Band: WEEZER Who: The veteran nerd
rockers from Los Angeles.
Album: WEEZER
Their 4th self-titled one decorated with symbols,
think Led Zeppelin‘s 4th longplayer. The record
is already dubbed The Gold Album.
Rolling Stone: “Weezer’s Gold is, in fact, Weezer gold.”
Pitchfork says: “Spurred on by producer Kenneth Blume, Weezer get
back in a room together to write rock songs that wallow, reminisce, and,
very occasionally, wow.”
TUTV: Mixed critical verdicts. Weezer is one of these bands that goes back to
their (very) old recipe, to their fan-pleasing formula, over and over again, but
forget regularly, to write enough top-tier tunes to fill a full record. As usual,
the singles are catchy and fun, but the rest is mediocre for a band of their
calibre. No, I’m not impressed.
The band’s seventh. Its title and cover art are borrowed, with Yoko Ono’s blessing,
from an artwork she made in the 1960s. The artwork is simple: a cream piece of
paper with a circle cutout, intended as a lookout through which to see the sky.
TUTV: A puissant psych guitar pop crackajack, riveting and sonically
seductive. It sets the mesmeric tone for their new magnifico full-length.
At 82, American singer-songwriter shero CARLY SIMON, who became worldwide
known for her magnific hit You’re So Vain (more than 700 million streams on Spotify)
in 1972, released her 24th album, her first in 18 years, titled COMES IN WAVES last week.
A charming, romantic, and heartfelt work
with gripping stories and Simon‘s voice
still impactful.
Far Out Magazine (UK) says: “It feels like she’s never really been away. Back with a breezily effective batch of numbers that flashes a torchlight on the human condition and reveals all its absurdities and passions in equal measure, Comes the Waves will delight long-time fans and stand as a solid entry for anyone late to Simon’s unique song canon.”
Press info: “An odyssey of anarchic joy, seditious wit and boundless energy, the LP finds Josh Law and Ben Sadler pushing deeper into the singular world they have been building for years, while opening up new emotional and lyrical ground. The record was written in green rooms, on long car journeys and in the gaps between relentless touring.”
Album artwork
NME: “The buzzy Minehead-via-Bristol party-starters shake off the ‘joke band’ label and
face up to doubt on nuanced album number two. Getdown Services are not Sleaford Mods
for the microbrew crowd or the Yard Act fit for a stag do, they are something of their own
and something to be taken quite seriously.
We could have done with a bit more of the party to beat the pity, but they’ve at least
delivered one of the unlikeliest real pleasures of a bleak 2026, so suck on that.”
TUTV: They go up, they get down. Up again. Down again. At first I was confused by the
by now pretty famous indie duo’s changing sonic moods breaking down the record’s
flow.
Lullabies, rock outs, moony mid-tempo reflections. One tune they put you in a soothing modus with a lullaby. The next tune they plug in their amps for a couple of pelvis-shaking firecrackers. And then back to some life-reflecting/watching thoughts, daily reveries, existentialist questions, and some depressing moments. Quite something else than
their non-stop groovy fiesta debut.
But I didn’t give up, as I felt some sort of connection anyway, and I kept on listening,
and it all started to make sense. This record’s emotional fluctuations, musically, vocally
and lyrically, became one full Getdown Services picture/experience that sticks seamlessly
in the end. I wonder if you will be affected to or not, people?
NME: “Arty South London upstarts evolve into an inescapable 12-legged beast on expansive album to make you dance, smile tremble and weep. Here’s a band for whom perfection is just around the corner as they fine-tune the engine to reach a cleaner and more regular lift-off, but for now enjoy one of the most accomplished debuts of the year and a surefire Mercury Prize 2027 nominee. This cannonball makes one hell of a splash.”
TUTV:Man/Woman/Chainsaw join the (new) generation of new Brit-post-punk artilleries that started sometime post Brex-shit, with innovative bands such as Black Midi (already gone), Black Country New Road, Squid, Ditz, Bdrmm and newcomers Modern Woman, Westside Cowboy, Mary In The Junkyard, and My New Band Believe.
They have one thing in common: looking for new musical angels, exciting ideas
and unconventional soundscapes, within the broad rock-pop-punk universe, without
being arty farty.
M/W/C does it now for the first time with this debut LP. Whimsical, chopped-up song structures, spine-tingling melodiousness, two perfervid vocalists, nightmarish stories, versatile violins and capricious orchestrations. Everything in place to score a bodacious firstborn. Have a bloodcurdling trip.
KEY TRACKS: Goddamm, LizardMan! / Nosedive / Flick Of The Wrist / The Thing / Still Angry
No expiration date for Liverpool‘s indestructible post-punk-pop rockers ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN (one of my all-time fav bands, on record and
on stage), fronted by big mouth/songwriter Ian McCulloch.
On 18 September they will share their 13th LP with the world.
It’s their first in 12 years, titled APPLES FOR ISAAC. No idea who
that Isaac guy is. Order info here.
Album artwork
Press info: After years spent performing their immense catalog of classics to
audiences around the world, the Bunnymen have recorded an album that is as
bold as it is vulnerable, that perfectly captures the essence of what makes
the band so great.
All but one of the tracks features the late Blondie drummer Clem Burke, who sadly passed away during its creation.
2 appetizers, thus far.
– BRUSSELS IS HAUNTED –
The song explores the ghosts and characters of the Belgian
capital haunted by World War 2. I’m from Belgium, Ian. What
do you actually mean here?
– THE LIGHT THAT SURROUNDS YOU –
McCulloh offers hope, redemption
and another anthemic gem.
Band: IF NOT FOR ME Who: A four piece metalcore outfit hailing from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Composed of veterans ranging from all over the central PA music scene, INFM delivers their own brand of catchy choruses, driving riffs, and hard-hitting breakdowns with an explosive live performance to match.
They just released their 28th LP in 14 years.
It’s named ALIEN METAL. Order info here.
And it’s quite a special record for the riff junks from down other, as
they have thrown their guitars through the window and surprise with
a full electronic one.
Stu Mackenzie (vocalist/guitarist): “We’ve never scrapped so much material
as we have for this album. Entire albums, entire universes that were formulated,
created, recorded, deleted and started again. The project was finally unlocked
during a late night jam session that went on for more than an hour with every
track evolving from the same source performance.”
They actually announced the album a couple of weeks ago, along
with its single Level 5, but no release date was communicated, and
last Friday it came falling out of the blue.
Billboard US: “Alien Metal is arguably the biggest swing in a catalog full of them,
as the sextet best known for wild, garage-meets-psych-rock ditched its guitars in favor
of a hulking Eurorack, a type of modular synthesizer developed in the ’90s that all of
its members could play simultaneously.”
TUTV: Back to the British 90s techno raves. Alien Metal resonates as if KG&TLW
locked themselves up for a couple of weeks playing Underworld, The Prodigy and
Leftfield records on repeat.
Expect an incessant tsunami of hyperkinetic beats, mind-blowing electro
Krautrock madness, and deformed vocal flashes. Full blast forward without
breaks. Not one moment to have a much-needed breather. E-cstatic.
Crow wrote the song with her musical husband, guitarist Jeff Trott, during weekly
sessions at Crow’s home in Nashville: “We’d get together, eat lunch and bang out a song
in two hours,” she says, “fully finished, and do a little demo of it, and then go about our way.”
“I do not take freedom lightly, because our freedom has
been paid for in the lives of others throughout history,”
