Bristol punks IDLES have worked their
way up since 2018 with 4 splendid LPs.
And they have their brand-new number 5 out now. It’s baptized TANGK.
Joe Talbot (frontman): “I needed love. So I made it. I gave love out to the world and
it feels like magic. This is our album of gratitude and power. All love songs. All is love.”
Pitchfork: On their fifth album, the UK band enlist Nigel Godrich and Kenny Beats for a smoother, softer rock record that still fires its love songs from a cannon. There’s a subtlety
to writing about love that Talbot misses on this record—it’s a topic that’s often best gestured
at, rather than bossed around. Press materials note that the word “love” appears 29 times throughout the record, and yet the songs that speak to the feelings undergirding that powerful emotion—the exhilaration of romantic attraction, the fear of abandonment—don’t mention the topic directly at all. On TANGK, Idles seem poised to let down their ironclad armor and reveal a far more interesting and nuanced band, just as soon as Talbot is ready to relinquish his stubborn and self-defeating grasp.” Score: 6.7/10.
TUTV: It’s an album about love. Joe Talbot: “I find love fascinating and empowering” .
The weird thing is that Talbot doesn’t sound happy, or in love. On half of the songs,
his voice has a moody crooner resonance. Yes, half of the tracks are mixed-emotions lullabies.
Yes, their punk days, sonically and lyrically, are behind them. Surely, copying themselves over and over again, and pretending they’re the very same people as 6 years ago, would get boring. But I miss the fury, the moshpit haymakers and the slam dunks. Tangk is a good record with some rad highlights (Dancer, Grace, Hall & Oates and Jungle) but nothing more, nothing less.
Bristol punks IDLES became a top act after 4 splendid albums since 2018.
And they keep on punking in the free world. Longplayer #5 Tangk is waiting
in the pipeline for release, next Friday, on 16 February.
So far they unleashed three singles (stream them all below).
The newest one is a fiery haymaker called GIFT HORSE.
They played it live this week on Jimmy Fallon’s Tonight Show.
Look at them go!
Look at them go!
Look at them go!
These rockin’ amazons – Carrie Clark and Pam Peltz – have known each other since
the mid-90s, they played in different bands together and decided to give it a go again with some friends.
Imagine 60s British glam rock legends T. REX and American sassy duo Royal Trux
jamming together. Aeroplane grooves and moves with pithy panache and steaming swagger. Add the saucy and sensual duet vocals, and we have ourselves a winner.
The Baby Seals are three DIY indie grrrls from Cambridgeshire (UK)
who released their debut EP back in 2017.
Mild Misogynist is a ripper from their upcoming debut album Chaos.
The trio have that roaring rawness, unbridled roughness, genuine gusto and spontaneous bravado, Sleater-Kinney had back in the 90s. These three punk Amazons resonate more like Courtney Love when she went mental with Hole ages ago. Garage frenzy rock at its sharp-teethed indie best.
On March 15 the Dandys launch their 12th longplayer, named Rockmaker. Last summer the Dandys dropped stand-alone single The Summer Of Hate. An infectious steamroller that will be on the album.
Courtney Taylor-Taylor (frontman): “It started with a riff that either sounded like
Misfits or Danzig and then got slowed down. Overall, Rockmaker is the manifestation
of our desire to hear a record of heavy raw punk and metal guitar riffs, but it has its
own alley.”
It features Pixies‘ general Frank Black and is a rather gloomy and doomy (yes, Danzig-like) sounding stomper, but vintage Warhols. Its poignant pace creeps faster under your skin than you can say ‘fuck Trump’.
Purrs are 4 French gunslingers who bring together a singular artistic emergency drawn from Great Britain in the 80s and the current observation of a dark future, and orchestrate a bitter present but which does not refuse hope.
‘To Be Enjoyed’ explores the delicate theme of mental health, highlighting the simple desire to feel better and make progress with one’s condition. Through this composition, we aim to convey the idea that there are different ways of taking care of one’s mental health, and that it’s crucial to find the solution that’s right for everyone. Having all lived experiences more or less close to depression, this song is our way of communicating not only with those facing this illness, but also with their loved ones who accompany them on the road to recovery.
