NYC’s darlings INTERPOL have become a veteran band, after 27 years (damn, time
flies supersonically) of making superb alt music. Their sophomore LP ANTICS turns
20 this year, on 27 September.
Pitchfork said at the time: “Though Interpol couldn’t be expected to surpass their previous heights, it’s difficult to imagine a savvier or more satisfying second step. But the real revelation is that the band has wisely ignored a shortsighted perception of their career which dictates that where debut LP ‘Bright Lights’ was an audacious plunge from a great height, ‘Antics’ is the crucial landing. Even on those terms the band has succeeded. However, their liberation of form emphasizes the fact that, in the grand scheme of Interpol’s career, this is only one in a series of great, if not Great, albums. Antics shows Interpol shedding the weight of their accumulated baggage and (hopefully) staying a while. Full review here. Score: 8.5/10.
Interpol will celebrate the albums’ 20th birthday on the road.
First dates (UK), just announced. More shows, everywhere, TBA.
The 7th day is one to be lazy, to relax, to walk in slow-mo
from your bed to your couch, to have a glass of wine and
to listen to musings/reveries/ballads that massage your
ears and mind gently.
Turn Up The Volume picked 10 to create the fitting
atmosphere to lose yourself in a blissful trance.
Pitchfork said: “As a member of the press, it’s my duty to tell you,
from one music fan to another, what I personally think of an album,
and in this case, it’s that Turn On the Bright Lights has been one of
the most strikingly passionate records I’ve heard this year. That other
people I’ve spoken with have the opportunity to experience it, and that
they feel similarly about it, can only be a good thing.”
Full review here. Score: 9.5/10.
Turn Up The Volume: This jarring debut longplayer with
single NYC as one of my all-time favorite psych-rock gems
is still their hypnotizing best to my ears and my mind.
Early this month psych rock virtuoso Anton Newcombeand his orchestra
released new LP Fire Doesn’t Grow On Trees. Their 19th and one of their
best to my keen ears.
Ila is a Belgian post-punk trio fronted by bewitching songstress Ilayda Cicek.
Last year they had their stunning debut album Felt out, containing one of the
best singles of 2021 with Leave Me Dry.
Brand new piece Live To Love confirms
the immense intensity of ILA.
They are here to stay!
“This song is about a friend that you loved but just cannot be near. They always get
into trouble, always cause drama/fights, make a bunch of empty promises and get
you to do a bunch of intense stuff for them without getting anything in return.”
It’s a blazing bass/drum tandem that ignites this jiggish jackhammer with ardency
and flamboyance and keeps on steamrolling for the full 140 seconds.
And when an avid Amazon jumps in with pithy and bouncy vocals
you know, you feel and you hear straight away that we have a winner.
6. ‘Baby, I Had An Abortion’ byPETROL GIRLS (UK/Austria)
Last month this raging feminist post-hardcore 4-piece unleashed their 3rd album
named Baby. A badass beast of a record mixing raw power, mouthy screams, and a tsunami of loud and clear messages.
In the light of the incredible Roe v Wade debacle, disrespecting women’s fundamental
human rights, this LP’s sassy slam is a middle finger to all anti-abortion idiots.
American film soundtrack composer DANNY ELFMAN has a new album
out, titledBIGGER. MESSIER., on 12 August with reimagined versions of
songs from his last year’s Big Mess longplayer. More info here.
It features guest vocals from Trent Reznor, HEALTH, Zach Hill
of Death Grips, Xiu Xiu, Squarepusher, Ghostemane.
And the omnipresent Iggy Pop joined the fun too with this kick-ass jam.
These psycho-billy maniacs produce a wall-of-holy-smoke havoc on this horror-ific haymaker with sawing guitars, punk turbulence, hellish vocals a pulverizing chorus.
This razzle-dazzle master blaster races and rushes with vivid vigor and fervid
firmness. Punk ‘n roll at its razor-sharp best. And when the towering chorus kicks
in the sky-screaming vocals go through the roof. Amazeballs energy in overdrive.
