The Wildhearts are proud to announce they will be headlining O2 Shepherds Bush Empire, London, on June 6th.
“Join me, Jon Poole, Ben Marsden and Pontus Snibb for a world exclusive show, for which I promise you the biggest production the Wildhearts have ever put on. We couldn’t have got this far without the loyalty and support of you, The Wildhearts community. Come and celebrate the new beginning with us”. Ginger Wildheart.
For three decades The Wildhearts have remained at the forefront of the rock scene, and their incendiary shows have cemented their reputation and legacy as one of the best bands the UK has ever produced, so miss this show at your peril.
With 3 top 10 albums under their belts, tours with the likes of the Foo Fighters, festival headline slots, and a formidable live reputation, you could call Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes a success story, but there was a point after their last album ‘Sticky’ in 2001, when Frank Carter and guitarist Dean Richardson questioned whether they had another Rattlesnakes album in them.
Yet thankfully, following a period of sobriety on Frank’s part and a great deal of soul searching, the duo return with the 5th Rattlesnakes long player entitled ‘Dark Rainbow’. While ‘Sticky’ was a love letter to punk rock and a reaction to the ongoing pandemic, ‘Dark Rainbow’ is a dark and brooding beast full of electronica and atmospheric soundscapes that looks back on the last few years of tumultuous times with themes of reflection and introspection.
If, after exposure to the first two singles, you were left confused and wondering what the hell happened to the punk rock energy of The Rattlesnakes, my advice is to bear with it and expect the unexpected with ‘Dark Rainbow’. Frank went into this album with a newfound sobriety, an introspective headspace, and a desire to take The Rattlesnakes into unchartered territories. The duo dug deep, took stock of all that they had done, and even reworked old song ideas that didn’t fit at the time. The resulting album is a mature rock record that takes time to connect, but give it that time and the rewards are plentiful.
Album opener ‘Honey’ bursts with QOTSA desert rock spikey riffage and cocksure lyricism. It’s a statement of intent and a winner of an album opener, it seems like it’s business as usual for Carter and Richardson. But the second track and first single release ‘Man Of The Hour’ is where it starts to get interesting. A more laid-back affair brimming with electronica and introspection, it’s a welcome departure for the band, and about as far removed from the likes of ‘Go Get A Tattoo’ that you could ask for. It sees the frontman question the whole rock star persona that he found himself thrust into and his ongoing disillusionment with it.
The pulsing electronica of the second single ‘Brambles’ is a showcase for the seductive and sultry soundscapes of ‘Dark Rainbow’. A spikey take on the trials and tribulations of getting lost in love, it sort of hits a sound that puts me in mind of the first two Garbage albums.
They do hit familiar territory throughout the course of the album. The thumping urgent beats and dense, overdriven riffage of ‘Happier Days’ sounds great and the anthemic rocker ‘Self Love’ is classic Rattlesnakes fodder more in tune with the feel of Pure Love or the more upbeat moments of ‘End Of Suffering’. These are the sort of songs designed to energize festival crowds and create mosh pits, and they are welcomed with open arms.
But it’s the haunting piano chords and lonesome vocals of ‘American Spirit’ that stick in the mind, the heart-wrenching, atmosphere created in ‘Sun Bright Golden Happening’ that will linger long after the disc has ceased to spin, the brooding verses of ‘Superstar’ that skulk along like daggers in the dark. These are the moments that set The Rattlesnakes apart from their contemporaries in 2024.
The closing title track is a brooding cinematic epic full of atmosphere and effects. Soaring vocals over electronic beats and an understated guitar refrain as it ebbs and flows to a dramatic climax.
‘Dark Rainbow’ is a brave departure for Carter and Richardson and sees the duo take stock of who they were and where they want The Rattlesnakes to go in the future. By turning the microscope on himself, Frank Carter has maybe exorcised those demons and pathed a future for The Rattlesnakes that wasn’t on the horizon after the last album. ‘Dark Rainbow’ is not as instant or as anthemic as previous offerings and it may see them alienate a portion of their older fanbase, but it sees the Rattlesnakes constantly evolve, constantly be inventive, and always deliver something that is unexpected.
