The Fat Angel Sings

With rugged hooks, unfiltered noise and fierce melodic sensitivity, ‘midas’ rips up the script of traditional second albums and establishes the band as an endlessly addictive and rousing generational talent.  
Every now & then, one of those bands comes along that you notice are popping up in conversations all over the place. “my mate recommended them” / ”i caught them at a festival and they were amazing” / “I heard a great track and it made me check out the album”/ “I tried to get tickets but they’d sold out!” …and everyone who is exposed falls for them and tells someone new about them.

“I want it to feel like you’re right there in the room with us.” And in 10 songs and 40 minutes, Wunderhorse capture the raw power and energy that has set them apart as one of the most formidable live acts of recent years. With rugged hooks, unfiltered noise, and fierce melodic sensitivity, “Midas” rips up the script of traditional second albums and establishes the band as an endlessly addictive and rousing generational talent. 

In late 2022, the release of their debut album “Cub” saw singles ‘Purple’ and ‘Leader of the Pack’ dominate radio airwaves. Landmark performances filling Glastonbury’s Woodsies Tent (FKA John Peel Stage) and selling out London’s Kentish Town Forum months in advance followed tours with Pixies and Fontaines D.C. and stadium appearances with Sam Fender, signalling the band’s arrival as one of the most prominent and exciting new guitar acts in the UK. 

With Grammy Award-winning producer Craig Silvey (The Rolling Stones, The National, Florence and The Machine) on board for their sophomore record, the band looked to do something different. That’s been the lure of Jacob Slater’s new (post-dead pretties) outfit and we fully expect it to continue, once folk hear these 10 songs that capture the raw power and energy that has set Wunderhorse apart as one of the most formidable live acts of recent years. 

This seems to be among the least-loved Sonic Youth album by some margin, the underrated “NYC Ghosts & Flowers is the sound of Sonic Youth starting from scratch, and not necessarily by choice. While on tour supporting 1998’s “A Thousand Leaves”, most of the band’s one-of-a-kind guitars were stolen, forcing them to write and record their next record on new and borrowed gear.

Fans who malign “NYC Ghosts & Flowers” may consider the album the point at which the band’s florid wordplay and beat obsession would finally get the better of them, but more attentive fans will note that Sonic Youth has always used the influence of poetry as a catalytic element for their expansive jams, usually with transcendent results. If the specter of cafe existentialists looms too large over “NYC Ghosts & Flowers”, the album remains noble as an ‘all in’ gesture that casts a defiant shrug at potential alienation, and we might recall that the history of great rock and roll is pockmarked with similarly courageous endeavors.

Twelve-string guitars are introduced, as is the presence of the inimitable Jim O’Rourke (who would officially join the band as a full-time member for the next two albums). The album also boasts a spellbinding title track by Lee and a classic in opener “Free City Rhymes.” NYC Ghosts & Flowers” is a bewitching album that rewards repeat listens and deserves far better than its reputation.

It produced rock legends in Joan Jett and Lita Ford and the classic “Cherry Bomb.” So, how can a band that opened the door for female rockers to kick butt Well, consider that The Runaways were more popular in Japan than in the United States. The band also released four studio albums in two years, leading to burnout and disdain with management. The Runaways deservedly got their due after the fact, when the time had gone by, and the story was willing to be told. Still, this was one special, trendsetting group that deserved to be taken more seriously in real-time. The newly comprehensive 5CD clamshell box set of this pioneering all-female rock band The Runaways, bringing together four of their studio albums plus the “Live in Japan” album in one package for the first time.

Critically acclaimed but never receiving their due, The Runaways were formed in Hollywood in 1975, with the help of music svengali / producer Kim Fowley, becoming the first all female rock and roll band to actually make an impression on the record buying public and musicians alike.

The Runaways were originally hailed as a manufactured band due to Fowley’s involvement, However, their eponymous debut album soon proved their worth as musicians. With Joan Jett on rhythm guitar, Sandy West on drums, Lita Ford on lead guitar, Jackie Fox on bass and Cherie Currie on lead vocals, “The Runaways” (1976) contained tracks such as the snarling “Cherry Bomb” and the brilliant “American Nights” prove The Runaways rocked with the best of them – and with an average age of 16!!

