It’s over 40 years ago that Duran Duran released their debut and the band have become a British institution; a national treasure, For a period, in the early 1980s, they were arguably the biggest band in the world, thanks to the brilliance of their first two albums; being embraced by America; and the non-stop stream of hit singles (in the UK they had 10 in a row, between 1982 and 1986).
Even at the beginning of the 1990s, and the misstep of “Liberty,” the band came back strongly with “TheWedding Album” and delivered the epic single ‘Ordinary World’. That song has been a staple of their setlist ever since.
Inspired by the band’s one-off, 2022 Halloween show at the Encore Theater at Wynn in Las Vegas, “Danse Macabre” is a spooky, ghoul-inspired 13-song collection.
18 years on and we have a new Duran Duran covers album, of sorts. “Danse Macabre” is a playful celebration of Halloween and all things ‘spooky’ but only six and a half of the 13 tracks are covers of other people’s songs. The rest are either brand new songs (three tracks) or reinterpretations of the band’s own songs.
The new versions of numbers from Duran Duran’s back catalogue, include debut album track ‘Night Boat’, ‘Union of the Snake’ B-side ‘Secret Oktober’ (now ‘Secret Oktober 31st’), a re-spelt ‘Love Voudou’ from “The Wedding Album”, and “Rio’s” ‘Lonely in Your Nightmare’, which is mashed up with with a cover of Rick James’ ‘Super Freak’ for a song called ‘Super Lonely Freak’. In total, nine of the album’s 13 tracks were performed for last year’s Halloween show.
This record sees the original line-up back together for many of the tracks as Nick Rhodes, Andy Taylor,Roger Taylor, John Taylor, and Simon Le Bon reunite for the first time since 2004’s“Astronaut!” Fans of ’90s-era Duran will be further delighted to see the return of guitarist Warren Cuccurullo who guests on a couple of songs (including the title track), making this the first Duran Duran album since 1986’s “Notorious” to feature the guitar playing of both Andy Taylor and Warren Cuccurullo.
Death Valley Girls,LA’s finest purveyors of otherworldly rock n roll, have left little time between their 2023 LP “Islands in the Sky” and their rollicking new single, “I Am a Wave.” The band, which consists of Bonnie Bloomgarden (vocals, organ, Wurlitzer), Larry Schemel (guitar), Sarah Linton (bass), and Rikki Styxx (drums), builds off the strength of their critically acclaimed new project while introducing exciting new sonic terrain. Blending prog, shoegaze, pop, and psych-rock elements, the group lands thrillingly in its own world.
Bloomgarden’s vocals push up against walls of guitar, crashing and cascading drums, and a sturdy bassline. The group’s layered voices gives the song a haunted effect, with bold harmonies coming from every direction. Though the vocals are outstanding, Larry Schemel’s various roles as lead guitarist give the song its signature bite. From his Western-inspired introduction melody to a face-melting solo, his versatility is the track’s secret weapon. On the final chorus, all of these dueling parts come together for an ecstatic finale, accented by a perfectly placed tambourine. At just two-and-a-half-minutes, “I Am a Wave” takes on the meaning of its title. It crashes out of speakers, lifting listeners to rock and roll heaven and returning them home before they know what happened.
released July 31st, 2023
Written & Performed by Death Valley Girls Bonnie Bloomgarden – vocals, organ, Wurlitzer Rikki Watson – drums Larry Schemel – guitar Sarah Linton – bass Little Ghost – vocals Mark Rains – percussion
Alt-rockers King Nun have today released ‘Sinking Feeling’, the most recent cut to be shared from their upcoming new album ‘Lamb’, which is due on 29th September via Marshall Records. Painting a vignette of a relationship’s lifetime – from the initial attraction to the break up – ‘Sinking Feeling’ is frontman Theo Polyzoides’ personal reflection on his own emotions.
“Initially, it was about a relationship I was in a couple of years ago. I started writing it just after we met, and it was this soppy, doting confessional of love, full of references to the films and songs we shared with each other”, Theo has said. “I kept rewriting it through all the stages of us being together, and I ended up finishing it in the immediate aftermath of us breaking up. Ultimately, the song is about how the deal in any relationship is that it likely leads to heartbreak, and the ‘sinking feeling’ of going through those motions, not being able to do anything about it; opening yourself up to that pain is the only way to experience the beauty of loving someone.”
