Ditz

TURN UP THE VOLUME’s 25 Best Tracks Of 2023… So Far

Posted on by JL

Time flies. We already have six months of 2023 behind us.

Six months of listening every day to music, bad/good, very good and 24 Carat Gold.
It was hard to make a selection of the 25 most impressive pieces. But we did it.

Turn Up The Volume’s 25 Best Tracks Of 2023… So Far
Right here, right now.

ALL TOGETHER


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TRACK BY TRACK

1. ‘Lads Lads Lads’ by LAMBRINI GIRLS (UK)

These Brighton punk feminists are MENTAL and AWESOME.

They released Turn Up The Volume‘s best EP of 2023 (so far), named You’re Welcome
a couple of weeks ago. And one of the 6 Molotov cocktails on it is this in your-macho-face sucker-punch. The Lambrini girls race faster than a Ferrari bolide. Best band in the world!

Halle-fucking-lujah

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2. ‘This Just Ain’t My Year’ by 32 TENS

A vigorous young trio from the UK. On this turbulent ripsnorter, it’s full tilt ahead
from the get-go. No brakes, no breaks, no mistakes. A whirlwind of scorching guitars,
pounding drumming, a revolving bass line somewhere in the middle, go-getting vocals
and a dynamite refrain. This is gonna be the year for 32 TENS.

Here’s why.


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3. ‘Gorilla Guerilla’ by MANTRA OF THE COSMOS (UK)

This brand-new supergroup features Shaun Ryder & Bez (Happy Mondays/Black Grape), Andy Bell (Ride/Oasis) and drummer Zak Starkey, yes Ringo’s son, who played with Oasis and The Who among others and who actually came up with this project’s idea and describes it as “a fantastic psychedelic groove from a band of misfits, outsiders and innovators.”

Whatever, this first single is a Booming Blast!

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4. ‘Right Wing Beast’ by SLEAFORD MODS (UK)

Hip-shaking-hop highlight from the waterfall-punk-rap duo’s 12th LP UK GRIM.


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5. ‘Freedom’ by CHIC CHOC (NYC)

It’s an incredible shame that women still have to fight for so many fundamental rights.
It’s bloody 2023 and so much female injustice is still a reality. So, it’s great that female artists get up, stand up and fight for their right to tackle this human disease.

Chic Choc do it right away on their fantastic debut single. An electronic-booming EBM knockout to fill dance floors with. Boosting beats, catching chorus, sensuous vocals and
a protesting choir, lead to a sassy stunner. Bang-on. Le freak, c’est chic choc.

Freedom for every woman on the planet. NOW!


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6.’Beefcake Doctrine’ by CHUM (London, UK)

This 4-piece post-punk from London launched their
kick-ass debut LP Metaphysical earlier this year.

Beefcake Doctrine is driven by repetitive Krautrock dynamics.
Its trance-inducing beats create a hypnotic and puzzling razzmatazz
you can’t and you won’t escape from.

Touchdown!

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7. ‘Riverstone’ by DITZ (Brighton, UK)

After scoring the best debut LP – to TUTV’s ears – of 2023
The Great Regression, followed by a live album, they just
dropped this brain-frying hammer blow.

An electric chair experience.


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8. ‘Lose My Mind’ by THE MANIC BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB (Canada)

It’s a liberating, drum-backed anthem that allows the band to break free from any stress
or obligations in pursuit of a good night. Good times or bad times, it’s always (in)sane to lose your marbles while diving into a hot let’s have a ball night, now and then. And ‘Lose Your Mind‘ is the matching master blaster to double your adrenalin production.

Sheer euphoria.

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9. ‘Bullet Man’ by PARIS TEXAS (Los Angeles)

On this slam hip-hop dunk the duo condemn the US’s mass shootings of late in a cynical loud-and-clear way The rip-roaring rappers pretend to be murderous shooters firing at everyone and everything. Bulletman is a devastating drill, a boiling burst that cuts like a first-class Swiss knife.

Shoot.

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10. ‘Set Yourself On Fire’ by ULTRA SUNN (Brussels, Belgium)

Once again this cold/darkwave duo – Sam Huge and Gaelle Souflet – shine in the darkness. The rapturous chorus hits you from the first spin. Resounding beats, entranced synths, and echoing vocals combine for another triumph.

Shake your booty.

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11. ‘Your Death Is My Glory’ by CAMLANN (Indonesia)

A human-caring dark-disco duo Ony Godfrey and Fauzan Pratama from Indonesia.

Their newest single is a catchy-as-hell injection that accelerates your bloodstream.
An irresistible stomper to jump up and down like crazy while giving the middle
finger to all power-greedy politicians.

Score!

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12. ‘Lipstick’ by GHOST FETISH (Seattle)

What a way to debut! Expect a glorious nightclub gem with a synth-tantalizing vibe reminiscent of the starry-eyed sparks of British electro-pop heroes New Order. Lipstick
is both a sensuous and affectional tune with gripping vocals up front and melancholic
ones in the back.

