The Fat Angel Sings

Jeff Tweedy with nods to London Greats Over Two Nights at Islington Assembly Hall, Debuts The Clash, Brian Eno, T. Rex, The Kinks and More Covers , Over the weekend, Jeff Tweedy took his current Solo Tour, which supports the September release of his new triple album, “Twilight Override”, to Islington Assembly Hall in London.

During the two-night stand, which took place on Friday, Feb. 20th, and Saturday, Feb. 21st, the formidable lyricist stacked his main frames with originals before finding pockets for debuts during the encores–takes on pieces by Richard & Linda Thompson, Brian Eno, T. Rex, The Kinks, and The Clash. Notably, all the musicians covered during the debuts were English acts. 

During Tweedy’s initial London encore, played Friday, Feb. 20th, he reverted to his own “Warmer” cut, “Family Ghost,” before the arrival of the weekend’s initial debut, a take on husband and wife duo Richard & Linda Thompson’s 1974-released, critically snubbed “I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight.” The musician kept up the speed by administering his first-ever take on Eno’s “Needles in the Camel’s Eye,” the opening number off the original artist’s 1973 debut LP, “Here Come The Warm Jets”. 

Similarly, during Tweedy’s return to the Islington Assembly Hall on Saturday, Feb. 21st, he continued with first-time plays. Rather than stick to two debuts, he expanded his concert capacity to three, beginning with T. Rex’s “Children of the Revolution.” Played consecutively, Tweedy went with The Kinks’ “The Time Tomorrow” while continuing his cycle through debuts. This move ultimately led to a rendition of The Clash’s “London Calling” during the locational fitting finale. 

Courtney Barnett releases her fourth studio album “Creature Of Habit” “including single ‘Site Unseen featuring Waxahatchee. which leads her highly-anticipated fourth studio album, due out in March. 

Due for release on March 27th via Fiction Records, “Creature of Habit” marks a decisive new chapter in the Grammy-nominated Australian singer-songwriter’s musical evolution. According to the announcement, it’s a “bold, emotionally resonant record” that explores a central question: how to get out of your own way so you can truly feel your life.

Written in the wake of a relocation from Australia to Los Angeles, and the closure of her long-running label Milk! Records, Barnett was grappling with changes that put the future of both her life and career in question. Rather than internalising those feelings, she decided to bring the confusion directly into the recording process.

Her new single “Site Unseen” evokes the emotions that have drawn her listeners in since the very beginning. The song’s sentiments testify to the messages of openness and acceptance of change that are woven through “Creature of Habit”.

The track also holds particular personal significance to Barnett, because it features harmonies from one of her
favourite singers – Katie Crutchfield of Waxahatchee. It is also accompanied by a brilliantly droll music video, 

“I tried three separate times over two years to track this song, and each time it either wasn’t finished or didn’t sound right and each time we had to start again,” Barnett recalled.

“Creature of Habit” marks a decisive new chapter in Courtney Barnett’s musical evolution. It’s a bold, emotionally resonant record that explores the central question: how to get out of your own way so you can truly feel your life. Rather than internalizing those feelings, she decided to bring all this swirling confusion directly into the recording process.

“I kept hearing this really high harmony in my head, so for the fourth and final version, I asked Katie if she’d be into singing it with me. I’m a big Waxahatchee fan. I really love Katie’s songwriting and her voice, so it was an honour to have her sing on ‘Site Unseen’.”

“Site Unseen” follows the first single of Barnett’s new era, “Stay in Your Lane”, which she released in October last year.

The song is brimming with a ferocious rhythm section and raucous guitar riffage, and features her signature evocative lyricism. Following its release, Barnett delivered an electric performance of the single on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

Courtney Barnett’s “Site Unseen” is out now, 

The punk rockers have announced a special edition vinyl and CD of their first two EPs, “Giddy Up” (2016) and “Big Attraction” (2017), which will be released on May 22nd via Virgin Music Group.

“Ten years ago, in a sharehouse on Chapel Street, four 20-year-olds with zero expectations wrote and recorded an EP in a single afternoon. Those six blistering minutes of music became “Giddy Up“. An hour later, Amyl and the Sniffers had a name, a Bandcamp upload, and the beginnings of a legacy,” a press release states.

