New Album Alert

CHELSEA WOLFE – New 7th Album ‘SHE REACHES OUT TO SHE REACHES OUT TO SHE’ Confirms Her Enigmatic And Spellbinding Goth Status

Posted on by JL

New longplayers

9 February 2024


Album artwork

Californian Goth diva launched her 7th LP, titled SHE REACHES
OUT TO SHE REACHES OUT TO SHE today. Order info here.

Wolfe about the album (I have no clue what she’s talking about): “It’s a record
about the past self reaching out to the present, self reaching out to the future self
to summon change, growth and guidance.”

Kerrang says: “Chelsea Wolfe is cutting ties on her spine-tingling seventh album.
She’s drawing lines in the sand. She’s shedding her skin. Fourteen years since stepping
out of the shadows to blaze the trail for a whole generation of gothy, doomy, folky new experimental musicians… Ultimately, this album is a promise that as brilliantly beguiling
as Wolfe has always been, her big picture is still coming into focus.” Score: 4/5.

TUTV: When Wolfe starts whispering over shadowy electro beats and dissonant
slo-mo grooves she drags you into her mysterious world where only she knows
the way. Her sonic swing moods confuse your mind and your ears, making you
coming back for further exploration. A search that leads to most gratifying findings.
Wolfe confirms (once again) her enigmatic and affective Goth status.

Singles/clips: Tunnel Lights / Dusk / Whispers In The Echo Chamber

– TUNNEL LIGHTS –
Dreaming in slo-mo

– DUSK –
Enigmatic emotions

– WHISPERS IN THE ECHO CHAMBER –
From whispering goosebumps to sonic attack

ALBUM


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CW: All Albums – Instagram

DEAD ANYWAY – British Duo Trip Hops On New Rad Record ‘PARTIALLY EATEN BY ANIMALS’

Posted on by JL

New longplayers

5 February 2024

Artists: DEAD ANYWAY (UK)
Who: British duo combining the dark lyricism of Kate Arnold
against the music and soundscapes of Marc Symonds.

New album: PARTIALLY EATEN BY ANIMALS

TUTV: Expect slow/mid-tempo/fast trip-hop soundscapes, bringing Massive Attack,
Tricky, Arab Strap and Portishead to mind. Electronics and Arnold‘s spoken word flow
match perfectly. Her crystal clear voice floats all over the groovy synth dynamics, attracting your ears’ attention easily. I’m not always sure what her stories are really about, but that leaves a lot of room to follow our perceptive instincts.


Album artwork

The pair invited 2 guests for a short cameo, Dutch rapper Marco ‘Magieke’ Jansen (on Underbite) and versatile American artist Joshua Baumgarten, the frontman of Dutch counter-culture collective The Irrational Library (on We Are the Rudderless).

I know, the record lasts for only 17 (great) minutes, but the repeat button was
invented for this kind of situations, I know I used it for about 10 times now.

STREAM


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BUY


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DA: Facebook – Instagram

MARIANNE FAITHFULL Tribute Album With Big Name Performers Out Now

Posted on by JL

8 December 2023

A tribute album for the legendary, singular and utterly charismatic MARIANNE
FAITHFULL who came in the picture for the first time in the swinging 60s as Mick
Jagger‘s angelic girlfriend and soon started her musical career, about 50 years ago,
with ups and downs, is out today.

Three fantastic ups that immediately come to mind are albums Broken English (1979), Strange Weather(1987) and Vagabonds Ways (1999) featuring a magnific cover of Leonard Cohen‘s classic Tower Of Song. The hoarser her nicotine-infected voice became over the years the more arresting she sounded.

Her latest work is an album titled She Walks In Beauty where she recited
Romantic poetry over music by Nick Cave‘s soulmate Warren Ellis. It came
out in 2021.

The ode to the now 76-year-old diva, still not fully recovered from lung Covid,
features 19 songs interpreted by illustrious artists such as Cat Power, Iggy
Pop (he’s everywhere these days), Tracy Bonham, the reunited Bush Tetras, punk
icon Lydia Lunch, Garbage‘s Shirley Manson, Peaches, Tanya Donelly and more.

