Merseyside alternative rock band The Mysterines album ‘Afraid of Tomorrows’ is the highly-anticipated follow up to their critically-acclaimed Top 10 debut album, ‘Reeling’, released June 2024. Their imposing frontwoman melds together more than her lifetime’s worth of experiences with the kind of deep, impassioned vocal you won’t forget in a hurry. In her songs and stagecraft you’ll see and hear everything from PJ Harvey’s raw and ragged stomp to the crazed carnival energy of Tom Waits and eviscerating poetics of Patti Smith. The first great British rock band of the post-pandemic era, The Mysterines let us in on Lia’s unfiltered look at life, the universe and everything, complete with serious riffs and an unflinching honesty.
,’The Last Dance’, the new single by the Mysterines from their upcoming album ‘Afraid of Tomorrows’
It’s 1974 and blues-rock is badly in need of a new guitar hero. Hendrix and Duane Allman are dead, Clapton and Peter Green are missing in action and Jimmy Page was last heard essaying reggae and doo-wop pastiches on Led Zep’s “Houses Of The Holy“. Cometh the hour, cometh Robin Trower.
Who would have thought that the “backroom” guitarist with the stately keyboards-led Procol Harum would become one of the great blues rock guitarists. And it was the second of his power trio’s superb trilogy of back-to-back albums in the mid-70s that sealed his reputation.
Frustrated by not being allowed to let rip in his years with Procul Harum, Trower had given notice of intent with his 1973 solo debut “Twice Removed From Yesterday“, which included an incendiary cover of BB King’s “Rock Me Baby” and rather suggested he’d been in the wrong group all along. Backed by Jimmy Dewar on bass and blue-eyed soul vocals and Reg Isidore on powerhouse drums, he followed with 1974’s epochal “Bridge Of Sighs“, which was to elevate him to the ranks of the most revered axemen of the age.
From the pounding opener, “Day Of The Eagle”, to closer “Little Bit Of Sympathy”, it’s a beautifully balanced, dynamic record filled with quality songs, masterful playing from Trower (Bridge Of Sighs, Too Rolling Stoned) with his overdriven, reverb-drenched, swirling psychedelic sound and Hendrix inflections, plus some outstanding performances (About To Begin, In This Place) from peerless blues rock vocalist Jimmy Dewar.
“Bridge of Sighs” is the second solo album by Robin Trower released in 1974 on Chrysalis/Capitol Records, it was his second album after leaving Procol Harum, and was the breakthrough for Trower.
Guitar Player magazine named “Bridge Of Sighs” its Album Of The Year and Robert Fripp, having just broken up King Crimson, asked Trower to give him lessons as “one of the few English guitarists that have mastered bends and wobbles, able to stand alongside American guitarists, on “Bridge Of Sighs“, every one of the eight tracks essentially a vehicle for his rampant soloing, from subtle and sultry to shrieking and shredding.
“Bridge of Sighs”, was Robin Trower’s sophomore album following his departure from Procol Harum. Lauded critically, commercially a breakthrough, the album saw Robin push his trio’s initial concept into exciting new territory. Accompanied by James Dewar on soulful vocal and bass duty and Reg Isidore underpinning their psychedelic blues sound with masterful drumming. Producer and former Procol Harum bandmate Matthew Fisher and Beatles engineer Geoff Emerick take on control room duties to help bring this stunning collection of songs together..
50 years later, the recordings have been newly mixed from the original tapes, with an unedited stereo mix cut at half-speed especially for this release. On the second disc, you can hear the trio amid a US tour supporting the album Live at The Record Plant, Sausalito, May 1974, available in its entirety for the first time and newly remastered from the original tape transfers, the recording sounds as exhilarating as it would have for those in the room.
Songs such as “Bridge of Sighs”, “Too Rolling Stoned”, “Day of the Eagle” and “Little Bit of Sympathy” became live concert staples.
John Murry & Cowboy Junkies‘ Michael Timmins have collaborated on “A Little Bit Of Grace And Decay,” a soundtrack to the documentary, “The Graceless Age: The Ballad Of John Murry“. Tracks include stripped back versions of songs from “A Short History Of Decay“, new songs and sections from the documentary score. The album is released on September 20th on Deluxe CD as a Download on TV Records.
