The best thing about Team Picture is that, well, they’re Team Picture. A band that doesn’t look like a band, and certainly not in a cohesive, stylised way. The band’s name is a subtle but nifty encapsulation of what they’re about – the way teams at work are essentially a bunch of people thrown together with no commonality beyond their employment. They’re not your friends, they’re your colleagues, and while you may gel and not even loathe works nights out, those team photos only highlight the awkwardness, the disparities.
Every now and again, though, these disparate elements coalesce to positive ends, and this seems to be where the Leeds act are coming from, a band who are built on hybridity and variance. Their latest single – a scabrous satire of the pathetically sad and deeply toxic but occasionally dangerous incel community populated by predominantly low-IQ white misogynists – is a corker.
Speaking about the Single, Josh explained;“The Big Trees, The Little Trees’ is a sub-Talking Heads piece of black-pill satire. The title comes from what might be the first piece of incel literature ever unfortunately created, called ‘Might is Right’ by a total asshole called ‘Ragnar Redbeard’ (the pen name of one ‘Arthur Desmond’). The track was originally considered for the recording sessions for our 2nd record, but after completion of this version we decided it stood neatly enough on its own horrifying two feet to be presented separately…”
It’s got a nagging krautrocky groove that grabs you from the start, and even your dad might like it, and its success lies in its juxtaposition of the medium and the message.
The accompanying video really captures the band’s oddball nerdy misfit style, while pushing forward the homocentric / hypermasculine themes in an irreverent fashion – and it works well.
AA
Dates:
SEPTEMBER 28th Bootleg Social, Blackpool 29th The Parish, Huddersfield 30th Broadcast, Glasgow OCTOBER 1st Westgarth, Middlesbrough 2nd Sidney + Matilda, Sheffield 12th Yes, Manchester 13th Camden Assembly, London 14th Komedia, Brighton 15th Brudenell Social Club, Leeds 17th Wild Paths Festival, Norwich 24th Karma Festival, Nottingham
Today industrial trail blazers Uniform have announced their return overseas. They’ll embark on a 27 date run across the UK and Europe in Spring 2022 with Pinkish Black along for support. In anticipation of this and their upcoming U.S. tour – their first since the release of the lauded 2020 heavy-hitter, Shame – they have released a new video, “The Shadow of God’s Hand"
Vocalist Michael Berdan explains, “The central theme behind ‘The Shadow of God’s Hand’ are the inherent contradictions present in conventional Christianity. I was brought up with this idea of ‘act right or you’re going to hell.’ I’ve listened to family members as they worried themselves to tears over the fate of a loved one’s soul. To me, the concept of a punitive God is antithetical to the comfort I derive from a spiritual practice. Does God serve to comfort or chastise? Does following Christ’s teachings serve to create a kinder, more equitable world or have those teachings become so perverted that they simply stand as tools of control? For many, there is a fine line in their belief structure between salvation and damnation. This song attempts to touch on these paradoxes.”
In the wake of the release of their critically acclaimed physical debut full-length I Was Never Really There, Belgian dark electro trailblazers MILDREDA are now unveiling the illuminating video clip ‘Inner Judgement’. The single had scored #4 in the German Alternative Charts.
MILDREDA comment: "The ‘poisonous muse’, who casts her dark shadow across I was Never Really There and who made her first visible appearance in the ‘Liaisons Dangereuses’ video, now returns to full view in the ‘Inner Judgement’ clip", explains mastermind Jan Dewulf. "This enigmatic being remains cool and impassive in the face of all the anger and biting frustration that push this song forward."
The Answer Lies In The Black Void are a new doom duo featuring Martina Horváth (singer for the avant-garde metal project Thy Catafalque) and Jason Köhnen (Celestial Season, Bong-Ra, ex-The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble).
The debut album, Forlorn is an enveloping exploration of the doom genre and the myriad means of expression within it – journeying from a classic old-school sound to something more contemporary, then expanding further into sludge and industrial terrain, also incorporating elements of Martina’s background in Hungarian folk music. The Answer Lies In The Black Void seeks to embrace beauty in darkness and fragility in heaviness. In their own words, “Forlorn explores the sacred union of the divine feminine and masculine, the light and the dark, the shadows that hide within and the trials of love, lust and loss”.
