CHAT PILE the clamorous and out-of-their-minds sludge/metal creeps from Oklahoma
and Texas-born avant-garde musician, politician and performance artist HAYDEN PEDIGO have teamed up for a most surprising album. Talking about a bizarre collaboration.
Stereogum (and other mainstream music websites) had the opportunity
to listen to the record for a week now and they have this to say:
“In The Earth Again is a staggering achievement that makes sense within each artist’s discography, even as it stands out as an adventurous outlier for both acts. It’s a flavor combination on par with salted caramel or dipping fries in your Frosty, though the
outcome here is often more bitter than sweet.
I just heard the album 2 hours ago and I say: WTF. Don’t get fooled by the fact that Mike Meyers is pictured on the LP’s cover and that the record is released today, on Halloween. This is everything you wouldn’t have expected. It’s ACE!
Electro Goth-pop giants DEPECHE MODE are together
for 45 years now. Incredible. Way longer than
most marriages last.
In 2023, they released their 15th album, called Memento Mori and followed it with a world tour.
Now a live movie called M will be in cinemas
and on IMAX from October 28th onward.
It’s conceived and directed by award-winning Mexican filmmaker Fernando Frias
and described as a dynamic cinematic experience built around footage from DM’s
three sold-out Mexico City Foro Sol Stadium shows from 2023.
The movie will be released on Blu-ray and 2CDs on December 5th. More info here.
On the same day a 4 LP live album, titled Memento Mori: Mexico City will make the band’s countless fans feel like it’s already Xmas. It’s a live recording of over two hours
of music from those three concerts, including 4 previously unreleased studio recordings from the Memento Mori Sessions. It’ll also feature live photos from the shows.
It’s called NORMAL ISN’T and will see the day of light on 6 February 2026.
Keenan: “As storytellers and artists, our job is to observe, interpret, and report.
We take in our environment and share what we see, and what we see around us
does not appear normal. Not by a long shot.”
It’s almost Halloween, folks.
Let Pusicfer be your
trick or treat mate.
NICK CAVE and his BAD SEEDS released their top-drawer 18th LP WILD GOD in August 2024. Then they hit the road to promote it.
But they’re not yet done.
New dates for 2026 below.
And today the band announced a live LP. It’s named LIVE GOD.
It’s a testament to The Wild God Tour, which wowed
audiences across the UK, Europe and North America.
The tracklist includes performances of the entirety of that first-class album,
as well as versions of catalogue favourites, such as ‘From Her To Eternity’,
‘Papa Won’t Leave You, Henry’ and ‘Into My Arms’.
It’ll see the day of light on December 5th. More infohere.
Here’s a preview, with a sterling version of the LP’s title track.
Many artists make a covers album when they have no inspiration/intention to write
new material. Sometimes it works, many times it doesn’t work. With The Pretenders
legend CHRISSIE HYNDE and her DUETS it works magnificently. Why?
One, the songs, mostly ballads and lullabies, she picked are all top ones. Two, she
performed them in duet with marvelous voices such as the late Mark Lanegan, K.D. Lang, Lucinda Williams, Debbie Harry and Garbage‘s Shirley Manson. Three: covers or not, Hynde‘s sensual voice always enthralls.
Duets is an ideal soundtrack companion for
a cosy night in, relaxing with your favorite
drink at hand.
SOULWAX, the Belgian brothers David and Stephen Dewaele‘s band for 30 years now,
is only one of the siblings’ diverse projects. They DJed the world around as 2manydjs,
had their own Radio Soulwax, and produced/remixed countless other artists.
Press info: “Soulwax’s first new album in 8 years, entitled All Systems Are Lying, showcases the band’s return with a touch of Ibiza and a post-punk electronic funk edge. Since 1995, David and Stephen Dewaele have consistently pushed the boundaries of music by diversifying into various guises.”
Credit: Nadine Fraczkowski
TUTV: Soulwax excel here with a kaleidoscopic sonic amalgam that connects Kraftwerk‘s otherworldly euphoniousness and The Orb‘s ambient dynamics and at times Cabaret Voltaire‘s experimental capriciousness
The record’s arresting strength, to my ears, is it’s underlying poppiness. Half of
the album is stuffed with pop tunes, enwrapped in the bros’ electronic universe.
It’s not pure techno, not pure dance, not really EBM, rather a versatile, chameleon-like
kind of synth-layered album that sparkles and effervesces non-stop and they aren’t afraid
of tackling the powers that be, the systems that are after your soul.
The siblings got it right: “It’s a rock record without guitars”.
