PROPHETS OF ADDICTION TO RELEASE NEW ALBUM, ‘FACE THE MUSIC,,’ – THROUGH BRAVEWORDS RECORDS
At some point in your life you just have to take account for your actions and face the music. PROPHETS OF ADDICTION mainman Lesli Sanders has taken that to heart. PROPHETS OF ADDICTION’s fourth album, Face the Music is set for a release on 25 October via BraveWords Records. The first single, Superhero, from the upcoming album will be released 27 September.
Kicking things off with the downright dirty “Flavor of the Danger,” the listener is immediately clued in to what they’re getting with Face the Music, an album loaded with catchy late 70s inspired glam punk n roll riffs, powerful and emotionally resonant vocals and a clever lyrical output. “Let’s Get High” sees the band slide slightly into a melodic goth route ala Sisters of Mercy. The song isn’t a drug reference, but a “recollection of the excitement that a new record would bring as a teenager and after the long wait finally able to hear it for the first time,” says Sanders. The band’s take on the Rod Stewart classic “Maggie May” is nothing short of punk magnificence, The band had the opportunity to play the track for drum legend Carmine Appice, who played with Stewart from 1976 – 1982. Appice was so impressed that he asked, “would you mind if I send this to Rod?” The album’s lead single “Superhero” comes complete with a hook that won’t leave your head for days. “Superhero is a song I have been sitting on for a few years and wasn’t going to record until the right musicians were put in place, realizing the potential. I finally found that group of musicians,” the frontman states.
Face the Music, PROPHETS OF ADDICTION’s debut for Bravewords Records was recorded between 2022 and 2023 in Seattle, WA and Las Vegas, NV and produced, mixed and mastered by Phil Soussan (bass player for Ozzy Osbourne, Billy idol and more). Drummer Wayne Stokely says of the album, “We wanted to make a classic 70’s style rock n’ roll album without losing our raw and punky vibe, but with a modern 2024 production. There’s not a lot of records out there like this one, so I think we achieved our goal. The songs speak for themselves,” while Sanders adds “this is the record I have been wanting to record for years. The feel is right, the musicianship is right, the songs are right and now the time is right for you all to give us your thoughts.”
Of the band’s signing with hotshot upstart label Bravewords, Sanders declares “We were looking for the right label and the search was extensive, the most important aspect to me was getting it out there for people to hear – otherwise, what’s the point, right?” while Stokely adds, “I’ve known Tim and Giles for years now. Plus, I’m already signed to the label with another act so it seemed like a natural fit.”
featuring – Iggy Pop, Sinéad O’Connor, Stewart Lee, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Primal Scream, Chuck D & many more out27th September
Asian Dub Foundation is celebrating its 30th Anniversary this year, and to commemorate this the band proudly release the album “94-Now: Collaborations” on 27th September. “94-Now: Collaborations” showcases their many iconic collaborations and will be available on CD, vinyl and digital formats.
The album features 11 tracks including: “No Fun” with Iggy Pop reinterpreting the classic Stooges song with new vocals and alternate lyrics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFzYrALS_UI, “1000 Mirrors” recorded with Sinéad O’Connor and Radiohead’s guitarist Ed O’Brien: https://youtu.be/nrNHddTZr8o, plus “Comin’ Over Here” with Stewart Lee – the track that went to No.1* in the UK charts on the day the UK left the E.U. and further collaborations with Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Primal Scream and Chuck D.
Asian Dub Foundation are a genre unto themselves. Their unique combination of jungliest rhythms, dub bass lines and wild guitar overlaid by references to their South Asian roots via militant high-speed rap has established them as one of the best live bands in the world. The story began in the early 90’s when ADF formed from a music workshop in East London at the institution which is their spiritual home, Community Music. Their unique beginnings shaped both their sound and their educational aspirations, setting up their own organisation ADF Education (ADFED), plus instigating campaigns on behalf of those suffering miscarriages of justice.
Building a solid live reputation in the mid-90’s, they gained worldwide recognition sharing the stage with Rage Against The Machine, the Beastie Boys, Radiohead and Primal Scream. On record, they’ve collaborated with Radiohead, Sinead O’Connor, Iggy Pop, Adrian Sherwood, and Chuck D. In addition to their blistering live reputation ADF were one of the first bands to experiment with live film re-scores (“Cineconcerts”), beginning with their rapturously- received re-interpretation of the French classic La Haine back in 2001.
