Manchester‘s superstar duo LIAM GALLAGHER and The Stone Roses‘ JOHN SQUIRE unleashed their much-anticipated self-titled, collaborative at the beginning of last
month.
It’s a retro psych blues record stuffed with catchy tunes. Nothing more, nothing less,
but oh so laid-backly addictive. Must have played it for about 100 times so far. It topped the UK Album Charts.
The duo played a handful of gigs in Europe/UK, and flew over the ocean yesterday
to perform on The Tonight Show With Jim Fallony. Surprisingly, they didn’t go for one of the two singles, but for an energetic rendition of mid-tempo blues rock burner I’M A WHEEL.
LIAM GALLAGHER and JOHN SQUIRE are about to release
their self-titled collaborative album. It’ll happen on March 1st.
Daft album artwork designed by John Squire
So MOJO put the Manchester rock stars on the cover
and in the spotlight of their new issue #365.
Also features about: Steely Dan – their 30 Greatest Songs; The Rolling Stones ’65-’66; Marvin Gaye gets sexy; Beth Gibbons returns from the wilderness. Plus: Waxahatchee; Lenny Kravitz, Michael Head; Ramones; Can; Dion; Studio One; Mary Weiss; St. Vincent; and the peak weirdness of Butthole Surfers!
This month’s free CD, titled, The North Will Rise Again contains 15 killer tracks
from Manchester and environs with The Fall, James, Black Grape, Magazine, A Certain
Ratio, The Durutti Column, A Guy Called Gerald and more.
You can purchase a copy and let it be sent to your home. Info HERE.
Liam: “I think John’s a top songwriter. Everyone always bangs on about him as a guitarist,
but he’s a top songwriter too, man, no two ways about it as far as I’m concerned. There’s not enough of his music out there, whether it’s with the Roses or himself. It’s good to see him back writing songs and fucking good ones. The melodies are mega and then the guitars are a given. But I think even when you take all the fucking guitars off, you can play the songs all on acoustic and they’ll all still blow your mind.”
The fab Mancunians shared the 2nd, easygoing and gluey
single MARS TO LIVERPOOL a couple of weeks ago.
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 2024 playlist.
ALL TOGETHER
.
TRACK BY TRACK
Photo credit: James Alexander
Artist: SUKIE SMITH Who: Artist from London who has collaborated widely with artists, musicians and writers creating cross-disciplinary sonic work, exhibiting and performing internationally. She has released three critically acclaimed albums with her band MADAM and toured throughout the UK and Europe.
New track: INTO THE LIGHT
Piece from her upcoming 4th album, named ‘The Glass Dress and a Ringing Bell’
and will land on 8 March via Sukie Smith’s own label Shillingboy Records.
A song about leaving a turbulent relationship Smith found herself trapped in during lockdown, as Smith succinctly says, “I wrote this, then escaped,” with its focus a celebration of the jubilation felt in newfound freedom and the liberation found in the enlightening processes of recovery.
Into The Light grooves and moves pushed by dynamic eurythmics from the get-go and keeps on cruising throughout its ablaze 3.07-minute duration. Glowing jingle-jangle guitar play, rock-solid drumming and Smith‘s impassioned vocals combine for a striking juggernaut. Top-tier score.
Artist: FRANKIE FLOWERS Who: Singer/songwriter from Ontario, Canada. She creates a genre-bending sound
by merging her love for dark-wave and post-punk music, as well as combining elements
from other genres.
Band: DIE HARD HABITS Who: Texan outfit that draws inspiration from the pioneers of post-punk, infusing
their own restless creativity to forge a sound characterized by angular guitar riffs, pulsating basslines, and propulsive rhythms. Their music conveys a sense of urgency, reflecting their desire to challenge norms and provoke thought.
Arkansas is my ears’ favorite track. It rocks, it rolls, and it rattles with
vivid vehemence, fueled by greedy guitars, a robust drum/bass duo and
firm vocality. Bang-on.
Who: It’s the pseudonym under which French musician Hugo Carmouze chose to release his solo albums at the age of 13, marking the ordinary chapter of a garage rock fan born into the internet generation… Well, not quite, as the young Occitan has never stopped producing an impressive number of albums since, reminiscent of his great master Ty Segall.
Track: HYPERGLAM
Piece from upcoming album Horrible, out 23 February.
Grungy chaos, glammy disturbance, fuzz and buzz stir.
Yep, Ty Segall would like this riff-ripper.
THE SMILE featuring two radioheads – Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood – and
drummer Tom Skinner — just launched their new album WALL OF EYES, only 11
months after their compelling debut A Light For Attracting Attention.
Mesmeric and magnetic track READ THE ROOM is a fascinating highlight.
Band: CROW BABY Who: Berlin-based duo featuring Jean-Louise Parker and Cherilyn MacNeil – both born and raised in Johannesburg,
South Africa, and each a songwriter and multi-instrumentalist
with their own projects.
