New Music: Once Upon A Time

           

The Dutch darkwave legends Clan Of Xymox have unveiled the video for their latest single "Once Upon A Time". The song is taken from their 18th studio album ‘Exodus,’ which came out in June last year via Metropolis Records. The record feels as if songwriter Ronny Moorings has taken stock of the times in which we live, and channels all his grief, his anger and his world-weariness into a beautifully dark, danceable work of art, the video is accompanied by a series of super 8 footage yuxtaposed with footage by the band itself.

New Music: Afterimage

           

Justice have released a remix EP for their song "Afterimage". The duo have also shared the official video for the song, which stars Justice and featured vocalist RIMON. "Afterimage" originally appeared on Justice's 2024 album "Hyperdrama". Speaking about the track's guest vocalist, Ed Banger Records boss Pedro Winter said in a statement: "I discovered RIMON a couple of years ago on COLORS where she performed her song 'Build Me A House’ and her voice and flow instantly caught my attention. Justice were in the studio looking for a singer to take an instrumental track to another level, so they invited RIMON to their Paris studio for a session. Sometimes magic happens at first sight. The video was shot by Pascal Teixeira

New Music: Find Xanadu

            

Alison Goldfrapp has announced her second solo album, Flux, which will be out August 15 via her just-launched A.G. Records. The album was produced by Stefan Storm (Sound Of Arrows) and Richard X (Annie, Kelis). Alison says of the launch of her label: While being a solo independent artist comes with its own set of challenges, it truly suits me and has given myself and the people I work with a sense of empowerment and invigoration for this album. The first single from the album is "Find Xanadu," a swirling slice of arpeggiated electro-disco worthy of Giorgio Moroder with a nice visualizer.

New Music: Melodie Is A Wound

            

Stereolab are back, and this time French than ever, the French indie-pop experimentalists recently announced their first new album in 15 years, Instant Holograms On Metal Film out next 23 May via Duophonic UHF Disks/Warp, now they're shared a new single called “Melodie Is A Wound.” now this takes its time, a breezy synth tune that spotlights Laetitia Sadier's pristine vocals before evolving into a spacey, instrumental acid jazz jam over seven and a half minutes.

Albums: Constellations For The Lonely

Released last 28 February 2025 "Constellations For The Lonely" is the sixth studio album by British band Doves, described by the band as a "dark" album, guitarist/singer Jez Williams said in an interview with NME, and according to medias it's an impeccable production and propulsive moments led by Jimi Goodwin brighten the Manchester trio’s somewhat lethargic latest 

 

The album was released following a troubled period in the band's history, as singer/bassist Jimi Goodwin sought treatment for mental health and substance abuse issues following the release of previous album The Universal Want; this resulted in his being sidelined from touring for Constellations and then prompted the band to cancel all remaining promotion for the album whilst Goodwin sought treatment.

 

The album opener and first single "Renegade" being the first thing the band recorded together for the album, it's got a Blade Runner-esque theme. It was inspired by the Roy Batty speech of how nothing lasts forever, you know, 'I've seen things you people wouldn't believe.' Jez Williams furthered, "This is quite a dark album. We started to write it after we cancelled The Universal Want tour, so some of the songs reflect that. We wanted 'Renegade' to start with this apocalyptic atmosphere. That's what felt right for us after such a difficult time. Jimi was with us, but we were trying to make sense of all the mess – and that fed into the album."

 

Indeed Renegade and Saint Teresa are the most typically Doves moments on the album, impeccably constructed but a bit gloomy.  The album features vocals from all three members throughout, with the Williams brothers leading second single "Cold Dreaming". "Cold Dreaming" and "Last Year's Man" feature drummer Andy Williams singing lead vocals for the first time since "Shadows of Salford" from Some Cities, actually "Last Year's Man is one of the highlights of the record an definitely should be a single at least for me, a reflection from Andy's growing children, another good one is "Strange Weather" which travels quite a distance, starting as a detached ballad before a synth line appears from nowhere as wobbly, compressed drums crash in, turning things cinematic and nightmarish, with echoes of 70s prog. "A Drop In The Ocean" pays a timely homage to The Cure with its spiky bassline.

 

The album has received a critical praise so far, stating Constellations, with its songs of disconnection and reconnection in a volatile world, is an emotionally powerful listen that packs an authentic punch matched by its widescreen sonic beauty. Despite many obstacles thrown in their path, Doves seem to never fail to impress when they return and this album is no exception.

 

Constellations For The Lonely Track List: 

 

1. Renegade

2. Cold Dreaming 

3. In The Butterfly House

4. Strange Weather

5. A Drop In The Ocean

6. Last Year's Man

7. Stupid Schenes

8. Saint Teresa

9. Orlando

10. Southern Bell

New Music: ICU2

            

During Coachella this month, TOPS debuted a new song called "ICU2"; now, the Montreal band have officially released it as a single, along with the news they've signed to Ghostly International label, "CU2" is a lust-filled, almost yacht-rock-sounding tune. Its colorful, lo-fi music video directed by Frankie Ray plays up that retro energy with lots of good green screen usage. No word yet on a new forthcoming album.

Primicia: Come Down

           

Corbin Beckner Smidzik, known mononymously as Corbin is an American Polish rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. The guy just released this new single "Come Down" a song about mourn and channeling into post-punk and new wave, the single is taken fromo Corbin's new album "Crisis Kid" the single is accompanied by a video directed by Hendrik Schneider.

New Music: The Hearth And Circle Round

            

The British experimental post-punk five-piece Squid released their new album, Cowards, in February via Warp. Now they have released a brand new single, "The Hearth and Circle Round Fire." About the track: vocalist and drummer Ollie Judge had this to say about the song in a press release: "The Hearth and Circle Round Fire" is a punky tune that came together quite easily but we felt dissatisfied with that ease and decided to record it as a 15 minute jam, rip it apart and tape it back together. Lyrically, it was inspired by the dystopian worlds of Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 and Kay Dick’s They, worlds which everyday people succumb to mass censorship and propaganda with only a small amount of people willing to fight against it.”

