Los Angeles psych-punk shapeshifters Frankie and the Witch Fingers have spent the last decade mutating their sound into bold, electrifying new forms. Their latest release, ‘Trash Classic’ (via Greenway Records and The Reverberation Appreciation Society), plunges into a sewer-slick fusion of proto-punk venom, fractured new wave, and industrial grime. Brimming with wiry synths, angular melodies, and grooves that squirm and bite, it’s all delivered with a sly, playful wink. Fuelled by relentless global touring and a fierce DIY ethos, the band has shared stages with OFF!, Ty Segall, Oh Sees, Cheap Trick, and ZZ Top, cementing their place as one of the most unforgettable live acts around. Frankie and the Witch Fingers continue to morph, dragging listeners into whatever warped direction their experimental journey takes next.
Frankie & The Witch Fingers hit with similar impact. Self-identifying as “psych-punk shapeshifters” the Los Angeles-based quintet share more than a little of the Oh Sees’ restless creativity, and they’re an absolute blast, crashing through a thrillingly intense set largely drawn from 2023’s “Data Doom” album, with the cleverly-titled “Mild Davis” and the full-tilt “Electricide” among its highlights. The band have headline club shows in Brighton, London, Bristol and Birmingham this week before they head back across the Atlantic: go see them if you possibly can.
In the fifty plus years I’ve lived much of my life though the words and music of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, So on May 14th, 2025, the opening night of the Land of Hopes and Dreams Tour will forever represent a defining moment for my journey and easily one of the great concert experiences ever!
Bruce offered his full views in a commanding Tour de Force at Manchester’s Co-op Arena Live on how he views the United States of America of today. The show opened with Springsteen making it clear why he and E Street Band where in Manchester.
“The mighty E Street Band is here tonight to call upon the righteous power of art, of music, of rock n’ roll in dangerous times,” said Springsteen before the night’s first song, “In my home, the America I love, the America I’ve written about that has been a beacon of hope and liberty for 250 years is currently in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent and treasonous administration. Tonight, we ask all who believe in democracy and the best of our American spirit to rise with us, raise your voices against authoritarianism and let freedom ring. This is ‘Land of Hope and Dreams’.”
“Land of Hopes and Dreams” a song in part about never giving up was followed by “Death to My Hometown” – the theme for the evening was set Bruce’s America was dying. “Lonesome Day” a staple in the first two years of the tour followed. An audible from there, “My Love will Not let you Down“, moving away from the first two songs was next. “Seeds” was in the printed setlist, “Seeds” would have continued the evenings’ theme.
Up next the tour debut of “Rainmaker”, a song included in the “Letter to You” album but never performed live before. Speaking before the song, without mentioning President Trump’s name but offered his views on the Trump administration “”corrupt, incompetent, and treasonous”.”
“Rainmaker” who most believed when it was released on the “Letter to You” album was about Trump again was explosive!
“Darkness on the Edge of Town” was next, the song sounded so much angrier than the thousand plus version performed since the 1978 Darkness Tour, remember Bruce had clearly established his “message” for the night and Darkness took on tones of Darkness across America.
“Promised Land” another song from the 1978 Darkness album sounded hopeful and optimistic. It’s very clearly that Bruce loves and believes in America, he’s just very angry about today’s America. “Promised Land” was slotted perfectly in the set list.
Happiness continued with “Hungry Heart”, as determined as Bruce was to deliver his message the BruceSpringsteen we know, and love was determined to also offer that Bruce magic of unbridled joy. The next six songs returned to the central theme – the America Bruce Springsteen wrote and believed isn’t what his country is today.
Starting with “My Hometown“, this version had a tougher edge in Bruce’s voice. This wasn’t Bruce Springsteen taking his “kids” on a tour of Freehold, this was Bruce seemingly wondering if that version of his Hometown was lost and gone forever.
Up next were two songs back-to-back that were a part of the 1999 Bruce and the E Steet Band’s reunion tour, “Youngstown” and “Murder Incorporated“. Having visited “Youngstown” (on the eve of the Cleveland show at the start of the 2002 Rising Tour, while having nothing whatsoever to do with President Trump is a city destroyed by the American Dream. For many Springsteen fans who attended the reunion tour the two songs done back to back made for great memories
As Bruce had offered as an intro to “Long Walk Home”, the song serves a prayer for the America that Bruce still very much believes in. “House of a Thousand Guitars” was up next. This was an acoustic version and again very much angrier in tone last performed in 2023, is performed solo acoustic..