In 30 years, Asian Dub Foundation have racked up 1000’s of unforgettable shows, 9 studio albums alongside a social and educational activism that both created the group and sustains them today.
In celebration of this unique project Asian Dub Foundation will also be playing more than 60 European shows.
Every now and again a record lands on the turntable that is a mystery wrapped up in an enigma hidden in a spellbinding ball of magic, be it good or bad it is never less intriguing and alluring and with absolutely zero social media presence no publicity nothing nada zilch – welcome ladies and gentlemen to the Dynamic Drinking Club. A mysterious bunch of vagabonds and neer-do wells who have a drink in their hand and a twisted melody drenched in Dark red wine-stained lyric sheets that conjure up the spirit of Kusworth, Thunders, Classic Dogs at their exceptional acoustic balladeering best and a fiddle some sweep of ragged desperados trying to figure out why they met how they met and how they managed to draw these tunes out of their blackest of broken hearts. Or if you like a passion project of Andy Hekkandi (Trench Dogs) and Anton Meriläinen (Dave Kusworth).
It all begins gently like a sore head the morning after as ‘Siren’ not so much struts in but staggers and stumbles in on some oh-so-sweet electric guitar pinching as we drift towards the chorus and late-night broken drum beat. It takes me back to a time when only cowboy boots and teased barnet would do but your black Levi jeans only had room for some lucky strikes and any money you have spare to buy some thunderbird wine as the honk of this smouldering intro fills the air and we sway in time for the good ole days to return. Dynamic Drinking Club have arrived and I’m reaching for the tumbler and that bottle – Cheers me dears I’m already in.
Sure ‘On A Lie’ is wearing the jacket of unchartered heights whilst sounding like prime Darrel Bath when he balladeered it’s warm and maudling but oh so wonderful. You have to wait for ‘Daggers’ to swagger in before you have anything resembling an uptempo rocker and trust me it’s worth the wait.
Flip this bad boy over and we’re onto the half-empty side and More of the same is served up. ‘Shortcomings’ is just a voice acoustic guitar and soulful fiddle strumming away. Some electric guitar twitching and licking turns up for some delta blues on ‘Awful Dutch Wine’ something that will fill the hearts of a Paul-Ronny Angel with joy and some mean distorted harp honking for good measure Man that wine must have been really awful. The penultimate song ‘Gone Again’ is a darkened electric stroll down an alley mixing up some of the darkest corners of Green On Red or early Waterboys even for good measure but the song is restrained until the chorus but doesn’t really get the pulse soaring – Laid back would be an understatement. The record ends with the steaming drunk ‘The Crooked Song’ as the band gathers around the campfire and lets the music do the talking as the ole out of toon barroom Joanna gets a good rattling. Everyone takes turns in slurring out some words and raising glasses for fallen heroes and Brothers in arms and we blast off to God knows where. Still, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this retro Rock n Roll balladeering from these mysterious shadowy figures. Still, I can say I’ve been engrossed and thoroughly enjoyed the journey – so much so I’m heading back for one more round, chin-chin drink up, and we’re off again. buy it! I’d suggest Beluga Record would be the place seeing as they released it. Good luck ya Rock n Roll pirates we’ve not had an album like this in a while and like a good bottle this one has been left to age on the shelf and in time will turn into a vintage drop of Rock n Roll.
‘The Soul Of The Fabulous Courettes’ out September 27th via Damaged Goods Records
A rock’n’roll sensation from the word go, Danish-Brazilian The Courettes are back with their fourth and best album to date – ‘The Soul Of The Fabulous Courettes’. And this time, they’re bigger, wider and deeper than ever before as they add more to the blistering ramalama that’s seen them cause pandemonium across the venues, festivals and airwaves of the UK, Europe, USA and Japan. Hitting the sweet spot that straddles garage rock, girl groups, doo-wop harmonies, heartache and all points in between, here The Courettes build on the momentum of predecessor ‘Back In Mono’ with a collection of songs that opens up their sonic scope while confronting dark, emotional matter to reveal ‘The Soul Of The Fabulous Courettes’.
“We didn’t want to do ‘Back In Mono 2’,” stresses drummer Martin Couri.
“We always try to put ourselves into a zone of discomfort, which I think is where exciting things happen rather than just doing the same thing over again,” agrees singer, guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Flavia Couri. “I mean, I know some bands can do that but we don’t see ourselves making the same album for the next 20 years. We thought ‘Back In Mono’ was our best album until this one!”
