It’s been over a year since Nashville-bred band All Them Witches announced the recording of their highly anticipated new album and today, we see the release of their first new single in over three years, ‘Red Rocking Chair’. The bluegrass staple is here reimagined as a ballad, sung gently over sparse instrumentation, before exploding into a momentous bass-heavy chorus which has left no barricade unshaken and no tears uncried since they’ve started adding it to their live setlist in 2025.
Opener “Red Rocking Chair“– a reworking of a bluegrass standard made famous by Doc Watson –begins like Mark Langean at his most haunted, before pulling itself up to its full height via the doomiest of riffs, then retreats again, warped violin wrapping around gently pulsing guitar.
Hopefully, it retains some of our core stoner doom fans. I wrote the riff and the wiggly verse part with the intention that Parks would actually sing those ‘Red Rocking Chair’ lyrics over them. He didn’t know it at first, but he wasn’t going to be allowed to say, ‘No’.– Ben McLeod
I’ve actually been listening to ‘Red Rocking Chair’ since I was a kid. Usually, it’s done in a traditional bluegrass style. Ben had the riff, and it made me start singing those lyrics. We used to play bluegrass at after-show parties, in stairwells, and on the streets sometimes. So ‘Red Rocking Chair’ ties into our old time-y rough touring days.– Charles Michael Parks, Jr
In the States, the lyrics of ‘Red Rocking Chair’ were often used in the intro of their similarly heavy stoner song ‘Swallowed by the Sea’, from their second album, “Lightning at the Door“.
It also marks their first official release with drummer Christian Powers (also of Fortune Child, and their first under the BMG label.
All Them Witches have unleashed their seventh album, “House of Mirrors”, and guitarist Ben McLeod and singer-bassist Charles Michael Parks, Jr. are giving “Heavy Consequence” an inside look at the LP with an exclusive track-by-track breakdown.
Fans had always asked about it, and I thought it should finally be its own song.– Ben McLeod
“Culling Line” unfolds with a sense of enormous dread, drifting from an eerie vocal introduction that sounds like an import from 1920s Appalachia to the kind of solo David Gilmour might dream up if he were impersonating Carlos Santana.
Along with the album release, All Them Witches have released a visualizer for the new single “Hold Up, Say What.”
The song release pairs with a kaleidoscopic music video (filmed by Dylan Handley), featuring live shots from their 2025 European tour at the Bataclan, Paris, and O2 Forum Kentish Town, London.
The band have always looked to traditional folk songs and imagery for inspiration, like ‘Blacksnake Blues’ and their ‘Coyote Woman’ trilogy, with the mournful love song RRC now joining their discography.
All Them Witches is Ben McLeod on lead guitar, Charles Michael Parks, Jr. on bass/vocals, Christian Powers on drums and Allan Van Cleave on keys and violin.
“House of Mirrors” Track by Track:
“Red Rocking Chair”
Parks: “‘I’ve actually been listening to ‘Red Rocking Chair’ since I was a kid. Usually, it’s done in a traditional bluegrass style. Ben had the riff, and it made me start singing those lyrics. We used to play bluegrass at after-show parties, in stairwells, and on the streets sometimes. So, ‘Red Rocking Chair’ ties into our old time-y rough touring days.”
Ben: “Hopefully, it retains some of our core stoner doom fans. I wrote the riff and the wiggly verse part with the intention that Parks would actually sing those ‘Red Rocking Chair’ lyrics over them. He didn’t know it at first, but he wasn’t going to be allowed to say, ‘No’ [Laughs]. Live, we play our song ‘Swallowed By The Sea’ every now and then, and Parks would sub out the ‘Red Rocking Chair’ lyrics at shows. Fans had always asked about it, and I thought it should finally be its own song.”
“Culling Line”
Parks: “You’re casting off things that don’t serve you or slow you down. In the simplest terms, a ‘Culling’ is a thinning of the herd. I wrote it on my bass guitar at home. I always joke that bass is the least interesting instrument to sit around and play alone. This was one of those earworm riffs that worked though.”
Ben: “After Parks wrote the music and lyrics, we came up with the chord changes during the solo section as a band. We didn’t have an ending for it, but I was learning the main riff by playing it constantly. I kept repeating it over and over, and everyone agreed it should be the ending. We were definitely going for Black Sabbath.”
