Band: WHOLES Who: Raucous noise outfit led by Belgian, musical chameleon Wolf Vanwymeersch,
who played with several bands (pop, rock, sludge metal) and released a pure singer-songwriter pearl with solo debut album The Early Years back in 2022.
Wholes are “what remains after a soul has been detonated, what
struck those around it, what could no longer be contained”.
Last year, the band scored big time with their heart-wrenching debut album, named A Mass In The Water. One of the best 10 LPs of 2025 according to TUTV‘s ears: “It’s a
both scary and flabbergasting opus about Wolf’s father’s suicide. It takes a lot of courage to make and share this soul-crushing experience with the world.”
TUTV: Frontman Wolf told us that this new tune is not as dark as the previous ones,
even a teeny bit romantic with a line that goes like this “If our eyes lock for a second,
we’ll share an eternity”.
Besides that lovey-dovey line, The Moment sounds actually more like a brain-breaking nightmare, motorized by about 100 guitars and Wolf‘s ghostly vocals. It progresses
like a slow-burning torch that will, eventually, extinguish in the end. Spooky and
chilling if you ask me. Not really a whole lotta love here.
NME: ‘Again’feels like Belair Lips Bomb
are auditioning to be the biggest band
in the world.”
TUTV: Just one spin and I knew this LP was a winner. Ace tune, after ace tune, after
ace tune. Guitar pop at its most move ‘n groove exciting. In the middle, vocalist and
guitarist Maisie Everett draws all attention. Wonderful voice, striking performance.
She’s backed by a well-oiled rock turbo. Hype or not, these
revved-up Aussies are going places, all around the globe
that is.
Press info: “The album explores themes of unnecessary hatred and
division. It’s political, but ultimately personal. More Genet or Kafka
than Orwell or Huxley.
TUTV: Without a shadow of a doubt, the perfect soundtrack for Doomsday.
Sledgehammer after sledgehammer, drone after drone, brainfucker after
brainfucker. Always tension in the air.
Any track would work in a zombie horror movie. And we know all
about horror, right? Just take a look outside the window, and you
see a lot of it. For free.
Cal Francis‘s spoken word performances are bone-chilling. Their primal screams
send shivers down the spine. Lyrically, they operate in a space where reality and
surreality meet. No room for birds and bees.
Cal Francis – Pukkelpop Fest 2025 – Photo by TUTV
Never Exhale is an other-worldly Götterdämmerung experience.
It smells like something is alive and kicking here. No regression,
only progression.
Sprints about the LP: “While the world is literally burning down around us there are voices that seem hell bent on pointing the finger at anyone but those actually responsible. There’s no need to dream-up dystopia, we’re living in it. And somehow, while the world has never seemed uglier, our life has never been more beautiful.”
TUTV: Their riff-ripping quiet/loud/quiet formula works again, big time. Their sucker-punches hit you, piece by piece, hard in the teeth while Karla Chubb‘s hepped-up vocals rule again. Here and there, her unbridled explosiveness brings young Courtney Love‘s borderline cry-outs to mind. Only the 6 last cooking/boiling/bloodcurdling haymakers
are already worth a full album.
Band: LAMBRINI GIRLS Who: Two razorblade riot girrrrlzz – vox/guitarist Phoebe Lunny
and bassist Lilly Macieira – from Brighton (UK), with an insatiable
appetite for mass moshpits.
NME said: “Lambrini Girls prove punk is alive and kicking. They’re unapologetically amplifying chaos, calling out societal wrongs, and daring us all to feel something. This record is loud, raw, and impossible to ignore.”
TUTV:
Faster than a Formula One Ferrari.
Louder than a supersonic jet.
Punkier than any punks around.
Press info: Inspired entirely by the life and mythos of actor Dennis Hopper, Mike Scott
and The Waterboys created this expansive album as tribute to one of American popular culture’s most compelling public figures.
