UNCUT Magazine (British music monthly): “Momentum sags somewhat over its lengthy duration, but it also unquestionably features some of their finest, and funkiest, work to date.”
TUTV: Vintage electro pop bliss, the Ladytron way. Sticky, soothing New Order– and Pet Shop Boys-like melodies are nested within waves of scintillating synth radiance, while silvery vocals add tranquillising vibes. EBM for daydreamers.
KEY TRACKS: In Believe In You / Kingdom Undersea / A Death In London /
Caught In The Blink Of An Eye / Metaphysica and Solid Light
Press info: “It’s a record born from necessity rather than momentum, written during
a period when Hillig had nearly walked away from music altogether, and found himself worse for it. What emerged instead is his most vital and clear-eyed work to date, an
album shaped by collapse, community, and the unglamorous work of staying alive.”
TUTV: KAH’s warm and enthralling Americana voice injects his mixed-emotions songs with a puissant Tom Petty swagger, a rock-solid John Mellencamp zip, and, at times, a Billy Bragg tenacity.
Hillig‘s versatile songwriting skills shine throughout this highly appealing
and enrapturing record. I’ll have it on my earphones for a long time.
KEY TRACKS: The Horrible Truth / Divorce Of Course Of Course / Jules Can You See Me? / Something Is Different / Our Remaining Pig / We Were Right (‘Til We Were Wrong)
Band: CHALK Who: Earthshaking electro junks from Belfast, Ireland.
Album:CRYSTALPUNK
Their debut, following 3 EPs
over the past 4 years.
NME: “A knockout collection of arresting dance-punk. Ultimately, for all the personal meaning poured into ‘Crystalpunk’, it’s an album about unity. The unity in the oppositional soundscapes Chalk pull together, and the connection that’s possible once your individuality becomes a badge of pride. Because in ‘Crystalpunk’, there is something to believe in.”
TUTV: Decibel alarm! Chalk bombard your eardrums with a flaming flurry of disco-punk torpedoes. A sonic storm of nuclear projectiles put the flexibility of the Richter scale to the test. Think Depeche Mode on a ton of steroids. Let’s all run downtown, to the nightclub, and get the unifying party that those Irishmen are aiming at started.
Press info: “Jacob the Horse take on the rise of modern fascism, dealing with anxiety, and rallying cries for anarchy and Satan on new. It hits that nostalgic sweet spot of classic punk with elements of grunge, while bringing in tight, modern, folk-punk lyrical content that speaks to the time we’re living in now. It sparks equal parts anger and depression, while making sure we’re all having a great time listening.”
TUTV: Holy smoke! An unstoppable tidal wave of riot-riff-gun punk-rockers attack your stereo, ears and eventually your whole shaking body with a vehement Green Day urgency and targeted Bad Religion discharge. Double middle-finger for all political tyrants.
They’re busy destroying our planet. Let’s chase these scumbags out of here, so all their corrupt BS blows over. While doing so At Least It’s Almost Over will be your call-to-arms soundtrack. Attack. Now.
KEY TRACKS: Bad New Religion / 666 Chicks / The Black Hand / Totally Depressed / Closer
Dwyer: “I feel like it’s every artist’s calling to construct personal messages cloaked
in moments of escapism. It’s a bit of a joyous/sad record dealing with hope and
forgiveness, two things which I hope end up more in my life.”
TUTV: With Damaged Bug, Dwyer demonstrated/demonstrates that he’s way
more than a guitar freak. So, yes, less hyperkinetic electricity, more funky/punky
grooves, spiced with beat-rich percussion, subtle synth textures, and even a sax on the alluring meditation Over-Exposed.
Btw, Dwyer picked these 11 songs from a total of 40 he has written between tours. So, we can expect more bugs in the near future. Does this guy-in-shorts ever sleep?
KEY TRACKS: End Of The War / Hoak / Junk Food / Over-Exposed / Tented Lights
Vitalizing tunes that work faster than a stream of caffeine
19 February 2026
Band: CHALK Who: Three earthshaking electro junks from Belfast, Ireland.
Last year, they unleashed their boiling hot 3rd EP, titled Conditions III.
Track: TONGUE
New single from their upcoming debut album,
named Crystalpunk. It’ll show up on March 13th.
Ross Cullen (vocalist) “For the demo, I sang the opening few lines of the song
on my earphones microphone and that take made it to the final version. I had to
whisper because my girlfriend was sleeping beside me.
There was something ominous about the track and felt like it would be the beginning of something. I played the intro to Ben and it felt like a “Eureka” moment for us and felt like we had accidentally taken care of the opening track for the album without thinking too hard about it.”
TUTV: Alarm! Let the sirens blare! Armagddeon Time has arrived, folks! Run to the hills where CHALK will entertain us, before we go nuclear, with their new grenade. Tongue hits hard, really hard, on repeat. It’s a merciless brainbreaker. It’s an industrial sledgehammer. It’s mental! Perfect way to go out with a bing bang.
