The Strokes – ‘The New Abnormal’ (BMGS4)

The Strokes – ‘The New Abnormal’ (BMGS4)

The Strokes, saviours of rock ‘n’ roll or affluent city kids at the right place at right time? Or perhaps a little from column A and B….. Like them or loathe them, they have stayed the course of their career, never flooding the market with an abundance of material and taking hiatus breaks just long enough to build up nostalgia and maintain headlining positions at international festivals.

On listening to the latest offering, The New Abnormal, I’m at odds with the sound of the album. Almost as if I’m listening to a new Duran Duran release in an attempt at an edgy direction. Overall the material here is New Wave throwback meeting a painfully modern production quality leaving a mainstream radio friendly sheen.
There is a basis for some great songs on the album for the most part, although cluttered with hometown-isms which for me comes across as clichéd and a hallmark of an act running out of ideas (hello Red Hot Chili Peppers).
The first two tracks showcase a particularly barren lo-fi sound, to a more successful degree on second song “Selfless”. As soon as it’s over we are awoken into a feverish, unpleasant delirium of the Killers esque “Brooklyn Bridge To The Chorus”.
Where to begin with second single “Bad Decisions”. Already publicised and forgiven by critics for the heavy lifting from Generation X’s “Dancing With Myself”, no one seems to have noticed that the verses have been ripped from Modern English’s “Melt With You”. Following on from this we have “Eternal Summer”, reminiscent in my mind of a drunken Marilyn Manson jamming with Phoenix on some Psychedelic Furs melodies. These two tracks alone show enough appropriating to make Noel Gallagher shake his head in disbelief.
The real high points of the album reveal themselves in the second half. “At The Door” and “Not The Same Anymore” are exquisite and desolate, showing Casablanca’s finest vocal moments on the entire record. Even the poppier “Why Are Sundays So Depressing” can drag the unconverted along for the ride.
Album finisher “Ode To The Mets” brings us on home. It certainly displays passion but ends up falling short in measure against the strength of the previous tracks.
Overall the album has the potential to make a very interesting artifact in terms of being the sound of a band who arguably defined their era/scene, coping with middle age and avoiding predictability. And I must stress that this is a compliment, changing and adapting is a virtue. In this case though they do not quite hit the mark on the road of creative development well trodden by Neil Young, Bowie, Prince, Depeche Mode etc etc etc.
Buy The New Abnormal Here
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Author: Dan Kasm

Enuff Z’nuff declare the ‘BRAINWASHED GENERATION’ is released on Frontiers 10.07.20

Enuff Z’nuff declare the ‘BRAINWASHED GENERATION’ is released on Frontiers 10.07.20

Album pre-order link – Here   Also The first single ‘FATAL DISTRACTION’ is aired below.

Enuff Z’nuff are the living, breathing example of what a rock ‘n roll group should be. Now centered around bass player and vocalist Chip Z’nuff and also featuring Alex Kane, Tory Stoffregen and Daniel B. Hill, the band are still delivering their patented power pop melded with hard rock stylings.

‘Brainwashed Generation’ is the follow-up to 2018’s well received ‘Diamond Boy’ and showcases a diverse collection of songs that demonstrate the progression of musical styles in the Enuff Z’nuff catalogue, all the while retaining the undercurrent that has kept them a loyal fanbase since the ‘80s. The album also features guest appearances from original frontman and guitarist Donnie Vie (‘Strangers In My Head’) plus guest appearances from Mike Portnoy and Daxx Nielsen (Cheap Trick).

Chip Z’nuff says of the new album that “this batch of songs are simply gifts from above via a plethora of influences. There’s certainly plenty of fodder at this unprecedented time in our world.” He adds: “We recorded the album in a few interesting locations, such as Stonecutters Studio in downtown Chicago, Chris Steinmantz’s studio [White Lion, Styx], which was a ghost town, and my studio on the Southside that was filled with extracurricular activities during the whole process.”
On working with guest musicians, he continues: “Fabulous rock musicians came by during these sessions to lend their magnificent skills, including members of Cheap Trick [Daxx Nielsen], Mike Portnoy [Sons of Apollo, Winery Dogs] and Steve Ramone.”

