A mix of old, current obsessions and new on this one - a bit of a focus, with matters progressing on a planned Harvey’s Rabbit release a little slower than anticipated, I thought I would dig out their album on Resonator and the obvious choice from that was the cover of a Robert Forster song given what else is on the show. Also I was extremely pleased to see the talented Lancashire Hustlers back with a new album after too long a gap.
AUDIO
PLAYLIST
The Holy Rollercoasters - Down And Dirty - This Is The Last Will And Testament Of.
Bacon Wagon - A Voodoo That Actually Works - Trauma Cake
Tangowhiskyman - Dime Lo Que Quieras - Dime Lo Que Quieras
Dwellers - The Beast - Corrupt Translation
Rún - Terror Moon - Rún
TFS - Teeth Marché - Fairyland Codex
Lucia Cadotsch’ LIUN + The Science Fiction Band - Daddy Longleg - Does It Make You Love Your Life?
Moff Skellington - The Code For Sugar A - Quandello Feast
Robert Forster - Good To Cry - Strawberries
The Go-Betweens - 121 - G Stands For Go-Betweens: The Go-Betweens Anthology - Volume 3
Harvey’s Rabbit - Is That What You Call Change - The New Spiritual Vacuum
Steve Wynn - California - Solo Electric Vol 1
Charlie Nieland - Redshift - The Ocean Understands
The Lancashire Hustlers - No Sign Of Me - Here But Not Here
Celeste Corsano - Nightbird - Nightbird
Celeste Corsano - Sunlight Gazing - Sunlight Gazing
Barbiana Complex - Sky View Mirror - Sky View Mirror
2 Lost Souls - Scars - Arch
Half Naked Shrunken Heads - Take Me Away - Let’s Build A Boy
The Royal Dave Graney Show - Twilight Of A Villain - The Brother Who Lived
Dubmatix with Ammoye - Fire And Brimstone Dub - Fire And Brimstone
Me Lost Me - Ancient Summer - This Material Moment
Sanam - Harik - Sametou Sawtan
Tamir Barzilay – Hummingbird - Phosphene Journal
Grails - Primeval Lite I-III - Miracle Music
Supersilent - 10.8 - 10
Wayne Shorter - Night Dreamer - Night Dreamer
NOTES
The Holy Rollercoasters - Brisbane (Australia) funk/soul/blues octet The Holy Rollercoasters is lead by vocalist Jimi Beavis. Their new single ‘Down and Dirty’ is the first taste of their third and final album This is the Last Will And Testament of. In a mix of down-home The Band and Ike and Tina Turner it is straight from that late 60s/early 70s melding of rock n roll, soul and funk in a sound and lyric that befits its title. Written in Jimi’s late 20s, he discarded it until he could more perfectly work it out with the more recent help of guitarist Chris Bancroft and regular HRC co-composer Andrew Garton. It’s a celebration of the joys of spontaneity and setting aside the restrictions we place upon ourselves in the pursuit of love. And about getting down and also dirty and wearing leather jackets. This last album of The Holy Rollercoasters was recorded live in the studio and the film clip is an edit of two cameras from three takes of the song. None of the takes were at the same tempo and in an effort to film and also to be non-intrusive this is a rough and ready, perhaps down and dirty edit of the performances with the final song.
Bacon Wagon - Swedish noise rock trio with their debut LP, Trauma Cake, released through Reptilian Records on June 6th. In 2003, upon the disbanding of seminal Swedish noise rock band Acid Ape, brothers Marcus and Kristoffer Kinberg started Bacon Wagon. 2004 saw them record a self-released split 7” with fellow rockers Instrumen. After trying a bunch of guitarists, Marcus switched from drums to guitar/vocals, and in 2005, the band recorded and released a six-song EP, Savant, released on Maduro Records. Shortly after, Peter Johansson, who played drums in Instrumen, quit his band and joined them, which turned out to be the perfect line-up. In 2006, they hooked up with Baltimore noise rockers Dactyl for a split 7” on Hit-Dat Records and a US tour, and a couple of years later, the band was put on hiatus. The brothers Kinberg continued onward in the new outfit Hooves Not Hands, and Johansson later started the punk band Slöa Knivar and death metal band Bastard Grave. Fast forward to 2023 when they finally got their act together and wrote a slew of new songs leading to this debut full length. Crackling with the expected caustic noise rock snarl and a filthy edge of tongue-in-cheek snark, Trauma Cake slaps the listener with music fueled with punk energy and fuzz galore. Like a slightly less subtle Sonic Youth with a smattering of Hüsker Dü.
