New Albums 2024

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

THE JESUS AND MARY CHAIN – 8th Album ‘GLASGOW EYES’ Out In March

Posted on by JL

7 February 2024

Scottish pyschocandy brothers Jim and William Reid aka THE JESUS AND MARY CHAIN have been around for ages, although they only made/recorded 7 studio LPs in their 40-year career (with an 8-year hiatus between 1999-2007).


Photo by Mel Bulter

Great news for the fans. The brothers have their new, 8th album,
named GLASGOW EYES ready for release on 8 March 2024.

TRACKLIST

01 “Venal Joy”
02 “American Born”
03 “Mediterranean X Film”
04 “jamcod”
05 “Discotheque”
06 “Pure Poor”
07 “The Eagles And The Beatles”
08 “Silver Strings”
09 “Chemical Animal”
10 “Second Of June”
11 “Girl 71”
12 “Hey Lou Reid”

Singles (so far)

Firm psych steamroller JAMCOD

Post-drugs musing CHEMICAL ANIMAL

TOUR 2024

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

Space Rock Icons HAWKIND Release Their 36th Album In April

Posted on by JL

4 February 2024

Once upon a long time ago the late great motörhead Lemmy was the vocalist/bassist (1971-1975) of space rock icons HAWKIND. The band started their never-ending Odyssey with their self-titled debut LP in 1970.

As of today Dave Brock is the only original member. Hawkind launch their 36th album.
It’s named Stories From Time And Space on April 26 via Cherry Red Records.

FUTURE ISLANDS Deliver Another Synth-Pop Tunes Filled Album With ‘PEOPLE WHO AREN’T THERE ANYMORE’

Posted on by JL

28 January 2024


Album artwork

Baltimore‘s synth pop act FUTURE ISLANDS launched
their 7th LP, titled PEOPLE WHO AREN’T THERE ANYMORE

Press info: Where they’ve pursued ever-higher energy anthems in the past, they’ve
turned inward this time, and unlocked a new level of ferocity, delivering some of their most inspiring and most heartbreaking tracks by doing the opposite: taking their time, making each breath, each syllable, each cymbal crash count. The result is a powerful, defining statement from a group of musicians that have made the best album of their career.

7-singles
(Photo Turn Up The Volume – live in Belgium)

The Guardian: “It’s an album that’s too involving and engaging and powerful to count as merely more of the same: you leave the turmoil of People Who Aren’t There Anymore feeling moved, rather than jaded.” Full review here. Score: 4/5.

TUTV: Baltimore‘s tunesmiths hit again with a tunes-filled longplayer. Not all of them are grade-A earworms, not all of them will be on my headphones for a long time, except for standouts King Of Sweden, The Tower, Say Goodbye, Corner Of My Eye, The Thief and Peach.
I think I’m gonna make myself a ‘The Best Of Future Islands’ jukebox playlist. That will be fantastic.

Key singles/clips: Peach / The Tower / The Fight

– PEACH –

– THE TOWER –

– THE FIGHT –

ALBUM


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FUTURE ISLANDS: Instagram – Website

THE SMILE Featuring Two Radioheads Mesmerize With Their 2nd Album ‘WALL OF EYES

Posted on by JL

27 January 2024


Press photo by Alex Lake

THE SMILE featuring two radioheads – Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood – and
drummer Tom Skinner — launched their new album WALL OF EYES, only 11 months
after their compelling debut A Light For Attracting Attention.


Album artwork

Pitchfork says: “The Radiohead offshoot’s second album burrows deeper into their strangely enchanting appeal. ‘Wall of Eyes’ gives center stage to jazz, kosmische, prog—aesthetic signposts and satellite genres usually kept in the more established band’s wings. The Smile, though stranger and wilder, more comfortably fit in the omnivorous art-rock tradition.”
Full review here. Score: 8.5/10.

TUTV: With less pressure than that’s on that mega band called Radiohead, the pair
of Yorke and Greenwood seem to feel more at ease to do what they want to do without
any expectations whatsoever. Wall Of Eyes sounds less complex than the last Radiohead albums, but still echoes that band’s work here and there (Teleharmonic / Friend Of A Friend / I Quit). And Yorke‘s familair falsetto voice is omnipresent.

Then again, capricious tracks like Road The Room and Under Our Pillows resonate more direct and less polished then a lot of the multi-layered Radiohead symphonies as we know them. All that said, it really doesn’t matter if there are comparisons or not. What matters is that this record features (only) 8 paramount songs, 8 first-rate quality tunes, 8 mesmeric compositions.

Singles/Clips: Walls Of Eyes / Bending Hectic / Friend Of A Friend

– WALL OF EYES –

– BENDING HECTIC –

– FRIEND OF A FRIEND –

ALBUM

THE SMILE: Facebook – Instagram – Euro Tour

The Title Of The New ARAB STRAP Album “I’M TOTALLY FINE WITH IT 👍 DON’T GIVE A FUCK ANYMORE 👍”

Posted on by JL

24 January 2024

Yep, the thumb-up emojis are part of the new ARAB STRAP‘s album title.
Already a contender for weirdest title of the year. The LP follows their
tremendous one As Days Get Darker that came out in 2021.

