TURN UP THE VOLUME’s 20 Best Tracks – Februrary 2023
ALL TOGETHER on Spotify…
1. ‘Someone Up There’ by THE WAEVE (UK)
British duo THE WAEVE feat. Graham Coxon (Blur‘s guitarist) and songstress
Rose Elinor Dougall – launched their sterling self-titled album early February.
One of the highlights is this turbulent, riff-rotating and capricious groover
named Someone Up There that works as a mesmerizing magnet.
Touchdown!
.
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2. ‘Casting No Light’ by NOBLE ROT (Canada)
Clamorous frontman Alex Edkins of Canadian noise engine Metz and Graham Walsh, keyboardist of dance punks Holy Fuck, got together for a project of their own, named, Noble Rot. They have their debut ‘Heavenly Bodies, Repetition, Control.‘ out next month.
They just dropped first single Casting No Light. A motorik Krautrock-like mindfucker that circles around like forever, pushed by a pumping synth/drum/guitar riff-boom-beat that grows in hypnotic intensity along the way. Fucktastic!
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3. ‘Drum’ by YOUNG FATHERS (Scotland)
This Scottish dance-funk-punk trio is on an unstoppable roll. Their new, 3rd LP Heavy Heavy is a total triumph (Turn Up The Volume‘s Album of the Month) and their swirling concert in Antwerp (Belgium) blew the roof off the building.
One of the standout tracks on the album is Drum.
A flamboyant, head-over-heels stormer.
Vibe!
.
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4. ‘How To Replace It’ by dEUS (Belgium)
(Photo by Turn Up The Volume)
The Belgian Gods released their new longplayer How To Replace It?,
their first in 10 years, a couple of weeks ago.
The title song is a phenomenal piece. A mid-tempo stunner, driven by big
drums and frontman Tom Barman‘s bewitching vocality. It advances with
swelling orchestration toward the grand symphonic climax.
Top!
.
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5. ‘Islands In The Sky’ by DEATH VALLEY GIRLS (Los Angeles, CA)
(Photo by Turn Up The Volume)
The amazing Los Angeles Amazons delivered their
best album (so far) Islands In The Sky only last Friday.
The title track is a blissful guitar-pop earworm that sticks from the get-go
with Bonnie Bloomgarden‘s spell-binding vocals inviting you to her island of joy.
I’m on my way. Join me.
You’re in charge of your perception of your life
You can choose what you keep
And what you leave behind
.
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6. ‘Heart On’ by 2LIBRAS (Seattle)
This Seattle-based Cyberpunk duo – Wesley and Jewels Foster – nailed it with this arousing mid-tempo, electro-drum-beat-driven knockout from their upcoming full length World’s End. It’s sexy, catchy, trippy, and makes your blood pumping through your heart.
Je T’Aime Moi Non Plus for the dancefloor.
Sonic sex.
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7. ‘Samo’ by A CERTAIN RATIO (Manchester, UK)
(Press credit)
Manchester’s vibrant dance legends A Certain Ratio
canned their 11th LP, named 1982. It lands at the end
of March.
Single SAMO is as funky as hell. Consult your doctor
if your limbs refuse to move to this nightclub corker.
Tune in.
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8. ‘Sinatra Drive Breakdown’ by YO LA TENGO (New Jersey)
(Press photo)
The imperishable indie veterans keep on doing what they do best,
releasing notable LPs, this time with fresh one titled This Stupid World.
Riveting psych-riff jam Sinatra Drive Breakdown
is the track I always go back to.
Here’s why.
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9. ‘Scatterbrain’ by FILIBUSTER (Belgium)
This Belgian 4-piece outfit is gearing up for their 2nd longplayer, baptized
Quiet Part Out Loud, out next month, on 15 March, via Fons Records and
Gazer Tapes.
Newest single Scatterbrain is a riff-roaring rocker that grows on your ears
with every spin. It has a moody, shoegazy resonance annex reflective vocals.
Striking stroke. Bring on the album.
Press play here.
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10. ‘What If?’ by QUIZ SHOW (US)
(Photo by Phil Silverberg)
This fresh high-energetic trio features members from
Shudder To Think, Guided By Voices and The Dambuilders.
Their self-titled debut LP will see the day of light on 17 March.
What If? is a freaked-out, riff-drunk sucker punch that could
easily come from a Hüsker Dü LP. Herky-jerky electricity with
a steamrollin’ sticky chorus. Wowzers.
Lit up here.
.
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11. ‘I Expire‘ by MALE TEARS (L.A.)
This dark-Goth-wave duo from the City of Angels look like vampires,
they sound like vampires and they fabricate vampirish stuff.
The torrid tandem unleash their
new album KRYPT on 28 April.