Number One (lead vocalist/producer) explains: “This song is about trying. It’s about that feeling when you give enough of a shit that it actually hurts, but you do it anyway. We wanted to capture the raucous, bloody energy of the crowds we’ve played for in Prince Edward Island and Scotland—places where people know how to celebrate and mourn in the same breath.”
TUTV: You can expect anything from these mental friends. This one resonates loudly
as if The Pogues team up with The Dropkick Murphys for a zippy punk chant before heading to the pub. I dare you to keep up with the pogo pace without tripping over your own feet and going down, head first. Sounds like big fun, right? You betcha?
Artist: pMAD Who: The moniker of Irish musician Paul Dillon, who draws inspiration
from bands like The The, The Cure, Killing Joke, Echo and the Bunnymen,
Rammstein, and Depeche Mode, and developed a unique sound that
traverses genres from Darkwave Post-Punk to Trash Metal Indie Rock.
Band: CHALK Who: Electro punks
from Belfast, Ireland.
Track: I.D.C.
Newest preview from their debut LP, named Crystalpunk. It’s out on March 13th.
TUTV: Boom! Boom! Boom! Chalk do it again. Here’s another jump here,
jump there, jump everywhere stomper. Their electro fuzz ignites your
funkiest dance moves.
Angus Rogers (frontman): “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 adrenaline-pumping thrills I wait impatiently for
every single day.
Get up, stand up, and fight
for your right to show off.
“‘Although it’s a big, joyous dance track, it’s about hiding deep emotional pain and trauma and how hedonistic coping mechanisms, like drugs, alcohol, and womanizing, are just temporary distractions.”
TUTV: This is what amazing pop-ular music is all about. Big melody, big emotions, big orchestration. Euphorically sticky as first-class glue despite its dramatic ‘real life‘ story. Aftermath soul-searching can work cathartically.
Who: Irish post-punk whirlwind, led by charismatic
voice/songwriter/guitarist Karla Chubb.
Track: BETTER
Along with Something’s Gonna Happen, my top fav track
on their brand new, second LP, called All That Is Over.
TUTV: Every time I play this pure punk-rock gem, I feel way better.
It’s striking swagger, superb groove, passionate duet vocals, and
high-strung guitar play mesmerize.
Who: The moniker of Massachusetts‘ chilling singer-songwriter Izzy Hagerup. She released her debut album Through The Window
in 2023.
Track: SYSTEM
First new piece and title track from her
2nd LP, coming our way on October 3rd.
Hagerup: “When I wrote ‘System’ I was supposed to be present and alive
and gracious and happy. But somehow I couldn’t escape my own internal
fears and depression that can follow me wherever I go.”
TUTV: What a brilliant torch song. Weeping guitars come and go while Hagerup‘s heart-stopping vocals cause goosebumps. And what a fuming
finale.
TUTV: Its ominous mid-tempo dynamics, its distorted vocals, and its riff-psychotic razzmatazz resonate as if you are listening to the scary theme song of a horror movie.
At the 2.30 minute mark, all hell breaks loose.
From a whisper to a scream. From planet Earth
to Dante‘s Inferno.
Track: FOUR
One of the highlights from their
brill 2nd LP Never Exhale
TUTV: Ditz operate in a very dark place. Sonically, as well as lyrically.
In the middle Cal Francis barks at the moon, while dense drones
infiltrate your shocked ears. Inhale, exhale.
TUTV: This 4-piece grab you by the throat from the kick-off and never lose their firm grip, while vociferous vocalist Marie De Graeve‘s has a crushing impact on your petrified stereo. Liar is a titanic motherrocker that pulverizes the Richter scale in just 250 seconds. Queens Of The Stone Age, Deftones and Black Sabbath come to mind.
TUTV: OMG! What a riot-gun banger. These Irishmen create suffocating havoc with
a maddening mix of nasty racket that brings illegal-decibels-producing bands such as
NIN and Metz to my cooking mind.
TUTV: Ecstasy. Elation. Euphoria. Exhilaration. This electro smack makes
you bounce and jump on your pogo-stick. They punch you in the teeth
without asking, while having fervent fun.
Who: Belgian noise rock trio whose sound draws influences from bands such
as Black Midi, Tool, Battles, and Swans, blending dissonance with a strong sense
of identity.
Track: NANDOR
Piece from their ace
3rd album Trois.
TUTV: What the fuck! From the very kick-off, chainsaw guitars do your
brain in. Electric chair electricity throughout. No way to escape. Neurotic
vocals complete this blitzkrieg assault.
Band: DOWN THE LEES Who: The post-rock noise project of seasoned Canadian
singer/songwriter/guitarist Laura Lee Schultz. DTL released
3 notable albums, so far.
Track: MIDI DORIC
First single. A song that deals with the
isolation and depression of the pandemic.
