Only last November I discovered Brighton‘s metallic punk misfitsDITZ when
they played a bulldozing gig in my hometown of Ghent, Belgium that blew my ears
off. Last March they released their flabbergasting debut LP The Great Regression.
A contender for album of the year on Turn Up The Volume‘s list. And last Saturday at
the indie-fantastic Leffingeleuren Festival in Belgium, the Brits made lots of people
(who never saw/heard them) drop their jaws. Lots of flabbergasted faces, during and
after, with a ‘what the fuck was this punk-blitzkrieg attack all about’ grimace on their faces.
I’ll give you 5 reasons why DITZ should be your favourite
headliner at the final festival of festivals on Doomsday.
(Date TBA)
1. Their live wall-of-trash-and-crash sound breaks every law about decibels-levels. It’s beyond aural belief, but also scary, earth-shattering, and balls-and-brain-breaking, most
of the time. Don’t you love it when you can feel music really physically as if your body gets electrocuted? I do. It makes me feel much livelier than just being alive.
2. The demonic guitar duo of Anton Mocock and Jack Looker produce an amount of kick-ass electricity (not cheap these days) that make roofs/walls of venues tremble. Their non-stop chainsaw riff blasts are VERY FUCKING LOUD.
3. The rhythm section of Sam Evans and Caleb Remnant batters with a bad-ass
HERCULEAN VEHEMENCE. Perfect for an Armageddon battle of bands.
4. They’re big fans of Fugazi, At The Drive-In, Metz, Flipper, Black Flag and
other mean noise machines that I want to see on Doomsday Fest.
5. Last but not least there’s the psychotic vox and venue-filling presence of Cal Francis. He doesn’t really sing, he rants. He doesn’t look, he stares. He despises homophobes, I want to be who I am haters. capitalist criminals, and other related scum. He’s the bugaboo in Kate Moss disguise. He’s the perfect she-devil to front this perfect devilish band at the final festival of all festivals.
I rest my case and I’m ready for the
umpteenth spin of The Great Regression
The by now legendary passion rockers from Cincinnati, Ohio with mastermind Greg Dulli leading the troops have their new longplayer How Do You Burn? out on 9 September.
This lead single is a sturdy steamroller, a red-hot-heated ripsnorter, an unstoppable cannonball going everywhere fast. Manic blitzkrieg guitars, ruthless drum/bass attacks, Greg Dulli‘s rush of blood vocality, and a brutal finish. Flabbergasting.
Dulli: “That’s one of the hardest rock songs we’ve ever done.
It was written and performed on sheer adrenalin.”
This London post-punk team unleashed their 2nd scorching album Beware Believers, last April. One of TUTV’s best full-lengths of 2022 (so far).
Single Slowly Separate is a schizo sonic serpent generating a mind-blowing backwash
while chainsaw guitars turn up the decibels to an illegal peak, and man-in-the-middle James Fox rages and blazes through his teeth.
This frenetic Brit force hit big time with their dazzling debut album The Great Regression last March (more about it in a couple of days).
Let’s focus now on one of its cast-iron brainbreakers. It’s a poignant, biting, and
anxious uppercut. I’m pretty sure Moss would love this hit-and-run drone when
it would hit her ears. She is, after all, the Femme Punk Fatale of fashion.
4. ‘Twitchin’ in The Kitchen’ byWARMDUSCHER (London)
This punky-funky disco corker is the perfect pick-me-up tune for all the wacky weirdos who are always in the kitchen at parties waiting for free drinks and waiting for Warmduscher to come in and kick their lazy asses. Big stroke, big chorus, big fun!
“It’s a warning, an unflinching assessment of the vastness and insignificance of this
life, is precisely counterbalanced by their lesson, which models the resilience that this understanding demands. ‘Demolition Row’ is persistent, concise, and alarmingly physical.”
This blustery belter is vintage Metz. Full blast ahead, no brakes, no breaks.
The track featured on a split 7” with London-based group Adult Life.
From Dylan’s Desolation Row
to Metz’s Demolition Row…
“As a story or metaphor, we are all ‘Frankenstein’s monster’ – made up of other people’s opinions and parts that don’t belong to us. That we were born perfect but people, in their
own conditioning, come along and can make us feel undesirable/inadequate/the monster.
