South London-based Fat Dog have quickly made a name for themselves in the UK as “2023’s wildest live band” (NME) on the strength of their “manically riotous and joyous” (BBC 6 Music) live show supporting acts including Viagra Boys, Shame and Yard Act and playing their own headline gigs. Last summer, via Domino Records, they released debut single “King of the Slugs,” hailed by Clash as “a ridiculous seven-minute journey through sound . . . Utterly remarkable.” Today, the British five-piece return with the antidotal follow up, “All The Same,” and an accompanying video. Additionally, they announce they’ll make their US debut this spring playing SXSW, New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Their next hometown show will be a headline gig in April at the 1500-capacity Electric Brixton, a sign of the genuine excitement growing around this band.
Co-produced by Fat Dog frontman Joe Love and James Ford, “All The Same” is propulsive and galvanizing, underpinned by orchestra hits and eagle noises as it races along to a dramatic conclusion in under three minutes. Fat Dog hint to the song’s narrative, suggesting: “What if you could turn the clock back and make a change? Just a single, well-placed kick, that perhaps could change the whole course of your life. Perhaps the party never has to stop?” The song’s video is a twisted, absurdist tale of time travel and fatherhood directed by Dylan Coates and starring Neil Bell (Dune, Andor).
A limited edition 7” of “All The Same” will be released on Fri. March 22nd backed by an exclusive B-side “Land Before Time.” Pre-order from Domino here.
Fat Dog Tour Dates: Thu. Jan. 18 – Groningen, NL @ Eurosonic Noorderslag 2024 Thu. Feb. 15 – Dublin, IE @ Borderline Festival Fri. Feb. 16 – Limerick, IE @ Dolans Sat. Feb. 17 – Galway, IE @ Róisín Dubh Sat. Feb. 24 – Bristol, UK @ Simple Things Fri. March 1 – Paris, FR @ Les Inrocks Festival, Cent Quatre Tue. March 12 – Queens, NY @ Trans-Pecos Wed. March 13 – Sat. March 16 – Austin, TX @ SXSW Tue. March 19 – Los Angeles, CA @ El Cid Wed. March 20 – San Francisco, CA @ Popscene @ Brick & Mortar Thu. Apr. 18 – London, UK @ Electric Brixton Sat. Apr. 20 – Rotterdam, NL @ Motel Mozaique Fri. Apr. 26 – Bourges, FR @ Le Printemps de Bourges Thu. May. 9 – Sat. May. 11 – Wrexham, UK @ Focus Wales Fri. May 31 – Sun. Jun. 2 – Mannheim, DE @ Maifeld Derby Sat. Jul. 6 – Belfort, FR @ Eurockéennes Fri. Jul. 26 – Mon. Jul. 29 – North Yorkshire, UK @ Deer Shed Thu. Aug. 8 – Sun. Aug. 11 – Sicily, IT @ Ypsigrock Festival Sat. Aug. 31 – Manchester, UK @ Manchester Psych Fest
Cool beats, dub bass, scratching, hand percussion from instruments collected around the world, and killer grooves all combine on this instrumental world music record. You’ll play this a lot, and it might be your new favorite workout record.
I’ll admit that I didn’t get this record at first. I enjoyed Shame‘s first two albums, but this one just seemed…off. I almost didn’t review it, but I thought, “Maybe I just need to hear it again.” I’m glad I did, because it finally clicked for me on the third listen and it turned out to be a great record by a band that is constantly exploring themes of identity, consumerism, celebrity culture, and death.
If you were looking for some good psychedelic music this year, Melody Fields delivered it with 1901. At times trippy, at other times lush, other times rocking, and other times meditative. They were a pleasant discovery for me this year, and I look forward to hearing more from them.
Protomartyr have yet to put out a bad record, and they’re probably the closest you can get to experiencing a vintage Gang of Four live sound without building a time machine. This album is about transitions, from life to death, from an old home to a new one, from grief to healing. Again, they hit a home run.
A great, previously unreleased live set from Thee Oh Sees thanks to the good folks at the Reverberation Appreciation Society, this show captures one of the early incarnations of the band (with just one drummer) shredding the stage as they always do. The live version of “Block of Ice” is alone worth the purchase price.
