Washington‘s longtime rollin’ indie-pop-punk stars SLEATER-KINNEY
who started their journey (with 3 members) back in 1994, went on a
break in 2006, reloaded their engines in 2014, became a duo – Carrie
Brownstein and Corin Tucker – have their new, 10th LP, baptized Little
Rope out on 19 January 2024.
After launching her super-duper 6-track EP Chaos Of Time last March, Langford
closes the year with this rock-and-rap-punk banger. Whang, whang, whang.
Foefetti has somehow a fuller resonance than her previous pieces. And it works spot on. Glittery, glammy and trash-y (like the video). Be ready to sing happy birthday to 6-year-old princess Jodie midway. Don’t worry afterward you can continue to pogo around the table. Treat yourself, buy this present here.
Helter skelter. What a riff-deranged head-over-heels speedball.
AWESOME. Think Australian barbed wire rock generator Amyl And The
Sniffers getting even louder and nastier than they already are. Irked
produce no-nonsense punk pandemonium with a dashing fanaticism
and crazed ruckus.
The vocalist screams her lungs out with intimidating force. MENTAL.
Don’t mess with her, don’t look for trouble with her. She’s a ragging
rapping reactor. Sharp-teethed stuff, shattering debut.
These 4 motherrockers learned their craft by making noisy waves in different
bands before. They just released their cooking 4-track EP named ROBOT.
Robot artwork
The title track is a bass/guitar-riff steamroller going everywhere fast.
A fanatical flare-up that speeds towards a monstrous climax. Who needs
humans when robots kick ass this knife-edged way.
London’s inflammable grime-rap-punk turbine Bob Vylan have canned their third
album. It’s named Humble As The Sun and will see the day of light on 5 April 2024.
These British mavericks rattle and rumble from the get-go on this crackerjack
blast. They don’t like a boring normal life. Who can blame them? The frustration
is accentuated by freakish guitar/bass frenzy, merciless drumming and flustered vocals.
Solid sucker-punch. Never lose faith in this band.
Crows On Wires is the dark-dream-wave project of German artist Antje Davids-Weis.
This new single echoes previous pieces. Rotating synth beats, shadowy dynamics, darksome vocals work together and turn Stop The Clock into a terrifically catching
stomper.
9. ‘Say It Like You Mean It’ by SLEATER-KINNEY (Seattle, WA)
Washington‘s longtime rollin’ indie-pop-punk stars SLEATER-KINNEY
who started their journey (with 3 members) back in 1994, went on a
break in 2006, reloaded their engines in 2014, became a duo – Carrie
Brownstein and Corin Tucker – have their new, 10th LP, baptized Little
Rope out on 19 January 2024.
2nd single Say It Like You Mean It is
edged guitar pop at its racy best.
10. ‘The Sadness In You, The Sadness In Me‘ by SUEDE (UK)
Last year the glam veterans Suede released their 9th,
back to top form, albumAutofiction.
An expanded edition shows up on December 8. It
includes a live LP. More info and order detailshere.
Along with the LP’s release came a 4-track EP that was available for
only one week. The songs will appear now on the expanded box.
The Sadness In You, The Sadness In Me will be one of them.
A vintage Suede sparkler with Anderson‘s emotional vocals going sky-high
on the chorus. Can’t understand why this stellar song wasn’t on the original
album. Anyway, it’s here now.
It’s been 5 years since this Belgian garage guitar indies released
their debut album Common Specimen/Indoor Mold.
But they’re back now, and they didn’t lose their electrical mojo nor their sassy swagger. Crazed drums, afire guitars and tense vocals are what you get. Don’t miss their return.
This weird Canadian trio nails it with their new single Wish It Back, a heartfelt tribute to times gone by.
It’s a spry rocker that swings forth and back. From harmonious tenderness to zippy discharge, from shiny guitar sparks to electrifying commotion, while poignant vocals add extra emotive energy to this splendid nugget. It’s about looking back nostalgia we all are familiar with, wrapped here in a forceful piece of music.
I Feel Nothing is the first new piece of music in over 2 years from this British indie trio.
One spin and I knew we had a winner here. I Feel Nothing is a funky pop
groove, richly orchestrated with footstompin’ drums, glistening synths, wah-wah
guitar here and there, pumping bass and spacey vocals. It swings back and forth,
with a hip-shaking impact when the delirious chorus comes up. Think Tears For
Fears, Depeche Mode and Tame Impala all rolled into one.
