The Get Up Kids today announced their first full-length album in eight years, ‘Problems’ – produced by Grammy Award-winner Peter Katis (Kurt Vile, The National) – will be released May 10th on Big Scary Monsters. The first video from the album is ‘Satellite’ watch it below.
‘Problems’ is now available for pre-order HERE. The band today also announced two shows at this year’s SXSW:
The band also play at SXSW: 3/13 – Austin, TX – The Mohawk – Polyvinyl Record Co. / Double Double Whammy / Big Scary Monsters + Friends Showcase (11:45 PM) Facebook
Problems examines everything from a life-changing loss to loneliness to the inevitable anxiety of existing in 2019. But by sustaining the essence of their sound – anthemic choruses with sing-along-ready melodies -The Get Up Kids highlight those troubles as a shared experience, giving way to unbreakable solidarity. And at the heart of Problems is an invaluable element the band’s embodied since their 1997 debut Four Minute Mile: a penetrating lyricism that’s both acutely introspective and indelibly resonant.
The follow-up to 2018’s acclaimed EP, Kicker, Problems came to life in Bridgeport, Connecticut, with the band – Matt Pryor, Jim Suptic (guitars/vocals), Rob Pope (bass), Ryan Pope (drums), and James Dewees (keys) – holing up together for a three-week span. Working with Katis, The Get Up Kids took a characteristically riff-driven yet decidedly pop-minded approach to song structure, while also allowing themselves a new sense of creative freedom.
Through the years, The Get Up Kids have purposely pushed themselves toward previously unexplored songwriting material. “I’m 41 now, I could never write a song like when I was 19 – all those ‘I miss my girlfriend’ kind of songs” Suptic says. “It’s always important to us to write about wherever we are right now.” As shown on Problems, the resulting output both preserves the beloved spirit of The Get Up Kids and creates an entirely new context for their music. “A big part of the reason why we started writing new songs in the first place is that we have things we want to say about this moment in time,” says Pryor. “We’re still so connected to our past and where this all came from – it’s definitely a celebration of the fact that we still get to do this.”
The Get Up Kids also play Slam Dunk North on 25th May and Slam Dunk South on 26th May
ALL-STAR LINE-UP ANNOUNCED FOR 2ND VIVE LE ROCK AWARDS MARCH 27th AT LONDON’S 02 ACADEMY
THE STRANGLERS CONFIRMED TO HEADLINE!
Today, the AEG Vive Le Rock Awards can reveal that the headline act this year will be Guildford rock legends The Stranglers, who will be attending to pick up an award and to perform a very special set!
Killing Joke and Lee Thompson from Madness are now also confirmed to pick up awards. These join ‘70s glam rock queen Suzi Quatro, Glen Matlock and Friends, Ed Tudor-Pole and Steve Diggle/Pauline Murray’s Pete Shelley (Buzzcocks) tribute to play, alongside the final solo performance of Barrie Masters (Eddie And The Hot Rods).
Wednesday March 27th sees the second AEG Vive Le Rock Awards taking place at London’s O2 Academy. Following an internet-breaking debut in 2018 with a special performance from The Damned and Friends, Shakin’ Stevens and more, this year’s AEG Vive Le Rock promises an all-star line-up of performers and legendary presenters gathered under one roof for one night only.
‘70s icon Suzi Quatro will be joining us as she celebrates the release of her brand new album ‘No Control’. Glen Matlock and Friends will be tearing the house down with an exclusive hit-packed set and there will be a very special tribute to the Buzzcocks’ Pete Shelley courtesy of Steve Diggle and Pauline Murray.
Not only that, but we will be bringing you the ultimate final solo performance from Barrie Masters of Eddie And The Hot Rods and also our top secret extra special headline band which we will be revealing online in the days running up to the awards.
The night will be compered by Ed Tudor-Pole, who will also be performing a clutch of his classic songs.
Tickets are strictly limited for this unique show and are available now via Ticketmaster.co.uk. There are also a limited number of special VIP tickets for purchase, which include a glass of prosecco on arrival, a pre-awards party and mixing with the stars, a Vive Le Rock annual, a limited edition 2019 Vive Le Rock Awards T-shirt and after-awards party access.
