The Fat Angel Sings

“Country Joe” McDonald, who fronted the band Country Joe and the Fish and became an emblem of the 1960s antiwar counterculture through a prominent appearance at the Woodstock festival, died Saturday at age 84.

The singer, born Joseph Allen McDonald, died of Parkinson’s in Berkeley, according to a statement on the group’s social media and reported sources close to his wife.

McDonald’s best known song was “I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-to-Die Rag,” a Vietnam protest song he performed at the 1969 Woodstock Festival. The performance included the infamous call-and-response “Fish Cheer,” which had the audience spelling out the F-word at McDonald’s behest.

Born on January 1st, 1942, in Washington, D.C., McDonald grew up in El Monte, California, where he played trombone with dance bands on the weekends. He joined the Navy as a teenager — serving from 1959 to 1962 — before returning to L.A. to attend state college. He moved to the Bay area in 1965, where he co-founded Country Joe and the Fish with guitarist Barry Melton in Berkeley.

“It was suggested that the group be called Country Mao and the Fish because Mao Tse-tung said that the revolutionaries move like fish through the sea, and I said that was stupid,” he told the website Classic Bands. “It was suggested that we call it Country Joe and the Fish after Joseph Stalin.” Although, of course, he was the true “Joe” of the group’s moniker, the connection was not a big stretch: his communist parents had named him after Stalin.

The band released its debut album, “Electric Music for the Mind and Body,” in 1967. It did not include “I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-to-Die Rag” or “The Fish Cheer,” apparently due to fears of censorship, although it did include protest songs like “Superbird,” which satirized President Lyndon Johnson. The more controversial material made it onto their second album.

Of his famous protest song, McDonald said, “The important thing about the ‘Fixin’ to Die Rag’ was that it had a new point of view that did not blame soldiers for war. It just blamed the politicians and it blamed the manufacturers of weapons. It didn’t blame the soldiers. Someone who was in the military could sing the song, and the attitude is, ‘Whoopee, we’re all going to die.’ Most peace songs of the era blamed the soldiers for the war.”

Some of the Woodstock audience was already primed to join in on chanting “The Fish Cheer,” which had picked up notoriety after McDonald was charged with inciting lewd behavior for its appearance in a Massachusetts performance.

McDonald explained the group’s origins: “I moved to Berkeley in the summer of 1965, after the Free Speech Movement. So I came up here from southern California and got miraculously tapped into the folk music thing that was happening here at that time. I met Barry Melton at the University of California folk festival, and we hit it off. I started playing a few of my songs, and he played lead guitar. We were a duo. Then I met some other people, and Ed Denson, Mike Beardslee and I started putting out a little magazine called Rag Baby… a biweekly that had music articles and schedules of things that were happening around town, music and dancing and events. It was mostly focused on folk music and the folk scene.”

Of “Fixin’-to-Die Rag,” he said, “The only reason I could write those lyrics was having grown up in a socialist family. My parents were members of the Communist Party when I was born, but later became disenchanted with them. And then they became part of the Progressive Party and the left socialist parties that were around. I read the leftist newspapers and I was familiar with the basic tenets of socialism about the industrial complex that generates war. So I was able to write lyrics about the warmakers that profit from war, and I was able to write a lyric from the point of view of the soldier because I had been in the military.”

Additionally, he said, “I felt disenchanted from my parents, in a way. As far as politics, we didn’t have a very good relationship, so it was easy for me to say: ‘Come on mothers throughout the land, pack your boys off to Vietnam.’ And that sarcasm was a really nice thing, and GIs love sarcasm.”

McDonald continued to write songs addressing environmental issues and civil rights, releasing dozens of solo records after Country Joe and the Fish disbanded in 1971.

Fifty years after writing his signature song in 1965, he sang it at an anti-nuclear protest at Livermore Laboratory on the 70th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima. 

In a 2016 interview, he said, “I find the concept of 50 years incomprehensible. But it’s indisputable because I have children and some of those children have children and I know that the math is right. And I just finished an album and the title of it is ’50’ because it’s 50 years since the first album. It’s called ‘Goodbye Blues.’ I didn’t die, so there you are. I’m still alive and I’m still doing something. Filling a need helps a lot, and it keeps me sane.”