Albums : Critical Thinking

 

Released last 14 February 2025, "Critical Thinking" is the 15th., studio album by fantastic Welsh band Manic Street Preachers. The album was supported by four singles prior to its release, including "Decline and Fall". It was met with universal acclaim by music critics. The album features three tracks with bassist Nicky Wire on lead vocals, including the opening title track and "Hiding in Plain Sight", the band's first single which he sings.

 

The album's tracks are explicitly political, as Wire likes political discussion. He stated that the "left is really good at telling people off, which just makes everyone think: fuck off" and says he knew that Trump would win the US election: "It was so obvious to me. Politics is much more about mood and gesture than policy at the moment, and we live in an age of spectacle and eventisation".  The album cover picture was taken by Welsh documentary photographer David Hurn in the Painted Desert, Arizona while he was travelling to photograph Navajo Native Americans after receiving "a bi-centennial fellowship award by the American government". Hurn described the site of the photograph as "strange", and "as if someone drunk had been making a drawing on the road." Wire is a self-described "long-time admirer of Hurn". 

Title track Critical Thinking gets the album off to a flyer, as Nicky Wire takes a turn on vocals walking us through some of the gripes of modern life, the cynicism of the lyrics within this track were enough to make us laugh. Next up, Decline & Fall  opens with a piano intro before exploding into life. James Dean Bradfield gets back to vocal duties and his class is written all over this one, it could quickly become another of the Manics‘ anthemic tracks  and is sure to go down well on their upcoming tour.

Brushstrokes Of Reunion, another highly charged track as the vocals and bass work well together. This one is very pleasing on the ears, taking the listener back to the formation days of the band when they released songs such as Motorcycle Emptiness. The next two tracks are both standouts on the record, as Hiding In Plain Sight continues the traditional Manics sound, with Wire once again taking on the vocals with stunning backup from Lana McDonagh, while People Ruin Paintings has an infectious guitar riff that helps to make it the best song on Critical Thinking.

As we move towards the end of the album, Out Of Time Revival and Deleted Scenes are well worth a listen. Wire ends the album on vocals once again, sounding very much like a young Bernard Sumner from New Order fame. OneManMilitia is the perfect way to end the twelve-track album.

Nicky Wire stated that Critical Thinking is "a different kind of record" to previous Manics albums. Regarding the themes of the album includes themes of moral judgement, while Bradfield said the band had "no real mission statement", allowing for "a sense of freedom". 

 

The band further explained that "Dear Stephen" is inspired by the time in 1984 when the Smiths played Cardiff University. Wire's mum wrote to the group explaining that her teenage son was desperate to see the band but was too ill to attend. The Smiths wrote back, with Morrissey scribbling “get well soon Nick” on a postcard. "An almost spiritual antique" is how Wire describes the note, which he recently rediscovered. 

 

Critical Thinking received "universal acclaim" calling the album "a scream into the void – a reminder that nobody rants better than the Manics." Lyrically, it's almost easy to say this is the Manics' best work yet, and that's all made possible by the unrelenting energy of a voice that can't—and won't—settle for anything less than the raw truth.

 

Critical Thinking Track List: 

 

1. Critical Thinking

2. Decline And Fall

3. Brushstrokes Of Reunion

4. Hiding In Plain Sight

5. People Ruin Paintings

6. Dear Stephen

7. Being Baptised

8. My Brave Friend

9. Out Of Time Revival

10. Deleted Scenes

11. Late Days Peaks

12. One Man Militia

Albums: Cowards

 

Squid's third studio album "Cowards"  has met with critical acclaim by music critics.  it was recorded after the completion but before the release of the band's second album, O Monolith. It was inspired by traveling to different countries and reading books about the countries to create what lead singer and drummer Ollie Judge described as a "book of dark fairy tales." Some of these books included Agustina Bazterrica's Tender is the Flesh and Ryu Murakami's In the Miso Soup.

The lyrics touch on a variety of topics within the overall topic of "evil itself," with "Crispy Skin" being about cannibalism and "Blood on the Boulders" about the Manson murders. While Building 650 seemingly plays an homage to off-kilter Krautrock in an eerie all-string accompaniment marking an individuals' loneliness in visiting a country that is very different to their own. The folky double of Fieldworks is hauntingly beautiful while the self-titled seventh is a mourning trail of indie rock Showtime! deals up the psychedelic washboard while Blood on the Boulders is a foreboding lull into a dramatic conquest of noise rock that is a clear standout here.

For additional sounds, Squid called in on those most reliable. Danish experimental songsmith Clarissa Connelly weighed in, while Tony Njoku provided additional arrangements on piano. Rosa Brook threw her cents in from weird indie/punk group Pozi, percussion wizard and ethereal composer Zands Duggan also joins them but before too long we're met with the grandest of accompaniments. Ruisi Quartet perform their violin, viola and cello trio work throughout the record which no doubt projects it to greater levels.

Cowards has been described as both post-rock and art rock, with influences from a diverse set of other genres, including electronica, folk music, and psych rock. The album was seen as a continuation of the band's distancing from their earlier post-punk sound. 

The album has received "universal acclaim" due it might be Squid’s most actualized and in-depth venture yet."

Cowards Track List: 

 

1. Crispy Skin

2. Building 650

3. Blood On The Boulders

4. Fieldworks I

5. Fieldworks II

6. Cro-Magnon Man

7. Cowards

8. Showtime!

9. Well Met (Fingers Through The Fence)

Rocktrospectiva: The Emotional "Charmed Life" Turns 35

Released on 30 April 1990, "Charmed Life" was the fourth studio album by English rock musician Billy Idol, the album shows a more emotional side of Idol, but with a more organic and less technologically-dependent sound. It's primarily a hard rock album, but experiments with other genres, such as jazz on "Endless Sleep" and electro-blues on "Trouble With The Sweet Stuff." Accroding to Idol: "The album is about how great life is and how bad it is just to throw it away, which I almost did." 