In a world of beige bands and radio stations that force feed the masses with bland, manufactured music that has nothing to say, alternative rock is well and truly underground.
We need rock stars, we need larger than life characters. We need songwriters and performers that do have something to say and are prepared to deliver the goods. More than ever grassroots, DIY bands need our help as it’s a freakin’ jungle out there, a day to day struggle for a band to stay alive.
The recent PledgeMusic debacle has not helped matters. Being fucked over by the very platform you have put trust in to get your music direct to your fan base is possibly the worst thing that could have happened to Hands Off Gretel, at the most important time of their career.
The band is out of pocket and the fans are out of pocket. But where there’s a will there’s a way. The world needs to hear this album and with the help of their fans, Hands Off Gretel have maybe succeeded in being even more independent than they ever dreamed of.
The title of Hands Off Gretel’s sophomore album says a lot about the attitude of their singer, chief songwriter and resident art co-ordinator Lauren Tate. Planning world domination from her bedroom in South Yorkshire since she could probably hold a crayon, this girl has ambition and she knows what she wants. Hours and hours listening to Hole, The Distillers and Pink. Creating artwork, writing lyrics and dreaming that one day she will show those who bullied and those who put her down that she could succeed…that she could be somebody.
While their debut album ‘Burn The Beauty Queen’ was a lo-fi, grunge obsessed ride, Hands Off Gretel have taken things up a notch with ‘I Want The World’. The hooks are more instant, the choruses stick like glue and the guitars are even more furious than before.
The change was evident in the first single and album opener ‘Kiss Me Girl’. An ode to lesbian desire, with a killer hook that adds a commercial element to Lauren’s inner Brody Dalle. It’s a game-changer of a song that takes their post-grunge/alt 90’s sound to another level. It’s the blueprint for their new sound and the perfect anthem for angst-ridden teens who feel alienated from the world.
And this is where Hands Off Gretel have a serious advantage. They appeal to a disenchanted youth, as they are still a part of that demographic. Lauren especially, while cute and diminutive, has a fire in her belly and can pen angst fuelled lyrics as well as her peers ever have. She has real stuff to write about. Kids will relate to her lyrics, girls will want to be her, boys will want to be with her. They are a poster band for the new generation.
The recent change shows a new confidence and self-assurance from a band who I have been watching evolve. With the recent addition of Becky Baldwin on bass, the band look and feel like a cohesive unit live. With two strong female characters and long-standing members Sean Bon (guitar) and Sam Hobbins (drums), it all just seems to have gelled.
Anyway, I digress. The previously released singles/videos were enough to whet the appetite with their No Doubt meets L7 vibes. ‘S.A.S.S’ is a dirt-smeared and groovy, dancefloor filler with a killer chorus. Exciting, sassy and cool as you like. The title track is a big middle finger to the naysayers. “I’m the rudest, I’m the cutest, I’m the one that hurts” she croons before exploding in a helium induced diatribe. With furious guitar work from Sean, it’s a song full of angst and fire. It could be their best work to date.
In total contrast, the following ‘Blame Myself’ is more commercial, slicker. In the verses, Lauren is sounding more like her heroine Pink than ever before. In a similar way, ‘It’s My Fault’ has that same pop suss, that great use of sugary sweet melodies. ‘Freaks Like Us’ is a cleverly penned anthem for a disenchanted youth, a song that demands you hold your lighter in the air.
This move towards a more commercial sound is a natural songwriting progression for a girl who has been finding her feet as a songwriter, not just a singer over the past couple of years.
The grungy vibes are omnipresent. With its guttural, screamo vibes, wah-wah infused guitars and pumping bass, ‘Milk’ is a mash-up of ‘Heart Shaped Box’ meets ‘Pretend We’re Dead’. And the hyper album closer ‘Rot (All The Good Things)’ is a final shot of adrenaline to the vein, as it has one of the most instant and memorable hooks you will hear this year.
Whether its shades of KatieJane Garside craziness, Pink’s spot on pop suss or the angst of Courtney Love and Brody Dalle, Lauren Tate’s vocals and melodies are the driving force behind one of the most exciting underground bands we have here in the UK. Punk infused angst with fuzzy guitars, loud/quiet nineties vibes, dreamy pop anthems with lush backing vocals. Yep, with the songs and the style to match, they got the whole package, baby!
