Dub War – Westgate Under Fire
Some things are worth waiting for. 26 years in this case, for this,
the next mouthful of brash, rousing, insurrectionary brew, fermenting
metal, reggae, rap and punk into something truly unique and brain
boggling. When their previous album, ‘Wrong Side of Beautiful’,
came out, we were all (metaphorically) children, Brit Pop was polluting
the place and Dub War had just toured with The Manics. In the years
since then, the world has got messier, meaner and nastier; Westgate
Under Fire is an album which rises to the challenge of being not only
totally relevant to 2022, but also providing aural ammunition for
those who want to put things back the right way up in 2023.
Press Club – Endless Motion
Melbourne’s Press Club have to be one of the most essential,
energetic and articulate bands in the world right now, and their third
album in no way disappoints. Waves of melody, noise, harmonies, passion
and power sweep off the grooves and into the soul. Can’t believe
I was lucky enough to do a FB live broadcast with them during COVID
(preserved on Youtube here),
but when will they turn up in Wales in person?!
Bug Club – Green Dream in F#
Love this. Quirky perfect pop with a wonky, gooey heart, guaranteed
to get you singing and dancing along. No wonder it’s almost impossible
to find in physical form anywhere. Has some sort of time travelling
magical powers so that their one hour set at Swansea Bunkhouse seemed
to be over in 5 minutes. Must be something to do with magic particles.
Swansea Sound – Live at the Rum Puncheon
There is so much here which is totally contemporary, essential and
indeed brilliant about this record. Given their composers, it's no
surprise that the tunes reel around your head like a train stuck on
a circular siding; they bubble with life, twisting and turning, relentlessly
writhing and pogoing, living earworms. I've not been able to get them
out of my jigging brain since I first heard them on Adam Walton's
essential Radio Wales new music show (the nearest thing we now have
to 'Department of Youth', once broadcast on Swansea Sound itself?).
Then there's the lyrical content, as abrasive, witty and cutting-edge
as the Pooh Sticks ever were, and, in their own laid back way, as
the likes of IDLES and Bob Vylan are today. A righteous upper cut,
cloaked in candy floss. Targets of their scorn include racism, underhand
multinational takeovers, second hand emotion, Spotify and the greedy
digital grave robbers, corporate indie, and an all out assault on
bland and blind acceptance of stupid fools who stand in line.
Listen here
Bob Vylan – The Price Of Life
'A post-mortem of ‘Great’ Britain. It’s exactly what
punk should be, tearing apart the disillusionment of the masses and
forcing you to acknowledge just how broken society is. Speaking up
on issues that desperately need addressing, Bob Vylan are the mouthpiece
of those often silenced by the industry. The duo have created something
extraordinary here – something that definitely needs to be heard.'
(Clashmusic.com)
Amyl and The Sniffers : Comfort to Me
Not new I know, except there is now a version with an extra live album
recorded on a dock outside of Melbourne. Amyl and the Sniffers rekindle
the belief in the healing power of raucous, rude and rebellious rock'n'roll;
pix of their Bristol and Seattle shows on our Gig
Pix making me so jealous of those who’ve seen them live (and
in Seattle Bob Vylan was there too!).
Tom Emlyn – News from Nowhere.
Years in its gestation, News from Nowhere is a fascinating, captivating,
absorbing record, which grabs you by the ears and by the brain, and
lures down the caverns of time and place. In it, Tom Emlyn digs beneath
the surface mundanities of everyday life, particularly those of Swansea
life, below the decaying bricks and mortar and paving stones, to encounter
the ghosts haunting below.
Look here
Manic Street Preachers - Know Your Enemy:
Door to the River and Solidarity
2022 Reissue
Solidarity is the unexpected watch word of the year, an attribute
which has been unexpectedly resurrected on picket lines across the
country, and one we need much more of in 2023. The Manic’s Solidarity
vinyl has been a perfect accompaniment to these times; released as
it was originally planned, it now reveals itself as a great, abrasive
and committed Manic Street Preachers record : the perfect soundtrack
both to current struggles and an antidote to the mainstream media
servile fawning feudalism which coincided with its release. Watch
out Charles Windsor – the masses are coming for your classes...
CJ Wildheart – Lives album and tour
Not sure where this got its name from, but the record certainly showcases
the incredible musical lives this gifted and generous man has achieved
: songs from The Jellys, Honeycrack and his solo albums are all refreshed
and revived, polished and preened, so that their massive mix of melody
and noise breathes anew. Sounds immense!
And the triple headed rock beast comprising CJ, Scott Sorry and Grand
Theft Audio which rolled into Cardiff in September was one of my gigs
of the year.
Adwaith – Bato Mato
Proof that two guitars and a drum kit (when operated by people of
talent) can produce art of pure ethereal beauty, power, poignancy
and catharsis.
