We haven’t featured a release from the delightful Safe Suburban Home Records for too long and we will rectify that now as we tell you about the new single from LOWMOON. UK based musician and producer Mikey Wilson is LOWMOON and his new song “Vacant Youth” is simply gorgeous. The music is a wonderful blend of exquisite jangly 80s and 90s indie with a charmingly blithesome vibe. It has that happy sounding music with the lyrics overlaying a slightly darker tone. I was reminded of Teenage Fanclub and Belle and Sebastian. This bodes well for the next LOWMOON album scheduled for next year. “Vacant Youth” is out on all platforms this Friday, 22nd August, get it in your ears as soon as you can, it will make your life better! While you wait for Friday click here to check out more of LOWMOON’s great music on Spotify!
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Woodrow Wilson Guthrie a.k.a. Woody Guthrie died nearly 60 years ago aged just 55. Now some of his previously unpublished home demos have been released almost 75 years after they were recorded. ‘This ‘Woody At Home’ was released this weekend on Shamus Records. The 22 song collection features recordings made by Guthrie at his Brooklyn home during 1951 and 1952. It is just Guthrie and his legendary guitar recorded directly onto a reel-to-reel tape machine. Apparently the songs were never set for any kind of commercial release. But then the AI technology to make them stronger and cleaner became available alongside the production prowess of Steve Rosenthal and mixing and mastering skills of recording engineer Jessica Thompson. In addition to AI the pair used vintage audio restoration methods while seeking, and succeeding, in maintaining the rawness and charm of these historical home recordings.
The collection opens with a very familiar Woody tune, “This Land Is Your Land”, but this time I believe it contains additional verses that have not been heard before. I love that there is a lot of ambient sounds, brief conversations, someone coughing and this really makes the listener feel like they are in the room with him. Tow tracks including “Howie, I’d Like To Talk To Yuh” are effectively a voice note for someone else, the titular Howie in this instance. I think that might refer to Howie Richmond who was Guthrie’s music publisher. One of my favourite songs here is “Deportee” a song that is as relevant now as it was then. It tells the story of how the USA treats immigrant workers back then and clearly still do. Guthrie wrote the song after a 1948 plane crash killed 28 farm workers who the media referred to as deportees. These were human beings and it is clear that Guthrie understood that. The song has been covered by many artists over the years including Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell to name just a few.
You would expect that given these recordings were made six or seven years after the end of the 2nd World War that fascism and Nazism would feature strongly and they do. But what resonates most is how easily those songs relate to the present day US government under Donald Trump. Woody Guthrie once wrote a song about Trump’s father Fred Trump who was once Guthrie’s landlord. That song describes the racist housing practices and discriminatory rental policies perpetrated by Trump Sr. Clearly the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. That song isn’t include here, but we do get “Back Door Bum And The Big Land Lord” a song about a fictional trek through the afterlife of a rich man and a poor man in which the Big Land Lord gets sent to Hell after trying to buy his way through the Pearly Gates. “I’m A Child Ta Fight” was one of the tracks to be issued as a single and shows how much Guthrie hated fascists, Nazis and particularly Hitler. The line “look out you fascists here I come” sits nicely with “This machine kills fascists” which Woody painted on his guitar in the 1940s.
Another song that works so well for our current times is “Peace Call” a song that urges global peace. I have always felt that I am not afraid to die, but do not wish to die alone or in great pain. Woody’s song “Ain’t Afraid To Die” deals with a fear of dying alone among many other themes. “Innocent Man” is an intelligently crafted anti racist song and in the spoken intro to “Einstein Theme Song” Guthrie shares a conversation with Albert Einstein where the famous and revered theoretical physicist talks of inventing something that would kill racism for good. That would be great, but maybe we just need to ensure children are not taught how to hate. If you felt that Woody Guthrie only wrote protest and political songs take a listen to “Forsaken Lover” this is a gorgeous moving song of love and heartbreak, truly a thing of musical and poetic beauty. Guthrie has fun with Sigmund Freud’s theories of the id, ego and superego on “My Id & My Ego”. The closing song is “You Better Git Ready” a rousing call to arms about getting ready to fight for what you believe in. This wonderful, historic and heartfelt collection of songs opens a window on Woody Guthrie’s creative process and must be the only contender for best reissue of the year. The New York Times called this compilation a “treasure trove” and that phrase sums it up perfectly. The full track listing is shared below.
