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In 1997, The Cure released the iconic Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me album, and on that album was the track “All I Want“. Now, in 2023, Now After Nothing, have covered “All I Want” and released it as a single. Matt Spatial and Michael Allen of Now After Nothing can also lay claim having Carl Glanville (U2, Joan Jett) doing the mixing and the mastering by John Davis (Placebo, The Jesus and Mary Chain), while the guitars are courtesy of Mark Gemini Thwaite (Peter Murphy, Gary Numan) and Howard Melnick (Astari NIte).

“I’ve never been one for recording covers but ‘All I Want’ holds a special place in my heart. I instantly gravitated toward the song when I first heard ‘Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me’ as a kid. I was captivated by the sound and the multiple perfectly woven melodies. Years later, I thought about the feel and energy of the song during my first attempt at song writing. I gave my first song the working title ‘Sonic Goth’ as, in my mind, it sounded like Sonic Youth meets The Cure. Truth be told though, what I ‘wrote’ was a blatant rip-off of ‘All I Want.’ The noobish-ly named ‘Sonic Goth’ never came to be a fully-formed song, and likely never will. Rather than rip of the original, it makes more sense to pay homage to it even more blatantly. So here it is…my cover of The Cure’s ‘All I Want.’ Oh, but in my version, it’s ‘Doll’ not ‘Dog’ – I am an aspirational feminist, after all.” – Matt Spatial

The guitars have a heavier, more modern sound but ring true to the original, and the synths add an air of floating graceful darkness. The vocals by Spatial don’t try to emulate Robert Smith because, honestly, no one sings like our eye liner wearing floppy hero, and this works really well, giving an authenticity of becoming a Now After Nothing track… even for just a little while. The essence of a dream for this is “All I Want.”

All I Want | Now After Nothing (bandcamp.com)

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I don’t think I can quite explain how much Glaswegian band, The Jesus And Mary Chain (JAMC), held me in awe, as a kid in the 80s, with drawling vocals and waves of guitar reverb filling your ears. Label, Fuzz Club Records, is poised to release the live album for JAMC, aptly named Sunset 666, on August the 4th, where all tracks were recorded at the Hollywood Palladium, in Los Angeles, in 2018. The single “Half Way To Crazy” has been dropped to give us a taste of what you can expect on the album.

Rightly so, the quality of the recording is actually beautiful and clear. William Reid’s Gibson guitar transports us away, together with his brother, Jim Reid’s distinctive vocals, reminding is of what a magical powerhouse JAMC have always been.

“Half Way To Crazy” was originally released on the 1989 album Automatic, and the new Sunset 666, has all up, a whopping seventeen tracks, including “Blues From A Gun“, “Just Like Honey“, “Teenage Lust“, “Some Candy Talking” and “Head On“. Apparently, the recording isn’t a mirror, with occasional wrong notes, and imperfect timing, but that’s the point of live music, because it is alive at that very moment of time, and it has been captured in all its raw brilliance. As far as sonic rock music goes, The Jesus And Mary Chain have been responsible for creating songs that you feel in your gut, but also hugely influenced other musicians to push the rock envelope. This is bliss.

https://thejesusandmarychain.bandcamp.com/album/sunset-666

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When the guys from the Swiss band, Far Away From All This, asked if I remembered them…. well, of course! The shoegaze/alt rock stylings of duo VEGA (guitars) and IX (vocals, bass, synthesizer, drums) are highly rememberable. And, too that end, we have the latest single, dropping on the 17th of July, called “To Dream The Universe.”

The bright and upbeat beginning is a front. The glorious guitar laden wall of fuzzy sound, is crowned with the vocals that want to float away to other realms, unbound from this world. Delicate at times, causing shivers down the spine, and melodious shoegaze noise that reminds me ever so much of the late 80s rise of the genre, which then proceeded to mould the alt rock sound of the 90s with grunge. With the return of Scotland’s Teenage Fanclub this year with a new album and touring, Far Away From All Of This are just adding to the mounting joy that this style of music brings, as they take you on the epic journey “To Dream The Universe“.

To Dream The Universe | Far Away From All Of This (bandcamp.com)

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Glaswegian band, Hanging Freud have a new single, out on the Belgian Spleen+ label, just before the release of their seventh studio album, titled Worship. The track is called “Falling Tooth,” and the name alone made me feel all creepy. Not sure what Paula Borges and Jonathan Skinner have been up to, but I’m not sure if I’m up to hearing about falling teeth.

The rhythm sounds like a clock, ticking down, while Borges vocals gracefully wander the soundscape like a ghost searching for completion. Electronics whir and drone, building the tension, as time ignores all of it, matching on.