He continued, “I grew up in a family of radical socialists, and quite honestly, I really get bored with the theory and speechifying of various movements and philosophies from the left. It doesn’t mean I don’t support them. But as an entertainer, I know that you can lose your audience. I’ve been doing this for a long, long time, and I consider myself a morale-booster for these causes. I don’t do it if I don’t support the cause and the ideas and the people that are doing it. It’s really quite remarkable what people are doing in many movements. I like to support these movements, because they are sometimes not mainstream and no one else is supporting them, and so I feel an obligation to do it. As an activist, I like to give a voice and to support people and movements that don’t have mainstream support and visibility. And I realize that my name has a certain notoriety and that my presence can be a morale-booster.”

Although complete information on his family was not immediately available, McDonald said in interviews that he had five children, and is known to be survived by his wife, Kathy.

“I’ve looked up to Mary Chapin Carpenter for half my life,” John Darnielle says of The Mountain Goats’ new pair of covers with Carpenter. “Getting to know her over the past few years has been such a pure pleasure, so when she asked about doing a split single where we pick songs to cover and help each other out on the effort, what could we say but ‘hell yes’? Mary Chapin picked a World Party song I’ve always loved, and I picked out a Christine Fellows song I can barely sing without crying. But I did it! Matt arranged it! This was a great joy for us, and I hope you dig it!”

The release features two beloved covers: “Put the Message in the Box,” by World Party, and “Migrations,” by Christine Fellows. Both tracks are available now digitally, and a limited-edition 7″ vinyl—pressed in both Tar and Clear variants—is available for pre-order in the MCC online store.

“John Darnielle and I have been friends for many years now, he’s been a dedicated correspondent and ally in all topics connected to song writing, recording, touring and the balancing act that a life involving these pursuits requires,” said Carpenter. “He also very kindly joined me in conversation on my podcast a few years back to talk about hope—what it means to him, what it looks like from where he stands, and the challenges of maintaining it in the times we are living in.

To have collaborated on these two favourite songs with John and the Mountain Goats has been a joy and a gift—joining our voices, singing these words from other favourite artists, and feeling the music deeply.”

“Put the Message In the Box” written by Karl Wallinger

released March 6th, 2026

San Francisco slowcore band Cindy have announced new album “Another Country” which will be out May via Tough Love. Say the band’s Karina Gill: “The title of this record, “Another Country“, refers to the James Baldwin novel of that name. The book has a kind of drama that makes sense to me. When I look around, the obvious explanations are not enough. The miasma of feelings and ideas that is supposed to account for it all, doesn’t.

Baldwin washes past that to longings that begin to explain. Cindy songs come out of the x-rays my particular brain makes out of what I see and experience. What you hear on this record is the result of collaboration with the members of Cindy that transforms that shadowy thing into full colour, fully fleshed.

Each of them, in music, is sure-footed and unblinking, and making this record together felt like, yes, yes, you see what I mean.” First single is a very pretty waltz-time slow dance.

Taken from the album, “Another Country”, out 1st May 2026 via Tough Love Records.

Jason V. Narducy is an American musician from Evanston, Illinois, After receiving a mandolin at the age of 7^] and his first guitar at age nine Narducy started his music career, playing guitar and writing songs for his punk rock band, Verboten. Verboten is credited as inspiring Dave Grohl to pursue music, Narducy is featured in the Foo Fighters HBO documentary Sonic Highways.

After college, he formed an acoustic duo with cellist Alison Chesley called Jason & Alison. They released the full-length album “Woodshed” in 1994. Jason & Alison became a four-piece rock band called Verbow in 1996, adding drums and bass. Narducy was lead singer, guitarist, and songwriter on Verbow’s two full-length albums released on Epic Records: “Chronicles” (1997) and “White Out” (2000).

Verbow went on hiatus in 2002. Narducy formed the band Rockets Over Sweden which released an EP in 2004 titled “Penny Coliseum”. Verbow celebrated the release of “Live At Schubas” in 2010 with a sold-out reunion show in Chicago.

In 2005, Narducy began touring with Bob Mould (Hüsker Dü, Sugar) as bassist and backing vocalist. Narducy has since joined Mould in the studio and performed on Mould’s last six albums: “Silver Age”, “Beauty & Ruin”, “Patch the Sky”, “Sunshine Rock”, “Blue Hearts”, and “Here We Go Crazy“.

In June, 2013, Narducy began touring with Superchunk, filling in for bassist Laura Ballance as she deals with hyperacusis. He also played bass and sang backing vocals with Robert Pollard (Guided By Voices), Boston Spaceships, Eddie Vedder, Liz Phair, and The Pretenders.

