Ryan Hamilton releases first new music of the year

Ryan Hamilton releases first new music of the year

For those wondering what 2021 has in store for Texan singer/songwriter Ryan Hamilton, a cryptic teaser came early in the first week of January with a video merely carrying the number 1221 and the hashtag: #newmusic

Hamilton, recently heralded by Spin magazine as one of the ‘Best Lesser-Known Artists of the Last 35 Years’, now explains the concept: “It’s a song a month, on the 12th of every month, for the whole of 2021. 12 songs. In 2021. Not only does ‘1221’ look cool, it’s not like I’ll get another chance in my lifetime to take advantage of this numerical palindrome”.
The first release coming on January 12 is a goosebump inducing cover of Spin Doctors’ ‘How Could You Want Him (When You Know You Could Have Me)’, a track from the band’s seminal debut 1991 album, ‘Pocket Full Of Kryptonite’. Each monthly track will be released digitally across all regular platforms for download and streaming via Stevie Van Zandt’s ‘Wicked Cool’ label.
Giving the origin behind the Spin Doctors cover, Hamilton says: “Credit to Producer extraordinaire, Dave Draper for the nudge on this one. He knows I love the music of the 90s, and he suggested this Spin Doctors song. Lyrically the song is SO interesting, and I thought the chill, sunshine-y vibe was a great way to start the year. Plus, I know Chris Barron a little from when my former band played with the Spin Doctors. I can’t wait for him to hear my cover of his song. “
Future 1221 monthly releases will see brand new songs from the pen of Hamilton, creating a virtual album across the year.
Facing the real potential of several more months in isolation, the kernel of 1221 took root. Renowned for his killer live shows, but with any regular form of touring currently off the table owing to the prolonged pandemic, Hamilton considered how best to stay busy in the coming year. Using present-day recording techniques across the internet, having producer and collaborator Dave Draper on a separate continent was certainly not a barrier. The pair had recorded Hamilton’s solo EP of Country covers, ‘Communique’, during the very first lockdown of 2020, in isolation from Texas (Hamilton) and the UK (Draper). Communique proved to be a winning formula, scoring Hamilton his first iTunes No. 1, a feat repeated with his subsequent release with the Harlequin Ghosts, ‘Nowhere To Go But Everywhere’, an album that also scored high on multiple Official UK Charts.
With several UK festival appearances transplanted from 2020 to – everything crossed – this summer, thoughts for Hamilton’s return to live & in-person shows preoccupy the artist’s thoughts for the year: “I’m used to spending half the year in the van touring and that thrill in hearing audiences singing my lyrics back at me will never grow old. Online shows are fine for engaging with fans in the meantime, but it’s no replacement. On a recent Stage-It show we lost the live feed and I ended up giving the performance of a lifetime for an entire song to an audience of literally just my dog Peaches. We had to plan a ‘safe word’ in the live chat in case it happened again. That word, I can proudly say – is ‘BANANA!’ “
Here’s to Hamilton having the opportunity to share these new lockdown creations with live audiences again very soon – this time without the need for a ‘safe word’.

RYAN HAMILTON RELEASES “How Could You Want Him
(When You Know You Could Have Me)”
12 JAN 2021, VIA WICKED COOL

LINK TO TRACK HERE

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Tyla J Pallas – ‘Isolation Crossing vol 1,2 & 3’ (King Outlaw)

Tyla J Pallas – ‘Isolation Crossing vol 1,2 & 3’ (King Outlaw)

Well, you’ve had yer clocks you’ve had yer paintings and yer messages on bottles.  He’s made music that’s soundtracked yer life and played shows you’ll take to the grave.  He tells tales and japes and never acts his age and on this here CD he does what he’s best at and that’s writing music and songs that we’ve all championed at some point during our adult and not so adult lives.

More Pam Airs and John Cooper Clarke and Bukowski than Shelly Or Keats and that’s where the charm lies.  If you’re a fan you get it.  Some do some don’t but it is what it is from the wonderful artwork to the fractured recitals it’s all part of the charm.

 

‘Isolation Station Blues’ is a rugged often dark walk on the Wildside where the bottleneck gets put to good use and the blues come rolling on by. The opener sets the tone and is something we’ve all been living for the past twelve months and jolly good it is too.  The great thing here is the songs come thick and fast and the next one to peel open is the wonderful ‘Humans Just like You’ its classic Tyla from the style of playing to the drawl and melody.  You lean in closer and drink it all in.  Demo or not it’s a quality slice of tunage that for sure.

 

If you are looking for a reference then I’d happily put this next to the magnificent Johnny Thunders and his ‘Hurt Me’ album. take songs like ‘The Chambers’ for example it could easily have come out of a Thunders writing session full of dark melancholy. The delivery is late night and exquisite.

The fact that it’s not just a man with an acoustic guitar but he plugs in a dry Electric for songs like ‘Life Goes On’ is cool.  It’s the germs of some fantastic songs right here some of the best I’ve heard from T in quite a while he’s mining a rich seam of songwriting recently maybe this lockdown malarky is focussing and in turn some fine fine material is pouring out not just here but ‘The Powder Dry EP’ was exceptional. I love the melody of ‘Where The Past Never Goes’ but this was only release number one there are two more to go.

 

Volume two begins with a reflective ‘Deliver Me’ then ‘Ballad Of An Extraordinary Man’ and the big Chords of ‘Lighthouse’ in contrast ‘Mayday Mayday’ is a bruising electric riff.  ‘Rewind’ is a short recital along with ‘Tales Of The Money God’ which is a little piraty oh argh! But Vol 2 ends with the excellent ‘Tenderhooks’ and onto Vol 3 which is entitled ‘El Dia De Los Muertos’  you know Day of The Dead.  It’s another ten demos folks and again some crackers are hatched in here I mean I love ‘Best Thing Ever’ dont know why I gravitate towards that one over another but thats the beauty of music right there hell, ‘Dorian’ has the potential to be a glorious Tyla song.

 

We have spoken words amongst the demos as well so in a nutshell this two-CD collection we have over forty compositions and all flavours and shades of Tyla that we know and love ‘Wherever You Go’ has touches of Bowie and Ronno going on from the melody to the delivery its Hunky Dory either way.  I’m sure when normal human gatherings are a thing and Tyla can get in a studio and explore these songs with his fellow musicians they will grow and blossom further and some will be just right as they are in this early raw form.  Either way, my advice would be to get your mitts on these here demos and get em on the player pronto yer lockdown will fly by, trust me I’m a…happy chappy.  Chin chin as they say around these parts and with almost a dozen additions to the previously available tunes its a no brainer.

