The Telegraph (UK newspaper): “Coombes, a quite masterful musical
auteur after three decades in the game, skillfully navigates the record
away from one long mid-life nightmare. … it’s another hugely satisfying
listen.” Score 8/10.
TUTV: No more fuzz and buzz of the early days. The wild punk days are over. Coombes, now 46, has become a characteristic singer-songwriter over the years
and he knows how to craft songs for adults. Nothing spectacular, no surprises
but always melodic and entertaining. At times moody, at times lively. Songwriting
quality.
Singles/clips: Sonny The Strong / Don’t Say It’s Over / Long Live The Strange
English longtime hard rockers URIAH HEEP started making lots of
noise back in 1969, 53 years ago. The band was formed by guitarist
Mick Box, the only original member left today, and the late big voice David Byron.
So far Heep recorded/released 24 studio LPs and #25, titled Chaos & Colour
is out today and Heep hero and Mick Box has some great news…
Brighton‘s psych-punk rock DITZ scored ‘best debut album’ on Turn Up The Volume‘s 2022 list with their jagged jackhammer THE GREAT REGRESSION.
For all wicked-noise junks who never saw this squad exploding
on a stage and for those who did and got blown away (like me)
I recommend their fresh live album, named ON THE BAI’OU.
You can get your copy (vinyl/CD/digital) via Bandcamp.
(Photo by Turn Up The Volume)
Expect frenetic forcefulness,
blistering bluster and
fucking fierceness.
THE C.I.A. feauring musical centipede Ty Segall, his wife Denée, and
the Cairo Gang’s Emmett Kelly have their second longplayer called
SUGARY CHANNEL out. Order info here.
Press info: “Step into a sick rhythm. Surgery Channel is a constructed world where everything is piercing and pinpointed. Every single word brings confrontation. With an intro as intimate and uncomfortable as this, The C.I.A. make you question what could be happening here… or what they’re after. Denée Segall (vocals, lyrics) is both haunting and seducing us at once with her voice. Something unhinged might be about to happen and they’re calmly dangling it over your head. Is it the possibility of dismemberment? Revenge? This record is an astute observation and blunt critique. Both inward and outward. It is an exploration into how harshly intimate that process can be.”
TUTV: Lots of distortion, lots of Royal Trux vibrations, lots of Denée sensualism, but a lack of memorable tunes that haunt you afterward. The central intelligence agency should dig deeper and come up with better results.
His new – 19th – LP, named EVERY LOSER is today.
It follows his acclamaid 2019 album Free.
Lots of star collaborators joined Pop in the studio, such as Blink-182’s
Travis Barker, Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Chad Smith, Guns N’ Roses’ Duff McKagan,
Pearl Jam’s Stone Gossard, Jane’s Addiction’s Dave Navarro, and also the late Taylor Hawkins, it became one of his last recordings
NME: “The Godfather of Punk stages a raucous return to his roots. Iggy is as feral – and furious – as we’ve heard him in years. An album that, even when it’s lyrically sincere, self-deprecating, or acutely aware, manages to stay larger than life. ‘Every Loser’ is a present-day primal punk resurrection from the only musician qualified to make one. “4/5.
TUTV: Unlike NME I only hear 4 filthy punk-Pop missiles (Frenzy, Modern Day Ripoff,
All The Way Down and Neo Punk) out of the total of 11 tracks. In between 3 semi-rockers (Strung Out Johnny / Comments / The Regency), 2 ballads (New Atlantis / Morning Show)
and 2 otiose interludes make for a sonically unbalanced longplayer altogether. 7.5/10.
It feels like taking a hot/cold/lukwarem/hot/cold shower and therefore my ears/mind/body got confused. So I changed the order of the tracklist – from hot to medium to cold – and deleted the 2 interludes. Bingo, Every Loser sounds so much better. You should try it too.
NME: “The French band recorded their seventh album amidst splendour in
Paris’ Louvre Palace, and the museum’s varied, often stunning, artefacts seep
into their ever-consistent songwriting… It’s like wandering the halls of the band’s
own personal gallery, a stroll through time, and a chance to see some of their
most glistening pieces yet up close.” Score: 4/5.
Album: BLUSH– their debut Released: 14 October 2022 – order info here
DIY magazine: “A collection of wonderful and curious songs perfect
for soundtracking that 3am dancefloor feeling – or maybe just your
nightmares.” Score: 4/5.
