The Second solo album by La Luz singer / guitarist Shana Cleveland.“Manzanita” is the common name for a kind of small evergreen tree endemic to California which has strong medicinal properties. It’s also the name of the brand new full length by visual artist, writer, songwriter, and musician Shana Cleveland. Subtle, powerful, and unafraid. We can’t actually tell you how much we love this record because you’d never believe us, so we’ll just say that it is her strongest and most personal album to date.
These songs are as strong as the bricks in the Brill building, and seem destined to be covered by others in years to come. Where her previous record, 2019’s “Night of the Worm Moon” (Hardly Art) functions as a collection of speculative fictions equally inspired by Afro-futurist pioneers Herman “Sun Ra” Blount and Octavia Butler, “Manzanita”concerns the love that loves to love. “This is a supernatural love album set in the California wilderness,” Cleveland explains. The combinations of words and song structure are so strong throughout that one hardly notices Cleveland’s nimble fingerpicking on first listen, or how much is packed into the arrangements. The lyrics are satisfyingly direct, with the buoyantly whimsical descriptions typical of the 1960s New York School of poetry. It’s peppered with the kind of unexpected turns that make the words more modern, and in their spookiness they are more West Coast, as in “Mystic Mine,” with its “Mystic Mine Lane, cars rotting away/ I feel so relieved to be/ Back in the country.” So much of the pop music we love is propelled by those first blushes of infatuation and lust, but “Manzanita” concerns the kind of love that one can only experience with time, work, and devotion.
Cleveland says: “The songs were all written while I was pregnant (side A) or shortly after my son’s birth in that weird everything-has-quietly-but-monumentally-shifted state (side B),” she says. Moving to the country, starting a family, laughing for real at the same joke the thirteenth time you’ve heard it, surviving heavy shit (this is the first release since Cleveland’s successful treatment for a diagnosis of breast cancer at the start of 2022).
This is a love album that’s somehow populated with the insect world, ghosts, and evil spirits. Sonically, “Manzanita”sits in a meadow similar to her previous solo records, set back and away from the genre-recombinant garage pop of her band La Luz. This is part due to the fact that there’s a different sonic palette in use here. While Cleveland continues to play guitar and vocals; Johnny Goss, who has recorded all of Shana’s solo material and early La Luz recordings, and Abbey Blackwell (Alvvays, La Luz) play the bass; Olie Eshleman is on pedal steel; and Will Sprott plays the keyboards, dulcimer, glockenspiel, and harpsichord—little of which would have been out of place on her previous two solo records—Sprott also adds layers of synthesizer infused with the sounds of the natural world.
For fans of Robert Wyatt, Opal, Nilsson, Kevin Ayers and his Whole Wide World, Norma Tanega, Jessica Pratt, Julie Driscoll, Michael Nesmith, Sibylle Baier
Fews the Malmo based four-piece release new single “Get Out” (Thursday 9th February) on Gothenburg based independent label Welfare Sounds. “Get Out” follows on from “Massolit” – their first new music in over three years – which came out last November and is the second single to be taking from the band’s forthcoming third album “Glass City”, Fred Rundquist: I’d say there’s been a bit of a delay. “Massolit” was recorded over a year ago. Since then, we had to find a label which was so hard and also a booking agency now, because everything just stopped in the middle of Covid. It’s almost like we had to start all over again.
Fred Rundquist: I met Fredrik (Andersson) that owns the label at South By Southwest (SXSW) in 2016. He was there because he was working with Henrik (Nystrom) from PIAS which was our old record label. After we got dropped from PIAS we didn’t know what to do. So, we sent the album to loads of people and no one replied as usual. But then I thought of Fredrik. He has his own label in Gothenburg. So, I just sent it to him and he was like, “Yeah, let’s fucking do it!” So here we are.
The four-piece – Fred Rundquist (vocals & guitar), Jacob Olson (guitar), Jay Clifton (bass) and Rasmus Andersson (drums) – have been working on “Glass City” since releasing their second long player “Into Red” at the tail end of 2019. Because we thought that people would’ve forgotten about us basically since we haven’t released an album for four years. You’re always thinking, “I wonder if it’s anyone’s gonna come to the shows or anything?” so yeah, it was super overwhelming.
However, due to the global Covid-19 pandemic and logistical issues, the album is finally ready to go and bares all the hallmarks of its creators at their exhilarating best. Comprised of ten songs in total,
Madfish are proud to present, for the first time in one set, the complete studio album recordings of The Pretty Things. From the bands’ chaotic beginnings on their self-titled debut in 1965 through to their more reflective latter day output in “Bare As Bone, Bright As Blood”, this 13 album box set contains it all.
