20 BEST TRACKS OCTOBER 2022

A stream of rattling rippers, jagged jams, and magnific musings

All 20 on Spotify

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Track by Track

Blood-tingling Scottish dance-funk-punk trio YOUNG FATHERS
have their new, 5th LP, called Heavy Heavy out on 3 February 2023.

Sickly sticking stunner I SAW. is the first taster.
I added this spicy scream-along earworm to
my best-tracks-of-2022 list.

Touchdown!

YOUNG FATHERS: Facebook – Instagram

Finally back on track. James Murphy and his musical vehicle LCD SOUNDSYSTEM
are part of the soundtrack of the movie White Noise based on the 1985 novel by
American author Don DeLillo.

LCD Soundsytem still sounds like LC Soundsystem. New track NEW BODY RHUMBA
has that familiar hypnotic and groovy speed-up rhythm propelled by a steady bass riff, guitars popping up now and then and Murphy singing with his characteristic, nervous voice.

Catch the catchy vibes.

LCD SOUNDSYSTEM: Facebook – Instagram

Band: DECIUS (UK)
Who: Members of Trashmouth Records, Fat White Family (frontman Lias Saoudi)
& Paranoid London finding themselves climbing out of a hole together at a disco
after hours.

Single: SHOW ME NO TEARS

Put up your make-up and shake
your booty to the techno beat.

DECIUS: Facebook
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Last month dark-Goth-wave artist Raymond Watts aka PIG
unleashed his gloom and doom album The Merciless Light
.

Hammering brainbreaker THE DARK ROOM is one
of the many highlights on Turn Up The Volume‘s album
of the month.

Let’s roll…

PIG: Facebook – Instagram – Spotify
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Band: GLYTSH
Who: 2 seasoned female musicians from the London music scene.
They mix their love for metal music with their passion for dark and
haunting sonic soundscapes and visuals.

Single: SAV@GE

Want some references: Ho99o9, Skunk Anansie, Nova Twins. Fucking cool, right?
You betcha. Sav@ge is a badass piece, a metal beast. Hell bloody hell yeah!

GLYTSH: Facebook – Instagram
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Band: THE BYKER GROVE FAN CLUB
Who: Ponderous post-punk three-piece from the UK.

I heard and watched this British post-hardcore bulldozer play
in Antwerp, Belgium recently. They blew my mind and turned
me into an instant fan. What a find.

Here’s why…


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T.B.G.F.C: Facebook – Instagram – Spotify
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(photo by Niklas Hawkesworth)

Band: RED LAMA
Who: Formed by five friends from Svendborg, Denmark in 2011. Since then, the sextet has been refining their unique take on psych rock, music for the inner journey, carried forward by melody, groove and soundscapes exploding in grand crescendos.

Single: CHAOS IS THE PLAN
Third shared track from the upcoming new
album – their 3rd – Memory Terrain, landing
on 4 November.

Expect a hypnotic and magnetic psych jam moving
hauntingly, propelled by a groovy bass riff, sinister
synth layers, weeping guitars and emotive vocals.

Grand score!


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RED LAMA: Facebook – Instagram
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(Credit: Luci Lux, Chiara-Meattelli & Dominic Lee)

Band: THE PULL OF AUTUMN
Who: The art-rock collective of Rhode Island musician Daniel Darrow,
from 80s post-punk group Johanna’s House Of Glamour. working
constantly with other notable artists

New album – the 4th – Beautiful Broken World is a 15-track
undertaking that involves a number of experienced musicians.
It arrives on 18 November. Pre-order info here

The first single, named OUTLAW EMPIRE grooves and moves with Massive Attack‘s
trip-hop swagger, spacey reverberance, and a mesmeric, ongoing dub rotation. If you were/are a Pop Group fan you’ll recognize Maffia Godfather Mark Stewart‘s voice from
the first note.

It’s a beautiful swing-and-sway activator
for a broken world, as we know it.

Stream/buy here.