Next up are my top five albums of 2023! Don’t miss it.
Southern California noise-punk band NORMANS share the last single today from their forthcoming debut self-titled album, to be released on January 12th, 2024 on Solid Brass Records. Hear/share “Schloss Loss” and 3 other singles on all DSPs HERE.
CvltNation recently launched the official video for “Murder Rich” HERE & on YouTube.
In 2021, in the lingering haze of the global pandemic and several nautical miles off the coast of Los Angeles in a broken down boat, Southern California natives and stalwarts of the local DIY music scene Matthew Reid (Blonde Summer) and Michael Perry Rudes (FEELS) decided it was time to embark on a new musical odyssey together; one that championed fearlessness, rawness, and above all, freedom.
NORMANS was born on the dirty streets of L.A. and baptized in the punk rich waters of Hermosa Beach; the city that gave us Black Flag, Redd Kross, Minutemen and more. Years of exposure and participation in the myriad of genres and sounds that make up the vibrant music scene resulted in a multi-genre-bending, bass and synth fueled cacophony that pays homage to the ghosts of Killing Joke, The Jesus Lizard, GVSB and The Birthday Party.
NORMANS have managed to stitch together elements of surf, post punk, noise rock and Wax Trax era electro-industrial music for a sound that is urgent, angry, and simultaneously danceable. Oozing with satire and shrouded in bizarre visual art and imagery, bassist and vocalist Matthew Reid explores issues of violence, drug use, and the terrified animal caged within us all. Where their musical journey takes them will keep us wondering. What is certain is the band’s willingness to propel themselves into uncharted waters, unlike the boat they started on just a few short years ago.
NORMANS will be available on LP and digital on January 12th, 2024 via Solid Brass Records. Pre-orders are available for North America HERE, UK/EU orders HERE.
This one came to me fairly early in the year and was an immediate favorite. It’s full of jagged guitar lines, weird drum fills, and plenty of power equal to the cosmic cover imagery.
Speaking of heavy cosmic riffs, this album from Auralayer is full of them and plenty of Buddhist philosophy to boot. This trio about floored me when I first heard this album and were one of my favorite discoveries of the year.
Would it be a “best of” list without a King Gizz album? I mean, they release at least two albums a year, and this year they released an electro / krautrock album full of synths and drum pads that turned out to be a fun time. You can tell they enjoyed stretching muscles they don’t often use, and they filled it with references to Egyptian mythology, which just made it weirder and cooler.
Yes, that’s the same cover image, and it’s almost the same album, but KGATLW decided to release two versions of the same record, with the extended version having long mixes with additional lyrics for each song – the short of which is just under eleven minutes long. It’s even better than the regular edition of the album and lets them do lengthy synth-jams that often move into rave territory.
Speaking of long synth-jams, Ki Oni‘s tribute to his deceased grandmother and his meditation on peace and death has tracks with minimum lengths of seventeen minutes, and all of them are beautiful. This is the kind of record that takes you away from anything you’re doing and drops you into a warm pool of peace and presence.
Who’s in the top ten? Come back soon and find out!
This is a techno EP based on the mythological tale of Jason and the Golden Fleece. I don’t know what else to write to make you keen on hearing it than that.
This unearthed, previously unreleased live recording of Motörhead destroying a jazz festival is nothing short of outstanding. They were firing on all cylinders during this tour. Count yourself lucky if you saw them in 2007. If, like me, you never got to see them live, this gets you close.
Rich Aucoin has a cool gig. He gets to collect and play with vintage synthesizers, arpeggiators, sequencers, and organs and make albums with them. This second volume of such music sounds like it was recorded yesterday with new gear. It’s full of dance tracks, ambient cuts, trance beats, disco riffs, and more.
Today,i’ve seen a way — the acclaimed debut from Manchester quartet Mandy, Indiana released via Fire Talk Records — was named one of Rough Trade’s Best Albums of 2023. In conjunction with today’s announcement, Mandy, Indiana present “Sheared (Pinking Shears Rework),” a clipping. remix of album standout “Pinking Shears.”
clipping.’s rework of “Pinking Shears” filters the politically charged track through a US lens. “The dream is all crooked cops, retail mark-up on basic goods, an ex-president getting away with treason,” raps Tony and GRAMMY Award winner Daveed Diggs. Rough Trade’s exclusive 12”features the clipping. remix alongside the original “Pinking Shears” and an instrumental version of the track.