The Box Set encompassing the bands’ raucous self-titled 1965 debut, the conceptual Psychedelic brilliance of “S.F. Sorrow” and more reflective latter day output such as “Bare As Bone, Bright As Blood”, this deluxe 13 LP box set contains the entire Pretty Things studio output.
All albums have been remastered for vinyl and feature replica original artwork. Each album comes with an individual, album specific 4-page insert with rare photographs and original single sleeves (with words from Mike Stax, Dick Taylor and Mark St. John).–
Led by founding vocalist and guitarist Phil May & Dick Taylor, The Pretty Things, iconic 1st wave R&B cult heroes, created some of the most exciting and innovative records of the sixties, early seventies and beyond. Winners of the very first Mojo Hero Award, the band have been a massive success and a huge influence on artists as diverse as David Bowie, Aerosmith, The Ramones, Bob Dylan, The Sex Pistols, The White Stripes, Kasabian and many, many more.
From the chaotic beginnings of the band’s self-titled debut in 1965 through the experimental, turbulent times of the rock opera masterpiece ‘S.F. Sorrow’ to their more reflective, contemplative latter day output in ‘Bare as Bone, Bright as Blood’; this deluxe, thirteen LP box set contains every studio album the iconic band released over five decades.
Invaluable to the development of British music, The Pretty Things have been a critical success who site their outrageous behaviour, incandescent stage performances and astonishing catalogue of remarkable, ground-breaking recordings as fundamental in the creation of their own work. Still recordings until the passing of Phil May two years ago, this set follows the bands’ journey until those final recordings in 2020.–
Contents
The Pretty Things (1965)
Get The Picture? (1965)
Emotions (1967)
S.F. Sorrow (1968)
Parachute (1970)
Freeway Madness (1972)
Silk Torpedo (1974)
Savage Eye (1976)
Cross Talk (1980)
… Rage Before Beauty (1999)
Balboa Island (2007)
The Sweet Pretty Things (Are In Bed Now, of Course…) (2015)
Bare as Bone, Bright as Blood (2020)
All albums have been remastered especially for vinyl with original artwork recreated throughout. Within each album comes an individual, album specific 4-page insert with rare photographs and original single sleeves with words from Mike Stax, Dick Taylor and Mark St. John. Fans will also find an exclusive pull-out print of the band in their prime. All this is housed inside a deluxe slipcase style box.
“The Pretty Things were the biggest influence on us… they invented garage bands.” – Joey Ramone
“The Pretty Things completely bent my head.” – Noel Gallagher
“The Pretty Things made the Stones look tame.” – David Gilmour
Housed in a deluxe slipcase style box, the set also includes an exclusive pull-out print of the band in their prime.
Depeche Mode suffered a tremendous loss last year when Andrew Fletcher suddenly passed of an aortic dissection in May. Martin Gore and Dave Gahan are forging on with the band, however, with their fifteenth studio album “Memento Mori”, set to drop on the 17th of March via Columbia Records.
Depeche Mode releases the much-anticipated lead single, “Ghosts Again”, a song that was teased with two countdowns; one for the initial announcement, and another for the premiere date. The “Memento Mori”album marks a new chapter for Depeche Mode’s peerless, evolving legacy.“Memento Mori” originated early in the pandemic during the chaos of uncertainty and global panic; now the grim title also reflects the sombre reality of a Fletch-less future for the band.
Dave Gahan noted that although work on ‘Memento Mori’ started before Fletcher’s death, Fletch did not record any material on the album. “He never got to hear any of it,” the singer said, “which is really sad to me because there are songs on this record where I know he’d be like, ‘This is the best thing we’ve had in years.’ I can hear his voice,” he said. “I can also hear him saying, ‘Does every song have to be about death?!’”
“After Fletch’s passing, we decided to continue as we’re sure this is what he would have wanted,” says Martin Gore, “and that has really given the project an extra level of meaning.”
Depeche Mode’s poignant song addresses the life cycle – knowing that Death isn’t a harbinger of the end, but rather a guide to the next phase.
Corbijn, who used the striking imagery from the film here, makes a poignant commentary on the state of a modern world constantly immersed in fear of this mortal chess match. This time the roles are played by Dave Gahan and Martin Gore themselves, as they battle their queens and pawns on a city rooftop, then make their way through a cemetery. It’s filmed in his usual black and white, Expressionist style, as Gahan and Gore poignantly send off their love to the other side.
