Alternative Rock
Sam Fender on First Mercury Prize Nomination, Summer Festivals, and “Bawling” Over Bruce Springsteen
It just keeps getting better for Sam Fender, one of England’s biggest songwriters. With his second album, the brilliant and personal Seventeen Going Under, released in November 2021, Fender cemented his place in the pantheon of great British songwriters, earning praise from Adele, Elton John, and many more in the process. And it didn’t stop there — since the release of Seventeen Going Under, Fender was awarded the prestigious Ivor Novello songwriting prize for “Best Song Musically and Lyrically,” supported The Rolling Stones at a show in London’s Hyde Park, headlined dozens of festivals around Europe, and, most recently, was nominated yesterday (July 26th) for the Mercury Prize, which awards the best album released in the UK. It’s clear that the personal and therapeutic direction of S...
Pulp Reunion Set for 2023, Jarvis Cocker Says
Pulp’s seminal 1998 album This Is Hardcore turns 25 next year, and the band has a reunion in the works to celebrate the occasion. Jarvis Cocker said as much at a recent Q&A, teasing, “Next year Pulp are going to play some concerts!” Cocker was speaking at a Guardian-hosted talk and Q&A about his new memoir Good Pop, Bad Pop when a fan asked about a mysterious clip the Pulp frontman posted to Instagram on July 20th. In the video, the words “What exactly do you do for an encore?” appear over a black screen. The same line appears in “This Is Hardcore,” which Cocker was sure to point out in his response. “It was deliberately cryptic,” Cocker said. “It’s a line from ‘This Is Hardcore’… Next year Pulp are going to play some concerts!” Advertisement Related Video When and w...
Turnover Announce New Album Myself in the Way, Share Title Track Featuring Turnstile’s Brendan Yates: Stream
Turnover have announced a new album and shared the video for the title track “Myself in the Way” featuring Turnstile singer Brendan Yates. The Virginia band’s fifth studio album drops November 4th via Run for Cover Records. The smooth track sees Turnover going in a chilled-out disco direction with auto-tuned vocals and jazzy chords. With Yates on board, it’s hard to not compare the song with the more R&B-tinged moments on Turnstile’s latest album, Glow On. The similar band names also add a parallel element. “Over the last couple of years, I really tried to stop finding reasons why not to do something,” Turnover singer Austin Getz said via a press release. “This song specifically is about getting engaged despite fears I’ve always had of being able to provide for a family, to give a...
Red Hot Chili Peppers Make It Look Easy at US Tour Kickoff in Denver: Review
Not many high school bands last 39 years. Even fewer make the transition from punk underground to venerated rock establishment, while continuing to jump around like teenagers with functional and highly lubricated knee joints just a few months shy of 60 years old. But Red Hot Chili Peppers are still doing it, and they’re making it look easy. They are the Rolling Stones of Generation X. And they are very much here to stay. Gather ‘round, children; way back in the ‘80s and early ‘90s, there was a burgeoning new genre of popular music called “Alternative.” Red Hot Chili Peppers, which formed in 1983 in Los Angeles with Anthony Kiedis on vocals, Flea (Michael Bazary) on bass, Hillel Slovak on guitar, and Jack Irons on drums, was one of the first American bands to really dominate the genre, pavi...
Jack White Releases New Album Entering Heaven Alive: Stream
Jack White has released his new acoustic album Entering Heaven Alive via his Third Man Records. Take a listen below. The studio set is the fifth solo effort and second of 2022 for the Nashville rocker, following Fear of the Dawn. Arriving just three months after its predecessor, Entering Heaven Alive was preceded by acoustic lead single “Love Is Selfish” in between the cacophony of Fear of the Dawn tracks “Taking Me Back,” “Hi-De-Ho” featuring Q-Tip, and “What’s the Trick?” White is the subject of Consequence‘s latest digital cover story, in which he details his mindset while making and releasing two albums in tandem. “I thought it was going to be one very eclectic record,” he said. “I never set out to do a one-mood record before. The first White Stripes record is a raw Detroit record — ev...
Ed O’Brien on Radiohead’s Future: “It Might Happen… It Might Not”
Ed O’Brien has addressed the uncertain future of Radiohead, revealing that the band is not currently active and has no plans in the foreseeable future. In an interview with The Line-Up Podcast, O’Brien acknowledged that, “There’s no Radiohead at the moment.” “It might happen, but the other thing is… it might not,” O’Brien responded when asked whether the band would eventually reconvene. “And does that matter?” Advertisement Related Video “There’s a truth to what we do,” the Radiohead guitarist went on to explain. “So we’re not going to be one of those bands that gets together for the big payday.” “The thing with Radiohead, we could do something in a couple years. We might not,” he added. “But I think what it has to be, it has to be five people going, ‘I really want to do this again with yo...
