New Albums 2024

Never Mind HAPPY MONDAYS Here’s YOGI-G AND THE FAMILY TREE With A Party Album For Every Day Of The Week

Posted on by JL

12 June 2025

Band: YOGI-G AND THE FAMILY TREE
Who: Happy Mondays co-founder/drummer
Gaz Whelan and friends.

This project blends his iconic Madchester groove with fresh, infectious energy,
delivering music that’s both raw and transcendent, and also features the irrepressible vocals of Rowetta making the sounds of 1990 come alive again in glorious fashion.

Album: SHOW ME THE TRUTH
Their debut.

Press info: The album is a genre-free zone, a collision of moods and styles that dovetails Whelan’s ragged, dark lyrical musings with soulful vocals and African rhythms. It’s the aural equivalent of lying in a warm bath in the middle of a snowstorm—where spaghetti western strings stretch from heaven, rubbing up against filthy electric guitars and punk gospel rhythm and rhyme. A hidden optimism weaves through its DNA, offering soul salvation
for the cynical, a safe haven from an ever-insane world.

Gaz: “Yogi-G and The Family Tree are not hippies, we give a fuller human experience that
is more devolved from the punk experience, where you never quite know if you’re going to
get a hug or a headbutt. Life is filled with peace and love but equally excitement and pain.

I got fed up waiting around to try to agree to write a new Mondays album. When it
became apparent, we couldn’t agree, I decided to do my own. I think it’s bloody great
and the support has been outstanding and for all the good ones we’ve lost along the way
like Gil Scott Heron, Tony Wilson and more recently my bandmate Paul Ryder, this is for
them and for all those who just love to get off on good music.”

TUTV: Madchester 2025? Absolutely. And why not? ‘Show Me The Truth‘ is the Happy Mondays album, that should have been the perfect follow-up to their 1990 masterpiece Pills ‘n’ Thrills and Bellyaches rather than the mediocre Yes Please!. It’s an album to move your mind/hips away, for at least 40 minutes, from the daily rat race and most of all our war-devastating world.

This dance-and-turn-around-inviting record with several vocal guests, activates your adrenalin production. From happy-7-days-a-week gospel stimulants The Blind Man And
The Monkey, Shine On Brother and Show Me The Truth to groovy-orchestral musings Black Symphony, and The Return Of Apollo Creed (be ready Rocky) from the special(s) ska vibes
of The Ballad Of David Bowie to the closing sing-hum-whistle chant We The Peaceful.

Yep, there’s way more sonic versatility than on any HM longplayer. There’s no way to delete today’s grim reality, but look around and you’ll find a lot of love, peace, happiness, family and friends too. That’s the hopeful spirit that Yogi-G And The Family Tree celebrate. Join them. Embrace their soul-uplifting gusto. Shake your booty.

SINGLE

ALBUM


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Instagram – Facebook – X

FATHER JOHN MISTY – Emotive Crooner Has His 6th LP ‘MASHASHMASHANA’ Out

Posted on by JL

24 November 2024

American singer-sonwgriter Joshua Michael Tillman (43) aka FATHER JOHN MISTY
was a member of dream pop ensemble Fleet Foxes as their drummer from 2008
until 2012.

In between, he released solo work as J.Tilman with no less than 8 LPs between 2003
and 2010. Afterward, he changed his artistic name to the one all of his fans know.

Now he has released his 6th LP, called MASHASHMASHANA as Father John Misty.

Uncut says: “This is another set of brilliant, beautiful, occasionally
frustrating songs themed around ideas of ending and death.”

The album artwork was designed by artist Joe Roberts. Its title refers to the
Sanskrit word Mahāśmaśāna (महाश्मशान), meaning ‘great cremation ground‘.

FJM: “It’s an experiment in seeing what happens when I erase myself from
my work and Mahashmashana is definitely work about erasing myself”

He’s a crooner at heart,
an emotive romantic,
an inspiring poet
a great songwriter.

KEY SINGLE

ALBUM


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WILLIE NELSON – Country Icon Affects (As Always) With Hearftfelt Vocal Performance On His 76th Album ‘LAST LEAF ON THE TREE’

Posted on by JL

7 November 2024


New album artwork

Even at the age of 91, Texas-born country icon WILLIE NELSON has no intention to retire. On the contrary, last weekend he released his 76th (!!) solo longplayer, (his 153rd overall, including collaborations, soundtracks, and compilations), baptized Last Leaf On The Tree.

