Oberst: “Alynda Segarra is one of the most soulful people I have ever encountered.
Everything that passes through them is haunted by the weary ghost of American music
past. I have had the good fortune of recording and performing with them on many occasions and I am always blown away by Alynda’s ability to channel what is both intangible and universal.
TUTV: Jangly indie Britrock at its arousing best. No way to not go
bonkers when this rip-roaring The Strokes-like anthem infiltrates
your ears. Trust me, one spin and you’re hooked. You know
where to find the repeat button.
Band: SOULWAX, Who: Belgian brothers David and Stephen Dewaele‘ working together
for 30 years now, with diverse projects. They DJed the world around
as 2manydjs, had their own Radio Soulwax, and produced/remixed
countless other artists.
Track: RUN FREE
One of two new shared pieces from their 6th LP,
titled All Systems Are Lying and on your stereo
on October 17th.
Album artwork
“We wanted to capture the feeling of a band playing electronic instruments,
live, loud and loose. This record is the result of that experiment. It’s a rock
album made without any electric guitars.”
TUTV: Anderson stars, once again, in the middle with an overwhelming vocal performance, peaking on the epic chorus, and he’s backed by a full of vim and vigour drums/bass tandem and glimmering guitars.
Oberst: “It’s an homage to ska in all its waves. From Desmond Dekker
to Tim Armstrong, we’re just happy to add our track to the bin. The video
is inspired by NYC 90s hip hop, which like ska, has a long tradition of unifying
people & using celebratory music to convey subversive political themes. To be
played loud. Windows down. Summertime.”
TUTV: Sounds and feels like you are
ska-ing on a shaky merry-go-round.
Big fun. Big tune.
Isbell has reissued his 10-year-old album Something More Than Free
digitally. It will be available on physical media on October 3. It includes
this previously unreleased track, a B-side for one of the LP’s singles.
TUTV: Fortunately, this psychedelic, slide-guitar ripper didn’t go missing.
It resonates like a swamp blues burner spiced with good old organ play
and Isbell‘s firm voice. Totally cool.
Band: MELT MOTIF Who: An experimental band based in Bergen, Norway, and São Paulo, Brazil.
Known for their unique fusion of genres, they blend elements of metal, dark
electronic, darkwave, industrial, and more.
So far, they have released two albums and their respective remixes.
A new full-length is waiting in the pipeline to be released in September.
TUTV: It’s a nasty industrial brainfucker motorized by fierce percussion
and ominous vocals. Its haunting and bloodcurdling progression has an
instant impact on your psyche. This is sick shit. I love it.
Band: NRVS Who: Mysterious trio with an inimitable take on
humanity’s downward spiral into a dysfunctional
entropic existence. They unleashed their punk-groovy
debut EP Like You last year.
“Just another dumb song about love found & lost within
the wreckage! It happens… what are you gonna do?”
TUTV: This arresting, melancholic song sticks after just one spin. Its bluesy guitar
radiance, its bass-beat-heavy cadence and despondent vocals get under your skin.
Its melodic catchiness has irresistible written all over it. In a normal world this should
be a bloody big hit.
TUTV: Full steam ahead from the get-go, motorized by bedazzling guitars,
a relentless drum beat, and peppy vocals culminating in a pungent chorus. Lobsterbomb‘s appetite for blistering pop punk is insatiable. Don’t stop.
Band: IDLEWILD Who: Veteran Scottish
indie pop team.
Track: IT’S NOT THE FIRST TIME
Newest single from their upcoming 10th, self-titled
album, their first one in 6 years. It’ll hit the streets
on 3 October.
TUTV: Vintage Idlewild. Nostalgia and romanticism
wrapped in a sticky guitar pop melody. Welcome back.
TUTV: Your World is a glammy, full-riff-blooded, rollicking burner.
All amps up, all decibels up, while afire guitars have an ongoing
sonic fight with a badass bass and a chorus that goes airborne
every time it pops up, powered by frisky vocals.
Band: EDITRIX Who: Disorderly noise trio from Easthampton, Massachusetts.
Track: FLESH DEBT
New piece from their upcoming 3rd LP,
titled The Big E. It’ll show up on July 25.
TUTV: Bass and guitar have a metallic riff contest while vocalist Wendy Eisenberg
tells us a story. A knock-down-and-drag-out finale will blow you off your socks.
Schizophrenic electricity!
Band: THE IRRATIONAL LIBRARY Who:The Irrational Library is a Dutch-American rock band with its roots
firmly planted in both the regional and international counterculture.
