EVAN DANDO and his band, for almost 4 decades, THE LEMONHEADS,
released their newest album, Love Chant, last year. The first one with
original, new Lemonheads music since 2006. One of his best in a long
time.
Following the release, the band went on a promo
tour to Australia, the UK/EU, and North America.
Just now, new dates for the UK and Europe in the fall were announced.
NME: ‘Again’feels like Belair Lips Bomb
are auditioning to be the biggest band
in the world.”
TUTV: Just one spin and I knew this LP was a winner. Ace tune, after ace tune, after
ace tune. Guitar pop at its most move ‘n groove exciting. In the middle, vocalist and
guitarist Maisie Everett draws all attention. Wonderful voice, striking performance.
She’s backed by a well-oiled rock turbo. Hype or not, these
revved-up Aussies are going places, all around the globe
that is.
Press info: “The album explores themes of unnecessary hatred and
division. It’s political, but ultimately personal. More Genet or Kafka
than Orwell or Huxley.
TUTV: Without a shadow of a doubt, the perfect soundtrack for Doomsday.
Sledgehammer after sledgehammer, drone after drone, brainfucker after
brainfucker. Always tension in the air.
Any track would work in a zombie horror movie. And we know all
about horror, right? Just take a look outside the window, and you
see a lot of it. For free.
Cal Francis‘s spoken word performances are bone-chilling. Their primal screams
send shivers down the spine. Lyrically, they operate in a space where reality and
surreality meet. No room for birds and bees.
Cal Francis – Pukkelpop Fest 2025 – Photo by TUTV
Never Exhale is an other-worldly Götterdämmerung experience.
It smells like something is alive and kicking here. No regression,
only progression.
Sprints about the LP: “While the world is literally burning down around us there are voices that seem hell bent on pointing the finger at anyone but those actually responsible. There’s no need to dream-up dystopia, we’re living in it. And somehow, while the world has never seemed uglier, our life has never been more beautiful.”
TUTV: Their riff-ripping quiet/loud/quiet formula works again, big time. Their sucker-punches hit you, piece by piece, hard in the teeth while Karla Chubb‘s hepped-up vocals rule again. Here and there, her unbridled explosiveness brings young Courtney Love‘s borderline cry-outs to mind. Only the 6 last cooking/boiling/bloodcurdling haymakers
are already worth a full album.
Band: LAMBRINI GIRLS Who: Two razorblade riot girrrrlzz – vox/guitarist Phoebe Lunny
and bassist Lilly Macieira – from Brighton (UK), with an insatiable
appetite for mass moshpits.
NME said: “Lambrini Girls prove punk is alive and kicking. They’re unapologetically amplifying chaos, calling out societal wrongs, and daring us all to feel something. This record is loud, raw, and impossible to ignore.”
TUTV:
Faster than a Formula One Ferrari.
Louder than a supersonic jet.
Punkier than any punks around.
Press info: Inspired entirely by the life and mythos of actor Dennis Hopper, Mike Scott
and The Waterboys created this expansive album as tribute to one of American popular culture’s most compelling public figures.
TUTV: This a remarkable piece of work. It could be the soundtrack for a yet to be made Dennis Hopper documentary. Hats off to Mike Scott for his boldness, imaginativeness, and ingenuity to score this musical movie, constructed marvellously with its sonically cinematic versatility.
Pop, rock, blues, country, bar-room jazz, and musing balladry take turns and puzzle
a most coherent and highly entertaining whole together, spiced with magnificent vocal contributions by Fiona Apple, Steve Earle and others. Never a dull moment with its varied stream of entertaining songs and Scott‘s awe-inspiring vocality throughout.
TUTV: Trois is one of the most balanced, the most arousing and the most vitalizing
noise rock records I heard in a very long time. Heisa grab you by the throat for 40 wicked minutes, and you won’t protest for one second. The cliché all killers, no fillers is so accurate here.
No arty farty tricks, no unnecessary overdubs, no useless volume exaggerations.
The production is flawless, and is an instrumental factor for the overall organic
resonance of this expressive exploit.
TUTV: Loudmouths Andrew Falkous and Damien Sayell still spit and sneer their 4 lungs
out and rip politicians to shreds while they wield their razor-sharp axes. Chainsaw guitars everywhere, backed by a hellacious drum/bass duo. And they’re still maddening masters when it comes to search and destroy punk havoc.
Press info: An intense and raw reflection
of grief, trauma, and the desire for healing.
