20 BEST TRACKS OF THE MONTH – MAY 2026

ALL TOGETHER


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TRACK BY TRACK

– 1 –

Band: REALLY GOOD TIME
Who: 3 heated, Irish punk rock
dropouts from Dublin.

Track: DO IT

“It’s a song about impossible tasks. It’s about trying to do everything you have been told to do in life, and never achieving what was promised. The goalposts have shifted, no, that isn’t how you do it.”

TUTV: Really Good Time are manic motherrockers, racing and rushing with puissance and roasting power. They develop a kind of Gilla Band disturbance, but less chaotic, way more movin’ and groovin’. Whether you want it or not, your head goes 360. Blimey.

Just do it!

Instagram – Linktree
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– 2 –

Band: FARVEBLIND
Who: Electro dance-pop-rock trio from Copenhagen, Denmark that fabricates
sonic touchstones ranging from Battles and The Chemical Brothers to Underworld
and Viagra Boys.

Track: KNOCKING DOWN YOUR DOOR.
Piece from their brand new debut LP, titled Micro Pleasures.
It features vocals by itcallsme i.

TUTV: A cocksure, motorik-feverish dancefloor filler for sweaty nightclubs. A tsunami of synth extravaganza hits you straight in the face, while rollicking vocals add a jaunty feel.

Bingo!

Instagram – Linktree
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– 3 –


Photo by Luke Bovill

Artists: ARAB STRAP
Who: Trippy Scottish electro-pop vets, Aidan Moffat and
Malcolm Middleton (1995–2006, 2011, 2016–present).

Track: YOU YOU YOU
First single from their new full-length Half-Told Tales,
their 9th, out on September 4th. Tracklist here.

AS: “A disco-metal sound and lyrics that explore
overcoming troubles and tumultuous times”.

TUTV: Trip Trip Trip! Hip Hip Hip! We We We!

“I’ve got a portly paunch I just can’t shift/I feel undesired, dismissed, adrift/
My get-up-and-go is long gone/ and the days keep dragging on/ But I’ve got
you, you, you”

Instagram – Spotify
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– 4 –


Promo picture

Band: WESTSIDE COWBOY
Who: Fast up-and-coming indies
from Manchester, UK.

They turned all eyes and ears on their spellbinding post-Brexshit-punk disturbance with
2 EPs, This Better Be Something Great (2025) and So Much Country ‘Till We Get There (January 2026), both together worth an ace album.


Album artwork

Track: KICK STONES (THE BOYS)
Single from their upcoming debut LP, titled It Goes On.
Out on August 21st. Tracklist here. Pre-order info here.

TUTV: A jittery, hypnotic, speedy guitar-riffin’ roller coaster ripper, spirited
with Geese-resonating duet vocals. All freshly galvanic and strangely thrilling.
They’re gonna be big. Pretty soon.

Tour Dates 2026 – Instagram
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– 5 –


📸 Charlie Pryor

Band: BLOC PARTY
Who: London‘s indie rockers,
fronted by charismatic songwriter
Kele Okereke.

Track: COMING ON STRONG
First single from their upcoming 7th full-length, titled
Anatomy Of A Brief Romance, out September 11th.
Tracklist here.

Okereke wrote the record in the wake of a more than decade-long relationship.
“Every lyric you’re hearing on this record was something that actually happened to me.
I had to tell the story, from start to finish.”

TUTV: Damn. Time flies with supersonic speed. BC are entertaining our eager eardrums since 1999. Well Okereke took time, now and then, for solo work, but it’s always a sonic pleasure to hear them coming up, again and again with firm, dance-spiked singles.

Play!

Instagram – Linktree – All Albums
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– 6 –

Artists: RADARBASE
Who: Two Brits knocking
dance anthems together.

Track: SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL

TUTV: Soft Cell on adrenaline. Erasure on amphetamine. Enriching electro pop nirvana
at its most beautiful. Ignore the outside bedlam for about 6 minutes on repeat. The beat goes on and on and on. Twirl yourself dizzy.

Eureka.

Instagram – Linktree
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– 7 –

Artist: MARTIN CARR
Who: Former guitarist of Britpop
idols The Boo Radleys.

Track: WHAT FUTURE
The title song of his new album.

Carr: “I’ve been putting together these sounds for many years but this
is the first time where I thought ‘this doesn’t really sound like anything else
and decided to put it out.”

TUTV: Techno daft-punk on the run. Electro rock shock. Winding mix of paranoic synths, bass booms, and some helium-infused Carr interventions. Good grief. What a brainfucker.

Instagram – Spotify
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– 8 –

Band: KNEECAP
Who: The controversial and
outspoken Irish rap trio.

Track: COLD AT THE TOP
Cut from their 3rd LP,
named Fenian.

TUTV: Hip-hop-rotating vibes combined with non-stop
rap radiation results in one of their most mainstream
firecrackers.

Shake it.

