The Fat Angel Sings

To mark the release of ‘Dancing, Alone’, Ten Tonnes shares the ideas and writing processes behind each track on his new album. Ten Tonnes – aka Ethan Barnett – has undergone some significant life changes since the release of his self-titled debut album in 2019. With personal upheaval came a sonic shift, and Ethan focused his energy on pushing the boundaries of his previous work. Here he’s shared his highly-anticipated sophomore album ‘Dancing, Alone’ – a more considered, varied, and mature LP that marks a new chapter for his career.

To celebrate its release, he talks us through each of the record’s 12 tracks, sharing the inspirations, emotions, and instrumental approaches that went into every song.

Monday Morning

So here we go! The opening track and the first single I released from the album. The 80s influence is clear on this one. It was fully inspired by my love for power pop and new wave indie from that era. I thought it was a sweet concept for a song and would be the perfect album opener that didn’t feel too distant from the sound of my first record.

Heart To Break

I originally wrote all the music for this song first and then wrote the lyrics and melody afterwards. I’ve not done that before, but it was one of many ways I tried to approach the songwriting differently on this album. I love the guitar lines in this one and I think lyrically it has some great little turns.

Dancing, Alone

The title track, and I think my favourite on the whole thing. It’s a song primarily about isolation and being an outsider, and it contains lots of the overarching themes of the album. It was so exciting writing this song because it felt like a massive piece of the puzzle, and also felt like something people wouldn’t have heard from me before. I also have a big guitar solo which is always fun (it took about 30 takes)!

When It Goes

I recorded this album in batches of 4 songs at a time and this was in the last batch. I really loved recording the album that way, as it made clear what was missing sonically and musically as we went along. I knew I wanted to write a song that felt more bass/groove driven and laidback, and I really focused on counterpointing that with the vocal melodies.

Lone Star

I loved building the layers of guitars around the vocals on this one. Production wise, I was inspired by Joe Meek’s productions of the 50s and 60s, especially on the lead electric guitar line.

Out Of Here

I had made a little drum loop and added some sampled bongos to it, and then just kept playing the lead arpeggiated guitar line over it. It became a bit hypnotic and I liked the idea of a simple vocal refrain that continued throughout the song in that same way. I was trying to conjure some feeling of a vast, faceless city and the vibe of my favourite late 70s/early 80s records.

Drowning In The Deep End

Midway through making this record I started learning to play slide guitar and at one point I think every song had it on. I’m glad that’s not still the case. This is a song about hitting your lowest point, but reframed as an acceptance of that and an effort to reclaim your own life. It’s also one of the funnest songs to play live – it properly goes!

The Joke Got Old

I had this title in my phone notes for ages and when I was in the early stages of exploring ideas it jumped out. It was exactly the tone I wanted for the record; slightly tongue in cheek and also a bit devastating.

Weight Of The World

Big shout out to Jag Jago who mixed the album, I love the snare sound on this one and how it builds to the end. Again, hopefully a different sound to what people might expect.

Come On Home

The middle eight of this song is one of my favourite moments on the whole album. It feels like a real gear shift from the rest of the song; I loved working out the interplay between the instruments and their parts in that section too.

Give It Up

The penultimate track and one last big banger before the end. This is one of my favourites and I hope people connect with it. It has some of my favourite lyrics too, and it all feels like just the right amount of heartbreaking.

Waiting For The Sun

And here we are at the end, the big finish. This one kind of all just fell out in one piece and I made the demo right then and there. I love the scope of the song and the extended instrumental section into the last verse and chorus. It’s a slower and softer song than the rest of the album and I think it really builds in a lovely way – I always knew I wanted it to be the closer of the record.

Since releasing his self-titled debut album via Warner Bros, Ten Tonnes – aka Ethan Barnett – has undergone a multitude of changes both in his life and in his music The four years between the debut record and its follow- up, served as a recalibration for the songwriter. He went independent, moved out of London, started therapy, focused on the introverted part of his brain, and has returned with a mature and majestic second album about refection, growing up and carving a different path for himself. The indie juggernaut’s clear progression is showcased throughout his irresistible new offering; mixed by esteemed engineer Jag Jago

‘Dancing, Alone’ will be out on 28th July via Absolute. 

