New Album Alert 2025

MARK STEWART – Posthumously Released Album ‘THE FATEFUL SYMMETRY’ By THE POP GROUP’s Legend Is A Final Treasure

Posted on by JL

New significant longplayers

25 July 2025

MARK STEWART, one of the most adventurous/inventive/original
post-punk & dub artists/performers ever, passed away 2 years,
aged 62.

He was a founding member of genre-bending new wave group THE POP GROUP
who shocked lots of right-wing ears and minds with their first two LPs, Y (1979)
and For How Much Longer Do We Tolerate Mass Murder? (1980).

Afterward, everybody went their own way, but they reunited in the 21st Century
for 2 more longplayers, Citizen Zombie (2015) and Honeymoon On Mars (2016).

As a prolific solo artist, he scored 7 LPs, collaborated with countless
other artists, and caused poignant waves with his Mafia outfit.

Here’s his new solo one, named THE FATEFUL SYMMETRY
released posthumously by Mute Records.


Album artwork

English indie label Mute Records issued this statement.

“Mute is extremely honoured to announce Mark Stewart’s new solo album ‘The Fateful Symmetry’, a vital masterwork completed early 2023. Testifying to his prolific, unrelenting ingenuity, and signifying one of his most intimate, empowering statements, The Fateful Symmetry is a fierce and beautiful manifesto for a better world. “

TUTV: Posthumous releases of favorite artists have two sides. One, you get reminded about the passing of a beloved musician, and two, you get excited as new material is offered.  In this case, very good new material. No archives dump, or out-takes, weird rarities and other low-quality stuff. The Faithfull Symmetry is a splendid, final opus by a unique musical mind.

Stewart‘s 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 record with several crooning musings, This Is The Rain, Twilight Child, Crypto Religion, and the wonderful, goosebumps closer A Long Road (made me instantly think of his good friend and fan Nick Cave).

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. Thank you, Mute Records, for this posthumous treasure, one to cherish

SINGLES

STREAM/BUY ALBUM


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Facebook – Mute Records

PANIC SHACK – Welsh Riot Fun Girlz On A Power Pop Punk Roll With Their Self-Titled Debut Album

Posted on by JL

19 July 2025


📸 @renfaulks

Band: PANIC SHACK
Who: 4 pop punkettes from Wales. In 2022 they
released their 6-track debut EP Baby Shack.

Album: PANIC SHACK
Their debut.

Press info: “Across the album, the lyrics are conversational, often stemming from
in-jokes, while the subject matter spans the full range of the feminine experience.

Irresistible because of their simplicity and charming because of their familiarity,
The sonic equivalent to a coming-of-age film unfolding over a single night, Panic
Shack takes the shape of a bender, beginning by approaching a bar and ending
with an impassioned speech at sunrise about how much you love your friends.

Swerving the expected topics of sex and romance, the entire
album revolves around the ionic bond between the four girls.”

The Guardian (British newspaper): “Panic Shack’s music the same effect as
popping a bottle of Prosecco – explosive, intoxicating, and delightfully chaotic.”


Album artwork

TUTV: Panic Shack are Bikini Kill 2025. Less political but straight in your face anyway, with
a similar screamy riotousness and an afire appetite for perky parties in pubs and booze bars. Their power-pop-punk blitz causes effervescent waves of lust for life, full of joy and ahoy. The loud and clear opposite of The Stooges ‘No Fun’.

VIDEO for single ‘Thelma & Louise’.

ALBUM


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Instagram – Linktree – Bandcamp

YUNGBLUD Scores Pop-ular Triumph With New Album ‘IDOLS’

Posted on by JL

22 July 2025

Artist: YUNGBLUD
Who: English singer-songwriter celeb born, named Dominic Richard Harrison 27 years ago.
He released his debut EP in 2018. From there on it he headed to stardom in a straight line.

New album: IDOLS
His 4th.

Press info: Having sold out tours and headlined festivals around the globe, including
his own music festival, Yungblud releases his highly anticipated fourth album, Idols.

