Artist: MAVIS STAPLES Who: Legendary soul/blues/rock voice who, along with family, had a long and
greatly accomplished career under the name ofThe Staple Singers (1948-1994).
She’s 86 now, singing and swinging like a 36-year-old.
Band: CHARM SCHOOL Who: The latest project from singer-songwriter Andrew Sellers
who, originally from Louisville, has paid his dues in both the
NYC and LA DIY music scenes.
Angus Rogers (frontman): “Rock and roll music for the empty and stunning.
A song about contempt, appetite, impotence and self-preservation through
gyration. Enjoy superficially with your body and send the reeling mind on
to hell.”
TUTV: Wham Bam! Yeah Yeah! Go Go! Oh my Oh My! Razzle Dazzle!
This is the kind of adrenaline-pumping thrills I wait impatiently for
every single day.
Get up, stand up, and fight
for your right to show off.
“‘Although it’s a big, joyous dance track, it’s about hiding deep emotional pain and trauma and how hedonistic coping mechanisms, like drugs, alcohol, and womanizing, are just temporary distractions.”
TUTV: This is what amazing pop-ular music is all about. Big melody, big emotions, big orchestration. Euphorically sticky as first-class glue despite its dramatic ‘real life‘ story. Aftermath soul-searching can work cathartically.
Who: Irish post-punk whirlwind, led by charismatic
voice/songwriter/guitarist Karla Chubb.
Track: BETTER
Along with Something’s Gonna Happen, my top fav track
on their brand new, second LP, called All That Is Over.
TUTV: Every time I play this pure punk-rock gem, I feel way better.
It’s striking swagger, superb groove, passionate duet vocals, and
high-strung guitar play mesmerize.
Who: The moniker of Massachusetts‘ chilling singer-songwriter Izzy Hagerup. She released her debut album Through The Window
in 2023.
Track: SYSTEM
First new piece and title track from her
2nd LP, coming our way on October 3rd.
Hagerup: “When I wrote ‘System’ I was supposed to be present and alive
and gracious and happy. But somehow I couldn’t escape my own internal
fears and depression that can follow me wherever I go.”
TUTV: What a brilliant torch song. Weeping guitars come and go while Hagerup‘s heart-stopping vocals cause goosebumps. And what a fuming
finale.
TUTV: Its ominous mid-tempo dynamics, its distorted vocals, and its riff-psychotic razzmatazz resonate as if you are listening to the scary theme song of a horror movie.
At the 2.30 minute mark, all hell breaks loose.
From a whisper to a scream. From planet Earth
to Dante‘s Inferno.
Track: FOUR
One of the highlights from their
brill 2nd LP Never Exhale
TUTV: Ditz operate in a very dark place. Sonically, as well as lyrically.
In the middle Cal Francis barks at the moon, while dense drones
infiltrate your shocked ears. Inhale, exhale.
TUTV: This 4-piece grab you by the throat from the kick-off and never lose their firm grip, while vociferous vocalist Marie De Graeve‘s has a crushing impact on your petrified stereo. Liar is a titanic motherrocker that pulverizes the Richter scale in just 250 seconds. Queens Of The Stone Age, Deftones and Black Sabbath come to mind.
TUTV: OMG! What a riot-gun banger. These Irishmen create suffocating havoc with
a maddening mix of nasty racket that brings illegal-decibels-producing bands such as
NIN and Metz to my cooking mind.
TUTV: Ecstasy. Elation. Euphoria. Exhilaration. This electro smack makes
you bounce and jump on your pogo-stick. They punch you in the teeth
without asking, while having fervent fun.
Who: Belgian noise rock trio whose sound draws influences from bands such
as Black Midi, Tool, Battles, and Swans, blending dissonance with a strong sense
of identity.
Track: NANDOR
Piece from their ace
3rd album Trois.
TUTV: What the fuck! From the very kick-off, chainsaw guitars do your
brain in. Electric chair electricity throughout. No way to escape. Neurotic
vocals complete this blitzkrieg assault.