Wolf:“This song delves into the complex theme of loyalty conflicts, the inner divide
between descendants and parents (us and them) and the broader social division into
‘us’ and ‘them’, (fueled by social media and war).”
Capricorn is a spellbinding slow-mo musing with an ominous sonority produced
by electric bass, sober drums and eerie acoustic guitar play. It creates a trance-like atmosphere with its subtle and low-key orchestration and Van Wymeersch gloomy
vocals. Fascinating score.
So much is happening on this crazy cut. First in, hungry guitars and footstompin’ drumming immediately joined by frolicsome synth touches that easily could be experienced as the theme of a creepy movie, depending on your (in)stable
state of mind.
Next, eerie vocals, backed by some spooky howling, check in adding a what’s going on
vibe, and zigzagging through all the sonic razzmatazz. Head-spinning stuff, folks.
16. ‘Can You See Me?’ by CATHOLIC GUILT (Melbourne, Australia)
The song is a tale of lost identity and feeling at odds with yourself.
It’s feverishly rushing ripper propelled by an army of guitars, hefty drumming and
psyched vocals. This manic missile reflects frontman/songwriter’s Brenton Harris
identity issues spot-on.
Sonically as well as lyrically, Can You See Me resonates like a much-needed escape from
a troubled and confused state of mind. I guess this sounds familiar to so many of us out there. If you’re a Fall Out Boy fan you’ll definitely add this fiery emo piece to your favourite playlist.
The band’s name is a testament to their stature and nature – alter kaker is a Yiddish term for an old person, or as the band likes to call it, “an old fart.” That level of self-awareness helps when creating a song like “When You’re Gone.”
The band’s Steve Bronstein wrote this track one year ago near the close of a relationship. But unlike the more common musical theme in breakup songs, the singer isn’t sad about the conclusion – he relishes it.
Looking for an infectious jump-for-joy post-breakup tune? Here it is.
After playing with some bands, Belgian musician Mirabelle van de Put decided
in 2021 to go solo under the moniker of HAZE. Her excellent self-titled debut LP appeared the same year.
She’ll have her sophomore one, titled Out of Sight, out in January.
Hiding is the first single. A glinstering dream pop musing featuring sparkling guitar
and smooth bass play, and van dePut‘s enticing voice takes you on a relaxing trip that flares up now and then.
The eye-catching video is created by Naomi Kerkhove.
Lauren Anderson is a Chicago born and Nashville-based singer-songwriter.
She has, so far, 3 albums on her résumé. And has now new single Love Again
out.
Expect a towering voice. Zestful, vivacious and highly gripping. Classic country-blues splendor. The kind of song that send shivers down your spine with its full-hearted
passion and its overwhelming sonority.
Wurlitzer jukeboxes were invented back then to play affecting tunes like this one
in smoky bars to comfort lonely souls and melancholic hearts. This sort of music
will never lose its healing impact.
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 2023 playlist.
Up and fast-coming artist Jojo Orme and her musical vehicle Heartworms is shooting to the top as a comet. It started with her ace EP A Comfort Notion and she follows it now with this new titillating single. A funky guitar pop pearl with a repetitive riff that creeps under your skin in an eye blink and sensual vocals that stick on the spot. Awesome.
Infader is the band of Belgian singer-songwriter Michaël Denis who produce heavy rock with a dramatic flair. In a culture of musical over-simplification they add nuance to rock as we know it. Emotionally layered and transforming music, without the essence of the catchy song to lose sight of.
📷 Stan Geudens
On Meditation, they storm fast-forward from the get-go with fierce guitars, pounding drumming and feverish vocals. A rapid-fire ripper that turns you dizzy. Sassy stroke!
Wow! What a smoking debut this is. Lords is a powerhouse hammer blow for fanatic headbangers with a guitar riff that drives you crazy and vocals that make your ears
vibrate.
5. ‘I Want To Start A Religion’ by MATT TIEGLER (Chicago)
Chicago songwriter, actor and playwright Matt Tiegler returned to the studio after a long hiatus, for his third full-length, named Free Hands Down Hill, including this sickly sticky tune that may start a new religion. Pithy electricity. Hallelujah.
Washington‘s longtime rollin’ pop-punk indies, a duo now with Carrie
Brownstein and Corin Tucker, have their new, 10th LP, baptized Little
Rope out on 19 January 2024.
