The Fat Angel Sings

“Live in St. Kilda” was a rare appearance at which Powers was backed by a group other than his longtime combo the Pink Monkey Birds. The November. 9th, 2019 show at the titular Australian city’s MEMO Music Hall was mounted to launch “Nine Parts Water, One Part Sand: Kim Salmon and the Formula for Grunge”, the autobiography of the singer-songwriter-guitarist of the famed Antipodean band the Scientists.

The hard-rocking group that ended up backing Powers on the show flashed some storied credentials of their own. Guitarist Harry Howard is the brother of the late Rowland S. Howard of the Bad Seeds, and played with Rowland in Crime and the City Solution and These Immortal Souls. Harry’s partner Edwina Preston is a keyboardist, a member of ATOM and the tribute unit Pop Crimes (playing the songs of Rowland Howard), and a well-known novelist and nonfiction writer. The group’s other couple, bassist Dave Graney and drummer Clare Moore, are well known Down Under for their earlier groups the Moodists and the Coral Snakes.

The show captured on this recording is incredible! This one-time-only performance includes Pink Monkey Birds favourites as well as covers of the Cramps, Gun Club, Shangri-Las and Suicide!

This is a twelve song live album from a one-time-only show in which Kid Congo Powers was backed by the Near Death Experience.

Kid Congo says, “how did i hook up with the Near Death Experience you may ask? one fine day Kim Salmon, my long time Scientists surrealist beast of a friend, wrote from Australia to ask me to play at his book launch for his biography nine parts water, one part sand: Kim Salmon and the formula for grunge on November 9th, 2019. the launch was to take place at the memo music hall in st. kilda, a seaside suburb of melbourne. a royal command performance for the king of Kim? how could I say no to such an honour? what to do about a band? it did not take more than a minute for each of us to suggest Harry Howard and the Near Death Experience. as the logical choice.Ii was a massive fan of the band already and we shared crossed paths as expats claiming out our musical in 1980s London. Harry with Crime and the City Solution and These Immortal Souls, Dave and Clare with the Moodists, Kim with the Scientists and me with Gun Club and Fur Bible.

Needless to say it was fantastical to get together and make a playlist for Kim featuring covers by Suicide and Shangri La, with mine and Near Death Experience‘s songs as well. the night was magic—I still am floating on a surrealistic pillow remembering the night. enjoy the racket, enjoy the love, enjoy this record of friendship and celebration.”

Kid Congo & the Near Death Experience · “Live in St. Kilda” In The Red Records

After the original line-up of the Pretenders had been destroyed by drugs and death, Chrissie Hynde continued to trudge on, finding herself further and further from what made her band so good in the first place. By the late ’80s and early ’90s, that mix of punk energy and pop melodies had given way to middle-of-the-road synth-rock.

A few years after an unsuccessful attempt at creating a Pretenders record with only session players (1990’s “Packed!“), Hynde began to build a band again. She recruited former Katydids guitarist Adam Seymour, often compared to the late, great James Honeyman-Scott in his ability to both jangle and crunch. She brought on a couple of bass players named Andy Rourke– ex-Smiths  who would soon leave, and ex-Primitives musician Hobson, who would stay. By the end of the sessions for a new album, founding drummer Martin Chambers would find himself back in the Pretenders family, too.

That album would become “Last of the Independents”, which was hailed as a return to form when released at the apex of alternative rock’s popularity, on May 10th, 1994. Suddenly, in her mid-40s, Hynde was sharing the rock charts with many of the artists she helped inspire. Most of the record crackles with the lean power of “Learning to Crawl”, occasionally stopping for a lushly produced number recalling “Get Close“.

How could she be, with a lead single like “Night in My Veins”? Everything about it was vintage Pretenders (a guitar-driven, mid-tempo rocker in which Hynde uses her sex appeal to discuss the appeal of sex) yet remained a slick, sharp, modern record primed for the airwaves. With this sly classic, Hynde sounded like she had rediscovered her sense of purpose.

In terms of commercial success, “Night in My Veins” had nothing on “I’ll Stand by You,” a power ballad smothered in studio excess: Strings! Echo effects! Gospel choir! But even with the production, Chrissie Hynde’s emotional performance sits at the centre of the song, and no one can match her vulnerability.

But “Last of the Independents” wasn’t interesting simply because of a couple of hits. What made it a welcome addition to the Pretenders’ back catalogue was its confident versatility – from the charging psychedelic rockabilly of “Rebel Rock Me” and howling funk of featuring one-time Pretenders guitarist Robbie McIntosh, who plays alongside Hynde and Seymour on “I’m a Mother” to the soulful “977” and heartfelt “Revolution.”