 

buy the set Here

Author: Dom Daley

Georgia Satellites – ‘Ultimate’ (Cherry Red Records)

Georgia Satellites – ‘Ultimate’ (Cherry Red Records)

With Dan Baird last year announcing his much-earned retirement from touring, it seems as good a time as any to revisit the glory days of the Georgia Satellites. Following his departure from the band in 1990, Baird toured extensively over the years as a solo artist with his band Homemade Sin, counting former Jason and the Scorchers guitarist Warner E Hodges as one of his touring partners (Hodges now continues successfully with his own solo band, releasing a new album in 2020). The Satellites themselves continue to tour after Rick Richards (also widely-known for being Izzy Stradlin’s recurrent guitarist) stepped up to take over the vocal duties.

 

Now in 2021, the Satellites have given their consent to this ultimate collection made up of the three albums produced while signed to Elektra Records from 1986 – 1990, specifically “Georgia Satellites”, “Open All Night” and “In the Land of Salvation and Sin”. Released through Cherry Red records, the CD boxset also includes numerous b-sides, live records and covers, with 13 tracks appearing for the first time ever on CD. The collection also includes detailed notes about the recordings from each of the band members – Dan Baird, Mauro Magellan, Rick Price and Rick Richards – a wealth of new photos, and the UK discography.

 

With all three albums here in one collection, it’s clear just how prolific the Satellites were and just how great their output was. From songs such as the mega hit “Keep Your Hands to Yourself”, which shot them to stardom with their first album, to the excellent “Sheila” from their second, and “All Over but the Cryin’” from their final (and in many ways their best) album with Baird, this 53-track journey through the years is absolutely littered with quality material. With such a wealth of gems, this new Ultimate collection is a must-have retrospective – a great starting place for new fans, and a brilliant round up and new addition for the existing ones.

 

Buy Here

Author: Craggy Collyde

BOB MOULD ANNOUNCES SECOND DISTORTION VINYL BOXSET

BOB MOULD ANNOUNCES SECOND DISTORTION VINYL BOXSET

9LP DISTORTION: 1996-2007 BOX RELEASED JAN 22nd 2021 ON DEMON

 

TWO FURTHER VINYL BOXES TO ARRIVE IN 2021

8LP DISTORTION: 1989-1995 & 24CD DISTORTION: 1989-2019 BOXSETS BOTH OUT NOW

On January 22nd, 2021, Demon Music Group will release Distortion: 1996-2007, the second of four vinyl boxsets chronicling the solo career of legendary American musician Bob Mould. It follows hot on the heels of the recently released 8LP Distortion: 1989-1995 boxset, which took in Mould’s early solo outings as well as his records with the much-beloved Sugar, and the 24CD Distortion: 1989-2019 box, which covers the entirety of his post- Hüsker Dü output.

Distortion: 1996-2007 takes in six studio albums across nine LPs: Bob Mould (1996), The Last Dog and Pony Show (1998), modulate. (2002 – first time on vinyl), Long Playing Grooves. (2002 – first time on vinyl), Body of Song (2005) and BLOWOFF (2006 – first time on vinyl), as well as a new compilation Distortion Plus: 1996-2007 which features an array of bonus tracks including the demo version of ‘Dog on Fire‘ (the theme from The Daily Show), B-sides and other rarities, pressed on clear vinyl.

As with the previously released Distortion: 1989-1995, each album in the set has been mastered by Jeff Lipton and Maria Rice at Peerless Mastering in Boston and is presented with brand new artwork designed by illustrator Simon Marchner and pressed on 140g clear vinyl with unique splatter effects. The boxset includes a 28-page companion booklet featuring liner notes by journalist Keith Cameron, contributions from Death Cab For Cutie‘s Ben Gibbard and Best Coast‘s Bethany Cosentino, lyrics, memorabilia and much more. An exclusive indie edition limited to 750 copies worldwide also includes a 12″x12″ screen-print of the new modulate. album cover hand signed by illustrator Simon Marchner and Mould himself.

 

“It’s called Distortion because it describes the music and it fits the world we live in,” says Mould of the boxsets. “In this new age, everybody shares their life in real time. But I’m not done yet. If I didn’t have a constantly active career, this anthology might feel like the proverbial dirt landing on top of my coffin — though somehow I seem to be able to crawl my way out of the dirt every time!”

2021 will see two further vinyl Distortion boxsets covering the years 2008 to 2019 rounding out a year-long celebration of one of the most storied, creative and consistent voices in the American underground. As Cameron offers:

“In 1989, Bob Mould was already a renowned figure, thanks to his trailblazing work with Hüsker Dü: the Minneapolis trio which refracted ’60s pop melody through the discord of hardcore punk, creating a new language that Pixies and Nirvana would subsequently teach the world to sing. With his debut solo album Workbook, however, Bob Mould amazed his audience with its pastoral beauty and contemplative tone.

“It would be the first in an ongoing series of artistic transformations, each profoundly shaped by Mould’s sensitivity to his environment. In 1992, he formed Sugar, a band whose debut album Copper Blue earned both critical plaudits and a long overdue popular dividend. Just three years later, with Sugar at its commercial peak, Mould ended the band and made a self-titled solo record mapping the most nakedly personal path down a road already hallmarked by unsparing self-expression. He shocked then confounded fans by announcing his retirement from rock music in 1998 and re-emerging in the new century as an experimental electronica artist and successful DJ, whose club night Blowoff became a phenomenon across the US. By the end of the ’00s, Mould had found a harmonious accommodation between his musical selves, and in 2012 released the catalytic Silver Age, made with his latest power trio configuration, and heralding a resurgent decade. A succession of albums up to 2019’s Sunshine Rock followed, each one a real time/real life distillation of fearless artistic vision and a master craftsman’s skill.”

Discover more about the boxsets including full tracklistings and FAQs Here

The 9LP Distortion: 1996-2007 boxset is released Jan 22nd, 2021, via Demon Music Group. The 24CD Distortion: 1989-2019 and 8LP Distortion: 1989-1995 boxsets are both available now. Keep your eyes peeled for two further vinyl boxsets later in 2021.