Energetic punk ebullience à la British mavericks Idles. Aggressive, furious and from a
fast beating heart. Trust me, Purrs are going places. 2024 will be their breakthrough year.
Bristol punks IDLES became a top act after 4 splendid albums since 2018. And they’re
not done yet. Longplayer #5 Tangk is waiting in the pipeline for release on 16 February.
Ahead of it, you can go apeshit to new, third single and fierce haymaker Gift Horse.
Who? Two-piece act, Justin Keane (vocals, guitar) and Amy Young (drums, backing vocals), from Boston, MA. Fueled by the current chaos of the world and an urgent need to be part of the conversation, the two took the indie rock foundation they built in previous bands and upped the ante by adding new levels of noise via pervasive, edgy guitar sounds, low and thundery drumbeats, and emotional vocals.
Soo All The Way is a mean motherrocker that easily could have been on an early Sonic Youth or Dinosaur Jr album. Distorted guitars, raw and rough. Sturdy drum hits. Expressive and punchy vocals. DIY rock ‘n’ roll at its razor blade sharpest.
This eccentric ensemble is more eccentric than American eccentric legends Sparks and British eccentrics Sigue Sigue Sputnik were in their early eccentric days. Wacky voices, goofy harmonies, and a ridiculously infectious chorus all work together to cause big fun entertainment.
Get up, stand up, and fight
for your right to go bananas.
The LP lands on April 1 and follows their tremendous 2021 one As Days Get Darker.
Aidan Moffat (vocalist) about lead single ‘Bliss’: “It’s about women being terrorized online;
it’s about cowardice and bigotry. It’s about how we expose ourselves on social platforms while hiding alone at home. But you can dance to it too!”
Moffat sings/tells his troll story over a trippy dance beat.
Berlin-based artist KAT KOAN shines again. After releasing her magnific
debut album Lustprinzip in 2022 and three ear-catching singles last year
she has a new track out, titled Dreamirl.
Kat Koan always knows how to entrance the listener with stylishly, graciously
and also sensually designed music that stirs heart and soul. The sentiments
expressed here may be familiar to many of us and can be a comforting companion
on your headphones with the lights dimmed, while relaxing on your couch, dreaming
of your own dream-self.
Last September, British shoegaze heroes Slowdive returned to the scene with praised LP Everything Is Alive, their first full length in five years. Their Boston peers Drop Nineteens followed two months later with Hard Light, their first album LP in thirty years.
And now the equally veteran shoegazers Ride join the revival.
Their 7th LP, named Interplay, their first since
2019, is planned to be released on March 29.
Potent drums/bass determine the upbeat pace and whirling vibe of the track all the way. Peace Sign is a pure pop earworm with an orgasmic chorus. Picobello. Welcome back.
Who? Musical act born from the lifelong musical collaboration of Candy Bassas (vocals and guitar) and Sergi Cabanes (lead guitar). After relocating to Berlin from Barcelona, the duo formed a four-piece band in late 2021, which takes inspiration for its noisy-yet-ethereal sound from artists such as Galaxie 500, Spiritualized, New Order, the Cure, and Lou Reed.
New single Entwined is a cut from their upcoming
debut EP, titled All I Wanted, out on 2 February.
A tenacious tandem of bass and drum take care of this striking song’s backbone beat
all the way through. From the kick-off, Entwined has the impact of a sonic magnet.
Its ongoing flow creeps under your skin without asking. Scorching, shoegazy guitars
add some more electricity and quirky vocals (made me immediately think of the singer
of former Irish indie band JJ72) create a spooky atmosphere. Give it a couple of spins
and you’re hooked.
Who? Zach Pliska and Emily Sturm. Their musical project started in 2017.
They describe their sound as deathgaze, combining the raw energy of
deathrock with the depth of shoegaze. So far the duo released five
albums and a handful of singles and EPs.
