1. ‘Twitchin’ in The Kitchen’ byWARMDUSCHER (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!
The Scottish dance-funk-punk trio YOUNG FATHERS launch
their 5th LP called HEAVY HEAVY on 3 February.
Ahead of hit came this ridiculously sticky stunner I SAW.
A master blaster that makes your blood stream faster
through your veins. The addition of a choir in the back
works on the spot.
This London post-punk team unleashed their 2nd scorching album Beware Believers, last April. One of TUTV’s best full-lengths of 2022.
Slowly Separate is a schizo sonic serpent generating a mind-blowing backwash
while chainsaw guitars turn up the decibels to an illegal peak, and vox-in-the-middle James Fox rages and blazes through his teeth.
The by now legendary passion rockers from Cincinnati, Ohio with mastermind Greg Dulli leading the troops. Their new 10th LP How Do You Burn? was voted Best Album Of 2022 on Turn Up The Volume.
I’ll Make You See God was the lead single. A sturdy steamroller, a red-hot-heated juggernaut, 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.”
This frenetic Brit force hit big time with their dazzling
debut album The Great Regression last March.
Single I Am Kate Moss is a cast-iron brainbreaker. 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.
The Prophet progresses like a vicious viper sliding to its prey until a horrific explosion strikes you in the face. Next is a titanic bass riff that keeps the roller coaster turning with scary speed. This flabbergasting monster is part of their 2nd notable longplayer Trust No Leaders.
About: “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 the best debut single of 2022.
A towering tune going low, high and back. A sickly sticky pop gem wrapped in
a big-boisterous wall-of-sound. And up front, Sianna Lafferty‘s phenomenal voice
causes goosebumps when she reaches for the sky on the chorus. The ardency of Porridge Radio comes to mind.
“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.”
Kill Me Again, one of three pieces shared so far, is an infectious groove
propelled by a pounding synth/bass riff, spiced with Coxon on saxophone
and mesmerizing (duet) vocals. Splendid stuff. Bring on the LP.
This power pop sensation impressed big time with their self-titled debut album. The outstanding dingle Chaise Longue – catchy, funny and witty caused choirs of thousands of sing-along people at festivals this past summer as I experienced myself, not at Glastonbury (below), but in Belgium at Hear!Hear! fest.
After releasing her sterling debut LP last year, songstress Ilayda Cicek and her band
came back this year for a series of riveting concerts (I saw 5 of them) and this sublime single. Her passion, her vivaciousness and vocal fervency push this electrifying pearl
way up to the stars.
Where We Sleep is the alter ego of Beth Rettig,
former front force of electro-rock band Blindness
On this boiling groover Rethig rants non-stop with anger and frustration.
A nasty bass riff is the backbone here, while layers of menacing guitar
electricity augment this ripper’s rowdy roll.
A crystal clear statement, a menacing projectile.
“They Don’t Want The Truth / They Just Want The Power”
12. ‘Nothing Good Comes Easy’ by DEAD LEVEE (Canada)
What a wowzer! This uplifting motherrocker boosts your state of mind with
fired-up dynamism from the get-go. Rapid-fire rawk and roll riffs switch on
a fervent feel of euphoria. It did it in the past, it does it in the present and
it will do it in the future.
Despite all the BS we have to endure (pandemic, Ukraine, natural disasters,
and other threats) it’s never too late to get back on track and why not start
with 4 and a half minutes of heart-warming guitar-fueled boogie-woogie
that triggers hope and assurance.
Stoogefather IGGY POP still wants to be your dog.
He has his new – 19th – LP, named Every Loser
lands out next week, on 6 January.
Lead-single was the perfect harbinger. A motherfucker of a punk bomb
featuring an all-star band including Watt, Guns N’ Roses‘ Duff McKagan
and Red Hot Chili Peppers‘ Chad Smith.
I’m in a frenzy
Fucking prick
I’m in a frenzy
Goddamn dick
It’s been two years since these Scottish hound dogs made
my speakers tremble with their furious Johnny single.
But on their steamy comeback stomper they still have the same barnstorming groove and move drive. Something Good is a nasty rip-roaring-riff jackhammer,
annex agitated vocals, rotating in your head in an ear-blink. Think NYC’s darlings Interpol playing The Fall. Something good? Way better, something ace!
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 their head-spinning 3rd LP Hellfire.
“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.
These Welshmen released their new excellent album Druids and Bards
displaying mastermind Scott Marsden high-quality songwriting.
This impassioned hard-luck story is my fav cut. It grows slowly but surely into a soul-stirring and mesmerising heartbreaker with an epic finale. Glowing guitars, a steady drumbeat, and mixed-emotions vocals all come together for a poignant performance.
‘Love Is Cruel / The Hurt Within’. You can feel it.
This wholly charismatic and fast up-and-coming darkwave duo mixes Gothic Depeche Mode beats, with sonic Human League echoes, bass-synth-riffs à la German legends D.A.F. and spice it all up with spooky vocals. And it looks like 2023 will even be bigger than 2022.