Band: DOWN THE LEES Who: The post-rock noise project of seasoned Canadian
singer/songwriter/guitarist Laura Lee Schultz. DTL released
3 notable albums, so far.
Track: MIDI DORIC
First single. A song that deals with the
isolation and depression of the pandemic.
TUTV: A characteristic DTL thunderstorm, cranked up by blustery bass lines,
monstrous guitar riffs, Herculean drumming, Schultz‘s sky-scraping vocals and
a volcanic finale. One of the best noizz rock bands around.
TUTV: It’s a sublime, crystalline pop nugget, with its hypnotizing guitar riff,
the non-stop drum beat and the intertwined, spellbinding vocals of Win Butler
and his spouse, Régine Chassagne.
Band: KASABIAN Who: British star rockers from Leicester. One of the best bands
of the past 25 years on record and on stage, in my book.
Track:HIPPIE SUNSHINE.
Lead single from their forthcoming
9th LP. Details TBA.
TUTV: Expect a mega vitalizing, disco-charged haymaker.
Since co-founder/songwriter/frontman Serge Pizzorno pulls
all the band’s strings, he provides dynamite tunes you can
throw 24-hour parties with.
Who: One of the most adventurous/inventive/original post-punk & dub artists/performers
ever. He was a founding member of genre-bending new wave group The Pop Group and released lots of solo and collaborative records. Unfortunately, he passed away 2 years ago,
only 62.
Track: MEMORY OF YOU
Single from Stewart‘s solo album The Fateful Symmetry,
which was completed early 2023, not long before his passing.
TUTV: Haunting, synth-symphonic and bang-tastic,
with Mark‘s characteristically energetic voice on top.
First single from their forthcoming 4th full-length, their
first in 4 years, slated for release in September 2026.
TUTV: Holy Coves are back, and they don’t waste time. It’s full steam ahead from
the get-go. Eager guitars and sinewy drumming inject this sweltering steamroller with
a flaming briskness that causes a kinetic reverberation, while Marsden emotive vocals accentuate the song’s sad sentiments.
Who: 2-piece from Birmingham (UK) – Euan Woodman (drums/vocals) and Tom Rhodes (bass/vocals) – born in late 2023 over a shared love of noise, literature and late night shebeens. They write music about love and hate. They’re good for your soul.
TUTV: Warning. This insanely groovy punk blast will bulldoze all over your shocked speakers. Expect a superheated funky firestorm that attacks the Richter scale with a shattering impact. A manically jagged jackhammer it is. Trust me, you’ll think you like them, VERY MUCH, while you bang your head into your fridge’s door.
Who: A collective with members scattered across the UK and the Netherlands.
This group, now comprising seven members, has its roots in a trio that expanded
over the past four years.
New track: WET LEATHER
Piece from their sophomore
LP Total Technik.
TUTV: Kraut-rock and roll with an intoxicating force. A wall-of-guitar-pyrotechnics rollercoaster. An overpowering tempest of rambunctious riffs. Voltaic psychedelia
at its spine-chilling best, bombarding your ears the way you like it.
Who: The musical project of singer-songwriter-poet Jamie Cameron. Hailing from
the Scottish Borders, the music blends lo-fi beats, synths and guitars with spoken word lyrics in which he discusses subjects ranging from politics and premonitions to self help culture, and a modern society obsessed with economic thinking.
TUTV: This rattling rap ‘n’ punk roll crackerjack swings forth and back, left
and right and Jamie Cameron’s full of vim and vigour word-flow activates all
of your insatiable limbs before he relaxes towards the synthy end. Kinetic throb.
Hands up for the coach.
TUTV: A nasty bass riff motorizes this rollicking psych jam that seems to go on
like forever, and when the powerhouse chorus kicks in, your ears are instantly
overwhelmed. Life Is Joy is one of those riff-crazy haymakers that stick after just
Who: Mysterious trio with an inimitable take on
humanity’s downward spiral into a dysfunctional
entropic existence. They unleashed their punk-groovy
debut EP Like You last year.
