Band:XIU XIU Who: Seasoned Californian
art noise duo based in Berlin.
They aren’t the lazy kind of artists. In their 22-year-old career, they have
canned/released 14 LPs, with last year’s oddly titled, but very compelling
album, 13″ Frank Beltrame Italian Stiletto with Bison Horn Grips
as the most recent one.
1. “Psycho Killer” – Talking Heads 2.“Warm Leatherette” – The Normal 3.“I Put a Spell on You” – Screamin’ Jay Hawkins 4.“Hamburger Lady” – Throbbing Gristle 5.“In Dreams” – Roy Orbison 6.“Sex Dwarf” – Soft Cell 7.“Dancing on My Own” – Robyn 8. “SPQR” – This Heat 9.“Lick or Sum” – GloRilla 10.“Some Things Last a Long Time”– Daniel Johnston 11.“Triple Sun” – Coil 12. “Cherry Bomb”– The Runaways
Press info: For XX covers aren’t about improvement, but reverence, aiming with each
song to be a small honorific offering to artists that have inspired them. Covers come from a broad range of inspirational touchpoints for the band that while far reaching, each feel
a fit from a band with such a varied sound, from the likes of Throbbing Gristle to GlloRilla, Robyn, Talking Heads and even Roy Orbison among others.
TUTV: To be honest, I thought XX would butcher the songs that they picked to cover. Overall, the melodies of the originals are treated with respect, but they embed them in their own characteristic noise textures of reverberating distortion and industrial rumpus. From Roy Orbison to Talking Heads. Mutha fuckin’.
XX is now also part of a new Xmas (what happened to Halloween?) compilation,
named We Wish You A Very Gothmas by L.A.’s based indie Goth labelCleoptra
Records . More info and full tracklist here.
XX do a cover of Yuletide carol Frosty The Snowman and it sounds like this.
Band: XIU XIU
The Californian art noise duo XIU XIU aren’t the lazy kind of artists.
In their 22-year-old career, they recorded/released 14 LPs including
the new one.
The Quietus writes: “13”… is a superlative pop record, but still an endless cycle of extremes.
A shining, distorted, expertly constructed, open-ended record, that might be Xiu Xiu’s best.”
TUTV: This is their most intense, most emotional, and most accessible album to date.
Well, not that it will sell millions of copies and be No. 1 on the charts all over the world.
It’s still XX, always exploring different soundscapes, but here they come up with
less complex song structures, actually more (sort of) conventional alt ones. And?
Outstanding record dominated by layers of industrial synths and chilling melodies.
I hear Cure-esque echoes (Common Loon / Veneficum), eerie and ghostly vocality
à la the late great Scott Walker (Arp Omni / Sleep Bvld.) and trippy Cabaret Voltaire
dynamics. All together, these sonic ingredients lead to a fascinating XX opus.
The more spins, the more your ears
get around this new Xiu Xiu exploit.
MOJO (monthly UK magazine): “A yin-yang parity asserts itself with the wistful, jazzy,
Rose-sung Simple Days, electro-pop You Saw and epic, wicca-ish Druantia. Elsewhere,
there’s arty chamber pop, demented swing-jazz and the epic Surf’s Up-echoing closer
Sunrise: middle-aged bliss has rarely sounded so weirdly magical.”
TUTV: Partners in love, partners in parenthood, partners in music. With this 2nd LP Coxon and Dougall offer an even more varied one than their notable debut. They rock out (City Lights, You Saw, Moth To The Flame, Broken Boys, Simple Days) and slow down (I Belong To, lullaby for their little daughter Song For Eliza May, Girl Of The Endless Night) with three constants.
Arrestive tunes, rich instrumental orchestrations and emotional, alternating and duet vocals. You hear a happy and dynamic couple delivering a high-songwriting-quality record. Embrace it with your ears, heart and soul, it’ll feel good.
Uncut (British music monthly): “The fourth album is a
masterclass in simple but devastatingly effective melodies.”
Press photo by Dario Vazquez
TUTV: Infectious tune after infectious tune make you reach for Piña Colada after
Piña Colada. Hinds resurrect here from a difficult period with 2 members leaving.