Ahead of it we can enjoy this new sizzling single.
After playing with some bands, Belgian musician Mirabelle van de Put decided
in 2021 to go solo under the moniker of HAZE. Her excellent self-titled debut LP appeared the same year.
She’ll have her sophomore one, titled Out of Sight, out in January.
Hiding is the first single. A glinstering dream pop musing featuring sparkling guitar and smooth bass play, and van dePut‘s enticing voice takes you on a relaxing trip that flares up now and then.
The eye-catching video is created by Naomi Kerkhove.
Sarasara is a French avant-garde performance artist and
songwriter who launches her third album Elixir on March 1st.
The album’s potent mix of cultural ideas fuses with dark industrial synths and gothic atmospherics to shape her intoxicating, cinematic sophisti-pop. Enthralling, groove-laden compositions recall the likes of David Bowie and Jehnny Beth, but Sarasara found more influence in political writers; Bell Hooks, the distinguished professor of race and class, Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, a French socialist, and the first person to declare himself an anarchist, and Édith Thomas, the French novelist and bisexual pioneer of women’s
history, among others.”
First single The Horrible Things is an enigmatic slo-mo reverie with an addictive
beat and Sarasara‘s near-whispering voice creating a ghostly atmosphere.
This Oakland trio has a new 4-track EP, named Second Opinion out.
Closer ‘The Turtle’ kept playing in my head after a couple of spins. First thing that came to mind was the acoustic guitar play of Jimmy Page on Led Zep‘s classic Stairway To Heaven because of its bewitching resonance. And I’ll throw in another big name. Think Jethro Tull
on a mellow moment. Well, judge for yourself.
This multi-instrumentalist and composer from San Francisco
releases his debut album ‘Tiamat‘ on November 30th.
My Story, the second shared track, is a moody and emotional ballad that makes you silent and triggers melancholic thoughts. It attempts to convey the complexity of a relationship and its profound effect on someone’s life. The song is meant to console and offer hope during the darkest days.
The accompanying video captures these raw emotions, featuring claymation characters. This nostalgic style is reminiscent of music videos from the late 90s and early 2000s.
Washington‘s longtime rollin’ indie-pop-punk stars SLEATER-KINNEY
who started their journey (with 3 members) back in 1994, went on a
break in 2006, reloaded their engines in 2014, became a duo – Carrie
Brownstein and Corin Tucker – have their new, 10th LP, baptized Little
Rope out on 19 January 2024.
Following perturbing first single Hell, we get another new one off
the forthcoming LP. SAY IT LIKE YOU MEAN IT is guitar pop at its
racy best. Top-tier cut.
A couple of weeks ago Washington‘s indie-pop-punk band SLEATER-KINNEY ,
who started their journey (with 3 members) back in 1994, went on a break in
2006, reloaded their engines in 2014, became a duo – Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker – announced the upcoming birth of their 10th LP. It’s named Little Rope and will be shared with the world on 19 January 2024.
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 2023 playlist.
“The music of Ex-Hyena – Reuben Bettsak and Bo Barringer – has often
explored our collective sense of being through hyper-specific moments.
But if we were granted the ability to slow those moments down, would we
react differently, and would we have a greater or lesser understanding of
what transpires before us? That’s at the core of the Boston dystopian
dance-pop duo’s new single and video.”
Reuben Bettsak: “Things seem to move so fast sometimes and it’s hard to savor moments,
or understand a magical day, a traumatic event, a breakup or a fight, etc. It’s kind of the whole imagining life as a movie where you could replay things in slow motion – with other psychedelic effects for good measure.”
In Slow Motion is the lead single of the duo’s forthcoming, third album ‘A Kiss of the Mind’. Expect dark-synth-wave pizazz at its haunting best. Booming beats rotate on and on towards a full orchestral plangency while shadowy vocals add even more sinister vibes.
The Aussie psych-prog-rockers announced their 25th LP in 13 years.
Their second of 2023. I don’t know when they sleep, or what meds
they take but their productivity is off the charts.
The new one is called The Silver Cord
and comes our way on 27 October.
One of the pieces they already shared is Set.
Psychedelic disco for the wicked.
3. ‘Fourth Pass Over The Graveyard’ (UNKLE Reconstruction) by THE BLACK DELTA MOVEMENT (Kingston-Upon-Hull, UK)
TBDM has a new 5-track EP, titled In Acetate, out on November 17th. More info here.
