The Fat Angel Sings

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 Thurston Moore 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 “Music for 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 “The Gloss” 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’s Day 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.

Galway indie-rock quartet NewDad when they announced their next single ‘Say It’ released on 11th January, with sophomore EP ‘Banshee’ arriving on 9th February via Fair Youth Records.

Another debut album from an Irish band released in January, NewDad’s ‘Madra’ is best described as hypnotic. Lead singer Julie Dawson’s voice perfectly fits the shoegaze sound of the album. It is so easy to just lose yourself listening to the album, there is something so dreamy about it. You can hear how the likes of The Cure have inspired the band, it brings familiarity to the album but doesn’t overpower it, NewDad is still the signature sound of the album The lyrics are heavy, leaning into themes of self-loathing on the part of Dawson. It’s a harsh juxtaposition with the gentleness of her voice but it is so well executed. The two parts come together extremely well to create a whole album that is just so enjoyable to listen to. Another strong debut album released in 2024 that you should definitely listen to!

Julie Dawson fronts the rising band alongside Áindle O’Beirn, Sean O’Dowd, and Fiachra Parslow. NewDad formed while still at school in Galway and credit a random band name generator for their unusual moniker. Having initially felt isolated as a new Irish band, the success of friends and fellow countrymen Fontaines D.C. and The Murder Capital forged a path for the band. In early 2020, they recruited Sean O’Dowd on bass, having existed as a three piece prior to that point. Initially getting together because Julie “hates playing and singing on my own,” the band grew more serious about their sound and decided to move in together to write and record as much as possible when lockdown hit.

The first result of this was the band’s debut EP “Waves”, released in early 2021. Dark and stormy with undeniably beautiful moments amid the mammoth guitars, the EP acted as a perfect introduction to the world NewDad have created for themselves and picked up fans across the globe. There’s a heaviness to the music, which the band pin to a love of The Cure, Pixies, and Slowdive among others, that transcends local scenes or languages. Julie’s songwriting brings a subtlety to their sound, weaving personal relationships and influences from the worlds of literature and cinema to add depth.

She explores these themes more closely on the band’s new EP, which was mixed by legendary producer John Congleton. “When I was writing “Waves”, I was out of school but looking back at experiences from that time,” Julie says of an EP that delves into “family, relationships, and all of the mistakes you make at that age.”

‘Say It’ is “perfect pop, a brilliantly urgent single that highlights the extra experience and time the band have had in the studio,” according to a press release. “Julie’s vocals are amongst her best yet, and capture the emotion of the track, the rushing sensation you feel when in the midst of an affair.”

Referring to the origins of the single, the band write:

“‘Say It’ is about unrequited love, about when someone is with you but not really, it’s supposed to capture that frustration you feel when you’re giving someone your all and they’re giving you nothing in return. The fast pace of the song makes it feel like I’m venting which works considering the feelings of irritation and bitterness I’m talking about when you don’t want to like someone but you can’t help it’. “

“Banshee” is the band’s second EP. “Banshee” was recorded and co-produced in Belfast with frequent collaborator Chris W Ryan and was mixed by John Congleton (Lana Del Rey, Phoebe Bridgers).

“This EP is definitely bigger, having more time in the studio definitely meant we got to experiment more and layer more into each track so there’s an overall bigger sound!” NewDad said of their new EP. “The main themes of this EP are restlessness and anxiety, during lockdown that’s how myself and most people were feeling so that’s what inspired a lot of the writing.”

The new music is brighter, something Julie pins on the excitement of moving in together as a band.

“There’s a lightness to the songs and we’re moving in a more pop direction, too.” “Ladybird” was inspired by the Greta Gerwig movie of the same name while the bittersweet jangle of ‘Say It’ deals with the heartache of being more interested in someone than they are in you.

Other songs, including the epic and sprawling ‘Spring’, are more inward looking and tackle the waves of anxiety living in the modern world can make feel inescapable. “I’ve written a lot of songs about dreams, sleep and restlessness. This past year has added a whole heap of pressure onto us so I’ve been doing a lot of talking through what’s going on in my mind.”

These songs capture a moment in time for a band with big ambitions, and a bright future they’re eager to chase down as quickly as possible. Work has already begun on a debut album.

NewDad have also confirmed more live dates for next year following the incredible success of their first UK tour.

‘Letter To Self’ was released in January and is the debut from Dublin band, Sprints. This is such a strong debut album that at times, is hard to believe is the band’s first full length album. ‘Letter To Self’ is predominantly garage punk/rock but you can hear it when the band dips their toes into other genres, such as grunge and pop-rock. There’s an energy throughout the entire album that leaves you wanting more.There’s power in lead singer Karla Chubbs’ voice that perfectly suits the fierce guitar from Colm O’Reilly. Bassist Sam McCann and drummer Jack Callan complete the strong line up. All four artists work well together to create a dynamic album that’s dark yet optimistic, a reminder that good things do still happen. ‘Literary Mind’ is a perfect example of this. It’s the song that gets stuck in my head the most too! A debut album that is very much worth a listen.

There’s “Letter to Self” by Sprints (Bandcamp) which was released at the start of 2024 that made me feel 14 again within a few thudded drum builds, listening to L7 and Babes in Toyland for the first time on the way home from an Idlewild gig. “Letter to Self” is an exceptional debut album, by a band from Dublin, produced by Gilla Band’s Daniel Fox in a way that feels as if everything is ricocheting around Karla Chubb as her voice rises above the glorious racket. It’s an intense and cathartic listen, tackling women’s ongoing fight for bodily autonomy, mental health storms, sexuality, identity, and catholic guilt. Karla Chubb sums it up thus: “No matter what you’re born into, or have experienced, there’s a way to emerge from this and be happy within yourself.”

Sprints’ debut album ‘Letter to Self’ embodies their substantial evolution over the past 3 years. Transforming pain into truth, passion into purpose and perseverance into strength, the Dublin four-piece have steadily grown in stature, releasing two acclaimed EPs and building a fearsome live reputation. ‘Letter to Self’ is the sound of Sprints consolidating and levelling up. Exhibiting their most vulnerable moments and imbuing their visceral garage-punk with a palpable sense of catharsis that we can all benefit from.

debut album “Letter to Self” is out now on City Slang Records!