New Jersey’s rock squad The Gaslight Anthem are back after a long hiatus of 8 years.
They are back now with the announcement that a new album, their 6th is canned (no details yet), and the first single named “Positive Charge“.
Brian Fallon (frontman): “‘Positive Charge’ began as a message of joy to ourselves and to our audience. The central theme is about looking at the things you’ve come through and feeling like you want to go ahead with an open heart toward the future, believing that the best years are not behind any of us and the good we have is worth something.”
If you’re going to go full heartland rock, you have a full 50-year lineage of American music to account for. The Gaslight Anthem have completed their transition away from their more hardcore punk rock roots and have embraced the rough-hew of age.
Who better to shepherd them into that role than the elder statesman of heartland rock himself? Getting Bruce Springsteen to sing on your song is a major coup for anyone, and just like he did when he guested on The Killers’ ‘Dustland’ a few years ago, Springsteen adds that hard-to-pin-down genuine edge to ‘History Books’. That final wail from Springsteen just hits right every time.
“Positive Charge” is an out-front rocker invigorated with ablaze guitars, impassioned vocals, and an anthemic chorus. Welcome back.
You don’t expect such earnest lyrics with such riff-driven indie. But Citizen singer Mat Kerekes very candidly says: “I grew up around a narcissistic parent and absorbed a lot of that behaviour over time, negatively affecting people close to me. ‘If You’re Lonely’ is about recognising that, growing from it, and becoming a reliable shoulder to lean on.” That creates a song that stings like the proverbial bee and floats like proverbial MTV2 ’00s band.
Across 11 tracks, “Calling The Dogs” explores a range of moods, styles and themes with each song as memorable as the last. The album’s first single, “If You’re Lonely,” is the kind of upbeat singalong anthem fans should expect to belt out at shows for years to come. Tracks like “Hyper Trophy” and “Can’t Take It Slow” show that Citizen can still put out unforgettable melodies over dance-worthy rhythms, while others (like “When I Let You Down”) lean more into timeless classics bordering on garage rock. As a whole, it’s as intense and energetic of an experience as the band has ever released.
“I really wanted to hone in on how it would feel to play the songs live while writing “Calling The Dogs,”Kerekes says. “The songs on the last record are so much fun to play live, I wanted to make sure that this one would still invoke the same kind of emotion and crowd reaction. I kept asking myself ‘Will this be exciting to see live? How will the energy be?’ more than I ever have before.”
“If You’re Lonely” by Citizen from their new album ‘Calling the Dogs’, available October 6th, 2023 on Run For Cover Records.
Split System – ‘Alone Again’: The Melbourne garage-punks Split System are still fresh from their debut, but have enough fizz about them to drop yet another hit. Garage-punk comes with its own preconceptions, but Split System defy many of them with a hook that Lindsey Buckingham would’ve been proud of and a chanted vocal that could crack the ceiling of a flat-roof pub.
The new track which follows hot on the heels of April’s “Bullet/On The Street” single. Boasting a line up of Jackson Reid Briggs (Vocals), Arron Mawson (Guitar), Ryan Webb (Guitar) Deon Slaviero (Bass) & Mitch McGregor (Drums), they’ve quickly become one of Australia’s most reliable new bands.
released July 19th, 2023 Jackson Reid Briggs – Vocals Arron Mawson – Guitar Ryan Webb – Guitar Deon Slaviero – Bass Mitch McGregor – Drums
“Alone Again” By Melbourne band Split System released on Legless Records
“Spooky”, “Split” & “Lovelife” are back on vinyl – remastered on limited-edition clear and standard black. Coming out on the 11th August. Pre-order your Shoey/Dreampop/Britpop/whatever-the-fuck-you-wanna-call-it bundle here: lush.ffm.to/splitspookylovelife
Built around the songwriting talents of Emma Anderson and Miki Berenyi, Lush successfully defined a myriad of 90s scenes such as shoegaze, dream pop and Britpop before they disbanded in 1998. 4AD reissue all three studio albums on limited clear vinyl
“Spooky” (1992 debut studio album produced by Robin Guthrie) and “Split” (1994, produced by Mike Hedges) in their original sleeve designs…
Originally Released January 27th, 1992. With a few EPs and a mini-album “Scar” having set the scene, “Spooky” is Lush’s 1992 debut studio album. A key text for British indie music after the turn of a decade, it was produced by label mate Robin Guthrie (Cocteau Twins) and features the singles “Nothing Natural,” “For Love” and “Superblast!.”
