Stereogum says: “For such a ceaselessly aggressive band, there’s a huge dynamic
range here; they shift from runaway-train speed to slo-mo churn to discordant midtempo freakouts, making the transitions feel as natural and effortless as an world-class athlete’s graceful body contortions.
Their fury would drown out a lesser frontperson, but Kelly commands the mic with enough unbound personality to shine through the chaos.”
Australia’s THE MUSIC website: “Mega riffs ready to send a festival crowd into raptures? Tick. A riotous celebration of the joys of getting back on the road? Sure. Rock anthems that address the weird place we find ourselves, with personal privacy and the pale blue dot we
call home under threat from dark forces? Several.”
TUTV: 31 minutes of running rock amok, producing as many licks, hooks and riffs,
possible in that short time. No arty farty baloney. No ego wanderings. No unnecessary digressions.
Only combusting rock and bloody roll. They take a breather (well, sort of) on
2 tracks, Real Love and lullaby Warped but ‘Easing Out Of Control’‘s dominating
racket is roisterous and boisterous.
UNCUT Magazine (British glossy music monthly): “Williams reveals her chief preoccupation: America and where it stands today. Her natural impulse is to channel compassion, concern, empathy and anxiety in a batch of wise songs that know their past and present but refuse to crumple or compromise.
One year into Donald Trump’s second term, Williams knows people need to feel their woes
are acknowledged and understood, and more so, that they need hope for a kinder future.
The music is straight and soothing, a band coming together in a rootsy salve as Williams returns to a favourite theme, deliverance through music. She is engaged in nothing less
than a battle for America’s soul.”
Williams: “We are here to bear witness to this monstrous sickness.”
TUTV: If you have any kind of common sense, you’re disgusted by that orange dictator’s damaging politics in the White House. First of all, all the not-brainwashed Americans, of course, but also at least half of the world despises him because of his authoritarian
‘Me, Myself and I‘ politics.
Lucinda Williams is one of those millions of Americans who are sick of this MAGA cult POTUS. She embeds her rage into a series of most captivating songs, sonically, vocaly and lyrically. World’s Gone Wrong is both a worrying, candid, and sharp-observing record. Don’t miss it.
CLASH MAGAZINE says: “With as many albums in this century as in the last, ‘Yeah Yeah Yeah’ finds Cast building on the momentum of the previous two years with both confidence and quality. Refusing to trade solely on nostalgia, it’s a beefed-up version of their best selves. Long may their positivity last.”
TUTV: When someone says Cast I say “Fine Time,” referring to their
995 debut single. Yep, the former Britpop stars, led by former The La‘s
member John Power, have been playing around for more than 3 decades.
And they didn’t lose their appetite for feel-good, easy-going, joyful tunes, at all.
YYY features 10 jangly guitar pop songs. Simple but oh so catchingly infectious. Cast have no ambition to reinvent the rock wheel, they just wanna entertain us.
Mission accomplished.
“This album is the culmination somewhat, since the beginning of writing
these words down. i would like to thank everybody in my life, past, present,
and future, for simply being in my life.”
TUTV: Think of the early raw rockin’ days of Evan Dando and his Lemonheads. Contagious melodies embedded in a swamp of high-energized tuines. At times chaotic, ramshackle and distorted, but hey, that’s DIY garage rock for you, folks. No arty farty production, no superfluous special effects. Direct, raw and rough. Love it.
Angus Rogers: “Here is our song, rock and roll music for the empty and stunning.
A song about contempt, appetite, impotence and self-preservation through gyration.
Enjoy superficially with your body and send the reeling mind on to hell! “
TUTV: Wham Bam! Yeah Yeah! Go Go! Oh my Oh My! Razzle Dazzle!
This is the kind of adrenalizing tunes I wait impatiently for every single day.
Tunes that put a big smile on my face, tunes that make all of my limbs go nuts,
tunes that go straight to my best-tracks-of-the-year list. Funky buzz, vocal fuzz.
Isaac Stroud-Allen (frontman): “It’s about power, corruption and how people
are happy to watch the world burn if they’re the ones sitting on a rooftop bar sipping
on a Sex On The Beach.”
TUTV: Believe the hype. These young wolves bulldoze their way through the daily
bullshit we have to endure with a knife between their teeth. Sippy Cup is a bruising,
full of vim and vigor uppercut hitting where it hurts. If this is your first time that you
hear these rabble-rousers, you’ll be gobsmacked. Bring it on, rascals.
TUTV: One of the 5 astronomical sledgehammers of their brand-new
debut EP Alter Ego. Love Machine takes you on a hair-rising rollercoaster.
Awesome vocalist, awesome band, asewome tune.
Band: PSYCHEDELIC PORN CRUMPETS Who: The dumbfounding psych-prog rockers from
down under, who started their odyssey in 2014.
Last May they launched their volcanic 7th full-length, titled Carpe Diem, Moonman and only 2 days ago they dropped
album #8, named Pogo Rodeo.