She’s not wrong. Having evolved with each album release, ‘The Soul Of The Fabulous Courettes’ draws inspiration from many of the duo’s numerous idols that have only previously been hinted at.
“We wanted to show our love of the Spector Wall Of Sound and Motown,” reveals Flavia. “It was a clear mission and we’ve absolutely nailed it.”
From the glorious opening beats and stabbing fuzz honks of ‘You Woo Me’ to the closing emotional tugs of ‘For Your Love’ via ‘Shake!’’s fuzzed-up urgency and ‘California’’s celebratory warmth, The Courettes have broadened their sound with an increased musical instrumentation and overall sophistication that’s evident in both their sound and songwriting. And crucially, they’ve achieved this without sacrificing any of the rock’n’roll grit that’s been scraped from Flavia’s guitar strings and Martin’s battered and pummeled drums. And aiding them in their quest for sonic perfection are a few guest musicians and back room wizards playing some very specific roles.
“We had La La Brooks of The Crystals singing on ‘California’ and ‘Run Run Runaway’, which for us was totally a dream come true!” enthuses Flavia. “I mean, the voice of ‘Da Doo Ron Ron’, which is for us is one of the best produced songs in the entire universe and this is something that we’re really proud of.”
Further magic was applied by direct connections to the source of all that The Courettes hold dear.
“We asked Darian Sahanaja, who worked on the production of Brian Wilson’s ‘Smile’, to mix the vocals on ‘California’ and ‘Run Run Runaway’, which he did in a Beach Boys style and we really dig it. And we also worked with Richard Gottehrer, who for us is like a songwriter god! He worked at the Brill Building and co-wrote ‘I Want Candy’. A mutual friend played him ‘Keep Dancing’ and he left a message on my phone saying, ‘I love your track and I really dig the lyrics’ and he mixed ‘Keep Dancing’ and ‘Boom Boom Boom´.”
“We also had Peter Kehl and Kasper Wagner from Danish band Black Tornado playing horns on ’Shake!’, ‘Better Without You’ and ‘Stop! Doing That’,” says Martin. “We had a session with them where they played trumpets and a lot of overdubs with tenor and baritone saxophones. That was really cool.”
And joining The Courettes at their own StarrSound Studios in Denmark once again is multi-instrumentalist Søren Christensen who contributes Mellotron, organ, piano and backing vocals while producing the album together with C.T. Levine.
While the music has opened up to include acoustic and 12-string guitars, bass, E-bows, castanets and timpani, so have the kind of emotions that might not ordinarily be associated with The Courettes.
“Because I’m the one most responsible for the lyrics, I actually allowed myself to open up to some personal things,” admits Flavia. “And so that means that our souls are in the album both musically and also lyrically.”
She continues: “We lost both of our fathers. My father died of COVID. But my relationship with my father was non-existent. He abandoned me and my sister. It was a very difficult relationship and it’s not so easy for me to talk about it. ‘I Don’t Want You Back’ and ‘Keep Dancing’ are about his death and how he still has a power over me and bringing me down and what it’s like to break free from that. You know, some parents are cruel.”
“It’s a special subject to sing about and to make pop music out of,” says Martin. “It’s actually celebrating moving on and I think that’s really fantastic. ‘Keep Dancing’ is absolutely smashing.”
“’The Soul Of The Fabulous Courettes’ blends two things,” explains Flavia. “First, of course, are the nods to the soul music and especially Motown, which is pop music the way we like it. But I think for the first time, lyrically, we actually open up to some deeper topics. It’s not disguised as teenage heartache songs anymore.”
Reflecting ‘The Soul Of The Fabulous Courettes’, the album’s monochrome album cover was shot by celebrated photographer Søren Solkær, who’s previously immortalised Amy Winehouse, The White Stripes and Paul McCartney among many others.
“It’s such a cool contrast to the pop songs,” says Martin of the cover art, “but it’s also hand-in-hand with the album’s dark themes. He really goes into your soul. I think it’s amazing.”
For all that, ‘The Soul Of The Fabulous Courettes’ is an album aimed as much for what’s below the neck as above it, for this is an album that dances through the darkness to celebrate the joy that is living.
“Life is so fragile,” smiles Flavia. “But what are you supposed to do? I’d rather dance.”
