Buzzcocks require no introduction. Pivotal to the punk and post-punk DIY movements, the group, led by frontman Pete Shelley and co-conspirator Steve Diggle, brought a unique pop sensibility and sartorial style to the late 1970s and early 1980s. Having disbanded in 1981, the band re-grouped in 1989 and continue to write, record and perform to this day, despite the saddening and untimely loss of Pete Shelley in 2018. This release captures the eight albums and numerous singles the band produced with Shelley during a twenty three year period, alongside previously unheard rarities, demos and outtakes.
Released in association with the band, ‘The 1991 Demo Album’ is alive with the combination of punk energy and melodic and memorable song-writing the band’s reputation is founded on, and is both a long-awaited treat for fans and an important document of the group’s rebirth
The Resonars solidified their sound once guitarist/vocalist/producer Matt Rendon decided to quit trying to play with other people and started working on his own with an old 4-track recorder. Once alone, he concocted an approach that blended the snappy melodies of the British Invasion with the powerful punch of mod bands like the Who. He added some garage rock swagger and recorded the songs with unvarnished arrangements and a bit of fuzz. The group’s first album, 1997’s The Resonars laid out the template and each record that came after followed it closely. With stays on labels like Get Hip, Trouble in Mind, and Burger Records (where they released their finest albums in the 2010s), the band carved out a space for themselves where garage, power pop, psychedelia, and mod all happily converged.
Another Solid release by one of my Favourite bands of the last 10 years. Producing some of the most catchy 60’s style pop rock with some great guitars and super catchy vocals. Songs such as Don’t Ever Disappear, Brown Baby and I Wonder are so bouncy and catchy its not funny. Easily one of my favourite records of 2020 and another solid release.
Neil Young issued an apology for the delay in releasing the 1975 album “Homegrown”, calling it “the one that got away.” He’s finally putting out the LP this year. Neil Young has updated the timeline at Neil Young Archives to include dates for five upcoming archive titles scheduled for release during 2020.
First on the slate is shelved 1975 acoustic album Homegrown, which was given a release date of April 18th the original date for Record Store Day – despite the album disappearing from the official RSD list over the weekend. Just before its original scheduled release date, he decided to issue Tonight’s the Night instead. He later described Homegrown as “a very down album” and “the unheard bridge between “Harvest” and “Comes a Time.” It was recorded during a period when he was having marital problems as well as personal issues with his Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young bandmates.
“I apologize,” Young wrote on his archives website. “This album Homegrown should have been there for you a couple of years after Harvest. It’s the sad side of a love affair. The damage done. The heartache. I just couldn’t listen to it. I wanted to move on. So I kept it to myself, hidden away in the vault, on the shelf, in the back of my mind … but I should have shared it. It’s actually beautiful. That’s why I made it in the first place. Sometimes life hurts. You know what I mean.” an unreleased acoustic album by Neil Young from 1974-1975. Young originally recorded Homegrown at a time his career when new songs were coming to him at an incredible pace, many of them inspired by his painful split with girlfriend Carrie Snodgress.
According to the timeline, it will be followed on June 19th by Return To Greendale the concert film of Young’s 2003/4 Greendale tour; and most excitingly on July 24th by Archives Volume 2, reportedly covering the years 1972-82. It’s thought that it may contain unreleased albums Chrome Dreams and Oceanside/Countryside. The other planned 2020 releases are Rust Bucket (October 16th), a live album and film of a mammoth November 1990 show that Young has called “one of my all-time favourite Crazy Horse performances!”; and Young Shakespeare (November 27th), another live release dating from January 1971, billed as the earliest known film of any Neil Young performance.
He noted that Levon Helm and Emmylou Harris were among the artists who recorded with him and that the album carries “a narration, several acoustic solo songs never even published or heard until this release, and some songs played with a great band of my friends.”
Young said Homegrown would be his first release of 2020, though he didn’t provide a date for its arrival. “This is the one that got away,” he added. “This album, in vinyl, displays the beauty, feeling and depth of music record in the analog domain, before digital. It’s the perfect example of why I can’t forget how good music used to sound.
Neil Young puts it best: “This album is the unheard bridge between Harvest and Comes a Time”.
Recorded between June 1974 and January 1975, Homegrown was intended to come out in 1975 before Neil cancelled the release. The album has remained unreleased until now, achieving a legendary status among Neil Young fans in the process.
