Band: THE NEW EVES Who: Must hear/see indies from Brighton (where everybody is in a band).
They cruise from folk to punk, using, besides traditional instruments (guitar,
bass and drums) also cello, flute, violin and other classical gear.
I saw them performing in Brussels 2 years
ago. It was a sterling, ear-and-eye spectacle.
NME said: “The Brighton band are unconcerned by modern trends, building
their own singular free-spirited world where they make the rules. You won’t
find a hint of jittery post-punk or cavernous stomp-clap pop on the band’s
debut album.
A record that instead mines the unpredictable free-spiritedness of freak folk,
the loose, louche nature of rock’n’roll and the no-rules attitude of punk.”
TUTV: Eccentricity is the new normal. Poetic, medieval music is among us. The New Eves are something special, really special. Next to drum/bass/guitar
they use more untraditional instruments such as cello, flute, violin and other
classical music gear.
At their core, musically, they’re a folk punk rock band, an outlandish one, that is.
One of those that play gloriously out of tune at times, enthuse up with splendacious chants and have your bewildering attention for the full 40 baffling minutes. One of
the most innovative records of the year. Hands down.
Singles: Highway Man / Rivers Run Red / The New Eve / Cow Song
– HIGHWAY MAN –
Modern-day punk cry out.
– THE NEW EVE –
Cacophonic spiritual.
– RIVERS RUN RED –
Wayward flute-guitar-drum hypnotizer.
Band:THE SMILE Who: Sort of supergroup featuring 2 radioheads, Thom
Yorke and Jonny Greenwood and drummer Tom Skinner.
Album: CUTOUTS.
Their 3rd LP in just 2 years (Radiohead 8 in 31 years).
NME says: “The Smile return for more jazz-influenced,
experimental rock and they seem to be having more fun
than ever.”
TUTV: By far their best to my ears. On the previous 2 ones they tried too hard
to not sound like Radiohead (which they did frequently anyway) and did it with
too many redundant orchestrations, too many unnecessary layers and a bit of
arty farty structures here and there.
Mind you they are good LPs but on this one they keep it far more simple resulting
in 10 very arresting pieces of mesmerizing music. Trippy fast ones alternate with slow
musing ones and throughout the arrangements are subtle, direct and most entertaining with Thom Yorke sounding, yes, at ease, not forcing his compassionate voice/vocals. It all feels tremendously natural and blithely .
Margolin: “A lot of this album is about a more frenetic and desperate kind of love.
It is about completely losing my sense of self in a relationship, and the deep residue
of insecurity and pain that lingered and clouded a new relationship. There was a lot
of love and confusion, all interspersed with exhaustion and pain. All the songs started
out as poems. I wanted to challenge myself. ”
Uncut Magazine: “Sitting somewhere between alt.rock, indie-pop and a singer-songwriter album, it’s a neat balancing act that feels personal and intimate yet also sonically ambitious.”
TUTV: Spearhead Dana Margolin (guitar/vocals/songwriter) opens her heart and soul
again on this new longplayer. Following a toxic relationship, she recovered, rediscovered her own self, and looks to the future with confidence. As in the previous 3 albums she’s
as expressive and emotive about her turbulent personal life, even more explicit.
Sonically we get the by now familiar song structure. Slow start, building up the fervency, and finishing with haunting outbursts. But this time all pieces/tracks fall more into place than before. The songs have more body, are more elaborated and display Margolin‘s growing composing skills. Yes, it’s PR’s best effort yet.
An 8-track offering that traces the transformation of Long Island City, the part of Queens that Geni calls home. Situated across the East River from Manhattan with its stunning skyline views and now booming with skyscrapers, this place is haunted by its industrial past and friends who have moved on. These recordings explore themes of change, impermanence and loss amidst the city’s constant evolution.
Photo by Alice Teeple
TUTV: I really like the idea of Cities Built Upon Cities. An universal sign’ of the modern
times. Just google old photos of your own town and compare them with today’s views. Geni seems to have it done in detail with his beloved Long Island City and wrote eight
heavy-hearted songs about it.
