Band: THE MOUNTAIN GOATS Who: Californian veteran rockers THE MOUNTAIN GOATS, conducted
by singer/songwriter/musical mastermind and only original member John Darnielle have been playing around for more than 3 decades.
Track: SHALLOW GRAVE
Piece from their 24th LP, named Days. Available August 7th.
Vincent: “My musicianship is quite untrained, and I didn’t even realise I was writing it in 6/8 time. That’s the kind of stuff that’s been allowed to shine on this record, because it’s a full band and Sam’s jazz background helps those moments to work.”
TUTV: Ardency embraced by a slowly advancing devotion, sonically,
vocally, and lyrically. Big Truck are riding in the right direction.
Artist: VIOLET GROHL Who: The 20-year-old daughter
of Foo Fighters’ frontman.
Track: OFTEN OTHERS
Knockout belter from her debut full-length Be Sweet To Me.
She co-wrote all songs, mostly with the LP’s producers Anthony
Paul Lopez and Justin Raisen.
Mojo about the album: “She marr[ies] the etheral swoon of dream-pop with
the crunch of grunge, creating a fusion that evokes the off-kilter spirit of the ’90s.”
TUTV: Violet rocks with more supersized zing and determination than a bunch of today’s muscular groups. Hopefully, she will not be cited ‘like father, like daughter‘ all the time. Yes, there are Foo Fighters echoes, but in the end, it’s Violet‘s own, top-scoring debut opus.
The album was finished before co-founder Dave Ball, passed away last October.
TUTV: Back to the discotheques’ dancefloors of the 80s, colored
with its soulful flamboyance and hedonistic nights out. Sway, swing,
and shake. Get sweaty.
Band: SOULWAX, Who: The Belgian brothers David and Stephen Dewaele‘s main project for
30 years now, released their 6th longplayer, called All Systems Are Lying,
last year in October.
Track: PERFECT WE ARE NOT
New piece which they wrote and recorded in
just 24 hours in the historic Abbey Road Studios
in London.
TUTV: It’s a nearly 8-minute electro-spiked brainbreaker echoing,
both New Order and LCD Soundsystem with its motorik beeps an
bleeps perseverance, and nerve-racking repetition.
The siblings throw some nonchalant vocals in the mix before
storming towards an orgastic techno finale. Perfect.
TUTV: Don’t expect Barnett to turn into a pop diva. She’s still her slacker rocker
self, writing both lazy and electrical sonic goodies. And that’s what she does here
again. Great Advice is bite-sized, infectious, and uplifting.
TUTV: Brian and The Onions don’t waste time. They produce a ton of decibels from
the get-go. They move and groove with sturdy doggedness, mulled with in-your-face vocals. And you can yell along to the chanty chorus. Rock ‘n’ rap-punk roll rules.
Track: TAKE MORE
Their first release since their
2021 debut album Flourish.
“Take More is a song about growing up in the suburbs. It captures nights spent twisting your mind over the future, caught between staying with the people you love and the need to escape, struggling to find anything that breaks the loop.”
TUTV: Imagine Hole fronted by Joan Jett. Bitchy, right? You betcha. This is a knife-edged stormer, vitalized by buzzing guitars and non-stop pushing drum beats, while the male action of the duo jumps in for some vocal assistance. Wanna have fun partying downtown?
TUTV: Yes! A stirred-up ska-like groove gets your pelvis abuzz. Rapping vocals,
a hefty guitar upsurge, and 70s organ glow complete the hustling picture. What
if I tell you to jump? Would you?
Band: AWAY // FANS Who: Jumpy London team, formed in 2020, classing themselves as an indie-dance
five-piece who set out to make music that gets everyone dancing, screaming, and misbehaving. Formed in the early part of the 2020’s
“Perfect Moment is an ode to messy nights and hungover mornings with the people you love.
It’s a celebration of youthful stupidity and hedonism, as well as the long-lasting connections
we can make in all the silliness.”
TUTV: C’mon, get your lazy butt off your couch and shake your booty to this
bass-propelled twist-around this stimulating invigorator. This is the perfect moment to throw your furniture out of the window and make some room for your twirling actions.
The rapping vocalist shows the way, backed now and then by cheery harmonies,
while the diligent drummer produces an addictive disco beat, which made that
1978 hit Born To Be Alive popped up on my stereo in my head.
“It’s a song about the ecstasy of being in love, the feeling that floating on air, of being so close that you can feel the pulse of your heart when looking into the eyes of your special person. The sensation of spinning and spiralling higher with a rush of feelings which won’t ever stop, you won’t come down.”
TUTV: Pop techno for crowded dancefloors in torrid nightclubs. If your body doesn’t vibrate when We Can’t Fall enters your eager ears, you need to consult your shrink or change your medication. Anyway, invite your lover for a wild night out in the city and
let the adrenaline take over.
Band: McCASLIN DAHLE Who: Duo of seasoned musicians featuring Donny McCaslin (3x Grammy nominee, bandleader on Blackstar by David Bowie) and Ryan Dahle (Limblifter, Age of Electric, Mounties).