Beautifully avant-garde and engrossing, like a fever dream that takes you down a path of your mind, you never knew existed. Hanging Freud’s first offering off the new album leaves you wondering what is next… though I am rather relieved to say no teeth were hurt nor fell in the creation of “Falling Tooth.”

https://hangingfreud.bandcamp.com/track/falling-tooth

https://www.facebook.com/hanginfreudmusic?mibextid=ZbWKwL

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PTSD and depression are subjects that are often skirted around by both government bodies and medical institutions. Philadelphia band, Die Tired, want to drag the spotlight onto the subject, and so the single “Better Off Alive” addresses what, for some, has become the elephant in the room, mental health and how people can reach out to find help.

“Better Off Alive is about raising awareness of these serious concerns in our society and highlighting the available resources in our communities to those in need,” explains bassist Jim Lee.

“The additional focus on our military service members in the video hits close to home. With one of our band members being a veteran, we found it especially important to shine a light on issues with PTSD, depression, and suicide in our military communities.” – Singer/guitarist Matt DeAngelis

Even when one comes home, sometimes the war continues in our head. It’s a big, rollicking rock track, filled with sonic guitars, thundering drums, and lyrics from the heart, to find something to hold onto when everything is falling away.

Die Tired are on the label SODEH Records and consist of members Matthew DeAngelis (vocals/guitar), Sean Boyle (guitar), Jamieson (Jim) Lee (bass) and Brandon Ballantyne (drums).

Personally, I don’t have any connection to the military, but in saying that, I have lost a fair few friends due to mental health and suicide. In Australia, we have R U OK Day, which asks Aussies to check in with each other and simply ask if ‘are you okay’? Three simple words can mean a lot to another, and you can do it all year round. Die Tired are trying to normalise the conversations we should be having.

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Today, we explore the album Lesser Gods by the Los Angeles project BARA HARI, which was released at the end of May, and the limited edition vinyl on the label Re:Mission Entertainment, The exotic BARA HARI is musician and producer Sam Franco, whom is also known for her darkwave and industrial collaborations.

Your ears are greeted by the sublime “Siren Song“. Delicate and short lived, a beautiful warning of the dire events to come. For her name is “Tempest“, she who will bring the ensuing storm to clear away the lies and deceit. Such foreboding in a pop like song, as BARA HARI casts her gaze over those that cause consternation, stalking them down. The guitar is heavy, matched by the thudding drums, for we are given the story of sexual double standards and moral gatekeeping in “Immoral Tales“.

The synths bring in “Violence Rising” and it is indeed about the abhorrent acceptance that it is alright to be brutal to one another. There are wonderful rounds of vocals joined by trumpet. Lust, love and “Looking For Oblivion” is an electronic buzzing gem, that settles in your brain. The buzzing is palpable but wait hold that thought. The next track, “House Of The Devil” is simply huge between the falling vocals and melancholic piano, as Franco gives us the modern version of “I Will Survive“.

Does going outside make you nervous or dealing with crowds bring on anxiety attacks? Maybe you are “Agoraphobic” and as this number plods along, almost unwilling to leave, while the first affirming lines, ‘Started off as a joke Now I can’t walk out my own front door’, fulfil the prophesy. The rock is fused with electronics and “Delusions Of Grandeur” is both angelic and full of angst, while “Easy Target” is a sassy and alluring track. The final track is the superbly dark and disturbing “Immortal” with the chiming keyboards and up beat rhythm, whilst the lyrics tell of the fact that as we age, what made us beautiful fades and many see our worth is only wrapped up with youth.

Fairy tales and fables were often stories to teach people wise lessons, and when I listen to BARA HARI’s Lesser Gods. this album is very much in this vein. Modern fables of not judging others, through to when good people do nothing to prevent evil. Colourful and descriptive language within the lyrics are carried by the melodious electro/indie pop, topped off with the gorgeous vocals of Franco. Lesser Gods indeed when it comes a goddess like BARA HARI.

Lesser Gods | BARA HARI | Re:Mission Entertainment (bandcamp.com)

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Long, slow and hot days in the Aegean, where Dionysius is still recognised as the god of wine and a good time. Speaking of a good time, Greek project Voodoo Drummer is back with the single and video called “The Afro-Dionysian“, and he is joined on cello/percussion by Stavros Parginos.

There is a mixture of African inspired percussion, with the cello sailing over the top, bringing with it the Greek influence. The Voodoo Drummer rolls with the rhythms and the video shows the depth of the players talents, with a montage of the last few singles wrapped into the mix…. and they never miss a beat. Between legendary frogs, drunken gods and journeys to the centre of the sun, the Grecian storytellers have their ancestors love of theatre, The drama of the comedy and the tragedy. Parakalo!

