Rocktrospectiva: The Charming And Stylish "We Are The Pipettes" Turns 20

Released on 17 July 2006, "We Are The Pipettes" was the debut album from a British girl group with a pop style inspired by the sound of the early 1960s, but which was eventually overshadowed by the arrival of Beatles British Mania. Now with an indie pop sound, the three members—Gwenno, Riot Becki, and Rosay—played in a band called The Cassettes and had already achieved some success with a few singles, making it essential to release an album. 

 

Prior to its release, tracks like "I Like A Boy In Uniform (School Uniform)," as well as the incredible "Dirty Mind," "Your Kisses Are Wasted On Me," and "Pull Shapes," had already been released. While many didn't like the album because it didn't maintain the inspirational momentum of the singles, they did their best to encapsulate the 60s trend with contemporary culture, fitting it perfectly into the diverse era of the 2000s. The band's synchronization was evident on the album, and of course in the videos; the outfits and choreography were well-rehearsed, and their aim was to recapture the throne they had lost to the British Invasion. As is often the case, people expected their sound throughout the album to be inspired by Spector's famous Wall of Sound, fused with bands of the time like The Go! Team or I'm From Barcelona. However, they emerged with a unique style that, while having some revival elements, made them sound fresh and different in a certain way. 

 

Empowering Girl Power, a blend of innocence with hints of sexual aggression, a touch of French feminism, and a sound that emerged from consuming similar styles of bands, was evident in the three girls. Each had her own personality, from the housewife to the sexy librarian to the mod and avant-garde one. This amalgamation of personalities gave the album its unique touch. Besides the standout tracks, there was also the story of the bad girl "Judy," reflecting the eternal struggle of girls seeking to rebel against their parents, from their clothing to the music they listen to and the joy of feeling young, alive, and free. Gareth Parton's production was what ultimately crowned an album full of beautiful and dignified sound, emphasizing the all-encompassing power of a 60s girl band updated for the 2000s. 

 

The album also featured interesting tracks like "Because It's Not Love (But It's Only A Feeling)," as well as new songs such as "Sex," "Shy Did You Stary," and "I Love You," which helped shape the album. In conclusion, it was a modern indie pop album that drew on the pop sound of the 60s and was received as a breath of fresh air amidst the indie rock and electronica sounds that were prevalent at the time, at least during the project's existence.

We Are The Pipettes Track List:

1. We Are The Pipettes

2. Pull Shapes

3. Why Did You Stay

4. Dirty Mind

5. It Hurts To See You Dance So Well

6. Judy

7. A Winter's Sky

8. Your Kisses Are Wasted On Me

9. Tell me What You Want

10. Because It's Not Love (But It's Still A Feeling)

11. Sex

12. One Night Stand

13. ABC

14. I Love You

 

New Music: In The Night

           

Beck has released a second single to go along with the album announcement. "In The Night" is warm yet haunting, a folk-rock hymn graced by a gorgeous string arrangement. The song arrives with a music video starring Denis Lavant, directed by Mikai Karl and produced by Ryan Smale

New Music: My Dead Astronaut

           

Legendary Roby Hitchcock release a new single/video "My Dead Astronaut" according to Hitchcock: Astronauts have always reminded me of mummified Egyptian kings and queens; sent into the blackness in their space suits like the departed royals, swaddled in bandages, were sent into the future in their pyramids. I picture the astronauts exploring the afterlife like a new world - the final frontier. It’s quite romantic really. The new album "The Confuser" is out on July 24, 2026, video has been shot by Jeremy Dylan

New Music: Brussels Is Haunted

            

Echo & the Bunnymen have announced Apples For Isaac, their first album of new material in 12 years, alongside lead single “Brussels Is Haunted,” out now. The Liverpool band’s first new material in over a decade arrives this September 2026 via BMG. The album is the band’s 13th studio record and follows 2014’s Meteorites and the 2018 retrospective The Stars, The Oceans & The Moon. “Brussels Is Haunted” finds Ian McCulloch and Will Sergeant on typically atmospheric form, with the band having spent recent months back on the road ahead of the announcement.