“Charming, a little slept on and flecked with magic.” – The Guardian
“Diverse and full of surprises.” – NME
“There’s something for everyone.” – DIY
“Sŵn Festival is setting the benchmark for festival line-ups and really hammers in a ‘no more excuses’ approach when it comes to diversity on line-ups… A perfectly run event, glued together by beautiful, kind and community-driven people.” – Clash
Today, Cardiff’s award-winning Sŵn Festival unveils the second batch of names for its 2024 edition. The multi-venue festival is taking place across the Welsh capital from ThursdayOctober 17th to Saturday October 19th. This year’s iteration of the festival sees Sŵn proudly becoming part of Cardiff Music City Festival: a three week-long celebration of innovative, accomplished music coming to the city, full of gigs, immersive happenings, residencies, installations, and pop-ups, pushing the boundaries of music, performance and tech.
While this year’s edition is suitably bulked out, with all three days featuring showcases at a plethora of venues across the city, what’s not changed is Sŵn’s dedication to nurturing a diverse range of the best local, national, and international talent and offering a platform to bigger and better things.
One of the most talked-about new bands in the country, Brighton punk duo Lambrini Girls come to Cardiff this autumn bringing with them a knack for tongue-in-cheek, biting breakdowns of hot button societal issues. Thunderous recent single ‘God’s Country’ has seen them lauded all over by the likes of BBC Radio 1, 6 Music and NME as well as sharing the cover of Kerrang! with alt-rock luminaries Sleater-Kinney and being nominated for a Rolling Stone UK Award. See what all the fuss is about for yourself come October.
Fresh from the release of his widely acclaimed latest solo album Strange Dance seeing release last year on Bella Union, Radiohead drummer Philip Selway brings his beautiful, dramatic solo work to this year’s festival. Strange Dance, which features guest spots from the likes of Hannah Peel and Portishead’s Adrian Utley, dabbles in an array of genres from neo-classical to Krautrock and a live rendition is sure to be a highlight of this year’s schedule.
Pulling on everything from ambient to drum and bass come recent Partisan signees HONESTY. One of the most exciting and mysterious new fixtures on the UK live circuit, the Leeds outfit produce an audiovisual spectacle that mixes digital and analogue, found material and AI manipulation, a contemporary DIY attitude without the tired punk tropes. Hot on the heels of a string of mind-bending singles and a debut mixtape BOX, listen in and you might just catch a glimpse of a rumoured to be already completed debut album.
The latest venture from Owen “O” Williams and George “GN” Nicholls – the primary songwriters behind the dearly missed Joanna Gruesome – London-based Welsh jangle-poppers The Tubs have been championed by the likes of Pitchfork,MOJO and Uncut since the release of their debut album Dead Meat last year. The quartet fuse the very best of Flying Nun jangle with dashes of post-punk, British trad-folk and contemporary antipodean guitar bands – a concoction so rich in earworm hooks it’ll still be rattling around your head come next year’s festival.
Joining them on the streets of Cardiff you’ll find the likes of emerging post-rock stalwarts and Brixton Windmill alumni Automotion; chameleonic singer-songwriter Jesca Hoop who’s been championed by press and her fellow musicians alike, with notable fans in the likes of Tom Waits and Guy Garvey; London post-punk stalwarts Crows who come to town with their recently announced third album Reason Enough in tow; and viral sensations Good Neighbours whose danceable indie pop blends classic songwriting and a cinematic approach to their craft. Please find a full rundown of today’s new additions further below.
These and so many more head to Cardiff alongside an already packed bill that includes the likes of Wu-Lu, the Brixton born and raised artist forcing punk, grunge and hip-hop into a head-on collision; one of the most acclaimed new bands in the country English Teacher with their seamless mix of collegiate emo-rock, dream-pop and psychedelia; London-based multidisciplinary artist and the internet’s original pop princess, Hannah Diamond; dance-pop darlings Porij; Mary In The Junkyard, the “angry, weepy chaos rock” trio whose mesmerising performances have become the stuff of live-circuit legend; one of our most captivating emerging storytellers Antony Szmierek; and the elusive and much-hyped London band, The Itch.
As always, Sŵn Festival has always devoted itself to showcasing local, grassroots talent. Welsh acts to keep an eye out for this year include the grisly garage-rock and pop sensibilities of Cardiff natives Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard; the Welsh-language indie-rockers Adwaith; rising stars Half Happy who walk the line between heavy and heavenly; Pys Melyn, whose laid-back melodies and wistful psychedelia earned them a Welsh Music Prize nomination; Aberystwyth-born rockers Mellt; and the alt-pop wonder Hana Lili whose landslide critical support led to supporting Coldplay and Tom Grennan.