Music | Voodoo Drummer (bandcamp.com)

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Many Australian musicians are amazingly talented, and Melbourne’s Body Maintenance, saw in April, the release of their debut album Beside You, with the vinyl LP out on Drunken Sailor Records and cassette on Unwound Records. Now I am going to tell you that if you love post-punk music, and if you haven’t listened to Body Maintenance, then maybe you aren’t as cool as you think you are.

The tendrils of “Silver Yarns” wind around you and unleash the gorgeous guitars, that run and take flight. The vocals are within the mix and yet still ring clear, and you know that any song that mentions sinners and martyrs has got to be good. In fact it is an amazing start. It is a gothic gun duel at high noon in “Circles“, or at least the dark spaghetti western guitars say be there or be square. The synths swirl between and you wonder where the rattle snakes are hiding.

“The Spiral” feels like the most glorious vortex, berating your ears with tribal beats, and that is at complete odds with the far more reticent and thoughtful “Time Enough” that curls within your chest, like a hand gripping your heart. The bass guitar steadily pushes forward in “It’s Theatre“, and again those synths soar in your ears, which has a beautiful chorus and the guitar playing that could take your breath away.

The title track is the heavenly forlorn “Beside You“, which is about dedication no matter where it leads, and it has the air of freefalling. “The Fools, The Frauds” is verbose and has tinges of Virgin Prunes. The rhythm section pulls this track tightly in, while the guitars fight to contain themselves, all the while caressed by the vocals. The vocals in “Ends” catches your ears as does the big guitar sound and before we know it, there is the last track, “A Compliment“, which wanders in the ether of ghost like memories, gently roaming the shadowy paths.

Damn… how do I summarise this album. It is like chills down the spine due to the familiarity of the style, as it reminds me of British post-punk bands from another era, especially Play Dead, Danse Society, Red Lorry Yellow Lorry and closer to home Ikon and The Church. Probably because it is very much guitar driven, with the use of reverb and pedals, and yet for me, it is the fact there is an air of magic in Body Maintenance’s sound, so richly dark and so invitingly warm at the same time. I am sure their influences are far more modern, but my hot take is Beside You is a brilliant post-punk album by Body Maintenance and I can’t wait to see what they do next.

Beside You | Body Maintenance (bandcamp.com)

https://www.facebook.com/unwoundrecords?mibextid=ZbWKwL

https://www.unwoundrecords.com/

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http://www.drunkensailorrecords.co.uk/

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July 13th marks the fourth single, called “Well Of Wishes” from Naarm (Melbourne) based band Society Of Beggars, which is off the very soon to be released debut album Levitator. Members Yianni Michalopoulos (vocals), Dimitrios Michalopoulos (guitar), Tom ‘Dibi’ Di Biase (drums) with Zoë Alexa (bass) make up the band that has been playing and touring since 2016..

The bass and drums are the driving force, giving the track a heavy rock focus, while the guitars waver between galvanic and sinuous. The vocals both melodic and gravelly, tell the story of how you can’t spend your life wishing, otherwise you never act to create reality. The lyrics in particular, are beautifully crafted jewels.

There is a sweeping graceful vastness in what I would describe at a touch of 70s Black Sabbath, mixed with something that is so tangibly Australian rock. “Well Of Wishes” is a precautionary tale of living for the moment instead inside one’s head, and giving one’s self to the darkness of the well. This latest single sees Society Of Beggars definitely rocking in style.

Well of Wishes | Society of Beggars (bandcamp.com)

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We are delighted to bring you a nice slice of post-punk gothy goodness in the form of a new single from New York’s’ Black Rose Burning. George Grant (bass/vocals/keys), Luis Infantas (drums) and Frank Morin (guitars), are on the verge of dropping their brand new album Ad Astra, and “Sing To Me (E.L.E.)” is the first single, released on the 23rd of June.

There is such a burst of overwhelming joy from the first strains of music. Ringing guitar with not quite chip tune synth, court your ears. Grant’s vocals come across between an ode to that which is lost and the sadness of being emotionally tortured by said loss. It is a rollicking track, foot tappingly quirky and yet it still pulls at your heart strings.

For those that do not know what an E.L.E is, the clue is in the song itself, that it means Extinction Level Event, say like a meteor hitting the Earth. Black Rose Burning are staying true to the mission statement, with their love of science fiction (as well as science fact!), fuelling the rocket engines of creativity and shooting them out into the stars, giving us aliens music to marvel at and enjoy… even if there ever is an E.LE., I would want Black Rose Burning to “Sing To Me (E.L.E.)“.

Sing To Me (E.L.E.) | Black Rose Burning (bandcamp.com)

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http://www.blackroseburning.com/