The brothers Ron (79) and Russell Mael (76), known to the world as SPARKS
are around since 1966. Yes, that’s 59 years and no sign of retirement. Music
is the dominant element in their DNA. They can’t stop.
They canned their 28th (!) album, named MAD!
It will see the day of light on May 23rd.
“Our mantra since 1972, amplified in 2025” the bros say.
Press Info: “Most acts, by their seventh decade in the biz, would have slowed to a crawl, creakily playing their past hits on the heritage circuit and releasing nothing more than the occasional Greatest Hits collection. This is not the case for Sparks, who have triumphantly returned yet again, proving their resilience and relevance in a modern world with a fresh record and summer world tour to accompany it.”
Singles: My Devotion / Downed In A Sea Of Tears / JanSport Backpack / Do Things My Own Way
School’s not out yet for shock rocker ALICE COOPER,
born Vincent Damon Furnier in Detroit, 77 years ago.
He went to the studio with the remaining members (see below) of his original band.
And they came out with a new album, baptizedTHE REVENGE OF ALICE COOPER.
It’ll be unleashed on July 25, 2025. More info here.
Along with the news Alice & Co offer the first single. BLACK MAMBA is a pretty cool mid-tempo stomper.
Welcome back to wonderland, freaks.
The original Alice Cooper Band line-up released seven studio albums together between 1969 and 1974 consisting of Pretties For You (1969), Easy Action (1970), Love It To Death (1971), Killer (1972), School’s Out (1972), Billion Dollar Babies (1973) and Muscle of Love (1974).
Australian marathon rockers KING GIZZARD & THE LIZARD WIZARD
told us in a press statement that they recorded a full album with an
orchestra simultaneously with their 2024 LP Flight b741.
It’s their 27th in 15 years, and baptized it PHANTOM ISLAND. Details TBA soon.
New album artwork
Stu Mackenzie: “A lot of love and time and energy and patience
and growth went into this one. Can’t wait to grow wings and fly with
all of you.”
The first taster is title track already released last October.
Back in 1998 BRUCE SPRINGTEEN (now 75) released Tracks. A 4-CD box of
music from across his full career, much of which was previously unreleased.
And The Boss now reveals that he has another truck loaded with tons of songs. He just announced the upcoming release of TRACSK II: THE LOST ALBUMS, containing no less than seven albums’ worth of music that has gone unheard, until now.
Content: Tracks II: The Lost Albums contains a set spanning 83 songs revealing rich chapters of Springsteen’s expansive career timeline — while offering invaluable insight
into his life and work as an artist.
The Lost Albums will arrive in limited-edition nine LP, seven CD and digital formats — including distinctive packaging for each previously-unreleased record, with a 100-page cloth-bound, hardcover book featuring rare archival photos, liner notes on each lost album from essayist Erik Flannigan and a personal introduction on the project from Springsteen himself. A companion set — ‘Lost And Found: Selections from The Lost Albums’ — will feature 20 highlights from across the collection, also arriving June 27 on two LPs or one CD.
Springsteen: “‘The Lost Albums’ were full records, some of them even to the point of being mixed and not released. I’ve played this music to myself and often close friends for years now. I’m glad you’ll get a chance to finally hear them. I hope you enjoy them.”
LA Garage Sessions ’83:
01 “Follow That Dream”
02 “Don’t Back Down On Our Love”
03 “Little Girl Like You”
04 “Johnny Bye Bye”
05 “Sugarland”
06 “Seven Tears”
07 “Fugitive’s Dream”
08 “Black Mountain Ballad”
09 “Jim Deer”
10 “County Fair”
11 “My Hometown”
12 “One Love”
13 “Don’t Back Down”
14 “Richfield Whistle”
15 “The Klansman”
16 “Unsatisfied Heart”
17 “Shut Out The Light”
18 “Fugitive’s Dream (Ballad)”
Streets Of Philadelphia Sessions
01 “Blind Spot”
02 “Maybe I Don’t Know You”
03 “Something In The Well”
04 “Waiting On The End Of The World”
05 “The Little Things”
06 “We Fell Down”
07 “One Beautiful Morning”
08 “Between Heaven And Earth”
09 “Secret Garden”
10 “The Farewell Party”
Faithless
01 “The Desert (Instrumental)”
02 “Where You Goin’, Where You From”
03 “Faithless”
04 “All God’s Children”
05 “A Prayer By The River (Instrumental)”
06 “God Sent You”
07 “Goin’ To California”
08 “The Western Sea (Instrumental)”
09 “My Master’s Hand”
10 “Let Me Ride”
11 “My Master’s Hand (Theme)”
Somewhere North Of NashvilleV
01 “Repo Man”
02 “Tiger Rose”
03 “Poor Side Of Town”
04 “Delivery Man”
05 “Under A Big Sky”
06 “Detail Man”
07 “Silver Mountain”
08 “Janey Don’t You Lose Heart”
09 “You’re Gonna Miss Me When I’m Gone”
10 “Stand On It”
11 “Blue Highway”
12 “Somewhere North Of Nashville”
InyoV
01 “Inyo”
02 “Indian Town”
03 “Adelita”
04 “The Aztec Dance”
05 “The Lost Charro”
06 “Our Lady Of Monroe”
07 “El Jardinero (Upon The Death Of Ramona)”
08 “One False Move”
09 “Ciudad Juarez”
10 “When I Build My Beautiful House”
Twilight Hours
01 “Sunday Love”
02 “Late In The Evening”
03 “Two Of Us”
04 “Lonely Town”
05 “September Kisses”
06 “Twilight Hours”
07 “I’ll Stand By You”
08 “High Sierra”
09 “Sunliner”
10 “Another You”
11 “Dinner At Eight”
12 “Follow The Sun”
Perfect World
01 “I’m Not Sleeping”
02 “Idiot’s Delight”
03 “Another Thin Line”
04 “The Great Depression”
05 “Blind Man”
06 “Rain In The River”
07 “If I Could Only Be Your Lover”
08 “Cutting Knife”
09 “You Lifted Me Up”
10 “Perfect World”
Band: MIEN Who: Psychedelic all star team comprised of Alex Maas (The Black Angels), Rishi Dhir (Elephant Stone), John-Mark Lapham (The Earlies) and Robb Kidd (Golden Dawn Arkestra).