Skids Lock Down Live - official bootlegs, and
live in Brecon 29.10.22
The Skids were one of my favourite bands growing up, but one which
I failed to see live for 38 years. I am certainly not one for the
nostalgia trail, having carefully avoided reunions and other cash
ins. The Skids, however, are different. When I finally did see them
play, my crackly vinyls were suddenly brought to life and given a
new punch, and I remembered why they had meant so much to me (along
with members of a young band called Manic Street Preachers).
Since 2017 I have now seen them live 4 times, most recently in Brecon
where I slept in my car on a Welsh mountainside only a couple of miles
(as the badger crawls) from the famously haunted farm house Heol Fanog.
They were brilliant again, well worth the mile long walk up a deserted
moonlit mountain track after the show. These official bootlegs bring
the celebratory gigs to life, audience and band united in appreciation
of each other and of unjustly neglected talent.
Breichiau Hir - Hir Oes I’r Cof
I was so excited to host Breichiau Hir at R*E*P*E*A*T’s first
Welsh language gig earlier this year; to be honest I was a bit star
struck too. The Cardiff 6-piece combine urgent aggression with melody,
sitting somewhere between emo and punk, and their album has been on
my turntable pretty regularly since it arrived at the fantastic Tangled
Parrot record store in Swansea’s High Street. Themes of frustration,
concern, melancholy, isolation and above all nostalgia are cased within
haunting guitar lines and impassioned vocals, creating a melancholic
masterpiece which (as its title suggests) lives long in the memory.
Hot Mass - Happy Smiling and Living the Dream
The elusive Hot Mass were one of the first bands to intrigue me when
I returned to Swansea; they're a punk band with something edgy and
unexpected about them. And after ages they've released some new music,
the first since 2018’s ‘Nervous Tensions’. ‘Happy
Smiling and Living the Dream’ sees the band 'take their eclectic
taste in music and throw it all into the melting pot to create a melodic,
grunge fuelled, indie popping, jaw dropping, punk banger awash with
defiant upbeat lyricism' according to Punkrocktheory.com) Bought as
a Christmas present by the generous Phil Rose Esq and hand delivered
to the house by the band. What a way to start the festive period!
However, the quest to see them live continues, the first of 2023’s
new year’s resolutions?
Listen here
The Redskins - Neither Washington Nor Moscow
Singing like The Supremes and walk like The Clash, there could not
have been a better time to reissue this insurrectionary and brilliant
album. First released in 1986, it still packs a musical and political
punch so hefty that easily puts the pathetic Keir Starmer in his place,
soulful songs brimming with righteous passion . Go get organised!
Chroma - Llygredd Gweledol
Another inflammable, forceful, infectious, powerfully distinctive
track from this Pontypridd three piece; their gigs at Elysium and
especially Tiny Rebel were explosive, ear shattering and life affirming.
Panic Shack : Baby Shack
I still can't stop listening to this, it's brilliant. 'Their infectious
snot rock anthems and sing along cathartic chorus' should someday
save the world if given half a chance. Place this platter high on
your turntable, turn it up so the great goddess of punk herself can
locate you and allow her to kick your undeserving butt. This is a
mini masterpiece worth sharing.' (Urban Cannibal). Spellbinding live
in Cardiff too.
Ski Lift – The Singles
This is a sort of CD reissue of these joyously nifty and uplifting
singles. Seriously top toe tappingly ear wormingly brilliant. Portal
is a favourite for the way it recalls Superglu's super Suffolk should
have been hit sounds, but all 5 tracks make me glad to be alive. I
Wanna Be Them. So do you, you just may not know it yet. Regular begging
letters sent asking them to play Swansea, so fingers crossed for 2023…
Available from their Bandcamp here
now.
Monet – Elysium 30.12.22
A magnificently managed mess of metal, mayhem, moves, noise, grooves,
punk, funk, and equipment break downs; ones to watch in 2023?
Atomic Beat Boys – Trouble
Releasing a 7" / CD single by a year 6 band from my school in
Swansea (covering the mighty Shampoo), with remixes by Helen Love
and Teen Anthems, would be the highlight of any year. Perhaps my proudest
achievement. Ever?
Helen Love - This is my World
When I received a copy of this album, my mouth literally feel open
with surprise and delight. Since playing it, it's been metaphorically
open ever since. No idea if I've had this record a month, a year or
a century, it has become an all time favourite and is one of those
albums you can't imagine life without. Helen Love is an icon, an inspiration,
a one of a kind call to arms to those from small towns but with big
ideas and big hearts. And (to be Biblical for a minute), live in Newport
their world was made flesh. Brilliant and life affirming.
Pic by Country Mile
Big thanks to all who have inspired, created, subverted, enjoyed
or kicked back in 2022. More of the same please in 2023... Let the
sunshine in.