But we can choose to be real instead.”
This is without a shadow of a doubt the best debut single I heard so far this year.
A towering tune going low, high and back. A sickly sticky pop gem wrapped in
a big-boisterous-wall-of-sound. And upfront, Sianna Lafferty ‘s phenomenal voice
causes goosebumps when she goes sky-high on the chorus. The ardency of Porridge Radio comes to mind.
One word: AWESOME.
“I am not what you want me to be
Uncle Sam won’t even point at me
Even the eyes of the Virgin Mary wall
hanging won’t even stare at me.”
Shaman progresses like a vicious viper sliding to its prey. Determined, but always
wary of sudden danger. It dumbfounds and flummoxes while the song’s tension
intensifies and sends shivers down your spine.
No metallic explosions or abrupt pace changes this time, although it feels like a thunderstorm can happen as the mesmeric music swells along its ominous path
towards a demonic climax. Another appealing piece de resistance, another
psychedelic exploit another step closer to the new album.
“A paean to taking your foot off the gas and letting things slide, or a warning of the perils of procrastination, perhaps? It’s hard to tell whether ‘Mañana’ is meant to serve as a confessional regarding Domestic’s own perceived lack of willpower, or a celebration of idleness. It could be either of these things; and that’s one of its many joys.”.
A sirens intro, David Bowie‘s saxophone, and steel drums straight from Trinidad. Sounds like an exotic swing and shake ditty is coming up. No folks, it’s a lazy rap-sody you can play the morning after a booze marathon to get up and sober up, slowly.
Soul voice Clare Gillet takes care of the chirpy chorus.
“Propelled by a motorik rhythm and abrasive guitars, it stomps toward a doom-laden finale. Inspired by Sebastião Salgado’s (note TUTV: Brasilian photographer) anarchic photos of the Gold Mines of Serra Peladain the Amazon in 1985: the track explores the relentless obsession with grasping a glint of glory from the mud. “
Once I learned that this startling belter is about the horrible exploitation of human
beings by ferocious money sharks this jagged jackhammer blew my mind even harder than I heard it the first time before knowing about the band’s inspiration for this stunner.
Expect rabid guitars, doom and gloom vocals, and frantic
twists and turns until the chaotic finale. Post-punk at
its razorblade best.
Geordie Greep (vocalist, guitar): “Almost everything I write is from a true thing, something
I experienced and exaggerated and wrote down. I don’t believe in Hell, but all that old world folly is great for songs, I’ve always loved movies and anything else with a depiction of Hell.”
A screwy zig-zagging haymaker it is. From upcoming, 3rd, LP Hellfire.
My fav track from one of my fav albums of the year (so far), baptized A False Glimmer Of Hope with loudmouth James Domestic (yep, the
guy from above) going bonkers.
This red-hot-blistering hardcore missile punks up your adrenalin and
invites you to open all windows and doors and yell your tits off.
My favored sonic sci-fi symphony from the duo’s excellent Eris Wakes EP.
Trippy, spooky, trancy. With repetitive mind-twisting Krautrock eurhythmics
that take you on an otherwordly voyage. Top-flight!
After the piano intro (sounds like the theme tune of classic horror-thriller Halloween) this young outspoken artist fumes with barbed wire temper towards the supersonic chorus that resonates like hardcore rap.
This rushing rollercoaster swings forth and back with grim impetus until the gloomy
synth climax makes way for that ominous piano fragment again. TV or not TV, that’s
the question? The answer is easy. To hell with the relentless idiocy of reality TV stars and influencers constantly putting pressure on growing minds to behave in ways unattainable to most.
Oscar Mic wrote this song after witnessing the horrific violence of
psycho Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine on the news. All proceeds of
the song go to Save The Children’s Ukraine Appeal.
We Are Ukrainian is a tremendously catchy hip-rap-pop jam featuring steel drums
and timpani balancing somewhere between Roots Manuva and Mr. Scruff.
