The Fat Angel Sings

“The Gathering” Track celebrates the return of live music, while British singer-songwriter also plots outdoor summer shows in the U.K.

Frank Turner envisions the first concerts after Covid-19 lockdown on his new song, “The Gathering,” featuring Jason Isbell and Muse drummer Dom Howard.

Considering its subject matter, “The Gathering” is appropriately arena-sized from the start as Turner bellows over booming drums and towering glam rock riffs: “The first time that the beat drops in the bar, it’s going to be biblical!/The second that the singalong starts, it’ll be sensational!” The track (which was produced by Rich Costey) ends with Isbell unleashing the mightiest guitar solo he can muster.

In a statement, Turner said of “The Gathering,” which marks his first new music in two years, “It’s about that moment when you come together in a room full of people, and you lean on a stranger and sing along with the chorus and get the words wrong.”

Along with releasing “The Gathering,” Turner announced a string of outdoor shows in the United Kingdom this summer. The shows will essentially be one-day festivals with Turner headlining and support coming from artists on the Xtra Mile Recordings roster, including Skinny Lister, Johnny Lloyd, Pet Needs, Ducking Punches, Non Canon, Deux Furieuses, Berries, Guise, and Semantics. Line-ups will vary across the dates, and the shows will adapt to either allow for socially distanced attendance or full capacity, depending on Covid-19 safety regulations at the time. A full list of dates is available on Turner’s website, where tickets will also go on sale Friday, May 7th.

Over the last quarter-century, the songwriter and performer Maia Sharp has released a bunch of solid albums that navigated the middle ground between country, pop, and Americana. But her songs have also been rendered by other artists: Back when “Dixie” was still part of their name, the Chicks covered “A Home” (written by Sharp and her father, longtime country songwriter Randy Sharp), and Cher blasted out “Don’t Come Around Tonite” in 1995.

Beyond liking her husky voice, the key thing here is that Maia Sharp is a really good songwriter. Sharp has a strong track record already and has been recording since the late 1990s. Her songs have been recorded by no less than Cher, The Dixie Chicks, Trisha Yearwood, Kathy Mattea and Paul Carrack. She has Collaborated with Carole King, Jules Shear and Art Garfunkel, among others. 

There’s nothing rootsy or power-ballad-friendly about “Backburner,” from Sharp’s new album, “Mercy Rising“. Odes to regret and missed opportunities have been part of the pop lexicon since people first began sitting down at pianos to compose parlour songs. But on “Backburner” there is some clever wordplay going on in the third track on “Mercy Rising” one of the singles … its a hell of a way to say turn the flame up higher, when I put you on the backburner you set the place on fire…— cowritten with Anna Schulze, an artist in her own right who’s made collaborative records with Sharp under the name Rosco & Etta — adds a grabby lyrical conceit that freshens up the genre.

Genesis is thrilled to publish the signed limited edition by Tom Morello, “Whatever It Takes”. For the first time, Morello’s remarkable life as a guitarist, songwriter, singer, and political activist is captured through a wealth of photographs, handwritten notes, and setlists, alongside original commentary. “Whatever It Takes” is published in a limited edition of only 2,000 numbered copies, each signed by Tom Morello. Each boxed set includes Morello’s memoir bound in black cloth with gold blocking and red page edging, a Little Red Songbook (a booklet of songs and chord charts), eight custom guitar picks, and an exclusive 7″ vinyl disc. 

‘Whatever It Takes” finds Tom Morello looking back in depth at his entire life and career, from his childhood in Illinois to his time with Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave, and the E Street Band, among other highlights.’

We have been honoured to receive your reviews and comments from the book’s contributors. We want to thank you for your great feedback.

‘An utmost honor doing foreword and artwork in my bro Tom Morello’s Whatever It Takes book’ – Chuck D, Contributor, USA

‘Truly spectacular… Beautifully made, creative and exciting.’ – L. Brice, Contributor, USA

‘Absolute art.’ – B. Baker, Subscriber, Australia

‘A true keepsake’ – C. Gronner, Contributor, USA

‘I couldn’t be happier. Amazing book and absolutely amazing stories’ – The Vigilante (Twitter)

‘An excellent book’ – R. Beer, Subscriber, The Netherlands

Alongside your reviews, “Whatever It Takes” has been highly acclaimed by the likes of Rolling Stone, Uncut, Classic Rock, and Guitar World. 