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THE PULL OF AUTUMN/RBM Records: Facebook
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(Press photo via C & The R)

Scottish post-hardcore punk and tattoo artist FRANK CARTER
and his RATTLESNAKES had their 4th longplayer Sticky out last year
(Carter also released 3 albums with his first band Gallows and 1 under
the moniker of Pure Love)

For new single THE DRUGS Carter invited his friend Jamie T to the studio.

An anti-drugs slam.
A nasty rant. Holy cow.

FRANK CARTER & THE RATTLESNAKES: Facebook – Instagram
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Artist: HANG LINTON

Who: British musician, visual artist, filmmaker
and avant-funk enchanter based in Berlin.

Debut single: SALE feat. LeBron Aggressive

TUTV: This funky hip-hop uplift does what great hip-hop vibes do. Having
a prompt impact on your hips’ movements that in turn activate your whole
body’s spryness. Think of rap hero Roots Manuva‘s flamboyant flow.

SALE is for sale, go get it.


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HANG LINTON: Facebook – Instagram
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Band: BUGEYE
Who: Female pop quartet from London blending cherry-liqueur lyrics, bubblegum-kneecap bass electrics, goth-heavy drum compactions & hi-rise guitar sculptures.

Single: SUMMER IN THE CITY
“A song that explores the highs and lows and stories of life in the city. From feeling like you’re winning in life, to turning a corner to tensions and violence, to dating app cringeworthy dating experiences and the death of David Bowie. It is a playful song that highlights our fickle nature and our scrolling boredom obsession.”

Time flies. It’s already 2 years since these 4 colorful Amazons had their swinging
dance-punk debut LP Ready Steady Bang out. But the wait is over with this new
firecracker. It’s sexy bugglegum pop, it’s groovy electro-funk, it’s effervescent fun.

Helloooo!


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BUGEYE: Facebook – Instagram
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Band: PAISLEY PARC
Who: Robust rockers from
Merthyr Tydfil, Wales

Single: COMPLICATED

“The song captures the frustrations of people across the globe as we all try to make
sense of our new emerging world following the pandemic and the economic mayhem
it has created.”

This Welsh turbo bring their celebrated countrymen Stereophonics to mind here, but
with three guitarists, a John Bonham drummer and a red-hot-blooded vocalist who’s alarming voice fits the confusing times we live in. Wowzers!

“Don’t call the doctor he won’t save you tonight”

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PAISLEY PARC: Facebook – Instagram
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(Press photo via YYYs)

Band: YEAH YEAH YEAHS
Who: Pop/rock trio from New York
fronted by the gorgeous Karen O
Active: Since 20000 / 6th LP (new one incl.)

Their new album Cool It Down – first in 9 years – is out now.
The title is taken from the Velvet Underground song of the same name
from their 1970 LP Loaded.

YYYs burn again…

YYYs: Facebook
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(Photo by Rose Dekker)

Band: BLACK NITE CRASH
Who: A psych collective started by Jim Biggs (vocals, guitar) twenty years ago
in Seattle Washington. The band had more than 30 members over the years.

They just released a new full length, baptized Washed In The Sound
Of Black Nite Crash
, the band’s fifth. A must hear psychedelic journey.

Opener THE TAKE sets the tone for the full remarkable longplayer.
Influences by masters of the genre such as jangly hero Anton Newcombe
and his Brianjones Town Massacre gang, The Black Angels, and Heart
are all around.

Top stuff!

BLACK NITE CRASH: Facebook
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KAT KOAN is a Berlin-based artist with a passion for expressing intense emotions through music and visuals. With her Belgian musical partner Raymond Rose she canned her second album Coccoon and released it on 7 October.

A sonically versatile and compelling record with Koan speaking and singing
her mind and her heart out. Think Garbage‘s charismatic lady Shirly Manson.

One of my fav tracks is this moody pearl titled STAY
featuring Freddie Dickson and her band The Lost Souls.

