The Fat Angel Sings

And a strange thing to be releasing and promoting personal music while there is so much suffering & coarse hatred combing through the world right now…The Fife-born artist Jacob Alon has only released two songs but is already drawing comparisons to Jeff Buckley thanks to their extraordinary voice. If you haven’t heard of Jacob yet, it won’t be long.

Alon says Pals have kindly reminded me that there is maybe a deeper importance to bringing art into the world against these tides of cruelty. I’m trying to remember and keep that in focus. And fuck it, it’s not the most important or vital thing right now, but if it brings a moment of consolation from the fascism then that’s more than I could ask for.

How cool that it will be yours as much this time next week. Thank you for being here with me up until this special moment – I feel like the luckiest person in the world to have yis with me, Alon signed with a manager and then to Island Records, who paired them with producer Dan Carey – which might seem an odd choice to those who know the Speedy Wunderground co-founder for his work with scowling rockers like Fontaines DC and Black Midi. But it’s a stroke of genius to those familiar with Carey’s earlier work,

Jacob Alon releases his debut Dan Carey produced album on Island. Alon crashed with Carey while working on new music, of which an overarching theme will be limerence: the state of intense romantic longing for someone who often does not reciprocate. Those who have experienced limerence will know it can lead to obsessive thoughts – an infatuation that overlooks any flaws or, indeed, turns those flaws into an attractive trait. 

The fragile melody of “Confession”, meanwhile, captures the crushing confusion Jacob felt when an ex-boyfriend denied their relationship had ever happened. “It was such a deep rejection,” they recall. “I was so confused that [they] couldn’t come to terms with how they’d felt once, under all the layers of tragic, tragic shame

It was only last November when Alon performed their debut single “Fairy in a Bottle” on Later… With Jools Holland, barefoot and adorned in golden feathers and a scarlet cowl. With their tumble of dark curls and glitter-dusted cheeks, Alon brought to mind some fantastical creature of Arthur Rackham’s imagination. When they sing, it’s with a voice redolent of Jeff Buckley or Big Thief’s Adrianne Lenker, soaring from a chest-deep croon into a piercing cry.

Jacob Alon performs “Fairy in a Bottle” on Later… with Jools Holland. As a writer, Jacob can be equally tender and ruthless. On “Liquid Gold 25″, external named after a brand of poppers, they tackle the soul-crushing experience of queer dating apps like Grindr, singing: “This is where love comes to die.”

I am so indescribably proud of this record. And so grateful to have had the support and space to make it.

As a writer, Alon is fearless – their songs like sacred hymns, washing away shame and self-loathing by confronting those feelings head on. As a singer, they are extraordinary – in possession of one of the most remarkable voices of their generation.

Working Men’s Club frontman reveals his softer side on his folky solo debut, When we last heard from Manchester, UK’s Sydney Minsky Sargeant, he was leading clenched-jaw raver group Working Men’s Club. He still is, but he’s just released his first solo album, which showcases a gentler side. Not unlike the 2023 solo debut from Fontaines D.C.’s frontman Grian Chatten, “Lunga” reveals a folky, melodic streak you might not have expected.

“I’m trying to wear my heart on my sleeve a bit more; these songs come from a search for meaning and understanding,” he says. “I’m always trying to unpick myself and those around me, the ones I love and loved the most. There were thoughts and feelings that these songs helped me express, address, and make sense of.”

“Lunga” is the sound of a door opening onto a pasture, fog rolling over grass as the sun rises in the distance; it is the sound of renewal, and a sense of optimism. These are glistering melodic songs, an antidote to the chaos and abrasive atmosphere of touring, and a beautiful side-step from the music that Sydney Minsky Sargeant has been recording as Working Men’s Club for the past seven years. The 12 songs that mark “Lunga” were written over a period of years, beginning when Minsky Sargeant was a teenager growing up in Todmorden and following a chronology to the present day. It’s a deeply personal insight and “Lunga” feels like a haven, a world we can all step into.