‘A Mass In The Water’ roughly describes the last day of Wolf Vanwymeersch‘s father,
who took his own life during a psychotic episode. The album balances between
mockery, anger, powerlessness, grief, understanding, compassion, and love.
TUTV: It’s both a scary and flabbergasting opus that takes a lot of courage to make and share with the world. The album’s ominous dynamics, distorted vocals, and riff-roasting razzmatazz resonate like if you are listening to the soundtrack of a modern day horror movie.
Vanwymeersch and Wholes created their own Dante’s Inferno.
Bloodcurdling, pitch-black, and bone-chilling. Helter-skelter.
TUTV: Nele Janssen bewitches with her crystalline voice and enchanting piano play. Intimate, passional and heartfelt. From a Peuk scream to a solo whisper. A beautiful,
soul-stirring record that silences you from start to finish.
Eleven bittersweet reveries for the midnight hours. Stony Beds is an ideal companion
for cold winter nights, while relaxing with dimmed light on your couch and your favourite drink at hand.
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.
NME: “A record that mines the unpredictable free-spiritedness of freak
folk, the loose, louche nature of rock’n’roll and the no-rules attitude of punk.”
TUTV: Eccentricity is the new normal. Poetic, medieval music is among us. The New Eves are something special, really special. Next to drum/bass/guitar
they use more untraditional instruments such as cello, flute, violin and other
classical music gear.
At their core, musically, they’re a folk punk rock band, an outlandish one, that is.
One of those that play gloriously out of tune at times, enthuse up with splendacious chants and have your bewildering attention for the full 40 baffling minutes. One of
the most innovative full-lengths of the year. Hands down.
TUTV: TAP funk and punk, buzz and fuzz, move and groove on this voltaic
record. They shoot a series of titanic tunes from their hips with a hair-raising
impact.
Avalanche Party have become masterly songwriters who know exactly how to construct adrenalized knockout killers with the right combination of roasting riffs, jagged hooks, bang-on licks, powerhouse drumming, effervescent synths and sultry horns here and there. Stupendous record.
TUTV: With The Clearing, the changing, musical process since their debut LP is complete. It’s now more ELLIE + THE WOLF (yes, FLORENCE + THE MACHINE territory) than before. Pop music in all its seducing and alluring ways. It’ll make them superstars in and outside the UK.
Laurenne: “The songs were written in the style of vintage jazz standards, but are then drenched with Rhodes piano and sparkling horn parts, with upright bass and triphop beats holding down a groovy, downtempo feel underneath. The vocals are the polar opposite of my garage rock sound in The Darts – in Black Viiolet, I am quietly telling you secrets in the dark.
TUTV: After You is delectable music for the midnight hours that massages
your ears for 40 minutes. The most sensual record I heard in a long time.
It transfers you to a place where you can dream away, far from today’s
depressing outside world.
Artist: PREWN Who: The moniker of Massachusetts‘ born, LA-based chilling
singer-songwriter Izzy Hagerup. She released her debut album Through The Window in 2023.
Hagerup: “I need to tap into my grief and sadness and stuff because it’s there. And when
you don’t live in it then you’re just numb. You can’t see the beauty and you are running from
the pain. It’s this Groundhog Day feeling. I feel that’s the antithesis to art, love, and connection, and giving a shit about the world.”
TUTV: The combination of creepy violins, ominous cello shadow play, and last but
not least Hagerup‘s wailing voice dominate this record causing bone-chilling sensations.
Her laments evoke moments of uncomfortableness, but her grip is so overwhelming
that you just can’t get away of her sonic exorcism. Like watching a traumatic thriller
you can’t escape from without knowing the end of the story.
Press Info: “This album, was born from the difficult experience of the floods that hit Valencia on October 29, 2024. During this time, the duo lost part of their studio and actively participated in the cleanup efforts in their city.
The Valencian duo offers six tracks (plus two digital bonus tracks) to remind us that despite
the difficulties we may face, we must always fight to get ahead, get back on our feet, and not
be swept away by the current.”
TUTV: Eight titanic techno thrills, eight 90s inspired trance tunes. Think Chemical Brothers, The Orb and The Prodigy. The pair’s Mire Chronicles have a hammering impact on their post-drama demons. At the end of the traumatic tunnel there’s a Spammerheads light that
illuminates a healing future.
Album: LOVE CHANT
Their first in 19 years,
their 11th overall.