In 2019 it’s fair to say rock stars are a dying breed, especially the female role models. You wanna know who has the balls to fit into Joan Jett’s leather jacket? Who has the “fuck you” attitude of Courtney or L7? Well, with a mass of two-tone dreads, khol smeared eyes and ruby red lips, a diminutive Yorkshire lass is happily being Alice In Grungeland every day of the week and it’ll take more than PledgeMusic to destroy Lauren Tate’s dreams of world domination. Are you man enough to follow her down the rabbit hole?
Peters heads out on epic winter tour around the UK and back again. Beginning on October 3rd 2019, The Alarm lead singer and songwriter Mike Peters, will present The Alarm – Hurricane of Change 30th Anniversary Acoustic Tour throughout the UK (see dates below), performing in many British towns that have never featured on previous tour itineraries!The tour will honour The Alarm’s late 1980’s trilogy of iconic album’s ‘Eye Of The Hurricane’, ‘Electric Folklore’ and ‘Change’, and will feature intimate acoustic arrangements of some of The Alarm’s most famous songs such as Rain In The Summertime (1987 – International Top 20 Hit), Sold Me Down The River (1989 – Number 1 Rock Song in the USA) and A New South Wales (1990 UK Top 40), alongside a host of Alarm standards as captured on the 1988 live album ‘Electric Folklore’ including ‘Spirit Of ’76’ and ‘Blaze Of Glory’.
“This tour presents a great opportunity to share The Alarm’s music in some new towns and many great new venues across the UK”, says Mike Peters. “The Alarm has always had a tremendous rapport with people from all over Britain, and this time I’ll be making the journey to some of those places whose people normally have to travel to hear our music. Along the way, I’m looking forward to playing in all kinds of auditoriums from theatres to churches, arts centers to music studios. I can’t wait.”
Tickets for the Hurricane Of Change Tour will go on sale this Friday, March 8th from 10 am UK Time.
03.10.19 ABERDARE Coliseum
04.10.19 FLEET The Harlington
05.10.19 COLCHESTER Arts Centre
11.10.19 HOLMFIRTH Picturedrome
12.10.19 SELBY Town Hall
19.10.19 CRICKHOWELL Clarence Hall
23.10.19 BROMSGROVE Artrix
24.10.19 SWINDON Arts Centre
25.10.19 KINGSKERSWELL Church
26.10.19 NEWBURY Arlington Arts
31.10.19 TRING The Court Theatre
01.11.19 NEWBRIDGE Memo
02.11.19 PORTSMOUTH Wedgewood Rooms
03.11.19 SHREWSBURY Theatre Severn
08.11.19 DERBY The Venue
09.11.19 DARWEN Library Theatre
14.11.19 BURY The Met
15.11.19 GATESHEAD The Sage Theatre
19.11.19 LIVERPOOL Epstein Theatre
20.11.19 LEEDS Brudenell
21.11.19 EDINBURGH The Caves
22.11.19 ABERDEEN The Lemon Tree
23.11.19 PERTH Joan Knight Studio
29.11.19 STOWMARKET John Peel Centre
30 years ago, as Mike Peters undertook a creative song-writing journey through the heart of his home country – Wales and across the UK, the Berlin Wall would fall and Europe itself, would plunge into a period of enormous and seismic change. Caught in the middle of this political maelstrom, Mike Peters and the Alarm recorded the albums ‘Eye of The Hurricane’ (1987), Electric Folklore (1988), and ‘Change’ (1989), each of which would, in their own way, capture the essence of these most turbulent times.
The Hurricane of Change tour will be performed solo with a first set dedicated to ‘Eye Of The Hurricane’ followed by a second performance of songs from the ‘Change’ album then a third set featuring music from The Alarm’s classic live recording ‘Electric Folklore”.
“I have always seen these three albums as an Alarm trilogy”, says Mike Peters. “A lot happened to the band and the world, during the writing and recording sessions from 1987-1990. As one decade bled into another, the themes of response and resolve to contend with uncertain times are running through the core of each and every album. Played together these songs tell their own story, and with the tumultuous times Europe and the World can expect to face in the coming months and years, are still as relevant today as when they were first written.”