Perry Farrell – ‘The Glitz; The Glamour’ (Last Man Music)

Perry Farrell – ‘The Glitz; The Glamour’ (Last Man Music)

You really cannot underestimate the importance of Jane’s Addiction to music fans who – at the time of the release the band’s self-released debut live LP – were looking for an alternative to the brainless drivel major record labels were pumping out in the name of hard rock/heavy metal. I myself was lucky enough to be swept up in the largely underground hype surrounding the band towards the tail end of the ‘80s, and whilst I cannot claim to have seen them live on their debut UK tour – and not many can – I was lucky enough to ride the live waves of joy they were generating by the time they had released ‘Ritual de lo habitual’, and that those shows still loom large with me to this very day should be enough for you to understand just how much of a game changer that band really was.

Initially splitting up just as grunge took over the world Jane’s Addiction in many ways became like The Velvet Underground of that scene, and in their singer Perry Farrell, I guess you had the scene’s very own Lou Reed. Albeit without his critical or commercial success, which means a lot of what is contained within this soon to be released ‘The Glitz; The Glamour’ box set might in fact be new material to the more casual listener.

Celebrating the mercurial talents of the self-styled Godfather of Alternative Rock, ‘The Glitz; The Glamour’ then is a 68 track collection of Perry Farrell’s work outside of Jane’s Addiction and Porno For Pyros spread across a 6 CD/Blu-ray and an indie shop exclusive 9 LP/Blu-ray box set, that is a perfectly timed release with Christmas looming large on the horizon.

Let’s face it, with 2020 being the shitshow it has turned out to be we all need something to make us smile right now, and ‘The Glitz; The Glamour’ might just be the thing to make it happen.

Kicking things off with a 5 track EP from Farrell’s pre-Jane’s Addiction band PSI Com, this set is what many will be after in this collection. it’s an engaging glimpse into the life of the young artiste, formed very much in the image of UK post-punk bands like Killing Joke and Public Image, and what’s perhaps most striking is that Farrell himself was already singing in the style he would largely go onto become renowned for in Jane’s Addiction, this is especially prevalent on the likes of ‘Xiola’ where his banshee screams were already waking the dead.

2001’s ‘Song Yet To Be Sung’ is Farrell’s first solo album proper and is a huge shift for him musically, being heavily influenced by the UK drum and bass scene it actually has a kind of Daniel Lanois producing ‘Earthling’ era Bowie feel about it and as such I found myself completely absorbed by its depth and the eclectic nature, especially on tracks like ‘Did You Forget’, ‘King Z’ and ‘Say Something’ which literally bristle with creative electricity.

By contrast, if ‘Song Yet To Be Sung’ was Farrell at his most introspective 2019’s nine track ‘Kind Heaven’ sounds like the soundtrack to kind of party David Lee Roth was renowned for throwing around the time he launched his solo band. Opening track ‘(Red White and Blue) Cheerfulness perfectly summing up Farrell’s joyful intentions for the record in two minutes and 20 seconds flat. There’s no time for self-examination on this record and the heavy involvement of his wife Etty Lau seems to keep the mood of the record very much upbeat. It’s a truly wonderful musical surprise if you’ve yet to hear it.

Sandwiched in between these solo albums was of course Satellite Party, the musical collective Farrell formed with Etty Lau that also featured the likes of Nuno Bettencourt, John Frusciante, Flea, Peter Hook, and Kevin Figueiredo on their one album ‘Ultra Payloaded’ originally released back in 2007. At the time I remember really enjoying this album as it provided a fresh perspective on the voice behind Jane’s Addiction and after their excellent reunion album ‘Strays’ it also kind of gave a glimpse of the more commercial sound the band would follow on 2011’s much-maligned ‘The Great Escape Artist’ opus.  Listening to ‘Ultra Payloaded’ 13 years later the likes of ‘Only Love, Let’s Celebrate’, ‘Kinky’ and ‘Mr. Sunshine’ have me dancing along to a kind of Sly & The Family Stone at the Hacienda groove and there’s a riot going on that’s for sure.

Which rather neatly leads me to the disc of Farrell/Satellite Party tracks remixed and re-imaged by the likes of UNCKLE, Groove Armada, Booka Shade, and a whole lot more besides and also includes Farrell’s dancefloor collaboration with The Avalanches on the ultra-funky ‘Oh The Sunn!’. It’s the ideal soundtrack for driving around town in your Corsa late at night, but eleven tracks of this for the more casual/rock-orientated listener might prove a little bit too much for them to stomach.

Very much more back at the end of the rock end of the spectrum though are the eight tracks contained on the disc of B-sides, where the likes of Starcrawler get to share some studio time with their hero on the feral ‘Turn Over The World’, the two previously unreleased tracks from ‘Rev’ get another day in the sun and ‘Cling To Life’ (recorded with the Kind Heaven Orchestra) once again has me thinking that the Farallels between our once dreadlocked anti-hero and the big band loving solo years of David Lee Roth might be even closer than I alluded to earlier.

With only a stream of this mighty box set on which to base this review I, unfortunately, can’t shed any light of what the ‘Kind Heaven’ record mixed in Dolby Atmos along with three new Atmos tracks from the remix record actually sound like, or in fact what the photographic memoirs hardback book or Zoltan prints aesthetically add to the package, but from what I have heard this really is an essential purchase for any die-hard fan of Perry Farrell’s music outside of Jane’s Addiction and Porno For Pyros.

Oh! ‘The Glitz; The Glamour’ – this is one box set I really do need in my collection.

Buy Perry Farrell – ‘The Glitz; The Glamour’ Here

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Author: Johnny Hayward

 

Pete Berwick – Too Cow To Punk’ (Self Release)

Pete Berwick – Too Cow To Punk’ (Self Release)

Tennessee’s very own Renaissance man and cowpunk pioneer, Pete Berwick, is seeing off 2020 with a retrospective of his extensive and active career. The ‘Too Cow to Punk’ anthology, set for release in January 2021 through his own label Shotgun Records, cherry-picks songs from a back catalogue stretching from 1976 to 2019 over a series of critically acclaimed albums. A man of many talents, Berwick has crossed several boundaries – from amateur boxing to novel writing, stand-up comedian to actor, the wandering storyteller has a wealth of experience from which to draw inspiration for his tales of love, loss and regret.

