LTW newsletter 116

Warriors!

As we brace ourselves from the strange and derganged daily meltdown of Donald Trump and his bizarre and psychotic ramblings, we ponder at how the world has really changed into some kind of crazed circus with the lunatics taking over and buring down the asylum. Maybe we need this mad fuel, this daily ritual of shame like the way our ancient forebearers would gorge on carcasses of dead creatures or iPhone freaks will rubber neck a car crash.

Back in our acne youth such mad behaviour was for the likes of Sid Vicious running amok on stages and staggering around like a wounded bull in Victorian England with slash and burn quotes and off kilter behaviour - it was kinda alright in that space - a good showbiz out of sight and out of harm gonzoid buffoonary. It might have been a danger to the passer by and to some easily swayed youth but Sid was not running the world. he was just running from the world. These days the psychotic triple alpha male narcissist type doesn’t gate crash the rock n roll scene they gate crash politics because in that world you don’t need any basic understanding of economics and the world just a psychotic psycho geography and a headfull of me me me drooling and an insatibale demand for the spotlight - hell you don't even have to have songs to learn and sing, you just get to lumber around like a mad fool and nations give themselves up to you…

Music cannot fortunately compete with these new levels of human madness  and it’s a welcome relief from such depravity.

As we thunder towards xmas faster than the 31/Atlas comet hurtling towards planet earth we have been diverting ourselves with all manner of old, new, borrowed and blue starting with a new band Of The Day called Mouth Ulcers who we are very, very good and since our new bands piece on LTW have suddenly become the buzz band of the moment. We described them as …

 'teenage goths from the haunted suburbs and a music for vampires to dance to and are the breakout young band of the moment...' https://louderthanwar.com/mouth-ulcers-music-for-vampitres-to-dance-to/ (Si apre in una nuova finestra)

On the rush of tours crammed in before xmas we caught Black Rebel Motorcycle Club who twenty years on from Howl, still prove that they can still command a room through restraint as much as volume, building a slow-burning set that ultimately exploded into riotous blues rock.

There is something noble about Robert Plant and they way he operates beyond the Led Zep legend. The titanic voiced frontman still looks the part and his recent tour with Saving Grace still shows that he has no inkling of calming down his luxurious larynx or his ever luxuriantly wild mane. He even did a stunning version of Zep's Rain Song and you could hear a pin drop at his vocal dexterity and artful aching beauty. 

Perhaps the most revolutionary of the Madchester period bands 808 State broke out of trad band stylings and made electronic music heavy. Decades later they are on tour and still sound urgent and powerful. We caught up with the musical maestro behind them Graham Massey…

Another of the great bands from that period Inspiral Carpets brought their rejuvenated garage rock to the beautiful Albert Hall in Manchester and brought the house down. Somehow they have never sounded better and with 4 out of the original 5 members have the lineage to deliver the Farfisa driven songs with huge choruses. They also played two new songs which were as good as anything from their classic years and pointed to an interesting year in 2026 with a new album coming…

Hirsute and nobly biblically bearded, Dirty Three breezed into town with their great atmospheric story telling songs of dark romance and twisted narratives. Of course it was brilliant and of course we are still wondering how Warren’s beard does not get tangled into his violin strings. 

Sleaford Mods have a brilliant new album due in February and we have had a sneak preview of it it only to marvel at how many ways they can make their brilliant minimalism different and how genuinely affecting Jason’s caustic words remain after all these years. John Robb caught up with the Mods mouth to hear about the new album and their art of creativity. 

Sunflower Bean are already well-established as one of the most consistently accomplished indie rock bands of the past decade, and are out on this run in support of their fourth full-length, Mortal Primetime, released back in April. Its live iterations demonstrate why it is their best record to date; whilst still rooted in the glam-tinged melodic rock that has long been the Sunflower Bean blueprint, every track imbues that foundation with new colours.

Glimmerpit have appeared out of the endless pit of great Manchester bands with a fully formed, rasping bass driven song that is in the grand tradition of the Death To Trad Rock and Fall type bands but with their own caustic twist. This is a killer tune with hilarious lyrics taking down those grumpy old men who infest Facebook and the nether regions of pubs moaning on about the good old days with their selective memories. ‘Back In My Day’ is not only a thrilling rush of pop/noise it also nails the narrative and the DIY video with its homemade moustaches and old codger stylings is a perfect match.