Top!


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13. ‘Prophecy Of The Dragon’ by THE VOIDZ (NYC)

Julian Casablancas, the voice/face of The Strokes returns with his hobby band.

Their new single is a flabbergasting metallic corker. It goes forth and back, left and
right, slow and fast as if Casablancas and his misfits put several snippets of several
songs together and puzzled them into one stupendous stroke of a track.

Blimey.

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14. ‘What If?’ by QUIZ SHOW (Montclair, NJ)

This noizzzz jackhammer from their self-titled debut LP rocks and rolls with panache. Expect ablaze guitars buzzing in a slow/fast mode and turning up the volume, especially
on the yell-along refrain. Legends Hüsker Dü come to mind. Say no more.


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15. ‘Heart On‘ by 2LIBRAS (Seattle)

It’s the second single off of the upcoming debut album World’s End of this cyber-synth duo.

Heart On is an arousing mid-tempo groover. Both spicy and funky, shadowy and seductive, lustful and provocative with hypnotizing vocals. Its slow-mo synth-bass beat crawls under your skin from the kick-off and progresses steadily towards your restlessly pounding heart.

Groovy.

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16. ‘Night Time’ by BROKEN RECORDS (Scotland)

The first single from their new, 5th full-length,
named The Dreamless Sleep Of The 1990s.

Night Time is an ecstatic, awe-inspiring, and anthemic thrill. It has that engrossing and
afire rock swagger of Bruce Springsteen‘s melancholic Americana exploits, it’s infused with
The Edge-like guitar sparks and frontman Sutherland‘s ardent signing is a perfect match for this soul-stirring pearl.

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17. ‘Spellbinding’ by THE SMASHING PUMPKINS (US)

Billy Corgan and his combo released a rock
opera opus titled Atum: In Three Acts.

A total of 33 tracks which I reduced to a great 12-song album.

One of those 12 cuts is this flaming synth-induced haymaker.


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18. ‘Cars’ by Artists: LUNAR TWIN (Hawai/Salt Lake City)

This electro-pop duo scored an excellent album with Aurora last April.
A 30-minute sonic trip, an ambient fantasy with trancy vibrations, ataractic
effects, and near-whispering vocals.

Cars is my favorite piece. Electrifying dream pop
at its mesmerizing best with sparkling guitar play.

Home run.


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19. HRT by Band: I, DORIS (London)

This colorful collective criticize the disastrous state of health care, with the government ignoring the life-risking problems, in England with a sickly sticky riot grrrl pop tune that activates your limbs instantly.

Think Debbie Harry and Blondie playing around on their debut LP. Vibey and briskly. Frolicsome 60s organ touches, lively guitars here and there, and avid vocals.

Applause.

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20. ‘From The Start’ by LOST IN JAPAN (Canada)

The band’s new punchy stroke jumps up and down in your head and elevates your mood from the start. It’s a contagious foot-stamper with a poppy chorus vibe inviting you to play air guitar and sing along with all the force your lungs can come up with.

Wowzers!

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21. ‘Los Angeles: City Of Death’ by SWANS (NYC)

Capricious mastermind Michael Gira and his combo around for
a long time now, actually since 1982. But they still deliver impressive
goods.

New LP The Beggar is a mind-fucking feat.

And this grand jam is an ongoing, repetitive psych drone, with
saw-edged guitars Gira‘s poignant vocals adding a creepy
touch.


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22. ‘Sinatra Drive Breakdown’ by YO LA TENGO (Hoboken, NJ)

A notable psychedelic trip by the lauded indie veterans who released
one of their best longplayers (17 in total) with This Stupid World.


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23. ‘Dead And Over’ by DOWN THE LEES (Canada)

The first new music in three years from the post-punk-rock project of singer-songwriter-guitarist Laura Lee Schultz. The composition captures the raw emotions of sadness, frustration, and anxiety that permeated throughout the years since the pandemic began.

The track’s ominous mid-tempo progression and swelling structure advancing over
an ongoing hypnotic guitar riff send shivers down your spine. Second by second, like
a nervously ticking clock, the sonic poignancy and heartfelt fervidness grow with exuberance and magnitude until Schutlz’s monumental vocals go through the roof.


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24. ‘Why Did You Go?’ by CHVRLI BLVCK (London)

This is an emotive post-break-up pearl. Heartfelt reflections embedded in
a goosebump musing that resonates like a bittersweet symphony. This British
singer-songwriter’s highly passionate vox reminds me of Antony Hegarty‘s sensitive ardency. The whole-souled tristesse and mixed emotions at play here make you
silent.

Tune in.


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25. ‘A Little Bit’ by MILES FROM NOWHERE (Hamilton, Ontario)

This is the artistic moniker of Canadian songsmith Miles Evans-Branagh. He signed for
one of this year’s best albums, so far, with Slow Down. Eight musings. Eight engrossing compositions with one and the same message: get high on life with love. Craftily written, subtly arranged, and graciously orchestrated with intimate, soulful charm and stylish elegance that moves and touches.