Romantic reveries with real/surreal images of the past, present and future of LIC. Bittersweet, richly orchestrated, symphonies with his monumental voice – think of Perfume Genius, Talk Talk’s Mark Hollis and James Bay‘s bewitching vocality – taking them to sky-high heights, up there in the clouds, while floating over the city. This is the kind of record you listen best to with headphones on, dimmed lights and far away from our daily rat race. It’ll evoke mixed emotions about the place you love the most. Well, that’s what I experienced while listening.
Band: AMYL AND THE SNIFFERS Who: The punk rock whirlwind from down
under fronted by the utterly cool Amyl Tylor.
Kerrang! writes: “Added together, it makes for an instantly irresistible album
that – just like its opening line – is frank, fearless, funny and fucking fantastic.”
Turn Up The Volume: Old skool punk ‘n’ roll? Absolutely. Any good? You betcha! Amyl and her loud buddies made another roasting riff-manic-monster of a hell fucking
hell yeah record. Pogo madness is back. Sturm un drang from start to finish. HOLY MOLY!
TUYV: Never change a winning sound. As on their previous album DA keep on
drawing your aural attention with slow/mid-tempo/fast trip-hop tunes. But this time embedded in layers of distortion and feedback, creating an eerie and at times sinister ambiance.
Massive Attack, Tricky, Arab Strap and Mike Skinner’s The Streets
and Laurie Anderson‘s latest opus Amelia.
DA resonates as EBM for people who come alive when the darkness sets in, far away
from the suffocating day life and the world’s destructive nature as we experience now, again.
Kate Arnold‘s spoken word stories evolve on waves of chilling synth soundscapes that actually relax one’s confused mind (mine, for sure) and transfer you to your space of fantasies. Trance massage it is. You’ll feel alive anyway.
Atlanta‘s notorious rock ramblers BLACKBERRY SMOKE have their new 8th LP,
titled BE RIGHT HERE out and the vivacious gang are in the middle of a tour now
to share the album on stage with the world.
Press info: “Produced by Grammy Award-winning producer Dave Cobb (Chris Stapleton, Jason Isbell), Be Right Here is a timely reminder to be present and live authentically. Across these ten tracks—a collection of their signature rock and roll anthems, Americana-leaning ballads and country rock jams—the band celebrates the simple joys of life, the fleeting moments and the little bits of luck found along the way.”
Charlie Starr (vocals/guitar): “We always track live together, but this time we had all
our amps and drums and everything in the same room. It’s just as natural and as real as possible. The last album was very raw too, but with this one I remember different times I
would say, ‘I think we should redo that,’ and Dave was like, ‘No, leave it that way. That
way it’s magical.’”
TUTV: The imperishable cliché ‘all killers, no fillers‘ is 100% accurate here.
Blackberry Smoke have cemented Southern blues rock for eternity with this new
top-tier record. Expect a tsunami of roaring riffs, sharp-cutting hooks and lusty licks.
Retro? So what? Daily, for decades now, people listen to ZZ TOP, The Beatles, The Stones, David Bowie, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Grateful Dead, Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen and tons of other timeless stars, for one and only one reason: stellar music has no expiration date whatsoever.
My ears don’t know the word retro. They only know and care about great
music that makes them vibrate, old and new, whatever, as long as it’s ace.
BS released 4 roasting singles (Azalea, Hammer And The Nail, Little Bit Crazy,
Dig A Hole) ahead of the LP’s release, but there are at least a couple more
with boogie-woogie groove Don’t Mind If A Do and reflective psych gem Be So Lucky with its pop-melodic sonority.
– HAMMER AND THE NAIL –
– DIG A HOLE –
Emotive ballads Watch Know Good, Other Side Of The Light
and Barefoot Angel have an Eagles‘ tequila sunrise glow.
And Starr‘s genuine, passionate, wholehearted Americana voice, gospel-like
back harmonies and some warm organs here and there complete the sonic
canvas perfectly.