‘Sinking Feeling’ comes accompanied by a music video directed by Flynn Mathews see the band at Nottingham, Rough Trade 4th October
The Kills have today announced details of a forthcoming new album entitled ‘God Games’, which will hit shelves on 27th October (via Domino Records). The news comes after the release of their acclaimed twin singles ‘New York’ and ‘LA Hex’ the band returned with their first new music in nearly seven years, the dual singles. While the former showcases big riffs and Alison’s signature vocal delivery, the latter evokes a sonic haziness with woozy beats and distorted brass touches.
The Kills have emerged as international rock stars, setting the pace for the genre, shaping this era’s sound, and redefining what rock music can be in the 21st century. They’re the rare force of nature who can tour with Queens of the Stone Age or Guns N’ Roses and light up Coachella. Returning home from the road in 2019, Alison and Jamie commenced writing for what would become “God Games”. However, the old adage, “Make plans, God laughs,” couldn’t have been more apropos.
They arrive alongside accompanying videos directed by Andew Theodore Balasia, each of which epitomises the different atmospheres of the two cities: a powerhouse boxing ring for ‘New York” and an unpolished cityscape for ‘LA Hex’. Artwork for both singles comes courtesy of Alison herself, in the form of customised playing cards.
‘God Games’ will see The Kills – aka Alison Mosshart and Jamie Hince – push the boundaries of their sound, across 12 tracks incorporating piano-led instrumentation and electronic and brass touches. To mark the album announcement, the pair have also released a new single – the brooding, climate-conscious ‘103’ (as in Fahrenheit) which arrives accompanied by a Steven Sebring-directed video
Stretching boundaries, Jamie encouraged Alison to “buy this 100-dollar keyboard and try to write.” She added another creative tool to her arsenal, while he tinkered with textures, sounds and “wrote on guitar less than ever,” opting to primarily compose on piano for the first time. This powerful combination of forces gave the album its own sonic identity, a new path forged in the pair’s creative bond.
The Kills decamped to an old church (a bit ironic now isn’t it?) where they recorded with old friend and Academy and Grammy Award-winning producer Paul Epworth [Adele]. “Paul was our very first soundman in 2002,” recalls Jamie. “Since he was with us when we had two amps, a lightbulb, and a couple of mics in a van, it seemed perfect. He knew how far it had come and could trace the thread back.”
the acclaimed duo’s sixth studio LP, and is out in October.
Are you tired of that same old song? Tune into any alt-rock robo-jock frequency on the FM dial and you’ll know what I mean. Somewhere along the way, nostalgia curdled, and it feels like we’re doomed to hear the same boring souls for eternity. But don’t ask California sons Allah-Las—they wouldn’t know a thing about it. “The Stuff,” which opens the band’s fifth LP, “Zuma 85”, lays it out:
“I don’t listen to the radio/They keep playing that song again/And the deejay’s a computer.”
For the last 15 years, Allah-Las have alchemically melded surf rock washes with folk rock jangle and rock, building up their lauded music podcast, Reverberation Radio, and record label, Calico Discos, in the process. But a lot has changed since Matthew Correia (drums/vocals), Spencer Dunham (bass, guitar, vocals), Miles Michaud (guitar, organ, vocals), and Pedrum Siadatian (guitar, synth, vocals) first bonded over psych rock vinyl in the back room at Amoeba Records in the late aughts. “Zuma 85” finds the quartet facing a new world with a wealth of new sounds, drawing from an eclectic mix of progressive rock, prog, kosmische, and Eno-esque art rock, scuzzy Royal Trux riffs, and detouring into tones and textures that call to mind ‘90s and 2000s pop.
As the glammy, electronic strut of the song indicates, “Zuma 85” signals the start of a new era for Allah-Las, and finds the band reinventing itself in defiance of the algorithmic categorization and robotic sterility. The album will be released October 13th on their own label, Calico Discos, in partnership with Innovative Leisure, which released early defining statements like “Allah-Las” (2012) and “Worship The Sun” (2014).
The album was born, like so much else these days, out of the downtime of 2020-2022. For most of the band’s existence, Allah-Las adhered to a year to album year/tour year schedule, logging serious hours on the road. When the shutdown of 2020 put everything on hold, it opened up space for each member to focus on their own lives and interests, and time to re-envision what creative processes could look like.
When it came time to reconvene, that sense of looseness proved pivotal. Instead of bringing finished songs to the studio, they entered the picturesque Panoramic House recording in Stinson Beach (a space co-owned by John Baccigaluppi of Tape Op magazine) with sketches, ideas, and riffs. Working with co-producer Jeremy Harris (White Fence, Devendra Banhart, Sam Gendel) they shaped and crafted the new songs in real time over three sessions, which were then mixed in Los Angeles by frequent collaborator Jarvis Taveniere (Woods, Avalanches, Purple Mountains).
