English golden synth-pop duo TEARS FOR FEARS – Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal – released their second LP SONGS OF THE BIG CHAIR on 25 February 1985, today 40 years ago.
It was a massive success. A multi-platinum seller.
No. 1 in the US, Germany, Canada and The Netherlands.
No. 2 in the UK.
The 2 anthemic hit singles pushed
the album’s sales in a huge way.
– SHOUT –
– EVERYBODY WANTS TO RULE THE WORLD –
NME said: “A calculated and brilliant peak, a quintessence of polished
pop putty. Perfect at its shimmering surface, worthless to its craven core.”
Smith: “We were very introverted on our debut The Hurting. It was a very
dark album. We found the need to be more outgoing on The Big Chair.”
A stream of rattling rippers, jagged jams, and magnific musings
All 20 on Spotify.
.
TRACK BY TRACK
Band: AUS!Funkt Who: Post-punk misfits from Toronto, embracing in the process
the elements of electronica, dub, disco, garage rock and blues
while maintaining grittiness, simplicity, and repetitiveness.
GORILLAZ share new – their 8th – album, titled Cracker Island with the world next year, on 24 February 2023. As usual Damon Albarn invited a big-name cast of guests, like here for this song, called New Gold with Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker and Bootie Brown behind the mic.
Feel the vibe.
GORILLAZ: Instagram – All Albums
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Band: BURN THE LOUVRE Who: The musical project of singer/songwriter Jordan Speare
assisted by guitarist/bassist and friend Andrew Billone
Their debut album Silhouettes lands after all this
year’s singles (one per month) are released. .
Toronto‘s noise generator METZ celebrate the 10th anniversary
of their smashing self-titled debut LP with a new tour.
Along the tour announcement, the trio shared two tracks, of which one is
pretty special. COME ON DOWN features their longtime friend Joe Talbot
of Bristol punks Idles.
Closing cracker AMENDS is my kind of electrical eruption.
It’s an imposing Led-Zeppelin-like heavy blues-rock knockout
including unhinged wah-wah electricity. Nasty stuff!
No, it’s not Jimmy Page on guitar, or is it?
. ON: Facebook – Bandcamp
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American/Celtic punks DROPKICK MURPHYS have their 11th album, named This Guitar Still Kills Fascists out on 30 September. The LP accentuates
the sharp-cutting lyrics of the late great and heavily influential (ask Bob Dylan)
American folk hero Woody Guthrie (1912-1967).
If you’re a Murphys fan you know what to do when
this massive chant ALL YOU FONIES comes on.
Yes, screaming your lungs out.
Band: DEAD LEVEE Who: Old-school no-nonsense five-piece rock
band from Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada.
New singleSHOUT is a wallbreaker, a let-it-all-out loud haymaker.
Think The Black Crows and Guns ‘n Roses have a nasty rollicking riff fight.
I wonder if it’s Axl Rose who’s screaming his head off in the end.
Holy riff smoke.
Play it to the max.
. DEAD LEVEE: Facebook
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(Pic by Turn Up The Volume!)
Boston‘s noise rock icons PIXIES have no intention whatsoever to retire.
They have a new – their 9th – album out on 30th September. It’s baptized Doggerel.
This taster, titled DREGS OF WINE
off the new LP is a burning belter.
Expect a rollicking ripper bucking up all the way. A sterling crackerjack that
scurries full tilt with steamy swagger pushed by a flat-out rhythm section,
storming guitars – think Black Sabbath‘s Paranoid riff – and James‘ lively
vocals. When the sizzling chorus kicks in, it’s go mental time.
Tell all your friends about this exuberant score!
. ALEX JAMES: Facebook – Instagram
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Band: DETROIT REBELLION Who: Singer/songwriter/guitarist Jeff Tostee uniquely exploring
a world of gritty blues and garage rock with drummer Micaiah
Castro, taking their name from the 1967 Detroit Riot
New single: CLAP OF THUNDER
From the forthcoming – 3rd – album Fake News, due this fall.
This red-hot-roaring corker thunders all the way with
turned-up decibels for the psychotic guitar-charged chorus.
Think Queens oF The Stone Age fronted by Jack White.
Next year, on 23 April, they’ll share their new longplayer ATUM: A Rock Opera In Three Acts with the world,
with no less than 33 songs.
The first single is an uppercut called BEGUILED.
A mid-tempo upper with a rotating heavy metal riff.
Nice one, Billy.
. THE SMASHING PUMPKINS: Facebook – Instagram
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Artist: JEEN Who: All-round Canadian singer/songwriter who has written for many recording
artists such as ‘Great Big Sea’, ‘Serena Ryder’, ‘Res’, ‘Hawksley Workman’, ‘Brendan Canning’, ‘FUWA FUWA’, Martin ‘Doc’ McKinney and more. She was a member of ‘Cookie Duster‘ with ‘Brendan Canning‘ of ‘Broken Social Scene‘.
New single: CHEMICAL EMOTION
It’s the lead-off track of new – her 6th – album Tracer, out October 21st.
