LTW newsletter 122

Warriorz!

We are in 24/7 full on mode for the upcoming debut Louder Than War festival this coming Saturday in Manchester at the Academy. Spread over three venues the event is a celebration of the type of bands we write about with a bill of Sea Power, Pale Blue Eyes, House of All, Evil Blizzard, Immersion and fast rising new band the Gothic tinged Mouth Ulcers and many others…for you dear subscribers we have a special mates rates ticket that is much cheaper…hurry while there are still some left… 

Its tough being a musician these days with a lot of sharks taking a lot of slices out of your livelihood. Back in the sixties they were obvious villains that looked and acted like gangsters but in the modern age they come with the silent cruelty of tech bros and multinational corporations like Spotify or Youtube who control the market and hand over the minimal amount of loot which is why we were pleased to hear about Qobuz who are a newer streamer who have a model that pays the creatives more…it might be worth a look and maybe switching over. 

Bathing Suits are quite literally a hot new band from Leeds who are so hot that they wear about the same amount of clothes as their name suggests but this is only a minor part of their schtick because, as our reviewer points out, their music is a thrilling rush…  ‘Pulsating electronic beats? Check. Atonal, jarring riffs? Check. Surfing the crowd in your knickers? Check. All in a day’s work for Bathing Suits.’ 

In these hideous Trumpian time we have been waiting for some kind of eloquent fightback, some kind of new kinda noise from the punk underground, some kind of articulate rage with a wit and wisdom and we have finally found it with Dead Pioneers. The magnificent band brought their poetic songs of defiance to the UK for a tour and we had a Louder Than War night out to see the band thrill a sold out show at Manchester’s Rebellion festival. 

It’s great to see that one of our recent new band tips, Mouth Ulcers, really take off and we have found another new band that we are really thrilled about, Ishango Bones getting their quirk on and who have come up with a sound that is somehow gloriously original and highly addictive. Arriving in a blur of wild hair and moustaches and looking like three George Harrisons from his mid-seventies follicle overload, but sounding very much of the now, their polyrhythmic shuffles combine a shape-shifting rhythm section with great soaring melodies that switch and twitch from indie attitude to a melting falsetto.

Big Special were first spotted by Louder Than War in early 2023 in a central London basement bar and we wrote the first review of the band then and they  such an impression on the reviewer Keith Goldhanger that it’s almost as though, since then, he’s been sitting patiently waiting for the duo to play inside one of London’s largest venues and it was great to see them sell out the roundhouse which we celebrate here. 

Dublin firebrand Molly Vulpyne finally releases her debut album along with her punk brothers from Paranoid Visions and The Steve Ignorant Band, a melting pot of modern punk rock with a twist. Wayne AF Carey reviews…   https://louderthanwar.com/molly-vulpyne-band-houndstooth-and-the-hum-review-album-of-the-week/ (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre)

Doctor, doctor, who? Peter Capaldi regenerates at the Brudenell Social Club. Louder Than War’s Andy Brown steps inside the TARDIS of tunes.