Opener A Little Bit is one of those 8 affecting reveries.


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Have An Electric Chair Experience With DITZ And Their New Brain-Frying Sledgehammer ‘RIVERSTONE’

Posted on by JL

Daily electricity to load your batteries

8 June 2023

Brighton‘s post-punk dropouts DITZ fabricated the best debut album of 2022, according to Turn Up The Volume’s ears, with their blaze & rage LP THE GREAT REGRESSION. Since then the band are on a non-stop tour frenzy leading to an inevitable psychical crash. But even then, these turbulent bohemians succeed to get something amazeballs out of the mind-crushing situation. Enter the new smashing single RIVERSTONE.


(Pic by Turn Up The Volume – Brugge – 3 May 2023)

Cal Francis (frontman) “Caleb [Remnant] had recently bought this Sub Phatty and had taken it with him, so we were trying to find any way to make it fit in a track. I think we were listening to lots of Death Grips and hardcore that week.”

“The lyrics were related to whatever we were talking shit about that day.
Dirt-cheap ’baccy and annoying, invasive TikToks. It’s hard to recall.”

TUTV: Get ready for an excessive electro-industrial sledgehammer doing your head,
your ears and your mind in. Bang-bang-bang-bang. Deafening drones, chainsaw guitars,
a schizophrenic Francis rant, it’s all there to have an electric brain-frying chair experience. Never mind the burnout, Ditz rule.

Hit here.

BUY here.


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DITZ: Facebook – Instagram – The Great Regression

Louder Than War – British Post-Brexshit Punks DITZ Hit Belgium Again

Posted on by JL

Last Wednesday it was the third time that I witnessed one of the most
exciting post-Brexshit-punk bands, the Brighton mavericks DITZ building a
deafening LOUDER THAN WAR wall-of-sound. This time in Brugge, Belgium.

I’ll give you 5 reasons why DITZ are one of the best live bands around.

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 that make roofs/walls of venues tremble. Their non-stop chainsaw riff blasts are fucking ace.

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 other mean noise machines. All fav bands I dig too.

5. Last but not least there’s the psychotic vox and venue-filling presence of Cal Francis. He rants, he stares, he’s off and on stage, he’s a bugaboo in Kate Moss disguise; and he’s the perfect she-devil to front this perfect devilish band.


“I cut a striking figure”


“I’m here, guys.”

Their debut LP THE GREAT REGRESSION
released last year was named ‘Best Debut Album Of 2022’ by Turn Up the Volume.


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DITZ: Facebook – Instagram

All photos by Turn Up The Volume

English Pysch-Punk-Rock Squad DITZ Have Live Album ‘ON THE BAI’OU’ Out Now

Posted on by JL

New longplayers

25 January 2023

Brighton‘s psych-punk rock DITZ scored ‘best debut album’ on
Turn Up The Volume‘s 2022 list with their jagged jackhammer
THE GREAT REGRESSION.

For all wicked-noise junks who never saw this squad exploding
on a stage and for those who did and got blown away (like me)
I recommend their fresh live album, named ON THE BAI’OU.
You can get your copy (vinyl/CD/digital) via Bandcamp.


(Photo by Turn Up The Volume)

Expect frenetic forcefulness,
blistering bluster and
fucking fierceness.

Like on this knockout.


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DITZ: Facebook

Instagram – Bandcamp

TURN UP THE VOLUME’s 30 BEST TRACKS OF 2022

Posted on by JL

ALL TOGETHER on Spotify…

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TRACK BY TRACK

1. ‘Twitchin’ in The Kitchen’ by WARMDUSCHER (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!

From the gang’s rad 4th LP At The Hotspot.

Twitch as much as you want.

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2. ‘I Saw’ by YOUNG FATHERS (Scotland)

The Scottish dance-funk-punk trio YOUNG FATHERS launch
their 5th LP called HEAVY HEAVY on 3 February.

Ahead of hit came this ridiculously sticky stunner I SAW.
A master blaster that makes your blood stream faster
through your veins. The addition of a choir in the back
works on the spot.

Touchdown!

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3. ‘Slowly Separate by CROWS (London)

This London post-punk team unleashed their 2nd scorching album
Beware Believers, last April. One of TUTV’s best full-lengths of 2022.

Slowly Separate is a schizo sonic serpent generating a mind-blowing backwash
while chainsaw guitars turn up the decibels to an illegal peak, and vox-in-the-middle
James Fox rages and blazes through his teeth.

Fucktastic!

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4. I’ll Make You See God’ by THE AFGHAN WHIGS

The by now legendary passion rockers from Cincinnati, Ohio with mastermind Greg Dulli leading the troops. Their new 10th LP How Do You Burn? was voted Best Album Of 2022 on Turn Up The Volume.

