Vitalizing tunes that work faster than a stream of caffeine
2 April 2026
Belfast‘s notorious rap & roll activists KNEECAP – Mo Chara,
Móglaí Bap, and DJ Próvaí – hip and hop around with a knife
between their sharp teeth since 2017.
They released their debut album 3cag in 2018
and went viral in 2024 with follow-up Fine Art.
Last year, the spotlight wasn’t really on their music but more on their
problems with some governments for their support for Palestine on
and off stage.
This year will see the release of their 3rd longplayer.
It’s baptized FENIAN, Irish for Fínín, an adjective with Fíníneach Origin: Old Irish féne, the name of an ancient
Irish people.
The album is promoted as “A new chapter, new sounds, new manifestos.
A blistering album that revels in darkness while bursting through the void
with illuminated revery.”
Vitalizing tunes that work faster than a stream of caffeine
19 November 2025
Belfast‘s sharp-mouthed, notorious rap team KNEECAP – Mo Chara,
Móglaí Bap, and DJ Próvaí – hip and hop around with a knife between
their teeth since 2017.
They released their debut album 3cag in 2018
and went viral last year with follow-up Fine Art.
For the past months, the spotlight wasn’t really on their music
but more on their problems with some governments for their
support for Palestine on and off stage.
Member Mo Chara got charged for allegedly displaying a flag
in support of Hezbollah one year ago. After a long trial he was
acquitted of all claims against him.
In the aftermath, they just dropped a new song, called NO COMMENT featuring renowned British DJ Sub Focus.
Kneecap: ‘No Comment’ is all about getting harassed by the British state.
Simple as. Us Irish are well used to it, been happening for centuries. Was
a pleasure to work with Sub Focus on this, the man is a legend.”
Belfast‘s notorious, politically and socially outspoken rap trio KNEECAP make headlines these days with being under attack by British justice, being banned at festivals, and with other related problems for their loud and clear, ongoing support for Palestine.
Some hypocritical Western governments act as if the
band is the problem, not Israel‘s demolition of Gaza.
I hope now that they won’t be attacked by some French art purists who could possibly
be offended by the band’s advertisement poster (on top) for a couple of upcoming gigs
in Paris.
I saw 8 bands/artists and all of them drew attention to the
still ongoing, horrific genocide in Gaza. Kudos to them.
One of them were the so-called controversial (when you condemn Israel out loud,
most hypocritical Western governments label you controversial) Irish rappers KNEECAP
who delivered a tempestuous set. At the end of the show, ‘Free Palestine‘ flickered on
the big screen behind them.
“‘Although it’s a big, joyous dance track, it’s about hiding deep emotional pain and trauma and how hedonistic coping mechanisms, like drugs, alcohol, and womanizing, are just temporary distractions. They ultimately fuel a self-destructive cycle. There’s a deliberate contrast between the euphoria of the music and the melancholy of the lyrics, capturing the subject’s duality of light and darkness.”
TUTV: This is what great pop-ular music is all about. Big tune, big emotions, big orchestration. Euphorically cacthy despite its dramatic ‘real life‘ story. Aftermath
soul-searching can work cathartically, and here it sounds pretty boosting.
TUTV: These utterly cool Welsh punkettes drive you bonkers with
this bass-insane punk ‘n’ roll uppercut. Kick-ass band, kick-ass attitude,
kick-ass blast.
Band: PUNCHBAG Who: A new brother-sister party duo, from South London colliding the raw unfiltered energy of punk, with the overflowing ecstasy of pop. With fierce tempos and ferocious energy, their music is an explosively cathartic release of raw intensity and unapologetic fun.
TUTV: Ecstasy. Elation. Exhilaration. This flamboyant electro-slam makes
you bounce and jump like mad. Punchbag kick you in the teeth without
asking while having uppercut fun. And they’ve only just started.
“I wrote this one when I was feeling stuck and stagnant, but when I finally
brought it to the band they really breathed new life into it and made it feel
magic again!!”
TUTV: This sickly sticky steam-riff-roller drives me crazy. Head-twisting stonker.
Band: BOB VYLAN Who: Controversial hip-punk-hop
duo from London.
Track: DREAM BIGGER.
A re-worked, re-named jackhammer single from
their 3rd album, Humble As The Sun released
last April.
TUTV: It features roasting vocals by the fantastic Australian punk
daredevil Amyl Taylor from Amyl And The Sniffers. She’s the perfect
sharp-mouthed match for this fierce flametrohwer.