 

In Memoriam: Legendary And Former 120 Minutes Host "Dave Kendall" Dies Aged 68

Dave Kendall, who created and hosted the influential MTV show 120 Minutes, has died. His friend Matt Pinfield, who hosted the show after Kendall’s tenure, shared the news on Instagram. Bangkok Post, where Kendall worked from 2017 to 2025, also ran an obituary. No cause of death was given. Kendall was 68, according to Bangkok Post.

The British-born Kendall got his start writing about music for UK and U.S. publications such as Melody Maker and Spin, he explained in a website bio. He relocated to New York City in the 1980s and created 120 Minutes for MTV, where he spent seven years as a writer, producer, presenter, and news reporter. The show, conceived as a home for alternative music, launched in 1986, three years before Kendall took over as its ever-impassioned host. As well as promoting bands like Sonic Youth and Pixies, Kendall helped to spread the Nirvana explosion, hosting the premiere of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" in 1991.

Kendall went on to host and co-produce the talk show Music Scoupe, as well as taking on various radio, TV, and DJing gigs. His website touts his early 1990s Hot 97 program Planet Traxx as the first electronica show on commercial radio. From the mid '90s, he embarked on a career in digital journalism that included some of the first online video streaming shows. He eventually returned to TV before settling in Thailand and joining Bangkok Post.

Rocktrospectiva: The Vibrant "The Globe" Turns 35

Released on 16 July 1991 "The Globe was the sixth album by alternative dance group Big Audio Dynamite II, their second album credited under that name instead of Big Audio Dynamite. The album spawned three singles "Rush", "The Globe", & "Innoncent Child".

So the history was this... after being kicked out of the band, reportedly for chronic tardiness, The Clash guitarist and vocalist Mick Jones did not remain idle. He was involved in the earliest phase of General Public and today is part of Gorillaz’s touring band. But his most significant post-punk role was as the founder and core member of Big Audio Dynamite (B.A.D.). 

The group’s name and lineup fluctuated wildly over the course of thirteen years and nine albums and took Jones to a place that some of his fans would probably rather he hadn't gone—dance music, now this dance music incorporated audio samples from the films of Nicolas Roeg and Powell and Pressburger, as well as borrowing keyboard and organ parts from the Who and Deep Purple.

In 1990, having made four albums with his new band, Jones found himself starting all over again as its sole remaining member, and decided that another new beginning required a new name; thus, that year's U.K. album release, Kool-Aid, was credited to Big Audio Dynamite II. A somewhat expanded and mildly retooled version of the record was released the following summer in the U.S., renamed The Globe, and would become the highest charting record by any version of B.A.D. Its first two singles, "Rush" and the title track, reached #1 and #3 on what was then called the Modern Rock chart. The Brits seemed to prefer the earlier albums notably the one on which Joe Strummer participated, before he and Mick got sick of each other again, but 1991 was B.A.D.’s US moment. 

The album got his momentum in the USA due several factors: first, rave culture reached its peak, and second, The Clash lent a hand. Sampling had been an integral part of the band’s sound and ethos from its first tracks, and Jones used it on “The Globe” (the single) to bring his career and his fans full circle, sampling his own "Should I Stay or Should I Go," the 1982 Clash song he wrote and sang lead on. The playful tension between the intense punk-rock Jones and the trippy dance-funk Jones is irresistible, yet more politically minded listeners can rest assured that the spirit of the Clash has not been entirely lost when they hear the lyrics, “Waking up the global warming way…Napalm cornflakes for my Special K.” But Jones always was the lighter, more impish type, so on The Globe, the social commentary is blended in with pop melodies, trance-y grooves, and more general existential and romantic musings.