TUTV: This a remarkable piece of work. It could be the soundtrack for a yet to be made Dennis Hopper documentary. Hats off to Mike Scott for his boldness, imaginativeness, and ingenuity to score this musical movie, constructed marvellously with its sonically cinematic versatility.
Pop, rock, blues, country, bar-room jazz, and musing balladry take turns and puzzle
a most coherent and highly entertaining whole together, spiced with magnificent vocal contributions by Fiona Apple, Steve Earle and others. Never a dull moment with its varied stream of entertaining songs and Scott‘s awe-inspiring vocality throughout.
TUTV: Trois is one of the most balanced, the most arousing and the most vitalizing
noise rock records I heard in a very long time. Heisa grab you by the throat for 40 wicked minutes, and you won’t protest for one second. The cliché all killers, no fillers is so accurate here.
No arty farty tricks, no unnecessary overdubs, no useless volume exaggerations.
The production is flawless, and is an instrumental factor for the overall organic
resonance of this expressive exploit.
TUTV: Loudmouths Andrew Falkous and Damien Sayell still spit and sneer their 4 lungs
out and rip politicians to shreds while they wield their razor-sharp axes. Chainsaw guitars everywhere, backed by a hellacious drum/bass duo. And they’re still maddening masters when it comes to search and destroy punk havoc.
Press info: An intense and raw reflection
of grief, trauma, and the desire for healing.
‘A Mass In The Water’ roughly describes the last day of Wolf Vanwymeersch‘s father,
who took his own life during a psychotic episode. The album balances between
mockery, anger, powerlessness, grief, understanding, compassion, and love.
TUTV: It’s both a scary and flabbergasting opus that takes a lot of courage to make and share with the world. The album’s ominous dynamics, distorted vocals, and riff-roasting razzmatazz resonate like if you are listening to the soundtrack of a modern day horror movie.
Vanwymeersch and Wholes created their own Dante’s Inferno.
Bloodcurdling, pitch-black, and bone-chilling. Helter-skelter.
TUTV: Nele Janssen bewitches with her crystalline voice and enchanting piano play. Intimate, passional and heartfelt. From a Peuk scream to a solo whisper. A beautiful,
soul-stirring record that silences you from start to finish.
Eleven bittersweet reveries for the midnight hours. Stony Beds is an ideal companion
for cold winter nights, while relaxing with dimmed light on your couch and your favourite drink at hand.
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.
NME: “A record that 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 full-lengths of the year. Hands down.
TUTV: TAP funk and punk, buzz and fuzz, move and groove on this voltaic
record. They shoot a series of titanic tunes from their hips with a hair-raising
impact.
Avalanche Party have become masterly songwriters who know exactly how to construct adrenalized knockout killers with the right combination of roasting riffs, jagged hooks, bang-on licks, powerhouse drumming, effervescent synths and sultry horns here and there. Stupendous record.
TUTV: With The Clearing, the changing, musical process since their debut LP is complete. It’s now more ELLIE + THE WOLF (yes, FLORENCE + THE MACHINE territory) than before. Pop music in all its seducing and alluring ways. It’ll make them superstars in and outside the UK.
Laurenne: “The songs were written in the style of vintage jazz standards, but are then drenched with Rhodes piano and sparkling horn parts, with upright bass and triphop beats holding down a groovy, downtempo feel underneath. The vocals are the polar opposite of my garage rock sound in The Darts – in Black Viiolet, I am quietly telling you secrets in the dark.
TUTV: After You is delectable music for the midnight hours that massages
your ears for 40 minutes. The most sensual record I heard in a long time.
It transfers you to a place where you can dream away, far from today’s
depressing outside world.
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.
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: 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 traumatic thriller
you can’t escape from without knowing the end of the story.
Press Info: “This album, was born from the difficult experience of the floods that hit Valencia on October 29, 2024. During this time, the duo lost part of their studio and actively participated in the cleanup efforts in their city.