DESPERATE MEASURES, the high energy, London punk and rollers release their brand-new album ‘Sublime Destruction’ on March 22nd on Cadiz Music. Loaded with eleven personal and political, hook laden anthems, the album was written over the last two years and during the pandemic. Featuring previous singles ‘Thinking Of England’, ‘Back To The Rats’, and the title track ‘Sublime Destruction’, the album was recorded with Andy Brook (who has produced, engineered, and toured with the like of Status Quo, Ginger Wildheart, Wonk Unit, Hayseed Dixie) at The Brook Studios, Wallington, Surrey. From the opening roar of ‘Back To The Rats’, the Sex Pistols riffarama of ‘The Rich-Tual’ and the danced-up Stooges grooves of ‘Enjoy The Ride’, through to the Psychedelic Furs like ‘Untouchable’ and the epic ode to North London, ‘Seven Sisters’, ‘Sublime Destruction’, is anything but sublime. Instead, it’s a huge statement of intent from a band that back up their in-your-face attitude 100% on the stage.
Regarded as something of old hands at this Hard Rockin nonsense The Boatsman have gotten to album number four and ‘Hard Livin’ is exactly where I’d hoped they’d be. They’ve always turned in decent tunes and were working hard at wearing in these guitars and being the best they could be in a crowded field and on ‘Hard Livin’ my goodness I think they’ve blasted off into the next league up. This is big boys hard rock and these four hairy fuckers have absolutely nailed it.
Sure they’re not sailing far from the mother ship Action Rock but they’re armed to the teeth with better tunes and a more confident sound than ever before and like their Scandi neighbours Scumbag Millionaires they’ve upped their game noticeably and written better songs than ever before. Yes, it’s a lovely mixture of Motorhead, Turbonegro, Thin Lizzy, AC/DC, MC5, and a few snotty punk bands that they’ve cut their cloth trying to be as good as, and once the needle drops and the big entry of ‘Livin’ On Lust’ is off like a stray rocket. The thrashing of the riff is wild and reckless and I love that shit. It’s tight and set for maximum excitement and that’s the way to open your album, set your stall out get off to a fuckin’ flyer whatever superlative you like it’s a belter and the solo just kills.
If you think it’s a one-off buckle up mother fuckers because the gonzo punk rock of ‘I Wanna Clone’ is frantic and heading straight for the bull’s eye. ‘Why Wait’ is the first video off the album and sounding like The Hives feasting on a heavy diet of Hard Rock and Ramones melodies is a decent place to start full stop. It’s a decent representation of what the album sounds like but it’s not the best song on the album no sir. Nor is the rapid foot to the floor of ‘Foggy Man’ it’s like the European bastard son of The Hip Priests. ‘Take Me’ is riff after mother fuckin riff and cool as wearing a pair of aviators whilst cruising down the freeway in a Cadillac cabriolet with a bevy of beautiful babes in the back laughing at all your dad jokes.
The title track is like the Four Horsemen have just called you out and handed you a battle jacket and you need to go out and get stuck in for the team. It is a complete record and one that has plenty of exciting riffs and ideas within the songs and boundless energy all tied in with plenty of melody. The Boatsmen have landed and ‘Hard Livin’ is one hell of an album. Buy it!
‘Self Love’ follows recent new album cuts ‘Brambles‘ and ‘Man of the Hour‘, which set the tone for Dark Rainbow’s path of self-evaluation and reflection. ‘Self Love’ finds its narrator steering along dark and twisting tracks in their attempts to forgive themselves, let go of guilt and pain, accept what can’t be changed, and look forward to a more compassionate existence. Frank Carter explains further:
“Self Love is a mantra to live by in honour of the relationship that truly matters, the relationship you have with yourself.
It can be easy to neglect yourself while spending energy fighting to win love from other people.
If you really care for yourself you realise you don’t need anyone else to be happy, and quite often when you stop looking for what you want the universe gives you exactly what you need.”
Hear new single ‘Self Love’ on streaming services here and watch the video below.
The last time that many UK fans will have witnessed the band will have been at their sold-out Alexandra Palace show in London, or on the mainstages at Download and Reading & Leeds festivals, or headlining last summer’s 2000 Trees Festival. With the album’s release coming up this Friday, the band will take on a sold-out run of UK instores before embarking on their biggest tour to date. From February, they will headline shows through the UK, Europe, Australia and USA.
All tickets are on sale now from the band’s website here.
Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes World Tour 2024
06 Feb – The Great Hall, Cardiff, UK 07 Feb – O2 Academy, Bristol, UK 09 Feb – Academy, Manchester, UK 10 Feb – Northumbria Uni Student’s Union, Newcastle, UK 11 Feb – Barrowland, Glasgow, UK 13 Feb – O2 Academy, Leeds, UK 14 Feb – Wulfrun Hall, Wolverhampton, UK 15 Feb – Roundhouse, London, UK 16 Feb – Roundhouse, London, UK 22 Feb – Metropol, Berlin, DE 23 Feb – Live Music Hall, Cologne, DE 24 Feb – Le Bataclan, Paris, FR 26 Feb – AB Main Hall, Brussels, BE 27 Feb – 013 Poppodium, Tilburg, Netherlands, NL 16 Apr – Magnet House, Perth, AUS 18 Apr – The Gov, Adelaide, AUS 19 Apr – 170 Russell, Melbourne, AUS 20 Apr – Barwon Club, Geelong, AUS 23 Apr – Triffid, Brisbane, AUS 24 Apr – Crowbar, Sydney, AUS 13 May – The End, Nashville TN, USA 14 May – Subterranean, Chicago IL, USA 17 May – Horseshoe Tavern, Toronto, ON,CAN 20 May – Foundry, Philadelphia PA, USA 21 May – The Gramercy Theatre, New York NY, USA 22 May – Atlantis, Washington DC, USA
Slade continue the official deluxe vinyl album reissues series with the never before released on vinyl with ‘Live At The New Victoria’ and‘Till Deaf Do Us Part’. Pre Order Here
SLADE and BMGRecords proudly continue their new series of limited edition vinyl reissues and deluxe CDs, with the release of Live At The New Victoria and Till Deaf Do Us Part onFriday 23rd February 2024.
These new beautifully presented album reissues find Live At The New Victoria, made available on vinyl for the first time ever, when it is released on double blue and white splatter vinyl, and Till Deaf Do Us Part will be available on white with black splatter vinyl. Live At The New Victoria will also be available as a CD digipack and the Till Deaf Do Us Part CD is housed in a deluxe mediabook, which includes an original extended essay and two bonus tracks.
Live At The New Victoria recorded on April 26 1975, captures the band as they toured the UK promoting their feature film, In Flame. Still riding high on their successes of the early 70’s, Slade rode into London’s New Victoria Theatre for two nights. The second of these shows was recorded for posterity and retained in the band archive for over 4 decades.
Live At The New Victoria features the highly regarded ‘How Does It Feel’, as well as classic hits ‘Gudbuy T’Jane’, ‘Far Far Away’ and ‘Mama Weer All Crazee Now’ plus long time stage favourite ‘Just A Little Bit’. The album presents a fitting snapshot of the group’s powerful live performances.
Following the success of 1981’s We’ll Bring The House Down, Slade continued their new found resurgence with Till Deaf Do Us Part.
The album features the single Lock Up Your Daughters as well as other tracks that were to become staples of the Slade live set over the years including ‘Rock and Roll Preacher’ (which became the band’s new opener) as well as Ruby Red and Knuckle Sandwich Nancy.
Formed in Wolverhampton in 1966, the iconic Slade are without doubt one of the most exciting bands to ever come out of Great Britain. The sensational songwriting partnership of Noddy Holder and Jim Lea wrote no less than 23 Top-20 singles, of which 6 were No.1. Slade with their unique blend of perfect pop-rock’n’roll, outrageous flamboyance and pure fun, also produced multiple hit albums.
With a chart career that has spanned 3 decades Slade have become a firm favourite in the hearts of pop fans all over the world.
To order other releases in this series of limited edition vinyl reissues and deluxe CDs, including ‘Sladest’, ‘Slayed?’, ‘Old New Borrowed And Blue’, ’Slade In Flame’ , ‘Slade Alive!’ ,Nobody’s Fools andThe Amazing Kamikaze Syndrome go to:https://slade.lnk.to/OfficialStore
Forming in 2018 – Guitarist Pete Greenway, drummer Keiron Melling and bassist Dave Spurr, formerly known as the last and longest serving line up of The Fall, were invited by Damo Sazuki to join him as “Sound Carriers” for a one-off performance at the White hotel in Salford. Rekindling their necessity for music, they set about searching for a vocalist. After a chance encounter at a pub in Colne and a lengthy conversation about the future of Imperial Wax, they decided to team up with Sam Curran, guitarist and vocalist from Leeds based punk band Black Pudding. Once Dave decided to leave the band in 2019 the obvious choice was to recruit another former black puddinger Shane Standrill on Bass
As the pandemic ground the country to a halt, Keiron and Sam set about brewing the beginnings of the follow up to their 2019 debut, ‘Gastwerk Saboteurs’. In stark contrast to the writing style of their debut, where the songs were created all together, written and recorded in the same day. The bare skeleton of ‘Tranquilliser’ was written mainly as a two piece amidst the lockdown. Pete and Dave eventually adding their own parts later but overall allowing the band much more time to craft the songs into a cohesive, well-rehearsed, studio budget friendly collection of tracks.