19 BEAUTIES


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Marianne Faithfull: Bio – Discography Instagram

DOLLY PARTON – One Of The Greatest Voices Ever Becomes A Rockstar For The First Time

Posted on by JL

20 November 2023

At the age of 77, fabulous country queen DOLLY PARTON
is still working longer than from 9 to 5 per day.

In a recent interview, she said:“I would never retire. I’ll just hopefully drop
dead in the middle of a song on stage someday, hopefully one I’ve written.”

Her never-ending creativity and productivity is astonishing.
The living legend just launched her 49th (!) LP ROCKSTAR.

Parton about the album: “I’m so excited to finally present my first Rock and Roll album.
I am very honored and privileged to have worked with some of the greatest iconic singers
and musicians of all time and to be able to sing all the iconic songs throughout the album
was a joy beyond measure. I hope everybody enjoys the album as much as I’ve enjoyed
putting it together!”

Rolling Stone Magazine: “Parton’s 49th album, Rockstar, is her first foray into rock & roll.
She got the idea to do a rock covers LP after being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2022. She throws a Karaoke Party with a bonkers guest list. Dolly and her longtime bandleader and producer Kent Wells convened an astonishing collection of all-star duet partners. This has got to be the most stacked guest list in the history of guest lists, a karaoke night out where the party bus is stocked with a decent hunk of the most famous people ever in music.”

The longplayer contains no less than 30 songs and 20 covers, including collabs
with Miley Cyrus, Sheryl Crow, Lizzo, Elton John, Chris Stapleton, Stevie Nicks, Sting,
John Fogerty, and many more.

I don’t own a Dolly album, I didn’t follow her career but as so many million people
I know her hits, and I do love her formidable voice – the heroine again on this record –
and her charismatic I do what I want attitude.

Her Prince cover is my favorite. Sublime performance

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ALBUM


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DOLLY PARTON: Instagram – All Albums

New Supergroup Featuring LOL TOLHURST x BUDGIE x JACKNIFE LEE Have Their Debut LP ‘LOS ANGELES’ Out – Jungle Music For The City Of Angeles

Posted on by JL

3 November 2023

Former The Cure drummer LOL TOLHURST (64), BUDGIE (65), former Siouxsie
and the Banshees drummer and Siouxsie‘s husband, and Irish music producer
Jacknife Lee all live in Los Angeles and as music junkies, they found each other
in the City of Angels and decided to give it a go together.

Following a couple of singles, their first album,
named LOS ANGELES (what else?) is out now.

MOJO: “Los Angeles already feels like a destination record. Lee, Tolhurst and Budgie putting their decades of world-building expertise to excellent use. If the world they have built is on the brink of collapse, it only adds to the thrill.” Score: 8/10.

TUTV: The trio invited big-name vocalists such as Bobby Gillespie and James Murphy
(LCD Soundsystem) and other stars such as The Edge (U2) and Mark Bowen (Idles) for
their first body of work. 13 tracks, 54 minutes.

If there was a jungle in Los Angeles this would be its soundtrack. Lots of primitive
Budgie percussion (remember his album ‘A Bestiary Of with his then-wife Siouxsie Sioux, operating as The Creatures?) embedded in synth orchestrations creating dance-infused collages. Paranoid psychedelia for big cities. The flow of the tracklist isn’t as accurate as it could have been, but first impression after a couple of spins is one of let’s hit the drums
once again.

Singles/clips: Los Angeles / Ghosted At Home

– LOS ANGELES –

– GHOSTED AT HOME –

ALBUM


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MIKE SKINNER And THE STREETS Back With Familiar Vibes On New Album ‘THE DARKER THE SHADOW THE BRIGHTER THE LIGHT’

Posted on by JL

18 October 2023

Artist: THE STREETS
Who: Birmingham (UK) born UK garage/alt hip-hop/electronic artist.
Active: 1993–present / 6 LPs and 1 mixtape

New album: THE DARKER THE SHADOW THE BRIGTHER THE LIGHT

DIY Mag says: “For the most part, ‘The Darker the Shadow The Brighter the Light’ has
a vitality to it and has a sense of drama and occasion to it that was perhaps lacking by
the time he wound down The Streets the first time around.” Score: 4/5.