B.A.D. II was even shorter-lived than B.A.D. I: for the next album, Jones added more personnel and once again re-christened the group, shortening its name to Big Audio…but it hardly mattered, because no one was listening. The band continued to slip into obscurity as the ’90’s wore on. The songwriting was some of Jones' strongest in some time, and The Globe was possibly the strongest effort of Big Audio Dynamite and certainly their best work since their debut.

 

The Globe Track List:

 

1. Rush

2. Can't Wait/Live

3. I Don't Know

4. The Globe

5. Innocent Child

6. Green Grass

7. Kool Aid

8. In My Dreams

9. When The Time Comes

10. The Tea Party

Albums: Irreversible

 

Brigitte Calls Me Baby released their sophomore album, "Irreversible" as a way to perfectly captures their live energy and acclaimed songwriting. Produced by Yves & Lawrence Rothman the album set to released a couple of months ago with a very impressive collection of songs that hit hard, the album has spawned three singles so far "Slumber Party", "I Danced With Another Love In My Dreams" and the catchy "I Can Take The Sun Out Of The Sky." 

The album retains that vivid wall of 80s new wave retro sound with certain Mozza's vibes, and you can notice that since the beginning starting with the opener "There Always" in which singer Leavins retains the Viva Hate-Morrissey croon sound-a-like, while the band creates a tremendous soundscape in the most pure 80s new wave style, actually Irreversible sound has enough to showcase each instrument at its best.

Throught the album, we can notice the 80s-throwback wall of sound continues on songs like “I Danced With Another Love," which is Cure-esque in both its vocal stylings and beauty, but there are certain rocky vibes on "Slumber Party," while "The Pit" shows a lower pace is unusual on an album that largely breezes past, but becomes no worse a song for it.

The first half of the album is quite fantantics, playful and intese sometimes, yet also retaining the dark, brooding edge that makes this band so fascinating and quite interesting especially on tunes such as "These Acts Of Which We’re Designed". There are certain intense and key tunes such as "Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction," which is quite possibly the best song on the record due it got all the hallmarks of a breakthrough hit, although my personal favourite is "I Can Take The Sun Out Of The Sky." the perfect pop tune to me on this record equalling the earlier song as one of the best. The two closers, particularly the epic "Send Those Memories," are slightly more introspective and slow-burning compared to the dopamine rush of the potential singles, 

There is an instrumental interlude "Sillage" and then you have "I Can't Have You All To Myself" an interesting tune that remains The Smiths golden era b-sides.  The album is a living proof that the band’s music stands out to be the best of post-punk indie, new romanticism, and some kind of jangling indie-pop that defined the late 80s. and so on. However, the band seems to have updated that sound for the modern era.

Irreversible is a quite outstanding album, it feels like real breakthough album for an indie band something quite strange in these contemporary days, a fantastic album and yes...definitely one of the best of the year so far.  

 

Irreversible Track List:  

 

1. Slumber Party

2. I Danced With Another Love In My Dream

3. The Pit

4. Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction

5. These Acts Of Which We're Designed

6. Sillage

7. I Can't Have You All To Myself

8. I Can Take The Sun Out Of The Sky

9. The Early Days Of Love

10. Send Those Memories

New Music: Tonight

           

Social Distortion shares the video for new single “Tonight” taken from the band's 8th., studio album "Born To Kill", the poignant video featuring: Mike Ness Johnny Angel Rios-Ness and Trinity Noel and is directed by John Swab. The album's title track nods to Lou Reed and Iggy and the Stooges, while "Partners In Crime" pays tribute to David Bowie. Born To Kill was co-produced by Mike Ness and Dave Sardy, with guest appearances from Benmont Tench of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Lucinda Williams.

New Music: There's A Better Way

           

Inspiral Carpets returned with another new single "There's A Better Way" taken from the band's upcoming new album"Burn Like The Sun" for release in January 2027, lead-ups to their upcoming LP, Burn Like The Sun, slated for release in January 2027

In Memoriam: Actor "Sam Neill" Dies Aged 78

Actor Sam Neil, best known for his starring role in 1993's Jurassic Park, has died aged 78.

