British, Chicago-based punk old-timers THE MEKONS started their never-ending journey way back in 1977, when guitarist Joni Langford and singer-songwriter Tom Greenhalgh formed the band.
Over the years their sound evolved into dub, country, post-punk and anything else
exciting. They released a ton of albums with Exquisite from 2020, as the most recent
one.
Album artwork
And no retirement yet for Langford, Greenhalgh and Co.
A new longplayer is recorded, named HORROR and
slated for release in April.
Singles (shared so far).
Both are catchy tunes. Mekons go power-pop.
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.
Band: SLOW READERS CLUB Who: Who: Alt-pop rockers
from Manchester, UK.
Track: ANIMALS
Taster from their 7th album, titled Out Of A Dream.
Slated for launch on 14 March 2025.
“‘Animals’ is us doing full on euphoric guitar pop, full of energy and drama.
It’s a celebration of intense, all-consuming primal love. Infatuation as a magic spell.
It’s about a longing for togetherness and sanctuary, as an escape from the bleak
reality of the outside world.”
Artist: GHOST ON TV Who: Musical project started by Boston multi-instrumentalist
and songwriter Paul DePasquale during the pandemic. He released
two records in late 2020.
Track: DAILY LAWS
First shared piece of upcoming, new album
‘Mister Silence’, ready to roll out, early next year.
“‘Daily Laws’ is about the art of negotiation with yourself and others. We always need to make sacrifices in life when dealing with other people, but it’s important to make negotiations with yourself. Know when to be kind and compassionate and know when to be unapologetic when being or doing what is best for yourself.”
A bass-booming trip-hop trip
that hypnotizes and mesmerizes.
Feverish vocals. Intriguing tune.
Band: PANHEAD SHARPS Who: Indies from Dunfermline, Scotland.
Track: WHEN YOU ARE FALLING
A song that speaks to those moments of struggle and resilience.
With haunting lyrics like “When you are falling, I will be there when
you hit the ground” It’s a beautiful reminder that we’re not alone
in our toughest times.
Empathetic emotions bottled up in a bass-pushing
mid-tempo grungy blues-rock burst stoked with
fanatical guitars and compulsive vocals.
Track: PAUSE AT YOU
First preview from ‘Lust for Life, Or: ‘How To Thread The Needle And Come
Out The Other Side To Tell The Story’ (yep, that’s the full title), their 3rd LP, out
14th of March.
“‘Pause At You’ is a culmination of everything we’ve been working on over the last
few years. An observation on night time paranoia mixed about with night out ecstasy.
Light outing, floor filling, tie undressing, rock.”
Band: WYLDERNESS Who: Welsh shoegazers from Cardiff
with 2 full-lengths under their belt.
Track: BIG IDEA
First taster from their forthcoming new EP
entitled ‘Safe Mode‘ which will be released
in 2025.
Starry-eyed guitar sparks set the glistening tone
for this sonically colored rainbow, all the way
through. Woolgathering vocals and attractive
melodiousness.
Dim the lights, sit down, relax and let the moody and bluesy vibes
at work here take over your stream of thoughts. Echoes of the late Jeff Buckley will massage your ears.
Band: Mekons Who: British/American post-punk legends formed in 1976 and still going
strong after all these years expanding their sound with different genres Album:Exquisite – their umpteenth LP, written and recorded while being
in isolation and released out of the blue without any promo.
Available only via Bandcamp Released: 19 June 2020
About the record’s title and recording process: In Paris, in 1925, Yves Tanguy, Jacques Prévert, André Breton and Marcel Duchamp invented a game they called ‘cadavre exquis,’ derived from a phrase that came up when they first played: ‘le cadavre exquis boira le vin nouveau’ (‘the exquisite corpse will drink the new wine’). Basically each collaborator adds
to a composition in sequence, either by following a rule or by being allowed to see only
the end of what the previous person contributed. In the current plague year 2020, after a planned rendezvous in Valencia was necessarily cancelled, mekons adopted this method
as a means of collectively assembling lyrics and tunes and recording their new album.
The band said: “While we look toward a worse economic depression than the Thirties,
scanning our eyes toward the horizon of annihilation, take joy while you can from falling statues and well, you just might be tired from having to take to the streets: What better
time to settle down with a fancy hydroxychloroquine cocktail, mainline some bleach
and dig the Mekons’ new surrealist sounds?”
Keywords: multifaceted sonic work, dub reggae, gripping lullabies,
folk jingles, country echoes, The Pogues, overall exquisite record! Key tracks: Escalera /West Yorks Ballad / The Inhuman / Buried Treasure /
What I Believe At Night
British/American punk survivors MEKONS, formed in 1976, released their eight LP
titled ‘ROCK ‘N’ ROLL‘ back in September 1989, 30 years ago. A varied straight in
your face piece of work. Yes, rock ‘n’ roll, but the Mekons way. Both thrilling and
honest, both awe-inspiring and great fun!
ALL MUSIC wrote: “Loud, unruly guitars, pissed-off vocals, The Mekons have made an unregenerate, unapologetic punk rock record. This is a dark record, one that comfortably negotiates the dark recesses of rock & roll. They rip the messianic aspirations of U2’s Bono (“Blow Your Tuneless Trumpet”), sing a tale of substance abuse that is both cautionary and parodic (“Cocaine Lil”), all the while cranking up a sonic tar pit of guitar noise… ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll’ is one of those cathartic records that only righteously indignant, justifiably pissed-off, grizzled veterans could make.” Full review here – Score: 4.5/5
