Pop & Rock News

Seit ihrem Debütalbum "Gluey Porch Treatments" von 1987 haben die Melvins einiges gewagt: musikalische Konzepte erweitert, ungewöhnliche Kollaborationen riskiert, Genre-Grenzen stets neu definiert. Aber an eines haben sie sich bis dato nicht herangetraut: das Format des Doppelalbums! Kein Wunder also, wenn Buzz Osborne, der Kopf der Melvins, hier von einem neuen Maßstab spricht. Das Werk wartet mit wunderbaren Gästen auf, so haben sich Joey Santiago (The Pixies), Teri Gender Bender (Le Butcherettes/Crystal Fairy) und Anna Waronker (That Dog) an den Aufnahmen beteiligt. Ist der erste Part noch Alternative-Rock Melvin'scher Prägung, widmet sich der zweite Teil weit experimentelleren Klangwelten, die gleichzeitig den Soundtrack zu "A Walk With Love And Death" von Jesse Nieminen bilden.

Universal Music are proud to announce the first ever vinyl release of the New Radical's 1988 album 'Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too' as a 2-LP set. The album went platinum in America, and proved even more popular around the world, cracking the top 10 in the U.K. as well as many other territories. The first single, You Get What You Give,' was a smash hit on the Billboard Hot 100, topped the charts in Canada and New Zealand and was in the Top 5 in the U.K. In addition to its success on the Pop Radio charts, the song also crossed music genres and peaked in the top 10 of the Billboard Modern Rock chart. 180g Black Vinyl. Includes Download Card

Widely considered to be both The Smiths' finest work and one of the greatest albums ever made, 'The Queen Is Dead' has cast a significant influence over subsequent generations since it was first released in the summer of 1986.
 
This reissue represents the first time that The Smiths' back catalogue has been revisited in such a way. The album features several of the band's finest moments including the title track and 'There Is A Light That Never Goes Out', as well as the iconic singles 'The Boy With The Thorn In His Side' and 'Bigmouth Strikes Again'.
 
'The Queen Is Dead' will be released on digital and streaming formats as well as the following physical formats - all of which feature the 2017 master of the original album:

- 180 GRAM AUDIOPHILE VINYL
- PRINTED INNERSLEEVE
- INCLUDING THE HIT SINGLES
- LAVINIA', MORE HEAT THAN LIGHT' AND THE WILD SON'
- FIRST TIME ON VINYL!
- LIMITED EDITION OF 1000 COPIES

The Runaway Found is an excellent debut album from this popular New Zealand band. The sound of The Veils is overall lush, romantic & literate. Lead singer Finn Andrews, who was just 17 and 18 when he composed the songs of this album, is confident and sensitive, much like Richard Ashcroft and the late Jeff Buckley. Andrews' lyrics and The Veils' mature presentation complement one another.


From the majestic melodies of Guiding Light' and The Leavers Dance' to the thunderous clamour of More Heat Than Light,' The Runaway Found never loses its momentum.


Guitars chime on The Leavers Dance' before the electric sonic explosion with Andrews wailing the name Bernice' as if it were a magic incantation, Vicious Traditions' clangs and groans like a therapy session for post-war stress.


The single Lavinia' is washed with keyboards and a string section as Andrews' vocals seems like an extended emotional moan and carriers the whole album.


The Runaway Found is an incredibly focused first album, giving evidence of how serious the Veils are about composing a stylish, quality sound. Since it's official release in 2004 it is now available for the first time on vinyl.

- 180 GRAM AUDIOPHILE VINYL
- PRINTED INNERSLEEVE
- PRODUCED BY NICK LAUNAY (ARCADE FIRE/NICK CAVE)
- LIMITED EDITION OF 1.000 INDIVIDUALLY NUMBERED COPIES PRESSED ON COLOURED (WHITE AND BLACK MIXED) VINYL

Nux Vomica is the second album by The Veils, released on 18 September 2006. It was recorded in Laurel Canyon (Los Angeles) and produced by Nick Launay, during spring of 2006. Launay is responsible for work of Nick Cave and this influence is clearly visible on this album, as he was one of the inspirations.

After the success of the debut The Runaway Found (MOVLP1956) the second album by The Veils is still a very pleasant surprise. A far heavier and darker sound characterises the album, very different from the indie sound of the previous record.

Most notable tracks are Jesus for the Jugular', Not Yet', Pan' and the title track itself, while more accessible numbers are the singles Advice for Young Mothers to Be' and One Night on Earth'. A distinctive contribution to this new sound was given by the string arrangements of Jane Scarpantoni, ex member of The Lounge Lizards and long-time Lou Reed collaborator.

On Calliope!', in a move typical of the more famous band, guitars take a back seat to keyboards and the strings play a sharp marcato.

