The editorial, the introduction bit and the Five music things thing for whatever it is all about. Five? There’s something rather compelling about five. Cross-pollination? Five more? Do we need to do the editorial bit again? Is there another way? A cure for pulling cats out of hats? Is there a rhyme? Is there a reason? Was there ever? What do reasons make? Five more, everything must go and same as last time (and the time before) five, and no, we never do and the proof of the pudding is in that proof reading. When we started this thing, oh never mind, it doesn’t matter and like we asked last time, does anyone bother reading the editorial? Does anyone ever actually look down the rabbit hole or is it all just method acting? We do listen to everything that comes in, we do it so you don’t have to, we are very (very) very very picky about what we actually post on these fractured pages or what gets played on the radio or what we hang in a gallery. Cut to the chase, never mind the editorial there’s loads of music further down the page, well five or so pieces of music that have come our way in the last few days and cut cut slash and cut to the damn chase, who needs an editorial or words in general? Just facts and links then, here you go, grab your five, eat your greens, go look at art…

1: Toby Driver, he of KayoDot and quite a few other things besides has a new single out, it is once more alive with Toby’s DNA, his fingerprint that run through everything he does, that progressive need to push at the edges while at the same time, nowhere near as heavy as KayoDot, and maybe not quite a s escapist as he might say it is. Actually right now, with everything that is going on we probably need these beautiful moments to cling on to.

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“It’s difficult for me to believe that a new song matters today. If I were to follow my brain, neither this song nor many others would be here. However, I was compelled by the usual unseen forces in the past few weeks to get this song (begun in 2019) finished and out into the world. Perhaps it’s needed, even though the reasons may not be clear. This song is a bright, escapist pop/jazz/new age/fusion song about the woods and magic. Thanks to David Bodie for providing drums for this one and Randall Dunn for recording them. I would also like to especially thank my Bandcamp subscribers for making the creation of this song possible”.

“Begun in 2019 and shelved because it had no home, wandering, much like the song’s narrator. Written at the same time as Alora Crucible’s “Thymiamatascension,” this song is in the “pop new age” style inspired by Oystein Sevag and Sting, and is more suited to a release under the singer-songwriter banner of Toby Driver’s recent solo material”.

2: Grave Goods just let loose a rather powerful introduction – “Taking influence from early post-punk and minimalist rock, the music of GRAVE GOODS has been described as urgent and demanding, claustrophobic yet spacious, and they’re guaranteed to grab your attention.

Featuring current and former members of PINS, Girls Names, and September Girls, the sartre-rock trio are based between Manchester, Belfast and Dublin. Their influences come from early post-punk and minimalist rock, with music that is visceral and angular, set against a lyrical backdrop of existential ennui.

Today, GRAVE GOODS announce debut album TUESDAY. NOTHING EXISTS. out 9th September 2022 via TULLE (home to M(h)aol, Fears), and share new single ‘Come’ which is a song about revolution.

Singer Lois Macdonald says on the track, “This is one of the first tracks we wrote, and for me the one that helped to cement the feel of the music we make. I wanted to use the guitar in a percussive way, and I wanted the track to feel stressful and furious. I felt frustrated at the time and had so much to express. I wanted the lyrics to reflect all this, and to come from the gut.  The best noise I could imagine for this is ‘Ugh’ which I use towards the end – it represents frustration, disgust and sex.”

The video also comes from Lois, starring four pleasure demons. There’s Urth – mother of nature, sprouting roots to ground themselves and always thirsty. Jeen – the ghost of the mother of Brad Pitt’s character in Thelma And Louise, they have seen and done it all. Monarch – demonic royalty of the highest order, not to be disobeyed unless you like that sort of thing. And finally Trubble – the most depraved of the demons with an insatiable lust for pleasure. Trubble experiences every orgasm that occurs on earth and as a result finds it difficult to concentrate”.

Here’s the video, more from us whe nthere’s more than just the one track to explore, that’s if everything else is as good as this first taste hints it will be. More details via Bandcamp

3: Katy J Pearson – This is a delightfully spiky piece of pop, we found it on the Clump Oollective iwebsite after the Slagheap bit, this is a track from Katy J Pearson’s new album Sound of The Morning, you can find a couple more slices on her Bandcamp page right now. The album is out on July 8th, more about it under the video and the ten foot wave and could it get any better?

“Sound of the Morning is released on Heavenly Recordings on Friday 8th July 2022. Written and recorded in late 2021, Katy’s latest effort is co-produced by Ali Chant (Yard Act and the helm of Katy’s debut Return) and Speedy Wunderground head-honcho Dan Carey (Fontaines DC).

Katy’s debut album, Return, released in November 2020, saw her go from Bristolian newcomer to a critically-acclaimed breakthrough star, selling out shows up and down the UK. Praised for “the arresting quality of [her] Kate Bush-meets-Dolly Parton vocal delivery” by The Times, labelled as “finding humanity in every moment” by DIY and with lead single ‘Take Back The Radio’ described as “a whoop of pure joy” in the Guardian, amidst the bleak toll of lockdown, something about this curiously optimistic album began to really resonate.

