The Fat Angel Sings

2024 was the year that Danish singer-songwriters became so prominent that they became a meme. Like ML Buch and Clarissa Connelly, Astrid Sonne – is a classically trained composer – has an ear for the off-kilter and unsettling. Second track “Do You Wanna” sets the tone, its thudding drums and mournful viola the uneasy backdrop to Sonne’s self-searching: “Do you wanna have a baby? Do you wanna bring people into this world?” she sings, dreamlike and disassociated.

Elsewhere, the spoken-word “Everything Is Unreal” is a mist-cloaked folk incantation over harpsichord and foreboding drum beat, while “Boost “is a creepy sound collage of handclaps, flute-like synths and ghostly pads, among other wunderkammer-ish thrills. Astrid Sonne is a Danish composer and viola player, currently based in London.  Astrid Sonne has been carefully crafting different moods through electronic and acoustic instrumental endeavours. On “Great Doubt” this skill is refined, now with the distinct addition of the composer’s own vocal in front. The tone of each track is unmistakably Sonne’s, structured around contrasts through an impeccable sense of timing. Lyrics on the album are sparse, merely highlighting different scenes or emotional states of being, leaving the music to fill in the blanks

The album may be less than 30 minutes long, but the spell it casts during that time is unshakeable. released January 26th, 2024

All songs written and produced by Astrid Sonne

It wasn’t just the nightmarish riffs or the spine-chilling vocal performances by singer Raygun Busch that made Oklahoma City’s Chat Pile one of noise-rock’s biggest breakout stars in 2022. Hidden within their Flenser debut “God’s Country” is an acute sense of empathy for those on the fringe of our society, paralyzed and weighed down by the evils of American greed and capitalism that swing the door open for few and slam it shut for most. On the album’s standout second track “Why,” Busch eschews any sense of poetry to rub our noses in perhaps the biggest injustice facing our country: our unwillingness as the world’s richest nation to solve our own unignorable homelessness situation. 

“Why do people have to live outside,” Busch belts out over the course of the song, until all of the naive connotations of such a simplistic question are flipped to the point of being an unavoidable indictment on our collective apathy. As the song’s crushing instrumental picks up momentum like an avalanche sweeping up snow grooming vehicles from the slopes and using them as tools of destruction, Busch keeps the pressure on until the song’s final moments: “Real American horror story,” he snarls in disgust, “It’s a fucking tragedy.” With “Why,” Chat Pile remind us that we don’t deserve to be let off the hook. 

Invoking the spirit of those gothic early 4AD artists – This Mortal Coil, Dead Can Dance and Bauhaus – Leeds trio Tristwch y Fenywod (“The Sadness of Women” in Welsh) lure us into their uncanny, eldritch world with outsider music steeped in ritual and intrigue. The temptation is hard to repel. Described by their label as a “Welsh-language, gothic, avant-rock power-coven”, these Leeds underground lifers have played only a handful of gigs together. Yet, their darkwave incantations – composed of stalking rhythms, the Gregorian chime of a homemade dual zither and darkly atmospheric electronics – possess all the bewitching power of a band several albums deep.

This is an ancient sound reborn, harnessing our primal longing for ceremony and magic. Exhumed from the depths of Leeds’ experimental underground, the trio consist of Gwretsien Ferch Lisbeth (Guttersnipe, The Ephemeron Loop), Leila Lygad (Hawthonn) and Sidni Sarffwraig (Slaylor Moon, The Courtneys).

Stark, striking and bewitching, Tristwch y Fenywod’s self-titled album is their debut studio recording, following just 10 gigs and a live demo. Formed in 2022, Tristwch y Fenywod (“The Sadness of Women”) record exclusively in the Welsh language, conjuring an eldritch, subterranean, alien folk music played on dual zither, electronic drums and bass guitar. With towering, siren-like vocals curling around the Welsh consonants, accompanied by stark, martial rhythms and swirling claw-plucked strings, Tristwch y Fenywod feels like an early 4AD recording dredged from the waters of an Anglesey swamp. The effect is simultaneously chilling and stirring.

