Album Of The Week

HINDS – Peppy Spanish Fury Score One Of The Best Pop LPs Of The Year With Their 4th One ‘VIVA HINDS’

Posted on by JL

7 September 2024


Press photo by Dario Vazquez

Peppy Spanish power pop Amazons HINDS
unleashed their 4th LP, baptized Viva Hinds.

The band is now reduced to two members. So, only
2 hinds left. But it’s definitely their best music ever.

Press info: Spanish indie rockers Hinds are back with their utterly triumphant
fourth album, Viva Hinds. Written by the band’s co-founders, co-vocalists, co-guitarists
and co-songwriters Carlotta Cosials and Ana Perrote, it features their first-ever fully Spanish language songs, as well as first collaborations with the likes of Beck and Fontaines D.C.’s frontman Grian Chatten.

Uncut (British music monthly): “The fourth album is a
masterclass in simple but devastatingly effective melodies.”


New album cover

TUTV: Infectious tune after infectious tune make you reach for Piña Colada after
Piña Colada. Hinds resurrect here from a difficult period with 2 members leaving.
It leads to songs of love and loss, yep, songs about life.

The overall vitalizing formula of this new longplayer lies in the fact that every single track
is embedded in an on-the-spot galvanizing melodiousness that triggers joyous, gratified and devil-may-care feelings. It’s called pop-ular music. No less, no more. Oh so welcome
in these disordered times. Uplifting entertainment for all seasons. Gracias ciervas.
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KEY SINGLE
Contender for best one of 2024

ALBUM


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Hinds: Instagram

RADAR MEN FROM THE MOON – Dutch Industrial Post-Punk Act Fascinate With Götterdämmerung Album ‘VOMITORIUM’

Posted on by JL

20 August 2024

Band: RADAR MEN FROM THE MOON
Who: Noise-exploring post-punk indies from Eindhoven,
The Netherlands. Their name was taken from a 1952 Sci-Fi series.

Album: VOMITORIUM,
Their 7th one.

Press info: “It’s an eight-track collection of abrasive experimental punk
that unleashes their latest line-up and musical incarnation in typically confrontational form. Revelling in cathartic excess and a bludgeoning intensity, they power through 90s industrial electronics, discordant noise-rock and the darkest post-punk extremes.”

TUTV: Expect bone-chilling and creepy primal screams accompanied by a hellish pandemonium resonance, coming out of a pitch-black darkness. It’s 1984 all over again. Doom and gloom everywhere. The world is on its way to self-destruction. Industrial NIN-like orchestrations in scary slo-mo design the ominous signs of the times here.

War, intolerance, dictatorial world leaders. Vomitorium is about our grim reality that looks surreal. Eight unbridled, barbed wire jams is what we get, hear and suck up. Schizophrenic guitars, merciless percussion and excorcistic vocals dominate this fascinating record.

It’s not really beach party music but rather the soundtrack for a
graveyard gathering. Götterdämmerung is just around the corner.

KEY SINGLE

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RMFTM: Instagram

KING GIZZARD & THE LIZARD WIZARD – Aussies Rock Out On Elevating New Album ‘FLIGHT b741’

Posted on by JL

12 August 2024

Psych-prog-rock Aussies KING GIZZARD & THE LIZARD WIZARD
dropped their 26th album in 14 years, baptized FLIGHT b741.

The Guardian (British newspaper): “A cheerfully rocking album about global collapse… Flight b741 is a striking combination of form and emotion from a band where the former has often been scrutinised by critics at the expense of the latter. Flight b741 charts a bumpy path, but the destination makes it worth it.” Score: 4/5.


Photo by Maclay Heriot

TUTV: After 25 albums, it sounds as if the prolific Aussies decided to simply rock out
for a change, and they do it with striking 70s-inspired strokes with sultry harmonica-blues echoes here and there. Conventional guitar solos pop up in every track.

Zestful and highly vibrant melodies are embedded in rip-roaring scores going airborne now and then, and peppered with ardent vocality all the way. This KG&TLW opus will
excite my ears for quite a while.