It was clear from the get go the bucolic environment—observed through picture windows overlooking Stinson Beach and Bolinas Bay—would be conducive to creating the first statement from Allah-Las 2.0. “We got in real late that first night of the first session,” Michaud says. “It was around midnight. We had a quick intro and Jeremy had a bottle of wine. We had a little and he said, ‘You wanna start recording?’”
They did. And when the group reassembled the following morning to listen back, they found the sparkling and stutter–stepped “Right On Time” mostly done. It was unlike anything the band had ever recorded but felt entirely natural. “Everything just worked,” Michaud says. “That studio just pulls it out of you.”
Despite the habitat where “Zuma 85” was crafted, these songs represent the Allah-Las departing familiar beachy territory for off the map expanses, embracing the influence of late-era Lou Reed and John Cale, the ‘70s mutant pop of Peter Ivers and early Eno and Roxy Music, and textures borrowed from Japanese pop and loner-folk obscurities, There are kosmische zones, like the Popol Vuh-evoking “Hadal Zone,” anthemic and electronic boogies like “The Stuff” and “Sky Club,” and arch prog on tunes like “GB BB” and “Smog Cutter.” On the instrumental title track, “Zuma 85,” field recordings and chimes precede Manuel Göttsching (Ash Ra)-style guitars, which drift aquatically over a motorik rhythm and hazy synths.
Sharing a name with that song is a photo of an abandoned house by California photographer John Divola. Selected by Correia, the band’s resident photography head and album art designer, it juxtaposes a visage of man-made chaos against the natural beauty of the West Coast. It served as an unspoken reference point for the album, a symbolic totem indicative of a new era. A decade and a half into their run as Allah-Las, Correia, Dunham, Michaud, and Siadatian continue on an evolutionary path. Are you tired of the same old songs? So are they.
releases October 13th, 2023
all songs written by allah las matt correia / drums, percussion, vocals (9) spencer dunham / bass, guitar, windchimes, vocals (2) miles michaud / guitar, percussion, organ, vocals (3/6/7/8/10/13) pedrum siadatian / lead guitar, percussion, synthesizer, vocals (1/4/12) with jeremy harris / additional synthesizers, double bass, bagpipes
In the decade since Jenny Owen Youngs last released a full-length album, she’s toured the world, co-written a No1 hit single, launched a wildly popular podcast, landed a book deal, placed songs in a slew of films and television series, moved from Brooklyn to Los Angeles to coastal Maine, and gotten married, divorced, and married again. She’s done everything, it seems, except release another album….until now.
“Avalanche”, Youngs’ exceptional debut for Yep Roc Records, offers up an achingly beautiful exploration of loss, resilience, and growth from an artist who’s experienced more than her fair share of each in recent years. Produced by Josh Kaufman (Bonny Light Horseman, The Hold Steady, Cassandra Jenkins, Josh Ritter) and written with a series of friends including S. Carey, Madi Diaz, The Antlers’ Peter Silberman, and Christian Lee Hutson, the songs are deceptively serene here, layering Youngs’ infectious pop sensibilities atop lush, dreamy arrangements that often belie the swift emotional currents lurking underneath.
Her performances, meanwhile, are riveting and nuanced to match, gentle yet insistent as they reckon with the pain of regret and the joy of redemption, sometimes in the very same breath. The result is the most raw and arresting release of Youngs’ remarkable career, a brutally honest, deeply vulnerable work of self-reflection that learns to make peace with the past as it transforms doubt and grief into hope and transcendence.
releases September 22nd, 2023
Produced by Josh Kaufman Jenny Owen Youngs: Vocals, guitars Josh Kaufman: Guitars, bass, piano, synthesizers, organs, drums, percussion, drum machines Matt Barrick: Drums, percussion Christian Lee Hutson: Background vocals on “Salt”
The latest record from Los Angeles singer/songwriter Blue Broderick who performs as Diners is set to be one of the best, if not the absolute best, rock records of 2023. Teased by singles “The Power,” “Domino” and “Someday I’ll Go Surfing,” “Domino” is a beautiful amalgam of everything that made power-pop chart-topping and accessible in the 1960s. But the sound doesn’t stop there for Diners, as the record is a lesson on shredding with a modern imprint. Broderick is one of the best singer/songwriters working today, and her finesse and penmanship on “Domino”. From beginning to end, there are no fractures. It’s a record glossed over with an immense bubblegum foundation hiding a dream-pop skeleton that’s shining inside.