Respected in their day by bands such as Blondie and The Ramones, and now cited as a major influence by bands such as Courtney Love, Bikini Kill, L7, The Donnas and Babes In Toyland The Runaways time has finally come! 

CD1 features the band’s debut album ‘The Runaways’, released in June 1976, containing the single ‘Cherry Bomb’ which would become the band’s signature track and be voted No. 52 in VH1’s 100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs list.

CD2 contains the band’s sophomore album ‘Queens Of Noise’, released in January 1977, which found their musical skills honed and the volume raised. Producer and engineer Earle Hankey, who had previously worked with The Beach Boys, Sparks and Elton John, found a sound that helped ‘Take It Or Leave It’, ‘Neon Angels On the Road to Ruin’ and ‘Love Playin’ With Fire’ become fan favourites.

CD3 is the band’s third album ‘Live In Japan’ released in August 1977. The album is comprised of performances from the three concerts in June 1977 in Japan where the band had become a massive success. The only official audio document of the band playing live it features incendiary versions of ‘Cherry Bomb’ ‘Queens Of Noise’, and ‘California Paradise’. This was the last album to feature lead singer Cherie Currie and was a fitting farewell.

CD4 features their fourth album ‘Waitin’ For The Night’ which has the band as a quartet for the first time with Joan Jett taking over as lead vocalist. The trimmed down line-up created a lean, tough record as can be evidenced from opening track ‘Little Sister’, ‘You’re Too Possessive’ and the title track. This album would be the last the band made while under the stewardship of the controversial Kim Fowley.

CD5 is the band’s last album, ‘And Now…The Runaways’, and although there was a lot going on behind the scenes as the band were falling apart, they still managed to deliver. ‘My Buddy And Me’ and ‘I’m a Million’ are standout originals and there are great covers of ‘Black Leather’ and ‘Mama Weer All Crazee Now’.

The Tom Petty Estate is thrilled to officially announce “Petty Country: A Country Music Celebration of Tom Petty”, out June 21st via Big Machine Records. The album is a country music tribute to Tom lovingly curated by some of his closest friends and collaborators, including great friend George Drakoulias and Tom’s esteemed colleague Randall Poster. 

A major hit from the Heartbreakers’ third studio album, “Damn The Torpedoes”, “Refugee” remains one of the band’s most popular songs and was fondly remembered by Petty as one of his favourite singles the band ever wrote and released together.

“That was one of the coolest experiences of my life,” Wilson said when asked about recording with Judd. “My gosh, every time I tried to use that growl in my voice, I was trying to channel my inner Wynonna,” she added. “Everybody wants an inner Wynonna.”

Some of the most lauded voices in country music explore the extensive Petty catalogue and put their own personal touches on some of his greatest hits. “Petty Country: A Country Music Celebration of Tom Petty” is star-studded new tribute album celebrating the legacy of the late Tom Petty and his catalogue of classic music, scheduled for release on June 21st.

The latest preview of this star-studded salute to Petty’s legacy arrived on Friday in the form of Steve Earle tackling “Yer So Bad,” the fifth and final single from Petty’s first proper solo album, “Full Moon Fever”:

The album includes Dolly Parton’s reimagined version of “Southern Accents,” as well as “I Should Have Known It” by Chris Stapleton, “Angel Dream No. 2” by Willie Nelson & Lukas Nelson, “Ways To Be Wicked” by Margo Price feat. Mike Campbell, and “You Wreck Me (Live)” by George Strait, each of whom put their own personal touches on some of Petty’s greatest hits. Wynonna Judd’s recording of “Refugee,” featuring Lainey Wilson, shared on May 17th, follows the release of the Stapleton and Parton tracks as well as Steve Earle’s cover of “Yer So Bad” and Dierks Bentley’s take on the all-time classic, “American Girl.” 

The beloved “Southern Accents”—a Petty classic and considered by Petty to be one of the best songs he ever wrote—takes on new life in the world of country music as Parton’s beautifully intimate version arrived with a video directed by Trey Fanjoy, featuring poignant home videos and professional footage of Petty throughout his life.

