Where exactly do I start to review an album where I’m hearing something new whenever I play it, something that spikes my interest repeatedly, yet it’s difficult (yet hopefully not impossible) to put my finger on exactly what that something is with each new play.
So, what about I start with a quick back story whilst I try to collect my thoughts?
Evil Blizzard are a six piece from Preston, who not only have multiple bass players within their ranks but also wear masks in all their publicity shots and when they play live. Their fourth studio record ‘Death Songs & Lullabies’ is being released via Crackedankles Records on March 27th 2026 and it’s this record that has me (almost) lost for words.
Why? Well where better to start than with album opener ‘Off With Their Heads’, it’s a track that opens (and closes) with a simple beat box rhythm that wouldn’t be out of place on a Sleaford Mods record that segues into a mystical PIL meets Hawkwind riff before finally erupting into a furious onslaught that is equal parts Rammstein and Killing Joke, and that’s all within the first four minutes and thirty six seconds of the LP.
Citing influences as diverse as Krautrock and Discharge listening to ‘Death Songs & Lullabies’ reminds me of the first time I heard legendary UK band Cardiacs or US art rockers Jane’s Addiction. It’s a demanding listen because it’s not a typical rock record, but in an age where rock is overrun with generic shite tailor made to fit into a particular audience demographic, this can only be a good thing, right?
The punk rock influence is more than obvious during the just past one minute almost metal gallop that is ‘Four Letter Words’ and the head fuck that goes by the title of ‘Wake The Dead In Bedlam’ where Discharge’s current singer Jeff (JJ) Janiak pops up to hammer home the song’s hypnotic chorus. Meanwhile for those who maybe like things a little mellower, I’m sure the trance-like eight minute plus ‘Black Square’ would have most fans of progressive music stroking their goatees in appreciation.
As ‘Death Songs & Lullabies’ passes it’s midpoint ‘Questions//Answers’ rears its many heads like some majestic hydra, and whilst the teenage Sham 69 fan in me so wanted this to be more than just some grammatical reworking of their classic late ‘70s terrace anthem it is instead a track that wouldn’t be out of place on side two of ‘Ritual De Lo Habitual’ and my mind is once again well and truly blown when the songs hit’s it’s volatile mid-section. Boomshanka!!!!!
There’s not going to be many records like ‘Death Songs & Lullabies’ released in 2026 that’s for sure. It’s epic, it’s ferocious, it’s exhilarating, and above all, it’s fantastic.
Futurama, the legendary post-punk festival is back after 40 years and takes place at the Invisible Wind factory / Make Arts Centre and Ten Streets Social in Liverpool over two days, 3rd and 4th of April 2021.
With promising news on the horizon regarding the vaccine roll out this week, the Futurama Festival’ has announced a second wave of bands to play the influential festival in Liverpool next Easter.
Undoubtedly one of the most famous electronic & synth bands of all time, Heaven 17 had hit after hit back in the 80’s with their incredible albums ‘Penthouse and Pavement’ and ‘The Luxury Gap’. This extraordinary success means their gigs are as popular as ever and they consistently sell out shows in the UK and abroad. The original Human League split in 1980, when Martyn Ware and IanCraig Marsh left to set up their BEF production company and recruited Glenn Gregory to help create “music of quality and distinction”. Taking their name from the disco in Clockwork Orange, Heaven 17 had immediate success with hits such as ‘At the height of the fighting’, ‘Fascist Groove Thang’ and ‘I’m your money’. ‘Penthouse and Pavement’ would become a landmark album that defined the 1980’s.
For their unique performance at the Futurama, Martyn and Glenn will perform a Heaven 17 set and will also revisit some of those classic early Human League songs. By re-imagining them and keeping the original spirit, they hope to recreate the futuristic ambience and immersive atmosphere of the early days. As Martyn says he ” loved the wider theme of dystopian science fiction that the Futurama touched upon and he always envisaged the Human League growing up in a science fiction noisescape”. Human League were scheduled to play the original Futurama in 1979 but for one reason or another, it sadly never happened.
As well as Heaven 17’s back catalogue, Martyn Ware can call on the astonishing early records of the Human League. The first Human League albums ‘Reproduction’ and ‘Travelogue’ were two of the most influential synth albums of all time. It cannot be underestimated how important the sound of young Sheffield 78 -83 became in post punk Britain with the Human League, Cabaret Voltaire, ClockDVA and Vice Versa (Later ABC) leading the way. They were the first wave of British bands to mix machines and electronic noise. Their music reflected their environments, the urban decay and industrial decline of this period. A bleak but beautiful soundtrack.
“Heaven 17 are really looking forward to the Futurama show, it holds so many fantastic musical memories for us both as performers and audience, states Glenn Gregory. “It’s fantastic that we have the chance to be a part of the future of Futurama”
“Brothers, sisters don’t just sit there on your ass!” Join us as we fix this historic error and go back to the Futurama with Heaven 17
Peter Hook and The Light are the Sunday night headliners and will be performing the ‘life changing’ Joy Division set from the 1979 Futurama in Leeds for the first time in 40 years. Another world first for the return of the Futurama in 2021. Peter Hook and the Light as well as the historical set will back it up with all the classics that they have delivered across the world in recent years to such acclaim. Two very special headliners for the return of the Futurama. They are joined by legendary Factory band Section 25 and the Expelaires who played the first Futurama in Leeds in 1979.
The AF Gang have confirmed their first acts for their All Is Love / Goth Kitchen stages with up-and-coming London punks Chubby And The Gang who have just signed to Partisan Records (Idles, Fontaines DC, Laura Marling) and TV Priest who have just signed to legendary American label Sub Pop. Other bands they’ve picked are Genn, The Pleasure Dome, Ditz & Frauds who the AF Gang have been championing for some time.