Muse Dare Us to “Kill Or Be Killed” with New Single: Stream
Muse have a new album called Will of the People coming out next month, and ahead of its release, they’ve shared the single “Kill Or Be Killed.” Check it out below. “’Kill Or Be Killed’ is Muse at their heaviest,” frontman Matt Bellamy said in a statement. “We wanted to update our hard rock sound on this album and with ‘Kill Or Be Killed’ we found a modern metal sound featuring double bass drum action and even a death growl. Lyrically the song takes influence from my favourite Paul McCartney song ‘Live And Let Die’, a dark take on how life’s adversity can sometimes bring out the worst human instincts to survival at any costs.” The track comes with a music video directed by Ben Lowe. From the sound of its song titles — previously released singles “Won’t Stand Down,” “Complian...
Pearl Jam Cancel Show After Eddie Vedder’s Voice Damaged by “Dust and Smoke” from France’s Wildfires
Climate change is here, and as France goes up in flames, Eddie Vedder, who just finished a concert near Paris, has been left unable to sing after “dust and smoke” from the wildfires damaged his voice. Because of that, Pearl Jam have been forced to cancel a July 20th concert in Vienna, Austria. “To all those who were anticipating a great Pearl Jam show tonight in Vienna, we were too,” the band wrote in a social media statement. “However, due to the extreme circumstances at the last outdoor site outside of Paris (heat, dust, and smoke from the fires) our singer Ed Vedder’s throat was left damaged. He has seen doctors and had treatment but as of yet, his vocal cords have not recovered.” The statement continued, “This is brutal news and horrible timing… for everyone involved. Those w...
The Afghan Whigs Share New Single “A Line of Shots”: Stream
The Afghan Whigs have released their new single “A Line of Shots,” the latest offering from the alt-rock band’s upcoming album How Do You Burn? The song stands as a reminder to embrace the competing fear and freedom that comes with facing a critical moment. Its adrenaline-boosting build and invigorating production echo the simmering anticipation of lyrics like, “Don’t wait too long/ The feeling’s gonna come in a wave.” Eventually, “A Line of Shots” explodes into a storm of sirens, shoegaze distortion, overlayed vocals, and the rapturous refrain of “Everybody get out of line.” Stream “A Line of Shots” below. The Afghan Whigs are hitting the road imminently following an early summer run and supporting slot for Jack White in June. The band’s solo European leg kicks off on Saturday, July 23rd,...
Rage Against the Machine Call Out Violence Against Indigenous Peoples in Canada
Having already thrown up many a middle finger at America’s long history of systemic oppression, Rage Against the Machine are proving that true rage doesn’t need a passport, exploring Canada’s past and present violence towards indigenous peoples at a June 15th concert at Bluesfest in Ottawa. As RATM had previously done beginning with the the kick off to their reunion tour, the band displayed facts and calls to action on a display screen behind the stage. “An Indigenous person in Canada is over 10 times more likely to be shot and killed by a police officer than a white person is,” one screen read, in reference to a CTV News investigation. “In Canada, Indigenous women and girls are 16 times more likely to be murdered or to disappear than white women are,” another text displayed...
The Story Behind Why Garbage’s Shirley Manson Is “Only Happy When It Rains”
Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Pocket Casts | RSS Garbage are an iconic, eclectic band that is anything but what their name implies. With the music scene awash in a sea of grunge at the time, Garbage went a different way — and to great effect. This all-star band — with world class producer Bruce “Butch” Vig (Nirvana) at the production helm — has released hit after dynamic hit with an infectious pop sound that belied frequently dark lyrics. They’ve scored a number of Top 10 hits and were even chosen to record a James Bond theme. Advertisement Seven studio albums into their journey (with their latest release being 2021’s No Gods No Masters) and the band continues to pro...
Lou Reed’s Estate Releases Earliest Known “Heroin” Demo: Stream
A demo of Lou Reed’s Velvet Underground epic “Heroin” has been unleashed from the upcoming archival album Words & Music, May 1965. Remastered from an unearthed tape that established the singer-songwriter’s copyright for the composition, it is thought to be the song’s earliest recording. The fuzzy, finger-picked take follows an acoustic folk style similar to the new collection’s initial offering, “I’m Waiting for the Man.” Unlike its predecessor though, which came “nearly complete, with minor changes made in the final arrangement,” “Heroin” seems to have undergone several substantial changes before its visceral debut on 1967’s The Velvet Underground & Nico. Reed is also joined by fellow Velvet Underground member John Cale for the song’s first recorded runthrough. Stream it below. Wo...
