ANDY BELL, the vocalist of synth-pop duo Erasure (19 albums since 1985) featuring former Depeche Mode/Yazoo keyboardist/songwriter Vince Clarke has released his
3rd solo album, titled TEN CROWS
Press info: “The new album features 10 brand new tracks of dazzling, joyous pop,
inspired by the dancefloor and gospel, which includes an incredible collaboration
with Andy Bell’s idol Debbie Harry. Ten Crowns was written with, and produced by,
the Grammy-winning US producer, remixer and DJ, Dave Audé.”
TUTV: It’s back to the disco 80s with Bell‘s new longplayer. It’s stuffed with
familiar sounding electro pop sparklers that trigger your limbs and make
you put on your glittery outfit and run to the dance floor.
Simple tunes, but oh so zestful and enchanting, making it a pop-ular record
for nightclubbers. It closes with touching track Thank You, celebrating everybody
who joined him on his (long) musical ride.
TUTV: Post-punk aggression at its Mclusky‘s sharp-biting best,
gas-powered by a cast iron bass/drum tandem, schizo guitars
and Falkous‘s intimidating sneering.
“‘Politics on the Internet’ is about caring for yourself enough not to engage in the beast battle
all the time. You can talk to your brothers, parents, and friends. Prioritize your family and fight locally. Flinging verbal excrement at a screen isn’t the way. Love yourself, love others. Love, sex, being strong through kindness, the weight of political turmoil and technology on what is human in humanity.”
TUTV: Blimey. This pyrotechnics juggernaut has a knockout vehemence
that floors you in 150 seconds. To hell with shitty politics on the Internet,
these motherrockers are the real riff-raging deal.
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.
Track: MEMORY OF YOU
First shared taster from Stewart‘s solo album The Fateful Symmetry,
that was completed early 2023, not long before his passing.
TUTV: Haunting, synth-symphonic and boom-tastic
with Mark‘s characteristically energetic voice on top.
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.
It’s a darkly-energised, female-first retelling of
writer/poet Alfred Noyes classic 1906 romantic
poem.
TUTV: These four musical mavericks don’t care about rock ‘n’ roll rules. Only 4 singles in, and it’s clear they do what they want, the way they want, annex unseen visual presence on stage and in video clips. On Highwayman they rattle and brattle full speed ahead motorized by restless drum/bass teamwork.
Here and there the tune, goes, eh, out of tune, and it sounds totally perfect for this emotional belter. No arty farty production for TNE. Winder-Lind‘s awesomely agitated vocals put a spell on you. Pure present-day punk. I want more.
The accompanying, eye-catching video is quite special too.
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.
TUTV: Stoner rock dynamics and spiky garage blues disturbance work together to inject your eager ears with doom and gloom disturbance. Like dark clouds predicting a storm, like demons challenging each other, eye to eye, face to face. Wolf’s near-whispering, Josh Homme-esque vocals complete the ominous sonic picture.
Band: ARCADE FIRE Who: The famous pop-rock
collective from Canada.
Track:YEAR OF THE SNAKE
First single from their forthcoming 7th album, named Pink Elephant ready for release on May 9th. 2025 is
the ‘year of the snake‘ in the Chinese Zodiac.
TUTV: It’s a sublime, crystalline pop pearl, with its hypnotizing guitar riff, the non-stop
banging drum beat and the intertwined, spellbinding vocals of Win Butler and his spouse Régine Chassagne.
Artist:ANDY BELL Who: Best known as vocalist of British synth-pop duo Erasure with
former Depeche Mode/Yazoo keyboardist/songwriter Vince Clarke.
Track: HEART’S A LIAR
Newest single from his upcoming 3rd solo album Ten Crows,
which lands this Friday, on May 2nd. It features Blondie icon Debbie Harry.
TUTV: Two glamourous voices, one glamourous disco
tune. It’s a fervid break-up pop gem to fill dance floors
with.
Artist: LIFE COACH Who: The musical project of singer-songwriter-poet Jamie Cameron. Hailing from
the Scottish Borders, the music blends lo-fi beats, synths and guitars with spoken word lyrics in which he discusses subjects ranging from politics and premonitions to self help culture, and a modern society obsessed with economic thinking.
Track: SQUADDIES IN HAIR NETS
Piece taken from the upcoming 2nd album, named ‘A Love Letter To Your Yearning Heart’, which is due for
release on May 30th.
TUTV: Life Coach are on fire, again. This new rattling rap ‘n’ punk roll crackerjack
swings you forth and back, left and right and Jamie Cameron’s adrenalizing word-flow
energizes all of your insatiable limbs before he relaxes towards the synthy end. Another kinetic kick. Hands up for the coach.