There’s definitely something in the Australian air that makes bands over there very productive. Yes, as you may or may not know, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard are
also from down under.
TUTV: We know for a long time that the sharp-mouthed mods are an unstoppable
groove engine, and this one is another pulsating one. Wowza. Fucking-A. Let’s see
if you can catch up with this speedy hip-shaking trigger.
TUTV: Picture this. Aggressive guitars rage like chainsaws around a nasty mid-tempo groove, juiced-up by sinewy drum hits and when the clamorous chorus kicks in the
vocalist bellows as if he can’t get out of his straitjacket. Oh yeah, you’ll love this horrific slice of hellraising post-punk mayhem.
They look and they operate like your new favorite Halloween band. Amps up, decibels
up, heat up. I wonder if this track isn’t a hidden one on one of Fugazi‘s detonating exploits.
An in-your-face debut. Bang-on.
Band: TEST PLAN Who: Indie noizz trio from London looking for the sweet spot between
dancing and moshing. They cultivate a ferocious blend of noise-rock,
dance-punk, and post-hardcore.
Track: GONE
The beginning of a brand-new chapter, according to the band.
It’s the first of a few singles from an EP out sometime next year.
TUTV: Hells bells. Test Plan grab you by the throat from the blaring intro and never
lose their suffocating grip. They come at you, full speed, with schizophrenic guitars,
an indefatigable drummer and a psychotic vocalist who screams his four lungs out
and tries to excommunicate his eerie demons.
No rest for the wicked. No emergency exit. We’re trapped, so let’s join these
maniacal mindfuckers in their attempt to make the Richter scale go ballistic.
Track: I THINK I’M IN LOVE
Single from their upcoming album
called ‘Evil Love‘.
TUTV: So these four Polish dropouts think they’re in love.
In love or not, I guess any reason is good for these riff-shooting
punk cowboys to run amok.
Their new cacophonous sucker-punch is a piercing piece of rambunctious racket motorized by raucous guitars, a brutal drummer and a weird frontman who looks
mental and sounds mental. Hell, bloody hell, yeah.
Get on your pogo-stick and pretend
you are a kangaroo on dope.
TUTV: Ashcroft does what he does best for years now, making your hair in the back of your neck stand up. This is another stadium anthem for thousands and thousands vocal cords to sing a long out loud.
Band: ARYEL MOON Who: Fresh Irish indie outfit, fronted by Italy-born musician Donatella Camedda, who have been building a reputation on Dublin’s live circuit.
Camedda: “It carries that mix of desire, anticipation, and adrenaline you feel
in the very first stage of falling for someone. That in-between space where you’re
caught between genuine connection and the rush of limerence.”
TUTV: Expect flamboyant indie power-pop, invigorated with reverberating guitars,
pummeling drumming and penetrating vocals, intense and intrepid, and a passional
chorus. One spin and you know we have a winner. In a normal world this should be
an indie hit. Trust me, you’ll fall in love with Aryel Moon.
Linda Pardee (vocalist/songwriter): “This song has morphed into a different meaning
than what was originally intended when written. The lyrics were initially about friendships, acquaintances, people coming into your life. Being part of a community. Finding your
people. Despite differences, we can or should be able to at least co-exist.
TUTV: TCC are no strangers to Turn Up The Volume. And their back again with
this new flashy rocker. Those jangly guitars, that vital, that feverish drive. Resonates
like R.E.M. are back and teamed up with Evan Dando‘s Lemonheads. No I don’t have a
hangover whatsoever. Listen closely and your ears will experience what I experience(d).
All you shiny people out there, come on feel the Dando vibe.
Track: WHAT IF
Piece from her upcoming 3rd full-length, called A Rupture A Canyon A Birth, out October 17th.
The song is inspired by the moment that a semi truck plowed into her broken-down tour van. Nobody in the Jane Inc. touring party was hurt in that accident, and they even played their scheduled show later that night. But everyone could’ve easily been killed, and that kind of near-death experience will do something to you. That’s the key to what if.
TUTV: Bumping EBM thrumming, shimmering synths, trippy piano touches,
and vocal outpouring. Donna Summer would like this stomper. Dress up
and hurry to the discotheque.
Band: BLURT Who: Experimental post-punk combo founded in 1979 in Stroud,
Gloucestershire (UK) by poet, saxophonist and puppeteer Ted Milton,
aged 82 now.
Milton grew up in Africa, Canada and Great Britain. He started his artistic career
with poetry publications. In the mid-1960s, he began performing as a puppeteer, participating in numerous international festivals and TV performances
With Blurt he recorded/released a dozen of albums
with Beneath Discordant Skies from 2015 as their
most recent one.
They’re back in town now with a brand
new track, titled THE MECCANO GIRAFFE.
TUTV: It grooves and moves along to a non-stop drum beat, a rollin’ bass
riff, trippy guitar lines, some saxy moments and Milton’s shivering voice.
