Time flies. Oh yes, we already have six months of 2022 behind us.

Mad summer parties are just around the corner. And here’s the perfect
loud/quiet soundtrack… Turn Up The Volume’s 25 best tracks of 2022,
so far!

ALL TOGETHER on Spotify…

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TRACK BY TRACK
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1. I’ll Make You See God’ by THE AFGHAN WHIGS

The by now legendary passion rockers from Cincinnati, Ohio with mastermind Greg Dulli leading the troops have their new longplayer How Do You Burn? out on 9 September.

This lead single is a sturdy steamroller, a red-hot-heated ripsnorter, an unstoppable cannonball going everywhere fast. Manic blitzkrieg guitars, ruthless drum/bass attacks, Greg Dulli‘s rush of blood vocality, and a brutal finish. Flabbergasting.

Dulli: “That’s one of the hardest rock songs we’ve ever done.
It was written and performed on sheer adrenalin.”

See God here…

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2. ‘Slowly Separate by CROWS (London)

This London post-punk team unleashed their 2nd scorching album
Beware Believers, last April. One of TUTV’s best full-lengths of 2022 (so far).

Single Slowly Separate is a schizo sonic serpent generating a mind-blowing backwash
while chainsaw guitars turn up the decibels to an illegal peak, and man-in-the-middle James Fox rages and blazes through his teeth.

Fucktastic!

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3. ‘I Am Kate Moss’ by DITZ (Brighton, UK)

This frenetic Brit force hit big time with their dazzling debut album
The Great Regression last March (more about it in a couple of days).

Let’s focus now on one of its cast-iron brainbreakers. It’s a poignant, biting, and
anxious uppercut. I’m pretty sure Moss would love this hit-and-run drone when
it would hit her ears. She is, after all, the Femme Punk Fatale of fashion.

Turn up the heat…

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4. ‘Twitchin’ in The Kitchen’ by WARMDUSCHER (London)

This punky-funky disco corker is the perfect pick-me-up tune for all the wacky weirdos who are always in the kitchen at parties waiting for free drinks and waiting for Warmduscher to come in and kick their lazy asses. Big stroke, big chorus, big fun!

From the gang’s thrilling 4th LP At The Hotspot.

Twitch as much as you want here…

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5. ‘Demolition Row’ by METZ (Toronto, CA)

“It’s a warning, an unflinching assessment of the vastness and insignificance of this
life, is precisely counterbalanced by their lesson, which models the resilience that this understanding demands. ‘Demolition Row’ is persistent, concise, and alarmingly physical.”

This blustery belter is vintage Metz. Full blast ahead, no brakes, no breaks.
The track featured on a split 7” with London-based group Adult Life.

From Dylan’s Desolation Row
to Metz’s Demolition Row…

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6. ‘Frankenstein’ by TRAMP (Northern Ireland)

“As a story or metaphor, we are all ‘Frankenstein’s monster’ – made up of other people’s opinions and parts that don’t belong to us. That we were born perfect but people, in their
own conditioning, come along and can make us feel undesirable/inadequate/the monster.
But we can choose to be real instead.”

This is without a shadow of a doubt the best debut single I heard so far this year.

A towering tune going low, high and back. A sickly sticky pop gem wrapped in
a big-boisterous-wall-of-sound. And upfront, Sianna Lafferty ‘s phenomenal voice
causes goosebumps when she goes sky-high on the chorus. The ardency of
Porridge Radio comes to mind.

One word: AWESOME.

“I am not what you want me to be
Uncle Sam won’t even point at me
Even the eyes of the Virgin Mary wall
hanging won’t even stare at me.”

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7. ‘Shaman’ by THE CHRONICLES OF MANIMAL AND SAMARA (London)

Shaman progresses like a vicious viper sliding to its prey. Determined, but always
wary of sudden danger. It dumbfounds and flummoxes while the song’s tension
intensifies and sends shivers down your spine.

No metallic explosions or abrupt pace changes this time, although it feels like a thunderstorm can happen as the mesmeric music swells along its ominous path
towards a demonic climax. Another appealing piece de resistance, another
psychedelic exploit another step closer to the new album.

From their brand new LP Trust No Leaders, out today.

Face your nature
Face your fears
Face your demons
Wake the dead

Roll the tape and get impressed…

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8. ‘Mañana’ by JAMES DOMESTIC (Essex/Suffolk, UK)

“A paean to taking your foot off the gas and letting things slide, or a warning of the perils of procrastination, perhaps? It’s hard to tell whether ‘Mañana’ is meant to serve as a confessional regarding Domestic’s own perceived lack of willpower, or a celebration of idleness. It could be either of these things; and that’s one of its many joys.”.

A sirens intro, David Bowie‘s saxophone, and steel drums straight from Trinidad. Sounds like an exotic swing and shake ditty is coming up. No folks, it’s a lazy rap-sody you can play the morning after a booze marathon to get up and sober up, slowly.

Soul voice Clare Gillet takes care of the chirpy chorus.

Press play here…

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9. ‘Digging’ by NOTHINGHEADS (London)

“Propelled by a motorik rhythm and abrasive guitars, it stomps toward a doom-laden finale. Inspired by Sebastião Salgado’s (note TUTV: Brasilian photographer) anarchic photos of the Gold Mines of Serra Peladain the Amazon in 1985: the track explores the relentless obsession with grasping a glint of glory from the mud. “

Once I learned that this startling belter is about the horrible exploitation of human
beings by ferocious money sharks this jagged jackhammer blew my mind even harder than I heard it the first time before knowing about the band’s inspiration for this stunner.