The forced contemplation of excess time gave an approach which was totally unfamiliar to what they were used to and naturally cultivated a more complex style of song, meaning more parts, more changes and less playing off of other band members. After Dave’s departure former Black Pudding bass player Shane Standrill stepped up to the oche, bringing with him a different playing style and thus changing the sound of the band even further.
Dave had already laid the groundwork for the whole album, but after the failed first lot of recordings at their own practice space in Lancashire and with Shane’s new take on Dave’s parts, the band decided to go and re-record the whole thing properly at HOHM Studios in Bradford.
Sam found himself working in a chateau in the south of France, who was also in the midst of a lockdown. Allowing him a plethora of time and solitude to begin writing lyrics. There wasn’t much else to do in the evenings except read and write. Not many opportunities can provide such an uninterrupted environment to immerse yourself in the writing process, which was something Sam took full advantage of. Inspired by the works of Joseph Conrad, William Burroughs, Herni Cherrier, Mashima, Olga Tokarschuk and many more.
The main problem for any small band always boils down to money and that was certainly the case with Imperial Wax, so after a few failed label offers the band looked into releasing the album themselves. Upon realising the potential of having total control over your own release, the only problem was that no one had a clue what they were doing, hence the name Guesswork Records. It was a venture Keiron had long been keen on since his time in the Fall, after he and Mark had planned their own label which ultimately never came into fruition with MES’s untimely demise.
Another unexpected blow was finding out that Pete had contracted the dreaded long covid. The band held out for a long time hoping that Pete would start showing signs of improvement which unfortunately never came and is still up in the air to this day. No doubt he will back in the saddle eventually but for now Imperial Wax have enlisted former Cabbage guitarist Joe Martin. After the fairly public collapse of cabbage along with his own personal struggles it was a case of right place and right time when Keiron bumped into Joe in Colne. They needed a guitarist and Joe filled that requirement. Along with the very recent addition of former the Fall/PJ Harvey bassist Ding, who has taken up the role of synth, Imperial Wax are well armed to take on many more year’s future musical ventures.
This super glossy 250-plus-page hardback book documents The Who at Winterland in fabulous technicolour. there are few words in what is pretty much a pictorial record of the late 60s and mid-70s Who and some of these pictures captured are incredible. On and off stage There is no denying the Who were a very visual band full of larger-than-life characters who knew from very early on the power of what you looked like as much as what you sounded like.
In the opening pages strewn with some cool backstage pics, there are transcripts of long-lost interviews with people like Buck Munger who was Sunn Amps director. Also recollections from people who were there who commented on just how life-changing it was being at the front of a stage when The Who started to play and the volume they attacked the songs with. All Fascinating stuff from an era of music and performance that is being lost or forgotten. Plenty of backstage pics of The Ox smiling and laughing in the company of Moon The Loon. Backstage black and white montages take you right back and indulge the reader in the visual mood but it’s the often blurry frantic live shots that are most interesting capturing a band in full flight as they smash through their set with power and as much bluster as they can summon.
Chapter six covers the intervening years between the main focus of the two dates. For a photographer to be given access to The photographer’s pit in front of Townsend must have been a fantastic experience regardless of Daltrey’s showmanship and Moon’s flamboyant performances it has to be Townsend who wins the prize for some of the best photos of the late 60s and 70s live shots and this book certainly captures dozens and dozens of them for you to revel in at your leisure. The latter date this book focuses on is that of a quite different Who but one that was no less visual and the pictures taken behind the band looking down from a lofty position are different and offer another perspective.
All in all a fascinating book with hundreds of pictures and just the right amount of background and accompanying words capturing a perfect snapshot of a time when music was fresh and exciting and one of the world’s biggest bands evolving before your very eyes and wonderfully captured by some very talented photographers in a club that would have been such a memory. Buy it, It is a book of real beauty and worth every penny.