- 180 GRAM AUDIOPHILE VINYL
- PRINTED INNERSLEEVE
- LIMITED EDITION OF 1.000 INDIVIDUALLY NUMBERED COPIES PRESSED ON COLOURED (TRANSPARENT GREEN, SOLID WHITE AND A TOUCH OF BLACK MIXED) VINYL

The Veils are a London-based indie/alternative band. The band's heartbeat is that of Finn Andrews, a globetrotting goth troubadour from a rock 'n roll lineage (he is the spawn of XTC's Barry). Head of Rough Trade Records Geoff Travis has referred to Finn as a young but maturing real artist in the vein of Nick Cave and David Bowie'.

Sun Gangs is the third album by The Veils, released on 6 April
2009. The full-length album from this emotionally charged rock outfit finds frontman Finn Andrews fully realizing the expressive power of his voice.

Finn Andrews has described it as 'a very modern mixture of prayers, love letters and personal record keeping'. Sun Gangs was produced by Graham Sutton, with the exception of the opening track Sit Down by the Fire', produced by Bernard Butler. No official singles were released to promote the album though 1-track promos of Three Sisters' and The Letter' were sent out to radio stations before release.

Festival Records and Warner Music Australia are excited to release another exciting and unique new collection of Australian music, 'Closed Circuits: Australian Alternative Electronic Music Of The '70s & '80s, Volume 1.'

Compiled by noted Australian music writer and historian David Nichols, 'Closed Circuits' looks at what happened in Australia when the machines started taking over in the wake of punk in the late 70s. Synthesisers and other new technology accompanied a new DIY mentality and very quickly made their presence felt right across the pop spectrum. The collection looks at some of the underground innovators - the likes of Whirlywirld, Essendon Airport, Voigt/465 and Scattered Order - and also some of those who wedded the new sounds with more commercial instincts and created new styles of pop music, like the Dugites, Models, the Reels and the Machinations. It is a range of music that is sometimes fun, sometimes intensely serious, and always innovative.

Nichols puts it like this in his liner notes: "This collection brings together a wide range of recordings really only united by one thing: people using technology to produce something fresh. These were not necessarily artists wedded to the idea of the 'new wave' or even hoping to wipe out old rock music, but what these tracks do represent is forward-thinking, inventive, progress... Most (not all) of the people on this collection were in their early-to-mid 20s, their reference points growing up in the 70s might have been Bowie's Berlin period albums, or Roxy Music - particularly the Eno years - or Brian Eno's own solo material, perhaps groups like Suicide. Many tracks sound like their creators spent their formative years immersed in the fun experimental side of progressive rock (though few seem to remember that experience). Others were more into the shock element of the new wave/ post punk world - or the DIY nature of synthesisers and other new technology. It didn't hurt that between the late 70s and early 80s the hardware got cheaper, fast - though five or six hundred dollars for a synthesizer was still a major investment."

'Closed Circuits' features detailed liner notes and track-by-track commentary by Nichols as well as an original design by Michael Trudgeon, the graphic designer for the seminal Melbourne '80s cassette fanzine 'Fast Forward' (which was a vital outlet for this music back in the day), as well as numerous images.

'Closed Circuits' provides a unique and invaluable look at the specifically Australian beginnings of key elements of the music of the 80s: music that is more popular and examined more closely now than at any time since it was originally made.

Originally released in 1996, Electriclarryland' features the Surfers only top 40 hit with the song Pepper'. Although the sound on this album continues the more streamlined approach they started with Independent Worm Saloon', this record is by no means mainstream, even with the hit. With pile driving rockers, pop-punk raves, acid freakouts and their demented sense of humor and bizarre perspective intact - the Surfers take no prisoners! 3 sides of music with the 4th side featuring etchings by Gibby Haynes.

Auf seinem zweiten Album als Big French kombiniert der New Yorker Musiker Quentin Moore den Willen zum knappen, eingängigen Pop-Song mit der Ästhetik des Lo-Fi-Recordings. Mit einem Mehrspur-Rekorder aufgenommen, nimmt der Künstler Manipulationen an den Bändern vor und ändert die Soundästhetik der ursprünglichen Aufnahmen nachhaltig. Damit erreicht er einen Kontrast zwischen den melodiösen Songs und einer ungeschliffenen Sound-Kulisse.

As with their previous release, Ardor was recorded a the Hotel2Tango, this time by Radwan Ghazi Moumneh (of Jerusalem In My Heart). Jessica Moss (Thee Silver Mt Zion Memorial Orchestra), who was a special guest on Au De La, played violin on all of the three new tracks and Thierry Amar (Godspeed You! Black Emperor) played contrabass on two of the tracks.

'Montreal's genre-defying post-rock combo BIG|BRAVE could very well be the most noteworthy recent heavy curiosity to come out of the city in recent years.' - NOISEY

'...combines elements of Björk, Neurosis, The White Stripes, and Sunn O))) into a cohesive whole; but this whole is an ever evolving and challenging sonic mass. - THE QUIETUS
Montreal three-piece BIG|BRAVE have been simmering since their 2015 release 'Au De La,' but their relentlessly experimental sound and kinetic creative energy has finally—and thankfully—boiled over.

