Billed as Neo Dolly Parton melodic noise stark punk and post-punk soundscapes by my old mate John Robb1, Molly Vulpyne and her band rattle through a number of sleazy punky numbers that are pretty good but I probably need to sit with them a bit longer. "UR A FAD X" has shades of early Soundgarden mixed with "The Spaghetti Incident?". I bought "Back Down" by defunct Dublin "Diet Punk" band, Katy's Party, based solely on the opening riff to "Clement's Time". I could easily see them as a support…
Today has been a long, hot day, so I don't feel up to a full blog post. It was today in 1968 that the animated movie Yellow Submarine, based on music of The Beatles, premiered at the London Pavilion at Piccadilly Circus. I will then leave you with the song from which the movie takes its name and which inspired much of its plot.
Day one of the Yacht Club. Dashboard Confessional and the Black Keys
dragon-in-a-fez:succumbing-song:
19:12 - The album arrived at the record store today! I love buying from my local record store. It just feels more personal. The store owner even gave us some tips on how he keeps his records dust-free. (Though mine still got dusty, but his method helped a lot). I won't buy another album until I get a freakin' jorb.
I think BROADCASTED was a fantastic first album from Air Credits but then I was less wowed by their interim releases until this one: this one brings back their theatricality, their futurism, their humor, their fat beats and smooth lyrics. You gotta love when people commit to the bit. Air Credits live in a post-apocalyptic future world and I’m happy to join them for these albums. Or you can let the lyrics wash away and you’re left with just good head-bouncing bass and looping samples. I love…
Look at that! “During the first half of 2026, CD sales surged 16% to 16.3 million units.” “One explanation may be changing listening habits among younger fans. According to the report, 60% of Gen Z listeners now say they most often listen to music from the 1990s or earlier, a huge increase from 18% in 2021. Whether driven by nostalgia, discovery via streaming, or a wanting to own a tangible piece of an artist’s work, younger audiences appear to be embracing physical formats.” Via Consequence
Our kind of store. Rough Trade Neal’s Yard, October 2001 – one of two Rough Trade stores to get fully taken over by ‘Drukqs’ for release day. The first time Rough Trade did this since 1977, for The Sex Pistols ‘Never Mind The Bollocks’. Warp Records (17th July 2026) Later this year the Aphex Twin double album Drukqs celebrates 25 years since its initial release. Today (17th of July 2026) Warp Records posted a reference to the albums release day on its social media channels with a photograph of…
Kelela “Point Blank” “Point Blank” is a breakup song in medias res, and listening to the lyrics can feel like overhearing an argument in passing and trying to sort out the details on the fly. Some of it is a little confusing – one can only hope that the guns and bullets mentioned are purely metaphorical – but mostly it comes down to a question Kelela sings in the first verse: “Why’s your love so bleak?” She sounds wounded and frustrated but not fully angry, which maybe has something to do with…
In July 1979 Scritti Politti played a benefit for Stevenage Rock Against Racism at Hitchin College, supported by Acme Sewage Company (a punk band from Welwyn Garden City)Advert for the gig, from NME, 7 July 1979As reported in the local paper, the Stevenage Comet, a gang of skindeads 'attacked members of the crowd, charged the band and tried to smash up their equipment'. The trouble apparently started during Scritti's second number and the paper reports that 'lead singer Tom was cut on the head…
So as my Mojave 3 reissue box set winds its way to me in the gentle collective embrace of the United States Postal Service and Canada Post, I have come to terms with the fact that the band, formerly on hiatus, have formally flipped that switch to disbanded and that there will be no more […] The post Mojave 3 / Demos ’97 appeared first on Space Echo.
There was a time when carrying a dedicated music player was the thing to do. The industry was booming, Steve Jobs turned the iPod into a cultural phenomenon, Creative established itself as one of its biggest competitors, and countless other manufacturers fought to earn a place in your pocket. Before smartphones became the center of our digital lives, 'MP3 players' (now more commonly known as Digital Audio Players) came in every shape and size, offering little more than a headphone jack, a few…
CD1: The Original Soundtrack Album 1-1 Steppenwolf– The Pusher 5:511-2 Steppenwolf– Born To Be Wild 3:391-3 Smith – The Weight 4:361-4 The Byrds– Wasn't Born To Follow 2:051-5 The Holy Modal Rounders– If You Want To Be A Bird 2:401-6 The Fraternity Of Man– Don't Bogart Me 3:081-7 The Jimi Hendrix Experience– If 6 Were 9 5:351-8 The Electric Prunes– Kyrie Eleison/Mardi Gras 4:011-9 Roger McGuinn– It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding) 3:411-10 Roger McGuinn– The Ballad Of Easy Rider 2:14CD2:…
Let’s fire up the machine and see what the metal gods have for us this week. Hails! Left to Die - death - USADivulsive - death - USALord Gryphus - death - USAAcheron - death - AustraliaFuming Mouth - death/crust - USAPsycroptic - tech death - AustraliaEthereal Rot - blackened tech death - USAEaten by Sharks - tech death/deathcore - CanadaCarbon Tomb - death/deathcore - DenmarkEcliptic - death/noise/drone - USANecrocosm - melodeath - USAInferno - black - CzechiaNiveous - black - USASkjult -…
[1973]Like Chicory Tip gone feral. Scuzzy to the core. Wired Up is a dynamite synth laden fuzz monster to soundtrack the havoc of a teenage riot or as someone said in the comments "music to smash up telephone boxes to" How this didn't storm the charts I don't know.
