The Fat Angel Sings

Includes newly recorded covers from Keith Richards, Maxim Ludwig and Angel Olsen, Rufus Wainwright, Rickie Lee Jones, Joan Jett, Mary Gauthier, Bobby Rush, Lucinda Williams, Automatic, The Afghan Whigs, and Rosanne Cash. Liner notes by Bill Bentley

Lou Reed told the whole truth for his entire life as a rock and roll pioneer. From the Velvet Underground’s debut in 1967 all the way to the end, the New York City wonder never thought about doing it any other way. Beginning with his earliest songs, that was Reed’s mission. He once said, “If you can do it in novels, films, plays, then you can do it in music.” What made the man from Brooklyn so unique was the way he did it. In 50 years, Lou Reed took life to the limit and beyond.

“The Power of the Heart” is a tribute to all those who Reed showed the freedom of expression when he began. Beginning with one of The Velvet Underground’s groundbreaking songs, the other ten tracks from Lou Reed’s majestic solo career are a glorious extension of adventure that always personified the Rock and Roll Animal’s soul. The way he could match brain-shaking lyrics with the absolute power of rock’s velocity was brand new when Lou Reed began, and was never really equaled as he kept pushing the borders outward until his passing in 2013. He was the ultimate uncompromiser, and never thought twice about taking chances on songs that span a half-century. 

Sarah Tudzin has had one hell of a year—most notably her engineering credit on boygenius’ “the Record” nabbing her a Grammy for Best Alternative Music Album. But in 2023, Tudzin brought her Illuminati Hotties project back into our hearts with the standalone single “Truck”—her first release since 2022’s “Sandwich Sharer” and her best piece of music since her 2021 album “Let Me Do One More”.

Now, Tudzin has one-upped her own one-upping on “Can’t Be Still,” a song so delightfully infectious and catchy that it very well might be one of the best Illuminati Hotties releases to date. With a sharp, riffing guitar echoing a slice of whistling, a melody of ooos and Tudzin’s steadfast, sugar-sweet lead vocal in tow, “Can’t Be Still” is rock-solid and appraised, by me, with a high replay value—I’m going to be humming that “I can’t be alone now, show me how” line all week.

The new single is a bouncy and twangy indie-rock number that crunches like a freaking Crunch Bar and dances around Tudzin’s snarling vocals. “I find that something I have in common with most people that I talk to lately is the immense fear of and inability to be alone with ourselves,” the songwriter shared of the new recording. “Constant motion, avoidance, restlessness—anything to keep myself from stagnating have always been my coping mechanisms when my inner monologue starts to get loud.”

Linked to the Ziggy Stardust story, Mott’s rendition of ‘All The Young Dudes’ remains the definitive version of David’s masterpiece. The album proved inspirational & is still a record that excites & resonates decades later. Over the years, Mott The Hoople has been cited as an inspiration by Queen, The Clash, Kiss, Primal Scream, Motley Crue, Cheap Trick & Def Leppard, whose frontman Joe Elliott remains a devoted fan.

Mott The Hoople occupies a unique place in the annals of international rock music. Oozing style, attitude & unpredictability, the band recorded a peerless legacy of songs combining homage, honesty & killer hooks. As Mott’s focal point, lead singer Ian Hunter was also among one of the toughest & most inventive writers of the early Seventies.

‘All The Young Dudes’, Mott’s 5th studio album, remains a special & vital record. Released in the UK on 8th September 1972, the title track (penned by David Bowie) became their highest charting hit single. Also including a spritely, ‘definitive’ cover of Lou Reed’s classic ‘Sweet Jane’, the inventive & suggestive ‘Momma’s Little Jewel’, the Stones-styled ‘Jerkin’ Crocus’ & Mick Ralphs’ heartfelt ‘Ready For Love’, the album has been termed “the ultimate document of an era.

* 2LP In Gatefold Sleeve – LP1 Remastered Album / LP2 Rare Mixes & Session Tracks, includes *12″ Single, With Rare ‘Unlocked Cars’ Version Of ‘All The Young Dudes’ + ‘One Of The Boys’ (Us Single Version)

* 72- Page Hardback Book With Liner Notes By Mott The Hoople & Ian Hunter Biographer Campbell Devine. 2 Posters, 3 Art Prints, ‘Sea Divers’ Fan Club Card & An Individually Numbered Certificate

“Mott the Hoople was the greatest rock’n’roll band ever.” JOE ELLIOTT (DEF LEPPARD)

“Raw, fun, angry, glorious & jagged… Mott was everything.” BRIAN MAY (QUEEN)

“If it hadn’t been for Mott, there would be no us.” MICK JONES (THE CLASH)

Rosali Middleman’s 2021 album “No Medium” is one of those great albums that kinda crept up on us–it was more of a slow-burning rise than an Event Album–but she’s since signed to Merge Records, built up a lot of anticipation for new music, and her new album “Bite Down” does already kind of feel like an event.

Rosali makes songs that take their time in revealing their full power. What might appear to be restrained, introspective compositions will stretch slowly outward, snagging your attention with a sideways guitar lead or an exceptionally raw lyric you didn’t catch the first time around. Her softly glowing music is deceptively fluid, able to appear patient and refined at the edge of unraveling.

Rosali made it with the same band that she made “No Medium” with, David Nance and Mowed Sound (who also released their own new album last month), and though they didn’t know each other very well when they made “No Medium“, they’ve since become super close, and it sounds like “Bite Down” was more collaborative from the start than its predecessor. “When we went to make this record, I went in with the songs less developed than I normally would because I wanted it to be a band record,” Rosali said.