All songs written by Blue Broderick. Produced by Mo Troper.
Musicians: Blue Broderick – lead vocals, guitar, bass, piano, keyboard, percussion, vocal harmonies Mo Troper – drums, bass, guitar, percussion, vocal harmonies Brenden Ramirez – guitar, vocal harmonies
For some time now, Portland Oregon’s music community has had a thread running through it with a good number of roots-country ensembles taking inspiration from the brooding soundtracks of Ennio Morricone, the punk-y reach of the Gun Club and the spacious production work of folks like Daniel Lanois and Mitchell Froom. With all due respect to the other artists that fit that bill, no one is doing it better these days than Roselit Bone. Led by singer / songwriter Charlotte McCaslin, the band brings a rawness and dusky wonder that so many of their compatriots are missing.
The group has reached another peak with the release of “Ofrenda”. McCaslin’s songs have the pointed power of an Elmore Leonard novel with their vibrant imagery and plainspokenness. She leaves it to the band to add the texture and subtext. They bring the dusty barroom vibe necessary to evoke the wit, sorrow and bloodthirst of McCaslin’s well-drawn characters that are often in desperate situations.
After more than five years in the making, the band are thrilled to finally share with you our 4th full-length record, “Ofrenda”, out now on all streaming services and available for purchase through Get Loud Recordings or Bandcamp.
Band members past and present who contributed to these songs include Brian Crace, Ben Dahmes, Charlotte McCaslin, Faith Grossnicklaus, Joe Benassi, John England-fisher, Jordan Vale, Nate Lown, Tobias Berblinger, and Victor Franco. And we are so appreciative of the work that our newest band members Amelie Diáz and Russ London are putting in to promote the album.
From the album “Ofrenda”, out August 25th, 2023. on Get Loud Recordings.
There are plenty of stories swirling around the making of the third album by indie rock trio William The Conqueror. The inexplicable wonder of the creative process is part of it as singer / songwriter Ruarri Joseph describes the spontaneous nature of one track “The Bruises” as “It wasn’t, and all of the sudden, it was.” And there’s, of course, the pandemic that put the band on pause. Joseph watched his wife, a mental health worker, struggle as she helped folks through the early fraught period of the lockdowns. Joseph apparently was so inspired by her efforts that he became a care worker for a while. All of that clearly fed into this LP as it is blessedly free of the overly worked over, focus group-led sound of much of the indie world these days and glows with an empathic spirit even as Joseph, bassist Naomi Holmes and various guests sing of personal struggles and joys.
Their music has long filled a void in a British pop world that is too often taken over by legacy acts and snotty newcomers. They are seeding a rich ground that will hopefully sprout more thoughtful, tuneful acts of their ilk.
William The Conqueror’s fourth album finds the indie-rock trio firing on all cylinders as frontman RuarriJoseph confronts the thin line between creativity and madness, inspired by compassion for the real life angels of the world. Produced by the band in a playground of vintage gear and mixed by Barny Barnicott (Arctic Monkeys, Sam Fender, Kasabian), the resulting album’s ten tracks marry earworm tunes with insistent, imperious, soaring rock shapes, punctuated by chorus hooks that are simultaneously nuanced and anthemic. Joseph’s compelling semi-spoken vocals and swamp-blues-Seattle-scuzz guitars are propelled by the rhythm section of Naomi Holmes (bass) and Harry Harding (drums) as “Excuse MeWhile I Vanish” delivers an effortlessly winning blend of melody and ensemble dynamics, the most accomplished and undeniable William The Conqueror album to date
“Evicted,” the lead single from Wilco’s forthcoming album “Cousin”, is the band at their folksiest and most desperate. In typical fashion, a warm, thrumming guitar underlies his imploring twang, a summoning song for a love that, for the band, seems always just out of reach. Nels Cline’s ever-impeccable guitar sparkles in hypnotic, swaying loops as Jeff Tweedy layers familiarly over him, but synths and 12-strings carry the tune in new musical directions. “Am I ever going to see you again?” he croons, the eternal question which promises to encircle “Cousin“. Instrumental influence from producer Cate Le Bon’s glimmering, electric vault provides a modernist twist for the iconic folk stars. “Evicted” explores the strained, persistent human connections of a fractured world, the ever-intertwining relations we can’t ignore despite our best efforts
The Fat Angel Sings 