The album spawned three singles "Cradle Of Love", "L.A. Woman" & "Prodigal Blues." Unlike Idol's previous three albums, Charmed Life did not feature guitarist Steve Stevens, and most of the guitar work was handled by Mark Younger-Smith instead. Idol finished sessions for the album on 5 February 1990. During the following morning, after picking up the final mixes from Conway Studios, he was seriously injured in a motorcycle accident.Indeed "Love Unchained" was inspired by a friend of Idol's who died in a motorcycle accident.

The whole album experience took two years to assemble, but when it was finally finished, disaster struck. Just hours after wrapping the sessions in February 1990, Idol took his motorcycle out for a ride in Hollywood and suffered a horrific crash which left him in hospital for months. The album was delayed and released on April 30, 1990, it was still primarily a hard rock album, but Idol was determined that it would have a more organic feel than the often technologically-dependent Whiplash Smile.

According to Idol: "The whole idea of (Whiplash Smile) was to get more of an emotional side of me, not just the frustrated or angry side, but it was hard to do because of all the technology," Idol told the Los Angeles Times in 2015. "Instead of it being the freewheeling music of Rebel Yell, it was turning into something very stagnant or standard. So I wanted to get back on this album and tour to more of a real feel – real musicians playing the songs."

Idol achieved that aim with Charmed Life, as the record’s widescreen rock anthems such as "The Loveless" and "Love Unchained" were the result of the singer and his band performing live in the studio. Yet while these raw, anthemic songs were quintessential Idol, he also proved he could thrive outside his comfort zone on intriguing, hybridized tracks including the noir-infused jazz of "Endless Sleep" and hedonistic electro-blues of "Trouble With The Sweet Stuff." 

The Charmed Life's three singles were also extremely well chosen. Promoted by a brilliant video directed by David Fincher, the exuberant "Cradle Of Love" peaked at No. 2 in the U.S. while its follow-ups, "Prodigal Blues" and Idol’s pile-driving cover of The Doors" 1971 classic "L.A. Woman" also drew attention to Charmed Life’s inherent quality.

The three singles allowed Charmed Life to carry right on from where Whiplash Smile left off on the Billboard 200, where it eventually peaked at No. 11 on its way to going platinum. This result surely helped reinvigorate Idol, who, post-recuperation, was able to return to work and complete his touring obligations. “I didn’t let my injury get me too down, he later wrote in his memoir Dancing With Myself. 

 

Charmed Life Track List: 

 

1. The Loveless

2. Pumping On Steele

3. Prodigal Blues

4. L.A. Woman

5. Trouble With The Sweet Stuff

6. Cradle Of Love

7. Mark Of Caine

8. Endless Sleep

9. Love Unchained

10. The Right Way

11. License To Thrill

New Music: Event Of A Fire

           

Blondshell has shared her new song "Event Of A Fire." The songwriter's new album "If You Asked For A Picture" will be released on May 2nd, reuniting Blondshell with producer Yves Rothman. New song is the final preview from the record, and it stems from the period of frenetic touring that followed her debut. Written during a burn-out haze while spending time on the road, "Event Of A Fire" is rooted in her own life – she started writing it after a real 4 a.m. hotel fire evacuation outside Boston. The video for the single stars up-and-coming French actress Ghjuvanna Benedetti and was directed by Emilé Moutaud.

In Memoriam: The Alarm Frontman "Mike Peters" Dies Aged 66

Such devastating news, Mike Peters, frontman of the Welsh rock band The Alarm, has died from blood cancer aged 66. The musician, who was forced to cancel a US tour last year after being diagnosed with fast-growing lymphoma, had been undergoing treatment at the Christie NHS foundation trust in Manchester.

 

His death was announced by a spokesperson for the charity he co-founded with his wife.

His band the Alarm, was formed in 1981 in Rhyl, Denbighshire, out of the punk era and had a top 20 hit, Sixty Eight Guns, two years later. It typified an anthemic style of song but their unpretentious and down-to-earth approach earned loyal followings on both sides of the Atlantic.

Peters lived with blood cancer for 30 years, following his diagnosis of lymphoma in 1995, and later having chronic lymphocytic leukaemia twice.

Born in Prestatyn, Denbighshire, and lived in Dyserth with his wife of 39 years, Jules - who had fought her own cancer battle - and their sons Dylan, 20 and Evan, 18. He was awarded the MBE in 2019 for his services to cancer care.

Peters - who had worked in the computer department for Kwik Save supermarket - had started the band The Toilets in Rhyl in 1977, after seeing the Sex Pistols play in Chester. After various changes of line-up, notably the introduction of guitarist Dave Sharp, and changes of name, The Alarm played their first gig in Prestatyn in 1981.

They would go on to sell an estimated five million records and also become the first Welsh musicians since Tom Jones and Bonnie Tyler to crack the US, thanks to a support slot with U2 on their 1983 US tour, The Alarm gained a transatlantic following - not an inconsiderable achievement.

Their debut album Declaration was released in 1984. As well as Sixty Eight Guns, it also included another favourite, Blaze of Glory. The band had honed their live performances by extensive touring, and were also reliable "go-to" support choice for big names - which included Bob Dylan, Queen and U2 again - including an appreciative crowd at Cardiff's National Stadium in 1987.

Despite their travels, The Alarm still had strong bonds with their homeland and Peters was able to live quietly in north Wales. The band also released a Welsh-language version of their 1989 album Change, called Newid.