It features Nelson‘s interpretation of 11 songs by rock legends, idiosyncratic singer-songwriters, alt-rock heroes, and indie folk artists such as Tom Waits, Neil Young, Beck
and The Flaming Lips. See the full tracklist below.

One song, Color Of Sound, is written by Willie and his son Micah, who
also produced the LP, and one song, closer The Ghost is a restored one
from 1962.

Nelson‘s characteristic Americana voice colors the melancholic tunes with his warm, endearing and relaxing vocal timbre. His voice sounds vulnerable and, yes, a bit broken here and there. Not unusual, of course, at his blessed age. It makes his performance on this album feel so human and genuinely heartfelt.

Son Micah says he identified the through-line of the album as “facing death with grace“. That’s a gripping and realistic observation. No wonder that one of the covered tracks
is Do You Realize? by The Flaming Lips.

Do you realize
that everyone you know
someday will die?

ALBUM

1. Last Leaf – Kathleen Brennan & Tom Waits
2. If It Wasn’t Broken – Sydney Lyndella Ward
3. Lost Cause – Beck
4. Come Ye – Nina Simone
5. Keep Me in Your Heart – Jorge Calder & Warren Zevon
6. Robbed Blind – Keith Richards
7. House Where Nobody Lives – Tom Waits
8. Are You Ready for the Country? – Neil Young
9. Do You Realize? – The Flaming Lips
10. Wheels – Micah Nelson
11. Broken Arrow – Neil Young
12. Color of Sound – Willie & Micah Nelson
13. The Ghost (includes hidden track) – Willie Nelson

PORRIDGE RADIO – British Indie Outfit Deliver Their Best LP (So Far) With ‘CLOUDS IN THE SKY THEY WILL ALWAYS BE THERE FOR ME’

Posted on by JL

24 October 2024

Band: PORRIDGE RADIO
Who: Much lauded indie outfit out of Brighton (UK),
led by emotive songstress Dana Margolin.

They just launched their 4th LP. titled CLOUDS IN THE SKY
THEY WILL ALWAYS BE THERE FOR ME.

Margolin: “A lot of this album is about a more frenetic and desperate kind of love.
It is about completely losing my sense of self in a relationship, and the deep residue
of insecurity and pain that lingered and clouded a new relationship. There was a lot
of love and confusion, all interspersed with exhaustion and pain. All the songs started
out as poems. I wanted to challenge myself. ”

Uncut Magazine: “Sitting somewhere between alt.rock, indie-pop and a singer-songwriter album, it’s a neat balancing act that feels personal and intimate yet also sonically ambitious.”

TUTV: Spearhead Dana Margolin (guitar/vocals/songwriter) opens her heart and soul
again on this new longplayer. Following a toxic relationship, she recovered, rediscovered her own self, and looks to the future with confidence. As in the previous 3 albums she’s
as expressive and emotive about her turbulent personal life, even more explicit.

Sonically we get the by now familiar song structure. Slow start, building up the fervency, and finishing with haunting outbursts. But this times all pieces/tracks fall more into place than before. The songs have more body, are more elaborated and display Margolin‘s growing composing skills. Yes, it’s PR’s best effort yet.

KEY SINGLE

ALBUM


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Linktree

VIOLET NOX Continue Their Space Odyssey On New Album ‘ HESPERIA’

Posted on by JL

15 October 2024


Impressive album artwork by Allison Tanenhaus

Band: VIOLET NOX
Who: Ambient trio
from Boston, MA.

New album: HESPERIA
Their 7th one.

Press info: Hesperia, contains 6 tracks where Dez DeCarlo (synthesis and effects) and Andrew Abrahamson (synthesis, samples and clocked machines) build rare and immersive experimental electronic backdrops behind the stirring vocals of Noell Dorsey (vocals and lyrics) to transport the listener into a fascinating retro-futuristic universe.

Esoteric lyrics about the timeless human condition blend seamlessly with thoughtful
and encompassing sound arrangements to complement Dorsey’s evocative delivery
with colorful emotional space and texture for the listener to explore.


Photo by Sasha Pedro

TUTV: Hesperia continues the ambient trip that started with previous album
Vortex And Voices. Otherworldly soundscapes transfer your mind and ears to
ghostly dimensions far away from our daily rat race. Electronic and atmospheric
slow-mo symphonies create a kind of enigmatic and surreal feel. And Noell Dorsey‘s spiritual vocals augment the transcendent experience. This record resonates like
a cinematic 2024: Space Odyssey. Put on your headphones and float along.

