Turn Up The Volume’s 20 KNOCKOUT TRACKS Of The Month – MARCH 2022
A stream of rattling rippers, jagged jams, and romantic reveries
All 20 together on Spotify…
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Knockout by Knockout…
1. ‘Twitchen’ In The Kitchen’ by WARMDUSCHER (UK)
Disco-freak stomper of the month, hands down. This new punky-funky corker follows
the previous 2 shared crackers Wild Flowers and Fatso. They will all be on their upcoming album At the Hot Spot, out tomorrow, 1 April (no joke).
It’s a bangin’ beast with a screamin’ chorus. A perfect pick-me-up tune for all the weirdos
who are always in the kitchen at parties waiting for Warmduscher to kick their lazy asses.
Shake your booty…
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2. ‘I Am Not Maternal’ by OTOBOKE BEAVER (Japan)
Compared to this Japanese red-hot-bloody fury the Ramones sound like choirboys.
Otobeke Beaver‘s race and rush in an overwhelming overdrive. No brakes, no breaks.
Their rabidity rolls like a tsunami through your ears. These perky punkettes produce
moshpit madness on the spot. The average song length is 2 minutes, 120 seconds
of clamorous pandemonium.
New album SUPER CHAMPON out on 6 May 2022
These frenetic champ(i)ons rule…
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3. ‘Territorial Call Of The Female’ by BODEGA (Brooklyn, NY)
The New Yorkers still operate on Parquet Courts’ playground with their new,
2nd full-length Broken Equipment. But they supersized their jangly beats
and they turned up the temperature.
Territorial Call Of The Female is my favorite cut. It activates
every muscle and every nerve in my itching body.
What about you?…
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4. ‘Post Punk’ by THE CRYSTAL METHOD feat. IGGY POP
Scott Kirkland (the remaining member of Las Vegas dance act The Crystal Method)
invited icon Iggy Pop (you can hear him almost any day on a new collaboration, the
past few years) and his British buddy, composer/DJ Hyper in his studio.
The raving result is a techno boom boost, bursting all the way, with Pop‘s voice
strangled by a blender. Sounds spooky, sounds wicked, sounds like lust for life.
Breaking news: Iggy says he’s not a punk anymore!
“I don’t want to be a punk
I don’t want to belong to any of it
I just want to be”
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5. ‘Hi-De-Ho’ by JACK WHITE feat. Q-TIP (UK)
Busy blues-rock bee Jack White canned two new longplayers for this year, titled
Fear Of The Dawn (out 8 April 2022) and Entering Heaven Alive (out 22 July 2022)
The hottest cut I heard so far is Hi-De-Ho (from ‘Fear Of The Dawn’ LP) featuring Q.Tip.
A smoking rock-rap ripper.
Yessssss…
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6. ‘I’ll Make You See God’ by THE AFGHAN WHIGS (USA)
The by now legendary passion rockers from Cincinnati, Ohio with mastermind
Greg Dulli in control are back from being away for 5 years. Their last album
In Spades came out in 2017.
I’ll Make You See God a striking steamroller, a red-hot-heated stunner, an unstoppable
cannonball going everywhere fast. It will feature in the upcoming PlayStation game
Gran Turismo 7.
See/hear God here…
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7. ‘Nothing Comes Good Easy’ by DEAD LEVEE (Canada)
Wowzer! This sickly uplifting belter (from upcoming EP Rise-Up) elevates your state of mind with fired-up dynamism from the get-go. Rapid-fire rawk and roll riffs switch on a fervent feel of euphoria. It did it in the past, it does it in the present and it will do it in
the future.
Despite all the BS we have to endure (pandemic, Ukraine, natural disasters,
and other threats) it’s never too late to get back on track and why not start
with 4 and a half minutes of heart-warming guitar-fueled boogie-woogie
that breathes hope and assurance.
1-2-3….
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8. ‘Digging’ by NOTHINGHEADS (UK)
Once I learned that this startling uppercut is about the horrible
exploitation of human beings by ferocious money sharks this
jagged jackhammer blew my mind even harder than I heard it
the first time before knowing about the band’s inspiration
for this standout.
Expect rabid guitars, doom and gloom vocals, and frantic twists and turns
until the chaotic finale. Post-punk at its razorblade best. Think fierce Canadian
turbine Metz and London‘s up-and-coming gunslingers Crows.
Dynamite!
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9. ‘Breaking Grounds‘ by SALEM WOLVES (Salem, MA)
This fiery crackerjack goes forth and back with
turbulent velocity. Imagine the full of vim and vigor
intenseness and puissant vocality of The Afghan Whigs.
