In order to not miss a beat TURN UP THE VOLUME scans the musical
horizon daily, for 10 years now, to pick ace tracks and add 5 new ones
twice per week, to the one and only JUKEBOX playlist that matters.
ALL TOGETHER
The 5 fresh ones TRACK BY TRACK
Band: BIG THIEF Who: The famous indie folk-pop combo from Brooklyn, NY fronted by Adrianne Lenker.
Track: INCOMPREHENSIBLE
The lead-single from their upcoming, 6th full length,
named Double Infinity. It’ll see the day of light on
September 5.
Band: SUPER CRUSH Who: Power pop quartet from Hamilton, Canada. Taking influence from the likes of Blondie, Arcade Fire, and Pulp, their stage show is packed with fiery hooks, explosive stage presence and their tender pocket-poetry pedestrian lunchbucket lyrics. They released their 3-track EP Crushed To Meet You last year.
Track: FIRE ESCAPE
Their brand-new single and first
step to their debut album.
These guitar-and-violins adrenalized Canadians go up and down,
low and high, forth and back on this bouncy ripper, until you’re
feeling dizzy.
Band: POPTONES Who: Psych guitar trio
from Copenhagen, Denmark
Track: SKIN OF SEA
The first single from their upcoming 2nd album,
titled Pure which will land on 26th September.
Info: A striking blend of chugging, dissonant riffs and leftfield experimentation,
featuring a rich sonic palette that includes saxophone and vibraphone.
Be ready for a turbulent roller coaster ride fueled by
squeaky guitars, a sultry sax, prog rock dynamics and
feverish vocals.
The song wrestles with the struggle of letting go of the past, of old scars, and of
the things we cannot change. A cry of resilience and hope, it drags us through the wreckage of broken dreams and blistered regrets. As the momentum builds, a light emerges at the end of the tunnel, culminating in a soaring guitar solo that erupts
before bringing us back to solid ground.
Single artwork
This slow-mo, hypnotizing, and electrifying reflection has a spellbinding
impact caused by delirious guitars, a haunting progression and expressive
vocals.
Last Wednesday, Brooklyn‘s pop-folk dreamers BIG THIEF
played in the beautiful park Rivierenhof in Antwerp, Belgium.
Frontwoman/songwriter Adrienne Lenker, who released her 6th, widely praised solo
LP Bright Future last March, drew all attention with her heartfelt and poignant voice.
The set consisted mostly of new songs, but as it were vintage Big Thief, mixed
emotions musings, they all were received with much approval of the enthusiastic
crowd.
Here’s one of the new ones, titled Taker.
My favourite one of the 90-minute set was Vampire Empire which they
started playing live last year. An acoustic version of the song is on her
new solo album.
A funny thing happened when they ended the show with a steamy newbie named Incomprehensible. When the band returned for 2 encores, they played that song again,
but much slower.
Lenker explained that they wanted it to play it again, but slower, as it should be done, because the first time was too fast on purpose because she needed to pee urgently. Laughter all over the place. To end a magical night in a green surrounding, they
rocked out with Grandmother, also a new piece.
One small negative remark. I was a bit disappointed because BT didn’t perform one
of their most gripping songs ever, Change from their latest album Drag New Warm Mountain I Believe In You which came out two years ago. I’m pretty sure they didn’t
it because they played that ‘Incomprehensible‘ one twice.
Just got my ticket for indie Brooklyn folk band BIG THIEF, fronted by the ravishing Adrianne Lenker. They play in Antwerp, Belgium on 14 August. To get in an early
dreamy mood I’m listening right now to their compelling 2022 LP Dragon New
Warm Mountain I Believe in You.
I hope (I’m pretty sure) these two heart-rending songs will be on the setlist.
Canadian singer-songwriter Jeen launches her 5th album
later this year and Just Shadows is the first taster.
“I wrote “Just Shadows” just thinking how the darker parts of everything can snuff
out some of the best people’s light. It’s about trying to get out from under it so we
don’t just become casualties of our shittiest days.”
