Reanimated South Wales lowslung rock ‘n’ rollers SISTER MORPHINE follow up last year’s fifteen-track debut album, ‘Ghosts of Heartbreak City’, with an all-new double B-side single, ‘Werewolves of Suburbia’/’I’m Up For Letting You Down’, released on streaming platforms and limited edition white vinyl seven-inch via Big Egg Records on September 6th, 2024.
Written in 2024 and recorded over the Summer at RedRock Studios with Lyndon Price once again at the controls, these two new songs up the ante of the band’s signature sound: punk ‘n’ roll with killer hooks. ‘Werewolves of Suburbia’ is a dark, metaphorical calling-out of pathetic men who still treat women as pieces of meat, while ‘I’m Up For Letting You Down’, which has one creeper in the Seventies and the other in a Scandinavian rehearsal space, is an ode to those people who stick by you when you’re at your worst. Sure to be live favourites, both songs will make their debuts on a Sister Morphine setlist when the band play at the HRH Sleaze VII festival at Leicester’s O2 Academy on Sunday, September 8th.
The single will be available as a limited edition white vinyl seven-inch – one of the first releases from the Big Egg Vinyl Club – with cover artwork exclusive to this physical format. This will be Sister Morphine’s first-ever vinyl release.
Catch Sister Morphine live at: HRH Sleaze VII – Leicester O2 Academy – September 8th
The Pit – Newport – October 11th (with Deathtraps & Arizona Law)
Two years after the classic ‘Ride The Wild Night’, John Reis is back with nine, spanking new tunes. The man we used to call Speedo in the mighty RFTC changes his moniker with every release, but the quality of the songs never drops. His pedigree is beyond question, and lead single ‘Ketchup, Mustard And Relish’ is an instant ear worm which would be right at home next to ‘When In Rome’.
Album opener ‘How Are You Peeling?’ owes more to early RFTC, with its off-kilter rhythm, and it has that magic that draws you in. ‘Harbor Freight’ is a straight ahead rocker that you will want to play on repeat, while ‘Teen Hate’ is like the very best Ramones songs, with a bittersweet edge and a Fab Four ending. ‘Privacy’ rattles along before ‘Lost In Bermondsey’ claims its place as one of John’s best tunes.
‘Shock And Awe’ is a groover that Jim Jones would surely approve of, that begs to be played live. Righteous stuff, indeed. ‘Don’t Wait’ is a lesson in how to craft a canny pop song, complete with “woah, woah” refrain, and ‘Beware The Halo’ brings the album to an end in style, if all too soon.
Short and sweet, with no filler. The only downside being that, with no CD available, it’s an expensive purchase from the USA, what with postage fees being increasingly hefty now. That said, this is a fitting follow up to ‘Ride The Wild Night’ that you can listen to online now before deciding whether to increase your vinyl collection.
Another band that are new to me, Love Fiend’s previous singles compilation is good, but this new, studio album takes things up a couple of notches. Hailing from California, ‘Just For Eddie’ reminds me of the late, great Roy Loney, which is a fine way to start. ‘Hard Feelings’, with keyboards upfront, is reminiscent of both Devo and The Cars, which is the overall sound across ten songs, but with much more as well.
‘Secret Cabals’ is the kind of song that Gary Numan used to excel at, addictive, pumping synths. You’ll be breaking out your Numanoid moves in no time. ‘Jimmy (Is An Agent)’ is equally catchy, more upbeat, while ‘Got Bad’ breaks out the sax and a riff that gives a nod to Slade. Which is a great idea, as it goes. Every song here works, they’ve obviously spent some time honing their sound, and it’s paying off. It sounds fresh, yet classic, like a lost album from your big brother’s record collection.
It has pretty much every great hook from the best American pop rock of the late 70s/early 80s, all the above plus Cheap Trick and The Knack. You can hear all this in ‘Neu Testament’, and yet they pull off synth pop with ‘One Forever’ that would please Soft Cell. It shouldn’t work, but it does.
‘C.K.I.L’ throws in a Ramones riff, and ‘Tied Up’ is just the right side of ripping off ‘Footloose’. These all sound like singles, which is a rarity these days. ‘Vacant Love’ evokes the melodies of The Paul Collins Beat. If, like me, you’re a fan of these influences, head straight over to Bandcamp and treat yourself to, potentially, one of the best albums of the year.