I’ll Make You See God was the lead single. A sturdy steamroller, a red-hot-heated juggernaut, 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.”

Hear God here.

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5. ‘I Am Kate Moss’ by DITZ (Brighton, UK)

This frenetic Brit force hit big time with their dazzling
debut album The Great Regression last March.

Single I Am Kate Moss is a cast-iron brainbreaker. 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.

I cut a striking figure
And it cuts me back

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6. ‘The Prophet by THE CHRONICLES OF MANIMAL AND SAMARA (London)

The Prophet progresses like a vicious viper sliding to its prey until a horrific explosion strikes you in the face. Next is a titanic bass riff that keeps the roller coaster turning with scary speed. This flabbergasting monster is part of their 2nd notable longplayer Trust No Leaders.

Helter Skelter!

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7. ‘Frankenstein’ by TRAMP (Northern Ireland)

About: “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 the best debut single of 2022.

A towering tune going low, high and back. A sickly sticky pop gem wrapped in
a big-boisterous wall-of-sound. And up front, Sianna Lafferty‘s phenomenal voice
causes goosebumps when she reaches for the sky on the chorus. The ardency of
Porridge Radio comes to mind.

“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.”

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8. ‘Kill Me Again’ by THE WAEVE (UK)

British duo THE WAEVE – Graham Coxon (Blur) and songstress
Rose Elinor Dougall – uncage their first collaborative, self-titled
album on 3 February. Pre-order info here.

Kill Me Again, one of three pieces shared so far, is an infectious groove
propelled by a pounding synth/bass riff, spiced with Coxon on saxophone
and mesmerizing (duet) vocals. Splendid stuff. Bring on the LP.

Play the killer here.

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9. ‘Chaise Lounge’ by WET LEG

This power pop sensation impressed big time with their self-titled debut album. The outstanding dingle Chaise Longue – catchy, funny and witty caused choirs of thousands of sing-along people at festivals this past summer as I experienced myself, not at Glastonbury (below), but in Belgium at Hear!Hear! fest.

Fabulous!

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10. ‘Live To Love’ by ILA

After releasing her sterling debut LP last year, songstress Ilayda Cicek and her band
came back this year for a series of riveting concerts (I saw 5 of them) and this sublime single. Her passion, her vivaciousness and vocal fervency push this electrifying pearl
way up to the stars.

Top emo-stroke.

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10. ‘Power’ by WHERE WE SLEEP (London, UK)

Where We Sleep is the alter ego of Beth Rettig,
former front force of electro-rock band Blindness

On this boiling groover Rethig rants non-stop with anger and frustration.
A nasty bass riff is the backbone here, while layers of menacing guitar
electricity augment this ripper’s rowdy roll.

A crystal clear statement, a menacing projectile.

“They Don’t Want The Truth / They Just Want The Power”

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11.’Backwash’ by GILLA BAND (Gilla band)

The raw Irish post-punk bulldozer bombarded our ears
last October with their third LP, titled Most Normal.

One of the singles was this straightforward stonker.

YEAH!.

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12. ‘Nothing Good Comes Easy’ by DEAD LEVEE (Canada)

What a wowzer! This uplifting motherrocker boosts your state of mind with
fired-up dynamism from the get-go. Rapid-fire rawk and roll riffs switch on
a fervent feel of euphoria. It did it in the past, it does it in the present and
it will do it in the future.

Despite all the BS we have to endure (pandemic, Ukraine, natural disasters,
and other threats) it’s never too late to get back on track and why not start
with 4 and a half minutes of heart-warming guitar-fueled boogie-woogie
that triggers hope and assurance.

Let’s roll.

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13. ‘Frenzy’ by IGGY POP (Detroit)

Stoogefather IGGY POP still wants to be your dog.
He has his new – 19th – LP, named Every Loser
lands out next week, on 6 January.

Lead-single was the perfect harbinger. A motherfucker of a punk bomb
featuring an all-star band including Watt, Guns N’ Roses‘ Duff McKagan
and Red Hot Chili Peppers‘ Chad Smith.

I’m in a frenzy
Fucking prick
I’m in a frenzy
Goddamn dick

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14. ‘Something Good’ by CASUAL DRAG (Scotland)

It’s been two years since these Scottish hound dogs made
my speakers tremble with their furious Johnny single.

But on their steamy comeback stomper they still have the same barnstorming
groove and move drive. Something Good is a nasty rip-roaring-riff jackhammer,
annex agitated vocals, rotating in your head in an ear-blink. Think NYC’s darlings
Interpol playing The Fall. Something good? Way better, something ace!

Play it loud.


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15. ‘Welcome To Hell’ by BLACK MIDI (London)

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 their head-spinning 3rd LP
Hellfire.