Just Shadows is a cast iron, drumming energy-stroke detonating with firm
puissance when the chorus hits your ears and Jeen‘s towering voice spices
all things up with flamboyant flair. The vitalizing impact of this effervescent
summer anthem is heartening.
It features The Cure drummer LOL TOLHURST (64), BUDGIE (65),
former Siouxsie and the Banshees drummer and Siouxsie‘s husband,
and Irish music producerJacknife Lee.
Los Angeles is the title track of their first, forthcoming LP.
It features LCD Soundsytem‘s mastermind/voice James Murphy
and soundwise it’s what you may expect from these musicians.
Los Angeles is a stompin’ and pumpin’ percussion burst
to stomp your feet and pump your fists like mad.
Happy mondays Shaun Ryder, and rapper Kermit (Paul Leveridge) are back.
They fabricated a new, their 4th, LP named Orange Head hitting the streets
in November.
Milk is the lead single. A pounding disco-rock blast
with the 24-party madchester vibe of the 90s.
The British post-punk mavericks announced a few weeks ago that they finished their
2nd longplayer, but first we can go gaga to this new smashing stand-alone single.
The Trench Coat Museum is an 8+ minute dancefloor filler infused with a flabbergasting bass riff, spiced with Smith‘s parlando vocals, schizo guitars and yes, cowbells. I guess that for the second half of this super-duper knockout, Smith left the studio for a cup of tea. Anyway, from there on jumbo techno-like beats take over.
I swear, when this knife-edged tune hit my ears for the first time, I thought
I pushed the wrong button and instead of these young Irish gunslingers I got
post-punk legends The Fall on my headphones.
These young Irish gunslingers’ combination of hyperkinetic drum/bass beats,
fanatic guitar riffage, Mark E Smith sneering and an overall staccato sonority
is irresistibly engrossing.
If you haven’t found your sonic twilight summer companion yet, then this new Coral tune will be the one. The Liverpool gang are experts in writing/creating hum-along, whistle-song, sing-along and dream-along pearls while you can tap your feet to the beat. Imagine sitting in a rockin’ chair on the porch of your farmhouse in a Serge Leone-directed spaghetti western. That’s the vibe.
8. ‘Do You Mind I’m A Little Late For Life?’ by BY FAR (Belgium)
Their debut single Bricks already entertained my music-addicted ears,
and this new one is a stone gold gem too. The fervent passion and the
overwhelming psychedelic resonance are nothing less than astounding.
The song’s bone-chilling progression blows you away, slowly but surely.
This is a diamond of a song. Vampire Empire is another staggering
new gem by a staggering band. Intense, dynamic, jaunty and avid
vocals by Adrianne Lenker. I love Big Thief.
Through To You is a track from the group’s sophomore album,
titled Days Are Mountains. It lands on August 11th.
It all starts with a steady, feet-activating drum beat, soon followed by an explosion
of hectic guitars. And in an eye/ear blink the whole resistlessly sonic process steamrolls over you, again and again, and riffs and grooves and moves it’s way like an electric-charged whirlwind to a sped-up climax. Frontman MacDonald wants to bang his head against a wall. That doesn’t sound like a bad idea in case you need to get rid of some demons, that is.
The energy developed here is off the charts. Meres rock their tails
off on this sinewy punk missile. Chainsaw guitars, forthright drums/bass
spanks and the both sensual and spiced vocals of Mary Shannon.
This hit-and-run uppercut will start lots of moshpits.
Clone is a lush rock ’n’ roll collage collective that fuses the sequined swagger of 70’s glam with the DIY gut punch of early punk and polishes it all off with the audacious vocals of contemporary pop.
Their new single Queen is a big wham T.Rex bang.
The British trashy 70s riffs, groovy hooks and flashy licks are all over the place. It also echoes Bowie‘s smashing 1974 hit Rebel Rebel. And I can’t but think of glam rock icon Suzy Quatro when front Amazon Juniper Watters comes on with her sensual and sultry vocals.