Expect rabid guitars, doom and gloom vocals, and frantic
twists and turns until the chaotic finale. Post-punk at
its razorblade best.

Dynamite…

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10. ‘Welcome To Hell’ by BLACK MIDI (London)

Geordie Greep (vocalist, guitar): “Almost everything I write is from a true thing, something
I experienced and exaggerated and wrote down. I don’t believe in Hell, but all that old world folly is great for songs, I’ve always loved movies and anything else with a depiction of Hell.”

A screwy zig-zagging haymaker it is. From upcoming, 3rd, LP Hellfire.

Burn here…

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11. ‘Cream’ by BOTCHED TOE (UK)

My fav track from one of my fav albums of the year (so far), baptized
A False Glimmer Of Hope with loudmouth James Domestic (yep, the
guy from above) going bonkers.

This red-hot-blistering hardcore missile punks up your adrenalin and
invites you to open all windows and doors and yell your tits off.

(S)cream here…

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12. ‘Zick Zack’ by RAMMSTEIN (Germany)

The bombastic German metal machine have
a new, their 8th, longplayer out, called Zeit.

Their same old recipe still works.

My fav sledgehammer on the LP is Zick Zack.

Ridiscouly infectious
Great Scheiße shit!

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13. ‘Edie’ by STEPH SWEET (UK)

This is the spellbinding title track of this enigmatic songstress’ new album.

The dark garage guitar swagger of this nightmarish cracker is irresistibly
magnetic. Think trash-and-slash duo Royal Trux. Both eerie and haunted.

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14. ‘Eris’ by VIOLET NOX (Boston, MA)

My favored sonic sci-fi symphony from the duo’s excellent Eris Wakes EP.
Trippy, spooky, trancy. With repetitive mind-twisting Krautrock eurhythmics
that take you on an otherwordly voyage. Top-flight!

Launch your spaceship here…

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15. ‘TV Or Not TV’ by JODIE LANGFORD (UK)

After the piano intro (sounds like the theme tune of classic horror-thriller Halloween) this young outspoken artist fumes with barbed wire temper towards the supersonic chorus that resonates like hardcore rap.

This rushing rollercoaster swings forth and back with grim impetus until the gloomy
synth climax makes way for that ominous piano fragment again. TV or not TV, that’s
the question? The answer is easy. To hell with the relentless idiocy of reality TV stars and influencers constantly putting pressure on growing minds to behave in ways unattainable to most.

Find the answer here…

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16. ‘We Are Ukraian’ by OSCAR MIC (London)

Oscar Mic wrote this song after witnessing the horrific violence of
psycho Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine on the news. All proceeds of
the song go to Save The Children’s Ukraine Appeal.

We Are Ukrainian is a tremendously catchy hip-rap-pop jam featuring steel drums
and timpani balancing somewhere between Roots Manuva and Mr. Scruff.

“Fleeing people running scared, so tell me Where’s the justice? Our leaders say they care,
tell me can you trust this? Urban warfare, your home’s done and dusted, Aiming at the
public, they wouldn’t? They just did,”

Fuck Putin…

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17. ‘White Skin’ by THE BANKROBBER (Italy)

The titillating electro- intro echoes early Depeche Mode before they became the darkwave Goth-esque rockers we all know. But in an eye-blink White Skin turns into a swirling synth-pop stomper to fill dancefloors with. It’s an instantly infectious nightclub earworm with an ecstatic chorus.

From the siblings’ forthcoming, second, album.

Start the tape and make your move…

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18. ‘Worthless Souls’ by MELTED WINGS (Toronto, CA)

“A track that calls out how sexism and power corrupt all levels of society.
We all need to recognize this going forward and make sure that it doesn’t
go unchecked.”

The sickly sticky synth beat comes across like an invitation for my feet to kick the butts of vicious sexists and power-horny billionaires ruining people’s lives. Middle finger to them while spinning around mad as a hatter to this bang-on electro buzz. Trust me, you’ll feel much better afterward

From their new Cheer For The Deer album.

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19. ‘Hello Dreamer Baby’ by THE ROYAL FOUNDRY (Canada)

This is what ecstatic pop grandeur is all about. Music that elevates
your state of mind to a titillating level. This pearl generates a feel-good
entrancing buzz.

When the multi-layered vocals/harmonies pop up in a gospel-like choir delight
creates an atmosphere of utter joy comparable with the euphoric drive of
The Polyphonic Spree. Vitalizing vibe, refreshing rapture.

Listen/watch…

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20. ‘Life And Lies’ by LEE ROGERS (Northern Ireland)

A mixed-emotions lullaby with Rogers‘ sky-reaching voice as the star. It’s an emotional
and bluesy reflection. Wurlitzer jukeboxes should be reinvented for these heartbreakers so moody minds can cry their eyes out (or cry in their beer) at night in a downtown bar where lonely ones gather and muse about life and lies.

This one is for all barflies out there…

From his new heart and soul album Gameblood.

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21. ‘Chaise Lounge’ by WET LEG
22. ‘Up The Mountain’ by REGINA SPEKTOR
23. ‘All The Good Times'</a> by ANGEL OLSEN
24. ‘Come Back’ by SHARON VAN ETTEN
25. ‘The Dripping Tap’ by KING GIZZARD & THE LIZARD WIZARD