TUTV: This arresting, melancholic song is heart-rending. Its bluesy guitar
radiance, its bass-beat-heavy cadence, and despondent vocals get under
your skin. Its melodic catchiness has irresistible written all over it.
TUTV: A razzle-dazzle steamroller that gets under your skin faster
than you can say “this is bloody superb”. Its insane, mind-bending
course doubles your serotonin production on the spot.
Who: Must hear/see indies from Brighton (where everybody is in a band).
They cruise from folk to punk, using, besides traditional instruments (guitar,
bass and drums) also cello, flute, violin and other classical gear.
TUTV: These young wolves bulldoze their way through the daily
bullshit we have to endure with a knife between their teeth. Sippy Cup
is a bruising, full of vim and vigor, uppercut hitting where it hurts.
Very surprising and very sad news. They were
a wholehearted, perfervid and committed
rock-pop force getting better and better
with every album.
They’ll say goodbye soon with an EP,
named Machine Starts To Sing.
Margolin: “Porridge Radio are breaking up. The one-time Band To Watch announced the bummer news today while sharing “Don’t Want To Dance,” the lead single from one final EP. That project, titled Machine Starts To Sing, will be out in about a month, and Porridge Radio
will play out their final run of tour dates early this year.”
This is the last new music from Porridge Radio and marks the end of the band. The songs on this EP are an important part of Clouds In The Sky They Will Always Be There For Me, and mean a lot to us. We are excited for you to hear them. This band has been our life, we’re family now. These tours will be our last. Thanks so much for listening.”
Along with the bad news comes the first track from that planned EP.
In the light of the split-up DON’T WANNA DANCE is a most gripping,
goosebumps pearl. An emotive power ballad. A heartbreaking tearjerker.
Clouds In The Sky They Will Always Be There For Me
.
I’m gonna miss you, very much, on record and on stage!
Very surprising and very sad news. They were
a wholehearted, perfervid and committed
rock-pop force getting better and better
with every album.
They’ll say goodbye soon with an EP,
named Machine Starts To Sing.
Margolin: “Porridge Radio are breaking up. The one-time Band To Watch announced the bummer news today while sharing “Don’t Want To Dance,” the lead single from one final EP. That project, titled Machine Starts To Sing, will be out in about a month, and Porridge Radio
will play out their final run of tour dates early this year.”
This is the last new music from Porridge Radio and marks the end of the band. The songs on this EP are an important part of Clouds In The Sky They Will Always Be There For Me, and mean a lot to us. We are excited for you to hear them. This band has been our life, we’re family now. These tours will be our last. Thanks so much for listening.”
Along with the bad news comes the first track from that planned EP.
In the light of the split-up DON’T WANNA DANCE is a most gripping,
goosebumps pearl. A sorrowful power ballad. A heartbreaking tearjerker.
Clouds In The Sky They Will Always Be There For Me
. I’m gonna miss you, very much, on record and on stage!
Band:THE SMILE Who: Sort of supergroup featuring 2 radioheads, Thom
Yorke and Jonny Greenwood and drummer Tom Skinner.
Album: CUTOUTS.
Their 3rd LP in just 2 years (Radiohead 8 in 31 years).
NME says: “The Smile return for more jazz-influenced,
experimental rock and they seem to be having more fun
than ever.”
TUTV: By far their best to my ears. On the previous 2 ones they tried too hard
to not sound like Radiohead (which they did frequently anyway) and did it with
too many redundant orchestrations, too many unnecessary layers and a bit of
arty farty structures here and there.
Mind you they are good LPs but on this one they keep it far more simple resulting
in 10 very arresting pieces of mesmerizing music. Trippy fast ones alternate with slow
musing ones and throughout the arrangements are subtle, direct and most entertaining with Thom Yorke sounding, yes, at ease, not forcing his compassionate voice/vocals. It all feels tremendously natural and blithely .
Margolin: “A lot of this album is about a more frenetic and desperate kind of love.