“My City of Ruin’s” has been a cornerstone for Bruce’s shows since the 2002 Rising tour. The song is Bruce’s reflections on Asbury Park, not Bruce’s hometown but the seaside city most associated with Bruce’s career. A lament to what was (and is well on it’s way back) to a city of falling apart and lost an forgotten.
It was at this point, Bruce shared his most powerful thoughts, calling President Trump an “unfit President”. Bruce was far from finished in his complete attack on Donald Trump, saying “In America, the richest men are taking satisfaction in abandoning the world’s poorest children to sickness and death. This is happening now. In my country, they’re taking sadistic pleasure in the pain they inflict on loyal American workers.”
Gone was the ode of Asbury Park, in its place Bruce’s view of the America that exists today. “My City of Ruins” the 14th song of the 27 song setlist really was the last Bruce’s theme for the night.
The rest of the show returned to the joy of a Springsteen and the E Street Band rock and roll classical concert.
“Letter to You”, “Because the Night”, “Human Touch”, “Wrecking Ball”, “The Rising”. “Badlands” into “Thunder Road”, more or less many of the songs in the order they were performed for the first 140+ shows on Bruce’s current tour which began in February 2023.
The encores the same: “Born in the USA”, “Born to Run”, “Bobby Jean”, “Dancing in the Dark” and “Tenth Avenue Freezeout”. The closing song for all but a few shows during most of the tour was replace by a full band version of the Dylan song “Chimes of Freedom” part of the 1988 Amnesty Tour.
Three of the songs that told the story Bruce wanted to share for most of the current tour, “Last Man Standing”, “Backstreets” and the finale “I’ll See you in my Dreams” (also the closing song on Bruce’s second Springsteen on Broadway show in 2001) where not a part of the Land of Hopes and Dreams Tour debut.
There are 15 shows left on the tour. It would appear this is the message Bruce wants to share. He’s changed the “Springsteen concert experience” completely. I realize and appreciate that a significant percentage of Bruce fans might not appreciate these last of shows, if that is how you feel, these shows might not be for you. Springsteen knows that many of the fans attending these last set of shows have likely attended several shows during the first 140 shows of the tour. Part of his rationale had to be offering a different show.
THE E STREET BAND: Bruce Springsteen – Lead vocal, electric and acoustic guitars, harmonica; Roy Bittan – Piano, keyboards; Nils Lofgren – Electric and acoustic guitars, backing vocal; Garry Tallent – Bass, backing vocal; Stevie Van Zandt – Electric and acoustic guitars, mandolin, backing vocal; Max Weinberg – Drums; Jake Clemons – Tenor saxophone, percussion, backing vocal; Charlie Giordano – Organ, keyboards, accordion; Soozie Tyrell – Violin, acoustic guitar, percussion
THE E STREET CHOIR & ADDITIONAL MUSICIANS: Anthony Almonte – Percussion, backing vocal; Ada Dyer – Backing vocal; Curtis King – Backing vocal; Lisa Lowell – Backing vocal; Michelle Moore – Backing vocal
THE E STREET HORNS: Barry Danielian – Trumpet; Curt Ramm – Trumpet; Ed Manion – Baritone and tenor saxophone; Ozzie Melendez – Trombone
There won’t be any American shows on this tour, how would the central theme of this show be received in America,
Surprise! Al Jardine, the beloved co-founding member of The Beach Boys, has returned with his first collection of new, original material since 2010. Titled “Islands in the Sun”, it’s a four-song EP featuring some truly special guests, as Neil Young, Flea (bassist of the Red Hot Chili Peppers) and Jardine’s Beach Boys band mate Bruce Johnston all lend a hand to the lively songs.
Here’s the title track, which features lead vocals from both Al Jardine and his son Matt Jardine, as well as Johnston on backing vocals and the help of a children’s choir from three different elementary schools.
The pleasant vibes of this one help it sound like the not-too-distant cousin of “Kokomo”:
A news release tells its story: Neil recorded his vocals at the same session that he recorded Postcard’s “A California Saga” with his old bandmates, David Crosby and Stephen Stills. In the song, Al and Neil share the same sentiment about sending our troops off to foreign wars. The track includes a portion of the melancholy military bugle call “Taps,” performed by Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, who laid down his contribution when he also provided bass for “Help Me Rhonda” for the Postcard album.
This new EP out in the wild, Al Jardine will reconvene with some of his friends from Brian Wilson‘s longtime touring band for a new run of dates, billed as The Pet Sounds Band.