Instagram – Linktree
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– 9 –

Band: ICEAGE
Who: Glamorous Danish indie outfit fronted
by charismatic frontman Elias Bender Rønnenfelt.

Track: THE WEAK
Piece from their 6th LP, baptized
For Love Of Grace & The Hereafter,
out today.

TUTV: This is a sassy, kind of fuck you stunner, that speeds all over your
trembling stereo with Rønnenfelt throwing sneers around. Vicious sucker
punch all the way.

Badass.

Instagram – Spotify – All Albums
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– 10 –

Band: THE CHRONICLES OF MANIMAL AND SAMARA
Who: London-based DIY duo – Daphne Ang (Singapore) and Andrea Papi (Italy)
that fills a gap in music by bringing literature, art, and history together into a
space where rock and metal meet electronica.

Track: GIROTONDO
Single from their forthcoming 4th album, named Misantropi.
Out June 22nd. Tracklist and pre-order info here.

TUTV: This Metallica-echoing shocker thunders unstoppably and peaks every time its fistpumping chorus kicks in. TCOMAS rock here as never before. They kick ass with this striking uppercut.

Helter skelter.

Instagram – Facebook – Website
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– 11 –

Band: SOCIAL DISTORTION
Who: The robust, generational Californian rockers fronted by the only
original member, voice/guitarist/songwriter Mike Ness, who beat tonsil
cancer a few years ago, are one of the most notorious and celebrated
American
punk bands ever.

Track: CRAZY DREAMER
Cut from their brand new, 15th full-length Born To Kill.
It features the wonderful country star Lucinca Williams
on vocals.

TUTV: This really fun country rock corker makes
my ears happy and is a top mood booster.

Catchy as hell.

Instagram – Tour Dates – All Albums
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– 12 –

Artist: JON SPENCER
Who: Flaming blues rock expert riffin’
around with different bands and solo
since 1983.

Track: ORANGE SLICE BLUES
Piece from his forthcoming album, named
Songs Of Personal Loss And Portest
out on June 12th. More info here.

TUTV: Vicious riffs, red-hot riffs, nasty riffs. Spencer never gets tired.
You’re never too old to run electrical amok seems to be his motto.

Let’s roll.

Tour Dates – Instagram – Linktree
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– 13 –

Screenshot

Band: CASSIUS WOLF & DAS ABS
Who: The musical project of Cassius Wolf and Don Watson. Formed in Liverpool during the original wave of post-punk and new wave. Now, decades later, that same spirit is driving the band’s long-awaited return.

Track: LOSING SLEEP
Single from their brand new full-length, An Afternoon in Bedlam. Stream here.

TUTV: When I say that this avid anthem has an epic Echo & Bunnymen sonority,
you should pay attention instantly. The flamboyant flair, the whirling drive, the
euphoric vocals. I see Ian McCulloch standing around the corner, with a big smile
on his face.

Top drawer tune.

Instagram – Facebook
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– 14 –


Photographer: Martin Sommerschield

Band: DELFOI ROAD
Who: A Finnish alternative rock act, formed at the turn of the millennium.
The four-piece blends artistic sensitivity, strong melodic songwriting, and
atmospheric depth with an energetic and dynamic edge.

Track: TAKE ME AWAY
New piece from their upcoming debut full-length, planned to come out in the fall.
“It’s one of the catchiest and most radio-friendly tracks on the album.”


Artwork single

TUTV: Think Mumford and Sons‘ arousing passion and vocal eagerness.
Take Me Away draws you into its stirring spirits, its intensifying orchestration,
and its exhilarating euphoniousness. Towering tour de force.

Tremendous bliss.

Instagram – Spotify
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– 15 –

Artist: BIZARRE FAE
Who: British eccentric non-binary
“fairy-witch” from Hull.

Debut LP, Revolting, came out in 2024.

Track: REAL PROBLEMS

BZ: “I’ve spent a long time thinking about where to take my musical journey next & Real Problems, ironically, has become an unexpected solution. I wrote this track off the cuff a while back, as an outlet for feeling disconnected from the so called “real world”. For my entire life I’ve been told “that’s just how the world is” but all I’ve learnt in my 23 years alive is that it seems the world was never meant to be like this.

Humans have this disturbing desire to disconnect themselves from the natural world & forget that we’re in fact all a part of it. Real Problems is my attempt to reconnect to that part of myself that I feel has been hidden away due to societal noise. I’ve never met ‘these people’ & they’ve never met me, so why am I expected to uphold their ideas of who I was meant to be!”

TUTV: Industrial slam-bang EBM for all dance-addicted misfits out there.
You need to be in top shape to catch up with Bizarre Fae. She zooms with
steamy swiftness throughout this boomtastic missile. Face your problems
and sway them into oblivion. Trust me, it’s unquestionably worth a try.

Fast and furious.

Instagram – Facebook
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– 16 –

Artist: TRICKY
Who: Trip-hop bigwig and former Massive Attack visionary, born
Adrian Nicholas Matthews Thaws in Bristol-UK 58 years ago.