It is about completely losing my sense of self in a relationship, and the deep residue
of insecurity and pain that lingered and clouded a new relationship. There was a lot
of love and confusion, all interspersed with exhaustion and pain. All the songs started
out as poems. I wanted to challenge myself. ”
Uncut Magazine: “Sitting somewhere between alt.rock, indie-pop and a singer-songwriter album, it’s a neat balancing act that feels personal and intimate yet also sonically ambitious.”
TUTV: Spearhead Dana Margolin (guitar/vocals/songwriter) opens her heart and soul
again on this new longplayer. Following a toxic relationship, she recovered, rediscovered her own self, and looks to the future with confidence. As in the previous 3 albums she’s
as expressive and emotive about her turbulent personal life, even more explicit.
Sonically we get the by now familiar song structure. Slow start, building up the fervency, and finishing with haunting outbursts. But this time all pieces/tracks fall more into place than before. The songs have more body, are more elaborated and display Margolin‘s growing composing skills. Yes, it’s PR’s best effort yet.
An 8-track offering that traces the transformation of Long Island City, the part of Queens that Geni calls home. Situated across the East River from Manhattan with its stunning skyline views and now booming with skyscrapers, this place is haunted by its industrial past and friends who have moved on. These recordings explore themes of change, impermanence and loss amidst the city’s constant evolution.
Photo by Alice Teeple
TUTV: I really like the idea of Cities Built Upon Cities. An universal sign’ of the modern
times. Just google old photos of your own town and compare them with today’s views. Geni seems to have it done in detail with his beloved Long Island City and wrote eight
heavy-hearted songs about it.
Romantic reveries with real/surreal images of the past, present and future of LIC. Bittersweet, richly orchestrated, symphonies with his monumental voice – think of Perfume Genius, Talk Talk’s Mark Hollis and James Bay‘s bewitching vocality – taking them to sky-high heights, up there in the clouds, while floating over the city. This is the kind of record you listen best to with headphones on, dimmed lights and far away from our daily rat race. It’ll evoke mixed emotions about the place you love the most. Well, that’s what I experienced while listening.
Band: AMYL AND THE SNIFFERS Who: The punk rock whirlwind from down
under fronted by the utterly cool Amyl Tylor.
Kerrang! writes: “Added together, it makes for an instantly irresistible album
that – just like its opening line – is frank, fearless, funny and fucking fantastic.”
Turn Up The Volume: Old skool punk ‘n’ roll? Absolutely. Any good? You betcha! Amyl and her loud buddies made another roasting riff-manic-monster of a hell fucking
hell yeah record. Pogo madness is back. Sturm un drang from start to finish. HOLY MOLY!
TUYV: Never change a winning sound. As on their previous album DA keep on
drawing your aural attention with slow/mid-tempo/fast trip-hop tunes. But this time embedded in layers of distortion and feedback, creating an eerie and at times sinister ambiance.
Massive Attack, Tricky, Arab Strap and Mike Skinner’s The Streets
and Laurie Anderson‘s latest opus Amelia.
DA resonates as EBM for people who come alive when the darkness sets in, far away
from the suffocating day life and the world’s destructive nature as we experience now, again.
Kate Arnold‘s spoken word stories evolve on waves of chilling synth soundscapes that actually relax one’s confused mind (mine, for sure) and transfer you to your space of fantasies. Trance massage it is. You’ll feel alive anyway.
Band: STRAND Who: Power pop quartet from Dublin, Ireland which
changed their group’s name from Soundstrand to just Strand.
Track: PROGRESS
Their first single as Strand, part from their
upcoming 5-track EP that’ll land early next
year.
“Progress is a song about changing places, people and times.”
TUTV: Epic. Grandiose. Staggering. Amplified guitar-pop at its mind-blowing best.
Get the exciting picture? Progress has a promptly goosebumps impact. It’s one of
those not-everyday puissant standout tunes that overwhelms your emotions from
the first listen.
