The Fat Angel Sings

Following the release of Drop Nineteens’ first album in 30 years, “Hard Light”, and the re-issue of their 1992 shoegaze masterwork, “Delaware”, Wharf Cat come with the official release of Drop Nineteens’ “1991“. This LP comprises the band’s first two demo sessions which were mailed out via cassette to labels in 1991 finding their way to the UK music press and generating instant buzz and an ensuing feeding frenzy to sign the band. After signing with Caroline Records Drop Nineteens decided to write an entirely new record, “Delaware“, for their first official release, leaving the songs on “1991″ frozen in time. 

Swells of layered guitars and buried vocal harmonies adorn these tracks, displaying Drop Nineteens when the comparison to their UK contemporaries like Slowdive and Ride were apt. “1991’s” songs, recorded with a low fi charm, show an ambitious young band capable of writing songs filled with texture and hooks, on the eve of their breakthrough record.

Philadelphia psych rock mainstays Bardo Pond have a storage room of unreleased jams that’s seemingly without end, as evidenced by the steady drip of archival releases the band has shared between albums of newer material. “Melt Away” is another collection of lesser-heard excursions into fuzz, repetition, and delay from the Bardo crew, this time a highlight reel of outtakes and rarities from their late-’90s run, including tracks from the same time as the comfortable, home-recorded sessions that produced the band’s 1999 effort “Set and Setting”.

That comfortable, familiar warmth is present on the wooly grooves of “Shadow Puppet,” a song that sounds like Opal’s happy nightmares being covered by Royal Trux on a heavy metal downer. The band wander through a spacier version of their signature feedback freakout on the cosmic roots rock of “Olive Skin” and “Tapir Dub” blurs together stony percussion with blurts of guitar noise and vocals that leak out in a Thom Yorke mumble.

The ten tracks here feel a lot more like a fully conceived album than a cobbled-together collection of filler, and there’s not a miss among them. Tracks like “The Trail” exemplify just how locked in Bardo Pond was at this point in their creative arc, with the band zoning out on a sinister riff that would turn into boring redundancy or bad grunge in the hands of a lesser band. The collection ends with “Highlands,” a gentle but still uneasy track of pastoral fuzz that showcases the band’s Neil Young influence and sets the entire album down in a way that fits the restlessness of the songs that came before it. Bardo Pond has more supplementary albums than even the busiest of their psychedelic peers, but “Melt Away” is one that stands out, and will be essential for anyone who already counts themselves as a fan.

‘Satanic Slumber Party’ is a collaboration between Australian psych rockers King Gizzard and the Wizard Lizard and fellow Australian experimental rock band Tropical Fuck Storm. This nineteen minute epic throws up heavy psych rock, noise rock, lots weird noises and the sound of two unshackled bands enjoying themselves. 

Joyful Noise is not your standard record label… We are artistic facilitators for a wide variety of adventurous musicians. We aren’t focused on any particular genre, nor are we particularly focused on popularity. We value art over commerce, and we exist to empower our artists to create the most meaningful work possible.

You demanded, you pleaded, and you also asked very nicely…and the wait is now over. Tropical Fuck Storm and King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard’s raucous EP “Satanic Slumber Party” is being pressed on wax! Pumped full of booze and adrenaline, two of psych-rock’s most powerful joined forces for a 20-minute “Hatjam” chockfull of sax skronks, brick-heavy distortion, and punchy riffs. To the surprise of no one, TFS members Gareth Liddiard, Fiona Kitschin Erica Dunn and Lauren Hammel bring their wild, destructive chaos to the  table for…for this unstoppable partnership. 

“Satanic Slumber Party” is out now digitally, so crank those speakers to 11 and bask in the sonic debauchery while you anxiously await your record..

Tropical Fuck Storm and King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard with their collaborative EP “Satanic Slumber Party” out on Joyful Noise Recordings.

A stand-alone single that acts as a spiritual companion to Wand’s sixth studio album “Vertigo” that was released in 2024. ‘Help Desk’ and ‘Goldfish’ are both extensions of the dark, lavishly orchestrated vision that the American neo-psychedelic rock act laid out in that album (itself a bit of a departure from their earlier work). Beat Detectives, Dead Rider and Dean Spunt provide remixes.

