Band: PULP Track: BEGGING FOR CHANCE
One of the 23 tracks performed by big-name bands/artists on a new album,
named Help, with all benefits going to War Child. An organisation that shapes
systems that protect and support the well-being of children affected by conflict.
The record is out on March 6th. More info here.
TUTV: The common people of Pulp rock out for charity.
War Child UK: Website
——————————————————————————————————————————-
Band: SPECIAL FRIEND Who: French-American indie
guitar pop, based in Paris.
Track: CLIPPING
New appetizer from their upcoming 3rd album, named Clipping. It’ll arrive on March 20th. More info here.
TUTV: Lazy groovin’, lazy movin’. Echoes of slacker rock.
Track: AMERICAN OBITUARY
Opening piece from their brand new anti-political
violence EP, titled DAYS OF ASH, featuring 6 songs.
TUTV: I wondered when Bono would jump on the fence and critise, rightfully so, all BS going on right now in the US. Here he is with his mates translating their dissatisfaction with Trump’s Ubermensch politics into a raucous rocker.
Artist: THUNDERCAT Who: Singer-songwriter, record producer, and bass player
from Los Angeles, California, doing his thing since 2000
Track: SHE KNOWS TOO MUCH
Single from his forthcoming 5th LP, first in six years, called Distracted.
Out April 3rd. It features vocals by the late rapper Mac Miller (1992-2008),
a good friend and multiple collaborator of his.
PULP and their close associates – that’s the four musicians you know plus longstanding friends, relations, associates and touring members – have worked with us to present an unrivalled and strongly-flavoured picture of the nearly 50 years of their life in music.
Their influences. Their first tentative steps on the stage. Their favourite records and their memories of making their own, this is a place in which Pulp have, with our help, looked into themselves and located some surprising treasures. A unique and at times hilariously self-critical group, Pulp have been to the top and come back down, only to go out and reclaim their glory in front of a new generation of fans.
It’s an incredible story. In the following pages, you’ll read about key events in the group’s astonishing 2025 – and hear about the roots of their comeback. Peering deeper into their history with a characteristic candour and insight, Jarvis Cocker and the group ponder the path that has led them back here. Pulp’s members are a thoughtful and entertaining bunch of people, so you are certain to enjoy their recollections.
You can buy a copy and let it be sent to your home. Info HERE.
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.
Many music blogs/websites, big and small, have posted their
end-of-the-year lists (best song/album/concert/video etc).
British music monthly magazine UNCUT picked comeback LP MORE by English pop vets PULP as their Best Album Of 2025.
“It should be no surprise that they’ve taken their own sweet time in delivering their
masterpiece. Over almost half a century they’ve been an object lesson in a band slowly discovering their strengths, honing their craft, biding their time. They’ve matured, not
like a fine wine, but maybe like a magnificently ripe Wensleydale.”
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.
Famous British guitar-synth pop combo PULP scored
one of their biggest hits with swirling single DISCO 2000.
The song was based on frontman Jarvis Cocker‘s childhood
memories of his friend Deborah Bone, whom he had fancied
in his youth but could never impress.
It went to #7 in the UK and earned top-10 spots in several
other countries. Almost 150 million streams on Spotify.
“Oh, we were born within an hour of each other
Our mothers said we could be sister and brother
Your name is Deborah, Deborah
It never suited ya
And they said that when we grew up
We’d get married and never split up
Oh, we never did it
Although I often thought of it”
British pop titans PULP returned this year with their 8th LP
baptized More, their 1st in 24 years (lazy common people).
Now they have shared an almost full spoken-word version – frontman Jarvis Cocker sounds somehow scary – ofJohnny Cash‘s 2002 title track THE MAN’S COMES AROUND, from his American IV: The Man Comes
Around album.
It was especially recorded for British TV drama series The Hack,
which documents the 2011 phone hacking scandal that led to
the closing of the gutter newspaper The News of the World.
Sheffield‘s pop heroes PULP, fronted by voice/face/songwriter Jarvis Cocker,
who made a comeback this year with More, their first album in 24 years, scored
their biggest LP hit 30 years ago today, on 30 October 1995, with their 5th one Different Class.
It came out at the height of Britpop.
It topped the UK Charts and won
the prestigious Mercury Prize.
Pitchfork wrote: “On 1995’s Different Class, Pulp and Jarvis Cocker
were arty outsiders worming their way into the lives of ordinary folk,
and they became pop in its most democratically widespread sense.”