“Petty Country” finds some of the most lauded voices in country music exploring the extensive Tom Petty catalogue and putting their own personal touches on some of his greatest hits.

There are plenty of reasons to be skeptical when a once-prominent band reassembles decades after its cultural peak. That goes double for bands comprising brothers who are known for their fraught family relationships, Chris and Rich Robinson, the siblings and driving force behind the Black Crowes. Yet here come the Black Crowes with a new album “Happiness Bastards”, their first album of new material in 15 years, and it is very much to the Robinsons’ credit that it feels neither like a nostalgia trip.

It’s a respectable collection of bluesy rockers that showcase the brothers’ strengths: Rich Robinson has always had a distinctive sound on guitar, while Chris Robinson’s charisma as a frontman remains undiminished. Chris has said that the only time the brothers aren’t at each other’s throats is when they’re writing songs together, and that shared creative spark is still evident nearly three and a half decades after the Black Crowes exploded onto the charts with “Shake Your Money Maker”, their 1990 debut.

The band’s sound has evolved over the years from the loose-limbed southern soul vibe of their earlier work, and “Happiness Bastards” is generally a hard-driving album. The tempos are swift, the guitars are bright and loud, and everything feels a little frenzied, as if the Robinsons were keen to go as fast as possible while they were getting along. Generally, the bombastic pace works. Rich slings a crackling riff on “Rats and Clowns” while Chris rattles off staccato lyrics, bolstered on the chorus by pillowy layers of harmony vocals, before Rich blasts through a revved-up solo—all in about 3 1/2 minutes. Later, “Bleed It Dry” is a big, bluesy shuffle powered by thick, overdriven slide guitar and honky-tonk piano, and Chris adds blowsy harmonica between verses.

When the Black Crowes slow things down here, it doesn’t always last long. “Cross Your Fingers” opens with nothing more than acoustic slide guitar and vocals, but about 40 seconds in, Rich blows the walls down with a scorching wave of trebly guitar. It’s one of the more effective songs on the album, thanks to the arena-ready riffage, but also the way Chris’ lean yowling on the verse opens into a sing-songy chorus underpinned by organ. The band does manage to pull back for a whole track on “Wilted Rose.” Featuring Lainey Wilson on harmony vocals, the mostly acoustic song is more about vibe than virtuosity—a nice (and literal) change of pace after so much piledriving guitar.

If there’s one thing missing from “Happiness Bastards” (apart from the various ex-collaborators the Robinsons opted not to bring back here), it’s that sense of vibe. The band is very good at high-octane blues rock on these 10 tracks, but the Black Crowes have always been at their best when the songs have some room to breathe. It’s gratifying that Chris and Rich Robinson have found their way back to a fruitful creative partnership. If they can make it last, the next step is to relax a little bit.

Cassandra Jenkins has announced a 2024 headlining tour that brings her across North America and Europe this autumn in support of forthcoming album “My Light, My Destroyer”. Jenkins has also shared a new song, “Delphinium Blue,” that comes with a self-directed music video.

When explaining the lyrics to her new song, Jenkins said, “Sometimes when I don’t know where to turn, I look for something reliably beautiful. Applying for a job at my local flower shop felt like survival instinct kicking in, and that job got me through one of the bluest periods in my life—being surrounded by flowers didn’t just make the weight easier to bear—it helped me understand it and myself better. I began to dream in technicolor; flowers became the language of my subconscious.”

“My Light, My Destroyer”, will be Jenkins’ third studio album and the follow-up to 2021’s “An Overview on Phenomenal Nature“, is due out July 12th via Dead Oceans. It features collaborations with producer Andrew Lappin, Palehound’s El Kempner, Hand Habits’ Meg Duffy, Daniel McDowell, Isaac Eiger, Katie Von Schleicher, Zoë Brecher, Josh Kaufman, Stephanie Marziano, and others.

Monsters of Folk are celebrating the 15th anniversary of their self-titled, critically-acclaimed 2009 album with the unreleased high-energy rock anthem “Disappeared” and an expanded new vinyl edition, arriving Friday, June 14th via ATO Records. This reissue features revised artwork, the original 15-song record plus 5 bonus songs recorded in 2012 featuring Will Johnson of Centro-matic.