It leads to songs of love and loss, yep, songs about life.
The overall vitalizing formula of this new longplayer lies in the fact that every single track
is embedded in an on-the-spot galvanizing melodiousness that triggers joyous, gratified and devil-may-care feelings. It’s called pop-ular music. No less, no more. Oh so welcome
in these disordered times. Uplifting entertainment for all seasons. Gracias ciervas.
. KEY SINGLE
(Contender for best one of 2024)
Press info: This new release is a raucous blend of anthemic rock ‘n’ roll, brimming with boogie, rage, forgiveness, and raw energy. The music is loud, fast, and bombastic, infused with lyrics that highlight our ongoing struggle for equality and the collective effort required to bridge the gap.
TUTV: Imagine MC5 have a headbutt fight with The Stooges, while Led Zeppelin are
waiting around the corner, armed with battleaxes, to have their go at the winner.
Gee wizz. Sounds fucking cool, right? You betcha.
Equator unleash uppercut after uppercut at your ears and poor loudspeakers. What you hear is what you get. Filthy garage blues-punk rock. Helter-skelter. A non-stop tsunami of Herculean riffs, primal Wolfmother screams, berserk octopus drumming, and voluminous choruses combine for a badass whopping record. Fasten your seatbelts for these manic hooligans.
Band: MERCURY REV
The day-and-night dreamers from Buffalo, New York MERCURY REV – with key members Jonathan Donahue and Sean “Grasshopper” Mackowiak are around for 35 years now and still float in a universe of their own They now operate with new members Marion Genser (keyboardist) Jesse Chandler (piano).
Mojo (British musical monthly): “Bands, as Donahue famously sang on Holes,
“never work quite right”, but with this late-period beauty, Mercury Rev have hit
the cosmic balance perfectly.”
Press photo by Joe Magistro
TUTV: Reflections about the past, the present, and the future. Frontman Jonathan
Donahue tells stories about life. Real images, illusionary images. His heartwarming
voice and the subtly jazzy, soothing, and tranquillizing orchestrations flow into each
other just beautifully.
Poetry in motion. Born Horses is an ideal companion for meditative nights, for silent
moments of nostalgic pensiveness and widescreen fantasies. After a couple of spins,
I played Laurie Anderson‘ new album Amelia (about the legendary female aviator Amelia). Other stories but a same telling atmosphere and impact, same cinematic sonority. Then back again to Born Horses. A spiritual experience. Dim the light, sit down, relax, and let
your thoughts flow.
Band: BABY SCHILLACI Who: Welsh alt-act producing a raw, unfiltered sound. Rooted in post-punk
and noise, the band’s aggressive yet intricately layered compositions evoke
comparisons to seminal acts like Mclusky, At the Drive-In, and Fugazi.
Track: BLUNT FORCE TRAUMA
From their upcoming debut album
‘The Soundtrack’ out next week.
A barbed slice of mayhew. Think Sonic Youth going forth
and back, and finishing with a flabbergasting finale.
Band: BLACK DOLDRUMS Who: British synth-pop-Goth trio, with key
members Kevin Gibbard and Sophie Landers.
Track: SUMMER BREEZE
Song from their their second longplayer In Limerence which lands on October 18.
No, this is not a New Order song but it could easily be one, actually a stellar one.
It’s a pure synth-pop pearl for all seasons. Uplifting, heart-warming, and gratifying.
The high-octane rock ‘n’ roll explosion tells the darkly humorous and gripping tale of a woman who has taken drastic measures against a deceitful lover. Noanne ventures into uncharted emotional territory, portraying a dramatic shift from dependence to outright animosity—and beyond.
Band: SOME REMAIN Who: Young punk gunslingers
from Ireland.
Track: DEATH DEFYING STUNTS
The first taken from an upcoming EP
slated for release early 2025.
Not only does it defy death, it pretty much defies description as it takes you on a glorious and wild ride through early UK punk (Read About Seymour – Swell Maps) and surf rock (Miserlou – Dick Dale) with some Dr Feelgood and The Cribs thrown in for good measure.