Tangowhiskyman - Emerging band Tangowhiskyman unveils their new single “Dime Lo Que Quieras”, a neo-psychedelic rock piece with a tropical soul. The track is part of the upcoming Spanish EP Tango En Nostalgia officially released on May 27 across all digital platforms. This is a heartfelt song about embracing love as it is—with all its highs, contradictions, and truths. It’s a mature reflection on growing together, accepting what cannot be changed, and learning to coexist with what we feel and say.
Dwellers - ongoing featured album
Rún - The Irish word Rún can mean secret, mystery, or love, or perhaps some elusive combination of the three, reflecting the many aspects of life that defy easy explanation. In wrestling with these, it can become necessary to commit oneself entirely, to jump in at the psychic deep end in search of the vibrations and feelings at hand. This is where the band Rún come in - Rocket Recordings have announced their self titled debut full-length arriving 22nd August. As a preview of their album, the band share the album's centrepiece "Terror Moon" on which a thunderous percussive backdrop is matched in intensity by potent chants and mantric ululations from Tara as well a ferocious tumult of layered noise and fevered invective. Rún comprise firstly Tara Baoth Mooney – sometime Jim Henson voice artist, with a longstanding background in everything from folk and choral music to experimental film-making. Diarmuid MacDiarmada – Nurse With Wound co-conspirator and brother of Lankum’s Cormac, brings with him the experience of avant-garde collaborations with a plethora of artists stretching back over thirty years. Drummer, sound designer and engineer Rian Trench, meanwhile, has worked on everything from the psychedelic IDM of Solar Bears to auto-generative experiments to orchestral arrangements, and owns the studio – The Meadow on Ireland’s East Coast – in which the album was made. The disparate artistic practices of the three members of the band collude in this context to create something no member could have foreseen. “Beyond the larger themes we explore, the work is often inspired by dreams, synchronicities, and other uncanny influences found in everyday life” reckons Diarmiud. Besides this, an extremely diverse range of musical influences make their presence felt here, from William Basinski and Pauline Oliveros to Om, Coil and The Necks. “Suffice to say that there was a variety of sacred musics, acid-folk, cosmic jazz, stoner / sludge-metal, avant-garde composers and a hint of R&B being ground up and baked in with everything else in our wonky witches’ kitchen.” They say, “Things that possibly shouldn’t go together are juxtaposed to create something surprising and new.”
TFS - another track from the new album
Lucia Cadotsch’ LIUN + The Science Fiction Band - the third full-length album by Berlin-based duo LIUN + The Science Fiction Band, the genre-fluid, cinematic project of vocalist Lucia Cadotsch and multi-instrumentalist/producer Wanja Slavin. A breathtaking five-year journey in the making, the album sees Cadotsch and Slavin stretch the edges of possibility—both musically and emotionally. Featuring a 13-piece string ensemble and a constellation of Berlin’s most visionary players, Does it make you love your life? is an electroacoustic opus that embraces contrasts: analogue warmth and digital precision, fragility and force, grief and euphoria. Kurt Rosenwinkel—who mastered the record—calls it “a masterpiece.”
Moff Skellington - another track from the latest album
A trio of Robert Forster related tracks. A cut from his new album Strawberries, a Go-Betweens tune from the Nachtmix album - part of the 3rd Box Set, and Harvey’s Rabbit covering a Robert song. As i’ve have mentioned we are currently working on an album of older Harvey’s Rabbit songs from their early days which hopefully will be out later in the year.