Ahead of the release, to get us in the right make-up mood, they hit us
with first single I Expire. A punked-up electro uppercut to set batcaves
on fire with. One listen and the brisk beats will haunt you all day long.
In the accompanying video, Male Tears get straight in
your scared face and suck you into their wicked world.
Roll the tape.
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12. ‘The Court’ by PETER GABRIEL (UK)
Press photo GB – FB
No retirement yet for the once-upon-a-time face/voice
of art-prog-rock titans Genesis. His 9th, solo album,
named i/o lands next month.
Newest single The Court is Gabriel trippin’ in synth-pop land.
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13. ‘Tiger Girl’ by TEROUZ (France)
Canadian pop noir artist Terouz, as I said before, has a midnight-hour voice, that resembles the tone and timbre of Tindersticks frontman Stuart Staples and The National‘s maestro Matt Berninger’s.
His new song is a groovy love-drunk gem featuring the sensuous voice
of his ex-partner. It gets under your skin from the kick-off. Two spins and
you’re hooked.
Beware, tiger girl is a femme fatale.
.
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14. ‘Death Beats’ by NECRØ (Lisboa, Portugal)
NECRØ is the latest project of Portuguese musician João Vairinhos
featuring idiosyncratic singer and keyboard player Sara Inglês,.
The title track of their 6-track EP Death Beats
is Turn Up The Volume‘s favorite.
A dark-techno-wave rumbling that stomps and whomps with intense
impetus doing your head in from the get-go. Doomed beats for twilight parties.
The tenebrous vibe at play here sends shivers down your spine, while Sara Inglês‘s
ghostly wailing is reminiscent of shadowy Siouxsie Sioux moments.
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15. ‘What A Day’ by THE MYSTERY PLAN (Charlotte, US)
(photo: Daniel Coston)
This Charlotte-based collective seduced my sensitive ears with the title track of
their 3-track EP What A Day. The harbinger for upcoming 7th LP ‘Haunted Organic Machines’.
Feel-good tunes like these are always welcome on my headphones. What A Day is
a breezy synth-scintillating vibration that triggers sensual body moves. Its featherlight tonality causes a dreamy state of mind with trancy tinglings. And when that sweet flute came on, I swear, I saw a Spring bird flutter in the blue sky.
Enjoy!
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16. ‘Lonely Town’ by GALEN & PAUL (UK)
Multi-instrumentalist and songstress GALEN AYERS and former The Clash
bassist PAUL SIMONON have a collaborative album, named Can We Do
Tomorrow Another Day? out on 19 May.
I’ll be a pretty special one as the pair wrote a collection of bilingual duets, with both of them singing in English and Spanish and explore a variety of European music cultures. First single Lonely Town is a sweet, little pop ditty. You can sing/hum/whistle along.
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17. ‘I Remember What You Said’ by Artist: DYAN VALDÉS (Cuban-American)
(Photo credit: Petra Valdimardottir)
This Cuban-American singer-songwriter, living in Berlin, played/plays
in several bands and works as a solo artist too and has now a new single
out, named I Remember What You Said.
It follows her last year’s excellent debut album Stand.
The pretty poppy song is about a nightmarish memory of a poisonous
relationship. With its agitated words-flowing drive it feels like Valdés
wants to wash away all the BS and move on. Mission accomplished.
Check it out.
.
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18. ‘Dust’ by SUMMIT OF THE BIG LOW (UK)
Summit Of The Big Low is the moniker of British musician Toby Uffindell-Phillips,
who was a member of the early 00s folktronica group Sound Sanctuary.
This new piece, from his self-titled album out on 19 May, is an affecting folk-pop reverie that streams as a brisk brook. Sparkling, crystal clear, and glimmering in the sun. Its wistful tone, smooth vocals, and frisky finger-picking guitar play combine for a sweet little pearl.
Stream/buy.
.
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19. ‘Prisoner’ by 7DESCENT (Nashville, TN)
This 4-piece from Nashville produces a mix of metal, opera & 80’s rock.
Their new single Prisoner is about being captured and trapped by someone’s love.
It’s a mid-tempo power ballad that slowly but surely infiltrates your ears with its
anthemic dynamics, impassioned vocals, and weeping guitars.
Play here.
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20. ‘Tongue Of Kalina’ EYEMOUTH (Sweden)
This musical project started in Gothenburg, Sweden in 2014 and presents a soundscape based on electronic backgrounds and a more classic rock instrumentation blended with mellotrons, vibraphone, santur, harmonium and other alluring sounding instruments. In short, atmospheric psychedelic darkness with occult undertones.
Eyemouth‘s new longplayer, titled A Headlong Fall Into The Vast Ocean Of Anxiety reverberates a cinematic synth soundtrack to an atmospheric, hallucinatory dream
movie yet to be made.
Closing track Tongue Of Kalina gives you a perfect idea of it.
.