The band Dangereens came to my attention back in 2021 with their mighty fine debut long player ‘Tough Luck’. “Hanoi Rocks meets The Georgia Satellites jamming in a smoky bar with The Rolling Stones” is how I described the debut long player from this Montreal based 5 piece. And I’m happy to report that with the surprise release of their sophomore album ‘Chic’, not much has changed in the Dangereens camp.
With the cool swagger of the Stones, the trashiness of The Dolls and the countrified twang of Tom Petty, Hugo Chartrand and his band return with a 13-track sophomore album that warms to the soul from the first digital drop of the needle.
It all kicks off with ‘Fly By Nighter’, a 70’s glam rock stomp of an opener, with sleazy Faster Pussycat style low slung riffs, sneering vocalisin’ courtesy of main man Hugo Chartrand, and there’s even some cowbell thrown in for good measure.
The country twang of ‘Death On Two Wheels’ is a welcome addition and builds nicely, Tom Petty meets The Stones for the win. Three tracks in and ‘Kingdom Of White Lies’ shows singer and main songwriter Hugo’s knack for a catchy tune. A 50’s rock n’ roll feel to this with boogie-woogie piano stabs.
I mean, I’m pretty much sold already, The Dangereens didn’t have much to prove in my eyes (or ears) and they are holding up to the word ‘sophomore’ so far. The band take a deep breath and take things down with ‘Walk On Water, a laid-back tune that evokes ‘Black and Blue’ era Stones, as twin guitars fight for low down licks over a lazy but tight-ass rhythm section. In a similar vein, ‘Any Day Now’ sounds like it coulda come from the Ju Ju Hounds album sessions, did they give Izzy or Rick Richard’s a call for this one, I wonder?
The band records in analogue with minimal takes and there’s a lot to be said for that approach to recording a rock n’ roll record. ‘Chic’ just sounds like a classic 70’s record before you’ve even hit side 2.
Talking of side 2, we’ll let the music do the talking, but a special mention goes out to the fantastic ‘Chlorine’ in all its boogie-woogie, glam glory and what a killer bass line! They don’t make ’em like anymore. That my friends is a strong tune with an overly catchy chorus.
Elsewhere, with handclaps, twin guitars and a definite glam stomp, ‘Friday Night’ outdoes Tuk Smith in the T Rex meets Thin Lizzy meets Bryan Adams groover stakes. The title ‘Hallelujah’ suggests a rousing chorus to sing from the rooftops and Hugo and the boys deliver in spades.
13 tracks in 40 minutes leaves enough space on one side of a C90 to squeeze on a couple of tracks from their debut EP for good measure if anyone still does that sorta thing.
Good times don’t go out of style and Dangereens have plenty to go around. I’ll give you one piece of advice, if you have even a smattering of interest in this band, head over to Alien Snatch Records Bandcamp page and order this bad boy on old school vinyl before it sells out, tell them RPM sent ya and we demand a UK Tour quick sharpish. ‘Chic’ could be my favourite album of the year and is certainly essential listening.
The relationship between iconic Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi and English musician Glenn Hughes stretches far back into the mid-eighties. Best known for playing bass and performing vocals in the hard rock band Trapeze and in the Mk. III and IV line-ups of Deep Purple, Hughes sang on the 1986 Black Sabbath album ‘Seventh Star’. It was the twelth album from the fabled heavy metal originators and was initially intended to be the first solo release from Iommi, but record company and management pressures led to the album being billed as ‘Black Sabbath featuring Tony Iommi’. Despite these demands, the album was a commerical success and reached the Top 30 of the English charts. Glenn’s powerful, soulful voice complimented Iommi’s unique guitar style perfectly and even though the eighties was a turbulant time for Black Sabbath, it was clear that Iommi and Hughes would work together again in the future.
That time came in 1996 when Iommi once again collaborated with Hughes for a release that would become known as ‘The 1996 Dep Sessions’, recorded at DEP International Studios in Digbeth, Birmingham. The recordings were demos and were left unfinished due to the original line up of Black Sabbath reforming at the time. However, a bootleg recording known as ‘Eighth Star’ was circulated among fans so in 2004, to combat this, the session was eventually offically released.