The eight tracks on the record constitute what feels like a recently rediscovered, unholy grail of edgy, atmospheric, occult feminist goth emissions

released August 30th, 2024

Katie Gavin’s debut “What A Relief” taps into the unguarded self-possession and homespun pop sensibility of singers like Alanis Morissette, Fiona Apple and Ani DiFranco, and uses their tenacity as a north star for Gavin’s own trek towards self-discovery.  “This record spans a lot of my life – it’s about having a really deep desire for connection, but also encountering all the obstacles that stood in my way to be able to achieve that, patterns of isolation or even boredom with the real work of love” they say.

On Katie Gavin’s  “What a Relief”, we hear the powerhouse voice of Muna taking on different shades. There’s less of her band’s bombast, and more Lilith Fair-leaning string instrumentation, as Gavin weaves her influences, while frankly discussing generational trauma, failed relationships and loss. “Sanitized” is pure Fiona Apple worship, and on country parable “The Baton”, she’s channelling The Chicks’ Natalie Maines. Of course, there are moments where those irresistible Muna type melodies rear their heads – “Aftertaste” and “Casual Drug Use” could easily have been on Muna album–

but the best moments on this record are those that feel like they’re all Gavin. Despite the heavy subject matter, she sounds untethered, like she’s opening up, showing us who she is and what made her that way.

Written over the course of seven years, “What A Relief” comprises a set of songs that Gavin always loved but which “had something in them” that she and her bandmates felt didn’t quite fit within the universe they were trying to cultivate with Muna. Many of them were written on acoustic guitar, and are rooted in “a style of music that’s very much in my blood, and natural for me,” as typified by the Women and Songs CDs that Gavin loves, which compiled music by artists like Tracy Chapman, Tori Amos and Sarah McLachlan.

That openness of spirit is the overwhelming character of “What A Relief“, an album that’s refreshing in its willingness to accept people as they come, even as it remains in dogged pursuit of a life that’s kinder, wiser and more loving. Gavin’s explorations of desire and intimacy feel time-worn and necessary – songs that might teach a generation if not how to live, exactly, then at least how to look within oneself for guidance about how to move forward.

‘What A Relief’, out October 25th on Saddest Factory Records.

Kim Gordon released a digital deluxe edition of “The Collective“, which was her second solo album that was released near the start of this year. The updated version of the LP includes two additional tracks: June’s “ECRP” and the brand new “Bangin’ on the Freeway.” Check out the music video for the latter, which was directed by Gordon’s daughter, Coco Gordon Moore,

The deluxe edition of “The Collective” will also be available on vinyl, “Bangin’ on the Freeway” is the second single from it , following “ECRP.” Other videos were helmed by Clara Balzary (“Bye Bye”), Alex Ross Perry (“I’m a Man”), and Vice Cooler (“Psychedelic Orgasm”), the first two of which actually starred Coco Gordon Moore in front of the lens.

On “The Collective”, Kim Gordon’s second record for Matador, she extrapolates on one of the myriad ideas present on “No Home Record”, the intersection of whisper-rap and hyperreal modernity. Gordon was inspired by The Candy House by Jennifer Egan, a Thouron Scholar, adding a layer of metafiction already entrenched in Egan’s body of work. The Candy House is a sequel to Egan’s previous novel A Visit from the Goon Squad, each chapter focusing on a different character and being written in a different style exploring the fallout of tech companies,

Since touring in support of “The Collective”, which included a stop on Jimmy Kimmel Live!—marking Gordon’s solo live debut on late-night television—where she and her band played “Bye Bye,” Gordon has also found time to record with Model Home. The two teamed up on the track “Razzamatazz” along with Justin Raisen, who worked with Gordon on “The Collective” and 2021’s “No Home Record”.

The limited edition, deluxe version of the vinyl record includes a 7” with the 2 bonus tracks housed in the LP sleeve and is pressed on silver vinyl. Featuring two new songs,

‘Only God Was Above Us’ is the fifth studio album from Vampire Weekend. The group has shared a trailer for their first full-length album since 2019’s “Father of the Bride”, which will arrive in April.

The album is inspired by and infused with the essence of the band’s birthplace of New York City, though recorded all over the world, from New York to Los Angeles to London and Tokyo. The album was produced by Ezra Koenig, and longtime collaborator Ariel Rechtshaid. The album title is lifted directly from the album artwork, which is a photo taken from a subway graveyard in New Jersey in 1988 by photographer Steven Siegel.

‘Only God Was Above Us’ includes universal themes ranging from the urge to question the world in which we live, and the quest for peace that can only be found through acceptance. The album is equal parts as direct yet complex as anything the band has ever released, as beautiful and melodic as they’ve ever sounded but also at their grittiest.