VOLUME 1, SIDE A
This Land Is Your Land (Woody’s Home Tape) (3:00)
Biggest Thing That Man Has Ever Done (2:53)
Howie, I’d Like To Talk To Yuh (spoken word) (2:25)
Deportee (Woody’s Home Tape) (3:47)
Great Ship (2:53)
Pastures of Plenty (3:11)
VOLUME 1, SIDE B
Jesus Christ (4:39)
I’m a Child Ta Fight (2:23)
Innocent Man (3:32)
I’ve Got To Know (4:17)
Backdoor Bum and the Big Landlord (3:18)
VOLUME 2, SIDE A
I Just Want To Tell You Fellers (spoken word) (0:55)
Peace Call (4:11)
Ain’t Afraid To Die (3:35)
Buoy Bells from Trenton (3:54)
Einstein Theme Song (with spoken word) (1:19)
One Little Thing An Atom Can’t Do (3:35)
VOLUME 2, SIDE B
Forsaken Lover (4:15)
My Id & My Ego (3:20)
Lifebelt Washed Up (5:17)
Funny Mountain (1:57)
You Better Git Ready (2:42)
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Specky Cult is the best named band in many a moon in my opinion. It makes me feel guilty for calling another lad at my school, even more moons ago, we called him Specky followed by another four letter word beginning with C. The new Specky Cult single is called “Dad Dance” which is definitely a style of dance I am familiar with and perhaps the only dancing I can do!
The song is infectious and draws you into it with some towering hooks and a bass line built for the dance floor. There is a post punk feel to it, but without that early 80s misery, this is a track that will make you smile and get you off your arse. Wherever you are when you hear it you will have to dance. If you fail to sing along to the chorus after a couple of listens I feel that you need to get your head checked. Has there ever been a song that mentions Rednex huge 1994 hit “Cotton Eye Joe” before this stomper from Specky Cult. In the fade of of “Dad Dance” they even throw in a bit of the 60s Batman theme. “Nananana nananana Dad Dance” indeed!
The band is made up of Rob Glover (lead guitar, vocals), Carol Stephen (lead vocals, guitar, cowbell), Rob Bradford (bass, keys, buttons), and Steve Bradley (drums, vocals). The band are tight and clearly know how to have fun. Of “Dad Dance” the band said that they are “throwing our hat in the ring for this summer’s catchiest song“. Is it the catchiest song this summer? It is certainly a top contender and deserves to be heard in festival fields across the land! Are they the finest madcap punk band in the North East of England? Probably, and one of the best in the UK too.
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This new single from Montreal based singer songwriter Guilhelm has pop, punk and a slacker laid-back Weezer type vibe. A summer anthem for 2025 with a wonderfully positive “I know I’m not gonna die” vocal hook. Guilhem described the song “This song explores the different ways to overcome a hangover in some sort of quest for self-improvement. It’s about inadequacy and self-destructive behavior, but it also expresses a hopeful, yet uncertain, desire for a better future“. The video, finely shot by Alex Charron, exaggerates that cool laid back vibe too. I love the song and I love the video. Guilhem’s new album ‘A Good One’ hits the streets on 5th September. It was mixed and mastered by the one and only Frank Turner, a great favourite here in Mayhem Towers!
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Back in April we reviewed, “BLAIR!”, Industry Standard’s debut single, we bloody loved that one, so there was a lot of excitement here at Mayhem Towers when their latest hit the world. It is wonderfully titled “C.J.O.S. (Circle Jerk Of Sadness)” and is rather different, but just as explosive, as “BLAIR!”. This new track is a post apocalyptic plea hopefully telling us to sit up and fucking do something about our world. Maybe more people will listen and actually try to do something to save our planet. But the first United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP1 was in 1995, later this year COP25 will be held in Belém, Brazil. So 30 years and 25 conferences and still the earth is dying while the rich and powerful do absolutely fuck all! OK, I am told that killing the rich might be a little extreme but let’s at least tax the bastards.
Pictures by Lou Smith
While billionaires, filthy rich tech bros, oligarchs, dictators and would-be dictators continue their own obscene circle jerk while counting their money and rockets the rest of us are left to rot so that this vile group of people can wank themselves into oblivion while covering each other in their, probably gold flecked, salty discharge like some kind of bukkake Armageddon. Perhaps that is why Trump is so orange.
Picture by Simon Milner
Anyway as for the song it is a controlled chaos driven punk attack. According to lead vocalist Gaby, the song is “a panic attack disguised as a joke” which deals head-on with themes like climate collapse, existential burnout, and dissociation, and “watching it all happen with a milkshake in hand”. The anxiety here is off the scale but there is also a brilliantly crafted injection of very dark humour. When was the last time a Greek mythological figure got mentioned in a punk song? Has it ever happened? Cerberus gets a part in this lyric. He is the monstrous, multi-headed dog that guards the gates of the Underworld, preventing the dead from leaving and barring the entrance to the living. Lines like “A masterpiece of human emissions” and “even the ants are tired” might be short but they use the language supremely well in a way that oozes frustration.