After Black Sabbath’s 1995 album Forbidden, the band would go on hiatus. So when Tony and Glenn reunited in 1996 to record together, it was with a renewed creative vigour and ambition to take a step away from the signature Sabbath sound and forge a new direction. The results were a formidable, contemporary take on a classic rock sound with Glenn’s soaring vocals combined effortlessly with Iommi’s monolithic riffs. These eight songs sound as vital as the day they were recorded and are now being pressed on vinyl for the first time in limited Translucent Black Ice colour.
The official release of ‘1996 The Dep Sessions’ in 2004 proved to be a catalyst for Tony and Glenn, who rekindled their collaboration and within a year, released what would be Iommi’s third solo album in 2005. Titled ‘Fused’, the album was recorded at Monnow Valley Studios in Wales and saw Iommi sounding heavier than ever. The album is chock full of stomping, grinding riffs that saw Iommi tipping his hat to the metal genre he had helped spawn decades before. ‘Fused’ sounded completely modern for what was happening in heavy music at the time and still stands the test of time today. Once again, Glenn’s vocals glided effortlessly over Iommi’s earth-shattering six string attack. Produced, engineered and mixed by American record producer Bob Marlette (whose credits include everyone from Rob Zombie and Alice Cooper to Sheryl Crow), the album was a success and reached number 34 on Billboard’s Top Heatseekers Chart. ‘Fused’ is now reissued for the first time on Translucent Cobalt Blue vinyl and includes three bonus tracks.
In addition to being an active session musician, Hughes also maintains a notable solo career. He currently fronts the supergroup Black Country Communion, and fronted California Breed from 2013 to 2015 and The Dead Daisies from 2019 to 2023. In 2016, Hughes was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Deep Purple. Tony Iommi’s legendary status is assured and he continues to record new music to this day, always pushing the bounderies and staying ahead of the pack. It’s only right that these fantastic recordings from his solo years are being cut to wax for the first time for new and old fans to enjoy as well as new digisleeve CD and digital editions.
SIERRA BONITA Video Directed/ Produced/ Shot/ Edited By Craig Temple (Racketeer Pictures) From the Rich Ragany album “You Can Get Dark With Me” on Barrel And Squidger Records.
The video is a love letter to London past and present… Rags adds, “Craig Temple is so creative and talented.… taking a simple idea and making it so widescreen. A real journey. About the song… My friend from LA… her Dad disappeared on her early… But she tried for a reconnection. It didn’t work… but we spoke about how brave it was to try and steal back some moments in their lives “I don’t mind… you know I stole that for ya…” has that feeling of “you understand that you stole from me… I’ll try and steal ya something nice give to you … for you… anyways.” To try.
More universally, the song is about stealing one last moment of empathy and understanding in a lost situation. What it can do for the hearts involved. Moving on doesn’t necessarily mean giving up.
About the album and artist… The last few years has seen the Calgary, Canada born, New York City seasoned, and now UK based songsmith, Rich Ragany, build up quite a reputation with his various bands of rock n’roll trailblazers, The Role Models, The Loyalties and most recently, Rich Ragany & The Digressions. Rich’s songs have won over the hearts of many, most recently with the critically-acclaimed albums “Beyond Nostalgia & Heartache” and “What We Do (To Not Let Go)” gaining considerable airplay on BBC Introducing.
Rich over the years has shared stages with the likes of Ramones, Bad Brains, SNFU, Rammstein, Oasis, The Lemonheads, Warrior Soul, The Men They Couldn’t Hang, Whitfield Crane, Ginger Wildheart, The Professionals, Steve Conte (New York Dolls), Michael Monroe… as well as each band packing out venues in their own right. All this experience and resulting attention has brought him to signing a deal with Barrel And Squidger Records (who have released music by CJ Wildheart, Massive Wagons, members of Status Quo and Sex Pistols).