It feels fitting then that, having provided an aural balm at just the right moment with her first album, its follow-up should reflect a world brimming with curiosity, back in action and wanting to expand its horizons. If Pearson’s extracurricular activities in recent months have shown that she can dip a toe into a multitude of genres – providing guest vocals on Orlando Weeks’ recent album ‘Hop Up’; popping up with Yard Act for a collaboration at End of the Road festival; singing on trad-folk collective Broadside Hacks’ 2021 project ‘Songs Without Authors’ – then forthcoming second album Sound of the Morning takes that spirit and runs with it. It’s still Katy J Pearson (read: effortlessly charming, full of heart and helmed by that inimitable vocal), but it’s Katy J Pearson pushing herself musically and lyrically into new waters.

It’s an album that’s as comfortable revelling in the more laid-back, Real Estate-esque melodies of lead single ‘Talk Over Town’ – a track that attempts to make sense of her recent experiences, of “being Katy from Gloucester, but then being Katy J Pearson who’s this buzzy new artist” – as it is basking in the American indie pop of ‘Float’, penned with longtime pal Oliver Wilde of Pet Shimmers, or experimenting with the buoyant brass of ‘Howl’, in which Orlando repays the favour with a vocal guest spot.

It all makes for a record that’s increasingly unafraid to explore life’s darker parts, but that does so with an openness that’s full of light. As an artist who professes to “always strive for the bittersweetness of things”, Sound of the Morning does just that, taking the listener’s hand and guiding them through the good and the bad, like the musical equivalent of an arm around the shoulder. “I want people to feel things with my music, but I don’t want to cause my listener too much trauma,” she notes with a cheeky glint. “Counselling is expensive, so you’ve got to pick your battles…” 

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4: Laundromat are gathering together three of their recent EPs together for one release, the ‘En Bloc’ 3 EP collection is out September 16th 2022 via Brace Yourself Records. Pre-order details via Bandcamp

The Brighton band are gattering to getther theri recent Blue EP, Green EP and Red EP all together on one tasty 12″. “This collection is how the songs were originally intended to be heard, featuring segues and soundscapes fusing the tracks resulting in one virtually continuous piece of music – a feast for the ears.

There is also a special edition LP is also available for pre-order – the fantastic Dinked are taking care of that! The numbered ‘Dinked Edition’ comes with alternative artwork, clear-splatter vinyl and bonus 7” featuring remixes by the radical BOTHELBOWS/MIIIKE and the formidable Marcus Hamblett.

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4: Gentle Giant‘s later releases are a little bit under appreciated, this is a piece from the just re-issued 1980 album, Gentle Giant’s last album ‘Civilian’. Once again there is a new video, excellently directed by Noah Shulman Animation & Design by Trey Trimble. The videos for the recent series of reissues are well worth a mention.

“Gentle Giant’s last album ‘Civilian’, was originally released in the spring of 1980, a little over a decade after the band’s formation, and like all their alums defied categorization.’Civilian’ was the final stage in Giant’s move toward a more concise and direct approach while still maintaining it’s musical integrity. It was unique among their albums in that the material was written and recorded in North America.The band recruited Beatles engineer Geoff Emerick to man the console at Sound City and Bijou Studios in Hollywood to record this final album. What emerged from these sessions was a comparatively straightforward high-energy rock album, with hook laden songs and clever choruses. Undoubtedly a musical vindication of Giant’s decision to move further towards the ‘progressive rock mainstream’, and the logical conclusion of the work begun on 1976’s ‘Interview’. Despite having paired down earlier characteristic elements, Gentle Giant retained their quintessential brilliant musicianship moving forward into the new decade.As a bonus on this, the newly mastered reissue of ‘Civilian’, and therefore it’s first official outing on CD, a rare previously unissued track is included. ‘Heroes No More’ was recorded during the ‘Civilian’ sessions but failed to appear only because of the need to keep running times down on the old vinyl format. Remastered it is a fantastic addition to the album.’Civilian’ was the last in a line of strikingly original albums, each with it’s own character, but each recorded with the same care and attention to detail. Gentle Giant were a unique proposition, five talented musicians with the ability to blend widely differing musical traditions into a coherent whole.Decades after the initial release of “Civilian’ fans of the band old and new have come to realize what an incredibly strong and superbly written and produced album Civilian really was. It is with this knowledge that we are proud to re-release the final album of a truly innovative and original band”

More details

5: Speedvark – Now there’s a name we haven’t encountered for a few years, they did feature on a couple of Organ Radio releases banck in the days of ORG Records. “Speedvark news: we’re back!” shouts the e.mail that tells tales of their kids now being in the line up and well I guess it has been a long time. Here’s a new piece of music, here’s the Facebook page, there’s dates.

And while we’re here, some more Flipper, there ca nnever be too much Flipper, following yesterday’s piece on the tour and the London date with Mike Watt – ORGAN THING: Flipper are coming to London with The Shits, Predeceased and Crushed By Pimps, there’s UK dates and a European tour. Meanwhile, a Generic electric painting alongside Yes, Roxy, The Pop Group, Circle Jerks and… Here’s ssome raw live footage from 1983. You can also find more about those Electric paintings via that link…

More of this in a day or two I expect….