Car Seat Headrest have announced “The Scholars”, their first studio album in five years, which will be out May 2nd via Matador Records. It’s an ambitious double-LP rock opera : “Set at the fictional college campus Parnassus University, the songs on “The Scholars” are populated with students and staff whose travails illuminate a loose narrative of life, death, and rebirth,” is the album’s official log line.
The band have shared “Gethsemane” from it, an 11-minute song suite. The band say: “Rosa studies at the medical school of Parnassus University. After an experience bringing a medically deceased patient back to life, she begins to regain powers suppressed since childhood, of healing others by absorbing their pain. Each night, instead of dreams, she encounters the raw pain and stories of the souls she touches throughout the day. Reality blurs, and she finds herself taken deep into secret facilities buried beneath the medical school, where ancient beings that covertly reign over the college bring forth their dark plans.”
You can absorb all that via the song’s equally epic music video, which was directed by Andrew Wonder and you can check out below.
Car Seat Headrest’s 2025 schedule includes headline dates and festival appearances,
Belly are celebrating the 30th anniversary of their second album, “King”, with a Record Store Day reissue of the album and a tour where they’ll play it in full. Featuring the line-up that made the album (Tanya Donelly, Gail Greenwood, Chris Gorman and Thomas Gorman), the shows will be “An Evening with Belly,” featuring the “King” set followed by a second set of songs from debut album “Star” and the rest of their catalogue. “King” was the second studio album by American alternative rock band Belly, released on February 13th, 1995.
The “King” 30th anniversary edition that’s being released for Record Store Day has been remastered by Kevin Vanbergen and features faithful reproductions of designer Chris Bigg’s original sleeve art and has been pressed on green vinyl. Watch videos for singles “Seal My Fate,” “Super-Connected” and “Now They’ll Sleep,” “King” and its singles did not meet label expectations in the grunge-friendly atmosphere of 1995, and the band broke up shortly after it was released.
The Rhode Island-based dream pop band, fronted by Tanya Donelly, who had spent time in both the Breeders and Throwing Muses, broke through in a big way. Belly‘s dreamy alternative rock connected with audiences in the United States and the United Kingdom, driven by the success of the single “Feed the Tree”
“King” was listed at number seven “15 Overlooked and Underrated Albums of the 1990s”
For over fifty years, The Pretty Things have proudly, unapologetically and righteously scorched their own, unique trail through contemporary music. A half-century (plus) of the raunchiest white-boy rhythm and blues, of punch-ups, dazzling highs and epic struggles, of innovation and exultation, lauded by their peers, vilified by authority, a crucial influence on successive generations of acts, One of the most under-rated bands in the history of music finally get the treatment they richly deserve. Never afforded the recognition given to other bands, The Pretty Things consistently delivered quality output, The Pretty Things make it to the mid twenty teens with mojo intact and edge unblunted. It is with great pleasure that The career of this epochal British rock ‘n’ roll band is justly celebrated by way of “Bouquets From A Cloudy Sky”, a lavish multi-media Box Set that contains the following: 11 Studio albums on CD in gatefold digi-sleeves, including 42 bonus tracks. 2 ‘Rarities CD’s with 45 previously unreleased demos, alternate versions, live recordings, sessions and outtakes. 2 DVDs with new documentary “Midnight to Six” 1965 to 1970 produced by Reelin’ In The Years, plus “S.F. Sorrow Live at Abbey Road”, The Pretty Things on Film, promo videos and interviews. A 10″ Replica ‘ACETATE’ featuring ‘Defecting Grey’ full length demo & ‘Turn My Head’ (studio version), plus 2 other previously unreleased tracks.
Includes a lavishly ILLUSTRATED 100 PAGE Hardback Book with comprehensive band history by Mike Stax (Ugly Things), plus rare photos and memorabilia. FAMILY TREE & TESTIMONIAL POSTERS tracing the band from Little Boy Blue & The Blue Boys and The Rolling Stones to the present day and featuring hand-written messages from Pretty Things past and present. Court Case History excerpts from confidential legal files from the band’s battles to retrieve their rights and songs. BRAND NEW ART PRINT By Phil May the original of which will be randomly placed in one lucky set!*
The big plus for this box set is the DVD documentary contained within. It’s a fascinating watch and includes the priceless footage of the band at Blokker in Holland kicking up a storm on stage and causing a riot off it! The sight of lunatic original drummer Viv Prince prowling around with his drumsticks while John Stax stands on top of the piano blowing a mean harp perfectly captures the early incarnation of the Pretty Things more than words ever could. Elsewhere, there are some fantastic live performances of tracks from the ‘Parachute’ album and lots of interviews with various band members. It only goes up to 1971 so doesn’t cover the later albums but as the band broke up for a few years after that it’s a logical place to stop.