Track: BECAUSE I DON’T KNOW
Newest single from his 15th LP, named Different When It’s Silent.
It’ll land on July 17th. Tracklist and pre-order info here.

TUTV: Tricky grooves in the dark again.
Tenseness in the air, twitchiness in motion.

Masterly piece.

Instagram – Linktree – All Albums
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– 17 –


Photo by Jenn Webb

Artist: KAT FIVE
Who: EBM songstress from London. She fuses together a raw
punk energy with a dark pop magic, she consistently creates
indefinable, politically-engaged glitched-up anthems.

Track: EMERGENCY START
Newest single.

 

FIVE: “This is a call out to all kinds of creators, and also a shout out
for some simple moves you can make against techno-feudalism.”

TUTV: Kat Five offers a both luring and foreboding-sounding EBM tune for
shadow-dancing fans. Despite the hazardous times worldwide, she suggests,
rightly so, that togetherness is the only way to get out of the intolerant chaos
we have to go through right now.

Action!


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Instagram – Linktree
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– 18 –

Artist: SOUTHPAW GRAMMAR
Who: British garage musician and producer. He has toured extensively with some
of the biggest names in popular music. His music speaks directly to the realities of working-class life while delivering dancefloor-ready grooves.

Track: THE NEW DANCE

“It captures the evolution of a generation raised on late nights and pirate radio, now navigating mortgages, energy bills, and nursery pickups. With his signature dry wit and unmistakably British storytelling, Southpaw Grammar delivers a relatable anthem for anyone who’s swapped the rave for responsibility but still hears the bassline in everyday life.”

TUTV: This is cheer fun. Its ska-esque beat and jumpy flow kick-start hectic body movements. Bouncy piano touches and frolicsome rappin’ piggyback the feel-good tone. Ideal to play when workin’ out, although I fear that many of us (certainly me) will fall over our feet when trying to follow the pace. Fervid ambiance.

Just a lot more coffee,
and ess Charlie Sheen.

Instagram – Facebook
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– 19 –


Photo by Kelly Davidson

Band: GIRL WITH A HAWK
Who: Boston collective fronted by longtime
musician and scene veteran Linda Viens.

Track: WASN’T IT JUST YESTERDAY
Single from the upcoming new LP Regenesis.
It will arrive on June 12th. More info here.

LV: “At least four or five of the songs on the record speak to a life lived being in bands, the bonds forged, and the life of a musician and performer, with themes of loss, addiction, death and redemption woven through. All the cliches about spending your time in bars, being on the road, being ‘out’ and not at home, are real.”

TUTV: Overall, this is a warm, hearty, and nostalgic energizer, spiced with classic textbook riffs and bright-eyed and bushy-tailed vocals. A stimulating upper for moody moments. It’s only rock ‘n’ roll, but we’ll never stop liking it.

Forever.


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Linktree
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– 20 –

Artists: KIDS WITH BUNS
Who: Lauded dream pop duo from Belgium. They released
their debut album Out Of Place in 2023.

Track: HALF OF A DREAM
First single from their upcoming 2nd LP,
titled ‘Bell Jar‘. Out October 16th.

TUTV: Dream pop bliss with a romantic
melodiousness and heartwarming vocality.

Beautiful.

Instagram – Linktree
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TURN UP THE VOLUME

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JUKEBOX 2026 – WEEK 19 – Five New Rad Tracks Added Twice A Week

Hello, music junkies.

Another batch of 5 new, stellar tracks have
been added to Turn Up The Volume’s Jukebox.

Turn it up.

ALL TOGETHER


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TRACK BY TRACK

Artist: DAZY
Who: The moniker of pop & rock dude James Goodson
from Richmond, Virginia, who has 2 LPs, thus far, on his
résumé.

Track: GRAVITY
One of his two new shared pieces, ahead
of his US tour with Sleaford Mods.

TUTV: Retro-riffed psych-pop, juiced with some
melancholic harmonica snippets and free falling
vocals.

Instagram – Spotify
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Photo by Alva Le Febvre

Band: ICEAGE
Who: The Danish indie glam rockers, fronted by songwriter/poet
Elias Bender Rønnenfelt, who released 2 solo full-lengths in the
past 3 years.

Track: THE WEAK
Newest single from their upcoming 6th LP, named
For Love Of Grace & The Hereafter, out on May 29th.

TUTV: The idolized Danes have found their sultry swagger back.

Instagram – Spotify – All Albums
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Artist: KURT VILE
Who: The former War On Drugs guitarist
from Philly, who worked himself into a
swell solo career.

Track: ZOOM 97
New piece from his forthcoming full-length, his 10th, titled
Philadelphia’s Been Good To Me. It’ll arrive on May 29th.

TUTV: Relaxing on cloud Philly 9.

Instagram – Spotify
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Band: ARTIFICIAL GO
Who: Wacky/punky DIY indie
trio from Cincinnati, Ohio.

