Grunge rock titans PEARL JAM fronted by Eiffel Tower voice Eddie Vedder
released their 3rd LP VITALOGY on 22 November 1994, today 30 years ago.
The record has been identified as a punk rock album by both critics and members
of the band, departing the grunge sound of the band’s previous work. Many of the
songs on the album address the pressures of fame and dealing with the resulting
loss of privacy.
The album’s title Vitalogy, which literally means “the study of life”,
came from an early 20th-century medical book that Vedder found
at a garage sale.
It hit the top spot in the US, Australia, Ireland, Sweden
and New Zealand. It peaked at #4 in the UK.
Rolling Stone said: “A wildly uneven and difficult record, sometimes maddening, sometimes ridiculous, often powerful. Vitalogy has a number of gripping songs that match the soaring anthems of Ten, the extended grooves of Vs. or the poetry of either record.” Score: 4/5.
Seattle‘s grunge rock veterans PEARL JAM led by titanic voice Eddie Vedder are back
in business with their 12th album, their first in 4 years, baptized DARK MATTER.
Press info: “PJ retreated to the Shangri-La Studios in Malibu where they simply plugged in and played under the watch of producer Andrew Watt. Writing and recording in a burst of inspiration, Dark Matter was born in just three weeks. As a result, it channels the shared spirit of a group of lifelong creative confidants and brothers in one room playing as if their very lives depended on it.”
Rolling Stone says: “Dark Matter is jam-packed with fist-pumping rockers, stunning songwriting, and melodies tailor-made to be shouted with the windows down.”
TUTV: My oh my, is this 2024 or 1991, the year that Pearl Jam shook the grunge world
with their debut blockbuster Ten. The veterans bark and bite again like young punk dogs. Even when they slow down (Wreckage / Won’t Tell / Waiting For Stevie) the decibels fly around.
The band go berserk on several nasty barnstormers such
as Scared Of Fear, React Respond, Running and Got To Give.
In the eye of the ruthless storm is Eddie Vedder’s sky-scraping vox sounding at times
like the young Springsteen‘s one, as monumental as the Empire State Building. Never expected that, in their 50s they would steam like in their 20s, with unbridled confidence and the amps to the max. Holy smoke! Definitely alive again
In order to not miss a beat Turn Up The Volume scans the musical
horizon daily (doing it for years now, actually) to stay in touch with
all new things sonically great and shares the results on a weekly
basis.
Check the 10 new rad cuts just
added to this rad 2024 playlist.
ALL TOGETHER
. TRACK BY TRACK
Band: GUIDED BY VOICES (Dayton, Ohio)
Probably the most productive band ever in
rock history (40 albums in 41 years!)
It’s the first single from GBV’s new, upcoming, 40th (!!) album (since 1983), named Strut Of Kings and slated for release on June 28. Firm familiar indie rock, as we know it.
Artist: SPIELMANN (Leeds, UK) Ben Lewis aka Spielmann has been around the block, as a songwriter, producer, band member, DJ, promoter and now, after a good decade and varying degrees of success,
as a front person and songwriter in his own right.
“In this one we follow our narrator through breakdowns at parties, potential book deals, writing letters to his MP and anxiety attacks. It’s an anthem for the modern person who wants to have it all, but is probably realising something has to give.”
It’ll feature on his debut EP, titled ‘Fifteen Minutes With Spielmann’, and landing on 31 May.
This is glorious, full-orchestrated pop, that transfers you in an eye/ear blink to a sonic dreamland with its affecting melodiousness, riveting chorus and warm-hearted vocals. Three minutes and twenty seconds with Spielmann sounding not like everybody else.
From the band’s brand-new self-titled 9-song strong debut album.
Drawing inspiration from iconic bands like The Clean, Teenage Fanclub, The Pixies,
and The Replacements, this band deliver a captivating musical experience that will resonate with fans of diverse tastes. Continuing their DIY approach, this remarkable debut album effortlessly introduces new sonic dimensions and emotional depth to their ever-expanding musical repertoire, showcasing the band’s innate ability to craft mesmerizing melodies.
“I wrote “Close Enough” in the midst of the pandemic, a period where I didn’t see some of
the people who mattered most to me for weeks at a time. On a subconscious level I think that inspired the lyrics in the chorus about being “close enough” to someone, but the other half was me thinking about the process of falling in love, and how you can be so wrapped up in another person that, no matter how physically and emotionally close you are to them (“even if you were a part of me/ even if you were alive in me”), it doesn’t feel like enough to express how you feel.”
Another top guitar pop piece from the Buffalo singer-songwriter.
Tantalizing tunefulness, glistening guitar sparks, and gratifying vocals.