“Aethernet”
Parks: “Allan wrote the chord structures for this one. It’s the most straightforward bluesy song on the record. It might be the most fun tune as well.”
“Hold Up, Say What”
Ben: “There’s a beautiful juxtaposition between the fast verses and this beautiful dropout bridge. We try to take advantage of any opportunity for Allan to put violin on a song. I also think it’s one of our best production pieces as a band.”
Parks: “I’d been messing around with the riff for a long time. The words were stream-of-consciousness. They’re like different characters in my mind. It’s a conversational song where you get two or three voices arguing back and forth.”
“Go-Getter”
Parks: “We had a demo of it. A day or two before I was supposed to go to Nashville to record, ‘Go-Getter’ still didn’t have any words. It was going to be an instrumental, but I sat there for thirty minutes, wrote some words, and the demo ended up being my favorite from the whole session. We didn’t do a lot to ‘Go-Getter’ in the studio. I re-recorded vocals. Ben maybe re-recorded some guitar. Other than that, it’s pretty much the demo. It’s a strange and sad non-heavy song.”
Ben: “The demo originally started out as a guitar piece I’d written. We were spitting out tons of ideas when everybody came to Florida for a writing session. I asked the other guys what they thought of it, and the general consensus was they liked it. We tracked a quick demo—which we used most of. Eddie mixed it. The only thing Parks re-did were the vocals. It’s beautiful and very sensitive. It’s definitely the softest track on the record. I think Parks is really proud of the lyrics too.”
“Starting Line”
Parks: “We’ve had the song forever, but we could never make it work. For some reason, it just worked this time. ‘Starting Line’ and ‘Culling Line’ are sister songs even though they don’t have the same musical makeup. ‘Culling Line’ is about leaving things that don’t serve you; ‘Starting Line’ is about finding the balance of self-preservation and vanity.”
Ben: “It turned out great, thanks to Eddie. We crushed the recording, but it was totally different before Eddie came into the process. Parks and I had tracked the first and third verse alone—just us. We were both aiming into the same microphone. Parks is singing into the same mic, and it’s also picking up our acoustic guitars.”
“Turn the Light On”
Parks: “That one is cool. I hope we play it live this tour. It’s one of those fever dream moments, because it showed up all at once for me. When this happens, you’ve got to figure out what the track means to you. Whoever the main character is in the song leaves home with an idea of what’s out there, but quickly learns it’s not that way.”
Ben: “All of us loved ‘Turn the Light On’ when Parks sent it. It’s like a catchy pop song, and it turns into this ultimate sludge doom tune by the time it’s over. As soon as you think you’re going down a path in any one of these songs, we change it up. That’s a common musical theme for us.”
“Angel on the Wayside”
Parks: “Ben had the riff forever. We’d been trying to work on it for a while, but we couldn’t seem to get it together. It was a good choice for this album. It’s a little more upbeat with an old Hendrix vibe. It’s a Ben song.”
Ben:“‘Angel on the Wayside’ is us doing our sixties-Hendrix-revival-thing. There’s a fuzz riff. It’s really basic with everyone in the same room and tons of bleed. We were just letting it rip.”
“Welterweight”
Parks: “I wrote ‘Welterweight’ and ‘Saturn Song’ around the same time. When I’m home, I mainly play acoustic guitar. It’s easier for songwriting, but translating it to bass later is weird. You spend a lot of time getting these rhythms with finger-picking, and you end up cutting them out when you bring in other musicians. I’ve heard the word ‘Welterweight’ my whole life. My grandfather was a Welterweight boxing champion in Alabama. This title has been ringing in my head for a long time, and it found its way to a song.”
Ben: “It’s our ballad, and it’s an awesome well-written song from Parks. Eddie was trying to get Allan to do a piano intro, but Allan was playing too well because he’s classically trained. Eddie was like, ‘No, just play’ [Laughs]!”
“Saturn Song”
Parks: “A lot of these songs are about leaving home, facing expectations, and carving your own way into this world as messed up and strange as it is. Your wealth of knowledge grows, and dealing with the burden of this knowledge is really intense. The album is essentially about dealing with fictious roles that are placed onto you by the world, things you’re born into that aren’t necessarily who you are as an individual, meeting and breaking expectations, and following your own moral compass.”