TUTV: Think of that almost-out-of-tune jangliness of that NYC
nightclub collective called The Velvet Underground, about 60 years
ago.

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Linktree
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Courtesy of Wrap Recordq

Band: BOARDS OF CANADA
Who: Veteran Scottish electro/ambient duo.

Track: PROPHECY AT 1420 MHz
One of two new cuts from their 5th longplayer,
their first in 13 years, named Inferno. It’ll come
our way on May 29th.

TUTV: The Scots still float around in their electronic bubble.
I wonder if they recorded their new tunes while in space with
the Artemis II crew recently.

Instagram – Spotify

Danish Glammy Rockers ICEAGE Release 6th LP On May 29 – Info And First 2 Singles Here

9 April 2026


Photo by Alva Le Febvre

After Danish glam indies ICEAGE released their superb 5th album, titled Seek Shelter frontman Elias Bender Rønnenfelt wanted a hiatus for the band so he could do his own stuff, writing poetry and recording/releasing 2 solo LPs, Heavy Glory (2024) and Speak Daggers (2025).

Now it’s Iceage time again.

They bagged their 6th LP, baptized it FOR LOVE OF GRACE & THE HEREAFTER and
they will share it with the world on May 29th. Tracklist and pre-order info here.


Album artwork

Press info: “Across the sprawling, twelve song arc of the album, a universe of love variously expands and contracts in an eternal tango, Elias Rønnenfelt’s lyrics burn with apocalyptic intimacy while the band masterfully maneuvers within their shape-shifting scenery of feral post-punk.”

Two previews, so far.

– STAR –
Pavement-like jam

– EMBER –
Delirious upsurge

Instagram – Spotify – All Albums

ICEAGE Frontman ELIAS RøNENNEFELT Returns Solo – Sing/Hum/Whistle Zippy Earworm ‘LIKE LOVERS DO’

Daily noise that works faster than a stream of caffeine

30 May 2024

It’s been 3 years now since Danish pop-punk heroes ICEAGE released their top-shelf
album Seek Shelter. In 2022 they made their fans happy with a collection of rarities
and outtakes.

Last year frontman/songwriter Elias Rønnenfelt wrote a book of poetry
and just now he shared his first solo track, called LIKE LOVERS DO .

It’s a zippy, jaunty, disarming earworm.

Wake up, people
and sing/hum/whistle
along.

ER: Instagram

Swedish Indies ICEAGE Announce Compilation Album And Share Captivating Slacker Cut ‘SHAKE THE FEELING’

21 August 2022

Band: ICEAGE
Who: Danish rockers who entered
the scene in 2008 / 5 albums so far

New album: SHAKE THE FEELING – Outtakes & Rarities 2015-2021
Release: 23 September – order info here

Comprising non-LP cuts (or, “misfit children,” as singer Elias Bender Rønnenfelt says), Shake The Feeling features songs recorded during the band’s last three album cycles: 2014’s Plowing Into The Field Of Love, 2018’s Beyondless (2018), and the aforementioned Seek Shelter. Meanwhile, “Shake The Feeling” was written and recorded during the Beyondless sessions and at the time was left off for being too “happy go lucky.”


(photo by Turn Up the Volume!)

Rønnenfelt (frontman): ‘We thought this one to be a little too “nice” and well behaved at the time. I didnʼt want to learn the song, so I ended up improvising on the final take we did before abandoning it. In hindsight, I find the song to be completely sprawling with an impulsiveness difficult to capture on purpose. It has some of the guitar work Iʼm personally most proud of.”

Close your eyes and you’ll think that taster Shake The Feeling is a Dinosaur Jr song.

ICEAGE: Facebook – Spotify

Waking Up With… New ICEAGE Single ‘ALL THE JUNK ON THE OUTSKIRTS’

Works faster than caffeine

2 May 2022


(photo by Turn Up the Volume!)

Last year, Danish soul mates ICEAGE fronted by the charismatic singer/songwriter Elias Bender Rønnenfelt delivered their best longplayer, so far, with Seek Shelter, their fifth one.
A top-10 album on Turn Up The Volume‘s end-of-the-year-2021 list.

The Copenhagen boys just announced that a tour through the US and Europe this Fall.
Along with the message came a new track called All The Junk On The Outskirts

A riff-rotating reflection. Haunting and highly strung.

Check it out…

Also on Spotify

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ICEAGE: Website – Instagram

Turn Up The Volume’s 20 BEST ALBUMS Of 2021

1. ‘New Fragility’ by CLAP YOUR HANDS SAY YEAH (Brooklyn, NY)

Released: 12 February 2021

Ounsworth (mastermind): “The songs are politically motivated,
which is unusual for me. It’s about what I think we’re all experiencing
at the moment, certainly here in the United States, anyway, trying
to move forward amidst an almost cruel uncertainty.”