Burn here…

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16. ‘Dumb’ by BURN THE LOUVRE (Canada)

The musical project of singer/songwriter Jordan Speare
assisted by guitarist/bassist and friend Andrew Billone

They just have their debut album, titled Silhouettes out after
releasing its 11 songs the past 12 months, one per month. Dumb
is my absolute favorite.

An instant earworm. Pop perfection. I lost track of the number
of times I had this gem on my headphones. Say no more.

Press play.

.

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17. ‘Mañana’ by JAMES DOMESTIC (Essex/Suffolk, UK)

“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.

Subscribe!

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18. ‘The Hurt Within’ by HOLY COVES (Wales)

These Welshmen released their new excellent album Druids and Bards
displaying mastermind Scott Marsden high-quality songwriting.

This impassioned hard-luck story is my fav cut. It grows slowly but surely into a soul-stirring and mesmerising heartbreaker with an epic finale. Glowing guitars, a steady drumbeat, and mixed-emotions vocals all come together for a poignant performance.
‘Love Is Cruel / The Hurt Within’. You can feel it.

Enjoy.

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19. The Speed’ by ULTRA SUNN (Brussels)

This wholly charismatic and fast up-and-coming darkwave duo mixes Gothic Depeche Mode beats, with sonic Human League echoes, bass-synth-riffs à la German legends D.A.F. and spice it all up with spooky vocals. And it looks like 2023 will even be bigger than 2022.

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20. ‘Leader’ by MEMES (Scotland)

After their eponymous bonkers debut EP (2020) followed by some staggering singles,
the high-decibels tandem nail it with another sucker punch. Leader is a funk-punk riff ripsnorter that kicks forth and back before a freakish guitar outbreak slashes and
trashes its way to the end.

Watch out for the pigman,
he looks like a meme in disguise.

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21. ‘Demolition Row’ by METZ (Toronto, CA)

“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. The track
featured on a split 7” with London-based group Adult Life.

From Dylan’s Desolation Row
to Metz’s Demolition Row…


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22. ‘Digging’ by NOTHINGHEADS (London)

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 slam.

Expect rabid guitars, doom-and-gloom vocals, and frantic
twists and turns until the chaotic finale. Post-punk at
its razorblade best.

Dynamite.


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23. ‘Chemical Emotion’ by JEEN (Canada)

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…I was thinking of that Hunter S. Thompson quote, “buy the ticket, take the ride.” It was written in April 2021, which was a rough part of last year for me. I needed to write something that reminded me to tread lightly, to forget about the heaviness of everything.

After only one spin, my ears told me that Chemical Emotion is an bewitching pop doozy. 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.

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24. ‘Edie’ by STEPH SWEET (UK)

This is the spellbinding title track of this enigmatic songstress’ newest album

The dark garage guitar swagger of this nightmarish cracker is irresistibly
magnetic. Think trash-and-slash duo Royal Trux. Both eerie and haunted.

Top!

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25. ‘We Are Ukraian’ by OSCAR MIC (London)

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 weent to Save The Children’s Ukraine Appeal.

We Are Ukrainian is a vivid hp-rap-pop anthem 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,”

Fuck Putin.


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26. ‘Zick Zack’ by RAMMSTEIN
27. ‘Forever In Sunset’ by EZRA FURMAN (Chicago)
28. ‘Troglodyte’ by Viagra Boys (Sweden)
‘29. ’15 Again’ by SUEDE (UK)
30. 30. ‘The Dripping Tap’ by KING GIZZARD AND THE LIZARD WIZARD

Turn Up The Volume’s 20 BEST ALBUMS OF 2022

Posted on by JL

1. ‘How Do You Burn?’ by THE AFGHAN WHIGS (Cincinnati, US)

TUTV: Greg Dulli‘s pipes reach for the sky throughout this new standout LP. His unique rock voice is the unwearying motor of this heart-and-soul opus. And when the songs are of supreme quality, as all 10 terrific tunes here are, and your bustling band are on a raucous roll with the vitality of young wolves you end up with the undeniable best album of 2022.

KEY SINGLE

STREAM ALBUM

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2. ‘Cave World’ by VIAGRA BOYS (Stockholm, Sweden)

Turn Up The Volume: The more our world gets fucked-up the more inspiration
Viagra Boys have to write absurd, hilarious, sarcastic, crazy, monkey-ish songs about
all the related mess, embedded in their by now familiar filthy punk and roll grooves.
Never a dull moment with punk rock loser Sebastian Murphy in the middle. And they
played the best gig to my ears/eyes a couple of weeks ago in Antwerp, Belgium.

KEY SINGLE

STREAM ALBUM

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3. ‘The Great Regression’ by DITZ (Brighton, UK)

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.

KEY SINGLE

STREAM ALBUM

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4. ‘Beware Belivers’ by CROWS (London, UK)

Turn Up The Volume: Back in 2016 Crows blew my mind when they played a small club
gig in my hometown of Ghent, Belgium. A memorable one cemented in the aural side of my
brain. The immense intensity and their frenetic furiosity were no less than jaw-dropping. On Beware Believers, their high-powered passion is still intact and its sizzling sound evolved further into a mean Herculean rock machine.