“A hectic party tune that leaves you feeling like you’ve
just landed a sick kickflip over a tank of sharks.”
CC have that uplifting drive of the Levellers and the eurythmic catchinesss of Mumford & Sons. Wash Away The Day is a brisk pop tune going forth and back, from
low-key to vivacious and back, while ardent harmonies and energetic violins complete
the swirling sonic picture.
Band: SOFT SKIES INC Who: Philadelphia-based identical-twin duo and longtime musical confidants Ryan and Martin Rex, their shared sonic compass draws a straight line from the
classic alternative of their youth to the modern alternative and dream-pop of
today.
A song of hope, riding those tender waves of nostalgia, understanding that a loss of innocence comes with age but that we emerge from the other side with newfound perspective and awareness.
Melodic guitar pop at its Sebadoh best. Uptempo shoe-slacker-gaze
spiced with scintalling synths and ethereal vocals. Start dreaming in
overdrive. Right here.
Nicks: I wrote this song a few months after Roe v Wade was overturned. It seemed like overnight, people were saying ‘what can we, as a collective force, do about this…’ For me,
it was to write a song. It took a while because I was on the road. Then early one morning I was watching the news on TV and a certain newscaster said something that felt like she was talking to me ~ explaining what the loss of Roe v Wade would come to mean. I wrote the song the next morning and recorded it that night.”
A vehement pro-reproductive rights anthem that
overwhelms on the chorus. Nicks‘s impressive voice
lights in the middle.
The first composition of the Goth icons’ upcoming 14th LP, their first
in 16 years, titled Songs Of A Lost World. It’ll drop on planet Earth on
November 1st.
Alone is an almost 7-minute funeral march, a slowly progressing lament, layered with mourning synths. Smith only starts singing halfway and augments the sombre atmosphere all the way through. After a couple of spins the songs keeps on coming back to haunt you. Sonic cure for restless minds.
Band: JOHNNY MARR AND THE HEALERS Who: Short-lived (2001-2004) Johnny Marr project
after he left The Smiths.
Track: THE WAY THAT IT WAS
Previoulsy unreleased song from the deluxe
reissue (released last week) of their one and
only album, named Boomslang.
A sweet 18-carat pop diamond with a melancholic resonance and impassioned
and affecting Marr vocals. No idea why this gripping reverie was hidden for so long,
but happy that my ears can enjoy it today. The Way That It Was wouldn’t have been
out of place on The Verve’s 1997 classic ‘Urban Hymns‘.
Californian art noise duo XIU XIU aren’t the lazy kind of artists.
In their 22-year-old career, they fabricated 13 LPs, with last year’s
primo Ignore Grief album as the most recent one.
Recently, the duo moved from L.A. to Berlin where
they experience a new stream of inspiration.
Press info: “Angela Seo and Jamie Stewart deliver some of the band’s most compelling and mesmerizing music to date. Mixed by John Congleton (Chelsea Wolfe, Swans, Lana Del Rey) this album is unlike anything the band has ever recorded previously and was motivated by the destruction of previous aesthetic notions, as well as the band’s recent move from Los Angeles to Berlin.”
The Quietus writes: “13”… is a superlative pop record, but still an endless cycle of extremes.
A shining, distorted, expertly constructed, open-ended record, that might be Xiu Xiu’s best.”
TUTV: This is their most intense, most emotional and most accessible album to date.
Well, not that it will sell millions of copies and be No 1 on the charts all over the world.
It’s still XX, always exploring different soundscapes, but here they come up with
less complex song structures, actually more (sort of) conventional alt ones. And?
Outstanding record dominated by layers of industrial synths and chilling melodies.
I hear Cure-esque echoes (Common Loon / Veneficum), eerie and ghostly vocality
à la the late great Scott Walker (Arp Omni / Sleep Bvld.) and trippy Cabaret Voltaire
dynamics. All together, these sonic ingredients lead to a fascinating XX opus.
The more spins, the more your ears
get around this new Xiu Xiu exploit.