Tim Baker (founder and creative director): “The best of what we do in one song,
it’s a tune that really carries the soul of everything good we have stood for over the
last ten years”.
TUTV: Expect electrifying energy from the kick-off. Delirious guitars set the haywire tone and hyperventilating vocals augment the buzzing fuzz. A modern-day post-punk roller coaster.
TUTV: Only two singles in, and it’s already clear that Salvia‘s songwriting skills,
and her impressive vocal performance will bring her musical journey pretty far.
You And Me is an entrancing jam with a rotating guitar riff that gets under your skin
from start to finish. Salvia‘s seductive vocals match the trancy vibe perfectly well.
Today Ghent, next week Belgium, next month the world.
Artists: peach I melba Who: Queer femme indie duo,
half Brighton and half Los Angeles.
Track: WORST TRIMESTER
With blistering lyrics delivered at a rapped pace, the riot grrrl duo
explore the gender politics of pregnancy, in their style of both members
singing every word together over minimalist bass guitar and driving drums.
TUTV: There’s good news and bad news. Bad news first? World peace is an illusion.
From the moment Adam & Eve fucked up, shit started to happen and dirty wars are
still fought, its part of human nature.
The good news? These two DIY Amazons swear to release a new song every six weeks until world peace has been fully achieved. So, we’re ready for a looooong wild and rough ride, starting with this fun, outspoken and catchy 100% indie thrill. Don’t miss their bus, all you music junkies out there.
TUTV: Frontwoman Hannah Vandenbussche‘s voice is the heartbeat of this fresh
act, composed of experienced musicians. With Shadow they released their 4th single.
A spellbinding and haunting piece of captivating music, moving around a bewitching
guitar riff. Tension in the air throughout. Compelling tune. Sugarbunny is going places.
Band: LEDHER BLUE Who: The product of two distinctively different individuals, Zé and Pedro,
that the waves of life comically decided to beach in a northern town of Portugal – Guimarães.
Track: CRAIC
Piece from their brand new, excellent debut
album, titled Fait Divers. Stream it here
TUTV: What starts as a both moody and amplified reflection, explodes
on the let’s all sing together chorus, like if this cracking anthem was recorded
at a Premier League football game. It sticks after one spin. Score!
TUTV: When I just say that my excited ears hear jangly Parquet Courts echoes, you already should get excited too. The sharp-edged riffage, explosive eruptions now and then, and fidgety vocals will drive your mind and stereo mad.
Band: VIRGINS Who: Belfast-based shoegaze band who transcend that reductive tag to deliver a noise which is thrillingly loud and weightily light. Last year they released their notable debut album nothing hurt and everything was beautiful.
TUTV: Heavenly melodiousness, edged layers of shoegazing guitars, forceful
drumming, crystalline vocals, and a non-stop bass riff pushing the pace
throughout combine for a breathtaking score.
TUTV: From the first chord on Donat takes you on a head-twisting and power-driven
trip. No brakes, no breaks. Always pedal to the metal. Raise your voice and absorb
this flat-out ripper. Bingo.
TUTV: Never a dull guitar-pop moment with this seasoned Swedish combo. This lazy tune, for lazy days is one that Scottish melancholic heroes Teenage Fanclub would be proud of. It feels as if Spring invites you to have a feel-good Summer.
ANDY BELL, vocalist of British synth-pop duo Erasure with former Depeche Mode/Yazoo keyboardist/songwriter Vince Clarke, go a long way back. Since 1985, they have released 18 LPs.
Both musicians also write/record/release as solo artists.
As announced before Bell has another solo full-length bagged.
He named it Ten Crows, and it will see the light of day on May 2nd.
For taster #4 we get his duet with Blondie‘s icon Debbie Harry for
a fervid break-up pop gem. Two fabulous voices, one fabulous tune.
Artist: ANDY BELL Who: Veteran musician best known as a member
of British shoegaze old-timers Ride and temporary
bassist for Oasis.
He recorded/released (so far) 7 longplayers, with
last year’s Interplay unquestionably their best.
Bell needs a space of his own and released a couple of
collaboratives and a couple of solo albums. And here’s
his brand new one, his 3rd, titled PINBALL WANDERER.
Press info: “The albums is an otherworldly collection of intergalactic wizardry that
mixes psychedelic melodies, Can-via-The Stone Roses grooves and Arthur Russell-style experimental textures.
With guest appearances from Dot Allison and Neu! legend Michael Rother on a cover of The Passions’ peerless post-punk classic ‘I’m In Love With A German Film Star’, it is perfect for both deep-listening headphones moments and cutting across the coolest, most understated dancefloors.”