Blistering hammer blows like Garden Of England, Slowly Separate, and Room 156 are already noted in my end-of-the-year list of best 2022 knockouts. And reflective reality checks like the Joy Division-esque Healing, Moderation, Wild Eyed & and Loathsome, and the fucktastic Meanwhile have the sonic vehemence to burn holes in your stereo.

KEY SINGLE

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5. ‘Skinty Fia’ by FONTAINES D.C. (Dublin, Ireland)

TUTV: Musically and lyrically, this 3rd LP is moony, mellow and pensive with frontman Grian Chatten becoming a modern-day crooner who touches sensitive hearts, especially Irish ones as this album is about their Irish past/present/future identity in and outside of their beloved country.

KEY SINGLE

STREAM ALBUM

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6. ‘Hellfire’ by BLACK MIDI (London, UK)

TUTV: Weirdly exciting and capriciously inventive. This new LP resonates like a Zappa-esque rock circus. A sundry potpourri of symphonic jazz-prog-rock twists and turns, building up/breaking down constructions, forth/back and vertical/horizontal saltations with head-spinning orchestrations. Welcome to Black Midi‘s hell.

KEY SINGLE

STREAM ALBUM

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7. ‘The Merciless Light’ by PIG (London, UK)


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Turn Up The Volume wrote: Prepare your ears for brawny industrial bombast (No Yes More less / Veni Vidi Vici / Feed The Wound / Taranatula), nightmares in slow-motion (Limbo / Sugar My Pill / The Judas Chair), wham-bam-glam drones (Glitz Krieg / The Dark Room) and the fantastic slow-burning gospel chant of the title track. It’s all there to have yourself a merciless head-banging pig trip. File next to Rammstein’s new opus Zeit.

KEY SINGLE

STREAM ALBUM


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8. ‘The Fantasy Life Of Poetry & Crime’ by PETER DOHERTY & FREDERIC LO (UK/France)

TUTV: The result of the collaboration of wordsmith and poetry lover Peter Doherty and French composer Frédéric Lo who wrote the music, is a sparkling thing of beauty. This is the record to play when you’re feeling lazy, and in the mood for doing just nothing but daydreaming while lying in a green field enjoying the sun. Expect romantic lullabies with violins, piano and smooth horns, sweet little pop ditties, and sepia-colored tunes that transfer you to a place far away from our cruel reality.

KEY SINGLE

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9. ‘All Of Us Flames’ by EZRA FURMAN (Chicago, US)

TUTV: Definitely her most complete accomplishment to date. Majestic songwriting quality. Top-level tunes in orchestration, arrangement and vocal emotiveness. Here and there songs’ structures and Furman‘s fragile voice (Train Comes Trough / Throne / Poor Girl A Long Way From Home) bring, yes, Tom Petty to mind. Un-Americana Americana splendor with an artist who’s slowly but surely finds her way as a human being on this frightful planet.

KEY SINGLE

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10. ‘Decius Vol. 1’ by DECIUS (UK)

TUTV: Disco fuel for 24-Hour misfit parties in obscure nightclubs for SM fans, physically unsatisfied individuals looking for sexual healing, gangbang addicts, nudists, lost sex workers, manic David Lynch characters, neurotic Brexit victims, acid-house junks, erotic lovers, lobotomized politicians, trashmouth artists, Andy Weatherall junks and all other messed-up souls who hate reality and want to dance/party/fuck/hallucinate to stripped-down techno beats. E-tastic.

The lunatics have taken over the asylum.

KEY SINGLE

STREAM ALBUM

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11. ‘At The Hotspot’ by WARMDUSCHER

Turn Up The Volume: Check in on a Saturday Warmduscher Fever Night, ladies and gents, at the club called The Hotspot. Feel the sultry ambiance, have a couple of cocktails at the bar, dance to some banging boosters and some funky Sly Stone vibes, and go twitchin’ in the kitchen now and then.

KEY SINGLE

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12. ‘No More Good News’ by JO-JO & THE TEETH (London, UK)

Turn Up The Volume: JO-JO is the flamboyant Amazon in the middle. She sings the
blues with the vigorous vitality of eternal legend Janis Joplin (We’re Just Animals / Moon Child), she rocks her multi-colored tail off with the gusto of Grace Slick on a roll (My Babe / No More Good News / Don’t Get Too Heavy), she has the groovy guts and the glamorous looks of eccentric punkette Nina Hagen and to close the show she affects with a gripping candlelight reverie for the midnight hours (Oh Brother).

Mind you, she’s not alone. Her bang-on band The Teeth know all the 60s/80s/80s
rock ‘n’ blues ‘n’ glam ‘n’ punk ‘n’ roll classics. They back Jo-Jo with a mood-and-cadence fitting firework of Jimmy Page riffs, John Lee Hooker hooks and Slash licks. Retro injected electricity.