TUTV: Dando has resurrected himself and his band gloriously. Now and then he touches turbulent memories from the past and does some soul-searching again, but you can feel he’s truly happy, healthy and excited to be here in great artistic shape. A welcome reaffirmation of The Lemonheads‘ riveting pop mastery.
TUTV: Writing songs is Doherty‘s oxygen. He has music running through his veins.
Enter this new solo album. A collection of daily life tunes that puts a smile on your
face. The man entertains, charms and shows his inspiring skills once again. It’s clear
that the French air stimulates his productivity. Poetry in motion.
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.
As a prolific solo artist, he scored 7 LPs, collaborated with countless
other artists, and caused poignant waves with his Mafia outfit.
Album: THE FATEFUL SYMMETRY
His 8th solo LP, released posthumously
by Mute Records.
Album artwork
TUTV:Stewart expresses again his mixed emotions about humanity and its messy planet. Both pessimistic and optimistic reflections, but always with sparks of hope. Musically, it’s
a very accessible pop work with several crooning musings.
His characteristic, captivating voice, both heartrending and heartwarming at the same time, feels so real, so close, and as always, engaged and genuine. Mark Stewart was one
of a kind and will always be in my book.
TUTVTalkin To The Trees brings Young‘s 1975 masterwork Tonight’s The Night instantly
to mind, sonically that is. Raw and rough, as if the LP was recorded live in one take, in
a garage with lots of echo and plenty of ramshackle guitars, buzzing electricity and Young‘s characteristic, ardent vocals. Very familiar, very entertaining.
It’s vintage Young, musically and thematically, wondering about the world’s future, warning for environmental pollution dramas, difficult times to come for our children, and the need of a big positive change.
They met in 2022 at the SXSW festival. They met again while exhibiting visual
and conceptual art pieces in London and began recording together early
last year.
Album: LIMINAL
The duo’s third in only 5 months.
Talking about a fertile collaboration
TUTV: I always loved and embraced Eno‘s sonic ambient paintings, his chimerical and fanciful synth symphonies with its calming impact and starry-eyed radiance. Liminal is another Eno opus I added to my headphone music playlist for psychological relaxation.
An invitation to ease your mind and ears in their
phantasmagorical universe. A record to cherish.
Their 11th one. The first with new music since 2006. In between
the band released a couple of albums with covers of Dando‘s
favorite songs.
Press info: “It’s a record that sounds both fresh and familiar: rooted in the hallmarks
of The Lemonheads’ best work, yet expanded by years of lived experience
and new surroundings.”
Mojo Magazine says: “Love Chant might be described as scrappy, vulnerable and
heartfelt, but it is also loose, exuberant and animated in a manner that seems faithful
to who Dando is today.”
TUTV: Clean Dando has obviously refound his 90s appetite for creating
enthralling pop music and he eagerly wants it to share with us from the
get-go.
Dando has resurrected himself and his band gloriously. Now and then he touches turbulent memories from the past and does some soul-searching again, but you
can feel he’s truly happy, healthy and excited to be here in great artistic shape.
Not one dull moment. Mind you, it’s not a masterpiece, rather
a welcome reaffirmation of The Lemonheads‘ riveting pop
mastery.
Band: SPAMMERHEADS Who: Techno tandem
from Valencia, Spain.
Press Info: “The latest album by Spammerheads, was born from the difficult
experience of the floods that hit Valencia on October 29, 2024. During this time,
the duo lost part of their studio and actively participated in the cleanup efforts
in their city.
This was an experience filled with a mix of emotions—shock, helplessness, fury, resistance, solidarity, and resilience, among others that shaped what may be their
best work to date. Written as a chronicle, the album explores the personal and
collective states of people affected by tragedies or catastrophes.
TUTV: It sounds like if the Spanish electroclash duo decided to process last
year’s devastating floods drama in their hometown Valencia with new music.
Their intentions resulted in this new notable LP stuffed with eight titanic
techno thrills.
Eight 90s inspired trance tunes. Think Chem Bros, The Orb and The Prodigy.
Yes, EDM has become a timeless musical outlet genre that puts you in a
mind-bending trance, far away from the shambolic reality.
The pair’s Mire Chronicles have a hammering impact on their post-drama demons.
To hell with them. At the end of the traumatic tunnel there’s a Spammerheads light
that illuminates a healing future.
Artist: PREWN Who: The moniker of Massachusetts-born, LA-based chilling
singer-songwriter Izzy Hagerup. She released her debut album Through The Window in 2023.