With a brand new album titled “You Can Get Dark With Me” Rich describes the new album: After the big dramatic production of The Digressions’ albums I wanted to create something more personal… a world of its own. So I decided to deconstruct to reconstruct. Every song is a mix of home recording, from the first day of writing each song, and proper studio stuff, to keep a real personal “straight from the moment of inspiration” feel… but have a sonically and emotionally expanded spirit as well. Guitars recorded on the fly in my bathroom as I wrote, in real-time. Mostly acoustic, later taken and manipulated to sound “electric” (inspired by the Stones’ similar sonic experiments on Street Fighting Man). Backing vocals done on the spot… some of these literally recorded on a phone mic in my bathroom. I then took all this to my trusted friend and talented producer, Andy Brook and added big studio-grade bass and drums via the talented duo of Simon Maxwell and Ricky McGuire… and experimented some more. Then JUNO and Canadian Country Music Award-winning producer (and another old friend and brother) Russell Broom got involved in a few tracks, most notably SIERRA BONITA Travelling back to my early home of Calgary and recording with him really brought things full circle. So… songs that started out so simple and solitary had travelled quite far. In its own world… reaching out now.
The sun is out the sky is blue and the tunes keep spinning in the pumphouse. Today kicks off with a slice of 70s Derry and those snorkel parkered, Doc Martin wearing oiks The Undertones announce that ‘Here Comes The Summer’ their 4th single off that classic debut record.
New bands are coming through and South Wales is showing signs of leading the way. Baby Schillachi are at the sharp end and they have a brand new song out for the summer ‘tHe AnTi suNcrEAM’ Check this bad boy out or we’re sending Hotshot round to torture you.
Chris wedged the classic ‘Hoover Dam’ from Sugar into this week’s show and it’s a timeless classic that’s most welcome anytime.
We’ve championed the work of Jesse Malin over and over and brought you updates on his health issues and we are delighted to see he’s returning to the stage later this year for a special show in NYC. After the recent release of the live album, there is a triple album heading for release in the near future where some huge artists cover Jesse’s music from D Generation to his solo work and Bruce Springsteen to Tommy Stinson. Lucinda Williams to Billie Joe Armstrong and Rancid all play their part so we’re delighted to play ‘Black Haired Girl’ from Glitter In The Gutter as performed superbly by Billie Joe. Pre Order that album Here
Another Rum Bar coming in hot is the album from Joe Jennings MVPs and from this single ‘Doin Time On The Company Dime’ it promises to be a belter of a record and we can’t wait to play more. such a talent it’s great to see Joe team up with Rum Bar – cheers!
With his brand new video out this week Rich Ragany continues to evolve his music and the people he plays with from the core of Good Guys he has surrounded himself with he continues to turn out great music whatever the style. ‘Sierra Bonita’ is the latest laid-back offering from Rags. Head over Here for his latest music and first Solo album ‘You Can Get Dark With Me’.
Scandinavia has always delivered great Rock music and this episode we are happy to bang out something from the Hellacopters and The Flaming Sideburns back to back both bands having something of a renaissance in recent years and delivering fantastic comeback albums.
Repeat Records are causing a bit of a stir at the moment with some recent compilation albums that have the cream of the crop delivering excellent alternative music and we’re happy to play our part with ‘Supercharger’ from The Saffs. The Yum Yums are up next with a slice of summer power pop ‘Poppin Up Again’. The final Rum Bar offering is Duck and Cover with ‘Help Myself’ before we finish with an absolute banger off that new Hip Priests EP ‘Home Is Where The HAte Is’ with their finger on the pulse and the UK heading to hell on a hand cart it seems wholly appropriate for this to close out the show this week. Help us out by liking and sharing on social media and keep tuning in. Diolch people
You could say we are getting a bit spoilt here in York for Tyla related gigs in recent years. With The Fulford Arms being a spiritual home of sorts for the Wolverhampton wonderer and his band of ne’er do wells, a celebratory get together and sing-song has been an annual event in recent times. In fact, this will be the second time Tyla and his cohort Matty James Cassidy have played in York this year, as the duo played an intimate acoustic song & words style show a few months back at the Artful Dodger.
Anyway, let’s cut to the chase. Celebrating the release of an extensive 8 CD box set of The Dogs D’amour China years on Cherry Red Records, Tyla’s Dogs D’amour are doing a series of gigs across the country with Matty’s band in tow and the promise of a Balladmongrels set as well. 3 sets by 3 bands, a triple treat!
