‘This was a song I wrote about 10-11 years ago about the first and last time I tried acid.
So I found out later on that the acid strip I took was actually 10 hits of acid and I tripped
for 14 hours so you can imagine how scary it really was.’
TUTV: If you dig new hip-metal-hop sensation Nova Twins you’ll dig Gonzalez too. Trippin‘ starts punky funky and explodes with metallic vehemence when the chorus
breaks through the wall and all hell starts to repeat itself.
Trip it up here.
AUGUST GONZALEZ: Facebook – Instagram
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Artist: NASMORE Who: Experimental composer, songwriter,
and music producer from Canada.
Track: WELCOME TO HELL featuring Neil Taylor (Tears For Fears / Robbie Williams) and vocalist La Strange.
nasmore: “Some songs make you cry, and some songs you skip forward, and then there are songs that immerse you into their world, putting a sarcastic smile on your face and dragging your mind to visit dark places—like Hell, for example. Just for a day? Stay in a hotel situated by the burning sea of lava with a nice view of torture and punishment. Most of us humans do not require a reservation. Just come pick your nightmare, and we will serve it to you cooked to perfection. No matter what your plans are, you are always Welcome to the Hell”
TUTV: Who wouldn’t want to have a peek into hell to know what the fuzz and buzz
is about that fired-up place. nasmore and his accomplices Neil Taylor and spooky vox La Strange obviously have been there and offer us to guide us through the Inferno. If the tour is as eccentrically thrilling as their turbulent welcome stomper I’m in. So should you.
Track: WEAR ME DOWN
From the upcoming 5-track EP Maybe I Like The Misery. out Feb 3rd.
“‘Maybe I Like The Misery’touches on the bedrocks many have come to expect
from the Ten Eighty sound, but that’s not to say it isn’t without its surprises. This
is Ten Eighty Trees pushing the alt rock envelope, evolving into a leaner, more
streamlined beast all whilst maintaining the staple intensity and intoxicating
song writing style.”
TUTV: A tower of titanic guitar vigorousness combined with
out-of-your-mind vocals scrapes the sky with zealous dynamism.
Wowzers.
Check in.
. TEN EIGHTY TREES: Facebook – Instagram
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On first hearing, my ears told me that Swedish pop collective I’m From Barcelona
are back in town with a new psych pop choir chant. My ears were wrong regarding the performer/artist, but totally right about the instant aural impact of this far-out tune.
“The lyrics aren’t about what I personally believe. Everywhere I look people
are spouting their beliefs while contradicting themselves in the same breath.
The world has become so polarizing and I wanted this song to encapsulate
that energy.”
TUTV: Has the world gone mad? Absolutely, for several years now. And with
the recent pandemic, new wars and megalomaniac politicians, there will not a
light be shining at the end of the very long tunnel, for some time. Huffmann processes similar observations into this new melodramatic and riveting cry out with his standout voice as the driving force. Score!
A stream of rattling rippers, jagged jams, and magnific musings
All 20 on Spotify.
.
TRACK BY TRACK
Band: AUS!Funkt Who: Post-punk misfits from Toronto, embracing in the process
the elements of electronica, dub, disco, garage rock and blues
while maintaining grittiness, simplicity, and repetitiveness.
GORILLAZ share new – their 8th – album, titled Cracker Island with the world next year, on 24 February 2023. As usual Damon Albarn invited a big-name cast of guests, like here for this song, called New Gold with Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker and Bootie Brown behind the mic.
Feel the vibe.
GORILLAZ: Instagram – All Albums
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Band: BURN THE LOUVRE Who: The musical project of singer/songwriter Jordan Speare
assisted by guitarist/bassist and friend Andrew Billone
Their debut album Silhouettes lands after all this
year’s singles (one per month) are released. .
Toronto‘s noise generator METZ celebrate the 10th anniversary
of their smashing self-titled debut LP with a new tour.
Along the tour announcement, the trio shared two tracks, of which one is
pretty special. COME ON DOWN features their longtime friend Joe Talbot
of Bristol punks Idles.
Closing cracker AMENDS is my kind of electrical eruption.
It’s an imposing Led-Zeppelin-like heavy blues-rock knockout
including unhinged wah-wah electricity. Nasty stuff!
No, it’s not Jimmy Page on guitar, or is it?
. ON: Facebook – Bandcamp
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American/Celtic punks DROPKICK MURPHYS have their 11th album, named This Guitar Still Kills Fascists out on 30 September. The LP accentuates
the sharp-cutting lyrics of the late great and heavily influential (ask Bob Dylan)
American folk hero Woody Guthrie (1912-1967).
If you’re a Murphys fan you know what to do when
this massive chant ALL YOU FONIES comes on.
Yes, screaming your lungs out.
