Venn are cultivating some of the UK’s most vital punk rock and alternative sounds with Bob Vylan and Split Dogs. You can also add Aerial Salad to that list of must-own records, and they’ve followed up last year’s album with this vital EP containing five stunning tracks. Sure, they’ve not reinvented the wheel here, but they’ve doused it in petrol and rolled it down a hill. From the opening ‘King Of The Grass’ you just know they’ve hit the jackpot here with a stunning, snotty, loud dose of music that jabs you in the chest and doesn’t relent for its duration.
Following on from last years acclaimed ‘R.O.I.’ album, Manchester’s favourite sons Aerial Salad have been playing on the continent a lot lately so felt inspired, ‘King of The Grass’ is about the band’s bassist Mike Wimbo who works for Rochdale council on the greens team, which means he spends his life in the pouring rain chopping down overgrown hedges and mowing lawns and what a fitting tribute it is too kicking off this EP. Vibrant and grows on you like a weed, something I’m sure Mike would have a remedy for. Elsewhere on the EP, ‘Inject Your Blood’ is another romantic love song inspired by the TV series ‘True Blood’ (“I’d inject your blood, into mine just to feel you close”), not at all creepy. ‘Wires’ rages against the world of AI and GPT.
‘My Girl’ is a rapid charge to the finish line full of chaotic energy and a catchy melody guaranteed to set your day up right. Hopefully, this is the shape of what’s to come from the Salad boys, and on this evidence alone, punk rock is in rude health and good hands. Do yourself a favour and invest in this EP and keep Mike off the verges and borders of Rochdale and in the studio and on tour, you know it’s right. Buy IT!
RPM Online originally reviewed the 3 CD version of the eLemmy sessions that was released on 3 CDs however fast forward a couple of years and the good people at Cadiz have only gone and pressed the bugger onto a pair of gold and black vinyl records. Check out what our maestro of old school metal has to say about the Lemmy sessions.
Hot on the heels of the excellent 2021 released ‘Songbook Of Filth’ 3CD set (you can read RPM’s review – HERE), where HNE provided a comprehensive history lesson in all things Warfare and their main man, Evo. Here they take a deep dive into the band’s second album, uncovering the “long lost” original rough mix that Lemmy undertook prior to the final mix-down, with the 9 tracks also in the intended album running order.
As with pretty much everything Warfare ever do though this release comes complete with a warning, and whilst this time around it isn’t regarding profanity or a possible health and safety issue what it does involve is the fact that the ‘Lemmy Sessions’ recordings do come from the original cassette, so its complete with the inevitable tape drop outs that were only to common almost 4 decades ago. To put this into context, think about what would have been considered something akin to a soundboard recording back in the halcyon days of tape trading, and that is really what you are getting here.
Of course, playing the original rough mixes alongside the finished album, which is polished up is always going to show the recordings up for what they are, rough mixes, but as a collector’s curio, they are most certainly well worth a listen, as is of course the finished album. Which, on playing again here, I still can’t help but wonder what might have been if the band’s superb ‘Pure Filth’ debut had received the production that Lemmy afforded ‘Metal Anarchy’.
Right, I’m off to dig out my Metal City VHS for a long overdue watch (Google it if you are wondering what the hell I’m on about) as this set has really got me in the mood for some proper ‘Metal Anarchy’.
Listen to new double A-side single ‘Playing With Fire’ / ‘ELF’ HERE
Black / Red set for release on 5th April 2024 on Big Teeth Music via Townsend Music / Absolute Label Services
UK headline tour dates also announced for March 2024
pic: Steve Gullick
‘ELF’, which lead singer and guitarist Grant Nicholas describes as “a call to arms”, and ‘Playing With Fire’s “roller coaster ride of self-discovery”, reaffirm the band’s knack for sticky melodies and livewire riffs. Songs across Black / Red carry with them the same sense of wide-open space, freedom and possibility, aligned with an optimistic energy that first lit the fuse for Torpedo. Cohesive and connected rather than a concept, Black / Red is a continuation of Torpedo’s conversation but at the same time a full stop on a prolific songwriting period that encapsulates a very specific moment in time for the band. Feeder’s first ever double album became the perfect way for them to not only realise what these songs mean together in the present day, but also to show the breadth of a sound they’ve honed across the decades, taking in muscular riffs, sky-scraping melodies and heartfelt sentiment.