After their eponymous bonkers debut EP (2020) followed by some staggering singles,
the high-decibels tandem nail it with another sucker punch. Leader is a funk-punk riff ripsnorter that kicks forth and back before a freakish guitar outbreak slashes and
trashes its way to the end.
Watch out for the pigman,
he looks like a meme in disguise.
“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. The track
featured on a split 7” with London-based group Adult Life.
From Dylan’s Desolation Row
to Metz’s Demolition Row…
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 slam.
Expect rabid guitars, doom-and-gloom vocals, and frantic
twists and turns until the chaotic finale. Post-punk at
its razorblade best.
Jeen: “It’s about letting yourself drift in the flow of everything and hanging on as hard as you can to what makes the shitty parts more tolerable…I was thinking of that Hunter S. Thompson quote, “buy the ticket, take the ride.” It was written in April 2021, which was a rough part of last year for me. I needed to write something that reminded me to tread lightly, to forget about the heaviness of everything.
After only one spin, my ears told me that Chemical Emotion is an bewitching pop doozy. Jeen‘s emotive voice bewitches right away, the mid-tempo cadence emphasizes the meditative reflection perfectly, the compelling chorus brings Alanis Morissette to mind, and overall the orchestral sonority and the layered harmonies lead to a thrilling triumph.
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 weent to Save The Children’s Ukraine Appeal.
We Are Ukrainian is a vivid hp-rap-pop anthem 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,”
Brussels-based electronic duo – Gaelle and Sam – ULTRA SUNN perfectly know how to
seduce your ears and activate all of your limbs with banging darkwave blasts. Instantly infectious melodies fired up with boosting beats, shadowy synths, and gloomy
vocals.
They combine D.A.F.‘s chilling disco vibes, Sisters Of Mercy‘s harrowing hallucinations
and Depeche Mode‘s pop-noir thrills seamlessly. Steamy stuff for 24-hour party people.
Enough reasons to invite Sam and Gaelle for a chat about the past year and more.
But as usual, Turn Up The Volume starts an interview with a piece of music. Let’s
get in the Ultra Sunn mood with their newest single called CAN YOU BELIEVE IT.
How/when started ULTRA SUNN its musical journey?
“We started our project in late 2019. Our desire was to create something together and to embody a strong and positive energy. We were so excited in this way of conceiving sounds with machines. It allowed us to express ourselves fully and to think sounds as tailoring in our creative process. So we released our first track ‘Night Is Mine’ which quickly became some kind of a hit with DJs and clubs. We quickly followed with our first concerts and then our first EP.”
Which song would you pick to introduce ULTRA SUNN
to people who never heard of you?
“I think Night Is Mine is the best track to discover our band. Everything is on this track.
We put a lot of ourselves in it. The message is powerful and combative but in a positive way. It’s a hymn to dance and sing all together to unite our forces with the crowd and share a strong moment all together.”
This summer you released two new tracks. THE SPEED is my favorite.
One of the best tracks I heard all year. How did the writing/recording
came about?
“Well thank you so much! It’s a special track for us since we started to lightly evolve our sound compared to what we did before. We came back to our Belgian electronic music roots, that’s what we grew up with and it’s a huge source of inspiration for us but we keep modernity in mind and we wanted to talk about the desires and realities of our generation.
With your 2 EPs and stand-alone singles you released so far,
there’s enough material for a full album. Any plans to do that?
“Our next release will be our 3rd EP. It’s a format that suits us well
and allows us to bring the songs to life as an ecosystem that works.
Our next EP ‘Kill Your Idols’ is designed to bring something new to our
sound and our lyrics. Releasing an album is another process. The mindset
and the timing is different. When we’ll release an LP, it will all be unreleased
songs, that’s for sure!
This year you released remixes of some of the previous singles. They’re
even more club orientated than the originals. What is it that drives you
to record remixes?
“Our music is written as anthems that can carry you and that you can sing but it’s mostly music to dance all night long. Club remixes allow you to push the experience even further. We had the pleasure to work with Sarin and Kontravoid on remixes and we are preparing a really cool one for the next EP!”
You played a lot of gigs this year. Not only in Belgium but also in France,
Italy, Portugal, Germany and The Netherlands. How did you experience
those shows abroad?
“It is a great pleasure for us to travel everywhere and to meet such a big
audience all the time. We feel lucky and grateful, we are making all of
this together with the crowd and this is priceless.”
Which big-name artist(s)/band(s) would
you love to tour with and why?
“We have already had the chance to play with many great names in the
scene like Nitzer Ebb, A Split Second, Absolute Body Control to mention
a few.
In the next weeks we’ll play a couple of gigs with Front 242. It’s great
to feel included and at the right place each time. Let’s see what’s next!”
Front 242 (photo by Turn Up The Volume)
Darkwave music seems to be around for ages. It’s imperishable.
why is it that the genre still appeals to so many people?