KEY SINGLE

STREAM ALBUM

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13. ‘Trust No Leaders’ by THE CHRONICLES OF MANIMAL AND SAMARA

Turn Up The Volume: As I said several times before, Samara and Animal are
adventurous architects in sound and vision (watch the singles’ spectacular videos
below / also the artwork for their releases is always a reflection of vivid visual inventiveness).

On this new, bone-and-mind chilling, longplayer both high-tech DIY artists keep
on challenging sonic and thematic boundaries. It’s also the first time we hear poetry fanatic Samara sing instead of reciting her poetic chimeras, as on psychoanalytic
discharge Shaman and on doom-punk sledgehammer Human Sacrifice.

There are so many layers, so many different directions, so many pendulum movements and so many unexpected turns at play here that you need several spins to get a grip of their poetallica world fully. This record as well as their debut are voyages of discovery.

KEY SINGLE

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14. ‘The Early Years’ by WOLF VAN WYMEERSCH

Turn Up The Volume said: Damon Albarn was the first name that popped up in my head when The Early Years impressed my ears on first hearing. At times I thought he was a guest singer on Vanwymeersch‘s debut longplayer, with his pondering voice and his musing songs . Check Drama I, Who Can Tell, I’m Wide Awake and you’ll find out why.

Vanwymeersh also, like Albarn, is a song architect. All lullabies, reveries, and tunes at
play here stick quickly. But with every listen you discover how rich and subtly layered the musical arrangements and feel-good orchestrations (hear that playful banjo sound on Part Of Me ) are. Then again he invites you into his sonic labyrinth where he goes left, right, and back in one and the same song (When You’re Old And Grey And Full Of Sleep / Fall From Grace).

KEY SINGLE

STREAM ALBUM

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15. ‘Carrion Repeating’ by JAMES DOMESTIC (Essex/Suffolk, UK)

TUTV: Domestic is a story-telling Cockney wordsmith, tackling politics, daily life shit, gobbling business sharks, and other related mess.

Musically anything is possible. Screechy guitars and 60s sounding Hammond organs to inflame tirades such as Itchy Itchy, Faze Out, Bean Counter and Push on Trough. Saxophone and steel drums straight from Trinidad on Mañana. Soulful female voices and Le Freak C’est Chic riffs on Never Enough. A reggae vibe with xylophone touches on Is Thay You?. Dub Jah Wobble bas on Weekend Carbs and Giblets. He just does what his ears like.

Lots of Ian Dury reasons to be cheerful.

KEY SINGLE

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16. Firmament’ by DIM GRAY (Oslo, Norway)

Turn Up The Volume: Dim Gray float in a universe  where the poignancy and
starry-eyed melodrama of Sigur Rós and the spiritual vocality of day-and-night
dreamers Fleet Foxes become one. This heart-and-soul stirring trio reverberates
like a full orchestra. They’re cinematic pop architects working with a drone flying
up high like an eagle and showing us where the ocean meets the sky.

Symphonic pop splendour. Firmament is a shiny diamond of a record.

KEY SINGLE

STREAM ALBUM


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17. ‘Cocoon’ by KAT KOAN & THE LOST SOULS (Berlin)

I really can’t say more about this multi-faceted record and its
from lost soul to ‘fuck it, you only live once’ author does herself.

Koan: “This record sounds like I’m schizophrenic in a way coz there are so many mad emotions in the songs. They are all very real, which took some guts to vocalize but I’m proud that we managed to bring it all across in a raw and real way. It’s not as sexually charged as my first album.

This new album COCOON was written during the lockdown, so many emotions that were pent up inside had time and space to surface and they sure came out with a vengeance. Anger, procrastination, questions about the way we C/O-exist in this society, and some new relationship issues like jealousy, infidelity, breakups. So it’s a more grown up album with more grown up topics.”

KEY SINGLE

STREAM ALBUM


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17. ‘Druids And Bards’ by HOLY COVES (Wales)

Turn Up the Volume: A striking work of top-notch tunes, written by mastermind Scott Marsden, that get under your skin slowly but surely until you see/hear the whole picture and realize that this is one of the most gripping albums of 2022 in my book. And lots to learn about Wales’ history.

KEY SINGLE

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19. ‘C’mon You Know’ by LIAM GALLAGHER (Manchester, UK)

Turn Up The Volume: Liam says that he is happy with his rock formula. So nothing new? No, just a bunch of new songs from good to very good. As much as I love our kid I enjoy him the most when he’s a rock ‘n’ roll star on stage. That’s his habitat. That’s what he does best. Entertaining a crowd/choir of 50.000 in a green field. See you in Belgium in August, Liam, on a green field of course.