Think Siouxsie and the Banshees going fast-forward. Glistening guitar electricity and a pumping bass dictate the ongoing revolving rhythm, while Sturm‘s ghostly vocals roll all over it. No brakes, no breaks. Probably the most upbeat tune Vazum has ever delivered. Blush is a sonic whirlwind, a flamboyant flurry, a turbulent twister.
Who? German pop-rock team So far they have
3 albums on their résumé and #4 is canned.
Nowhere To Run is the 4th shared piece from their upcoming
4th album, named ‘If This Wall Could Sing’, out on 1st March.
Expect an irresistible drive. Fast-forward. Heartening vocals. Atomic is an unadulterated pop gem. A sprightly summer song for freezing winters like this. It could have easily been
a bonus track on Miles Kane‘s newest, perky album One Man Band.
Atomic has an atomic single out with a sky-high starry-eyed bliss.
Who? Italian act started by Paolo Mioni, former member of Jennifer Gentle,
spearhead of the Italian psych scene. They released their debut album Painkillers And Wine last year.
With new single Hey AtlasMonoscopes draw you into their psychedelic world where surrender and hope are the only options to handle life. Hey Atlas sends shivers down your spine. It’s both a melancholic and harrowing jam bringing the mellow moments of Interpol to mind. It touches and moves heart and soul. There’s always a light at the end of the tunnel. That comforting given should inspire all of us who are confused and fidgety these days.
Today, Gordon announced the upcoming birth of her
2nd solo LP. It’s titled The Collective and it’ll land on
March 8.
First shared track Bye Bye, is a dazzling piece of music. Its hypnotic trap beat sonority and fuzzy chainsaw rotating synths are the motor of this dazzling jam. It creeps forward like an industrial rock serpent in slow motion. All over it come Gordon‘s chilling spoken-word vocals citing a series of consumer products. Eerie and enigmatic.
The accompanying video features her daughter Coco Gordon Moore and is directed by photographer Clara Balzary, who is the daughter of Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea.
These Irish punk hound dogs release their new EP Glorach on March 15.
First shared track Empty is a brutalist slab of heavily effected droning guitar and bass, corrosive blasts of feedback and gut-wrenching vocals centered around the persistence
of grief over time.
Deafening sledgehammer.
Screamo disorder.
NIN on acid.
Who? The moniker of Irish musician Paul Dillon who draws inspiration
from bands like The The, The Cure, Killing Joke, Echo and the Bunnymen,
Rammstein, and Depeche Mode, and developed a unique sound that
traverses genres from Darkwave Post-Punk to Trash Metal Indie Rock.
WithOpinion he delivers a Curesque meditation. Pulsating bass, darkwavish melodiousness and wondering vocals and enquiring thoughts. No matter
what you think, say it, sing it, express it, write it down.
Who? American songwriters Brad Armstrong and Megan Barbera.
Their music blurs between Sunday afternoon country-folk and
the golden age of the 1970s.
Same Old You is a crystalline lullaby with a melancholic country aroma. Tender,
moony, and enticing. The endearing duet vocals and melancholic guitar sparks
augment the soul-stirring effect of this bittersweet humdinger.
It’s a candlelight pearl, a heart-warming companion on these freezing winter nights. Romanticism in motion. Think of the quietest moments of Angel Olsen, Sharon Van Etten and Willie Nelson.
Bristol punks IDLES became a top act after 4 splendid albums since 2018. And they’re
not done yet. Longplayer #5 Tangk is waiting in the pipeline for release on 16 February.
Ahead of it you can go apeshit to new, third single and fierce haymaker GIFT HORSE.
Joe Talbot (frontman): “Look at us go! Music and movement for
you and yours. Be bold and ride us like the disco donkeys we are.”
In order to not miss a beat Turn Up The Volume scans the musical
horizon daily (doing it for years now, actually) to stay in touch with
all new things sonically great and shares the results on a weekly
basis.
Check the 10 new rad cuts just
added to this rad 2023 playlist.
