Press info: “New album ‘Der Traum Über Alles’, is compared to their debut a more
considered, full-formed beast, its dark underbelly undoubtedly a result of it being
conceived during and after the caged-animal isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic.
TUTV: This record is a funk and punk, buzz and fuzz, move and groove jukebox. 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.
You’ll hear echoes of Scottish celebs Franz Ferdinand, English post-punks Squid and
rowdy rockers Young Knives, but all 3 references’ new album can’t match the fireworks extravaganza of Der Traum Uber Alles.
The Line Of Best Fit (UK) says: “The album captures the band at their most
independent, revelling in high-energy performances while embracing a broad
eclecticism.”
TUTV: The critics are divided for different reasons. My trained ears tell me that TMC
made their best work so far. Extremely passionate, feverishly absorbing and brutally honest.
Singer-songwriter James McGovern still fights his demons, still delivers soul-stirring vocals and the band still back him up with a vehement boldness. Sterling songs, sterling sound, sterling execution.
KEY SINGLE
ALBUM
. Tour Dates 2025 – Instagram
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Album artwork
Band: CUT THE KIDS IN HALF Who: Boston via Rahway, NJ rock siblings Charlie and Jack Silver, named after Radiohead‘s line in Morning Bell. They bring a fresh approach to the age-old genre with songs sure to make their predecessors proud with catchy hooks and an emotional tenderness.
Press info: “Vignettes of struggle, loss and life come to the forefront, soundtracked by soaring guitars and sticky melodies. Heading to college in Boston, the brothers soon added guitarist Kevin Mortenson and bassist, keyboardist and trumpeter Joey Sorkin to their live trio. A group of native New Jerseyans, Cut the Kids in Half follows in the state’s storied musical tradition of raw but fine-tuned lyricism paired with gritty guitars.”
TUTV: Young, but already sounding as seasoned musicians who know exactly
how to fabricate solid pop/rock songs of high-quality. Whether they speed up,
slow down or groove in between, they grab your aural attention and hold it
from start to finish.
Acoustic and electric guitars, drums and bass, all work together as well-trained
teammates. The vocals are pretty impressive, full of vim and vigour. With this
highly promising debut these kids will become talk of the indie town quite soon.
MOJO Magazine: “The combination of Schultz’s desperately appealing voice and
Fraites’s lonesome but poppy piano still hits hard. They’re still doing things right.”
TUTV: These are ecstatic days for folk rock-pop fans with the new album from The Luminineers. The Lathums‘ 3rd one, titled Matter Does Not Define, which lands on 7th March and Mumford & Sons 5th, named Rushmere, which comes out on March 25th.
Except for anthemic, upbeat openers So Long and Asshole they entice with a series
of sepia-colored torch songs, passional musings and picturesque balladry. C’mon,
all you romantic hearts, lit some candles and enjoy the longing melodrama at play
here.
Artist: GHOST ON TV Who:Boston-based alternative singer-songwriter who found himself in Japan several years ago, wandering back alleys, absorbing a more spiritual sense of culture, and embracing a kind of creative balance that had previously eluded him. There, he understood the art of being quietly loud and, as he puts it bluntly, to “be impactful with less.”
With this record, disparate elements of styles and sounds are wrapped tightly around a rock music core. And like a back alley of Tokyo, what lurks on the other side, beyond what our mind perceives, may not be what we first anticipated. When DePasquale looked beyond what was right in front of him, Ghost on TV truly found its rhythm.
DePasquale: “Some of these songs are about being tired of all the noise, and some are about getting old, losing memories, getting older and becoming wiser, standing up for yourself, being bold, and also just knowing your humbled place in the world.”
The album’s artwork is a photograph of DePasquale and a friend, backs turned, walking through Tokyo’s back alleys in search of a hidden cocktail bar, with elements of bright new technology jostling with old-school decay, reflects a scene like something out of a dystopian film, drawing us deeper into this world.
TUTV: Beneath all the distortion, sonically and vocally, there’s always a galvanizing
groove generated mostly by a busy bass, that carries the songs and infuse them with
a magnetizing hauntingness which turns the record into an eerie trip you need to repeat
a couple of spins to let it sink in. Don’t get lost in translation, people.
Press info: “The band’s 2019 debut LP ‘24 Carat Diamond Trephine’ spurts forth a
spectrum of styles, leaping from frenetic garage-psych to sedate surrealistic Americana to staccato uplifting indie rock over the course of its thirty-nine minutes. New album ‘Der Traum Über Alles’, is compared to their debut a more considered, full-formed beast, its dark underbelly undoubtedly a result of it being conceived during and after the caged-animal isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic.
For all its urgency, the making of the LP required near-superhuman patience from the band. Recorded in November 2022 with Dave Catching (Queens of the Stone Age, Eagles of Death Metal) at Rancho de la Luna – his beautifully eccentric home studio on the edge of Joshua Tree National Park, California – Avalanche Party were set to be there two years before, but had to wait for the US border to reopen after repeated lockdowns Stateside.
