Band: DRY CLEANING Who: Much lauded indie outfit, fronted by spoken-word frontwoman Florence Shaw from London, who made their breakthrough with their
2nd LP Stumpwork from 2022.
Press info: “The south London four-piece take their place in rock’s avant garde, catalysing the Reaganite paranoia of early 80s US punk and hardcore with the dry strut of Keith Richards, stoner rock, dystopian degradation, playful no wave and pastoral fingerpicking, while Florence’s delivery, meticulously calibrated to her bandmates’ soundscapes, asserts her in a lineage of spoken-word artists stretching from Laurie Anderson to Life Without Buildings’ Sue Tompkins.”
BROKEN SOUND TAPES is an indie label based out of Hillsborough, NC
focused on small runs of weird and creative artists. They also re-issue
albums from the South and North Carolina scene of the 80s, 90s, and
early 2Ks.
BST have their 5th shoegaze compilation out, in a series named Aspirin Age.
The first 17 tracks are available on cassette, everything after that is digital only.
A staggering amount of 47 songs. Not only shoegaze stuff. Also, dream pop, post-punk, darkwavish and guitar pop/rock tunes are on the menu. Actually, all things exciting for music junkies, like me and many of you out there, to explore. Only adrenalin, no need
for aspirin.
Press info: Their debut album ‘Bitchhouse‘ is more than music.
It’s a safe space where women make the rules, embrace chaos,
and channel power through sound.
TUTV The two snake queens finally, after their 2021 debut single Arrival, have their debut album out. As the cliché goes it was worth
the wait, it absolutely is.
It resonates like an outlandish electro-pop journey. Sonically it reverberates,
at times spooky and uncanny, at times mysterious and enigmatic, at times
bombastic and melodramatic, always highly arresting and fully absorbing.
From industrial-rock infused, and orchestral pieces (think Chelsea Wolfe / Killing Joke
and NIN), to amplified reveries, and a surprising, but utterly cool rap guest moment
on shock track Pervert. The duo’s passional vocality fits the manic music like a glove.
No songs about the bees and the trees for Piranha and Fitzgerald. They address
all sorts of intolerance in our messed-up society where political charlatans rule.
Bitchhouse has all dark Gothwavish ingredients to have
yourself a mind-stirring experience. Electroclash excellence.
NME (the by now legendary British music website) says: “At an already exciting
time for Australian music as a cultural export – from the rise of punk and hardcore
acts like Amyl & The Sniffers and Speed, to the continuing arena dominance of Tame
Impala and Rüfüs Du Sol – there’s unquestionably a space for The Belair Lip Bombs
to thrive globally.
‘Again’, to paraphrase U2, feels like them auditioning
to be the biggest band in the world.”
TUTV: Just one spin and I knew this LP is a winner. Ace tune, after ace tune, after
ace tune. Guitar pop at its most move ‘n groove exciting. In the middle, vocalist and
guitarist Maisie Everett draws all attention. Wonderful voice, striking performance.
She’s backed by a well-oiled rock turbo. All together they showed us why they are a trustworthy hype. Anyway, hype or not, these Aussies are going places, all around the globe. Just like that, and so late in the year, they score bullseye with one of the best longplayers of 2025. Fact!
SINGLE
STREAM/ BUY ALBUM
.
Wait, don’t go, folks.
Last night, the bombs played my hometown of Ghent, Belgium, bringing ‘Again’ to life with lots of panache, flair, and verve. TBLB are one of those bands you fall in love with at first sight/listen.
Band: PRTUGAL. THE MAN Who: American alt-rockers, fronted by mastermind John Gourley, formed in 2004 in Wasilla, Alaska and
based in Portland, Oregon.
Last weekend, they released their 10th LP, baptized SHISH.
Glide Magazine says: “Shish is yet another awe-inspiring effort from Gourley and his Portugal. The Man project turned out to be some of the most honest, refreshing music
the artist has added to his discography in some time. These ten songs pinpoint the exact time and space Gourley is currently in, and turn his point of view into relatable slices of daring, artistic indie rock.”
The album was preceded by two singles,Tanana and Denali.
If the band consider dropping a third single from the LP, it should definitely be
the title track, SHISH. Its repetitive, groovy swagger is just irresistible. Check it out
here.
Band: WHOLES Who: A fresh, rowdy hit team led by Belgian, musical chameleon Wolf Vanwymeersch,
who played with several bands (pop, rock, sludge metal) and released a pure singer-songwriter pearl with solo debut album The Early Years back in 2022. Wholes are what remains after a soul has been detonated, what struck those around it, what could no longer be contained.
Album:A MASS IN THE WATER.
Out this Friday, November 14th.
Pre-order/buy HERE. Your Xmas
will never be the same again.
Press info: “The full album is an intense and raw reflection of grief, trauma, and the desire
for healing. ‘A Mass In The Water’ roughly describes the last day of Wolf Vanwymeersch’s father, who took his own life during a psychotic episode. The album balances between mockery, anger, powerlessness, grief, understanding, compassion, and love.
