The Fat Angel Sings

Laura Marling and Tunng’s Mike Lindsay collaborate again for a second album of proggy, otherworldly synthpop.

When Laura Marling teamed up with Tunng‘s Mike Lindsay for an album as Lump, it seemed like a one-off and a record that, as good as it was, wasn’t totally sure what it wanted to be. Proving at least some of us wrong on some counts, LUMP have returned for a second album that has a much more definitive sound, point of view, and energy. “There’s a little bit of a theme of hedonism on the album, of desires running wild,” says Lindsay. “We created LUMP as a sort of persona and an idea and a creature. Through LUMP we find our inner animal, and through that animal we travel into a parallel universe.”

Musically, “Animal” is a much more interesting beast, with songs built around Lindsay’s Eventide H949 Harmoniser, which is the same pitch-shifter David Bowie used on Low. It gives everything here an eerie, dark, primal grit. Songs feel low to the ground, slinking through the tall grass in the moonlight. Marling stays in breathy, understated mode, which works perfectly with the dense harmony style at play here, often double tracked with ASMR-y pure whispered vocals. It’s a different style for her, which she says was intentional. “It became a very different thing about escaping a persona that has become a burden to me in some way. It was like putting on a superhero costume.” That goes for her lyrics, too, which are rich with imagery. “Those who find themselves acclaimed go to God to get renamed,” she sings on “Bloom at Night,”  “It took one god seven days to go insane.”

Add to that Lindsay’s arrangements, full of warm cosmic synthesizers, fretless bass, and heavily treated guitars and you’ve got a very specific environment for LUMP to thrive. The songs are great, too. “Animal,” “We Cannot Resist,” “Bloom at Night,” and “Climb Every Wall” are wonderfully askew pop singles, while the more delicate songs — “Red Snakes,” “Hair on the Pillow” — bewitch like quiet moments in Italian horror films. With Animal, this LUMP has really taken shape and lets hope Marling and Lindsay continue to let it run wild.

LUMP have shared a new video for their song ‘Paradise’, animated and directed by the band’s Laura Marling.

The track is taken from the duo’s second album ‘Animal’, which came out last month via Partisan/Chrysalis Records.

Speaking of the new video, Marling said: “The day I wrote ‘Paradise’, I’d been reading lots about Lacan, this French psychoanalyst who is very difficult to grasp, and I had a dream that I saw him on a bus and he offered me a cucumber sandwich and it was deeply, deeply erotic for no obvious reason, and I thought that’s too good! It’s perfect psychoanalytic nonsense.

“Lacan talks all about the discourse of the master and the idea that we all have this impulse to project this idea that somebody has the answer, somebody knows. And of course he had become that in my mind, because he’s so ungraspable that he became an erotic master on a bus…So there we go. And the guitar solo in that one’s amazing.”

Released July 30th, 2021

With a slight Marc Bolan wail and brazen buoyancy to boot, it’s little surprise that the first album of Leeds-via-York four-piece band Perspex have eschewed the angst of their peers for a foundation of palatial, 80’s Glam. Prior to their imminent ‘Whip the North’ tour with The Black Lagoons, Perspex’s singer and guitarist Michael Cable spoke about epiphanies and recording their eclectic debut.

Formed from another band, which we were in when we were really quite young – from the ages of about 17 or 18 – and so we stopped doing that and formed Perspex. We all met in York, from being in college, I’m from Leeds but I moved to York at that time, it’s a pretty standard, boring story. Though I met our bassist Ollie through joinmyband.com which is a pretty archaic way of meeting someone…I’d love to pretend there’s a meaning behind the band name but there isn’t, it makes me laugh; it suits our sense of humour having a plastic name when plastic is evil now! Obviously, I want to see the world burn, I’m against recycling, I litter; we are the first band to fully go against climate change! Not really, before I was in an actual band, I used to make up imaginary bands and write albums and songs, and I think one of them was called ‘Perspex.’

before Covid we were getting a bit of momentum and getting used to doing gigs, and then when lockdown hit it forced us to look around at what we were doing. I had a complete change of heart about what we were doing, maybe the word ‘epiphany’ is too much, but I was floating round the room going “no more Post-Punk!” and started writing different songs. That was probably the best thing that happened that year.

This year, we went into the studio and recorded an album, hopefully we’ll get it out within the year as I don’t want to sit on it. Otherwise, it becomes stale and then you’re not excited about it and you can’t push it in the same way! ‘Soft/Double Recovery’ was recorded the week before lockdown, we’d gone into the studio to record what we thought would be an album, which was great as we had all these songs ready to release as singles in quick succession over lockdown. It was a funny week, we learnt from that what not to do; we went into the studio and got pissed every day and came out with half an album.

i want us to be one of those bands that just puts out albums all the time and function as artists away from the hype, not quite like King Gizzard but maybe like The Jonestown Massacre. I’m determined to avoid the hype thing we have in this country; it ruins bands. It lumps bands who could be quite different and eclectic into one big collection of dross, when actually there’s lots of good stuff around, it’s just the way it’s marketed. I feel that in America they do it better; bands have their own identity and are releasing music as artists rather than as a low-level celebrity.

Post-punk risers Regressive Left have shared their new single ‘Cream Militia’. A sonic collision sounding like ESG at their most unsettling and Talking Heads at their most cavorting, Regressive Left’s unfurls at a dizzying pace. Agitated electronic chatter, “Does blood run thicker than an IV drip?” questions singer Simon Tyrie in a baritone observation of neoliberalism and greed, One chorus of ghostly vocals from drummer Georgia Hardy and a frustrated guitar solo from Will Crosby and the abrupt hit has been taken. With a reception as instantaneous as the song itself, and half an album written and recorded, Regressive Left have come a long way since the trio met playing in teenage bands in Bedford.