 The iconic guitar Morello used during his time with Audioslave is featured heavily within the pages of his new limited edition, “Whatever It Takes” Morello’s hot-rodded Fender guitar features a high-output Seymour Duncan Hot Rails bridge pickup, a Floyd Rose double-locking tremolo, a stylish matching painted headstock, and Morello’s ‘Soul Power’ body lettering.

This week Royal Mail revealed a set of twelve Special Stamps and limited edition collectables celebrating Paul’s solo music career. 

The collection, which was made in close collaboration with Paul, will be released on May 28th. The main stamp set features a selection of eight LPs which have defined Paul’s career from his first solo album McCartney released in 1970 through to his most recent No.1 album, McCartney III which was recorded and released during lockdown in 2020.

The remaining four stamps, presented in a Miniature Sheet, feature photographs spanning three decades of Paul in the studio, recording for some of the albums featured in the main Special Stamp set.

When asked about personal favourites, the 1994 album “Ursa Major” often gets name-checked by Eleventh Dream Day, but it has been largely unavailable the last fifteen years. Originally released on Atavistic after three records in four years with Atlantic, “Ursa Major” is a departure from the grungier early days of the band and urgent guitar-driven pop of El Moodio. Free from their Atlantic contract and with no plans to return to the major label world or big tours, Eleventh Dream Day made a record that would see the expanding musical interests of individual members come together to create new sounds. 

At the end of the final road trip promoting El Moodio in 1993, there were a lot of reasons to pull back from the incessant touring and promotion that defined the Atlantic years. For one, EDD hadn’t achieved the commercial success necessary to justify toting a toddler around the world in vans and Dutch bicycle seats. Nobody wanted to end the band – they felt they had made a great string of records, and continued to draw good crowds and critical support. 

This was unlike any previous record because there really wasn’t much rehearsal or workshopping of songs – this was a studio record, and EDD built the songs as they went along – leading to the experimental elements that separate it from previous albums.

Ursa Major begins with “History of Brokeback“, a McCombs-generated instrumental with changing time signatures that would signal to any listener that Eleventh Dream Day was not looking to join in the Wicker Park frenzy swirling around Liz Phair and Urge Overkill. The mood shifts back and forth from ominous to upbeat. While it may be one of the more complex songs in the group’s oeuvre, it is hooky in its own way and the title was a precursor to one of Doug’s future bands.

“Occupation, or Not” opens with acoustic guitar and brushed snare, another departure from the usual full-on assault of electric guitars charging out of the gates. “This is my castle, this is my home. Revolution always looms” are first words of the album, perhaps summarizing the fact that things were changing. “A shakeup was surely due.” The guitar solo is not a solo. A slide scraped across distorted strings. No bombastic ending.

“Flutter” is a mother’s musical love letter to her son. “You are the most beautiful angel I have ever seen.” Once again, this was a softer kind of pop song, with rhythmic complexity and strings. Atavistic also shot a video for this at Logan Auditorium (yes, that’s John McEntire on drums!).

“Orange Moon” closes out side one with a more typical EDD sound, although this is one of the first songs with a nonstandard tuning. Three chords soft louder loud soft loudest. The lyrics might sum up Rick’s prevailing mood at the time. As he started working toward a new career in teaching, he wasn’t far removed from the life of a touring rock musician, with the attention and perks that went along with that. At the same time, Wicker Park, where everyone lived, was blowing up as the hottest scene in the world. “The sky is for sale by the chunk.” Rick says he didn’t have regrets about dropping out, but at the same time felt betrayed by how Atlantic worked El Moodio. “But the moon that I held has been foreclosed it’s not for sale.”

“I felt conspicuously absent from the hoopla and somewhat hurt. I’m not sure how the others in the band felt, but they were in the process of creating new genres of music,” Rizzo shared. “I seriously had no desire to be back in it – the major label thing was a game that got old.”