SINGLE

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Linktree

THE LINDA LINDAS Repeat Their Debut LP On Their 2nd One ‘NO OBLIGATION’

Posted on by JL

13 October 2024


New album artwork

Two years ago THE LINDA LINDAS, the punk-pop teen team, Half Asian/Half Latin,
based in Los Angeles made a sensational start with their debut LP named Growing Up.
A fast-forward race about their generational experiences translated into 10 quick-tempered wallops.

The riot grrllzz, who opened for The Rolling Stones a couple of months ago
at LA’s SoFi Stadium, just dropped their 2nd album, titled No Obligation.

NME: “It’s an exhilarating punk album with the intention of mobilising those who listen
to it. There’s rage, sadness, delight and bitterness within every sound and syllable, and
from within that cocktail of feelings is a charged devotion to creating change.”


Promo pic

TUTV: This 2nd LP sounds almost exactly the same as their debut. It’s again stuffed
with vivacious pop-punk tunes with singles All In My Head and Resolution/Revolution as unquestionable standouts. But the problem is that I hear way too much Blink-182 and Green Day resonance. As I’m not a fan of those bands, I’m not really impressed by this
TLL sequel.

KEY SINGLE

ALBUM


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Linktree

JOE GENI – American Singer-Songwriter Dreams Out Loud About His Beloved Long Island City On ‘CITIES UPON CITIES’

Posted on by JL

Notable longplayers

9 October 2024


Impressive album artwork

Artist: JOE GENI
Who: Passionate singer-songwriter
from New York, NY.

Album: CITIES BUILT UPON CITIES
His 3rd longplayer.

An 8-track offering that traces the transformation of Long Island City, the part of
Queens that Geni calls home. Situated across the East River from Manhattan with its stunning skyline views and now booming with skyscrapers, this place is haunted by its industrial past and friends who have moved on. These recordings explore themes of change, impermanence and loss amidst the city’s constant evolution.


Photo by Alice Teeple

Joe Geni: “I lived here in 2011, when it was a totally different city, flat and industrial and grey. One time I was walking along and I heard the rhythmic thump of a distant dance party, and then the sound was gone, and then it was back again. I couldn’t tell where it was coming from, and so I hunted all over the neighborhood trying to find it.

Finally I realized it was on the roof of practically the only tall building for half a mile in
any direction, and the reason it kept drifting in and out of earshot depended on where I was standing and whether or not I could hear it echoing off the brick walls and corrugated siding
of the smaller buildings all around it.

Nearly all of those buildings are gone now. So are most of my friends from that time. I’m back now. The city is changing. The people in it are changing. The environment around it is changing. The architecture is changing. Yesterday’s city has been buried under today’s which will soon be lost to tomorrow’s… cities built upon cities.”

TUTV: I really like the idea of Cities Built Upon Cities. An universal sign’ of the modern times. Just google old photos of your own town and see how it looks today. Geni seems to have it done in detail with his beloved Long Island City and wrote eight affecting songs about it.

Romantic reveries with real/surreal images of the past, present and future of LIC. Bittersweet, richly orchestrated, symphonies with his monumental voice – think of Perfume Genius, Talk Talk’s Mark Hollis and James Bay‘s bewitching vocality – taking them to sky-high heights, up there in the clouds, while floating over the city. This is the kind of record you listen best to with headphones on, dimmed lights and far away from our daily rat race. It’ll evoke mixed emotions about the place you love the most. Well, that’s what I experienced while listening.

KEY SINGLE

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STREAM/BUY ALBUM


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JOE GENI: Instagram – Spotify

JAKE BUGG – British Songsmith Delivers A Revved Up New LP With ‘A MODERN DAY DISTRACTION’

Posted on by JL

8 October 2024


Album artwork

British-Nottingham-born singer-songwriter JAKE BUGG who celebrated his
30th birthday last February, but still looks like he’s 20, launched his 6th LP,
named A Modern Day Distraction.

Press info: “It’s a record that turns up the noise while shining a light on the injustice
he’s seen dealt to the family and friends he grew up with. Fiery and engaged, the record was born out of a frustration of societal inequality. Bugg found that a time had come
when he just couldn’t look away.”

Clash Music says: “While it may ultimately be a solid rather than sensational listen, this
is an enjoyable sixth outing from Jake Bugg that marks a reasonable return to form, while
also providing more than a few strong highlights. By getting back to what he does best, this
is a sizeable step in the right direction, with ‘A Modern Day Distraction’ easily his most well-rounded project since his beloved debut.”