Narducy’s current solo project is Split Single. Split Single released its debut record, “Fragmented World”, April 2014 with Britt Daniel playing bass guitar and Jon Wurster on drums. 

In 2016, Split Single released its second album, “Metal Frames”, this time featuring Wurster and Wilco’s John Stirratt on bass. A third album, “Amplificado“, featuring Wurster and R.E.M.’s Mike Mills on bass and backing vocals, followed in 2021.

In 2022, Narducy announced that he would be touring with the band Sunny Day Real Estate on their reunion 2022 tour, playing guitar and providing backup vocals. In 2024, Narducy toured with Michael Shannon, performing R.E.M. songs including the “Murmur” album in its entirety.

In addition to “Murmur”, included all of REM’s debut EP, “Chronic Town“, a good chunk of Reckoning and then a smattering of songs from “Fables of the Reconstruction”, “Life’s Rich Pageant”, “Document”, “Out of Time“, a couple covers and more.

“It dumbfounds and delights me that we continue our crusade through this astounding catalogue of music from one of America’s most influential and unique bands,” Shannon says. “Now we find ourselves at a summit, we’re all pinching ourselves in disbelief to be so lucky. The most strange and beautiful adventure. Narducy adds: “I’m thrilled to join Michael and our band in celebrating the 40th anniversary of R.E.M.’s monumental fourth album. This impeccable collection of songs meant so much to me when I first heard them and they continue to inspire and invigorate me.”

Michael Shannon and Jason Narducy are on their third R.E.M. tribute tour, which this time out celebrates the 40th anniversary of “Lifes Rich Pageant”. around this time last year, when they were celebrating “Fables of the Reconstruction“, they had a very special guest on hand: R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe.

Before Stipe came out, Shannon, Narducy, and their band, which included Jon Wurster (drums), John Stirratt (bass), Dag Juhlin (guitar), and Vijay Tellis-Nayak (keyboards), played “Lifes Rich Pageant” in track order, then moving on to other songs from throughout R.E.M.’s discography. Before playing “Fireplace,” Shannon asked the crowd if they’d like them to do “Document” next year, and said they’d give them a sneak preview. Lance Bangs was also on hand to film the proceedings;

In related news, Jason Narducy will release a memoir, “Mostly The Van”, . “It is a collection of stories I wrote involving some of the peculiar, awkward, and sometimes inspiring moments in my music life,” Jason says. “For instance, I completely forgot lyrics for a live Blue Note Records recording at Green Mill, during COVID lockdown I played ‘House of the Rising Sun’ with a man on his 70th birthday in his driveway – his first time playing with another person in 48 years, I delivered ‘non-discriminatory’ pizza to a homophonic pizza restaurant in Indiana, I got lost in a Nazi bunker in Hamburg with Bob Mould, and many more odd tales, mostly from the band van.

Sprints have channelled “the frustration of a generation stuck in ‘wait mode’ while everything burns” on their new single ‘Trickle Down’ The new single follows their cover of Le Tigre‘s ‘Deceptacon’, which was their first release since their second album ‘All That Is Over’.

Over the ominous buzz of the guitar line, vocalist Karla Chubb mocks ideas of trickle down economics: “Has anyone tried to explain trickle down economics to you in a bar?/I’m just waiting, my whole life is waiting/I’m just waiting for pay but losing cents on inflation,” she says. Chubb even name checks Amyl and the Sniffers frontwoman Amy Taylor – “I think I wanna give up, I wanna be Amy Taylor.”

Later, she turns her attention to the state of current politics: “They’re calling it free speech, it’s free hate, racism disguised as nationalism/A home that’s a tax haven, house crisis, humanity crisis.”

“Trickle Down” is about watching systems fail in slow motion, housing crisis, rising costs, culture wars, climate collapse, and being told to stay patient,” the band said in a press release. “It’s the frustration of a generation stuck in ‘wait mode’ while everything burns.”

SPRINTS’ new single, “Trickle Down”, is out now on cityslang and subpop.

The Who will release thei- July 2023 orchestral performance at the Eden Project as a live album in May. The rock legends played at the Cornwall site with the Heart of England Philharmonic Orchestra three years ago, and now it has been revealed that fans will be able to buy it as a live album.