Daily noise that works faster than a stream of caffeine
14 August 2024
Californian art noise duo XIU XIU aren’t the lazy kind of artists.
In their 22-year-old career, they fabricated 13 LPs, with last year’s
primo Ignore Grief album as the most recent one.
In the meantime, they moved from L.A. to Berlin
where they experienced a new stream of inspiration.
Californian noise explores XIU XIU aren’t the lazy kind of artists. In their 22 years of recording they made 13 LPs, with last year’s sublime Ignore Grief as the most recent
one.
In the meantime, they moved from L.A. to Berlin where
they experienced a new stream of inspiration.
I have no idea what they want to express with this title.
What I do know is, that this is a Frank Beltrame knife.
The first single is titled COMMON LOON. A pretty accessible
electronica piece of music propelled by a steadfast drum beat.
Jamie Stewart (vocalist/instrumentalist): “The song “Common Loon,” for us, is about reveling in perversity, cuckooness, queerness and/or the unquenchable personal requirement to wild out. As MASSIVE fans of Alicia McDazzler’s [McDaid] work, we could think of no one else more qualified to embody those ways of being and no one else who would crank them up further than we would have ever imagined. She is an inspiration and icon to all LOONS!”
Its video clip was directed by performance artist Alicia McDaid. McDaid also stars in the video as a slew of characters, including, but not limited to: Britney Spears, Smurfette, Anna Nicole Smith Joker, Led Zeppelin groupie, Jason Voorhees, Frida Kardashian, goth Monica Geller, Carmela Soprano, Bret Michaels,, Andy Warhol and more.
This sizzling Scottish trio nailed it with their 3rd LP. Heavy Heavy is one of those remarkable records (one every 3 months or so) that arouses from start to finish, with the cliché no fillers, all killers all over it. You hear its sonic brilliance, you feel its dauntless vocality, you realise quickly that this LP is special, very special.
(Photo by Turn Up The Volume – Antwerp 2023)
An undisputable first-class work where vitalizing soul, ecstatic pop melodiousness
and self-willed hip-hop come together in an organic way. A spiritual happening.
Funk-punk drunk virtuosity with astonishing vocal teamwork.
2. ‘First Tow Pages Of Frankenstein’ by THE NATIONAL
I second the multiple raving reviews for this brilliant album. It’s not the first time that troubled and depressed artists (Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Nick Cave and others made a living out of it) come up with healing music.
Despite a temporary writer’s block and severe depression, Matt Berninger (aged 52)
found his way in his chaotic mind and came back to express the psychic fights with all of his demons in a most affecting manner. And his crooning voice, once more, is instrumental for The National‘s sound.
This Californian experimental act, founded in 2002 by singer-songwriter Jamie Stewart surprise every time they come up with new music. Also with Ignore Grief, already their
13th full length, XX impress mightily.
(Press photo)
Ignore Grief is not happy music, it’s grim reality music, it’s mind-absorbing music.
Inventive, capricious and ideal as the soundtrack for one of David Lynch‘s hallucinatory films. Although after a couple of spins, you’ll find out that Xiu Xiu‘s bone-chilling sonic exorcism is more accessible than you thought at first. Their orchestral manoeuvres in
the dark are flabbergasting.
With Shook this American/English outfit drew tons of critical praise. Rightly so.
It’s a tremendously varied work. They jump from zestful hip-rap-hop to forceful
post-punk-rock, to soulful lullabies, to arresting spoken-word protest, to sparkling
gospel. 54 minutes long, but you get sucked in every second. Wowzers!
5. ‘A Headlong Fall Into The Vast Ocean Of Anxiety’ by EYEMOUTH
Expect atmospheric synth-scapes for soundtracks of sci-fi movies, mellow Pink Floyd echoes, dark-electro-wave surrealism, and an overall synth-symphonic sonority.
All mesmerizingly orchestrated with both classical and venturesome music structures. Now and then composer Marcus Lilja‘s ghostly voice adds an extra mysterious touch to the instrumental grandeur at play. The power of nature in sonic motion.