Next month, Mandy, Indiana will bring their ”physically — yet brilliantly — overwhelming” (NME) live show to the US for their debut tour, featuring stops in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and a newly announced date in Chicago. Mandy, Indiana thrive in the unexpected, and their performances have become a vehicle to explore the boundaries of tension and release. A full list of dates are below and tickets are on sale now.
Leeds quartet Yard Act announce their new album, Where’s My Utopia?, out March 1st on Republic Records, and present its lead single/video, “Dream Job.” Co-produced by Yard Act and Gorillaz member Remi Kabaka Jr., Where’s My Utopia? follows the band’s debut, 2022’s The Overload, and this year’s much-lauded single “The Trench Coat Museum.” Additionally, Yard Act unveil a 2024 tour of North America, Europe and the UK (including a hometown headline show at the 5,750 capacity Millennium Square Leeds). A full list of tour dates is below, including the November US run just around the corner. West Coast Summer 2024 dates go on sale Oct. 27th at 10am local time and all other shows are on sale now.
Since the release of The Overload, “a debut album bursting with character” (Uncut), Yard Act – frontman and vocalist James Smith, bassist Ryan Needham, guitarist Sam Shjipstone, and drummer Jay Russell — have become one of the most exciting indie success stories of this decade. They’ve ticked off previously unimaginable milestones ranging from landing at Number Two on the UK charts, UK (Later … with Jools Holland) and US (The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon) television debuts, being shortlisted for the Mercury Prize, and a co-sign from Elton John who joined the band to guest on a reworking of The Overload album closer, “100% Endurance.” They’ve spent the past two years traversing the globe, playing festivals from Tokyo to Texas, and selling out tour after tour along the way.
While the band’s trajectory continued to shoot upwards, and the brotherly bond between the four band members strengthened, Smith and his wife welcomed their first child. This dueling sense of responsibility and ambition, guilt, love, drive and everything in between forms the narrative backbone of Yard Act’s brilliantly exploratory second album, Where’s My Utopia?
Lead single, “Dream Job,” “feels like an apt introduction to the themes explored on Where’s My Utopia? — though not all encompassing,” comments Smith. “In part, I was scrutinizing and mocking myself for being a moaning ungrateful little brat, whilst also trying to address how the music industry is this rather uncontrollable beast that hurtles forward unthinkingly and every single person involved in it plays their part. Myself included, obviously. As with pretty much everything else going through my head last year, trying to find the right time to articulate the complexity of emotions I was feeling and the severity to which I was feeling them couldn’t be found – or accommodated, so instead I tried to capture it in a pop song that lasts less than three minutes once the fog had cleared a bit. It’s good and bad. I’m still glad that everything that happened to me happened.”
The song is wryly upbeat, and lands like The Blockheads doing “Club Tropicana” — a not entirely believable thumbs up from the trenches. The “Dream Job” video was directed by James Slater, marking the band and director’s 7th collaboration (“with many more to come”).
Written in snapshots of time in the midst of touring, Where’s My Utopia? is a giant leap forward into broad and playful new sonic waters, sprinkled with strings, choirs, and voice-acting clips courtesy of comedian pals Nish Kumar, Rose Matafeo, and more. It was a communal four-way effort built on chemistry, familiarity and the trust to challenge and push each other creatively. “The main reason that ‘post-punk’ was the vehicle for Album One was because it was really affordable to do, but we always liked so much other music and this time we’ve had the confidence to embrace it,” James explains. Across the record, influences range from Fela Kuti to Ennio Moricone via Spiller’s ‘00s pop smash “Groovejet.”
It’s a celebratory palette upon which Smith allowed himself to reach lyrically deeper into himself than ever. Gone, largely, are the outward-facing character studies of yore, replaced with a set of songs that stare fully into the headlights of life, wrangling with the frontman’s own fears and foibles to create a sort of Promethean narrative – but with jokes. “You can commit to the idea that we’re just animals who eat and fuck and then we die, and that’s fine,” he suggests. “But for me, creativity always seems to be the best way of articulating the absolute minefield of what human existence is.”