Vampire Weekend have announced that their new album, titled “Only God Was Above Us“, According to a press release, the record was “Inspired and haunted by 20th Century New York City” .

 It’s at times darker and weirder, but it’s not depressing. It’s like getting older: Strange and sometimes sad discoveries appear around every corner, often exposing more questions than answers, but with them comes time-earned satisfaction. One of those questions that might come with age is what mark are we leaving on this world. Koenig doesn’t seem to be all that concerned with individual legacy, but throughout “Only God Was Above Us”, he spends a good deal of time playing with the idea of generational imprints. 

New singles “Capricorn” and “Gen-X Cops” are both very pretty tunes with noisy elements that come and go from the detailed, intricate arrangements. They both come with videos showcasing a gritty, retro side of New York City.

“Only God Was Above Us” was primarily produced by Koenig and longtime collaborator Ariel Rechtshaid. It was mixed by Dave Fridmann and mastered by Emily Lazar. The collection features 10 tracks, and while the group hasn’t unveiled any new music from the project, they have shared lyrics from the album closer “Hope”. All told, the album is as good as anything the New York City-formed rockers have ever made (which is to say, very good), and it features a little DNA from everything they’ve ever put out: a sibling to their self-titled debut, a cousin to “Contra” and the rebellious nephew of 2013’s “Modern Vampires”. 

This has been the Year of Redd Kross—a celebration that’s been long-overdue. Nearly half a century after forming one of the most important bands to ever hail from Los Angeles (and “one of the most underrated band of their generation,” according to Variety), in 2024 the power-pop/bubbleglam/hardcore band released their most ambitious album yet, the 18-song, two-disc “Redd Kross”, plus a delightful memoir, “Now You’re One of Us“. And now the year wraps with the release of their documentary “Born Innocent: The Redd Kross Story“, directed by former Friends writer/showrunner/executive producer Andrew Reich. The movie opens at the TCL Chinese Theatres in Hollywood this Thursday, with additional screenings around the country scheduled through next year.

Hawthorne-born, Hollywood-raised Jeff and Steven McDonald, who started the band when they were, respectively, ages 15 and 11—bring us deeper into their world. 

Genre: Quirk Wank, or more concisely Quank! A repetitive kind of dance punk
which might take a sharp turn into dissonant prog when everyone is least expecting it.
File under Art Rock, No-Wave, Indie. With Influences from Captain Beefheart, Can, Eno, Gong, The Contortions, The Fall, The Soft Boys, The Rapture, Parquet Courts
Gets Compared To: Devo, Wire, Talking Heads, XTC, Gang of Four, Electric Six, Squid,
Warmduscher
Venice Treale are based in the Southwest of the UK.

Venice Treacle was an ancient concoction of roots, minerals, honey, opium and snake organs designed to cure all ills. This new formulation provides a modern elixir for modern ills – combatting contemporary ennui and lifting the soul. The Act: Four transformed personalities competing for attention and overspilling the stage. The guitarists prance and hypothesise, the drummer howls and shakes. The
singer is convinced that there are sing-along melodies in choruses and breaks but he
may be deluded.

Side eHects: The audience is entranced. For those confused by sudden discord, a
dramatic loss of consistency or wild imaginings of the End of the World, there is always
(nearly always) the Irresistible Groove. Some jiggle as they concentrate on the words, or
attempt to grasp incompatible riffs before they morph into different ones. Others yield
and throw themselves into the fray. Lookout for their album “Modern Elixir”

Vocals/guitar: Cathartic Nick Guitar/vocals: Mondel Plasmid Drums: J Circus Bass: Professor Ritalian

Their debut album “Modern Elixir” due soon recorded at Rockfield Studios Monmouth

“Slab” was a EP released by the Louisville-based band Wombo available digitally on Fire Talk Records. With past accolades from Bandcamp, Brooklyn Vegan, the FADER, Pitchfork, Paste & Flood, “the band’s expertly executed art-rock sound is complete with droning guitars, frenetic chords, and angular melodies that make it impossible not to get up and move to” (Uproxx). “Slab” continues their perchance for mesmerizing dreamscapes and eerily addictive refrains on this homespun, transitional EP.

Originally released June 9th, 2023