Weird collaboration? No, certainly not. The very popular EBM/house/hip-hop/DJ Fred and the legendary ambient wizard Brian Eno complete each other here perfectly. They create a sonic labyrinth where Eno‘s hallucinatory ambient waves progress in slow motion, causing a trance trip in a foggy environment while Fred‘s phantasmal vocals seem to come from an unknown universe.
Secret Life is a hushed, soothing companion for late-night mind entertainment after
another busy day and too much noisy music. Relaxing, calming and triggering lazy dreaming.
The L.A. garage rock fury led by vocalist/guitarist/organist and natural-born
charismatic front-Amazon Bonnie Bloomgarden hit bullseye with their 5th LP.
(Photo by Turn Up The Volume – Brussels, 2023)
Islands In The Sky is, without a shadow of a doubt, according to my trained ears, their best achievement (so far). When you combine pop/rock songwriting quality, richly layered orchestrations, Bloomgarden‘s full-hearted vocal dynamism and tons of tunes (if anything else tunes are key) wrapped up in party-igniting vibes, you have a winner. FACT!
The British glam and glitter popsmiths delivered
their best LP since hitting the scene back in 2014.
It’s their 4th one.
(Photo by Turn Up The Volume)
This album grew on me spin after spin. It’s still a mellow, laid-back, and familiar
resonating collection of tunes. But its sunlit spirit, its vivid vibe, and its melodies are so infectious. Let your thoughts ignore reality and drift away in your happy-go-lucky cocoon. Top-tier effort.
No pension yet for these veteran indies from New Jersey who started their journey
in 1984 and recorded/released 17 longplayers so far (new one included).
(Press photo)
They’re experts in creating uncomplicated, electrifying melodies and then giving them a psychedelic edge with distorted guitars. Different moods, different sonic tones. We all know that we live in a stupid world where political ‘me, myself, and I’ leaders use the 2000-year-old trick of divide and conquer. YLT know too, of course, and it inspired them (again)
to can another topmost record.
It’s the second longplayer from these 4 Belgian mavericks.
Both sonically and lyrically, you get a mood-swings record that evokes both eerie and profound emotions. Filibuster fabricate a melting pot of grunge (Nirvana), slacker rock (Dinosaur Jr.) and anything post-punk edged. You can rock out to it, take a breather now and then, and go quiet/loud all the way through. Overall an impassioned job well done.
THDV embed 60s psychedelia in a blistering mix of flaming garage rock mania,
swaggering mid-tempo grooves, an impressive, amplified slo-mo jam right in the middle and a stunning opener with horns snippets of Primal Scream‘s e-tastic classic Loaded.
Back In The Room is a hell of a must-hear-now record.
(Photo by Turn Up The Volume – Brussels – 20 Feb 2023)
TUTV: Islands In The Sky feels like the perfect follow-up to Under The Spell Of Joy (2020), sonically as well as lyrically. On the latter Bonnie Bloomgarden wanted to experience the potential and possibility of joy. On the new LP, she’s still under the spell of looking and finding joy but also and most of all spiritual freedom as only then nothing can happen anymore to her as she reveals on the standout track When I’m Free.
Musically it’s simply their best achievement (so far) because of the coherent first-rate songwriting quality, the richly layered orchestrations, Bloomgarden‘s full-hearted vocal
dynamism and the top production. Not one dull moment with Death Valley Girls.
Jason Williamson: “Maybe we are proud of the country. Maybe we are proud to be English. Maybe I’m proud of the horrible grey streets and the shit weather and the stupid fashions I find myself investing in. It’s just that the English we’re proud of being is absolutely nothing like the English the authorities want to try and promote.”
TUTV: It’s Sleaford Mods by very good numbers. A familiar sounding record with its
sharp-teethed grim-UK rants (Brexit didn’t benefit the country in many ways and the ongoing right-wing Tories‘ incompetence isn’t a blessing either, never was) and, sonically, with its catchy and irresistible simplicity that still activates your limbs without asking.
