The Fat Angel Sings

Following a smaller edition on June 28th, 1969 within the city of Bath, U.K., featuring groups Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac and Led Zeppelin, among others, the organizers held The Bath Festival of Blues and Progressive Music at the Royal Bath and West Showground in Shepton Mallet, Somerset, England on June 27th-29th, 1970, where Pink Floyd, Santana, and others appeared, along with the returning Led Zeppelin.

The 1970 counterculture era music festival started at midday on Saturday, June 27th and finished at about 6:30 a.m. on Monday morning. A DJ played records for early arrivers from the Friday evening and continued to do so between many of the sets until the end. The festival featured a line-up of the top British and west coast American bands of the day, that also included Hot Tuna, Country Joe McDonald, Colosseum, the Byrds (acoustic set), Dr. John (acoustic set), Frank Zappa & the Mothers of Invention, Canned Heat, It’s a Beautiful Day, Steppenwolf, Johnny Winter, John Mayall with Peter Green, Fairport Convention, Keef Hartley, and others.

 Pink Floyd premiered their new suite, “Atom Heart Mother”, which at that time was announced as “The Amazing Pudding”. The performance featured a complete brass band and 12 strong choir, and took place at 3 am, due to major delays. As well as the “Atom Heart Mother” suite, the band also played tracks from More, A Saucerful of Secrets as well as “Careful with That Axe, Eugene”. 

The festival was captured on both film and on video, in varying quality, but a lack of post-festival organisation led to the footage being lost for many years. Much of it has now been recovered, but the black-and-white footage is of poor quality and is in many different hands. It is considered unlikely that it will ever see the light of day as a legitimate release since no-one can agree on who owns the copyright. 

Michael Eavis was attendant at the festival and was inspired to hold later that year the first event of what would become the Glastonbury festival of contemporary performing arts.

Though the line-up approached the level of the more famous Isle of Wight Festival held in August of the same year, it attracted less press coverage at the time and has generally received less attention in the years since.

A 3-CD boxed set to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the festival has been issued.

“Neil Young Rascals” is the title of a new album from The Tribe, a collective of some of Los Angeles’ most gifted singers and musicians.

As its title would suggest, “Neil Young Rascals” is a set of songs revisiting the iconic catalogs of both Neil Young and The Young Rascals, re-imagined by The Tribe’s stable of gifted musicians and recorded at Rock Cellar Studios in Southern California.

The project was produced by Michael Stern, and some of the musicians featured on the album include guitarists Grant Geissman (Chuck Mangione) and Fuzzbee Morse (Lou Reed), bassist George Bunnell of Strawberry Alarm Clock fame, Mark Pender and Joe Sublett from Kenny Wayne Shepherd’s band on horns, John “JT” Thomas (Bruce Hornsby, Rita Coolidge) on accordion and organ, Stanley Behrens (War) on harmonica, and many of the Tribe’s core band members. Singer spotlights include Gary Stockdale, Mark Lennon, John Pratt, Bill Cinque, Rob Bonfiglio, Chris Paul Overall, Cara Lee, Steve Goddard, Terrell Edwards, Freebo, and Alice Howe.

Since 2015, the Tribe has been performing live music events and has produced several recording projects in support of the Get Together Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization committed to action since 2004. They assist children and families in need, which includes bridge housing shelters, mobile meal delivery, crisis relief, and a music enrichment program serving underprivileged youth. With the help of several valued partners, GTF has been able to deepen its reach in the community. Their work spans Southern California, providing cooperative services with several other action-based organizations.

Jeff Rosenstock makes increasingly chaotic albums for an increasingly chaotic world. With each passing year, it feels like the temperature of the universe boils five degrees hotter, and with each new album, Rosenstock’s music grows more unwieldy and lawless. Louder, faster, more feral. Which brings us to 2023—a planet on fire, a mere 90 seconds to midnight on the doomsday clock, and the release of Rosenstock’s appropriately titled, anarchic record, “Hellmode“.

“To me, the album feels like the chaos of being alive right now,” Rosenstock says of “Hellmode”. “We’re experiencing all these things at the same time that trigger our senses, and emotions that make us feel terrible. We’re just feeling way too much all at once!” But for all its textured turmoil, there are also surprising glimpses of clarity and grace to be found in “Hellmode”, when Rosenstock deliberately slows things down in places that are prettier and more delicate, rare moments of shelter in the storm.

