The Fat Angel Sings

Norwegian musician and novelist Jenny Hval releases her new album “Classic Objects”. “Classic Objects” is a map of places; past places, like the old empty Melbourne pubs Hval’s band used to play in, public places Hval missed throughout lockdown, imagined, future places, and impossible places where dreams, hallucinations, death and art can take you. It is interested in combining heavenly things and plain things.

Jenny Hval’s new album and first for 4AD, Classic Objects, is due out Friday 11th March, and ahead of that she’s shared one more advance single, “Freedom.” “I don’t know what freedom is,” Jenny says. “This song doesn’t either. The lyrics are bombastic and silly, as if written by a political folk song generator. Nonetheless the song was needed on my record—I needed something short and sweet after a series of long, layered reflections. I imagine it being sung in a courtroom or in parliament when the debate gets too heated and everyone needs a break. In this imagined moment, everyone is singing in unison. This is the only way I can describe “Freedom“—as a kind of performative moment that breaks up the structure, language and ambivalence of the rest of the record. On its own, it seems weirdly clear and pure. I can’t really defend it. Or perhaps it is myself I can’t defend. The song is necessary. It just reminds me of the fact that I am not.”

Classic Objects is Hval’s version of a pop album. Every song has a verse and a chorus. There are interchangeable moments of complexity, interesting melodies throughout, and a feeling of elevation and clarity in the choruses. Heba Kadry mixed it to sound as though it’s played through “a stereo in a mysterious room.”

‘Classic Objects’ arrives Friday 11th March via 4AD Records.

Florence + The Machine recently returned with the first track off the upcoming album “King,” her first new single of the year, and now she’s followed it with another, the intense, percussive “Heaven is Here.” “‘Heaven is Here’ was the first song I wrote in lockdown after an extended period of not being able to get to the studio,” Florence says. “I wanted to make something monstrous. And this clamour of joy, fury and grief was the first thing that came out. With dance studios also shut it was my dream to one day create choreography with it. So it’s one of the first pieces of music I have made specifically with contemporary dance in mind.”

Florence + The Machine have announced the new album “Dance Fever“. It’s due out May 13th, and as a preview the band has shared their latest single, “My Love.”

“Dance Fever” is the follow-up to 2018’s “High as Hope“, and it was described by Florence Welch as “a fairytale in 14 songs.”  Welch produced alongside Jack Antonoff and Dave Bayley of Glass Animals, and a press statement said the album was inspired by choreomania, “a Renaissance phenomenon in which groups of people — sometimes thousands — danced wildly to the point of exhaustion, collapse and death.” Combine that mood with Welch’s typically glorious take on baroque pop, and you land on a tone she called “Nick Cave at the club.”

“My Love” is the album’s third single, following “Heaven Is Here” and “King,”. It comes with a music video directed by Autumn de Wilde, and you can check it out below.

Two of the dancers in this video are currently sheltering, to my brave and beautiful sisters Marine and Nastia I love you I wish I could put my arms around you. Strength.

It’s the album that brings back the very best of Florence Welch – the festival headlining boudicca, wielding anthems like a flaming sword. just before the pandemic Florence had become fascinated by choreomania, a renaissance phenomenon in which groups of people – sometimes thousands – danced wildly to the point of exhaustion, collapse and death. the imagery resonated with Florence, who had been touring non-stop for more than a decade, and in lockdown felt oddly prescient. the image and concept of dance, and choreomania, remained central as florence wove her own experiences of dance – a discipline she turned to in the early days of sobriety – with the folkloric elements of a moral panic from the middle ages.

in recent times of torpor and confinement, dance offered propulsion, energy and a way of looking at music more choreographically. starting, as ever, armed with a notebook of poems and ideas, Florence had just arrived in New York in march 2020 to begin recording the record with Jack Antonoff when covid-19 forced a retreat to London. holed up at home, the songs began to transform, with nods to dance, folk, ‘70s iggy pop, longing-for-the-road folk tracks and more.

once back in london, ‘My Love’ was one particular track that shapeshifted from one entity to another with the help of Dave Bayley from Glass Animals. Welch had written the song in her kitchen as a “sad little poem”, and when she recorded it acoustically it just didn’t seem to work. Bayley suggested using synths and it soon expanded with floor-filling, chest-thumping energy. with Dave’s love of synths and Florence’s fascination with all things gothic and creepy a kind of sound started to emerge to shape the record. lyrically, she took inspiration from the tragic heroines of pre-raphaelite art, the gothic fiction of carmen Maria Machado and Julia Armfield, the visceral wave of folk horror film from the wicker man and the itch to midsommar.

Florence + The Machine (aka Florence Welch and backing band) shared a video for her new song “Free,” which stars British actor Bill Nighy as a representation of her anxiety. Autumn de Wilde directed the video, which was filmed in Ukraine before the Russian invasion.