From the hard-hitting snarl of opener ‘Is That What You’re Telling Me’, through the darkness of ‘Chained’, to the reflective ‘Streets of Pasadena’ (the final song of his most recent album ‘Island’), you’re getting all sides of Berwick’s character – a 37-song collection of heart-on-the-sleeve confessions delivered down hard-fought years. The album finishes with the defiant ‘Vacancy in My Heart’, the free-flowing slide guitar of this bluesy barnstormer capping off a thoroughly brilliant, raucous and rousing record.

The energy and charisma which have dominated Berwick’s life is presented here in almost half a century of music. The anthology is far more than just a collection of songs – it’s a journey that includes re-recordings and remasters, some rarities and one unreleased song, ‘Preachers Kid’. A songwriter long before cowpunk became a thing, Berwick has explained how the title of the album comes from when one audience member told him many years ago he was “more cow than punk”. Throughout the years, Berwick has been an artist treading a dusty road between rock, country and punk, and this latest release is undoubtedly the perfect starting place for new listeners wishing to follow him down that long, colourful road.

Buy Here 

Author: Craggy Collyde

Best Of 2020

Best Of 2020

The Best Of The Best

according to the team at RPM Online

 

It’s gotten to the time of year when everyone seems to be putting the past twelve months in order and creating their lists or best of and we read on social media that it’s been a bit of a rubbish year for new releases etc. Now we know that’s not quite true and bands and solo artists have been making good use of lockdown and releasing some pretty impressive albums and singles be it virtually or remotely or when possible in an actual studio.

Here at RPM Online, we pride ourselves on bringing you the best of those releases from far-flung places and the darkest recesses of the Rock and Roll world and this is where the talented bunch of writers get to reveal what is at the top of their lists for 2020.

I’d personally like to thank the writers for the hard work and dedication during such a difficult year for everyone and first and foremost would like to thank them for their efforts in bringing such talented writing to everyone’s attention.  the one thing that stands out is whilst we all champion alternative music it’s generally a very diverse pool we dive in for our musical highs yet there are many common threads.  I’d also like to thank the PR that send through the countless emails and the ones who do an outstanding job above and beyond for the bands to make this past year work and not totally collapse as well as the labels who release a lot of these albums at great personal expense thank you one and all and the biggest thank you goes to those of you who’ve taken the time in real life to check in on us be it a daily read or the occasional glance thank.  so without further delay please check out our end of year list from Best Albums, Best EP, Best Single, Best Reissue, Best music-related Book, and yes live concert (there were plenty in the first few months honest)

Enjoy –

 

 

Craggy

Albums of 2020

Levellers – ‘Peace’ (On The Fiddle Recordings)

Bob Mould – ‘Blue Hearts’ (Merge Records)

Kathleen Edwards – ‘Total Freedom’ (Dualtone)

Soul Asylum – ‘Hurry up and Wait’ (Blue Elan Records)

Craggy Collyde – ‘Wrapped up in Ribbons’ (Break Me Records)

Warner E Hodges – ‘Just Feels Right’ (JCPL)

Pete Berwick – ‘Too Cow to Punk’ (Self Release)

Dark Rags – ‘Suburbia’ (Backstab Records)

Parketový Lev – ‘Parketový Lev’ (Papagájův Hlasatel Records)

Rabbit Slow – ‘Coming Waves’ (Self Release)

 

 

Nev Brooks

Albums of 2020

Bob Vylan – ‘We live Here’ (Self Release)

Jesse Malin – ‘Sunset Kids’ (Wicked Cool Records)

Humanist – ‘Humanist’ (Self Release)

Suzie Stapleton – ‘We Are The Plague’ (Negative Prophet Records)

Mark Lanegan – ‘Straight songs of Sorrow’ (Heavenly)

Duncan Reid and the Bigheads – ‘Don’t Blame yourself’ (Lbh Records)

Psychedelic Furs – ‘Made of Rain’ (Cooking Vinyl)

Asaf Avidan – ‘Agnorisis’ (Telmavar Records)

Me and that Man – ‘New Songs, Same shit vol 1’ (Napalm Records)

Nick Cave – ‘Idiots Prayer’ (Bad Seed LTD)

Dystopian Future Movies – ‘Inviolate’ (Lasairfhiona Records)

The Levellers – ‘Peace’ (On The Fiddle Recordings)

Ryan Hamilton and the Harlequin Ghosts – ‘Nowhere To Go But Everywhere’ (Wicked Cool Records)

The Cravats – ‘Hoorahland’ (Sef Release)

Sault – ‘Untitled (Black is)’ (Forever Living Originals)

Bill Fisher – ‘Mass Hypnosis and the Dark Triad’ (Septaphonic Records)

Stay voiceless – ‘Lies to Tell Your Children’ (GMC)

The Dowling Poole – ‘See You See Me’ (Self Release)

Jehnny Beth – ‘To love is To Live’ (20L07 Records)

The Strokes – ‘The New Abnormal’ (RCA Cult Records)

 

Top 5 e.ps

 

Bar Stool Preachers – ‘Soundtrack to your Apocalypse’ (Pirates Press Records)

Jesse Malin – ‘Ameri’ka’ (Wicked Cool Records)

Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard – ‘Non Stop e.p.’ (Communion Records)

The Damned – ‘Rockfield sessions’ (Spinefarm Records)

Paul Ronney Angel – ‘Seven Spanish Angels’ (Self Release)

 

Top 5 Re-issues / Boxsets

 

Twin Temple – ‘Present Their Signature Sound (Satanic Doo Wop)’ (Rise Above Records)

New Model Army – ‘Carnival’ (Attack Attack Records)

David Bowie – ‘Metrobolist’ (Parlophone)

Rolling Stones – ‘Goats Head Soup’ (Rolling Stones Records)

Prince – ‘Sign Of The Times’ (NPG Records, Warner Records, The Prince Estate)

 

 

 

Dom Daley

Albums of 2020

Stiff Richards – ‘State Of Mind’ (Legless Records/Drunken Sailor Records)

Chubby & The Gang – ‘Speed Kills’ (Partisan Records)

Mud City Manglers – ‘Give Me The Hammer’ (Beluga Records)

Wayne Hussey & The Divine – ‘Live At The Bridge’ (Eyes Wide Shut Records)-

Thee acid tongue – ‘Snake Rattle And Roll (Bear Beach Records)

Bob Mould – ‘Blur Hearts’ (Merge Records)