Peters announced from the stage in London that he was quitting The Alarm in 1991 but continued to work with The Poets Of Justice, the line-up including his wife Jules. He reformed The Alarm in 2000 and also worked as the singer for Big Country for a couple of years from 2011. The Alarm has sold more than five million albums and had 16 UK Top 50 singles.

In 2004, as a humorous stunt aimed at the music industry and its obsession with youth, Peters released a single called 45 RPM - a retro-punk song - under the pseudonym of The Poppy Fields. He pretended his group were teenagers from Chester, who mimed along to the video for the song. It entered the top 30. The storyline was perfect to be translated into a film, Vinyl - directed by Sara Sugarman, incidentally from Rhyl, and an Alarm fan.

Peters, who supported U2 and Status Quo on tour and played with Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen, was first diagnosed with the blood cancer chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) more than 30 years ago.

He underwent numerous drug treatments and rounds of chemotherapy, and had tried experimental therapy to treat his cancer. Last year, five days before he was due to fly to Chicago for a 50-date US tour, Peters noticed that a lump in his neck had appeared overnight. Doctors quickly diagnosed Richter’s syndrome, where CLL changes into a much more aggressive lymphoma.

Last year, in an interview with the PA Media news agency, he credited his thousands of fans with giving him a boost, saying his diagnosis with fast-growing lymphoma had prompted an “incredible” response, with “phenomenal support and prayers from the fans from all directions”.

He added: "I think, with my crazy instinct to try and preserve my life as well as my health, I worked out that I was able to play some British shows in the summer. Luckily for me, they were all at the end of the chemotherapy cycles."

New Music: Gangsters

              

Mark Pritchard and Thom Yorke have shared the latest single from their new collaborative album, Tall Tales. "Gangsters" comes along with a creepy video directed by the duo's informal third member, Jonathan Zawada, in which a Boschian assortment of marionette-like characters cavort on a plaza. Now "Gangsters" follows "This Conversation Is Missing Your Voice" and "Back in the Game," the first two Tall Tales singles and the latest in a string of Pritchard-Yorke compositions. The album arrives May 9 via Warp. Zawada also directed and animated a feature film to accompany the album, which will screen in theaters on May 8.

Rocktrospectiva: The Eponymous Debut Album By Go West Turns 40

Released in April 1985 "Go West" was the debut studio album by the English pop duo Go West. The album brought the band into the limelight, scoring them a string of top 40 hits in the UK and New Zealand. "We Close Our Eyes" was the most successful single, reaching No. 4 in New Zealand and No. 5 on the UK Singles Chart. The album itself reached No. 8 on the UK Albums Chart. The Album spawned four singles "We Close Our Eyes", "Call Me", "Goodby Girl", "Eye To Eye" & "Don't Look Down". 

Go West, formed in London by Peter Cox and Richard Drummie, had been writing songs for the album since 1982. Two songs featured on the album, "We Close Our Eyes" and "Call Me", helped them land a record deal with Chrysalis Records.

This 9 track album opened with lead single "We Close Our Eyes", which gave the duo a #5 UK hit single in 1985. It bursts open with synth/brass riffs that are repeated in the chorus. The vocals are pop-rock styled, set over a perfect 80s solid beat. It’s a fantastically 80s song and absolutely catchy. Next was "Don't Look Down" a song that has plenty of smooth synth blasts that remind me a fair bit of Jump by The Pointer Sisters. The track is particularly catchy in the chorus, and again is packed with the same kind of energy as the previous track. The third track was the group's second single Call Me, which bounces in but is essentially a softer song – musically and vocally. 

Next was "Eye To Eye" is up next, and I’m soon reminded me of the lyrics of Kajagoogoo's hit Too Shy. There’s plenty of 80s Obligatory Saxophone here too. It’s quite a nice mid-tempo track. "Haunted." was a song is quite up-beat and relatively catchy too, and has tons of growling electric guitar in it. The vocals here really shine, with plenty of space for them to show off their vocal range. "S.O.S". This bursts open with percussion and a lot of bass guitar. The guitars really go for it in this song, particularly during the chorus. The third single "Goodbye Girl." This was a much slower more ballad-ish track. This slower song must have felt like quite a contrast but it’s the weakest song on the album so far. "Innocence" followed next, with an army of robotic synths and growling guitars before Peter’s vocals slide seamlessly in. The album closed with "Missing Persons." This is a bit of a downbeat drifty song with saxophone, piano, wafting vocals.

The honors of certain tracks on this record was the song "Goodbye Girl" was featured in the first episode of the second season of the 1980s TV series Miami Vice. The song "Call Me" is included on the soundtrack for the popular 2002 video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, on the fictional in-game radio station "Flash FM" and on the official soundtrack release.

Go West Track List:  

 

1. We Close Our Eyes

2. Don't Look Down

3. Call Me

4. Eye To Eye

5. Haunted

6. S.O.S.

7. Goodbye Girl

8. Innocence

9. Missing Persons

The Compilation: Now The Albums 1980-1984 Essential Tracks From Iconic Albums

NOW Music will issue a second volume under their "Now That"s What I Call An Era" banner.

The first volume – The Sound of the Suburbs – focused on music from the late 70s, whereas this new collection – The Albums 1980 > 1984 – is concerned with music from the early part of the decade we like to call ‘the 1980s’ – but with a twist: None of the tracks were released as UK singles – they are all album tracks or deep cuts as some people like to call them.

So… favourite artists, familiar sounds, often best-selling albums, but not the tracks you'd normally expect on compilations. From Wham!'s first album, Fantastic!, there's "A Ray of Sunshine" and from Make It Big the song 'Hearbeat' is selected. "Frankie’s First Affair" is picked from Sade's Diamond Life album, while from Alison Moyet’s Alf, "Where Hides Sleep" is selected.