AllMusic says: “The essence that Bell distills on Pinball Wanderer is one of happy
exploration, indeed wandering from one creative idea to the next with very little second guessing or restraint. If there are any unfinished thoughts or untidy loose ends in that approach, they’re easily outshined by the feeling of radiant joy that carries the album.”
TUTV: Bell, is as we known him for years now, a vivid vibe aficionado. He confirms
his appetite once again here with subtly funky and boogielicious jams. Think Madchester‘s rave and wave champions The Stones Roses. Glittering guitar rhythms, bouncy bass riffs, breezy synths and other psychedelic dynamics create a light-hearted ambiance for some
shadow dancing.
Artist: ANDY BELL Who: Veteran musician best known as a member
of British shoegaze old-timers Ride and temporary
bassist for Oasis.
Track: APPLE GREEN UFO
Piece from his 5th solo longplayer,
named ‘Pinball Wanderer’, out on Feb 28.
Bell: “I had this riff on an acoustic and it was kind of like one of those Led Zeppelin folk bangers, but I brought it into the Serge Gainsbourg world and gave it a glass of absinthe.
The lyrics imagine if I met an alien and had to show them around Earth, what would I want
to show them? It also references The Simpsons’ Mr Burns (“I bring you love”) and ET (“If you’re lonely, phone home”).
I would like to highlight the ‘ring modulated’ fuzz guitar solo, which I couldn’t have made without an effect pedal called Randy’s Revenge’ by Fairfield Circuitry – my favourite company. This is not an ad!”
New Stone Roses track? No, actually
an old one, their 1989 cracker Fools Gold
Interpreted by the sound and vision of Andy Bell.
Similar tune, similar groove, similar swagger.
In order to not miss a beat TURN UP THE VOLUME scans the musical horizon
daily, for 10 years now in 2025, to pick ace tracks and add 10 new rad ones, every
week, to the one and only JUKEBOX that matters.
ALL TOGETHER
.
This week’s 10 fresh ones. TRACK BY TRACK
Press photo by Destiny Robb
Band: CHARM SCHOOL Who: The latest project from Andrew Sellers who, originally from Louisville (KY),
has paid his dues in both the NYC and LA DIY music scenes, and his various bands
have played with seminal acts like Joan of Arc, Grizzly Bear & At The Drive-In.
Track: WITHOUT A DOUBT
Cut from their upcoming LP, titled ‘Debt Forever‘,
out on January 24th. More info here
Album artwork
Sellers about the track: “It’s by far the most pensive, melancholic song on the record, and it seems fitting that it’s coming out right now, amidst all the turbulence in the world. The main theme of this new record is financial uncertainty (or just uncertainty in general), so the main thing I remember about this song is the refrain “Please don’t let me run out of money” coming out randomly during practice one day.”
Interpol guitar echoes are the backbone of
this glorious mid-tempo gem. Close your eyes
and lose yourself in this riveting masterstroke.
Artist: ERIC SCHROEDER Who: Very productive San Diego-born songwriter and multi-instrumentalist
who released no less than 5 albums in just 4 years and a new one is waiting
in the pipeline.
Track: EMILY
Piece from his new, forthcoming LP
named Cat’s Game out on April 11.
The lyrics speak to a lost love, as he sings, “I long to be where the colors tease, and her love concedes” with wounded swagger benefitting the paradoxical paradise of psychic devotion. There’s a unique form of bittersweet American poetry in Schroeder’s ability to make you feel the weight of longing with every lancing line.
A guitar-infused earworm from start to finish.
Catchy as hell. This classy cracker will stay with
you for a long time.
Artist: MR BILLY FRITZGERALD Who: Dublin-based solo artist writing lush indie-pop songs
that simultaneously bathe in the faded light of heartbreak
while pulling you on to the dancefloor.
Track: LET US BE (SINGLE)
Song from his upcoming debut album,
titled ‘A Grand Romantic Gesture’, out on
Feb 20th.
Lyrically the track explores the theme of being with someone when everyone else thinks it’s a bad idea. Billy draws on his own experience, while growing up and learning how to be in a relationship and developing those tools, inevitably and regrettably, people get hurt along the way. Here he delves into this, as he declares love and devotion while facing down the barrage of words against the union. A true Romeo and Juliet story.
Tremendous intro. Infectious upper
juiced with sparkling guitar play,
a puissant, foot-tapping drum beat
and intensive vocals.
Artist: ANDY BELL Who: Veteran musician best known as a member
of British shoegaze old-timers Ride and temporary
bassist for Oasis.
