Grian Chatten (frontman/songwriter) who spent time among the faded grandeur
of Venice, Vienna and Sicily in search of lyrical inspiration: “I think Romance was maybe
60 per cent human and 40 per cent corrupted by automation, and a loss of feeling.
This one feels more like 60 per cent corrupted — the mask is wearing the face a little
more. I felt it would be more powerful to leave the hope out and reflect the ugliness
honestly. This one needed to feel more like a catastrophic warning.”
NME says: “A doom-ridden escape from the band of the decade. The gothy tones of
The Cure linger and ‘Dopamine Chamber’ would sit comfortably alongside the melancholy moodpieces of ‘Disintegration’ and ‘Pornography’, as well as the future-proof genre-clash
and dislocation of Massive Attack’s ‘Mezzanine’.”
TUTV: Their first 2 LPs were afire ones, the ones young gunslingers make, full of vim
and vigour and stuffed with muscular barnstormers. With their third album Skinty Fia
the growing-up Irishmen showed signs of change of course, sonically and lyrically.
The 4th full-lengthRomance confirmed their new direction completely
and now with Dopamine Chamber they created/crafted a masterpiece.
A strings sweeping, orchestral, gloom/doom triumph. More cinematic, designed synth arrangements, less youthful guitar upheaval, more in-depth reflections about what worried Chatten sees and hears around him in this dark era.
His ruminative tonality and affecting storytelling timbre are on his most entrancing button. This sign of the times exploit will spin on my headphones for a long time. One
of the most fulfilling accomplishments of 2026.
Track: TO WHO IT MAY CONCERN
It’s been 8 years since APC released their latest album Eat The Elephant.
Then last May they unleashed new single Starless and were pretty active
at summer festivals.
TUTV: Their 2nd single in 5 months.
A moody, melodic and majestic piece
of music.
Band: FONTAINES D.C. Who: The high-spirited Irishmen who
are enjoying a supersonic career.
Track: TONGUE
After Marianne, the 2nd appetizer from their upcoming album
number 5. Dopamine Chamber will arrive on October 16th.
TUTV: Fontaines D.C can sound themselves differently. As they prove
here once again with this bass-charged midtempo jam, sounding as
if singer Grain Chatten‘s vocals were recorded in a garage.
UNCUT Magazine (British music monthly): “Momentum sags somewhat over its lengthy duration, but it also unquestionably features some of their finest, and funkiest, work to date.”
TUTV: Vintage electro pop bliss, the Ladytron way. Sticky, soothing New Order– and Pet Shop Boys-like melodies are nested within waves of scintillating synth radiance, while silvery vocals add tranquillising vibes. EBM for daydreamers.
KEY TRACKS: In Believe In You / Kingdom Undersea / A Death In London /
Caught In The Blink Of An Eye / Metaphysica and Solid Light
Press info: “It’s a record born from necessity rather than momentum, written during
a period when Hillig had nearly walked away from music altogether, and found himself worse for it. What emerged instead is his most vital and clear-eyed work to date, an
album shaped by collapse, community, and the unglamorous work of staying alive.”
TUTV: KAH’s warm and enthralling Americana voice injects his mixed-emotions songs with a puissant Tom Petty swagger, a rock-solid John Mellencamp zip, and, at times, a Billy Bragg tenacity.
Hillig‘s versatile songwriting skills shine throughout this highly appealing
and enrapturing record. I’ll have it on my earphones for a long time.
KEY TRACKS: The Horrible Truth / Divorce Of Course Of Course / Jules Can You See Me? / Something Is Different / Our Remaining Pig / We Were Right (‘Til We Were Wrong)
Band: CHALK Who: Earthshaking electro junks from Belfast, Ireland.
Album:CRYSTALPUNK
Their debut, following 3 EPs
over the past 4 years.
NME: “A knockout collection of arresting dance-punk. Ultimately, for all the personal meaning poured into ‘Crystalpunk’, it’s an album about unity. The unity in the oppositional soundscapes Chalk pull together, and the connection that’s possible once your individuality becomes a badge of pride. Because in ‘Crystalpunk’, there is something to believe in.”