Moss: “Black Dahlia, for me symbolises an evolution from being a bedroom musician, estranged to the music world, to now playing on stage & finding my place & family in Hull’s vibrant music scene over a six-year period. The record’s almost a diary entry into my life, as I got fed up with people taking me for granted & so I kept telling myself I need to ‘do it for YOU’”.
The feverish, mood swings vocality and mixed emotionalism
of Jeff Buckley came to mind almost instantly. Say no more.
Band: JENNY DON’T AND THE SPURS (Portland, Oregon)
Outfit known for their high energy Country Western style and captivating stage
presence, they’ve garnered a global following with their infectious enthusiasm,
and extensive discography, featuring three albums, an EP, and nine singles.
From the band’s new forthcoming LP, titled Broken Hearted Blue,
out on June 14. Pre-order info here.
Photo by Jen Noel
Jenny: “I was listening to a lot of Lee Hazlewood while writing this song. I have always been captivated by his songwriting and how he weaves feelings of nostalgia, despair and hope into his songs. His blend of self-deprecation and romanticism strikes a chord, particularly the universal experience of loving someone who loves another. Despite this reality, we still find ourselves lost in daydreams about them. If these were transformed into a song, this is how I would envision it.”
Country Americana at its romantic and heavy-hearted best. Heart-and-soul vocals and easy-going, lovey-dovey vibes for the midnight hours. Wurlitzer jukeboxes were invited
to play this kind of lullabies in bars where the lonely gather for some companion.
Boston‘s hefty garage blues-rock act released their new EP The Red Angel.
Six barbed wire bursts is what you get. To give you a loud and clear idea
here’s the closing crusher Wave Out Sunkiss.
S o f t e r is a psychedelic shoegaze stunner, a multi-layered symphony propelled
by about a thousand guitars, a mind-boggling bass riff, and combative drums, while Rebecca Dow‘s ghostly vocals scrape the sky. What a titanic thrill.
This disco-punk sucker-punch is just perfect to start and end all (il)legal
club nights with. High Value Man is a jiving bass-insane jackhammer that
doubles your adrenaline production on the spot and triggers your hottest
body contortions.
The orgastic ‘dance with me’ chorus revs up the sultry temperature and invites you to go mental, like a kangaroo on E. London‘s boiling dancefloor wackadoos Warmduscher should take these Welshmen/woman on the road with them. Frisky fun guaranteed. Machos not allowed.
Seattle‘s rock giants led by towering voice Eddie Vedder are back in business.
They canned their 12th longplayer, called it Dark Matter and they will share
it with the world on April 19.
Single Running sounds like if Vedder & Co
found their young razor-blade rock legs again.
This dazzling electronic duo conjure their influences of EBM, techno and electropop,
their sound is an intoxicating mix of analog synthetics and seductive vocals, touching
on themes of desire and despair, domination and submission.
They have a new 3-track, titled Inservio out, with opener Lights Down Low
as my favorite. An electro booster with a tantalizing techno beat à la The Prodigy
that rotates irresistibly, non-stop.
Spring is in the air, titillating tunes are in the air, like this frisky one
that circles around a disco beat in overdrive, and has an instantaneous,
activating impact on your eager limbs.
Lively vocals and a jumpy synth chorus augment the briskness at play here.
Get up, stand up, take your blue suede shoes out of the closet and show us
your best hip moves. Shake your dancefloor fright off with this rad
head-over-heels twister.
Expect a synth-adrenalizing thrill, a head-spinning belter,
infused with whirlwind vocals and UK garage dynamics. Imagine The Streets on acid or Yard Act pressing the accelerator.
11. ‘Diana’ by AUTOGRAMM (Seattle/Chicago/Vancouver)
Photo by Dave Paterson
Diana comes out of the gates like a speed train and never looks back.
Dynamizing synths start the rapid trip, the powerhouse drum/bass
engine pushes the rotating rhythm with vivid vigour, and zippy vocals
complete the accelerating sonic picture.
No, I don’t speak/understand Spanish, but hey, there are a lot of English/American hardcore/punk bands that scream and shout in such a cacophonous way, that I have no clue whatsoever what they’re on about. Who of you understand, except the people from Iceland, what world-famous orchestral pop outfit Sigur Rós, are singing about? It’s always about the music first.
Oceans Sangrientos is a titanic psychedelic blast. Be ready for a wall-of-fuzzing-and-buzzing guitar attack. Think The Brian Jonestown Massacre turning up their amps to the max and coming up with layers of mind-blowing electricity. Blimey.
These Boston rockers let the good times roll. Op-Operator is a dynamite
power pop tune that gets you out of your bed, after a night on the town
and triggers your limbs to start partying all over again.