Yard Act Tour Dates Thu. Nov. 2 – Reykjavik, IS @ Iceland Airwaves Sat. Nov. 4 – Brooklyn, NY @ Warsaw Sun. Nov. 5 – Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts Mon. Nov. 6 – Baltimore, MD @ Ottobar Tue. Nov. 7 – Durham, NC @ Motorco Music Hall Thu. Nov. 9 – Nashville, TN @ The Basement East Fri. Nov. 10 – Atlanta, GA @ The Earl Sat. Nov. 11 – New Orleans, LA @ Toulouse Theatre Tue. Nov. 14 – Austin, TX @ Mohawk Wed. Nov. 15 – Dallas, TX @ Deep Ellum Art Company Fri. Nov. 17 – Mexico City, MX @ Corona Capital Festival Sat. Dec. 2 – Bangkok, TH @ Maho Rasop Festival Sun. Dec. 3 – Hong Kong, HK @ Clockenflap Festival Tue. Dec. 5 – Osaka, JP @ Shangri-la Thu. Dec. 7 – Tokyo, JP @ Club Quattro Wed. Mar. 13 – Norwich, UK @ The Nick Rayns LCR (UEA) Thu. Mar. 14 – Nottingham, UK @ Rock City Fri. Mar. 15 – Glasgow, UK @ O2 Academy Sat. Mar. 16 – Manchester, UK @ O2 Apollo Sun. Mar. 17 – Newcastle, UK @ Northumbria University Tue. Mar. 19 – Belfast, UK @ Mandela Hall Wed. Mar. 20 – Dublin, IE @ Vicar Street Fri. Mar. 22 – Liverpool, UK @ Invisible Wind Factory Sat. Mar. 23 – Bristol, UK @ O2 Academy Mon. Mar. 25 – Brighton, UK @ The Dome Wed. Mar. 27 – London, UK @ Eventim Apollo Thu. Apr. 4 – Nantes, FR @ Stereolux Fri. Apr. 5 – Paris, FR @ Cabaret Sauvage Sat. Apr. 6 – Bordeaux, FR @ Rock School Barbey Mon. Apr. 8 – Lisbon, PT @ LAV Tue. Apr. 9 – Madrid, ES @ Mon Thu. Apr. 11 – Barcelona, ES @ La 2 Fri. Apr. 12 – Lyon, FR @ Le Transbordeur Sat. Apr. 13 – Bologna, IT @ Locomotiv Club Sun. Apr. 14 – Milan, IT @ Santeria Toscana 31 Tue. Apr. 16 – Zurich, CH @ Mascotte Wed. Apr. 17 – Munich, DE @ Muffathalle Thu. Apr. 18 – Berlin, DE @ Festsaal Kreuzberg Sat. Apr. 20 – Stockholm, SE @ Slaktkyrkan Wed. Apr. 24 – Hamburg, DE @ Uebel & Gefährlich Thu. Apr. 25 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso Main Hall Fri. Apr. 26 – Nijmegen, NL @ Doornroosje Sat. Apr. 27 – Cologne, DE @ Kantine Sun. Apr. 28 – Brussels, BE @ Les Nuits Botanique Thu. May 30 – Solana Beach, CA @ Belly Up Tavern Fri. May 31 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Regent Theater Sat. Jun. 1 – Pioneertown, CA @ Pappy and Harriet’s Mon. Jun. 3 – Santa Cruz, CA @ The Catalyst Atrium Tue. Jun. 4 – San Francisco, CA @ The Independent Thu. Jun. 6 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios Fri. Jun. 7 – Vancouver, BC @ Rickshaw Theatre Sat. Jun. 8 – Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile Sat. Aug. 3 – Leeds, UK @ Millenium Square
Chaos master Dion Lunadon has announced his newest solo album, Systems Edge, due out November 14, 2023. To whet your appetite for it, he’s already released the first single, “I Walk Away.”
On top of that, the album is already available for pre-order on vinyl and “shockwave” vinyland he’s already announced a tour across Europe in the next two months.
Can’t make any of these gigs? Why not go see him in New York for the album’s release party, then?