Shuhada’ Sadaqat (December 8th,1966 – July 26th, 2023), known professionally as Sinéad O’Connor was an Irish singer and musician. Her debut studio album, “The Lion and the Cobra”, was released in 1987 and charted internationally. Her second studio album, “I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got” (1990), became her biggest success, selling over seven million copies worldwide.[10] Its lead single, “Nothing Compares 2 U”, was named the number one world single in 1990 by the Billboard Music Awards.

O’Connor released 10 studio albums: 1992’s “Am I Not Your Girl?” and 1994’s “Universal Mother” both went gold in the UK, 2000’s “Faith and Courage” received gold status in Australia, and 2005’s “Throw Down Your Arms” went gold in Ireland.

Her work included songs for films, collaborations with many other artists, and appearances at charity fundraising concerts. Her 2021 memoir Rememberings was a bestseller.

She consistently spoke out on issues related to child abuse, human rights, anti-racism, organised religion, and women’s rights. Throughout her music career, she spoke about her spiritual journey, activism, socio-political views, as well as her trauma and mental health struggles. In 2017, O’Connor changed her name to Magda Davitt. After converting to Islam in 2018, she changed it to Shuhada’ Sadaqat. However, she continued to record and perform under her birth name.

“Ada Lea, aka Montréal indie musician Alexandra Levy, impressed us greatly with her 2021 sophomore album “one hand on the steering wheel the other sewing a garden”. Today she’s returned with her first new song since. The fact that it’s titled “Hometown (edit)” makes me wonder if we might be getting an expanded version at some point, but maybe not anytime soon” – Stereogum (7/14/23)

Surprise! The full version of “Hometown” is out now along with the previously vinyl-exclusive “heard you” found on Ada Lea’s “one hand on the steering wheel the other sewing a garden“.

“Hometown”, recorded with collaborators including Phoebe Bridgers bandmates like Marshall Vore and Harrison Whitford, is the perfect pop song to help take this mid-summer heat in stride. While “Heard You” will ease you into the cooler evenings.

Release Date: July 26th, 2023

TRACK LIST:
1. hometown
2. heard you

Billy Idol revisited his roaring 1984 self-titled debut album for an expanded edition via Capitol/UMe.

Idol began working on his solo debut following the break-up of his influential punk-era outfit, Generation X in 1981. Produced by Keith Forsey (Sparks, Donna Summer), Billy Idol was an exciting rock album with new wave stylings and it included the singles “Dancing With Myself” and Idol’s Billboard Top 40 debut “Hot In The City” in addition to the record’s signature hit “White Wedding.”

Largely well received by the critics, the record proved was a sizeable commercial success, Fans are also encouraged to celebrate the release of this iconic album with a Dolby Atmos aural upgrade by Grammy-winning engineer Paul Hicks who has remixed albums in Atmos.

The new version of the album features the original 10 tracks, a previously unreleased August 12th, 1982 concert from The Roxy Theatre in Hollywood and a 12-minute Clubland Extended Remix of “White Wedding.”

Billy Idol’s self-titled debut album eventually broke the singer in America, but not without a struggle. In 1981, he had left Generation X and launched his solo career, borrowing the group’s final single, the dance-rock standard “Dancing with Myself,” for his first solo release, Its second single, “White Wedding,” finally caught on after an eye-catching video played on MTV and made the Top 40 in July 1983. An attempt was then made to resurrect “Dancing With Myself,” which was added to the album (the track “Congo Man” being deleted). Those three songs remain the album’s strongest, if only because they are the best realized as songs; elsewhere, Idol and guitarist Steve Stevens have constructed a series of dance-rock tracks along the lines of “Dancing With Myself,” mixing quick tempos with slashing guitar chords and occasional hook elements (a backup choral chant here, a saxophone part there), but seemingly have forgotten to write real songs to go on top of the tracks.

