LTW newsletter 79

Welcome Warriors,

In the grumbling mini me heatwave today in the north of England where we are wise enough to pack hats and coats for the awaiting thunderstorm, I can hear the boom boom boom of a big reggae sound system in the distance.

The deep rumble is always comforting; the Richter scale rattle is fundamental in sound and is one of those noises that connects you to the universe! There is something about the late summer sun and dub reggae that is a perfect blissful combo and a sonic boom from the beginning of time…maybe it's the very sound of the Big Bang itself!

The soul needs soothing in yet another week of giant man babies throwing tantrums across the world stage. Trump seems to be in dangerous meltdown mode and combines senility with an increasing confusion - a dangerous combination whilst rich kid buyer of other people’s ideas, Elon Musk throws his toys out of his Twitter (not X) pram like the spoiled child that he really is. This has resulted in a migration from Twitter to Threads, with many people like us maintaining their Twitter (not X) account with zero enthusiasm whilst gravitating more and more to Threads.

Meanwhile, summer is the time of festivals. There are club shows, but they are fewer, and it’s to the muddy fields of this green and ghostly land that we must travel for our music fix.

Barely recovered from last week’s Rebellion punk festival in Blackpool, our team was quick to write up the punk rock extravaganza…

A few days later, I was in South Manchester in the unlikely environs of the Cringlewood nightclub in Northern Moor for a special gig that saw Pete Doherty play an acoustic show with support from bands on his label and an ad hoc and inspiring anti Nazi speech from Manchester mayor Andy Burham that detailed most locals feelings on the recent riots. The night was pretty special and will go down in local folklore.

We were sorry to hear of the passing of Carl Bevan, the wild and wonderful drummer from the Newport Wales band, 60ft Dolls. He was not only from the school of Keith Moon with his powerhouse style but also with his lifestyle, which had an added dose of charm and loveability. Post band, he had become a brilliant artist who had just completed a successful exhibition of the great paintings of his South Wales locale.

Post-punk changed the music narrative, but it was not only in the underground. Pop music changed as well, and in that brave new world of high-IQ pop, many thinkers reshaped the pop culture narrative with new oblique angles and lines that created the template for the music of the eighties. It's an interesting period between the noise and fury of punk and the reshaping of the pop sheen that has been captured perfectly on this new, Heaven Sent, compilation album from Cherry Red.

The much loved Osees have been bending the ears of nighttime radio for a decade now. Their rewiring of garage rock into new shapes and sizes has seen them embraced by many. They seem to have been quieter of late, so it's great to see that they have returned with a new album…’Continuing through their fuzz-to-the-max gonzo-synth garage rock, Osees return with another total aural blast. Buckle in!’

Blackpool is a strange town, and I should know  I grew up there. Underneath the bright lights and the dark lows, there is a very odd underground noise scene that is still thriving to this day. I caught Cliff Glitchard making an extreme and yet enthralling racket in a new venue in the town - bringing the total of live venues to three - three more than when I lived there and proof that the small venue circuit is actually somehow booming out there.

At the other end of the scene in Halifax, there is the wonderful Piece Hall - an old wool trading market that looks like a slice of Venice at its most baroque plonked into the middle of Yorkshire mill town. It is an amazing place and these days has become a major tourist attraction. In the summer, it’s a 5000-capacity venue that recently saw punk period classics The Stranglers and Buzzcocks bring their decades long trajectories to the hill town for a sold-out show.

Twenty miles away in Leeds, on the same night, Yard Act celebrated their breakthrough with a huge hometown show in the millennium square. The night was a triumph, and we had to be there to celebrate with them.

Peter Perrett has long been a favourite here at Louder Than War. The brilliant songwriter who somehow climbed back from the wreckage of a long term heroin addiction to get his house in order has returned with a new album, which is every bit as brilliant as anything he has ever done.

Irish rap crew Kneecap have exploded onto the scene this year, and their wild takes on life in Northern Ireland have raised eyebrows. Their gigs are riots, but there is a thoughtful side to them and an artful take on things, as their new film underlines. The film itself is getting plaudits everywhere.

Sitting somewhere between punk and electronic-noise Dublin’s YARD are strikingly unique. The new single Bend perfectly encapsulates their distinctive sound, capturing the explosive, raucous energy of their live performances.