Swapping subterranean Teesside for this magical, hazardous desert landscape populated with rattlesnakes, scorpions and cholla cacti, the band recorded ‘Der Traum Über Alles’ in just ten days. The idiosyncrasies of malfunctioning equipment were embraced as the band blazed through the songs, Catching’s laidback mastery of his own beaten-up equipment ensuring each track felt like a spontaneous eruption after so many months of suspended animation.”
TUTV: Warning. If your physical condition is only so-so, hurry up to the gym and work out for a week, if not you won’t be able to catch up with this mean funk and punk, buzz and fuzz, move and groove machine record.
Your ears will go berserk non-stop, as AP shoot a series of titanic tunes from their hips (John Coltrane’s Moscow Skyscraper / Nureyev Said It / No Neutral / Serious Dance Music / Target and my standout fav belters Shake The Slack and Ecstasy). Even when they slow down just a tiny bit like on Slinky and Chainz your limbs still can’t relax (as if you want
to do that, anyway).
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.
You’ll hear echoes of Scottish celebs Franz Ferdinand, English post-punks Squid and
rowdy rockers Young knives but all 3 references’ new album can’t match the fireworks extravaganza of Der Traum Uber Alles.
Album of the week, not only this one, but many weeks to come.
Singles: John Coltrane’s Moscow Skyscraper / Shake The Slack /
Nureyev Said It Best / Collateral Damage
Rough Trade says: “After picking up with they left off, hitting the road with mentors
…And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead, they found their way to the hallowed Rancho De La Luna studio in California’s Joshua Tree in 2022 to record their follow up album, engineered and produced by Dave Catching (QOTSA, Iggy Pop, Arctic Monkeys).”
Band: STRAND Who: Power pop quartet from Dublin, Ireland which
changed their group’s name from Soundstrand to just Strand.
Track: PROGRESS
Their first single as Strand, part from their
upcoming 5-track EP that’ll land early next
year.
“Progress is a song about changing places, people and times.”
TUTV: Epic. Grandiose. Staggering. Amplified guitar-pop at its mind-blowing best.
Get the exciting picture? Progress has a promptly goosebumps impact. It’s one of
those not-everyday puissant standout tunes that overwhelms your emotions from
the first listen.
TUTV: I have no clue what this vociferous punk headbutt has to do with
the late legendary jazz saxophonist John Coltrane, but this deafening
wall-of-hells-bells havoc we experience here isn’t exactly a bebop tune.
Imagine two trains coming from opposite directions at an insane
speed crashing into each other. That’s what happens here. Beware.
Band: DITZ Who: Post-punk dropouts
from Brighton, UK.
The turbulent bohemians have their sophomore LP, named Never Exhale. It’ll show up on 25 January 2025. Pre-order
info here.
Track: SPACE/SMILE
TUTV: Space/Smile is a slash/trash stormer, pushed by fulminating percussion,
schizo guitars and fronman Francis‘ spitting and sneering, fueled by his three
lungs, without breathing, for 108 seconds. DITZ is a mean raging machine.
They mess up your head, whether you like it or not.
Band: HEARTWORMS Who: Psych-pop act led by fast up-and-coming British songstress Jojo Orme.
They drew a lot of aural attention with last year’s EP A Comforting Notion.
The band have now announced details of their debut LP. It’s baptized Glutton For Punishment and will land on 25th February 2025.
Warplane is a head-over-heels missile that speeds up sky-high from the get-go, propelled by a disco-vibe infused synth/guitar/bass collaboration and Orme‘s feverish vocals rollin’ all over it. Every time the choir-like chorus comes up your adrenalin’s production doubles . Supersonic stunner.
Press info: A light-hearted, humorous, autobiographical documentation of a semi-dramatic nervous breakdown that happend when “one morning all plans went pear-shaped and patience went down the drain”. No longer feeling the need to pretend that everything is shiny and running smoothly, Koan lets rip on this catchy tongue-in-cheek art-pop tune. Influenced by her favourite artist Baxter Dury (yes, the son of).
TUTV: Koan‘s most explicit, unbridled and personal reflection/introspection
so far, bundled in a sensual bass-juiced melody with a nightclub vibe. Explicit?
Well, life itself is explicit, right? Let us dump our shit, ignore what people think,
and feel loose.
Band: GIRL TONES Who: High-energy rock duo brought to life by two sisters, Kenzie and Laila. Both classically trained musicians, Kenzie transitioned from cello to guitar and Laila from piano to drums in an effort to electrify sentient beings from this galaxy to the next.
TUTV: Who needs a Hole reunion if we have these two rock chicks who challenge your
stereo’s potency with inflammable swagger and ablaze gusto. Aggressive guitars, battering
drums, fiery vocals, and a hell-bloody-helly-yeah chorus.