The superb title track of Paul Young's No Parlez earns a place on merit, as does a pair of tracks from Duran Duran’s first two albums: "Is There Anyone Out There?" and "The Chaffeur".

In 4CD deluxe hardcover book form, The Albums 1980 > 1984 features 72 tracks in this vein, including Paul Simon’s "Hearts and Bones", Frankie Goes To Hollywood's "Black Night White Light", Tears For Fears' "The Hurting", The Police's "When The World Is Running Down, You Make The Best Of What's Still Around" and many more.

The deluxe 4CD includes a 28-page booklet with a track-by-track guide, just like the Yearbooks. A 40-track 3LP vinyl version features each LP pressed on blue, white and pink vinyl

Now That’s What I Call An Era: The Albums 1980 > 1984 will be released on 30 May 2025.

Track List:  

CD 1

1. Wham! – A Ray Of Sunshine

2. Haircut 100 – Lemon Firebrigade

3. ABC – Show Me

4. Culture Club – Black Money

5. Eurythmics, Annie Lennox, Dave Stewart – This City Never Sleeps

6. Alison Moyet – Where Hides Sleep

7. Sade – Frankie’s First Affair

8. Roxy Music – The Space Between

9. Japan – Talking Drum

10. Duran Duran – Anyone Out There

11. The Human League – The Things That Dreams Are Made Of

12. Spandau Ballet – Reformation

13. Heaven 17 – We Live So Fast

14. Ultravox – New Europeans

15. Donna Summer – Protection

16. Tina Turner – I Might Have Been Queen

17. Bruce Springsteen – The Ties That Bind

18. Pretenders – Mystery Achievement

 

CD 2

 

1. Wham! – Heartbeat

2. Soft Cell – Secret Life

3. Bananarama – Young At Heart

4. Nik Kershaw – Bogart

5. Thompson Twins – The Gap

6. Howard Jones – Equality

7. Bronski Beat – Junk

8. Shalamar – Don’t Try To Change Me

9. Imagination – All Night Loving

10. Toyah – Jungles Of Jupiter

11. Kim Wilde – Our Town

12. Culture Club – Boy Boy (I'm The Boy)

13. Mari Wilson – Are You There With Another Girl?

14. Carmel – Tracks Of My Tears

15. The Style Council & Tracey Thorn – The Paris Match

16. Paul Simon – Hearts And Bones

17. Joan Armatrading – Turn Out The Light

18. Paul Young – No Parlez

 

CD 3

 

1. Duran Duran – The Chauffeur

2. Japan – Taking Islands In Africa

3. Tears For Fears – The Hurting

4. Frankie Goes To Hollywood – Black Night White Light

5. Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark – She's Leaving

6. Laurie Anderson – From The Air

7. The Cure – Play For Today

8. Joy Division – Isolation

9. R.E.M. – Harborcoat

10. The Psychedelic Furs – President Gas

11. Blancmange – Game Above My Head

12. China Crisis – Red Sails

13. The Associates – Gloomy Sunday

14. Adam & The Ants – Ants Invasion

15. The Teardrop Explodes – Second Head

12. Echo And The Bunnymen – Crystal Days

13. The Jam – Man In The Corner Shop

14. Aztec Camera – We Could Send Letters

15. Nick Heyward – The Day It Rained Forever

 

CD 4

 

1. New Order – Age Of Consent

2. The League Unlimited Orchestra – Hard Times

3. Visage – Anvil Night Club School

4. Simple Minds – New Gold Dream (81/82/83/84)

5. Talk Talk – The Party's Over

6. The Fixx – Reach The Beach

7. David Sylvian – Nostalgia

8. Elvis Costello & The Attractions – Almost Blue

9. The Cure – Shake Dog Shake

10. Blondie – Angels On The Balcony

11. Dexy's Midnight Runners – Tell Me When My Light Turns Green

12. The Clash – Overpowered By Funk

13. The Police – When The World Is Running Down, You Make The Best Of What’s Still Around

14. Grace Jones – Nightclubbing

15. UB40 – Tyler

16. The Selecter – Too Much Pressure

17. The Specials – Enjoy Yourself (It’s Later Than You Think)

New Music: Down To Be Wrong

           

Haim have shared exciting news of their brand new album, coming on 20th June. The new record, entitled "I quit" is the trio's fourth release via Polydor. The announcement of the album comes alongside the release of a new single, "Down to be wrong". The new track is the third offering from the forthcoming album, following previous hits, "Relationships" and "Everybody's Trying To Figure Me Out", The new track is a defiant reminder of self preservation - with an earworm chorus that gets right under your skin. “Don’t need you to understand, don’t know if you can,” is the track’s parting message, and perhaps a tease of what’s yet to come on the unheard tracks. The video was shot by Bradley & Pablo and shot by Larkin Seiple. The new album - which will contain a whopping 15 tracks - was produced by Danielle Haim and Rostam Batmanglij. 

New Music: CCF (I'm Gonna Stay With You)

             

On May 2nd, Car Seat Headrest will release The Scholars, a bold new rock opera and the band's first studio album in five years. The Seattle-based band shares the record's soaring, uplifting opener "CCF (I'm Gonna Stay With You)." About the track, it was Inspired by an apocryphal poem by "Archbishop Guillermo Guadalupe del Toledo," and featuring character designs from Toledo's friend, the cartoonist Cate Wurtz, the album focuses on the yearning and spiritual crisis of the titular Scholars. They range from the doubt-filled playwright Beolco to Devereaux, a person born to religious conservatives who finds themselves desperate for higher guidance. Meanwhile, the music draws, carefully, from classic rock story song cycles such as The Who’s Tommy and David Bowie’s The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars.

