The Fat Angel Sings

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Lande Hekt has quietly become one of the UK’s best underground songwriters. On her 2021 debut full-length “Going To Hell” and 2022’s “House Without A View“, she explored her queer identity, sobriety, and childhood trauma through the lens of heartfelt, conversational indie-pop, which led to spots opening for the likes of Alvvays, Throwing Muses and The Beths.

Her new  album “Lucky Now”, written and recorded with producer Matthew Simms (Wire, It Hugs Back), reflects the most mature and confident version of Hekt yet. “I’m not as concerned about how I’m presenting myself,” Hekt says. “I’ve tried to think less about how things are coming across, and just write songs that make me feel connected to myself and what I value.”

Hekt’s musical touchstones — The Wedding Present, The Sundays, The Replacements — remain the same, but at the same time she’s delved deeper into other influences. “Lucky Now” is indebted to 1980s twee-pop and jangle-pop like The Pastels, Tallulah Gosh and The Bats, plus more modern iterations of the sound such as Autocamper and Jeanines, in its ecstatic, soaring melodies and gorgeous, tactile guitars.

The sound is fitting for Hekt’s new lyrical outlook, where, though despair and anxiety rear their heads, she digs deep to find the gratitude. “I wanted to try and push for something slightly more positive, which I’m trying to do more of generally — just to not fall apart.”

No stranger to protest songs or outrage over wrongs committed by governments and corporations, Billy Bragg’s music has been in the mouths of folks willing to fight for a better world for decades. On Monday night, Bragg revealed he has written a new song for the people of Minneapolis. From the man himself:

The murder of Alex Pretti was horrifically shocking, all the more so as we are still reeling from the images of the murder of Renee Good. That these crimes can be committed in broad daylight, on camera and yet no one is held accountable only adds to the injustice.

I wrote this song yesterday as a tribute to the bravery of the people of Minneapolis who, knowing that these trigger happy ICE thugs operate with seeming impunity in their midst, are still willing to put themselves in harms way to defend their community. Their resistance is an inspiration to us all.

On January 22nd, 2016, Savages released its riveting sophomore album “Adore Life”, the band’s final release to date. Today, the London quartet celebrate the album’s first decade by sharing two unreleased songs from the era—a piano-lead cover of Black Sabbath’s iconic “Paranoid” and the haunting original “Prayer.” .

From Savages: Celebrating 10 years of “Adore Life”, we’re sharing with you two unreleased songs that never made it onto the albums. We left them exactly as they were—no retakes, no remixing. What you’ll hear is precisely how they were first recorded. To us, they feel like snapshots of a moment in time, and while we’ve never been ones to dwell too much on nostalgia we felt these songs offered a fresh perspective on the band, or at the very least—a gentle reminder of its magic. Enjoy the music and video. It is our gift to you. Happy Birthday to “Adore Life”. What a record. What a time.
Ayse, Fay, Gemma & Jehnny

“When Savages delivered the “Adore Life” artwork, they really captured the feeling of the music contained within,” recalls Matador founder Chris Lombardi. “A giant fist of a record. It’s visceral and taut much like their incendiary live shows. This record reminds that Savages were the REAL DEAL.”

The band’s performance of “Paranoid” was captured on film by Grammy-nominated director Giorgio Testi and premieres today as well. “Paranoid” was recorded by Johnny Hostile and Matt Farrar, produced and mixed by Johnny Hostile. “Prayer” was recorded at RAK studios in London by Richard Woodcraft, produced and mixed by Johnny Hostile.

The release serves as the latest entry in Matador Records’ Revisionist History series, our ongoing campaign to jog the record-buying (and streaming!) public’s memory about our many catalog items now poised to celebrate a significant anniversary.

Over the course of the year, Matador will mark these anniversaries with new reissues and re-pressings. Each release will be accompanied by rare live footage, unreleased music, photos, and videos.

Savages’ are Ayşe Hassan (bass), Fay Milton (drums), Gemma Thompson (guitar), and Jehnny Beth (vocals).

If art is to be exhibited, then Ulrika Spacek will ensure that their art is collective; that even as the world becomes inhospitable to community, their intentions are an act of resistance.

Whether it is Oysterland, the self-curated night the band have been hosting for over 10 years to platform artists of other disciplines in live music spaces; Total Refreshment Centre, the East London studio Syd runs which connects the dots between the jazz scene and like-minded experimental artists of the capital and beyond; or their creative bleed as musicians and producers over the years with the likes of Crack Cloud, caroline, DIIV, Holy Wave and Slowdive, the band’s existence is inseparable from its community.

In a hyper-individual world, the band’s fourth album, “EXPO”, offers an antidote. It’s there, in the shared dream logic of the music: the off-kilter melodies, jagged guitars and cirrus cloud atmospherics. It’s there, in all the things that are said and unsaid between them; there in the writing, producing and mixing processes they share in. And even as each of their parts moves toward a unified vision, it’s never more keenly felt than in the bigger picture to which Ulrika Spacek belong.