KEY SINGLE

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20. ‘Opex’ by ARNO (Belgium)

The greatest Belgian singer-songwriter ever past away this year. A passionate chansonnier, a blues man, a rocker, a goosebumps crooner, a charismatic personality, and a one-of-a-kind live performer. I saw him about a 100 times, mostly solo, but also with his fantastic band TC Matic and one-time side projects.

Opex is his final longplayer. Vocally you hear him suffer from that deadly
disease that killed him shortly after recording the LP. I miss him, really hard.

KEY SINGLE

STREAM ALBUM

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VIDEO OF THE DAY – ‘SUMMER OF THE SHARK’ By 2022 Sensation DITZ

Posted on by JL

28 September 2022

Band: DITZ
Who: Post-punk gang from Brighton (UK)
that hit the scene back in 2015, fronted
by the charismatic Cal Francis
References: Gilla Band, Shame, Metz, Crows, Lice


(Photo by Turn Up The Volume – Leffingeleure, Belgium, 10 Sept 2022)

Last March they released their first album
THE GREAT REGRESSION via Alcopop! Records.

Without a shadow of a doubt the best-debut-longplayer of 2022.

Ditz now have a video out for SUMMER OF THE SHARK, one of
the highlights of the album. It’s directed by Pedro Takahashi.

Roll the tape here…

Buy/stream THE GREAT REGRESSION.


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DITZ: Linktree

5 Reasons Why Brighton Misfits DITZ Are Your New Favourite Doomsday Band

Posted on by JL

12 September 2022

Only last November I discovered Brighton‘s metallic punk misfits DITZ 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


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Setlist

DITZ: Facebook – Instagram

All pics by Turn Up The Volume

TURN UP THE VOLUME’s 25 Best Tracks Of 2022… So Far

Posted on by JL

Time flies. Oh yes, we already have six months of 2022 behind us.

Mad summer parties are just around the corner. And here’s the perfect
loud/quiet soundtrack… Turn Up The Volume’s 25 best tracks of 2022,
so far!

ALL TOGETHER on Spotify…

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TRACK BY TRACK
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1. I’ll Make You See God’ by THE AFGHAN WHIGS

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.”

See God here…

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2. ‘Slowly Separate by CROWS (London)

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.

Fucktastic!

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3. ‘I Am Kate Moss’ by DITZ (Brighton, UK)

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.

Turn up the heat…

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4. ‘Twitchin’ in The Kitchen’ by WARMDUSCHER (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!

From the gang’s thrilling 4th LP At The Hotspot.

Twitch as much as you want here…

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5. ‘Demolition Row’ by METZ (Toronto, CA)

“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…


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6. ‘Frankenstein’ by TRAMP (Northern Ireland)

“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.”

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7. ‘Shaman’ by THE CHRONICLES OF MANIMAL AND SAMARA (London)

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.

From their brand new LP Trust No Leaders, out today.

Face your nature
Face your fears
Face your demons
Wake the dead

Roll the tape and get impressed…

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8. ‘Mañana’ by JAMES DOMESTIC (Essex/Suffolk, UK)

“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.

Press play here…

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9. ‘Digging’ by NOTHINGHEADS (London)

“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.

Dynamite…


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10. ‘Welcome To Hell’ by BLACK MIDI (London)

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.

Burn here…

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11. ‘Cream’ by BOTCHED TOE (UK)

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.

(S)cream here…


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12. ‘Zick Zack’ by RAMMSTEIN (Germany)

The bombastic German metal machine have
a new, their 8th, longplayer out, called Zeit.

Their same old recipe still works.

My fav sledgehammer on the LP is Zick Zack.

Ridiscouly infectious
Great Scheiße shit!

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13. ‘Edie’ by STEPH SWEET (UK)

This is the spellbinding title track of this enigmatic songstress’ new album.

The dark garage guitar swagger of this nightmarish cracker is irresistibly
magnetic. Think trash-and-slash duo Royal Trux. Both eerie and haunted.

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14. ‘Eris’ by VIOLET NOX (Boston, MA)

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!

Launch your spaceship here…


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15. ‘TV Or Not TV’ by JODIE LANGFORD (UK)

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.

Find the answer here…

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16. ‘We Are Ukraian’ by OSCAR MIC (London)

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,”

Fuck Putin…


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17. ‘White Skin’ by THE BANKROBBER (Italy)

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.

From the siblings’ forthcoming, second, album.

Start the tape and make your move…

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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

From their new Cheer For The Deer album.

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19. ‘Hello Dreamer Baby’ by THE ROYAL FOUNDRY (Canada)

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.

Listen/watch…

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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.

This one is for all barflies out there…

From his new heart and soul album Gameblood.

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21. ‘Chaise Lounge’ by WET LEG
22. ‘Up The Mountain’ by REGINA SPEKTOR
23. ‘All The Good Times'</a> by ANGEL OLSEN
24. ‘Come Back’ by SHARON VAN ETTEN
25. ‘The Dripping Tap’ by KING GIZZARD & THE LIZARD WIZARD