Stereogum said:”System begins by oscillating between numbing ease of the modern
world and the fight-or-flight response that each new day in a world of crumbling institutions brings. But by the album’s end, Hagerup finds resolve in humanity.”
Hagerup: “I need to tap into my grief and sadness and stuff because it’s there. And when
you don’t live in it then you’re just numb. You can’t see the beauty and you are running from
the pain. It’s this Groundhog Day feeling. I feel that’s the antithesis to art, love, and connection, and giving a shit about the world.”
TUTV: Most songs are written from “twisted and sociopathic perspectives” during late-night bedroom sessions, says Hagerup. And you can feel what that did to System. Freaky at times, off-centre now and then, psychotic here and there.
The combination of creepy violins, ominous cello shadow play, and last but not least Hagerup‘s wailing voice dominate this record causing bone-chilling sensations. Her
laments evoke moments of uncomfortableness, but her grip is so overwhelming that
you just can’t get away of her sonic exorcism. Like watching a bloodcurdling thriller you can’t escape from without knowing the end of the story.
SINGLE
One of the best
of 2025 to my ears.
Masterly stroke.
Band: IT’S KARMA IT’S COOL Who: Psych pop rock outfit from Lincoln (UK),
led by singer-songwriter Jim Styring.
Album: ONE MILLION SUBURBAN SUNSETS
Their 4th, insipred by living in this modern world,
and what it means to be alive in the 21st century.
Louder Than War says: “From Lincoln, fourth album from a band who burst
the confines of the genre they are best known for. It’s Karma It’s Cool are now
a proper contemporary rock band in search of an audience who want big anthemic
tunes, stadium-sized angst that somehow lifts you out of a generational mid-life
crisis.”
Jim Styring (singer-songwriter) said to Louder Than War: “I always leave lyrics open to interpretation. It’s more important what the listener believes than what I had in mind when
I wrote them.
These so called ‘experts’ telling us that rock and roll is dead and buried. As long as we, as humans, have emotions, songwriters will continue to write, bands will continue to form, our music will continue to thrive. Basically, if you believe in something , don’t let anyone put you down.”
TUTV: The Brits have enriched their already psychedelic sound with early R.E.M.’s sinewy
jangliness and Michael Stipe‘s poignant vocality. It’s without a shadow of a doubt their most arresting opus so far. Frontman Jim Styring reflections on this turbulent and grim century are sign’s of the times.
It’s the end of the world, as we know it, but IKIC, and many of us, do not feel fine. But as long as impassioned and unequivocal records like this one are made there will always be a hopeful light shining at the end of the dark tunnel. It’s called cool karma.
Highlights: Crashability / 21st Century Meds / Serotonin /
Sidewalk Flowers / Paper Tigers / Swans
Press info: “The title and beating heart of Icelandic collective Of Monsters
And Men’s fourth album hits a lot closer to home than you’d expect. A tapestry
of stories, moments, and conversations, the album explores how love and pain
intertwine.”
AllMusic says: “Hitting on the highs and lows of life, the Icelandic quintet stick close to
their established sound: touching and tender indie folk anthems that play on earnestness
and innocence.”
TUTV: This is what melancholic, folk-inspired splendour is about. Galvanically
crafted songs that touch heart and soul. Rainbow-colored reveries about daily
life put to bewitching music with a leading role for beatific piano play amidst
enticing orchestrations and idyllically alternating and duet vocals.
Think Scottish romantics Belle & Sebastian. This is the kind of
gratifying records to cherish and embrace when your mind
wants/needs a break from the outside world.
TUTV: As an ardent Richard Ashcroft/The Verve fan a new RA full-length feels
like a conveted present a 10-year-old was waiting for. But (there’s always
a but) this one leaves me with mixed emotions.
Mind you, 5 tracks (Lover / Heavy News / I’m A Rebel / Crimson Fire ) out of the 10
are arresting tunes, but the other 5 miss the needed divertissement to make it a full commandable record. Lovin You‘ misses Ashcroft‘s epic touch and magical resonance.
No classics such as The Drugs Don’t Work, This Is How It Feels, Sonnet, Lucky Man or (of course) Bittersweet Symphony here.
Considering his illustrious work from the past, it’s hard to come up with first-class
material time and time again that achieves a similar heart-and-soul stirring glamourness. On the other hand, many singer-songwriters would have Lovin’ You on their résumé. And that says a lot about Ashcroft‘s unmistakable strength as a singer-songwriter.
