LTW newsletter 92

Welcome Warriors!

I’m just packing my bags for a weekend at a new band event in Holland called Peel Slowly And See but before I go and try and find my passport, here is a missive from the LTW coalface…

It’s been a noisy week here on Louder Than War as we embrace the silvery slivers of sunshine permeating the endless wintery gloom as we run around the ever increasing high rise city centre where new towers sprout like concrete mushrooms between our hectic gig schedule! 

It was great to be at the recent Mercury Rev gig in Manchester at the fabulous New Century Hall, a real jewel in Manchester’s ever increasing live venue crown. It is a beautifully laid out venue with the magical lighting in the roof flickering and oozing and built on top of a food hall, and you can hang out in the public square outside in the summer. It makes going out gigging a comfy experience…not too comfy mind! We still have a bit of that late seventies love for gigs that were total riots! 

Martin Grey has got a bee in his rather fetching bonnet about vinyl. That most hallowed of formats  has been the music fan’s hallowed place for quite some time but what if there is a whiff of hype to all of this. Martin offers his unreserved views on the current state of the vinyl record buying circus, and ponders if the ever-spiralling costs of our beloved seven and twelve inch wax can be justified given the increasingly inconsistent quality control of many new records that are bought today.

Prog god Steven Wilson from Porcupine Tree has released a compelling solo album that reinvents the form for the 21st century whilst peering at the cosmos and pondering our micro place in the scheme of things. It’s a powerful and intriguing collection of ideas and music to match and there is a film as well if you can find it.

There was always something quite drama about the brooding and charismatic Jason Williamson from Sleaford Mods so it came as no surprise to hear that he is to star in a new film called  GAME, a gripping thriller filmed in Bristol and set against the backdrop of the 1993 British rave scene. Marc Bessant and Jason play two men, one a thief and one a poacher, who must use their wits to survive.

For years’s Nick Cave’s ‘'I'm forever near a stereo saying, 'What the fuck is this garbage?' And the answer is always the Red Hot Chili Peppers.’ quote has been used as a stick to beat the LA band with. These days Mr. Cave is a much more generous soul and touched by Flea from the Chili Peppers ongoing fandom of all things Cave and also growing out of his more obnoxious older persona Nick Cave has rescinded…

Much loved indie band Gene have reformed for a big London show - their first for twenty years!

LTW faves Benefits have a new album out and, of course, we had to go and interview them and listen whilst they proclaimed ‘This is art you fucking heathen’   

The Slow Readers Club have quietly built up a big audience with their shadowy introspective post punk and their musically uplifting, lyrically dark with razor sharp observations on the state of the world sees them pushing the boundaries of their much-loved sound on their new album. 

Louder Than War Radio’s Adam Brady reviews the latest album from the Kronos Quartet, it’s collaboration with Mary Kouyoumdjian, Witness; an album that focuses on the Lebanese Civil War and the Armenian Genocide.

Manchester based post punk band, [slab], have just released an astounding debut album of moody shoegaze flavoured post punk.

Wet Leg are back! After three years the Isle Of White band tease new music on their Instagram…listen here.

Manchester based troubadour Ben le Jeune has been round the blocks for decades and always threatening to deliver something and somehow he finally has…

It’s an all-of-nothing release; all the best records are. A crafted rock n roll statement of intent and a capture of a moment in time. Every artist has to, at some point, move on from being a teenage rampage to a wise old dude, and Ben le Jeune has made a move here with a maturity that doesn’t lose the edge.

Graham Gouldman was one of the core members of seventies artrock heroes 10cc. He’s still touring with the band and talks to John Robb about the art of songwriting, 10cc, Manchester in the sixties, writing classics like ‘For Your Love’ for the Yardbirds and ‘Bus Stop’ for The Hollies, producing the Ramones in Stockport, Gilbert O’Sullivan and much more including his current project…