Band: DEAD LEVEE Who: Old-school no-nonsense five-piece rock
band from Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada.
New singleSHOUT is a wallbreaker, a let-it-all-out loud haymaker.
Think The Black Crows and Guns ‘n Roses have a nasty rollicking riff fight.
I wonder if it’s Axl Rose who’s screaming his head off in the end.
Holy riff smoke.
Play it to the max.
. DEAD LEVEE: Facebook
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(Pic by Turn Up The Volume!)
Boston‘s noise rock icons PIXIES have no intention whatsoever to retire.
They have a new – their 9th – album out on 30th September. It’s baptized Doggerel.
This taster, titled DREGS OF WINE
off the new LP is a burning belter.
Expect a rollicking ripper bucking up all the way. A sterling crackerjack that
scurries full tilt with steamy swagger pushed by a flat-out rhythm section,
storming guitars – think Black Sabbath‘s Paranoid riff – and James‘ lively
vocals. When the sizzling chorus kicks in, it’s go mental time.
Tell all your friends about this exuberant score!
. ALEX JAMES: Facebook – Instagram
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Band: DETROIT REBELLION Who: Singer/songwriter/guitarist Jeff Tostee uniquely exploring
a world of gritty blues and garage rock with drummer Micaiah
Castro, taking their name from the 1967 Detroit Riot
New single: CLAP OF THUNDER
From the forthcoming – 3rd – album Fake News, due this fall.
This red-hot-roaring corker thunders all the way with
turned-up decibels for the psychotic guitar-charged chorus.
Think Queens oF The Stone Age fronted by Jack White.
Next year, on 23 April, they’ll share their new longplayer ATUM: A Rock Opera In Three Acts with the world,
with no less than 33 songs.
The first single is an uppercut called BEGUILED.
A mid-tempo upper with a rotating heavy metal riff.
Nice one, Billy.
. THE SMASHING PUMPKINS: Facebook – Instagram
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Artist: JEEN Who: All-round Canadian singer/songwriter who has written for many recording
artists such as ‘Great Big Sea’, ‘Serena Ryder’, ‘Res’, ‘Hawksley Workman’, ‘Brendan Canning’, ‘FUWA FUWA’, Martin ‘Doc’ McKinney and more. She was a member of ‘Cookie Duster‘ with ‘Brendan Canning‘ of ‘Broken Social Scene‘.
New single: CHEMICAL EMOTION
It’s the lead-off track of new – her 6th – album Tracer, out October 21st.
Jeen: “It’s about letting yourself drift in the flow of everything and hanging
on as hard as you can to what makes the shitty parts more tolerable.”
After only one spin, you’ll know that Chemical Emotion is a mesmerizing humdinger. Jeen‘s emotive voice bewitches right away, the mid-tempo cadence emphasizes
the meditative reflection perfectly, the compelling chorus brings Alanis Morissette
to mind, and overall the orchestral sonority and the layered harmonies lead to
a thrilling triumph.
And I know it sounds trite, but you made impossible possible sometimes
Band: YEAH YEAH YEAHS Who: Pop/rock trio from New York fronted
by the gorgeous Karen O
Today their new – 5th – longplayer Cool it down is out,
their first in 8 years. A few weeks ago my ears started
trembling when single BURNING came through my
speakers.
Artist: AYU Who: Singer/songwriter/producer born in Bern (Switzerland), and living in Hamburg (Germany) delivering a mixture of contemporary pop, future-thinking electronics,
catchy RnB tunes and sweet indie.
AYU seduced me before with her infectious tunes and this one
is another one to embrace. Tremendously sticky with an irresistible I love-you chorus.
Artist: AUGUST GONZALEZ Who: Drawing from an array of influences ranging from hip-hop, indie-pop,
to pop-punk, Gonzalez is an artist that refuses to be put into a box.
Gonzalez serves an effervescent cocktail of hip-hop-pop-rock sparks
inviting you to jump out of your lazy couch for a hip-swaying two-step.
Make your move here…
August Gonzalez: Instagram
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Band: WIDOWS GOLD Who: Riveting rock outfit from Costa Messa, California that
made an auspicious entrance onto the music scene last year.
New single: I CAN’T HELP YOU
From their upcoming debut LP, out January 2013.
Expect a melancholic smooth guitar pop uplifter. The brisk combination of a jaunty rhythm section, flickering guitars, a toe-tapping melody, a contagious chorus, and last but not least Madeline Star‘s soulful and romantic voice, turn I Can’t Help You into a glam gem.
For this new composition, the duo’s minds went down memory lane
to get inspired by the musical preferences of their
adolescent years.
They came back and cemented the experiences of those bygone
times for the future, in a song. The End Of The Beginning is a shoegaze rainbow,
but one that’s sepia colored. The mood is blue-sky, idyllic, and halcyon. So is
the musing’s slo-mo progression, Frøkedal‘s foggy vocals, and the glowing
synth waves.