It’s the hottest day of the year so far, and yet it’s no real surprise that Matty James Cassidy takes to the stage head to toe in black, leather waistcoat and trilby included. The 3-piece band launch into a high energy set exploring the singer’s solo works. From the opening instrumental to the closing bars of ‘Up In Smoke’, it’s a low-slung punk rock affair with catchy hooks and killer riffs aplenty. Always one to engage the crowd, he gets some audience participation going with the ever-cool ‘Brand New You (Same old Me)’ which is always a fun highlight. Their enjoyable set is over quick as a flash, but rather than leave the stage Matty announces they have a few surprise guests who are going to join them. Bare-footed and with a glittery scarf wrapped around his tousled mane of hair, Tyla takes to the mic, joined by guitarist Gaz Pennick sporting a stripey t shirt, I’d say things are looking quite piratey. Which is quite fitting, as the band break into ‘Ballad Of The Knucklemen’ the opening track from last year’s Balladmongrels long player. It was the first song Tyla and Matty wrote for the project, so it’s a fitting opener. It sounds great live. Freed from the constraints of a guitar, Tyla sips from a pint of Guiness (he’s given up drinking you know!) and gesticulates with hand gestures, as Matty and the band jam out the Balladmongrels anthem.
Next up the emotive ballad ‘How The Beautiful Fall’ sounds great and then the high energy single ‘Trouble’ brings the heat up nicely and finished the band’s set.
While 3 songs is a tad disappointing, it was great to hear those songs live and with the added announcement that a follow up album has been recorded, it gives more hope for Balladmongrels live action again in the near future.
Following a break for the band and audience to cool off, The Dogs D’amour take to the stage. Matty on bass, Gaz on guitar and Ace Carlton on drums make up The Dogs D’amour 2024. “What’s French for deja vu?” quips Tyla before strumming the chords to ‘Billy Two Rivers’. What follows is a high energy set of classic songs, played by a killer band who know their shit. We all have our favourite Dogs tunes. You may have got drunk for the first time to ‘The State That I’m In’ or thrown up to ‘Drunk Like Me’, you may have had your first shag while ‘I Don’t Want You To Go’ or How Come It Never Rains’ played in the background. Or maybe you just laid on your bed and dreamed of being a pirate or a bank robber while the boombox blasted out ‘Last Bandit’. Yep, they played all those and more. The more emotive laid-back one-two from ‘Graveyard of Empty Bottles’; ‘I Think Its Love Again’ and ‘Bulletproof Poet’ were definite highlights, along with the bombastic rock of ‘Gypsy Blood’ and ‘What You Do’, even newer anthems such as ‘Bottle Of Red’ and ‘111’ go down well and sound like all time classics now. Hats off to Matty’s drummer Ace, who has also bashed the skins for The Spangles recently. He hits hard like Bam, which is no mean feat, and fits the band like a glove.
There’s comedy slapstick from the frontman between songs, he breaks a string and plays a song with no guitar and they finish with a killer version of ‘Erroll Flynn’.
We laughed, we sang, we sweated more than we drank. I’ve seen the Dogs quite a lot the past few years and they have been memorable shows for different reasons. This will go down as the hottest, one that showcased a glimpse of The Balladmongrels and one of the most enjoyable Dogs gigs I have witnessed.
Tony Iommi and luxury Italian perfume house Xerjoff present Deified, the brand new perfume along with a new soundtrack and music video.
Tony Iommi and Xerjoff launch the second chapter of the Xerjoff Blends venture, with the release of Deified, the brand new perfume, accompanied by a new track of the same name written by Tony Iommi together with a mind-blowing music video, directed by Donato Sansone.
Xerjoff’s Founder and CEO, Sergio Momo, worked alongside Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi in the second experiment between sound, scent and sight on the creation of a new scent to enter the Xerjoff Blends collection, while Tony Iommi wrote the new song, produced by Iommi and Mike Exeter, with Sergio Momo also playing on the track which can be seen in the mostly-animated music video.
“Here we go again, another collaboration with my dear friend Sergio Momo (Xerjoff) with a new perfume called ‘Deified’. I’m really excited about our new perfume and after the success of our last one (Monkey Special) I hope that you’ll like Deified as much as I do. We’ve gone through the same process of trying different samples of perfume over the last year until we came up with this one and I really like it.” –Tony Iommi
“Everything has its own cycle. A riff, a melody, a perfume. In the ‘70s, playing a vinyl backwards was a phenomenon that became a popular way to hide subliminal messages. The palindromic
nature of a riff and backmasking became the catalyst for the creation of this journey with Tony.”