Enuff Z’nuff plan to tour in both North America and Europe in support of ‘Brainwashed Generation’ as soon as the world situation allows.

Originally formed in 1984 in Chicago, Enuff Z’nuff received their big break in 1989 when they signed to Atco/Atlantic Records. Their self-titled debut album was a monster hit and spawned two evergreen singles, ‘New Thing’ and ‘Fly High Michelle’. Both received constant airplay on radio and heavy rotation on MTV, spending over 60 weeks in the US Top 10. 1991 saw the band release a follow-up album, ‘Strength’, which had hard rock overtones and sustained the success achieved with their first album. The band made high profile television and radio appearances on the likes of David Letterman and Howard Stern and were featured in Rolling Stone’s Hot Issue as ‘The Next Big Thing’. They adapted during the changing musical climates of the ‘90s and have gone on to release a dozen more studio records.

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Orange Goblin – Rough & Ready, Live & Loud (Rise Above Records, Universal, Candlelight Records © Rise Above Records, Universal)

Orange Goblin – Rough & Ready, Live & Loud (Rise Above Records, Universal, Candlelight Records © Rise Above Records, Universal)
2020 marks 25 years since underground British Heavy Metal kings Orange Goblin first got together to play their Motorhead/Sabbath inspired music to the world, and this year was supposed to be a celebration of all that they have achieved over those 25 years. Sadly things aren’t going as expected for them with the current Coronavirus pandemic scuppering all touring plans which were to include well-earned slots at the likes of Bloodstock Open Air, Sweden Rock and Rock Fest Barcelona.
However all is not lost. To try and make sure the 25th Anniversary isn’t a complete dead loss the band have thought outside the box and decided to release a live album from the achieves of live material they have lying around. As the band (surprisingly) do not have a record contract at present, the live album was released digitally on the Bandcamp platform. In true Orange Goblin style the band got the fans involved in this project by asking for pictures of the band, memorabilia, fan photos etc from over the 25 years of them being together to be submitted to them for possible inclusion in a digital booklet which came with the album.
The first thing you notice about the release is the fantastic artwork by Dominic Sohor depicting the band on motorbikes riding down a highway with nods to the artwork of pretty much every other album they have released to be found elsewhere in the picture. Then the digital booklet itself has some great photos throughout of the band and their fans which no doubt made a few people happy as they looked through it and recognised themselves or their photos, and that is before you even get to play any of the music.
Opening with a crushing one two of Sons of Salem and The Devils Whip it soon becomes abundantly clear that while this release may not have been originally the planned, the quality of the material on hand really is superb and the mixing and mastering by Gez Walton has really captured the intensity and energy of an Orange Goblin live show. This is all the more impressive as the material is harvested from several different gigs in London, Athens and Skylar Open Air festival in France and while the tracks are split up you really don’t notice the breaks or a drop in energy levels.
By the third track, Saruman’s Wish from the band’s debut album Frequencies from Planet Ten, you can’t help smile as you hear frontman Ben Ward demand “Lets get the fucking party started”, as you can almost feel the fat sweaty bloke that would be normally be standing next to you spill beer on you as he gets over excited, that is of course if the fat sweaty bloke isn’t in fact you.
From then on in the album doesn’t let up with personal highlights being a crushing Made of Rats, a frankly stunning Shine which does indeed allow the fantastic bluesy guitar work of Joe Hoare to shine, and the furiously wild Bandcamp exclusive track Your World will Hate This.
While we all know that a huge amount of people only stream music these days, this digital only release has really had a bit of time, effort and thought put into it to try and make it that bit more special for those that buy it. For the price of a couple of warm flat pints at a gig you really do get something pretty special and you can give yourself a pat on the back knowing that you have helped one of the UK’s finest underground bands continue to be able to be just that in what is a pretty testing time right now.
Download the album, grab a beer, bang your head and repeat after me……Orange Fucking Goblin Baby!
Buy ‘Rough & Ready’ Here
Author: Nigel Taylor

CELEBRATE THE LOUDEST DAY OF THE YEAR MOTÖRHEAD DAY!