Made with producer Alex Greaves (Mandy Indiana, bdrmm), “Lunga” is largely acoustic, but layers of sound design add atmosphere to standouts like “A Million Flowers” and “Hazel Eyes.” He does get a little rowdy, too, on the bluesy “Chicken Wire” and the harmony-laden “Summer Song.” I hope we get more Working Men’s Club records—but more like this, too.

released September 12th, 2025

Guerilla Toss were already weird but Stephen Malkmus and Trey Anastasio help Guerilla Toss get even stranger. Noted noodlers Stephen Malkmus and Trey Anastasio seemed destined to work together, but who’d have thought it would be on a single by Brooklyn DIY eccentrics Guerilla Toss? The Pavement frontman produced “You’re Weird Now“, the band’s second album for Sub Pop, which was recorded at the Phish frontman’s Vermont studio…

When NYC-based experimental dance punks Guerilla Toss, active since time immemorial aka 2011, were in Vermont recording their new full-length album “You’re Weird Now”, frontwoman Kassie Carlson would prepare what she called ‘punk lunch’: a communal meal made by raiding the studio fridge for whatever was left and assembling a sandwich from the most random ingredients imaginable.

Regularly joining punk lunch were two legends from their own corners of the weird music world: Stephen Malkmus (Pavement, The Jicks) and Trey Anastasio, Phish guitarist and owner of The Barn; the recording studio where Guerilla Toss were making “You’re Weird Now“, with Malkmus in the producer’s seat

The song in question, “Red Flag to Angry Bull,” is a pretty perfect place for them to link up, actually. The trippy opening riff could go anywhere, but when the rhythm section kicks in with a distinctly loping ’90s-style beat, we’ve got a song that would fit right in alongside Spacehog, Bran Van 3000, Len, and yes, Pavement.

Otherwise, Malkmus doesn’t seem to have altered Guerilla Toss’ already eclectic sound, which has always been some sort of manic hippie electro-punk new wave sugar-coated breakfast cereal. The ’90s groups they most resemble are the genre-blender acts that sprung up in the wake of the Chili Peppers, like Whale or Urban Dance Squad. it’s fun. What is weird, anyway?

The Chameleons return with their first album in 24 years, sporting a rock renovation to their signature sound, The Post-punk greats The Chameleons never seemed to catch a break. They signed to major label Epic in the early ’80s and looked like real contenders to be the next U2, only to get dropped after their first single. Soon after, Big Country and Echo & The Bunnymen eclipsed them.

After two great albums on tiny indie Statik Records, they signed to Geffen for their fantastic third record, 1986’s “Strange Times”, only to break up the next year following their manager’s death. The original line-up reformed in 2000, released the pretty good “Why Call It Anything” in 2001, and did some incredible tours , but old wounds never healed and they split again in 2003. Frontman/bassist Mark Burgess carried on as ChameleonsVOX, sometimes with powerhouse original drummer John Lever, who sadly died in 2017.

Burgess put together a new Chameleons line up in 2021 with original guitarist Reg Smithies (a rift remains with other guitarist Dave Fielding), plus Stephen Rice on guitar and Todd Demma on drums.

An album has been promised ever since, and here it is: “Arctic Moon”, their first in 24 years. Burgess says it signals a departure from the sound of earlier albums, and represents “a new chapter.” It’s not that much of a departure, though without Fielding distinctive, sharp rhythm guitar we don’t quite get that classic Chameleons sound. I appreciate that they didn’t just get someone to imitate his style, which they easily could have done.

The arrangements lean more “rock” this time, including an arm-swaying piano ballad (“Free of It”) complete with a traditional soaring guitar solo. Still, the melodies are distinctly Burgess’, as are his full-throated vocals. There are a few new classics for the canon: ripping opener “Where Are You?,” the ascending “Lady Strange” with its very Chameleons chorus and ringing guitars, and closer “Savoirs Are a Dangerous Thing,” which proves Burgess’ lyrical skills remain sharp. And like their other albums, “Arctic Moon” comes wrapped in Smithies’ distinctive, surreal cover art. It’s a worthy addition to The Chameleons’ legacy.