For the first time since before the pandemic, this year’s festival is multi-venue for all three days promising an even more stacked itinerary for the ravenous new music lover. On Thurs Oct 17th, Sŵn will take over Womanby Street with five stages at Clwb Ifor Bach, Tiny Rebel, The Moon and Fuel. Friday Oct 18th and Saturday Oct 19th, meanwhile, sees the festival expand outwards across Cardiff city centre, with extra stages added at Tramshed, Jacobs Antique Market, Cornerstone and Porter’s (Saturday-only), with more venues to be announced soon. Authoritative music publication DIY have joined the festival as a partner this year and will be taking over a stage and curating its line-up, with more exciting stage partners to be announced in the coming months.
William Dickins, booker for Sŵn Festival, says of the latest additions to the bill: “We’re absolutely thrilled to present this latest group of Sŵn artists. While booking Sŵn, we’re constantly amazed and ecstatic by the rush of new talent that we come across, and the joy it brings us being able to show them off to the music fans of Cardiff is something that never gets old. Showcasing amazing new talents like Lambrini Girls, The Tubs and Good Neighbours is a true honour, and we urge everyone to catch them now while they’re still performing in intimate settings — they won’t be in small venues for much longer!”
This year’s festival is geared towards being more accessible to the wider community than ever before, with the introduction of payment plans, concession tickets and more opportunities to get involved with the festival through the volunteer programme and a brand new apply to play scheme. Sign up to the mailing list to be notified about when applications open.
Day splits for this year’s festival have now been revealed as of today, alongside day tickets going on-sale. Full weekend tickets remain on-sale with instalment plans available. Head here for ticketing options and more info: https://swnfest.com/tickets/
Sŵn Festival is an award-winning multi-venue music festival based entirely in Cardiff’s city centre, which has been running since 2007. Since its inception, the festival has been focused on new music, emerging artists and homegrown acts.
NEW ACTS ANNOUNCED TODAY:
Alias | Alien Chicks | Automotion | Aziya | Blue Amber | Bored At My Grandmas House | Bricknasty | Casual Smart | Charlotte Clark | Circe | Creiriau | Crows | The Dream Machine | Enola | Fraülein | Georgie & Joe | Good Neighbours | HONESTY | Human Interest | Hyll | Ifan | Ile De Garde | Ivor Woods | Jesca Hoop | Joe Wilkins | Knives | KYNSY | Lambrini Girls | The Manatees | Mari Mathias | Memorials | My First Time | The New Eves | Night Bus | Noah Bouchard | Paige Kennedy | Pencil | Philip Selway | The Pill | Public Order | Sarah Crean | She’s In Parties | Shlug | Shortstraw | Spielmann | Sun King | Talulah | TTSSFU | The Tubs | YARD
FULL LIST OF ACTS ANNOUNCED SO FAR:
Adwaith | Alias | Alien Chicks | Antony Szmierek | Art School Girlfriend | Automotion | Aziya | Blue Amber | Blue Bendy | Bored At My Grandmas House | Borough Council | Bricknasty | Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard | Canty | Casual Smart | Charlotte Clark | Circe | Clara Mann | Cosmorat | Creiriau | Crinc | Crows | Dana Gavanski | Das Koolies | The Dream Machine | Dushime | Ellie Bleach | Emyr Son | English Teacher | Enola | Fraülein | Freak Slug | GANS | Georgie & Joe | Gift | Good Neighbours | Griff Lynch | Half Happy | Hamish Hawk | Hana Lili | Hannah Diamond | HONESTY | Human Interest | Hyll | Ifan | Ile De Garde | The Itch | Ivor Woods | Jane Weaver | Jesca Hoop | Joe Wilkins | Johnny Loves Me | Kitty & Sorry Stacy | Knives | KYNSY | Lambrini Girls | Lanterns On The Lake | Malan | The Manatees | Manlikevision | Mared | Mari Mathias | Maruja | Mary In The Junkyard | Mellt | Memorials | Mirari | Morn | My First Time | The New Eves | NewWaveSound.Ent | Night Bus | Noah Bouchard | The None | OneDa | Paige Kennedy | Pencil | Philip Selway | The Pill | Plantoid | Plastic Estate | Pleasing | Porij | Public Order | Pys Melyn | Quade | Rachel Lavelle | Razkid | Roddy Woomble | Sarah Crean | The Secret Jesus Factory | She’s In Parties | Shlug | Shortstraw | Shtëpi | Spielmann | Sun King | Talulah | Tom Vek | TTSSFU | The Tubs | TWST | University | The Wave Pictures | Wrkhouse | Wu-Lu | YARD
CARDIFF MUSIC CITY FESTIVAL | 27 SEPTEMBER – 20 OCTOBER 2024 IMAGINE A CITY…
Get ready for three weeks of gigs, immersive happenings, residencies, installations and pop-ups, pushing the boundaries of music innovation, performance and tech. Welcome to the Cardiff Music City Festival, reinventing what a music festival can be.