‘Mina’ is taken from their debut album, released 24th September. Watch the video here:
A Place To Bury Strangers announce ‘Hologram: Destroyed & Disassembled,’ a Record Store Day Black Friday exclusive out 26th November 26th on Dedstrange. Their Hologram EP is deconstructed and expanded into a 13-track album featuring mind-altering remixes by Daniel Fox of Girl Band, Penelope Isles, Do Nothing, BODEGA, Weeping Icon, Ganser, Grimoose, The Bodies Obtained, bandmates Ceremony East Coast plus Dedstrange label mates Jealous, Data Animal, Plattenbau, and Randy Randall of No Age. Vinyl will be available at your local record store on Black Friday. Visit www.recordstoreday.com for more details.
They’re also sharing a new music video for ‘Playing the Part’ directed by Heather Bickford to celebrate the vinyl release of Hologram.
As noisy as they can be, there’s true prettiness in the APTBS sound. Sometimes it’s buried in the hypnotic mixes, and sometimes, it’s right there on the surface. ‘Playing The Part’ is one of the most winsome things the group has ever recorded — it’s got a glorious guitar tone, an active, melodic bass line, and a graceful vocal from Ackermann that could legitimately be called sweet. Director Heather Bickford has matched the song with a video that underscores its beauty, and its strangeness, too. Bickford, who also stars in the clip, shoots Ackermann in a historic house in Flagstaff, Arizona that looks like something out of a reverie: there’s antique wallpaper, stained glass windows, curio cabinets stuffed with bone china, landscape paintings in gilded frames, and velvet drapes over the bed. Microphone in hand, thoroughly bewitched, animated by the enchantment of his surroundings, Ackermann slips into a dream.
Bickford elaborates: “‘Playing the Part’ was shot in Flagstaff, Arizona, on Oliver’s birthday, while Ollie and I were on a little getaway last November. He had actually proposed to me the day before while we were at Zion National Park so we were in a dream-like state of mind. Shot in a historic home, the vintage decor and wallpaper provided the perfect backdrop for the video."
Watch ‘Playing The Part’ here:
A Place To Bury Strangers 2022 North American Tour Dates – Tickets on sale here
Wed. September 15 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom $ Mon. October 11 – New Orleans, LA @ Civic Theatre * Tue. October 12 – Atlanta, GA @ Buckhead Theatre * Wed. October 13 – Raleigh, NC @ Ritz * Thur. October 14 – Washington, DC @ Anthem * Fri. October 29 – Austin, TX @ Levitation Festival Tue. February 1 – Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s # Wed. February 2 – Montreal, QC @ Bar Le Ritz # Fri. February 4 – Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Palace # Sat. February 5 – Detroit, MI @ El Club # Sun. February 6 – Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle Mon. February 7 – Milwaukee, WI @ Cactus Club # Tue. February 8 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Ave. 7th Street Entry # Fri. February 11 – Seattle, WA @ Neumos % Sat. February 12 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios % Sun. February 13 – Vancouver, BC @ Rickshaw Theatre % Tue. February 15 – San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel % Wed. February 16 – Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom % Fri. February 18 – San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar % Sat. February 19 – Tucson, AZ @ Hotel Congress % Tue. February 22 – Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge % Wed. February 23 – Lawrence, KS @ The Bottleneck % Fri. February 25 – Nashville, TN @ The High Watt %
* with Future Islands $ with Maxband & Wah Together # with Glove % with TV Priest
A Place To Bury Strangers 2022 European Tour Dates – Tickets on sale now
Wed 09 March – Hafenklang – Hamburg, Germany
Thu 10 March – Beatpol – Dresden, Germany
Fri 11 March – Klub Poglos – Warsaw, Poland
Sat 12 March – Futurum – Prague, Czech Republic Sun 13 March – Randal Club – Bratislava, Slovakia
Mon 14 March – Durer Kert – Budapest, Hungary
Wed 16 March – Control Club – Bucharest, Romania
Thu 17 March – Mixtape5 – Sofia, Bulgaria Fri 18 March – Eightball – Thessaloniki, Greece
Sat 19 March – Temple – Athens, Greece Mon 21 March – 25th of May Hall – Skopje, Macedonia
Tue 22 March – Club Drugstore – Belgrade, Serbia
Thu 24 March – Mochvara – Zagreb, Croatia Fri 25 March – Freakout Club – Bologna, Italy
Sat 26 March – Largo – Rome, Italy Sun 27 March – Legend Club – Milan, Italy