The Valencian duo offers six tracks (plus two digital bonus tracks) to remind us that despite
the difficulties we may face, we must always fight to get ahead, get back on our feet, and not
be swept away by the current.”
TUTV: Eight titanic techno thrills, eight 90s inspired trance tunes. Think Chemical Brothers, The Orb and The Prodigy. The pair’s Mire Chronicles have a hammering impact on their post-drama demons. At the end of the traumatic tunnel there’s a Spammerheads light that
illuminates a healing future.
Album: LOVE CHANT
Their first in 19 years,
their 11th overall.
TUTV: Dando has resurrected himself and his band gloriously. Now and then he touches turbulent memories from the past and does some soul-searching again, but you can feel he’s truly happy, healthy and excited to be here in great artistic shape. A welcome reaffirmation of The Lemonheads‘ riveting pop mastery.
TUTV: Writing songs is Doherty‘s oxygen. He has music running through his veins.
Enter this new solo album. A collection of daily life tunes that puts a smile on your
face. The man entertains, charms and shows his inspiring skills once again. It’s clear
that the French air stimulates his productivity. Poetry in motion.
Artist: MARK STEWART Who: One of the most adventurous/inventive/original post-punk & dub artists/performers
ever. He was a founding member of genre-bending new wave group The Pop Group and released lots of solo and collaborative records. Unfortunately, he passed away 2 years ago,
only 62.
As a prolific solo artist, he scored 7 LPs, collaborated with countless
other artists, and caused poignant waves with his Mafia outfit.
Album: THE FATEFUL SYMMETRY
His 8th solo LP, released posthumously
by Mute Records.
Album artwork
TUTV:Stewart expresses again his mixed emotions about humanity and its messy planet. Both pessimistic and optimistic reflections, but always with sparks of hope. Musically, it’s
a very accessible pop work with several crooning musings.
His characteristic, captivating voice, both heartrending and heartwarming at the same time, feels so real, so close, and as always, engaged and genuine. Mark Stewart was one
of a kind and will always be in my book.
TUTVTalkin To The Trees brings Young‘s 1975 masterwork Tonight’s The Night instantly
to mind, sonically that is. Raw and rough, as if the LP was recorded live in one take, in
a garage with lots of echo and plenty of ramshackle guitars, buzzing electricity and Young‘s characteristic, ardent vocals. Very familiar, very entertaining.
It’s vintage Young, musically and thematically, wondering about the world’s future, warning for environmental pollution dramas, difficult times to come for our children, and the need of a big positive change.
They met in 2022 at the SXSW festival. They met again while exhibiting visual
and conceptual art pieces in London and began recording together early
last year.
Album: LIMINAL
The duo’s third in only 5 months.
Talking about a fertile collaboration
TUTV: I always loved and embraced Eno‘s sonic ambient paintings, his chimerical and fanciful synth symphonies with its calming impact and starry-eyed radiance. Liminal is another Eno opus I added to my headphone music playlist for psychological relaxation.
An invitation to ease your mind and ears in their
phantasmagorical universe. A record to cherish.
The LP is an intense and raw reflection of grief, trauma, and the desire for healing.
‘A Mass In The Water’ roughly describes the last day of Wolf Vanwymeersch‘s father,
who took his own life during a psychotic episode. The album balances between
mockery, anger, powerlessness, grief, understanding, compassion, and love.
TUTV: It’s a both scary and flabbergasting opus that takes a lot of courage to make and share with the world. The album’s ominous dynamics, distorted vocals, and riff-roasting razzmatazz resonate like if you are listening to the soundtrack of a modern-day horror movie.
Vanwymeersch and Wholes created their own Dante’s Inferno.
Bloodcurdling, pitch-black, and bone-chilling. Helter-skelter.
TUTV: Just one spin and I knew this LP was a winner. Ace tune, after ace tune, after
ace tune. Guitar pop at its most move ‘n groove exciting. In the middle, vocalist and
guitarist Maisie Everett draws all attention. Wonderful voice, striking performance.