The Who’s “Live at Eden Project” album is a landmark live recording from their July 2023 performance at Cornwall’s Eden Project. The concert, backed by the Heart of England Philharmonic Orchestra,

Set within one of the UK’s most sustainable and visually striking venues – a breathtaking network of biomes nestled in the Cornish countryside – the concert stands as a testament not only to The Who’s musical evolution but also to their enduring cultural relevance.  The set showcased the band’s musical evolution and cultural relevance. The Eden Project’s natural acoustics  provided a warm, detailed sonic environment, offering a clarity and intimacy unmatched by  traditional stadium settings. 

The album includes a strong and focused setlist, balancing hits like “Baba O’Riley” and  “Pinball Wizard” with rarely performed gems such as “Cry If You Want,”  “Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere,” and “The Rock.” The album is available in various formats, including a 2-CD Digipak and a limited 3-LP gatefold edition pressed on recycled vinyl. 

The 24-track album has been previewed with ‘Pinball Wizard’,

Before then, the guitarist spoke about the possibility of more new music from The Who. “I don’t think there is. If there was a need or a place for a Who album, could I write the songs for it within six weeks? Of course I fucking could, it’s a piece of cake. The problem is, I don’t think Roger wants to do it again.”

Townshend recently reflected on The Who coming to an end, saying that he and Daltrey  “don’t communicate very well” and “have different needs as performers”. The musician also said the group were now “a Who tribute band”. It currently seems unlikely that there will be a final album from The Who. Townshend expressed his desire for the band to make another record last year, but said there was “a bit of a river to cross” in convincing Daltrey.

Vibrant, immersive, and uniquely alive, “Live at Eden Project” is the definitive document of The Who’s orchestral era – a recording that captures not only a legendary band in peak form but also the spirit of a venue whose environmental ethos and natural beauty mirror the band’s own commitment to evolution and innovation.

Curve were an English alternative rock and electronica duo from London, formed in 1990 and split in 2005. The band consisted of Toni Halliday (vocals, occasionally guitar) and Dean Garcia (bass, guitar, drums, programming)  Garcia had played bass guitar as part of Eurythmics’ live band in 1983–84 and on two of their studio albums. Halliday also wrote the lyrics to the songs and they both contributed to song writing. Also an important collaborator was producer Alan Moulder, who helped them to shape their blend of heavy beats and densely layered guitar tracks set against Halliday’s vocals.

The London band Curve, cantered around the duo of vocalist Toni Halliday and multi-instrumentalist Dean Garcia, clearly tumbled into a specific groove and never left.

Post-punk was morphing into early “college” and “alternative” rock, including the shimmering reverberations of shoegaze and dream-pop. All of these were also folding back in new wave’s synths and digitized percussion that had taken off-ramps to an array of other club sounds like industrial, rap, and house music. The largely electronic rave movement then extended out from that branch of music’s family tree, as would its intertwined Madchester scene that often relied on more traditional band structures. Acidic keyboards, wiggly earworms, hypnotic grooves, and remixes were everywhere, with Curve deftly navigating these paths as they converged and diverged. 

Not enough people know Curve’s music very well, if at all. they started up in late 1990, first ep came out in march 1991. beats were a big part of their music like MBV, or JaMC from the same time period. JaMC actually shared their drummer, Monti, for several years. both MBV and JaMC, plus Ride and many others, we engineered/produced by Alan Moulder. Alan and Toni were a couple, so he was always hanging out, and playing twisted guitars from time to time. some of the singles had vocal front mixes, and as Toni Halliday didn’t play an instrument at live shows, she was a prominent focal point. more often than not, she wasn’t shy and demure- she would hold the crowd in her left hand and a mic in her right.

They made a great bunch of music. After the first 4 EPs and 1st album, Dean Garcia continued to explore sonics in different areas. he had hints of edgy industrial beats earlier, but on “Cuckoo”, those elements really came out strong.

By their 4th or 5th album, they’d mostly gotten bored with the shoegaze song type ( perhaps also tired of the constant assaults by the Press in the mid-90s of any music that sounded remotely like shoegaze) by the mid 90s, ride and lush had veered towards britpop, Chapterhouse and Slowdive also went towards more ambient and electronic, then broke up. Pale Saints lasted til 95, and threw in the towel.

