The Fat Angel Sings

Curated By King Crimson. It’s King Crimson’s life in music – as told in a series of exclusive new interviews…Not forgetting the greatest gigs they ever saw, and their 50 favourite albums. Plus: their introductions to their pick of archive interviews with Peter Gabriel, Kate Bush and John McLaughlin.

This item will be published on the 28th April 2023

Rising artist Thala is finding strength in her vulnerability on new EP ‘In Theory Depression’. After forging a path in hazy, lo-fi indie, this forthcoming release is home to her sharpest, boldest songwriting yet, rendering these deeply personal explorations of self in vivid, ‘90s influenced indie-rock, and looming, psych-inspired walls-of-sound. The new EP sees Thala dredging up the feelings she’d tried hard to bury before. As the usual bustle of her hectic everyday life was silenced, she filled that space with song writing, delving deep into the complicated feelings she had previously left to somewhere deep within herself.

My new single ‘Curtain Call’ is out now!! And with that being said you can now pre-order my EP ‘In Theory Depression’ everywhere in the whole wide world – I’ve poured all my heart and soul into this & can’t wait to share all of these 6 beautiful songs with you! They are so close to my heart. Don’t think I’ve ever written anything more personal iml. I’m so freaking excited for this next chapter!! There’s much more to say but for now this is all you need to know. Special thanks to everyone involved in making this. Ty for believing in me when I struggle to do so.

Recalling the tangled indie-rock of Holly Humberstone, Soccer Mommy and Phoebe Bridgers, and underpinned by spiky, surging guitars, her music unearths tenderness, even as it rages. On the raw-edged new single ‘Curtain Call’ sees the narrator stare blankly at the wall, setting out her greatest fear in plain, and totally unadorned terms. “I’m scared I’ll die unhappy without someone to love”.

The Beaches have released a new single and music video, “Blame Brett” showcasing their wild and vulnerable sides. The song warns potential partners about lead singer Jordan Miller’s tendency to cause relationship chaos due to past heartbreak. The Canadian alt-rock band has also announced that their much-awaited second album, “Blame My Ex”, will be available on September 15th.

This breakup song presents Miller’s strong and vulnerable persona with a unique twist on the classic theme. The song “Blame Brett” immediately grabs listeners’ attention with its lively beat and powerful vocals by Miller. The energetic guitar riffs, compelling bass line, and fast-paced percussion create an intense and emotional listening experience.

The music video complements the track’s hedonistic vibe, featuring The Beaches rocking out in colourful leather, cheerleader skirts, slinky lingerie, feather boas, and 90’s sunnies. Miller explains that “Blame Brett” is a song “about feeling vulnerable and afraid to open your heart to someone new,” making it an anthem for all the hot messes.

The Beaches is a band from the neighbourhood with the same name. Its members include Jordan Miller as the lead vocalist and bassist, Kylie Miller as the guitarist, Leandra Earl as the keyboardist and guitarist, and Eliza Enman-McDaniel as the drummer. The band has succeeded, with over 60 million streams and six number-one singles on Canadian Alternative Radio, The Beaches, previously opened for legendary bands like The Rolling Stones and Foo Fighters, are steadily gaining recognition in the music industry. Their last album was highly acclaimed by Elton John and won two Juno Awards.

At its core, Lifeguard is a punk band. Their music is loud and energetic. It’s also, at its core, visceral and hypnotic. For the Chicago-based trio that can include repetition and blasts of speaker cone-shredding feedback.

Their songs adeptly balance melody and chaos, rhythm and drone. Hooks and noise are held to the same standard. Both have to stick. They’re a young band, but they’ve already found a place at the forefront of an important emerging music community in their hometown. They are quite prolific. In just three years, Lifeguard has put out a full-length, two EPs, and two 7” singles.

This week, Chicago-based post-punk trio Lifeguard announced a new EP collection, “Crowd Can Talk / Dressed in Trenches”, and shared a new song from it, “17-18 Lovesong,” via a music video. “Crowd Can Talk / Dressed in Trenches” collects two EPs, one previously released and one unreleased, and is due out July 7th via Matador Records.

The band features Asher Case (bass, vocals), Isaac Lowenstein (drums, percussion), and Kai Slater (guitar, vocals). The “Crowd Can Talk” EP was originally released in 2022 by the Chicago label Born Yesterday, whereas the five songs on the “Dressed in Trenches” EP are new.

Both were recorded at the same studio (Electrical Audio) and with the same engineer (Mike Lust), but not at the same time.

“More than old records—before that, before anything—we’re influenced by live shows and people around us,” says Slater in a press release.

“The inspiration comes from playing shows with people and having that mind-blown moment of seeing some friend play at Schubas or Book Club,” adds Lowenstein. “It’s happening on these tiny little scales of seeing kids play live and [knowing] this is something new and interesting.”

Hand Habits has announced a new six-track collection. The EP, “Sugar the Bruise“, due out June 16 via Fat Possum. Hand Habits has also shared the first single from the collection, “Something Wrong.”