“Fleeing people running scared, so tell me Where’s the justice? Our leaders say they care,
tell me can you trust this? Urban warfare, your home’s done and dusted, Aiming at the
public, they wouldn’t? They just did,”
The titillating electro- intro echoes early Depeche Mode before they became the darkwave Goth-esque rockers we all know. But in an eye-blink White Skin turns into a swirling synth-pop stomper to fill dancefloors with. It’s an instantly infectious nightclub earworm with an ecstatic chorus.
18. ‘Worthless Souls’ by MELTED WINGS (Toronto, CA)
“A track that calls out how sexism and power corrupt all levels of society.
We all need to recognize this going forward and make sure that it doesn’t
go unchecked.”
The sickly sticky synth beat comes across like an invitation for my feet to kick the butts of vicious sexists and power-horny billionaires ruining people’s lives. Middle finger to them while spinning around mad as a hatter to this bang-on electro buzz. Trust me, you’ll feel much better afterward
This is what ecstatic pop grandeur is all about. Music that elevates
your state of mind to a titillating level. This pearl generates a feel-good
entrancing buzz.
When the multi-layered vocals/harmonies pop up in a gospel-like choir delight
creates an atmosphere of utter joy comparable with the euphoric drive of The Polyphonic Spree. Vitalizing vibe, refreshing rapture.
20. ‘Life And Lies’ by LEE ROGERS (Northern Ireland)
A mixed-emotions lullaby with Rogers‘ sky-reaching voice as the star. It’s an emotional
and bluesy reflection. Wurlitzer jukeboxes should be reinvented for these heartbreakers so moody minds can cry their eyes out (or cry in their beer) at night in a downtown bar where lonely ones gather and muse about life and lies.
“Themes of insecurity and gender pop up a lot over the course of the album, as well as lots of references to the human body breaking and being harmed in unnatural ways, although there’s no one overarching concept, simply because the songs have come together over such a long period of time. The title is not so much a reference to society going backwards, but more the band’s penchant for childish jokes. “Sitting in a van all day can get silly,” laughs Cal (frontman)”.
More info about this special vinyl edition on Dinked
Louder Than War says: “The Great Regression is about as strong as debut records get. Channelling all of its rage, sarcasm and scorn into a taut, well-honed package it’s both a
brutal assault on the senses and a window into the raw talent and unique worldview that makes Ditz one of the most interesting bands on the current UK punk scene.”
Full review here. Score: 8/10.
Turn Up The Volume: After playing opener Clocks to the max, with its Blitzkrieg grinta, it feels like the band and I are already out of breath as you can hear on the post-explosion outro. I felt wrong, as several KO Killers (Ded Würst / The Warden / I Am Kate Moss and the JAWDROPPING missile closer No Thanks, I’m Full) follow and do your head in. Ditz is a mean manic post-punk machine. The first minutes of the slower pieces (Three / Instinct / Teeth) are misleading, halfway they explode like grenades. No rest for the wicked, no rest for Ditz, no rest for your ears.
Keywords: Frenetic forcefulness, blistering British bluster, fuck Brexit fierceness,
exorcistic vocality, 10 KO killers. One of the best 2022 albums (so far)? You betcha!
Joe Talbot (Idles): “DITZ are the best band in Brighton, if not the world”.
Singles/videos: I Am Kate Moss / Ded Würst / the Warden
– I AM KATE MOSS –
“About the separation between your visual and personal identities,
particularly within the context of masculinity and femininity”.
– DED WÜRST –
“A ferocious mix of Gilla Band, Foals and a lyric bemoaning
the moral quandary of minimum-wage employment.”
– THE WARDEN –
“A song all about being too intense, ironically set to an intense
backing somewhere between Deftones and Mogwai.”
James Cox (frontman): ““I used to be quite obsessed with true crime, and this song was
kind of born out of researching H.H Holmes and the World Trades Hotel in the 1860’s where
he would murder people staying at his hotel informally called ‘The Murder Castle’. I also got quite obsessed with a faith healer from the early 1900’s called Reverend Major Jealous Divine and reading transcripts of his old sermons, so this is basically just a weird amalgamation of mad shit I read about.”