CELEBRATE THE LOUDEST DAY OF THE YEAR MOTÖRHEAD DAY!
“THE 8TH OF MAY, THE 8TH OF MAY”

CELEBRATE THE LOUDEST DAY OF THE YEAR
MOTÖRHEAD DAY!

‘Ace Of Spades’ – the title track of Motörhead’s 1980 iconic, game changing album – isn’t just one of the greatest hard rock songs ever written, it has truly become a lifestyle anthem for several generations of rockers, metalheads, punks, bikers, athletes, rebels, outcasts, and freethinkers all around the world.

Few songs in modern history can instantly ignite the adrenaline of music fans the way the song’s opening dirty bass riff and drum roll can. From zero to 100 mph in a matter of seconds, that speaker-destroying opening riff is unstoppable. And the song changed the course of hard rock… forever.

Now, 40 years later we are celebrating this milestone album’s anniversary on Motörhead Day 2020, ‘The 8th Of May’ by inviting you, and fans from around the globe, to join us on this special day where everything is louder than everything else!

Here’s what’ll be happening on the day:

WORLDWIDE PREMIERE OF NEW VIDEO
A new lyric video for the most iconic of Motörhead songs – ‘Ace Of Spades’ will premiere here.

WARPIG YOUR FACE 
Use a unique Facebook and Instagram filter of the snarling embodiment of Motörhead to transform your face.

LIMITED EDITION ROAD CREW MERCHANDISE
A limited edition Road Crew merchandise capsule will be released on the webstore here. A portion of the proceeds of the Road Crew merchandise will be going to Live Nation’s Crew Nation Fund to provide financial support to touring crews affected at this time. #WeAreTheRoadCrew

RAISE A TOAST TO MOTÖRHEAD!
Fill a glass with your favourite libation and post your toast to Motörhead online with the hashtag #8thofmay. Jack and Coke optional.

Join Motörhead Day here – https://motorhead.lnk.to/8thofMayPR

We do hope you can join us as part of this celebration of all things Motörhead. Lockdown may be going on all around us but the world is ours and we were born to raise hell! We look forward to celebrating 40 years of lawn killing, bastard Rock n Roll with you all!

TEAM MOTÖRHEAD

Orange Goblin release new album and tour dates for 2020

Orange Goblin release new album and tour dates for 2020
Diehard exponents of the noble art of heavy metal since 1995, Orange Goblin have spent the last two and a half decades steadily but surely establishing themselves as one of the UK’s most loved and respected bands. Emerging from the stoner rock explosion of the mid ‘90s, the band led the way for that scene on British shores, kicking off with classic debut album Frequencies From Planet Ten in 1997 and continuing with a steady stream of critically acclaimed albums that boldly and gleefully blurred the lines between stoner, doom, black, crust and southern rock, while always fervently saluting the old school heavy metal flag and the sacred Sabbathian code.
 
Widely admired as one of the most ludicrously thunderous and entertaining live bands on the planet, Orange Goblin have paid their dues and earned the right to be regarded as a heavy metal institution. The band’s last three albums, A Eulogy For The Damned (2012) and Back From The Abyss (2014) and The Wolf Bites Back (2018) have further cemented their reputation.
 
Now in 2020 the London-based quartet will celebrate their 25th anniversary with a December tour of the UK and Ireland culminating in two very specials shows at London’s The Underworld. Frontman Ben Ward comments,
 
‘The world is a very strange place at the moment and we are all affected by the current Covid-19 pandemic. No one knows what the future holds and when we will get back to playing shows but we are very happy to announce that this December, Orange Goblin will (hopefully) be touring the UK to celebrate our 25 Year Anniversary.
 
Obviously people’s safety is the main concern for us but we wanted to get these dates out there as it’s been eating away at us for a while now and we hope that having something to look forward to will bring a tiny bit of hope and happiness into everyone’s lives right now. We are chuffed to be bringing strong supports for this run in the shape of fellow Sabbath worshippers, Spirit Adrift, as well as Cornwall’s finest metal brigade, King Creature. These shows promise to be a celebration of our entire music catalogue and 25 years of travels up and down the UK, with the London shows being particularly special as we return to our old stomping ground of The Underworld for two very special nights playing completely different sets! 
 