Pink Floyd‘s “Wish You Were Here” was released 50 years ago (September 12th, 1975) and to celebrate they’re releasing a Deluxe Edition reissue on December 12th via Sony Music. It will be available as a 2-CD set, a three-LP set, a Blu-ray, a digital edition, and a Super Deluxe Edition box set.

Half a century to the day since its original 1975 release, Pink Floyd have announced the 50th anniversary edition of their era-defining album “Wish You Were Here“. Out December 12th via Sony Music, “Wish You Were Here 50” gives fans an exciting new perspective into one of Pink Floyd’s most iconic and best-loved records. The 50th anniversary edition features multiple discs of rarities – at the core of this special collection are six previously unreleased alternate versions and demos presenting Pink Floyd’s eighth studio album in a brand new way that demands repeat listening.

“Wish You Were Here 50” will be released in multiple formats including 3LP, 2CD, Blu-ray, digital and a Deluxe Box Set.  The digital release includes the original 1975 album, featuring a new Dolby Atmos mix by James Guthrie, whose work with Pink Floyd dates back to 1979’s “The Wall”. It also includes 25 bonus tracks made up of nine studio rarities, and 16 live recordings captured by the renowned bootlegger Mike Millard at Pink Floyd’s Los Angeles Sports Arena concert on April 26th 1975, now receiving its first official release.

The live audio has been meticulously restored and remastered by Steven Wilson. The Blu-ray edition also gives fans the chance to see three concert screen films from the band’s 1975 tour, plus a Storm Thorgerson short film.

The 3LP and 2CD formats include the original album and the nine studio bonus tracks. The Deluxe Box Set includes all 2CD, 3LP (on exclusive clear vinyl) and Blu-Ray material, plus a fourth clear vinyl LP, “Live At Wembley 1974”, a replica Japanese 7” Single of “Have A Cigar” b/w “Welcome To The Machine“, a hardcover book including unseen photographs, a comic book tour programme and Knebworth concert poster. Exclusive 50th Anniversary Merchandise along with Limited Edition product releases will also be available at PinkFloyd.com.

To celebrate the album announcement, a previously unheard early demo recording of ‘Welcome to the Machine’ originally titled ‘The Machine Song’ is also released . Shorter in length than the epic original, ‘The Machine Song (Demo #2, Revisited)’ gives fans an exciting preview of what to expect from “Wish You Were Here 50”. Other studio rarities to be released include ‘The Machine Song (Roger’s demo),’ the first home demo of the song that Roger Waters originally brought to the band, a previously unheard instrumental mix of the track ‘Wish You Were Here’ showcasing David Gilmour’s pedal steel guitar, and for the first time, a complete ‘Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Pts. 1-9)’ that joins together the two halves of the song, newly mixed in stereo by James Guthrie.

“Wish You Were Here” has been a mainstay on all-time greatest albums lists for decades. The multi-Platinum-selling #1 hit record was Pink Floyd’s first to reach the top of the charts on both sides of the Atlantic, becoming the band’s fastest selling album. In 1973, “The Dark Side of the Moon” had taken Pink Floyd from a hugely successful breakout British band to one of the biggest rock groups on the planet. “Wish You Were Here” was the band’s powerful response to their newfound global fame.

Featuring the multi-part eulogy to Syd Barrett ‘Shine On You Crazy Diamond’, the hypnotic ‘Welcome To The Machine’, the scathing ‘Have a Cigar’ with its immortal line “Oh by the way, which one’s Pink?” famously sung not by Waters or Gilmour, but by non band-member Roy Harper, and the essential title track, “Wish You Were Here” is undoubtedly one of the most important album releases in the history of popular music.

The record’s themes of absence, isolation, transience, and comment on the insincerity of the music business are embodied in the iconic album artwork. The visual puns developed by Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey ‘Po’ Powell at Hipgnosis remain instantly recognisable visual statements today.

Remembering that time, Aubrey ‘Po’ Powell said:

“In the 1970s, album covers were equally as important as the music, because the cover helped to sell the record. Record stores would carry 10,000 different images in album sleeves, so what we were doing had to look different and stand out amongst the crowd.

I remember turning around to Storm and saying, how are we going to set a man on fire? Because there was no digital way of doing it in those days. He said, Po, you’re just going to have to do it for real. That was it.