“Ever since we finished recording “A Short History of Decay” back in 2016, I’ve been waiting for John Murry to return to my studio,” says Timmins. “I had been working on some ideas for the film score for John’s doc when he finally reappeared. He had three days to kill in Toronto, so we decided to get together, sit around and play some music. No real plan and no real goal, just play and enjoy each other’s company. This album is the result of that visit.
As well as Murry on vocals and acoustic guitar and Timmins on electric guitar, bass, keyboards and loops, the album also features Peter Timmins on drums.
“It’s a ‘sort-of’ soundtrack album to the film, it contains some score pieces, as well as some of the solo recordings that John and I made when he was here in Toronto, some of which also became a part of the score.”
Joan Wasser, aka Joan As Police Woman, has shared a new single, “Long For Ruin”. Wasser says, “This song refers to the human race’s seemingly willful move away from ourselves. Away from our interest in listening, in finding commonalities and compassion, communication and love. We seem intent on destroying ourselves. We seem unwilling to share resources. We seem to have turned away from ourselves and in turn each other.”
The track is a scintillating hybrid of indie rock and alternative soul, featuring distorted guitar and shuffling percussion. ‘Long For Ruin’ comfortable sits in a universe that is singularly Joan’s, all of which is further brought to life by a vocal performance which evokes an air of contemplation and melancholy.
The twelfth of her studio albums, ‘Lemons, Limes, and Orchids’ is a crowning showcase of Joan’s voice in all its metamorphic splendour. ‘I was ready to make an album that truly featured my voice. The basics were recorded like they used to be- with me singing live along with the band. My good friend said told me this is the sexiest album I’ve ever made. Honestly, I think she’s right’. The record is a nocturne about love and loss – what else is there? – and a reckoning with our collective disorientation, part hymn to holding on and part benediction of letting go.
from her new album, “Lemons, Limes & Orchids” which is released on September 20th via PIAS.
The Daydream Library Series record label has confirmed Thurston Moore’s new full length album “Flow Critical Lucidity“. The album will arrive in stores on September 20th, 2024. Fans of Sonic Youth & Thurston Moore will be delighted to learn that all tracks from the album will be released via all streaming platforms, vinyl, compact disc & cassette.
Thurston Moore’s forthcoming album, “Flow Critical Lucidity” is his ninth solo recording. Some of the songs were written & arranged in Europe and The United Kingdom and include lyrical references to their environments and inspired by nature, lucid dreaming, modern dance and Isadora Duncan. The album was arranged at La Becque in Switzerland and recorded at Total Refreshment Studios in London in 2022, and mixed at Hermitage Studios in London with Margo Broom in 2023. “Flow Critical Lucidity” comes from a lyric in the single ‘Sans Limites’ and the album sleeve cover art features Jamie Nares’ ‘Samurai Walkman’ ― a helmet befitted with tuning forks. Jamie Nares (born in Great Britain) is a life long friend of ThurstonMoore from his New York No Wave days and the two have often collaborated in art & music.
The single featuring Laetitia Sadier,
“Flow Critical Lucidity” will be released on Moore’s Daydream Library Series record label on September 20th.
The Decemberists have been one of the most original, daring, and thrilling American rock bands. Their distinctive brand of hyperliterate folk-rock set them apart from the start, releasing nine full-length albums that are unbound by genre and highly ambitious. Now the beloved indie band is back with their first new album in six years, “As It Ever Was, So It Will Be Again” – not only the longest Decemberists album to date (and their first intentional, proper double-LP) but also their most empathetic and accessible, its 13 songs like semaphores of mutual recognition for our fraught times and faint hope.
Reuniting with producer Tucker Martine (R.E.M., Neko Case, Sufjan Stevens) who began working with the band on “The Crane Wife”, the album features R.E.M.’s Mike Mills, The Shins’ James Mercer and Lizzie Ellison on background vocals.