Ciarán Fitz (vocalist/guitarist): “This is definitely one of the most outright punkers we have, probably. ‘Scrunched Up Fist’ was literally written in the jam room in 10 minutes. Matthew and James were just playing this thing as I was coming back from a smoke, and I knew I had lyrics
in my phone that would work with it. Added some guitar but not much, and it was donezo”
TUTV: Wham bloody wham bam. Expect a sharp-splitting punk rock juggernaut. Amps up and full steam ahead. No rest for the wicked with this razor-blade cutting, head over heels bombshell spiced with sneering vocals. Wham bloody wah-wah guitars bam. Scrunched Up Fist hits your face really hard. Hurry-scurry stroke.
Band: DHARMA GUNS Who: 4 indie rockers
from Helsinki, Finland.
Track: M.I.D.L.I.F.E. CRISIS
Third shared cut from their upcoming debut LP Ex-Generation Superstars, out November 1st.
Pete (singer): “Some guys buy fast cars and fell for younger women; others purchase expensive guitars and hang them on the wall. And some of us wish to leave a mark in history and/or do the right thing. The verse riff is a bit ‘stonesian’ whereas the chorus of the song is a classical punk rock sing-a-long.”.
TUTV: Yes! Yes! Do you need a badass booster today to get you through the outside
rat race? Here it comes. Dharma Guns offer you a noisy piece of rock’n boogie ‘roll to test your stereo’s resilience with. Think The Black Crowes with a 70s Britpunk attitude. Get the picture? You’ll never get a midlife crisis with these Finnish wackadoos. Yes! Yes!
Track: LET IT LOOSE
Cut from their debut LP Days,
out on November 20.
TUTV: This guitar/drum beat-driven groove melt Southern rock and Motown soul, with its glowing horns and backing gospel vocals. Well, that’s what my ears tell me. Anyway, this catching cracker will active several of your limbs.
Kelly: “It’s about being at the top of your game and being a human under a lot of pressure. It’s about the superficiality of the people you meet, keeping up the facade of fame in the eyes of the world and trying to relate to others… I just had Hollywood in mind for some reason and what it must be like for people who are so famous and desirable they can’t walk down the street. Then what it’s like to be the person who used to be that famous and the shit you get for not being as ‘perfect’ or ‘beautiful’ as you used to be. Washed up, if you will.”
Infectious, mixed emotions piece
that moves and grooves with a
doom and gloom sonority.
Viens: “Most of us do not want to live in a world where LGBTQ+ people are not safe;
where people of color are not safe, or have the same opportunities as whites; where children are being gunned down daily; where books and education are devalued; and where women don’t have control over their own bodies. No candidate is perfect. We must vote while we still can, especially in this election, to ensure that future generations continue to have the sacred power of their freedom, their choices, and their voices.
TUTV: This song was written about 20 years ago by a Boston musician when George W. Bush was running for re-election against Massachusetts’ own John Kerry and it’s highly relevant again.
GWAH, rockers at heart, turned the encouraging tune, into a jaunty country folk pop
gem you can hum, sing and whistle along all day long. Here in Europe, we are also waiting with anticipation for the election results. Whoever wins the White House, it’ll have an impact on the rest of the world. Here in Europe want democracy to prevail, it takes care of humanity in all aspects. While waiting for November 5 , let’s rock the boat, and vote for GWAH today.
Track: A FRAGILE THING
Gloomy piece from their 14th album, their first in 16 years, titled Songs Of A Lost World, and lands on planet Earth tomorrow, Nov 1.
“This song is a fragile thing
This song is my everything
Nothing you can do to change the end
There’s nothing you can do to change the end”
And another shared piece from their new, upcoming 2nd
longplayer, called Der Traum Uber Alles out next year on February 7. Pre-order info here.
New album artwork
TUTV: I have no clue what this vociferous punk headbutt has to do with
the late legendary jazz saxophonist John Coltrane, but this deafening
wall-of-helter-skelter havoc we experience here isn’t exactly a bebop tune.
No, imagine two trains coming from opposite directions at an insane
speed crashing into each other. That’s what happens here. Say no more.
“I realise London has been a constant source of inspiration for me as a songwriter. In my writing it’s always been there on the periphery, but it felt right doing something where my love for the city was front and centre. Over the years, life in the capital has shaped who I am and what I am, so it was nice to pay homage to that.”
From Yorkshire, England here’s vociferous combo AVALANCHE PARTY.
Their mission statement: “I’ll redefine your notion of the best a man can be”.
This pretty wicked squad looks like they have been partying for six days straight and still can’t get enough of going bananas 24/7. The band was formed by brothers Jordan and Joe Bell, who spent summers in their youth in the Yorkshire dales, camping by firelight, and their winters snowed into their isolated hilltop home with nothing but the sounds of Bo Diddley, Link Wray, Wilko Johnson and Jimi Hendrix to keep them company.”
Avalanche Party just released brand new temperamental single PORCELAIN. The scorching track starts with a fierce howl and develops a turbulent groove from there on. What you get is a volcanic mid-tempo eruption. A fierce mixed emotions flare-up that goes ballistic when the tempestuous chorus come on. Scary stuff. These are not your average party people. Thank hell for that. Here comes the blustery discharge…
. PORCELAIN is the title track of their new 4-track EP – 12″ and digital via Clue Records