One has to remember that Pink Floyd were the only band on EMI and Capitol Records who had the rights to the creative – in terms of album cover – besides the Beatles. That’s why we were allowed to do what we wanted. It was brilliant. Just the same way that Pink Floyd were a very inventive band at the time, so were Hipgnosis. We were determined to keep that abstract, enigmatic image alive and hence, we were able to do that for Pink Floyd.”

In 2025 the ardent support and fascination surrounding Pink Floyd’s music remains. The newly restored version of their ground breaking 1972 film Pink Floyd at Pompeii – MCMLXXII stormed box offices around the world, with the live album debuting at #1 on the UK Albums Chart, marking the band’s first UK chart-topper in eleven years and the seventh in their career. The film was praised by critics and audiences the world over, with The Guardian describing it as a “mesmerically peculiar portrait of a band on cusp of greatness.”

50 years since its release, “Wish You Were Here” sounds as resonant and vital as ever, and in reaching this milestone deserves to be celebrated anew. This special anniversary edition allows fans, for the first time, to delve deeper into a pivotal moment in Pink Floyd’s history.

The Super Deluxe box set contains the LPs, CDs and Blu-ray plus a fourth clear vinyl LP featuring their live performance from Wembley Stadium in 1974, a replica of the Japanese 7″ of “Have a Cigar,” a hardcover book with unseen photographs, a comic book tour program, and a Knebworth poster.

Having recently celebrated the 15th anniversary of their acclaimed debut album “Boots Met My Face”, Admiral Fallow return in 2025 with ‘Avalanche’, a brand new single and their first new music since 2021’s “The Idea Of You” LP.

This release was the band’s first venture on the Chemikal Underground label (Arab Strap, The Delgados, Phantom Band) and that relationship continues with ‘Avalanche’, the band’s tender new single which subtly kickstarts a brand new chapter for the Scottish five-piece. Where “The Idea of You” sang of friendship and carefree adventure, ‘Avalanche’ finds the band in a new territory – the song written by Louis Abbott following the birth of his daughter in 2022. “It tells the story of the day she joined us in the world,” Abbott says of the new single. “I wrote the words very early one morning in Spring as she lay sleeping next to me on the couch.” An elegant undertaking, sonically ‘Avalanche’ is defined by the rise and fall in temperature that swings back-and-forth throughout. Opening in gentle light, Abbott’s plaintive voice sings quiet details of his life as a new father, before the whole thing bursts into something bolder, the full band swelling into life and crafting something altogether more euphoric.

That push-and-pull, of fiery passion and tender restraint, has been a key aspect of the band’s sound, honed over the course of four full-length albums that have seen them championed by the likes of MOJO, Uncut, The Skinny, and more. On ‘Avalanche’, Admiral Fallow’s grasp of both colourful expression and muted delicacy feels as quietly fascinating as ever before.

 “Avalanche” – out today via Chemikal Underground.

At a time when the Rolling Stones were forbidden from singing about spending the night together on national television, the Velvet Underground was crafting songs about such taboo subjects as illegal drugs, sadomasochism and black angels of death. And that was just on their debut. Throughout their first three albums, VU continued to challenge societal norms through their lyrics and rock music itself through their unorthodox instrumental approach. Their sound was theirs alone, which proved to be an obstacle when it came to sales. The majority of popular music fans simply weren’t ready for the bleakly beautiful vision of VU. But for those who were, this LP trilogy was a clarion call, drawing together the outsiders who felt disenfranchised and unfulfilled by Top Forty fodder. Like time release capsules, these LPs became catalysts for change as they spread from city to city and were consumed by adventurous listeners.

Bands formed, scenes coalesced and new musical paths emerged which would eventually branch off into punk, alternative, indie and more. Take a sample from any underground music genre and you’re likely to find VU DNA pulsing through its core.

As the alternative scene grew, so did the legend of the Velvet Underground. However, with relatively few of the original LPs in circulation, finding them could be difficult and, as a result, more people had probably heard OF the band than had actually heard their music. The emergence of compact discs in the mid-80s, along with a groundswell of VU-influenced bands singing their praises, finally got their music into wider distribution.