English power pop-rock trio WHITE LIES are heading towards
their 20th anniversary as a band. OMG! Time flies indeed.
They’re gearing up for their 7th LP, called NIGHT LIGHT. It’ll make their countless
fans jump in the air when it comes out on November 7th. Pre-order info here.
Press info: White Lies approached their seventh album with a fresh method: mastering the songs live before recording them. The trio decided to rehearse and refine the tracks together in a room before entering the studio – a reversal of the process of finding the true spirit of songs only after touring them.
Much of the album was recorded in frontman Harry McVeigh’s London flat, opting for simplicity over gear-heavy setups. They focused on songwriting and chemistry, relying
on their 17-year musical bond to shape the album’s energy.
Night Light spans progressive rock, disco, and synth-driven soundscapes, showing
a band both confident and creatively energized. The album closes with the pulsating ‘In The Middle’, showcasing their unity and matured artistry.”
Singles/Clips: Nothing On Me / In The Middle / Keep Up
Artist: PREWN Who: The moniker of Massachusetts‘ born, LA-based chilling
singer-songwriter Izzy Hagerup. She released her debut album Through The Window in 2023.
Stereogum:”System begins by oscillating between numbing ease of the modern world
and the fight-or-flight response that each new day in a world of crumbling institutions brings. But by the album’s end, Hagerup finds resolve in humanity.”
Hagerup: “I need to tap into my grief and sadness and stuff because it’s there. And when
you don’t live in it then you’re just numb. You can’t see the beauty and you are running from
the pain. It’s this Groundhog Day feeling. I feel that’s the antithesis to art, love, and connection, and giving a shit about the world.”
TUTV: Most songs are written from “twisted and sociopathic perspectives” during late-night bedroom sessions, says Hagerup. And you can feel what that did to System. Freaky at times, off-centre now and then, psychotic here and there.
The combination of creepy violins, ominous cello shadow play, and last but not least Hagerup‘s wailing voice dominate this record causing bone-chilling sensations. Her
laments evoke moments of Uncomfortableness, but her grip is so overwhelming that you just can’t get away of her sonic exorcism. Like watching a bloodcurdling thriller you can’t escape from without knowing the end of the story.
SINGLE
One of the best
of 2025 to my ears.
Masterly stroke.
RICHARD ASHCROFT and THE VERVE (1990–1995, 1997–1999, 2007–2009)
scored their biggest triumph, commercially and critically, in 1997 with their
3rd LP Urban
Hymns that topped the UK Charts. So did its timeless single Bittersweet Symphony (more than 1,2 billion streams on Spotify).
The band split twice, came back and, finally, called it a day in 2009.
Between and after, Ashcroft delivered great solo work. Today, his
6th solo longplayer, titled LOVIN’ YOU landed.
It follows his performances as support act for Oasis on their reunion shows
in the UK this summer. I was at one of them, on August 3rd in Wembley Stadion
in London. 70,000 singing his greatest hits set along, word by word, caused
goosebumps
Wembley Stadium, August 3rd – photo by Turn Up The Volume.
Louder Than War says: “What’s most striking is how cohesive the album feels despite its stylistic range. Whether he’s leaning into stripped-back balladry or experimenting with soulful grooves, the songs are united by a warmth and clarity that speak to both craft and conviction. It’s the sound of an artist who no longer needs to prove anything — he’s simply doing what he does best.
Lovin’ You may not rewrite Ashcroft’s legacy, but it reinforces it beautifully. It’s a record of reflection and renewal, full of light and grace, and a reminder that — decades on — few songwriters can translate vulnerability into strength quite like him.”
TUTV: As an ardent Richard Ashcroft/The Verve fan a new RA full-length feels
like a conveted present a 10-year-old was waiting for. But (there’s always
a but) this one leaves me with mixed emotions.
Mind you, 5 tracks (Lover / Heavy News / I’m A Rebel / Crimson Fire ) out of the 10
are arresting tunes, but the other 5 miss the needed divertissement to make it a full commandable record. Lovin You‘ misses Ashcroft‘s epic touch and magical resonance.
No classics such as The Drugs Don’t Work, This Is How It Feels, Sonnet, Lucky Man or (of course) Bittersweet Symphony here.
Considering his illustrious work from the past, it’s hard to come up with first-class
material time and time again that achieves a similar heart-and-soul stirring glamourness. On the other hand, many singer-songwriters would have Lovin’ You on their résumé. And that says a lot about Ashcroft‘s unmistakable strength as a singer-songwriter.