TUTV: Perfect pulp pop for common people like you and me.
“‘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. They ultimately fuel a self-destructive cycle. There’s a deliberate contrast between the euphoria of the music and the melancholy of the lyrics, capturing the subject’s duality of light and darkness.”
TUTV: This is what great pop-ular music is all about. Big tune, big emotions, big orchestration. Euphorically cacthy despite its dramatic ‘real life‘ story. Aftermath
soul-searching can work cathartically, and here it sounds pretty boosting.
TUTV: These utterly cool Welsh punkettes drive you bonkers with
this bass-insane punk ‘n’ roll uppercut. Kick-ass band, kick-ass attitude,
kick-ass blast.
Band: PUNCHBAG Who: A new brother-sister party duo, from South London colliding the raw unfiltered energy of punk, with the overflowing ecstasy of pop. With fierce tempos and ferocious energy, their music is an explosively cathartic release of raw intensity and unapologetic fun.
TUTV: Ecstasy. Elation. Exhilaration. This flamboyant electro-slam makes
you bounce and jump like mad. Punchbag kick you in the teeth without
asking while having uppercut fun. And they’ve only just started.
“I wrote this one when I was feeling stuck and stagnant, but when I finally
brought it to the band they really breathed new life into it and made it feel
magic again!!”
TUTV: This sickly sticky steam-riff-roller drives me crazy. Head-twisting stonker.
Band: BOB VYLAN Who: Controversial hip-punk-hop
duo from London.
Track: DREAM BIGGER.
A re-worked, re-named jackhammer single from
their 3rd album, Humble As The Sun released
last April.
TUTV: It features roasting vocals by the fantastic Australian punk
daredevil Amyl Taylor from Amyl And The Sniffers. She’s the perfect
sharp-mouthed match for this fierce flametrohwer.
Band: KNEECAP Who: Belfast‘s sharp-mouthed, notorious rap team KNEECAP – Mo Chara,
Móglaí Bap, and DJ Próvaí – hip & hop around with a knife between their
teeth since 2017.
So far they released 2 albums.
Lately, they make headlines with their loud and clear, ongoing support for Palestine.
They got heavily critiqued for it when they played Coachella Festival in Indo, California
last April.
Then the UK’s right wing politicians jumped into it, and prosecuted Mo Chara after allegedly displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah last November (no verdict yet), and tried to get them banned from playing Glastonbury Festival next week. It gained them, rightly so, countless support from musical colleagues and fans.
To emphasize the whole political charade, the band just released a new single, named THE RECAP, going after Tory politician, business and trade minister Kemi Badenoch who started to hunt them back in 2023 when he withdrew an arts grant awarded to the band.
The trio brought a discrimination case against the U.K. government
and won, donating the proceeds to Belfast community groups. Yes!
Beth: “We’re living in a dark time, full of drama and barbarous tragedy.
It became clear to me that, in these times, we either learn how to scream
really well, or we learn how to whisper.”
TUTV: With this savage industrial shocker it’s crystal clear what Beth meant
when she talked about her amadant intention to make an agressive sound
on her new record. Obsession is a nine inch nails bombshell. Volcanic
2025 gloom and doom eruption.
TUTV: Post-punk aggression at its Mclusky‘s sharp-biting best,
gas-powered by a cast iron bass/drum tandem, schizo guitars
and Falkous‘s intimidating sneering.
Band: WHOLES Who: A fresh, rowdy hit team led by Belgian musical chameleon Wolf Vanwymeersch.
Track: MODERN DAY DRAMA
Single from their upcoming debut LP ‘A Mass In The Water, which lands
on 14 November.
Single artwork by Maxime Rouquart
TUTV: This hellraiser’s ominous mid-tempo dynamics, distorted vocals, and
riff-roasting razzmatazz resonate like if you are listening to the goosebumps
theme song of a horror movie.
Creepy tension in the air, melodrama about to happen. Yes, at the 2.30 minute
mark all hell breaks loose. Decibels up, amps up, temperature up. From a whisper
to a scream. From planet Earth to Dante‘s inferno.
Band: ARCADE FIRE Who: The famous pop-rock
collective from Canada.
Track:YEAR OF THE SNAKE
First single from their forthcoming 7th album, named Pink Elephant ready for release on May 9th. 2025 is
the ‘year of the snake‘ in the Chinese Zodiac.