The Pretty Things were the biggest influence on us… they invented garage bands.” – Joey Ramone “The Pretty Things completely bent my head.” – Noel Gallagher “The Pretty Things made the Stones look tame.” – David Gilmour “David Bowie worshipped Phil (May) – Phil had to write his telephone number in David Bowie’s book, and it was under ‘G’ for God!” – Dick Taylor, The Pretty Things
This Box Set includes 11 Studio Albums, 2 Rarities CDs, 2 DVDs, 10″ Replica Acetate, Hardback Book, ‘Bouguets From A Cloudy Sky’ is the ultimate and complete Pretty Things Collection Box Set. Produced for their 50th Anniversary with the full co-operation of the dirtiest, hairiest, nastiest, loudest, most controversial and influential band the world has ever seen.
The new Gillan 7-CD box set offers a comprehensive collection of the band’s work during the years from 1978 to 1982, when they rose to prominence in the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) scene. The set includes seven albums from this era, featuring studio recordings, a live album, and a wealth of B-sides and bonus material.
The albums featured in this set are as follows: “Gillan” (The Japanese Album) – Originally released in September 1978, this was the debut of the band formed by Ian Gillan after leaving the Ian Gillan Band. It marked a shift away from jazz fusion to a heavier rock sound.“Mr. Universe” – Released in 1979, this was a key album that solidified their success, featuring a mix of hard rock and NWOBHM influences. “Glory Road” – A 1980 release, this album is considered the height of the band’s success, both commercially and musically. “Future Shock” – Released in 1981, this album continued the band’s momentum, but guitarist Bernie Tormé left shortly afterward. “Double Trouble” – A double album from 1981 that combined studio tracks and live performances and marked Janick Gers’ debut as guitarist. “Magic” – Released in 1982, this was the band’s final studio album before they disbanded after their last performance at Wembley Arena in December 1982. “Live From Reading ’80” – A live album capturing the band’s powerful live performances at the Reading Festival in 1980.
The collection includes a new interview with Ian Gillan conducted by Rich Davenport, providing deeper insights into the band’s history and the albums. The audio has been remastered from the original tapes where possible, ensuring high-quality sound.
The packaging is designed in a 7” x 7” format, with 32-page booklet, offering a unique visual presentation for collectors. This set is a valuable offering for fans of Gillan and collectors of rock history, especially from the era of NWOBHM, showcasing the evolution of a band led by one of rock’s iconic vocalists.
In November, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings’ 10th studio album, “Woodland”, was nominated for a Grammy Award in the category of Best Folk Album, and the lead track, “Empty Trainload of Sky,” received a nomination for Best Americana Performance. “Woodland” marks the 10th full-length studio album for the duo, who have been releasing their albums using alternating names based on “whoever was singing lead,” as Rawlings explains. With “Woodland”, Welch and Rawlings put both their names on it — along with the name of the studio where they not only record, but also the space they saved after it was struck by a tornado in 2020.
While in St. Paul for two nights of concerts at the Fitzgerald Theater, Welch and Rawlings walked over to The Current where Radio Heartland host and producer Mike Pengra welcomed them, along with bassist Paul Kowert, for a studio session. After playing a selection of songs from “Woodland”, Welch and Rawlings stuck around for a conversation with Mike Pengra.
Miya Folick has announced a new album. “Erotica Veronica” is the Los Angeles musician’s third studio album and first to be self-produced. It’s out February 28th on NettwerkRecords and features the previously released songs “La Da Da” and “Alaska.”
Folick has also shared a music video for the new song “Erotica.” “I think that we’re fed rules about what an appropriate fantasy looks like, especially when you’re coupled,” she said in a press release. “Our culture is so puritanical in that way. But I think that it’s important for me to retain my autonomy of thought, and truthfully sharing my fantasies is an act of tenderness and intimacy.”
“Erotica Veronica” – Miya Folick’s third full-length album – delves deeper into intimate, sensual, and existential themes; challenging cultural taboos and advocating for a broader, more playful understanding of eroticism that goes beyond mere sexuality
If ‘Funeral for Justice’ was the sound of outrage, ‘Tears of Injustice’ is the sound of grief.
Mdou Moctar’s new album is “Funeral for Justice” completely re-recorded and rearranged for acoustic and traditional instruments. It is an evolution of the band’s critically-adored breakout – the meditative mirror-image to the blistering original.
This album sees ‘Funeral for Justice’ completely re-recorded and rearranged for acoustic and traditional instruments. It is an evolution of the band’s critically-adored breakout – the meditative mirror-image to the blistering original. They chose to track ‘Tears’ sitting together in one room, keeping the session loose, stripped down, and spontaneous. “We didn’t really work on the arrangements prior to going in,” recalls Coltun. “We’d just play, find the feel, and do the song.” Things came together quickly, with principal recording wrapped in only two days. The hypnotic 8-minute take of ‘Imouhar’ is actually two distinct passes through the song performed in quick succession – Moctar didn’t stop playing long enough to split the takes apart.
