ALL TOGETHER

.
TRACK-BY-TRACK

1. ‘What Are The Odds’ by DEATH VALLEY GIRLS (California)

Photo by Little Ghost/Kelsey Hart

This was the first single of their best album to date Islands In The Sky. A terrifically juiced-up power-pop chant triggering your limbs to get up and move. And when the under the spell of joy choir joins Bonnie Bloomgarden on the elated chorus you just know that this stunning tune is a winner.

We are living in a simulated world
And we are simulated girls!

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. ‘Lads Lads Lads’ by LAMBRINI GIRLS (Brighton, UK)

(Press photo © Bridie Florence)

The unquestionable sensation of the year.

The sassy spirit of fiery Riot grrls, the primal screams of X-Ray Spex‘s late genial vox Poly Styrene, the unbridled DIY mentality of The Slits. It’s all here to get in the macho faces of all macho males. Lads Lads Lads is a loud and clear clamorous uppercut. Trash and slash punk turmoil. Holy fucking smoke!

Feel the fury.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

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

(Photo by Turn Up The Volume – Brugge, Belgium 2023)

“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.”

Riverstone is an excessive electro-industrial sledgehammer doing your head,
your ears and your mind in. Bang-bang-bang-bang. Deafening drones, psychotic
guitars, and schizophrenic vocals, it’s all here to have an electric brain-frying
chair experience.

Right here.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. ‘Just Shadows’ by JEEN (Canada)

All-round Canadian singer/songwriter nailed it with this efferscent swirling knockout.

This is the kind of 24-Carat gold banger that makes your day, that boosts your worried state of mind, that puts a big smile on your face, that works faster than any stimulant and most of all, that gets you on your feet, triggers your best rotating dance moves and make you embrace life. Reality is not all doom and gloom, as many (mostly politicians) want us to believe to push their own power-greedy agenda. To hell with them.

Listen/watch.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

5. ‘This Just Ain’t My Year’ by 32 TENS (UK)

(Promo photo)

These vigorous Brits hit big time with this flamboyant ripsnorter.
It’s full tilt ahead from the get-go. No brakes, no breaks, and
creeping under your skin faster than you can say this is super-duper.

A whirlwind of scorching guitars, pounding drumming, a revolving bass line
somewhere in the middle, go-getting vocals and a dynamite chorus combine
for a badass belter. 2023 was the year for 32 Tens.

Touchdown.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

6. ‘Baggio’ by MILES KANE (UK)

This contagious cracker celebrates forer Italian football star Roberto Baggio

Kane: “I was eight years old when I first saw Baggio on TV, it was during the
1994 World Cup. I was taken back by his presence, his look and his talent. It was
the first time I’d seen a man look so different and unique. Seeing Baggio led me to
e obsessed with that Italian football team for many years later.

Baggio is one of those typical Kane tunes. Immediately recognisable with its
uplifting 60s/70s beat and blissful melody. But it’s a glorious guitar fragment
and accompanying harmonious, backing vocals that lift the song to a five-star
pop level.

Goal!

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

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

This new supergroup features Shaun Ryder & Bez (Happy Mondays/Black Grape),
Andy Bell (Ride/Oasis) and drummer Zak Starkey, yes Ringo’s son, 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.”

First single Gorilla Guerilla is a mind-boggling techno-rock stomper
to start and end all (il)legal raves with and fill dancefloors around the
globe with. This seasoned collective is a mean groove machine.

E-tastic!

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

8. ‘Right Wing Beasts’ by SLEAFORD MODS (UK)

The duo launched their 12th LP, called UK Grim last March.

This rattling piece is my absolute favorite.

It’s Sleaford Mods by – very good – numbers. The mods still spit and sneer
against Tories‘ merciless pressure and devastating regime. And they still do
it with rappin’ vibrations.

.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

9. ‘Foefetti’ by JODIE LANGFORD (Hull, UK)

The waterfall wordsmith from Hull (UK) released her tip-top debut EP Chaos Of Time
and followed it with this booming corker. Glittery, glammy and trashy (like the video).
Sing happy birthday to 6-year-old princess Jodie midway. Don’t worry afterward you
can continue to pogo around the table.

Whang, whang, whang.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

10. ‘Dicks In Tanks’ by MORLOCKS (Gothenborg, Sweden)

2023 photo by Krichan Wihlbor

This Swedish turbo founded by mastermind J.Strauss had
a new flabbergasting album out, named Praise The Iconoclast,
this year.