Vocalist, guitarist and writer Grant Nicholas expands on the new album:
“I really wanted the album to be split in two parts for the listener, CD1 and CD2, black and red rather than be one long player, almost like a musical production with an interval. Making it was a very creative time for me as a writer and a real labour of love. Making the Black / Red album for me personally was a musical pilgrimage and I feel the end result is undeniable Feeder.”
Black / Red is released on 5th April 2024 and will be available on digital, CD and vinyl. Pre-order here.
Feeder UK tour dates 2024
02 March – Junction, Cambridge, UK 03 March – De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill, UK 05 March – Guildhall, Portsmouth, UK 06 March – The Foundry, Torquay, UK 08 March – O2 Academy, Bristol, UK 09 March – Great Hall, Cardiff, UK 11 March – O2 Academy, Oxford, UK 14 March – Engine Shed, Lincoln, UK 16 March – O2 Institute, Birmingham, UK 17 March – O2 Academy, Liverpool, UK 19 March – Barbican, York, UK 20 March – Albert Hall, Manchester, UK 22 March – Boiler Shop, Newcastle, UK 23 March – Barrowland, Glasgow, UK 25 March – Rock City, Nottingham, UK 26 March – Leadmill, Sheffield, UK 28 March – Roundhouse, London, UK
Ash will be playing a week-long run of instore / outstore live shows as Race The Night is released. The shows will combine Q&As, acoustic sets and signings, as well as a special show at Pryzm Kingston, at which the band will play tracks from the new album fully electric for the first time. Full details are below and tickets are available here.
Ash – Race The Night album instore / outstore tour 2023
Fri 15th Sept | HMV @ Oh Yeah Music Centre Belfast (8pm) Sat 16th Sept | Assai Glasgow (2pm) Sat 16th Sept | Assai Edinburgh (7pm) Sun 17th Sept | Jumbo Records Leeds (2pm) Sun 17th | Jacaranda Records @ Cavern Club Liverpool (9pm) – NEW SHOW ADDED Mon 18th Sept | Banquet Records Kingston @ Pryzm (7pm) Tue 19th Sept | Rough Trade Bristol (6.30pm) Wed 20th Sept | Rough Trade East London (7pm) – SOLD OUT Thu 21st Sept | Tower Records Dublin (7pm)
Ash are revealing another glimpse into what their forthcoming album ‘Race The Night’ holds. New single ‘Usual Places’ received its airplay debut from Steve Lamacq on BBC 6 Music.
‘Usual Places’ arrives on the heels of recent new album cuts ‘Race The Night’ and ‘Like A God’, stoking anticipation for a record that promises to be super-charged, widescreen and with melodies to spare. Already winning consistent support across BBC 6 Music, BBC Radio 2 and Absolute Radio, these new songs bring with them what lead singer and guitarist Tim Wheeler describes as “the sound of the band reveling in the sheer joy of being a band after being separated by time and distance through the insanity of the early 2020s.”
‘Usual Places’ was written as testimony to lives forever changed during the time before they were able to reunite and work on new music. Three and a half minutes of brisk power pop set a buoyant backdrop to its longing for all that was lost.
Wheeler comments: “Originally written as a tribute to long forgotten bars and faces as I was leaving New York, ‘Usual Places’ took on extra significance as the first thing we worked on together post-lockdown. Below the surface of the joy of writing and playing together again, there’s a subconscious grief to all that was lost in those years. Friends and family, pubs and venues. This is our eulogy to them all. No coincidence the video was shot in the Marquis of Lorne, just a walk from Brixton Academy.”