“To me, ‘Ghosts Again’ just captures this perfect balance of melancholy and joy,” said frontman Dave Gahan of the song, with Martin Gore proudly adding: “It’s not often that we record a song that I just don’t get sick of listening to – I’m excited to be able to share it.”
“Ghosts Again” is a touching encomium to the lost souls of this volatile world, and especially to their recently check-mated bandmate.
“Memento Mori” will be released on March 24th on double vinyl, CD, cassette, and digital.
The inimitable post-punk icon Brix Smith is held in high regard for her work with The Fall, The Adult Net and The Extricated, but even after four decades in the game she’s still embracing new musical horizons with characteristic intensity. This is her debut solo album. Produced by the Grammy Award winning Youth (The Verve, Jesus and Mary Chain, Killing Joke), Brix’s seemingly effortlessly cool vocals top a mix of power-pop addictiveness, ragged garage-rock riffs and classic grunge melody.
Given its explosive energy. The album was started during lockdown, with Brix and Youth collaborating remotely between her home in London and his base in Spain. She has described the album as sounding like a cross between The Breeders and Hole with an atmosphere that’s “very dystopian California.” It features special guests including Susanna Hoffs from The Bangles and Siobhan Fahey of Bananarama and Shakespear’s Sister.
Check out the new video produced by Funky Doodle and filmed at the Lexington.
The third single from the album ‘Valley of the Dolls’, “Fast Net” is written and produced by Brix Smith and Martin ‘Youth’ Glover. Brix, a former member of The Fall in which she performed with Mark E Smith has teamed up with the legendary producer and bass player of Killing Joke to create this amazing album and latest single.
English rap-punk poets Sleaford Mods Jason Williamson and Andrew Fearn have their 11th LP, called “UK GRIM” out on 10th March. Following the title track a few weeks ago, you can rant now to new groovy cut“Force 10 From Navarone” featuring Dry Cleaning’s Florence Shaw.
Jason Williamson said “The track is a conversation with myself coming to terms with happiness and whether it is in fact a darker space than my negativity and depression. Coupled with that it explores the myth of activism and inaction of the majority in the UK in the presence of a corrupt government.”
“Jason, why does the darkness elope? Cross sectioned. Its not a drink and I don’t fucking smoke”
New album ‘UK GRIM’ out 10th March 23 via Rough Trade Records.
LED ZEPPELIN were on their way to becoming the biggest rock’n’roll band in the world. Embarking on an American tour to promote their new album “Houses Of The Holy” , they shattered box office records, rewriting the blueprint for rock’n’roll tours as they went. Peter Watts climbed aboard the Starship to hear tales of glorious, transcendent music – but also unsolved robberies, giant mirrorballs, cake fights during John Bonham’s 25th birthday party and motorbike rides down hotel corridors. “As the venues got bigger, they got better,” recalls one confidant. “They blasted you into the middle of next week.”
The Hull four piece have signed with Mogwai’s label Rock Action, embracing dance, ambient and experimental music, and the importance of keeping things ambiguous, The UK shoegazers bdrmm just released their second album, “I Don’t Know”, which is also their first for Mogwai’s Rock Action Records. With this one, they’ve grown beyond the standard signifiers of the genre and have figured out their own sound, incorporating elements of dance music, krautrock, trip hop and post-rock.
bdrmm have revealed details of their second album ‘I Don’t Know’, which marks their signing to Mogwai‘s label Rock Action. Check out new single ‘It’s Just A Bit Of Blood’ below,
‘It’s Just A Bit Of Blood’ comes with visuals directed by Chris Tomsett’s Innerstrings. The track will be familiar to longtime fans of the band, having been a staple of the band’s live shows for over two years. “People have liked to sing along to it before we even had it recorded, so it felt like a natural place to start,” said guitarist Joe Vickers. Bassist and keyboardist Jordan Smith explained that the song acts as a bridging point between the shoegaze-leaning sound of their 2020 debut album ‘Bedroom’, and a broader pool of influences that defines ‘I Don’t Know’.
“It’s got the first album’s sensibilities, but it does things in the way we work now, so it’s a nice jumping-off point,” he said. “We’re not putting the six-minute dance song out just yet, that can wait until release day!”