Ben: “It turned out to be one of my favorites. It’s such a groove. The guitar is sparse on the verses. There’s tons of room, and it gets interesting in the end. I wanted it to sound like something you’d hear on Real Emotional Trash by Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks.”
A release date for their latest album is yet to be announced.
Dirty Honey specialise in something that can sound deceptively simple: four people plugging in, turning up and playing rock songs with swagger.
Their influences are wonderfully transparent – Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, the Rolling Sones and the Allman Brothers all feature prominently in their musical DNA. The result is blues-based hard rock with big riffs, a gritty vocal and the loose, slightly dangerous feel of a band that would rather capture a great take than polish it into oblivion.
Guitarist John Notto has even described AC/DC and the Stones as examples of the rock tradition he most values. Start with their self-titled debut, particularly ‘When I’m Gone’. If you miss the days when rock music sounded like it was made by people having an extremely good time in a room together, Dirty Honey make a persuasive case for the form still being alive.
It’s rare these days to hear a live album that hasn’t been doctored into oblivion, but Dirty Honey proudly bucks that trend on “Mayhem and Revelry” with a raucous 16-song set that lives up to its name. Culled from the North American and European legs of their Can’t Find the Brakes tour, “Mayhem” captures the California quartet’s infectious blues-rock boogie, with Marc Labelle’s elastic vocals and John Notto’s razor-sharp guitar solos front and centre.
Notto proudly informed UCR that the band did no overdub sessions for the album, but it would be a disservice to describe “Mayhem and Revelry” as “warts and all.” That would imply flubs instead of the tasteful improvisation and ad-libbing on display here — evidence of Dirty Honey’s road-worn chemistry and seemingly inevitable path to world domination.
If the words ‘classic rock; make you think less of three-minute singles and more of elaborate arrangements, instrumental virtuosity and songs that occasionally seem to require their own map, Crown Lands are worth investigating.
The Canadian progressive rock duo Crown Lands have steadily emerged as one of the genre’s most ambitious modern voices, and in 2026 they return with their most demanding and fully realized work to date “Apocalypse”. On this album, the band have collaborated with famed producers Nick Raskulinecz and David Bottrill (both known for their work with Rush), whose contrasting approaches informed the albums creation.
Conceptually, “Apocalypse” is designed as a complete, album sides narrative experience, crafted with the classic album format in mind and unfolding as a cohesive story set in the same universe as their 2023 album “Fearless”. At the heart of the record lies the 19-minute title track, a sprawling epic that anchors the record both musically and narratively.
Ultimately, “Apocalypse” is about change, the end of one thing and the uncertain beginning of another. That theme resonates not only within the album’s sci-fi narrative, but in Crown Lands’ own evolution, capturing a band fully in command of its vision and ready to push beyond every boundary it has previously set.
The Canadian duo specialise in expansive progressive rock built around drums, guitar, bass and keyboards, with Rush an obvious reference point – particularly in their ability to make two musicians sound considerably larger than two musicians have any right to sound. But there are also echoes of Pink Floyd and other progressive and psychedelic acts in their more atmospheric material.
Their albums reward a little patience, making them a particularly good modern gateway for anyone who loves 2112, Hemispheres or Animals. Start with “Fearless”, then allow yourself to get lost.
The funeral bell is tolling, the ravens have left the tower – the long-awaited fourth album from London’s lords of the riff Green Lung is finally upon us. “Necropolitan” is also a grand celebration of the occult lore and heavy music scene of the band’s birthplace, the city of London.
Tom Templar of Green Lung thedarker version of 1970s rock, The London band combine the heavy riffs and occult atmosphere of Black Sabbath and Deep Purple with British folk-horror imagery, creating something that feels both deliberately retro and surprisingly distinctive. Their music is packed with the ingredients that made early heavy rock so intoxicating: enormous guitar riffs, organ-like textures, dramatic vocals and the sense that something vaguely supernatural is happening just beyond the edge of the song.
Their recent album “Necropolitan” digs even further into British history and folklore, while their broader sound draws explicitly on 1970s hard rock. If Sabbath’s Master of Reality is your idea of a perfect Sunday afternoon, but you’ve already heard it approximately 400 times, Green Lung could be your next stop.
Matt Berninger, the singular voice at the centre of The National, releases his new EP “Type It Up”. The collection brings together three new original songs alongside two previously released covers, and a bonus acoustic live recording.