“Dance Fever” is an album that sees Florence Welch at the peak of her powers, coming into a fully realised self-knowledge, poking sly fun at her own self-created persona, playing with ideas of identity, masculine and feminine, redemptive, celebratory, stepping fully into her place in the iconic pantheon.

“A real life adventure…” ISO Records and Parlophone Records are proud to announce the release of two very special David Bowie limited edition vinyl/CD E.P.s for Record Store Day 2022, on 23rd April.

“Brilliant Adventure” (E.P.) and “Toy” (E.P.) (You’ve Got It Made With All The Toys). Both feature unreleased versions, live tracks and mixes from the era covered in the recent “Brilliant Adventure” and “Toy:Box” boxsets. LIMITED EDITION RSD 2022 RELEASES OUT 23rd APRIL FEATURING PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED VERSIONS, LIVE TRACKS & MIXES

“Brilliant Adventure” E.P. (12” Vinyl / CD) & “Toy” E.P. (You’ve Got It Made With All The Toys) (10” Vinyl / CD) The Brilliant Adventure E.P. has four previously unreleased tracks from the “Outside” era. ‘Johnny Downloader’ is an early version of ‘I’m Afraid Of Americans’ recorded during the sessions with Brian Eno for the album and mixed in November 1994. An alternative single mix of ‘I Have Not Been To Oxford Town’. The “Brilliant Adventure” ep has four unheard tracks from the 1Outside era; ‘Johnny Downloader’, an early version of ‘I’m Afraid of Americans’ recorded during the sessions with Brian Eno for the album and mixed in November 1994 but not released on a Bowie album until 1997’s Earthling, an alternative single mix of ‘I Have Not Been To Oxford Town’ and two tracks, 1.

Outside’s ‘A Small Plot of Land’ and the Jacques Brel cover ‘My Death’, performed by Bowie and pianist Mike Garson at a fundraiser for the New York public theatre at the Shakespeare festival in New York on 18th September, 1995.

DAVID BOWIE – “Brilliant Adventure” 4 Track E.P. (12” VINYL / CD) – All Tracks Previously Unreleased Tracklisting: Side 1: 1 – JOHNNY DOWNLOADER (AKA I’M AFRAID OF AMERICANS EARLY VERSION) 2 – I HAVE NOT BEEN TO OXFORD TOWN (ALTERNATIVE SINGLE MIX)

Side 2: 3 – A SMALL PLOT OF LAND (LIVE AT THE SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL, NEW YORK, 18th SEPTEMBER, 1995) 4 – MY DEATH (LIVE AT THE SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL, NEW YORK, 18th SEPTEMBER, 1995).

The 6-track 10” vinyl and CD Toy E.P. (You’ve Got It Made With All The Toys) features the following…

“Shadow Man” (Vocal and Piano Mix)’, a previously unreleased alternative stripped back mix of the Toy album track. Three tracks previously only available as streaming singles making their physical debut: ‘YOU’VE GOT A HABIT OF LEAVING’ (RADIO EDIT), ‘SILLY BOY BLUE’ (ALTERNATIVE ENDING MIX) and ‘CAN’T HELP THINKING ABOUT ME’ (LIVE MARK RADCLIFFE SHOW BBC RADIO 1 SESSION).~ Live versions of ‘I DIG EVERYTHING’ and ‘THE LONDON BOYS’ recorded at the Glastonbury warm-up BowieNet show at the Roseland Ballroom, New York on 19th June, 2000.

SIDE 1 TRACK 2 AND SIDE 2 TRACKS 2 AND 3 ARE PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED. ALL TRACKS ARE PREVIOUSLY UNAVAILABLE ON CD AND VINYL

SIDE 1: 1 – YOU’VE GOT A HABIT OF LEAVING (RADIO EDIT) 2 – SHADOW MAN (VOCAL AND PIANO MIX) 3 – SILLY BOY BLUE (ALTERNATIVE ENDING MIX)

SIDE 2: 1 – CAN’T HELP THINKING ABOUT ME (LIVE RADIO SESSION) (Mark Radcliffe Show 1999) 2 – I DIG EVERYTHING LIVE (LIVE) (Roseland Ballroom 2000) 3 – THE LONDON BOYS (LIVE) (Roseland Ballroom 2000).

“Brilliant Adventure” E.P. (12” VINYL / CD) Toy E.P.(You’ve Got It Made With All The Toys) (10” VINYL / CD)

Released By ISO Records/Parlophone ON 23rd April 2022

Arab Strap started out as an intimate project with home-recorded tapes shared between friends,and soon became one of Scotland’s most cherished bands. The pioneering duo of Moffat & Malcolm Middleton called it a day in 2006 but are now back from the grave and are ready to rave! 

Two ‘runaway loners’ from the album’s recording sessions (‘Aphelion’/’Flutter’) are available now on ltd coloured vinyl 7″ – available from all good record shops.

Released March 4th, 2022

This split 7” is a dogged, startling response to today’s spoilt life. Adulkt Life and METZ are paired perfectly: their shared, resolute force carries an urgency that belongs to this era alone. Both are capable of goading listeners, both are capable of unearthly moments of alloyed beauty. And both bands are made for that unflinching space between the truths that can’t be absorbed and the truths that can’t be forgotten.

