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Never mind the editorial bit at the top or what we said the last time, you’ve read all this already, just jump down to the music. Exact same thing again today, another five (or so) slices of musical things that can do all the talking themselves and however you slice it and of course it was the price of fish and here comes the introduction to the latest Five Music Things feature thing. 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 better way? A cure for pulling flying dogs out of the clouds? Is there a rhyme? Is there a reason? Was there ever a reason? What do reasons make? Five more? Snake foil? Everything must go and same as last time (and the time before that) 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 why we started this damn thing 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 really try to 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 about what gets played on the radio or indeed 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 it, who needs an editorial or words or worms in general? What’s Wordsworth? Just facts and links and sounds then. Here you go, play the music, grab your five, eat your greens, go eat some art, go eat some fresh music and don’t forget whatever it was we said last time,

1: Läuten der Seele – A rather beautiful piece taken from the album Ertrunken Im Seichtesten Gewässer, out via World of Echo around about now

“The album, due out on World of Echo on 7 July 2023 on vinyl and digitally, is presented as two long-form pieces, divided into four separate movements. Listen to an extract and watch the video created by Läuten der Seele” said the press release. The video is up there, here’s some more.

“Somewhere in the Lower-Franconian vineyards lies a hidden and mostly unknown canyon, a place that often returns to the thoughts and dreams of Läuten der Seele’s Christian Schoppik. Though a much rarer occurrence now as a consequence of environmental change, chance encounters upon the area in the past would sometimes reveal small ponds amongst the reeds, teeming with life and populated by colonies of newts and the now endangered yellow bellied toad. The transience of the water and the wildlife it hosts, dependent on season or climate, lends the area an almost fantastical, dream-like quality. Was it ever even there at all? A secret place that may or may not be present holds vast appeal to some enquiring minds… Ertrunken Im Seichtesten Gewässer, the third Läuten der Seele album in two years, is inspired directly by these experiences. Translating as ‘drowned in the shallowest stretch of water’, a title as pregnant with dread as it is wonder, the themes present speak both to personal memories and a wider understanding of place and time, and how we might interpret our own position within an ever-changing, sometimes disappearing world. 
The record’s movements are titled so as to reflect this natural environment and its intersection with imagination, relying on processes of collage that draw from myriad indeterminable samples, field recordings and various recorded instruments. Those familiar with Schoppik’s work, both as Läuten der Seele and with Brannten Schnüre, will find present many of his signature tropes – the way deeply layered collages render abstracted visions of the past alive in the present – though what is always significant about his approach is not so much aesthetic as the wider concepts it attempts to express and emote. Indeed, emotional response is key to the Läuten der Seele sound, how overlapping notions of nostalgia, memory and identity calibrate experience and understanding of who we are and the world around us, whether it’s a world that’s gone or another imagined into being. If you observe the artwork closely enough, you may find a clue as to the canyon’s location, though such specifics are beside the point. The music itself infers a wider sense of the impermanence that characterises hidden worlds, wherever they might be or whoever they might belong to”.

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2: Teke::Teke – Official music video for Hoppe by Teke::Teke. From the album “Hagata”, out now on Kill Rock Stars. Not everything Teke::Teke do hits the spot but more ofte nthan not they do. Details of the album here

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3: Naked Lungs – Today, “enigmatic Irish four-piece noise-punk band Naked Lungs share their new single Relentless”. The track follows the announcement of their highly anticipated debut album, Doomscroll, and their recent critically acclaimed single Pressure. Recorded and mixed once again by Gilla Band’s Daniel Fox at Sonic Studios in Dublin, the new album is out 18th August.

In addition to the new single, Naked Lungs have also announced details for their first headline UK tour finishing at The Shacklewell Arms in London. Dates are below. “The album and tour dates come on the heels of a triumphant 2022, which saw the band release several singles and a self-titled EP that garnered international acclaim. They followed up with a year of high profile gigs, including two sold-out Therapy? supports, a successful headline UK tour, several sold-out Dublin headline shows and a festival run which saw them play a packed-out morning showcase at The Great Escape, as well as performing at the likes of Otherside Festival, Mutations Festival, and more.

“The band’s recent single Pressure was a grinding and explosive introduction to their new album Doomscroll, and with Relentless they show no signs of abating. Minimal, effected guitars wind up the tension to the point of breaking before rupturing into groove-inflected, caustic noise. An industrial rhythm section drives the track forward whilst fevered vocals from frontman Tom twist and flex around the loud/quiet dynamics of the track as he jumps between gently speaking and unbridled screaming”.