New album Race The Night will be released on 15th September 2023 via one of their earliest label homes Fierce Panda. UK pre-orders are live now here. Race The Night is available across gatefold vinyl, CD, cassette and ltd edition vinyl formats. A limited-edition Amazon exclusive CD with an extended version of recent single ‘Like A God’, packaged with alternative artwork, can be pre-ordered here.
Ash will also be taking Race The Night on tour through the UK and Europe before the year is out, on a co-headline run with The Subways. Tickets are on sale now here.
Ash x The Subways UK / EU tour dates 2023
Sat 30 Sept – De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill, UK Sun 01 Oct – Marble Factory, Bristol, UK Tue 03 Oct – Rock City, Nottingham, UK Wed 04 Oct – Barrowland, Glasgow, UK Thu 05 Oct – Leeds Beckett SU, Leeds, UK Sat 07 Oct – NX, Newcastle, UK Mon 09 Oct – The Academy, Dublin, IE Tue 10 Oct – O2 Ritz, Manchester, UK Wed 11 Oct – O2 Kentish Town Forum, London, UK Sun 19 Nov – De Helling, Utrecht, NL Mon 20 Nov – Das Bett, Frankfurt, DE Tue 21 Nov – Bürgerhaus Stollwerck, Cologne, DE Thu 23 Nov – Faust, Hannover, DE Fri 24 Nov – Plan B, Malmo, SE Sat 25 Nov – Beta, Copenhagen, DK Mon 27 Nov – Rockefeller, Oslo, NO Tue 28 Nov – Debaser, Stockholm, SE Thu 30 Nov – Kesselhaus, Berlin, DE Fri 01 Dec – Beatpol, Dresden, DE Sat 02 Dec – Lucerna Music Bar, Prague, CZ Mon 04 Dec – PPC, Graz, AT Wed 06 Dec – Plaza Klub, Zurich, CH Thu 07 Dec – Technikum, Munich, DE Fri 08 Dec – Im Wizemann, Stuttgart, DE Sun 10 Dec – Botanique, Brussels, BE Mon 11 Dec – Le Petit Bain, Paris, FR
Ash release details of their ‘Like A God’ single from the album ‘Race the night’ released 15th Sept 2023 Via Fierce Panda
pic : Steve Gullick
Brand-new single from their forthcoming album Race The Night. ‘Like A God’ is the follow-up to last month’s lead single and album title-track ‘Race The Night’, which heralded anticipation for a record that promises to be super-charged, widescreen and with melodies to spare. It won instant support across BBC 6 Music, BBC Radio 2 and Absolute Radio, bringing with it what lead singer and guitarist Tim Wheeler described as “the sound of the band reveling in the sheer joy of being a band after being separated by time and distance through the insanity of the early 2020s.”
‘Like A God’ comes on fast as muscular riffing beats a path to its wild and raucous end. Wheeler comments: “Like A God pushes the rock aspect of the album to its furtherest limits. An ode to sexual apotheosis it revels in a carnal riff played with mantra like repetition before reaching a frenzied climax.”
New album Race The Night will be released on 15th September 2023 via one of their earliest label homes Fierce Panda. UK pre-orders are live now here. Race The Night is available across gatefold vinyl, CD, cassette and ltd edition vinyl formats.
An extended version of ‘Like A God’ will be included on a limited edition Amazon exclusive CD which is packaged with alternative artwork. Pre-order from Amazon here.
Hear new single ‘Like A God’ on streaming services here and watch the video below.
Ash will also be taking Race The Night on tour through the UK and Europe before the year is out, on a co-headline run with The Subways. Tickets are on sale now here.