“Goldfish” is a track by Wand from their release, ‘Help Desk/Goldfish’ EP out on October 25, 2024,

Against Me!’s Laura Jane Grace has shared her first single with her The Mississippi Medicals band. “Back in 2021, I sat down in my office to do some songwriting,” she says. “Not knowing what specifically to write about that day, I challenged myself to write a song similar to whatever the current #1 hit in the world was at the time. I made the challenge to myself without knowing exactly what that song was so I had to look it up, and as it turned out at that moment, the current #1 song in the world was ‘Butter’ by BTS. Now, for those of you not familiar with the song ‘Butter’, it’s about how the singer is ‘smooth like butter’.’Hmmm…’ I thought to myself. ‘If they’re smooth like Butter, what am I?’ And the answer to that question is ‘All Fucked Out’ — not to be confused with ‘All Fucked Up’, mind you.

‘All Fucked Out’ as in zero fucks left to give. The song quickly became a staple in my live set and I’ve taken a couple different previous attempts at recording it, but it wasn’t until Me, Matt [Patton], Mikey [Erg] and Paris [Campbell Grace] got together this past December in Water Valley, Mississippi at Matt’s Studio, Dial Back Sound, that it all came together and the song was recorded the way it was meant to be heard.”

Toronto-born, London-based Tess Parks returns with her third solo album, “Pomegranate”. Released on Fuzz Club Records, Pomegranate is the most widescreen offering from Parks to date, featuring strings, flutes, and synthesizers. First single ‘Koalas’ is a lush slice of swaggering indie-psych that brings to mind The Brian Jonestown Massacre or Beth Orton. 

An emotionally charged effort from the psychedelic vocalist, ‘Koalas’ is the latest single to be released from Parks’ upcoming record “Pomegranate“, due out later this year. By now, the compelling nature of Parks’ vocals should come as no real surprise, but this new track still manages to build excitement for the upcoming release.

A five-year gap further on from his last solo album Humanworld in 2019, former The Only Ones singer Peter Perrett presents an expansive double album in the shape of The Cleansing. Featuring his sons Peter Jr. and Jamie in his backing band, on top of guest appearances from Johnny Marr, Bobby Gillespie and Fontaines D.C. guitarist Carlos O’Connell, it’s an accomplished testament to Perrett’s status as one of the finest songwriters of his generation.

“The Cleansing” doesn’t only match Peter Perrett’s best work but expands it: an ambitious double album comprising 20 songs, with his uniquely narcotic and alluring melodies, gorgeous South London drawl and ravishing rock dynamic now allied to a wider span of musical arrangements and lyrical concerns. 

Peter Perrett – “I Wanna Go With Dignity”, from the upcoming album ‘The Cleansing’, out 1st November 2024 on Domino Record Co.

New York City’s GIFT release ‘Illuminator’, a record imbued with a dynamic fusion of genres and widescreen pop production techniques. Vocalist/guitarist TJ Freda says “It’s our second album, ‘Illuminator,’ is out today. It’s surreal to think that just a year ago, we were still reworking song structures and writing lyrics for almost every track on ‘Illuminator.’ Today, it’s no longer just ours—it’s yours. Time is such a complex concept. How do you truly live in the moment while also anticipating what’s ahead?”

“Illuminator” is the long-awaited payoff of GIFT’s ever-growing musical and human chemistry. And while nods are apparent to early Captured Tracks sound, GIFT are shepherding those elements into wondrous new vessels for the present moment – sleek, often danceable and frequently mesmerizing.

“A year passes in the blink of an eye—people drift in and out of your life, you fall in and out of love, and the days, months, and years slip away faster than you can grasp. It’s like watching your life unfold from a distance, surrendering to the relentless pace at which it all flashes by. ‘Illuminator’ is about light—physical light, the speed of light, the way it radiates.

The word itself means something or someone that illuminates, that concentrates or reflects light. It’s a state of being. We aimed to create something raw and honest. This album is a true reflection of who we are, in this very moment.”

“All Pleasure” takes the post-punk of Thus Love‘s debut album through increasingly surprising detours, including glam rock and punk, the kind that provide the deeper stimulation difficult to find in the digital age. The album was recorded in a converted barn, where a visceral live aesthetic evoked the whirlwind success they had recently experienced.

The Brattleboro, Vermont breakthrough outfit Thus Love releases a new album ‘All Pleasure’ out November 1st and share their new single ‘Birthday Song’ out now! The new single finds the band roaring back to life with a grungy glam salvo that boldly celebrates their new era.

Vocalist/guitarist Echo Mars shares the following: “‘Birthday Song’ is a simple song about friendship and how we sometimes don’t give those kinds of platonic relationships the respect and care they need to thrive.” “When it came time to select the first single, ‘Birthday Song’ felt like the perfect way to introduce the new version of Thus Love and our new friends, Ally and Shane.”

‘Birthday Song’ comes with a video directed by Augie Voss & Benni Shumlin, shot on location in Southern Vermont.

off their sophomore album “All Pleasure“, out November 1st on Captured Tracks.