This, songwriter Colin Meloy will tell you proudly, is the best Decemberists album and perhaps the ultimate realization of 22 years of work. In many ways, “As It Ever Was, So It Will Be Again” feels like an aptly titled renewal for The Decemberists. The first full-length release on YABB Records, the band’s own label, after a run of nearly two decades with Capitol. As they were once, here are the Decemberists again, now an independent band empowered by singing stories that sound instantly familiar and convey some bit of hard-won wisdom.
The follow-up to last year’s ‘MERCY’ LP is led by new single ‘How We See The Light’
John Cale has shared details of his second album in just over a year, titled “POPtical Illusion”.
The follow-up to MERCY, released last January, spans 13 tracks and eschews the collaboration-heavy approach of its predecessor. The album makes use of synths, samples, pianos and organs through its various cuts. It was produced by Cale and his longtime artistic partner Nita Scott at the former’s Los Angeles studio.
POPtical Illusion is preceded by lead cut ‘How We See The Light’, which appears at the record’s midpoint. You can watch a video for the song above.
Double Six / Domino will release “POPtical Illusion” on June 14th, 2024.
Despite the album’s playful title, Cale’s second album in just over a year still contains the same feelings of fierce and inquisitive rage that were present in 2023 album “Mercy”. He remains angry, still incensed by the willful destruction that unchecked capitalists and unrepentant conmen have hoisted upon the wonders of this world and the goodness of its people. But this is not at all Mercy II, or some collection of castoffs, as throughout his career of more than six decades, Cale has never been much for repetition. His vanguard-shaping enthusiasms have shifted among ecstatic classicism and unbound rock, classic songcraft and electronic reimagination with proud restlessness.
And so, on “POPtical Illusion“, he foregoes the illustrious cast to burrow mostly alone into mazes of synthesizers and samples, organs and pianos, with words that, as far as Cale goes, constitute a sort of swirling hope, a sage insistence that change is yet possible. Produced by Cale and longtime artistic partner Nita Scott, “POPtical Illusion” is the work of someone trying to turn toward the future – exactly as Cale always has.
“Sometimes you write a song purely for a mood,” John Cale says of his new single “Shark-Shark” and it’s video by Abigail Portner. “‘Shark-Shark’ has two versions – both a nod to finding humour in music. When you’re feeling too much of the real world, the best diversion is something that puts a grin on your face. I don’t know how Abby & team kept this shoot together – being ‘unserious’ was a lot of fun!” New album “POPtical Illusion” is out June 14 via Domino Recordings.
A bit over ten years separated John Cale’s 2012 album “Shifty Adventures in Nookie Wood” and his next LP of original material, 2023’s “Mercy”. Chalk it up to a more dedicated creative focus or simply momentum, but a mere 18 months passed before Cale delivered his follow-up to “Mercy”, 2024’s “Poptical Illusion”.
As the title suggests, “Poptical Illusion” is a bit more approachable than the dark, forbidding tone of “Mercy”. While the arrangements are largely built around electronics, in terms of melodies, the songs recall the more graceful tone of albums like 1970’s “Vintage Violence” and 1973’s “Paris 1919”, and the material has a warmth missing from much of Cale’s catalogue, even if the performances on tracks like “I’m Angry” and “Edge of Reason” are nearly as spare as those on 1982’s brilliant but harrowing “Musicfor a New Society”, and the rhythmic chatter of “Company Commander” suggests a dance track without the central pulse that would make it user-friendly. “Mercy” was an often mournful work, full of damaged lives in a world succumbing to its own chaos; “Poptical Illusion” isn’t as heavily invested in its clouds of ambient sound and doomstruck navel-gazing (and it doesn’t feature a raft of guest stars, with Cale handling most of the instrumental work himself), and the observations are more personal than political. However, just as “Mercy” found Cale sounding fully engaged in new music after a long period of working with others or examining his past, “Poptical Illusion” is full of ideas and energy, perhaps not the work of a man full of hope but certainly one with plenty to say. At the age of 82, Cale’s music is fresh and contemporary in a way very few of his peers can manage, making use of the seemingly endless palate of electronic sounds in a way that engages the head and the heart, and even the darkest selections here display a bold, uncompromising humanity that turns his pessimism into a rage against the dying of the light. He is also in fine voice, singing with a force and control that’s as flexible as it was 50 years ago. John Cale may be a respected elder statesman of adventurous music that explores the nexus of rock and art, but on “Poptical Illusion” he sounds like a contemporary artist bubbling over with ideas and the will to execute them. It may not be especially optimistic, but it’s certainly powerful and inspiring, and we probably need that more from Cale than forced cheeriness, a skill he need not acquire this far into his career.