Band: KNEECAP Who: Belfast‘s sharp-mouthed, notorious rap team KNEECAP – Mo Chara,
Móglaí Bap, and DJ Próvaí – hip & hop around with a knife between their
teeth since 2017.
So far they released 2 albums.
Lately, they make headlines with their loud and clear, ongoing support for Palestine.
They got heavily critiqued for it when they played Coachella Festival in Indo, California
last April.
Then the UK’s right wing politicians jumped into it, and prosecuted Mo Chara after allegedly displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah last November (no verdict yet), and tried to get them banned from playing Glastonbury Festival next week. It gained them, rightly so, countless support from musical colleagues and fans.
To emphasize the whole political charade, the band just released a new single, named THE RECAP, going after Tory politician, business and trade minister Kemi Badenoch who started to hunt them back in 2023 when he withdrew an arts grant awarded to the band.
The trio brought a discrimination case against the U.K. government
and won, donating the proceeds to Belfast community groups. Yes!
Beth: “We’re living in a dark time, full of drama and barbarous tragedy.
It became clear to me that, in these times, we either learn how to scream
really well, or we learn how to whisper.”
TUTV: With this savage industrial shocker it’s crystal clear what Beth meant
when she talked about her amadant intention to make an agressive sound
on her new record. Obsession is a nine inch nails bombshell. Volcanic
2025 gloom and doom eruption.
TUTV: Post-punk aggression at its Mclusky‘s sharp-biting best,
gas-powered by a cast iron bass/drum tandem, schizo guitars
and Falkous‘s intimidating sneering.
Band: WHOLES Who: A fresh, rowdy hit team led by Belgian musical chameleon Wolf Vanwymeersch.
Track: MODERN DAY DRAMA
Single from their upcoming debut LP ‘A Mass In The Water, which lands
on 14 November.
Single artwork by Maxime Rouquart
TUTV: This hellraiser’s ominous mid-tempo dynamics, distorted vocals, and
riff-roasting razzmatazz resonate like if you are listening to the goosebumps
theme song of a horror movie.
Creepy tension in the air, melodrama about to happen. Yes, at the 2.30 minute
mark all hell breaks loose. Decibels up, amps up, temperature up. From a whisper
to a scream. From planet Earth to Dante‘s inferno.
Band: ARCADE FIRE Who: The famous pop-rock
collective from Canada.
Track:YEAR OF THE SNAKE
First single from their forthcoming 7th album, named Pink Elephant ready for release on May 9th. 2025 is
the ‘year of the snake‘ in the Chinese Zodiac.
TUTV: It’s a sublime, crystalline pop nugget, with its hypnotizing guitar riff,
the non-stop banging drum beat and the intertwined, spellbinding vocals of Win Butler and his spouse Régine Chassagne.
Band: THE IRRATIONAL LIBRARY Who:The Irrational Library is a Dutch-American rock band with its roots
firmly planted in both the regional and international counterculture. The Dutch-American band produces a raw, dirty groove influenced by punk,
provo and punk icons. Their poetry is packed with social criticism.
Track: TRUTH SERUM
First single from the quartet’s new, upcoming
5th LP ‘The Saying Of It All’. More details TBA.
Artwork by political cartoonistTRIK
TUTV: TIL is back in town. And they move and groove again with brio and gusto
motorized by a striking drum/bass tandem, while a 60s psychedelic flute flutters
like a butterfly throughout the song. Frontman Joshua Baumgarten draws your
aural attention (as usual) with his near-rapping phrasing of the clear-cut lyrics.
TUTV: An Artist Is An Artist is a sizzling sledgehammer
pushed by a mind-boggling speedy velocity, Skin‘s
hyperactive vocals, a paranoid sax and a flabbergasting chorus.
Artist:LAURA JANE GRACE Who: Chicago‘s notorious singer-songwriter who’s around since the 90s.
She makes a lot of noise with her punk group Against Me! (7 albums so far)
and solo (2 albums so far).
Grace: “Does God have a dick? Is that what those of the faith believe when they refer to their Lord as “he” & “him” & “father”? Well, imagine that! Oops, I think I may have imagined a little too hard and gone and written a song about it. He lord’s heavenly hammer must swing mighty! And away we go!”
TUTV: This is both a hilarious and punktastic choir chant reminiscent
of scream and shout Celtics Dropkick Murphys with a blustering storm
of surf riffs chainsawing your stereo into pieces.
Band: THE NEW EVES Who: Must hear/see indies from Brighton (where everybody is in a band).
They cruise from folk to punk, using, besides traditional instruments (guitar,
bass and drums) also cello, flute, violin, and other classical gear.