This is a firm energizer with a resistless pick-me-up groove
and a highly stimulating sonority from start to finish. Its lively
melodiousness, vigorous vivacity and zealous vocality make
you reach for the repeat button again and again.
Princess of the Pearl Pace comes from Sweeney’s forthcoming album – his 4th – Rishi. Inspired by the traumatic birth and unexpected death of his infant daughter in 2018.
The LP’s ‘humble temple of songs’ was mostly written in India, where Sweeney’s family made a return trip to deliver Rishi’s ashes to the Ganges.
The song is a smooth and soothing feel-good reverie about
a feel-very bad experience. Romantic, melancholic and moony.
Princess of the Pearl Palace
All the folks will turn to see
The Princess of the Pearl Palace
Dancing like a wave upon the sea
Princess
when she’s out on the street,
The ground never meets her feet
She couldn’t care less
About your sarcastic mouth
She’s got another face to greet
. LUKE SWEENEY:Facebook
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Band: THE VELVET HANDS Who: A firm London-via-Cornwall four-piece.
“Blending their signature raucous choruses with soaring guitar hooks, the track was
born out of the foursome’s desire to make music that inspires youngsters to form bands.
An uplifting anthem for anyone feeling a bit lost in life, the new cut is punctured
by catchy riffs and melodic build-ups.”
This is indie pop at its indie best. Uplifting, sinewy, and high on life. Jangly guitars, a steadfast rhythm section, yearning vocals, and a club-filling jump-for-joy chorus. Top!
THE VELVET HANDS: Instagram
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Band: THE JAILBIRDS Who: Rockers from Toronto,
dripping with nostalgia, yet fresh.
“We’ve all been there – stuck in a toxic relationship and wondering
how we got ourselves into this mess. Finally, we realize that we’re being
treated like complete crap and we don’t deserve that.”
Sludge is a slow-burning blues rock torch. Screeching guitars,
wham bam drums, febrile vocals, and an overall fiery plangency.
Turn up the heat…
THE JAILBIRDS: Instagram
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Zac Eisenstein (singer): “I have been at home for over four years without a musical outlet. I needed to be here for my family but also my band Man Overboard for the life of us could not get on the same page schedule-wise the past couple of years. This culminated in my starting my own band. This isn’t a side project, this isn’t a little creative endeavor. This is my band now. This is the main band. This is the main project. The show must go on.”
Push Start is a flammable and high-powered pop firecracker bouncing
like a yo-yo with pithy panache, exuberant chants and Fall Out Boy echoes.
Artist: AUGUST GONZALEZ Who: Drawing from an array of influences ranging from hip-hop, indie-pop,
to pop-punk, Gonzalez is an artist that refuses to be put into a box.
Gonzalez: “The world is pretty ugly these days and it’s easy to get lost in it and feel down. I wrote this song for anyone struggling to get through the day – that don’t feel like they’re enough or don’t want to get out of bed. For anyone walking with a heavy weight on their shoulders, just wanting to give up – I want to let them know they’re not alone. I want to tell them not to give up because they are enough and worth fighting for.”
Gonzalez serves an effervescent cocktail of hip-hop-pop-rock sparks
inviting you to jump out of your lazy couch for a hip-swaying two-step.
Make your move here…
August Gonzalez: Instagram
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Band: KODAE Who: A musical collective from Albert, CA ombining their mutual love of modern groove with their connection to nature and mysticism. They are a group of intergenerational musicians with unique backgrounds
“The last couple of years reminded us of the importance of presence and community and as things have opened back up, many of us have fallen into the busy trap of trying to make up for lost time. This song is meant to remind us to savour the moment and regain connection to the world around us.”
This feels good, really good, for your mind, your soul, your heart and also for your itchy hips. The vivid vibe at play here is sensuous, sultry, and simply irresistible. Chic Le Freak guitar snippets, nightclub bass riffs and wonderful vocals. Think of soul starSade. Cool, right? Absolutely.
Band: CROW FOLLOW Who: Risen from the vibe of a diverse and energetic music scene in Boston MA, Crow Follow celebrates and transcends it. They bring glowing brightness to the darkest tunes
Track: IRON BOTTOM SOUND
From their upcoming debut album, out at the end of this month.
“It’s about the music scene, going out, playing out; the underneath places where
local music tends to be. It’s about seeking out the scene. Looking for those badass women playing amazing rock. We have role models amongst them too numerous to name.”
Imagine a sweaty bar with sweaty people movin’ and groovin’ to the heated beats
in the early hours of a long night out. There’s a big chance you’ll see/hear Crow Follow taking care of the vibrant vibes.