It helps that Hynde was writing about what was most important in her private life at the time, whether it was environmental efforts (“Revolution”) or motherhood (“I’m a Mother” and “Every Mother’s Son”).

“Last of the Independents” would be the band’s last hit album, reestablishing Chrissie Hynde as one of the great singers in rock while returning the Pretenders to road prominence. It also helped create the band’s most stable lineup. Hynde, Seymour, Hobson and Chambers would stay together for more than a decade.

Time for our latest single from our soon to be released new album  ‘Careful of Your Keepers’!

This next song is called ‘More Change’ and comes with a video made by special effects guru and all round film making wizard Ben Jones. 

Ben has one of the best minds and senses of humour and two of the best eyes in the business. Everything he does is pure gold and so I was very excited indeed, and still am, that he was up for making this music video to ‘More Change ‘

“Careful Of Your Keepers” is daring and soft, cutting and warm–a wild feat of complexity and combined dispositions. There’s a shared language of the band’s family experience that is as audible as ever in these recordings, which boast beautiful instrumental performances that still leave the nuanced space required for Stables’ vocals to live at the forefront. “The album was nearly called Goodbye Bite. And in a way it still is,” says Stables. “I went for “Careful of Your Keepers” in the end. It’s one of my favourite songs on the album, a song that for me holds the general feeling of the album as a whole. The fragility of things. Of situations. Of relationships. Of humans. What we do to look after each other and ourselves. The passing of time and what that does to us, and how we live our lives going forward.”

The new This Is The Kit album ‘Careful of You Keepers’ will release on June 9th,

The singer-songwriter, E Street Band and Crazy Horse member Nils Lofgren has announced a new solo album, “Mountains”, which will be out out July 21st.

Nils Lofgren has a rich history that threads through the band Grin, plus a reputable solo career, sideman for Neil Young, and Bruce Springsteen. With that, there are plenty of Nils Lofgren music that is available to the fan, especially those that followed him from Grin and Neil Young, and on into his wonderful solo works. He still gives Bruce Springsteen most of his efforts these days in the E.Street Band so it’s nice to discover a solo album planned for arrival.

On July 21st, via his Cattle Track Road Records label, Nils Lofgren will unleash his next album, “Mountains“. On the album, he enlists the help of several musicians that include Neil Young, David Crosby, Ringo Starr, and others. The new album will feature 9 original tracks and a cover of Springsteen’s “Back In Your Arms”.

“Mountains” is full of guests, including his Crazy Horse collaborator Neil Young, the late David Crosby, Cindy Mizelle, Ron Carter, and The Howard Gospel Choir. The record is co-produced by Nils along with his wife Amy. The first single from “Mountains” is Ringo Starr-featuring track “Ain’t The Truth Enough,” a classic country-rock jam. 

Nils plays lap steel, organ, vibraphone, and sings, Ringo drums, Kevin McCormick plays bass, and, as mentioned, Cindy Mizelle adds vocal harmonies to the song.

“Mountains” will be released on CD, DD, and two vinyl LP editions that include Blue vinyl, and standard black vinyl.

Neko Case embodies a sense of timelessness in her music. Music that is also original, inventive and highly personal. The first thing you hear is that voice: a majestic contralto, stylized and instantly recognizable, but also filled with humanity (from anger to vulnerability to triumph….it’s all there!). Next, you notice her unique compositions, often drawing from mid-20th century pop and country and then twisted into mini operas that keep you on the edge of your seat. Finally, there are her much celebrated lyrics. She has her own language of metaphors and observations that can be illuminating, hilarious and discomforting, sometimes all at once. It’s all in service to her singular, passionate worldview. This collection offers a small glimpse into Neko’s artistry and I hope others get as much out of this music as I have.

Visit https://wildcreatures.nekocase.com for an expanded presentation of ‘Wild Creatures’ with new artwork, essays and track-by-track commentary celebrating Neko’s two decades of solo work.

Danny Lee Blackwell, the L.A.-based artist who carries with him a deep love for psychedelic music in all its various forms, is back this year with “Rajan”, a new album he recorded under the name Night Beats that’s set to be co-released on July 14th by Suicide Squeeze and Fuzz Club Records. Exciting news on its own, but the multi-talented musician continues to amp up our anticipation this morning with a fresh single from this record “Thank You,” complete with a brilliantly trippy video.

The clip, directed by Austin filmmaker Vanessa Pla, feels like equal parts Alejandro Jodorowsky, Black Orpheus and The Mighty Boosh as Blackwell finds himself in the company of — and is slowly swallowed up by a group of masked figures that, at one point, leave him completely naked on the floor while the camera spins overhead.