One of the pieces is a remix by UNKLE (the musical act of veteran trip-hop hero James Lavelle) of February single Fourth Pass Over The Graveyard. Expect psychedelia in slo-mo with Stone Roses‘s Fools Gold echoes, fuzzy vocals and spacey rhythms.
Newdance is the title track of the duo’s brand-new EP. Stream/buy it here.
It’s about non-stop burning matches and circles around and around pushed
by a mind-boggling synth riff creeping in your head faster than you can say Fuck Putin. It’s stroboscope electro that gets you in a trance for 5 and a half
minutes. Want more? You know where the repeat button is.
Boasting power vocals and a rippin’ guitar riff, she’s a pleaser and a teaser dealing pure punk out your speakers. This is the hand; a perfect play for lovers, an ex, or one night stand.”
Punk-pop fireworks at work. Dark Angel rattles and rolls with energetic elan and greedy guitars and flares up when the tempestuous chorus hits your ears. Desirous vocals complete this roaring ripper.
This British 5-piece just released their high-spirited 5-track debut EP,
titled A Place Like No Other. Stream here.
Same Old Story is a standout track. Think Garbage‘s Shirley Manson
rockin’ out with freaked-out guitars flying around her head.
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8. ‘Safe’ byWIRE SPINE (Vancouver, British Columbia)
Wire Spine was formed in 2015 by Robert Katerwol of Weird Candle, and Jesi Tekahionwake. Following their 2018 debut album Bury Me Here they’re back now with new single Safe. An electro-pop stomper with New Order-like synth beats and seductive Tekahionwake vocals.
9. ‘Crown Of Thorns’ by THE SUBTHEORY (Los Angeles/Oxford)
At its core, Crown of Thorns delves into the concept of boundaries, those elusive lines
that define personal space and individuality. Singer Cate DeBu lyrical talent shines as she weaves a narrative that vividly portrays the dynamics of establishing and maintaining these boundaries.
It’s a smooth, soulful reverie with gentle and charming vocals
and a Portishead vibe. Sensuous, relaxing and appealing.
Enjoy.
Reverb Records
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10. ‘Thoughts Of A Child’ by THE LATHUMS (Greater Manchester, UK)
Last March the British pop-rock darlings launched their 2nd album From Nothing To
A Little Bit More. And last week they dropped this brand-new splendid and infectious humdinger.
To honor OLIVIA NEWTON JOHN, who passed away on 8 August
at the age of 73, following along severe battle against breast cancer,
veteran Riot Grrls Sleater-Kinney, Aussie songstress Courtney Barnett
and American actor/comedian Fred Armisen teamed up at a festival
in Marymoor Park in Redmond, Washington, a couple of days ago.
They performed her massive 1981 hit PHYSICAL. It became a lively celebration
of the late superstar. Almost everybody with hairbands (as in Olivia’s sweaty video
of back then). S-K’s Corin Tucker did the vocals and the ONJ gym dance with Fred Armisen.
Band: SLEATER-KINNEY (Olympia, Washington) Active: 1994–2006, 2014–present / 10 albums (so far) Note: Longtime drummer Janet Weiss left the band in 2019,
leaving the other two riot grlls, Corin Tucker (vocals and guitar)
and Carrie Brownstein (guitar and vocals) behind.
NME says: “The band’s first album since drummer Janet Weiss’ departure draws
on the gloom of their turn-of-the-millennium sound, but can be a little on-the-nose…
Time and time again, Sleater-Kinney perform this magical sleight-of-hand that few
artists can manage – they find words for humanity in all of its flawed chaos. Digging
out the meaning within each of their records to date feels like solving a satisfying puzzle…
What could’ve been a savvy dissection of seeking out connection during a surreal year
instead see them go straight down the line.” Full review here. Score: 3/5.
Turn Up the Volume: From then to now. From riot grrrls to riot women.
From sharp-edged punk-up frenzy to funk-fueled grooves. From growing
up with a knife between the teeth to growing older with wayward rock
maturity. I can live with that.
Singles: Worry With You / High In The Grass / Method
Band: SLEATER-KINNEY (Olympia, Washington) Active: 1994–2006, 2014–present / 9 albums (so far) Note: Longtime drummer Janet Weiss left the band in 2019,
leaving the other two riot grlls, Corin Tucker (vocals and guitar)
and Carrie Brownstein (guitar and vocals) behind.