While the teaser barely tips one minute, it speaks volumes regarding what's to come in BIG|BRAVE's next endeavor; swirling static, booming guitars, powerful drums—all the hallmarks that have made them one of experimental rock's most exciting acts today.  With just three songs that clock in for a 40-minute-long LP, BIG|BRAVE have adopted a nearly unbearable level of urgency and intensity that weaves throughout Ardor.

Since their inception in 2012, BIG|BRAVE demonstrate the fluidity of experimental rock when elaborated into vast, abstract, and often hypnotic sounds, saturated in soulbaring emotion. The trio put everything into their music, until there's nothing left to give. Their particular art in musical refinement expands ever gradually, unfurling into a very heavy, strong, and elevating force. As comfortable as they are with tidal waves of sound, BIG|BRAVE is unafraid to experiment with silence, oscillating between sparse, gentle arrangements and deep swells of noise

Columbia Records release this new 21 track live album, recorded at intimate shows in 5 U.S. cities. Very stripped down performances, with string quartet & additional percussion. Featuring 18 songs curated from the bands 4 studio albums, plus 3 re-imagined versions of existing songs. Lead single "Whole Wide World" is being played across radio & MTV/Vevo. Press ads, features & reviews. Online & social media activity. UK promo trip around release. Vinyl format to follow later (date TBC).

Aufgenommen wurde "Universal High" im Sommer 2016 in den Maze Studios in Atlanta, wobei niemand Geringerer als der legendäre Ben H Allen (Gnarls Barkley, Animal Collective, Deerhunter) in die Produzentenrolle schlüpfte und mit Bandleader Ben Romans-Hopscraft eine kreative Allianz formte. Man könnte "Universal High" durchaus als eine Wiedergeburt sehen: Es setzt sich fast bis zur Unkenntlichkeit vom Dub-geladenen Psychedelic-Indie ihres Debüts ab. Der neue Sound ist dagegen viel mehr geprägt von den Straßen des Südens, auf denen er entstand, vermischt mit dem 70's Soul von The Isley Brothers, Curtis Mayfield und Shuggie Otis.

Coldplay have confirmed the final tracklisting for the 'Kaleidoscope EP', which will be available to download and stream from July 14, and released on CD and vinyl on August 4.

Produced by Rik Simpson with Daniel Green and Bill Rahko, the EP features brand new song 'All I Can Think About Is You' and a new live version of Coldplay's hit collaboration with The Chainsmokers, 'Something Just Like This', recorded in Tokyo in April. It also includes 'Miracles (Someone Special)', a collaboration with Detroit rapper Big Sean and another new song, 'A L I E N S', which was written with Brian Eno, and co-produced by Eno and Markus Dravs (Arcade Fire, Mumford & Sons, Kings Of Leon).

**13 VINYL BOX SET**

* Midnight Oil
* Head Injuries
* Bird Noises (EP)
* Place Without A Postcard
* 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1
* Red Sails In The Sunset
* Species Deceases (EP)
* Diesel And Dust
* Blue Sky Mining
* Earth And Sun And Moon
* Breathe
* Redneck Wonderland
* Capricornia

Reissue of "In Silence" the gloomy 1981 debut lp from this Norwegian post-punk band. Released in an edition of 500.

Fra Lippo Lippi was a gothic post-punk band founded in Nesodden, Norway in 1978. Band members were Rune Kristoffersen (guitar, bass, keyboards, piano) Per Oystein Sorensen (vocals, synthesizer, keyboards), and Morten Sjoberg (drums, keyboards). Their sound was heavily influenced by bands such as Joy Division and The Cure.

In 1981 the band recorded and released "In Silence', a hard to grasp, dark album with ominous bass lines, death-march percussion, pensive keyboards, and sinister, indecipherable vocals. The band had installed a semi-professional 4-track recording studio in a small basement. The recording of the album started in June 1981 and was not completed until 4 months later. Rune Kristoffersen: "It took a long time. Our compositions were based on the drums and the bass, which we coloured with guitars, voices and keyboards. The sound was completely natural, both concrete and abstract."

On the record it was difficult to hear the vocals, as it was mixed far behind the instruments. So it was made impossible to understand the lyrics. Not unlike producer Martin Hannett did for Factory Records in the UK. Rune Kristoffersen: "It is made quite conscious: put the voices far back to create a mood music. I also look at 'In Silence' in a certain connection to what Brian Eno did with his ambient music."

In 1998, Rune started releasing experimental music on his very own label called Rune Grammofon, where he has highlighted many experimental Norwegian acts such as Arne Nordheim, Supersilent, and Motorpsycho.

Tiny Mix Tapes:
..In Silence has a more unrefined sound and should have any fan of Joy Division wishing they'd heard of this band sooner. If I were to review Closer or Unknown Pleasures today, they'd obviously receive 5/5. Therefore, since Fra Lippo Lippi is so strangely similar, and "In Silence" is almost like having a new Joy Division/New Order album, I'd be hard pressed to give it a anything less than a near perfect score. Find out for yourself what you've missed out on for the past twenty years. Wow!