For 46 years, Billy Idol has been one of the faces and voices of rock’n’roll. Between 1977 and 1981, Idol released three albums with Generation X as their camera-ready frontman. In 1982, he embarked on a transatlantic/trans-genre solo career that integrated the bold and simple lines of punk and rock’n’roll decadence. Last year, Idol released his latest project, ‘The Cage EP,’ via Dark Horse Records. The new music follows Idol’s 2021 ‘The Roadside EP,’ which received praise from fans and critics alike. 

Additionally, Idol is slated to release a concert film this fall showcasing his April performance at Hoover Dam. Produced by Lastman Media for Vertigo Live docu-concert films, “Billy Idol: State Line” will premiere in theatres this fall with further details on public screenings to be announced soon.

Front man Paul Rodgers has released “Take Love,” the second single from his upcoming album “Midnight Rose”. The song will be recognizable to fans: Rodgers performed it several times while on tour with Queen in the ’00s, but this is the first time it appears in studio form.

“Midnight Rose“, will be his first solo LP since 2000’s “Electric”, due to be released September. “My new album “Midnight Rose” grew from sparks of ideas I had,” the singer said in a previous press release. “The sparks developed into a raging fire when the band and everyone involved brought their absolute ‘A’ game. I think it is my best album to date. I like it, I hope you do too.”

Of the eight tracks on “Midnight Rose”, seven were written by Rodgers; the eighth, “Living It Up,” the LP’s first single, was co-written with Rodgers‘ bassist Todd Ronning and drummer Rick Fedyk.

This is the first time Rodgers is working with Sun Records, a label that looms large in the singer’s musical upbringing. “They introduced me to musicians Howlin’ Wolf, Little Walter, Elvis Presley and many others who set me on my musical adventures,” he said.

Worriers are a band from Brooklyn, New York, led by songwriter Lauren Denitzio. They’ve toured with acts like John K Samson, Against Me!, Julien Baker, Anti Flag, The Wonder Years, and more. Worriers’ debut album “Imaginary Life” was produced by Laura Jane Grace of Against Me!  .

Over the last decade or so, the Brooklyn-based outfit Worriers has served as a vehicle of catharsis. Lead Lauren Denitzio uses the project to negotiate the tangled cruelties of contemporary society, attempts to transform despair into defiance. The style culminated with “Warm Blanket”, a home recorded album released this past April which represented in something of a sea change. Because after years of trying to make the band work, Denitzio embraced the notion that Worriers was in fact a solo project. Suddenly the expectations and preconceptions folded into being a band member were evaporated. As they describe it: “I realized I could write whatever I wanted.”

Only the record was evidently not the culmination of the project, for some short months later Denitzio is back with “Trust Your Gut”, a brand new full-length on Ernest Jenning Record Co. which rides the wave of this newfound freedom to further the Worriers style. Not that the record is entirely solo, with a studio band featuring Atom Willard (Against Me!, Social Distortion), Franz Nicolay (The Hold Steady), Frank Piegaro and Allegra Anka (Cayetana) bringing to life a triumphant sound typified by the title track and lead single. A song which leans headlong into the spirit of freedom and self-discovery, shaking off the nagging doubts and second guesses with its building momentum.

releases September 15th, 2023

WORRIERS IS:
Lauren Denitzio – Vocals and Guitar
Frank Piegaro – Guitar
Atom Willard – Drums
Franz Nicolay – Keys
Allegra Anka – Bass

 

“I love this song and I am addicted to it,” Miya Folick says of the latest single from her new album “Roach”. “I wrote the melody and lyrics for ‘Cockroach’ driving home from a friend’s house. It was May 2021, and I was feeling like I had spent the last couple years continuously dragging myself back up onto my feet after getting knocked around by life and circumstances out of my control (I think others may be able to relate). I got home and quickly made a demo of the melody with the keyboard parts and the guitar line. I thought it would be an interesting interlude or intro for the record, but it became something so much more powerful. I asked Sam KS to play some simple drums on it and he ended up playing this in one take, transforming the song into something that feels anthemic in its own odd way.”