Tue 29 March – Bogen F – Zurich, Switzeralnd Wed 30 March – Backstage – Munich, Germany
Thu 31 March – Caves Du Memoir – Martigny, Switzeralnd
Fri 01 April – La Trabendo – Paris, France Sat 02 April – Lafayette – London, UK Mon 04 April – Kayka – Antwerp, Belgium Tue 05 April – Gleis 22 – Munster, Germany Wed 06 April – Melkweg – Amsterdam, Netherlands
Thu 07 April – Vera- Groningen, Netherlands Sat 09 April – Hus 7 – Stockholm, Sweden Sun 10 April – John Dee – Oslo, Norway Mon 11 April – Pumpehuset – Copenhagen, Denmark
Tue 12 April Hole 44 – Berlin, Germany Wed 13 April – MTC – Cologne, Germany
"I wrote ‘Revolve’ on an unplugged electric guitar in a hotel room in San Francisco and it sounded great! Obviously then it wasn’t hard to make an all acoustic version of Revolve work. it’s a great riff" says Buzz Osborne of The Melvins of the latest track to be shared from their forthcoming album, Five Legged Dog (Oct. 15, Ipecac Recordings), which premiered yesterday via Kerrang! and is now streaming on all digital platforms.
The 36-song newly recorded, acoustic collection features a career-spanning collection of songs, from 1987’s Gluey Porch Treatments to 2017’s A Walk With Love & Death, the entire gamut of the legendary band’s catalogue is represented.
Five Legged Dog also features acoustic versions of several rarities from the influential band’s overflowing discography including a cover of Redd Kross’ “Charlie” (from the limited-edition “Escape From LA” single), “Outside Chance,” a Turtles’ cover from the “Slithering Slaughter” single and new interpretations of The Rolling Stones “Sway,” Brainiac’s “Flypaper,” and Fred Neil’s “Everybody’s Talking” (popularised by Harry Nilsson). Butthole Surfer Jeff Pinkus lends his vocals (and banjo) to “Don’t Forget to Breathe” and “Everybody’s Talking.”
“I knew I wanted to do something ridiculously big,” explains Buzz Osborne of the band’s first ever acoustic offering. ”36 songs reimagined by us acoustically is certainly ridiculous but it works. The magic of the songs is still there regardless of it being acoustic. Since we weren’t touring we had the time to do something of this size. I’m very excited about this record. Dale and Steven did a fantastic job on this. I think it’s a very special record. I can’t think of anyone else who’s done something like this.”
Dale Crover noted: “I think people will be surprised that we can do an acoustic version of a song like ‘Night Goat’ without losing any of the heaviness. We also worked hard on the vocal arrangements. People are going to freak out!”
Emma Ruth Rundle’s forthcoming Engine of Hell is stark, intimate, and unflinching. For anyone that’s endured trauma and grief, there’s a beautiful solace in hearing Rundle articulate and humanise that particular type of pain not only with her words, but with her particular mysterious language of melody and timbre. The album captures a moment where a masterful songwriter strips away all flourishes and embellishments in order to make every note and word hit with maximum impact, leaving little to hide behind.
A gentle melancholy piano line introduces album opener and lead single “Return,” and when Rundle finally sings, every syllable guided with the utmost intention, she unleashes the ominously cryptic opening lines “A rich belief that no one sees you / Your ribbon cut from all the fates and / Some hound of Hell looking for handouts / The breath between things no one says.” The ambiguity may obscure the muse, but it doesn’t diminish its heaviness.
“Return” is available today via Sargent House and comes accompanied with a striking and introspective video directed by Rundle herself. The visual was heavily inspired by Jean Cocteau’s ‘Orpheus’ and Wim Wenders’ ‘Wings of Desire’, and gives nods to other films and images. Of “Return”, Rundle unfolds, “An examination of the existential. A fractured poem. Trying to quantify what something is definitely about or pontificating on its concrete meaning defeats the purpose of art making. I’m not a writer. I make music and images to express things that my words cannot convey or emote. I’ve been studying ballet and the practice of expression through movement, which I incorporated into the video. I choreographed a dance to the song – some of which you see. Pieces show through. Since completing ‘Engine of Hell’, I’ve stepped away from music more and more and into things like dance, painting and working on ideas for videos or little films. ‘Return’ is the result of the efforts.”