With #1 albums in seven countries and a reputation for defying convention,
Yungblud describes Idols as “a project with no limitations.”

Kerrang says: “It’s a go-getter of a record that pays homage to the greats whilst still feeling brand new. Yungblud’s outlandishness makes him a hard pill to swallow for some, but his guts, drive, and devotion to his craft cannot be denied.”

TUTV: His best. Whether he unleashes uptempo, slow tempo or mid-tempo tunes
on your speakers, Yungblud scores. Half the album are singles worthy tracks. Wowzers.

His passionate, dynamic and vitalized performances, juiced with some drama, bombast and lost of rhapsody lift this new record to hit status. Ladies and gents we have a pop-ular winner.

Singles: Hello Heaven, Hello / Lovesick Lullaby / Zombie

– HELLO HEAVEN, HELLO –

– ZOMBIE –

– LOVESICK LULLABY –

ALBUM


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Instagram – Website

WET LEG – Isle Of Wight Hipsters Have Their Sultry 2nd Album ‘MOISTURIZER’ Out

Posted on by JL

12 July 2025


New album artwork

Isle Of Wight (UK) pop sensation WET LEG – Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers –
attracted tons of attention with their prizewinning self-titled debut LP from 2022.

And when I read the laudatory critics I’m pretty sure their follow-up,
released yesterday and titled MOISTURIZER will be a striking success
too.

The Independent (English newspaper): “Far from being burned out, or being
bullied into selling out, by the sudden wave of global fame, they’ve doubled down
on their own weird energy. Moisturizer’s uncanny electricity is off the voltmeter.”

TUTV: The girls and band fabricated the album in an isolated, remote house
in the countryside, written in a creative frenzy, diving into themes of obsession
and all-consuming love. A record mostly inspired by Teasdale falling in love, in
her first queer relationship, in 2021. Again her lyrics are witty, sarcastic/cynical,
double-edged and at times quite absurd. There’s a lot of love and lust involved.

“I can make you sticky / Make you hot screaming for after sun.
I can make you beg / Can make you wet like an aquarium”

“Would you still love me if I was a worm?”

“You’re the rock to my roll / You’re the sand between my toes /
Sweet baby girl, we go like salsa and Doritos”.

Teasdale‘s new look. Dyed hair, dyed eyebrows, and sexy lingerie outfit fits
her sultry mindset. Sonically they sound somewhat heavier here and there,
but overall their effective formula – sticky, edgy, upbeat tunes – colours
also this 2nd effort.

Highlights: the 3 singles, Pond Song, Pillow Talk and U And Me At Home

Singles: Davina Maccall / CPR / Catch These Fists

– DAVINA MCCALL –

– CPR –

– CATCH THESE FISTS –

ALBUM


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Instagram – Spotify

DROPKICK MURPHYS – Boston’s Celtic Punks Chant ‘FOR THE PEOPLE’ On Their New High-Energy LP

Posted on by JL

7 July 2025

Boston‘s celtic punks DROPKICK MURPHYS cause
sonic havoc and massive sing-alongs since 1996.

Last weekend they unleashed their 13th album including two tribute
ones (2021 and 2023) dedicated to legendary left activist and folk hero
Woody Guthrie (1912-1967).

They baptized it FOR THE PEOPLE.

Press info: “For The People shows courage and confidence, speaking up against
the injustices happening in the United States, doing so with the strength and power
that harkens back to Dropkick Murphys’ earliest punk rock roots. For The People is
more than a title. It’s a heartfelt stance, a declaration of who this band is, and who
they’ve always been.

For The People rises to its moment: an expression of humanity at a time of relentless dehumanization, a promise of hope in an era fueled by fear-mongering, a declaration
of solidarity in an age of disunion, a defiant rebuttal to the charlatans and demagogues
who seek to divide us for their own power.