Rosali and David Nance have a shared love of Neil Young, and “Bite Down‘s” mix of intimate folk music and electrified jams has already gotten its fair share of Crazy Horse comparisons, while Rosali’s warm, soaring voice has echoes of Fairport Convention’s Sandy Denny (and, on “My Kind,” sounds a little like Stevie Nicks). With comparisons like those, it probably comes as no surprise that “Bite Down” sounds like something that could’ve come out circa 1967-1973, and it has the same transportive quality that the best folk rock albums from that era did. It doesn’t take you back in time so much as it takes you to another world entirely.

A lot of great indie albums came out last week, and this is the standout. This is coming from a huge fan of Waxahachie who put out a brilliant new album. “Bite Down” has everything: great music, great lyrics and a down to earth vibe.

“Big Sigh” is not only the name of Marika Hackman’s wonderful fourth album, it’s also a pretty perfect two-word descriptor for it. There’s a haze of melancholy that infiltrates everything on the album, from the lyrics, to the melodies, arrangements and Marika’s breathy vocals which are probably the biggest sigh of them all. It also plays like a comedown from 2019’s “Any Human Friend”, an album that was fun, extremely sex-positive, and found Hackman very comfortable in her own skin. “Big Sigh” feels like a hangover, or at least waking up with a shock wondering “what have I done?” Strings swirl around her like 1000 doubts on tracks like “No Caffeine” where she tries to distract her way out of tailspin: “Take a day off work / Call your mum / Have a glass of wine / Stay away from fun / Pretend like you don’t care.” At first glance “Big Sigh” is most like her first, 2015’s “We Slept at Last“, windswept and atmospheric, but with the skill, confidence and nuance that comes with nine more years of life.

Marika played every instrument on the album — apart from brass and strings — and clearly learned a lot making her previous records (including 2020’s “Covers”). You can hear echoes of her second and third albums’ sound here even if it’s employed in very different ways, including subtle electronics that bubble under many of the songs. For those missing the zesty, carnal delights of “Any Human Friend”, there is “Slime” — “Stranger I wanna rearrange you / Climb your spine and shake your mind / Slide back and feel your bones crack / So sublime, turn to slime” — but these two albums make for a satisfying meal, expertly pairing the bitter with the sweet.

Mannequin Pussy’s music feels like a resilient and galvanizing shout that demands to be heard.

Across four albums, the Philadelphia rock band that consists of Colins “Bear” Regisford (bass, vocals), Kaleen Reading (drums, percussion), Maxine Steen (guitar, synths), and Marisa Dabice (guitar, vocals) has made cathartic tunes about despairing times. “There’s just so much constantly going on that feels intentionally evil that trying to make something beautiful feels like a radical act ,” says Dabice. “The ethos of this band has always been to bring people together.”

“I Got Heaven,” the lead single and title track from Mannequin Pussy’s new album, was heaving and portentous; its follow-up “I Don’t Know You” is the complete opposite, sticky and sweet. Marisa Dabice’s singsong count-up threads itself throughout the song: “I know 4, 5, 6, 7 ways to get ahead/ But I wouldn’t know how to get you into my bed/ There are 3 little words/ That I wish I had said/ But I wouldn’t tell you.” Those three small words might have taken on a different from in an earlier iteration of Mannequin Pussy, but here they’re rendered in a swooning love song, one that filled with a hopeful anticipation at the possibilities of the unknown. 

Their new album, “I Got Heaven“, which is out via Epitaph Records, is the band’s most fully realised recording yet. Over ten ambitious tracks which abruptly turn from searing punk to inviting alternative pop, the album is deeply concerned with desire, the power in being alone, and how to live in an unfeeling and unkind world. It’s a document of a band doubling down on their unshakable bond to make something furious, thrilling, and wholly alive.

Following the 2019 release of their critically acclaimed third album “Patience”, Mannequin Pussy returned in 2021 for their EP “Perfect”. They toured that release relentlessly and added guitarist Maxine Steen to the band’s official line-up. The band changed their entire creative formula, choosing to write together in the studio in Los Angeles with producer John Congleton, over slowly crafting tracks at home. “Everyone felt empowered to speak up about their own ideas to make this thing the best it could possibly be,” says Regisford.

Ducks Ltd. begin their spring/summer 2024 tour this weekend, and to celebrate they’ve shared a new single. “When You’re Outside” features backing vocals from Ratboys‘ Julia Steiner and Moontype‘s Margaret McCarthy and was recorded during the same sessions as this year’s fantastic “Harm’s Way” album .

On “Harm’s Way”, the songs are better, the production shimmers more brightly, and the arrangements are more ambitious (piano, strings), with assists from Ratboys‘ Julia Steiner and Marcus Nuccio, Dehd‘s Jason Bala, Finom’s Macie Stewart and more. Most notably, they’ve added real drums to augment their arsenal of drum machines and that adds real punch to these breathless, pop nuggets, and ups their replayability. Effortlessly tuneful songs like “Hollowed Out,” “The Main Thing” and “Deleted Scenes” (there’s not a bum track here) may invite comparisons to The Go-Betweens, The Wedding Present, The Verlaines, and others, but they also hold their own against them.

McGreevy says it was their time on the road with Nation of Language, Archers of Loaf and Illuminati Hotties that made the biggest difference between this and their debut. “When we got signed, we had played maybe five or six shows ever. After last year, it’s in the hundreds. That experience can change your perception of your own music and songwriting. In the past when we got stuck on a song we had a tendency to look at our favorite records to see how they tackled it. But now, instead of asking ‘what would Orange Juice do?’, we’d ask, ‘what would we do?”

“When You’re Outside” is out now on Carpark / Royal Mountain Records.