Single Dicks In Tanks features vocal efforts from Sascha Konietzko of KMFDM,
dark ambient electro queen Karin My and black metal maestro Heljarmadr
of Grá/Dark Funeral.

Morlocks‘ cynical take on war is sharp-cutting like a first-class Swiss knife

“Salute every hard on, a call to arms / this is my klaxon / sound the alarms”.

It all starts with warning war sirens and marching soldiers chants.
90 seconds later, it’s all hens on deck when this industrial rock missile
erupts with a blitzkrieg fierceness.

Think Rammstein and NIN having a fight with riot guns.

Shoot.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

11. ‘An Individual Soul’ by PRINCESS UGLY (Portland, US)

This blitz duo – J. Christopher-Rome (lyrics/vocals) and Christopher Moncrieffe (music/instruments) mix post-punk, early 80’s goth, shoegaze, and new wave
into their own brand of sound.

An Individual Soul is a multi-layered serpent of a track.

After a short shock intro, psychobilly guitars take over and riff
and roll all the way through, surrounded by glowing synths waves.

Add Christopher-Rome’s creepy whispering and you’ll feel transported
somewhere into a twilight zone where Goths party. Princess Ugly’s ominous
mind mystifies and the enigmatic she-devil in the video is a misleading
magnet.

Check in.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

12. ‘How To Replace It’ by dEUS (Belgium)

The veterans – the best Belgian band ever – dropped their 8th LP,
baptized How To Replace It last February, their first in 11 years.

The title track, also the LP’s opener is a vintage dEUS grower.
An ongoing spellbinding trip that works its way to an
explosive climax.

Watch/listen.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

13. ‘Huevos Rancheros’ by THE IRRATIONAL LIBRARY (The Netherlands)

These Dutch-American misfits have their roots firmly planted in both the regional
and international counterculture. They produce a raw, dirty groove influenced by
punk, provo and punk icons. Their poetry is packed with social criticism.

Huevos Rancheros, from their new longplayer Good Busy is a song about
seeing life clearly through all the haze and confidently strolling through the
daze.

It’s a tremendously sticky and melodic tune that mesmerises from the kick-off.
Stimulated by a sparkling and melancholic guitar riff à la Kurt Vile, a footstompin’
beat and word-smith Joshua Baumgarten‘s expressive storytelling it becomes an
electrifying humdinger, after a couple of spins.

Play.

.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

14. ‘Wild Bird’ by THE CORAL (Liverpool, UK)

(Press photo via Maintain Perspective PR)

The singular psych-folk-pop-rock wanderers released, this year,
one of their best albums ever with Sea Of Mirrors

Wild Bird is The Coral at its relaxing best. A characteristic psych-pop gem
that pleased my ears on repeat since it came out. Breezy and heartwarming,
causing an I-feel-so-much-better-now thrill in the end.

Watch/listen.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

15. ‘Now And Then’ by THE BEATLES (Liverpool, UK)

Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr worked in 1979 on the demo
of this previously unreleased John Lennon beauty, but didn’t finish it at the time.

Now, using advanced technology and a curatorial touch, McCartney
and Starr have completed what they started with George, and turned
it into a fully orchestrated nugget of a love song

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

16. ‘Nice To Say Hello’ by THE ROGUES (Wales)

This young outfit from Newport, Wales drew TUTV’s
attention in an eye/earblink with Nice To Say Hello.

It’s only their 3rd single, but this young team sounds as if they’ve been
around for years. Nice To Say Hello is a top-pop thrill. Irresistibly catchy
and captivatingly melodic. Layers of glimmering guitars with an endearing
resonance, that brings, yes, Noel Gallagher’s strumming play of his solo
work to mind.

The charming vocals and the infectious chorus
make the sonic picture complete. Fabulous feat.

Say hello to The Rogues.

.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

17. ‘Freedom’ by CHIC CHOC (NYC)

Chic Choc are three musically seasoned Amazons from NYC using drum machines,
synthesizers, guitars, voice and a variety of sound filters and pedals to make
their point.

Freedom is their crystal clear debut single that criticizes, 200% rightly so, the fact that women still have to fight for so many fundamental rights. It’s bloody 2023 and so much female injustice is still a reality.

Sonically it’s a striking EBM earworm to fill dance floors with. Brisk beats, cool chorus, sensuous vocals and a protesting choir, combine for a spirited piece. Bang-on.

