Philly‘s garage indie rockers SHEER MAG fronted by spicy voice Tina Halladay have their 3th LP, baptized PLAYING FAVORITES
out now.
Press info:”Playing Favorites is Sheer Mag’s third full-length and first with Third Man Records, the band capitalize on a decade’s worth of devotion to their own collective spirit, a spirit refined in both the sweaty trenches of punk warehouses and the larger-than-life glamour of concert halls—emerging with a dense work of gripping emotions, massive hooks, and masterfully constructed power-pop anthems. This is the record the Philadelphian rock and roll four-piece has always been destined to make.”
Album artwork
UNCUT magazine: “At times Sheer Mag are miraculous pop hustlers, still pulling off the most absurd trick shots on the scuffed three yards of stained green baize. Which isn’t to say that they’re not above a little experiment.”
TUTV: SM rock (Playing Favorites / Eat It And Beat / Paper Time / I Gotta Go), groove (All Lined Up / Moonstruck / Golden Hour / Tea On The Kettle) and go smooth here and there. From breakneck garage agitation to 60s pop-inspired firecrackers and a couple of soft ones in between, with Tina Halladay‘s sinewy voice omnipresent. All together, a solid rock record, but a bit too much Sheer Mag by numbers.
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
1. ‘Eat It And Beat It’ by SHEER MAG (Philadelphia)
Philly‘s garage punks SHEER MAG launch their 4th album, titled Playing Favorites on March 1. And they keep on throwing new tracks
off it around. The 4th one is named EAT IT AND BEAT IT, a raw rocker
that rattles and rolls all the way. Hail hail.
Sheer Mag: “‘Eat And Beat It’ is an anthem for the next generation. The legacy acts that we grew up admiring and styling ourselves after aren’t going to be around forever, and nor should they be. It’s high time for a new cohort to take over and carry the torch for rock and roll in the 21st century.”
Oliver Hohlbrugger is a Norwegian singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and
producer who carves out his own high energy 60’s pronto-punk/psychedelic pop.
He obviously has a very hot spot for the jangly side of legends The Velvet Underground.
His velveteen VU tribute is part of his new, upcoming album ‘Nothing’s Changed Everything Is New’ to be released digitally and on vinyl on 19 April 2024 via REVIR / Moon Flower Music.
The track is an intoxicating psych jam that goes on like forever. High-energetic electricity.
‘Mindcave’ was heavily inspired by FrodoBagg ins’ harrowing escape through the labyrinthine tunnels of Shelob’s Lair, home to the giant spider in ‘Lord of the Rings’.
Its frantic tempo mirrors the panic of the chase, underscored by the haunting lines”
Gravity apparates, and breaks in the depths of the cavity.”
These steamrolling Brits go fast-forward with no brakes nor breaks. It’s like if
a whole army of guitars try to crush your ears, assisted by distressed vocals.
Glorious. Striking stroke.
The brothers Robinson return with their 9th LP, called Happiness Bastards on March 15.
They still do what they did their whole career, playing vintage old-school blues-rock with flaming brio.
Stefski & Hutch is a rock band founded in 2016 by a songwriter born in Paris and
a guitarist, composer and producer from Warsaw. New cooking Selling Lies, is a protest song addressing the confusion resulting from the flood of information and disinformation.
No, they’re not the legendary glamorous detective duo. They’re a high-voltage
tandem that combines hard-rock riffs with garage-punk gusto. And the candescent telling lies chorus completes the sharp-cutting fake news message.
Lisbet Fritze and Louise Foo have shared artistic trajectories for half of their lives. As Glas, the duo reveals a patchwork of everyday observations rooted in significant life changes while their alternative pop sounds convey a quest for balance, riding the line between doomy drama and playing it cool.
New piece Hungry Moon“raises the impossible questions about the well-being of our planet, addressing big-scale frustrations while simultaneously delving into human feelings of big dreams, loss and insufficiency. Musically, we also wanted to create a duality with two distinct vocal parts. Almost like a duet between night and day. In one, dreamy vocals are interwoven into a fabric of layered guitars, creating a chant. In contrast, the other features a groovy, spacious arrangement with dry vocals.”