“Hellmode” marks the fifth studio album the prolific Rosenstock has released in the last ten years under his own name, following the dissolution of his beloved cult projects Bomb the Music Industry! and The Arrogant Sons of Bitches. Also tucked into his rapidly expanding catalog is a live record, a ska reimagining of his 2020 album “No Dream”, and various dumps of stray songs and loose singles.

On Jeff Rosenstock’s new album, “Hellmode”, the spontaneous DIY trailblazer returns with the most confident & cohesive album of his career. “Hellmode”, is yet another exciting glimpse into Rosenstock’s powerful and emotionally resonant music, making him one of the most mesmerizing songwriters of the last decade. This exclusive LP vinyl variant is on “Opaque Gold” and limited to only 350 copies, so order yours today!

“Doubt” is taken from Jeff Rosenstock’s new album, “Hellmode” – out September 1st, 2023.

Noise pop innovators the Jesus and Mary Chain have announced a live album. “Sunset 666” is due out August 4th via Fuzz Club Records.

The album was recorded at the Hollywood Palladium in 2018, when the band were opening up a series of shows for Nine Inch Nails; three of the vinyl sides come from the December 15th show, while the fourth side comes from December 11th. Former Belle and Sebastian member Isobel Campbell sings on two of the songs. The 17-song setlist kicks off with the signature tune “Just Like Honey.”

Recorded live at the Hollywood Palladium, LA in 2018, ‘Sunset 666’ is a discography-spanning, 17-track set with tracks from ‘Psychocandy’, ‘Darklands’, ‘Automatic’, ‘Honey’s Dead’, ‘Stoned and Dethroned’, ‘Munki’ and ‘Damage and Joy’

“To be surrounded by that sound was completely electric,” said Campbell in a statement. “I love singing with Jim [Reid]. That time in my life was pretty bleak, and being around the band and their people reignited a spark in me that had been dormant. And I was blown away by William [Reid]. He’s a guitar genius; one of a kind. It feels like we’re all kindred spirits. I can’t think of a band I would rather sing with.”

The band have shared a live version of “Sometimes Always,” from 1994’s “Stoned & Dethroned“, as a single. It features Campbell singing the part originally performed by Mazzy Star’s Hope Sandoval.

‘Sometimes Always’ feat. Isobel Campbell is taken from the new live album, ‘Sunset 666’, out August 4th 2023 via Fuzz Club Records.

NYC-via-Philly quartet Strange Ranger are amidst “their metamorphosis from indie rock to experimental electronic pop, keeping one foot in each genre with stirring, fascinating results” (Stereogum). Next month, the indie veterans will release their new album, “Pure Music“, out July 21st on Fire Talk, and today the band announce a US tour which kicks off in New York City at DROM with support from Nourished by Time and continues into the Fall. 

Aslo the band shared another cut from the record last week entitled “Way Out”

“One of the most underrated bands in all of indie.” — Uproxx

from “Pure Music” out on Fire Talk on July 21st 2023.

“Last Splash” (30th Anniversary Original Analog Edition), remastered at Abbey Road Studios, the set includes two 12″ 45rpm vinyl discs + a 12” disc with two unreleased tracks from the 1993 “Last Splash” sessions: “Go Man Go,” co-written by Kim and Black Francis, and “Divine Mascis,” sung by Dinosaur Jr.’s J Mascis. A monumental album of the ’90s, “Last Splash” turns 30 this year. Recorded by the seminal Breeders lineup of Kim Deal, Kelley Deal, Josephine Wiggs, and Jim MacPherson, “Last Splash” immediately became an alt-rock classic. To celebrate this anniversary, the album has been remastered from the original analogue tapes at Abbey Road—previously thought to be lost

For this special edition, Vaughan Oliver’s original, iconic sleeve art has been gloriously reimagined by his long-time design partner Chris Bigg. Release date: September 22nd,

pre-order now: https://thebreeders.ffm.to/lastsplash30

Our brand new video for “Go Man Go” (directed by Brandon Weaver) is out today,

We hit the road in Sept, performing the album in its entirety, with Belly, Screaming Females and Horsegirl, in select markets.