Anxious, unyielding, and ablaze.
Breaking Grounds races like a rush of blood to the head with
screaming guitars and propelling drum muscularity.
Turn it up, guys…
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10. ‘The Girls Of LA’ by WEIMAR (Manchester, UK)
The first taster from the upcoming debut full-length Dancing On A Volcano.
Imagine the fervid fuzz of punchy guitar pop legends Buzzcocks, with
The Stranglers’ Jean-Jacques Burnel on bass, combined with the cutting
verbality of today’s post-Brexit-punk rebirth and you know a frisky doozy
is coming your way.
Add some American-dream girls of the City of Angles on your imaginary
mind-screen and you’re about to start a champagne party in your head.
Drool here…
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11. ‘The Slump’ by SKINNER (Dublin, Ireland)
The combination of a nasty Gang Of Four bass riff,
frenzied Keith Levene guitars here and there and Skinner
hip-hop-rapping like Beck used to do, works like an ecstatic
upper.
This funk-punk stonker has an immediate intensifying impact on all of your
limbs and your bloodstream’s flow. Add some sexy sax thrills to the mix and
you’ll have all you need to jump out of your slump. Capice?
Make your move here…
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12. ‘Sight Unseen’ by EX-HYENA (Boston, US)
Cut from their sophomore album
‘Moon Reflections’, out on June 24
A rotating synth riff echoes British electro legends New Order and
is the beating heart of this new piece, yet the mood is meditative
and musing, strengthened by the near-whispering and eager vocals.
This darksome and soul-searching reverie gets under your skin after
a couple of spins.
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13. ‘The Hurt Within’ by HOLY COVES (Wales)
This impassioned hard-luck story grows slowly but surely into a soul-stirring and mesmerising heartbreaker with an epic finale. Glowing guitars, a steady drumbeat,
and mixed emotions vocals all come together for a poignant performance.
‘Love Is Cruel / The Hurt Within’. You can feel it.
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14. ‘White Skin’ by THE BANKROBBER (Italy)
You’ll hear titillating electro-echoes of early Depeche Mode before
they became the darkwave Goth-esque rockers we all know. But
in an eye-blink White Skin becomes an infectious nightclub earworm
with an ecstatic chorus.
In a normal world (does that actually exists?) this adrenaline-infused
and hip-swinging spark should top the dance charts around the globe.
Another solid gold hit for the Italian siblings.
Press play and move your feet…
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15. ‘Nice Guy’ by BURN THE LOUVRE (Canada)
The musical project of singer/songwriter Jordan Speare
assisted by guitarist/bassist and friend Andrew Billone.
After a couple of EPs the pair’s canned their first longplayer
called Silhouettes. Release at the end of the year.
I don’t know if it’s the world-famous and historic museum in Paris
they want to burn, that wouldn’t be so nice. What I do know is that their
brisk and spirited sound is infectious and captivating with an immediate
impact on your body’s movements. Expect guitar pop electricity, extra
pushed by lively vocals.
Now that’s nice…
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16. ‘Life And Lies’ by LEE ROGERS (Northern Ireland)
The Americana voice of Northern Ireland releases
his new album Gameblood on 13 May.
Ahead of it came this mixed emotions single with
Rogers‘ sky-reaching voice as the star, once again.
It’s a bluesy goosebumps reflection. Wurlitzer jukeboxes should be reinvented
for these heartbreakers so moody minds can cry their eyes out (or cry in their beer)
at night in a downtown bar where lonely ones gather and chat about life and lies.
This one is for all barflies out there…
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17. ‘Set It Aside’ by SUPERCHUNK (US)
The veteran rockers from North Carolina released
their 11th LP Wild Loneliness
a couple of weeks ago.
One of the highlights is this sweet little ditty.
Start dreaming here…
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18. ‘Blood’ by AGATH CRIST (Canada)
A poppy synth trip with a floating flow and near-whispering vocals. Both eerie and affecting, both dizzy and hypnotic with a frenetic guitar attack coming out of nowhere around the 3-minute mark.
Top stroke…
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19. ‘Do It Over’ by THE DISTRICTS (Philly, US)
The Philly rockers are favorites of mine. Early this month they launched
their 5th LP Great American Painting with this little touching jewel on…
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20. ‘All The Good Times’ by ANGEL OLSEN (USA)
It’s an epic ballad with a country feel. If this melancholic gem was written
in the 60s it would have been sung by Linda Rondstadt, Tammy Waynette
or Dolly Parton, anyway, by an angelic voice like Olsen‘s magnific one.
Classic tearjerker…
See/hear you next month, music junkies