“This song was inspired by the awkward silence of passengers towards an individual visibly struggling on the tube. Is everyone too busy, or do they just not know what to say? Maybe this person wants to be left alone? Who knows. Everyone at one moment in their life at least has had their own struggles whilst on public transport.”
Tears On The Underground is not a happy piece story-wise but musically it’s a ravishing and captivating pop gem with emotive vocals, upfront and in the back, subtle piano play, riffs left and right and a big-time chorus.
Top!
Last week, the Californian power pop darlings released a ‘best of’ album, named Rebel Diamonds. A 20-track jukebox containing one new song, titled Spirit. A 24-carat killer.
This full-impassioned belter thrives on torrid emotions inflamed with
psych-crazy guitars, expressive vocals and a titanic chorus. The ongoing
vitality is overwhelming. It’s the title track of Highwayves new excellent
5-track EP
Leyton is a seasoned musician who’s been around for a while, playing
in bands and solo later on. Singerman is a supersonic projectile.
About the song: “I wanted to send a shout-out to a great friend and life-long rock ‘n roller, Robert Singerman, who I met at MIDEM and helped us out at CMW back in 2012. He used to be the manager for The Fleshtones from NYC and is just an amazing person – he deserves a song!”
Singerman is a supersonic rocket pushed by hungry guitars/drums,
fervent vocality and a roasting refrain. Near the end, Leyton takes
a breather before heading towards the blustery climax.
This Italian outfit describe themselves as instinctive and in the same time flickering,
fuzzy, aerial, groovy, bizarre and distor. And they are totally right when you’ll hear this
new mesmeric piece from their upcoming third album “Termination”, set to be released
in March 2024, is out via Little Cloud Records, clostridiumrecords, and Sister 9 Recordings.
Bartleby is a hypnotizing 5.30-minute psych jam that progresses with a puzzling
and darkwavish cadence. The color is black, the tone is sinister, and the male/female
vocals have a creepy timbre. Think British nightdreamers The Underground Youth.
7. ‘All I See Is Trouble’ by BEATOWLS(Liverpool, UK)
All I See Is Trouble is part of the band’s brand new, intriguing album Marma.
The Liverpool’s cult synth-noir outfit bewitch with this mystifying slow-moving trip. Meditative male/female vocals and cinematic synths augment the chilling trip-hop vibe. Trance-like sonority. References? Massive Attack and Portishead. I know, big names.
The Bristol indie punk mavericks have album #5, named Tangk out on 16 February 2024.
This new cut is a bittersweet ballad. Idles show their soft side here and it sounds great.
This darkwave synth duo from Glasgow-based have their
7th album out, named Worship. Stream it here.
Falling Tooth is one of the standout tracks. A synth riff rotates throughout with
an eerie resonance. It boggles your mind and psyche. The vocals accentuate the
obscure atmosphere even more. Striking score.
I love the way these New Yorkers descibe themselves: The Carpenters meet Slayer. Hilarious.
“At face value our new song “Mood Pills” simply refers to a pill one takes to enhance their mood. The song deals with what that does to a relationship – how it affects the overall dynamic of a relationship when one person is taking a mood-altering drug. Though love and drugs are common songwriting topics, I wanted to take a stab at writing about a different side of that – namely, the sexual dysfunction that comes from taking psychiatric drugs.”
And yes, on Mood Pills I hear echoes of the legendary pop duo The Carpenters‘ musings, but less sugary and them singing about taking mood-changing drugs back in the day is unthinkable. Oh, I think Slayer showed up too late to fuck up this explicit pearl.
Bristol punks IDLES have worked their
way up since 2018 with 4 splendid albums.
And the recordings of number 5 are finished. The new one
is baptized TANGK and materialises on 16 February 2024.
Joe Talbot (frontman): “I needed love. So I made it. I gave love out to the world and
it feels like magic. This is our album of gratitude and power. All love songs. All is love.”