In July of 2023, Mdou Moctar was on tour in the United States when the president of Niger, MohamedBazoum, was deposed by a military junta who made him prisoner at the presidential residence. They ordered the nation’s borders closed, leaving band members Mdou Moctar, Ahmoudou Madassane, and Souleymane Ibrahim unable to return home to their families.
After a month, the band was able to return home to Niger and, when they did, Coltun gave Madassane a Zoom recorder to take along. The rhythm guitarist used it to record a group of Tuaregs performing call-and-response vocals, which were later added into the final mix.
On ‘Funeral for Justice’, anger at the plight of Niger and the Tuareg people is plainly expressed in the music’s volume and velocity.
“We didn’t really work on the arrangements prior to going in,” recalls Coltun. “We’d just play, find the feel, and do the song.” Things came together quickly, with principal recording wrapped in only two days. The hypnotic 8-minute take of ‘Imouhar’ is actually two distinct passes through the song performed in quick succession – Moctar didn’t stop playing long enough to split the takes apart. After a month, the band was able to return home to Niger.
On ‘Tears’, the songs retain that weight sans amplification. They are steeped in sadness, conveying the grief of a nation locked into a constant churn of poverty, colonial exploitation, and political upheaval. It is Tuareg protest music in raw and essential form. “When Mdou writes the lyrics, he typically writes them with an acoustic guitar. So you’re getting closer to that original moment,” says Coltun. “It retains heaviness, but it’s haunting.”
Did you ever wonder who played what and where on Robert Palmer’s “Sneakin’ Sally Through The Alley”? (The album never really listed any credits.) Lets start with the band line up The Meters in New Orleans and Stuff in NYC, add Lowell George from Little Feat, Vicki Brown on backing vocals and sprinkle with other top shelf musicians and you’ll have one of the most funky, iconic records of 1974!
Follow along below as the album kicks off with the most perfect trifecta of tunes, “Sailin’ Shoes” “Hey Julia”, “Sneakin’ Sally Through The Alley”! , when Island Records signed the 25-year-old English singer Robert Palmer, he’d already had a decade of experience, from his Yorkshire high school band the Mandrakes to the Alan Bown Set, the Stax-meets-jazz-fusion big-band Dada, and their more successful offshoot Vinegar Joe.
In that group, Palmer was a relatively sedate co-lead-singer with the raunchy, often alcohol-fueled “wild woman” Elkie Brooks; after three albums Vinegar Joe sputtered out, but both vocalists got solo deals.
Island’s Chris Blackwell agreed Smith would take Palmer in hand. producer Steve Smith, who had cut his teeth working in the famed Muscle Shoals, Alabama, scene, Smith in turn lined up engineer PhilBrown, who’d worked with the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Jeff Beck and Jimi Hendrix. The album that would be called “Sneakin’ Sally Through the Alley” was starting to develop a deep bench. the Meters were to be Palmer’s main backing band: Art Neville on keyboards, Leo Nocentelli on guitar, bassist George Porter Jr. and Ziggy Modeliste drumming. At Media Sound Studios in New York City, Smith booked the virtuoso session musicians collectively known as Stuff: keyboardist Richard Tee, guitarist Cornell Dupree, GordonEdwards on bass and Aretha Franklin’s current drummer Bernard Purdie.
There was yet another ace-in-the-hole, Little Feat guitarist Lowell George, who played in both cities after Smith invited him into the mix. “Working with him was great,” Palmer said because you’d catch onto a grain of an idea and the next time you looked at your watch, it was a day later and you hadn’t done anything but gone with that idea. In the meantime, ideas would just fly back and forth. Suddenly, you’d take a left turn and bang, there’d be a song. It was just music, music, music with him. I don’t really find anything wrong with the word ‘obsessive.’ I especially loved the way he played guitar.”
The idea to record Little Feat’s “Sailing Shoes,” which became the opening track, was actually spontaneous, when the Meters, who’d never heard of Little Feat before meeting George, began messing with it in rehearsals with him. Their version is way funkier than Little Feat’s original, and Palmer sings the hell out of it. Neville’s clavinet is out front, and Vicki Brown adds a backing vocal that lights up the chorus.
“Sailing Shoes” runs straight into Palmer’s original “Hey Julia,” which, according to Smith, includes the very first use of a drum machine on a record. As a massive Beatles fan, Smith latched onto the idea of segueing a sequence of songs together: “All I was trying to do was to give Robert as dynamic an opening to his recording career as possible.