Picture by Nasser Yebovi
If anyone chose to merge line dancing with punk, this song would be a perfect fit. Imagine replacing the classic punk Pogo dance with a violently punky Morris dance, without the bells, obviously. Incidentally I fucking hate Morris Dancing, but a screaming, raucous, high octane version in the mosh pit is something that many of us would love. That kind of celebration of all that is good about the world might just help to avert our minds, albeit briefly, from the shitty state of the world. Bottom line though this is a stonkingly good song that deserves massive exposure.
Industry Standard are the previously mentioned lead singer Gaby (Gabriella Gonzalez) and three punk powerhouse musical henchmen: Phillip Stakem whose riffs are like small megaton explosions, Oliver Jackson’s bass playing split an atom and Tim Sketchley plays his drums so hard the echo bounces off the moon. I reckon if you love Scene Queen, Delilah Bon, tiLLie and Casseyette you will worship Industry Standard.
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“L‑Shaped Couch” is the fabulous new glitter ball of a single from the phenomenon that is Scene Queen. It is a stunning, pop based move away from her signature bimbocore sound. It is a delightful divergence into a sparkling disco sound. This song would not be out of place on a classic disco playlist, but it still retains the essence of who Scene Queen is. In addition to the funky synth sounds there is also some chunky guitar riffage. Her vocal is full on pop and would give Kylie a run for her money. There’s a thought, how about a Kylie and Scene Queen collaboration? In the meantime put on your best disco trousers and glitter flecked tank top and get down to some discocore from Scene Queen.
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Last Sunday I was one of the lucky people that experienced Kindelan’s intimate gig at the Vinyl Whistle record shop in Leeds to support the launch of her new double‑single ‘After Before’. The release features two tracks, “Cigarettes” (After) and “Wish I Wrote A Love Song” (Before). Before I tell you about her set let me give a shout out to the Vinyl Whistle. It is a wonderfully cosy and welcoming record shop/ bar hybrid in Headingley. I will return, obviously I bought some vinyl on this visit, four albums to be precise!
The gig featured just Laura and a guitar and that outstanding voice. Many of her recent releases, particularly her EP ‘you can reach me if you try’ from 2023 feature her soulful, unique take on 21st Century R &B. But when everything is stripped back to that distinctive Kindelan voice and her guitar playing it is hard to drop into any genre box. I have likened Kindelan to Jeff Buckley in the past an in this setting it shows clearly. Her latent talent for telling stories through songs and never being afraid of the silence in a song shows her in the same talent bracket as Buckley in my opinion.
Laura opened with a brace of recent Kindelan classics, “The Other Side” and “Hazel Frustration”. Her between song chat is always, personable, eloquent, fun and interesting. I love the way she shares how her songs were born, what triggered them and what helped them develop. The new songs, “Default” and “Big Sky” sound very promising. “Can’t Sleep” was dedicated to overthinkers everywhere, while I may not be an overthinker it describes someone very close to me.
When Kindelan finally treated us to the two songs from ‘After Before’ there was a beautiful air of positive expectation which was met in bucket loads. “Cigarettes” has an undercurrent of pent-up anger and a dark side that Laura plays so well in some songs. It strips feelings down to very raw levels that deal with heartbreak, and lost love and intimacy. Meanwhile “Wish I Wrote A Love Song” keeps a mist of regret of a relationship that was in the end not right. It is a melancholy view on the hope that existed in the beginning.
Vocally, Kindelan struck a fine balance between poise and raw feeling. She spent her notes, filling spaces with soulful warmth. This nuance made the songs breathe—each guitar pluck and vocal inflection had emotional weight. It might be basic jazz‑soul, but the performance was anything but ordinary. The fans in the shop responded with whoops and an applause that only let up because we wanted to hear the next song. This set was stylish, charming, buzzing with passion and intimate. This was yet another fabulous Kindelan performance. This was the fifth or sixth time I have seen Kindelan play live and she is an artist that gets better every time!
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Cardiff-based punk quintet Panic Shack, who exploded onto the scene back in 2018, will unleash their much-anticipated self-titled debut album on 18 July 2025 via Brace Yourself Records. This energetic slab of perfect punk energy was produced by Ali Chant (PJ Harvey, Perfume Genius, Yard Act). The album opens with a classy combination of punk and pop sound in “Girl Band Starter Pack”. It was the second single from the album. It has sharp riffs and a thunderous bass line and keeps the band’s spirit of rebellion and fun. The album’s lyrical themes embrace passionate feminism and tight friendship. In the first single from the collection, “Gok Wan”, the band rages towards malignant media beauty standards with no apologies, this is a riot grrrl feminist anthem for theses times. Current single “Thelma & Louise” is a wonderful love song, but not in a lovey dovey valentine sense. I think it is about the joy of a platonic friendship.
