Tired of his limited role with Massive Attack, trip-hop bigwig TRICKY (born Adrian
Nicholas Matthews Thaws in Bristol, UK, 58 years ago) wanted to do his own thing.
So, 31 years ago (I know, sounds like ages), he
left MA and started his significant solo career.
Press info: “‘Different When It’s Silent‘ follows a prolific period of activity. Since 2020’s ‘Fall to Pieces’ LP, Tricky has released music under several different guises, all via his own label, ‘False Idols‘. Yet returning to an album under his own name took on a different shape. For Tricky it was another side project, until his manager Alan McGee felt the songs clearly belonged to a Tricky record.’
TUTV: The longtime trip-hop master didn’t/doesn’t change his sonic palette for the past
few years/albums. Not necessary whatsoever to my satisfied ears. His tense and tenebrific trademark synth-grooves, mostly mid-tempo, still have a transfixing and chilling effect.
This time it’s young, riveting Bristol voice Mitch Sanders who co-stars for the greater
part with Tricky‘s whispering vocals in the back, engendering the familiar, spookish twilight atmosphere. Again Tricky makes you feel comfortable in his cliffhanging cosmic space.
Standout Tracks: Singles Because I Don’t Know and I’m Yours / Paris Maybe / So Cold / Piano / Frontier Town and Out Of Place.
Joe Love (frontman) was inspired by John Lennon’s song ‘How Do You Sleep’ combined with
what Anatolian rock experimentalists Altın Gün would sound like if they were under siege from a thumping club beat.
Track: COWBOY ON AISLE THREE
Piece for their upcoming self-titled debut full-length,
which comes our way on September 25th.
Harry Hanson (frontman) says: “I came up with the idea when I was in Lidl.
I’m sure everyone has thought, ‘Imagine if I just went nuts now,’ to get out of
doing the big shop.”
Artist: TY SEGALL Who: The 24/7 garage rocker
from Laguna Beach, CA.
Track: BLACK PAINT
First single from his forthcoming 18th longplayer, titled Chrome,
out August 28th. Weirdly enough, he releases the same day an EP,
named Love Buzz.
“It’s a song about impossible tasks. It’s about trying to do everything you have been told to do in life, and never achieving what was promised. The goalposts have shifted, no, that isn’t how you do it.”
TUTV: Really Good Time are manic motherrockers, racing and rushing with puissance and roasting power. They develop a kind of Gilla Band disturbance, but less chaotic, way more movin’ and groovin’. Whether you want it or not, your head goes 360. Blimey.
Band: FARVEBLIND Who: Electro dance-pop-rock trio from Copenhagen, Denmark that fabricates
sonic touchstones ranging from Battles and The Chemical Brothers to Underworld
and Viagra Boys.
TUTV: A cocksure, motorik-feverish dancefloor filler for sweaty nightclubs. A tsunami of synth extravaganza hits you straight in the face, while rollicking vocals add a jaunty feel.
Artists: ARAB STRAP Who: Trippy Scottish electro-pop vets, Aidan Moffat and Malcolm Middleton (1995–2006, 2011, 2016–present).
Track: YOU YOU YOU
First single from their new full-length Half-Told Tales,
their 9th, out on September 4th. Tracklist here.
AS: “A disco-metal sound and lyrics that explore
overcoming troubles and tumultuous times”.
TUTV: Trip Trip Trip! Hip Hip Hip! We We We!
“I’ve got a portly paunch I just can’t shift/I feel undesired, dismissed, adrift/
My get-up-and-go is long gone/ and the days keep dragging on/ But I’ve got
you, you, you”
Okereke wrote the record in the wake of a more than decade-long relationship.
“Every lyric you’re hearing on this record was something that actually happened to me.
I had to tell the story, from start to finish.”
TUTV: Damn. Time flies with supersonic speed. BC are entertaining our eager eardrums since 1999. Well Okereke took time, now and then, for solo work, but it’s always a sonic pleasure to hear them coming up, again and again with firm, dance-spiked singles.
TUTV: Soft Cell on adrenaline. Erasure on amphetamine. Enriching electro pop nirvana
at its most beautiful. Ignore the outside bedlam for about 6 minutes on repeat. The beat goes on and on and on. Twirl yourself dizzy.
Track: WHAT FUTURE
The title song of his new album.
Carr: “I’ve been putting together these sounds for many years but this
is the first time where I thought ‘this doesn’t really sound like anything else
and decided to put it out.”