Montreal singer-songwriter Alex Nicol will release the “A Long Year” EP on June 30th and has shared the title track which features Angel Deradoorian. The title-track of a five-song EP (arriving 30 June), this lead single includes the unmistakable guest vocals of Angel Deradoorian (Dirty Projectors / Decisive Pink).“I wanted to express my frustration at running from my feelings for so long,” Alex says. “It felt like the world was crumbling at the same time as I was pretending everything was fine, but I really wasn’t, and I finally expressed it. It feels like one long exhale for me.”

Guided by Nicol’s haunting vocal pirouettes, “Been A Long Year” is an acoustic ballad which connects personal feelings of grief and sadness at the loss of many loved ones with a wider feeling of an emptiness that permeates through the modern world. Conjuring images of towns desolated by unemployment and families feeling the pressures of these rapidly changing and challenging times, evocative lyrics like “And all the shops are empty / And the diners too / The miller, baker, and seamstress / Gotta find something new to do / But it’s hard times when you add it up…” weigh a heavy lode and will cut deep.

Speaking about the track, Alex Nicol explains: “In “Been A Long Year”, I wanted to express my frustration at running from my feelings for so long. It felt like the world was crumbling at the same time as I was pretending everything was fine, but I really wasn’t, and I finally expressed it. It feels like one long exhale for me.”

Dense of subject matter, but gossamer to the touch, the floaty backing vocals provided by Deradoorian, sombre french horn hums of Pietro Amato, and astral orchestrations of violinist Emmanuel Ethier provide an otherworldly mirror to Nicol’s lucid observations of real-world strife.

The years surrounding the EP’s creation weren’t particularly kind to anyone, but shortly after completing his 2020 debut long-player ‘All For Nada’, Nicol entered a phase of staggering loss and mourning. Friends died. Family members died. He lost his job. As each new crushing sadness hit, Nicol began realising he’d spent his adult life avoiding difficult emotions like the ones he was being overpowered by. It slowly became clearer that his upbringing had conditioned him to maintain a false but constant state of hyper-stability. A small lifetime’s worth of unacknowledged feelings began coming to the surface and everything in Nicol’s world began to change. 

On November in 1977: London’s Wire released their ground breaking & influential debut album, ‘Pink Flag’, on Harvest Records – one of the most original debut albums to come out of the first wave of British punk (making it, in sound & spirit, one of the foundation releases of what would become known as ‘post-punk’); very few of the songs followed traditional verse/chorus structures – if one or two riffs sufficed, no more were added; if a musical hook or lyric didn’t need to be repeated, they immediately stopped playing, accounting for the album’s brevity (21 songs in under 36 minutes)…”Pink Flag” is one of the most original debut albums in the punk world, and one could argue it’s one of the “punkest” records on this list based on the fact that Wire follows no rules. The band’s blend of punk energy and avant-garde sensibilities also placed the band at the forefront of the post-punk movement. Labels aside, “Pink Flag” still sounds as fresh today as it did in 1977. Ranging from minimalist numbers with no repetition to faster songs featuring memorable vocals and biting wit, Wire’s ability to be unpredictable and incredibly consistent has cemented their legacy as a highly influential group that’s inspired countless genres. 

Wire [push] minimalism to new heights” and said the band “dredges up images of…beat poetry–short fragments of impressions set to music.” the 21 tracks are “not songs…There’s no easy structure or meter. Each explores or describes or electrifies or challenges. There’s no easy listening.” “I can’t say this is an enjoyable album. Maybe it’s just a stupid bit of rubbish. But you won’t know unless you find out.

“Pink Flag” was perhaps the most original debut album to come out of the first wave of British punk” and also “recognizable, yet simultaneously quite unlike anything that preceded it. “Pink Flag’s” enduring influence pops up in hardcore, post-punk, alternative rock, and even Britpop, and it still remains a fresh, invigorating listen today: a fascinating, highly inventive rethinking of punk rock and its freedom to make up your own rules.” Retrospectively, Trouser Press called the album “a brilliant 21-song suite” in which the band “manipulated classic rock song structure by condensing them into brief, intense explosions of attitude and energy, coming up with a collection of unforgettable tunes”