2x 12" BOX !

2x 10" BOX !

2x LP + 2x CD

Gatefold sleeve with printed inner sleeves.

Includes 12"x12" booklet of lyrics, photographs and credits.

Download voucher.

Er gilt als Lieblingskomponist von Wim Wenders, wird vom Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch sowie Fernando Arrabal und Lars von Trier bewundert und hat schon mit dem legendären Regisseur Peter Greenaway zusammengearbeitet: Luca D'Alberto. Mit "Endless" legt der italienische Komponist und Multiinstrumentalist sein Debütalbum vor. Es erscheint - noch eine Premiere - beim 2017 frisch aus der Taufe gehobenen Imprint 7K!, dem neuen Neoklassik-Unterlabel von !K7. Obwohl klassisch ausgebildet, ist D'Alberto ein stilistischer Grenzgänger, der in seiner Musik nach neuen Ausdrucksformen sucht und dabei herkömmliche orchestrale Instrumente und elektronische Klangerzeuger mixt. Passend dazu hat D'Alberto auf den insgesamt neun Stücken von "Endless" jedes Instrument selber eingespielt - von Piano und Synthesizer über Violine, Bratsche und Cello bis hin zu Violectra. D'Albertos passionierte, ausdrucksstarke und soundtrackartige Neoklassik erinnert an Ludovico Einaudi und verbeugt sich sowohl vor Großmeistern wie Steve Reich, Philip Glass, Michael Nyman, Max Richter und Ryuichi Sakamoto als auch musikalischen Querdenkern wie Tricky, Tim Hecker oder Nils Frahm. Bei der Produktion wurde D'Alberto von InnervisionsMitglied Henrik Schwarz unterstützt

Television's 2nd LP highlights the guitar interplay of Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd. It shows the dreamier, reflective side of this groundbreaking band. Original artwork. On gold vinyl with inner sleeve featuring lyrics and an essay on the album. Limited edition of 1,000.

Every now and again, the world of music throws up a record that is out of the ordinary, something in its timing, quality and spirit that just feels right. The Verve's 1997 album Urban Hymns, released 29/9/97, was undoubtedly one such record. It captured the mood and spirit of the times with songs of an emotional and musical depth, songs that touched a raw nerve throughout the world and ensured that they would graduate from highly respected indie favourites with two critically lauded, modest-selling albums to their name, to a genuine [alt.] rock colossus in the latter half of 1997, before parting ways in 1999.
- A certified classic, it is one of the 20 biggest-selling albums ever in the UK (now 11 times platinum) and has sold over ten million copies worldwide.
- The album spawned four highly successful singles - led by the epoch-making worldwide smash Bitter Sweet Symphony and the UK No. 1 The Drugs Don't Work - and 20 years on the strength of the writing, the quality of the ensemble playing and the clever production ensure that the album sounds as riveting as ever.
- To mark the anniversary, Virgin/USM are reissuing a remastered version of the album with a bounty of bonus material - all of the accompanying b-sides (and The Verve's b-sides were something special) plus around three hours of powerful, previously unreleased live material, including the full triumphant May 1998 hometown show in front of around 35,000 fans at Haigh Hall, Wigan (on both CD and DVD).
- The remastering and mixing work has been undertaken by Urban Hymns' original co-producer Chris Potter and Metropolis' Tony Cousins - as it was for the two super deluxe Verve reissues issued last year, A Storm In Heaven and A Northern Soul.
- The DVD includes the documentary 'The Video 96-98', only ever available on VHS (outside of Malaysia, where it was issued as a VCD).
- The deluxe packages also feature new interviews with the band and all physical releases draw on a vast array of previously unseen photography by Chris Floyd, who first travelled with The Verve on their US tour of 1994 and was granted unprecedented access during the making of Urban Hymns and beyond - up to and including the Haigh Hall show. His work brilliantly captured the band in the studio, on stage, backstage, during down time, on their video sets and tour bus.

Every now and again, the world of music throws up a record that is out of the ordinary, something in its timing, quality and spirit that just feels right. The Verve's 1997 album Urban Hymns, released 29/9/97, was undoubtedly one such record. It captured the mood and spirit of the times with songs of an emotional and musical depth, songs that touched a raw nerve throughout the world and ensured that they would graduate from highly respected indie favourites with two critically lauded, modest-selling albums to their name, to a genuine (alt.) rock colossus in the latter half of 1997, before parting ways in 1999.
- A certified classic, it is one of the 20 biggest-selling albums ever in the UK (now 11 times platinum) and has sold over ten million copies worldwide.
- The album spawned four highly successful singles - led by the epoch-making worldwide smash Bitter Sweet Symphony and the UK No. 1 The Drugs Don't Work - and 20 years on the strength of the writing, the quality of the ensemble playing and the clever production ensure that the album sounds as riveting as ever.
- To mark the anniversary, Virgin/USM are reissuing a remastered version of the album with a bounty of bonus material - all of the accompanying b-sides (and The Verve's b-sides were something special) plus around three hours of powerful, previously unreleased live material, including the full triumphant May 1998 hometown show in front of around 35,000 fans at Haigh Hall, Wigan (on both CD and DVD).
- The remastering and mixing work has been undertaken by Urban Hymns' original co-producer Chris Potter and Metropolis' Tony Cousins - as it was for the two super deluxe Verve reissues issued last year, A Storm In Heaven and A Northern Soul.
- The DVD includes the documentary 'The Video 96-98', only ever available on VHS (outside of Malaysia, where it was issued as a VCD).
- The deluxe packages also feature new interviews with the band and all physical releases draw on a vast array of previously unseen photography by Chris Floyd, who first travelled with The Verve on their US tour of 1994 and was granted unprecedented access during the making of Urban Hymns and beyond - up to and including the Haigh Hall show. His work brilliantly captured the band in the studio, on stage, backstage, during down time, on their video sets and tour bus.