Holy smoke! The Darts roll faster and harder than a steamroller on full speed. Snake Oil is without a shadow of a doubt their best longplayer so far. It feels like the record is infused with all their lockdown frustration. Tons of relentless energy, a non-stop appetite for a garage rock tsunami and the decibels turned up.
Centre-stage Nicole Laurenne sings her heart out as never before while her 60s-sounding organ spices things up all the way. Now and then the Phoenix turbo slow down and give us a chance to fill our oxyen tank. The Darts are unquestionably at the top of their blistering game. Hell-bloody-hell-yeah!
BUY/STREAM
. THE DARTS: Facebook – Instagram
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WHO: This musical project started in Gothenburg, Sweden in 2014 and presents a soundscape based on electronic backgrounds and a more classic rock instrumentation blended with mellotrons, vibraphone, santur, harmonium and other alluring sounding instruments. In short, atmospheric psychedelic darkness with occult undertones.
TUTV:Eyemouth is not a band, it’s a sort of spiritual experience, floating from the past
to the present with an eye on the future. This new sonically versatile opus is another explorative voyage into their mythical world. Expect atmospheric synth-scapes for soundtracks of sci-fi movies, mellow Pink Floyd echoes,,dark-electro-wave surrealism
and an overall symphonic sonority.
All greatly orchestrated with both classical and futuristic-sounding structures. At times composer Marcus Lilja‘s ghostly voice comes on, but for the greatest part, this record bathes in instrumental grandeur embracing the power of nature.
WHO: American experimental band, formed in 2002 by singer-songwriter Jamie Stewart
in San Jose, California who worked with artists such as. Mitski, Sharon Van Etten, Deerhoof, Chelsea Wolfe, Twin Shadow as well as with avant-garde composers like Charlemagne Palestine.
TUTV: This is not happy music, this is grim reality music, this is truly fascinating
music. Cinematic electronics, orchestral maneuvers in the dark. Experimental and
sonic David Lynch exploration. Give it a couple of spins and you’ll find out that Xiu Xiu‘s bone-chilling world is more accessible than you thought at first. Their orchestral maneuvers in the dark are fascinating. Grand accomplishment
Band: XIU XIU Who: American experimental band, formed in 2002 by singer-songwriter Jamie Stewart
in San Jose, California who worked with artists such as. Mitski, Sharon Van Etten, Deerhoof, Chelsea Wolfe, Twin Shadow as well as with avant-garde composers like Charlemagne Palestine.
Info: “Xiu Xiu has spent twenty years grappling with how to process, to be empathetic towards, to disobey and to reorganize horror. Ignore Grief is a record of halves. Angela
Seo sings on half of the record. Jamie Stewart sings on half of the record. Half of it is real. Half of it is imaginary. The real songs attempt to turn the worst life has offered to five people the band is connected with into some kind of desperate shape that does something, anything, other than grind and brutalize their hearts and memory within
these stunningly horrendous experiences. The imaginary songs are an expansion and abstract exploration of the early rock and roll “Teen Tragedy” genre as jumping off point
to decontaminate the band’s own overwhelming emotions in knowing and living with
what has happened to these five people.”
(Press photo)
AllMusic: “When several people close to Xiu Xiu’s Jamie Stewart and Angela Seo were victims
of human trafficking, addiction, murder, and other horrors, the duo had to process its feelings through music. Compared to the empowering messages of support and friendship on their previous album Oh No, Ignore Grief’s overwhelming fear, despair, anger, and loss is all the more jarring, and a potent reminder that few other acts can express trauma in their music so completely… As relentless as it is, somehow the album isn’t numbing. Stewart, Seo, and Kendrick make every tragedy and outrage feel fresh, and those who thrill when Xiu Xiu are willing to go to the places many artists won’t will be awed by Ignore Grief’s ferocious empathy.” Score: 4/5.
TUTV: This is not happy music, this is grim reality music, this is truly fascinating
music. Cinematic electronics, orchestral maneuvers in the dark. Experimental and
sonic David Lynch exploration. Give it a couple of spins and you’ll find out that Xiu Xiu‘s bone-chilling world is more accessible than you thought at first. Grand accomplishment.