Track: HENRY TAKES THE 5TH
First single, from their upcoming debut album MXD,
out May 22nd. Tracklist and more info right here.
“The song frames the mundane through a child’s lens where
the everyday feels enormous, heavy and extraordinary.”
TUTV: Expect a speedy, head-twisting ride, full-steam ahead from the get-go. Vocally magnetic, sonically intoxicating, and hopped-up, spiced with frenetic saxophone upsurges, adding a freaky force to this turbulent psych stormer. One spin and your ears are hooked.
Band: THE N.S.O. Who: A Yorkshire (UK) four-piece who mix various influences and genres into their work, resulting in a sound that is enticingly fresh and exciting. They combine dark and gritty vocals with light-hearted melodies making for a winning combo at every turn.
“Counsellors Call is a conversation with yourself, your partner, your boss, your friends or your ‘counsellor’. It’s realisation and contradiction in one, to a familiar rhythm in a humorous way, just like life itself.”
TUTV: Take up the phone and wobble and wabble to the strumming Coral-esque guitar swagger at work here. Counsellors Calls is a jumpy, frisky,
and pop-juiced tune that will bounce in your head for the rest of the day.
TUTV: It’s been a while since we had Common Flaws on our headphones, and it’s
a techno-stoked pleasure to hear Oberti again playing around with synths, producing
an ongoing, motorik EBM stomper, which bounces around in your head all day long.
Band: DOPAMINE FIX Who: Fresh-Irish indie duo who’s manifesto says a lot about them: “With a nod to the Dadaists, we create Post Punk, Experimental and
Electronica which aims to unnerve, to disturb and to question.”
“This piece speaks from inside the aftermath: after the damage, after the noise, when
certainty has begun to fail. In a world shaped by artificial intelligence, disinformation
and continuous media manipulation, perception is no longer shared. Reality becomes something assigned rather than lived.”
TUTV: Dopamine Fix offer a voltaic, jump-up-and-down earworm
that bangs and booms from start to finish, like disco legends Erasure
with a punky vibe. Trust me, they’re for real, and they produce real
sonic stimulants.
Band: DEAD RAT SOCIETY Who: London-based team producing bombastic explosion of Punk, Electro, Hip Hop and Grunge Rock. They are a genre-bending conceptual rollercoaster, fusing the no-nonsense lyricism of punk, the hard hitting dance beats of Electronic Music and the raucous noise of fuzz rock.
TUTV: These weirdos are big fun, triggering your foxtrot moves with big horns, big beats, big vocals, and big rotations. DRS make you smile, cheer, and spin around like a carousel. Simple and 100% effective with a lot of sassy swagger. That’s entertainment for you, mister Weller
Ali Lipman (singer/guitarist) : “I wanted to reflect on the stage of life I was in before her
death, recognizing how youth, distraction, and inexperience kept me from fully appreciating
the time we had together. The song explores that painful awareness, as well as the disorientation of sudden loss and the struggle to make sense of it all.
At its core, this song is about how grief becomes a lasting expression of love, shaping
how I move through the world and reminding me to stay present, because nothing is guaranteed.”
TUTV: At the song’s start, the light goes on slowly and smoothly until frenzied guitars,
a pushing rhythm section and passionate vocals take over and inject this flare-up with gusto and fervor, peaking on the ardent chorus.
It feels as if Lipman wants to ease her pain caused by a dramatic loss and decides
to choose for the future with this emotional eruption. Music has a cathartic force.
TUTV: Once again, these Swedish music addicts show their knack for writing
attention-grabbing tunes that spin around in your head throughout the day.
This new bass-peppered composition has a bit of slacker rock touch, bringing Dinosaur Jr to mind, with fewer guitar layers, but more melodic and with vocally
passionate J Mascis echoes.
Band: SEADOG Who: Dream-pop outfit from the mystic shores of Brighton.
They have 2 albums under their belts. Cabin Fever Blues (2018)
and Internal Noise (2024).
Press info: “An indie anthem for the underdog. A celebration of the ones who carve their own path, rather than follow the herd. The song embraces that raw authenticity and the care-free energy of youth.
Sleeve artwork by B. Kayla Bell
TUTV: Against The Grain balances somewhere between smooth Dinosaur Jr moments
and guitar-layered fuzziness by Band Of Horses, invigorated with rigid drum/bass pulsations and spacey melodiousness. On top, silvery vocals float along, bringing Sparklehorse‘s hallucinatory vocals to mind. Splendiferous stroke.
The song captures the internal tug-of-war of extroversion: throwing yourself into the night to escape your own thoughts and masking heaviness with noise, movement and people. Written for those who are always invited and always present, the track sits in the uneasy aftermath of the night when you are imminently left alone.
TUTV: This slow-burning torch progresses in slo-mo, amplified with weeping guitars and somber-sounding vocals. The party is over, once again. You’re alone, again. I guess many can connect by experience with this sad situation, therefore making this distressed song an inspiring one. Shared sorrow is half sorrow
Track: OUT COME THE FREAKS
Lead single from the upcoming, final LP, titled Dancetaria. It was finished before co-founder Dave Ball passed away last October.