Before a single note is played well before the disc is near the player the first thing you notice is how much has gone into the package of this CD. Like a little book it’s hardback and has page after page of pictures and lyrics which is not only impressive but shows that they’re people give a shit about their music and their attention to detail isn’t slapdashash but lovingly cared for which shows what beign passionate can do before a note is played.
Right that my introduction over. ‘When?’ is a fairly solid introduction its stright handsdown punk rock its nothing experimental or sub genre of a subgenre just good time honest punk rock. Now ‘I Love You’ is everythign the opener isn’t. whilst its got a bit of a skank happening and a groove or a rhythm that isn’t a million miles from Jaya The Cat if it were played by the Levellers if you can imagine that for a second?
As the album evolves the band gets their Jig on with some bouncy quick paced alternative punk rock as displayed on ‘Peace Or War’. Whilst ‘Cynical’ introduces some acoustic guitars to the mix and this is where the band works best for me. sure it’s in that Levellers ballpark or even a hint of New Model Army they get a little playful with their skanking ‘Mushrooms’. They entertain with a bit of Rock-a-billy on ‘Mr. I’m Alright Jack’ then back to the acoustic guitars for ‘My Own War’ which again displays their best work and the style I think really suits the band and works really well with the folk meets punk style.
There’s a lot of music to plough through with sixteen songs on offer and the songs tend to jump from style to style with Headsticks not wanting to be tied to one but for me they work best when performing the acoustic punk style rather than the rock of ‘Smoke And Mirrors’ but its no biggie not taking to one song or other with this much on offer. There is even time for some poetry with the excellent ‘Out Of Fashion’.
They could have warned me that they use a Bo-Jo tape on ‘Family Tree’ that almost caused me to bring up me dinner but I wholeheartedly agree with their sentiment. Then to follow it up with the best song on the album ‘All Of The Trees’ which reminds me of Tim Smith. I also had a moment where the flow of the record touches on some Strummer at times which is always welcome.
If there wasn’t enough bang for your buck they close the CD with the epic eleven minutes of extra time that is ‘Baboon Shepherd’ what a choon guys Baboon would be proud knowing that some cheeky monkeys from the North Of England penned a tune about him. STP know what a lot of people like and Headsticks I’m sure will fly out the door. Don’t keep em in the dark get on it.
The Spangles sneak out a brand new video for the track ‘Alone’ taken off their superb debut album ‘#Sweet FA’. They’re even giving away the single via Bandcamp plus an exclusive unreleased B side. As much as we want you to hang around on RPM Onlne what are you still here for? Get on it! you can also catch the band supporting Rich Ragany & The Digressions this coming Saturday as they both play The Parish in Huddersfield tickets available Here
Backyard Babies really are a hugely important band to me, not least because when they released their sophomore LP ‘Total 13’ back in 1998 they almost single-handedly rescued me from the ocean of musical blandness I was drowning myself in. That album (along with releases by The Hellacopters and Rocket From The Crypt) threw me a lifeline so to speak. The awesome power of ‘Total 13’ gave me exactly the same buzz I had when I first heard ‘Never Mind The Bollocks’ and ‘Appetite For Destruction’ and the BYBs gigs I attended that immediately followed this release merely cemented my L.U.V for the Swedes as my new favourite band.
I’ll admit that sitting here in 2019 a lot of sleaze rock water has passed under the bridge since those early days, and my previous undying love for anything Nicke, Dregen, Peder and Johan touched has subsequently been replaced by something largely approaching indifference. I got to this place after attending a series of what I feel were “going through the motions” live shows that certainly didn’t come anywhere near the sheer adrenaline blast of those ‘Total 13’ gigs and after their self imposed five year career hiatus I defy anyone to tell me that ‘Four By Four’ was the best the band could have come up with for their return.
After hearing ‘Shovin’Rocks’ the lead track from ‘Sliver & Gold’ at another, what I would call, “lackluster” show from the band at Hellfest 2018 I was starting to think I might have to give album number eight from the guys a miss, and owning pretty much everything else the band has released (and on multiple formats too) this isn’t something I say with any great relish I can assure you. What I hadn’t counted on though was one truly exceptional headline set at HRH Sleaze where even ‘Shovin’Rocks’ started to get inside my head, and yup, you guessed it, the Limited Edition LP & CD version of ‘Sliver & Gold’ was duly pre-ordered.