The album is made up of twelve Neil Young songs, of which seven are previously unreleased – “Separate Ways,” “Try,” “Mexico,” “Kansas,” We Don’t Smoke It No More,” “Vacancy” and “Florida” (a spoken word narration). Also included are the first recordings of “Love Is A Rose,” “Homegrown,” “White Line.”
“Little Wing,” and “Star Of Bethlehem” – different versions of which would all later appear on other Neil Young albums.
Neil plays solo on some tracks (guitar, piano and harmonica), and is joined by a band of friends on other tracks, including Levon Helm, Ben Keith, Karl T Himmel, Tim Drummond, Emmylou Harris and Robbie Robertson. Recorded in analog, and mastered from the original master tapes, this long-lost album is a wonderful addition to Neil’s incomparable catalogue.
A new release date has been announced for The Psychedelic Furs’ long-awaited comeback album, “Made Of Rain”. It is now scheduled to come out on July 31st via Cooking Vinyl. The Psychedelic Furs have been in the cultural lexicon for almost longer than some of us actual adults have been alive—their songs have held cinematic stock in classics like “Pretty in Pink” and The Wedding Singer (as well as a more recent classic, Call Me By Your Name), and been featured in cherished TV shows like Gilmore Girls and Stranger Things. Now the post-punk band will add to their storied legacy by releasing their first new album in almost three decades,
In the meantime you here another track from it, “No-One”, below: Along with previous singles “Don’t Believe” and “You’ll Be Mine”, “No-One” can be streamed and downloaded immediately when you preorder the album. No-One is taken from the new album ‘Made of Rain’ . The Psychedelic Furs return with their first new studio album in almost 30 years. The band’s self-titled debut was released in 1980, while follow-up Talk Talk Talk from ’81 featured the classic ‘Pretty in Pink’, which became a top 20 UK hit in 1986 when it was reissued as a single after appearing on the soundtrack to the John Hughes film of the same name.
Five more studio albums followed, but despite reforming and touring constantly since the turn of the millennium, the Stephen Street-produced World Outside from 1991 was their last studio outing. But all that is about to change with the news that Made of Rain will be released in early May. The 12-track album was produced by Richard Fortus, and mixed by Tim Palmer and includes the songs Don’t Believe, No One ,“You’ll Be Mine.
Led by singer Richard Butler and his bassist brother Tim Butler, the Furs have been touring fairly frequently since reuniting two decades ago. Until now, however, they’d never followed up their pre-breakup record, 1991’s World Outside. The single “Alive (For Once in My Lifetime)” was included on 2001’s Beautiful Chaos: Greatest Hits Live, but that was the last piece of new music we’d heard from the band.
The album will be available on CD and double vinyl with a special 2LP coloured/splatter vinyl edition available via the band’s official store with a SIGNED print (a black 2LP vinyl version is also available if you don’t go in for the coloured option). Produced by Richard Fortus (formerly of the Butlers’ mid-’90s band Love Spit Love, currently playing in Guns N’ Roses) and mixed by Tim Palmer (Pearl Jam, Robert Plant), Made of Rain was made with Psychedelic Furs’ current touring line-up. In addition to the Butler brothers, that includes saxophonist Mars Williams, drummer Paul Garisto, keyboardist Amanda Kramer, and guitarist Rich Good.
The band will also play a special show at London’s Royal Albert Hall on 14th May and the store offers special pre-sale access two days before the general sale. Made of Rain will be released on 1st May 2020.
If “Don’t Believe” is at all representative ofMade of Rain, expect a slightly more bitter Furs than you might be used to. Or perhaps they always have had that bite, and it’s just taking firmer hold with this tight, modern production. Classic sax notes follow the guitar’s breathing melody, trudging with lowered shoulder against the psychedelic swirl of the track. It all bursts free on the hook, as Richard Butler and a chorus of voices call out, “I don’t believe/ I don’t believe you/ Don’t believe me.”
The Psychedelic Furs are: Richard Butler (vocals), Tim Butler (bass), Mars Williams (saxophone), Paul Garisto (drums), Amanda Kramer (keyboards) and Rich Good (guitar).
‘Arguably their strongest since Forever Now’ – Mojo ‘Well worth the wait’ – Vive Le Rock!