Rocktrospectiva: Blur's Comeback "The Magic Whip" Turns 10

Released on 27 April 2015, "The Magic Whip" stylised in Chinese text as 模糊魔鞭, was the eighth studio album by English rock band Blur. It was recorded in Hong Kong and London. It was the band's first studio album in 12 years since Think Tank (2003), marking the longest gap between studio albums in Blur's career, and the first in 16 years since 13 (1999) to have featured the original line-up (Coxon featuring on only one song on Think Tank). The album also marks the return of the band's longtime producer Stephen Street following Blur (1997). The album spawned five singles "Go Out", "There Are Too Many Of Us", "Lonesome Street" "Ong Ong", & "I Broadcast".

The album received acclaim from music critics. It debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart, marking Blur's sixth UK number-one album. 

Back in May 2013, Blur were set to play Japan's Tokyo Rocks Music festival. However, the entire festival was canceled for unknown reasons, leaving the band stranded in Hong Kong for an extra five days. In an attempt to distract themselves, they worked on new material in Avon Studios, as announced by lead singer Damon Albarn during the gig at AsiaWorld–Expo, Chek Lap Kok. Albarn later stated he was unsure whether the resulting music would ever be released. "There are about 15 songs...the annoying thing is, if I'd been able to write the lyrics there and then about being there, we'd have finished the record. But sometimes, if you can't do it all at once, it dissipates really and I don't know what I'd sing about now with that record. There's some great tunes on there, but it may just be one of those records that never comes out."

In November 2014, Graham Coxon started to work further on the recordings with producer Stephen Street, while Albarn was touring his solo album, Everyday Robots (2014). Coxon commented "I kept thinking about the recordings we had made in Hong Kong and remembering how good it felt. I wouldn't have forgiven myself if I hadn't had another look". Coxon would secretly invite Alex James and Dave Rowntree to further recording sessions to build upon the material. Once nearing completion, Coxon presented the music to Albarn to see if it was worthy of an album. On the way back from his tour of Australia in December, Albarn stopped in Hong Kong once more for lyrical inspiration. Vocals were completed towards the end of January 2015 and the album's mastering was finished on 18 February 2015, the day before the album was announced to the press in London's Chinatown.

The album title, The Magic Whip was multifaceted. An ice cream in the UK, a firework in China and a 'whip' in a political sense. These extremes would reflect the different textures, breadth, and depth of the album. Tony Hung the art director said that the band wanted a cover that touched on those themes and that also had a "rawer feel" to give a sense of how the record came together in Hong Kong.

Critics considered the album as a return to form, praising that their magic remains as strong as ever, a triumphant comeback, and noted that it retains the band's core identity while allowing ideas they'd fermented separately over the past decade to infuse their sound with mature and peculiar new flavour combinations."

 

The Magic Whip Track List:  

1. Lonesome Street

2. New World Towers

3. Go Out

4. Ice Cream Man

5. Thought I Was A Spaceman

6. I Broadcast

7. My Terracotta Heart

8. There Are Too Many Of Us

9. Ghost Ship

10. Pyongyang

11. Ong Ong

12. Mirrorball 

Albums: Sleep Of Reason

The Pet Shop Boys', Neil Tennant is a talented singer and songwriter. Following the announcement of a new collaborative album with composer Mark Springer, the singer has now released it. Mark was part of Rip Rig + Panic, a post-punk band founded in 1980, which also featured Neneh Cherry. Since then he has worked primarily as a solo artist, composing piano music, and scores for TV shows. 

His latest collaboration is with Neil Tennant and Sacconi Quartet, a UK-based classical string quartet founded in 2001.

Announcing the news on Pet Shop Boys' social media, they posted the album's artwork writing: Composer Mark Springer’s forthcoming new album, "Sleep of Reason", which includes a collaboration with Neil Tennant, is now available to pre-order on double vinyl and CD exclusively at the Bandcamp link in bio.

'The album is planned for release in April 2025 and consists of three major pieces inspired by the Spanish artist Francisco Goya: a piece for solo piano, a string quartet and a quintet for voice and strings. Mark Springer plays the piano, The Sacconi Quartet perform the quartet and they are joined by Neil Tennant on vocals for the quintet. The opening track "Phantoms and Monsters" can be listened to now at the Bandcamp link.'

Following the initial announcement, a second post confirmed the release date and that the album is available on CD. Neil told his fans: 'I just met the composer Mark Springer to get some CDs of his beautiful work, “Sleep of Reason”, the first part of which I sing on. It’s always exciting to get finished copies of a new record and this looks very handsome! It’s released on April 25th. Neil x'.

Speaking about the album, Neil said: "I bought a book of Goya's print series Los Caprichos which had inspired Mark's music and saw that the artworks were a satirical, cruel, nightmarish portrayal of the politics, corruption and culture of his era, exploring his dreams - or nightmares - while exposing the double standards of the ruling establishment.

"The lyrics I wrote for 'Sleep of Reason', in response to Los Caprichos, are intended to be sardonic and dreamlike, looking back to Goya's nightmares but then reflecting on my experiences in 21st Century popular culture and media in which I have located the 'monsters' Goya saw in his dreams.

"It often feels like we're living in an era dominated by monsters with their grotesque egos hollering through social media, unfiltered and untruthful, leaving a trail of wreckage behind them. Maybe it's always felt like that."

Sleep Of Reason The tracklist features 13 songs which are listed below.

1. Phantoms and Monsters

2. A Witch and a Devil

3. Truth is for Losers

4. Schmutzig

5. My Friend the Monster

6. The Madness of the Summer'

7. Morn

8. Noon

9. Night

10. Break

11. Fligh

12. Dark

13. Moon

New Music: Sleep Of Reason

           

To accompany the release of Mark Springer's "Sleep of Reason" album, which features Neil on vocals, a video for the opening track, "Phantoms and Monsters", has been created by John Maybury and Daniel Goddard with footage from their forthcoming film "Confessions of a Pin Eye Zombie", the new album is out now.