Ash x The Subways UK / EU tour dates 2023
Sat 30 Sept – De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill, UK Sun 01 Oct – Marble Factory, Bristol, UK Tue 03 Oct – Rock City, Nottingham, UK Wed 04 Oct – Barrowland, Glasgow, UK Thu 05 Oct – Leeds Beckett SU, Leeds, UK Sat 07 Oct – NX, Newcastle, UK Mon 09 Oct – The Academy, Dublin, IE Tue 10 Oct – O2 Ritz, Manchester, UK Wed 11 Oct – O2 Kentish Town Forum, London, UK Sun 19 Nov – De Helling, Utrecht, NL Mon 20 Nov – Das Bett, Frankfurt, DE Tue 21 Nov – Bürgerhaus Stollwerck, Cologne, DE Thu 23 Nov – Faust, Hannover, DE Fri 24 Nov – Plan B, Malmo, SE Sat 25 Nov – Beta, Copenhagen, DK Mon 27 Nov – Rockefeller, Oslo, NO Tue 28 Nov – Debaser, Stockholm, SE Thu 30 Nov – Kesselhaus, Berlin, DE Fri 01 Dec – Beatpol, Dresden, DE Sat 02 Dec – Lucerna Music Bar, Prague, CZ Mon 04 Dec – PPC, Graz, AT Wed 06 Dec – Plaza Klub, Zurich, CH Thu 07 Dec – Technikum, Munich, DE Fri 08 Dec – Im Wizemann, Stuttgart, DE Sun 10 Dec – Botanique, Brussels, BE Mon 11 Dec – Le Petit Bain, Paris, FR
OFF! ANNOUNCE FREE LSD, THEIR FIRST ALBUM IN EIGHT YEARS
PUNK SUPERGROUP WITH MEMBERS OF CIRCLE JERKS, THUNDERCAT, …AND YOU WILL KNOW US BY THE TRAIL OF DEAD, AND MORE TO UNLEASH FREE LSD VIA FAT POSSUM ON 30TH SEPT, PRE-ORDER NOW
OFF!, the punk think tank helmed by Keith Morris (ex-Black Flag, Circle Jerks) and Dimitri Coats (ex-Burning Brides), have just announced that their first new full-length in eight years is slated for a 30th September release from Fat Possum, followed by a full tour of the US (see full dates below). FREE LSD effectively hits reset on the band, as the injection of new energy into their signature high-anxiety sound bonfires via new drummer Justin Brown (Thundercat, Flying Lotus, Herbie Hancock) and bassist AutryFulbright II (…And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead) pushes the concept of punk into another frenetic dimension. The effect is palpable and volatile, adding a new swing to the music’s incendiary thrust; perhaps most evident on album cornerstone “War Above Los Angeles,” shared today alongside a cinematic music video starring David Yow (Jesus Lizard), Don Nguyn, Chloe Dykstra, James Duval, D.H. Peligro (Dead Kennedys), and more.
While the new lineup brings an experimental flair to the table, catapulting their subterranean howl into the orbit of Sun Ra and The Stooges by way of Coats imbibing a number of songs with layers of electronics amid explosions of percussive virtuosity from Brown and bursts of guest saxophone from Jon Wahl (Claw Hammer), Morris sounds timeless as ever, unleashing torrents of no-nonsense screeds across 90 second furnace blasts like “Kill To Be Heard.” Speaking on the album’s distinctly revitalised sound, Morris states: “After making music for as long as I have, it was time to use a palette that includes lime green, turquoise, and magenta instead of the typical colours and shades that were involved in all of the other breakneck and car chase scenarios. Miles Davis with Herbie Hancock and the Headhunters as opposed to Milo Goes to College.”
The “War Above Los Angeles” video offers the first taste of the project’s broader multimedia ambitions: over the past couple of months the band has been shooting and editing a feature film, FREE LSDto accompany the record. Coats explains,“Since thinking of the album as a soundtrack to a weird sci-fi movie gave us permission to experiment, and the film explains, in a fantastical way, the creation of the album, they both go hand in hand as an overall art project.” OFF! is supercharged for takeoff in what has now been confirmed as humanity’s new year zero.
