Band: WEEZER Who: The veteran nerd
rockers from Los Angeles.
Track: C.E.O.
New single from their new, forthcoming 20th full-length,
another self-titled one (their 4th actually), decorated with
symbols, think Led Zeppelin‘s 4th LP.
TUTV: The Scottish daydreamers haven’t changed their longtime sonic formula
one bit. They still sound like The Byrds did in the 60s, like nightingales on a bright
summer afternoon.
Artist: JOHNNY MARR Who: The former The Smiths‘ guitar hero, who played afterward
several years with Modest Mouse, also with The Pretenders, Brian
Ferry and many more.
Track: OPHELIA
New piece from his new LP,
his 5th solo one. Out Oct 2.
TUTV: Marr does what he already did for
ages, writing catchy, jangly pop tunes.
Track: PARADISE
New single from his 3rd solo album,
named Thrasher, out on August 21st.
The LP is recorded in Nashville, the mecca of country music, with some renowned
country musicians. Rooted in his formative childhood years in the small town of Nephi, Utah, the timeless sonic approach proves to be the ideal home for Flowers’ most personal and vulnerable songwriting yet.
TUTV: Flowers loves country, sings country, plays country.
Band: DRY CLEANING Who: Much-lauded indie outfit from London, fronted by
spoken-word frontwoman Florence Shaw, who made their
breakthrough with their 2nd LP Stumpwork from 2022.
Track: I HAVE THE KEY
One of the 2 bonus tracks on the deluxe edition of their 3rd LP Secret Love that came out in January.
Band: GILLA BAND Who: Raw Irish post-punk
chainsaws.
Track: PLACEHOLDER
2nd shared single, following Giraffe from their
new full-length, their 4th one, named Pugnello.
It’ll show up on Sept 25th. More info here.
TUTV: Here come the freaky noise Irishmen again.
Chop chop chop. Cut cut cut. Loud loud loud.
Track: PEN IS SMALL
2nd single, following the titanic lead one Deep Blue, from their
forthcoming LP, called Who Loves The Sun, out on September 4th.
Tracklist and order infohere.
Joe Love (frontman) was inspired by John Lennon’s song ‘How Do You Sleep’ combined with
what Anatolian rock experimentalists Altın Gün would sound like if they were under siege from a thumping club beat.
Track: COWBOY ON AISLE THREE
Piece for their upcoming self-titled debut full-length,
which comes our way on September 25th.
Harry Hanson (frontman) says: “I came up with the idea when I was in Lidl.
I’m sure everyone has thought, ‘Imagine if I just went nuts now,’ to get out of
doing the big shop.”
Band: YARD ACT Who: British post-punk outfit from Leeds, fronted by poetic wordsmith James Smith, who catapulted themselves to the top of indie world with
their first 2 longplayers.
TUTV: Their chilling post-punk debut LP The Dark Room, from 2005, is still the one for me. Afterward Editors went down risk-free pop lane. Mind you, they got my attention now and then again, like here with this new urgent tune.
TUTV: OMG! Bad Nerves have you in a headlock from the first crushing chord.
No way to escape. You’re in the middle of a punk tornado, and in the end, you’ll
be completely exhausted. OMG!
Ben Hozie (singer/guitarist), who says to be inspired by Jane’s Addiction and The Stone
Roses about the album: “Let’s go back to melodic tunes, let’s be more of a proper rock band. We were aiming at something larger, warmer, watery, and metaphysical, inspired by the optimistic alt rock of our half-remembered youth.”
TUTV: Bodega never reached the topmost level I expected them to reach after their thumping first LP. And as they are now moving towards the middle-of-the-indie-road
rock I wonder if it will ever happen. All Inside The Aquarium has a rumbustious na-na-na
buzz but isn’t the memorable cut I hoped for.
“I used a couple of the same synths that I’ve still got since the early 90’s.
The beat was made on the sampler I used on my album Truth Is Born of
Arguments from 1995. It was my first time working directly with a rapper,
I’m very happy it was Griff!”
TUTV: Yeah. What’s up, bro? Slow-mo pelvis-swaying time it is. Yeah.
Artist: JOHNNY MARR Who: The former The Smiths‘ guitar hero, who played afterward
several years with Modest Mouse, also with The Pretenders, Brian
Ferry and many more.
Track: SPIN
First single from his forthcoming album, his 5th solo
full-length, baptized The Age Of Everything. Out October 2.
TUTV: Marr never copied TheSmiths‘ work.
With Spin he delivers a cathcy pick-me-up.
Moffat: “I grew up in the ’80s, and sometimes I feel like I’m living my youth again: the same myths of a once glorious nation prevail, and the threat of global war seems constant; economic inequality and class divisions just seem to get worse and worse, and the same old bigotries are being encouraged in very dangerous ways.
I try to keep positive by telling myself I’ve seen this kind of thing before
and it will pass. And, of course, venting my frustrations in a big, noisy
banger.”
TUTV: Guess what, the Scots rock out as never before. Yeah!
Band: EELS
Who: Singer-songwriter Mark Oliver Everett‘s combo.
Track: CAP IN HAND
Lead single from new album, their 16th, named Cookie Happened. It’ll land on October 16th.
Everett: “I wanted to sound kind of worn out for this one too, like someone
who’s messed up their life but now sees the error of their ways and is trying
to make amends with their tail between their legs.”
TUTV: The new Eels one is both
a darkly reflective and funky cut.
Band: WEEZER Who: The indestructible nerd
rockers from Los Angeles.
New track: WE MIGHT AS WELL BE STRANGERS
The lead single from their new, forthcoming 20th full-length,
another self-titled one (their 4th actually), decorated with
symbols, think Led Zeppelin‘s 4th LP.
The song features indie team Wednesday on co-vocals.
TUTV: Hurray! Weezer drops, finally, another
titanic tune, as they used to deliver a million
times before.
Band: BELLE & SEBASTIAN Who: The Scottish dream pop vets, fronted by singer/songwriter Stuart Murdoch. They’re in the middle of their extensive
30th anniversary tour.
For the first time in 28 years, Scotland’s national football team is gearing
up for a World Cup run. The tournament, from June 11th to July 19th, will
be held for the first time across 3 nations. United States, Mexico, and Canada.
The song is, of course, an encouragement footie tune for
their country. Yes, the kid in the photo is Stuart Murdoch.
TUTV: Vintage B&S pop bliss, the Scottish team can
dance too before, halfway, and after the game.
Band: SWIM DEEP Who: English indie pop
stars from Birmingham.
Track: YOU, ME AND MARY
New song from their upcoming 5th LP,
baptized Hum. Out June 19th.
Austin Williams (vocalist/songwriter): “It’s about my incredible wife and daughter.
During a family holiday, my wife suffered a miscarriage, which was deeply traumatic
for us in many ways.”
“It made us reflect on whether ‘you, me, and Mary’ was the family we had been blessed with, and we found a great deal of comfort and gratitude in that. Just a week ago, we welcomed our second child into the world, so with the song coming out now, it feels like a real full-circle moment.
TUTV: Deep-felt family emotions wrapped in a majestic synth-pop melody, with
velvety vocals accentuating the romantic radiation of this bittersweet symphony.