‘I Don’t Know’ sees the band embrace not only dance music but trip-hop, slowcore, experimental and ambient music. Drummer Conor Murray, meanwhile, has brought a heavy influence from his love of jazz music to the album’s beats.
bdrmm – ‘I Don’t Know’ Track-by-Track
ALPS “Alps” was written whilst on tour with Mogwai. We were driving through the Swiss Alps (hence the title) and I was inspired by a mix by Thom Yorke for CRACK Magazine. I started with the percussion and went from there. The theme of the track is one of despair. While driving through such a beautiful place, but still being plagued by the constant feed of negative news coming through from back home. I don’t think we’d ever regard ourselves as a political band, but it’s hard not to escape the constant depression that has been imposed on this country this year, and how I feel we’re all just trying to cope but are seemingly forever moving backwards.
BE CAREFUL “Be Careful” was written during the pandemic. (I said I’d never write the P word again, but for honesty’s sake). I had set up a little studio in the back of my garden and would often take myself there on evenings with numerous bottles of wine. Inspired by Portishead, and the bassline owes itself to Radiohead’s Nude, this track just came so naturally. It’s about taking care of yourself and realising when you need to change. I’ve been guilty of indulging too much and I definitely noticed myself becoming somebody I don’t like. When realising that, it felt important. Trying to be a better person is hard when you don’t know you’re doing something wrong.
IT’S JUST A BIT OF BLOOD Most people who have seen us tour will recognise this track as ‘Picky New’, essentially based on its guitar picking introduction and that it was a new song at the time. The more we played it, the more we realised it was becoming something special, and an integral part of our set. It stems from my recent mental health awareness. I’d become depressed and very social anxious, I really felt like I had changed and didn’t know who I was. I am lucky enough to be surrounded by 3 of my brothers within this band (one literally by blood) and have always been able to be myself with them. I guess it’s just about realising what you have and remembering that when you can’t see it.
WE FALL APART “We Fall Apart” is probably one of the last tracks that was written for the album. It is a nod to our admiration of Krautrock. We have always been huge fans of NEU! and Can, and I think that kind of got touched on with the first record, but we wanted to try and make something as pure as organic as it seemed they did. Stripping back the effects and trying to make it as real as possible. The vocals are about a relationship. Trying and trying to make something work and it still failing. You want it to happen so much that sometimes you don’t realise that it’s impossible. It’s important to realise that moment.
ADVERTISEMENT ONE This is another one of those tracks that was written on the road during the Mogwai tour. The piano parts were created using generative processing in the van, inspired by Brian Eno experiments with the delay line method in his Ambient series. I defined the parameters and then glued my favourite parts together into a cohesive piece that I subsequently learnt and recorded on the piano back at The Nave. Similarly, I sampled some drum recording that Conor did from the “Be Careful” sessions and reworked the takes into a 16-bar phrase, inspired by Boards of Canada and DJ Shadow. Writing for the band is something I’ve always wanted to do, yet constantly dissuaded myself from. Ryan, Conor and Joe were all so supportive and encouraging during this period so it’s appearance is owed to them.
HIDDEN CINEMA This was the final song to be finished on the record, and to be fair, it nearly didn’t make it. We started and stopped on it so many times it seemed like it was doomed, but the final week, we approached it in a completely different way and it’s now become one of our favourites on the record. This track is about reflection. I was technically homeless when I was in the midst of recording this record, and I was going through a tough time internally. Living in the mistakes that you’ve made in the past and falling into the same situations. Sometimes you don’t know when something is wrong, but when you come out of the other end, it’s good to reflect on that time to not let it happen again.
PULLING STITCHES I remember the exact day that we wrote this track. We were in the practise room, and I just started playing the first 2 chords, incorporating the bend as if I was literally winking at Kevin Shields, and Conor just looked at me like, “This is the one”. I think we finished the track on that day. It’s amazing when those moments happen, and it reminds you of why you do this. It’s so obviously the Shoegaze adoration within us.
A FINAL MOVEMENT This track has been flying around for years. When I first wrote it, it was influenced by Duster, it was a VERY slow-core, emphasis on the bending of the notes. From there, it’s taking many forms, when we performed it live, under the moniker ‘Drug’, it was definitely indebted to Slowdive’s cover of Golden Hair, but from there it’s taking a brand new route. Being avid fans of Oneohtrix Point Never, the opening chords are inspired by that of Chrome County. The way they come in just grab you instantly, and as soon as Jordan opens the track, I know the track has reached its natural home. The lyrics come from a place of understanding. It’s a very cathartic track and to finally release it, and to close the album with it, feels very special. It’s been a long journey, but it’s good to finally be here.