TUTV: I have no clue what this vociferous punk headbutt has to do with
the late legendary jazz saxophonist John Coltrane, but this deafening
wall-of-hells-bells havoc we experience here isn’t exactly a bebop tune.
Imagine two trains coming from opposite directions at an insane
speed crashing into each other. That’s what happens here. Beware.
Band: DITZ Who: Post-punk dropouts
from Brighton, UK.
The turbulent bohemians have their sophomore LP, named Never Exhale. It’ll show up on 25 January 2025. Pre-order
info here.
Track: SPACE/SMILE
TUTV: Space/Smile is a slash/trash stormer, pushed by fulminating percussion,
schizo guitars and fronman Francis‘ spitting and sneering, fueled by his three
lungs, without breathing, for 108 seconds. DITZ is a mean raging machine.
They mess up your head, whether you like it or not.
Band: HEARTWORMS Who: Psych-pop act led by fast up-and-coming British songstress Jojo Orme.
They drew a lot of aural attention with last year’s EP A Comforting Notion.
The band have now announced details of their debut LP. It’s baptized Glutton For Punishment and will land on 25th February 2025.
Warplane is a head-over-heels missile that speeds up sky-high from the get-go, propelled by a disco-vibe infused synth/guitar/bass collaboration and Orme‘s feverish vocals rollin’ all over it. Every time the choir-like chorus comes up your adrenalin’s production doubles . Supersonic stunner.
Press info: A light-hearted, humorous, autobiographical documentation of a semi-dramatic nervous breakdown that happend when “one morning all plans went pear-shaped and patience went down the drain”. No longer feeling the need to pretend that everything is shiny and running smoothly, Koan lets rip on this catchy tongue-in-cheek art-pop tune. Influenced by her favourite artist Baxter Dury (yes, the son of).
TUTV: Koan‘s most explicit, unbridled and personal reflection/introspection
so far, bundled in a sensual bass-juiced melody with a nightclub vibe. Explicit?
Well, life itself is explicit, right? Let us dump our shit, ignore what people think,
and feel loose.
Band: GIRL TONES Who: High-energy rock duo brought to life by two sisters, Kenzie and Laila. Both classically trained musicians, Kenzie transitioned from cello to guitar and Laila from piano to drums in an effort to electrify sentient beings from this galaxy to the next.
TUTV: Who needs a Hole reunion if we have these two rock chicks who challenge your
stereo’s potency with inflammable swagger and ablaze gusto. Aggressive guitars, battering
drums, fiery vocals, and a hell-bloody-helly-yeah chorus.
Ciarán Fitz (vocalist/guitarist): “This is definitely one of the most outright punkers we have, probably. ‘Scrunched Up Fist’ was literally written in the jam room in 10 minutes. Matthew and James were just playing this thing as I was coming back from a smoke, and I knew I had lyrics
in my phone that would work with it. Added some guitar but not much, and it was donezo”
TUTV: Wham bloody wham bam. Expect a sharp-splitting punk rock juggernaut. Amps up and full steam ahead. No rest for the wicked with this razor-blade cutting, head over heels bombshell spiced with sneering vocals. Wham bloody wah-wah guitars bam. Scrunched Up Fist hits your face really hard. Hurry-scurry stroke.
Band: DHARMA GUNS Who: 4 indie rockers
from Helsinki, Finland.
Track: M.I.D.L.I.F.E. CRISIS
Third shared cut from their upcoming debut LP Ex-Generation Superstars, out November 1st.
Pete (singer): “Some guys buy fast cars and fell for younger women; others purchase expensive guitars and hang them on the wall. And some of us wish to leave a mark in history and/or do the right thing. The verse riff is a bit ‘stonesian’ whereas the chorus of the song is a classical punk rock sing-a-long.”.
TUTV: Yes! Yes! Do you need a badass booster today to get you through the outside
rat race? Here it comes. Dharma Guns offer you a noisy piece of rock’n boogie ‘roll to test your stereo’s resilience with. Think The Black Crowes with a 70s Britpunk attitude. Get the picture? You’ll never get a midlife crisis with these Finnish wackadoos. Yes! Yes!