In these restless times Blackberry Smoke look/play on the bright side of life.
Let’s join them, there’s always a light at the end of the rock tunnel.
Don’t forget ‘all killers, no fillers’. I really wonder if The Black Crowes can
top this triumphant longplayer with their new, upcoming full-length.
The seasoned psych-folk-pop-rock ramblers launched their 11th album, named SEA OF MIRRORS on 8 September. Unquestionably LP of the month to my greedy
ears.
MOJO Magazine said: “For all the drifting, though, it’s rare that The Coral let these songs get away from them. They might have needed the cinematic prompt as a spur, a reminder of earlier unpasteurised idiosyncrasies, but Sea Of Mirrors stands up without the set dressing. It ends with a brief reprise of the opening track, gently lighting the aisles to the exits; you might well find yourself staying put in the dark, ready to let it run back to the start and play out again.”
Full review here. Score: 4/5.
TUTV: For me, and countless music fans out there,
music evokes aural activity, feelings, and images
on your movie-screen in your mind. And it all happens
here too, of course, while listening to Sea Of Mirrors.
What do I hear?
A non-stop sequence of reflective pop fantasies, of tantalizing tunes with
a laid-back resonance and of meditative musings that cause a welcome,
lazy state of mind.
Blissfully feelgood vocality, with a melancholic timbre, everywhere.
Gently weeping strings. A seamless sonic marriage of acoustic and electric guitars.
It’s vintage The Coral as we know them, but even more yearning for romanticism than before. So they left their island and travelled to their fictional Western reality where all
sorts of misfits try to survive. Americana, the Liverpool way.
Warm vibes for a cold winter
What do I see?
A pub in Liverpool in a yet-to-be-made movie directed by iconic filmmaker Serge Leone, where an ensemble of troubadours entertain, with Charles Bronson on harmonica, the drunk barflies, the lonely, the lost gringos, the hurt souls, and the broken-hearted. For some weird reason, everybody looks like they’re keeping each other company for comfort since forever.
What do I feel?
The little kid in me who watched
cowboy movies with the whole family.
In a glorious state of relaxation.
Like an on-cloud-nine Coral fan.
Singles/clips: That’s Where She Belongs / The Sinner / Oceans Apart
TUTV: These mavericks are special. This record is special. Sonically it’s a flabbergasting blend of all things clashing and trashing. You get pop and punk, country and hardcore, post-rock and barbed wire lullabies, loud and silent, left/right, and sometimes all of this
in just one song, well, sort of. I mean, there’s not one dull moment on the whaler.
It’s a non-stop restless outburst with exorcistic eruptions when vocalist Brandon MacDonald, like co-songwriter co-songwriter Tilley Komorny a trans woman, unleashes
her scary primal screams (I hope for her and her lungs that they needed only one vocal take of each song). What her pipes produce is almost unreal. I’m pretty sure you just pressed play to find out if I’m not about to overdose on caffeine. I’m not, they are.
The 10 tracks are a poetic tturmoil of mixed emo-tions. MacDonald and Komorny have
to deal with anti-transgender hate and living in Florida (or another Republican led state), run by anti-LGBTQ, anti-abortion, and lots of other anti-human rights, thug Ron DeSantis. And, by extension, life overall in the Divided States Of America must be a daily drag (well that’s how we, Europeans, experience America the past 6 years).
The land of the brave and the free? My ass. So it’s not surprising, there’s a lot of spitting and sneering triggered by anger, angst and severe doubts about the future. As I said a million times before, emotionally suffocating crises lead frequently to great music, great poems, great books, great paintings and any way of profound cathartic expression, countless troubled souls and confused hearts can relate with.
My advice to all alt-music-loving whalers among us, purchase
this amazing album. So much cheaper than a shrink or meds.