The band was formed in 2004 when the members were on tour with their respective bands and solo projects. After playing together both on-stage and backstage, they started working together on various material. 

The new single “Disappeared” previews Monsters of Folk’s – the acclaimed band comprised of Jim James (My Morning Jacket), M. Ward, Conor Oberst, and Mike Mogis (Bright Eyes) – reissue of their self-titled, one and only album which arrives with an expanded new edition on Friday, June 14th.

Johnson said in a press release, “That session was very much kept in the moment. I remember looking over at Jim playing drums on ‘Disappeared,’ joyfully bashing away, and it harboured that same exuberance of starting your first band: that moment in the garage where things take flight, and the energy and happiness just lead you onward.”

James, Ward, and Oberst also reflected on the album in the press release. Said James, “Making this album brought me back to the same feelings I had when I first started a band, or first started playing music in general—there’s a real simplicity and excitement to playing with folks you don’t normally play with. The spirit of play is alive on this whole thing.”

Oberst said, “It was amazing to have a ringside seat for the way Jim and M. make records. Jim’s outside-the-box knack for soul and harmony and M.’s sense of space and songcraft were so inspiring and invaluable to me then, and continue to be to this day.”

The Sound are to have their first three albums from the post-punk icons to be reissued as a collection of limited-edition colour vinyl The first three albums “Jeopardy” (white vinyl) “From The Lions Mouth” (orange vinyl) and “All Fall Down” (blue vinyl) are to be released as individual single albums on 13th September 2024. They sadly never had a huge following relative to their creative output despite being championed by famous Radio DJ John Peel, and Korova label mates Echo and The Bunnymen, as well as touring with The Comsat Angels.

Their lyrics often explored themes of isolation, despair, and social commentary. Despite achieving limited commercial success during their active years, The Sound’s influence on later generations of musicians cannot be overstated. With their distinctive guitar-driven sound and Borland’s emotive vocals, The Sound created music that resonated with listeners who were drawn to its raw energy and introspective lyrics. Songs like “Sense of Purpose” and “Winning” showcased the band’s ability to craft powerful melodies while addressing universal themes of hope and longing.

Tragically, The Sound disbanded in 1988 after struggling with personal issues within the group. However, their legacy lives on through their dedicated fanbase and the continued admiration from fellow musicians. Today, The Sound remains an influential force in the post-punk genre, leaving behind a body of work that continues to inspire new generations of artists.

One of the greatest ‘under the radar’ bands of the post-punk era, The Sound, are the subject of three very welcome coloured vinyl reissues. Their classic three album 1980 – 1982 run, consisting of “Jeopardy”, “From The Lions Mouth” and “All Fall Down“, complete with original track listings and iconic artwork.

Fronted by cult hero the late Adrian Borland (coincidentally the subject of a newly published biography, Destiny Stopped Screaming) and evolving quickly from punk pioneers the Outsiders, via the ground breaking Chemical Brothers-sampled electro-industrial Second Layer, The Sound burst onto the scene with their thrilling, adrenaline-fuelled 1980 debut, “Jeopardy”, now reissued on white vinyl. The music press was universally ecstatic heralding a powerful new force, but maybe Brendan Perry of the legendary Dead Can Dance summed it up best when years later he described “Jeopardy” as an, “Existentialist post-punk jewel.”

In November of 1980, post-punk legends The Sound released their debut album “Jeopardy”, a critically acclaimed yet often overlooked record compared to other releases in the musical soundscape of the early 80s. Highlight, “I Can’t Escape Myself” currently stands at 6.7 million YouTube plays and counting.

“From The Lions Mouth” followed a year later and is arguably their magnum opus. Masterfully produced by Hugh Jones it delivered on the ambition of their debut in fine style. “From the Lions Mouth” is the second studio album by English post-punk band The Sound, released in November 1981 on record label Korova. Following the release of their previous album “Jeopardy”, keyboardist Belinda Marshall left the group and was replaced by Colvin Mayers. For their new album, The Sound worked with producer Hugh Jones, as well as co-producing the album themselves.