And she’s backed by a well-oiled rockin’ engine. Trust me, these Aussies are going
places, very soon.
TUTV: Nele Janssen bewitches with her crystalline voice and enchanting piano play. Intimate, passional and heartfelt. From a Peuk scream to a solo whisper. A beautiful,
soul-stirring record that silences you from start to finish.
Eleven bittersweet reveries for the midnight hours. Stony Beds is an ideal companion
for cold winter nights, while relaxing with dimmed light on your couch and your favourite drink at hand.
TUTV: PP offer sinewy pieces of a high rock-punk-and-blues calibre,
all delivered with lots of gusto and bold brio. They fuzz and buzz
throughout the whole record. 40 minutes of barbed electricity.
Artist: MAVIS STAPLES Who: Legendary soul/blues/rock voice who, along with family, had a long and
greatly accomplished career under the name ofThe Staple Singers (1948-1994).
She’s 86 now, singing and swinging like a 36-year-old.
Produced by Brad Cook, the album spans seven decades of the American songbook,
a range nearly as vast as Mavis’ career, and includes reinventions of timeless songs
by Tom Waits, Sparklehorse, Gillian Welch, Frank Ocean and more.
Cook imagined an album in the tradition of Nitty Gritty Dirt Band‘s Will the Circle Be Unbroken, a group of artists coming together to celebrate community. In this case,
one centered on Mavis. Collaborators include Buddy Guy, Bonnie Raitt, Jeff Tweedy, Derek Trucks, Katie Crutchfield, MJ Lenderman, and Justin Vernon.
WHOLES is the new musical project of Belgian, musical chameleon Wolf Vanwymeersch who played with several bands over the years (pop, punk, rock, sludge metal) and released a pure singer-songwriter pearl with solo debut album The Early Years back in 2022.
Wholes are what remains after a soul has been detonated, what struck those around
it, what could no longer be contained says Wolf. They just released their debut LP, titled A MASS IN THE WATER. A pitch-black noizz and very personal record about Vanmymeersch losing his beloved father.
It’s a both scary and flabbergasting opus that takes a lot of courage to make and share with the world. Turn Up The Volume had a chat about it with Wolf, but first a sonic intro
with ‘Till We Don’t Meet Again‘, which was the album’s first single.
Can you remember a day you weren’t involved in music in the past few decades?
“Music isn’t a choice or a hobby for me; it’s a current that runs underneath everything. Even on the days I don’t play or write, it’s always there. A single word in a conversation can spark something, a sound in the street can open a door. There’s always something playing in the back of my mind.”
What does your new project/band’s name stand for?
“WHOLES refers to what remains after a soul explodes — the pieces, the shards,
the echoes. It’s about scars as much as openings: holes and the spaces where new
light can enter. It also references the Whole, The desire to feel connected with
everyone and everything.
The name is raw and hopeful at the same time,
and that’s exactly where our music lives.”
Suppose WHOLES was an animal.
Which one would it be and why?
“A crow. Something living between life and decay, clever, restless, unafraid of
darkness yet still strangely beautiful. A creature that’s always collecting things
and suddenly takes off when you least expect it.
Or a cockroach: it thrives in the cracks, survives the loudest blasts, and refuses
to disappear. It’s the noise that keeps living long after the room has gone quiet.
Or a cow? WHOLES is like a cow in a storm, usually placid, almost meditative,
but when it moves, the earth itself shakes. The music carries that same mix
of calm, menace, and unstoppable presence.”
The debut album A MASS IN THE WATER has just
been released. What’s the story behind the title?
“As crazy and morbid as it sounds, I found my dead father in a brook De Schorre. Hence Poids Lourd etc… It’s also a Mass in the sense of
a Requiem.
The album, much like the title, is about confronting grief, carrying it,
and letting it shape the sound without being consumed by it.”