It’s a darkly-energised, female-first retelling of
writer/poet Alfred Noyes classic 1906 romantic
poem.
TUTV: These four musical mavericks don’t care about rock ‘n’ roll rules. They do what they want, the way they want to do it, annex unseen visual presence on stage and in video clips. On Highwayman they rattle and brattle full speed ahead motorized by restless drum/bass teamwork.
Here and there the tune, goes, eh, out of tune, and it sounds totally perfect for this emotional belter. No arty farty production for TNE. Winder-Lind‘s awesomely agitated vocals put a spell on you. My, oh my.
TUTV: A razzle-dazzle steamroller that gets under your skin faster
than you can say “this is bloody superb”. Its insane, mind-bending
course doubles your serotonin production on the spot.
Artist: MARK STEWART Who: One of the most adventurous/inventive/original post-punk & dub artists/performers
ever. He was a founding member of genre-bending new wave group The Pop Group and released lots of solo and collaborative records. Unfortunately, he passed away 2 years ago,
only 62.
Track: MEMORY OF YOU
Single from Stewart‘s solo album The Fateful Symmetry,
that was completed early 2023, not long before his passing.
TUTV: Haunting, synth-symphonic and boom-tastic,
with Mark‘s characteristically energetic voice on top.
Band: THE LIVING PINS Who: Indie outfit featuring, Carrie Clark and Pam Peltz, who found each other on
the edge of the delicately ramshackle playground of the 1990s Austin (Texas)
music scene. They released their 4-track debut EP Let It Be So in 2023.
TUTV: Gold is a bluesy, foot-tapping garage ripper that has an instant impact on your greedy ears with its solid swagger, its gloriously cracking guitars, with a feverish solo somewhere in the middle, and its cool duet vocals.
Artist: LIFE COACH Who: The musical project of singer-songwriter-poet Jamie Cameron. Hailing from
the Scottish Borders, the music blends lo-fi beats, synths and guitars with spoken word lyrics in which he discusses subjects ranging from politics and premonitions to self help culture, and a modern society obsessed with economic thinking.
TUTV: Life Coach are on fire, again. This new rattling rap ‘n’ punk roll crackerjack
swings forth and back, left and right and Jamie Cameron’s full of vim and vigour
word-flow activates all of your insatiable limbs before he relaxes towards the
synthy end. Kinetic kick. Hands up for the coach.
Tim Baker (founder and creative director): “The best of what we do in one song,
it’s a tune that really carries the soul of everything good we have stood for over the
last ten years”.
TUTV: Expect electrifying energy from the kick-off. Delirious guitars set
the haywire tone and hyperventilating vocals augment the buzzing fuzz.
A modern-day post-punk roller coaster.
Berlin-based artist KAT KOAN offers her first music of
the year with a new, jaunty little gem, called COCOON.
Koan: “It’s a little circus themed escape world. I wanted to create a bit of a dreamy
break from daily worries. It’s pretty crafty and full of cool instruments. It also features
my daughter for a brief moment. It’s my favourite song I’ve made so far.”
TUTV: Leave your own cocoon and move to Koan‘s one where she will treat
you with this lighthearted tune that swings in mid-tempo from left to right
and back.
It relaxes your mind, triggers you to set your busy plans on a hold, and invites
your body to have a waltz-y dance that transfers you to a utopian circus
place for a while, far away from our daily, suffocating rat race.
Belfast‘s notorious, politically and socially outspoken rap trio KNEECAP
featuring Mo Chara, Móglaí Bap, and DJ Próvaí, hip and hop around with
a knife between their sharp teeth since 2017.
With their debut album, called 3cag in 2018 they got their first accolades
and with last year’s second one, Fine Art, they went nuclear.
For a while now they make headlines with their loud and clear, ongoing support
for Palestine. They got heavily critiqued when they did so at the Coachella Festival
in California last April.
Then the UK’s right wing politicians jumped into it, and prosecuted Mo Chara
after allegedly displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah last November (no verdict
yet), and tried to get them banned from playing Glastonbury Festival next week.
It gained them, rightly so, countless support from musical colleagues and fans.
And UK’s hypocritical attacks on Kneecap keep coming.
Now they’re banned from advertising an upcoming
concert on the London Tube.
Transport for London (TfL) said it approves adverts on a “case-by-case basis” and deemed the Kneecap poster, showing their frequently used logo depicting a balaclava to promote
a September concert “would likely cause widespread or serious offence to reasonable members of the public“.
Meanwhile, the genocide in Gaza goes on and on. The UK administration refers to it as a conflict. Unbelievable, just unbelievable. People are slaughtered every day, but you’re not allowed to talk about it in public.