Key tracks: Field Of Vision / Le Risque / Rats In The Sky / Daily Blues

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KG&TLW: Instagram

THE MYSTERINES – Passionate Scoucers Hit Big Time With Their 2nd Album ‘AFRAID OF TOMORROWS’

Posted on by JL

22 June 2024


Album Artwork

Liverpool‘s explosive alt-rockers THE MYSTERINES just released their heavily anticipated sophomore LP AFRAID OF TOMORROWS, the follow-up to their splendid debut top-10 album Reeling, that came out in 2022.

Press info: Afraid of Tomorrows is the perfect frame for vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter Lia Metcalfe‘s extraordinary voice. Like no one else on the British rock scene, she can switch suddenly from a lascivious purr to a hair-raising yowl, the love-child of Courtney Love and Karen O. Perhaps the most impressive part of the record is how much
it demonstrates the band’s colossal ambition.

Recorded and produced by Grammy Award winning producer John Congleton (St. Vincent, Angel Olsen) in LA, Afraid of Tomorrows is a deeper and darker foray into The Mysterines’ psyche than its predecessor, and reflects the maturity and growth of the band.

Metcalfe: “I think it’s easy to look back and feel judgmental about your
younger self, but we’re past that now,” We feel like we know who we are
as a band.”

DIY magazine: “The quartet may have bucked expectations here, but in venturing
into the shadows, they’ve made their boldest move yet.” Full review here.


Press photo by Steve Gullick

TUTV: The charismatic Lia Metcalfe‘s singular voice, both anxious and soul-stirring,
is all over this awe-inspiring new record. So instrumental for the band’s sound that resonates more poignant, gloomier and spine-chilling than on their debut.

It fits Metcalfe‘s introspective reflections on her turbulent past terrifically well,
with haunting and goosebumps-causing songs that have an imposing impact.

Jagged riffs fly all over the place and the charged intensity at play here creates
a doom-laden atmosphere. So far, I returned the most to the two closing candlelight ballads (Inside A Matchbox / So Long) and the acoustic, folky campfire chant Afraid Of Tomorrows with Metcalfe sparkling in the shadows.

There’s always a light shining at the end of the Mysterines tunnel.
The 4 scousers are gearing up for a triumphant future.

Singles/Clips: Sink Ya Teeth / Last Dance

– SINK YA TEETH –

– LAST DANCE –

ALBUM


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Linktree

ALAN VEGA – Another Lost LP Named ‘INSURRECTION’ Shows The Legend’s Spine-Chilling Electro Noise Groove Impact Once Again

Posted on by JL

6 June 2024

Another previously unreleased album named INSURRECTION,
following the splendid 2021 Mutator LP, by the late great
ALAN VEGA (1938-2016) is out now.

11 songs showcase the unparalleled vision and uncompromising
force from one of the most influential artists of all time.

Liz Lamere (Vega’s widow and collaborator): “Insurrection was created in the time
period around 1997/98, after Mutator and prior to Vega’s 1999 release of 2007 and
captures the intense energy of NYC in the 90s rife with crime, killing, hate, fascism,
racism, and moral bankruptcy. You can hear the tortured souls floating through this
album.”

Jared Artaud (fellow Vega collaborator): “Insurrection hits hard and shows the power
and intensity of Alan Vega’s visionary solo work. It feels like he was trying to break new
ground. There’s always a kind of magic that goes into working on Vega’s music. I feel like
he was tapped into some other dimension. One hand in the gutter and one hand in
the stars.”

Pitchfork: “Unearthing 11 lost recordings from the late ’90s, the Suicide co-founder’s
newest posthumous release frames him as a doomsday prophet of the information age.

Born into a brazen New York underworld, Vega spent his career taking evil, masticating
it to its sonic rudiments, and spitting it back out, often directly in people’s faces. Half of experiencing his work is allowing yourself to suffer, to be under his control.

This newest collection is an oppressive, nauseating roller-coaster ride.
Once you get off, you’ll want to do it again.”

Order info here.

TUTV: Uncanny percussion, ghostly vocals, other-worldly vibes, jagged jams, capricous synth loops. It’s Alan Vega allright with another lost treasure. Modern day art from last century showing once again that Vega was a musical visionary, an absorbing noise crusader, and a doom and gloom prophet.