Al Jardine’s “Islands In The Sun” from the 4-track digital EP “Islands In The Sun”, now available to buy and stream from Universal Music
Ty Segall has released a new album, “Possession”, via Drag City Recors. It marks the prolific singer-songwriter’s 16th solo album, following last January’s “Three Bells”. Segall collaborated with long time collaborator and filmmaker Matt Yoka on the lyrics for the record, which, per a press release, features “invigorated new sounds around every bend—glittering rhythm arrangements feature more of Ty’s own piano woodshedding than ever, joined in battle by sweeping movements of strings and horns. Rife with singing guitar leads and banks of Ty’s vocal harmonies, “Possession” features some of Ty’s most inspired songs to date.”
Ty hits the big sky trail of our good ol’ frontier empire, discovering non-stop bangers and inspired new sonics around every bend. With lyrics co-written by longtime collaborator, filmmaker Matt Yoka, Ty’s glittering rhythm arrangements move with fresh scansion, inviting in sweeps of strings and horns to further the charge righteously. You’re invited too! Don’t miss the trip – the country inspires awe from up on Ty’s high-octane ride.
released May 30th, 2025
Ty Segall – Guitar, Bass, Drums, Piano, Keys, Percussion, Voice Mikal Cronin – Saxophone Eric KM Clark – Violin Kaitlin Wolfberg – Violin Heather Lockie – Viola Emily Elkin – Cello Jordan Katz – Trumpet, Trombone
caroline have followed up their self-titled 2022 debut with an even more delightfully chaotic record. The experimental octet still works on a micro scale, but “caroline 2” is wide-eyed and enchanting without shying away from emotional profundity. “One of the fundamental themes is the idea of different things happening at once, things that are very different from each other but also simultaneous,” the band’s Jasper Llewellyn, who produced the record with Casper Hughes and Mike O’Malley, explained. The LP, led by ‘Total euphoria’, was written and recorded across various studio sessions over an 18-month period.
Returning with ‘caroline 2’, the eight-piece collective embrace a bolder, more expansive sound. Going beyond their debut’s explorations of repetition, slowness and space, the new album pushes further into dynamic contrasts — organic and electronic, raw and refined. Launched with the striking single ‘Tell me I never knew that’, featuring Caroline Polachek’s unmistakable vocals, “caroline 2” showcases a fearless interplay of layered instrumentation, warped vocal processing, and moments of both euphoria and melancholy. Intentional and immersive, this next chapter solidifies caroline as one of the most innovative voices in contemporary music.
The Holydrug Couple’s new and first release of 2025 is a familiar one—this year marks its tenth anniversary. Originally released in 2015 as part of a B-sides album from the Moonlust era, “Lunes 1 de Abril” is an atypical track that barely exceeds one minute in length, yet it has accumulated nearly 20 million plays on platforms like Spotify. In 2025, a decade since the album’s release and the creative work surrounding it, The Holydrug Couple is offering a kind of musical archaeology.
This move is both a response to fans who were left wanting more due to the song’s brevity and an effort by the artist to revisit and re-explore the creative paths taken during that time—in terms of production, composition, and mixing.
A damaged hard drive and the loss of most of the original sessions and tracks from those years forced Yves, with the help of some friends, to reconstruct, recreate, and re-record all the instruments that make up the song. The keyboards were recorded with Ismael Palma, producer of the band Inmontauk, at his studio in Santiago; the drums were recorded at Reflex Magnet Studios by Kb Cabala, an old friend now based in Berlin, and performed by Joaquin Margulis, current collaborator with Chicos de Nazca and TheHolydrug Couple. The rest of the work was done in Yves’ portable studio between Santiago and Berlin, completing the details and bringing all the sounds together to achieve a re-materialization of “Lunes 1 de Abril”.
It adds to the ‘Especial’ release, the remix made by Ismael Palma, aka Inmontauk. A very sensitive and evocative version that expands the colour palette on the presented music. The ‘New Disco Club Remix’ that presents a sort of Italo Disco, heavy on a arpeggiated bass and with drums player by Joaquin Margulis. The next tracks are an exercise that shows an expanded possibility on speed and format. This new version retains the spirit and texture of the original 2015 Moonlust-era release but expands into a longer, fuller version, with sound quality and arrangements that are sure to surprise 2025 listeners.
The repress of ‘I Kept These Old Blues’ on CD & LP is out now. Order to get the album with a signed art card. New edition with an extra track.“I Kept These Old Blues” is an astonishing first glimpse at the breadth of Muireann Bradleys talent – both as a guitar virtuoso and a singer. Her astounding fingerpicking and original interpretations of blues classics has already created a loyal fanbase of listeners and collectors alike. The first pressing of “I Kept These Old Blues” sold out globally and is already regarded as a collectible among in-the-know music fans – truly remarkable given Bradley was just 15 years old when she recorded it. Now remixed and remastered by Grammy-nominated mastering engineer Kevin Reeves and with the inclusion of a brand new track ‘I Kept These Old Blues’ demonstrates the kind of assuredness and skill to be expected of a musician five times Muireann’s age.