So many of their lyrics are conversational. In “Pockets”, literally a song about having no pockets, the line “Got my vape in my bra / Drink in my hand” is literally something that vocalist Sarah Harvey said on a night out. “Unhinged” is about swiping through dating app Hinge, and the mostly, white lies people tell on there. Misogynists will almost certainly be afraid of Panic Shack, and I have no sympathy for them at all. Sexual harassment is on the receiving end of a musical powerhouse right hook from the band on “SMELLARAT”. The industry plant brigade showed their showed their cards early in Panic Shack’s career, around the time “The Ick” was released, accusing them of simply cosplaying being working class. Frankly that is utter bollocks! I doubt that anyone who had not grown up in a working-class environment could write a punk classic like “Tit School”. This is my current favourite on the album. The lyrics are perfect, take “I didn’t go to Bedale’s / Instead I got free meals,” for example.
The band consists of Sarah Harvey (vocals), Meg Fretwell (guitar/backing vocals), Romi Lawrence (guitar/backing vocals), Em Smith (bass/backing vocals) and Nick Williams (drums) and together they are on fire. When Sum 41 said all killer no filler they could have been describing this monumentally great debut album. The album is fun, funny, furious and simply fantastic. Punk this good can hit harder than a heavyweight boxing champion. It is riotous, rebellious and roars like a hungry punky pop lion. This is a banger that is definitely a contender for album of the year! Thank you to Eddie at Vinyl Eddie for sending this record my way!
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Those delightful people at The Modern Record asked me to review Simple Minds at the Piece Hall in Halifax last Monday and that was an opportunity I did not intend to miss. Check out my review on the Modern Record site by clicking here. All the ace photos are from rock photographer extraordinaire John Hayhurst!
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On a baking hot July evening, the Fulford Arms in York was lit up with an electric mix of energy, activism, and genre-hopping joy for this year’s Jamnesty gig, a fundraiser in support of Amnesty International. (If you would like to donate, just click here) The lineup was packed with local talent and rising stars, each bringing something distinctive to the stage, a fiery combination that nearly blew the roof off. It was also great to see so many staff and students from Huntington School on the night and on the stage!
The evening opened with El & Ewan, a duo whose stripped-back acoustic set delivered a punch of raw honesty. Armed only with guitar and their voices they gave us a delightful set of gorgeously performed, mostly, sad songs. They both seemed a little nervous, but that didn’t stop them from playing a simply gorgeous cover of Keane’s “Somewhere Only We Know”.
Next up, the Sparrows took the stage with a richer, bluesy, dirty garage rock sound. There were covers from the 60s to the 90s from artists that included the Stone Roses, Johnny Cash, Oasis (sadly), James and the Beatles. “Sit Down” was a mega hit with the crowd as they swayed, then stomped, then whooped. A huge shout out to the drummer who was, frankly, phenomenal! A great set from a fresh band.
The tone shifted both dramatically and delightfully with The Fruity Pebbles, who brought neon energy and a funk-pop vibe that was danceable and addictive. They had the room bouncing from their first song. Beneath their wonderfully playful façade was tight musicianship and a band that clearly seemed to have rehearsed well. Their take on Abba’s “Voulez Vous” poured funk into an already funky tune and the emotion was off the scale as they closed with a powerful take on Robbie Williams’ “Angels”.
Next it was a chance for deep groove to meet grit as the Apocalypse Disco lived up to their name. This was a fusion of funk, disco, and dystopian theatrics. Think Giorgio Moroder meets Nine Inch Nails in a synthy warehouse rave, or perhaps the Prodigy on speed. Frontman Robin led a hypnotic performance of “Alive” that turned the Fulford Arms into a sweaty dance floor, the ceiling was dripping sweat too. The apocalyptic groove ran deep as the duo showed that they were easily the most danceable protest music of the night. Namaste motherfuckers!
Then came Fendry, whose headline set proved exactly why they’re one of the UK’s most talked-about rap acts right now. He gave the early part of his set to the mightily talented Rashevos (I hope I spelled that correctly).After that Fendry commanded the crowd from his first rhyme to his last cipher. He has confidence, style, skill and just the right level of arrogance. He has the talent to be as big as Skepta or even Eminem. Fendry is a rapper and grime artist originally from York, but now based in Wembley, London. His recent rise has been through the PenGame rap battle circuit and a string of energetic singles, he continues making waves in the underground scene. He is undefeated in several battles, including wins against JM and Domi Dusk. He gave the crowd a bold, beautiful end to a night of music that meant something.
Jamnesty 2025 at the Fully wasn’t just a gig, it was a statement. The Fulford Arms provided the perfect DIY venue vibe, and the acts each channeled the spirit of resistance, rebellion, and release in their own way. Whether it was acoustic melancholy or disco-punk anarchy, the message rang clear: music can, and will, fight back! Our world needs more nights like this, if you fancy organising your own Jamnesty event then click here for more information.
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