Bob Vylan – ‘We Live Here’ (Self Release)

Marylin Manson – ‘We Are Chaos’ (Lorna Vista)

Cabbage – ‘Amanita Pantherina’ (Brassica Records)

Deathtrap – ‘Stole Your Rock and Roll’ (Spirit Of Disaster)

Lovesores – ‘Bats From Planet Skull’ (Self Release)

Wyldlife – ‘Year Of The Snake’ (Wicked Cool Records)

Duncan Reid & The Bigheads – ‘Don’t Blame Yourself’ (Lbh Records)

The Good The Bad And The Zugly – ‘Algorithm And Blues’ (Fysisk Format)

Midnight – ‘Rebirth By Blasphemy’ (Metal Blade Records)

Tommy Ray  – ‘First Hits Free’ (Cool Cat Music)

Mick Rossi – ‘All The Saints & All The Souls’ (TJM Records)

The Hip Priests – ‘Solid Gold Easy Option’ (Speedo Wax Records)

Chuck Prophet – ‘The Land That Time Forgot’ (Yup Rock)

Bruce Springsteen – ‘Letter To You’ (Columbia Records)

 

Single of the year

The Black Halos -‘ Ain’t No Time To Say Goodbye’ (Self Release)

Rock ‘n’ Roll Manifesto vol 1(Stamp Out Disco)

Jesse Malin – ‘Todd Youth’ (Wicked Cool Records)

 

Reissue / Boxset

The Boys – ‘The Safari years’ (Cherry Red Records)

Motochrist – ‘Greatest Hits’ (Dr Wu Records)

New Model Army – ‘Carnival’ (Attack Attack)

Buzzcocks – ‘Sell You Everything’ (Cherry Red Records)

Keith Richards – ‘ Live At The Hollywood Palladium’ (Virgin America)

Coloursound – ‘Coloursound’ (The Great North Western Recording Company)

Manic Street Preachers – ‘Gold Against The Soul’ (Sony Music)

 

 

Music-related Books of the Year

Alvin Gibbs – ‘Diminished Responsibility Volume 1’ (Tome & Metre Publishing)

‘Clang!’ (Smiley drops a few) – Steve ‘Smiley’ Barnard (GTP)

‘What Makes The Monkey Dance’ – Chuck Prophet & Green On Red – Stevie Simkin (Jaw Bone)

 

Best E.P. 

Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard – ‘Non Stop’ (Communion Records)

Bar stool preachers. – ‘Soundtrack To The Apocolypse’ (Pirates Press Records)

Chesty Malone and the Slice ‘Em Ups – ‘Covered In Blood! Quarantine Covers’

 

 

Live show of the year

Bar stool preachers – Bristol, Rough Trade

Mike Peters – Gathering – Llandudno North Wales

The Bellrays – le Pub, Newport

The Wildhearts – Cardiff, Tramshed

The Interrupters – Cardiff, Tramshed

 

2021 wishes?  I’d love to see an end to restrictions (stating the obvious I know) but it would be smart to see the Proposed Vive Le Rock show take place with Michael Monroe fronting the Lords Of The New Church and live shows becoming a thing again.  Other than that Stay Safe and look out for each other.

 

Dan Kasm

Albums Of 2020

Bambara – ‘Stray‘ (Wharf Cat Records)
…Trail Of Dead – ‘X The Godless Void and Other Stories’ (Dine Alone Records)
Airborne Toxic Event – ‘Hollywood Park’ (Rounder Records)
Bdrmm – ‘Bdrmm’ (Sonic Cathedral)
Zombeaches – ‘Zombeaches’ (Self Release)
The Blinders – ‘Fantasies of the Stay at Home Psychopath’ (Modern Sky Music)
Neonic Sundrive – ‘Lies Paradise’ (Self Release)
The Wildhearts – ’30 Year Itch’ (Round Records)
Neil Young – ‘Homegrown’ (Reprise Records)
Reissues / Boxsets
The Guilty Hearts – ‘The Guilty Hearts’ (Voodoo Rhythm Records)
Anna Calvi – ‘Hunted’ (Domino Records)
Virgin Suicides – ‘ost’ (Parlophone)
Neil Young – ‘After the Gold Rush’ 50th anniversary (Reprise Records)
Iggy & the Stooges – ‘You Think You’re Bad Man’ (Cherry Red Records)
EPs
Eyesore & the Jinx – ‘The Exile Parlour’ (Eggy Records)
Grow Rich – ‘Frantic Semantic’ (Self Release)
The Lotts – ‘We Are The Lotts’ (Self Release)
The Mysterines – ‘Love’s Not Enough’ (Self Release)
Various Artists – ‘Not Psycho Enough?’ Cosmic Psychos Tribute (Dull City Records)
Singles
The Dry Retch – ‘12000 Miles From New’
Murmur – ‘Shame’ (Self Release)
Salt The Snail – ‘Junkyard Cat’ (Self Release)
Psychedelic Furs – ‘Don’t Believe’ (Cooking Vinyl)
Silverbacks – ‘Drool’ (Nice Swan Records)
Music-related Books of the Year
Dave Haslam – ‘Looking for Love – Courtney Love in Liverpool’
Justin Quirk – ‘Ain’t Nothin’ But A Good Time – The Rise & Fall of Glam Metal’ (Unbound Digital)
Mikel Jollett – ‘Hollywood Park’ (Sceptre)
Gigs
The Wildhearts, Backyard Babies – Manchester Ritz
The Dry Retch, Tio Rico – Liverpool Outpost
Mysterines, Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard –  Liverpool Jimmys
2021
I’m hopeful for the new year that I will get some normality in order to attend the inaugural event of the new Futurama festival as well as 2000 Trees, HRH Sleaze & Psych as well as numerous other gigs and events. Like a lot of people the past 9 months has put things in perspective, grab things with both hands and tick off ‘bucket list’ life events instead putting them off.