TUTV: Old skool dance/techno, but it works.
Open the old skool discos again!
Juliette Jackson (voice/songwriter) about the album: “So much of the album I wrote
while I was pregnant and basically just wondering what the hell this was going to be like.
When I listen to it now, I can hear myself saying all these things and having all these anxieties. Those songs are a bit more floaty and just thinking about things and the songs I wrote after are more like the reality of extreme highs and extreme lows and the whole hormonal madness.”
NME: “Lead singer Juliette Jackson’s pregnancy – and the band’s “recommitment” to each other – make the songwriting on album three immensely personal… From their pen through to their sound, ‘Here Is Everything’ is emotive and glossy; one that gives space to breathe in this busy world… Their deepest, most emotional album yet.” Score: 4/5.
Key single/slcip: Wide Eyes
TUTV: Their 3rd, their absolute best.
A blissful pop achievement.
Stream full album via Spotify
. THE BIG MOON: Facebook – Instagram
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Looks like the cover artwork was designed in the 60s for the Summer Of Love
The new one is baptized RETURN OF THE DREAM CANTEEN and sounds
like the previous one, and the previsous one and the previsious one.
As the cliché goes it’s ‘a fan album’.
Rolling Stone Magazine: “At 75 minutes is even longer than its predecessor,
is essentially “Unlimited Love II.” it’s a bit of a stop-gap, but also a nice coda.”
Score: 3.5/5.
TUTV: I just made a compilation of the best 12 tunes of both
double albums. Guess what? It’s one of the best RHC albums
I ever heard.
Let’s listen to ICE , DEATH, PLANETS, LUNGS, MUSHROOMS AND LAVA
(who invented this title?), that hit the Internet last Friday. It’s an out-and-out KG a the LW record. From moody psych trippin’ to far-reaching, bluesy jammin’.
Band: EDITORS Who: Beloved British electro-pop-rock combo Active: Since 2002 / 7 studio LPs (new one incl.)
(Credit Press Editors)
New LP: EBM Released: 23 September 2022 – order info here
CLASH MAG says: “Editors are no strangers when it comes to risk taking and genre bending and their seventh album ‘EBM’ is the true personification of this ethos. However, this might be Editors’ most leftfield and experimental body of work to date. ‘EBM’ is full of stadium-ready anthems and is a riveting, celebratory and bold musical odyssey that is both glorious and
gritty in equal measure. Ambitious, theatrical and utterly brilliant.” Score: 8/10.
TUTV: Saturday night fever the Editors way with lots of shadow dancing.
E(lectronic) B(ody) M(usic) is what this new LP is about with a series of
towering tunes and dazzling synth orchestrations.
Singles/clips: Vibe / Kiss / Karma Climb / Heart Attack
Band: STARCRAWLER Who: Glam and glitter rockers from Los Angeles,
fronted by the utterly charismatic Aaron Dewilde. Albums: Starcrawler (2018), Devour You (2019)
and now the new one.
New album: SHE SAID Released: 16 September 2022 – buy here
Classic Rock Mag: “When you’ve built a reputation around taking it to the limit,
where do you go next? After two albums of high-intensity, febrile punk rock, you get the
feeling that Californian urchins Starcrawler were finding that to be a pressing question. Whirlwind frontwoman Arrow de Wilde has hinted that being stuck in top gear is beginning
to feel limited, while stage stunts such as spitting fake blood over the audience have
begun to “feel like a schtick”. Score: 3/5.
Henri Cash (guitarist): “We wanted to make songs on this record
for everyone. For people that weren’t just into punk rock.”
(Photo by Turn Up The Volume – 2018 in Brussels)
TUTV: Starcrawler promised a more varied, sonically, LP than the 2 previous ones.
But the new record is still filled, mostly, with classic retro rock jackhammers, but less punky and fierce than before, with echoes of West-Coast glam legends Mötley Crüe and Quiet Riot (Roadkill / She Said / Stranded / True / Runaway) a couple of dream pop ditties (Broken Angels / Midnight) and a smooth candlelight closer Better Place. Except for a couple tracks, this LP is too mediocre to remember… in a week. Don’t believe the hype.
TURN UP THE VOLUME 