Speaking about the track, the band say: “Relentless is us incorporating aspects from horror film soundtracks into a noise rock track – especially the steady build up leading to a sharp release of tension – almost like a jumpscare. Nasty noise, dirty drums and some above the pickup-fretting-fuckery helps it all come in a not so nice package.”

Mortell, who directed the music video says: “The video explores the themes of grief and regret told through a narrative of a grieving son mourning his mother, being involved in an accident with a cyclist while driving on the Wicklow backroads. This manifests into a chase into the woods that finds him facing his literal demons. It’s bad craic in the woods – what’s more Irish than that?”

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“Over the course of 10 tracks, Doomscroll replicates the flow and scroll one might experience as they doomscroll through batches of negative news, each song acting almost as another article. The ebb and flow of emotions around this concept can be seen across the widely varying dynamics of the record, encapsulating these negative feelings and counteract them with moments of levity.

The album still contains the same caustic power that the band have been lauded for, but elsewhere on tracks such as “The Garden” they lean into more melodic and measured territory with sung vocals and post-rock leaning, atmospheric instrumentation. Similarly, on “Boo Boo” the band almost dip into new wave territory with melodic vocals that constrict around droning effected guitars and crashing drums. These tracks are just a taste of where the band’s real talent lies on this record – in their ability to control and toy with both restraint and unbridled power. Tracks such as Outcome exemplify this further with moments of uneasy tension, which ignite in a carpet-bomb of noise, distortion, and angst”. Doomscroll is out 18th August

Tour dates:
15th Sept – Leeds – Hyde Park Book Club
16th Sept – Manchester- Deaf Institute
17th Sept – Newcastle – Think Tank
18th Sept – Edinburgh – Sneaky Petes
19th Sept – Glasgow – Broadcast
20th Sept – Blackpool – Bootleg Social
22nd Sept – Birmingham – Sunflower
23rd Sept – Milton Keynes – Craufurd Arms
24th Sept – Ipswich – Smokehouse
26th Sept – Norwich – Voodoo Daddy’s
27th Sept – Southampton – Heartbreakers
28th Sept – Bedford Esquires
29th Sept – Exeter – The Cavern
30th Sept – Tunbridge Wells Forum (Basement)
1st Oct – Brighton – Green Door Store
3rd Oct – London – The Shacklewell Arms

4: Iceboy Violet – “Rapper, producer and performer Iceboy Violet presents their latest project, ‘Not A Dream But A Controlled Explosion’ due for release Aug 3rd on Fixed Abode. Today they share the first single ‘Black Gold’; a cinematic, slick and emotional vignette meshing icey ambience and drill featuring Florence Sinclair’s minimal rap style.

‘Black Gold’ is accompanined by a rather fine video shot and directed by Glasgow based video artist and documentarian Raw Tape.

“This is Iceboy’s first full project combining all their own production and vocals; the production draws from a palette of experimental club music, leftfield electronic, tinges of warped pop abstraction and drill alongside alternate rap. The release utilises a tight cadre of trusted collaborators; Florence Sinclair’s rap minimalism, Orlandor’s (Lizala Vi) spectral vocals and Rainy Miller’s deft touch on mixing and recording duties.
 
“‘Not A Dream But A Controlled Explosion’ is a project about the role desire and fantasy plays in our lives. What is considered fake is constantly constructing the world we want to live in and the people we want to be, as we brush up against fantasy, as we feel the everlasting tug of desire, our reality is pressed into shape almost entirely by daydreaming, hallucination, yearning & cum. This is something to be celebrated, harnessed as a force for good internally and externally. Fantasy as map and desire as engine. I love to want; I want to love.”
 
‘Not A Dream…’ follows Iceboy Violet’s 2018 release ‘MOOK’ and 2022’s critical breakthrough ‘The Vanity Project’, as well as numerous high-profile and high-calibre collaborations with artists including Loraine James, Blackhaine, Space Afrika, Slikback, aya and many, many more.
 
Iceboy’s work searches for personal and collective catharsis in the dark of the club. Emotive vocal performances and twisted club music forms are utilized to erode boundaries both external and internal, and lovingly press against the most vulnerable parts of ourselves. Chipping at the ice and letting its true shape reveal itself”.    

5: Sugar Pit – “I’d love to help you because I’m working at my job.”, at some point this one might drive us mad but for now… “Grimey, sarcastic indie-punk in LA. Everything recorded and designed by me in my bedroom”.

And while we’re here a rather different version of a Hawkwind classic…

Therte is of course a monthly evolving Spotify playlist