New Music: Alley

            

The legendary alt-rocker Suzanne Vega has shared today a new single "Alley" is the latest advance track from Vega's forthcoming Flying With Angels following "Rats," "Speakers Corner," and "Chambermaid." This one carries along its minor-key guitar tapestry on a propulsive drumbeat, sung by Vega at her breathiest and understated best.

New Music: Pink Elephant

           

Win Butler and his band have shard their Pixies-esque "Pink Elephant" song sees the group continue with their more restrained, guitar-focused approach.Speaking about the track  the frontman explained: "When you feel like you're making a record, sometimes a song contains the universe, that you know other songs – even if they haven’t shown up yet – are gonna show up. Cause they're related to the universe of that song. "It's like, if you're in a desert and you find a well. It's the only well in that part of the desert. And you see one animal walk up – you know other animals are nearby, 'cause everyone's coming to the same well. If you find that one exotic creature, other songs are gonna come to hang out in the same place." His wife and bandmate Régine Chassagne then compared the "Pink Elephant" single to the "Reflektor" and "The Suburbs" title tracks, and how they unlocked those albums’ respective worlds.

In Memoriam: The Anarchic Pere Ubu's "David Thomas" Dies At 71

The legendary US musician who was a major influence on post-punk and alt-rock scenes thanks to his spirited, chaotic style, David Thomas, who fronted the wild and free-thinking American rock band Pere Ubu, has died aged 71.

A statement on Pere Ubu's Facebook page said that he died "in his home town of Brighton & Hove, with his wife and youngest step-daughter by his side. MC5 were playing on the radio." The statement continues: "He will ultimately be returned to his family home, the farm in Pennsylvania, where he insisted he was to be "thrown in the barn" … We'll leave you with his own words, which sums up who he was better than we can: "My name is David Fucking Thomas… and I'm the lead singer of the best fucking rock and roll band in the world.'"

That band were indeed a force to be reckoned with, channelling the raucous, raw energy of garage rock into adventurous songwriting decked out with saxophones, funky bass and Thomas’s spirited exclamations. With a post-punk spirit even before punk had properly got going, Pere Ubu were a big influence on the alt-rock that emerged in the 1980s including bands such as Pixies amongst others.

Born in Miami and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, Thomas formed his first band Rocket From the Tombs in 1974, who, despite some notoriously energised live shows couldn't find a record deal and never put out studio material, then formed Pere Ubu, taking their name from a character in a play by absurdist French writer Alfred Jarry. "It was a name that wouldn't mean anything to 95% of an audience," he later said. "I wanted to create a band that Herman Melville, William Faulkner or Raymond Chandler would have wanted to be in."

The debut single "30 Seconds Over Tokyo" was released in 1975, and the band impressed an A&R at Mercury Records, which created a whole new imprint for their 1978 debut album The Modern Dance. Described as "harsh and wilfully ugly" in Rolling Stone, it contained superb vocal performances from Thomas, such as the exhilarating rant of Life Stinks, and while it wasn’t a commercial success it chimed with a growing post-punk movement. The band broke up briefly in 1979, then for a longer period after fifth album Song of the Bailing Man. Thomas put out a series of records away from the group, with backing bands such as the Pedestrians and the Wooden Birds, before Pere Ubu reformed in 1987. 

This was the beginning of the band's most commercially successful phase, with a major label behind them, prompting minor MTV hits such as Waiting For Mary, and appearances on British TV.They released 14 albums in the following years, with Thomas the sole founder member leading a changing lineup of more than 20 musicians.

Thomas also had intriguing side projects, such as an appearance in Rogue's Gallery, a star-studded concert series performing pirate songs he also performed What Will We Do With a Drunken Sailor on a 2006 album that also featured Sting, Lou Reed and Nick Cave and a 2002 West End production of "junk opera" Shockheaded Peter. 

After living with kidney disease, Thomas had been recording an album that "he knew was to be his last". The album will be completed after his death, along with an autobiography and an archival project of live concerts.

News: The Pet Shop Boys Official Remixes For Tina Turner And The Hidden Cameras

This Friday, The Pet Shop Boys and Neil Tennant released a pair of remixes and a collaborative album called with composer Mark Springer called "Sleep of Reason", the remix of Tina Turner's song "Hot For You Baby", which was released for the first time earlier this year, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of 'Private Dancer

 

The original song was recorded at the time Tina recorded her breakthrough solo album "Private Dancer". It was written by Australian duo George Young and Harry Vanda and produced by John Carter, but did not see an official release until earlier this year, after it was unearthed.

Sharing the details of the new release, alongside another remix, the "West End Girls" band wrote: 'Pet Shop Boys are happy to reveal two new remixes for Tina Turner and The Hidden Cameras, both of which are released digitally today and available to hear now.

'The first track is a PSB remix of Tina Turner’s "Hot For You Baby", a previously undiscovered song from the 1984 "Private Dancer" album recording sessions.

The second track is The Hidden Cameras' new digital single "How Do You Love?", which is streaming now and will also be released as a limited edition twelve-inch vinyl on Friday, 9th May. All details are available on The Hidden Cameras official website.