Supported by the Welsh Government and Cardiff Council, Cardiff Music City Festival aims to attract 20,000 in its first year. Encompassing renowned new music festival Sŵn and Wales Millennium Centre’s international arts weekend, Llais, the festival will spread music throughout the city, challenging, exciting and inspiring fans across generations and genres. A full programme of local and international talent, including household names and emerging talent will be announced over the coming months.
Cardiff Music City Festival runs from September 27th 2024 – 20th October 2024. Sign up for updates and future announcements here: https://cardiffmusiccity.wales/
Amyl & The Sniffers are pleased to announce the release of their third album “Cartoon Darkness” which is released via Rough Trade Records on October 25th, 2024. The album was recorded with producer Nick Launay (Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Yeah Yeah Yeahs) at Foo Fighters’ 606 Studios in Los Angeles in early 2024. The album will be available on limited edition glow in the dark vinyl with alternate artwork.
Amy Taylor “Cartoon Darkness is about climate crisis, war, AI, tiptoeing on the eggshells of politics, and people feeling like they’re helping by having a voice online when we’re all just feeding the data beast of Big Tech, our modern-day god. It’s about the fact that our generation is spoon-fed information. We look like adults, but we’re children forever cocooned in a shell. We’re all passively gulping up distractions that don’t even cause pleasure, sensation or joy, they just cause numbness.”
“Cartoon Darkness is driving headfirst into the unknown, into this looming sketch of the future that feels terrible but doesn’t even exist yet. A childlike darkness. I don’t want to meet the devil half-way and mourn what we have right now. The future is cartoon, the prescription is dark, but it’s novelty. It’s just a joke. It’s fun.”
‘SLOWLY BUT SHIRLEY’ SET FOR DIGITAL RELEASE 27 SEPTEMBER 2024 + PHYSICAL RELEASE 25 OCTOBER
(photo credit – Darin Kamnetz)
The introspective acoustic ballad, a long-time fan-favourite, finally makes its studio debut after being a staple of their live performances. “It’s built from experience and pain and shame,” Pirner quips. “The joke’s always on me, let’s just put it that way. Everyone makes mistakes.”
Teaming up once again with producer Steve Jordan (known for his work with the Rolling Stones, John Mayer, Robert Cray, Keith Richards), who worked on their 1990 album ‘And the Horse They Rode In On’, Soul Asylum recorded live at the Terrarium in Minneapolis, capturing an authentic and vibrant sound.
The album’s title and cover pay homage to Shirley “Cha Cha” Muldowney, a pioneering drag racer who inspired Pirner during his youth. “When I was a kid, I loved drag racing,” he says. “And she was the first woman of drag race. It meant a lot to me that she was willing to stand up against all these men in racing. My manager called her up, and she gave us her blessing, which means a whole lot to me because she was a childhood hero.”
Pirner, widely recognized as one of the one of the great American songwriters, is celebrating the four-decade legacy of Soul Asylum, a journey highlighted by their breakthrough album Grave Dancers Union, which achieved double platinum status and featured the Grammy-winning hit “Runaway Train.” Despite challenges and changes, the band has remained a vital force in the rock scene, continually evolving while staying true to their roots. ‘Slowly But Shirley’ is a testament to their enduring spirit and creative prowess.
The current Soul Asylum line-up features Dave Pirner as lead vocals/guitar, Michael Bland on drums, Ryan Smith on lead guitar, and Jeremy Tappero on bass.
2024 has certainly been full of surprises so far. What with One The Juggler releasing a fabulous new album in ‘Memoir Days’, now it’s the turn of their bassist, Jerry T Jones, to spoil us with twelve new songs. And it’s no surprise that they are of equal quality, given that he wrote ‘Talking To Ourselves’ and ‘Andy’s Bar’ on ‘Memoir Days’.
