LTW Newsletter 44

Welcome Warriors!

I’m back!

It’s been a hectic couple of months because I had to finish of writing my upcoming book ‘The Art Of Darkness - The History of Goth’.

It was meant to come out in October 2023 but we got wind that another book that seems to have been ‘influenced’ by my mighty tome was due out in May so it was all systems go to get the book edited and out first. Pretty intense stuff!but glad its done now and it would have been a real pain after 8 years of work to allow another book to suddenly appear and steal all the thunder!

If you want to get ‘The Art Of Darkness - The History of Goth’ then order from here…

Back in the real world…if you can call music the real world! there have been the usual wild shenanigans that we love to embrace. Gorillaz new album is a masterpiece in modern pop perfection that somehow blends in all the best current styles and guests to create a unique whole. Damn that Damon Albarn - he actually is a genius!

Former Damon Albarn crony and ex Clash legend Paul Simonon has popped up with very unlikely but quite brilliant slice of crooned European pop with Galen - the daughter of Kevin Ayers. Its a fab slice of brisk and breezy classic fifties sassy swing with an added DIY acoustic guitar driven swing and we love it

Another maverick we love on the site is Brian Jonestown Massacre - we went to see him play in Manchester and ended up after the show drinking tea on the double-decker tour bus with Anton, who was holding court in his pyjamas. It was pretty impressive that he had gone from on-stage wild genius to PJ’s clad guru! His live set was intense and as astonishing as you would expect and would have done his namesake, the great Brian Jones proud. They were great in Manchester and also in London where our reviewer caught up with them.

It was great to see the return of US noisenik legends Brainiac. The undergound band inspired a fiercely loyal and impassioned following but the last few years saw them fall apart after their frontman died but their sudden return has seen them wildly embraced. After the tragic passing of Tim Taylor in the late 90s, a lot of bands would have stopped for good. But not Brainiac. Tonight is tasteful, fun and everything you’d want. In all honesty, it’s going to be hard for a gig to beat this one.

Suzanne Vega made another visit to her second home, Manchester, in an anything but sedate evening of stories and acoustic grit in the perfect splendour of The Bridgewater Hall, writes our correspondent MK Bennett.

While watching Sophie Jameson playing live in a church, it’s hard to ignore the church’s paraphernalia and particularly an inscription under the figure of the church’s patron saint that reads: “St Pancras, our Patron, pray for us”. Somehow, hope prevails even when the time, people and circumstances seem to be not on your side. For Sophie Jamieson, now signed to Bella Union and working on a new record, life has gratifyingly taken a turn for the better.

The past used to be an island but now it seems to be an island that follows us around everywhere on lots of little legs like a scampering centipede full of nostalgia. Whilst Manchester has a whole new scene of bands and moves forward at a faster pace than even the ever-changing skyline, the past is always there and a new bar called Disorder opened in the city celebrating Joy Division. Of course, it was controversial and sparked the past v. future row yet again…

Meanwhile, Oneda is the queen of this new Manchester. She is a charismatic force of nature who has been rumbling on the underground and is now ready for action.  Recently signed to Heavenly Records, her new single is sparse minimalist post-grime full of pulverising beats and her perfect Mancunian street drawl and guttural poetry. Enticing and brilliant and full of promise of great things to come, Oneda is the new sound of now and future star. Get on this now!

Out American chums, who we are forever bonded to in the ‘special relationship’, have quadrupled the cost of visas for British Artists and musicians who want to tour there. Worry not though we will still honour our part of the ‘special relationship’ and allow all their bands to tour here for sod all. It seem that our best friends on the planet that we ride shoulder to shoulder with are locking us out of their touring circuit and not so subtly reminding us of where we fit into this ‘special relationship’’.

The new House Of All project of former Fall members, fronted by Martin Bramah announced a second track and did an interview with us. The project is far better than it should be and is lining up to be one of the favourite releases of the year. It somehow captures the mystique of their former boss, the late Mark Smith, but bottles it up in a very different kind of way.

It’s funny to think that the relatively new band The Murder Capital are almost tipping into veteran status. The youthful Dublin band have a calm assuredness about their post-punk masterclass and the new album is a grower that strips past their astonishing debut. Live, they also truly deliver as our reporter raves.

Gojira are a political French Eco dark metal band with the riffing intensity of Killing Joke and who really push the boundaries. Like all metal that operates at the fringes of music, they break new ground and are ignored by mainstream media. You don’t get to hear this stuff on the radio for some reason but we like to embrace any form of music that is groundbreaking and their recent gig in Manchester saw a sold-out 4000 cap venue and was a major triumph.