Every now and then an album comes along that captures the essence of a musical style with grace and purity and an intimate understanding of the ways that the songs work. At 17, Murieann Bradley, who hails from Ballybofey in County Donegal, Ireland, has been developing her nuanced finger-picking style, and she showcases her smooth, crystalline playing and singing in her interpretations of 12 blues standards on her debut album, “I Kept These Old Blues”.
Bradley’s fingers dance off the frets, bending the strings on just the right notes in her spry version of “Buck Dancer’s Choice.” She never crowds the notes on the cascading arpeggios on the tune, allowing it unfold spaciously. Her buoyant take on “Freight Train” mimics the motion of the train, and her spiraling guitar work and vibrant vocals evoke the joy and the melancholy in the song.
The album opens with a lilting version of “Candyman,” while Bradley’s expansive version of “Richland Woman Blues” overflows with her dazzling picking. Her smooth take on “Shake Sugaree” blossoms into jaunty lead runs on the instrumental bridges and the outro, and Bradley’s sprightly version of “Vestapol” illustrates her keen ability to play in an understated way and to allow every note room to breathe on its own and to occupy its own musical space.
Every song on “I Kept These Old Blues” is a gem, and they introduce us to an artist who’s already playing with the confidence and maturity of players such as Jorma Kaukonen, Larry Campbell, and Ruthie Foster.
Goddess is a project of producer and drummer, Fay Milton bringing together female and gender-expansive creativity and collaboration. Working with an impressive host of guest vocalists and instrumentalists, Goddess blurs genre boundaries with its mix of melodic and industrial sounds.
The idea to start the multi-pronged musical project that became known as Goddess came to Fay Milton clear-eyed, confident, and fully-formed. The band for which she had been the drummer, the much-lauded, two-time Mercury Prize nominated post-punk quartet Savages, were on hiatus, and while she had picked up some session drumming, she felt like she had a larger creative project in her. She knew that she wanted to honour the deep sisterhood that forms when female and non-binary musicians collaborate, and that the project would centre the community that she had built in the London independent music scene. There would be emotional range, strength, vulnerability, truth, and joy. There would also be a glimmer of Savages, as she knew her first collaborator would be Ayse Hassan, the band’s bassist, whose thunderous playing has always been the perfect complement to Fay’s ferocious drums. After years of planning, writing and recording, Goddess’ self-titled debut album is here. An epic 10-track opus of post-punk, electronica, dream-pop and indie-rock, the album is performed by a revolving cast of vocalists, bringing their own unique flavour and flair to each individual track. “With this project, I have come out from behind the drums and stepped into the producer role, allowing the feminine energy to run strong from the start to the finish of the creative process”, comments Fay Milton. The idea of Goddess stems from the curiosity of what happens when you bring creative spirits together in interesting new combinations.”
There were other deeply personal reasons that Fay sought out a bevy of collaborators for “Goddess”. She had spent much of the 2010s touring, traveling the world experiencing the type of professional highs most musicians only dream of. She knew she would continue creating music, but one topic in particular had begun to infiltrate her creative practice, and in doing so, changed the way she approached her craft forever.
“Around the time that Savages went on hiatus, I started thinking about the climate crisis and realizing how existential it is.” This realization led to Fay co-founding the climate activism charity Music Declares Emergency in 2019, whose mission is to give both music industry professionals as well as music fans a platform to demand government action to stop the climate crisis. As Music Declares Emergency began to grow, launching the NO MUSIC ON A DEAD PLANET campaign with artists like Billie Eilish and Radiohead, Fay still found herself pursuing her passion for music and songwriting, but with a totally fresh perspective. How can one engage in the music industry while keeping in mind a commitment to climate activism?
“I couldn’t really justify being someone who continues to jump on a plane every day,” says Fay. “I realised that if you’re not planning to tour, that’s a creative parameter that opens up a lot of freedom. You can have a different singer on every track and bring in instruments like harp and strings”. Thus Goddess was born—sitting squarely at the cross-section of a band, an artist collective, an exercise in collaboration, and a musical manifesto, Fay has created something that is both deeply personal and uses her considerable talent to bring together artists from all over the world to build something bigger than the sum of its parts.
As the project grew, Goddess became about much more than recording an album—it became about finding solace in a world that was becoming increasingly uncertain and calamitous, and providing hope and emotional release through the communal power of creating music. In assembling a crew of artists that inspire her, Fay tapped into the female spirit of open collaboration, a potent salve in dressing the wounds inflicted on us by rampant individualism.