The opening song, ‘Only Time Will Tell’ crafts a beautiful tune that tries to remain optimistic in the face of climate disaster. While reminiscing about Bowie’s ‘Five Years’, the sound is more in line with The Kinks, perhaps not surprising given Jerry’s Kinks tribute band, The Konks. But, this is far from being a rip off; his canny use of influences is tempered by his own talent as a songwriter.
‘Demons Fly Away’ has echoes of classic Mott, and Colin Minchin’s solo has touches of Ronno, which is no mean feat. ’20 Years’ describes how songs can touch us and form part of our lives, with a keyboard sound that evokes John Grant. ‘Diamonds In The Rain’ namechecks Major Tom, and again there is a Ronno moment, this time on acoustic guitar, fleeting but classy.
‘Mood Swing/Time Bomb’ is in quirky, Cockney Rebel territory, while ‘Back From Tomorrow’ with its slick pop stylings and barbed lyrics reminds me of The Dowling Poole. ‘Communal Sun’ starts off like Al Stewart’s ‘Year Of The Cat’, but with a more melancholy storyline. ‘She’s On A Trip’ is a slice of mature, summer pop, so dig out your espadrilles and enjoy. ‘Toy Town’ is a reworking of the One The Juggler song, with added sax, and ‘Sleep Over’ is a nicely woozy slice of gentle psychedelia, from sleep to new beginnings.
‘Second Skin’ almost sounds like it was written for Bowie, the vocal phrasing is such that you can imagine Dame David singing it. It’s a lovely tune. And, suddenly, ‘Just One More Song (Until We Meet Again)’ brings our journey to an end. Much more than the sum of it’s influences, ‘Back From Tomorrow’ is the culmination of a life devoted to music and songwriting that deserves your attention.
Join us for this week’s instalment of the RPM Online Podcast Episode 40 no less. This week’s show opens on a sad note with the awful news that 60ft Dolls drummer passed away recently so it seemed fitting that we kick off with the awesome ‘Happy Shopper’ from ‘The Big 3’ album. I witnessed the band at the peak of their powers when they played to a packed-out house in the next village on the same road effectively that we broadcast from. A band that should have been as big as the Manics no question about it but alas they burned brightest rather than fading away, this one is for Carl may he rest in peace.
After such a sad note to begin with the show starts with the original kick-off and the most excellent Turbonegro cover of The classic ‘The Party Starts Now’ released in 2005, this is how to do a cover version deathpunk style. After Martin reviewed the Love Fiends album recently we had to include this Banger ‘Jimmy (Is An Agent)’. Power Pop done superbly.
Great to have UK Hardcore legends Chubby & The Gang ready to drop their new LP ‘And Then There Was One’, to loosen the juices they’ve dropped this new single ‘Theres A Devil In The Jukebox’ which is going down a treat at the pumphouse HQ. October seems so long away.
Cherry Red are continuing their tradition of releasing double album CDs of classic releases and this time its GBH so ‘Sick Boy the single version is our pick of the pack. Out in months time the band still play to this day with the same power and aggression.
A classic reissue with a superb mix was The Replacements ‘Tim: Let It Bleed Edition’ which came out a few years ago. ‘Kiss Me On The Bus’ (Ed Stasium mix) is our pick from this stunning box set that is well worth the price. Packed with goodies for the fair ear The Replacements always do quality reissues and this might well be the pick of the pack. Now if only they were to do some more reunion shows that would be most excellent. As far as remixes or remasters go this is night and day with the original release probably only outdone by the recent Senseless Things remix /remaster.
Another band we love at HQ is The Hillbilly Moon Explosion and with their most recent album getting a repress and launch in a few weeks it seemed right to play one of the best songs off the album ‘1979’ check em out. ‘Back In Time’ is a fantastic addition to the band’s catalogue and an underground band who have bazillion of plays on YouTube if you want to get a flavour of what to expect.
Now a band we’ve played before The Cavemen have a new album out and thankfully it’s more of the same from our favourite New Zealand reprobates. ‘Cash 4 Scrap’ is all killer and no filler (possibly because they don’t hang around long enough) They do a great line in zero fucks lo-fi garage punk even if this is the slowest song in their repertoire.
The first half of this week’s offerings is the brand-new single from the one and only Marilyn Manson who by the sounds of it is right back on form. With a new album hopefully in the pipeline being released on nuclear blast records it’s one to look out for.