 

Fraser Munro

Albums Of 2020

Scumbag Millionaire – ‘Poor and Infamous’ (Suburban Records)

The good, The Bad And The Zugly – ‘Algorithm & Blues’ (Fysisk Format)

Beat City Tubeworks – ‘Top Rock’ (The Sign Records)

Mud City Manglers – ‘Give Me The Hammer’ (Beluga Records, Spaghetty Town Records, Ghost Highway Records)

Supersuckers – ‘Play That Rock ‘N’ Roll’ (Acetate Records)

Christmas – ‘Hot Nights In Saint Vandal’ (TNS Records)

DBOY – ‘New Records In Human Power’ (Dine Alone Records)

Hank Von Hell – ‘Dead’ (Sony Music)

Kvelertak – ‘Splid’ (Rise Records)

ACDC – ‘Power Up’ (Columbia)

The Wildhearts – ’30 Year Itch’ (Round Records)

 

Reissues / Boxset

Black Halos – FFTS Demos & Rarities (Bandcamp)

The Hip Priests – Solid Gold Easy Option (Speedowax Records)

Midnight Evils – Straight ‘Til Morning (Sweet Ohm Ramalama)

 

 

Gigs

Undertones et al – Minehead

Wildhearts / Backyard Babies – Cardiff

Wildhearts / Backyard Babies – London

Guida – Bristol

Showaddywaddy – Swansea

 

 

Johnny Hayward

Albums Of The Year 2020

Aerial Salad – ‘Dirt Mall’ (Plasterer/Roach Industries)

Henrik Palm – ‘Poverty Metal’ (Svart Records)

The Wildhearts – ‘30 Year Itch’ (Round Records)

Mondo Generator – ‘Fuck It’ (Heavy Psych Records)

Then Comes Silence – ‘Machine’ (Oblivion/SPV, Metropolis Records)

Midnight – ‘Rebirth By Blasphemy’ (Metal Blade Records)

Kvelertak – ‘Splid’ (Rise Records/World Records)

The Dowling Poole – ‘See You See Me’ (369 Music)

Lovesores – ‘Bats From Planet Skull’ (Self Released)

Dirt Box Disco – ‘TV Sex Show’ (Avenue Recordz)

Division Of Laura Lee – ‘Apartment’ (Welfare Sounds)

Spunk Volcano & The Eruptions – ‘Barry Milner Is Thick’ (Avenue Recordz)

Stay Voiceless – ‘Lies To Tell Your Children’ (GMC)

Deathtraps – Stole Your Rock ‘N’ Roll (Spirit Of Disaster)

Scumbag Millionaire – ‘Poor and Infamous’ (Suburban Records)

HMLTD – ‘The West Is Dead’ (Lucky Number)

The Hip Priests – Solid Gold Easy Option (Speedo Wax Records)

The Speedways – ‘Radio Sounds’ (Alien Snatch Records, Snap!! Records/Hurrah Musica and Beluga Records)

Marilyn Manson – ‘We Are Chaos’ (Lorna Vista)

Mariachi El Bronx – Musica Muerta Volumes 1&2 (White Drugs)

 

EPs

The Bar Stool Preachers – ‘State Of Emergency’ (Pirate’s Press)

Lickerish Quartet – ‘Threesome Vol 1’ (Lickerish Quartet/Label Logic)

The Wildhearts – ‘30 Year Itch’ (Encores) (Round Records)

Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard – ‘The Non Stop EP’ (Communion Records)

Bob Vylan – ‘We Live Here’ (Venn Records)

 

 

Reissues / Boxset

UFO – ‘Strangers In The Night’ (Super Deluxe) (Chrysalis)

Def Leppard – ‘The Early Years’ (Mercury)

Bob Mould – ‘Distortion’ (Demon)

Keith Richards & The X-pensive Winos – ‘Live At The Hollywood Palladium’ (Mindless Records)

Black Sabbath – ‘Paranoid’ (50th Anniversary) (Sanctuary Records)

 

Music-related Books of the Year

Alvin Gibbs – ‘Diminished Responsibility Volume 1’ (Tome & Metre Publishing)

Rob Halford – ‘Confess’ (Headline)

Reuben Archer – ‘Rock N Rollercoaster Ride’ (Toxic Arrow)

 

Live Gigs

The Bar Stool Preachers – Rough Trade, Bristol – 6th March 2020

Great British Alternative Weekend – Butlins Minehead – 28th February – 1st March 2020

Bad Sam – Le Pub, Newport – 14th February 2020

Giuda – Louisiana, Bristol – 18th January 2020

The Bellrays – Le Pub, Newport – 17th January 2020

Wonk Unit – Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff – 11th January 2020

 

Bandcamp Discovery

Guerrilla Teens

 

Best Single

The Hip Priests – ‘Zero Fucks Given’​/’​Social Hand Grenade’ (Shitpark Records)

 

Most Looking Forward to in 2021

Going to a gig.

 

 

 

Ben Hughes

Albums of 2020

Butch Walker – ‘American Love Story’ (Ruby Red Records)

Ryan Hamilton & The Harlequin Ghosts – ‘Nowhere To Go But Everywhere’ (Wicked Cool Records)

Wyldlife – ‘Year Of The Snake’ (Wicked Cool Records)

Baby Chaos – ‘Ape Confronts Cosmos’ (Three Hands Records)

Dangereens – ‘Tough Luck’ (Alien Snatch Records)

Hellbound Glory – ‘Pure Scum’ (BCR Los Angeles)

Hello Operator – ‘S/T’ (Self Release)

Me And That Man – ‘New Man, New Songs, Same Shit’ (Napalm Records)

Low Cut Connie – ‘Private Lives’ (Contender Records)

The Speedways – ‘Radio Sounds’ (Alien Snatch Records, Beluga Records, Snap Records, Hurrah Records)

 

EPs

The Lickerish Quartet – ‘Threesome Vol. 1’ (Label Logic)

Saint Agnes – ‘The Family Strange’ (Death Or Glory Gang Records)

Junkyard – ‘Rome Is Burning’ (Acetate Records)

Hands Off Gretel – ‘The Angry EP’ (Puke Pop Records)

The Future Shape Of Sound – ‘It’s Gone All Wrong’ (Self Release)

 

Reissues / Boxset

Diamond Dogs – ‘Too Much Is Always Better Than Not Enough’ (Wild Kingdom Records)

Diamond Dogs – ‘Weekend Monster’ (Wild Kingdom Records)

Diamond Dogs – The Atlantic Juice’ (Wild Kingdom Records)

 

Gigs 

The Wildhearts/Backyard Babies/CKY – 02 Academy, Newcastle

Jesse Malin – Headrow House, Leeds

 

Livestreams

Jesse Malin – The Fine Art Of Self-Distancing

Baby Chaos

Low Cut Connie – Tough Cookies

 