“i am the whaler,
i’ve outgrown these innards.
i am the whaler,
cleaning guts from gutters.
i am the whaler,
our vertebrae’s tethered.
i am the whaler,
look! here come the buzzards”
Band: TEMPLES Who: Glam and glitter popsmiths
from Kettering, England formed in 2012 by
charismatic frontman James Bagshaw and
bassist Tom Walmsle. Active: Since 2012 / 4 LPs (new one included)
Clash Magazine says: “Indie rockers Temples demonstrate an illustrious way forward for traditional guitar music. Taking place in a mystical, dream-like utopia, this supremely ambitious sixteen track presentation is the broadest, most eclectic palette of sound yet to be released by the neo-psychedelic, alternative ensemble. There are no bounds. ‘Exotico’ let’s go of control, so remarkable things can happen. It’s the closest Temples have been to releasing a masterpiece, and that’s saying something.” Full review here. Score: 8/10.
(Photo by Turn Up The Volume)
TUTV: I became a Temples fan since their 2014 debut album Sun Structures. A psych
retro pop record sounding like 5-star sonic sugar. But the weirdest thing happened now with this new longplayer. I was really disappointed after my first listen. It all (16 tracks) sounded too mellow, too laid-back, too familiar, and too much.
But being a fan I didn’t want to quit on them and I had several spins thereafter.
At one point it felt like my ears made sense of it all, helped by the images of sunny beaches, cocktail bars, and palm trees that popped up on my inner dream screen.
This album grew on me spin after spin. It’s still a mellow, laid-back, and familiar-sounding collection of music. But its sunlit spirit, its vivid vibe, its infectious melodies are SUPREME. Let your thoughts ignore reality and drift away in your happy-go-lucky cocoon. Top-tier, top-tier record, their best so far, hands down.
Band: YOUNG FATHERS Who: Blood-tingling Scottish dance-funk-punk trio that made a grand entrance
on the music scene when they won the 2014 Mercury Prize (an annual music
prize awarded for the best album released in the United Kingdom) with their
debut album Dead.
New album: HEAVY HEAVY – their 4th LP Released: 3 February 2023. Order infohere.
(Press photo YF – FB)
Info: Written and recorded over the course of three years, the longest time taken
on a Young Fathers album, Heavy Heavy is a tour de force from the Edinburgh trio.
An overarching theme of being human can be felt throughout the ten-track album, exploring the feelings of euphoria and rush of emotion experienced at the end of a struggle, a sense of fulfillment as a result of the toil and hard graft that life throws at everyone. An unashamedly soulful and heartfelt album, where the drums set the
scene throughout to transport the listener to a place of celebration and awakening.
(Spectacular in Antwerp – 22 February 2023 – photo by Turn Up The Volume)
NME: “‘Heavy Heavy’ is a passionate, soulful and often mesmerising work that will stick around long past the first listen. Succinct and underpinned by a catchy melodic structure, it continues Young Fathers’ peerless run of singular albums and further cements them as one of the more unique acts to exist today.” Score: 5/5.
TUTV: This is one of those remarkable records (one every 3 months or so) that
arouses from start to finish, with the cliché no fillers, all killers all over it. You hear
its sonic brilliance, you feel its dauntless vocality, you know it’s a magnum opus.
Heavy Heavy is an undisputable first-class work where vitalizing soul, ecstatic pop melodiousness and self-willed hip-hop come together in an organic, inventive way.
Funk-drunk virtuosity with astonishing vocal teamwork.
And throughout this diamond of a longplayer a modern-day gospel choir causes
an emotive euphoria that grows on you with every spin. Final verdict: this is the
1st contender for best LP of 2023. Fact!
Singles (so far): I Saw / Tell Somebody / Geronimo
No retirement for the 80-year-old JOHN CALE. He’s one of
the many musicians that will go on until their last breath.
The Welsh icon released his 17th solo longplayer,
called MERCY this month viaDouble Six/Domino.
The album features a cool club of guests. Animal Collective, Sylvan
Esso, Laurel Halo, Tei Shi, Actress, and yes, Fat White Family too.