“Sugar the Bruise” follows Hand Habits’ 2021 album, “Fun House“, and they co-produced it with Luke Temple. The same year as “Fun House’s” release, Hand Habits led a month-long songwriting class at School of Song, which provided the fodder for their next record. Duffy taught the month-long songwriting class in the summer of 2021 and that helped inspire the new collection of songs. Duffy worked with Luke Temple (Here We Go Magic, Art Feynman) and Philip Weinrobe (Adrienne Lenker, Cass McCombs) on “Sugar the Bruise“.

Last September Hand Habits shared two new singles: “Greatest Weapon,” which featured duo Sylvan Esso members Nick Sanborn and Amelia Meath on backing vocals, and “Under the Water,” which had Meath on lead vocals. Both singles were released as part of Psychic Hotline’s Singles Series.

“For Sugar the Bruise, I had no plan other than to let my mind go blank, and lean into the playful side of things,” Hand Habits’ Meg Duffy wrote in a statement about the project. “To laugh a little, to lighten up, to shift the focus off of my own experience a bit.”

My new collection coming out on Fat Possum on June 16th. Hand Habits (aka Meg Duffy, who uses they/them pronouns) is releasing a new EP (or mini-album), “Sugar the Bruise”, on June 16th via Fat Possum. 

Lightning Dust consists of Amber Webber and Joshua Wells they are releasing a new album, “Nostalgic Killer”, due out June 9th via Western Vinyl. The duo shared its second single, “Different War,” via a lyric video.

“Nostalgic Killer” is the follow-up to 2019’s “Spectre”. That same year, Webber and Wells the real life romantic couple, broke up, but vowed to keep the band going.

In a press release Webber says she wrote the song in light of their break-up. “I wrote this song knowing love had died despite our best efforts to revive it. It’s a song about defeat, surrender and acceptance, comparing love to war. Josh ran with this feeling and created an atmosphere of plodding tension, slowly building to an epic orchestral crescendo, then giving way to a lonely spaciousness.”

Previously Lightning Dust had shared the album’s first single, “Run,”. 

The album was recorded in home studios in Vancouver (Webber) and Chicago (Wells). The duo performed almost everything themselves, “save for a few guitar parts performed by touring band member Rob Butterfield, backing vocals by Himalayan Bear’s Ryan Beattie, and string arrangements performed by viola/violinist Meredith Bates.”

Lightning Dust was previously a side-project for Webber and Wells, back when they were in the band Black Mountain. But in 2017 they both left the mother ship to focus solely on Lightning Dust.

The album “Nostalgia Killer”, available June 9th, 2023 on Western Vinyl.

‘Together we are the trip: celebrate the ride…’ So say Adelaide’s award-winning six-piece, Sons of Zöku. Their orbit, the genre-defying psychedelic rock band debut album, their world music influences and creative confidence, Sons of Zöku’s bassist and sitar player, Jordan Buck and Oscar Ellery, the duo says it feels like divine timing for the six-piece to play this year’s world music festival.

“I think we manifested it in a way,” says Jordan. “Over the years, so many people kept asking when we’d be playing WOMAD. We’ve always applied, but I don’t know if we were really ready before – it was probably a blessing in disguise. Now, we’re probably the best representation of who we are.”

Known for their psychedelic rock sound that draws inspiration from artists across the globe, Sons of Zöku will play an hour-long set on the Sunday of the four-day festival. The band plan to blend their expansive back catalogue with newer tracks, like “Earth Chant“. The just-released song is a taster of what we can expect from their upcoming album set to be released later this year.

“We’ve got long songs, so we need a long set,” Oscar says. “It’ll be pretty dynamic. The first 30 per cent of the show will be several songs, but it’ll just sound like this one big thing.” Tabla player Lovepreet Singh will also join the six-piece on stage. The band have jammed with the Indian-born musician before and says the tabla sound elevates the Sons of Zöku experience.
“The tabla takes us to another level. It really adds to our sound,” Jordan says. Sons of Zöku thrive when playing live, using the audience’s energy to fuel their on-stage experimentation.

The unravelling of Zöku songs and sounds on stage is a result of the six band members feeling confident in the genre-defying space they occupy. “But you don’t want to get too comfortable,” Oscar says. “We back the music and enjoy it. But there’s something to be said for being uncomfortable. We’re always trying to push ourselves – especially when live.”

Led by Portuguese-born musicians Ricardo Da Silva and Ica Quintela, Sons of Zöku haven’t shied away from exploring different genres, sometimes leaning into punk and garage rock instead of psychedelic world music. It’s resulted in a unique, expansive sound derived from a kaleidoscope of global influences. Oscar says they’ll only delve deeper into their sonic exploration now the band’s line-up is solid.

“Zöku is a platform to musically do what we want. There’s nothing to say we won’t go in a different direction in the future. Influences just creep in.” And besides, the six-piece feels like they’re only getting started.

”There’s been a lot of moments lately where it feels like a rebirth. Big moments happen, and it feels like day one again,” Oscar says. “It’s the start of a new chapter.”