Gerald Stansbury

Albums

Soraia – ‘Dig Your Roots’ (Wicked Cool Recotrds)

Massive Wagons – ‘House of Noise’ (Earache Records)

Ward Davis – ‘Black Cats and Crows’ (LLC)

Karen Jonas –  ‘The Southwest Sky and Other Dreams’ (Self Release)

Brooke Brown – ‘Troubled Heart’ (Self Release)

The Nude Party – ‘Midnight Manor’ (New West Records)

Vulvarine –  ‘Unleashed’ (Self Release)

Dangereens – ‘Tough Luck’ (Alian Snatch)

The Rumours – ‘Suck It’ (Self Release)

Lucifer Star Machine  – ‘The Devil’s Breath’ (The Sign Records)

Gareth Leach – ‘Trigger’ (Self Release)

Steve Earle & the Dukes –  ‘Ghosts of West Virginia’ (New West Records)

Randy Rogers and Wade Bowen – ‘Hold my Beer Volume 2’  (Lil Buddy Tunes)

Tyla – ‘Isolation Crossing Collection’ (King Outlaw Records)

Low Cut Connie – ‘Private Lives’ (Contender Records)

D.L. Marble – ‘One Line at a Time’ (Self Release)

Reckless Kelly  – ‘American Jackpot/ American Girls’ (No Big Deal Records)

Givvi Flynn –  ‘Tomboy’ (Self Release)

Armored Saint – ‘Punching the Sky’ (Metal Blade Records)

Butch Walker ‘American Love Song’ (Ruby Red Production)

 

Single of the Year 

Charlotte Leigh – ‘Life’

 

EP of the Year

Quinn the Brain – ‘Wide Open’

 

Reissue of the Year

Def Leppard ‘The Early Years’

 

Gareth ‘Hotshot’ Hooper

Albums 

Duncan Reid And The Bigheads – ‘Don’t Blame Yourself’ (Little Big Head Records)

The Network – ‘money money 2020 part 2 we told ya so’ (Warner Records)

Billie Joe Armstrong – ‘No Fun Mondays’ (Warner Records)

Green day- ‘Father Of All Motherfuckers’ (Warner Records)

Deathtraps – ‘Stole Your Rock’n’Roll’ (Spirit Of Disaster)

The Damned – ‘The Rockfield files’ (Spinefarm Records)

Stop worrying and love the bomb – ‘Fake Nature’

 

Gigs

The Bellrays – Le Pub Newport

The Wildhearts  / Backyard Babies – Cardiff Tramshed

Reissues / Boxset

Iggy and the stooge – ‘From KO to chaos’

The Boys – ‘On Safari’

Johnny Thunders – ‘Que sera Sera Resurrected’

Buzzcocks – ‘Sell You Everything’ (Cherry Red Records)

Buzzcocks – ‘Late For The Train’ (Cherry Red Records)

 

Music-related Books of the Year

Alvin Gibbs – ‘Diminished Responsibility Volume 1’ (Tome & Metre Publishing)

Joe Strummer – ‘Redemption Song’

The Replacements – ‘All Over But The Shouting’

Gaz Tidey

Albums of the Year

Butch Walker – ‘American Love Story’ (Red Ruby Production)

Larkin Poe – ‘Self Made Man’ (Tricki Woo Records)

Lamb Of God – ‘Lamb Of God’ (Epic)

Bob Vylan – ‘We Live Here’ (Venn Records)

Ryan Hamilton & the Harlequin Ghosts – ‘Nowhere To Go But Everywhere’ (Wicked Cool Records)

Onslaught – ‘Generation Antichrist’ (AFM Records)

Baby Chaos – ‘Ape Confronts Cosmos’ (Three Hands Records)

C.J. Wildheart – ‘Siege’ (Devilspit)

Foxy Shazam – ‘Burn’ (EEEOOOAH Records)

Kvelertak – ‘Splid’ (Rise Records)

Tairrie B. – ‘Feminenergy’ (Self Release)

Cro-Mags – ‘In The Beginning’ (Mission Two Entertainment)

Mommy Sez No – ‘The Dwellers Below’ (Self Release)

EPs of the Year

The Lickerish Quartet – ‘Threesome Vol. 1’ (Label Logic)

Chesty Malone and the Slice ‘Em Ups – ‘Covered In Blood! Quarantine Covers’ (Self Release)

American Hi-fi – ‘Anywhere Else But Here’ (Rude Records)

Tyla’s Dogs D’Amour – ‘The Powder Dry EP’ (King Outlaw Records)

Chris Catalyst – ‘Acoustic Machines’ (Self Release)

Singles of the Year

Tyla’s Dogs D’Amour – ‘Superhuman’ (King Outlaw)

Jesse Malin – ‘Todd Youth’ (Wicked Cool Records)

Royal Blood – ‘Trouble’s Coming’ (Warner Records)

Reissue/Boxset of the Year

Sigue Sigue Sputnik – ‘Flaunt It’ 4CD Deluxe Capacity Wallet  (Cherry Red Records)

Music-related Books of the Year

Pete Paphides – ‘Broken Greek’ (Quercus)

Rob Halford – ‘Confess’ (Headline Publishing)

Justin Quirk – ‘Nothin’ But A Good Time’ (Unbound Digital)

There you have it a fine selection of music you’re likely to find anywhere as diverse as you like yet common threads woven throughout.  It would be a boring place if we all liked the same records that’s for sure and I’m sure there are records released we’ve forgotten about in the deluge.  Don’t let anyone tell you that there were no good albums released during the pandemic because we know by looking at the list that there were plenty & plenty of reissues and Boxsets that were released during 2020.

Onwards and upwards we move into 2021 and we hope to bring you more new albums to fill yer airwaves and a return of the live show and festivals.  We need em and so does the industry.  So raise a glass to days gone by and to a better future when we can all meet again and watch our favourite bands.  Be good and stay safe RPM Online looks forward to a great 2021!

Rainy Days & Mondays

Rainy Days & Mondays

Last one of the year from  ‘Rainy Days & Mondays’ Taken from forthcoming album ‘Shapeshifting’ (Svart Records), release date 26th of February. One for the diaries kids.

