Daily noise that works faster than a stream of caffeine
13 June 2023
Drummer DALE CROVER of cacophonous veteran rockers MELVINS (who released
their 27th LP, named Tarantula Heart last April) comes out of the shadow of the
band now and then for solo work.
He’s ready to go with his 3rd one, titled GLOSSOLALIA.
It’s out on September 13. More info here.
He invited several guests such as Soundgarden’s Kim Thayil, Ty Segall and Pinback’s Rob Crow (“Don’t and, yes, mister Tom Waits for the title track.
Lead single DOUG YULETIDE is a killer track. It moves and grooves with power-driven
panache and voltaic dash. Crover says it’s “vampire-story ‘Venus In Furs.’”.
Last year Washington veteran rockers MELVINS celebrated their 40th year as a band. They’re one of those group (the list gets longer and longer) who have no expiration date. Big-hair founder/vocalist/guitarist Buzz Osborne and drummer Dale Cover are still leading the troops.
Their new album, titled TARANTULA HEART
is destroying their fanatic fans’ stereos
since last week. .
Osbourne: “I had Dale and Roy Mayorga come in and play along with Steven and I to some riffs, then I took those sessions and figured out what parts would work and wrote new music to fit. This isn’t a studio approach we’ve ever taken. Usually we have the songs written before we start recording. The majority ofTarantula Heart has dual drum parts,” added drummer Dale Crover. “Roy is an amazing drummer. We would discuss what we would do pattern wise, then we’d just go for it. Improvising riffs and trading off on drum fills.”
TUTV: Melvins bulldoze their way with a mammoth amount of decibels through their
27th (!) LP. Insane and brutal sonic onslaughts attack your ears and stereo on repeat.
Only 5 tracks, only 39 minutes, but more than enough to wake up your neighbourhood. Louder and nastier than Black Sabbath, sharper and rowdier than lots of snotnose punk bands out there. Yep, the Melvins still are the Melvins , still blaring motherrockers.
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
1. ‘Allergic Food’ by MELVINS (Montesano, Washington)
The veteran noiseniks are still hungry. On April 19 the band
unleash their 27th album, titled TARANTULA HEART.
Allergic For Food is vintage rowdy punk-rock Melvins
Post-punk indies based in Leeds, where they are active movers in the DIY scene that currently thrives in the North of England. They recorded a Marc Riley session in 2016, released their first album Mind Yr Manners in 2017.
‘You’re Just Jealous’ is the splendid title track from their
upcoming, 2nd album. Out on May 10. Pre-order info here.
5. ‘Gone Forever by GREAT HARE (Gothenburg, Sweden)
Swedish pop songsmiths describe themselves as “dreaming to stay awake.”
This new single is a sparkling mid-tempo guitar-driven meditation
with a psych resonance.
The psych rockers from down under launch their 10th LP, baptized Stung! on 21 June.
About new single (I’m Strung): “It’s about being totally pathetically stung by someone
and just having to be cool with it being unrequited. Being resilient, accepting that you
are a bit of a goose, but life goes on.”
“A new chapter in the personal journey of singer Cecilia Miradoli and guitarist/producer Max Tarenzi. An intense, contemplative, and dark work, yet not resigned, navigating through trip-hop, dream-pop, dark-wave, and electronica.”
By the Waves are a dynamic 4-piece band based in Manchester. A uniquely eclectic sprinkle of soul, dream-pop, reggae, rock & indie make their sound exciting and unforgettable in equal measure.
They bring beautifully constructed lyrics, delivered with a signature blend of falsetto melody lines and anthemic choruses, which are layered over driving rhythmic beats and groove-ridden baselines, all topped off with sun-drenched, reverb-soaked guitar lines and a pinch of synth.
This Swiss poppy shoegazers have an new EP, titled Hide and Seek, out on 19 April.
Marcie (vocalist) about the single: “Someday’ nearly didn’t make it onto the EP.
When we first played it as a band, we turned it into a dancey indie track. When it
came to recording the tune, we realised it didn’t work and left it on the sidelines.
After I first heard Mitski’s ‘Bug Like An Angel’ last summer, I picked up
my guitar and played ‘Someday’ again for the first time in months.
I realised it needed to stay the way it sounded when I first wrote it, intimate
and fragile. We recorded the song a few days later and decided to release it
after all.”
Crystalline vocals, endearing acoustic sonority, tender and romantic pearl.
Info: The second release from the Melvins 1983 iteration of
the band which features Buzz, Dale and original drummer Mike Dillard.
Kerrang! wrote: “As with the rest of the Melvins’ lengthy back catalogue is that the guitar takes centre stage for the duration; enormous, bouncy riffs lay the foundations of every song like a wrecking ball, while Buzz’s vocal delivery adds a leisurely juxtaposition to the breakneck speed of the instrumental dynamics. As far as sludgy, frenzied noise rock is concerned, there are few who do it better than Melvins, and Working With God is tangible proof.” Score 4/5.
Turn Up the Volume: If this is the first time you hear legendary metallic-punk-rock engine Melvins you’ll defintely think that they are some young glue-sniffing bastards who just left their smelly basements to rock their asses off. Expect Black Sabbath going paranoid (Caddy Daddy/Hot Fish/Negative No No), Ministry speeding with their hot rods (Boy Mike/Bouncing Rick), Metallica with balls (Hund/The Great Good Place), The Beach Boys chasing Californian Riot Girls, and enough fucks to make Tony Montana aka Scarface sniff another series of fucking coke lines. Hell bloody hell yeah! No rest for the wicked!
It’s official now: God is a devilish punk and Melvins are his messed-up Apostles.
Most musicians love to work and collaborate with other artists in order to get inspired,
or to benefit from the famous status of the other one(s), or to just jam around for fun. It happens all the time. But as far as I can remember nobody worked with the Almighty so far, which what proto-punk veterans MELVINS will exactly do on their new 24th (!) album, coming your way on 26th February.
While you wait, check lead-single Caddy Daddy, dropped
on the first day of this new year. Wow! God sounds just
like Black Sabbath…
Going back in sonic history looking for memorable albums…
21 September 2018
Band: MELVINS
Album: HOUDINI – the band’s fifth LP
Released: 21 September 1993 – 25 years ago
ALL MUSIC review: “Houdini is about as close as one gets to a representative Melvins album, and it vividly captures the band’s unreconstructed power, vision, and musical strangeness… this album that displayed the full fruition of the outfit’s sonic breadth… with their voluminous output and determination to continuously expand their sound regardless of musical trends, the Melvins oeuvre has begun to rival – at least on paper – the career arcs of Frank Zappa and Neil Young.” – Score 4.5/5 – Full review here
TURN UP THE VOLUME! says: Besides the late, great Kurt Cobain I’m quite sure Metallica and Black Sabbath were great fans too!…