With all the unrest around at the moment, it seems appropriate to drop this last live recording of the late great Joe Strummer when he did the firemen benefit and got Mick Jones up to blast off the cobwebs of ‘White Riot’.
Janes Addiction have been getting some great reviews from their live shows and having the four original members back in the fold ‘Imminent Redemption’ sound right back on form for the Californian rockers. Lets hope this new album is of the same strong output. It would be great to have them back making a noise and upsetting people.
Swansea upstarts Monet are busy recording their second album and after a quality live performance recently celebrating 30 years of Repeat Magazine/Records it would be foolish not to add them to the roster of excellent bands to look out for. We’ve also asked Richard to pop down to HQ and host the podcast with us so fingers crossed that comes off soon. Repeat are the kind of people we want to align ourselves with as we all sing off the same hymn sheet. Love Music Hate Racism.
Another band who played the Repeat party was West Wales noise makers Lacross Club and it might be the first song we’ve played twice but ‘Welsh Weather Heather’ is so good we could play it most weeks, get an album done gents those songs might go off if you leave them.
Chris informed me that Sepultura covered the New Model Army and I had to check it out as I didn’t know that one but they bloody well did. Good solid effort but not a patch on the original and hopefully they’ll play this when I go to see them in a few months, next up is ‘The Hunt’.
The Bellrays have a new album coming and its a banger so we’re playing ‘One More Night’ before they head off on a US tour with Social Distortion. One of the finest voices in garage rock no doubt about it. Another band to write a song influenced by a riot is The Damned who deliver ‘Thanks For The Night’ with Vanian on vocals as opposed to the Captain but regardless of who is singing this was and is a classic.
Tubthumper Dunstan Bruce has signed a contract with Heavy Medication Records to release his ‘Fucking Expensive’ single so it would be rude not to give it an airing. The penultimate track is an unreleased single from the late 70s by The Vibrators who have captain Oi reissuing ‘V2/pure mania’ and ‘Bad Time’ is the tune showcases just how bloody good The Vibrators were another very underrated band from the late 70s.
We end this weeks show with with another new song this time from the awesome Peter Perrett who dropped the news of his pending album and then released the first video off the record and what a banger to sign off with. ‘I Wanna Go With Dignity’ is a swashbuckling slice of classic Perrett. Adios amigos til next time.
Millie Manders & The Shut Up have been around for a while in one guise or another and my first encounter of her was when she jumped on stage with The Barstool Preachers to sing a duet with Tom as a stand-in for Amiee Interupter and I admired the young ladies powerful performance and equally powerful vocal. Well as the months and years unfold Millie Manders & The Shut Up are on album number two and have truly found their niche and position that they are comfortable in. They deliver a life-affirming alternative mash-up of Ska, punk, rock and a pop sensibility that bands often miss when pressing their message by trying to be something their not but no sir Millie Manders do things on their own terms and do it very fucking well.
From the opening salvo of ‘Angry Side’ the horns toot and the feet can’t stand still. That momentum continues with ‘Shut Your Mouth’ as the weeks and fills tick away over a funky bass line whilst Millie does her thing with ao confidence through a strong melody. The song meanders and twists n contours to its conclusion and already I’m sold. This promises to be a real contender come the end of the year with strong song after strong song. ‘Me Too’ opens with a crisp riff before it bubbles under the vocals and lyrics before breaking out on the chorus. Stirring stuff. The band cuts lose those punk n ska chains on ‘Fun Sponge’ Millie Manders & The Shut Up on the surface are having it large but there is a serious side but they deliver it without coming across as sanctimonious or preachy, these are subjects they hold close to their identity and I guess so will the listener or anyone with a moral fibre running through their soul. Me Too” tackles sexism and body autonomy, while “Threadbare” tackles poverty. “Can I Get Off?” has a conversation on the dividing topics of the minute such as the war in Palestine and the rise of the far-right, MM&TSU confront these difficult subjects and I admire them for that.
‘R.I.P.’ is an excellent vocal from Millie. The other thing I take from this album is that it is not all smash, crash and burn or fist-pounding there are as many quieter moments where the band’s musicianship comes into play such as ‘Halloween’ The run-in is as strong as the opening introduction and a triumph it is closing with the punchy ‘Pressure’.
Pressure?, What pressure Millie Manders & The Shutup have delivered a proper album that ebbs and flows and is bursting with tunes of substance and humility. Buy It – you won’t regret it.
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