This band was (and still is) a definition of an alternative rock. Their music combines shoegaze, grunge, techno, breakbeat with even a slight touch of industrial and post-punk. Their texts are full of magical realism which reflects on everyday relationships in a highly allegorical/esoteric sort of way. All of this stuff is reinforced by incredibly insightful vocals of Toni Halliday and very skillful rhythm-section filled with all-consuming energy coming from these multi layered music styles in one place.

Check out their bandcamp page – a lot of goodies stored up there, including fan bootlegs. Curve was the elite. Highlights of Curve’s live career included a performance at the 1992 Glastonbury Festival.

Doppelgänger

As Curve, Halliday and Garcia released three acclaimed and increasingly successful EPs (“Blindfold”, “Frozen”, and “Cherry”) throughout 1991 on Anxious Records. They also made an impact on the UK album charts in 1992 with their debut studio album “Doppelgänger”.

They surpassed all expectations with their debut full-length, 1992’s “Doppelgänger“, which remains their most successful, highly regarded release.  While most of “Doppelgänger’s” songs are massive rushes of energy, the band slows down at the end for the lush ambient drift of “Sandpit,” which might actually be the album’s best song overall. 

Curve would continue making excellent albums and EPs after this one, and would influence countless dream pop, alternative dance, and even goth/industrial groups, but “Doppelgänger” remains their most powerful, essential release, and one of the best alternative albums of the early ’90s.

Moulder and Flood would handle Curve’s first LP “Doppelganger” in 1992, and then engineer, mix, or perform on almost everything Garcia and Halliday released as a duo over the next two decades. So pervasive was Moulder’s presence in particular that he ended up marrying Halliday.

Curve re-released the “Doppelganger” CD as a double album. This release included their first three EPs.

In 1992, the band released the compilation album “Pubic Fruit“, containing their first three EPs and an extended mix of the single “Faît Accompli”. Toni Halliday also featured on two songs (“Edge to Life” and “Bloodline”) from Recoil’s album, “Bloodline“. In 1993, Curve issued “Radio Sessions”, a compilation album of recordings made during their two sessions for John Peel’s show on the UK broadcasting station BBC Radio 1.

The appeal of the band’s early catalogue stretching to at least 1993’s sophomore LP “Cuckoo” stemmed primarily from playing and production that leaned into the sounds of goth, industrial, and shoegaze, their instrumentals and vocals swirling around like dust devils. 

The “Horror Head” B-side “Falling Free,” for example, started off as a drum-pattern-powered workout but infamously got converted to hissing, burping IDM in a later Aphex Twin remix. The duo’s small roster of covers included Siouxsie and the Banshees and Tubeway Army, but their version of Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love” on an NME charity compilation found their takes on Giorgio Moroder’s classic melody and rhythm fighting through their distinctive fog of echo. The “Superblaster” single also gave us “Low and Behold,” with a spare, bassy keyboard up front in the mix to reinforce its sinister nature—”How we gloat/At others’ misfortune/A nation of reptiles/Given to nothing.” 

The singles and B-sides that started to appear from “Doppelganger” forward showed Curve were comfortable dipping into percussion-heavy and dissonant experimentation. They also managed to create effortless techno synth lines that might have pleased Osborne even beyond his early presence at the duo’s sessions.

Cuckoo – (Expanded Edition)

Curve’s second studio album, the harder-edged “Cuckoo”. Curve have got to be one of the UK’s most unfortunate bands. Emerging out of the shoegazer scene with a new crossover sound that only a small section of the UK scene was ready for, the commercial failure of “Cuckoo” led them to split at the worst possible time. 

Curve’s second album “Cuckoo” is more sophisticated, more seductive, less serrated, even squelchy in places than their debut, “Doppelganger“. A mature, fluent, and literary album, it hit the Top 30 on release in 1993. “Cuckoo” takes the listener from the established hallmarks and runs with them – over the horizon – to many new and rich areas of pop melodrama. Delicate and gorgeous moments sit easily with their simultaneously cool and incendiary sound. A more personal album, it is nonetheless metallic, unforgiving, Loud, clear. As with “Doppelganger” the album was produced by the band with Flood and Steve Osborne, and it was mixed by Alan Moulder. It is home to the lead tracks from singles “Blackerthreetracker” EP and “Superblaster” and is regarded by the band as their best piece of work.

The “Cuckoo” album was also re-released as a double album and included, amongst other songs, several remixes.