This is how British blues rock titans Royal Blood would sound if their producer
is a fanatic post-punk fan. Trying is a riff-rough roller coaster going forth and back.
The crude combination of hammering drums, stoner rock electricity, and yearning vocals create a shocking effect that bangs on and on. Yokophono not only try, they succeed with bold brio.
Nick Cave and his iconic bad seeds band have bagged album #18.
It’s called Wild Godand will hit the streets on August 30.
The title track is a sublime composition. The first part is crooner Cave as we know
him, but quickly the vocal passion and goosebumps intensity goes up and from halfway on, the song turns into an orchestral masterpiece, with a zealous hallelujah choir and an opera-like majesty. Best piece they wrote in years.
Blansjaar is an up-and-coming 21-year-old singer-songwriter
born in Amsterdam, raised in Oxford, now based in Brooklyn.
Anna Madonna echoes Ezra Koenig and Vampire Weekend. It’s a frolicsome tune that flutterers around in your head like a happy-go-lucky butterfly. A sweet little pop gem.
Worldcub are a group from North Wales piloted by brothers Cynyr (guitar & vocals) and Dion Hamer (drums & vocals). They produce material from their home studio on the hills of Eryri, splicing together elements of surf guitar music, kraut-rock grooves and hypnotic psych tinged Cymru vocal harmonies.
They have their new album ‘Back to the Beginning’ out 17th of May.
The title track gets under your skin from the kick-off with its
bass-pulsating groove, its breezy guitar sparks, and its layered,
affecting harmonies.
The 76-year-old singer-songwriter/producer has recorded his 15th solo
full-length, his first in 18 (!) years. The Other Side comes out on April 19.
First single ‘Waiting For You’ is a vintage romantic, longing, bittersweet, sentimental and good old ballad. I’m a sucker for lullabies like this (certainly after a day with lots of noisy music) that calm me down and touch my heart and soul. Burnett‘s warm voice and crystal guitar play turn this song into a wonderful, timeless, and charming musing. A universal love song.
Rock giants PEARL JAM led by towering voice Eddie Vedder have recorded
their 12th LP, called Dark Matter and will share it with their global army of
fans on April 19.
A perfect occasion for MOJO to score an exclusive in-depth interview with
the great survivors of Seattle’s ’90s rock explosion. About triumph and tragedy,
madness and mega-stardom, and a new album.
Also articles on Jimi Hendrix (the secret archive), Bowie and Ronson, their stellar
alliance, the incredible life of the MC5’s Wayne Kramer, Brian Wilson, a chat with Roxy Music’s Phil Manzanera and many more features.
This month’s free CD features 10 rare live tracks from
the Pearl Jam archives, including Drifting, Sad, Ghost,
Parting Ways and six more.
You can purchase a copy of this new issue #366
and let it be sent to your home. Info HERE.
Seattle‘s rock giants PEARL JAM led by towering voice Eddie Vedder
are back in town since the release of theirGigaton album 4 years ago.
They canned their 12th longplayer, called it DARK MATTER
and they will share it with the world on April 19.
Last year the band retreated to the Shangri-La Studios in Malibu where they simply plugged
in and played under the watch of producer Andrew Watt. Writing and recording in a burst of inspiration, Dark Matter was born in just three weeks. As a result, it channels the shared spirit of a group of lifelong creative confidants and brothers in one room playing as if their very lives depended on it.
Following the boisterous title track PJ present another badass barnstormer, named RUNNING. Sounds like Vedder & Co found their young razor blade rock legs again.
Rock titans PEARL JAM are back.
It’s already been 4 years since
they released their 11th LP Gigaton.
They’re back in business now. Album #12 is named DARK MATTER and planned to come out on April 19.
In 2023, the band retreated to Shangri-La Studios in Malibu where they simply plugged
in and played under the watch of producer Andrew Watt. Writing and recording in a burst of inspiration, Dark Matter was born in just three weeks. As a result, Dark Matter channels the shared spirit of a group of lifelong creative confidants and brothers in one room playing as if their very lives depended on it.
The title track is the first taster. A Herculean PJ rocker it is.
Mighty corker, with Vedder‘s vox stealing the show again.
Band: PEARL JAM (Seattle) Active: 1990-present / 11 studio albums
Anniversary album: TEN Released: 27 August 1991 – 30 years ago today
Rolling Stone:“Pearl Jam hurtles into the mystic at warp speed.
They wring a lot of drama out of a few declarative power chords
swimming in echo.”
Turn Up The Volume: The little bombastic brothers of Nirvana had
to fight to be recognized with their big brothers around. Their debut was
not their best LP, in my grunge book, but (already) showed Eddie Vedder‘s
huge talent as a frontman and songwriter and the single ‘Alive’ still is a
mammoth of a striking song.
