New Music Alert 26.03 w/ Arab Strap, Glasvegas, Vlure, T3xtur3 & More
By the time you read this then all of the releases below should have been added to our 2021 recommendations playlist on spotify which you can follow/ like here
Its another week of high quality releases, so many in fact that I might need to do another blog in a few days to keep up with all the brilliant stuff being born into this strange world. It seems that the mix of musicians being locked down for so long and the fact many are sick of sitting on their art has created a perfect storm for an endless supply of ground-breaking sounds. Speaking of which, let's start with experimental Hip Hop genius T3xtur3 who drops a taster called 'Black Ink Kings' of his forthcoming album ' ILLVMINATE ' he has created with Asthmatic Astronaut ‘Black Ink Kings’ by T3xTur3
I have been lucky enough to hear an advanced copy of the album which is his best work yet. It feels like there is an added personal touch to the mysterious shield that T3xtur3 has always ranted behind. You would be hard pushed to find anyone with a stronger vocabulary in Hip Hop , poetry or any art form you care to mention. The vocals are more melodic while still keeping that trademark edge we are all used to. when he played our Christmas special from Captureworks , I was blown away by the fact he seems to have taken inspiration from new school grime in his delivery while retaining his articulate , nihilistic and cyberpunk lyrics that we know and love. Asthmatic Astronaut has also levelled up alongside him to provide his best soundtrack yet . They have worked together many times before and it shows . Feels like there is an almost telepathic partnership in place that seems to have strived them both onto new levels of excellence.
You can pre-order the album now from This Is Not Pop records here
the headfuck of time has never been more complex than it is now , so I can not be 100% sure, but I believe the last proper gig I went to as a punter was seeing these guys supporting Dublin post-punk rockers The Murder Capitol at the QMU. I had heard good things about Vlure from local camera hero 'Scats’ aka John McKinlay and seen a couple of his videos on his always entertaining grassroots front row channel so my hopes were high and they exceeded all expectations. A proper live band in every sense of the word , they won over the crowd easily and had the place rocking. During lockdown they seem to have been making the most of a bad situation by performing live streams and making new material. They were on the cusp of great things when covid hit, and based on this new single , they still are. Punk growls of ‘I’m nobody’s son’ entwined with fuzzy guitars and melodic synths. Good to hear the scottish accent present with a nod to Joy Division but with a menace of Jesus & Mary Chain who are definitely taking things onto their own direction and I can’t wait to see them live again. They look and sound like the real deal. Bring back gigs soon please.
‘Shattered Faith’ is out now via Permanent Creeps Records. Purchase the limited 7" vinyl here -
‘Tears on Tour’ By Arab Strap
I have picked this one as a stand out from the new and very welcome ‘As Days Get Dark’ album. One of the few joys of recent months has been seeing and hearing new material being unveiled from the Arab Strap camp. I will try do a proper album review soon once I have had time to absorb it fully but this song hit me hard. It`s Aidan Moffat at his most honest and vulnerable , taking us on a journey of dementia , love and live music . ‘I don’t feel a thing , I’m just exhausted and numb, I need some release I need to make it all real’ he pines during the finale after revealing all the many things that did make him feel in days gone by. The structure of this song is perfect and I have been well impressed with Malcolm Middleton’s skills throughout this release. Arab Strap are one of the most important bands ever. On a personal level, I don’t know if I ever would have got into performing music had I not heard this accent on a NME compilation one dreich day as a wee yin. It was as inspiring then as it is now. Their solo projects have all been of extremely high quality but when they get back together something extra magical happens. I was lucky enough to see the comeback gig at the Barras. The memory of those balloons flying around during ‘First Big Weekend’ will stay with me forever. Long live Arab Strap. Full Album review coming soon but you can treat yourself to a vinyl over here right now on Rock Action records
‘Desperate Characters’ by Josephine Sillars out now on Spotify here
'Desperate Characters' EP by Josephine Sillars
Josephine Sillars returns with a new sound, mixing her trademark piano playing and powerful pop vocals with added electronic menace and political grit. The E.P is glued together with various samples of people talking about their opinions on world affairs and current news stories . Highlights include 'Enemy' which would sound amazing on a nightclub dancefloor and ‘California’ which sounds like a 5am tripped out campfire jam with Ben Folds Five and Laura St. Jude . The EP also comes with a lyric book which is available from the relentless Speculative Books project here or you can simply stream it on Spotify here
Shake the Cage (fur Theo) by Glasvegas
With the imminent release of their new album Godspeed , Glasvegas have pulled a wild card and pulled something out the bag that nobody was expecting. James Allan ‘s poetry is pushed to the forefront as he delivers a spoken word piece with robotic soaked backing vocals and effects that strings together the best of humanity and machinery. It`s epic in every sense of the word and it builds towards a grand finale with all the band on inspired form. Could this be this century’s answer to Baz Lurhman’s Everyones Free to wear Suncream? it certainly has some of the life hacks and optimism of that track but has that isolated and dark vibe that most of us are feeling in 2021 before sprawling into a majestic instrumental for the end part. This is the best I have heard Glasvegas sound in years and it has me buzzing for the new album. We were lucky enough to have Rab Allan as a guest on You Call That Radio TV a few months back .