TUTV: The new Streets expose very familiar territory. We’re used to his wicked vibes
and rapping storytelling. Quite normal after 6 LPs, but let’s not forget that Mike Skinner
was an innovative and groundbreaking artist for UK Garage music when he released his masterpiece debut LP Original Pirate Material in 2002. Impossible (to my ears) to match the brilliance of that album. So here we are, entertained, nothing more, nothing less.

Singles/clips: Troubled Waters / Each Day Gives

– TROUBLED WATERS –

– EACH DAY GIVES –

ALBUM


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THE STREETS: Instagram – Facebook

THE NATIONAL Release New Album ‘LAUGH TRACK’ Only 5 Months After Their Grand Previous One

Posted on by JL

19 September 2023

Last weekend, THE NATIONAL played at their own Homecoming Fest in
their hometown of Cincinnati. At one point, frontman/crooner Matt Berninger
announced a new LP, only 5 months after their grand LP First Two Pages Of Frankenstein.

It’s titled LAUGH TRACK and was already on sale, on a limited edition,
at the festival, with no front cover. Now the longplayer is available
worldwide.

Order info here.

Pitchfork says: “The National extends its predecessor’s subdued mood and
reclusive purview. This band still has a fierce rock record in them. Maybe
next time they’ll make it.”

TUTV: Laugh Track is The National by numbers. Not great, not bad. No idea
why they didn’t release it with First Two Pages Of Frankenstein as a double LP.
Commercial reasons, I guess.

STREAM


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THE NATIONAL: Instagram

EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY – Texas Veterans Back With New Imagery World Album ‘END’

Posted on by JL

18 September 2023

Texan veteran instrumental outfit EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY
launched their new 8th LP – the first in 7 years – named END.

Order info here.

“Our starting point was the concept of an ending — death, or the end of a friendship or relationship. Every song comes from a story, or an idea one of us has had that we’ve all expanded on and made its own world. Maybe it’s our nature, but we kept feeling that the album title was ultimately open to a lot more interpretation. The end of a thing or a time can mean a stop, but it can also mean a beginning, and what happens after one thing ends might pale in comparison to what it becomes next.”


(Press photo)

MOJO (British music monthly mag): “End feels like the soundtrack to life, placing you as
the main character as the band crafts dynamic instrumentals that melt like gold and shine
just as bright for their best album in recent memory.”

TUTV: With EITS it’s always dreamtime. On END the band paint an imagery world,
in which everybody can create their own world. Every listener will see different images popping up in his mind. Another symphonic soundtrack for a movie of your choice.
I’m sure Scottish post-punk orchestra Mogwai have all EITS records.

SINGLES: Ten Billion People / Moving On

STREAM ALBUM


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BUY ALBUM


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EITS: Instagram – Linktree

Blissfull Liverpool Americana With THE CORAL And Their New Cinematic Top Pop Score ‘SEA OF MIRRORS’

Posted on by JL

12 September 2023

The seasoned psych-folk-pop-rock ramblers THE CORAL released 2 new albums .
Main album SEA OF MIRRORS and only vinyl LP Holy Joe’s Island Medicine Show,
with James and Ian Skelly’s grandad a.k.a The Great Muriarty back into the fold for
the narrated post-script to one of The Coral’s most successful albums to date,
Coral Island.

Order info HERE.


(Press photo via Maintain Perspective PR)

The Guardian (British newspaper): “The Merseysiders have concocted a twangy, dreamlike folk-rock sonic voyage through Britain in decay… The songs are routinely populated by drifters, dreamers and others left behind by society. The songs are routinely populated by drifters, dreamers and others left behind by society… The songs are routinely populated by drifters, dreamers and others left behind by society. It all adds up to quite a voyage: the Merseysiders’ most fully realised set of songs since their debut.” Score: 4/5.