METZ are undisputable. Their warning, an unflinching assessment of the vastness and insignificance of this life, is precisely counterbalanced by their lesson, which models the resilience that this understanding demands. “Demolition Row” is persistent, concise, and alarmingly physical. But its punch is escorted by this hypnotizing, un-strained vocal. “It’s quite singular,” in the words of METZ’s guitarist/singer Alex Edkins, “we’ve never sounded this way before.”

Adulkt Life’s debut LP, “Book of Curses”, was a highlight of 2020, a contorted, forceful declaration. Adulkt Life’s song, “Book of Curses,” was intended for the LP, but didn’t quite fit. Singer Chris Rowley describes it as a “belligerent satellite” for the end of time: “like in a few weeks.” It’s matched here with the blip of “Ants & Lions,” a near-joke that instead feels accusatory. Atop the carnival swells of the song, only that voice could make “yabba dabba doo time” burn like acid.

The impact of these two sides, taken together, reveals a shared, defiant intention. “When you’ve made yr small space attack ship mostly from sharp sticks and dashboards and recycled fuel stuffs METZ ship looks clean and tended for battles to come,” in the words of Adulkt Life’s Rowley, “very happy to be sharing crew n rink with them.” For METZ, this record lives within their legacy of complimentary projects including splits with Mission of Burma and Clipping. and their collaboration with John Reis. “It’s because we are fans of the music,” explains Edkins. “METZ are mighty aren’t they?” replies Rowley.

Earlier this year, Michael le Riche, Zach Bines and Braeden Craig — of Fake Palms, Weaves and Greys, respectively announced plans for their debut album as Sauna. Ahead of releasing “Dose Yourself” on May 20th through their own Sauna Records, the band have doled out another dose of tunes for us in the form of a new single titled “Float.”

The track arrives alongside a psychedelic throwback-style lyric video from collaborator/director Justis Krar of IMMV Productions, who described the creative process as such: “The goal was to get out of the way and let the words and groove take the video to where it needed to be.” Krar continued: “Like finding a VHS at a thrift store with the words FLOAT UP written on the side. What kind of disco space odyssey will you go on?”

It’s the second single (following “Only Luck”) to arrive from the album, on which the band have yet to shed further details. It will mark the second batch of tunes from the Toronto trio following 2019’s EP.

New Album ‘Dose Yourself’ out Spring 2022

Neutrals return with a stunning new 4 track EP on Static Shock, after an album on Emotional Response in 2019 and two 7”s on Slumberland and Domestic Departure in 2020. Each song on this EP is a golden nugget of DIY indie pop with clean and jagged guitar work, tunes at every corner and a joyous naivety. Go straight to “Gary Borthwick Says” – a song about a full time bullshitter with lyrics akin to to I, Ludicrous’ “Preposterous Tales” with music which has the charm of prime The Television Personalties and The Times. “New Town Dream” is another gem and if it had come out in 1979 as an obscure DIY/post punk 7″, the kids would be paying £200 for it. Honestly, it’s love at first listen and pure infatuation after repeated plays. This EP will not leave your turntable.

Vinyl on Static Shock Records, London, England. Available where all good records are sold.

releases March 25th, 2022

Allan McNaughton – Guitar/Vocals
Phil Benson – Bass/Vocals
Philip Lantz – Drums/Vocals

From the “Bus Stop Nights” E.P. Released on Static Shock Records 2022

Widowspeak’s new album “The Jacket” is out next month, and ahead of its release they’ve shared one final advance single, the title track. It’s a dreamy track, and the band say, “‘The Jacket’ is about things we choose, dress up in and adopt as symbols of who we are. Things that become objects loaded with meaning until we eventually lose or discard them, grow out of them. It’s a literal jacket in the song, and in the context of the storyline represents all the cliches (imagined and real) of being in a band, rock and roll, youth, projecting ‘cool’ (or thinking you do), and believing in the power of symbols and costume to help find and define your true self.

Eventually you move on from the moment, and the sorts of places and experiences and relationships tied to that time, when the jacket was your favourite thing in the world and felt like a part of you. It’s hard to let go. But you notice you aren’t that person anymore. “The jacket”, and everything it represented, was left behind somewhere along the way.”

“Written in the months before and after the release of their critically acclaimed 2020 album “Plum”, “The Jacket” feels like a full-circle moment for the duo of Molly Hamilton and Robert Earl Thomas. Thematically, it considers Plum’s broader questions about the values ascribed to one’s time and labour through the more refined lens of performance and music-making. Sonically, “The Jacket” finds the band at their usual and best: the album breathes deeply, balancing moments of open lushness with a straightforward, Velvets-y approach. Dynamics shift seamlessly between gentle, drifting ballads and twangy jams, built up from layered guitars, dusty percussion and ambling bass lines.