Looking across Radiohead members’ solo ventures, Thom Yorke has three albums of his own, the latest being 2019’s ‘ANIMA’; Jonny Greenwood has scored several films, including Paul Thomas Andersen’s ‘There Will Be Blood’; drummer Phil Selway has two records to his name; bassist Colin Greenwood has had the odd deviation from Radiohead duties, but has largely stayed on script. And now Ed O’Brien looks set to break his duck with a debut album in 2020.
Because he is one-fifth of one of the world’s most consistently brilliant and successful bands, it’s a bit jarring to hear that Ed O’Brien still needs to combat the idea that his songs are “shit.” That inner monologue will be familiar to many musicians or creative people working in any medium, an inner critic that tells you whatever it is you’re doing isn’t good enough. But, well, most of our inner critics have a bit more solid evidence to stand on.
There wasn’t years of material. This was all from about summer of 2013 to summer of 2014. I also had to let go of the computer. I don’t respond well to operating as I go along—whether it was Ableton Live or Pro Tools, and they’re great software—but I needed to literally be lost in the moment and not have my engineering head on or whatever. I had a great studio in Oxfordshire which are owned by Radiohead’s management called Courtyard, and there’s a great engineer-producer called Ian Davenport, who’s worked a lot with Gaz Coombes.
His first work as EOB, including lead single ‘Brasil’, is produced by Flood, and is set to feature contributions from Laura Marling, Nathan East and The Invisible’s Dave Okumu, among others. “This feels like the start of something new and truly significant for me,” he told fans on social media in December. He promises to tour the record next year too. Really, I’m excited for the next one. I think every record that you make, you have to be learning, and you’re only learning when you’re out of your comfort zone, and I was out of my comfort zone the whole time.”
Flood and Catherine Marks produced [the record]; Flood produced all of it, Catherine was involved for some of it—and I talked to him a lot about wanting to capture the spirit of a place, and the spirit of this place in Wales, Lands, and to have a fully immersive experience. That we’d eat, sleep, and drink it. I’ve been very fortunate in Radiohead—you know, the first time we did that was with OK Computer—and we’ve done this, this has been a tried and tested route. And what happens is, you kind of get the soul of the record, and you get it in the early stages.
All the same, to hear O’Brien talk about how he was able to silence his own long enough to make “Earth”, his debut solo album released under the EOB moniker, might just help others along their own creative journeys. Conceived while living in Brazil in 2012, begun in earnest in 2013, and recorded in Wales and London with a cast of great musicians, Earth is a testament to an expert collaborator learning how to take control. But it’s no singer-songwriter affair; it’s a rhythmic album, with a pulse that beats even throughout its quietest acoustic moments and rises to festive, electronic heights.
Listen to ‘Earth,’ the new album by EOB (Ed O’Brien of Radiohead).
The late Little Feat guitarist Lowell George would have celebrated his 75th birthday on April 13th. George was not only a founding member of the famous rock band, but also worked with an incredible array of musicians ranging from Frank Zappa, The Meters, Harry Nilsson, and more.
While George’s life was tragically cut short when he died from a heart attack at the age of 34 while on tour in support of “Thanks I’ll Eat it Here” in June 1979, his influence was far-reaching in his peak career years. His work with Little Feat was unparalleled, which featured his trademark electric slide abilities like no one else.
In celebration of the great Lowell George’s birthday, check out full show video of Little Feat at London’s Rainbow Theatre in August 1977.
Little Feat recorded a live album from gigs at the Rainbow Theatre in London and Lisner Auditorium in Washington, DC. The resulting release “Waiting for Columbus” is considered by many rock music critics to be one of the best live albums of all time, despite the fact that significant portions of Lowell George’s vocals and slide guitar work were over-dubbed later in the studio. “Waiting for Columbus” was released in 1978, by which time it had become apparent that Lowell George’s interest in the band was waning, as was his health.
Lowell George’s Birthday With A Classic Little Feat Performance From 1977.
In celebration of Earth Day today (April 22nd), Jackson Browne has released a new single entitled, “Downhill From Everywhere”. The rock tune joins the previously-released “A Little Soon To Say” as the second track to appear on Browne’s forthcoming studio album, scheduled to for release on October 9th. Last month, it was reported that Browne had tested positive for COVID-19 following a trip to New York City in mid-March. His symptoms were pretty mild, however, and did not require any special medication or hospitalization.