“Roach” is Miya Folick’s clearest and most direct work yet, eschewing some of the lyrical and musical obfuscations she layered onto her 2018 debut album, “Premonitions”. With ear-worm melodies, heart-wrenching poetry, eclectic production and anchored by Folick’s once-in-a-lifetime voice, “Roach” straddles a line between pop and something more experimental. She enlisted a team of collaborators who she trusted to bring out the grittier side of her artistry, including Gabe Wax (War on Drugs, Fleet Foxes), Mike Malchicoff (King Princess, Bo Burnham), Max Hershenow (MS MR) and a team of some of LA’s best players. The result is an album that sounds as honest and intimate as the subject matter at hand, a candid snapshot of where she is now and what it took to get there. 

Tori Amos’ 2002 album “Scarlet’s Walk” will be issued on vinyl for the very first time, in September.

This was Tori’s seventh studio album was self-produced and was her first record with her then new label, Sony/Epic Records (2005’s “The Beekeeper” and 2007’s “American Doll Posse” would be the only two original albums she’d issue on the label).

The record was an 18-track concept album (a “sonic novel about a road trip”) which details the cross-country travels of Scarlet, a character loosely based on Amos, and was greatly inspired by the changes in American society and politics post 9-11 world. Topics explored on the album include nationalism, personal relationships, and the death of a close friend. Amos also took inspiration from the stories of her grandfather, who she claims was Cherokee and told her of the abuses against Native Americans throughout the United States’ history.

The album has been remastered and is pressed on half-speed mastered vinyl. It’s a 2LP set since it runs for well over an hour! “Scarlet’s Walk” has never been issued on vinyl; back in the day it was only available on CD and cassette with a notable CD+DVD deluxe edition which came with postcards and a map depicting the journey and including lyrics.

A 2LP red (scarlet) vinyl edition on 8th September 2023 via Sony Music.

The Pretenders have shared “A Love,” the next single from their forthcoming studio album, “Relentless”. featuring exclusive footage of the legendary band’s recent live run at small U.K. clubs. Last week, the band also announced a rare U.S. headlining club tour to fill in dates in between their opening slot on Guns N’ Roses’ 2023 stadium tour. “A Love” is the third track released from “Relentles”, due September 1st, via Rhino Records. The album marks the band’s return to Warner Music Group after more than two decades having first been signed to Sire Records in America by the legendary Seymour Stein. The original album announcement coincided with the release of the first single, “Let the Sun Come In,” featuring Chrissie Hynde’s usual tough-as-nails vocal.

“I suppose ‘A Love’ is the most traditionally Pretenders-sounding song on the album,” says Hynde, “in the vein of ‘Kid’ or ‘Talk of the Town’ or any of the mid-tempo ones over the years. I often see love/relationships almost in the same vein as drug addiction. Although, having said that, I know I am jaded and cynical…”

“I enjoy seeing the various meanings and origins of a word,” says Hynde of the album’s title. “And I liked the definition: ‘showing no abatement of intensity.’ So when it came to an album title, it seemed fitting. You know…to keep doing it. I think anyone in a band is constantly questioning if they should keep going. It starts as a youthful pursuit and eventually, it makes you wonder, why am I doing this? It’s the life of the artist. You never retire. You become relentless.”

“A Love”, taken from Pretenders’ brand new album ‘Relentless’.

Nick Lowe’s 1998 classic “Dig My Mood” finds the worldly balladeer in the middle of his fabled Brentford Trilogy of albums. The album features some of Lowe’s greatest second-act triumphs like “You Inspire Me” and “Man That I’ve Become” as well as sophisticated covers of Ivory Joe Hunter’s “Cold Grey Light of Dawn” and Henry McCullough’s “Faithless Lover.” Dig My Mood’s 25th anniversary edition includes the rarity “I’ll Give You All Night to Stop” and four live cuts from Nick’s 1998 tour in Japan.

Featuring:
Robert Treherne – drums
Geraint Watkins – organ, piano, electric guitar, accordion
Steve Donnelly – lead guitar
Nick Lowe – bass, rhythm guitar
with Nick Pentelow – tenor saxophone
Violins on “Cold Grey Light of Dawn” arranged and conducted by Richard Bissill

released July 28th, 2023