Allen Toussaint’s “Sneakin’ Sally Through the Alley,” which Lee Dorsey had first recorded in 1971, erupts immediately after “Hey Julia,” with the Nocentelli/George loose-as-a-goose duo in high gear, an absolutely riveting harmonica part from Steve York, and Palmer pushing his voice with intense authority. The whole track is a highlight reel, but George Porter Jr.’s bass has to get special mention.
The first thing heard in “Get Outside” is Gordon Edwards’ bass guitar. Edwards was James Brown’s go-to bassist for many years, but here he’s in a more contemplative mood, even when the rest of Stuff and Robert Palmer keep turning up the heat. Palmer tries out a number of vocal effects, twisting into growls, grunts and shouts in what sounds like an extended studio jam on the basic structure of his simple and effective melody. George’s slide guitar and Dupree’s electric bring terrific atmosphere, Tee plays a number of keyboards, including organ and acoustic piano, and if you want a drum lesson just listen to Purdie, especially from the three-minute mark. Once more, the “sweetening” sessions in London hit gold, with Vicki Brown singing and Gaspar Lawal’s surprising percussion.
Guitarist Richard Parfitt joins the New York crew for the only Palmer-George co-write, “Blackmail.” According to Smith, George and Palmer went to a hotel room, ordered room service, and came up with this loose little kicker that’s second cousin to Little Feat’s “Dixie Chicken”: “You told me that you weren’t infectious/So I brought no precautions with me/And you said your old man was in Texas/And anyway he’d forgotten his key/So I put my cassette in your bathroom/And threw all my clothes on your floor/Next thing, door bursts open/And there I am caught in the raw.”
“How Much Fun” starts off sounding an awful lot like Little Feat, but gets more Meters-like as it goes on. There’s a full-on female backing chorus, the band’s locked in a nice groove, and Palmer’s lead vocal is fine, but the track’s nothing special in the context of what surrounds it.
The version of Toussaint’s “From a Whisper to a Scream,” which the composer had first recorded himself in 1971, is a winner from the first wah-wah pedal. A swampy atmosphere is immediately established through more stellar work from Porter, George, Nocentelli and guest Chris Stainton, formerly of Joe Cocker’s Mad Dogs and Englishmen band, on acoustic piano. Palmer sounds more than a bit like Free’s Paul Rodgers at this tempo, and that’s not a knock. He even shows he can go into a falsetto as pure as Smokey Robinson’s. Smith explained, “Allen owned the studio and had an office there so he was in and out the whole time. I asked him to present ‘Whisper’ to the musicians and he played it for us on the acoustic piano so we could learn the chord sequence. We changed the key to accommodate Robert’s best vocal range and then funked it up Lowell and Meters style until I was happy with the arrangement.”
The surprising album closer is the 12-minute studio jam “Through It All There’s You.” The enhanced Stuff features Steve Winwood on acoustic piano, Onaje Allan Gumbs’ electric piano, Mel Collins’ sax and Mongezi Feza’s trumpet. It represents Palmer’s “idea of pure funk” according to Smith. It bears some resemblance to Dr. John’s “Walk On Gilded Splinters,” and like that recording achieved some late-night FM radio airplay as the DJs could throw on for a food or bathroom break. It’s not exactly the strongest ending for Palmer’s debut, but it was his call.
Wrapped in an eye-catching sleeve photograph by Graham Hughes that positively screams “this album’s going to be a lot of fun,” the September 1974 release stalled at #107 on the Billboard album chart. It’s gained in stature as the decades have passed. (The jam band Phish have pledged their allegiance through more than 80 live performances of the title track, which they started playing in 1985.)
Palmer’s follow-up album Pressure Drop was solid, and utilized the entire Little Feat band, but didn’t bring him the stardom he was ready for. Island stuck with him; it took a while longer for the world to catch up with Palmer’s rare talent, when the pop charts were graced with “Every Kinda People” (1978), “Bad Case of Loving You” (1979) and the phenomenon of “Addicted to Love” (1986) and its meme-worthy video. Grammy awards and platinum sales levels brightened Palmer’s life until his tragically early death, of a heart attack, at the age of 54.
To mark the release of our new album – “Goodbye Small Head”, out May 16th – my band and I are coming to England for our only shows outside of North America this year.
In London we’re putting on a special one-day festival. It’s called Ezra Furman Presents A World of Loveand Care. We’ll be joined by some of our favourite bands Du Blonde, Modern Woman and Westside Cowboy (and more to come I think) — and I’ll do a solo set and an audience Q & A and also a full band set.
Plus we’re doing a run of record-store performances with Rough Trade and Resident. You can buy a record and a ticket as a bundle deal. Bristol and Nottingham already sold out,
The Fat Angel Sings 