TUTV: With every Dropkick Murphys album you can be sure of two things. Their never-ending support for the weak, the unwanted and the oppressed and their high-energy paroxysm. Once they ignite their Celtic punk engines they never look back and chase
the powers that be. In this case Trump‘s chaotic and discriminating administration.

Vocally they sound like a full army of blue collar soldiers. Accordions, flutes, aggressive guitars, frantic drums and their vintage full of vim and vigour choruses are soaked with
a combative call to arms, sinewy and muscular. Hail, hail!

KEY SINGLE

ALBUM


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Instagram – Linktree – All Albums

PUBLIC ENEMY – Apocalypse 2025… Riot-Rap Crusaders Dropped Surprise Album

Posted on by JL

1 July 2025

Sharp-tongued riot-rap crusaders PUBLIC ENEMY fronted by Chuck D, who
released a new solo LP, named Radio Armageddon, last May, and loudmouth
Flavor Flav dropped, out of the blue, a new album, their 16th, titled BLACK SKY
OVER THE PROSPECTS: APARTMENT 2025.

So far, it’s only available for streaming and buying on Bandcamp.

PE rant, roar, rage, rock and hip-rap-hop like in the old days, with loads
of razor-edged pizzazz, anti-establishment cry-outs and expressive chants.

As an ever politically outspoken gang, they can’t be missed in these
gruesome wartimes and with an egomaniacal macho in the White
House.

Public Enemy Apocalypse 2025… The Enemy Strikes Back
would have been a fitting album title too.

(W)rap it up, people,
right here, right now.


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Instagram – Linktree – All Albums

HAIM – Californian Pop Star Sisters Have Their Buoyant 4th Full Length ‘I QUIT’ Out

Posted on by JL

23 June 2025

The Californian pop star sisters HAIM (Danielle, Alana
and Este) have their 4th full length, named I QUIT, out.

Press info: “Haim‘s new 15-track album, I quit, was written primarily by Haim and Rostam Batmanglij, with production by Batmanglij and Danielle Haim. The album radiates the raw energy of seasoned performers whose deep reverence for classic rock shapes songs that are built for live performance.

Variety says: “If you wanted Haim to be a bit more of the rock band on record that they’ve always been on stage, this is a newly independent step back in that direction, along with all
the more personal declarations of indie-pendence.”

TUTV: The sisters know a thing or two about titillating tunes, definitely sweet, sugary
ones. They never hit the power-up button here. The songs are buoyant, mellow, smooth and most of all of a light construction. Lovely, but not impressive.

KEY SINGLES : Down To Be Wrong / Take Me Back

ALBUM


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Instagram – Linktree

VAN MORRISON – The Imperishable Belfast Cowboy Has His 47th Album Out

Posted on by JL

22 June 2025

79-year-old grumpy bear VAN MORRISON had his best musical years back in the 60s/70s and 80s with brilliant albums such as Astral Weeks (1966), Moondance (1970), His Band And The Street Choir (1970), Beautiful Vision (1982) and Inarticulate Speech of the Heart (1983), Irish Heartbeat (1988) and Avalon Sunset.

Afterward he started to repeat himself and making too many cover records.
Mind you his supreme blues/soul voice always and still stands out even on
his mediocre albums.


Press photo

And here is 47th full length, titled
REMEMBERING NOW with 14 new,
original songs.

Morrison comes up with his favorite mix of blues, soul, jazz, Celtic folk and rock,
with lots of horns, 60s organ, piano, strings and of course, his imperishable voice,
oth heartwarming and intense. As he sings in Haven’t Lost My Sense Of Wonder,
“I’m not gonna change my tune.”

It’s a feel-good record, an entertaining one for a quiet evening in, no more no less.

SINGLE

ALBUM


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Instagram – All Albums

TURNSTILE – Hardcore Rockers From Baltimore Expand Their Sonic Barriers With New Album ‘NEVER ENOUGH’

Posted on by JL

9 June 2025

High decibel hardcore rockers TURNSTILE from Baltimore, Maryland
have launched their 4th longplayer, titled Never Enough.