Originally released in Canada in 2006, and worldwide by 2007, Patrick Watson's breakthrough album has sold over 100,000 copies. Winner of Canada's Polaris Prize in 2007, it has received critical praise across the globe and continues to sell as the band's profile increases. Features the single The Great Escape.' A six-panel digipak with accordion foldout, the album is now available via original label Secret City Records.

Deluxe gatefold 2LP edition with bonus track Interference From the Sky'. MP3 download included.

There was always something sexy about Purgatory. No one wants to hang out in Hell, but was Heaven ever really that appealing either How does that Talking Head song go Heaven is a place where nothing ever happens...' Close to Paradise is one of those rare gems of an album that can stand as a gateway to wherever you want it to take you.

Originally released in Canada in 2006, and worldwide by 2007, Patrick Watson's breakthrough album has sold over 100,000 copies. Wooden Arms is Patrick Watson's highly anticipated follow-up to the critically acclaimed Close to Paradise, which vaulted the man and his band to international stardom in 2007. The Montreal band toured non-stop for two years following initial Canadian release of Close to Paradise in 2006, and in many ways Wooden Arms is the story and sound of a band waking up in strange places all around the world.

Whether it's the bicycle-city sound of Beijing,' or the warmth of a hole in the wall' in sweet New Orleans' on Big Bird in a Small Cage,' or the haunting European waltz of the title track, you can't help but feel in listening to Wooden Arms like you're on the road with the band. Sometimes it's dirty, sometimes it's wild, but it's never, ever boring.

Close to Paradise won Canada's prestigious Polaris Prize in 2007, turning more than a few heads in beating out offerings from Arcade Fire and Feist, among others. By the time it saw release in the United States, Europe and Japan, the band was flying all over the world, garnering rave reviews for the album and their blistering live show alike.

When the dust had settled the band had written enough songs on the road to lay down a new record in a few short months at the end of 2008 in Montreal. On the album's opener, Fireweed,' Watson sings, So we dug ourselves a hole, and planted all our skin, like a seed in the ground, to grow again.' And you can hear stripped down rejuvenation all over Wooden Arms, Watson's voice and orchestrations shine brighter against a rhythmic percussive foundation that has been brought to the forefront.

But Wooden Arms isn't just the sound of a band learning how to build a slicker wall of sound together. The playful album closer Machinery of the Heavens' is almost a full on swing-tune, Big Bird in a Small Cage' proves they're capable of producing a perfect country-pop song, and fans of The Great Escape' from Close to Paradise will have a hard-time resisting the heart-wrenching just-voice-and-guitar of Man of Like You.'

Perhaps most importantly though, Wooden Arms showcases both Watson and his bandmates as genuine composers, and the serious musicians that they are—from the orchestral pull of Tracy's Waters,' to Simon Angell's noise-twang on Traveling Salesman' to drummer Robbie Kuster's jaw-dropping performances and his string piece Hommage,' to the anchor of Mishka Stein's bass on the instrumental freak-out number, Down at the Beach.'

Well I know that logic states, we really should make a switch. Because maudlin Broken Heart Surgery, is never going to make us rich.' - 'We Are Millionaires'

The release in 2014 of 'Broken Heart Surgery', the debut album from Pete Fij / Terry Bickers, was met with widespread acclaim as the two former Creation artists put their more indie-rock pasts (Adorable / Polak for Fij and House of Love / Levitation for Bickers) behind them to write a series of beautifully bruised songs of heartbreak and loss, that drew comparisons with Simon & Garfunkel, The Velvet Underground, Richard Hawley & Johnny Cash.

The long awaited follow up, 'We Are Millionaires', released July 21st on Broadcast Recording Company,  sees the duo still circling around a lake of melancholy, but there are signs that the two have their eyes on the horizon where maybe, just maybe, there might be an escape to a happier world.

There is the hint of hope in the John Barry meets Peggy Lee-esque 'If The World Is All We Have' and in the cinematic swooping strings and dream-pop guitars of first single 'Love's Going To Get You'. That could be the sound of a heart stirring from hibernation in 'Waking Up', but like some kind of doomed film noir hero, Bickers & Fij can never quite escape the echo of their downbeat hearts. Despite the evocations of a sunnier world, all of these songs suggest that every silver lining has a cloud, and that the happy ending is tantalisingly just out of reach.