“Darkwave is a very broad term in which you can find many different variations and
genres. We must say that it is one of the most open-minded scenes
in terms of musical tastes.
The scene is doing very well because it recognises the classics while having a thirst for novelty. Everyone is welcome, there is such diversity and possibilities. All these things make the scene go well and it has a bright future. ”
The best track and album you heard this year?
“A few weeks ago, we went to see Sydney Valette in Paris and we totally
loved his song called ‘Crystal Heart’. We also loved ‘Miriam’ from Curses,
it’s a gem. Also the remix of ‘Lock Jaw’ from Patriarchy by Kris Baha blowed
our minds.”
If you would cover a Xmas carol, which one would it be?
“That’s a funny one!
“Xmas songs are only ok for a very short period of the year, the rest of the
time we just hate it. It is a very special relationship to music, quite unique.
So we hesitate with something from Franck Sinatra or Maria Carrey but we
think that ‘Last Christmas‘ by Wham! remains a must.”
Which song (s) will you play on New Year’s Eve and why?
“Definitely ‘Break My Soul’ by Beyonce, on repeat.
Do we really have to explain why? (TUTV: no).”
Name three things you really want to happen in 2023 for ULTRA SUNN?
“Let’s say a cool release of our 3rd EP ‘Kill Your Idols’ on Fleisch, nice
music videos to share with you all, and concerts all over the world.”
Thank you, Gaelle and Sam for this interview.
May the road rise with Ultra Sunn in 2023.
A stream of rattling rippers, jagged jams, and magnific musings
All 20 on Spotify
. Track by Track
Stoogefather IGGY POP still wants to be your dog.
Next January he launches a new album, named Every Loser.
First lead single FRENZY is a motherfucker of a punk bomb
featuring an all-star band including Watt, Guns N’ Roses‘ Duff
McKagan and Red Hot Chili Peppers‘ Chad Smith.
I’m in a frenzy
Fucking prick
I’m in a frenzy
Goddamn dick
But they’re not done yet this year. They teamed up with Laurie Vincent
of London‘s punk duo Slaves for a brand new hammer blow called THE DELICATE NATURE
It goes like this…
BOB VYLAN: Facebook – Instagram
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Both a gloomy and foot-tapping drum/bass are the backbone of this ominous post-punk stroke. Haunting guitar layers inject this jaw-dropper with edgy electricity, grim vocals add a kind of dark tension, while the sickly catchy groove rattles on and on, before a surprising finish with a weeping violin.
The video features the English comedian Sean Walsh in a much darker tone than his usual TV appearances, as he is seen battling his inner demons through the bottom of a whisky bottle.
DEAD PATRONS: Facebook
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Band: ULTRA SUNN Who: Cold/darkwave duo – Sam Huge
and Gaelle Souflet – from Brussels
Turn Up The Volume: Can you believe this? Even before the music comes
on I’m already moving furniture to make room, because with ULTRA SUNN
it’s always shake your booty time.
The tantalizing combination of boosting beats, shadowplay sound textures,
reverberant vocals, and a pumping chorus at work here, attract you to act the
whole way through. Just irresistible. With ambitious artists like ULTRA SUNN
darkwave music will never age.
First taster LIFE IS AN EXPERIMENT (Cloud Climber Version) is vintage dub electronica honoring Lee “Scratch” Pery wonderfully. The Jamaican dub music pioneer who gave reggae another vibe with his revolutionary studio wizardry and visionary production technics. He passed away last year, aged 85. R.I.P.
Hear the ghost of Perry at work…
NEW AGE DOOM: Website
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(Keira-Anee Photography)
Band: BUGEYE Who: Female pop quartet from London blending cherry-liqueur lyrics,
bubblegum-kneecap bass electrics, goth-heavy drum compactions and
hi-rise guitar sculptures.
Swedish electro-pop artist FEVER RAY (born Karin Elisabeth Dreijer, 47 years ago)
canned her 3rd album and named it RADICAL ROMANTICS. It comes out on 10 March 2023. More info here.
Spicy taster CARBON DIOXIDE is an edgy
Björk-esque disco-pop stomper. Bingo!
Band:MEMES Who: A noisy Glasgow duo (cousins) called John and Paul – not that John and Paul, obviously. And as band name John Paul II would be ridiculous, they called themselves Memes, and hit the scene in 2019, and have been twisting heads ever since
After their eponymous bonkers debut EP (2020) followed by some staggering singles,
the high-decibels tandem nail it with another sucker punch. Leader is a funk-punk riff ripsnorter that kicks forth and back before a freakish guitar outbreak slashes and
trashes its way to the end.
Watch out for the pigman,
he looks like a meme in disguise…
DEATH VALLEY GIRLS, the garage rock fury from Los Angeles, led by vocalist/guitarist/organist and charismatic voodoo doll Bonnie Bloomgarden,
who love to doom boogie while glowing in the dark, have their new – 5th – album,
baptized ISLANDS IN THE SKY out on 24 February 2023. Pre-order info here.