Steve Wynn - Steve says: I recorded this album at home in 2015 to sell on a pair of European tours where I travelled with my electric Gibson ES-369, my Supro amp and the desire to shift my solo shows from acoustic folksinger to loud, electric sonic muckraker. It gave me a chance to turn songs from my back catalog inside out, reducing them to solo exercises and then kicking them back out as one man electrical band workouts. My Dream Syndicate tickets arrived this week for the Medicine Show tour - just need to wait until February now.
Charlie Nieland - its been a while since I played anything by NYC producer indie music veteran Charlie. 'Redshift', is a dream-pop track that delves into the profound experience of creating your own chosen family, viewed through the lens of cosmic expansion and astrophysical wonder. This is the second taste of his 'The Ocean Understands' EP (released June 20). Nieland’s musical backstory is extensive, having played dream pop with Her Vanished Grace for over 20 years before establishing himself as a solo artist with a mix of nuanced songwriting and sonic exploration, initially releasing 'Ice Age' (2014) and 'Hopeful Monsters' (2016). He is currently half of the literature-inspired songwriting and performing duo Lusterlit with Susan Hwang and produces and participates in the podcast 'An Embarrassment of Prog'.
The Lancashire Hustlers - another duo I used to play a lot several years back are back with a new album - three years in the waiting. Ian from the band says “It's the usual ruminations on alienation/disconnectedness etc. Hopefully the perfect tonic” Their seventh album Ian Pakes and Brent Thorley are masters of songcraft - they bring joy to my heart. This will be a featured release over the next few months. It’s out on July 4th on vinyl/cd from their Bandcamp page.
Celeste Corsano - Pennsylvania-based artist Corsano presents her new single 'Nightbird', the dark side of the ying-yang, following her recently-released debut single 'Sunlight Gazing'. An innovative singer-songwriter, Corsano is the latest artist to be added to the growing roster of the blossoming Montclair, NJ-based indie label Magic Door Record Label. Corsano's music blends poetic lyricism with adventurous arrangements, unexpected rhythms and a distinct emotional range -- from ethereal and moody to playful and bold. With a natural use of mixed meters and layered vocal timbres, her fearless approach to storytelling conveys a deeper truth. "I live in a rural area. There's nights when I can't sleep, thinking about my living dreams, desires and worries...the noise and chaos of my circumstances and feelings crowd my mind. When that happens, I lie in bed and look out my window and see the shadows of trees, lightning bugs flash, and sometimes hear the cry of a fisher cat... so eerie and wild. I hear the call of an owl, or see a bird that's been disturbed from its perch and fly to another spot. The sights and sounds become part of a message to me.... a nightbird...calling to me," says Celeste. I went back and listened to the debut, which I missed for some reason, impressed also so I’ve included it - impressive vocal gymnastics. More material to follow i’m advised.
More featured releases from Barbiana Complex, 2 Lost Souls, Half Naked Shrunken Heads and The Royal Dave Graney Show - of the latter Dave says “Clare and I played and recorded this track at the Ponderosa. I am on 6 and 12 string acoustics and bass, Clare is on keyboards. It's a meditation on the plight of an old gangster, or hard man. Or singer. Battling against his own past as well as the new guns blowing off all around.”
Dubmatix - originally released in 2023 - The cover perfectly captures the vibe and sense of past - 70s classic roots reggae with a message. Dubmatix says “Ammoye and I began collaborating back in the mid-2000s after being introduced by Aram & Sassa'le, hosts of one of the top reggae shows on Toronto radio - Version Xcursion. Over the years we've continued to work together in various capacities but this is the first release of a song in more than 5 years”.
Me Lost Me - the project of Newcastle-based artist Jayne Dent who delights in experimenting with songwriting, creating a beguiling mix of soaring vocals and atmospheric electronics that playfully push the boundaries of genre. "Ancient Summer"is taken from new album This Material Moment (out 27th June via Upset the Rhythm), which she describes as "emotionally raw", and deems it her most honest and vulnerable album yet.