“EXPO” is a symbol of collective art, and a dialectic between analogue and electronic.

Though their well-established foundations are in the art-rock world – and though they are inspired by electronic elements more than ever – Ulrika Spacek are interested in the glitch that exists between the two. Their music reckons with human warmth and digital isolation, equal parts welcoming and altogether alienating. “Our music has always been a collage – a bit patchwork, sonically – but what makes this album a landmark for us is that we went one step further and made our own sample bank,” explains singer/guitarist Rhys. They create their own doppelgängers in a world of almost-real, where the band appear as if in a hall of mirrors. Digital drums are sampled layered upon real drums, and the effect is almost like birth in reverse – pulled from the ether and returned back to the tangible world.

“There’s a lot that can be said about writing when there is no aim, there is a freedom and a purity in it which opens a door to more music, and in this case, it set a mood for a new album, one that would be colder, darker and one that would embrace electronics and new instrumentation in a new terrain” the band share. “The album’s greater theme is isolation and alienation in an online world where it seems everybody around you is constantly exhibiting themselves, living in public wanting to be seen and heard. The age of ‘individuality’ is lonely, it’s a room of concave mirrors, and with this in mind, we set upon making our most collective effort; ‘It’s back to strength in numbers, count in fives.”

Ratboys have signed to New West Records, marking the announcement with a frantically paced, sprawling track called ‘Light Night Mountains All That’. It features piano and production from Chris Walla. “My original idea was to write an ultra-high energy folk song, in the style of the Dodos’ Visiter, with somewhat spooky, mysterious, and pastoral lyrics — like what Chris Otepka of the Heligoats might conjure up on a mushroom trip,” Julia Steiner said in a statement. “This song really took shape during our initial writing session up at the Driftless Cabin in Wisconsin last March; the guys and I nearly went insane fleshing out the arrangement and its odd timings together. I wrote the lyrics during that original demoing trip, centered around the idea of a fantastic, rural vision-quest where the days and nights blend together and nothing is quite as it seems.”

This week, Chicago indie rockers Ratboys shared a new song, “Light Night Mountains All That,” and announced some new tour dates. They also announced that they have signed to a new label, New West Records. 

Ratboys is singer/guitarist Julia Steiner, guitarist Dave Sagan, drummer Marcus Nuccio, and bassist Sean Neumann. The song also features piano by its co-producer Chris Walla (Death Cab for Cutie, Tegan and Sara, Foxing).

Following a heavy touring cycle that included opening for The Decemberists, Ratboys return with “Singin’ to An Empty Chair“. The 11-track album was produced by Chris Walla, the former Death Cab for Cutie member who also produced “The Window“.

Singer and guitarist Julia Steiner wrote most of the album after attending therapy for the first time. She was working through a difficult conversation with someone she is estranged from, using a technique called “Empty Chair.” The exercise involves imagining the person sitting across from you.

“The goal is to update this person on what’s been going on in my life and to try to bridge that impasse and reach out a hand into the void,” Steiner explained.

The album includes recent singles “Light Night Mountains All That”, “Anywhere”, and “What’s Right?”. They all hint at a natural evolution, sharpening the band’s emotional clarity without losing its melodic core.

Ratboys’ last album, “The Window”, was among the Top 100 Albums of 2023

With “Future Soul”, Tedeschi Trucks Band expands their horizon without losing the roots that ground them. Produced by the genre-bending Mike Elizondo (known for his work with 21 Pilots and Turnstile), the album finds the 12-piece ensemble exploring deeper grooves and richer textures than ever before.  

The title track, “Future Soul,” hits with a muscular riff and searing vocals, proving the band can still unleash full- tilt rock whenever they choose. “I Got You” arrives as an early fan favourite from its live debut. “Crazy Cryin’” pours out emotion, weaving gospel inflections with blues-soaked grit in unmistakable TTB style. “Who Am I” turns inward, spotlighting Susan Tedeschi’s soulful presence and the lyrical touch of Derek Trucks’ guitar in a strikingly natural balance.  

Lyrically, the record looks forward as much as it looks within—grappling with identity, resilience, and hope in uncertain times. Elizondo’s production adds subtle modern touches—warm bass, layered percussion, and space for the horns and background vocals to shine—without sacrificing the organic interplay that defines the band’s live magic.  

“Future Soul”, stands as both a reinvention and a reaffirmation: a vibrant next chapter for one of America’s most formidable bands. Known for its world-class musicianship, Tedeschi Trucks Band is Susan Tedeschi (guitar, vocals), Derek Trucks (guitar), Mike Mattison (guitar, vocals), Gabe Dixon (keys, vocals), Brandon Boone (bass), Tyler “Falcon” Greenwell (drums, percussion), Isaac Eady (drums, percussion), Mark Rivers (vocals), Alecia Chakour (vocals), Kebbi Williams (saxophone), Emmanuel Echem (trumpet) and Elizabeth Lea (trombone).

Tedeschi Trucks Band Announces Sixth Studio Album ‘Future Soul’ out March 20th,