Ricardo Da Silva – Vocals, Guitar
Ica Quintela – Vocals, Keys, Percussion
Jordan Buck – Bass
Oscar Ellery – Guitar
Eddie Hannemann – Drums
Hannah Yates – Vocals

Released May 5th, 2023

Presenting ‘All Around Man – Live In London’ available 7th July 2023. Rory Gallagher’s most successful albums are his live ones, such as “Live! In Europe” and “Irish Tour ’74”. He was an artist that came alive when onstage and this album covers a previously undocumented live period.

Rory Gallagher was an Irish musician, songwriter, and producer. He formed the blues rock trio Taste in 1966, which experienced success in the UK and Europe before he pursued a solo career, releasing music throughout the 1970s and 1980s and selling more than 30 million records worldwide. Gallagher is known for his virtuoso guitar playing, which strongly influenced other guitarists

This twenty-three song set, previously unreleased, set is culled from two nights at the Town & Country Club (now the O2 Forum) in London, UK. This new album has been mixed from the recently found multi tracks and mastered at Abbey Road. The album’s cover is a painting by Irish graffiti artist ‘Vincent Zara’ who has stenciled Rory’s image across his home country.

“All Around Man – Live In London” is a live album of unreleased material taken from a previously undocumented period of one of the greatest guitarists of all time. “All Around Man – Live In London” was recorded from the shows that supported Gallagher’s eleventh, and sadly, last studio album “Fresh Evidence” that was released in May 1990. This album features captivating live versions of tracks from that album as well as songs from the 1987 “Defender” album plus other career favourites.

In advance of these shows, in which this album’s recordings were taken, Gallagher had spent an unprecedented six months in the studio making “Fresh Evidence” (usually he was known for recording albums rapidly, sometimes in as little as two weeks!) and as a result Gallagher was at his live best, demonstrating his love and hunger for live performance and that raw energy.

To be released as double-CD and triple-LP sets, this exhilarating album is pulled from two nights at the Town & Country Club (now the The O2 Forum) in London in December 1990.

Manchester band The Lottery Winners release new album “Anxiety Replacement Therapy” on Modern Sky Recordings, which features collaborations with Boy George, Frank Turner, and Shaun Ryder.

A mammoth step forward, “Anxiety Replacement Therapy” is on one level a set of 10 absolute anthems (and three interludes from a mystery narrator). These are mass singalongs in waiting from a band who’ve specialised in bringing people together over their previous two albums.

Scratch the surface, however, and there’s a world of empowerment and defiance, tackling subjects such as austerity, as well as of course, anxiety, mental health and its medications, and ADHD. It helps that these messages come wrapped with some of the best choruses you’re likely to hear all year.

“Each of the albums in my collection are a self-help tape for me,” explains singer Thom Rylance. “If I listen to Paul Simon’s Graceland, it’s because I know it’ll put me in a good mood. If I play The Queen Is Dead by The Smiths, it’s because I want to embrace feeling sad. We wanted to present ‘Anxiety Replacement Therapy’ as a self-help tape for anyone playing it.”

The album features guest spots with their friend and previous collaborator Frank Turner on the moving and stirring ‘Letter To Myself’ , as well as Boy George who puts in a bravura performance on the summery ‘Let Me Down’ which recalls the emotional intensity of his work with Culture Club, and Shaun Ryder who brings his freewheeling brilliance on the already incisive austerity anthem ‘Money’, reprising his iconic “Call the cops!” refrain from Happy Mondays’ 1990 classic ‘Step On’.

Miya Folick has unveiled her new forthcoming second album ‘Roach’, which is set to be released on 26th May via Nettwerk.

Speaking about the song, Folick has said: “‘So Clear’ is about pulling yourself out of the wreckage you’ve made of your own life again and again, for the thousands of days we live on this earth and realizing life is so much more expansive than the petty concerns we waste precious time on.”

The song was co-written by Folick and Max Hershenow, and the song’s video has been directed by Noah Kentis.

“An epiphany that I have over and over again is that I am very small, but my actions are very meaningful. So I have to choose to live truthfully every day. It’s not easy! The song is very dramatic, and I imagined it as a good karaoke song when we were making it.”

“Mommy” is maybe the most intimate song on my record,” Miya says. “It’s about heritage, memory and family. I think there’s an ache in the song that exposes the gap between my limited understanding of my parents and the full richness of their lives. The first time I played this song live was at The Echo in Los Angeles, and my mom showed up—not joking with a jar of honey for me, to soothe my throat (you’ll understand this anecdote when you listen to the song).”

I wrote this song in the middle of the night, building a demo that I carried around for years. Playing it for myself and friends. It seemed like there was a special and haunted quality about the demo that I was scared to try to reproduce in the studio, but I met with Gabe Wax and had a coffee with him along the LA river. There was something about the way he immediately stretched out and lay down on the concrete that made me feel comfortable. I would grow to know this Gabe stretch very well.

This song came together with a mix of original demo stems and some new recording. Sam Gendel sent in some sax recorded remotely and Sam Wilkes came in to play bass and wrote the tasty reharm on the third chorus.

It’s an album about trying to get to the core of what life really is. I think over the course of writing this record, I actually did the work and got closer to the person that I really want to be, even if that path isn’t linear and I still have moments where I disappoint myself, where I’m angry with myself.

Set for release on 26th May via Nettwerk Records,