KAT KOAN: Website – Instagram – Linktree
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Band: CMON CMON
Who: Indie rock trio from Belgium, signed by renowned manager
Stephen Budd (Gang Of Four, Heaven 17, The Magic Numbers)

Single: SAY WHAT IT MEANS
From their new self-titled debut EP.

The jangly guitars and the glossy resonance of R.E.M. and Teenage Fanclub are obvious,
but my ears also detect the slacker rock mood of Dinosaur Jr. ‘Say What It Means’ is an
ideal post-summer musing for grey Autumn days for confused and vulnerable souls.

Listen/watch

CMON CMON: Facebook
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(Photo by Jeremy McGuire)

Band: MIKE & THE NERVE
Who: A Florida-based folk punk band.

Debut single: CHRISTMAS IN OCTOBER

Mike Llerena (vocalist/songwriter) “This song is our love letter to The Fest, a punk rock festival held in Gainesville every year during Halloween weekend. I’ve attended, volunteered, and/or played at Fest almost every year for the past decade and I’ve made a lot of great friendships and memories because of it.”

Melancholia on Halloween? Why not? When it sounds moony, warm
and romantic as Christmas In October does I’m all ears. So should you.

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MIKE & THE NERVE: Facebook – Instagram
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No retirement for 80-year-old JOHN CALE.

The Welsh icon will release his 17th solo longplayer, titled Mercy
on 20 January 2023 via Double Six/Domino.

Single NIGHT CRAWLING was written with David Bowie in mind when
both had fun in New York City in the 70s. It’s a synth-trippy and chilling
reflection.

Watch/listen here.

JOHN CALE: Facebook
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Band: MODERN STARS
Who: Spacey shoegazers from Italy. Their work is loaded with stringed
and electronic sounds laid down through a multilayering approach that
has more in common with Indian traditional music and Techno,

Single: DROWNING
New piece from the trio’s upcoming third album,
named Space Trips For The Masses.

If I tell you that my ears here echoes of The Brian Jonestown Massacre
and The Black Angels on Drowning you know that you’ll enter a dark space
with enigmatic, psychedelic encounters.

Roll the tape and get puzzled…

MODERN STARS: Facebook
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Band: USE KNIFE
Who: Started as a Belgian duo – Stef Heeren and Kwinten Mordijck – born out of the mutual love for analog and modular electronic machinery. They explore and express hallucinatory freethinking visions to contemporary living. Iraqi artist Saif Al-Qaissy recently joined the duo, making a trio now.

Track: TO FEED THE GENTRY

A spectacular ambient jam from their spectacular debut album The Shedding Of Skin.
An intriguing and fascinating piece featuring Iraqi, Brussels-based artist Saif Al-Qaissy
adding Eastern vibes.

Press play here…

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USE KNIFE: Facebook

Turn Up The Volume’s 20 BEST TRACKS Of The Month – SEPTEMBER 2022

A stream of rattling rippers, jagged jams, and magnific musings

All 20 on Spotify.

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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.

Track: PROLOGUE (SHALLOW).
My favorite cut of their new dance-crazy
EP Hey! I See You.

If your limbs don’t get activated by this stomping synth stunner
it’s time to get on the phone and fire your shrink. Right now.

For everybody else, shake your booty.


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AUS!FUNKT: Instagram – Facebook
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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. .

The September one, DUMB is my favorite (so far).

Frisky, tingling, and totally catching.

Earworm!


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BURN THE LOUVRE: Facebook – Instagram
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LUKE HAINES (mastermind of former Britpop-rock outfit The Auteurs
and R.E.M. guitarist PETER BUCK have their second collaborative album,
named All Kids Are Super Bummed Out on 26th October.

First single, titled Psychedelic Sitar Casual is a jangly R.E.M. like
rocker that gets under your skin sooner than you can say fuck Putin.

Tune in and pogo like you used to.

HAINES & BUCK; Website
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(Photo by Turn Up The Volume – Brussels, 2019)

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.

A perfect match in noise hell.