I’M TOTALLY FINE WITH IT 👍 DON’T GIVE A FUCK ANYMORE 👍
shows up on April 1. More info here.


Press

Along with the news comes the first single, called BLISS.

Aidan Moffat (vocalist): “It’s about women being terrorized online;
it’s about cowardice and bigotry. It’s about how we expose ourselves
on social platforms while hiding alone at home. But you can dance to
it too!”

Moffat sings/tells his story over a trippy dance beat.

WATCH/LISTEN

STREAM


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Arab Strap: Instagram – Website

New Albums In 2024 – British Fast Up-And-Coming Indies ENGLISH TEACHER Have Their Debut ‘THIS COULD BE TEXAS’ Out In April

Posted on by JL

23 January 2024


Press photo

Band: ENGLISH TEACHER
Who: Fast up-and-coming indies
from Leeds, UK

NME said: “A vital voice from the heart of UK guitar music. The band have
swiftly become one of the most promising new British prospects of the last few
years, with songs that find humour and relief in the strange world around us.”

Interview with NME right here.

Album: THIS COULD BE TEXAS
Out on April 12. Pre-order info here.

Lily Fontaine (vocalist) said: “I want this album to feel like you’ve
gone to space and it turns out it’s almost identical to Doncaster. It’s
about inbetweens, it’s about home, and it’s about Desire Paths.”

Singles/clips: The World’s Biggest Slap / Mastermind Specialism /
Nearly Daffodils / Albert Road

– ALBERT ROAD –
Heart-rending power pop ballad
with a goosebumps finale

– NEARLY DAFFODILS –
Bass/drum energized ripsnorter

– MASTERMIND SPECIALISM –
Alluring reverie

– THE WORLD’S BIGGEST SLAB –
Riff-crazy pop corker

UK TOUR

ET: Instagram – Facebook

SLEATER-KINNEY – New High-Vitalic Top Album ‘LITTE ROPE’ Out Today

Posted on by JL

19 January 2024

Washington‘s longtime rollin’ indie-pop-punk stars SLEATER-KINNEY
who started their journey (with 3 members) back in 1994, went on a
break in 2006, reloaded their engines in 2014, became a duo – Carrie
Brownstein and Corin Tucker – have their new, 10th LP, baptized Little
Rope out on 19 January 2024.

NME: “Surrounded by upheaval and tragedy, the duo’s eleventh album unpacks big emotions
in the way that they do best. ​​​​Throughout the album, the duo document an honest journey from pain and loss into some kind of healing. Each intricately-placed chord, bass pluck and vocal tremor are intentional arrangements conveying the band’s desperation to convert their despair into something empowering.” Full review here.

TUTV: Carrie Brownstein‘s vocal performance throughout this top LP is intensely remarkable, high-energetic and highly emotive, actually the driving force and urgent heartbeat of Little Rope. Losing her mother and stepfather in a car accident in 2022 has crushed her, but it feels strongly as if she wants to shake off her sadness and grief with these 10 puissant guitar-frenzied rockers also touching all kinds of modern day intolerance among people. A human triumph. 30 years on and SK burst with relentless vitality. This album will stay on my headphones for a very long time. 4/5.”

Singles/clips: Hell / Say It Like It Is / Untidy Creature

– HELL –

– SAY IT LIKE IT IS –

– UNTIDY CREATURE –

ALBUM


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SK: Linktree

BILL RYDER-JONES – British Songsmith Released His 5th Album – Stream ‘ILECHYD DA’ Here

Posted on by JL

14 January 2024


Album artwork

Singer-songwriter BILL RYDER-JONES (aged 40) and co-founder of Liverpool psych-pop band The Coral back in 1996 went his own way in 2008. He released 4 albums so far and his brand new one named ILECHYD DA (meaning a Welsh toast to ‘good health’) is out now.

Press info: “Beautifully produced and rich in scope – Iechyd Da is Bill Ryder-Jones’
most ambitious record to date. At times joyous and grand, at others intimate and heartbreaking, the past few years spent producing other artists have provided that
gentle nudge to expand into new territory, from kids choirs and tender strings to dramatically re-contextualised disco samples.”

Ryder-Jones: “It’s been incredible making this. Despite all the life stuff that’s happened,
it has brought me immense happiness. I’ve always railed against it when people ask
if making a record is cathartic but I’d have to admit that this one really was.”

NME: “Wistful cult hero goes for broke. Ambitious, cinematic and hugely affecting. His
solo work has almost always been deeply personal, which is certainly true of this new self-produced record His solo work has almost always been deeply personal, which is certainly true of this new self-produced record. He might not be the steeliest careerist, but the lad from the Wirral has clearly thrown everything at this masterful record.” Full review here. Score: 5/5.

TUTV: I’m not as enthusiastic as NME. Mind you it’s an arresting album, but sonically
a bit too much of the same. It’s a characteristic singer-songwriter work. Melodic, moody and pondering. BRJ meditates about his life, then and now. Several songs make me think of the late Sparklehorse mastermind Mark Linkus which is a great compliment for BRJ.

Key tracks: If Tomorrow Starts With me / This Can’t Go On / Nothing To Be Done

Best piece.
Orchestral splendour.
Goosebumps choir.

ALBUM


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BRJ: Instagram – All Albums