Post-Punk
Squid Announce Debut Album Bright Green Field, Share New Song “Narrator”: Stream
Squid have announced their debut album Bright Green Field, which is set to arrive in May. As a first look, the Brighton post-punk band is sharing a sprawling lead single called “Narrator”. Bright Green Field follows Squid’s pair of 2020 songs, “Sludge” and “Broadcaster”, as well as their 2019 EP Town Centre. This LP was produced by Dan Carey (black midi, Bat For Lashes, Hot Chip), and judging by the recording process, it sounds like they went big: a 30-person choir, a horn and string ensemble, and actual field recordings of bees. Although its title and artwork evoke a pastoral setting, drummer/vocalist Oliver Judge says that this album exists in a shadowy cityscape. “The tracks illustrate the places, events and architecture that exist within it,” he explains in a statement. ...
Arctic Monkeys’ Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not Takes Us Back to Their Garage Days
Editor’s Notes: Consequence has been around long enough that so many of the new albums that originally turned us on to music are now celebrating their first milestone anniversaries. As we begin to reflect on these records, you can catch our updated assessments here. “I just wanted to be one of The Strokes,” Arctic Monkeys’ vocalist Alex Turner sings on the opening line of Tranquility Base Hotel + Casino. It’s a somewhat ironic statement. The Sheffield indie rockers’ most recent album sounds nothing like The Strokes, especially the opening track “Star Treatment”. The 2018 record is infused with a lounge-jazz, yacht-rock persona with songs that follow Odyssean orbits rather than traditional verse-chorus patterns. With the Arctic Monkeys that fans are familiar with now, going back to their 20...
Shame Unveil New Album Drunk Tank Pink: Stream
Shame have unveiled their new album Drunk Tank Pink. Stream it below via Apple Music and Spotify. The record marks the sophomore release from the UK post-punk band, following the 2018 album Songs of Praise. The 11-track effort was initially announced back in November of last year, and it was preceded by three very strong singles — “Snow Day”, “Alphabet”, and “Water in the Well”. Unlike other loud-mouthed British contemporaries like Sleaford Mods and IDLES, Shame’s take on The Fall-inspired rock is a little less scraggly and a bit more polished. However, these shout-along melodies and taut grooves are balanced by cerebral lyrical concepts and grandiose music videos, so they’re by no means making music that’s devoid of challenging material. Editors’ Picks Drunk Tank Pink was produ...
Black Country, New Road Unveil New Song “Track X”: Stream
The buzzy Brits of Black Country, New Road have returned with the new song called “Track X”. It’s the latest preview of their debut album For the first time, out February 5th. Like previous releases, “Track X” is understated and eccentric. Frontman Isaac Wood sings in a tone just above spoken word while brass instruments sketch butterflies around his voice. Even as the music looks forward with a heady mix of post-punk and jazz, the lyrics turn fondly backwards, remembering the place “where we fucked as kids,” and the time “I told you I love you in front of black midi.” In a statement, Wood explained how the song came together, saying, “Track X is a song we first worked on in 2018 but one that never made it out into our live performances. We decided to resurrect it during the reco...
Viagra Boys Release New Album Welfare Jazz: Stream
Swedish post-punk group Viagra Boys have just released Welfare Jazz, their new sophomore album. Stream it below via Apple Music or Spotify. Viagra Boys made a name for themselves by putting a satirical spin on punk with their 2018 debut Street Worms, and they continue to do so here on Welfare Jazz. The record includes standout singles like “Ain’t Nice”, in which singer Sebestions Murphy comes to terms with setting the wrong goals for himself, as well as the synth-based track “Creatures” that offers a nuanced look at crude miscreants. Elsewhere, the 13-song effort boasts a surprisingly faithful cover of the John Prine classic “In Spite of Ourselves”, featuring Amy Taylor of Amyl and the Sniffers. In the studio, Viagra Boys recorded the new album with a handful of notable producers, such as ...
Viagra Boys Churn Out More Scuzzy Salvos on Sophomore Welfare Jazz: Review
The Lowdown: If you find a political message in the music of Sweden’s Viagra Boys, it wasn’t necessarily put there on purpose. At least, that’s the party line from singer and lyricist Sebastian Murphy, whose deadpan baritone and satirical send-up of hyper-macho posturing made the post-punk band’s debut, Street Worms, essential listening in 2018. In a 2019 interview with Australia’s Happy Mag, Murphy laid out his thoughts in full: “In a way, making music in itself is a political statement,” the singer said. “If the right-wing had their way, we wouldn’t be making music at all. They hate all this stuff, and they hate this kind of culture. We’re being political just by being ourselves – and in my opinion, that’s enough. You don’t need to dive any deeper than that.” Of course, plenty of people ...