Along with the great news, DVG spoil our ears with the first single WHAT ARE THE ODDS.
It’s a ridiculously sticky juiced-up power-pop chant triggering your limbs to get up and move. And when the under the spell of joy choir joins Bonnie Bloomgarden on the elated chorus you just feel that the odds are huge for the simulated Californian girls having another top album are huge. Fact!
We are living in a simulated world
And we are simulated girls!
Band: CROSS WIRES Who: fervid post-punk 4-piece
from Romford, UK.
Single: MOURNING
The first piece of the band’s
upcoming second longplayer.
TUTV: Great news for all Cross Wires fans, including myself, out there.
Their 2nd album is finished/recorded and ready to leave its vault early
next year through Culture Wars Records. It follows the band’s album A Life Extinct. One of the most poignant debut records of 2019.
Lead single. Mourning is not a happy story. It’s a post-break-up cry out,
a cathartic shout out. Sixties psychedelic-sounding wah-wah guitar fuzz,
alternated with cutting six-string fervor stoke up the energy of this crackerjack
all the way, along with a steadfast drum/bass tandem, and back up frontman Jonathan Chapman‘s harrowing confession of lovesickness.
Band: JUSTINE PAYNE & CO. Who: Musician, composer and performer, describing himself
as a “natural born underdog.” With over 15 years of experience
in the industry
Payne describes how his life is changing throughout the song, but no amount
of fame or distraction could deviate him from the one he loves. The tender lyrics
contrast in the baddest way possible with Justine‘s gritty delivery.
TUTV: Expect a slow-burning slacker cracker with poignant Dinosaur Jr echoes and
garage rock reverberation stoked up by cranked-up guitars. As the song progresses Payne spellbinding voice takes over. Breathtaking.
A speedy psych roller featuring guitar lines from Johnny Marr.
The song is the first piece The Chief shared from a new album
coming next year. Details follow later.
Gallagher:“For this new record it was the first thing I wrote, the first thing I demoed and the first thing I finished, so it’s only right that it’s the first thing people get to hear. Massive shout out to my mainest man Johnny Marr for taking it somewhere special. Oh… and watch out for a cameo from me in the video… first one to spot me wins a bag of Flamin’ Hot Wotsits Giants!!”
Music, maestro, please…
NOEL GALLAGHER’S HIGH FLYING BIRDS: Facebook – Instagram
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Who: Zach Pliska and Emily Sturm. The project started in 2017.
They describe their sound as deathgaze, combining the raw energy
of deathrock with the depth of shoegaze. So far the duo released
four albums and a handful of singles and EPs.
TUTV: Vazum ventilate their anger versus the money-greedy corporate music industry
with this brutal straightforward shocker generating a wall-of-fuck-the-elite-labels sound that bulldozes its way on repeat with schizo guitars, a non-stop spiteful rant and Emily Sturm‘s freakish backing vocals. Bang-on!
Lyrically and sonically it follows Lin Manuel closely. Lyrical guitar play
stars along Chavez‘s fervid soul/blues voice. She still has hope for the
future. No, it’s not over yet.
Artists: FERAL FIVE Who: Electro-punk dance music duo – Kat and Drew Five – from London
with bite, fusing snarling guitars, sparkling synths, and ferocious beats.
Single: GOLDEN RULE
Fresh piece from their long-awaited debut album, named The New Truth Is Gold out on 10 February 2023 through Reckless Yes.
FF: “‘The golden rule is people come together. This is a shimmering
anthem of renewal, and a clarion call for people to come together.”
TUTV: Golden Rule is a desirous pick-me-up pop tune. Airy, breezy, instantly catching and an invitation to get together in these troublous times. Kat Five‘s vocals float all over this romantic reflection and glossy synths sparkle throughout. The most notable component, to my ears, of this new piece, is the distinctive Cure-like guitar sonority. Feverish, shadowy and arresting. Pretty cool. Bring on the album FF.
Band: VOGUE VILLAINS Who: A hard-rocking alternative band from Vancouver Island, Canada with a musical foundation planted firmly in catchy melodies and multipart harmonies. Set on making music that feels unique, yet unafraid to wear the boys many influences on their sleeves, this powerhouse of a band has created a sound that is undeniably and unmistakably VV.
TUTV: Hells bells! This nasty motherrocker of a hammer blow speeds up your adrenalin machine from the kick-off. VV mix blues rock, classic rock and hard rock seamlessly into a red-hot-blooded wall-of-riff-sick sound. A boiling mishmash of intimidating guitars, a powerhouse rhythm section, a Herculean chorus, boogie-woogie flashes and vociferous vocals is what your stereo speakers will spit out. Just what you need to bang your head against a wall. Hells bell, indeed.