This release follows Berninger’s critically lauded second solo album, “Get Sunk”, released last year via Book/Concord Records. Both the album and supporting live shows have garnered widespread praise from fans and critics alike. In addition to tracks from “Get Sunk” and his solo debut, “Serpentine Prison”, Berninger’s live sets have featured a compelling selection of covers that also include Nirvana’s“All Apologies” and Radiohead’s “Kid A.”
“Type It Up’s” tracklist moves through tones both personal and expansive — from the unforgettable EP opener “Martini Me Fatso” that was released earlier this summer to the title track’s searching quality, before arriving at the stillness of “Ask For Water.” The EP also features Berninger’s rendition of New Order’s iconic “Blue Monday,” previously released as an Amazon Music Original track, and a cover of Velvet Underground’s “Who Loves the Sun” with Rosanne Cash, as featured on the Australian television show Sunny Nights.
“These songs came out of the momentum and energy of the “Get Sunk” tour,” Berninger shares. “I was changing lyrics and forms night after night, and we were getting real time feedback from audiences and social media comments. On the song ‘Type It Up’ (originally titled ‘Black Letter Font’), people were mishearing the lyric, ‘That would look good in a black letter font’ as ‘I would look good in a black leather thong,’ so I decided to swap the chorus. I’m more of a black linen suit guy.”
London quartet Veronica Falls‘ self-titled 2011 debut album introduced a band with a deceptively simple proposition: take the sweetness, immediacy and melodic rush of classic pop and indie pop, then let something darker seep through the cracks. Now, fifteen years on, Veronica Falls returns — in deluxe form with an album’s worth of bonus tracks — as a reminder of just how potent that original formula was: beautiful, bruised, and instantly memorable.
The anniversary reissue includes a bonus disc gathering nine recordings from the same period. Side C brings together five cover versions, the Rolling Stones’ “Under My Thumb”, Slumber Party’s “SoonerOr Later”, The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band’s “Eighteen Is Over the Hill”, Eurythmics’ “Thorn in My Side” and The Verlaines’ “Joed Out”.while Side D collects four B-sides from the band’s early singles, rounding out a collection that reflects both the breadth of their influences and the distinctive sensibility that ran through their work. Out December 4th on Slumberland and November 27th via Bella Union
Veronica Falls‘ Legendary Debut Album Gets Expanded Reissue
“The day has arrived, our sixth full-length album ‘What They Grow In The Garden’ is officially out in the world! This record is an examination of the hive mind. It’s a surreal and absurdist exploration of what it means to be human and live in a system designed to exploit our perceived weaknesses by means of capitalism. We hope listeners will consider both the shadow and the light of the archetypes we use to tell this story, and ultimately take away an invitation for self-liberation amidst the flickers of seemingly inescapable dread.
The permeating blue light of the external world persists, and yet it is still possible to find your freedom and identify your core truths if you go within. May your existential crisis be activated and eased. We also want to give a Massive thank you to all of the incredible people that collaborated with us on this music and creative direction. We are so fortunate to be surrounded by so much talent and we love making magic with others.
And, WE LOVE OUR FANS!!! We are blessed to have you and have been loving meeting so many of you on the road.
Leah Wellbaum · Guitar, Vocals, Will Gorin · Drums, Percussion, Bass, Piano on “Dissolve The Delusion”, “Dystopian Cemetery”, “What A Night” and “Hearst Castle” by Willy Beaman Violin on “Absolute Power” by Allie Stamler
Palace return with their most open-hearted collection yet, “Ox.” Palace’s fifth album, “Ox,” finds beauty and wisdom in the most human of revelations watching a child encounter music for the first time, feeling overcome by gratitude, or sensing that the possibilities ahead are endless
The album arrives as Palace continue to thrive as an independent act. What began in 2016 as Palace Presents, a monthly takeover at The George Tavern in London, has evolved into a worldwide community. This their fifth album “Ox” arrives entirely on the band’s own terms, marking a new era of independence shaped by the freedom to write songs for no one else but themselves. There’s a world of beauty and excitement to be found here: An instinctual, openhearted response from a band to their changing lives, channelling their signature dreamlike textures into songs that feel more alive with emotion than ever before.