OFF!, the punk brain trust formed in 2010 by Keith Morris (ex-Black Flag, Circle Jerks) and Dimitri Coats (ex-Burning Brides), recently announced they’d signed to the meticulously curated indie powerhouse Fat Possum for both future releases and back catalogue reissues. Details of the latter have just surfaced, with vinyl reissues of the band’s acclaimed first three albums set for release in late July. Comprising deluxe colored vinyl editions of 2010’s First Four EPs (available for the first time ever on LP format, replete with gatefold sleeve), 2012’s OFF!, and 2014’s Wasted Years, the reissuesare available for pre order now.
Recently OFF! unveiled their first new recording in seven years: a cover of Metallica’s “Holier Than Thou” that marked the debut of their powerful new rhythm section: bassist Autry Fulbright II (…And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead) and drummer Justin Brown (Thundercat, Herbie Hancock). The injection of new energy into the band’s signature high-anxiety hardcore adds a potent swing to the trademark incendiary thrust. The band are currently working on a plethora of projects, including their first studio album with the new lineup and their long-gestating feature film Free LSD. More to come soon.
Feeder announce new album ‘Torpedo’, along with its title track. ‘Torpedo’ is due for release on March 18th via Big Teeth Music. you can Listen to “Torpedo” here.
The celebrated, multi-platinum-selling, rock band Feeder have hit a resurgent run of three consecutive UK Top 10 albums with 2016’s All Bright Electric, the 2017 Best Of, and 2019’s Tallulah. Looking ahead to 2022, it is with some momentum that the band will release new album Torpedo into the world.
Momentum has been something in short supply for many artists over the last 18 months. For Feeder, the ensuing numbness of early-stage lockdowns inevitably led to an uncharacteristically uninspired period for the band and songwriter Grant Nicholas. Feeder, however, have always been masters of marrying the light and the dark – illuminating the shadowy corners of their world to uncover something poignant and uplifting – meaning it was not long before conditions became a perfect storm for inspiration’s lightning to strike, and two albums’ worth of music materialised.
New track “Torpedo” arrives in a flurry of heavy and direct guitars, which are soon joined by an out-of-nowhere chorus delivered in glorious technicolour. It takes its power from hope and optimism, Nicholas’ vocals breaking through the heaviness like a streak of sunlight cracking through a leaden sky. It is a song about bringing your world back into focus again, as he elaborates below.
“After the frustration of not being able to perform live I really wanted to come back with a bang and a classic heavier but melodic Feeder song. All the emotion and frustration just caused a creative wave. Dynamically and musically Torpedo felt like the obvious choice for us to drop first. The chorus has a thread of positivity that brings light to the darker verses.
We are really looking forward to going out on the road again and playing the new album material. This will be the heaviest Feeder set we’ve played in a while so can’t wait. We may revisit some heavier old school Feeder classics also and touch on some Renegades and All Bright electric stuff.”
Torpedo will be available on digital, CD and vinyl. Pre-order here.
Listen to “Torpedo” on DSPs here and watch the lyric video below.
Torpedo tour 2022
April
23 Bexhill, De La Warr Pavilion
24 Oxford, Academy
26 Southampton, Guildhall
27 Bristol, Academy
29 Manchester, Academy
30 Glasgow, Barrowlands
May
02 Newcastle, University
03 Nottingham, Rock City
05 Birmingham, Institute
06 London, Brixton Academy
DANGEREENS – ‘Streets Of Doom’ (Golden Robot Records) After recently signing a global record deal with Golden Robot Records, Montreal glitter punk outfit DANGEREENS will release their first single through the label, ‘Streets of Doom’! Out on the 26th of July, the single will be available on all digital platforms.
Dubbed the most elegantly decadent rock n’ roll unit of the 21st century, DANGEREENS’ upcoming single ‘Streets of Doom’ takes you back to the glory days of 70’s glitter rock. One listen and the influences will come pouring out and transport you back into one of the finest ever rock eras!