TUTV: Decibel alarm! Chalk bombard your eardrums with a flaming flurry of disco-punk torpedoes. A sonic storm of nuclear projectiles put the flexibility of the Richter scale to the test. Think Depeche Mode on a ton of steroids. Let’s all run downtown, to the nightclub, and get the unifying party that those Irishmen are aiming at started.
Press info: “Jacob the Horse take on the rise of modern fascism, dealing with anxiety, and rallying cries for anarchy and Satan on new. It hits that nostalgic sweet spot of classic punk with elements of grunge, while bringing in tight, modern, folk-punk lyrical content that speaks to the time we’re living in now. It sparks equal parts anger and depression, while making sure we’re all having a great time listening.”
TUTV: Holy smoke! An unstoppable tidal wave of riot-riff-gun punk-rockers attack your stereo, ears and eventually your whole shaking body with a vehement Green Day urgency and targeted Bad Religion discharge. Double middle-finger for all political tyrants.
They’re busy destroying our planet. Let’s chase these scumbags out of here, so all their corrupt BS blows over. While doing so At Least It’s Almost Over will be your call-to-arms soundtrack. Attack. Now.
KEY TRACKS: Bad New Religion / 666 Chicks / The Black Hand / Totally Depressed / Closer
Dwyer: “I feel like it’s every artist’s calling to construct personal messages cloaked
in moments of escapism. It’s a bit of a joyous/sad record dealing with hope and
forgiveness, two things which I hope end up more in my life.”
TUTV: With Damaged Bug, Dwyer demonstrated/demonstrates that he’s way
more than a guitar freak. So, yes, less hyperkinetic electricity, more funky/punky
grooves, spiced with beat-rich percussion, subtle synth textures, and even a sax on the alluring meditation Over-Exposed.
Btw, Dwyer picked these 11 songs from a total of 40 he has written between tours. So, we can expect more bugs in the near future. Does this guy-in-shorts ever sleep?
KEY TRACKS: End Of The War / Hoak / Junk Food / Over-Exposed / Tented Lights
Vitalizing tunes that work faster than a stream of caffeine
19 February 2026
Band: CHALK Who: Three earthshaking electro junks from Belfast, Ireland.
Last year, they unleashed their boiling hot 3rd EP, titled Conditions III.
Track: TONGUE
New single from their upcoming debut album,
named Crystalpunk. It’ll show up on March 13th.
Ross Cullen (vocalist) “For the demo, I sang the opening few lines of the song
on my earphones microphone and that take made it to the final version. I had to
whisper because my girlfriend was sleeping beside me.
There was something ominous about the track and felt like it would be the beginning of something. I played the intro to Ben and it felt like a “Eureka” moment for us and felt like we had accidentally taken care of the opening track for the album without thinking too hard about it.”
TUTV: Alarm! Let the sirens blare! Armagddeon Time has arrived, folks! Run to the hills where CHALK will entertain us, before we go nuclear, with their new grenade. Tongue hits hard, really hard, on repeat. It’s a merciless brainbreaker. It’s an industrial sledgehammer. It’s mental! Perfect way to go out with a bing bang.
25 years ago today, on 27 September 1994, Athens legends R.E.M. released their ninth album MONSTER. After their highly accessible and triumphant longplayers Out Of Time (1991) and Automatic For The People(1992) the band went back to their rougher and more distorted sound of earlier days. Also lyrically the songs were far more personal and more complex than before. An overall captivating, fervid and vehement accomplishment. One of their best achievements.
ROLLING STONE wrote: ” ‘Monster’ is one urgent-sounding album, and that’s as it should be; what the band has to say here is urgent, politesse be damned. Monster is concerned, in song after song, with problems of identity. It explores how important having a stable sense of one’s own identity can be and how up for grabs identities have become in our postmodern media hothouse, where it’s possible to slip on a new persona as easily as a new look and couture can mean anything from Paris fashions to body piercing to a sex change. The concept of reality itself is being called into question: Is this my life or an incredible virtual simulation?”. Full review: here. Score: 4.5