Band: TAPE TRASH Who: This new duo project draw inspiration from the music they listened to when
they first picked up their instruments as enthusiastic teenagers: Indie rock induced with infectious choruses, catchy guitar riffs, and huge drums. After an involuntary break due to the corona epidemic, they have spent the past year working on their debut album.
Single: OLD HIGHS
2nd piece, following lead-single Not Going Home,
from their upcoming debut longplayer
TUTV: Expect a multi-layered, towering and schizophrenic wall-of-guitar-electricity propelled by a pushing rhythm section. When they take the decibels a bit down it’s
only a foreplay moment for a stormy finale. Breathtaking stroke!
Band: SUEP Who: A stubbornly high-spirited combo creating oddball music with
a touch of theatrical storytelling. Fronted by Georgie Stott (Porridge Radio,
Garden Centre, The GN Band) and Brain Wastefield. SUEP is born out of a
near-decade of wearing silly clothes and deconstructing pop together.
TUTV: I love the vivid vibe here. In Good Health resonates like a comforting chant with friends, hand in hand, taking care of each other. It’s a frisky tune that plays instantly on your inner stereo in your head. It’s an all-together ditty that puts a big smile on your face.
More of that is expected when SUEP release their debut album, namedShop,
It lands on 27th January 2023 via Memorials Of Distinction.
The Short Causeway are a notable 2022 example. They zig-zag their way through
this debut single with capricious tempo changes, with glimmering guitar sparks,
breezy melodiousness, and moony vocals. Welcome!
Tune in.
. THE SHORT CAUSEWAY: Facebook – Twitter
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PISTOL brings together all of the elements that have made CAS such a celebrated band, while also introducing a subtle yet impactful increase in tempo. Equal parts transportive and romantic, the song’s driving rhythm meets a stark, minimalistic atmosphere that is given dimension by dreamy, washed-out guitars, swelling synths, and intimate, yearning vocals from Greg Gonzalez.
Turn Up The Volume: Can you believe this? Even before the music comes
on I’m already moving furniture to make room, because with ULTRA SUNN
it’s always shake your booty time.
The tantalizing combination of boosting beats, shadowplay sound textures,
reverberant vocals, and a pumping chorus at work here, attract you to act the
whole way through. Just irresistible. With ambitious artists like ULTRA SUNN
darkwave music will never age.
A stream of rattling rippers, jagged jams, and magnific musings
All 20 on Spotify.
. TRACK BY TRACK
Band: GILLA BAND Who: Raw Irish post-punk projectile New album: Most Normal,
their third, out on out 7th October.
Dara Kiely (frontman man): “The lyrics are from a stream of consciousness rant, weird imagery and all that. The track is about attraction – fancying someone and not knowing what to say exactly. It’s an indirect love song, knowing you like someone but can’t quite articulate it.”
It follows the character of Billy as he loses his job, his house, his wife and kids, and ultimately maybe his life. After pursuing everything at all costs, we follow Lehman brother’s banker Billy as he chronologically loses everything throughout the worst day of his life, after the bank collapses and everything just keeps going wrong.
Be ready to jump up and down, left and right. This not-so-happy song sounds terrifically happy. A riveting pop tune that could come straight from a Yungblud album. If this devil-may-care earworm doesn’t make you go gaga I don’t know what will.
Turned-on guitars and Oberti‘s quick-fire vocals – on the cracking
chorus he goes as fast as a rapper – inflame this straightforward
standout. From bankrobber to bankrocker.
Fantastico!
THE BANKROBBER: Twitter – Instagram
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(photo by Sandra Ebert)
Band: MODERN WOMAN Who: London-based act that began as the songwriting project of Sophie Harris.
The band’s music, still based around Harris’ songwriting, explores a diverse range
of sounds drawing from their melting pot of influences.
Following their splendid 2021 debut EP Dogs Fight In My Dream these up-and-coming gunslingers score again with their new sassy bass/drums motorized and guitar-spiced stunner, extra energized with Sophie Harris‘s clear-cut vocals and a schizo finish. They should get the same attention as Liverpool‘s sensation The Mysterines. NOW!
MODERN WOMAN: Facebook
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Band: THE KILLERS (Los Angeles) Active: Since 2001 / 7 studio albums
Brando Flowers (frontman): With ‘boy’, I want to reach out and tell
myself, and my sons, to not overthink it. And to look for the ‘white arrows’
in their lives. For me now, white arrows are my wife, children, my songs
and the stage.”
The tunesmiths experts do what do best, writing
lyrical anthems for huge stadiums.
Boy, oh boy.
THE KILLERS: Facebook – Instagram
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This slow-mo reflection on personal turmoil is driven by an ongoing bass-riff that got under my skin and kept on rotating in my head after just one spin. And when Rettig adds psychedelic guitar pizazz and flashy fingertip touches, the bone-chilling progression gets even more poignant. Her shadowy vocality seduces once again. To hypnotise, magnetise and mesmesize are familiar Where We Sleep characteristics I never get tired of.