This beautiful, deluxe boxed set gathers the rare mono versions of the band’s first three studio albums along with the superior mono version of Nico’s Chelsea Girl and a definitive edition of the band’s unfinished fourth album! Mastered by Bob Irwin, cut by Kevin Gray, and pressed at RTI, this collection is an essential purchase for the discerning vinyl devotee. For all tomorrow’s parties, this is your soundtrack.

Includes:
The Velvet Underground & Nico
White Light/White Heat
The Velvet Underground
1969
Nico: Chelsea Girl

Since the release of their 2023 debut LP ‘Good Time’, Austin TX outfit DAIISTAR have spent the last couple of years touring relentlessly and spreading their baggy noise-pop good times across North America and Europe – be that headline runs of their own or tours supporting the likes of Brian Jonestown Massacre, The Black Angels, The Dandy Warhols and LA Witch. When over in the UK in September 2024, they holed up at London’s Lightship 95 studio – a floating studio on the Thames – to record this “Fuzz Club Session” LP, which is set to be released digitally and on limited coloured vinyl on September 26th, alongside a series of videos from the session.

DAIISTAR’s ten-track “Fuzz Club Session” LP – number 21 in the series – perfectly captures the band’s road-hardened blend of shoegaze, neo-psychedelia and Madchester-inspired grooves, featuring standout tracks from ‘Good Time’ such as ‘Star Starter’, ‘Tracemaker’, ‘Parallel’ and ‘Repeater’. It also includes their euphoric single ‘Clear’, a ‘Good Time’ outtake released on a limited 7″ last year, as well as their cover of Primal Scream’s ‘Burning Wheel’ which is now available on vinyl for the very first time. 

‘Star Starter’ is taken from DAIISTAR’s upcoming Fuzz Club “Session” LP released September 26th 2025.

Wunderhorse frontman Jacob Slater’s Wi-Fi is spotty — “Fucking nightmare on my end,” he says. He’s taking this Zoom call from the south of Morocco, where he’s spent the last four Januarys “surfing and doing nothing else.” The 28-year-old U.K. musician has grown accustomed to this kind of reset every so often. After his rambunctious but short-lived stint as the frontman of the post-punk trio Dead Pretties came to an end in 2017, he took refuge on the coast of Cornwall, picking up odd jobs, working as a surfing instructor, and taking a part as the Sex Pistols’ drummer in the TV miniseries Pistol. 

“It was kind of a baptism by fire,” he recalls of that time. “[Dead Pretties] formed when I was 17 and by the time I was 20, it was all kind of gone. It was very quick.” He remembers the following years as quiet and intense, during which he came down from some “bad habits” he’d developed. “I think it’s been published someplace, ‘Ah, he went teetotal, he went sober.’ It’s not quite the case, but I just didn’t indulge myself in those ways. It was getting in the way of my own life and definitely in the way of creativity.” 

Wunderhorse began in 2020 as a solo project. It quickly became clear that the vision was too big to remain a one-man endeavor, and Slater recruited old friends Harry Fowler (guitar), Jamie Staples (drums), and Pete Woodin (bass). Wunderhorse released their excellent debut, “Cub“, two years later, and their second album, “Midas”, this past summer, both garnering glowing critical acclaim. With their dark, distinctive melodies and rupturing guitar riffs, these albums are the sound of seasoned rockers who are skilled at evoking the Nineties indie-guitar recombination of the moment.  

Naturally, comparisons run rampant. Rolling Stone’s Jon Dolan spoke for many when he described “Midas‘ title track as “Nirvana’s In Utero crossed with Radiohead’s The Bends.” A quick scan of the r/wunderhorse Subreddit finds plenty of similarly bold sentiments: “If this band was Radiohead, “Midas” would be their Pablo Honey.” “‘Rain’ is so good. This is our “Nevermind.”  

Slater’s thoughts on this high praise? “I’ll take that,” he says. “The aim is to find a voice that’s totally ours, but when you first come out, people sort of gauge what you’re like. So I don’t take any sort of offense to that, especially not when it’s bands of the caliber of Nirvana and Radiohead.” 