Track: I’M IN LOVE…
His cover of The Passions’ sweet 1981 tune I’m In Love With A German Filmstar.
It features Dot Allison & Neu!’s Michael Rother. It’ll be on his 5th solo longplayer,
named ‘Pinball Wanderer’, out on Feb 28.
Bell: “I went through a stage of playing
the guitar part for that song at every
Ride soundcheck.”
“’Dream Pixel’ is about what we all see in our dreams; the colours, sounds
and occurrences that are often too surreal to put into words and leave you
questioning how the subconscious can paint such a vivid, psychedelic picture.”
Combining 70s inflected, layered vocals with psych-tinged, Gordian instrumentation that darts and weaves around broken beat rhythms, the track throbs with moments of intense saxophone, distorted guitars, mangled electronics, trembling synths, and reversed vocals. It’s another valiant testament to the band’s conscious effort to continually challenge their songwriting, told via Dan Carey’s explorative creative filter.
Album artwork
It’ll be part of the band’s debut album All In The Game, out 7 March.
Mesmerizing psych-pop jam
going left/right, driven by
a multi-instrumental groove.
The capricious saxophone
finale messes up your mind.
The slowly haunting, intoxicating and hypnotizing progression
at play here, the psychedelic orchestration and ghostly vocals
combine for an enticing experience.
Band: MY MORNING JACKET Who: Renowned pop-rockers
from Louisville, Kentucky.
Track: TIME WAITED
Piece from their new, 10th LP, named IS.
It arrives on 21st March.
This melancholic ballad
stirs heart and soul.
Magnific return.
Instagram – All Albums
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Artist: PERFUME GENIUS Who: The musical moniker of acclaimed Iowa
singer-songwriter and visual artist Michael Hadreas
Track: IT’S A MIRROR
Lead single from his new 7th LP, baptized Glory,
and out on March 28th. More info here.
“I wrote ‘It’s A Mirror’ while stuck in one of these isolating loops, seeing
that something different and maybe even beautiful is out there but not quite
knowing how to venture out. I have a lot more practice keeping the
door closed.”
PG’s vulnerable vocals
star once more in this
smooth muse.
Artist: ANDY BELL
British singer/guitarist/bassist who played with
Ride and Oasis, Rid again, and solo in between.
New album: FLICKER – a double one Out: 11 February 2022 – order info here
Andy Bell: “When I think about Flicker, I see it as closure. Most literally, on a
half-finished project from over six years ago, but also on a much bigger timescale.
Some of these songs date back to the ’90s and the cognitive dissonance of writing
brand new lyrics over songs that are 20-plus years old makes it feel like it is,
almost literally, me exchanging ideas with my younger self.”
“‘Something Like Love’ is that flame that makes a person who they are.
I wanted to find that in myself, so I went back to the teenage me, a technique
I learned in therapy and have been doing ever since — and got some advice
on how to live and be happy in the 2020” says Bell.
Info: The product of a gradual, four-year process and finished during lockdown,
the album was entirely written and recorded by Andy, engineered by Gem Archer
and mastered by Heba Kadry.
Arts Desk says: “A solo debut that gives us a glimpse of an impressive panorama.
Bell is a gifted songwriter, but here we also get to see his producer’s intellect at work.”
Andy Bell: “I’ve always wanted to make a solo album, I’ve always said I would do it, although
I never imagined it happening like, or sounding like, this one does,” explains Andy. “I’d been sitting on this pile of almost finished tracks, along with all the other hundreds of ideas that had fallen by the wayside since I’ve been making music. Lockdown gave me the opportunity to find a way to present it to the world. “The album is not about songwriting. There aren’t many verses or choruses, because this album is about sounds, a listening experience.”
Turn Up The Volume: “I was hooked from the first spin. A total triumph with layers of psychedelic pop waves from yesterday, played today, for a happier tomorrow.”
ANDY BELL, the man best known for playing years with Ride, Oasis and Ride again drops
his debut solo LP The View From Halfway Down, named after an episode of American animated comedy-drama seriesBojack Horseman, next month.
After sparkling lead single Love Comes In Waves (listen below) we get a second taster. I WAS ALONE is a psychedelic and spacey reverie. “A Spacemen 3-influenced song about dealing mentally with solitude” says Bell.
Ride guitarist ANDY BELL (who also played bass with Oasis for several years and afterward with Liam Gallagher‘s band Beady Eye) has released his first solo single, titled PLASTIC BAG as part of a UK label project, called Sonic Cathedral’s Singles Club series. It’s a one-off 7″ limited to 300 copies. Hear the intimate, dreamy and ambient little tune right here…