Track: NOTES FROM THE PLAYGROUND Newest single from their
forthcoming, 5th full-length ‘The Saying Of It All‘. More details TBA.
TUTV: Wham bam. Here comes the rumbling blues train once again. Rollin’ and steamin’, always thundering to the pounding heartbeat of its fat groove, while hungry guitars and Joshua Baumgarten‘s stirring vocals inflame this rough ripper with extra fuel.
Band: NEWMOON Who: Popular Belgian
melodic shoegazers.
Track: SAME DISTANCE
Piece that should have been on their excellent 2024 album Temporary Light ,
but it didn’t due to vinyl constraints. It was never intended as a single or B-side.
TUTV: Yes, it would have been an unquestionable highlight on the album. But on or off it, it’s great to have this phantasmagoric pearl right now. A dream-in-motion beauty for the ears, mind, and soul. Made me immediately think of Brian Eno‘s ambient atmospherics. Wonderful. Truly wonderful.
The Nebraska band are now back with a new single, called 1ST WORLD BLUES
which they teased a couple of days ago on their social media with the message Ska Is Back on a McDonalds highway sign.
Oberst: “It’s an homage to ska in all its waves. From Desmond Decker to Tim Armstrong, we’re just happy to add our track to the bin. The video is inspired by NYC 90s hip hop, which like ska, has a long tradition of unifying people & using celebratory music to convey subversive political themes. To be played loud. Windows down. Summertime.”
Sounds and feels like you’re
ska-ing on a merry-go-round.
Big fun!
Last January BE started their extensive 2025 tour in North America,
but there’re still a series of shows to come in his country and this
summer fans in Europe can enjoy them.
Band: BRIGHT EYES Who: Indie trio from Omaha, Nebraska founded
by singer-songwriter Conor Oberst. Active: 1995–2011, 2020–present / 11 albums so far.
They released their 6th and probably their finest full length I’M AWAKE, IT’S MORNING 20 years ago, on 25 January 2005.
Pitchfork: “This record was made to be loved, to be obsessed over by some but remembered by everybody, to get scratched and worn out through constant rotation in a sorority living room or your first studio apartment or your mom’s old radio, to capture Conor Oberst for the first time with more polish than spit, but still getting him deeply under your skin.”
Full review here. Score: 8.5/10.
Conor Oberst is one of those rare enigmatic singer-songwriters who created
his own, wayward way to express what’s in his head, mind, heart and soul.
And his feverish voice is monumental and instrumental for his work.
Press info: “Five Dice, All Threes is a record of uncommon intensity and tenderness, communal exorcism and personal excavation. Oberst has always sung in a voice that conveys a sense of life-or-death gravity. At times throughout Five Dice, All Threes, you may feel worried for him; other times, he may seem like the only one with the clarity to get us out of this mess. In his songwriting lies a promise that our loneliest thoughts and feelings can take on grander shapes when passed between friends, blasted through speakers, or shouted among crowds. As per usual, the music comes loaded with subtext that invites deep listening—the signature touch of a band who has always honored the album as its own exalted work of art. The record doesn’t just sound like classic Bright Eyes. It sounds like their future, too.”
Album artwork
Uncut (UK magazine): “Five Dice, All Threes sounds like they’ve caught up with themselves: even if Bright Eyes are struggling to scrape together optimism about the future, there is every reason why their fans should.”
TUTV: It’s Bright Eyes by numbers, but I like their romantic, heart-rending, mixed
emotions numbers. Oberst voice still is the magnetizing instrument up front and his
moods swing again from left to right and back, but, unfortunately, breaks the rhythm,
pace and effectiveness of the record too many times. An emotional roller coaster it is
with high and low moments.
Brand-new cut from her upcoming solo debut
album ‘Nobody Loves You More‘ out November 22.
Crystal Breath is quite special and pretty different from anything Deal has been done before. EBM bass dynamics, trip-hop quivering
and a spiky guitar riff.
“‘Body Bag’ is a peak behind the curtain at the reality of modern romance and feeling young and old at the same time. I think sonically the song has so many ups and downs, and that’s exactly how this stage of my life has felt. It’s running barefoot on the concrete, chasing something you can’t quite put your finger on, but running towards it nonetheless. That’s
how I would best describe ‘Body Bag.’”
TUTV: This is an astounding piece of multi-layered music. An effervescent mix of pop,
rock and EBM going everywhere fast and Romano‘s sensual voice adds an arousing dynamic. A stream of adrenalin rushes through your body, all the way.