Band:MANTRA OF THE COSMOS Who: British supergroup featuring happy mondays Shaun Ryder and Bez, Andy Bell (Ride/Oasis) and drummer Zak Starkey, Ringo‘s on, who came up with the project’s
idea.
TUTV: A blaring belter of a banger. Disco-punk pzazz. Noel Gallager
is somewhere in there too, they say. I have no clue what he’s doing.
Anyway, this a bonkers tune.
Band: KNEECAP Who: Belfast‘s sharp-mouthed, notorious rap team KNEECAP – Mo Chara,
Móglaí Bap, and DJ Próvaí – hip & hop around with a knife between
their teeth since 2017.
They released their debut album 3cag in 2018
and went viral last year with follow-up Fine Art.
Lately, they make headlines with their loud and clear, ongoing support for Palestine.
They got heavily critiqued for it when they played Coachella Festival in Indo, California
last April.
To emphasize the whole political charade the band go after the Tory trade minister Kemi Badenoch who started to hunt them back in 2023 when he withdrew an
arts grant awarded to the band.
The trio brought a discrimination case against the U.K. government
and won, donating the proceeds to Belfast community groups. Yes!
“I wrote this one when I was feeling stuck and stagnant, but when I finally
brought it to the band they really breathed new life into it and made it feel
magic again!!”
TUTV: This sickly sticky steam-riff-roller drives me crazy. Head-twisting stuff.
Band: THE IRRATIONAL LIBRARY Who:The Irrational Library is a Dutch-American rock band with its roots
firmly planted in both the regional and international counterculture. The Dutch-American band produces a raw, dirty groove influenced by punk,
provo and punk icons. Their poetry is packed with social criticism.
Track: TRUTH SERUM
First single from the quartet’s new, upcoming
5th LP ‘The Saying Of It All’. More details TBA.
Artwork by political cartoonistTRIK
TUTV: TIL move and groove again with brio and gusto motorized by a striking
drum/bass tandem, while a 60s psychedelic flute flutters like a butterfly throughout
the song. Frontman Joshua Baumgarten draws your aural attention (as usual) with
his near-rapping phrasing of the clear-cut lyrics.
Artist: GINA BURCH Who: Co-founder/bassist of British punkettes The Raincoats (1977-1984, 1996)
were one of the top indie bands in the UK. They released 3 LPs, then called it a day.
In 2023 she released her critically acclaimed solo debut
LP I Play My Bass. It was released through Jack White’s
Third Man Records.
New album artwork
Track: DOOM MONGER
New single of her 2nd LP, named Trouble,
out on 11 July, again via Third Man Records.
TUTV: We’re in the middle of Armagideon Time as we know it. Doomsday is just around the corner. The good news is that this
dub reggae earworm will activate your hips and uplift your worried
state of mind. If we have to go, why not with a slow-mo sway.
Artist: DAVID BYRNE Who: The former talking
head voice/face.
Track: EVERYBODY LAUGHS
First single from his upcoming 9th solo album (that’s already one more than
with Talking Heads). Who Is The Sly? will see the day of light on September 5th.
TUTV: Imagine a beach bathing in the sun and a cocktail bar serving piña colada
while enjoying this feel-good upper. A luminous light in a dark world. Laugh.
“The song is essentially about people only wanting the sweet stuff in life, and sugar coating anything and everything that may be a difficult subject. We live in a society where social media is treated like the Holy Bible, simultaneously releasing dopamine hits, a highly addictive drug, when posting pictures for ‘instant gratification.”
TUTV: This happens when The Ultra Violets eat too much sugar. They pick up their instruments and go mental, producing mental hullabaloo for mental people, like
you and me. Roaring ripper. Flaming score.
Band: LOVINA FALLS Who: The dark dream-pop project of Boston-based singer-songwriter,
multi-instrumentalist, and producer s Valerie Forgione. In 2023, they
released their debut album, Calculating The Angle Of Our Descent.
Forgione: “‘Light and Low’ is about recognizing that as time goes on, it’s ok to let go of old
and ‘historic thinking’ to create a new path through and out of the Thicket of Now. It’s about knowing that when things change, the path is not predestined. Change the change. Move with conviction but head gracefully into the unknown, light and low.”
Collage art by Lindsey Walker, design by Valerie Forgione
TUTV: Lovina Falls take you on a swift gothwavish ride from the get-go, propelled by a motorik bass riff, nervy drum hits, jittery tremelo riffs and poignant vocals. Fast-forward, without brakes nor breaks, speeding like a runaway train. Light And Low unfolds like a salvo of light flashes out of the dark, causing a rapid eye movement sensation. Intriguing, right? Absolutely. Don’t wait, get started.