– Sergio Momo, CEO and Founder of Xerjoff
Tony Iommi Deified Parfum
Mystery possesses the mind in a dark and decadent experience that casts subliminal shadows on the wearer.
“Deify: to worship or regard as a god.” A forceful combination of multisensory elements that play on the palindromic nature of sound, scent and sensorial sequences see the theme of back and forth in the music, scent and video. Tony Iommi Deified is the second perfume to be created by the duo after a huge success with the first Xerjoff Blends perfume created together, Monkey Special.
Created on a duality of leather and spice, Deified perfume plays in a loop with no beginning and no end, its notes hitting emotions in the same way a music track uses notes to hypnotise and mystify the senses. Authentic and warm accents of saffron meet powdery and leathery facets that dance with the delicate touch of gourmand freshness. Cinnamon exalts spicier notes, complemented by gentle rose at the heart. The woody base of papyrus and patchouli leaves the senses longing for more in a rhythmic exchange of back and forth.
The scent can be purchased on Xerjoff.com and in Xerjoff boutiques worldwide. After the crystal collector’s edition, Deified Tony Iommi Signed Edition, sold out, Deified was released in a dark and gothic flacon following the limited edition of the signed flacons.
Especially for the release of the music video on 26th July, another 25 Tony Iommi Signed Edition Crystal flacons will be available to purchase on Xerjoff.com.
Deified, the new track written by Tony Iommi and produced by Iommi and Mike Exeter, is a heavy and mysterious masterpiece that, like the scent, possesses the mind in a dark and decadent vortex of mystery and wonder.
“Deified is a heavier, more medieval track than Scent of Dark. We’ve added voices and beefed up the overall sound.” – Tony Iommi
With a heavy and hard riff throughout the track, Iommi sparks incredible heights with the intricate and mystifying bridge which leads to haunting voices, drawing the whole composition to a climatic close.
What an epic collection, What an epic band, what an epic journey. How the fuckin el weren’t the Dogs D’Amour fuckin huge?! Listening back to this hefty box set reminded me why I fell in love with these piraty Rock n Rollers in the first place and the fact that they actually don’t have a single shite song. the songwriting is amazing and the four elements of what made the magic magic (ok so Mr Bath had a part as did a few others along the way) fundamentally this was a magic time for me and they were a magic band so it figures this box set is – straight off the bat a must-own tome.
There got it out of my system. If you never really dived into the band’s catalogue (apart from shame on you) you will have missed the real gems that’s not to say the singles weren’t gems because they were and this pulls the blooming lot together in one wonderful place. If I have a complaint (which I don’t) I’d have loved to see these released on vinyl (even though I have them all on vinyl some a little beat up, especially the singles) but hey this will do for starters.
What you have is the studio albums beginning with the (Un)Authorised’Bootleg’ Album before ‘Dynamite Jet Saloon’, ‘Errol Flynn’, ‘Graveyard’, ‘Straight’ and then ‘More Unchartered Heights’ absolutely storming run of albums and anyone who saw them live can confirm they were every bit as exciting live.
The real gold here is the fact they’ve pulled in all the Golden Era albums and the two bonus discs of singles and live recordings. We did have the slipcase box set a few years ago but it didn’t have this plethora of bonus material. ‘King OF The Thieves’, ‘Ugly’ take me back followed by no less than fourteen live recordings some of which took me back to sitting next to the radio with a tape recorder to hear the sessions on Tommy Vance and the live stuff from the Hunter Ronson support slot that was a great night Ah the memories.
Disc eight is wrapped up with a few single edits and a bunch of acoustic recordings that go down very nicely. Like a fine wine, these records have aged considerably well and even if you haven’t played some of these in a while this set will remind you of what you had and always will. It’s a no-brainer purchase if you have any self-respect or can’t remember the late 80s due to too much Thunderbird wine this is a timely reminder.
They were never a Glam band, nor a metal band they were a Rock n Roll band and time says they were a damn fine Rock n Roll band at that in fact they were the finest of their generation and that my friends is a fact, Cheers or should that be chin chin raise a glass or two for one of the finest. Buy It!
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