Welcome warriors!

I’ve been on the road again this week - visiting the mighty medieval city of Lincoln and wandering up its misty cobbled lanes towards the gothic cathedral to speak about, perfectly, my ‘The Art Of Darkness- the History of Goth’ book. I’ve been to Lincoln a few times over the years and it's like a lost gem sat in its own remote mid-shire.

Its relative isolation creates a snug warmth to it its very English embers and you can imagine in past centuries some ancient scribe wandering its streets in search of minstrels. The following day I got the knackered train up to Sheffield to do Sensoria - a music and film event with guests like Adrian Uttley talking about syncs and the power of music in film to tell stories. It was a fascinating affair that the creaking trains of the north almost conspired me to miss but soon they will be fixed by Sunak and his massed ranks of fibbing Tories ( we all know they will remain in the pit of travel despair for many more decades…)

John Lydon may have become the curmudgeon's curmudgeon and his worldview possibly matching many of his grumpier older fans but his current tour has seen him reappraised by many who thought he had lost something in the last few years. With an emotional clout adding to his impressive operatic vocals, the current Public Image Limited are something else and everyone has been raving about their shows, including our reviewer.

Another old warrior from the punk rock wars, JJ Burnel, popped into LTW for an interview about the ‘Strangler in the Night’ book that has been compiled from several deep dive interviews with him. It’s a great book where he doesn't flinch in his answers and his complexity is allowed free full reign which he explains in the interview.

Unsurprisingly, Ghosts, the third album by the Berlin-based Polish composer, Hania Rani, is a haunting, ethereal collection. Full of delightful surprises, it’s an album that marks something of a progression in Rani’s career arc.

Trex were, along with Bowie, the architects of seventies pop culture and we still love them wholeheartedly here at LTW. It’s great to see the new docufilm out about the band, Angel Headed Hipster and we bought a sackful of popcorn to munch along to at the cinema and get lost in a updated dose of Trextasy.  Mixing vintage footage with peers’ anecdotes and recordings from a tribute album, Ethan Silverman’s Bolan documentary is at its best when showing clips of T.Rex in their heyday, says Tim Cooper.

In post Lankum Dublin everything is possible and everything is up for grabs. The ancient now sounds modern and the dark folk from the very soil of the Emerald Isle can be twisted into any shape. Ireland has been on a creative boom yet new band Lifts are very much their own thing and a wonderful new adventure.

The Irish music scene has been breaking boundaries for decades – from the off kilter twist of trad to the new sonic future that was part and parcel of Virgin Prunes and the seeds they planted. Seeds that have been sprouting with wild abundance in the past decade. Fontaines DC, Murder Capital, Just Mustard, Lankum and many others and now bang up the moment stuff like Tramp from Derry.

LISTEN! The Gospel cover Spacemen 3’s ‘Lord Can You Hear Me’  the band dress to the nines looking like they have escaped from the set of a David Lynch film they ooze an off kilter style and a cordite danger and make a music to match’

https://louderthanwar.com/listen-the-gospel-cover-spacemen-3s-lord-can-you-hear-me/ via @louderthanwar

Dave Brock maybe 83 years old but the long strange trip continues. Recent Hawkwind shows at the Albert Hall have kept the space-time continuum in place and a reissue of their classic live album from the early seventies is a timely reminder of the potent power of of perhaps the greatest hippie band of them all. Hawkwind’s live epic Space Ritual gets a 50th anniversary reboot in 3 different formats. Nathan Brown says it’s one of the best live albums he’s heard.

Hi tech 21 century spaceniks Muse with Nova Twins in support have taken their curiosity to new levels with a stunning live show that was built for the stadiums, as they proved this week. The sound is perfect, and the staging, both lighting and props look incredible. The musical quotes were telling, with Matt Bellamy literally hammering his neon-lit piano when he occasionally sat down, with Bach, Rage Against the Machine, Ennio Morricone all getting a look in with regular contributions.

The sheer genius of PJ Harvey has had audiences spellbound in the past week as she was out on her first tour for the UK for years. Still pushing boundaries - the adventurous musicality of her performances has our reviewer thrilled.

Keeping the flame of Crass’s music alive former singer, Steve Ignorant is touring several projects at the time. His acclaimed solo show is a jazzy adventure of story telling and his occasional sojourns back into the Crass catalogue are reminders of the potent power of those remarkable songs.

Ian Broudie has had many musical careers: punk guitarist, post-punk record producer, record-breaking hitmaker with ‘Three Lions’ and frontman with the Lightning Seeds. His memoir takes you through each of these and reveals the personality behind these achievements. Tomorrow’s Here Today by Ian Broudie – Book Review