TUTV: A characteristic DTL thunderstorm, cranked up by blustery bass lines,
monstrous guitar riffs, Herculean drumming, Schultz‘s sky-scraping vocals and
a volcanic finale. One of the best noizz rock bands around.
TUTV: It’s a sublime, crystalline pop nugget, with its hypnotizing guitar riff,
the non-stop drum beat and the intertwined, spellbinding vocals of Win Butler
and his spouse, Régine Chassagne.
Band: KASABIAN Who: British star rockers from Leicester. One of the best bands
of the past 25 years on record and on stage, in my book.
Track:HIPPIE SUNSHINE.
Lead single from their forthcoming
9th LP. Details TBA.
TUTV: Expect a mega vitalizing, disco-charged haymaker.
Since co-founder/songwriter/frontman Serge Pizzorno pulls
all the band’s strings, he provides dynamite tunes you can
throw 24-hour parties with.
Who: One of the most adventurous/inventive/original post-punk & dub artists/performers
ever. He was a founding member of genre-bending new wave group The Pop Group and released lots of solo and collaborative records. Unfortunately, he passed away 2 years ago,
only 62.
Track: MEMORY OF YOU
Single from Stewart‘s solo album The Fateful Symmetry,
which was completed early 2023, not long before his passing.
TUTV: Haunting, synth-symphonic and bang-tastic,
with Mark‘s characteristically energetic voice on top.
First single from their forthcoming 4th full-length, their
first in 4 years, slated for release in September 2026.
TUTV: Holy Coves are back, and they don’t waste time. It’s full steam ahead from
the get-go. Eager guitars and sinewy drumming inject this sweltering steamroller with
a flaming briskness that causes a kinetic reverberation, while Marsden emotive vocals accentuate the song’s sad sentiments.
Who: 2-piece from Birmingham (UK) – Euan Woodman (drums/vocals) and Tom Rhodes (bass/vocals) – born in late 2023 over a shared love of noise, literature and late night shebeens. They write music about love and hate. They’re good for your soul.
TUTV: Warning. This insanely groovy punk blast will bulldoze all over your shocked speakers. Expect a superheated funky firestorm that attacks the Richter scale with a shattering impact. A manically jagged jackhammer it is. Trust me, you’ll think you like them, VERY MUCH, while you bang your head into your fridge’s door.
Who: A collective with members scattered across the UK and the Netherlands.
This group, now comprising seven members, has its roots in a trio that expanded
over the past four years.
New track: WET LEATHER
Piece from their sophomore
LP Total Technik.
TUTV: Kraut-rock and roll with an intoxicating force. A wall-of-guitar-pyrotechnics rollercoaster. An overpowering tempest of rambunctious riffs. Voltaic psychedelia
at its spine-chilling best, bombarding your ears the way you like it.
Who: The musical project of singer-songwriter-poet Jamie Cameron. Hailing from
the Scottish Borders, the music blends lo-fi beats, synths and guitars with spoken word lyrics in which he discusses subjects ranging from politics and premonitions to self help culture, and a modern society obsessed with economic thinking.
TUTV: This rattling rap ‘n’ punk roll crackerjack swings forth and back, left
and right and Jamie Cameron’s full of vim and vigour word-flow activates all
of your insatiable limbs before he relaxes towards the synthy end. Kinetic throb.
Hands up for the coach.
TUTV: A nasty bass riff motorizes this rollicking psych jam that seems to go on
like forever, and when the powerhouse chorus kicks in, your ears are instantly
overwhelmed. Life Is Joy is one of those riff-crazy haymakers that stick after just
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.
TUTV: This arresting, melancholic song is heart-rending. 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.
TUTV: A razzle-dazzle steamroller that gets under your skin faster
than you can say “this is bloody superb”. Its insane, mind-bending
course doubles your serotonin production on the spot.
Who: Must hear/see indies from Brighton (where everybody is in a band).
They cruise from folk to punk, using, besides traditional instruments (guitar,
bass and drums) also cello, flute, violin and other classical gear.
TUTV: 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.
A 2nd appetizer from their upcoming, 3rd EP, titled Conditions III. Check out EP one and twohere.
“‘Afraid’ captures the raw fear and exhilaration of stepping into
the unknown, a reminder that growth only happens when you
leave your comfort zone. It’s a reflection on the strength
it takes to move forward.”
TUTV: Despite the fact that I listen about 4/5 hours to new music every
day, I never heard of these Irish steamrollers before, until this new single
suddenly attacked my helpless stereo this past weekend. A roasting riot-gun
ripper.
OMG! Just like that, I discovered this year’s first sensation. Chalk create suffocating
havoc with a maniacal mix of nasty noizz that brings illegal-decibels-producing bands
such as NIN, Metz, and The Jesus Lizard to my cooking mind. They’re armed with scissor guitars, soaring synths and hellish vocals. OMG! Helter fucking bloody skelter. Watch your back Fontaines D.C.
VIDEO
AUDIO
. UK/Euro TOUR 2025
(several gigs already
sold out)
