The Five music thing again for whatever it might be worth? Five? The five music things thing again? Already? Five more? Again? Do we need a new editorial yet? Is there a point? is there any point? Was there ever? What do points make? What is the point? Again and again and again (and again). Five more, same as last time (and the time before) five more musical things and yeah, we did say all this last week and the weeks before and blah blah blah while the whole world window and no, we never do and the proof of the pudding and all that proof reading. It doesn’t really matter if it was a television fizzing and going off and things back then when we first heard of the Window going off and things. and like we did ask last time, does anyone bother reading the editorial? Does anyone ever actually look down the rabbit hole or is it all just method acting? Cut to the chase, we could just cut ‘n paste the editorial from the last time, there’s loads of music further down the page, well five or so pieces of music, cut to the damn chase, who needs an editorial? Who needs any of this? Who needs it, who needs it, just cut to the chase, who really needs any of this? Cynical who? Same what every day? Here’s your five, or mybe six of seven…

1: Silverbacks – Dublin art-rock quintet Silverbacks have just let loose a brand-new single, “Wear My Medals”, along with the news that they have signed to Full Time Hobby. “Wear My Medals” is the first new material from the band since the release of last year’s acclaimed debut album Fad. Hear Wear My Medals right here… Great piece of video art as well, these things need to be noted, the work of Lauren Gregory

“From the very start, we’ve always wanted to be a ‘career band’. We don’t see the point in not constantly making music – if you’re lucky enough to be able to make music you like and enjoy it, why put restrictions on it?” says Kilian O’Kelly, one of the three guitarists in Silverbacks. After the release and acclaim provided to their debut record Fad in 2020, it would have been understandable for the band to take a step back, and take stock of their achievements thus far. Not so – writing sessions began early in 2020 for what they hope to be the follow-up. Guitarist and vocalist Daniel O’Kelly began sending files back and forth from his new base in Paris while the others – Kilian, bassist and vocalist Emma Hanlon, guitarist Peadar Kearney and drummer Gary Wickham – remained in Ireland. They spent their downtime from live commitments refining and shaping their ideas, taking to the studio when they could with producer Daniel Fox (Girl Band) to try and push themselves and their music forward.

Latest single “Wear My Medals” – and first for new label Full Time Hobby – gives an indication of where they’re headed. Fizzing with energy and excitement, the band career through the track with their joy ripping out of the speakers, topped by a stunning vocal turn by Emma Hanlon. “We always set out while demoing to write ‘Emma Songs’ – songs that we think will specifically work for Emma’s vocals” says Daniel O’Kelly. “We were quite a ways through the latest batch before we realised we hadn’t gotten any Emma Songs down so she and Kilian got to work.” Riffs on endurance athletes and their dietary peccadilloes, wrestling heels and control, it’s at turns brash and soothing, screed and lullaby. The characteristic guitar interplay remains from previous works but there’s a newfound tautness to the lines, focussed and locked with a thunderous performance from the rhythm section.

Lauren Gregory, director of the song’s video, shared some insight into what inspired the artistic direction she took: “The band gave me complete creative license, so I really got to let my imagination run wild.  For the swimming scenes, I took inspiration from the movie “A Philadelphia Story”, a scene in which Katherine Hepburn is swimming and climbing out of a pool. When I was working on the boxing scenes, I watched a lot of footage of Muhammed Ali warming up before fights, jumping and punching the air, and tried to emulate his movements. Out of everything, sculpting the hands playing bar chords on the guitar was the most fun.”

How do the band think the people who reacted so well to their previous record will feel about this move forward? “We don’t really know – people say we’re post-punk, but we aren’t really. Some people say we’re an indie band, but we aren’t that either. I don’t know, sometimes it’s more fun just to see what comes out when we write and let everyone else worry about what it is.” says Kilian with a grin. Happy in their own world of writing, recording, refining, release and repeat, Silverbacks live for their work, allowing their creative impulses to dictate where the songs go next. It’s going to be an interesting journey.

where to get Wear My Medals

2: The Kundalini Genie – “Mad f*ckin weird psychedelic fuzzed out spaced in reverb drenched rock n roll made in yer grans loft” so read their own biolf on their Bandcamp page . They’re from Glasgow, they’re refining a rather positive Spiritualized kind of thing, a slightly more zoned-in Brian Jonestown Massacre, this is a single, ‘Half In, Half Out’, the title track to the album of the same name (out Nov. 12). if you like your psych rock then right now there’s very few it better, this is a fine first taste of what is a rather impressive album

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3: Danny Elfman has just released a Squarepusher Remix, a reworking of a piece of music that originally appeared on Elfman’s recent rather excellent Big Mess album, here it is….