Turn Up The Volume: Riveting tunes, sharp-cutting reflections,
magical sparks, Ounsworth‘s feverish voice, and his glittery guitar
play make this LP the best one since the self-titled 2005 debut.
Bewitching all the way. My 2021 number one

Key single: New Fragility…

Stream/buy album here…


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2. SEEK SHELTER by ICEAGE (Denmark)

Released: 7 May 2021 – 5th LP

Turn Up The Volume: Finally, Iceage do what they were expected to do for a long
time. Creating a standout album that makes the hair in the back of your neck stand
up. Melodramatic with ardency, impassioned with vigour, emotional with grimness. Charismatic frontman Elias Bender Rønnenfelt leads the troops as never before.

Their fifth, their best.

Key single: Vendetta

Full album…


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3. ‘Calvacade’ by BLACK MIDI (UK)

Released: 26 May 2021 – their second album

Turn Up The Volume: From outlandish sonority – think Scott Walker – to
Zappa-esque adventurousness, from a ‘normal’ song (Marlene Dietrich) to
free jazz weirdness. The sonic search of this impressively inventive band is
both inscrutable and intriguing.

Cavalcade confirms the experimental brilliance of their debut LP.
Miles Davis going post-punk in the 21st Century.

Key single: John L

Full album…


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4. ‘Marriage’ by DEAP VALLY (Los Angeles)

Turn Up The Volume: The drop-dead gorgeous sisters in rock arms Lindsey Troy
and Julie Edwards celebrate their 10th year of producing high-powered turbulence.
Their bond is tighter than ever and their boogie-woogie more varied than ever.

Mind you, don’t expect a jazz record. Deap Vally are still about rocking ‘n rolling
while tackling their demons with vocal bravado and forthright ruminations.

Key single: Magic Medicine

Get married here…


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5. ‘Comfort To Me’ by AMYL AND THE SNIFFERS

Released: 10th September 2021

Turn Up The Volume:

Old skool punk ‘n’ roll? Absolutely. Any good? You betcha!

Amyl and her buddies made another blistering riff-manic-monster of
a hell fucking hell yeah record. Pogo madness is back. Sturm und drang
from start to finish. Holy Moly!

Key single: Hertz

Stream/buy album here…


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6. ‘CARNAGE’ by NICK CAVE & WARREN ELLIS (Australia)

Released: 25 February 2021

Turn Up The Volume: This black and white pearl is the work of
the romantic Cave crooner meeting the haunting Cave crooner. Idyllic
orchestrations, classical arrangements, and bad seed Warren Ellis
showing, once more, his refined grandeur.

A tantalizing tandem made in twilight heaven.

Key track: White Elephant


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Stream album here…


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7. Full Spectrum by THE CHRONICLES OF MANIMAL AND SAMARA (UK)

Released: 26 February 2021

Turn Up The Volume: Manimal and Samara are a poetallica sensation.
A new laser light at the end of a mythical and tenebrous tunnel.

Imagine Sylvia Plath fronting a mind-challenging, noise-exploring band.

Their debut album is a multi-faceted opus in sound and vision. Puzzling poetry
exploring life, death, birth, past, present, and future embedded in titanic thunder
and lighting symphonies going from perplexing metal to chill-out ambient.

Surreality becoming reality in a tormented world.

Key single: Psychopath’s Monologue

Stream ‘Full Spectrum’ here…


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8.’Infinity’ by GHOST PATTERNS (UK)

Released: 3 September 2021

Turn Up The Volume: The amplified haziness of Slowdive, the mystifying
soulfulness of Spacemen 3, the multi-layer-constructing skills of My Bloody
Valentine
.

Hallucinating soundscapes, synth shadowplays, and guitars dueling with
each other while tireless drums dauntlessly beat, and wailing voices wander
in an enigmatic fog of reverberation.

This is what the (sur)real world of Ghost Patterns sounds like.

Key track: House Of Lies…

Stream/buy album here…


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9. ‘Pressure Machine’ by THE KILLERS

Released: 13 August 2021

Turn Up The Volume: This time the bombastic rockers take another direction
to express their emotiveness. Moody, nostalgic, melancholically romantic with
frontman Brandon Flowers looking back at his teenage years in his hometown
Utah. Think Bruce Springsteen‘s sentimentality on his masterpiece Nebraska.

Overall an emotive and melodramatic
record without going over the top.

For some critics, it’s too mellow.
For me, its gripping mellowness
that works just fine.

Key track: Quiet Town

Dim the lights…


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10. ‘Mutator by ALAN VEGA (US)

Released: 23 April 2021

Liz Lamere (Vega’s widow) remembers: “Our primary purpose for going into the studio
was to experiment with sound, not to ‘make records. I was playing the machines with Alan manipulating sounds. I played riffs while Alan morphed the sounds being channeled through the machines.’

Turn Up The Volume: Most of the lost albums that eventually came/come to the
surface one day should have stayed lost forever. If they were good enough to be
released the moment they were recorded they would have never ended up in a
smelly cellar or, worst case, in a trash can.