New album: MIIEN
Their 2nd one, following their excellent self-titled debut LP
from 2018. It’ll be shared with the world on April 18th.
Press info: In a musical landscape where the term psych often feels constrained by convention, MIEN emerges as a beacon of true sonic exploration. Recorded across Montreal, Abilene, and Austin, Texas, in a spirit of boundless experimentation, MIEN embodies the band’s alchemical approach to music, once again redefining the frontiers of psychedelia.
Their collaborative workflow transforms individual sketches into immersive soundscapes, as each member weaves their distinct sonic palette into an organic, evolving tapestry. Meticulously layered, the tracks bear the imprint of John Mark Lapham, the band’s musical alchemist, who refines these raw ideas into fully realized compositions, enriching them with bold textures and dynamic shifts. The result is an album that bridges the golden age of ‘60s psychedelia with the cutting edge of modern music.”
Hear the 3 mind-entertaining singles (so far) below.
After more than 30 years indie rock celebs GARBAGE still operate with their original
line-up of vocalist Shirley Manson, bassist Duke Erikson, guitarist Steve Marker and drummer Butch Vig (for those who didn’t know, Vig produced Nirvana‘s masterpiece LP Nevermind).
Manson:“Going into making this record, I was determined to find a more hopeful, uplifting world to immerse myself in. The title of the album, Let All That We Imagine Be the Light, is the perfect descriptor for this new record as a whole. When things feel dark it feels imperative to seek out forces that are light, positive and beautiful in the world. It almost feels like a matter
of life and death. A strategy for survival.”
This Summer/Fall they will promote it on the road in Northern
America. The tour is billed ‘Happy Endings’. Endings??
These past weeks/months 79-year-old NEIL YOUNG
is omnipresent with several old/new albums released,
and a world tour coming up.
Two years ago, he did a solo-acoustic tour of the West
Coast. That tour is about to become a new live album
and movie.
His wife/actress Daryl Hannah directed the concert movie, named COASTAL. An intimate behind-the-scenes experience of that WC tour.
It’s coming to theatres for one night only (why only one???) on April 17.
One day later, an 11-song live album Coastal: The Soundtrack comes
out, featuring recordings of 11 songs Young from those shows. Pre-order
info here.
TASTER
TRACKLIST
01 “I’m The Ocean” 02 “Comes A Time” 03 “Love Earth” 04 “Prime Of Life” 05 “Throw Your Hatred Down” 06 “Vampire Blues” 07 “When I Hold You In My Arms” 08 “Expecting To Fly” 09 “Song X” 10 “I Am A Child” 11 “Don’t Forget Love”
If you’re in the music business for more than 4 decades like Irish guitar pop heroes SIMPLE MINDS are, you deserve to lay down, sip champagne all day long next to your
pool and count your money.
But Jim Kerr and co just can’t stop the beat.
They have music streaming through their veins
since 1977.
And they keep on touring and touring. The band will be busy again in Europe, but will also fly to the US for their first tour in ages over there. Billed as the ‘Alive & Kicking’ tour they will accompanied by synth-pop veterans Soft Cell and Modern English.
To cement their live vibes on record, a new live album, named LIVE IN THE CITY OF DIAMONDS will hit the streets on April 24. It’s a double one recorded last year at
a huge concert in Amsterdam. More info here.
Kerr: “All we wanted was to be in ‘a great live band’ and to spend our lives taking our music with us around the world. Decades later we still relish that challenge every night on tour. Live In The City of Diamonds captures both the spirit and fever of Simple Minds live at this moment in time.”
A couple of weeks ago they performed their biggest hit Don’t You Forget About Me
(more than 1 billion streams on Spotify) on the American Jimmy Kimmel Live show.
Manchester‘s psych post-punk mavericks THE UNDERGROUND YOUTH,
orchestrated by voice/face/songwriter Craig Dyer have canned their 12th LP.
They named it Décollage and will share it with the world on April 4th.
Dyer about the new album: “Décollage is the art of creating an image by ripping, tearing
away or removing pieces of an original existing work. My idea was to apply this technique to music. I built walls of static coated hip-hop drum samples, layers of Lee Hazlewood style string arrangements and Serge Gainsbourg inspired mellotron melodies, then I began tearing away at these beautiful, chaotic walls of noise, exposing a new sound for The Underground Youth.”
New album artwork
Dyer citing 60s singer/songwriter/producer Lee Hazlewood (who did countless duets
with super-glam-star Nancy Sinatra) and 60s/70s French controversial songsmith/producer Serge Gainsbourg as inspirations for a new TYU full length is enough to have your and mine attention, right away. Sounds amazingly cool.
And I’m pretty sure that Dyer listened a lot to The Cure‘s last year’s masterpiece
‘Songs Of A Lost World‘ before or during the writing of lead single YOU (The Feral
Human Thunderstorm) with its slo-mo, melancholic synths infused progression
and lament resonance. Entrancing effort.