“Just when you think you’ve heard just about all the retro-Nineties indie-guitar recombinations you need in one lifetime, these U.K. malcontents come up with one so ingenious, and yet so palm-smacking-forehead obvious it seems criminal no one’s thought of it before. To wit: “Midas”, the title track from their great second album, sounds like Nirvana’s In Utero crossed with Radiohead’s The Bends. And it bangs like Hades. That’s it. That’s there tro-Nineties indie-guitar recombination.Sometimes it really is the simple things.” – Rolling Stone

Slater says he was brought up by the “great songwriters.” His dad played Joni Mitchell and Bob Dylan around the house, and he remembers writing his first song when he was 12 years old. He describes the experience as “magic.” 

“It was like something had come from somewhere more ethereal,” he says. “It was the first time I felt touched by that, and I haven’t really looked back since. It’s such a unique feeling. I just wanted to make it my life.” 

He wrote the tracks from “Cub” and “Midas” over a long span of time, with the oldest songs going back to his late teens. “It’s kind of weird playing that stuff now,” he says. “It feels like somebody else wrote that. I don’t really know who that was now.” But that’s OK, he adds: “I think the fact that certain songs make you a little bit uncomfortable, that’s part of the vulnerability that comes along with being an artist as you change and move. Not every skin you wore is going to fit anymore, and you just have to find a way to live with that.” 

These days, Slater is making more room for collaboration. “I’m still writing the bones of everything, but the sound of the band now is much bigger than just me,” he says. For “Midas”, the band tapped Grammy-winning producer Craig Silvey (whose credits include mixing Portishead’s Third and the National’s Trouble Will Find Me).  

“He totally changed the way we even listen to music,” Slater says. “We’d sit down every day and listen to songs that we’d known our whole lives and he’d point things out and say, ‘Isn’t it interesting they’ve done that?’ or ‘They’re using the room mics there, and then they’re taking this out and they’re letting this bleed.’ You could visualize this song that was so familiar, whether it’s Neil Young or a Stones track or something, and suddenly I could see it in a whole different dimension in my head.” 

The band is spending much of 2025 on the road, bringing songs from “Midas” to life for the first time. “I’m still forming a relationship with lots of those songs in terms of a life context. All I want to play now is just that record,” Slater says. 

Wunderhorse have taken pages out of the books of acts like Sam Fender and Fontaines D.C., both of whom they’ve supported on tour. “All those guys have reminded me, like, ‘You’re human too and you and the band are at the centre of this thing,” he continues. “You have autonomy as a person and as an artist to be able to make decisions and make your own calls and respect yourself.’” 

As for what’s next for Wunderhorse? “Just keep trying to put one foot in front of the other, really,” says Slater. “I’m definitely always writing stuff. Sometimes I go, ‘Oh, maybe that’s for Wunderhorse, maybe it’s something to keep in the vaults.’ I think there’s some things cooking.”

Radiohead have just announced “Hail to the Thief Live Recordings 2003-2009” – a new live album that allowed the band to re-evaluate their relationship with their 6th studio album, “Hail To The Thief“.

This is available to pre-order now as a one-off pressing, set for release on 31st October. It draws together performances of songs in London, Amsterdam, Buenos Aires, and Dublin between 2003 and 2009. The album was mixed by Ben Baptie and mastered by Matt Colton.

Speaking about the new live album, Thom Yorke says: “In the process of thinking of how to build arrangements for the Shakespeare Hamlet/Hail To The Thief theatre production, I asked to hear some archive live recordings of the songs. I was shocked by the kind of energy behind the way we played. I barely recognised us, and it helped me find a way forward. We decided to get these live recordings mixed and released (it would have been insane to keep them for ourselves). It has all been a very cathartic process. We very much hope you enjoy them.”

Thom Yorke recently co-created the critically acclaimed Hamlet Hail to the Thief, a frenetic adaptation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, set to a deconstructed score of reworked songs from 2003’s “Hail to the Thief”. Rolling Stone UK said of the new production, “The biggest testament to Yorke and his co-writers that these worlds collide so seamlessly, as if they were always meant to be together.”