New Music: Achilles

           

"Achilles", is the new single from The Divine Comedy, taken from the band's forthcoming album, Rainy Sunday Afternoon, Achilles is yet another example of Neil Hannon's peerless songwriting. Hannon explains the origins of the song: "I saw a man this morning who did not wish to die". So begins the opening lines of Patrick Shaw-Stewart’s 1915 poem, "Achilles in the Trench". I read a newspaper article about it around the time of the various WW1 centenaries and was very struck by it. The growing dread of the young classics scholar as he waits to board a troop ship for Gallipoli. ‘Shells and hells for me’. It made me feel tremendously grateful to have grown up in the postwar oasis of calm. To have made it to my forty-third birthday, outliving Shaw-Stewart by some fifteen years. I trust he wouldn't mind that I pilfered a few of his lines. I hope it draws attention to his writing, his sacrifice, and the sacrifice of his contemporaries. Especially in these fraught times.” Achilles was written, arranged and produced by Neil Hannon. The video was directed by his long-time collaborator, the French director and photographer Raphaël Neal. It's the sixth video he's made with The Divine Comedy. "The Achilles music video is probably my favourite work I’ve ever done for The Divine Comedy." Raphaël Neal explains "In the past, our videos often had a narrative, but this time, there would be no story, Neil visualising instead a tableaux-based studio video. Some scenes, like the one where the WW1 soldier imagines himself as Achilles, illustrate the song and the original poem by Patrick Shaw-Stewart. Others take us somewhere else. Yet they all say something about the themes of the song: getting older, reflecting on death and, at the heart of this existential struggle, bravery."

New Music: Dreams

           

The Knocks & Dragonette are meticulously crafting their upcoming album "Revelation", and now they shared their latest single "Dreams," it's an impressive tracks in line with the already explosive offerings single the project released before, now with "Dreams" they elevates the era with its captivating synth-hued dance-pop vibes, promising a standout hit. This powerful collaboration is above all shaping up to be a defining moment in their storied careers.

Rocktrospectiva: The Chaming Simple Pop On "Everybody Knows" Turns 35

Released on 23 April 1990, "Everybody Knows" was the debut album by English dance-pop singer Sonia, released in April 1990. The album was predominantly written and produced by Stock Aitken Waterman and includes the UK and Irish number one single "You'll Never Stop Me Loving You" and the UK top 20 hits "Can't Forget You", "Listen to Your Heart", "Counting Every Minute", and "End of the World". At the time of release, Sonia became the first female UK artist to achieve five top 20 hit singles from one album.

Back in the days when Stock, Aitken and Waterman (SAW) were ruling the charts in the mid to late 80s writing hits for Kylie, Jason Donovan, Donna Summer and many more. Sonia was the newest name to be added to this list when she recorded and released a classic pop track called "You'll Never Stop Me From Loving You" in June 1989.

Comparisons were made inmediately to Kylie straight away, which is fair comment production wise; You'll Never Stop could easily have fit on Kylie's 1989 album Enjoy Yourself. The difference was Sonia's soulful pop powerhouse vocal which really gets going as we hit the chorus.  Lyrically the entire album it deals with love and is actually a bit stalkerish. The song itself is classic SAW and is very much of it's time with that familiar drum loop used in so many of their tracks, but what helped it climb all the way to Number 1 on the UK's Official Chart was Sonia's instant likability.  

Sonia was an eighteen year old girl who never seemed to stop smiling and was very clean cut.  It's no wonder the Kylie comparisons came, although at the same time Kylie was starting to subtly move away from the cutesy look so Sonia felt like a natural successor especially having the SAW team behind her.

Unfortunately, the follow up track "Can't Forget You", peaked at 17, it was still unmistakably a SAW production, however the track was slightly more downbeat and mellow than it's predecessor.  The track was written specifically for Sonia after she had a chat with Mike Stock about her relationships.  It's a mid-tempo bop with another great middle 8. For her third single, Sonia released the uplifting "Listen To Your Heart " aand it gave her a second Top 10 hit when it peaked in January 1990 at Number 10. 

The four single gave an even dancier Sonia as SAW added hints of New Jack Swing on "Counting Every Minute" reached number 16 on the UK Official Charts and built anticipation for the debut album, which now contained four Top 20 hits. Sonia's debut album with her smiley face appearing not once, but five times on the cover; three of those pics with her wearing floppy hats, it was unashamedly pop and Sonia was the new girl-next-door with bags of energy and a powerful singing voice.  

The then standard 10 tracks, six were written by SAW, three were written by SAW studios extended family members Phil Harding, Ian Curnow and Bill Clift and the remaining track was a cover version, the album opened with the hit "You'll Never Stop Me From Loving You", with the likes as "Listen To Your Heart", and "Someone Like You" had a certain ABBA sound but with dance beats, "Counting Every Minute" and "Can't Forget You" are standard SAW but a certain Steps sound-a-like is hearing on "Now That I'm Without You", and certain slashes of Lonnie Gordon's "Happening All Over Again" sound, "Can't Help The Way That I Feel" leans slightly in to House sounds mixed with classic 80s tinkles.  

The penultimate track on the album is the final Harding/Curnow/Clift track "Climb To The Top Of The Mountain."  Featuring the ‘woo jack' in the background as featured in Counting Every Minute which appeared in several tracks in the late 80s and early 90s.  This was a positive track, where Sonia wants to shout from the top of a mountain about how great her relationship is – a nice contrast to some of the more downbeat lyrics elsewhere on the album. The album finished with the fifth and final single from "Everybody Knows" was a cover of the  1960's ballad End Of The World which went to Number 2 in the US and 18 in the UK for Skeeter Davis.  It gave Sonia a chance to showcase her voice and that's exactly what she does as she gives a subtle, yet emotional vocal telling the tale of the aftermath of a break up.  It reached Number 18 on the Official Charts in the summer of 1990 and was a great way to end the album.

The critics were mixed because the medias noted that as a Stock, Aitken & Waterman production, the album "style will come as no surprise - persistent, bubbling dance grooves topped off by the ultimate girl-next-door voice", and added that "every track is a potential single". with the pop sound at its most simple and all the more engagingly harmless".

 

Everybody Knows Track List:  

1. You'll Never Stop Me Loving You

2.  Everybody Knows

3. Listen To Your Heart

4. Someone Like You

5. Counting Every Minute

6. Can't Forget You

7. Now I'm Without You

8. Can't Help The Way That I Feel

9. Climb To The Top Of A Mountain

10. End Of The World