Following first single Dancer featuring backing vocals from LCD Soundsystem’s
James Murphy and Nancy Whang we get appetizer #2 titled GRACE. A hypnotic
slow moving musing that ends, yes, like The Beatles masterpiece A Day In The Life.
Talbot (frontman): “The song came from nowhere and everything. It was a breath and
a call to be held. The only words or singing that came from our sessions with Nigel and
I needed it, truly. All is love.”
The celebrated British indie rockers prepare for the launch
of their 6th LP, titled ‘Pick-Up Full Of Pink Carnations’, with this
new stonker, bringing the sonic euphoria of The Killers to mind.
This synth-pop duo is warming up for their third full length ‘A Kiss of the Mind’
Lead single ‘In Slow Motion’ is dark-synth-wave pizazz at its haunting best.
Booming beats rotate on and on towards a full orchestral plangency while
shadowy vocals add even more sinister vibes.
These masked synth-punk freaks from Vancouver (CA)
produce lots of mayhem on their new album Play Cobra.
One of the 5 best albums of the month on TUTV’s list.
Mouth Yellow is one of the crazy corkers.
Fasten your seatbelt, folks. It’s a rough ride.
The veteran superstar born Leonard Albert Kravitz in New York City 59 years
ago has his new longplayer – a double one – dubbed ‘Blue Electric Light’ out
on 15 March 2024.
On the video for the first taster ‘TK421’ Kravitz
drops his towel and shakes a lot of body parts.
6. ‘Downtown Operation’ by DUBINSKI (Edinburgh, Scotland)
Four brothers who’ve literally been through everything together – from childhood
through adolescence, success and grief – using music as the gel to hold them in place.
This first cut from their forthcoming 2nd album is a pure not-so-happy
pop pearl about the doom and gloom era we’re living in.
Its whirling groove, its ebullient beat, its glistering synth flashes, its vivacious
harmonies and last but not least its tremendously infectious chorus combine
for a top-notch earworm. Think Everything Everything and/or Hot Chip turning
up the heat.
Beginning as a solo project and growing into a band, Millie Milner & The Deadnames
of Manchester, UK was forged with a stronger mission at the heart to be the queer representation that the band’s members struggled to find in their own teenage years.
Lie was inspired by a breakup of Milner‘s and co-penned by a friend. It tells of
a need to take ownership of their life and their choices and the newfound element
of fun and recklessness they found themselves surrounded by as a newly single
person.
It’s indie at its vivid best. Sparkling guitars going berserk now and then, firm
drum hits, crystal clear vocals/harmonies, evocative lyrics, and a steamy chorus.
10. ‘Dead Moon Rising‘ by CACTUS FLOWERS (Houston, Texas)
This psych-rock act is fronted by Jessica A.M., whose mother photographed bands for
the legendary Rolling Stone music weekly during the magazine’s counter-culture heyday.
Their new sultry mid-tempo garage blues-rock corker is fuelled by echoing, rollicking
riffs, steady drum hits and bewitching Jessica A.M. vocals. Dead Moon Rising resonates
like glorious legends The Cramps with a mean machine vibe, rock-and-psycho-billy
swagger and footstompin’ dynamics. From bad moon rising to dead moon rising.
The Libs met in the studio once again for a new LP.
It’s been 8 years since the release of their 3rd album Anthems For Doomed Youth, which was their first
in 11 years back then.
Their new one ‘All Quit On The Easter Esplanade‘
and comes our way on 8 March 2024.
Run Run Run is a sickly sticky runner.
A vintage Libertines anthem.
Two years after the release of their charged self-titled debut EPEmpty Head are
back with a brand new follow-up EP named Tales Of A Modern Man. A 5-track
one anchored by the overarching theme of the Modern Man and bristling with
a wiry tension.
Opener Violence sets the tone with its hammering beats, its inflammable
guitar galvanism and frontman Simon Galloy‘s sky-scraping vocals.
This Belgian/Iraqi launched their excellent debut
full length The Shedding Of Skin, last year.
