I really don’t like this policy of only covering things that you feel positive about said someone or other, apparently it is a rather “cowardly way of doing things” and yes maybe so but it does save a hell of lot of our time and yours and none of us have time to waste on any of the negative stuff and the predictable disappointment of new Billy Idol albums and direction that Black Country New Road have taken now and who really needs any of this? If we did throw the policy out of the window, it might read something like this…
Erlend Apneseth – Song over støv (Hubro) – Now don’t be asking us about renowned Hardanger fiddle players, apparently Erlend Apneseth is “one of Norway’s most renowned Hardanger fiddle players. Traditionally rooted, in recent years Apneseth has made the contemporary / improvised music scene his home and his debut recording Blikkspor (Grappa Musikkforlag, 2013), produced by Arve Henriksen, received critical praise from folk, jazz and contemporary music magazines alike”, don’t think we’ve heard or indeed heard of Erlend Apneseth before, this is rather warmly enjoyable though, it is rather inviting. Instrumental folk flavoured full bodied tunes that flow in a rather positive way. At time things feel a little like they might been from one of those festival bands you’d find of tape labels like Better Days back in the last century, a touch of Oroonies or Ullulators in there with the Scandiness and the painterliness and the weaving of it all. Some of it sounds like parades, some of it sounds otherly, big part o it sound almost orchestral and mostly, if you’re in the right frame of mind, then it all sounds rather magnificent. Magnificently expressive layers of sound, a big sound, lots in there, lots if instruments, lots of movement, detail, warmth here’s some background…
“The project originated as a commissioned work for Oslo World and Riksscenen in 2023. As a composer, Apneseth has spent recent years working with orchestras and larger ensembles, and after being a member of Frode Haltli’s Avant Folkfor several years, he was inspired to write for a large band himself. For this project, he brought together 11 fantastic musicians, creating an immense musical playground. The commissioned work matured over time before Apneseth took the ensemble into Amper Tone studio in August 2024, with Bård Ingebrigtsen at the controls. Ingebrigtsen also mixed the album, which was produced by Anja Lauvdal and Apneseth himself”.
We may not know that much about Hardanger fiddle players, renowned or not but we can tell you this is a rather fine album, a rather recommended album released on an always interesting label. Bandcamp
Black Country, New Road – Forever Howlong (Ninja Tune) – Finally got around to listening to the new just released album in full and really besides the moments in For The Cold Country it is a little politely twee and not really sounding like the band they once were. Truth be told, if we hadn’t features For The Cold Country a few days back, we’d probably quietly avoid saying anything about what is a rather disappointing direction we find the once excellent band heading in. That one (slightly Cardiacs flavoured track) kind of hints at earlier glories, a band who once put an album out that figured highly in our end of year best albums list, alas no, not this time… not sure about the artwork either
Stop Press: Here we are at the end of August, the band have just played All Points East and maybe this dismissing of the album was a little too quick. They are essentially a different band now to the band fronted by Isaac Wood, to compare the two versions considering the circunstances probably isn’t reasonable and well, here’s the live review – ORGAN THING: The closing day of All Points East 2025, the positives of where a very different Black Country, New Road are now, that four wheel drive of the Midnight Dipper and Warmduscher’s low slung disco-fried funk in the dust of it all…
previously
ORGAN THING: Have Black Country, New Road just hit us with what could be the best album of 2021?
Previous Black Country, New Road coverage on these page
Billy Idol – Dream Into It (Dark Horse) – Don’t look now ’cause here’s young William, what is this doing in our in box? Billy has a new album, how bad could it possible be? Oh it really is truly truly awful, far far worse than you might imagine and I’m sure you weren’t imagining that much? Your granny might like it? Then again maybe not, she might say something about it being nice? He’s probably aiming it at her, he’s probably trying to forget your generation, you know, all the ways when, all there in what he sees, the ends must justify his means, I guess his generation don′t mean a thing to me, I say your generation don’t mean a thing to me, I say your generation don′t mean a thing to me…
Klamp – Totaal Techniek (Human Worth) – Klamp, so we are told, are a “formidable musical collective with members scattered across the UK and the Netherlands. This group, now comprising seven members, has its roots in a trio that expanded over the past four years. The current line-up includes both current and former members of notable bands such as Idles, Sex Swing, Tall Ships, Manatees, Do Me Bad Things, Pulled Apart By Horses, Petbrick and Mugstar. This diverse musical heritage infuses Klamp’s sound with a rich mix of influences and sounds”. It does kind of sound like some kind of mountainous coming together of all the sounds of those aforementioned bands, this new album does sound rather big, it is an album that demands volume, this is not meant to be a quiet experience.
Now don’t you just hate having to correct the American spellings in a press release from a UK based label as you lazily cut ‘n past the release and “since their raw and antagonistic 2020 release Hate You, Klamp has undergone a significant transformation. The 2025 incarnation of the band presents a vastly evolved force. Their latest album, “Totaal Techniek, is a testament to their artistic growth and exploration. The album traverses a broad range of genres, seamlessly blending elements of Krautrock, Breakcore, Industrial, and Post Punk. Each track is a new journey, characterised by an innovative sound and intricate musical textures. A key aspect of Klamp’s evolution has been their ever-expanding roster of collaborators. The original line-up of Jason Stoll (Sex Swing/Mugstar/JAAW), Lee Vincent (Pulled Apart by Horses) and Greg Wynne (Manatees) have been joined by Adam Devonshire (Idles), Matthew Parker (Tall Ships), Rachael Morrison and Wayne Adams (Petbrick/Big Lad) along with other collaborators….”, and yes they have developed the sound, taken it to new spaces and places, places that could be said to be bother both “beautiful and bleak, harsh and euphoric – sometimes all at once”.
Klamp’s sound is big, by nature it maybe lacks a little identity or focus, it does sound like a lot of things without really having a strong fingerprint of its own, does it lack in terms of uniqueness and permanence? There’s certainly energy, it does feel fresh, now, here and now, cinematic if we want to get a little clichéed about it. Actually The First Song starts off rather delicately, beautifully so, give those layers a minute to build up though, they do build it on a colourfully dark way, Swans come to mind, maybe a slightly lighter shade of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, and yes very much flavoured in a post punk way, a sound that, like the collective (rather than a band), does keep evolving throughout what is, even if at times it is a little predictable and at times treading a little water, a mostly rather fine album.
TVOD – Party Time (Mothball) – Brooklyn, New York’s Television Overdose with some kind of semi urgent semi polite post punkish indie rock that sounds like a lot of things that people who listen to bands like the Rapture or The Stokes thik are radical, the album has been on here for a good few hours now, that’s about all I have to say… Bandcamp will tell you more. Dreadful artwork.
THE ORGAN 