Pity Party is a multi-layered art-pop tingle swinging forth and back,
left and right, around an infectious guitar/drum groove with high-pitched
vocals adding a bouncy vibe.
The self-made video features both Cherlyn and Jean-Louise
as children as well as their animated adult selves.
“The song came from a train-ride down to Brighton with friends with the scenery whizzing
by the transient flashes as things come in and out of focus. It is built around this two-chord pattern that kind of chugs along and motors through, picking out these jolts of feeling or memory that rush by.”
Super Manchester duo LIAM GALLAGHER and The Stone Roses‘ JOHN SQUIRE have their collaborative longplayer, simply titled LIAM GALLAGHER JOHN SQUIRE out on March 1, followed by a 13-date tour (see all below).
Daft album artwork designed by John Squire
Liam: “I think John’s a top songwriter. Everyone always bangs on about him as a guitarist,
but he’s a top songwriter too, man, no two ways about it as far as I’m concerned. There’s not enough of his music out there, whether it’s with the Roses or himself. It’s good to see him back writing songs and fucking good ones. The melodies are mega and then the guitars are a given. But I think even when you take all the fucking guitars off, you can play the songs all on acoustic and they’ll all still blow your mind.”
Following the lead-single, psych-pop treat Just Another Rainbow, we get appetizer number two. MARS TO LIVERPOOL is an equally easy-going tune, you’ll sing/whistle/hum along after a couple of spins. Both doing their familiar thing. Exactly what I expected, no more, no less, except for the daft artwork. Manchester rules, once more.
. 3/13 – Glasgow, Barrowland 3/14 – Wolverhampton, Civic Hall 3/16 – Dublin, Olympia 3/18 – Newcastle, O2 City Hall 3/20 – Manchester, O2 Apollo 3/21 – Manchester, O2 Apollo 3/23 – Leeds, O2 Academy 3/25 – London, O2 Forum Kentish Town 3/26 – London, Troxy 4/2 – Paris, Salle Pleyel 4/4 – Berlin, Columbiahalle 4/6 – Milan, Fabrique 4/11 – Brooklyn, Paramount
Only last Friday, the highly anticipated first single, named JUST ANOTHER RAINBOW by supergroup-duo LIAM GALLAGHER and The Stone Roses‘ JOHN SQUIRE came out and today a remix is shared. 9 out of 10 remixes are lame and unnecessary. As much I like Gallagher and Squire also their remix stinks.
But there’s a good thing to it too. The artwork of the remix – via Bandcamp – is quite unusual for our kid. Gallagher is drawn in flamboyant colours and has a tie on, yes, a tie. He looks great.
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.
TUTV: Expect a vicious bass/drums tandem, psychotic guitar fuel,
agitated vocals and a fiery explosion every time the crushing chorus
erupts. Razorblade fury.
TUTV: It’s freezing cold outside, but this feel-good, pithy and catchy earworm
takes me to a swimming pool in hot California while drinking a Piña Colada.
Band: MALL GIRL Who: Guitar pop trio from Oslo, Norway.
Single: EMO SHRED
Piece from their upcoming, 2nd album, named Pure Love, out on 26 January
TUTV: Yearning sentiments for all lovers among us. Emo Shred is a breezy dream pop tune that sounds like a previously unreleased track from 90s band The Sundays, fronted by the wonderful Harriet Wheeler.
TUTV: I’m quite sure that they drank lots of de-caffeine when
they wrote/recorded this relaxing musing. Imagine the soft moments of Boygenius and Angel Olsen. Press play and dream away.
The highly anticipated first single by supergroup-duo LIAM GALLAGHER and The Stone Roses‘ JOHN SQUIRE
is out today.
Squire: “To me the most obvious take on “Just Another Rainbow” is that it’s about disappointment, and the sentiment is that you never get what you really want. But
I don’t like to explain songs, I think that’s the privilege of the listener, it’s whatever
you want it to be. To me, it’s also one of the most uplifting tracks we’ve made together,
which is weird.”
Liam: “I think John’s a top songwriter. Everyone always bangs on about him as a guitarist,
but he’s a top songwriter too, man, no two ways about it as far as I’m concerned. There’s not enough of his music out there, whether it’s with the Roses or himself. It’s good to see him back writing songs and fucking good ones. The melodies are mega and then the guitars are a given. But I think even when you take all the fucking guitars off, you can play the songs all on acoustic and they’ll all still blow your mind.”
JUST ANOTHER RAINBOW is partly Oasis, partly Stone Roses. Liam
sings as Liam (who else?) and Squire does his psychedelic 6-string Stone Roses thing (think their 2nd and final LP). Certainly not the best
music since The Beatles‘ 1966 masterpiece Revolver as Gallagher claimed.
But I have it on repeat right now. Why? The collaboration
works and evokes those two legendary Manchester bands.