Their new piece is “a cynical “c’est-la-vie” anthem, set to a heavy 95 BPM beat and a disarray
of fucked up samples & sounds, about ten little wanderers who wander kilometers from home trying to belong. But home is where the heart is. And the House will never share its wealth.”
The release was initiated before the brutal reality of the genocide happening in Gaza.
Now, the cynical message must make way for solidarity with the Palestinian people.”
Expect a both haunting and hypnotic trip, with ominous slo-mo beats pounding
relentlessly with eerie chants all over it. Dark clouds in the air, calm before the storm, subdued electronic anger. It’s an alarming beast of a track.
Carter and Co release their fifth LP Dark Rainbow on 26 January 2024.
First single Man Of The Hour is a gorgeous surprise. Sonically and vocally
we get the softer side of the post-hardcore punk and tattoo artist. A super
duper ballad.
Abdelbarry: “The song reflects on having a friend who is acting in immature
ways you’ve outgrown, but knowing they still need your support and friendship.”
Birthday Cake is slow-progressing musing that appeals instantly with its
rudimentary PJ Harvey-esque guitar play and Abdelbarry‘s affectional voice.
The song has both a romantic and wistful sonority that captivates and moves.
And halfway melancholic synths accentuate the overall ruminate timbre in
an endearing way.
Caleb Orr is a young skilled country-pop-rock singer-songwriter who grew up in Helena, Alabama. He found his passion for music at a young age. He and his two older siblings were raised on music legends like Alan Jackson, Van Halen, Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings.
Great voice, great musicality, and great guitar play, echoing classic country
melancholia, and proving that the genre is simply timeless. As we all know, music can
have a healing, comforting and cathartic power and it also works here as Orr wants
to shake off bad habits of the past and want to focus on the future as a compelling
singer-songwriter.
This is the brainchild of seasoned Norwegian singer-songwriter Hans PetterGundersen
Dusty Road is a smooth mid-tempo country musing with a bluesy feel and both
a melancholic and yearning sensitivity. Warm voice, captivating melody, vintage
pedal steel guitar charm. All the matching ingredients for a warm sepia-colored
nugget.
Dan Cummings fronts Boston’s rowdy trio Already Dead
No wall-of-Already-Dead-dynamite electricity this time. Cummings
picked up his acoustic guitar and wrote this bone-chilling cry-out
about living on the edge of drowning or surviving.
Imagine British leftist/political activist and terrific veteran songsmith Billy Bragg
raising his voice or equally politically driven folk legend Woody Guthrie killing fascists
again with his wooden guitar. Landlord‘s profound emotions go from hope to despair
and back, and Cummings‘ anxious vocals send shivers down your spine.
In order to not miss a beat Turn Up The Volume scans the musical
horizon daily (doing it for years now, actually) to stay in touch with
all new things sonically great and shares the results on a weekly
basis.
Check the 10 new rad cuts just
added to this rad 2023 playlist.
This darkwave/electro/EBM duo just released their booming debut single ‘Gone’.
ST: “Gone is an awakening of sorts, a shift in consciousness that hits like a fever dream.
There’s no promise of some enlightening revelation to come, and it’s that terrifying feeling
of losing your grip on reality where real transformation can take place.”
It’s a striking debut that triggers all of your limbs to get up, stand up, and fight
for your right to party in the dark. References? D.A.F. (Deutsch-Amerikanische
Freundschaft ) and Clan Of Xymox
New supergroup featuring former The Cure drummer Lol Torhust,
Budgie, former Siouxsie and the Banshees drummer and Siouxsie‘s ex-husband,
and Irish music producerJacknife Lee launch their debut LP Los Angeles
on November 3.
This 3rd appetizer is another dancefloor knockout
with Modest Mouse’s Isaac Brock on vocals.
Sherdel: “”R.E.T.R.O” was written in 2021 after the initial lockdowns. It’s a bittersweet pop record which contains the message to appreciate what you have whilst you have it, as the moment it’s gone is the moment it hurts.”