About "Ancient Summer", Jayne comments that "This was the first song I wrote for the album and the first time I’d made a mesostic poem. Taking words from a tourism leaflet for Pont du Gard, a Roman Aqueduct and art museum near Nimes, France, I wrote this song that’s got so much wonderfully hyperbolic and excited language. It reflects quite well how I felt at the time of visiting, I was so moved to be swimming in a river in this beautiful valley under an ancient monument. It’s a song that comes from suddenly noticing your place in time and space, that feeling of being in communion with a past and a future, of being a part of something bigger than yourself. Visiting historical sites is one of my favourite things, and this is a bit of a love letter to the places that I’ve been lucky to visit over the years."
Sanam - Constellation welcomes the band to the label for the release of their second album this authmn. The Beirut-based avant-rock sextet expands its genre-bending exploration of sound, memory, and cultural identity on Sametou Sawtan, following the acclaimed 2023 debut Aykathani Malakon on Mais Um Discos. The band merges psych/kraut, improv/skronk, electronics, goth, and jazz elements with traditional Egyptian song and modern Arabic poetry in a compelling brew of widescreen hybrid avant-rock.“Harik” opens Sametou Sawtan with a jolt: a pounding drum, blasts of razored electronics, and Sandy Chamoun’s gasping vocals, plunge the listener into a twitchy drone-rock groove where Chamoun winds hypnotic melodic lines around ricocheting guitar and buzuq. Described as “an infinite fire that burns without fuel,” the track captures their signature blend of experimental rock and Arabic tradition, embodying a relentless emotional state that’s both destructive and transcendent—an invocation.
Tamir Barzilay - Against a backdrop of synthesizers, drum machines, silvery piano and synthesizers, and a thick, smooth bass, Barzilay creates an unexpected pastiche journey that could be classified as experimental ambient jazz. Known primarily as a drummer, Barzilay goes far beyond the kit here, creating a fluid album that blurs the lines. It's a bold and quietly captivating effort that deserves a thorough listen. There's also a fair amount of analogue bleed and tape fuzz mixed throughout the album, deliberately intended to give it a nostalgic, dusty quality. Some tracks hover in a kind of ambient limbo, beautiful but static.
Grails - the experimental rock institution who have cultivated a quarter-century career out of crate-plunging cultural curiosities – returns a mere two years after the lauded Anches En Maat with their most personal and emotionally resonant album to date. While the band still revel in rearranging bizarre and obscure sources into something often revelatory and surreal, Miracle Music does so with an ascendant melodic power that feels hallowed. The Miracle Music line-up includes cofounders Emil Amos (Om, Holy Sons, Lilacs & Champagne) and Alex Hall (Lilacs & Champagne), alongside returning members, AE Paterra (Zombi, Majeure), Jesse Bates, and Ilyas Ahmed. Produced by Amos, Miracle Music reunites the group with recording engineer Jason Powers and his Type Foundry studio in Portland, Oregon, where the earliest Grails records were made more than two decades ago. Replete with acoustic and electric guitars, synths, woodwinds, brass, samples, percussion – and featuring horn arrangements by Kelly Pratt (David Byrne, M. Ward) – Miracle Music unveils an exquisite new horizon for Grails.
Supersilent - a Norwegian avant-garde-improvisational music group formed at Nattjazz in Bergen in 1997. The trio Veslefrekk was asked to play with electronic musician Helge "Deathprod" Stein. The fusion of the experimental jazz group with Sten's rumbling drones and noise was so successful that they united as Supersilent. This album was released in 2010 after drummer Jarle Vespertad had left and featured the trio of Arve Henriksen - vocals, trumpet, percussion, Helge Sten - live electronics, synthesizer, electric guitar, and, Ståle Storløkken - synthesizer, piano
Wayne Shorter - the fourth album was released in November 1964 by Blue Note Records with a quintet of trumpeter Lee Morgan, pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Reggie Workman and drummer Elvin Jones performing six Shorter originals. At this point of his career, Shorter felt his writing was changing. While the previous compositions had a "lot of detail", this new approach had a simplistic quality to it. "I used to use a lot of chord changes, for instance, but now I can separate the wheat from the chaff."