Planet X, Liverpool’s infamous goth and punk club have Balaam & The Angel headlining its stage with Dr Diablo & the Rodent Show, Peter Bentham & The Dinner Ladies, Feather Trade,
the Gentle Scars, Three from Above & The Webb supporting. Also, confirmed are Girls in Synthesis, Ist Ist, Dream Nails, Liines, Gravves, Klamp, Coughin Vicars & Deh-Yey. All in all, it’s shaping up to be one of the best line-ups of every year.
As promoter Marc Jones, says ‘fingers crossed, the timing could be perfect, we all desperately need something to look forward to after one of the hardest and most difficult years ever! 2020 has seen the festival and live gig circuit decimated by the pandemic. It could one of the first festivals post Covid restrictions and it would be a real boost to the Liverpool music scene and the independent venues involved and perhaps a real starting point for and hopefully a much better year in 2021″
New Early Bird December from SEE tickets HERE: 1st payment 7th December with subsequent payments in Jan, Feb and March 2021
There will be a last wave of bands to be announced in January when day splits and full stage line ups will be announced.
Other acts confirmed to appear include Theatre Of Hate, Warmduscher, The Chameleons, The Blinders, The LovelyEggs, Spizz Energi, Imperial Wax, Just Mustard, Membranes, Evil Blizzard, Sink Ya Teeth, John, Heavy Lungs, We Are Not Devo, DSM IV, Bob Vylan, Billy NoMates, Witch Fever, Tokky Horror, Pozi, Crows, St Agnes, LibraLibra, Courting, Crawlers and Joe & Shitboys, with the world’s biggest rock ‘n’ roll and punk magazine Vive Le Rock and respected website Louder Than War hosting the main stages.
Futurama, the legendary post-punk festival is back after 40 years and takes place at the Invisible Wind factory / Make Arts Centre and Ten Streets Social in Liverpool over two days, 3rd and 4th of April 2021.
The Futuramas were a series of ground-breaking and innovative post punk and electronic music festivals in the late 70’s and early 80’s. They were the brainchild of one-man, John Keenan, a legendary Leeds promoter who has put thousands of bands on over 40 years at his famous F Club. In 1979, he decided to do a 2-day festival at the Queens Hall in Leeds and put on all of his favourite up and coming bands and curated the first alternative indoor festival in Britain. Nearly all of Britain’s most important and influential independent bands played these festivals and many of them went onto considerable success in Britain, Europe, and the US. The roll call reads like the greatest who’s who of alternative music and they include Joy Division and New Order, Echo and the Bunnymen, PiL, Killing Joke, Teardrop Explodes, Bauhaus, The Fall, The Smiths, Gang of Four, Sisters of Mercy, Theatre OfHate, The Psychedelic Furs & even a fledgling U2. The Futurama festivals caught the zeitgeist perfectly and not only put on many female fronted bands, including Siouxsie and the Banshees, Young MarbleGiants, Bow Wow Wow & Altered Images, but also many of the new wave of electronic & synthesizer acts including Soft Cell, Cabaret Voltaire, OMD, Simple Minds, Clock DVA & Vice Versa who later became ABC.
The post-punk era still casts an enormous influential shadow over contemporary music, making the timing perfect for the festival to return, combining both legendary acts from the festival’s history with the absolute best in up-and-coming talent.
pic by William Ellis – www.william-ellis.com
Bringing Futurama full circle, Peter Hook & The Light are confirmed to perform Joy Division’s set from Futurama 1979 in full, promising to be an absolute thrill for fans of the iconic band.
“Futurama was one the first festival experiences I ever had,” remembers bassist Peter Hook. “John Keenan the promoter became a lifelong friend. He was one of the first legends. The gig was the first time I’d ever seen caravans used as dressing rooms indoors, but it had a great atmosphere. It really put Joy Division on the map and the groups on the bill were very well matched to the audience. There weren’t many indoor festivals prior to Futurama so it was quite ground-breaking for the genre in the north. Funnily enough it gets talked about a lot even now. John became a legend and, in many ways, so has the festival. Let’s hope we can capture that wonderful atmosphere again.”
Also linking the festival’s history are Kirk Brandon’s Theatre Of Hate who will be celebrating their 40th anniversary of playing Futurama 3 in 1981, returning in 2021.
With a headliner still to be announced, these iconic acts join a host of bands from the many different strains and spectrums of alternative music, with respected website Louder Than War hosting the main stage on one day, and the world’s biggest rock ‘n’ roll and punk magazine Vive Le Rock the other day, whilst The AF Gang (the IDLES legendary fan club) host the up and coming stage.
There are 4 stages at the Futurama.
Invisible Wind Factory Main Stage: Headline acts and supports
Substation Downstairs in IWF: Electronic, synth and experimental noise
Make Arts Centre: Some of the best new and vintage post punk bands on the circuit
Ten Street Social: The AF Gang hosts the up and coming stage plus DJ sets
Other acts confirmed to appear include Warmduscher, The Chameleons, The Blinders, The LovelyEggs, Spizz Energi, Imperial Wax, Just Mustard, Membranes, Evil Blizzard, Sink Ya Teeth, John, Heavy Lungs, We Are Not Devo, DSM IV, Bob Vylan, Billy NoMates, Witch Fever, Tokky Horror, Pozi, Crows, St Agnes, LibraLibra, Courting, Crawlers and Joe & Shitboys, with many more to be announced.
Tickets are Early Bird £80 for the weekend from See Tickets HERE:
£20 deposit scheme and four payments scheme in place
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