Press info: “The expansive collection is a restless and exhilarating evolution of the band’s genre-defying sound. A transformative journey, both fearless and alive, by one of the most forward-thinking and influential bands of their generation. Never Enough follows their widely celebrated album Glow On, which earned the band four grammy nominations.”


New album artwork (not really art to my eyes)

NME:“What really glues ‘Never Enough’ together is its poptimist mindset. Combining
a sentimental regard for various shades of rock with a focus on big, bright melodies
and a free-wheeling approach to musical referents, the album constantly reaches out
to the pop world: exploring how hardcore might form the basis for something technicolour, playful and accessible. That attitude towards the genre, as capable of mass appeal and
ripe for experimentation, is what powers this excellent album.”

TUTV: Turnstile are operating like sonic chameleons covering a wide range of musical genres. From post-rock to manic metal, from hard-core to hard-pop, from bombastic consonances to melodramatic pandemonium, from loud to very loud and back. A multi-faceted and versatile opus that will double their ever-growing fanbase.

Singles: Look Out For Me / Never Enough / Seein’ Stars

– LOOK OUT FOR ME –

– NEVER ENOUGH –

– SEEIN’ STARS –

ALBUM


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Instagram – Never Enough Movie

JARVIS COCKER And PULP Still In A Different Class After 24 Years – Hear New Album ‘MORE’ Here

Posted on by JL

6 June 2025


New album artwork

Sheffield‘s guitar-pop heroes PULP released, between 1983 and 2002, seven
good-to-superb albums, with the breakthrough one Different Class, turning
30 next October, as their magnum opus. It spawned their two biggest hits with
Common People and Disco 2000.

Afterward the band went on a long hiatus, used by
charismatic vocalist/songwriter Jarvis Cocker to start
some solo projects.

They reunited for 2 years (2011-2013), to play some huge
big money concerts, went away again and are doing the
reunion game again since 2022.

And today they released their first album in 24 years with MORE.

Cocker: “When we started touring again in 2023, we practiced a new song called “Hymn of the North” during soundchecks and eventually played it at the end of our second night at Sheffield Arena. This seemed to open the floodgates: we came up with the rest of the songs on this album during the first half of 2024. A couple are revivals of ideas from last century. The music for one song was written by Richard Hawley. The music for another was written by Jason Buckle. The Eno family sing backing vocals on a song. There are string arrangements written by Richard Jones and played by the Elysian Collective.

We hope you enjoy the music. It was written and performed by four human beings from the
North of England, aided and abetted by five other human beings from various locations in
the British Isles. No A.I. was involved during the process.

This album is dedicated to Steve Mackey (note: the band’s
longtime bassist who passed away 2 years ago, only aged 56).

This is the best that we can do.
Thanks for listening.”

NME: “Drenched in synths and strings and aided by producer James Ford’s knack for making the music feel alive and omnipresent, ‘More’ is everything you’d want a Pulp album to be, made richer from some lived experience. Just as Blur did with ‘The Ballad Of Darren’ and Suede have managed on their immaculate run of post-reunion albums, Pulp have retained their original spirit and flair into a statement of middle age without feeling any less vital.

As Cocker pines on the cinematic closer ‘A Sunset’, all things end, so just make the
most of the time you have. It’s strangely beautiful, now they’re all fully grown.”


Press photo

TUTV: More is Pulp‘s big brother/sister of their triumphant 1995 Britpop LP
Different Class. It sounds more balanced, displaying first and foremost Jarvis
Cocker‘s
5-star songwriting skills.

Except for singles Spike Island and Got To Have Love you’ll find less euphoric tunes
(like classic crackers Common People and Disco 2000) here, than on DC, but more
impassioned daily-life-inspired musings/reveries (Grow Ups / My Sex / Background
Noise and the magnific closer A Sunset).

Yes, Jarvis Cocker is 30 years older (61 now), but it doesn’t affect
his passion for writing/performing powerful heart-and-soul music.

SINGLES

ALBUM


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Instagram – Linktree – All Albums