In addition to the song’s arrival onto major streaming platforms, “Downhill From Everywhere” appears in the trailer for the Discovery Channel‘s new documentary, The Story of Plastic, which premieres tonight.
“People have gotten a glimpse of what it’s like to have no smog,” Browne said of the current state of the environment without the use of cars in people’s daily lives thanks to COVID-19. “Nature has gotten a break, and it’s visible; you can see it. People are suddenly saying, ‘Oh, yeah, this is what it’s like when the skies are clear and birds are singing!’ People in Spain were telling me, ‘We saw dolphins swimming, and we never see that.’ The natural world is sort of coming back. We’ll see how long that lasts.”
This is the 15th studio album from Jackson Browne, “Downhill From Everywhere”, is a delightful easy listen, loaded with that classic contemporary charm Browne has been synonymous with. You know what you’re getting with Browne: no frills, nothing out of left field, and he’s never trying to do too much.
Browne’s single, “My Cleveland Heart,” definitely hits that heartland songwriter-rock sweet spot. And the subsequent music video is worth a watch, too. He is seen looking like Tommy Chong’s younger brother (I say that as a compliment) who receives a mechanical heart transplant among many medical onlookers and surgeons who are simultaneously singing his song, and soon don their respective instruments, hospital garb in tact. There’s even a Phoebe Bridgers sighting (she’s everywhere these days) as a nurse, later seen post-gnaw on Browne’s former heart.
If you’re looking for some experienced and refined blue-collar song writing, you can’t go wrong with Browne and “Downhill From Everywhere”.
Downhill From Everywhere · Jackson Browne, Inside Recordings
written by : Greg Leisz, Jackson Browne, Jeff Young
Seminal Minneapolis bandThe Jayhawkshave announced their new album”XOXO”will release onJuly 10th via Sham/Thirty Tigers. Featuring their most diverse and wide-ranging group of songs to date,XOXOmarks a new era in collaboration, with songwriting and lead vocal contributions from all four longtime band members – Gary Louris,Marc Perlman, Karen Grotberg and Tim O’Reagan.Along with the announcement, The Jayhawks have released a new video with Louris performing a stripped-down version of “Living In A Bubble”, a timely song that laments the problematic nature of our ratings-driven news cycle.
“‘Living In A Bubble’ lyrically is a reaction to the 24-hour news cycle and how the media can fan the flames of fear if one let’s it,” says Louris. “It is also a commentary about data collection, Big Brother, and our obsession with devices, while never being truly present in the here and now.Musically it is an homage to the great Harry Nilsson, and is driven by the amazing piano playing of Karen Grotberg.”
XOXOis a testament to The Jayhawks’ unrelenting ability to evolve while remaining true to the authentic sound that has made them one of the most influential and respected bands today.Recorded over two weeks holed up together at the secluded Pachyderm Studios in Cannon Falls, MN, as well as at Flowers Studio, founded by their friend and Minneapolis music stalwart the late Ed Ackerson,XOXOis an album fueled by chemistry and trust.
The group’s camaraderie is at the heart and soul of these 12 songs, bringing an injection of confidence and energy to The Jayhawks’ signature harmonies, infectious melodies and masterful musicianship.From Louris’ pointedly transportive “Homecoming” to Grotberg’s timelessly poetic “Ruby” to the the Pearlmen-led, folk-driven “Down To The Farm” and the trippy O’Reagan/Perlman co-write “Illuminate”,XOXOis the product of a group that is more inspired and more itself than ever before.
“It was time to open things up,” explains Louris. “The Jayhawks are a true band, one where every-one’s an equal, and we wanted to make a record that really reflected that.”Elaborating on the process, Perlman says, “Some songs we molded together from scratch, but others had been fully written by one or the other of us.We didn’t worry too much about who penned what, because after all these years of playing together, everything we do just naturally comes out sounding like a Jayhawks song.”
“176” boasts five new tracks written and recorded over a fruitful five days at PRAH Studios, Margate. The band took a more expansive approach to the composition process, taking inspiration from the spatial and rhythmic sonics of electronic music and blending it with their existing unique sonic palette of drums, bass, violin, vocals…and no guitars.Taking its title from the eponymous London bus route that runs from Penge to Tottenham Court Road, 176 contains themes of paranoia, social anxiety, jealousy and the accompanying nightmares these can create.
