LTW newsletter 24!

Hello Warriors!

Finally we are back in the land of the living after an undead weekend in London in the glimmering darkness of the company of Bauhaus. The gig was, of course, briulliant but the travel home was a nightmare with broken trians delaying a return to the northen lands by a couple of days but we are back and finally ready to unleash the new newsletter!

Bauhaus were magnificent at the cavernous and cadaverous Alexandra Palace and a stark and thrilling reminder of how they were so much more than the ‘goth’ tag that was draped around their skinny shoulders. In terms of post punk art rock they were groundbreaking and their melange of dub, death disco, punk, glam sound were as refreshing today as all those decades ago. It was a bit of a Louder Than War night out this one with few reviews as the musical bats were released from the belfry.

I couldn’t resist writing my own own summary of the night’s adventures…

And also posting this in depth interview with ground breaking guitarist Daniel Ash…

We have been busy at Louder than War preparing to launch our own radio station and the project is in launch made. Plenty of shows in the ever growing new station for you to tune into…

Swansea Sound are the spirit of C86 veterans who have just released a fantastic new album. Formed over lockdown, the band consists of The Pooh Sticks’ vocalist Hue Williams, Heavenly bassist Rob Pursey, Wreckless Eric live collaborator Ian Button and Talulah Gosh and Heavenly vocalist, Amelia Fletcher. Their album is crafted brilliance.

The increasingly and brilliantly curmudgeon like indie icon Richard Ashcroft speaks how own mind and still packs them in and his grandiose London show at the palladium received a rave review from our writer. Still in fine voice de andf with a fistful of anthems Richard can still deliver the songs that helped a define big chunk of the Britpop generation.

Ferocious Dog have grafted their way up from underground outsiders and their firebrand political punk folk has seen them gather together a huge motley crew of levellers fans and beautiful Days folk into mighty and defiant army. Their rousing songs are full of bile and hope amongst the tumultuous modern world and are written from a beating punk rock heart. Their gigs are routing defiant and communal affairs as our reporter explains.

Speaking of speaking out, Billy Bragg, is the grandfather of the form and the politically charged singer has become a fine vintage and still packs a punk with his world view that is couched in his beautifully crafted songs. His triumphant current tour sees the silver fox embrace ageing with clear defiant voice in a broken world that combines heart, head and soul.

Public Service Broadcasting marked a new direction with their latest album Bright Magic, a tribute to the city of Berlin. Simon Reed takes a trip over the South Downs to Brighton Dome’s historic concert hall to see how the new material translates in the flesh.

Self Esteem is the surprise pop crossover album of the moment and proof that chart pop can have as much depth and musicality as the underground, Rebecca Lucy Taylor has not only made Self Esteem her stage name, but she has also made all aspects of self-respect her modus operandi. Calling her second album Prioritise Pleasure and placing that phrase next to ‘Self Esteem’ presents us with two intertwined concepts, a mantra for existence and a life lesson that runs through the album’s thirteen songs. By validating herself, giving herself permission not to have to seek permission and validation from others, Prioritise Pleasure becomes a suite of songs of freedom that are aspirational and inspirational.

The John Lydon spoken word tour finally hit the buffers in Glasgow where the venue pulled the gig due ‘to the aggression of his tour manager’ adding. ‘We have a zero tolerance policy of abuse, both physical and verbal, and this behaviour has been ongoing for the past two weeks. We are sorry if this affects you but as a company we will not accept this kind of attitude to our staff from anyone, including members of the public and touring staff. Our box office will be in contact with you directly to organise refund of your tickets.”

https://louderthanwar.com/john-lydon-show-canclled-due-to-john-lydon-show-cancelled-due-to-the-aggression-of-his-tour-manager-we-have-a-zero-tolerance-policy-of-abuse-both-physical-and-verbal-and-t/ (Opens in a new window)

At last Manchester finally has a music event to plug the gap left by In The City. Oliver Wilson has built on his father, the late and great Tony Wilson, with an event called Beyond The Music that moves into the 21st century.

https://louderthanwar.com/oliver-wilson-announces-big-new-music-event-in-manchester/