John Cale – “Shark-Shark” from the album ‘POPtical Illusion’ out now on Double Six / Domino.
“The Gloss” is the second album from Cola – from their inception Cola have expanded on the diy ethic of the Dischord and SST eras, creating potent sounds from a minimal palette of drums/bass/guitar and lacing their songs with winsome one-liners and societal commentary.
The second album from Montreal’s Cola is one of a much brighter disposition. Having disbanded art rock project Ought, vocalist Tim Darcy and bassist Ben Stidworthy released their debut album, “Deep In View“, as Cola in 2021 with the addition of Evan Cartwright on drums. What emerged from this new era of artistic endeavor from the trio was a mixture of new wave and post-punk sounds. Within sparse arrangements, they crafted out a niche, as they leaned heavily towards the more melodic side of the recent post-punk boom. Their debut had more of a neutral emotional palette, which is in sharp contrast to their new album “The Gloss”, in which they’ve managed to create denser and much more vibrant compositions.
What’s another word for commentary? “Gloss“, apparently. Never basic, the lyrics reward repeated listening for deeper meanings. David Berman’s poetry-via-garage light pennings are an inspiration, as equally so are the lighter side of UK first-wave New Wave and the Dunedin sound.
The results are in the pudding: at times sparse and poetic, at others a thrilling, hook-laden good time, as with the cheeky romantic sketch of a one-night stand that is so overflowing with innuendo-cum-journalism talk that it almost teeters over into self-parody.
But the results are the right combination of lightheartedness and sincerity. Romanticism is never far from laughter, and equally never far from righteous anger in the music of Cola: “Pulling quotes now in the dark/Our outlook is restrained/Your tongue might weaken to be-fit your smile/Til nothing ill remains.” ’nuff said. It’s an album bursting with energy and wit and ideas-filled to the margins.
The most immediately striking difference is the sense of warmth you feel across “The Gloss“, where it feels as though you’re basking in the glorious dayglow of perfect morning sunshine. Its presence is felt from the jump on opener “Tracing Hallmarks,” where the guitars become more and more buoyant as the track goes on. Every inch of this album enthuses brighter days, from the gentle flutters of flute on “Pallor Tricks” to the meditative quiet that sets the tone of “Nice Try”. From the beginning of Cola’s existence, Cartwright’s drumming has been one of their greatest attributes. On “Deep In View“, it was essential in creating the vastness felt in their minimal style. This time around, it truly feels like the lifeblood of the tracks, opening the door for Darcy and Stidworthy’s parts to come to life. There are little flourishes, such as the footprint-like taps on “Keys Down If You Stay,” which help bring a greater sense of life to “TheGloss” than the band have achieved previously.
Cola’s new album “The Gloss” out June 14th on Fire Talk / Next Door.
New Year’s Day is the perfect example of a band that just gets better with each album they release, ‘Half Black Heart’ is definitely one of the band’s stronger albums. It opens with an immediate guitar riff throwing you head first into ‘Vampyr’, a thrilling introduction to the album. Returning members Brandon Wolfe, Jeremy Valentine, and Trixx Daniel have definitely made their presence felt, it’s almost like they never left, they work together perfectly with Ash Costello to create a familiar yet refreshing New Year’sDay Sound.
Throughout the album , Costello harnesses her power as a strong female frontwoman but especially shines towards the end of the album on tracks ‘So Sick’ and ‘Creature of Habit’. An album that both new and old fans of New Year’s Day will be able to appreciate, ‘Half Black Heart’ is likely to be up there on my albums of the year come December.