It will be on their debut EP Disco To Disco, out on September 13.
The song is about rediscovering old lovers after a night out from disco(theque) to disco(theque), with references to The Pogues’ Shane MacGowan and his excessive drinking, and a legendary Belgian crooner. Bringing these two completely different iconic figures together makes you wonder if they don’t have more in common than you might think.
TUTV: Full steam ahead from the get-go. All engines on. Decibels up, amps up.
The breakneck speed and the relentless synth/percussion riff make your head
spin 360°. I dare you to catch up with this steamroller.
If you don’t know they’re from Belgium you would think they are one of those
post-Brexshit-punk misfits such as Deathletter, Ditz, shame, English Teacher, and
more of those exciting indie wolves. Cool, right? You betcha.
One of the two new shared pieces from their upcoming 3rd LP, named Catouts, out October 14. It’s a hypnotizing Krautrock-like jam rushing through your bloodstream.
Great saxophones too.
The Smile: Instagram
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Photo credit: Ebru Yildiz
Band: A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS Who: The rapid-fire Brooklyn turbine,
led by Oliver Ackermann, pump up the
decibels since 2003.
Track: YOU GOT ME
A foretaste of their upcoming LP,
titled ‘Synthesizer‘, out on October 4.
TUTV: Expect a spine-chilling guitar/bass riff rocket with Ackermann‘s
vocals echoing all over it. Another hellraiser for your graveyard parties.
“It’s a shout out to all the unusual characters that you may find in any High Street who, for whatever reason, are considered outsiders. They need championing as they are just like everyone else and want the best for themselves, but have been dealt a difficult hand.”
TUTV: The Veras storm out of the gates with tons of high-voltage force, powered by
an army of ablaze guitars and mighty drum/bass beats. The spanking chorus fueled by peppy vocals completes this rattling burst. Now go out in the streets and start a riot.
Band: THE CHRONICLES OF MANIMAL AND SAMARA Who: London-based DIY duo – Daphne Ang (Singapore) and Andrea Papi (Italy)
that fills a gap in music by bringing literature, art, and history together into a
space where rock and metal meet electronica.
TUTV: This surprising, blistering collaboration sees TCOMAS exploring another
musical place where they’ve never been before. Teaming up with sharp-cutting
Italian rapper Mr Meuri and make it work, combined with their by-now trademark
metallic wall of sound and monstrous growls is flabbergasting.
Band: LONELY LITTLE KITSCH Who: Two-piece alt-rock band from Niagara, Canada featuring
vocalist Kristen Goetz and drummer Nolan Jodes. What started as
a way to pass the time during the pandemic, soon became a more
serious project as fully formed songs took shape.
TUTV: A grungy headbanger propelled by hammering vigorousness, some
edged Grohl riffs and exploding when the crashing chorus crushes in. Right
in the middle of the song and the video, vocalist Kristen Goetz, draws your
attention with her Shirley Manson-like vocal tone and her subtle moves.
Band: THE MERINGUES Who: A Kingston, Ontario-based
post-punk powerhouse.
Track: ROYALTY
This track is a cut from their 2nd album, Pavlova’s Dog,
which will be available on September 16th.
“It’s that feeling of having idealized someone, only to discover they didn’t deserve it.
Or when you thought you knew someone, but they revealed a different side. This song
explores the disorienting feeling of realizing you were wrong about someone or something.”
TUTV: This punk ‘n’ roar torpedo guarantees you a vitalizing kick. Royalty explodes
from the get-go. The smashing chorus, with its screamy duet vocals, causes ecstatic
elation.
Band: RAZORLIGHT Who:British power guitar-pop indies RAZORLIGHT (2002–2014, 2017–present),
led by guitarist/singer Johnny Borrell, who have their first LP in 16 years finished.
They baptized it Planet Nowhere.
It’ll land on October 24.
It’s the first taster off of the forthcoming full-length. A simple, but oh so
effective tune. Jaunty and terrifically infectious. Welcome back to the party,
guys.
Band: STRAWBERRY SLEEPOVER Who: A psych, garage rock act from Baltimore, MD which makes waves in
the local music scene with their unique sound and captivating performance.
Track: FILTH
From their upcoming new
album, out September 6.