“No wish to wish upon that star it seemed too empty it seemed too far.” So really, it’s about wanting something, but knowing that you don’t want it ultimately. “The moon is fake it floats in space blank witness night it’s made me crazed.” The final refrain “They won’t let it go” has a couple of possibilities – it calls out the labels as overlords – the band works for them, and in the long run all the people surrounding the band make their money. The bands are product with a limited shelf life and can be easily replaced by the next big thing. “I was more than hurt on this song, I was pissed,” Rizzo added. “But I totally let it go after that song.”

Taking Leave was written and recorded after Ursa Major was done. Wink had gone back to Louisville. Hey – you write a new song and it’s your new favourite. “Tomorrow looms oddly again” – another lyric that shows an awkward, transitional state of being. “I’ve shown that I can take a punch. It has me worried.”

Notable is the way Janet and Rick weave vocals in and out, Doug on a six string bass. “We recorded this after Brad left for the day,” notes Rizzo. “McEntire and Casey Rice ended up being creative forces in the studio!”

“Bearish on High” was originally called Orange Moon. It has the line, “orange moon I pine for you.” The typeset instructions got screwed up and instead of wasting album sleeves, the band decided to switch titles. No big deal, the themes are pretty similar. “I believe there is a feeling of defeat. I resolve to erase that thought.”

“I was definitely grappling with the career change,” says Rizzo. “You can watch the sun set in the west and wonder when it ever left. “But I was happy, going to school, working at the Rainbo, and playing lots of tennis. I can’t remember what I found so ironic at the time, but I was confident enough about life that it had me shouting it gives me faith!”

“Nova Zembla”, title provided by Nabokov, was perhaps the only between-song noodling that ever made it to an EDD album. Wink provides the clean guitar acrobatics as well as the storm clouds that roll in.

Blindside comes out of the chaos – a slow build up of dark clouds leading to the storm. “He knew he should go inside. He knew what was coming down.” The only solo on the record, but not really a solo. “Maybe an allusion to the gang violence that surrounded us in our neighbourhood,” adds Rizzo. “Maybe more hedging against emotional investment. Maybe both.”

The record closes with “Exit Right”, pretty apt direction for getting off the big stage. “On your knees you never beg, you just get used to being closer to the ground.” A humbled exit, but pride intact.

A right different record by what precedes it.

And the start of a band with very different work habits.

“Ursa Major” came out to much interest, and there was a plan for shows to follow. City Slang put the record out in Europe. Ultimately, larger plans and a tour with Sea and Cake and Tortoise in Europe, was scrapped when a miraculous diagnosis and treatment for their son’s epilepsy required domestic attention.

Now it’s back. The stars align. “Ursa Major”. 

Released May 7th, 2021

The Pleasure Leftists from Cleveland, Ohio; who really do deserve a special place in your record collection like the thousands of other releases unveiled a few weeks ago and which, once upon a time, we just thought of as being another album. As neither here, nor there. But somehow, this album has turned from cult to classic. And now we can’t get enough.

A collection of a couple of EP’s, released by the band in 2011 and 2013, themselves called Pleasure Leftists, but as an expanded and remastered piece of work, are titled here, The EP’s of the PL. Their first release since 2019’s “The Gate”.

Things are always hot and fast and sharp and jagged and moody and awkward and annoying and intelligent and angular and arty and that’s what post-punk should be like. And such is so because it was an attack in the aftermath, the first attempt, and therefore what we would call Post-Punk

This is a guitar, bass, drum, vocals band – and is even stronger when playing with those elements. More powerful because of its primitive style. Twists and itches and shakes like a savage dance on a stage shared between Girls At Our Best and Gang of 4 – psychotically lacerating all that leans in too deep as the tip of one’s nose is torn from the face and slits the skin to rags. The impenetrable guitars of Kevin Jaworski rupture and sputter and hypnotize the senses which are forced to look into its dizzying headlights. One moment melodic.

Kicking off what would be, if speaking about the separate Eps, the 2013 release, is For A Family. Harris’ vocal lines are a true thing of beauty. Reaching peaks and returning to earth within seconds, always at a distance but somehow up close. Mark TerVeen’s laughing drums and Steve Peffer’s volcanic bass sound.