Viagra Boys Release New Song “Creatures”: Stream
Viagra Boys are back with another new post-punk banger called “Creatures”. It’s the second offering from their forthcoming sophomore record Welfare Jazz, and it comes paired with an amazing music video. Back in October, the Swedish group kicked off their album cycle with the asshole anthem “Ain’t Nice”, which was a cheeky tune about proudly being a dumpy mooch with no manners. It was the sort of crude scumbaggery that you might expect from a band called Viagra Boys, but “Creatures” takes a more nuanced look at the life of a seedy miscreant. The synth-based track is a commentary on the absurdism of the class disparity that compares the lifestyle vocalist Sebastian Murphy groaned about on “Ain’t Nice” to that of the ocean’s bottom feeders. “We are the creatures that steal your copper/ We don...
The Clockworks Release Stirring New Song “Enough Is Never Enough”: Stream
Irish post-punk band The Clockworks have shared a stirring new song called “Enough Is Never Enough”. It’s the latest release from Creation 23, the new label from Creation Records founder Alan McGee, known for championing ’90s acts like Oasis, My Bloody Valentine, Primal Scream early on in their careers. The London by way of Garland, IE band have only put out a handful of singles since McGee signed them back in 2019, but all of them have been incredibly promising for such a young act. That said, “Enough Is Never Enough” is definitely their best so far, as it finds a happy middle ground between the snarling post-punk of IDLES, the hollering garage rock of The Hives, and the gloomy indie-punk of early Cloud Nothings. It’s equal parts catchy and clamorous on the musical end, but it also contai...
Des Rocs Premieres New Song “Nothing Personal”: Stream
Rising New York musician Des Rocs is set to unleash a new EP, This Is Our Life, on December 4th. In advance of its release, he’s teaming up with Consequence of Sound to premiere the new single “Nothing Personal”. Des Rocs broke out as part of the duo Secret Weapons, and is now establishing himself as a dynamic solo act. His brand of rock ‘n’ roll features a frenetic and dramatic edge, with “Nothing Personal” offering up slices of post-punk and art rock. “‘Nothing Personal’ is music of the night,” Des Rocs tells us of the song. “It’s about bad people doing bad things and paying the price in this life and the next. It’s a firecracker of a record that I dare you to sit down to while listening.” Lyrically, Des Rocs paints a vivid scene with the opening lines, “I found you sleeping in my coffin...
Refused Announce The Malignant Fire EP, Unleash “Born on the Outs”: Stream
Swedish hardcore veterans Refused have announced a new EP, The Malignant Fire. In advance of its November 20th release, the band has unleashed the single “Born on the Outs”. The Malignant Fire will arrive roughly a year after Refused’s most recent full-length album, War Music. The new five-song collection features four new tracks and one War Music cut (“Malfire”). “Born on the Outs” has a post-punk vibe, with singer Dennis Lyxzén delivering clean vocals to start before escalating to his raspy howl. It’s as infectious as it aggressive, even delving into a melodic Sisters of Mercy-like bridge around the 2:10 mark. Lyrically, “Born on the Outs” continues the progressivism and radicalism of the band’s 30-year career, as Lyxzén rails against hate crimes, fascism, and oppression throug...
Ian Curtis’ “Love Will Tear Us Apart” Guitar Sells for $210,000
An iconic piece of Joy Division history has found a new home. On Tuesday, Ian Curtis’ signature Vox Phantom guitar was auctioned off by Bonhams Entertainment Memorabilia Sale for a staggering £162,562 (or $211,513). The guitar most famously appeared in Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart” video. However, it also toured with the late frontman during the band’s 1980 European tour and was used on the recording of Closer track “Heart and Soul”. Curiously enough, the Vox Phantom has quite a history that extends well beyond Curtis. Following his untimely death, the guitar passed on to bandmate Bernard Sumner, who eventually gave it to his Electronic colleague Johnny Marr. The buck doesn’t stop there. Fifteen years later, Marr later returned the guitar back to Sumner, who finally left it with...
New Joy Division and New Order Podcast to Feature Surviving Band Members, Bono, Damon Albarn, Jonny Greenwood, More
Mark those calendars because a new podcast focused on the origins of Joy Division and New Order is set to debut later this month. Transmissions: The Definitive Story will trace the story of the two iconic and closely linked bands — from Joy Division’s formation up until New Order’s release of the 1983 hit single “Blue Monday”. Of course, the tragic death of Ian Curtis in 1980, and the subsequent split Joy Division, will receive substantial coverage. Fittingly, this history will be told by those who actually lived it — surviving band members such as Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook, Stephen Morris, and Gillian Gilbert. The pod will also feature interviews with special guest musicians like Damon Albarn, Radiohead’s Jonny and Colin Greenwood, U2’s Bono, Liam Gallagher, Johnny Marr, and Karen O. Add...