TUTV: It’s a sublime, crystalline pop nugget, with its hypnotizing guitar riff,
the non-stop banging drum beat and the intertwined, spellbinding vocals of Win Butler and his spouse Régine Chassagne.
Band: THE IRRATIONAL LIBRARY Who:The Irrational Library is a Dutch-American rock band with its roots
firmly planted in both the regional and international counterculture. The Dutch-American band produces a raw, dirty groove influenced by punk,
provo and punk icons. Their poetry is packed with social criticism.
Track: TRUTH SERUM
First single from the quartet’s new, upcoming
5th LP ‘The Saying Of It All’. More details TBA.
Artwork by political cartoonistTRIK
TUTV: TIL is back in town. And they move and groove again with brio and gusto
motorized by a striking drum/bass tandem, while a 60s psychedelic flute flutters
like a butterfly throughout the song. Frontman Joshua Baumgarten draws your
aural attention (as usual) with his near-rapping phrasing of the clear-cut lyrics.
TUTV: An Artist Is An Artist is a sizzling sledgehammer
pushed by a mind-boggling speedy velocity, Skin‘s
hyperactive vocals, a paranoid sax and a flabbergasting chorus.
Artist:LAURA JANE GRACE Who: Chicago‘s notorious singer-songwriter who’s around since the 90s.
She makes a lot of noise with her punk group Against Me! (7 albums so far)
and solo (2 albums so far).
Grace: “Does God have a dick? Is that what those of the faith believe when they refer to their Lord as “he” & “him” & “father”? Well, imagine that! Oops, I think I may have imagined a little too hard and gone and written a song about it. He lord’s heavenly hammer must swing mighty! And away we go!”
TUTV: This is both a hilarious and punktastic choir chant reminiscent
of scream and shout Celtics Dropkick Murphys with a blustering storm
of surf riffs chainsawing your stereo into pieces.
Band: THE NEW EVES 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.
It’s a darkly-energised, female-first retelling of
writer/poet Alfred Noyes classic 1906 romantic
poem.
TUTV: These four musical mavericks don’t care about rock ‘n’ roll rules. They do what they want, the way they want to do it, annex unseen visual presence on stage and in video clips. On Highwayman they rattle and brattle full speed ahead motorized by restless drum/bass teamwork.
Here and there the tune, goes, eh, out of tune, and it sounds totally perfect for this emotional belter. No arty farty production for TNE. Winder-Lind‘s awesomely agitated vocals put a spell on you. My, oh my.
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.
Artist: MARK STEWART 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,
that was completed early 2023, not long before his passing.
TUTV: Haunting, synth-symphonic and boom-tastic,
with Mark‘s characteristically energetic voice on top.
Band: THE LIVING PINS Who: Indie outfit featuring, Carrie Clark and Pam Peltz, who found each other on
the edge of the delicately ramshackle playground of the 1990s Austin (Texas)
music scene. They released their 4-track debut EP Let It Be So in 2023.
TUTV: Gold is a bluesy, foot-tapping garage ripper that has an instant impact on your greedy ears with its solid swagger, its gloriously cracking guitars, with a feverish solo somewhere in the middle, and its cool duet vocals.
Artist: LIFE COACH 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: Life Coach are on fire, again. This new 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 kick. Hands up for the coach.
Tim Baker (founder and creative director): “The best of what we do in one song,
it’s a tune that really carries the soul of everything good we have stood for over the
last ten years”.
TUTV: Expect electrifying energy from the kick-off. Delirious guitars set
the haywire tone and hyperventilating vocals augment the buzzing fuzz.
A modern-day post-punk roller coaster.
Berlin-based artist KAT KOAN offers her first music of
the year with a new, jaunty little gem, called COCOON.
Koan: “It’s a little circus themed escape world. I wanted to create a bit of a dreamy
break from daily worries. It’s pretty crafty and full of cool instruments. It also features
my daughter for a brief moment. It’s my favourite song I’ve made so far.”
TUTV: Leave your own cocoon and move to Koan‘s one where she will treat
you with this lighthearted tune that swings in mid-tempo from left to right
and back.
It relaxes your mind, triggers you to set your busy plans on a hold, and invites
your body to have a waltz-y dance that transfers you to a utopian circus
place for a while, far away from our daily, suffocating rat race.