By now I bet you’re wondering what is this 10 track album (one that Nicke Borg refers to as their “most intense and furious album to date”) actually like then H Bomb?
Opener ‘Good Morning Midnight’ (which was also the second track to be previewed in the run-up to the album release) is a great place to start not just because it’s the first track but because its easily one of the best songs the band have written since the ‘Making Enemies Is Good’ album and this return to form continues into ‘Simple Being Sold’ another track that has Nicke spitting out the lyrics just like he did two decades ago.
‘Shovin’ Rocks’ is up next and whilst it will never be my favourite Backyard Babies track it actually fits in well here plus it’s always good to hear Dregen trading lead vocals with Borg. ‘Ragged Flag’ meanwhile is a jaunty little call and response number full of piratey goodness whilst the poptastic ‘Yes To All No’ sees the band following an almost BOC meets Boston direction something that has the band’s fellow countryman Tobias Forge written all over it.
‘Bad Seed’ sees the BYBs returning to the anthemic style of ‘Brand New Hate’ whilst the Dregen lead ’44 Undead’ (which was album preview number three) possesses a sub-zero coolness about it that should have diehard fans chomping at the bit.
It’s worth mentioning at this point the super sharp production from Chips Kiesbye which literally sparks with electricity during the album’s title track complete with its Space Ace lead break which along with ‘Day Late In My Dollar Shorts’ that follows brings the record to a thundering conclusion. Well almost.
What does actually close the LP is something akin to Sweden’s answer to ‘November Rain’- namely ‘Laugh Now Cry Later’ – a track clocking in at just over 6 minutes that goes absolutely nowhere. Which is a shame really as ‘Sliver & Gold’ up to this point was looking like the BYBs might have finally exorcised their previous musical misgivings.
If at this point you’re thinking of taking the plunge and getting the Limited Edition LP/CD version I mentioned earlier (or the first press deluxe CD) then you’re not finished just yet, as with these versions you also get five acoustic reworkings of some of the band’s back catalogue, the pick of which for me being ‘Th1rt3en Or Nothing’ which actually proves that behind that truly horrible cowbell loop a very good song was always there just waiting to get out.
Look, all joking aside I’ll never be able to thank Backyard Babies enough for rescuing me from a world full of middle of the road shite back in the late 90s and to think that the band who saved me from that fate might be heading that way themselves really hurt me like hell. I accept that they will probably never record a ‘Total 13 (Part II) as to survive a band needs to move forward not be constantly looking over their shoulder. With ‘Sliver & Gold’ then I do feel the guys have gone somewhere to restoring the balance between the spirit of their younger angrier selves and the more responsible adults they have become, I just wish someone would tell Nicke to stop writing the fucking ballads.
Debutalbum ‘Wet Dreams’ out March 29th via Black Pop Records
Norway’s newest power-punks Wet Dreams have revealed a brand new single today called ‘Radioactivity’, the final taster of their debut self-titled album which is due for release on March 29th via Black Pop Records.
Sebastian Ulstad Olsen of Wet Dreams (and Death By Unga Bunga) described the track as, “about everything that’s wrong with rock’n’roll in Norway today. Please use more than 5 minutes on songwriting numbnuts! It’s also named after a really great band from Texas”.
Wet Dreams previously released the brilliant single ‘Boogie’ which Ulstad Olsen of Wet Dreams explained the influences behind: “This song basically wrote itself. I’ve been a fan of raunchy and heavily distorted Boogie Rock since I first heard Guitar Wolf.”
The band announced the album with the storming single ‘Bad Boy’ along with a video that songwriter Sebastian Ulstad Olsen of Wet Dreams said was, “…filmed in the deep forests of our beloved Østfold, Norway, this is the site for a secret festival happening every year. If you know, you know…”
Wet Dreams were consummated in an Oslo basement, when Death By Unga Bunga frontman Sebastian Ulstad Olsen had conceived a few bastard songs he did not know what to do with. The songs grew into a fast and scruffy EP, released in the summer of 2017 – and now the self-titled debut album is finally here.