This is the kind of song that your ears embrace on first hearing. An impassioned
riff ripper with an effervescent tempo, feverish vocals – think Stereophonics‘ dynamizing voice Kelly Jones – and a puissant refrain, think the vivid drive of Americana hero John Mellencamp. Touchdown!
The British gutter punk 4-piece have their 12th single out, since hitting the scene in 2019.
“It’s a song about survival, a song that kicks back against the shame imposed on all of us who are scraping by in an ongoing and worsening cost of greed crisis. You do what you have to survive, and how dare anyone in a position of privilege look down their nose.”
House Of Pain is a chaotic slash and smash haymaker, a left/right uppercut, with schizophrenic guitars, crazed drumming, and a vocalist that screams his lungs out.
No rest for the wicked.
6. ‘Devil Comes In Colour’ by FRAKARD (Cardiff, Wales)
“Devil Comes in Colour was the first song that Frakard ever wrote. Singer Ben and Guitarist Ben sat facing the open window of his flat, and it poured out of us. It means exactly what you think it does – it resides in a world of drugs, women and darkness. It sat dormant for years until we felt confident enough to revisit and perfect it. It is the 2nd in a series of 3 singles about the stages of a relationship, showcasing its rise and fall. It began with ‘Come With Me?’ earlier this year and will culminate in 2024.”
WOWZERS! Be ready for a jagged mid-tempo jackhammer with hectic
guitar hooks, frantic drumming, razor-edged vocals and a vociferous
chorus.
THE LIBERTINES are active once again. It’s been 8 years since the release of their
3rd album Anthems For Doomed Youth, which was their first in 11 years back then.
So great news for the Libs fans. The new longplayer is named ALL QUIET ON THE EASTERN ESPLANADE and will be launched on 8 March 2024. Pre-order info
RUN RUN RUN is a sickly sticky runner.
A vintage Libertines anthem. Hail hail.
This Houston psych-rock outfit have their sophomore
full-length Elation out on November 17th.
Album artwork
But first this new single. Frontwoman/bandleader Jessica A.M. channels the power of a live volcano through her guitar rig, her tone pouring through your speakers like scorching lava. Meanwhile, her mystical lyrics convey a dreamlike, starry-eyed romanticism spiked with a bite of attitude.
Stockholm‘s circles around a trance-inducing, magnetic riff – think Yo La Tengo – and
rings deliriously on the chorus with vitalizing vocals. Top-notch score!
Beginning as a solo project and growing into a band, Millie Milner & The Deadnames
of Manchester, UK was forged with a stronger mission at the heart…to be the queer representation that the band’s members struggled to find in their own teenage years.
Edi Milner (frontperson): “For me the band is all about the bigger picture. It’s more
than music, it’s a home for people like us that often struggle to find a place to fit in.”
Lie was inspired by a breakup of Milner’s and co-penned by a friend, “lie” tells of
a need to take ownership of their life and their choices and the newfound element
of fun and recklessness they found themselves surrounded by as a newly single
person.
It’s indie at its vivid best. Sparkling guitars going berserk now and then, firm
drum hits, crystal clear vocals/harmonies, evocative lyrics, and a banging chorus.
MMJ: “We have always loved music that celebrates the many feelings that come rushing in during the holiday season. Long ago we recorded an EP for itunes but it was never pressed on vinyl so this year for Record Store Day Black Friday next month we thought it would be fun to re-release these tunes.”
The EP will feature two new tracks. One of them is this
nostalgic and romantic Xmassy ballad, named ‘Feelin Sorry’.
Bristol punks IDLES have worked their
way up since 2018 with 4 splendid albums.
And the recordings of number 5 are finished. The new one
is baptized TANGK and materialises on 16 February 2024.
Joe Talbot (frontman): “I needed love. So I made it. I gave love out to the world and
it feels like magic. This is our album of gratitude and power. All love songs. All is love.”
The first single named DANCER features backing vocals
from LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy and Nancy Whang.
Talbot says the song “is the violence that comes from the pounding
heart of the dancefloor and rushes through your body and gives you life
from music, from love and from you.”