With demand high, the band have been working with renowned engineer / producer Kevin Vanbergen to help them remaster their catalogue, starting with their studio albums. Using the original ½” production tapes for source material, Kevin has painstakingly worked on them to create brand new, stunning 24-bit masters that perfectly capture the thrill of the originals. They’ve never sounded so good.
“Lovelife” (produced by Pete Barlett + track feat Jarvis Cocker) uses the artwork from the 2016 boxset to keep 1996’s collectible tracing-paper sleeve exclusive to initial pressing.
Originally Released June 13th 1994. Featuring the singles “Desire Lines” and “Hypocrite,” “Split“is the second full studio album by Lush. Produced by Mike Hedges – famed for his work on The Cure’s “Seventeen Seconds”and Siouxsie and the Banshees’s “A Kiss in the Dreamhouse”– and mixed by Alan Moulder, “Split” sees the band hit a more direct sound whilst retaining their almost pitch-black feel.
Originally Released March 5th 1996. Lush’s final studio album, “Lovelife”, dealt “Britpop the feminist counterpoint it sorely needed,” (Pitchfork). Produced by Pete Bartlett (Therapy?, Kitchens of Distinction), it features three of the band’s biggest singles in “Single Girl,” “Ladykillers” and “500 (Shake Baby Shake),” with Jarvis Cocker also featured on first-half closer “Ciao!”.
Famously working with 4AD’s inhouse designers v23 on every release, album art has always been central to Lush’s appeal too. For these represses, the first two albums will come housed in their original designs while “Lovelife” uses the art from their 2016 boxset so to keep 1996’s collectible tracing paper sleeve exclusive to that initial pressing.
Though their name has always put me off (I hate worms!!) Cut Worms (actually just Brooklyn-based musician Max Clarke) makes music that should be right up the alley of people who enjoy the golden age of pop music. It’s all homemade attempts to sound like the faded hits of yesterday, the track I’m listening to sounds like The Beach Boys in ballad mode for God’s sake. Truly lovely. This should help summer along nicely. The car windows are down, the air is warm, and the possibilities are boundless. On Cut Worms, the new self-titled album from Brooklyn-based Max Clarke, the singer-songwriter and musician continues his exploration of what he calls “pop essentialism”. Mining the golden hits of yesteryear for a timeless double A-side sound, he contemplates age-old questions through a modern lens.
“Ballad of the Texas King” by Cut Worms from the upcoming album ‘Cut Worms’, out July 21st on Jagjaguwar.
Here, he leaves behind the legendary studio and sought-after producers for a more homegrown approach, working with a cast of gifted friends and collaborators. The result is a compact collection of daydream anthems that live between the summer’s hopeful beginnings and the season’s fleeting end.
Clarke varied his methods. Three of the songs were cut from start to finish in his shared rehearsal space. “Don’t Fade Out” and “Living Inside” were recorded in Brooklyn by Brian and Michael D’Addario of the Lemon Twigs, who also played piano and bass, respectively, on these two songs. Further basic tracking was done by Rick Spataro (of indie folk band Florist) at his Hudson Valley studio,
Onlyness Analog, with contributions from the long standing Cut Worms live band–keyboardist JohnAndrews, bassist Keven Louis Lareau, and drummer Noah Bond (who played on all three sessions).
the upcoming album ‘Cut Worms’, out July 21st on Jagjaguwar Records.
The first single from ‘Pearlies’, the debut solo album by Emma Anderson from Lush, released via Sonic Cathedral on October 20th, 2023. ‘Pearlies’ is the debut solo album from former Lush singer, guitarist and songwriter Emma Anderson. Its genesis coming with the second break-up of Lush in 2016 after an all-too-brief reunion, it’s a verdant sonic tapestry of electronic pop, pastoral folk and gentle psychedelia that underscores Anderson’s reputation as one of the Britpop era’s finest songwriters.