My first impressions went from scary to flabbergasting.
Is the maker of this pitch-black record the freakiest
Mr. Hyde ever?
(laughs) “Maybe. WHOLES is definitely my Mr. Hyde,
the part that rages, distorts, and refuses to sit still.
But it feels less like Mr. Hyde taking over from Jekyll and more like both of them
finally being allowed to speak at the same time. The darkness in the record is real,
it’s simply the only way I could express certain emotions without filtering or
polishing them.”
It’s a very personal work dealing with the loss of your
beloved father. Now that the album is out, do you feel
some sort of healing?
“Making this album didn’t heal me, but it gave the grief a shape. It let me confront emotions I couldn’t otherwise articulate: the grief, the rage, the confusion. Sharing
it doesn’t erase the loss, but it transforms it: it becomes something external,
something that can move, resonate, and exist beyond me.
Playing this music live, in front of people, takes it
even further, it transcends the pain and the grief.”
The singles’ and LP’s artwork visualise your demons, I suppose.
Quite impressive. Can you tell us more about it?
“Yes, the artwork is very much an extension of the music and the emotions behind it. Maxime Rouquart, who created all the visuals, and I sat down and listened to the album together.
I shared some sketches and stylistic guidelines, for example, my interest in wood engraving and lithography, and then he did his thing, producing some truly beautiful
work. Niek Devos from PRINTBAaR handled the screen printing, giving the art a special finishing touch that really completes the whole experience.”
What’s your favorite track and why?
“My favorites change from day to day, today I’ll pick ‘Holes’ because it’s the only song that speaks directly TO my father. In lines like ‘to make you whole again / sleep well my friend / hope your nightmares end / from wayback when / and help the man to fill them holes again and make you whole again’.
As if I’m consoling him, singing a lullaby to soothe his pains.”
. Suppose A MASS IN THE WATER was the soundtrack
of a movie. Which one would it be and why?
“If A MASS IN THE WATER were the soundtrack of a movie, it would be something
raw, and unflinching, a film where grief, chaos and beauty coexist. Where time
slows down and emotions speak through textures and images.
In that sense, it could work perfectly with Sirât: a father searches for his missing
daughter in the desert and the world around them spirals into utter chaos. Our album’s
tension, intensity and immersive sound would mirror the film’s themes, the landscape’s
harshness and the emotional weight of the story.”
What can we expect from WHOLES in 2026?
“In 2026, you can expect more shows and a deeper dive into the sonic language we’re developing. We’re rehearsing new songs — not sure if we’ll release them this year — but we’re only at the beginning.”
Thank you, Wolf, for this revealing interview.
May the road rise with Wholes.
Band: WHOLES Who: A fresh, rowdy hit team led by Belgian, musical chameleon Wolf Vanwymeersch,
who played with several bands (pop, rock, sludge metal) and released a pure singer-songwriter pearl with solo debut album The Early Years back in 2022. Wholes are what remains after a soul has been detonated, what struck those around it, what could no longer be contained.
Album:A MASS IN THE WATER.
Out this Friday, November 14th.
Pre-order/buy HERE. Your Xmas
will never be the same again.
Press info: “The full album is an intense and raw reflection of grief, trauma, and the desire
for healing. ‘A Mass In The Water’ roughly describes the last day of Wolf Vanwymeersch’s father, who took his own life during a psychotic episode. The album balances between mockery, anger, powerlessness, grief, understanding, compassion, and love.
All the emotions that accompany suicide are reflected in the songs. Dark, haunting lyrics intertwine with distorted voices, atonal fuzz guitars, and explosive outbursts. Experimental
riffs and hypnotic rhythms meet noise, punk, metal, and avant-garde. ‘A Mass In The Water’
is a powerful portrait of transience, emotional scars, and the human urge to face and
process pain, and find a fragile yet essential path to reconciliation.”