Press info: “Cale’s first full album in a decade, moves through true dark-night-of-the-soul electronic torment toward vulnerable love songs and hopeful considerations for the future with the help of some of music’s most curious young minds. Cale has always searched for new ways to explore old ideas of alienation, hurt, and joy; Mercy is the latest transfixing find of this unsatisfied mind.”
Rolling Stone said: “Even as Mercy glares into the void, Cale demonstrates his optimism
by hanging out with younger musicians and often centering the album around contemporary rhythms, like the hip-hop he’s long considered to be a modern avant-garde.Like his Welsh brother and hero Dylan Thomas, Cale is going to fight against the dying of the light until the light is no more, but the ghosts of his past will be with him until the end.”
TUTV: No earworms, no feel good tunes, no pop hits. At 80 Cale still explores his mind and soul and he does it with shadowy introspections and chilling musings. Gloomy electronics create an obscure atmosphere and sometimes it feels like Cale is trapped in the labyrinth of his own psyche. You need several spins to get into the former VU legend’s world, but once you’re there the experience is spellbinding.
SINGLES: Night Crawling / Story Of Blood / Noise Of You
Band: DECIUS (UK) Who: Members of Trashmouth Records, Fat White Family (frontman Lias Saoudi)
& Paranoid London finding themselves climbing out of a hole together at a disco
after hours.
In their own words “Acid bath-house experiment with cosmic harmony, hard-line
diplomacy & a refusal of any individual to ever once conspicuously assert themselves,
we have at last arrived at a much dreamed of sonic & spiritual apex.”
TUTV: Imagine this. An obscure nightclub for all sorts of misfits such as SM fans,
physically unsatisfied individuals looking for sexual healing, gangbang addicts, nudists
(if you know Lias Saudi you know what I mean), unhappy sex workers, manic David Lynch characters, neurotic Brexit victims, horny breathers, sniffers, suckers, acid-house junks, erotica fanatics, lobotomized politicians, trashmouth artists, Andy Weatherall junks and
all other messed-up souls who hate reality and want to dance/party/fuck/hallucinate to stripped-down techno beats for 24 hours. E-tastic.
Singles/clips: Show Me No Tears / Look Like A Man
– SHOW ME NO TEARS –
– LOOK LIKE A MAN –
Hey wait, I’m also shaking my booty to this trippy marathon in my bloody kitchen,
with my Fat White Family t-shirt on, and a Red Bull in my hand. I guess, Decius, is for common people, like you and me too. Whatever, finish 2022 in a sassy style. Decius Vol. 1 is the disco fuel that’ll help you to do so.
Who: Raymond Watts aka PIG has enjoyed a varied career since starting out
as a pioneer member of the mid-1980s industrial rock scene. He toured with
big names such as NIN and Einstürzende Neubauten. He wrote music for
fashion and film artists, exhibitions and so many more artistic collaborations.
Info: “What does worldwide quarantine do to our favourite porcine libertine? Raymond Watts holed up in his sty and created ‘The Merciless Light’, the new album
by PIG. Ably aided and abetted by long time accomplices En Esch and Steve White, Watts also welcomes a new swine to the trough as Jim Davies (Pitchshifter/The Prodigy) adds another new level of impeccable (in)credibility and talent. ‘The Merciless Light’ seethes, swings, seduces and snarls. Extraordinary electronics and a glut of glitz, glam, guitars and grooves create a masterful mélange of mirth from our very own venerable Vicar of Vice.”
Turn Up The Volume wrote: The PIG of darkwaveness hits hard again following his
ace 2020 longplayer Pain Is God. With the new record, he reveals his lockdown blues experiences with 12 doom-and-gloom sledgehammers to crush concrete with.
Prepare your ears for brawny industrial bombast (No Yes More less / Veni Vidi Vici / Feed
The Wound / Taranatula), nightmares in slow-motion (Limbo / Sugar My Pill / The Judas Chair), wham-bam-glam drones (Glitz Krieg / The Dark Room) and the fantastic slow-burning gospel chant of the title track. It’s all there to have yourself a merciless head-banging pig trip. File next to Rammstein’s new opus Zeit.