Here reissued on orange vinyl, “From The Lions Mouth” was greeted once more with almost universal praise from the press, with Melody Maker’s Steve Sutherland concluding it could be the end of the line for him and rock records, “It’s that good”.

The final part of this reissue collection is the band’s defiant and expectation defying third album, “All Fall Down”. Available now on blue vinyl, it was a record that confounded some critics but is one that has only grown in stature over time. The band as ever refusing to take the easy option, instead drawing the Warner era to a close with a bang and preparing the stage for the next phase of the band.

Not a trilogy but simply three pieces of a fascinating jigsaw puzzle; all essential purchases for any post-punk connoisseur. Tough call to opt for ‘From the Lion’s Mouth’; ahead of “Jeopardy” – to be fair, you can’t go wrong with either. The Sound are regarded by many as one of the greatest little discovered bands of the 1980’s – record label stable-mates with Echo & The Bunnymen, the marketing team at Korova placed the lion’s share of their budget with the latter and consequently, The Sound never got a fair rub of the green.

order now from https://rhino.lnk.to/Thesound-2024

Tindersticks have announced the release of their fourteenth studio album, “Soft Tissue”, alongside lead single, “New World” was the first track written for “Soft Tissue”, and serves as a springboard for the album’s thematic concerns about personal/public worlds knocked off-kilter.

The journey began during a break from the tour for Tindersticks’ 30th anniversary compilation, “Past Imperfect”.

On “Soft Tissue”, ambition takes the form of a fluid, questing take on what Tindersticks can be, anchored by a sense of trust between the bandmates. As Stuart explains, “In this band, I think that there’s so much… I was going to say talent but it’s got nothing to do with talent, really, it’s about that desire, that need to reach for something and to go to places you haven’t been. And I feel that comes from everybody. I didn’t feel as though there was any kind of restriction about, or any dogma about, what this record could be, beyond where it takes us and what excites us.

The video, as well as the album’s sleeve, are made with Staples’ daughter, artist Sidonie Osborne Staples. Stuart comments: “Sid was making these tiny ceramic characters, I asked her to make some of the band. Later I wrote this song about somehow trying make sense of this strange world I felt developing around me and these little guys came back into my mind. Let’s take them on a stop motion journey across a strange land, from the barren rocks to the bountiful fruit that is not familiar and maybe poisonous. Sid put the landscapes together and moved the figures, millimetres at a time. Neil took the photographs, we edited as went along.”

the new album ’Soft Tissue’ released by Lucky Dog / City Slang on 13th September 2024.

In a new interview for Uncut magazine, Tony Iommi launches a new box set which attempts to find some continuity in this era of the band, and explains some of what was going on in an era which was confusingly both post-Ozzy and post-Dio, but also post-Gillan, pre-Dio and pre-Ozzy.

Tony shares humbling tales of advertising in the local paper for a frontman, of regrouping with known heavy Midlands associates, and of playing in Russia to a crowd of rabid fans, but also to a decorously-seated collection of Soviet-era dignitaries. Tony Iommi was confident in the material and in what we didn’t then call the Black Sabbath brand. He also believed in his new singer: Tony Martin. “If you have a factory and someone leaves,” Iommi tells Peter Watts, “you don’t close the factory, you hire someone new.”

There’s a lot to unpack in Iommi’s analogy of Black Sabbath to a factory. But Sabbath certainly was for many years a leading British heavy industry; the awesome swing of the band given a engaging character in the person of Ozzy Osbourne, a soulboy and a Beatles fan transformed into a prince of darkness during a formative Cumbrian tour. Geezer Butler told me a few months ago how impressed he was and remains with Ozzy’s musicianship. As you read Ozzy’s own vivid intro to the magazine, or enjoy his interviews in these pages, you’ll salute that and much more besides. 

He certainly knows what’s what in Black Sabbath. “We’ve been friends, we’ve been enemies, said all sorts of things about each other,” he tells us, “but no-one can come up with them riffs like Tony Iommi. I don’t know how he does it. It’s scary, like “What?” Sometimes he would come in and say, “Ah, I’ve got nothing.” Then he’d be tuning up and this amazing fucking riff would come out. “Well, that sounded like something, Tone…”