“Following a year of backyard gigs, playing for friends and partying across Melbourne’s sticky carpet music scene, the band released their iconic second EP “Big Attraction” in 2017.

“Now, to celebrate a decade of raw power and reckless spirit, “Giddy Up/Big Attraction” returns in a definitive 10th anniversary 12-inch vinyl edition — fully remastered for maximum punch. Featuring early classics like ‘I’m Not a Loser’ and ‘Stole My Pushbike’, plus enduring live favourites ‘Balaclava Lover Boogie’ and ‘Westgate’ this is the sound of Amyl and the Sniffers before the world caught up — feral, funny, and unstoppable.”

Frontwoman Amy Taylor recalls: “We recorded and wrote over the afternoon… we’d never played together before that day… it’s spontaneous, and fun and achievable in that time because to us it sounded more than good and we weren’t perfectionists and it didn’t matter.”

The special LP comes in a gatefold sleeve showcasing Chris Sutherland’s iconic 2017 band photo, alongside an exclusive new essay from Taylor as well as some never-before-seen behind-the-scenes shots from the band’s earliest days by Jamie Wdziekonski.

Amyl and the Sniffers’ “Giddy Up/Big Attraction” LP is out Friday, May 22nd via Virgin Music Group 

This week, Pulp shared a new song, “Begging for Change.” It’s the fourth single from “HELP(2)“, the ambitious new charity album to benefit War Child UK. It’s due out March 6th via War Child Records. The song features a backing choir that includes Damon Albarn (of Blur and Gorillaz), Grian Chatten (of Fontaines D.C.), Kae Tempest, and Carl Barat (of The Libertines).

Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker had this to say about the song in a press release: “Thirty years ago we gave our Mercury Prize (and the prize money) to War Child. This year we have given more. How much more? You’ll have to wait and see..”

Pulp won the Mercury Prize for their classic 1995 album, “Different Class”.

Cocker took part in our 2025 Protest Issue and his sign read “I’m Begging for Change.” Perhaps he already had this song written or in mind when he wrote that sign.

Pulp released More, their first new album in 24 years, last year via Rough Trade. It was one of our recommended Albums of 2025.

The basic tracks for “Begging for Change” were recorded during the “More” sessions, but the song remained unfinished until the HELP(2) sessions at Abbey Road Studios.

“MTV Unplugged” finds Dylan recasting 11 of his old songs, both famous and obscure. The most obvious example of how Dylan can transform his own songs is his new rendering of “The Times They Are A-Changin’.” When he first recorded it for the ’64 album of the same name, the song was a clarion call to action, a triumphant promise that better times were just around the corner. When he performed it for MTV, it became a dirge-like march, a prophet’s dire warning that the world is going down the tubes in a hurry. The new version opens with weepy dobro and funereal organ, and Dylan’s slowed-down, low moan gives an entirely different spin to such phrases as “The line it is drawn, the curse it is cast,” or “Your sons and your daughters are beyond your command.” 

Bob Dylan’s Classic MTV taping from 1995 featuring the standards “The Times They Are A-Changin'” and “Like a Rolling Stone.” Also included “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door,” “All Along the Watchtower,” “Rainy Day Women # 12 and 35,” plus “Dignity” that had just been released on his Greatest Hits Vol. 3 that previous November, as well as “John Brown,” a powerful antiwar song from 1963 + “Love Minus Zero / No Limit” which wasn’t available on the original release.

Jon Anderson has announced shows for his 2026 tour with the Band Geeks. The nine dates, consisting of seven in the U.K. and two in Sweden, follow a series of concerts in the U.S. that were previously announced for this spring. The U.K. shows will be Anderson’s first performances in his home country since a one-show appearance with the Rock Academy in 2023. The tour is billed as “YES Epics, Classics, and More” and will feature songs recorded during his 40 years as the lead vocalist of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees. The show will also include songs from his 2024 album with the Band Geeks, 

“To be back home in the U.K. performing YES music with the Band Geeks, who are dedicated YES fans, is a dream come true for me,” said Anderson, one of the most recognizable voices in music,

The New York-based Band Geeks came to Anderson’s attention in 2023 and has led to a partnership that has already completed three highly successful U.S. tours with a fourth starting this April. They are currently in production for their second album to be released by Frontiers Music Srl. Anderson and the Band Geeks also released a live album, “Perpetual Change”, in 2025.