With The Speed this Belgian darkwave duo invites you once more to get off your
lazy couch, to dress black and head to the nightclub where they are waiting
to make your booty shake to their ghostly bass synth riffs. Nirvana guaranteed.
Jodie: “How It Is, the recurring tale of getting messy with your mates to escape from the standard 9 to 5 working life. This track celebrates the poor life choices made after deciding to go for a drink with your friends/colleagues and the chaos and amusement experienced along the way. “
It’s only Langford‘s third single.
This new one is a brisk clap-along groover with an instantaneous swaying
impact on your hips. Could be the ideal remedy when trying to get out of bed after
a 48-hour weekend revelry and shake your hangover off. Sheeny synths, hip-hopper Marx‘s jaunty contribution, and the zestful chorus, it all comes together seamlessly.
Band: TUHAF (Copenhagen, Denmark) Who: The fusion of different types of musicians and all kinds of genres
– Anatolian folk, indie rock, free jazz, Danish traditional songs and US
roots rock – wondrously merges into the sound of TUHAF. The band is
fronted by Turkish-born singer Berrin Bas.
New single: HAFLA
From their debut album ‘Mere Guld’,
out this Friday.
Berrin: “‘Hafla’ is about celebrating oneself. It is dedicated to Bicop (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) and everybody
can join the party.”
Hafla is a sensual groove with an exotic Eastern vibe. Its ongoing vibe
gets you, slowly but surely, into an elevating trance, while Berrin Bas‘s
vocals add a mesmerizing touch that works as a magnet.
Everybody is invited to Tuhaf‘s politically progressive party to celebrate
diversity with them. Music has the power to unite people. We all should
use that power to get together and respect each other as humans without
any kind of discrimination. Tolerance of diversity is the one and only key
to live together, side by side.
The marvelous black & white video will help
you to get in the right mood to dance…
Jordan Speare: I wrote “Hey Stacey” for a friend of mine named Stacey, who also just
so happens to be one of the best people I’ve ever met. I remember when we first met, she
had mentioned how she hated whenever she’d meet new people, they would always make
a reference to that Fountains Of Wayne song “Stacy’s Mom” – she would joke: “it’s not funny
and my name isn’t even spelled that way!” I thought that was hilarious, so I wrote this song especially for her, with her name spelled correctly, of course.
Jingle jangle pop at its exciting best. Hey Stacey is a steamy swinger with all
cylinders rollin’ all the way. It’s sticky as first-class glue and you can sing
the chorus to your lover.
Check the vibe.
. BURN THE LOUVRE: Facebook
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Band: THE ZINVANDELS Who: 4 uproarious rockers from Wales
New single: BLACKHOLES
Their sixth one. A statement of intent
ahead of their debut LP release.
Oh my, oh my. Expect riff schizophrenia bucking up this flipped-out
corker for its whole 4 minutes. Blackholes is a rollicking post-punk
juggernaut that scurries full tilt without looking back.
Add a steamed-up drums/bass tandem and poignant vocals and you
know this head-over-heels thunderstorm will attack your speakers
mercilessly.
These Welshmen are a burning engine.
THE ZINVANDELS: Facebook – Instagram
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Band: STICK TO YOUR GUNS Who: The famous Californian hardcore tormentors Active: Since 2003 / 7 studio LPs (new one incl.)
The slowest and moodiest piece on the LP. But as intense
and fanatical as their hard-screeching-core missiles.
STICK TO YOUR GUNS: Facebook – Instagram
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Photo Credit: August Wolfe
Band: REIGN MAKER Who: Australian prog rock band formed in Melbourne, Victoria in 2020.
Reign Maker is the collaborative project of passionate, activists who weave
politically charged, social commentary throughout their songs to raise
awareness and give voice to a wide range of current issues faced
in the world today.
The band take a stance here against racial discrimination and
police brutality needlessly taking the lives of innocent people.
This mighty-powered and impassioned ballad blows your mind in sound and vision.
Its metallic sonority and its titanic fervency send shivers down your spine. Astonishing.
And the monumental heart-and-soul cutting vocals are just flabbergasting, making me think of the haunting voice of Tarja Turunen from Finnish metalheads Nightwish. Midway, when the decibels go sky-high, the delirium increases to a jaw-dropping level.
Get the picture? Yes, this is a towering stonker
with an aroused impact. Touchdown.
Don’t be a stranger, press play
and get overwhelmed.
Right here, right now.
. GATHERING OF STRANGERS: Facebook – Instagram
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Band: ERASE ME Who: Sludge pop band from Phoenix, Arizona. Their songs cover the gamut of topics but are often driven deep into what it’s like to be piece a of desert trash blowing through gentrified downtown phoenix landscapes, just tryin’ to survive.