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3: Wyndow (Lavinia Blackwall and Laura J Martin) return with their new video for ‘All Cameras Gone’ directed by Peter Martin. “Wyndow is a collaboration between Laura J Martin and Lavinia Blackwall (Trembling Bells). A set of musical postcards sent across the wires from Liverpool to Clydebank and once described by a four year old boy as a complete nightmare”. More via Bandcamp

4: Pleine Lvne – shall we ley them tell it?  “Hello, we are glad to announce the release of debut album “Heavy Heart” on October 22nd 2021 (CD & Digital).  After many projects with bands, the musician based in Lyon (France) Nicolas Gasparotto – former member of Fallaster (Emo/Post Hardcore) and Medusa in my knickers (Black Wave) – puts aside the screams and distortions of Metal/Hardcore to elaborate a very personal post-folk album, conceived entirely alone, from the songwriting to the recording, from the mixing to the making of the videos. Inspired by artists such as Bon Iver, City And Colour, Katatonia or Slowdive, Pleine Lvne reveals his inner troubles of the recent years in a refined album with for main configuration an electric guitar and his voice. Like a melancholic introspection, Heavy Heart lets the emotions of the soul resonate.These songs needed to be recorded, and to be shared, so that others could relate to the themes, and to find sense and comfort in the music.  The message behind Heavy Heart reminds us : we aren’t alone”. Well that’s what Nicolas and the label people said, words aren’t really needed though not whe nthe music is just a nudge od a mouse away, here’s a taste of the album. More via the Bandcamp page 

5: Gustaf, more Gustaf, Brooklyn’s Gustaf and even more from that soon to be released debut album, feels like they’ve released most of it now. The debut album, Audio Drag for Ego Slobs, is out om October 1st on Royal Mountain Records., here comes and link that will take you to more.

There could be more words here but wh oneeds them? You could ask who needs any of it? here’s what the press release says, if te truth be known, I haven’t read it…

“Today, Brooklyn’s Gustaf are sharing “The Motions”, the final single to be taken from their debut album Audio Drag For Ego Slobs, out October 1st on Royal Mountain Records. It comes ahead of an extensive run of touring throughout the US, UK and Europe that sees them sharing the stage with IDLES, Pillow Queens, and Osees.

Vocalist Lydia Gammill comments on the new song: 

“I always envisioned ‘The Motions’ as our ‘walking around New York City’ song. The cadence is great for trudging across a bridge or taking the subway. The song is about snapping between the perspective of your chaotic inner narrative while following the precut path of the world around you. Like when you’re strutting down the sidewalk to a song and your headphones slip off for a second to reveal the natural soundscape you’d been ignoring, realizing the world you had been wrapped up in is not the one shared by everyone else. Then you see that everyone with headphones is jumping between their own personal world and the reality they’re actually living in. I’ve found that if you walk around New York City without headphones, the streets are surprisingly silent. It’s us that add the cacophony of our own personal soundtracks.

The song shuffles through these different perspectives. The hook (watch, breathe, think, see…) mimics the grounding voice inside the narrator’s head going through their next steps while interiorly they’re barely keeping it together. The first (and only) verse is their inner monologue breaking through as they participate in the slog of getting from one place to another. They’re battling the imprint of another person, blaming them for getting in the way of their progress, their forward motions obstructed by the taunts and memory of someone else. Sort of like a hypothetical fight you have in the shower. Just as the inner mind derails into chaos, the second refrain snaps out to the 3rd person and we are back in the world’s choreography of the mundane. The performance of the habitual, human ants dancing along our track.

When you’re losing control of your inner narrative, the motions are the reminder you tell yourself to keep it together. Sometimes though you just can’t help it and get lost in the personal panic of the na-na-need feed of it all.”

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And while we’re here, Here and Now, some Floating Anarchy, a film that came out a couple of years ago that only jsut passed our way…

The story of the free festival/punk crossover band, Here and Now, focusing on the 70s and early 80s era of the band. From the perspective of the band members Keith Bailey, Gavin Allardyce, Keith Dobson and roadie/ former NME journalist Jonathan Barnett, the film tells the story of how the band first developed, explaining their ideologies and why they embarked on free tours, gigs and festivals, and uncovering the band’s collaborations with psychedelic group Gong and punk band ATV. The film reveals the issues Here and Now faced from clashing subcultures, and their troubled commercial relationship with their record company, Charly Records. a film made by Hayley Allardyce

An old flyer that jsut appeared on The Marquee’s Facebook page, 29 years ago today so we’re told, Atom Seed at the Marquee. We lost Atom Seed singer Paul earlier this yes, and I do believe it was suicide awareness day yesterday so do please please remember there is always someone out there to talk to, please.

Wow, we were busy at the Marquee that week, that Boneyard, Osmium, Joyride gig was a good one, and Poisoned ElectrElectrick Head were always good back there….