The British group went in a darker, moodier direction with 1993 follow-up “Cuckoo“. Opener “Missing Link” is furious and aggressive, coming closer to Ministry-style industrial than the group’s previous work, but other songs are slower, more atmospheric, and a bit more experimental. The songs still contain walls of searing guitar noise and thundering drums, but some of these tracks are a bit more spacious and reflective.

The percolating synths on songs like “Crystal” and “Unreadable Communication” come a bit closer to the then-developing trance style, and the slower songs anticipate the direction Massive Attack (and several other trip-hop groups) would take during the course of the decade. On the gentle “Left of Mother,” the group surprisingly incorporate acoustic guitars and strings, resulting in an earthly yet otherworldly combination which nevertheless sounds distinctly like Curve. “Superblaster” is a bit closer to the poppiness of “Doppelgänger’s” highlights, and was appropriately released as a single, but given that the chorus includes the line

“Have you got anything left to say before I shoot myself?,” it doesn’t come as much of a surprise that it wasn’t a hit. “Cuckoo” is riskier than its predecessor, and not as catchy, but it rewards repeated listening, and still stands among the band’s best work — Halliday has even stated that she considers it to be Curve’s best album.

2CD – 22 Tracks. This expanded 2CD edition includes the album plus the remixes and two previously unreleased tracks, the original versions of “Rising” and “Half The Time“, which have only previously been available in their remixed form. LP – 180 Gram Vinyl with Download. 10 Tracks.

Come Clean

Just as fans were beginning to wonder if the duo Curve would ever return from their self-imposed exile, they returned with their best album to date, “Come Clean“. Still combining largely electronic music with alternative hooks and lines, members Toni Halliday and Dean Garcia returned to a now-popular form of music they helped create years ago. Although the album’s two best tracks had previously appeared on their late-1997 EP “Chinese Burn” (the title tracks from both the EP and the full-length), there are plenty of other strong tracks in attendance.

“Come Clean”. Released in 1997, ”Chinese Burn” in its original form and remixed by the likes of Lunatic Calm criss-crossed IP universes from Marvel to Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The song’s smashing breakbeats and klaxon-like guitars from Garcia, paired with Halliday’s fuzzed-out vocals, all struck while The Prodigy and Chemical Brothers were hot. This was followed up by the midtempo “Coming Up Roses,” a ballad that stood out from the period’s aggressive focus on club floors and festival crowds.

Curve received high praise for 1996’s “Pink Girl with the Blues” EP and then arguably earned their broadest mainstream exposure with the lead single from their third album,

“Something Familiar” may be the band’s most melodically accessible track yet, while the extremely overdriven distortion and abrasive tones of “Dogbone” are just the opposite. Unlike many electronic bands, the duo makes it clear that they don’t just go for musical overkill, as evidenced by the slow electronic groove contained in “Killer Baby,” and the mid-paced dance-rock of “Cotton Candy.” “Come Clean” is the welcome return of a band that deserved attention when it first appeared years ago, and may get it in the electro-friendly late ’90s.

Locked in a contract dispute with Universal Music Group after the release of “Come Clean”, Halliday and Garcia would independently post songs to the World Wide Web that would later be gathered on the self-released “Open Day at the Hate Fest” in May of 2001. 

Gift

Curve has had more of their share of ups and downs. Yet even when their career looked its bleakest, the band continued to make great music. When Estupendo/Universal told the band that their album “Gift” would be shelved, they continued to write and record. After posting several mp3s on their website, Toni Halliday and Dean Garcia had enough material to fill another album. As “Gift” was still tied up in legal battles with the major label, Curve independently released “Open Day” at the Hate Fest through their website. As the band enjoyed brisk sales of their self-release, they received word from Universal that “Gift” was put back on schedule and would be released on their Hip-O imprint.

It’s interesting to consider that “Gift” almost never saw the light of day. While it does fit in well with the band’s efforts, it sounds different enough to reveal that the duo has fresh ideas and an ability to write great melodies without recycling old ones. As “Come Clean” kicked things off with “Chinese Burn,” a gritty track featuring slick production, skittering beats, and a dirty, guitar-driven sound, “Hell Above Water” impressively introduces “Gift” with an edgy riff reminiscent of late-’90s Nine Inch Nails. 