TUTV: Techno daft-punk on the run. Electro rock shock. Winding mix of paranoic synths, bass booms, and some helium-infused Carr interventions. Good grief. What a brainfucker.
TUTV: This is a sassy, kind of fuck you stunner, that speeds all over your
trembling stereo with Rønnenfelt throwing sneers around. Vicious sucker
punch all the way.
Band: THE CHRONICLES OF MANIMAL AND SAMARA Who: London-based DIY duo – Daphne Ang (Singapore) and Andrea Papi (Italy)
that fills a gap in music by bringing literature, art, and history together into a
space where rock and metal meet electronica.
Track: GIROTONDO
Single from their forthcoming 4th album, named Misantropi.
Out June 22nd. Tracklist and pre-order info here.
TUTV: This Metallica-echoing shocker thunders unstoppably and peaks every time its fistpumping chorus kicks in. TCOMAS rock here as never before. They kick ass with this striking uppercut.
Band:SOCIAL DISTORTION Who: The robust, generational Californian rockers fronted by the only
original member, voice/guitarist/songwriter Mike Ness, who beat tonsil
cancer a few years ago, are one of the most notorious and celebrated
American punk bands ever.
Band: CASSIUS WOLF & DAS ABS Who: The musical project of Cassius Wolf and Don Watson. Formed in Liverpool during the original wave of post-punk and new wave. Now, decades later, that same spirit is driving the band’s long-awaited return.
Track: LOSING SLEEP
Single from their brand new full-length, An Afternoon in Bedlam. Stream here.
TUTV: When I say that this avid anthem has an epic Echo & Bunnymen sonority,
you should pay attention instantly. The flamboyant flair, the whirling drive, the
euphoric vocals. I see Ian McCulloch standing around the corner, with a big smile
on his face.
Band: DELFOI ROAD Who: A Finnish alternative rock act, formed at the turn of the millennium.
The four-piece blends artistic sensitivity, strong melodic songwriting, and
atmospheric depth with an energetic and dynamic edge.
Track: TAKE ME AWAY
New piece from their upcoming debut full-length, planned to come out in the fall. “It’s one of the catchiest and most radio-friendly tracks on the album.”
Artwork single
TUTV: Think Mumford and Sons‘ arousing passion and vocal eagerness. Take Me Away draws you into its stirring spirits, its intensifying orchestration,
and its exhilarating euphoniousness. Towering tour de force.
BZ: “I’ve spent a long time thinking about where to take my musical journey next & Real Problems, ironically, has become an unexpected solution. I wrote this track off the cuff a while back, as an outlet for feeling disconnected from the so called “real world”. For my entire life I’ve been told “that’s just how the world is” but all I’ve learnt in my 23 years alive is that it seems the world was never meant to be like this.
Humans have this disturbing desire to disconnect themselves from the natural world & forget that we’re in fact all a part of it. Real Problems is my attempt to reconnect to that part of myself that I feel has been hidden away due to societal noise. I’ve never met ‘these people’ & they’ve never met me, so why am I expected to uphold their ideas of who I was meant to be!”
TUTV: Industrial slam-bang EBM for all dance-addicted misfits out there.
You need to be in top shape to catch up with Bizarre Fae. She zooms with
steamy swiftness throughout this boomtastic missile. Face your problems
and sway them into oblivion. Trust me, it’s unquestionably worth a try.
Artist: KAT FIVE Who: EBM songstress from London. She fuses together a raw
punk energy with a dark pop magic, she consistently creates
indefinable, politically-engaged glitched-up anthems.
FIVE: “This is a call out to all kinds of creators, and also a shout out
for some simple moves you can make against techno-feudalism.”
TUTV: Kat Five offers a both luring and foreboding-sounding EBM tune for
shadow-dancing fans. Despite the hazardous times worldwide, she suggests,
rightly so, that togetherness is the only way to get out of the intolerant chaos
we have to go through right now.
Artist: SOUTHPAW GRAMMAR Who: British garage musician and producer. He has toured extensively with some
of the biggest names in popular music. His music speaks directly to the realities of working-class life while delivering dancefloor-ready grooves.
“It captures the evolution of a generation raised on late nights and pirate radio, now navigating mortgages, energy bills, and nursery pickups. With his signature dry wit and unmistakably British storytelling, Southpaw Grammar delivers a relatable anthem for anyone who’s swapped the rave for responsibility but still hears the bassline in everyday life.”