Wet Dreams is a punk rock/garage group from Oslo consisting of members from FOAMMM, Warp Riders, De Marvells as well as the aforementioned Death By Unga Bunga. They played one of their first ever concerts at Norway’s biggest festival, Øya in 2017, which lead to them being highlighted by NME as one of the best discoveries from the event where they described them as being for fans of “The Ramones to The Vaccines” and said their set was like “Motorhead covering The Hives”. In 2018 they have played festivals in Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Norway. Following the album release in March 2019 the band will tour Norway, Europe and the US.
Wet Dreams recorded the album by themselves, while Øystein Braut (Electric Eye, Dig Deeper, Soft Ride, Low Frequency in Stereo) aced the mixing, birthing an album of gritty, aggressive and ultra-catchy punk rock n roll.
Songwriter Sebastian Ulstad Olsen had this to say on the sound of the band: “Even if the song structures aren’t miles away from the stuff I write in Death By Unga Bunga, I’ve been longing to challenge the recording and production process. I love music that bends the rules, so Wet Dreams is a great laboratory for this purpose.”
The record is about the idea of being – or trying to be – “larger than life” to conceal one’s own insecurities. The collection on the surface may appear a classic testosterone-fueled out-pour, but the lyrics combat this with belief that ultimately we’re all just humans with the same fundamental needs and desires.
The Wet Dream-song ‘I Can Fly’ will be featured in an upcoming episode of the US TV show ‘War Games’ – an interactive up-to-date take on the 1983 classic Matthew Broderick-starring film.
Can’t Shake Loose! Its time again, on the first Friday of the month. That means a new Guilty Pleasure by Märvel. The Swedish power-trio have this time taken on Agnetha Fältskog classic solo hit ‘Can’t Shake Loose’ from 1983. The song was quite successful climbing to 29th place at billboard hot 100 upon the release. Märvel, however, makes the song electrifying and the song in shape for 2019. An impressive shake-up of this monster song written by Russ Ballard.
The album ‘Guilty Pleasure’ is out 12th of April on The Sign Records.
The first official video for Stevie R Pearceand the Hooligans has emerged, following a cracking start with the critically acclaimed self-titled debut album which continues to attract new ears and respect, we are offered this first video delight, filmed at the Blackpool Waterloo Venue by Jay Hillie..
“As ever I had all these ideas and plans in the world that would have made November Rain look like a trailer.. however, that just wouldn’t have been Us. Nor would going down the Cliche Route.. Girls, fast cars etc. I’m not metal enough to stand in a forest, that stuff works for a lot of bands- Its tongue in cheek which is cool, there are some great videos out if you spend the time to look, I’m just not that cool so it doesn’t work. At one point I’d even forgot that we were supposed to make a video- with last year nearly over I called Jay Hillyer and told him to meet me at The Waterloo… Usually, you’d do two or three takes of the song, a script or whatever, but we didn’t have that option. We aren’t really like that in the studio either. I met jay 5 minutes before we went on, he and his guys just hit record. I’d even actually forgotten about the recording by the time “Set my soul on fire was played”. I can’t pretend the whole crowd were there for me, and it wasn’t camera trickery -what happened actually happened- It was during the Final Massive Wagons show of the year which was sold out, with the Senton Bombs and The Takeaway thieves- Fortunately everyone was in good spirits and I’m extremely grateful to everyone for being cool about it and helping make it what it is, only one guy threatened to kill me in the end. It came out great and caught what I wanted it too. I hope you all enjoy it”
You can catch Stevie R. Pearce on tour Through May with Doomsday OutLaw and Silk Road.
May
09th – REAL TIME LIVE – CHESTERFIELD
10th – BANNERMANS – EDINBURGH
11th – TRILLIANS – NEWCASTLE
17th – FACEBAR – READING
18th – THE LOUNGE – LONDON
23rd – ELEVEN – STOKE
24th – WATERLOO BLACKPOOL* SRP Only
25th – CALL OF THE WILD FESTIVAL – LINCOLN
26th – QUEENSHALL – NUNEATON
The Get Up Kids today announced their first full-length album in eight years, ‘Problems’ – produced by Grammy Award-winner Peter Katis (Kurt Vile, The National) – will be released May 10th on Big Scary Monsters. The first video from the album is ‘Satellite’ watch it below.
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