The band explain: “All five songs have quite grim, dark subject matter. Once we’d started exploring that paranoid, angsty kind of path, the floodgates seemed to open and we ran with it”Title track “176” finds the narrator sat on the top deck of the 176, feeling alienated from their surroundings and shell-shocked at the public’s decision to vote in favour of Brexit, whilst “While You Wait” is written from the perspective of a dog recalling happier times rolling in fields, as it waits to be put down at the veterinary surgery – penned while the UK waited to leave the EU, the metaphor couldn’t be clearer.Elsewhere, “40 Faces” builds on a Morricone-esque bass riff to depict a jealous human waiting at home, tormenting themselves with images of what their partner might be up to without them.
“The Nightmare” employs jarring call and response-style vocals to construct a sonically disorientating sound, creating a feeling similar to how you might feel after waking from a panic stricken bad dream or the anxiety you feel when trapped in an unnerving social situation.
Whitewashing is taken from Pozi’s forthcoming new 176 EP on PRAH Recordings: http://smarturl.it/Pozi. The band share their self-animated video that brings to life the theme of the song: being cornered on a motorway journey with an old friend, feeling trapped and uncomfortable in the passenger seat as they unexpectedly try to impose their bigoted views upon you. “We wanted to start fully utilising Rosa’s voice as, adjacent to the other vocals, it really adds another layer to our music. Much of the jamming sessions were spent working around a way to weave this into the sound we’d already created,” explains vocalist / drummer Toby Burroughs. “As we’re all singers and writers, if someone has something that they want to say in a song, it’s great for us to be able to share the lead vocal around.”
With sometime on his hands ever since he recognized the riskiness of scheduling a tour with Crazy Horse in the current climate, Neil Young has used that time to create an updated version of his song “Shut it Down,” from their 2019 album,” Colorado” On April 9th, he released a video for “Shut it Down 2020.” In announcing the video, Young wrote: “These are uncertain times. I wish you all the best as you care for our sick, the young and old who we love so much.
“Sending the best wishes to all the health care and government workers all over the world, to all the scientists who will learn and share with us the best ways to ensure survival in our world challenged. Let’s all work together and stay positive that we will find a way. With love to all, in all walks of life, all political persuasions, all colors. We will succeed working together for the good of our world as we are here together, hanging in the balance of nature.”
In early March, just two weeks after indicating that he was considering a 2020 tour with Crazy Horse, the classic rock legend indicated that the “barn tour,” as he described it, was on hold, due to these “uncertain times.” Young was referring to the Coronavirus outbreak.
According to a March 7th post on his website https://neilyoungarchives.comNeil Young Archives site, the veteran singer-songwriter-musician noted, “We are looking at this uncertain world with our fully booked Crazy Horse Barn Tour, ready to announce the first stage.
“The last thing we want is to put people at risk, especially our older audience. Nobody wants to get sick in this pandemic.” Young closed the post by writing, “Sending best wishes to all of the health care and government workers in all of the world, to all the scientists who will learn and share with us the best ways to ensure survival in our world challenged.”. From Young’s late February description, the shows would take place not in actual barns but in “old arenas.” The news of the possible tour came only days after announcing that he would not be touring at all in 2020.
Young’s full statement in late Feb. was as follows: “We have been looking at booking the Crazy Horse BARN Tour,” Neil wrote. “Many of the old places we used to play are gone now, replaced by new coliseums we have to book (sp) year in advance and we don’t want to go to anyway. That’s not the way we like to play. It sounds way to much like a real job if you have to book it and wait a year, so we have decided to play old arenas – not the new sports facilities put up by corporations for their sports teams. Largely soulless, these new buildings cost a fortune to play in.”
“We wanted to play in a couple of months because we feel like it,” Young added. “To us it’s not a regular job. We don’t like the new rules.” Young then listed a number of arenas in which he used to perform but have since been demolished, and then listed arenas still in existence. “If you are looking for us on our Crazy Horse Barn Tour, we will hopefully be in one of the existing arenas,” he said at the end of his statement.
Hi, this is Neil. Link to the NYA info-card for this song with press, documents, manuscripts, photos, videos. Look around NYA for fun and listening! ALL my music in high resolution at https://neilyoungarchives.com/info-ca.