So what about Alan Vega’s lost one? One: it feels special to have the legend back.
Two: the album seems to come from a very dark mind, from the obscure places
of Vega‘s soul, creating a nightmarish and Kafkaesque chill-out atmosphere for
a 30-minute David Lynch film-noir.

Talking about a great find!

Key track: Nike Soldier

Stream/buy full album here…


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11. ‘WE… ARE DOOMED’ by THE IRRATIONAL LIBRARY (The Netherlands)

Released: 15 January 2021

Turn Up The Volume: The rap and roll venom of Rage Against The Machine, the
fuck-you-hypocrites grimness of Black Flag, the punky saxophone of X-Ray-Spex,
the sharp poetic spit and sneer anarchy of Mark. E. Smith, the challenging spirit
of open-minded-and-ass-kicking-anti-establishment doom and gloom crusaders.

Sounds like 2021, like the end of the world as we know it.

Key single: And The Next Song

Stream album here…


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12. ‘For The First Time’ by BLACK ROAD, NEW ROAD (London)

Released: 5 February 2021 – debut LP

Turn Up The Volume says: Like Pavement going prog rock with the sound- exploring
state of mind of Mogwai. Jazzy and classical music textures make sure your curious mind
is focused all the time. And singer Isaac Wood‘s voice resonates freakishly identical to the chilling voice of American songwriter Conor Oberst from indie band Bright Eyes.

It’s not a happy record, but who needs a tsunami of cheesy pop tunes in these science-fiction-like times, anyway. I know it’s their first time, but these hungry noise crusaders
will stun us again in the future.

Believe the hype!

Key track: Science Fair

Full album…

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13. ‘SURVIVORS’ by ONISM E (San Antonio / NYC)

Released: 19th February 2021 – debut album

Turn Up The Volume wrote: Gusto, high-spiritedness, and anxiety are the
keywords here. This warm-blooded record is a heart-rending reflection of the
group’s state of 2021 mind. A galvanizing collection of cohesive poignant emo
songs influenced by the disturbing way our troubled world is handling human
issues, once-in-a-lifetime dramas, and the personal turmoil of frontwoman
Eline Chavez.

Her soul-stirring and powerful (Aretha Franklin / young Tina Turner) vox, the weeping
guitars, and the electrical intensity are at times overwhelming and heartbreaking. Impressive!

Key track: Stay


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Stream/buy album here…


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14. ‘Putain Royale’ by PINK ROOM (Belgium)

Released: 12 Match 2021

Turn Up The Volume: The essential message of this new powerhouse album is loud and clear: noise-challenging turbo Pink Room is here to stay! Their tsunami energy is beyond any decibel regulation. Again, loudmouth Bart Cocquyt leads the rip-roaring trio.

As I said before his vocal range is out-of-this-world. He easily could front a death metal band (Stay Black/Stay White) or a Nirvana reunion (Losing/Skin) or kick Ozzy Osbourne‘s ass (Hail Satan). Expect ear-shattering jackhammers, over-the-top frenzy, and clamorous lockdown paranoia.

Putain, putain, c’est vachement bien, nous sommes quand même tous des bohemiens.

Key track: Losing

Stream/buy here…

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15. ‘G_d’s Pee AT STATE’S END!’ by GODSPEED YOU! BLACK EMPEROR

Released: 2 April 2021

Turn Up The Volume: A exquisite soundtrack for the funeral of the present,
and at the same time for the re-birth of humankind in the future.

Somber, apocalyptic and longing.

The Canadian mavericks are looking
for a way out of all the (pandemic) mess
with a mesmerizing fervor. Remarkable.

Stream/buy album here…


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16. ‘Crawler’ by IDLES
17. ‘Blue Weekend’ by WOLF ALICE
18. ‘Better Than Life’ by GLASS SANDS
19. It’s Critical by SAVING JACKIE
20. ‘Vivre’ by ARNO

BEST BALLADS OF 2021

What is a ballad?

According to Dictionary.com it is:

1. Any light, simple song, especially one of sentimental
or romantic character, having two or more stanzas all
sung to the same melody.
2. A simple narrative poem of folk origin, composed
in short stanzas and adapted for singing.
3. Any poem written in a similar style.
4. A sentimental or romantic popular song.

Okay, I just wanted to check if I picked the right songs here.

Below you find TUTV’s Ballads Of 2021 Spotify playlist with
a total of 30 beauties that I picked from the past 12 months.

And here’s the TOP 10

1. ‘Ode To The Mets’ by THE STROKES (NYC)

I played this song almost every single day this year.
So this is unquestionably the one that moved me the
most. From their newest LP The New Abnormal.

Just marvelous…

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2. Albuquerque by NICK CAVE & WARREN ELLIS (Australia)

From the two bad seeds’ goosebumps album Carnage.