Jeen: “It’s about letting yourself drift in the flow of everything and hanging
on as hard as you can to what makes the shitty parts more tolerable.”
After only one spin, you’ll know that Chemical Emotion is a mesmerizing humdinger. Jeen‘s emotive voice bewitches right away, the mid-tempo cadence emphasizes
the meditative reflection perfectly, the compelling chorus brings Alanis Morissette
to mind, and overall the orchestral sonority and the layered harmonies lead to
a thrilling triumph.
And I know it sounds trite, but you made impossible possible sometimes
Band: YEAH YEAH YEAHS Who: Pop/rock trio from New York fronted
by the gorgeous Karen O
Today their new – 5th – longplayer Cool it down is out,
their first in 8 years. A few weeks ago my ears started
trembling when single BURNING came through my
speakers.
Artist: AYU Who: Singer/songwriter/producer born in Bern (Switzerland), and living in Hamburg (Germany) delivering a mixture of contemporary pop, future-thinking electronics,
catchy RnB tunes and sweet indie.
AYU seduced me before with her infectious tunes and this one
is another one to embrace. Tremendously sticky with an irresistible I love-you chorus.
Artist: AUGUST GONZALEZ Who: Drawing from an array of influences ranging from hip-hop, indie-pop,
to pop-punk, Gonzalez is an artist that refuses to be put into a box.
Gonzalez serves an effervescent cocktail of hip-hop-pop-rock sparks
inviting you to jump out of your lazy couch for a hip-swaying two-step.
Make your move here…
August Gonzalez: Instagram
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Band: WIDOWS GOLD Who: Riveting rock outfit from Costa Messa, California that
made an auspicious entrance onto the music scene last year.
New single: I CAN’T HELP YOU
From their upcoming debut LP, out January 2013.
Expect a melancholic smooth guitar pop uplifter. The brisk combination of a jaunty rhythm section, flickering guitars, a toe-tapping melody, a contagious chorus, and last but not least Madeline Star‘s soulful and romantic voice, turn I Can’t Help You into a glam gem.
For this new composition, the duo’s minds went down memory lane
to get inspired by the musical preferences of their
adolescent years.
They came back and cemented the experiences of those bygone
times for the future, in a song. The End Of The Beginning is a shoegaze rainbow,
but one that’s sepia colored. The mood is blue-sky, idyllic, and halcyon. So is
the musing’s slo-mo progression, Frøkedal‘s foggy vocals, and the glowing
synth waves.
This is a firm energizer with a resistless pick-me-up groove
and a highly stimulating sonority from start to finish. Its lively
melodiousness, vigorous vivacity and zealous vocality make
you reach for the repeat button again and again.
“Our new song, “Shout,” came about from a tough situation. It’s funny ’cause we can laugh about it now, but our previous singer canceled on us hours before the band had to be on
stage for an entire night of live music.
Naturally, to fulfill our contract there was some improv on stage that night. To fill dead air, our guitarist “Sweet Baby” Ray Klapatiuk, started playing a random riff and the rest of the band jumped in. Our bassist (and now lead vocalist!) Tayler “Izzy” Morgan even started singing lyrics on the spot that fit the vibe. This impromptu jam was brought to the studio, and “Shout” was born.”
Turn Up The Volume: This mean Canadian rock machine nails it again. Imagine The Black Crows and Guns ‘n Roses have a nasty rollicking riff fight. Blustering, right? Turbulent, right? Ear-splitting, right? You betcha, you betcha and you betcha. The vociferous vitality and electric-powered eagerness at play here goes straight through
the roof.
SHOUT tests your lungs’ potency. SHOUT is a wallbreaker. SHOUT is a let-it-all-out loud haymaker. Get the picture? Dead Levee are the alive and kicking proof of the timelessness of classic guitar rawk ‘n’ roll. And yes, I wonder too if it’s Axl Rose who’s screaming his head off in the end.
TROPE Is an alternative rock band with progressive elements located in Hollywood, LA featuring astounding vocalist Diana Studenberg.. They formed in 2016 and impressed with their debut album Eleutheromania (meaning ‘a manic zeal for freedom‘). Lead-single SHOUT is their take on the 1985 classic by British duo Tears For fears who are still going strong after a successful career of almost 40 years.
TROPE explains what the scream along anthem signifies for them“The song ‘Shout’, to us,
is a reaffirmation of value and strength of our ability to move past toxic situations and people towards the things that help elevate us emotionally and spiritually. I think it also lifts the curtain on how even when times are hard, we should never negate the value of human life. It gives a voice to people who deserve and want to be seen and heard.”
Their cover is a multilayered piece de resistance going forth and back, from hushed and shadowy – think ‘Nothing Else Matters‘ by metal icons Metallica – to towering and exultant with echoes from hard symphonic rockers Nightwish. The imposing, yet crystal clear voice of Trope‘s charismatic frontwoman Diana Studenberg lifts ‘Shout‘ to an overwhelming level. QuietLoudquiet dynamism, melodic grandeur, and thunderous sonority is what you get.
A grand performance that deserves a massive shout out