Oakland-based heavy music savants Kowloon Walled City have announced Piecework, the quartet’s first album in six years, confirmed for an October 8th release via Neurot Recordings and Gilead Media. Since forming 15 years ago, the band has increasingly refined its deconstructed approach to noise rock, math rock, and post-hardcore, embracing dynamics and negative space to a degree that few others in the world of heavy music match. With Piecework Kowloon Walled City has managed even greater levels of restraint: songs are bleak and slow, but also shorter and more concise; counterpointing moments of austere beauty with stretches of near silence. While the band has always operated under the MO that less is more, it has doubled down on that ethos for Piecework. Singer/guitarist Scott Evans and guitarist Jon Howell, the main songwriters, self-imposed restrictions to push themselves creatively—“restraining ourselves into oblivion,” as Howell puts it.
The negative space amplifies the ruptures of heady aggressiveness that anchor Piecework. Angular guitar notes from Howell skew off the neck, dissolving into space. Ian Miller’s bass lines churn in the muck. Drums and cymbal smashing by Dan Sneddon punctuate dead air. (Sneddon, formerly of Early Graves, makes his recording debut with the band five years after joining.) There’s sadness and anger in Evans’ shouted vocals, but also a desire for something better; hints of perseverance and hope pushing through the resignation and regret. Piecework feels not only like an artistic accomplishment, but a triumph of resolve and vision.
Evans was dealing with the loss of his father during the writing of the album. He found strength in the women in his life, especially his maternal grandmother, who worked at a shirt factory in Kentucky for 40 years while raising five kids. The album name (and title track) is a nod to her line of work—and her quiet resilience. The themes of absence and death, surrendering to aging, and familial strength and love are all encapsulated in album artwork by photographer Melyssa Anishnabie—the tattered beauty of an abandoned home reveals the faint edges of where life used to be. Evans likens it to watching a grandparents’ house fall into disrepair. As with all previous KWC releases, Evans recorded and mixed Piecework (his impressive recording CV includes Thrice, Yautja, Great Falls, Ghoul, Town Portal, and many others) and like previous albums Container Ships (2012) and Grievances (2015) the tracks were recorded live at Oakland’s Sharkbite Studios, with minimal overdubs.
‘Kalahari’ is the opening track on All Becomes Desert, an album of improvised analogue soundscapes by London based musician and composer Ian Williams that evokes the hostile beauty of the most spectacularly empty places on earth. The velvety warm, undulating tones of his Roland Juno 106 provide a perfect setting for the meditative sonic backdrop of the piece.
In regard to its video, Williams explains that “it was originally planned to be shot with a nine strong crew during a two week safari to the hostile climes of the actual Kalahari desert, honest, but due to circumstances beyond our control – scuppered by the pandemic, would you believe it – we had to improvise a Plan B, sticking a sand art picture in front of an iPad, which, we’re pretty sure, will be convincing to the vast majority of viewers. And it still looks really cool, so who’s complaining?”
DROTT have released hypnotic new single and video ‘Arch of Gloom’. The song can now be streamed/downloaded on all platforms . The video was directed and edited by Jens Kristian Rimau.
The band comments on ‘Arch of Gloom’: “At the end of a dark and bouncy road lies the Arch of Gloom. Through persistent bass and drums, Arch of Gloom is driven to the point of desperate collapse by a haunting guitar solo. Mesmerizing in its mystical attraction, it hypnotizes desperate souls into a surrealistic dance before they are lured down the abyss to face the verdict of Orcus.”
DROTT is comprised of Arve Isdal (Enslaved), Ivar Thormodsæter (Ulver) and Matias Monsen and hails from Bergen in the west coast of Norway. With their varied musical background ranging from metal and jazz to classical music, they create the genre which can only be described as DROTT. Inspired by forces of nature, superstition and spirituality the trio explores light within darkness through their music.
The group, recently established (2020), released their self-titled EP in March 2021 and received great reviews. It established the Drott’s instrumental Progressive Rock sound as a breath of fresh air in the genre! Their first full-length Orcus album takes Drott in a new creative and artistic direction. With 10 tracks they dive deeper into sonic, experimental landscapes!
Aural Aggravation 