlelight Solo LP ‘CHAOS FOR THE FLY’ Out

Posted on by JL

2 July 2023

Singer-songwriter and charismatic frontman GRIAN CHATTEN
of Dublin idols Fontaines D.C. has shared his solo debut, titled
CHAOS FOR THE FLY.

Press info: “Each song here has a sweep of colour and textures that breathe life into his lucid tales. Over its nine tracks, Chaos For The Fly is a record that takes in all of life’s rich emotions, transporting the listener to a place you not only want to visit, but will find yourself returning to again and again.”


Photo by Turn Up The Volume

The Guardian (British newspaper): “Chatten dials down the rollicking post-punk of
the Dublin band with a solo debut of haunted, Leonard Cohen-esque songs. ‘On Chaos
for the Fly’, Chatten’s manner sometimes recalls those great critics of human nature
Leonard Cohen and Elliott Smith.” Score: 4/5.

TUTV: As we already could here and there on Fontaines D.C. albums Chatten dims
the lights, and lets his both melancholic and unsettled heart do the talking/singing.
Here he does it from start to finish. He sings about all things life, good and bad here
on his solo debut. He’s a romantic and muses about what’s on his mind and soul. Candlelight music for tranquillising moments. Nothing more, nothing less.

Have sweet dreams.


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GRIAN CHATTEN: Instagram – Website

PORTUGAL. THE MAN – Summer Breeze Pop LP Dedicated To A Good Friend With ‘CHRIS BLACK SAVED MY LIFE’

Posted on by JL

Standout longplayers

24 June 2023

Band: PORTUGAL. THE MAN
Who: American electro pop outfit led by
singer/songwriter John Gourley.
Active: Since 2006 / 9 LPs so far (new one incl.)

New album: CHRIS BLACK SAVED MY LIFE
The LP is dedicated to the band’s longtime friend and
the album’s namesake Chris Black, who died in May 2019.

AllMusic says: “The album is named after the group’s close-friend, filmmaker Chris Black,
who toured with them in 2016 as a kind of unofficial DJ and hypeman and who died tragically in 2019 just as his career was taking shape. With Chris Black Changed My Life, the have crafted a warm and hooky homage to their friend it’s a vibe that sticks with you.”
Full interview here. Score: 4/5.

TUTV: Summer breeze synth-pop with heavy-hearted moments for a beloved friend gone.
Enchanting harmonies featuring several guests and an overall romantic record.

Single: Dummy

Full album


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PORTUGAL. THE MAN: Instagram – Facebook

SWANS – Maestro MICHAEL GIRA’s Collective Chill Out With Psychedelic Trance Symphonies On New Album ‘THE BEGGAR’

Posted on by JL

Standout longplayers

23 June 2023


Album artwork

Wayward NYC collective SWANS led by mastermind/multi-instrumentalist
Michael Gira are around for a long time now, actually since 1982.

Today they share their 16th LP, baptized THE BEGGAR
with the world. Order info via Young God Records.


(Photo by Turn Up The Volume)

MOJO: “44 minutes of scourging song broken up by ambient drone, terrifying
din and choral interludes – is both uncompromising and brilliant.” Score: 8/10.

TUTV: Michael Gira is one of those veteran music addicts who will never quit
and when he must go, it will be in a recording studio or on stage. But first this
16th longplayer. Welcome to Gira‘s labyrinth-mind where the sun doesn’t shine.

The Beggar is a 44-minute-long nightdream. Chilling, far-out and ghostly. An enigmatic
record where only Gira finds his way through 11 psychedelic jams in slo-mo. Swans do
not rock out here, they create a trance-like atmosphere for daredevils. Fascinating
and highly intriguing. Goosebumps accomplishment.

Singles: Paradise Is Mine / Los Angeles: City Of Death

– PARADISE IS MINE –
A 10-minute hypnotic slo-mo jam.

– LOS ANGELES/ CITY OF DEATH –
Wouldn’t have been out of place on.
a Velvet Underground

Full Album

SWANS: Instagram – Bio – Discography

KING KRULE – London’s Gifted Singer-Songwriter Sends Us His New Album ‘SPACE HEAVY’ From His Shadowy Bubble

Posted on by JL

18 June 2023

KING KRULE (born Archy Ivan Marshall in London 28 years ago)
has his new – 4th – longplayer, titled SPACE HEAVY out.

Pitchfork: “His songs have always felt close to home, charcoal-smeared with London dusk and the nocturnal cadence of London jazz. On Space Heavy, for the first time, the great London singer-songwriter’s ambitions feel accordingly local, too.” Full review here. Score: 7.5/10.


Press photo by Frank Lebon

TUTV: Archy found himself fascinated by the notion of “the space between” – the space haunted by dreams of love, touching a narrative of lost connection, losing people and situations to the guillotine of the universe. Lots of mood swings on Space Heavy which disturbs the balance of Krule‘s stream of consciousness, lyrically and musically, now and then. He’s a gifted songwriter but also a capricious and wayward one. He should leave his shadowy bubble more.

Singles/clips: Filmsier / If Only It Was Warmth / Seaforth

– FILMSIER –

– IF ONLY IT WAS WARMTH –

– SEAFORTH –

FULL ALBUM

KING KRULE: Facebook – Instagram