‘Streets of Doom’ is a contemporary, deadbeat take on a Homeresque tragedy, describing the thoughts and feelings of a hopelessly in love drug dealer. The song is built on a straight 4/4 throbbing rhythm section with syncopated accents, and features take-no-prisoner, oversaturated fuzzed-out guitars, and careless, snarly vocals.
Pat Todd & The Rankoutsiders – ‘ You Might Be Through With The Past, But The Past Ain’t Through With You’ / ‘Ruby Baby’ (Heavy Medication Records) Another out and out rocker from the wonderful Pat Todd and his Rank Outsiders. With a howling good time harmonica from the kick-off, this is just a stomping old-time rocker with some smart solo and a Pat spitting out the words hell yeah! Flip it over and ‘Ruby Baby’ is a twelve-bar boogie it’s like Todd fronting the best of the Georgia Sats and Them Scorchers. What’s not to like?
Dirty Fences – ‘Inside Out’ (Self Release) Rapid like a Gatlin gun firing power-pop bullets all over the shop. ‘Inside Out’ is punchy with a big sloppy chorus. As the New Yorkers get down to business – the Buzzcocks like ‘Broken Saddle So’ lets the listener have it in spades. This band has never released a bad track and this seven-inch is another two gems. Check it out here
Dez Dare – ‘My My Medulla’ (Ch!mp Records) Australian-born, Brighton-based musician (otherwise known as Darren Smallman!) has a new single out today called ‘My My Medulla’, lifted from the new album ‘Hairline Ego Trip’ out now on Ch!mp Records. Dez can turn in a decent tune to be fair as this one deals with the autism that Darren has grown up with.
“Being Autistic I have always struggled to communicate with the people around me, feeling a physical barrier nearly like a wall of distortion in between me and the world,” explains Darren. “This song looks at the struggle to find clarity with the ones you love and the force it takes to include yourself in the world outside your mind.” Knowing the struggle of someone on the spectrum all too well I love seeing and hearing people like Dez achieve what he’s already managed.
Clowns – ‘Sarah’ (Fat Wreck Chords) another day another banger from Australia’s finest – Clowns. The second track to be lifted from their new album (due later this year) this is another earworm that will burrow down and delight you when you least expect it or if you are already familiar with the band then you know what to expect. Awesome stuff.
2020 rings in the 20th anniversary of Placebo’s beloved third album Black Market Music. To celebrate, the band has completed filming of a four-part video-series – “Black Market Music Stories” – which sees bassist Stef visit treasured locations and walk viewers through the writing, recording, touring, and personal stories, that would shape the conception of the album. Featuring new and archive footage, it includes interviews with the people who were key to bringing the album into the world – producers, singers and other collaborators, managers and more offer their memories of the time. Episode 1 is available to watch now below. Subscribe to the series in full HERE.
The band comments: “With our chests out, riding high on the success of our second album, we entered the studio to record Black Market Music. We were full of bravado and confidence and proceeded to create our most visceral, dark and poppy collection of songs to date. Here’s a humble nod to its 20th birthday.”
Black Market Music came together as the band saw their notoriety swelling exponentially in the wake of breakout successes with their self-titled debut, and the follow-up Without You I’m Nothing. Reaching #6 in the Official UK Album Charts and spawning the singles “Taste in Men”, “Slave to the Wage”, “Special K” and “Black-Eyed”, it is a record that by the band’s own admission was created during the height of their “party phase”.
Black Market Music was also released into a new world, one in which mainstream chart interest was moving away from late-era grunge and instead setting its gaze on rap-rock and nu-metal, genres that the album resultingly put in its cross-hairs as it rallied against the macho – and sometimes misogynistic and homophobic – image of the scene. The introduction of hip-hop MC Justin Warfield to “Spite & Malice” was done in-part to show that the style needn’t be constantly draped in aggression.
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