She’s not a clone, she’s for real, she’s the perfect queen for this firecracker. She’s extremely inspired by drag culture and is a huge supporter of the drag community.
Expect a titanic wall-of-shoegaze-layered sound that takes your breath away for almost
4 razzle-dazzle minutes. It feels as if this spectacular piece of a hallucinatory symphony comes out of space with its reverberated and tremoloed guitars, its scintillating synths,
its mystifying melodiousness and its cosmic vocals.
These British gunslingers kick-start your adrenalin production from the first chord on with this peppery pop-punk cryout fed by schizo guitars and distressed vocals. A thrill, although the song is about the wake of a breakup, an anthem of self-loathing, regret, and ultimately, forgiveness. I said it a million times before, heartache can lead to explosive catharsis in music.
Fury is an explosive cocktail of speed metal(lica), synth sketches, post-punk tumult
and dark-Goth-wave vocals. It’s a fuzz and buzz rocket that whirls forth and back. These messed-up times cause mind-madness and paranoia that leads to furious eruptions as pMAD experiences too.
Floatin’ Stone is a robust tune powered-up by a mean hard rockin’ machine.
References? Muscular Australian noisemakers Wolfmother and stoner rock
mavericks Queens Of The Stone Age. Say no more.
This must be the closest The Underground Youth come to sound like The Velvet
Underground. The repetitive jingle jangle pattern, the midnight hour vocals of Dryer, the dreary harmonies and the ongoing melodic catchiness. All ingredients
for a psych gem are in place here.
This slow-progressing musing appeals instantly with its rudimentary PJ Harvey-esque
guitar play and Abdelbarry‘s affectional voice, think Sharon Van Etten.
Birthday Cake‘s has both a romantic and wistful sonority that captivates
and moves. And halfway melancholic synths accentuate the overall ruminate
timbre in a warm way.
Love Town is a heart-warming and reflective musing about falling in love.
A romantic candlelight ballad for mind-relaxing moments. Sweet and sensitive.
Tuplin‘s vocality made me immediately think of The National‘s melancholic crooner Matt Berninger with its affectional resonance. Beautiful. Let’s follow him to Love Town,
wherever that might be.
It’s PART 5 of Turn Up The Volume‘s yearly hot summer playlists.
A mix of new and old tunes. A mix of adrenalin-infused punk/rock
anthems, dance fireworks, and some moony musings to end the
party when the sun comes up.
About a year ago Brooklyn’s folk pop-rockers BIG THIEF released their 5th LP,
titled Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You. An enthralling 20-track
record with Adrienne Lenker‘s angelic voice as the star.
Today they have their first music of 2023 out. A diamond of a song named VAMPIRE EMPIRE. As Big Thief do regularly, they first play a new song live at
concerts (and sometimes on TV, see/hear below) and record it officially
afterward, as it happend now too.
Vampire Empire is another staggering new gem by a staggering band.
Intense, dynamic, and jaunty. I love Big Thief.
Tune in.
Last MarchBT played the song on The Late Show with Colbert.
About a year ago Brooklyn’s folk pop-rockers BIG THIEF released their 5th album,
titled Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You. An enthralling 20-track record
with Adrienne Lenker‘s angelic voice as the heroine in the middle.
The band is on tour now and as they regularly do, they try out new songs live, before
recording them in the studio. One of them is a pearl calledVAMPIRE EMPIRE which
they play for a while now on stage.
The Late Show with Colbert invited them to play that unreleased new one before their
audience. Wow! I was immediately struck by the energy and vitality of Vampire Empire
and its powerful performance. A staggering new gem by a staggering band.
They’re ready for a long 2023 tour and shared in advance this call-up
to teachers to bring their students to their show’s soundchecks to learn
them about creativity, music, playing shows, songwriting or whatever the
pupils want to discuss. Looks a good idea, but don’t send the youngsters
away like another brick in the wall, Big Thief.