Artist:JEHNNY BETH Who: Former France-born frontwoman
of female post-punk band Savages.
Track: OBESSION
Single from her 2nd solo LP called You Heartbreaker You.
It’ll land on August 29th. She wrote the album with partner
and collaborator Johnny Hostile.
Beth: “We’re living in a dark time, full of drama and barbarous tragedy.
It became clear to me that, in these times, we either learn how to scream
really well, or we learn how to whisper.”
TUTV: Be prepared for a savage industrial shocker showing her
amadant intention to make an agressive sound on her new record. Obsession is a splintering bombshell with a raging Beth finale.
TUTV: Blimey. Lobsterbomb return with an adrenalized missile, going fast-forward,
full steam ahead from the kick-off. And they never slow down. No breaks, no brakes.
135 seconds of eruptive emotions and high-voltage dash. Imagine The Stooges fronted
by riot grrrl Kathleen Hanna. Boisterous punk turbulence. Bang-on.
p|m: “We wrote and recorded it ourselves, delivered in our trademark double-team
deadpan vocal style, rhyming “80’s car” with “Californiarr”. This one has Arctic Monkeys
swagger and Mannequin Pussy edge, featuring a one-shot video in an iconic venue’s
bathroom.”
TUTV: Punk-pop spunky, sassy spirit, sharp-mouthed flair, dry humor, word spielerei, and utterly cool. That’s what p|m is about. This new non-stop drum-thumping tune zigzags left and right, forth and back flavored with slap-happy vocals. I’m quite sure that peach|melba will become your new favourite bathroom band.
TUTV: This burning funky-punky soul-burst is revved-up with ardent passion, electrical energy, warm-blooded vocals and sultry sax. Shake your booty and scream your lungs out when the clamoring chorus pops up. Sly Stone would have said there’s a riot going on. And it is. Spread the gospel, people.
Artist: NELSON SOBRAL Who: Singer-songwriter-guitarist hailing from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. His music is as much Americana and blues as it is soul and rock’n’roll, perfectly balanced with the energy and sound of each of his respective influences.
TUTV:Sobral‘s cover of Cyndi Lauper‘s supreme 1984 classic Time After Time (more
than 1 billion streams on Spotify) is a soulful and enticing accomplishment. A gripping vocal performance, bringing the emotive timbre of the sublime voices of Springsteen and Seger to mind.
Artist: PAUL WELLER Who: The 67-year-old former The Jam and Style Council
maestro, who started his solo career back in 1990.
Track: I STARTED A JOKE
A cover of the Bee Gees‘ 1967 goosebumps ballad.
It’ll appear on his 18th solo LP, a covers one, named El Dorado, out on July 25th.
TUTV: Weller‘s version is pretty poignant and appealing.
Daily noise that works faster than a stream of caffeine
25 June 2025
Belfast‘s sharp-mouthed, notorious rap team KNEECAP – Mo Chara,
Móglaí Bap, and DJ Próvaí – hip & hop around with a knife between
their teeth since 2017.
They released their debut album 3cag in 2018
and went viral last year with follow-up Fine Art.
Lately, they make headlines with their loud and clear, ongoing support for Palestine.
They got heavily critiqued for it when they played Coachella Festival in Indo, California last April.
Then the UK’s right wing politicians jumped into it, and prosecuted Mo Chara after allegedly displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah last November (no verdict yet), and tried to get them banned from playing Glastonbury Festival next week. It gained them, rightly so, countless support from musical colleagues and fans.
To emphasize the whole political charade, the band just released a new single, named THE RECAP, going after Tory politician, business and trade minister Kemi Badenoch who started to hunt them back in 2023 when he withdrew an arts grant awarded to the band.
The trio brought a discrimination case against the U.K. government
and won, donating the proceeds to Belfast community groups. Yes!
Irish rap sensation KNEECAP released their critically praised
debut album FINE ART last June and it will catapult them to
indie stardom.
NME said: “The Belfast rap trio keep the Irish language alive with a hedonistic
but brave debut. In the dark of the night out, the moment is all that matters and
the rave will set you free. To shout that in a ‘dying’ language on a record that
couldn’t sound any more alive? That’s power – and Kneecap have it.”
This past weekend the trio played Reading/Leeds Festival and incited
the crowd with a salvo of sharp-teethed rants. Here’s one of those
firecrackers, ‘BHFIACHE LINNE’ (‘Our Debts’ in English).