Expect a hugely catchy guitar booster with a head-spinning cadence, an electrical rush, and elated vocals As short as a Ramones song. For some reason, my ears tell me that this could be Pavement if they would write a pop tune as silver-toned as this one. Sounds like kick-ass fun, right? You betcha
Listen/watch.
JOAN OF ARKANSAS: Facebook
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(credit: Bianca Petris)
Band: THE CASE Who: Firm 4-piece from Romania who started their journey in 2012, always
refining their rock & grunge sound. On their creative process, the band reckons
they “tried to create a space where originality prevails, to detach themselves from
the current musical cliches while glorifying their lord and savior David Bowie.”
“‘Fever’ is about the passage of time, about the failed attempts to correlate the quality of
a relationship with its duration and intensity. The song is about happiness, sadness, breakup, and forgiveness. It would be love if we were to associate our new single with just one word.”
This is a mind-magnetic and slow-burning sonic torch. Sounds both riveting and piercing as American alt-rockers The Afghan Whigs did/do so impressively for years. The Case develop a similar sensation of vivacity.
A cast-iron winner.
THE CASE: Facebook – Instagram
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Band: THE TRUSTED (Southend-on-Sea, UK) Who: Formed in 2016, making music with strong melodies and catchy hooks. Being inspired by the new age Brit-rock bands like The 1975 and Catfish and the Bottlemen, The Trusted have made their own unique sound by the fusion of post-punk and punk energy with a little hint of modern rock.
“A song about being abandoned by the good guys.”
It was composed during lockdown. The band couldn’t write together
face to face. The creative collaboration went through computers.
Smooth synths, and gently weeping guitar lines take you immediately
on a dreamy head-in-the-clouds trip that moves slowly, heading to an
epic climax. Stylishly composed, greatly arranged.
A bittersweet symphony.
A romantic beauty.
.
THE TRUSTED: Facebook
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With a heatwave just around the corner, many of us will hide from the sun
in fresh places. I’m thinking of my cellar. And while I’m there I’m going to play
these 2 new darkwave stompers (and other Ultra Sunn releases) and dance in
the dark as Bruce Springsteen once suggested.
The booming Depeche Mode beats, the gloomed Human League (the original late
70s unit) drones, the ghostly repetitive bass synth riffs, and the spooky vocals on
both sexy stompers will switch on every muscle and nerve in your eager body. Your heartbeat, bloodstream, and adrenalin flow will all speed up. In the end, you’ll sweat
like hell, but you will feel alive and kicking at the dark side of the heatwave.
Talking about being productive. The two charismatic rock queens Lindsey Troy and Julie Edwards from the city of angels, Los Angeles
released two EPs and their 3rd LP titled Marriage (with some of
the EP songs on it) this year.
Extended Play American Cockroach is the one I listened to the most
with its two steamrollers (I Like Crime / American Cockroach) and two
slower beauties (Give Me A Sign / Better Off With Nothing).
This cool black leather duo turns darkness into a stroboscopic
disco place where you can shadow dance yourself dizzy.
Their electro electricity, doomed drones, Goth echoes, eerie
baritone vocals, and synth riffs that stick as first-class glue
have both a mind-intoxicating impact and a sensual feel.
Thunder and lighting beats for the twilight hours.
Their brisk 6-track EP is a fitting soundtrack
to kick another virus year into oblivion.
I discovered these London misfits last October in Amsterdam playing there
as part of an indoor festival at the legendary Paradiso club. What I felt was
what felt so many times when seeing their mates Fat White Family slash and
trash stages.
You know, that feeling of pumped-up confidence to go out in
the street and kick some fascists’ asses. Hell bloody hell yeah!
Bad Time will tell you all about it…
. 4. ‘This Sceptic Isle’ by SHATTERCONES (London, UK)
Who: Politically outspoken rock outfit from London.
Opener Ghoul Driver sets the tremendously torrid tone of this jaw-dropping
extended play. An ominous outburst that threatens to explode any second. Say Goodbye both surprises and impresses with its longing Mexican tango
melodiousness.
Fulminating stroke Butterly Room is an acrimonious reflection on the state
of chaotic Brexit England and closer The Man Who Ate Capitalism progresses
at a funeral pace, lamenting and dolesome. Throughout, ill-omened vocals
cause goosebumps.
TMCF is a British pop/rock duo unafraid to blend ambience
with indie hooks to create a psychedelic experience. Formed
in a time of hopelessness.
Expect an instrumental synth/guitar opener (The Space In Between), a shadowy
prog-roller-coaster with twists and turns, and a magnetic bass riff (Thaumaturgy),
darkwavish pop-scapes (From Green To Grey / Collapse), a sparkling dreamtune (The Lions Den ) and a euphonic, vocal symphony with mellow piano touches
(Soon The World Goes Black). Top!
‘Queen Of Swords’ by TYPHOID ROSIE (Brooklyn, New York)
Rousing Riot grrrl Rosie Rebel and her riff-racing rascals go full steam ahead on
the tense title track of their smoking new album. If you want to know more about this lively gang check the recent interview Rosie Rebel did with Turn Up The Volume right here.