Singles: Mercy / Cyanide Soul

– MERCY –

– CYANIDE SOUL –

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ALBUM


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Alan Vega: Linktree

PAUL WELLER – Songsmith Legend Celebrates His 66th Birthday Today With His New Splendid Album ’66’

Posted on by JL

25 May 2024

Living songsmith legend PAUL WELLER is back from never having been away. He just released his 17th album, baptized 66, referring to his 66th birthday, today 24 May.

The cover of the new record is designed by Sir Peter Blake,
his first for Weller since 1995’s Stanley Road.


Press photo by Nicole Nodland

MOJO: “There’s a sense throughout of Weller, the inveterate seeker, grasping
for something tantalisingly out of reach – and in doing so, creating a record of
recurrent intrigue and frequently sublimity.” Score: 8/10.

TUTV: Yesterday the former angry young The Jam man launched ’66’, today he
celebrates his 66th birthday. And it’s a splendid one. Simply, one of his best in
a long time. His love for Motown Soul, especially for the sensuous side of Marvin
Gaye is still intact (Nothing / A Glimpse Of You / In Full Flight / Rise Up Signing).

His appetite for lettin’ the good times roll now and then with instantly affectionate
grooves is present on Flying Fish, Jumble Queen and Soul Wandering, and again his old(er) man’s crooner instincts are omnipresent (A Glimpse Of You / My Best Friend’s Coat / I Woke Up / Burn Out and on his Motown Soul reveries).

All in all, 12 delightful, subtly constructed, heart-warmingly orchestrated melodies with
a nostalgic, soulful and ear-relaxing feel. That’s entertainment. Happy birthday, Sir Weller.

Singles/clips: Soul Wandering / Rise Up Singing / Nothing

– SOUL WANDERING –

– RISE UP SINGING –

– NOTHING –

ALBUM


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PW: Linktree

Final Album ‘TO ALL TRAINS’ By STEVE ALBINI And His Band SHELLAC Is Out Now

Posted on by JL

17 May 2024


(Photo by Turn Up The Volume – Belgium 2017)

Two months ago renowned noise rock producer STEVE ALBINI
announced a new album with his band SHELLAC, titled TO ALL TRAINS.
Their 6th and first in 10 years.

Unfortunately Albini can’t experience the pleasure to be here today,
on the release day of the LP, as the fatal news came in, on May 7,
of his passing following a heart attack.

It wasn’t really certain if the release would go ahead or not. But here it is,
featuring his long-time, faithful friends/musicians Bob Weston (bass) and
drummer Todd Trainer.

The recordings already started in 2017 featuring several songs
the band used to play live for quite some time by then.


Album artwork

It’s vintage Shellac/Steve Albini with its wayward song structures, its capricious and minimalistic resonance, its broken riffs, edgy hooks, sinewy drumming, Albini‘s poignant vocals and the raw and rough post-punk dynamics at play. Absolutely weird to listen to
it, with the incredible knowledge that Albini is no more.

The album closes with the ominous track I Don’t Fear Hell, including these lines
“I don’t fear hell. Their baseball team is undefeated. If there’s a heaven, I hope they’re
having fun. ‘Cause if there’s a hell, I’m gonna know everyone.” Sounds quite bizarre and macabre at this very moment. Maybe, just maybe, Albini is happy, wherever he might
be. Rest in peace.

STREAM/BUY


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Shellac: Instagram

Live photos by Turn Up The Volume – Belgium 2017)

KINGS OF LEON – The Nashville Family Return With Rock Solid 9th LP ‘CAN WE PLEASE HAVE FUN’

Posted on by JL

11 May 2024

Nashville rock family KINGS OF LEON have their
9th album, called Can We Please Have Fun out.

NME: “This is easily KOL’s most promising, liberated record for over a decade but still surprisingly restrained in places. Can they have fun? Yes it appears, in places, but they
could have had a whole lot more.”

TUTV: With singles Mustang and Nothing To Do the expectations of a back-to-their-thunderous-rock-and-roll-roots went sky-high, also because that’s what KOL promised
in interviews. They wanted to come back with lots of big bangs.

