Scottish pop-rock-folk band THE WATERBOYS orchestrated
by Mike Scott told us at the start of 2025, that they canned
their 16th longplayer.
A sort of concept one, glorifying the late notorious actorDennis Hopper.
It is named Life, Death and Dennis Hopper and features guests Bruce
Springsteen, Steve Earle, Fiona Apple and Taylor Goldsmith of Dawes.
It features American songstress Fiona Apple, who covered The Waterboys‘ signature
tune ‘The Whole Of The Moon’ in 2019 for TV Show The Affair, in a stupendous vocal duet with Scott. Wowzers. What a stupefying performance.
It follows the two previous missiles Life (check out the live
powerhouse performance below) and Hide. The 3 pieces combine
for their debut EP ‘Yep Yep Yep’. Stream in full below.
TUTV: As I said before about this blustering trio, vocally they sound
like Beastie Boys yelling and fighting for their right to party. Sonically
my ears hear thunderous echoes of Canadian turbo Metz, building
a huge wall-of-insane-guitar sound. With Celebrate ER hit bullseye for
the third time. A loud and clear hat-trick.
Band: EATING RAINBOWS Who: Up-and-coming noise-punk-rock
trio from Belgium‘s capital.
Debut single: Single: LIFE
First piece from their forthcoming 6-track debut EP
named Yep Yep Yep out on 24 November.
TUTV: Deranged guitars and hammering drums propel this merciless slam dunk.
Tons of horsepower and an illegal amount of decibels attack your stereo with the pulverising impact of a bulldozer in overdrive, while maniacal screaming make you
think that the singer needs to consult a shrink, and why not, the other two eating
rainbows too. It’s cheaper with three.
The psychedelic escapades of British noiseninks Traams and Canadian turbine Metz come to mind. And the great news is that these motherrockers have
a couple of other Molotov cocktails in the pipeline before the EP lands.
Bury your head in the ground
Bury your head in the ground
Bury your head in the ground
Bury your head in the ground
Sharp-teethed post-punks LIFE from Kingston Upon Hull (UK) released their
praised third LP North East Coastal Town last August (stream at the bottom).
To end their very busy year they get into the Xmas cover buzz with their
interpretation of classic Jingle Bellswith the punk ghost of Ramones all
over it.
Mez Sanders-Green (frontman): “This year, following an incredible tour of our
latest album, we wanted to celebrate at the LIFE AGM and got in the festive spirit to
record the ‘LIFEMAS’ version of Jingle Bells. Yes, we wore tinsel, yes, we wore Xmas shaped sunglasses and yes, we just had a ton of fun. Is it serious, hell-no but hopefully the track
just makes people laugh and dance with their kids, pets, nan’s and gate-crashing X-mas neighbours – reach for your Satsuma and enjoy!”
Mez Sanders-Green: “Hull and the surrounding area runs through
our DNA and has shaped us, weathered us, empowered us, embraced
us and made us feel accepted. “‘North East Coastal Town’ is our love
letter to the city.”
Mez: “The track is playful and teases everyday themes of missing out, numbness, drinking, smoking and eating badly and generally wanting more for yourself in life. Its resolve being
that in hindsight everything is in front of you, it’s on your doorstep and in this case that’s the wondrous county of Yorkshire.”
Turn Up The Volume: I wonder if it’s post-Brexit frustration that inspired many young Brits to get up, stand up and fight for their right to be who they want to be and not what the idiots at Downing Street 10 want them to be. Check: Yard Act, Lice, Black Country New Road, Black Midi, Ditz, Crows and of course LIFE, who hit the scene with a big bang already back in 2017 with their debut LP Popular Music.
They’re ready to launch their 3rd longplayer, but first this hot smoking smack.
Fulminating kick-ass vocals, kamikaze guitars, head-spinning pace and a freakin’
out chorus. A post-Brexshit-punk rebirth for LIFE.
British punks LIFE out of Hull, who just finished a tour with IDLES will launch their second LP ‘A Picture Of Good Health‘ on 20 September. They look really smartly dressed for the occasion, sharing a new track off the LP titled ‘HOLLOW LIFE‘. ‘It’s about tackling isolation and fixing yourself. It’s about letting go of something in your life, something that’s passed and moving on and overcoming hurt, taking the hits but getting through it.’ reveals frontman Mez Green about the song.
They formed exactly one year ago. They only released two smashing good singles so far. They’re definitely one of the best live bands I saw this year (and I saw many, about 150). They’re quite special, they’re deranged, they go bananas on stage, they look and sound
like a chaotic cabinet of curiosities. Imagine Iggy Pop fronting Faith No More messing up Queen‘s monster hit ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ (THESE MADMEN ACTUALLY DID THAT! THEY TRASHED IT TREMENDOUSLY!). They produce a series of striking noise drones as genial freak Frank Zappa would do if he was jamming with Rage Against The Machine . Gloriously clamorous, crazily tumultuous and BLOODY BRILLIANT! The inflammable chaos included surprising acts such as circus artists, a street poet, a masked guest singer, several weirdos with black sunglasses wandering and lying around, someone distributing pins of MAO
(the legendary communist leader of China and yes, the band wrote a funky song about the controversial man), while inflatable dolls hang on top of the podium, all alone. I probably missed some wacko stuff here and there as so many things happened almost non-stop. Never heard of this far-out Belgian gang? Well, let’s start with a short but ‘loud and clear’ live introduction. Here’s SHHT playing at, yes folks, a fashion show…
Pretty wicked, isn’t? Perfect! We need outsiders like this who don’t care about what a band should or shouldn’t do. No boring formats, no corporate nonsense, no old-fashioned rock and roll bullshit. This turbulent collective is here to PARTY HARD! They’re here to entertain us in a most ecstatic way. They gonna be HUGE next year. They will pump up your LIFE…
Can’t get enough, here’s their brand new escapade. The one about MAO…