A wham-bloody-bam drum intro, scorching guitars, filthy grooves, angry vocals,
all in just 50 seconds. Sounds like Nick Cave and his freakish gang The Birthday Party
are back with a filthy blues-injected blast. If you like creepy doom and gloom hullabaloo from a smelly basement you’ll love this to death.
A razorblade uppercut as intimidating as a bulldozer and
cutting as a Swiss knife. No rest for the wicked. One of the
clamorous highlights of these hardcore junks’ debut album A False Glimmer Of Hope.
Garage blues-rock junk Jon Spencer is back in town.
This time with his HITmakers. This razzle-dazzle cracker
is pushed by a bouncy synth touch and, schizophrenic
guitars and, of course, Spencer‘s freaky vocals.
The wonderful Kristin Hersh has an impressive résume.
10 albums with Throwing Muses, 10 solo albums and one
full LP and several EPs with50 Foot Wave (trio with Throwing Muses‘ bassist Bernard Georges).
And Hersh doesn’t think about retiring yet, she never will.
A new 7-track 50 Foot Wave album, entitled Black Pearl
comes our way on 15 April. Order info here.
Taster Staring Into The Sun is, a boisterous and metallic
slo-mo groove with a hammering beat, pumped-up guitars,
and Hersh’s manic vocals augmenting the shadowy tone of
this belter.
So what’s next for 50 Foot Wave? Playing at
metalfest Aftershock in Sacramento in October?
8. ‘Clowns For President’ by BAD SKIN (Montreal, CA)
Think legendary gritty grrrls Bikini Kill having a ball with Pussy Riot while kicking Russian president Putin up the ass.
These 4 steamy sisters in punchy punk crime buzz and fuzz
like a hot rod on the run.
Bad Skin storm full steam ahead with front Amazon Dope sneering
like a raging riot grrrl. Yep, Dope is dope. And this stunning stonker
is dope too!
Sounds like Patti Smith‘s Because The Night ends in a painful break-up
for the lovers. Ava Vox‘s heartache vocality and hurt timbre emphasise
the confused state of mind of the abused one and the melodramatic
sonic boom of this emotional eruption expresses sorrow, distress,
and angst. Another gripping Vox piece.
10. ‘This Cost Of Life’ by TIDAL WAVE (Toronto, CA)
Oh my, oh my. This sky-reaching gem left me out of breath after just one spin.
A tower of a song with an imposing impact. A masterstroke that explodes after the foreplay-intro and moves up and down like a roller coaster. Stellar tune, stellar sound, stellar guitars, stellar emotions, and a stellar chorus. Anthemically orchestrated with goosebumps arrangments. I’m quite sure their awesome fellowmen Arcade Fire would
like this grand exploit.
This is one of those songs that hypnotise from the get-go
to the eager finale. A feverish chant, one long chorus with Marglin‘s delirious voice causing goosebumps.
This is classic heavy metal. Huge sound, huge vocals, huge tune
with a huge chorus. If you’re a metal addict you will not mind if this
Swedish hit team stalks you. After an ominous violin intro, all burners
are on and frontman Michael Storck’s overwhelming pipes take over.
Self-titled debut longplayer comes on
11th February 2022 via WormHoleDeath.
This boiling-hot-cooking stroke hit me and my ears from
the moment the first chord blasted out of my shaking stereo.
Ardent anxiety and edgy excitability dominate this fanatical
outburst. And when the hair-rising chorus erupts you’ll
go mental just as these wolves do.
A twist and turn prog-pop-rock composition bringing legends Genesis (early years with Peter Gabriel) and YES (with voice Jon Anderson)
to mind. My favorite cut from Odawin‘s triumphant debut EP ‘Untitled.
Sensual, puzzling, tempting, synth-matic,
imaginative, seductive, esoteric, and relaxing.
HVIRESS are here to stay.
The ladies have once again teamed up with Scott Chalmers
to create an unsettling music video that leaves the viewer
pondering what they’ve just seen, a perfect partner to
the song’s opening lines…
“What is it that you see? It almost seems unreal
What is responsible for all the things you feel”
This riff-rowdy ripper flames with fervid fervency and resonates
as if Bob Mould was invited to play guitar. Ace tune, towering
sound, impassioned vocals, and a sickly sticky chorus.
