LTW NEWSLETTER 54

Welcome Warriors!

It feels strange saying this but we are living in strange and microwaved times! Yet in the perfect climate of Manchester, I am sat in the sun without frazzling into a crisp. It’s a measure of the strange and tumultuous these current voyages are that summer in the north of England is idyllic instead of like the rest of Europe that seems like being on the surface of Venus!

In the friendlier sun in these cooler climes I’m tippy typing away as the butterflies float past on the breeze and taking a quick break from the culture overload for a breath in moment and a catch up with our dear subscribers…as ever thanks folks…your subscriptions mean that we can pay our staff and maintain the site which is always a tough call in these tough times…

The big story this week is the new album from Blur. The band and Damon Albarn show zero signs of slowing down creatively and I kinda like their pottering around model  - making records when they feel like it but records that are sure-fire number ones in the UK whilst also maintaining a cutting edge and feel for modern music culture. ‘The Ballad Of Darren’ is a magnificent scurrying beast full of pop hooks and intriguing quirk as it twists and turns its clever and life affirming way and is instantly accessible which we celebrate with a deep dive here.

Before there was such a thing as Britpop (or what came to be labelled Britpop as we have been using that term to write about bands since 1987!) there was shoegaze. Slowdive were one of the band corralled into that scene and after a break have returned and somehow sound at the peak of their powers. They have a new track out that we highly recommend.

Before Shoegaze there was good old punk rock which once seemed like it was going to change the world with a teenage revolution. Of course, age engulfs as all, but the punks have never really retried and these days go to go the seaside for their annual shindigs. In March 2024 there is a big event - the Scarborough punk festival with a mixture of punk names old and new…

Before punk, there was the fifth great extinction which saw the end of the dinosaurs and saw most life on earth extinguished apart from Charlie Harper who went on to form the much-loved punk classic band the UK Subs. The band are meant to be finally doing their last-ever tour, with Charlie headlining the Rebellion punk festival in Blackpool. He gave LTW a short interview about what to expect.

Getting a monicker for your band is a tricky affair. Many groups agonise for years trying to get the correct handle. Some don't find one at all so we compiled a helpful list of total car crash names mixed with some deliberately offensive or full-on quirk band names in LTW’s 50 worst band names ever.

Yard Act made waves last year with their album that mixed post-punk and no wave into a wonk whole and hit the top of the charts. It was a heartwarming success story for the band who seem to stumble in as the outsiders in the ever-preening pop parade. Their only hitch was how they were going to follow this up. Fear nowt folks! They have come back with an interesting twist adding a hip-hop edge to their brilliantly self referential shenanigans…

There is no hip-hop on the new PJ Harvey album but it has its own mystic power and is a wonderful affair to get lost in. One of the UK’s most groundbreaking and maverick musicians, Peej, is constantly changing and constantly evolving and has created a new world for us all to get lost in.

Andy Partridge is one of the great geniuses of UK pop. XTC were an amazing band whose sound seemed to wrestle with so many ideas and always turns up trumps. It was a shame that he seemed to be content to be just beyond view for a few years tinkering with his glorious back catalogue and indulging in a few low lying projects. It's amazing then to hear The 3 Clubmen - a new three piece project that he is part of and they gave us an interview explaining their current muse.

Almost by stealth Depeche Mode have become one of the biggest bands in the world. ‘Goth adjacent’ or in their own unique space? The dystopian pop kings are selling out stadiums worldwide and it's a spectacular show that is truly the art of darkness as we reviewed in Berlin.

At the opposite end of the scale but with an admirable savviness Taylor Swift is ruling the pop roost. No pushover, she has battered the record labels and any corporation that crosses her in a way that can only make any punk wish they had the same sort of steeliness and resolve. Currently, out on a huge pop tour she is the state of art of pop culture in these moody modern times and whether you like her toe-tapping jingles or not its fascinating peering into the portal at the heart of pop culture.

‘Musically, her epic Kansas City show underscored what millions of her fans already knew: she is a transformative figure whose pop music defies categorising. She is also an artist who is changing how music is presented to audiences. Her tour is a groundbreaking and hip-shaking experience for devoted Swifties and newbies alike. Buckle up! Taylor Swift is changing the future.’