The band have set out their stall across a short burst of singles, matching wonky electronics to spider-like threads of guitar music. It’s an intriguing formula, one that is playfully supervise, while recalling everyone from Delia Derbyshire to Young Marble Giants.

Following previous releases ‘Eternal Returns’ and “Take The Hit”, art-funk trio Regressive Left have returned with their brand new single ‘Cream Militia’.

A dazzling new dance-rock newbie, ‘Cream Militia’ was self-produced and self-recorded by the band in an outhouse near Stevenage. Out now, new single ‘Cream Militia’ opens with analogue synths, before settling into this kind of home-spun LCD Soundsystem groove.

Self-produced and self-produced at an outhouse near Stevenage, ‘Dream Militia’ comes as the band prepare for a flurry of live shows.

Filmed and recorded by Dante Traynor and Gamaliel Traynor at Sweat Studio. Mixed by Dante Traynor and Gamaliel Traynor and Regressive Left.

Regressive Left (Georgia, Simon and Will), Luton and Bedfordshire

“Group Therapy Vol. 2″ is a collection of demos, remixes, covers & collaborations from some of the most exciting artists around.
Profits raised from the sale of this compilation will be split between Black Minds Matter UK & Help Musicians, the charity behind Music Minds Matter.

Group Therapy is a London based collective working with the aim of bringing previously unheard music from a range of incredible talent to your homes during lock down and beyond whilst raising money for charity.

Thank you to Jamal & Georgia at Route, to Harriet & to every artist who generously donated their wonderful music and time to help put this album together.
Thank you to Black Minds Matter UK and Help Musicians for raising awareness & funds to support those struggling with poor mental health. Now more than ever we need to be supporting initiatives that allow people to access support, and are opening up conversations about mental health. Both these organisations offer invaluable and accessible services, as well as education around the topic. We saw when reaching out to artists for this compilation that so many had their own stories and experiences with mental health, it’s become so clear that this is something that so many people in the UK live with. Saying this, we look to the future and see a much brighter one, where there are open, honest conversations about mental health and those who are suffering can use a wealth of resources to get support catered for their needs and individual experience.

Mental Health is vast and complex, poor mental health affects so many of us and we want to take this time to say you are not alone. Below are a number of support lines and resources to use if you are or someone you know is struggling.

Stay safe out there,

Tash & Ella x

Released April 2nd, 2021

Australian Revesby’s beloved rockers Pist Idiots will unleash their debut album, “Idiocracy”, on Friday, September 10th. Pist Idiots is a band on an impressive trajectory. Dishing up a refreshingly unpretentious flavour of punk rock forged in the pubs across Australia, their melodies get into your head and take up residence for the long term.  Their song “Juliette”, which appears on their forthcoming debut album Idiocracy, is the embodiment of the Pist Idiots style: a tune that effortlessly swaggers its way into your heart and one that you’ll be singing along to before you know it. 

Thus far, The Pisties have dropped two scorcher tracks from the album, the swoon-inducing ‘Juliette’ and ‘She Yells Jack’.

The quartet, populated by the monosyllabic monikers of Jack (lead vocals), John (drums), Joe (guitar) and Thom (bass), play the songs with energy, filling the space with melodic bass lines, rock-solid grooves, and too many melodic hooks to count.  Frontman Jack described Juliette as “… a classic love song. It came from the chords, and the chords pretty much wrote the rest of the song, because the chords sound like a love song.”

“’She Yells Jack’ is a fun song compiled of a couple of anecdotes,” the band said in a statement. “The song’s intentions are to be a little bit fun and cheeky.”

The song is everything we have come to know and love about a Pist Idiots track, as it’s a laconic anthem filled with their uniquely Aussie charm.

The “Idiocracy” mega bundle includes a signed limited edition black vinyl, album tee, heart socks, heart keyring, punching tote, sticker sheet, and a “stop mining” bumper sticker — if you needed that final push to remove the fading frangipani sticker you’ve let occupy precious real estate on your Honda Jazz, take this as a sign

With a sticker that proclaims “the reigning master of cyberpunk guides us on a dystopian odyssey through the underbelly of hedonism, addiction and madness”, it’s safe to say I was not expecting sweetness and light from this record. Nor was I expecting the punishing, uptempo synthwave style that the French producer had a hand in popularising and has since somewhat distanced himself from. But I was not prepared for the slow, sluggish beats and ultra-detuned vocals that oozed from my speakers.

At the risk of stating the obvious, played at the correct speed, it’s a whole lot better, mixing Perturbator’s trademark soundscapes with post-punk influences – think John Carpenter meets Siouxsie and the Banshees.

Even with James leaving his more traditional sound from his first several albums he still manages to make a great album. Love the guitar work and percussion on this. Great mix of vocals and synths

The highly-awaited fifth album from the master of cyberpunk: Perturbator. “Lustful Sacraments” Blood Music.

Released May 28th, 2021

All tracks written, performed and produced by James Perturbator Kent.

Wunderhorse is the alias of British musician Jacob Slater, who previously fronted London-based band The Dead Pretties and will soon be portraying Sex Pistols drummer, Paul Cook, in a biopic series directed by Danny Boyle. The singer-songwriter takes inspiration from Tom Waits, Adrianne Lenker, and Fontaines D.C.

The first debut single ‘Teal’ is a mesmerising slice of arthouse indie-rock and a glimpse at what he’s got in store for the future. Speaking on the solo song, the singer explains that the track was about a person that was very close to him who went through a rough patch in the past. A rare, raw and assured talent, ‘Teal’ is a fever-dream of a number, tumbling downhill with the brakes off.

I think we live in an age where authenticity and raw, naked honesty has become quite a rare thing.” – Jacob Slater

Available on 7-Inch Vinyl from the YALA! Records Store.