With this new standout, ILA reveals a total turnover in resonance. She rocks, raves, and rolls backed by steamy wall-of-towering turbulence. Mind you, the heartfelt fervency, personal turmoil and vocal vehemence are still intact. Can’t wait to find out if this is actually another page in her magical music book.
A highlight of Participation Mystique, the fourth longplayer by this most thrilling duo with Laura Mariposa Williams‘ bewitching voice as the heroine. Her psychedelic, gothic,
far-out, and at times wailing timbre magnetizes and hypnotizes while wandering in an orchestral space. Learn more about these intriguing artists in their recent interview
with Turn Up The Volume.
This Belgian quartet brings Scottish daydreamers Teenage Fanclub to mind. Combine this with the band’s slacker rock sensibility and jingle-jangle jives and what you get is a tingling tune. It’s called pop-ular music.
The alter ego of Texan prize-winning poet and guitarist Harold Whit Williams.
This is a sickly sticky dope tune, one that makes me smile from left to right
and back. One shot of this, and you’ll jump around the room like a kangaroo
on speed.
This has everything a perky pop pearl needs. Play it in the morning, in the evening and every hour in between and at the end of the day you feel so much better and most of all it’s a truly helpful way to process a breakup. So much cheaper than therapy.
Regrets floats on layers of shoegaze guitars and fervid vocals while growing to an engrossing level of electrifying epicness when the glowing chorus kicks in. Trust me,
a couple of spins and you’re addicted. Fact!
The fever of The Verve‘s urban hymns, the sassy swagger of Oasis in slo-mo
with 60s organs and the fervent flair of 90s Britpop. The final result is obvious.
A bittersweet blistering symphony. Touchdown!
The darkwave tandem is on depeche modus with this shadow-dancing single from their brand new, second EP Body Electric. Expect booming beats, doomed drones, eerie vocals, and a repetitive bass synth riff that sticks as first-rate glue. A club cracker!
Put your black leather jacket on and shake your booty…
This riveting ripper starts with a mid-tempo drum-driven intro, gliding quickly into
a swing and sway your hips chorus, followed by a moment of reflection. The whole
process repeats itself and gets slowly but surely under your skin. You’ll love every
second of this electro roller coaster.
‘I Miss It’ by JODIE LANGFORD(Hull / East Yorkshire, UK)
This young, outspoken, and observative artist – a female Mike Skinner – reflects the dreadful freedom-restricting sentiments of the past lockdown times in her new word rap waterfall jam. An intoxicating and groovetastic house stomper making you euphoric now that you can freak out again in nightclubs.
“It’s Fine” examines themes of jealousy and insecurity in open relationships.”
Not an easy issue to write a song about, but embedded in an ebullient earworm like
this, it’s fine. Impossible to resist this tremendously infectious corker spinning around like forever inviting you to pirouette yourself dizzy while duet vocals push the pace. No pause, no breathing space, no interval, always straight on.
Sonically this surreal saga wouldn’t be out of place on a Gary Numan album. Lyrically it’s like an ode to the unknown eternity. In my imagination Wytch Lych resonates like a funeral hymn, celebrating the imperishability of the soul. Stunning vocals, striking synth shadows, and an overall spellbinding impressiveness. Top stuff!
When I listened to this new little pearl on Spotify for the first time, it was followed
by the title track of the upcoming LP of The War On Drugs. I swear I thought that
it was another Lossline song. It was that melancholic guitar glow that confused
my ears. It wasn’t until Adam Granduciel‘s voice came up that I knew it wasn’t
the Manchester duo.
‘Lights In The Expanse Of The Sky’ by DREW FIVE (London)
Close your eyes, relax and imagine you’re floating into space where Spiritualized‘s mastermind Jason Pierce lives while playing this hallucinatory ambient trip on your headphones.
French songstress Héloïse Adélaïde Letissier returns with two new songs,
with this one as my favorite. A slow-burning and emotive humdinger with
a gospel-like choir.
Band: ULTRA SUNN Who: Cold/darkwave duo – Sam Huge and
Gaelle Souflet – from Brussels
New single: YOUNG FOXES
First single from their upcoming, second EP, titled Body Electric via Cold Transmission. The accompanying
video clip is the first part of a story that illustrates two
tracks from that new EP.
Turn Up The Volume: After their excellent debut EP Night Is Mine
earlier this year, the electro addicted DJs from Brussels are back with
the first single from a second EP, out soon.
Young Foxes is vintage darkwave. Booming Beats, doomed drones,
eerie vocals and a repetitive bass synth riff that sticks as first-rate glue.
This new shadowdancing slam wouldn’t be out of place on one of the Depeche Mode albums (well, one after their pop heydays) and echoes
of Front 242 are not far away. This new piece is a highly promising
harbinger for Body Electric.
TURN UP THE VOLUME 