 So we hope to see faces old and new at these shows come December! Tickets go on sale on Thursday 7th May.’
 
Orange Goblin 25th anniversary tour – December 2020
 
Fri 11 – Dublin, Grand Social
Sat 12 – Belfast, Limelight 2
Mon 14 – Glasgow, King Tuts
Tue 15 – Manchester, Gorilla
Wed 16 – Birmingham, Asylum
Thu 17 – Cardiff, The Globe
Fri 18 – London, The Underworld
Sat 19 – London, The Underworld
 
Tickets on sale Thursday 7th May 2020
 
Orange Goblin most recently released new live album ‘Rough & Ready, Live & Loud’ on 1st May featuring tracks recorded between 2016-2019.  Frustrated at being unable to tour due to the current worldwide Covid-19 restrictions, the band – vocalist Ben Ward, guitarist Joe Hoare, bassist Martyn Millard and drummer Chris Turner, decided to plug the gap with a live set, which also serves to celebrate the remarkable achievement of the band’s 25th Anniversary.
 
Order the album now: Here
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RMBLR open fire with new video

RMBLR open fire with new video

One of the brightest bands making a noise at the moment RMBLR are on it along with label mates Fast Eddy and Ravagers who all have new music coming out soon on the awesome Spaghetty Town Records label but before quarantine, the reprobates that are RMBLR shot this video.

(Atlanta, GA, USA) Shot right before lock down, RMBLR (pronounced Rambler) shot and recorded their latest single “Machine Gun” about a week before US shelter in place order. Shot and edited by Jarrett Barnes, with graphics by Alex Hagen (Ravagers/RMBLR),  gives us a taste of their raucous live show

RMBLR features members of the Heart Attacks, Ravagers, The Barreracudas, Dinos Boys and Biters.  Dare I say it, an Atlanta super group.  They currently have two singles out , planning to release a 6 song EP sometime this year and hopefully tour.  In the meantime enjoy “Machine Gun” ,  available on Bandcamp right now, and all other digital outlets May 8, 2020

Ryan Hamilton releases digital four track EP

Ryan Hamilton releases digital four track EP

Much like the British government didn’t see a global pandemic coming none of us saw Ryan Hamilton sneaking out this cheeky four track EP.

 

Ryan had this to say,

SURPRISE! Super excited to announce the immediate release of “Incommunicado”! Out NOW and available everywhere! This is a collection of 4 songs, recorded from isolation, here in Texas, in the U.K, and in France.
All initial proceeds will be donated to the Music Venue Trust’s ‘Save Our Venues’ cause in the U.K, to help save independent venues, many of which I have played, that are being seriously affected by the pandemic.
This 4 song EP is just a few dollars, or pounds. Literally less than the cost of a fast food meal… or a large drink at Starbucks.
I would ask that you go buy it on iTunes. I know many of you will stream it on Spotify etc… but, please, spend the few bucks for a good cause.
Not only are you supporting an artist that you (seemingly, hopefully) love… you’re generating money to help save music venues.
On a personal note: This pandemic situation has been seriously difficult. I have been very open, and honest about my mental health struggles. I was on the verge of heading to a very dark emotional place. Instead of letting myself go to that dark place, I decided to call our Producer, Dave Draper, and ask if he’d be down to work on this music with me. I needed it. I REALLY needed it.
Working on these songs saved me. Music, once again, saves the day. I am so incredibly thankful to get to work with talented, supportive friends. Like Dave Draper, Emily Ewing, Maurice Hipkiss and the folks who made this new E.P. happen.

Get it on iTunes in the U.S. by clicking HERE

Get it on iTunes in the U.K. by clicking HERE

Dinosaur Pile Up invite you to their Cosmic Barbeque

Dinosaur Pile Up invite you to their Cosmic Barbeque

YO SHREDDERS!! We hope everybody is still safe and healthy and taking care of one another!! We know these are weird and hard times, and we KNOW how much it sucks that we’re not seeing so many of you out there on the road right now – so we figured we’d try and create another way for you guys to hang with us and feel connected right now. SO, without further ado, we’re dropping the first episode of our brand new podcast “The Cosmic Barbecue” TODAY!! Episode 1 is streamable NOW on Spotify, Pocket Casts, Anchor and Apple, so go check it!! Link’s below!!