METZ: Bio – Discography – Instagram – Spotify
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Band: ON
Who: An punk-rock-experienced Toronto trio

New album: ON
Released: 20 September 2022 via Indiestructable Records

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?


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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.

Hallelujah!

DROPKICK MURPHIES: Facebook – Instagram
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Band: DEAD LEVEE
Who: Old-school no-nonsense five-piece rock
band from Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada.

New single SHOUT 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.


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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.

Check it out.

PIXIES: Website – Instagram
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Band: ALEX JAMES
Who: A wheelchair-fronted, high-energy
alternative rock band from the North East.

New single: TELL ME

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!

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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.

Hurry yourself to a green field and freak out.

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(Photo credit Paul Elledge – press via website)

Chicago‘s bombastic veteran rockers THE SMASHING PUMPKINS
orchestrated by main man Billy Corgan are back in town.

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.

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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

JEEN: Facebook – Instagram
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(Press photo via YYYs)

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.

Still love you Karen.

YYYs: Facebook – Website
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(photo via AYU – press)

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.

Delightful!

AYU: Facebook – Instagram – Twitter 
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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.

Track LXXKN 4 THE L!TE
From her upcoming debut solo EP

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.

Help yourself right here.

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WIDOWS GOLD: Instagram
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PPhoto by Arne Frøkedal

Band: MISTY COAST
Who: Chamber psych-pop duo – Linn Frøkedal
and Richard Myklebust – from Norway.

New single: THE END OF THE BEGINNING

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.

Start dreaming here.

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MISTY COAST: Facebook – Spotify
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Artist: COLESNO JONES
Who: Folk-pop singer-songwriter from West-Wales

Debut single: BISCUIT TIN

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.

Bingo!

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COLENSO JONES: Facebook
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(photo by Turn Up The Volume)

Artist: EZRA FURMAN
Who: Chicago born singer songstress

Furman released her new album
All Of Us Flames last month.

A very notable one with this sepia-colored beauty, named
TRAIN COMES THROUGH as one of the many highs on
the record.

Enjoy.

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EZRA FURMAN: Instagram – Facebook
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See/hear you next month, music junkies

YEAH YEAH YEAHS – Comeback Album ‘COOL IT DOWN’ Is A Surprising And Compelling Revelation

Standout longplayers

30 September 2022


(Press photo via YYYs)

Band: YEAH YEAH YEAHS
Who: Pop/rock trio from New York
fronted by the gorgeous Karen O
Active: Since 20000 / 6th LP (new one incl.)

New album: COOL IT DOWN – first in 9 years
Out: 30 September 2022 – order info here

The title is taken from the Velvet Underground song
of the same name from their 1970 LP Loaded.

Karen O: “To all who have waited, our dear fans, thank you, our fever to tell has returned, and writing these songs came with its fair share of chills, tears, and euphoria when the pain lifts and truth is revealed. Don’t have to tell you how much we’ve been going through in the last nine years since our last record, because you’ve been going through it too, and we love you and we see you, and we hope you feel the feels from the music we’ve made. No shying away from the feels, or backing down from what’s been gripping all of us these days. So yes we’ve taken our time, happy to report when it’s ready it really does just flow out.”

Mojo Magazine says: “Even though it’s only eight tracks long – a rare example of the band having some chill – their fifth album feels like it’s operating on a cosmic scale.” Score: 4/5.

TUTV: Sonically and stylistically, it’s a totally different affair compared to everything they did before. More polished – from young punks to grown-up songwriters – mellow and starry-eyed. Four touching ballads and four funky grooves (yes, only 8 tracks).

A compelling revelation. A comeback success.

Singles/clips: Burning / Spitting Of The Edge Of The World

– BURNING –

– SPITTING OF THE EDGE OF THE WORLD-
Featuring Perfume Genius

Stream/buy ‘COOL IT DOWN’
here via Bandcamp.


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YEAH YEAH YEAHS: ‘Cool It Down’ on SpotifyFacebook – Instagram