Read into these eye-popping visuals what you will, but here’s what Blackwell had to say about this new video:

Collaborating with Vanessa Pla, the director of the “Thank You” music video, has been an exceptional experience. Vanessa has a profound understanding of the creative process, and has helped me to transform my concept into a meaningful work of art. In the video, the 12 masked figures symbolize the limitations of our innermost desires and struggles, as the story follows an alchemical journey of transformation. Vanessa’s vision for the video was to highlight the power of transformation as an alchemical process, which reinforces the significance of the simple gesture of saying “Thank You.” This concept challenged me as an artist to explore deeper meanings and to convey them through simple ideas. Through our collaboration, we were able to create a compelling visual story that captures the essence of transformation and gratitude.

The Durutti Column’s 1998 album, “Time Was Gigantic… When We Were Kids”, will be reissued on CD and issued on vinyl for the very first time, in June.

The band were among the first acts signed to Factory Records by Tony Wilson and were led by guitarist, pianist and occasional vocalist Vini Reilly, along with drummer, percussionist and co-manager Bruce Mitchell.

“Time was Gigantic…” has been remastered and expanded for this 25th anniversary reissue with both CD and 2LP vinyl editions featuring five bonus tracks. It also boasts revised and expanded artwork by Hamish Muir and Mark Holt of graphic design studio 8VO along with extensive sleeve notes by Factory Records and band expert James Nice.

The album was The Durutti Column’s last on Factory Records (albeit on the London Records ‘Factory Too’ imprint) and was produced by Bruce Weir, who also played on the record. In fact, it would be the last ever album to be released by Factory, with funding for the label being withdrawn before the end of the decade. The album brought about the end of a 20 year partnership between Reilly and his mentor Wilson.

Lovely album this, definitely worth a go if you only know the early Factory stuff. Cool sleeve too. Quite a few vocal tracks with Eley Rudge on lead- almost reminscent of The Sundays. I can’t believe this is 25 years ago.

“Time Was Gigantic… When We Were Kids” will be reissued on 30th June 2023 via London Records.

Living in LA, there are a lot of people looking for that one trick that will help the new them emerge fully realized, successful and happy. It’s a worthwhile, but doomed pursuit, and the best we can hope for is to be present in a moment.  Local Natives album comes at a moment of personal metamorphosis. Former selves melting away, some becoming fathers, some enduring periods of isolation, loss, and identity crisis. “Time Will Wait For No One” is a mantra of reassurance in response to relentless changes.

New album “Time Will Wait For No One” out July 7th.

Stone Gossard and Loosegroove Records are set to release two limited and exclusive ’30th anniversary’ vinyl variants of the debut Brad album ‘Shame,’ and more. There is also an official announcement for a new Brad studio LP.

Thirty years ago, the group Brad (with a young Stone Gossard) released their debut album “Shame“. Fast forward to the present. Gossard (now famous for his guitar work in Pearl Jam) is releasing new material from his old band and reissuing the debut disc.

The title track from the upcoming new LP “In The Moment That You’re Born” has also been released, showing off the vocal prowess of the late Shawn Smith and the musicianship of guitarist and Loosegroove Records founders Gossard and drummer Regan Hagar (Brad, Satchel, Malfunkshun), along with bassist Keith Lowe.

The death of singer Shawn Smith in 2019 was a huge loss to the band. The single “In The Moment That You’re Born“ and the subsequent release of the new LP stands as a celebration of the talent that Smith brought to Brad.

Stone says, “Shawn’s lyric from years ago about it never fails. ‘You always return to the scene of the crime.’ Well, Brad has always been good at looking back and returning as well. Cherishing those times in the past, where we allowed ourselves to experience the magic of creation together, with all the sense of adventure, fear and fearlessness, insecurity and bravado.”

Regan Hagar, who is the drummer in the band as well as a founder and creative director for Loosegroove adds, “I’m moved by Shawn Smith once again. And Stone’s guitar work on this track kills me every time I listen.”

The album “In The Moment That You’re Born” features 10 new self-produced recordings with vocals recorded by Shawn Smith in sessions prior to his 2019 passing. The tracks include a new version of “Stars N’ You”; written by the late Seattle musician Andrew Wood (Mother Love Bone, Malfunkshun). The song was originally recorded for the 1986 Deep Six compilation by Malfunkshun, It also featured Brad drummer Hagar. 

Stone Gossard – guitars
Regan Hagar – drums, cover and package design
Shawn Smith – vocals, piano, organ, guitar on “Down”
Jeremy Toback – bass guitar, lead vocals and organ on “Down”

The album “In The Moment That You’re Born” will be officially released July 28th, 2023. Our exclusive reissue of Brad’s debut album will be released at the same time.