For all its promise of a new beginning, 'Waking Up' ends on the repeated coda It's been a long, long winter' and 'If The World Is All We Have' is, in fact, on closer inspection, the sound of a 'Groundhog Day' attempt to cling on to a moment of happiness. The seemingly romantically titled 'I Love You' is in fact a song yearning the fact that those three words are not so much a declaration of devotion, but more the missing syllables absent between a couple.

If our lottery numbers came up - sure we could pay the rent. But after the party was over - would we really be content Because rom-com happy endings are really not quite our scene We're happiest when we're descending into our minor keys' - 'We Are Millionaires'

Whilst 'Broken Heart Surgery' was a singular piece focussed on the break up of a relationship,'We Are Millionaires' is a wider reaching affair dealing with bereavement ('Over You'), depression ('Sometime Soon') and even a ray of sunshine of unqualified love ('Mary Celeste'). The album also focuses on Bickers & Fij's own relationship as the two get all bromantic on 'Let's Get Lost Together' - a kind of Lee Hazelwood & Nancy Sinatra style number, where the two point out each other's faults before acknowledging that they should stagger on together.

Pete Fij (alkowski) continues to exhibit his gallows humour from before - in his world love is like an eternally cancelled train and cupid a sinister sniper. But, if he is the screenwriter then Bickers is the cinematographer, adding beauty and depth to the picture - as he continues to remind just why he was labelled a rock god' alongside Johnny Marr or Bernard Butler by the likes of the NME some 30 years ago with his sublime guitar playing, as he delicately picks out textures and tones.  

Like a pair of ill-fated lovers, Bickers & Fij can never quite (yet) make that break across the border into happiness, but there is the strong suggestion that in a skewed way, they are happy in their beat up world. 

If this melancholy that we share, was common currency, then we'd be millionaires'  - We Are Millionaires

Reviews for debut album 'Broken Heart Surgery

As a duo they embrace both sides of the coin, drums and guitar, chaos and order, male and female, ying and yang, the angel and the devil. They are more than the sum of both counterparts though, making for a maximalist auditory experience. PIKA brings her skills of mystifying performance to the table, all free-drum bluster and vocals veering between shrine maiden and wild spirit. Kawabata's guitar-work moves from a roar to a whisper, a yell to a sob, he's working on the same canvas of extremes. The aim of their unity is to write truly celestial hymns for the outer world and odes of love for the inner cosmic context.
 
No strangers to one another, the pair have not only gigged together with their respective bands but also recorded together, when these two outfits temporarily fused in 2005 to become Acid Mothers Afrirampo (releasing an album of the same name). Two years later they distilled their collaboration, all other players being stripped away to leave the core of Pikacyu's manic drums and pop vocal, and Makoto's schizoid guitar conjurings. In 2011 they spent five weeks touring the US and their first album, 'OM Sweet Home: We Are Shining Stars From Darkside', which was released by the esteemed UK label of all things heavy and brilliant, Riot Season. Last year they spent two weeks touring through Europe whilst writing a new album suffused with the outreaching sound and message of their impulsive live performances. This new album is entitled 'Galaxilympics' and will be released by Upset The Rhythm on August 4th on LP and CD.
'Galaxilympics' is an album of contrasts, so much colour, so much shade! 'Space Sumo' kicks off the record in explosive style. Pikacyu's drums jitter, crash and stumble, but steadfastly refuse to groove. Makoto attacks his guitar, cloaking himself in reverb to produce a wall-of-sound, alternating between melody and noise. 'Funifunikonefuni' follows with it's frenzied take on pop music, bubbling with energy and PIKA's multiple vocal layers. 'I'll Forgive' is chant-like in its devotion to following the tumbling melody line of the song even to absurd and unpredictable dimensions. 'Pika Mako Hall' is a more serene affair, with whispered echoes and guitar drones swirling amongst bursts of rapid sequencer ambience. 'Castle Of Sand' picks up on this more spacious approach with slowly developing programmed electronics, before the title track erupts with gurgling synths, soaring guitar trails and PIKA's most searching vocal yet.
 
The album concludes in reflective manner with the suitably titled 'Sayonownara', a song as much in the present as it is in the act of saying farewell. It's positively elegiac with washes of cymbal and deep acres of guitar drone for the first five minutes before PIKA's drums take things up a gear and into more psychedelic out-rock terrain. This insurgence eventually peaks and the album melts away to silence. PIKACYU-MAKOTO have made an album that takes you on a trip into your very soul before emerging once more at the edge of another galaxy. 'Galaxilympics' is a triumph of opposites united, it enjoys walking out into the unknown, but it's also a portal into the very real world of two musicians who find peace and semblance through their interaction. Hymns and odes to one side, this is a giant album of future-facing song and noise, where better to find harmony enthroned

Robert Sotelo is the nom de plume of Andrew Doig, a 36 year old serial musician originally from Peterborough. Andrew's middle name is Robert, whilst Sotelo is his mother's maiden name. Using this alter ego he's been able to write and record the twelve songs that make up his debut solo record 'Cusp' (released on September 1st though Upset The Rhythm). Sotelo plays every instrument on the album and recorded and edited it with long term friend John Hannon throughout 2016 at No Studios in Rayleigh, Essex.
 