TUTV: For me, and countless music fans out there,
music evokes aural activity, feelings, and images
on your movie-screen in your mind. And it all happens
here too, of course, while listening to Sea Of Mirrors.

What do I hear?

A non-stop sequence of reflective pop fantasies, of tantalizing tunes with
a laid-back resonance and of meditative musings that cause a welcome,
lazy state of mind.

Blissfully feelgood vocality, with a melancholic timbre, everywhere.

Gently weeping strings. A seamless sonic marriage of acoustic and electric guitars.
It’s vintage The Coral as we know them, but even more yearning for romanticism than before. So they left their island and travelled to their fictional Western reality where all
sorts of misfits try to survive. Americana, the Liverpool way.

What do I see?

A pub in Liverpool in a yet-to-be-made movie directed by iconic filmmaker Serge Leone, where an ensemble of troubadours entertain, with Charles Bronson on harmonica, the drunk barflies, the lonely, the lost gringos, the hurt souls, and the broken-hearted. For some weird reason, everybody looks like they’re keeping each other company for comfort since forever.

What do I feel?

The little kid in me who watched
cowboy movies with the whole family.
In a glorious state of relaxation.
Like an on-cloud-nine Coral fan.

Singles/clips: That’s Where She Belongs / The Sinner / Oceans Apart

– THAT’S WHERE SHE BELONGS –

– THE SINNER –

– OCEANS APART –

FULL ALBUM


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THE CORAL: Website – Tour DatesStore – Instagram

KRISTIN HERSH – Songsmith Legend Magnetizes With New Emotive Solo Album ‘CLEAR POUND ROAD’

Posted on by JL

11 September 2023


(Press photo via Fire records)

The stirring Throwing Muses legend KRISTIN HERSH has her new solo LP,
titled CLEAR POUND ROAD out. Order info here. She will tour the UK/IRE
and AUS next Fall/Winter. All dates here.

Fire Records: “Kristin Hersh’s new album is a cinematic road trip; a series of personal
vignettes from a fiercely independent auteur, sitting plush with layers of all-consuming
strings and mellotron. It’s a watershed moment in a career overflowing with creative firsts
and inspirational thinking; an elegant piece of personal reportage, a home movie caught in time.”

Kristin Hersh: “Sweeter, sadder, and somehow no less alive. Some records demand
to be made. And you know this is the case when the songs function as systems in a body.
I octavized an acoustic baritone as the skeleton, cellos are the lungs, a Nashville-strung
Collings and glockenspiel were the fingertips feeling around in this weird-ass dark space,
and drums are always your heart, of course… but the vocals are a strange narrator here.
A narrator lost in the story, of all things, more like eyes.”

TUTV: For me, and countless music fans out there,
music evokes aural activity, feelings, and images
on your movie-screen in your mind. And it happens
too, of course, while listening to Clear Pound Road.

What do I hear?

Krautrock dynamics with an acoustic guitar and a mellow cello.
Song by song, the repetitive/rotating rhythms have a magnetic power.
10 intro/outro-spective sparks glowing, like the lights on the LP’s cover.
Hersh‘s voice is singular, a bit hoarser than before, think Marianne Faithfull.
I love both voices

What do I see?

Images of her solo concert in Belgium last year.
I didn’t hear one noise/word from the crowd – except for the enthusiastic
applause between songs – during the whole show. Hersh‘s music and
vocals make people silent. She sung/played like troubadours do.
Poetry in motion. And her green eyes are magnets.


(Belgium, 2022)

What do I feel?

Intimate heart-and-soul satisfaction.
Zen-like tranquility and peace
Stirring sedateness.

Singles: Dandelion / Ms Haha / Constance Street

– DANDELION –

– MS HAHA –

“Mr Bones is my man and Ms Haha is me, ripped
off from a Truman Capote story. So heavy. Love is
goofy gravity.”

– CONSTANCE STREET –

“I lived on Constance Street in New Orleans when that song’s story happened.
Buying slips in the Irish Channel/broken prince in fluorescent camo is a very
Southern day. I was born a hick and I guess I’ll always be one.”

KRISTIN HERSH: Facebook – Instagram