“Gift’s” title track follows and reveals one of the band’s slickest choruses, perfectly combining their up-tempo instrumental intensity with Toni Halliday’s sultry vocal work. Seemlessly flowing from menacing tracks like “Chainmail” and “Polaroid” to smoky, electronic-laden ballads like “Perish” and “Hung Up,” “Gift” is classic Curve with modern arrangements and energy. While mixing elements of rock and electronica together is old news for Curve, their songwriting seems more natural on this outing. Perhaps due to their more personal nature, Gift’s ten tracks are among Curve’s best. While bringing together an all-star mix of producers and performers, including Alan Moulder, Flood, Alan Wilder (Depeche Mode, Recoil), and Ben Grosse (Filter), Halliday and Garcia showcase their unique knack for recording songs that feature an underlying darkness, even in their lighter moments. As Garbage and Sneaker Pimps have each scored commercial success with similar blends of female lead vocals, big beats, samples, and electric guitars, Curve shows that they are among the innovators of the form and prove themselves with one of their finest efforts.

The New Adventures Of Curve

“The New Adventures of Curve” isn’t so much different than the old ones. Since Curve’s fan base hasn’t exactly gone through a drastic shift between 1991 and 2002, it’s generally happy with the duo sticking to the same sound, which has shown very subtle variations from release to release. Since the duo’s first single, several groups have attempted to mimic that sound or use that formula — dark dance beats, blurs of grinding guitars, a vulnerable but deadly vocal command — to no good effect. Or, in Garbage’s case, that template has been shrewdly polished and taken to the mainstream to very good effect. Throughout all of this, Curve has retained a very specific sound, and their enduring relevance has also had a good deal to do with the production, which has given their records an up-to-date or ahead-of-the-times feel. Curve has the small market they occupy cornered.

So here’s another web-only exclusive from the group that neither stands up to their best work nor dilutes it. Roughly half of these songs would make a suitable backdrop for a scene in a Gregg Araki film, in which the bodies of two malnourished androgynymphs feverishly tangle. These roaring numbers, as always, are tempered with slower, quieter material. The biggest (possibly only) surprise is what’s stuck at the end of this disc: a strange little rave-up sung by multi-instrumentalist Dean Garcia. Despite the fact that their records no longer sound completely unique, Garcia and Toni Halliday continue to please their loyal fan base while the popularity they deserve eludes them.

“The New Adventures of Curve” would tie a bow on Garcia and Halliday’s formal partnership. Initially available only on Curve’s own website, “New Adventures” maintained the duo’s gothy come-hither image to the bitter end. Short on tracks but long on time, it hypnotized listeners for 5 to 7 synth-and-patch-filled minutes at a clip with reverberating sheet-metal percussion (“Nice and Easy”), introspective and methodical riffing (“Star”), jittery EBM (“Answers”), and even Deepsky’s progressive breaks mixed into “Cold Comfort.” It was the encore for the duo’s concert of a career together, referencing and recasting their strengths, influences, and planted seeds.

Producer Alan Moulder was a prominent collaborator who helped shape their blend of heavy beats and densely layered guitar tracks set against Halliday’s vocals. On March 4th, 1991, they released their debut EP “Blindfold” EP. The EP contained four tracks in total, “Ten Little Girls”, “I Speak Your Every Word”, “No Escape From Heaven” and the title track.

The English alternative rock duo Curve was founded in 1990 by Toni Halliday and Dean Garcia. After releasing their debut EP “Blindfold” in 1991, the duo returned after two months with their second EP Frozen. This 4-track set features “Coast Is Clear”, “The Colour Hurts”, “Zoo” and the title track. Just like the previous EP, “Frozen” was produced by Steve Osborne, who has worked with a wide variety of musicians, including Suede, New Order, Elbow, and U2 amongst others. 

In 1991, they released their first three EPs, “Blindfold”, “Frozen” and “Cherry“. All three were produced by Steve Osborne, who also worked with U2, New Order and Simple Minds amongst others. The third EP “Cherry” was also known as “Clipped / Galaxy” and featured four tracks; “Clipped”, “Die Like A Dog”, “Galaxy” and the title track.

Curve released five studio albums in total (“Doppelgänger” in 1992, “Cuckoo” in 1993, “Come Clean” in 1998, “Gift” in 2001, and “The New Adventures of Curve” in 2002),

There has been five compilation albums (“Pubic Fruit” in 1992, “Radio Sessions” in 1993, “Open Day at the Hate Fest” in 2001, “The Way of Curve” in 2004, and “Rare and Unreleased” in 2010), and a string of EPs and singles.