And one thing that makes the new sounds even more exciting is that it has all been produced in-house by James who has spent every ounce of energy bringing those sounds out of his head into our ears. From what we have heard so far, this could be there best release yet. Godspeed can be pre-ordered on CD/ Vinyl/ Digital Download here
’This Is Your House’ EP by Colonel Mustard & The Dijon 5 (feat. Mary Kiani & Ant Thomaz)
I am surprised this song has not been banned for the fact it may encourage mass gatherings and an abundance of kitchen parties. This seems to be DJ Five who is taking the lead on this one out of the dozen or so Dijon members who have taken their high energy yellow movement from Kirkintilloch to Korea. For this one they decided they needed even more members than usual by bringing in the voice of the rave generation herself Mary Kiani who we were delighted to have as a guest on You Call That Radio TV a few weeks ago.
Mary brings her inimitable style and soaring vocals that brings back the glory days of being a 14 year old downing Merrydown before getting flung out the school disco. No? just me then? Her singing has aged like a fine wine and brings this song to an extra level. Shout outs to Dopesick fly legend Ant Tomaz too who brings his welcome textures with a wee techno history. I collaborated with him on a Jackal Trades track with a similar name once called ‘the House That Jack’ . It seems you can’t do a ‘house pun’ and NOT invite the gaffer to the house party , quite rightly too. The EP is packed with multiple remixes from Mickey 9s, Micky Modelle, DJ 5ive and Steve Peach.
“This is Your House” taken from new album “The Difficult Number 2” released 30th April.
Glasgow Barrrowland Ballroom 1st May album launch stream - http://bit.ly/barrowlandcmandtd5albumlaunch
I doubt there is many better beat makers/ Producers in the country . I never know what’s going to happen when I press that play button whether it’s a Jet$am release or one from his alter-ego Konchis. It’s a refreshing feeling that I always look forward to. Today his new single takes us on a wild futuristic voyage with a nod in the rear view to a nostalgic garage trip . Sometimes there is no words to properly explain what this guy does but ‘Yugen’ and ‘Realms’ on his bandcamp page are both excellent places to start .
‘Super Solid Soul Vehicle’ by Tom McGuire & The Brassholes
in another universe , a million years ago, there used to be a thing that the people called ‘festival season’ . Historians fondly refer to a year called 2019 where funky musicians used to dance around on top of a high platform as thousands gathered to throw caution to the wind and swap sweat, germs and pleasantries . One of the main bands of this era was Tom McGuire & The Brassholes who mixed Funk, Soul, Motown and Jazz sensibilities to drive the masses wild. It seems only right that that now there is a small bit of light peaking through the giant tunnel of shite that Tom and his army of musicians would return to spread the good word of the ‘Super Solid Soul Vehicle’ which is out now to stream and buy on their website here .
They will also be performing at You Call That Radio’s all day live stream tomorrow (Sat 27.03) around 4.15pm after the witchy glitchy trip-step of Minerva Wakes (3pm) . Live from Captureworks. You can tune in for free from your living room here and full line up is below as we make a good go at Building A Spring to mark a year of lockdown and the anniversary of You Call That Radio TV
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