In a statement his family say Neill's death was "sudden and unexpected" but that he was "surrounded by family". Neill had previously been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, but announced earlier this year that he was cancer-free.

Neill was an undeniably versatile and accomplished actor, which was demonstrated no better than in 1993 which saw two of his most outstanding films, he first rose to fame in the 1977 film Sleeping Dogs, before going on to star in My Brilliant Career, Jurassic Park, The Piano, The Dish and Possession among other films.

He was one of a host of actors and directors who achieved international fame after an explosion of Australian films that began in the late 1970s — a list that includes Paul Hogan, Mel Gibson, Geoffrey Rush, Russell Crowe, Jane Campion, Peter Weir and Gillian Armstrong.

Actor Sam Neill might have officially been a Kiwi, but he did some of his best work in Australian film and television. This is his story. In 2023, Neill revealed he had been diagnosed with angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, a rare type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, in early 2022. He entered remission later that year after a rare anti-cancer drug worked, but needed ongoing infusion treatment. He announced in April he was cancer-free.

The actor was also knighted in 2022, becoming Sir Sam Neill. "I said I didn't want the title for 10 or 12 years," he said in 2023. "Then when I thought I was dying a couple of years ago I thought, 'Oh bugger it, I may as well go out with the title,' so I changed my mind."Neill's range as an actor was remarkable, playing opposite Helena Bonham Carter in the Alan Ayckbourn comedy Sweet Revenge to chopping off Holly Hunter's finger in The Piano to poking his own eyes out in the sci-fi horror Event Horizon.

The actor first came to the attention of international audiences in Armstrong's 1979 film My Brilliant Career, which also introduced Judy Davis. He later appeared in Phillip Noyce's Dead Calm, a classy thriller set at sea and co-starring the then-relatively unknown Nicole Kidman.

Neill twice co-starred with Meryl Streep, in Australian director Fred Schepisi's Plenty and — again for Schepisi — in A Cry in the Dark, a film about the sensationalised aftermath of a dingo killing a baby in the Australian Outback. He earned an Emmy nomination for his performance in the title role of the 1998 mini-series Merlin and another as narrator of 2017's Wild New Zealand.

He perhaps achieved his highest level of fame in Jurassic Park, playing palaeontologist Alan Grant, who is summoned to an island off Costa Rica where a theme park has been built to house herds of cloned dinosaurs. He co-starred alongside Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum and Richard Attenborough in the Steven Spielberg directed hit.

His character was thoughtful and reasonable, a scientist who warned the mastermind of the theme park before the chaos: "Dinosaurs and man, two species separated by 65 million years of evolution have just been suddenly thrown back into the mix together. How can we possibly have the slightest idea what to expect?" Grant survived the harrowing events when the creatures get loose, but didn't return for The Lost World: Jurassic Park II in 1997. He came back for the third episode in 2001 and Jurassic World: Dominion in 2022.

Born in 1947 in Northern Ireland, Neill emigrated to New Zealand at the age of seven. His family settled in Dunedin on the South Island and he was sent to boarding school in Christchurch.

After college, he took the lead in Sleeping Dogs in 1977 — the first feature made in New Zealand in more than a decade. There's no fuss, no entourage and no star ego, writes producer Vanessa Gorman, on filming with Sam Neill. Neill was also a vintner and under his Two Paddocks brand, he produced pinot noir and riesling wines from his winery in the Central Otago region of New Zealand's South Island.

On social media, he often posted images of his farm animals, many of them affectionately named after celebrities and friends, like Laura Dern the chicken, Kylie Minogue the duck and Helena Bonham Carter the cow. His memoir Did I Ever Tell You This? came out in March 2023 and he was awarded a knighthood in recognition of his "outstanding contribution to film" — a title approved by the late Queen Elizabeth II.

"I can't pretend that the last year hasn't had its dark moments," Neill told The Guardian in 2023, referring to his cancer diagnosis and treatment.