This live album is a snapshot of an unforgettable event, a rejuvenated artist which explores his musical roots with a band of young virtuoso musicians who are able to breathe new life in classic songs that truly need no introduction to the fans!

Sep 15- Birmingham, UK – Symphony Hall
Sep 17- Bath, UK – Forum
Sep 20- London, UK- Palladium
Sep 22- Liverpool, UK- Philharmonic
Sep 26- Manchester, UK- Opera House
Sep 28- Glasgow, UK – Royal Concert Hall
Oct 01- Gateshead, UK- Glasshouse

Formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in the mid-1980s, the Beggar Weeds were a trio who chased the offbeat—driving miles out of their way on tour to visit strange museums and roadside oddities. Their music reflected that same fascination with the eccentric: a jangly mix of R.E.M., the almost-falling-apart-ness of the Replacements, and the rumbling melodicism of Hüsker Dü, filtered through Southern folk and punk grit. Their lone 1988 EP, “Sure Pants A lot”, captured their raw, fast, and fiercely melodic sound—equal parts humour, heartbreak, and rural storytelling.

Michael Stipe of R.E.M. became an early fan, co-producing unreleased sessions that now appear on their career retrospective “Tragedy in U.S. History“, out February 20th, 2026 via Strolling Bones Records. Their inclusion marks the first time these songs have been officially compiled, making the release a crucial document of Southern indie rock.

From the album “Tragedy in U.S. History” out February 20, 2026 on Strolling Bones Records

The experience of Youth Lagoon’s latest album, “Rarely Do I Dream“, embraces sentimentality and memory, but the project is not gobsmacked by melancholy. Rather, it’s a collection of music filled with kind self-reflection and hopeful imagination, as Trevor Powers approaches the totality of life through small, digitized and grainy moments, showcasing and scattering them across irresistible melodies and buttery piano leads propelled by infectious drumming. The field recordings of him and his family, including his brother Bobby, become a compositional element and ground the surreal character portrayals in vibrant snapshots of childhood, forming the foundation for Powers to, once again, reinvent Youth Lagoon.

Above the found audio lies Powers’ most sonically diverse album to date, injecting the smooth atmosphere of 2023’s “Heaven Is a Junkyard” with fuzzy synthesizers, reverb-drenched guitar leads and infinitely groovy basslines. “Heaven Is a Junkyard” was a fresh return to Youth Lagoon after Powers had abandoned the project, replacing lo-fi bedroom pop with crystal clear percussion—drums, bass and serene piano layers floating atop every song. It’s a wonderful listen that lives forever in its pillowy atmosphere, whereas “Rarely Do I Dream” changes channels almost every song, flipping a switch to a new scene. 

The Black Keys “Peaches!” is the Akron duo’s fourteenth studio album (their sixth since 2019), a visceral and raw 10-song collection described by singer Dan Auerbach as the band’s “most natural record” since their 2002 debut, The Big Come Up. In similar DIY spirit, the album was recorded with all musicians playing in the same room with few overdubs, and is the first record mixed entirely by the band themselves since 2006’s Magic Potion. The songs chosen reflect Auerbach and bandmate Patrick Carney’s obsessive record-collecting habit, which in recent years has escalated into an ongoing series of Record Hang DJ-set dance parties where they spin vintage 45s for packed, high-energy dancefloors in the coolest spots across the globe.

The cover art for Peaches! is based around an iconic image from Memphis-born photographer, William Eggleston, and marks the return of Patrick’s brother, Michael Carney, overseeing the art direction.

The Sherlocks are a British indie/alternative band hailing from Bolton upon Dearne, Barnsley, South Yorkshire. With their catchy melodies and energetic performances, they have gained a loyal following in the music scene. Known for their distinctive sound and heartfelt lyrics, The Sherlocks continue to captivate audiences with their unique blend of indie rock and alternative music.

Formed in 2010 the band consists of brothers, Kiaran & Brandon Crook along with Alex Procter & Trent Jackson. . They first gained recognition with their debut single which received widespread acclaim. Since then, The Sherlocks have released several successful albums including “Everything Must Make Sense” being the last.

With their infectious energy and captivating stage presence, The Sherlocks have become known for delivering unforgettable live performances. Their passion for music shines through in every song they create, making them a must-see act for any music lover.

“In Your Hands” is the brand new single from The Sherlocks.