The ‘CBBQ’ will be full of stuff like DPU tour stories, us discussing our journey as a band, general DPU related memories, Matt discussing why being a medieval knight would have been cool, that time Mike died for the second time, why sandwiches are great, how we met Jim and why he’s a powerful wizard etc etc. You know, cool stuff. We’re kind of just rolling with it and seeing where it takes us, and right now due to quarantine we’re recording it all separately as best we can – so forgive us for the sub $10,000 production value lol.

To be honest it sounds pretty cool in my opinion. (It’s Matt by the way… hola amigos). ANYWAY. Whilst we’re all separated from each other we’re gonna keep on trying to find ways to stay connected, but we think this podcast is a great way to start. We’re super stoked on it, and we’ll be trying to drop an episode roughly once a week – so make sure you tune in and tell your buds about it.

Craggy Collyde vinyl pre release details

Craggy Collyde vinyl pre release details
Our friend from Mainland Europe Craggy Collyde have finally taken shipment of their new record and have made details available of the release date. There will also be a bundle 7″ and 10″ package available for UK customers details to follow. Check out ‘Dead Refrain’ taken from the record below.
Album release date on vinyl: 29 May 2020
Will be available Here
Or  Here
UK shipping being arranged for UK customers
Tour to being in the autumn/winter if possible (TBA)

The Boomtown Rats – Citizens Of Boomtown (BMG Records)

The Boomtown Rats – Citizens Of Boomtown (BMG Records)

The original Boomtown Rats had their time and place and that ground to a halt in the early/mid-Eighties, amid Geldof’s involvement in Band Aid/Live Aid. They seemed to be a band who never seemed to know if they were a pop band with a bit of a maverick edge, a rock band with a pop edge, or just another New wave band with some big hit potential.

Always known for their gobby frontman who organised Live Aid Geldof like him or loath him he cuts a formidable figure and for all his faults did some incredible things with whatever talent he had be it one of pop music’s most sought after address books or just a flighty temper people were afraid to say no to but there can be no doubt his band the Boomtown Rats took a back seat for a long long time.  Cue 2020 and after some questionable live shows be it good or not so good the Rats were back on the scene.  then 2020 and ‘Citizens of Boomtown’.

With a couple of exceptions, this return to vinyl is pretty damn good. The band have penned ten songs that mostly turn up the guitar amps and rock like a pretty convincing take on garage rock via some Bowie and Iggy if I’m being honest.  the opening stomp of ‘Trash Glam, Baby’, to the Transformer era Lou Reed -meets-The Beatles ‘Passing Through’.  ‘Sweet Thing’, really does sound like Iggy Pop from the ’80s.

The exceptions have to be flagged so ‘K.I.S.S.’ sounds more like a Bwitched song and sits uncomfortably here which is a shame and breaks the flow of what has so far been a really impressive record. Then the other blemish on the record is ‘Rock N Roll Ye Ye’ which makes little sense to me so I’m choosing to gloss over these couple of glitches.

The album does end with ‘Get A Grip’ which whilst a little pompous had me drawing comparisons from some of Alice Cooper’s work with the keyboards and guitar lick joining the terrace chanting of the backing vocals and Geldof runs out of breath on the repeated verses before getting back into that chorus strangely alluring and enjoyable, who’d have thought it eh?

Maybe Sir Bob is letting his hair down and having some fun with his pals and cutting some tunes to fuck with the listener and take things somewhere you wouldn’t expect but I’ve heard the final cut live and used it as an excuse to get out before the masses hit the exits like a pound shop, Jagger, at his finest trying to create a soundtrack anthem about your band fails but I guess with an amount off porter in me maybe I’d hit the dance floor and get down and get with it but not a tune I want to hear over and over but don’t let that put you off generally this is a decent effort.  Winner winner chicken dinner the Boomtown Rats are back in the room and the citizens of any town once the lockdown is over go and pick this up and find out for yourself.  Give Bob yer fuckin’ Money! it’s been 36 years since he released the last one and the bills still need paying.

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Author: Dom Daley