TUTV: I always loved and embraced Eno‘s sonic ambient paintings, his chimerical and fanciful synth symphonies with its calming impact and starry-eyed radiance. Liminal is another opus I have added to my headphone music playlist for physical relaxation.
Again songstress Beautie Wolfe‘s angelic voice is so complementary with Eno‘s euphonic wanderings. Third collaboration in 5 months. Third invitation to ease your mind and ears in their phantasmagorial universe. A record to cherish in the coming months.
Who: the Belgian brothers David and Stephen Dewaele‘s band for 30 years now,
is only one of the siblings’ diverse projects. They DJed the world around as 2manydjs,
had their own Radio Soulwax, and produced/remixed countless other artists.
TUTV: Soulwax excel here with a kaleidoscopic sonic amalgam that connects Kraftwerk‘s otherworldly euphoniousness and The Orb‘s ambient dynamics and at times Cabaret Voltaire‘s experimental capriciousness
The record’s arresting strength, to my ears, is it’s underlying poppiness. Half of
the album is stuffed with pop tunes, enwrapped in the bros’ electronic universe.
It’s not pure techno, not pure dance, not really EBM, rather a versatile, chameleon-like
kind of synth-layered album that sparkles and effervesces non-stop and they aren’t afraid
of tackling the powers that be, the systems that are after your soul.
The siblings got it right: “It’s a rock record without guitars”.
TUTV: When young punks play old skool punk you get bands like Upchuck. Their sharp-teethed tenacity, perseverance and hardihood bring 80s angry dogs Dead Kennedys and Black Flag to mind. The message is more important than the racket they all produce. As millions of Americans do, Upchuck also feel trapped by the tyrannical regime in the White House.
Their cathartic music helps them to ventilate all the shit they’re confronted with every single day. Ty Segall‘s production is spot on. I’m sure he took them to a filthy basement somewhere and created an out-of-tune sound that resonates exactly like these Atlanta bohos want to express themselves. Raw, rough, and real. The Upchuck revolution starts here.
EVAN DANDO and his band, for almost 4 decades, THE LEMONHEADS have released
their new album baptized Love Chant , the first with original, new Lemonheads music
since 2006. In between Dando had recorded/released a couple of albums with covers
of favorite songs.
Press info: “After years of writing, wandering, and starting over, Evan Dando returns with Love Chant, the first Lemonheads studio album of original material in nearly two decades. Long in the works and shaped by shifting geographies and a cast of trusted collaborators, it’s a bold, melodic reaffirmation of one of alternative rock’s most distinctive voices.
Now based in Brazil, where much of the album was recorded, Dando’s relocation
in recent years has offered a quiet shift in perspective, a chance to reset, reconnect,
and finally bring these songs into focus.
The result is a record that sounds both fresh and familiar: rooted in the hallmarks
of The Lemonheads’ best work, yet expanded by years of lived experience and new surroundings.”
Mojo Magazine says: “Love Chant might be described as scrappy, vulnerable and heartfelt, but it is also loose, exuberant and animated in a manner that seems faithful to who Dando is today.”
TUTV: The fact that em>Dando and his Lemonheads have a new album, after all these years, out is surprising, but it’s even more surprising that it’s a crackerjack one. Clean Dando has obviously refound his 90s appetite for creating enthralling pop music and
he eagerly wants it to share with us; from the get-go.
The 4 first tracks’ swift and jaunty flow, catchy melodiousness, rollicking guitar
exuberance and peppy vocals set the record’s reborn tone. Dando has resurrected himself and his band gloriously. Now and then he touches turbulent memories from the past and does some soul-searching again, but you can feel he’s truly happy, healthy and excited to be here in great artistic shape.
Not one dull moment. Mind you, it’s not masterpiece, rather
a welcome reaffirmation of The Lemonheads‘ riveting pop
mastery.
Singles/clips:The Key Of Victory / In The Margin / Deep End
A couple of weeks ago EVAN DANDO and his band, for
almost 4 decades, THE LEMONHEADS dropped 2 songs.
A new jangly Dando one, called Deep End, featuring backup vocals by Juliana Hatfield and J Mascis on guitar, and a cover of Townes Van Zandt‘s Sad Cinderella.
He now has announced a new album, with new Lemonheads music since 2006.
The longplayer is baptized Love Chant and recorded in Brazil where Dando lives
now. It lands on October 24th. Tracklist and more details here.
Simultaneously we get a 2nd single.
IN THE MARGIN is a swift
guitar-inflamed crackerjack.
Yep, vintage Lemonheads.