TUTV: Bugg feels strongly enervated when he looks around him and sees an intolerant world where the weak get crushed and the strong survive. Thematically, that’s what this new record is about. And sonically it reflects those frustrations with a series of revved up rock energizers (Zombieland / All Kids Of People / Breakout / Waiting For The World / Keep On Moving) expressing underlying angry emotions.

Rarely he gets his foot from the gas pedal and when he does (Never Say Goodbye / All That
I Needed Was You / Beyond The Horizon) we hear the young singer of yesteryear. Overall this is another noteworthy Bugg album, but not yet the masterpiece he’s capable of.

KEY SINGLE

ALBUM


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Instagram – Tour Dates

THE SMILE Mesmerize With Their 3rd And Best Album In Just 2 Years – ‘CUTOUTS’ Out Now

Posted on by JL

New notable longplayers

5 October 2024

The creativity of THE SMILE, featuring radioheads Thom Yorke and
Jonny Greenwood and drummer Tom Skinner is pretty impressive.

With CUTOUTS the trio launch their 3rd LP in just 2 years.

Press info: “Cutouts was recorded in Oxford and at Abbey Road Studios during the same period of time as Wall Of Eyes. The album features string arrangements by the London Contemporary Orchestra and the album art was painted during the recording process by Stanley Donwood and Thom Yorke.”

NME: “The Smile return for more jazz-influenced, experimental rock and they seem to be
having more fun than ever. Eschewing any grand, overarching statement, The Smile sound – whisper it – quite comfortable within what is now their established aesthetic. But Radiohead recently entered the rehearsal studio together, which begs the question: will there be a fourth album from this curious trio? Either way, don’t be surprised if it’s now time for a total reinvention.”

TUTV: By far their best to my ears. On the previous 2 ones they tried too hard
to not sound like Radiohead (which they did frequently anyway) and did it with
too many redundant orchestrations, too many unnecessary layers and a bit of
arty farty structures here end there.

Mind you they are good LPs but on this one they keep it far more simple resulting
in 10 very arresting pieces of mesmerizing music. Trippy fast ones alternate with slow
musing ones and throughout the arrangements are subtle, direct and most entertaining with Thom Yorke sounding, yes, at ease, not forcing his compassionate voice/vocals. It all feels tremendously natural and blithely .

I played this record 5 times in a row. Say no more.

KEY SINGLE

ALBUM


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Instagram – Spotify

XIU XIU – Noise Explorers Stun Again With New Album ’13” FRANK BELTRAME ITALIAN STILLETO WITH BISON HORN GRIPS’

Posted on by JL

Notable longplayers

28 September 2024

Californian art noise duo XIU XIU aren’t the lazy kind of artists.
In their 22-year-old career, they fabricated 13 LPs, with last year’s
primo Ignore Grief album as the most recent one.

Recently, the duo moved from L.A. to Berlin where
they experience a new stream of inspiration.


New album artwork

And here’s album number 14, titled, eh,… 13″ Frank Beltrame Italian
Stiletto with Bison Horn Grips is out now and playing for a while now
on my head’s stereo.

Press info: “Angela Seo and Jamie Stewart deliver some of the band’s most compelling and mesmerizing music to date. Mixed by John Congleton (Chelsea Wolfe, Swans, Lana Del Rey) this album is unlike anything the band has ever recorded previously and was motivated by the destruction of previous aesthetic notions, as well as the band’s recent move from Los Angeles to Berlin.”

The Quietus writes: “13”… is a superlative pop record, but still an endless cycle of extremes.
A shining, distorted, expertly constructed, open-ended record, that might be Xiu Xiu’s best.”

TUTV: This is their most intense, most emotional and most accessible album to date.
Well, not that it will sell millions of copies and be No 1 on the charts all over the world.

It’s still XX, always exploring different soundscapes, but here they come up with
less complex song structures, actually more (sort of) conventional alt ones. And?
Outstanding record dominated by layers of industrial synths and chilling melodies.

I hear Cure-esque echoes (Common Loon / Veneficum), eerie and ghostly vocality
à la the late great Scott Walker (Arp Omni / Sleep Bvld.) and trippy Cabaret Voltaire
dynamics. All together, these sonic ingredients lead to a fascinating XX opus.

The more spins, the more your ears
get around this new Xiu Xiu exploit.

KEY SINGLE

ALBUM


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XX: Instagram