Conceptually, Goddess is somewhat akin to say, Massive Attack or Desert Sessions—a musical experience where genre is more of a guideline than a fixed ethos, where each featured artist is allowed the space and freedom to make their song their own, all while under the guardianship of a visionary leader. Musically Goddess is eclectic, but more than that, it feels as if Fay has been able to connect all these disparate and singular vibes into one living, breathing whole, that demands the listener devour every minute in order to appreciate every single interwoven thread.
“Goddess” opens with the brooding and emotionally charged “Little Dark”, which features vocals by Shingai, ex-frontwoman of The Noisettes and one of Fay’s closest friends. Chronicling a late-night walk through London in the aftermath of the pandemic, “Little Dark” balances the crystal-clear harmony of Shingai’s voice with the track’s tenebrous undertones. “We’ve been really close friends for many, many years. We’ve had many late night jams, but getting in the studio to do a song together opened up a new depth to our relationship, both musically and as friends.”
Another longtime friend/first-time collaborator is Elena Tonra, who records as Ex:Re, and came up with Fay in London as the lead singer of the band Daughter. “She’s also a really close friend,” says Fay. Elena lends her feather-light, knife-sharp vocals to the lead single off of Goddess, “Shadows”, a track that showcases everything that gives the project its unique identity.
Two other highlights from Goddess share a similar noise-pop DNA: the R&B-tinged “Animal” and the all-out electro freakout “Fuckboy”. “Animal” features North London DIY icon and singer of feminist punk band Skinny Girl Diet, Delilah Holliday, as she gives voice to the sexy beast within all of us. “Fuckboy” is perhaps the most heavy and rhythmic track on the record, a pulsating slice of industrial rock and electronic dance that features singer/visual artist Salvia, delivering inscrutable lyrics about taking delight in the grotesque.
There are no two vocalists alike on “Goddess”, and this is completely by design. Astute listeners will notice that of the 10 featured singers, all are female/non-binary, which was a conscious decision on Fay’s part. It’s a nod to the female representation that has been a through-line in her career, while also simply wanting to showcase the artists that she finds the most exciting. “All of the vocalists I was finding most interesting and inspiring were female and non-binary. Gender is not a topic of the “Goddess” album in any way, but it is a creative parameter of the project, and a very important one. The album is not about gender, but it’s working with gender as a creative tool.”
At its core, Goddess compiles all of the things that have seen Fay through this new creative chapter of her life, from her ever-evolving musicianship, through to her climate activism to her fascination with female and non-binary creativity. The name Goddess may seem a little audacious, but it’s not about self-deification, on the contrary–it’s about celebrating the beauty and spirit alive in everyone.
Chrysalis Records are proud to present UFO’s classic 1980 album ‘No Place To Run’, newly remastered from the original production tapes transfers at AIR Mastering and reissued on stunning 3LP tri-fold sleeve 180gm vinyl and 2CD Digipak formats on 25th July 2025.
‘No Place To Run’ was the eighth studio album by UFO and the first with Paul Chapman on guitar, following the departure of Michael Schenker. It was produced by legendary Beatles producer George Martin and recorded at his newly launched AIR Studios in Montserrat in the Caribbean, a stark difference from the bands’ usual surroundings.
Reflecting on the album forty five years later Phil Mogg said: “The thing that sticks in my mind from recording ‘No Place To Run’ was the complete miss match with UFO / George Martin (who was a lovely chap) and nothing summed it up more than when George would say to Geoff (sound engineer): ‘Well Geoff, it’s six o’clock, time for a G&T out on the veranda.’ How very civilised!”
The reissue includes a new and previously unreleased mix of ‘Live at The Marquee, London, 16th November 1980’, mixed by revered engineer Brian Kehew from the original multi-track tapes, giving a powerfully fresh sound. Only three tracks have ever been officially released before (‘Lettin’ Go’, ‘MysteryTrain’ and ‘No Place to Run’). The other eleven tracks from this legendary show have not been available until now. The set will take fans right back to the electric atmosphere of the Marquee, with a band at the very top of their game.
Brian Kehew said:
“Paul Chapman’s guitar sound here is really superb, a thick and singing B.C.Rich-into-Marshall tone… “No Place To Run” is certainly a special time for the band, the peak of their public acceptance. With the music world shifting into new wave and synth-pop around them, they stayed true to their roots and delivered yet another classic album.” (quote taken from liner notes)
Both formats feature new liner notes by Michael Hann featuring interviews with front-man vocalist Phil Mogg and drummer Andy Parker.
The Fat Angel Sings 