The Sweet Kill have just announced the release of their sophomore LP Nowhere with their latest video-single “Forbidden.” The new full length vinyl LP will arrive this spring via Young & Cold Records (Germany) as well as Shadow Zone Records (USA). The Sweet Kill is a one-man post-punk project which focuses on the more dark and gothic side of the genre. Perpetually recording and producing at his own studio SHADOW ZONE SOUND in Los Angeles, Pete Mills wrote The Sweet Kill’s sonic cinematic debut Darkness with the intent to inspire those lost in the shadows of life. The velvety crooning baritone Mills conducts a darkwave masterpiece of romantic sorrow echoing the laments of The Cure and Joy Division. With the newest offering from The Sweet Kill “Forbidden”, Mills creates a down tempo atmosphere that brings the listener into a melancholic realm. Describing the song Mills said, “Beneath the chilly glow of the moon, one might ponder, with a wry smile, the delicious conundrum of the forbidden. Ah, the thrill of diving into the depths of desire, to satiate an unnamable yearning! In the grand opera of life, some find their hearts drawn to the most enigmatic of duets, a dance shrouded in secrecy, away from the prying eyes of the world’s chorus”.
The eerie video, directed by Ellen Hawk, delves into this mystery realm with gusto, taking us on a strange sojourn into the moonlight. The haunting voice of Pete Mills serves as a guiding light through this shadowy adventure, cutting through the darkness with the intensity and warmth of a candle’s flame. His earnest croon adds a layer of depth and sincerity. Pete Mills delves into the depths of the human psyche, using an arsenal of cold synths, atmospheric guitar, and a melodic bass to sculpt an anthemic hook with bleeding-heart emotions. The protagonists, outcasts by nature, grapple with their desires in the shadows. Amidst secrets and whispers, their passion is intense yet prohibited, leading them to a paradise where they are exiled, consumed by a love both dark and irresistible.
Punk rockers latest long player might have dropped a coupple of weeks before 2023 fizzled out but its worth catching up early 2024. Housed in these here twelve tracks of angry (no shit) political (really?) but throughly enjoyable punk rock. The record gets off to a flyer and you don’t need to have a lyric sheet to get the blunt trouma force of ‘The Gammon Riots’. Now I know there are people out there who say you shouldn’t mix politics with Sport or politics with music or politics with friendships but politics is everything everywhere it impacts us all and some people are isolated and insular and closed off selfish people who don’t give two fucks about the wider society and think that it should be all about me myself and I but it didn’t take three minutes to hear that Angry Itch and myself are on the same page politically and by the sound of it we both like some hard hitting punk rock thats to the point and blunt as being smashed in the face by a coppers old wooden batton. Giving it to the tories on ‘Gammon Riots’ is a nice touch and as unapologetic as it is I’m sure the real snowflakes on the right will find it tough to swallow that some oiks from the wrong side of town could record such a thing. Fuck em they don’t like it up em but I like this opener its smashed it and got my attention from the off.
The topics covered are similar throughout and working class street punk is the name of the game with a bit of a more subtle folk edge thrown into the mix to break it up. ‘Beaten To Death’ has a wicked bass line that has got its Doc martin on your jugular whilst the guitar bites like a dog.
Theres a bit of Rancid in here as well and whats not to like about that? Straight down the line punk is their MO and why not it works and the album is most palatable as one song body slams into the next. I’m ok with the tempo being similar as the record unfolds thats who they are theres no point mashing up styles for the sake of it and they’d lose any authenticity if they tried hard to vary it up.
You get some big hard riffs like ‘Echo Chamber’ thats go ta bit of an old school glam stomp in there for good measure (when I say Glam I mean Slade of course). ‘Easily Offended’ is not a million miles from Dirtbox Disco melody wise but it also reminds me of some Bad Religion style US punk. ‘Its Not Right’ is like your conceince tapping you on the shoulder reminding you of some realities happing outside your front door and the garden isn’t all rosey. ‘Too Drunk To Die’ wipes the Steve Jones sweat off its brow on the opening lick before kicking back like a Roger Miret And The Disasters number which is a good place to be if you ask me.
Its not all darkness kids these punks aren’t all Anger and volume they ease up on the final track ‘Happy’ with its open chords before the inevitable snare roll and off like a rocket into oblivion and we’re done. An album I knew I was going to enjoy for simply being what it is unpretentious, in your face polical punk rock and all power to them they do it so well. Angry Itch deliver the goods and kick it like it is. Good on em and keep on keeping on. Punk as fuck!
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