Today at Crucial Tracks: Monster Ballads, by Josh Ritter I have a live version of this song from Josh’s 2020 Hell Yeah! album that’s so deeply searching and beautiful, with Sam Kassirer performing this delicate piano part that just lifts me up.
On “Scrabo Electric”, The Vendetta Suite pays affectionate tribute to the music of his body-popping, backspinning youth. The track’s title is taken from the nickname for the electrical store where he and his friends, growing up in County Down’s Newtownards, would buy music, cassettes such as Street Sounds’ seminal “Electro” series. There are 4 mixes and the first pays direct homage to classics such as Jay Burnett’s original “Drum Machine”, Cybotron’s “Clear” and Hashim’s “Al Naafiysh”. Showered…
ECM Editions: Even The Price Sounds Great! is a 1991 promotional jazz sampler CD released by Polygram Records to showcase artists from the prestigious ECM Records catalogue. Conceived as an affordable point of entry, it occupies an eccentric corner of the label’s history, somewhere between commercial bait and unauthorized cartography. The ridiculous cover and bargain-bin title seem almost calculated to puncture ECM’s reputation for austere visual refinement. Stranger still, seven of its 15…
Today is the first big smoke day of 2026. The past five years we've had some brutal streaks of smoke days from all the smoke coming south from Canada and northern Minnesota but this one is extra bad.
The Finnish rock band Lodger had a pretty good start, all things considered. Their debut single "Footsteps" was marketed with a quaint Flash animation featuring a one-eyed stick guy having a rough day; a very basic video by modern standards, but a surprising and unexpected choice for the video for an actual band and it rather randomly took off. The "Footsteps" video ended up winning first place in the national music video award/competition and the band's debut Hi-Fi High Lights Down Low (2005)…
(click on the image to see the full issue)
→ Bluesky
I didn’t realise that Echo & the Bunnymen was still going as a band, but after hearing Brussels is Haunted, I am glad that it is. I remember Ian McCulloch leaving the band in the late 1980s and then there was a resurrection in the late 1990s with Evergreen, but after that I lost track. They are now apparently a two-piece, with original members Will Sergeant on lead guitar and programming and Ian McCulloch on vocals, rhythm guitar and keyboards. So, you can tell I’m not a diehard Bunnymen fan,…
. WIELS calls for applications from Canadian artists (Canadian nationals, or those living and working in Canada) for a 6-month residency in Brussels. More info here. .
Echo & The Bunnymen return with “Brussels Is Haunted” The Bunnymen are back with their first new music in over a decade, and I really didn’t expect it to be this good. Reports of the demise of Ian McCulloch’s voice, it turns out, have been much exaggerated. The first single from their forthcoming album Apples For Isaac, the sublime “Brussels Is Haunted,” sees the band defying gravity; this is classic Bunnymen, with Mac and Will Sergeant, and the rest of the band, very much on form. They’ve been…
I started playing drums when I was 6 or 7 years old. My cousin lived next door and had a very nice Ludwig kit and hundreds of records. I had natural rhythm and drums came pretty easily to me. So most of my life I played acoustic (analog) kits. Electronic kits weren't even a thing until quite a few years after I started playing. Recently, I bought my first electronic kit. It's a mid-range Yamaha model. I bought it sight unseen. I've played Roland kits before, but had never played a Yamaha. So…
Robyn Hitchcock - 40 Watt Club, Athen, Georgia, April 24, 2026Robyn Hitchcock — the hardest working man in showbiz? Well, one of ‘em anyway. Now well into his 70s, Hitchcock has a new memoir (Stranded in the Future) and a new album (The Confuser) out this summer, along with his usual heaps of tourdates. He’s also got a well-worth-your-cash Patreon chock full of fascinating writing and unheard demos, rarities and outtakes. And that recent Globe of Frogs redux/remaster/remix? It’s awesome. So…
I have a British lad in my head going "bit bittersweet, innit?" on all these things.
This Thursday Pressing Concerns features four records coming out tomorrow, July 17th: new albums from DUM1, Brian Ennals & Blockhead, and Tiger Bear Wolf, plus an expanded reissue of Franklin‘s debut album. Read ’em below! If you missed Monday’s blog post (featuring Hurry, William Matheny, TIFFY, and Twin Bloom), check that out too. Franklin – Go Kid Go (Expanded) Release date: July 17thRecord label: Solid BrassGenre: Post-hardcore, emo, noise rock, 90s indie rockFormats: Vinyl, digitalPull…