We won’t get to anywhere, darling
Anytime this year
We won’t get to anywhere, darling
Unless I dream you there

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3. Samurai by ALAN VEGA (Brooklyn)

The late Suicide legend had a lost album out this year
called Mutator. One of those rare lost albums that are
actually really good. Samurai is one of the dark
highlights.

Haunting and mysterious…

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4. ‘Love Kills Slowly’ by ICEAGE (Danmark)

The passion-driven Danish outfit finally hit the bull’s eye
with their fifth longplayer Seek Shelter. A near-perfect
opus with this slow-burning torch…


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5. ‘My America’ by ONISM E (San Antonio, Texas)

Stand out track from these young Texans’ debut album Survivors.

The lyrics are crystal clear. America is not what Hollywood tells you. It has become
a dangerously divided country where racism and far-right rebirth stimulated by
charlatan Trump and his ruthless entourage are frighteningly realistic (again).

Alarming feelings expressed with heavy-heartedness…


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6. ‘Like I Used To’ by SHARON VAN ETTEN and ANGEL OLSEN

Finally, it happened. The two heavenly voices and
gorgeous Amazons teamed up for a tower of song…

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7. ‘Skin’ by BASEMENT REVOLVER (Hamilton, Ontario)

A brave and affecting pop pearl. An inspiring encouragement for
the countless girls/women and boys/men worldwide, struggling with
the looks of their body when it doesn’t correspond with society’s
everlasting sexist perception of how a body should look like, as
we all know.

Singer/songwriter Chrisy Hurn sounds as if she’s
related to The Sundays‘ grand voice Harriet Wheeler.

Magnificent…

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8. ‘Weeping Willow’ by MODERN MOXIE (South-Carolina)

This nostalgic gem has that melancholic and magical feel we, adults,
are familiar with. Looking back at good times gone. This wistful lullaby
brings tears to your eyes.

Wondrous…


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9. ‘Monterey’ by OCEANOGRAPHY (Oakland)

This is the solo project of Oakland-based singer-songwriter,
and multi-instrumentalist Brian Kelly.

“Monterey is a tribute to my big sister who I lost last year. I hope you
enjoy it and it provides some comfort for any loss you’ve experienced.”

Universal feelings of loss, mourning, and tristesse. Heartbreaking…

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10. ‘Carry Me On’ by THE BANKROBBER (Italy)

Feels like a nightly gloaming. Acoustic, soul-searching
and intimate tenderness for the twilight hours.

Bellissimo…

The full 30-song strong list..

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These Are TURN UP THE VOLUME’S 20 Knockout Tracks Of 2021 (So Far)

This year’s best tracks (so far)…

Yes, we have already reached the middle of 2021. The world, finally, looks brighter
than last year. Mad summer parties are just around the corner. And here’s the perfect soundtrack… Turn Up The Volume’s 20 best knockout tracks of 2021, so far!

All together on Spotify…

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Track by Track

1. ‘Finger Pies’ by ANIKA (Berlin)
Electro earworm that moves and grooves from the get-go driven by a rolling
bass riff. Strangely catchy, mysteriously designed with a hypnotic effect. Top!

Catch the vibe…

2. ‘Nike Soldier’ by ALAN VEGA (US)
Alan Vega is dead! Long live Alan Vega! This spine-chilling
slo-mo groove comes from his lost album Mutator.

Check in…

3. ‘Night Is Mine’ULTRA SUNN (Brussels, Belgium)
Combine D.A.F.‘s industrial vibes, Sisters Of Mercy‘s gloom and doom hallucinations, and Depeche Mode‘s pop-noir thrills and you know it’s time for a dazzling night. It’s the title track from their standout debut EP.

Put on your leather jacket and dance…

4. ‘One + One’ by DEATH FROM ABOVE 1979 (Canada)
With Is 4 Lovers the Canadian champions of drone noise rock made one of their best
full-lengths (so far). And the lead-single ‘One + One’ is a bulldozing, yet catching power blast that comes right at you.

Get slammed…

5. ‘Ten Points On The Damage Meter’ by HOW TO LOOT BRAZIL (Germany)
No rest for all who are addicted to dance their asses off. This is a hip-shaking belter, 145 seconds of steamed-up pop-punk euphoria. Imagine German dark disco legends D.A.F. on speed, fronted by Brit-girls Shampoo who are in trouble again.

Here comes the shot of adrenalin…

6. ‘Coma-Inducing Gibberish‘ by PIZZA CRUNCH (Scotland)
Scottish hit the bullseye with this sturdy stunner. A fab-tastic masterstroke to shut up all narcissists. Beware of getting too excited. It can lead to a rock ‘n’ roll coma. Whatever! Go for it!

Right here, right now…


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7. ‘Stay’ by ONISM E (New York)
A soul-stirring and highly affecting vocal highlight – from one of the best albums of 2021 – by this rad emo-striking NY-based outfit. Stream/buy ‘Survivors’ LP here.