Sotelo's verdant world of sound is at once intimate, choosing to build songs up from ambitious layers of instrumentation into miniature psych pop overtures of genuine sincerity of feeling. Very much grounded in that particular forward-facing strain of mid-60s rock that edged towards Sgt Pepper, Sotelo's music owes as much to Davies and McCartney's unashamed belief in melody as it does to the uncertainty and confusion that comes with mid-thirties existentialism. 'Cusp' is an album that explores the individual in a post-social life era, with Sotelo starting the project initially as an attempt to re-engage with the people he used to know, without relying on nostalgia as a common bond. From this worthy spark of a plan, he's created something grand and compelling, a vast tapestry of songs that stand up and sound afresh. 'Bring Back The Love' is a dream-swept ballad of expansive vocal refrains and pools of spidery guitar contemplation. 'Marinade' is a song about having no money wrapped up in a hypnotic cycle of chiming bittersweet guitars and gentle keyboard blushes. 'Cut the bread, prepare the jam, spread the table, make it grand, your only ever task at hand, to take from this fair land' sings Sotelo with delicate precision. 'Bronte Paths' is another homespun wonder-pop moment, its insistent rhythm and vocal line embedding into your very core, sounding more like a rediscovered gem than a contemporary song.
 
Many of the tracks on 'Cusp' deal with matters of imbalance in Sotelo's life like when his North London flat fell into disrepair before being swallowed up by property developers ('Tenancy Is Up'). It's an album about losing touch with yourself as well as your old social circle, influenced in part by his regular trips to Stevenage helping out with support work. In fact 'Alan Keay Is Fit For Work' is directly drawn from his experiences of a man he represented amid the recent benefits debacle. 'Version' is a sublimely panoramic number about spending too much time trying to write songs on your own and how it affects your relationships with others. 'Dr Parsley' is a complex song of hope rooted in an unsure present, it's subtle use of percussion and sumptuous vocal helping to guide all who get lost in the song back to themselves. As an album 'Cusp' hints at a dislocated happiness now restored, perhaps the title track looks at this most vividly by evoking a feeling of impending newness and optimism. The album closes suitably with 'Brother You're Complicated' a piano-driven high note from the record, lush with choirs of voices and brushed drum flourishes. 'Oh my friend, don't reprise, never-ending, multiply' sings Sotelo, never sounding so sure that the clouds will part and reveal the sun once more.
 
Recently, Sotelo has put together a live band to interpret these songs in a different context from their lone construction. You get the impression that the initial objective of the project has now come to fruition. The cover of 'Cusp' was painted by artist Daniel Sean Kelly and depicts a man chasing after his fallen head through a field of rocks. It's an image as striking as it perfect for this album as 'Cusp' is about loss, recovery and delight in starting anew, finding out the future isn't just a continuation. 'Cusp' will be released on 180g transparent vinyl, housed in matt-finish sleeve, it will also be made available digitally.

MAPA is a project of Paul Wirkus and Marcin Dymiter.
Nineteen years after the release of their legendary album "Fudo", MAPA strikes back with some fresh stuff combining punk, jazz, electro-acoustic music and elements of instrumental hip hop.
In 2017 MAPA reduces the avant-garde jazz and punk to pure energy. The new material is characterised by simplicity and a mixture of slightly perceptible sense of humour and musical eloquence.
This minimalistic set-up consisting of a few selected synthesizers allows for a complete portrayal of both musicians' personalities. They perform vital, full of unexpected twists pieces based on simple riffs, always open to interpretation. Economical use of sounds in punk rock, raw minimalism of the street sounds and flexible riffs constitute the formula of the material of Mapa's album "No Automatu".

MAPA is a project of Paul Wirkus and Marcin Dymiter.
Nineteen years after the release of their legendary album "Fudo", MAPA strikes back with some fresh stuff combining punk, jazz, electro-acoustic music and elements of instrumental hip hop.
In 2017 MAPA reduces the avant-garde jazz and punk to pure energy. The new material is characterised by simplicity and a mixture of slightly perceptible sense of humour and musical eloquence.
This minimalistic set-up consisting of a few selected synthesizers allows for a complete portrayal of both musicians' personalities. They perform vital, full of unexpected twists pieces based on simple riffs, always open to interpretation. Economical use of sounds in punk rock, raw minimalism of the street sounds and flexible riffs constitute the formula of the material of Mapa's album "No Automatu".