Recorded in Deptford with longtime producer Adam Jaffrey, “Ox,” in drummer Matt Hodges’ words, has “a lightness and a momentum to it.” Across 10 warm, sprawling songs, the album embraces a more instinctive and organic approach, drawing inspiration from The Band, Townes Van Zandt, Edward Hopper’s hushed Americana and life on tour.
Following last year’s “Greyhound” EP, “Ox” places renewed emphasis on dynamics and space, with highlights including lead single “Kid”, an affirmation of love written about longing for one’s child while on the road and six-minute opus “Brown Bread.”
This autumn, the band will embark on a major North American run, following a sold-out homecoming show at London’s iconic Somerset House this summer.
When Frank Zappa And The Mothers Of Invention’s “Freak Out!” arrived in the summer of 1966, it represented a seismic shift in what a rock album could be. Released by Verve Records on June 27th, 1966, as one of the first double albums in rock history — and virtually unprecedented as a debut release — Zappa and The Mothers rejected the prevailing conventions of the three-minute pop single, instead crafting an ambitious work that blended doo-wop, rhythm and blues, orchestral music, free jazz, tape manipulation, and biting social satire into a cohesive artistic statement.
In fitting celebration of 60 years of “Freak Out!”, a newly expanded 60th anniversary edition will be released in a Super Deluxe Edition that features 105 tracks in total, many of which have never been released.
The complete vault mixes from a demo session recorded October 1965 have been compiled here for the first time for the 60th Anniversary box set. “I’m Not Satisfied” is one of the newly discovered tracks.
Produced by Zappa Vaultmeister Joe Travers, this new, expanded collection contains Travers’ digital transfers and John Polito’s 2026 mastering of the core album’s 15 tracks, along with the rediscovered 1966 pre-master mix, the retrieved and restored 1966 mono mix, Fillmore Auditorium tapes mainly culled from a trio of live 1966 dates, original Mothers 1966 rehearsals, original Mothers demos, mono vocal reference mixes, and a truly special three-track “Freak Out!” late-night jam session outtake collage.
The Yummy Fur’s first album of new material in over 25 years is seductive and ambiguous; a fast-paced flip through scenes from art, myth, life and fantasy; a witty whole made from glittering scraps. The band’s original incarnation — fronted by singer, songwriter and guitarist John McKeown from 1992 to 1999 — morphed from making quick-hit cartoon-art songs to Eno and John Cale-influenced creepers, populated by characters from McKeown’s life in Glasgow and the films, books and poetry that he lived a parallel life through.
Yummy Fur’s brand new single ‘Wanda’ is out now A miniature portrait study, the song folds together the life of filmmaker Barbara Loden with the protagonist of her singular 1970 feature ‘Wanda’ – a meditation on identity, dislocation and escape.
The accompanying film, shot in part on Super 8 by Roberta Cumbianchera, stars fellow Argentinian actress Daniela Aita. Drifting between Hollywood Boulevard and the faded fairgrounds of Raymond Chandler’s Santa Monica, its luminous imagery mirrors the song’s spectral pull.
“Everybody Talks About The Weather” delights in using every past iteration of the band as potent collage material: a melee of sounds and ideas existing at once, revealing themselves then dipping back into hiding.
Their upbeat single ‘Headphones’. A jogger’s delight of a song musing on life’s reckonings, Carrie Fisher and tinnitus – all written outside a tanning salon in Ayr! In short… The Yummy Fur at their most spry and disarming, classic territory.
“Everybody Talks About The Weather” is seductive, ambiguous and exhilarating; a fast-paced flip through scenes from art, myth, life and fantasy; a witty whole made from glittering scraps. “Everybody Talks About The Weather” boasts ten tracks as condensed and vital as their best work, with a new clarity of sound that ushers ambiguities to come into the light.
The bands first single ‘Unity Over Europe’, a bruising stomp of song, lyrically playing host to three Mitford sisters amidst allusions to V2 rockets, Pynchon and a Bacon triptych. All this could be laboured in lesser hands, but cultural verbosity is second nature to The Yummy Fur, who transform all this source material into songs that are weird, sexy, funny and absurd. Meaning is not happily understood or flattened.
The Yummy Fur’s new album ‘Everybody Talks About the Weather’, out September 24th on Upset The Rhythm.
The Fat Angel Sings 