Amy (vocalist): “The Brighton Scene is buzzing at the moment and it is thrilling to be playing alongside so many other great bands. Our single launch at the venue Alphabet in Brighton is part of a great new grassroots series of gigs from Spagetti promotions that showcases emerging bands from across the city”.
TUTV: Way to start! These Brits hit bullseye
right away with their chirpy debut single.
Its lazy indie pop vibes stick on the spot. Feathers is a tremendously catchy
feel-good lullaby, juiced with sparkling guitar solos, a bouncy drum/bass
tandem, and happy-go-lucky duet vocals upfront.
Band: THE GOODS Who: American power pop band blending big guitars, huge hooks,
and sweet British Invasion-style harmonies into a fresh, distinctive
sound. Formed by singer-songwriter Rob Good, a veteran of
the Oakland underground.
TUTV: Imagine nightingale legends The Byrds eight miles high, causing a jingle jangle
spectacle at an adrenalized speed, flavored with vivid vocals. Trust me, one spin and
you’ll be hooked.
Band: DIRT ROAD SOULS Who: Roots rock band who have a story tell, not per se their own,
and not entirely yours, either. It’s universal in its truth, but specific
in its intent.
Track: HOLD ON SOUL
Single from their upcoming album named ‘(The Life and Times of) Johnny Moonshine’, an ambitious 12-track concept album and roots rock opera set for release in early 2026.
Davis Black (vocalist/guitarist) “‘Hold On Soul’ was first written many years ago when
I had left my small town and gone off to start a life in Boston. After high school and college years I’d often return to my small town to recharge – and get drunk with my friends who didn’t leave town. These lyrics come from the culture shock between the two places. The stress of the city vs. the simplicity of the small town was very real for a little while.”
TUTV: Americana at its entertaining best. Groovy and cacthy melodiousness, heart-ans-soul stirring vocals/harmonies and glowing guitar electricity combine for a galvanic chant.
Jonny Woolnough (songwriter): “It’s a character appropriation offering a lens
into a couple’s day-to-day existence. A protagonist veering off the track is reminded
of his immaterial fortune. It celebrates life, existence, and endless possibility.”
TUTV: De-stressing fuel for daydreamers. Columba feels like an Indian summer
sun ray.
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
Photo by Photo: Roger Deckker
Artists: PARTY DOZEN Who: Australian duo featuring saxophonist Kirsty Tickle and
percussionist Jonathan Boulet. They released 4 albums, so far.
You can discover them via Spotify.
Track: MAD ROOTER
New single. On 19th November, it will be out on 7″ with their
cover ofSuicide‘s 1977 cracker Ghost Rider. Pre-order info here.
This aggressive and badass groove
reminds me of destructive rock misfits Royal Trux.
Daily noise that works faster than a stream of caffeine
28 August 2025
Britpop vets CAST were one of the support acts (along
with Richard Ashcroft) for the Oasis reunion gigs in
England/Ireland/Scotland/Wales.
They enjoyed their best years between 1992 and 2001,
with 4 LPs and several top hits with earworms such as Alright and Walkaway.
They had a hiatus until 2010, returned, bagged 3 more albums,
and have another one canned, titled Yeah Yeah Yeah waiting to
be released on Jan 30th, 2026.
Following lead single Poison Vine
they just dropped another taster.
Amps up, heat up, and horns blowing for rad rocker WHY IT’S GOTTA BE (YEAH).
It features backing-vocals (again) by 60s/70s soulful voice star P.P. Arnold
(aged 78 now).
The accompanying clip contains footage of their support shows for Oasis.
Released: 16 October 1995 – 25 years ago Score: #7 in the UK
AllMusic/Roch Parisien: “Cast’s All Change serves as the perfect antidote
to the inner rage fueling much American alternative rock, it would be hard
to imagine a more gloriously upbeat backbeat of a guitar pop record, one
that appeals to the eternal adolescent in each of us. The group’s pedigree
derives from good stock, founder John Power having served time with another
fine Mersey combo the La’s. But Cast transcends the hackneyed expectations
of its environment, structure, and genetics through sheer, relentless quality
of songcraft and performance.” Score: 4/5.
Turn Up The Volume: Glorious pop music
still putting a big smile on your face today.
Band: Cast– group formed in Liverpool in 1992 by
singer/guitarist John Power after leaving the near-
legendary The La’s – the band is still going strong Single:Finetime– debut single B-sides: Better Man and Satellites Released: 3 July 1995 – 25 years ago today – Powers performed the song for the first time
acoustically at a Liverpool festival while
still being with The La’s… Score: the single reached #17 in the UK Album: All Change – the band’s debut LP
turning 25 on 16 October – stream it here
‘Fine Time’ by CAST
First single by Liverpool‘s Britpop band fronted by ex-The La‘s bass player John
Power. Released 3 July 1995. Appeared also on their debut album All Change.
An absolute top tune. Catchy as hell. Guitar pop at its very best…