And stay for this pearl…

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8. ‘Fall Of The Big Screen’ by DEADLETTER (South London)
Imagine George Orwell fronting The Fall back in Nineteen Eighty-Four scaring the
world with a grim, futuristic vision of humankind about to collapse in 2021 due to
a deadly virus. Scary!

Turn up the heat here…

9. ‘Wake Up’ by LOBSTERBOMB (Berlin, Germany)
A screaming triumph. This up-and-coming Berlin trio combines Bikini Kill‘s rough
outcries, L7‘s detonating gusto, and B-52‘s peppery liveliness. Touchdown!

Wake up here…

10. ‘Heroin’ by PERMO (Scotland)
A sizzling slice of trash and slash punk. Expect 135 striking seconds of heavy thunder
and creepy lighting. Totally insane drums and bass, deranged guitar frenzy, and cranked-up, psych-o-tic howling. Fucktastic intensity!

Hell yeeeaaahhhh…


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11. ‘We… Are Doomed’ by THE IRRATIONAL LIBRARY (Dutch-American)
A challenging rap and roll rant by an open-minded-plainspoken-ass-kicking-anti-establishement-and-other-scumbags force of doom and gloom. The title track from
this caring collective’s excellent new album.

Apocalypse now…

12. ‘Boilermaker’ by ROYAL BLOOD (UK)
The blues-rock tandem is back with this motherfucker of
a slam dunk from their brand new album Typhoons.

Wham bloody wham bam…

13. ‘The Men Who Rule The World’ by GARBAGE (US/Scotland)
A surprisingly funky disco banger that triggers your head’s up-and-down movement the very moment the money drops into the corrupt politicians’ pockets. I still love you, Shirley!

Let’s roll…

14. ‘This Is Not’ by CROWS ON WIRES (Germany)
Sultry synths, punchy percussion, glimmering guitar lines, and vibratory vocals.
Sounds like Sisters of Mercy are back, produced by Bauhaus who listened to Soft
Cell
on repeat. A stunner, indeed!

Get magnetized here…

15. ‘Vendetta’ICEAGE (Denmark)
An intoxicating jam with a threatening pace. A glam
power punch from their best-ever album Seek Shelter.

Press play and get moved…

16. ‘Not To’ by WOLFVANWYMEERSCH (Belgium)
Melancholia at its starry-eyed, synth-pop best. Here’s a romantic at heart, going
solo, who’s sanely obsessed with creating music, playing music, and enjoying music,
if possible, all at the same time. Damon Albarn‘s moody side comes to mind.

Dim the lights and enjoy…

17. ‘Unspoken’ by ANNIE TAYLOR (Switzerland)
A troubled love reverie with a sorrowful touch. Heartbreaking romanticism at its balladesque best, notable for its vocal splendour and silver-toned resonance.

Enjoy the sweet little pearl…


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18. ‘Carry Me On’ by THE BANKROBBER (Italy)
This new musing feels like a nightly gloaming. Acoustic soul-searching and intimate tenderness. The darksome sorrowfulness of several past and present crooners come
to mind when hearing this gloomy song.

Dream away…

19. ‘Man Alone (Can’t Stop The Fadin’)’ by TINDERSTICKS (Nottingham, UK)
Surprising stonker! An 11-minute psychedelic and epic journey. Trippy and spacey.
From their new, 13th album, Distractions.

Follow the flow…


20
. ‘Amsterdam’ by MOONLIGHT PARADE (UK)
Magical and red-colored ballad, combining the melodic melancholia of Teenage Fanclub and The Coral. A sweet little gem about a wonderful city I’m in love with for a long time now. Press play and let your thoughts drift away on a cloud.

Listen to the beauty here…

See/hear you next time, music junkies…

Album Of The Month – May 2021 – ‘SEEK SHELTER’ By ICEAGE

1 June 2021

Band: ICEAGE
Who: Danish rockers who entered
the scene in 2008 / 5 albums so far

Album: SEEK SHELTER – 5th LP
Released: 7 May 2021


(photo by Turn Up the Volume!)

NME says: “A record that never sits still, an album of considerable polish and scope
and by far the boldest thing the Danes have ever made, but also an album that still feels distinctly theirs. The fierce 90-second punk songs of their early days might now have
morphed into vast stadium-rock anthems, but Iceage remain as razor-sharp as ever.”

Full review here. Score: 4/5.

Turn Up The Volume: Finally, Iceage do what they were expected to do for a long
time. Creating a standout album that makes the hair in the back of your neck stand
up. Melodramatic with balls, impassioned with vigour, romantic with grimness. Charismatic frontman Elias Bender Rønnenfelt leads the troops as never before.
Their fifth, their best.

Rønnenfelt: “We by no means wanted a producer to go in and tell us what to do
or lead the way as to what kind of record we were trying to make. We just wanted
a partner in crime.”

Singles/clips: Vendetta / Shelter Song / The Holding Hand

– VENDETTA –

– SHELTER SONG –

– THE HOLDING HAND –

Stream/buy album here…

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ICEAGE: Facebook