But they don’t, except for Hesitation Gen, and the two aforementioned smoking singles they serve us several solid mid-tempo rock songs. Not many fireworks. But after a couple
of spins soft-hearted, sepia-coloured tracks such as opener Ballerina Radio, Rainbow Ball, Actual Daydream, M Television and Seen revealed their bona fide quality with Caleb Followill‘s singular voice still starring in the middle. They cut their hair a long time ago, but they get older with stylish swagger and most importantly, with affectionate tunes that will last for a long time.

Maybe the rockin’ Nashville family fooled us a bit when they declared their new LP
was inspired by hefty post-punks such as Idles, but if this is their way of having fun (again),
I’m all in.

Singles/clips: Mustang / Nothing To Do / Split Screen

– MUSTANG –

– NOTHING TO DO –

– SPLIT SCREEN –

ALBUM

KOL: Instagram

METZ – Canadian Noise Challenging Crusaders Flabbergast With 5th Album ‘UP ON GRAVITY HILL’

Posted on by JL

Rad new longplayers

23 April 2024

Canadian noise-challenging crusaders METZ have their
5th LP, titled UP ON GRAVITY HELL out. Order-info here.

Press info: For those who believe in the power of the rock band to exemplify the
highest resonance of human connection, there is much on ‘Up On Gravity Hill’ to lift
the spirit, a puzzle worth repeated listening to unlock or just to get lost in again and
again. Lyrically, Up On Gravity Hill pulls no punches: this is a record about death the
way all art is ultimately about death, yet it crackles with life and intensity.

Alex Edkins (voice/guitar/lyrics) : “We’re at the point now where we feel really strong as
a band and as musicians, and there is no second guessing our collective instincts. Allowing ourselves to branch out and work with other musicians has been a blessing and also continues to remind us that what we have, our musical bond, is very rare and really special. The lyrical content is more heart-on-sleeve than I’ve ever allowed myself to do. I tried to be direct with my words, this record felt like a big step.”

TUTV: ‘Up On Gravity Hill’ blows your mind, your psyche, and your ears
for 34 thunderous minutes of razor blade wall-of-sound exorcism. Vintage
chainsaw voltage (No Reservation/Love Comes Crashing, Entwined (Street Light
Buzz), Never Still Again and the ace anti-advertising ballyhoo sledgehammer
’99’), a mean drum/bass machine throughout, and Edkins‘ mixed emotions
cry outs combine for a rough helter-skelter ride.

No arty farty BS for them, no special effects. All cylinders, all burners. It’s only
on the gripping mid-tempo closing reflection that the trio slow down a bit but
still make your stereo tremble. A great ending to another great record.

Flabbergasting achievement.
Metz rule big time.

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METZ: Linktree

ENGLISH TEACHER – British Indies Astound With Their Multi-Layered And Ingenious Debut Album ‘THIS COULD BE TEXAS’

Posted on by JL

16 April 2024

Band: ENGLISH TEACHER
Who: Fast up-and-coming inventive
indies from Leeds, UK.


Press photo

Debut album: THIS COULD BE TEXAS

NME: “The fantastic and the everyday collide on this landmark debut – an adventure in
sound and words. What you have in ‘This Could Be Texas’ is everything you want from a
debut; a truly original effort from start to finish, an adventure in sound and words, and
a landmark statement.

Poised for big things? Who knows if this industry even allows that anymore. Here are
a band already dealing in brilliance, though – who dare to dream and have it pay off.
Not everyone gets to go to space, but at least English Teacher make it a damn site
more interesting being stuck down here.” Score: 5/5.


Belgium, 13 February 2024 – Photo by Turn Up The Volume

TUTV: English Teacher are special, their debut LP is special. It sounds indie,
but certainly not in a familiar way when it comes to the stunning creativity
and striking architecture of the songs.

Expect a mix of prog-rock dynamics, bits and pieces for a reality musical, wayward euphony and sudden, yet accessible changes of pace and flow, rhythms and moods.

You really need several spins to get into This Could Be Texas but once the mist is gone
you’ll be dazzled by its sheer ingeniousness and the impact of frontwoman Lily Fontaine, vocally and emotionally. This could easily be one of the best longplayers of the year including one of the best singles of the year with ‘The World’s Biggest Paving Slab‘.

ALBUM


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ET: Instagram