All the emotions that accompany suicide are reflected in the songs. Dark, haunting lyrics intertwine with distorted voices, atonal fuzz guitars, and explosive outbursts. Experimental
riffs and hypnotic rhythms meet noise, punk, metal, and avant-garde. ‘A Mass In The Water’
is a powerful portrait of transience, emotional scars, and the human urge to face and
process pain, and find a fragile yet essential path to reconciliation.”
This new compilation of unreleased or little heard compositions from indie artists
raises money for the Gaza Soup Kitchen Organisation. A grassroots organisation
that was established last year, to provide food for Palestinians at risk of famine
during the Gaza war.
It features A Place To Bury Strangers, of Montreal, Kristeen Young, Jason Trachtenberg, Weston Allen, Preston Spurlock, Prairie Princess and many
more.
Californian veteran rockers THE MOUNTAIN GOATS, conducted by singer/songwriter/musical mastermind and only original member John Darnielle, are playing around for more than 3 decades, actually
since 1991.
Paste Magazine says: “John Darnielle trades the lo-fi confessional for high tragedy, finding transcendence—albeit a touch of distance, in the performance of survival. A record that dramatizes collapse, but, for better or for worse, never quite gives in to it.
It’s gorgeous, exacting, and ultimately cyclical, much like theater itself, where death is just the cue for the lights to come back up.” Full review here.
TUTV: Hats off to singer-songwriter John Darnielle. Coming up, after 34 years
and 22 albums, with this new high-quality record is remarkable. His love for music
isn’t reduced whatsoever. Not one dull moment here. Darnielle‘s songwriting expertise
is still intact. Through This Fire Across From Peter Balkan is a flawless accomplishment.
Top-notch orchestral entertainment for winter evenings.
Artist: MILES KANE Who: Brit-mod rocker who love to revisit
music history and is very good at it.
Album: SUNLIGHT IN THE SHADOWS
His 3rd in 4 years. Overall, his 6th one. Co-written with The Black Keys, Daniel Tashian and Pat McLaughlin.
Clash Magazine: “Miles Kane tackles the blues with an all-killer stadium filler.
It’s anthemic and thrumming, and reads like the soundtrack to a summer spent
on Route 66.”
TUTV: Kane should join The Black Keys (it sounds like he already did). His new record, mostly written with Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney uses those two keys’ formula applied on their last two LPs. Light blues rock tunes, smoothly crafted and mainstreamed for success.
NME says: “There’s unquestionably a space for The Belair Lip Bombs
to thrive globally. ‘Again’, to paraphrase U2, feels like them auditioning
to be the biggest band in the world.”
TUTV: Just like that these pop indies from down under score one of the best guitar pop albums of 2025. Expect a swirling series of emotive earworms. Top-drawer stuff. Trust me, these bombs will go nuclear soon.
Kerrang says: “Carry on screaming! Creeper return with their fangs on full display for
bigger, brassier, bloodier Sanguivore sequel. Creeper have always been great. In this current (and unexpectedly elongated) vampire phase, they’ve blossomed into their true, proper selves. Go on, Creeper, make this sequel part two of a trilogy.”
TUTV: Goth rock bombast with a huge entertaining impact. Titanic tunes blast
out of your speakers for 42 minutes. Not creepy, rather speedy and sweepy.
Band: EX HYENA (Boston, MA) Who: The musical project of Bo Barringer and Reuben Bettsak.
They got together in 2020, surfacing through the haze of the
global pandemic and have released 3 albums since.
Press info: “To understand this rich and complex collection of 11 tracks, one must crawl into its title. The XX in XX YOUR LOVE is a placeholder for the listeners’ understanding of
a personalized reflection of love, as Ex-Hyena canvass a Lynchian narrative that explores the innocent love of youth, the love of our dreams, and the love of our assumed innocence juxtaposed by the damaged love of our desires, the love of our nightmares, and the love of our assumed supremacy.”
TUTV: Ex-Hyena fans know what to expect from this electro-crazy Boston duo.
Old skool techno pyrotechnics, 24-hour party extravaganza, and synth-laced jams.
Artist: ANNA VON HAUSSWOLFF Who: Swedish singer, songwriter, musician, composer, and
pipe organist. She is known for her gothic-styled music, usually
accompanied by the pipe organ.
The Guardian (British newspaper): “It’s music that feels as if it’s in constant motion, amplified by the fact that the melodies, rich and beautiful as they are, seldom adhere to any standard verse-chorus structure: the songs here usually end up somewhere very different from the place they started. Indeed, its maximalism might be too overwhelming to take in one long sitting.”
TUTV: This synth-symphonic, heavy percussion and vocal tour de force opus causes
a transcendental experience that lingers for a long time. Think Kate Bush teaming up
with Florence + The Machine.