Just what you need to activate your serotonin production.
Maximum result for a minimum wage.
This is what ecstatic pop grandeur is all about. Music that elevates
your state of mind to a titillating level. This new majestic single
generates a spellbinding buzz we all can use in these difficult
pandemic times.
When the multi-layered vocals/harmonies kick in, a gospel-like choir delight
creates an atmosphere of utter joy comparable with the euphoric drive of The Polyphonic Spree. Vitalizing vibe, refreshing rapture.
Band: DITZ Who: Post-punk gang from Brighton (UK)
that hit the scene back in 2015 References: Irish turbo Gilla Band
and louder than war Canadians Metz
Alcopop!Records: “Even though the various lockdowns slowed the band’s
momentum for a while, they turned the situation to their advantage, using
the downtime to fine-tune this incredible debut… Abrasive but accessible,
The Great Regression is set to be one of the most important British guitar
debuts of 2022.”
Joe Talbot (Idles): “DITZ are the best band in Brighton, if not the world”.
Singles (so far shared): Ded Wûrst / The Warden / I Am Kate Moss
– DED WÜRST –
Nasty sledgehammer bulldozing from start to end…
. – THE WARDEN –
Front(wo)man Cal Francis: “It’s about the separation between
your visual and personal identities, particularly within the context
of masculinity and femininity”…
I discovered this brilliant post-punk turbo last month at an indoor festival in Amsterdam. The whole crowd went bananas. These motherrockers slash and trash with a burning vehemence and a flabbergasting fervency. Miami Lounge is the crackerjack opener of this year’s released 5-track EP Bad Time.
Now it’s your turn to discover this awesome London squad.
Earlier this month this dynamite hit team blew all punters away with their jaw-dropping gig in my hometown Ghent (Belgium). They razzled and dazzled with ebullient exertion, blistering British bluster, and a fuck Brexit fierceness. The roof went off.
Ded Würst, their newest single, is nothing less
than a nasty and filthy sledgehammer. Das super!
6. ‘His Ilk’ by BRONSON ARM (Kalamazoo, Michigan, US)
From Michigan here come 2 Pc Noisey Slacker Psychedelic Sludge Punks.
They joined Canada-based indie label Off White House Records
this year with a big bang.
Their newest outburst is a riffin’ rollercoaster that makes the hair in
your neck stand up with its metallic resonance and relentless bass
frenzy. Add nightmarish vocals and I’m sure Santa Claus will run
away in fear.
The alias of British singer-songwriter of Bobby Anderson.
Never Ready is a vicious droning blast. Wïlderman rankles,
rages, and has a bad taste in his mouth. Never ready for
her look and her voice. 133 seconds of sonic sex.
Hot groove, hot intensity, hot slam dunk. Fucktastic!
8. I Don’t’ Love You Anymore’ by CHATEAU CHATEAU (Tucson, Arizona, US)
Glam and glitter riot tattoo grrl Blue attracts all attention,
sonically as well as visually. She swirls and scintillates on this
new kick while cursing idiots who hate the LGBTQ+ community,
who hate tattoos, and who hate anybody who doesn’t live by
their ultra-conservative rules.
To hell with all these idiots.
Meanwhile, enjoy this jangly earworm that sticks as
first-class glue and reaches an aural orgasm every
time the chorus pops up.
With Absent Transient they show their masterly skills of writing ear-and-mind
pleasing pop tunes charged-up with rotating riffs and dreamy vocal harmonies.
When an old skool DJ teams up with Pulp’s Jarvis Cocker you
get a sizzling acid house corker to start and end all upcoming New Year’s Eve parties with.
13. ‘What You Keep Telling Yourself’ by DOWN WITH SPACE (Montreal, Canada)
The motorik and magnetic rhythm of this electronic exploit makes your head
turn 360°. The catching combination of near whispering vocals, scintillating David
Gilmour guitar vibrance and cybernated elegance create an overall ear-ecstatic
vibe culminating in a dynamic finale.