If this Krautrock-like rotating electro ripper doesn’t trigger
your body, mind, and senses you need to change your meds.
Its repetitive rhythm mesmerizes and stupefies. Its sickly sticky synth swirl is simply irresistible and its magnetic voice brought the late great Talk Talk leader Mark Hollis
to mind.
On this Herculian stroke metal, shoegaze and classic guitar rock mania (think Eddie Van Halen and Neil Young‘s Crazy Horse) meet with forceful effect, while Rachel Bacon‘s vocals float above the giant raucousness. Bystander is a slow-burning torch, a powerhouse with mammoth riffs. Hefty score from their sterling 5-track EP Spiralized.
The obscure slow-progressing synth/guitar intro could easily be the shadowy intro
theme of a film noir starring this duo – Hana Piranha and Mishkin Fitzgerald – as Femmes Fatales with spine-chilling voices that cause a sensation of puzzlement and perturbation strengthened by the heavy metallic reverberations in the back.
When you look glamorous, move glamorous, and sound glamorous,
you have my attention in a flash. This London’s colorful gang’ new wallop
mourns the loss of heroes such as Tom Petty and genius Bowie.
Its avid flow gets under your skin from the get-go. A voltaic retro-resounding
guitar goes solo midway and challenges the somber mood. And Amazon Jo-Jo spices the ripper with her notable rock voice.
High-passionate mavericks The Afghan Whigs from Ohio
with general Greg Dulli upfront will share their 9th longplayer
named How Do You Burn? with the world on 9 September.
A Line Of Shots is one of the brill tracks we heard so far off the LP.
Vince Grant is no stranger to Turn Up The Volume. His dedication to darkwave
is infectious as he shows again here with his new shadowy single. Sonically you still
hear Joy Division and The Cure echoes.
Too Close To The Sun is an addictive melody at heart locked in tenebrous eurhythmics. Think of lots of The Cure hits (Close To You / Friday I’m In Love / Lovecats and so many more). They were experts in writing uncomplicated pop tunes and made them sound instantly captivating.
Grant also unites aural catchiness with shady musicality including
a melancholic saxophone solo in this new composition. Top.
Two weeks ago New York City‘s darlings dropped their 7th LP titled The Other Side Of Make Believe. In my aural opinion their best
since their 2002 debut.
Kilguss‘s voice is just amazing. Resonating somewhere between the magnific
voices of nightingales Angel Olsen and Sharon Van Etten. Yes, that is amazing and Great White Shark is also a heartfelt sort of musing that those two emotive ladies love. Say no more.
He tears open
From the heart
From the root
From intuition
He tears open
From the gut
From the soul
From inner vision
Paul Banks: “It definitely feels like us. It’s the heart and soul of our band,
like there’s a DNA to our sound. Another part of me thinks. This might be
super fucking different’.”
NME writes: “On ‘The Other Side Of Make Believe’, they’re still very much in a mid-career
purple patch. You won’t find any indie radio bangers like ‘Slow Hands’ or ‘All The Rage Back Home’, but instead a consistent and engaging tapestry of moods and textures… Far from a
total reinvention, but all adds up to a confident, rewarding and subtly adventurous new chapter for Interpol – or, as Banks sings himself on the aforementioned peak of ‘Toni’, “Still in shape, my methods refined”. Score: 4/5.
TUTV: It’s simple. Their 7th is their best since their 1st (Turn On The Bright Lights – 2002, turning 20 next month). In between, it felt like Interpol was searching for a new sonic identity. A trial and error journey with half great//half lukewarm longplayers.
But here their characteristic gloominess touches moony hearts again (definitely mine)
with their distressed musings in sound and content. No charged corkers this time, only sensitive and soulful melodies with moody shades for candlelight evenings.
Welcome back to twilight land.
Singles/clips: Gran Hotel / Something Changed / Toni