The song features Nona Hendryx‘s (once a member
of soul-disco trio Labelle) powerhouse voice.
TUTV: Back to the glittering 80s disco boom. Shake your booty.
Band: EMPTY HEAD Who: Noise-rock outfit
from Liege, Belgium
Track: CONQUEST
New piece from their upcoming debut
album Freakshow, out on May 29th.
The song takes aim at the hatred spread by the modern
era’s “big bad wolves”, and flips it into a wild trance.
TUTV: Expect a blasting-banging psych-rock jackhammer that attacks your eardrums the way you like it. It’s a sick bastard of a track for these sick times. No mercy for the bad guys. Get in your car, and zigzag your way through your conquering race.
Band: LIGER Who: Alternative rock team from Aachen, Germany, originally formed in Bristol (UK),
with a sound that sits between Shinedown, Beartooth, and Architects, emotional, powerful, and modern. Big hooks and a distinctive lead vocal meet an intense, high-energy live performance.
They released their debut full-length Rednight in 2020.
Track: CALL ME
First shared piece from
their upcoming EP.
Single artwork
TUTV: Holy smoke. A gigantic wall-of-insane-guitar sound explodes from the start. Call Me is a muscular whopper that never slows down and that trashes your stereo
non-stop, meanwhile the vocalist screams his 4 lungs out. Blimey, what a volcanic discharge. Alert your neighbours before you press play.
TUTV: This sonic trip is a feel-good, accordian-juiced, Americana voice jam. Groovy and funky. Everybody’s happy. Midway, a voltaic guitar solo pops up and country guest singer Elias Smith adds some soulful energy. Slowly but surely, the track heads towards a head-spinning climax. Dope stroke.
Vitalizing tunes that work faster than a stream of caffeine
22 October 2025
Electro pop champs SOFT CELL (1978–1984, 2000–2005, 2018–present)
featuring vocalist Marc Almond and keyboardist Dave Ball will launch their
6th album, baptized Dancetaria in 2026. Details TBA.
But first, the two Brits present a deluxe edition of their 2nd album The Art Of Falling Apart from 1983. It lands next week, October 31st,
along with a Remixes EP with 4 tracks from that LP.
One of them is MARTIN.
A stomper remixed by the French producer The Hacker.
It’s PART 4 of Turn Up The Volume‘s yearly hot summer playlists.
A mix of new and old tunes. A mix of adrenalin-infused punk/rock
anthems, dance fireworks, and some moony musings to end the
party when the sun comes up.
Band: SOFT CELL Who: Famous synth-dance-pop duo Marc Almond and David Ball Active: 1977–1984, 2000–2005, 2018–present / 5 LPs with last year’s
comeback one Happiness Not Included as the most recent one.
Album: THE ART OF FALLING APART Released: 16 January 1983 – 50 years ago today Score: #5 in the UK
RSRS speed up the giant 1981 Soft Cell hit (actually written by American songwriter Ed Cobb in 1964 and recorded by Gloria Jones in the same year, but with no real success),
add some Ska dynamics, and create a summer feel with a glowing 60s Booker T. & the M.G.’s organ sound, while singer Claire Liparulo signs for swinging and sunlit vocals.
Here RSRS go for a slowed-down, vintage reggae vibe version of The Cure‘s 1979 blockbuster. It’s a hip-swaying take with a tasty summer 2022 sauce and soulful
vocals by Erthe St. James
Marc Almond: “In this album I wanted to look at us as a society: a place
where we have chosen to put profits before people, money before morality
and decency, food before the rights of animals, fanaticism before fairness
and our own trivial comforts before the unspeakable agonies of others. But
in the album there is also a belief that there is a utopia if we can peel back
the layers and understand what really matters.”
The Guardian (British newspaper): “*Happiness Not Included cleverly compares t
he 80s promises of a future straight out of science-fiction (“rocket ships and monorails, electricity that never fails”) with how things have actually turned out… While these songs reference war, famine, loneliness, isolation and authoritarianism, Marc Almond’s witty lyrics and synth man David Ball’s bouncy tunes mean the mood is more wryly hopeful than bleak.” Score: 4/5.
Turn Up The Volume: 40 years after their debut LP and 20 years after their 5th
one Cruelty About Beauty, Soft Cell come back to remind us of their sharp 80s nose
for electro-pop crackers (Tainted Love / Say Hello Wave Goodbye / Bedsitter / Torch) and prove it once more here with a tantalizing trio of stellar singles (hear/see below).
But a whole retro (they sound almost exactly the same as back then) album sounds
a bit too retro in the end. But as I said they still have a musical nose for dancefloor
thrills (half of the album). Put on your blue suede glitter shoes.
Singles/clips:Heart Like Chernobyl / Bruises On All My Illusions
Marc Almond: “In this album I wanted to look at us as a society: a place
where we have chosen to put profits before people, money before morality
and decency, food before the rights of animals, fanaticism before fairness
and our own trivial comforts before the unspeakable agonies of others. But
in the album there is also a belief that there is a utopia if we can peel back
the layers and understand what really matters.”
Singles: Heart Like Chernobyl / Bruises On All My Illusions