Track: LET IT LOOSE
Cut from their debut LP Days,
out on November 20.
TUTV: This guitar/drum beat-driven groove melt Southern rock and Motown soul, with its glowing horns and backing gospel vocals. Well, that’s what my ears tell me. Anyway, this catching cracker will active several of your limbs.
Kelly: “It’s about being at the top of your game and being a human under a lot of pressure. It’s about the superficiality of the people you meet, keeping up the facade of fame in the eyes of the world and trying to relate to others… I just had Hollywood in mind for some reason and what it must be like for people who are so famous and desirable they can’t walk down the street. Then what it’s like to be the person who used to be that famous and the shit you get for not being as ‘perfect’ or ‘beautiful’ as you used to be. Washed up, if you will.”
Infectious, mixed emotions piece
that moves and grooves with a
doom and gloom sonority.
Viens: “Most of us do not want to live in a world where LGBTQ+ people are not safe;
where people of color are not safe, or have the same opportunities as whites; where children are being gunned down daily; where books and education are devalued; and where women don’t have control over their own bodies. No candidate is perfect. We must vote while we still can, especially in this election, to ensure that future generations continue to have the sacred power of their freedom, their choices, and their voices.
TUTV: This song was written about 20 years ago by a Boston musician when George W. Bush was running for re-election against Massachusetts’ own John Kerry and it’s highly relevant again.
GWAH, rockers at heart, turned the encouraging tune, into a jaunty country folk pop
gem you can hum, sing and whistle along all day long. Here in Europe, we are also waiting with anticipation for the election results. Whoever wins the White House, it’ll have an impact on the rest of the world. Here in Europe want democracy to prevail, it takes care of humanity in all aspects. While waiting for November 5 , let’s rock the boat, and vote for GWAH today.
Track: A FRAGILE THING
Gloomy piece from their 14th album, their first in 16 years, titled Songs Of A Lost World, and lands on planet Earth tomorrow, Nov 1.
“This song is a fragile thing
This song is my everything
Nothing you can do to change the end
There’s nothing you can do to change the end”
Margolin: “A lot of this album is about a more frenetic and desperate kind of love.
It is about completely losing my sense of self in a relationship, and the deep residue
of insecurity and pain that lingered and clouded a new relationship. There was a lot
of love and confusion, all interspersed with exhaustion and pain. All the songs started
out as poems. I wanted to challenge myself. ”
Uncut Magazine: “Sitting somewhere between alt.rock, indie-pop and a singer-songwriter album, it’s a neat balancing act that feels personal and intimate yet also sonically ambitious.”
TUTV: Spearhead Dana Margolin (guitar/vocals/songwriter) opens her heart and soul
again on this new longplayer. Following a toxic relationship, she recovered, rediscovered her own self, and looks to the future with confidence. As in the previous 3 albums she’s
as expressive and emotive about her turbulent personal life, even more explicit.
Sonically we get the by now familiar song structure. Slow start, building up the fervency, and finishing with haunting outbursts. But this times all pieces/tracks fall more into place than before. The songs have more body, are more elaborated and display Margolin‘s growing composing skills. Yes, it’s PR’s best effort yet.
Margolin: “After a horrible relationship I felt like a piece of shit on someone’s shoe,
like I was so unimportant and completely drained of any power I once had. Lying to
myself in order to get that power back. You did this to me, but I’m the god of everything
else. Fuck you.
It’s also a song about femininity, wondering how to be a woman, watching someone else
do it so effortlessly, wondering if I could be like her would it be easier. Of course not.”
Margolin: “This is a song about not knowing, being trapped in a haunted fairytale or a horrible nightmare and running and running and predicting horrible futures that come true and self-fulfill. It’s a gentle lullaby but it’s also a folktale with a tragic ending. This is a song about knowing what you don’t know yet. Seeing the future by guessing, being right.”