TUTV: This is cheer fun. Its ska-esque beat and jumpy flow kick-start hectic body movements. Bouncy piano touches and frolicsome rappin’ piggyback the feel-good tone. Ideal to play when workin’ out, although I fear that many of us (certainly me) will fall over our feet when trying to follow the pace. Fervid ambiance.
LV: “At least four or five of the songs on the record speak to a life lived being in bands, the bonds forged, and the life of a musician and performer, with themes of loss, addiction, death and redemption woven through. All the cliches about spending your time in bars, being on the road, being ‘out’ and not at home, are real.”
TUTV: Overall, this is a warm, hearty, and nostalgic energizer, spiced with classic textbook riffs and bright-eyed and bushy-tailed vocals. A stimulating upper for moody moments. It’s only rock ‘n’ roll, but we’ll never stop liking it.
Another batch of 5 new, stellar tracks have
been added to Turn Up The Volume’s Jukebox.
Turn it up.
ALL TOGETHER
. TRACK BY TRACK
Photo by Luke Bovill
Artists: ARAB STRAP Who: Trippy Scottish electro-pop vets, Aidan Moffat and Malcolm Middleton (1995–2006, 2011, 2016–present).
Track: YOU YOU YOU
First single from their new full-length Half-Told Tales,
their 9th, out on September 4th. Tracklist here.
AS: “A disco-metal sound and lyrics that explore
overcoming troubles and tumultuous times”.
TUTV: Trip Trip Trip! Hip Hip Hip!
“I’ve got a portly paunch I just can’t shift/I feel undesired, dismissed, adrift/
My get-up-and-go is long gone/ and the days keep dragging on/ But I’ve got
you, you, you,.”
Band: GETDOWN SERVICES Who: Wacky and ironic disco-rap-punk duo from Bristol, UK
who made an instant impression in their home country with
their festive 2023 debut LP Crisps, followed by a couple of EPs.
“This song is really about friendship and betrayal, getting stuck in a dynamic and letting things fester. It’s about pain and confusion — no one trains you for the ups and downs of a friendship between two women — but it’s also about a love so enduring that you find compassion no matter what.”
“It’s a song that feels hopeless on its first listen, but if you look at it more deeply it’s a call to action, no one is going to rise up if everyone expects someone else to do it. We all have to do our part in creating the change.”
TUTV: Bedazzling post-punk corker. Infectiously nerve-racking.
These Irishmen continue their indie-supertop quest. You bet.
Tired of his limited role with Massive Attack, trip-hop bigwig TRICKY (born Adrian
Nicholas Matthews Thaws in Bristol-UK 58 years ago) wanted to do his own thing.
So, 31 years ago (I know, sounds like ages), he
left MA and started his significant solo career.
On July 17th, he will launch his 15th full-length.
It’s named Different When It’s Silent. Tracklist
and pre-order info here.
Press info: “‘Different When It’s Silent’ follows a prolific period of activity. Since 2020’s ‘Fall to Pieces’ LP, Tricky has released music under several different guises, all via his own label, ‘False Idols’. Yet returning to an album under his own name took on a different shape. For Tricky it was another side project, until ehis manager Alan McGee felt the songs clearly belonged to a Tricky record.’
Tricky (who lost his daughter Mina, who took her own life, in 2019) : “Since my daughter died, I want to work. I want to do stuff. But all the press, being on camera, everything just changed when she died. I’ve never been a pop star as such but: that made me even more
want to go in the background.”
In 2020, he released his heart-wrenching LP Fall To Pieces that dealt with his terrible loss.
“Emotionally, I’m saying I’m ready to start my life again. I’m looking forward to touring. I want to record. I was emotionally paralysed. Now I’m moving again. And sonically, this lets people know: if you have your own sound, you’ll never go out of fashion. When genres come and go, you’ll still be there. This album says that – nothing sounds like it.”
It’s 6 years now since TRICKY (born named Adrian Nicholas Matthews Thaws
in Bristol (UK) 58 years ago), former short-time member of Massive Attack,
released his 14th LP, the heartbreaking (about the suicide of his 24-year-old
daughter) Fall To Pieces.
But he didn’t stop writing/recording new music. Since then he released an album
under the alias of Theis Thaws and recorded 2 full-lengths with his singer Marta.
Enough material to get on the road with.