 

 

If that wasn’t enough of a treat get an earful of this ‘Bloodclot – Save The Robots’

How about some The Bloody Hell. – ‘Nobody Cares About America Anymore’ find out more over on Facebook

To wrap it up in style how about a classic from the Ramones covered by Those Drive By Truckers? either way here it is – See you in 2021

Slimy Members – ‘Ugly Songs For Ugly People’ (Drunken Sailor Records)

Slimy Members – ‘Ugly Songs For Ugly People’ (Drunken Sailor Records)

Originally this was one of the best albums of 2017? Luckily for you, here’s another opportunity to get hold of Slimy Members ‘Ugly Songs’ album. From Dallas, Slimy Member is back in print thanks to Drunken Sailor. That first pressing vanished pretty quickly, and now here it is, just in time for Xmas (well pre-orders are in and it’ll officially be released early Jan). So, save those crispy notes of your gran and favourite Auntie and have yerself a happy holiday.

It’s a little bit Goth Its a lot of Punk it’s like TSOL (Early) and the Misfits got high and started a fight with Bauhaus on speed no make that warp speed and once you dried it all out you got Slimy Members and one hell of an adrenalin rush slab of molten punk rock.  It’s dripping with delays and a thunderous chorus heavy Bass but hey why the fuck not?

Songs like ‘Harsh Reality’ are epic in all the right places. The guitars buzz whilst the rhythm thunder along.  This is a close cousin of those early TSOL records and thank fuck labels like Drunken Sailor are giving us a second chance of owning such a top turn. The thump of the Bass on ‘Oceanic Feeling’ is fantastic.

 

‘All Too Real’ takes a while to build into a pulsating beast of a song.  Dark as fuck it sounds like they’ve harnessed some evil power and have got the power of the Four Horsemen riding out of Hell as the rhythm section but it all ends too quickly but it just mesmerises you into the next brutal pounding track ‘Revelations’ starts knocking your skull.

 

The songs are short as fuck and hold the attention of the dumbest punk rocker looking for an audio fix.  ‘No God’ rears its head kicks you in the spine the fucks off as quickly as it arrived – in a flurry of drums and manic riff-a-rama. I guess at the end of the day you’ll be glad its only eleven songs of brutal punk rock because you need a rest before you dive back in for some more.  Its like being punched around the head by Mike Tyson and the ringing you’d feel in your noggin’ afterwards before you get a semblance of clarity and realise that the harmony in your head is real and its those pesky Slimy Members playing punk rock n roll with a ghoulish edge and not your heart giving out.

 

‘Ugly Songs For Ugly People’ and some beautiful handsome ones as well,  Songs that is not people!  Buy It! but keep a cup of holy water by the turntable you might need it.

Here buyeth the record if you dare.

Author: Dom Daley

Various Artists – ‘For Family & Flag (Volume One)’ & ‘Oi! 40 Year Untamed’ (Pirates Press)

Various Artists – ‘For Family & Flag (Volume One)’ & ‘Oi! 40 Year Untamed’ (Pirates Press)

I really can’t think of a better way to close out 2020 than with these two barnstorming compilation albums. Cramming in twenty nine tracks from across the Pirates Press roster of talent and featuring something old, something new and something even a little bit blue note-ish.

 

Released at the end of November ‘For Family & Flag’ builds on the theme Pirates Press devised for their hugely successful two hundredth release, the awesome triple LP box set ‘One Family One Flag’, albeit here they have decided that rather than simply celebrating their glorious past, this one also adds in some rather splendid new material, and perhaps most surprising its Oi! legends Cock Sparrer who lead the charge offering up, not one, but two, new cuts spread across these releases. ‘Marching Onwards’ is the tune on ‘For Family..’ and it’s a blistering terrace anthem that shows the Sparrer lads building on the sound of their ‘Forever’ album of three years ago by adding in some more contemporary influences and even a hint of a dub breakdown mid tune. ‘Marching Onwards’ Sparrer most certainly are.

 

Where ‘For Family..’ really works though is in the eclectic nature of the collection, and whilst the likes of The Bar Stool Preachers (‘When This World End’) and Subhumans (‘Thought Is Free’) all deliver immediate dancefloor fillers it’s the tunes that throw me a slight musical curveball like the jazzy big band swagger of ‘Let The Good Times Roll’ by Shuffle and Bang (which opens the record and is absolutely glorious stuff) and the one man band folk punk of Lenny Lashley with ‘Need’ (which closes the record) that immediately have me dropping the needle again and again.

 

Plus, what’s not to love about Charger thundering through their recent 12” ‘Watch Your Back’ like Motorhead’s true bastard sons?  Add in some riotous streetpunk tunes from the likes of Noi!se, Lion’s Law and (the more straight up hardcore of) Seized Up and this LP is guaranteed to make your socially distanced Christmas party all the more interesting. Result!

 

Likewise, the Garry Bushell compiled ‘Oi! 40 Year Untamed’, which kicks off with ‘Take It On The Chin’ the second of those aforementioned new Cock Sparrer tracks. Here Colin McFaull demands we all “grow a pair” and just like ‘Marching Onwards’ this is the sound of Sparrer at their most anthemic. You know, if one great thing has come out of this pandemic it’s these bloody Sparrer tracks. I just hope we’ll get to hear them live sometime next year.

 

Though, to be fair, this record is far from being just the Cock Sparrer show, and with Mr Bushell’s name above the door of the gaff the big guns of Oi! are all out in force to join the celebrations. Cockney Rejects, The Business and Last Resort are all present and correct, with ‘New Disease’ by Roi and the bois being an immediate hit with yours truly. Jeez. Is it really seven years since ‘This Is My England’?

 

Of the newer breed of bands included ‘Against All Odds’ by Crashed Out really stands out largely due to the band’s metallic take on the Oi! sound kind of making me think what Rose Tattoo might have sounded like had their 80s albums had a production that actually captured their live sound. Elsewhere the likes of Gimp Fist, (the excellent) Bishops Green, and The Drowns all once again make me long for that day when I’ll once again be able to stand amongst my mates at a live gig, pint raised high in the air singing along at the top of my voice.  Something that ‘Noddy Holder (Bootboy Mix)’ by The Old Firm Casuals was custom built for.

 

Sparrer aside I’ve deliberately not gone track by track through these albums simply because the real strength in both collections is in depth and variety of the tracks on offer, and that ladies and gentlemen is what great compilation albums are all about.

 

Essential stuff!

Buy ‘For Family & Flag Here

Buy ‘Oi! 40 Years Untamed’  Here

Author: Johnny Hayward