After recently announcing their split 7″ ‘Girlcow / Sweaty Dog’, which is out on October 6th, Manchester-based band Duvet are back with the second track “Sweaty Dog“, which channels the band’s jagged post-punk and cider-drenched commitment to having a good time.
On the new track, the band said “‘Sweaty Dog’ is a simple song about the state you become after a long night out going from place to place trying to stay out till you develop a animalistic state covered in sweat, booze and other substances while trying to still dance and have fun waiting for your next drink . Some of us in the band like the idea that maybe the ‘Sweaty Dog’ is a dance you do or that they’re this actual half man half dog. We hope everyone has as much fun listening to the track as we do playing it, and just take it for what it is…Our party rock anthem!”
Self-released earlier this year, previously single “Rodeo” takes these markers and gallops full steam ahead, kicking up a dust storm of dissonance and teflon-tough drumming fortified by howls from lead singer Grace Walkden. The song lays into armchair activists who “jump on the rodeo” and “complain about topics they never actually act on”,according to the band.
First forming in 2022, Duvet dipped their toes in dream-pop and riot grrrl before landing on the driving basslines of post-punk. The band’s debut offering “Clown Clown Clown” cuts a hard-hitting figure of scabrous riot grrrl energy in thrall to the 1990s. Duvet assembled their current lineup of vocalist Grace Walkden, guitarists Tasmin Stephens and Seth Lloyd, bassist Jimmi Brown and drummer Victoria Melling and settled on a post-punk sound indebted to the genre’s new wave of artists like Shame, Warmduchser, and Viagra Boys.
Released as a split 7” with “Sweaty Dog,” new single “Girlcow” is flecked with specks of noisy grunge and was written from the perspective of “a pervy cowboy”. The haunting track showcases the band’s knack for crafting stories, as they flip the script and hand over the narrative reins to a female protagonist. “We all mutually find cowboys quite funny,” offers Tasmin Stephens. “I think we all live through cowboys – somehow.”
On the flipside, “Sweaty Dog” channels the band’s cider-drenched commitment to having a good time. The propulsive track is “basically just about being really sweaty and dancing”, according to Walkden. Meanwhile, guitarist Seth Lloyd has designs on transforming “Sweaty Dog” into a dance. “There are sweaty dogs inside all of us,” he jokes.
It’s this uninhibited sense of humour that shines through the band’s songwriting and at their riotous live shows with which they have been building their reputation over the past few years. “The reason we tend to write songs more of the fun side of life is because myself and Grace had many conversations at the start about how people only expect us to only talk/sing about harsh topics that affect a lot of women,” explains Stephens. “We tried it, but it didn’t work for us. Maybe in the future it will, but we came to the conclusion that we are here to have fun with the band and escape that side of life.”
“You come to the practice room with a smile on your face because this is meant to be fun, and that’s why we hopefully write songs that we think are fun,” says Lloyd. “We are here to distract from the shit things in life.”
Next week Patio will release their sophomore LP Collection. Produced by Nate Amosof Water From Your Eyes, the album will be released on Fire Talk Records, and is the follow up to their acclaimed 2019 debut LP Essentials, the album has so far seen the release of three singles, “Sixpence,” “Relics” and “En Plein Air,” which have seen praise from outlets like Rolling Stone, Stereogum, Paste, BrooklynVegan and Clash among many others. Today, the band are sharing a final preview from the record, a dub-inspired dance track entitled “Inheritance.”
Inspired by classic 80s bands like Pylon, Bush Tetras, and New Order, “Inheritance” was conceived as a shadowy sister song to “Relics,” utilizing a dense network of cultural and historical references to further explore the idea of generational trauma. As the band explains: “Inheritance” summons the forces of southern Italian folklore, weaving together myths, stories, and allusions to family history, cult 80s punk, and Proto-Renaissance art.” Together with producer Nate Amos — a “musical genius” who became the band’s “perfect fourth brain” — “Inheritance” allowed Patio to experiment with in-studio improvisation. Tasked with the job of crafting a dance-floor-ready “remix,” Amos added unexpected sonic flourishes like drum effects, piano crashes, and jagged sounds from a bucket of screws. In support of the release the band will be embarking on a European tour date supporting Deeper in the fall. Full details on those dates and the band’s New York release show and London headline gig can be found below. Patio’s Collection is available for preorder HERE