Curve returned to the music business in 1996 with the EP “Pink Girl With the Blues”. 

In 1997, they released “Chinese Burn”, the first single to be taken from their third studio album “Come Clean” (1998). The album is a set of songs displaying a more pronounced influence of electronic music than earlier releases.

Curve’s style described as a “towering monolith of guitar noise, dance tracks, dark goth, and airy melodies”. He also regarded the band’s music as a combination of “shoegazer atmospherics and techno beats”. Halliday cited Patti Smith and Nico, qualifying them as “marble giants”

Curve’s legacy best and brightest is the pair’s well-maintained Bandcamp page, sequestered from the rights and permissions issues of many streaming services. It holds just about every officially available song, rarities that appeared on special-edition physical and digital releases, studio mixes shelved by the band and their regular producers, unreleased remixes 

Halliday has only sporadically re-entered the spotlight since then. She’s been a guest vocalist here and there, sang lead for Chatelaine and their 2010 album Take a Line for a Walk, and released the solo “Roll the Dice” EP in 2020. The Chatelaine music seems just a bit more satisfying overall as a curious slice of gothic chamber pop, while her vocals outpace the shiny synthpop production on her own release.

Garcia’s been far busier with production roles and as a player in multiple projects. His biggest name recognition might have come in KGC alongside members of KMFDM, while his longest-running concern has been SPC ECO, teaming with his daughter Rose Berlin to play loose and fast with shoegaze and various electronica subgenres. All of Garcia and Halliday’s newer outlets absolutely have wildly creative moments; none feel as purposefully in the pocket as Curve did. 

The new Black Crowes album, “A Pound of Feathers”. If you are a Black Crowes fan they work within a very specific lane, but they do it with overwhelming personality. You can hear the Stones, the Faces, and a dozen other classic-rock touchstones, but that kind of swagger and soul can’t be carbon-copied. You either have it or you don’t. The Robinsons have it.

I was so psyched when they got back together (again!) a few years back, and thought 2024’s “Happiness Bastards” was a strong, if somewhat straight-ahead, comeback album. Even better was last year’s “Amorica” box set reissue, a deep dive into what’s arguably their creative peak.

Based on the two songs they’ve released from “A Pound of Feathers” so far—which dropped I’m fully in. “Profane Prophecy” in particular opens with a killer Keith Richards-style riff, features some smoking slide guitar, and finds the band sounding looser and more playful (those call-and-response backing vocals) than they have in years.

In the video for “Profane Prophecy“, the Black Crowes have conjured seven devils (representing each deadly sin) to wreak havoc on this little fairytale world of stark morality and harsh retribution. In creating this world, they leaned into uncanniness with hyper-unrealistic theatrical set pieces and life-size dioramas.

Chris: “We made this record in eight to ten days. Bringing the high and inspiration
from our previous LP ‘Happiness Bastards’ into this album, it was a natural progression.
We experimented more, we wrote on instinct and how we were feeling in the moment. Rich brought a spontaneity to the record that I can’t describe, but it’s the best shit he’s ever done.”

Rich: “This album feels transformative to us. Going back to our roots, we felt that spark
in the studio and how we work together. Lighting a fire that hits harder, more jagged but
is still true to our musical essence.”

THE Black Crowes with brothers Chris and Rich Robinson as the bands prominent members, started their sonic odyssey in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1984. The new album their 10th full-length, called A POUND OF FEATHERS is recorded and ready for release on March 13th.

Aldous Harding has announced that her fifth LP, Train on the Island, will arrive on May 8th via 4AD Records. The news arrives alongside first single “One Stop,” which was released with a music video directed by Michelle Henning. “One Stop” kicks off with an interlocking piano and plucked guitar melody. Harding sings of having met John Cale, which is something I would do, too, if I a) met John Cale and b) could sing like Aldous Harding.

Train on the Island was co-produced by Harding’s long-time collaborator John Parish at Rockfield Studios in Monmouth, Wales. Wales, where the pair recorded the New Zealander’s previous bodies of work, Party (2017), Designer (2019) and Warm Chris (2022). Joining Harding and Parish on “Train On The Island” were pedal steel player Joe Harvey-Whyte, harpist Mali Llywelyn, synth artist Thomas Poli, drummer Sebastian Rochford (Polar Bear) and Huw Evans (H. Hawkline) on bass, vocals, acoustic/electric guitar and organ.