Le freak, c’est chique choc.

.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

18. ‘You’re So Cool’ by KAT KOAN (Berlin, Germany)

This Berlin-based songstress released her arresting debut full-length
LUSTPRINZIP last year. This year, she recorded/shared three rad singles.

You’re So Cool (me?) is one of them. A sexy dance stomper with an instant impact on your hip movements. And, as usual, Koan‘s sultry voice tickles your imagination and makes you light some candlelights, and seduces you to do some shadow-dancing.

Tune in.

.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

19. ‘Eureka!’ by Band: THE VANITY PROJECT (London, UK)

Photo by Jamie Chapman

The Vanity Project is a London-based queer freak pop duo featuring Flora Jackson and Rob Paterson. The project is a multi-instrumented, multi-genre fever dream fusing new-wave, modern art-pop and PC Music influences with dashes of jangle pop, Latin alternative and drum and bass, dazzling hooks, and wryly humoured dystopian lyrics. All accompanied by eccentric visuals.

‘Eureka!’ was one of the standout singles on their debut album, named
We Never Should Have Come Here, that landed last September.

Combine the madcap vibrancy of Sparks‘ early days and some glamourous
Queen bombast and you’ll scream out loud Eureka!. These misfits produce
eccentric pop pleasure, sonically and lyrically, without mainstream
restrictions.

They sound kooky and look kooky, but make no mistake, this tantalizing
tandem know perfectly well how to fabricate and construct entertaining
music.

Listen/Watch.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

20. ‘103’ by THE KILLS (US/UK)

One of my all-time fav bands, on record and on stage, returned, finally,
this year with their acclaimed LP God Games and this arousing bluesy piece
is one of the highlights.

Watch/listen.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

21. ‘Dead Moon Rising’ by CACTUS FLOWERS (Houston, Texas)

Cactus Flowers is a psych-rock outfit from Houston, Texas fronted by Jessica A.M., whose mother photographed bands for Rolling Stone during the magazine’s counter-culture heyday.

With Dead Moon Rising we get a mid-tempo garage blues-rock corker fuelled
by echoing, rollicking riffs, steady drum hits and arresting Jessica A.M. vocals.
This raw cracker resonates like glorious legends The Cramps in slo-mo with a
mean machine vibe, rock-and-psycho-billy swagger and hefty dynamics. From
bad moon rising to dead moon rising.

Let’s roll.

.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

22. ‘Lunar Eclipse by THE VACCINES (UK)

(Photo by Turn Up the Volume – Lokerse Feesten, Belgium – 2022)

The British guitar pop idols will make their fans happy with their new, sixth
full-length, baptized Pick-Up Full Of Pink Carnations out on 12 January 2024.

This is one of the 4 singles they dropped so far. It’s The Vaccines alright.
Sickly sticky guitar euphoria. Totally crazy.

Yes.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

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

With this year’s three-part rock opera Atum chief
pumpkin Billy Corgan released one of his sonic dreams.

And with Spellbinding the band delivered a robust rocker infused with radiant synths, exploding now and then into a feverish haymaker on the flaming chorus and ending
with a dreamy fade out.

C’mon, Billy.

.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

24. ‘Heart On’ by 2LIBRAS (Seattle, WA)

2LIBRAS is a Seattle-based Cyberpunk duo that create dark, synthy beats infused with melodic guitars and vocal harmony since 2018. Their music infuses genres of industrial, dark electro, synthwave/synthpop and rock.

Heart On was one of the singles of their notable debut album World’s End.

It just was the best 2023 Valentine tune. An intoxicating mid-tempo groover. Both spicy and funky, lustful and provocative with hypnotizing vocals. Its slow-mo synth-bass beat crawls under your skin, and progresses steadily towards your restlessly pounding motor while your mind tries to figure out what is going on. Amorous communication isn’t easy, let your heart do the talking. It’s made for it.

Roll the tape.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

25. ‘‘A Feather Of A Pigeon In The Cave Of The Wisdom Of God’ by LIGHT BY THE SEA (The Netherlands)

The Dutch duo offered an intriguing pop symphony with this weirdly titled composition.

Scintillating electronic bliss, beautifully orchestrated.
And the accompanying video is a classy and subtly
sexy visualization. Top achievement.

Listen/watch.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

TUTV: Facebook – Instagram – Twitter