Another of this week’s debut singles sees Lush’s Emma Anderson go it alone. “I am not someone that feels comfortable in the spotlight, so for me to take centre stage, metaphorically speaking, was quite a big leap,” she says. But the spotlight suits her fine, and perhaps that uncertainty has prompted her come up with a beefy melody that would give pep to any singer.
released via Sonic Cathedral on October 20th, 2023.
There are few people more fitting to tackle the work of Nick Drake than Aurora. Both artists are purveyors of the ethereality of music and if Aurora’s take on ‘Pink Moon’ was any more delicate it could never be pressed on something as bulky as vinyl. There are moments when you want something to bite down on, but for the most part this is a floaty gift. Written by Nick Drake Adopted by Aurora.
“The Endless Coloured Ways” is a collection of songs by legendary singer/ songwriter, Nick Drake, performed and recorded by over 30 incredible artists from a range of different backgrounds, genres, age groups and audiences. From Fontaines D.C. to Guy Garvey, Aurora to Feist, and Self-Esteem to David Gray, each artist has offered their own incredible take on a timeless classic.
“The Endless Coloured Ways: The Songs Of Nick Drake” available now
Los Angeles’ Allah-Las have dropped a new single, the sparkling and stutter–stepped “Right On Time.”
Allah-Las ‘ ‘Right On Time’ Through yet another hazy mirage of murky guitars, Allah-Las have re-emerged from hiatus with the trademark sounding ‘Right On Time’. With a simple, repetitive guitar-line, the track takes on a trance-like whirling disposition. They’re still cool, they’re still shabby and dishevelled, and they’re still very singular. Allah-Las self-produced video for the single pays homage to the classic plug-and-play video shoots of the early MTV era, shot in a few hours on a white backdrop with minimal planning and a few rolls of 8mm film, the second video release from the forthcoming album “Zuma 85” captures spontaneous moments of absurdity, along with a few properly synched video clips.
The song is another tease of the band’s forthcoming new album “Zuma 85” which will be released on October 13 via the band’s own label, Calico Discos, in partnership with Innovative Leisure, which released earlier defining statements from the band including the eponymously named “Allah-Las” (2012) and “Worship The Sun” (2014).
“”You can’t deny that the band still have the effortless cool locked in here” and Buzzbands LA said, “They’re calling it a reinvention, and one only needs to hear ‘The Stuff,’ to hear their song writing engine change gears.”
Like the album as a whole, “Right On Time ” represents a new chapter for the band as they embrace the influences of late-era Lou Reed and John Cale, and the ‘70s mutant pop.
The indie stalwarts are making yet another comeback. With their first new music since 2020, the band are still happily still in their smoothly melodic vein. This time, however, they welcome the youthful invigoration of starlet Holly Humberstone who adds not only lilting tones, but a sense of vigour.
“Diving” featuring Holly Humberstone is out now everywhere. It’s a song about that summer you have when you’re 15/16, the memory of which conjures up a unique feeling. You’re discovering a lot of new experiences for the first time and the world seems as scary and exhilarating as diving off a tall cliff. We’ve wanted to work with Holly for a long time and she is the perfect foil for Jack on this song. The music video directed by the brilliant Katie Silvester
Official Video for ‘Diving (feat. Holly Humberstone)’ by Bombay Bicycle Club the album ‘My Big Day’, out October 20th:
Here we go now, deep breath… new song “Tough Love” with the rare and wonderful Laura Marling is out now everywhere. Thank you to Lauren Laverne and BBC6music for the premiere this morning. Our self titled third album is coming out October 27th
You can preorder now. And finally, we are touring around the UK and Ireland this winter and presale for that goes live on Friday. You can get access to the pre-sale by either buying a record or being on our mailing list.
Crooned so delicately you imagine that there must have been dandelion pappus’ in front of the performers that they were hoping not to disturb when playing ‘Tough Love’. There is nothing tough about the track and that is a welcome thing in this gritty modern world. Alas, even though it is floaty, it still manages to build towards a gripping crescendo.
Flyte under exclusive license to Nettwerk Music Group Inc.