Hungry Moon mesmerizes and magnetizes with its part ghostly, part crystalline vocals,
its shoegazy dreamy feel and its moony atmosphere. Beguiling and compelling.
Hudson Valley-based singer-songwriter Jack Manley gears up for his upcoming
debut EP Unmeasurable Terms, out on May 10. Pre-order info here.
Smack Water is a “relaxed yet aggressive vibe—I wanted this song to have
a lot of space and attitude with moments of distortion, swells and feedback,
so that it raises the stakes as the tune progresses.”
I hear echoes of the late great Alex Chilton. Jangly and rousing, soothing and
entrancing with commanding vocals. An electrical and melancholic thrill.
10. ‘New’ by LUNAR PATHS feat. Ben Keaton (Chicago)
Veterans of the original UK northern goth scene, Lunar Paths are a transatlantic musical duo. With memorable hooks woven through intricate, powerful percussion, laced together with haunting vocals, their eclectic sound shares traits with goth & alternative indie artistes.
New is a psychedelic and darkwavish slo-mo trip with a trancy effect.
Its glowing, shadowy The Cure-like guitar radiance and its hallucinatory
female/male vocals lead to an eerie experience. Intriguing stuff.
Daily electricity that works faster than any stimulant
17 February 2024
Press photo
Philly‘s garage punks SHEER MAG launch their 4th album, titled Playing Favorites on March 1. And they keep on throwing new tracks
off it around. The 3th one is named EAT IT AND BEAT IT, a raw rocker
that rattles and rolls all the way. Hail hail.
Sheer Mag: “‘Eat And Beat It’ is an anthem for the next generation. The legacy acts that we grew up admiring and styling ourselves after aren’t going to be around forever, and nor should they be. It’s high time for a new cohort to take over and carry the torch for rock and roll in the 21st century.”
Philly‘s punk-pop-rock indies SHEER MAG fronted by spicy voice Tina Halladay returned this past summer with new zippy single
All Lined Up.
It was the harbinger for the news that just came in. SM have canned their 4th LP and named it PLAYING FAVORITES. It’ll drop next year, on 1 March. Pre-order info here.
Album artwork
Along with the announcement comes the frisky title track.
It has that SM electrical swing and shake dynamism.
“After nearly ten years of touring together, we felt qualified to write a song
about doing it. It’s a good introduction to the next era of Sheer Mag.”
It’s one of those bands you’re waiting for to return.
Which they do now with new vintage SM single ALL LINED UP.
“The genesis of ‘All Lined Up’ stems from late nights at the bar playing pool. Last call
has long come and gone, the gate is down, the ashtrays are out and your friend behind
the bar is giving it all away. Despite the revelry, there’s a looming sense of dread — a fear
that no matter how far ahead you get, all it takes is one bad shot to lose the game.”
Sheer Mag do what they do best again, embedding infectious pop melodies into
a guitar-riff groove while the drum takes care of the foot-stompin’ beat. And of
course there’s Tina Halladay reaching for the roof now and then with her vivid vox,
backed by the guys chanting forth and back. Let’s hope All Lined Up is the harbinger
for album number 3.
Philadelphia squad SHEER MAG, led by tense roarer Tina Halladay, hit the scene
with a big punk-rock bang 7 years ago. So far they came up with two cooking LPs. A Distant Call (2019) and Need To Feel Your Love (2017).
After 3 excellent EPs and their forceful and hearty 2017 debut LP ‘Need To Feel Your
Love’Philadelphia underground rockers SHEER MAG hit the scene with a robust bang. They’re ready now to unleash sophomore LP, called ‘A DISTANT CALL’, next month.
After sharing lead single ‘Blood From A Stone’ last month they just dropped another
new cut. ‘HARDLY TOO BLAME’ “gives us a glimpse at someone who thinks they’ve hit bedrock, unaware that the bottom is about to drop out.” It’s a mighty catchy power stroke. Both energetic and sensitive. Dynamic top stuff. Capture the sprightly avidity here in the Jonathan Arturo-directed music video…