TUTV: If you’re depressed because summer is almost over, comfort yourself with this bonkers cowboy-punk jackhammer. Big, really big fun. ‘Filth‘ gets filthier and filthier along
its rowdy course. Think Dropkick Murphys riding wild horses while consuming a stream
of cold beers. Get the picture? As I said, big fun.
TUTV: A moony daydream floating smoothly around and in your ears and
has an on-repeat effect. It’ll appear on their 4th LP, baptized ‘Viva Hinds‘
and lands on September 6.
Martel: “After surviving elementary and high school, working in customer service and an office job, going to college and university I realized I still have not overcome social anxiety. I wrote this song about it so I could finally try to stop caring so much.”
TUTV: Martel strikes again with unbridled punch on this invigorating pop pearl juiced with jumpy bass lines, a vigorous drum beat, an edgy guitar solo and a chirpy chorus. Vocally Martel could be family of Alanis Morissette‘ voice. That same stirring timbre and expressive tone.
TUTV: City Lights is an ardent upper for the midnight hours when you hit town. Coxon lets his greedy guitar and his sultry saxophone have some funky fun, the
relentless bass/drums tandem take care of the groove’s banging beat. Uplifting
duet vocals and a chipper chorus complete the sonic picture.
“This is very different to anything we have released before it’s
very pop and a song of unrequited love and idolising others.”
TUTV: The Trusted deliver again. Miracle Face is a bittersweet power-pop symphony. Vehement orchestrations, layers of guitars, drum/bass puissance, and perfervid vocals combine for an affecting anthem. Think of New York City‘s heroes The Strokes’ mellower moments.
Band: MERCURY REV Who Day-and-night dreamers with key members Jonathan
Donahue and Sean “Grasshopper” Mackowiak
Track: A BIRD OF NO ADDRESS
From their 10th LP, their first in 9 years, named Born Horses, and out on September 6.
TUTV: A Bird Of No Address is a starry-eyed musing, a magnific symphony
with classical piano play, sensitive orchestrations and Donahue‘s romantic
vocals.
Bewitching, just bewitching.
Instagram – Tour
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Artist: BLACK VIIOLET Who: The moniker of the new solo project of Nicole Laurenne, the
flamboyant daredevil/voice/face of American garage rockers The Darts.
Track: KILL ME NOW
The title song of Laurenne‘s debut EP. A totally different
affair from what she has done for a long time with The Darts.
TUTV: Music for jazzy, smoky nightclubs where crooners play love songs,
happy and sad ones on piano, backed by a smooth little orchestra.
Viiolet‘s sexy, near-whispering voice and her sensual
film noir appearance fit the mood just perfectly well.
“I was playing around with this song and the chorus came to me almost immediately. It reminded me of something from Joni Mitchell’s Clouds album and the line “Some things hurt a little more, this one’s you” had such a resigned sentiment the rest of the song was easy to write. It’s a love song, but from an older point of view. Less drama and more realisation that another one had slipped away. The loneliness of an empty house and the need to escape the quiet.”
TUTV: Singer-songwriter splendour. A dynamic reverie, driven by titillating acoustic
six-strings, playful piano fragments, and a heartwarming voice. I’m pretty sure that Jamie Sutherland is a fervent Nick Drake and Tim Buckley fan.
Daily noise that works faster than a stream of caffeine
8 August 2024
Press photo by Nik Freitas
Nebraska‘s indie trio BRIGHT EYES formed by singer-songwriter Conor Oberst back
in 1995 announced the birth of their 11th LP, baptized Five Dice, All Threes a couple
of weeks ago. It’ll see the day of light on September 20th.
Oberst:“Alex and I wrote a lot of the songs together, but ‘Rainbow Overpass’ is the only
one he gets [to sing] a verse. He’s kinda like my hype man, getting a little Beastie Boys on
the shit! They grew up on punk rock and the Beasties, so there are a lot of little bursts of
other voices. I like that. It creates energy. Sometimes music can feel flat until you get into
a live situation, when there’s adrenaline and raw energy. Instead of working in reverse,
where that happens as we tour, I was trying to get some of that energy onto the record.”
Wake up people,
Bright Eyes
are on a roll.
“No I’m not slowing down
Yea I’m not slowing down
I’m speeding up”
Now they have planned reissues from early albums under the banner
of Companion Series. The first part features the band’s first three LPs.
More info here.
Ahead of that Bright Eyes recorded their version of ST. IDES HEAVEN.
A beloved song from the late great ELLIOTT SMITH‘s self-titled debut LP
from 1995. Their take is much heavier and rocks out with vehemence .