- 180g heavyweight vinyl
- Printed inner sleeve
- Includes a download code

True stories; real life, real people. For Holy Family it's our human, and at times non-human, experiences which have shaped the sound of brand-new album Values. An upbeat collection of thought-provoking tales reflecting the light and dark sides of life itself, each track is a poignant commentary by a band who have never been ones to stay put for too long.

Each track on Values sparkles with its own captivating tale that walks the high-wire between ideal and reality, expectation and the values that drive us. 'In the fall of Jimmy Angel' and 'Memory Collector', talk of the new trend for 'personal branding' and how society's values are affected by social media. 'A lot of life is about routines and streaming more bad TV shows than you're necessarily proud to admit,' Anton says.

After spending the last 24 months experiencing life in and between their rural hometown on the outskirts of Gothenburg, the Canadian city of Montreal, and sunny climbs of Athens, Georgia, Values also reflects the guilty side to the doors of opportunity brought about by relocation. Showing that where the sun may shine brighter, the grass isn't always greener, the climactic 'Empty Gestures' talks of leaving small town living behind for a new life in the big city. 'There was something that felt important about moving back to Sweden and coming to terms with how things are here,' recalls fellow family member Viktor. 'When we all moved back we were pretty relieved - it can be hard to shake that sense of being an outsider when you move to a new city... the experience is one of escapism and less about finding a new home.'

A former trio including third member Erik, in Canada Holy Family's ties were cut down to a duo. Anton and Viktor represented the band from their new base abroad, performing at M for Montreal and Toronto Film festivals and toured Europe with Of Montreal whilst their song 'Airy Jane' featured on the US version of TV show Shameless. The band received an award from the Swedish Association of Composers (STIM) but time apart only drew Holy Family closer and once the pair returned home, the group doubled in size after reuniting with Erik and calling upon the guitar skills of good friend Petter.

Written in Gothenburg Values was recorded over just two weeks in Athens, Georgia with Kevin Barnes (Of Montreal). With little time for breaks, the combination of fatigue and time constraints forced the band beyond their comfort zone and into new sonic realms, giving the record it's eclectic feel recalling the experimentalism of Blur or Grizzly Bear with the technical style of late 60s song-writing. Assisted by Drew Vandenberg and mixed by David Pye (Wild Beasts, 2:54) , before long the tropical temperatures surrounding Kevin's home took effect on the band. 'Just being somewhere that has t-shirt weather in April was impressive, but especially when you're from Sweden,' says Anton. 'Our first recordings in Montreal definitely had more of a second-hand sweater vibe whereas this record has more of a second-hand t-shirt tinge to it.'

True stories; real life, real people. For Holy Family it's our human, and at times non-human, experiences which have shaped the sound of brand-new album Values. An upbeat collection of thought-provoking tales reflecting the light and dark sides of life itself, each track is a poignant commentary by a band who have never been ones to stay put for too long.

Each track on Values sparkles with its own captivating tale that walks the high-wire between ideal and reality, expectation and the values that drive us. 'In the fall of Jimmy Angel' and 'Memory Collector', talk of the new trend for 'personal branding' and how society's values are affected by social media. 'A lot of life is about routines and streaming more bad TV shows than you're necessarily proud to admit,' Anton says.

After spending the last 24 months experiencing life in and between their rural hometown on the outskirts of Gothenburg, the Canadian city of Montreal, and sunny climbs of Athens, Georgia, Values also reflects the guilty side to the doors of opportunity brought about by relocation. Showing that where the sun may shine brighter, the grass isn't always greener, the climactic 'Empty Gestures' talks of leaving small town living behind for a new life in the big city. 'There was something that felt important about moving back to Sweden and coming to terms with how things are here,' recalls fellow family member Viktor. 'When we all moved back we were pretty relieved - it can be hard to shake that sense of being an outsider when you move to a new city... the experience is one of escapism and less about finding a new home.'

A former trio including third member Erik, in Canada Holy Family's ties were cut down to a duo. Anton and Viktor represented the band from their new base abroad, performing at M for Montreal and Toronto Film festivals and toured Europe with Of Montreal whilst their song 'Airy Jane' featured on the US version of TV show Shameless. The band received an award from the Swedish Association of Composers (STIM) but time apart only drew Holy Family closer and once the pair returned home, the group doubled in size after reuniting with Erik and calling upon the guitar skills of good friend Petter.

Written in Gothenburg Values was recorded over just two weeks in Athens, Georgia with Kevin Barnes (Of Montreal). With little time for breaks, the combination of fatigue and time constraints forced the band beyond their comfort zone and into new sonic realms, giving the record it's eclectic feel recalling the experimentalism of Blur or Grizzly Bear with the technical style of late 60s song-writing. Assisted by Drew Vandenberg and mixed by David Pye (Wild Beasts, 2:54) , before long the tropical temperatures surrounding Kevin's home took effect on the band. 'Just being somewhere that has t-shirt weather in April was impressive, but especially when you're from Sweden,' says Anton. 'Our first recordings in Montreal definitely had more of a second-hand sweater vibe whereas this record has more of a second-hand t-shirt tinge to it.'

2 x LP + CD