Expect flashy echoes of the 80s British New Romantics movement with
this instant catching pop spark, fueled with glimmering guitar/play,
impassioned vocals, and a non-stop drum beat.
This sugary pop bliss feels good at first, better the second time,
and the best with all other spins. Great pop-ular music is about
lifting up the listener’s mood to a euphoric level for about
3/4 minutes. Easier said than done, but not here.
Still is a glorious harmonious touchy-feely gem that appeals from
the kick-off with Gardiner‘s tantalising voice and Kuras‘ vitalizing
guitar ravishment. Add a delirious chorus and you have yourself
a 24-Carat top thrill.
This Italian singer-songwriter, born Patrizio Ottavianiiter,
produces a blend of psychedelic rock and Arabic harmonies.
Knight Of Cups is the latest single in a series of monthly releases this year.
Electric dream-pop at its tempting best. Sparkling, spirited, and seductive.
Nell Smith is a 13-year old fan of Oklahoma’s eccentric stargazers Flaming Lips
(one of my all-time fav bands). Frontman Wayne Coyne spotted her at one point
as she attended several gigs with her father. They got in touch and after Coyne
found out that she’s a singer he proposed her to work with the band on a Nick
Cave tribute album he already had in mind for some time.
They got all in the studio and the result is a 9-song Nick Cave
covers album baptized Where The Viaduct Looms with
the nightingale voice of Nell as the heroine in the middle.
You can stream the brand new record on Spotify
One of the standouts is her version of
the heart and soul ballad The Ship Song.
19. ‘Always Together With You’ by SPIRITUALIZED (Rugby, UK)
Jason Pierce and his orchestra have a new LP,
called Everything Was Beautiful coming on
25 February 2022
With this spellbinding symphony, he does what he does so splendidly for so long. This
first new piece is another soulful spiritual growing slowly into a gospel-like trance. Epic!
Last June mega-star-crooner Cave and his bad seed friend Warren Ellis
signed for one of the best LPs of 2021 with their astonishing Carnage opus.
And they’re not done yet. The duo releases the soundtrack they wrote for the French nature documentary Panthère Des Neiges (The Snow Leopard)on 17 December.
Here’s the magnificent taster We Are Not Alone.
A characteristic Cave humdinger. Tender and gripping.
Watch the magic, hear the magic…
See/hear you next month with the best 20 knockouts of 2021…
Band: DITZ Who: Firm post-punk gang from Brighton (UK)
that hit the scene back in 2016 References: The bulldozing Irish turbo Girl Band
and louder than war Canadians Metz Where/when: Ghent, Belgium – 6 November Works: Check their Bandcamp page
This dynamite post-punk hit team was unquestionably the standout winner
of the small Badlands festival in my hometown of Ghent last Saturday. They
razzled and dazzled with fervent force, blistering British bluster, and a fuck
Brexit fierceness. Cocksure frontman Cal Francis was the eager eye-catcher
and ranting ringleader inspecting his troops from within the crowd.
No brakes, no pause, no breathing space with this well-oiled, mean live machine
that worked its way, slowly but surely, towards an orgasmic finale that made the
sweaty audience go ballistic with a flaming moshpit force.
Abso-fucking-lutely blitkrieg bluster.
DITZ came, saw, conquered, and took the ferry back to England the moment they
left the heated building. They were the talk of the town for the rest of the night.
Brand new single DED WÜRST
will give you a noise-tastic idea of their jarring horsepower.
Brighton‘s fierce noiseniks DITZ have a new sledgehammer single out called ‘ROLE MODEL‘. Prepare your aural antenna for an ear-splitting assault of an illegal dose of
crushing decibels. Manic droning doing your head in. Merciless pounding disorienting
your blood-pressure. Madcap battering speeding up your pulse. Mental blazing messing up your mind. Mad vocals scaring the shit out of you. Sounds like metallic fun, isn’t it! You betcha!
Two minutes of thumping havoc with a rousing impact ringing in your ears long after you played this buffeting jackhammer for the umpteenth time. ‘Role Model’ is a contender for trash ‘n’ crash drone of the year. Absobloodylutely.
TURN UP THE VOLUME 