March 2024 – 7th Level Music

English Teacher announce a U.S. tour and their new album – “This Could Be Texas.”

oday, Leeds, UK-based English Teacher – comprised of Lily Fontaine (vocals, rhythm guitar, synth), Douglas Frost (drums, piano, vocals), Nicholas Eden (bass) and Lewis Whiting (lead guitar) – announce a US tour in support of their debut album, This Could Be Texas, out April 12th via Island Records. Hailed by Time Magazine as “one of the decade’s most exciting new indie acts,” the tour will see the group’s first performances in Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, and Washington, DC, alongside a return to New York City. All shows are on sale this Friday, March 29th at 10am local time.

This Could Be Texas, was produced and mixed by Marta Salogni (black midi, Depeche Mode, Björk) and represents the four songwriters’ sonic journeys thus far, with some tracks written at university in 2016-2019’s post-nest-fleeing nostalgia and others in the weeks before entering the studio. It bursts with intricate, math-rock leanings, literary references, and meticulously crafted melodies with lyrics that explore far-ranging themes including social issues, struggling to belong, mental health and science fiction. On several songs, Fontaine reflects on growing up as a mixed-race individual in a place “where many didn’t have understanding or even tolerance towards people who are different,” which only became more evident as she gained adulthood in the era of the Brexit referendum. “Sonically and lyrically, the album is about not being quite like one thing, nor quite like another,” Fontaine says, “existing in that space between being assigned a choice and completing it where anything is possible.” From their earliest days practicing in basements, to gigging at grassroots venues and more, This Could Be Texas provides a fitting reflection of English Teacher’s work to date.

Since the release of their Polyawkward EP (2022), English Teacher has toured with Parquet Courts and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, sold out all of their UK and EU headline dates as well as their debut New York City show at Elsewhere in Brooklyn, taped an excellent session with WFUV, and played Later . . . with Jools Holland. They’ve graced the cover of the NME, made TIME’s “Top 10 Best Songs of 2023,” and have been recognized by the likes of the New York Times, The Guardian, FADER, Pitchfork, Stereogum, Brooklyn Vegan, and NYLON.

Watch the Video for “The World’s Biggest Paving Slab”

Watch the Video for “R&B”

Listen to “Albert Road”

Listen to “Mastermind Speciliam”

Listen to “Nearly Daffodils”

Pre-order This Could Be Texas

English Teacher Tour Dates
(New Dates in Bold)
Wed. May 8 – Brighton, UK @ Concorde 2
Thu. May 9 – Portsmouth, UK @ Wedgewood Rooms
Fri. May 10 – Bristol, UK @ Thekla
Sat. May 11 – Cardiff, UK @ Clwb lfor Bach
Mon. May 13 – Oxford, UK @ The Bullingdon
Wed. May 15 – Sheffield, UK @ The Foundry
Thu. May 16 – Leeds, UK @ Irish Centre
Fri. May 17 – Edinburgh, UK @ Mash House
Sat. May 18 – Glasgow, UK @ King Tuts
Tue. May 21 – Belfast, UK @ Ulster Sports Club
Wed. May 22 – Dublin, UK @ Whelan’s
Fri. May 24 – Manchester, UK @ Gorilla
Sat. May 25 – Birmingham, UK @ Castle and Falcon
Tue. May 28 – Nottingham, UK @ Rescue Rooms
Wed. May 29 – London, UK @ Electric Brixton
Sun. June 9 – Washington, DC @ The Atlantis
Mon. June 10 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
Wed. June 12 – Boston, MA @ Sonia
Fri. June 14 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Foundry
Sun. June 16 – Chicago, IL @ Schubas Tavern

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Jaycee at Pitch Perfect PR.]

John Cale announces a new album, “Poptical Illusion,” out June 14th.

Today, John Cale announces his new album, POPtical Illusion, out June 14th via Double Six / Domino, and shares its lead single/video, “How We See The Light.” Despite the album’s playful title, Cale’s second album in just over a year still contains the same feelings of fierce and inquisitive rage that were present in Cale’s much-lauded 2023 album MERCY, “a deeply atmospheric collection about encroaching doom and the life-saving power of art and community” (Wall Street Journal). He remains angry, still incensed by the willful destruction that unchecked capitalists and unrepentant conmen have hoisted upon the wonders of this world and the goodness of its people. But this is not at all MERCY II, or some collection of castoffs, as throughout his career of more than six decades, Cale has never been much for repetition. His vanguard-shaping enthusiasms have shifted among ecstatic classicism and unbound rock, classic songcraft and electronic reimagination with proud restlessness. And so, on POPtical Illusion, he foregoes the illustrious cast to burrow mostly alone into mazes of synthesizers and samples, organs and pianos, with words that, as far as Cale goes, constitute a sort of swirling hope, a sage insistence that change is yet possible. Produced by Cale and longtime artistic partner Nita Scott in his Los Angeles studio, POPtical Illusion is the work of someone trying to turn toward the future – exactly as Cale always has.

Lead single, “How We See The Light,” is one of the most beautiful and redemptive tracks in Cale’s catalogue, featuring pulsing pianos shifting in and out of phase with steadfast drums, all while assorted whorls of noise billow in the background. Cale considers another relationship’s end and sees it not as a waste of time, but as a chance to learn, an opportunity to get to somewhere unexpected. “Can I close another chapter in the way we run our lives?” he sings, the curious curl of his voice suggesting this is the first time he’s ever asked that. “More decisive in the future, or deliberate in the end?” This longing is reflected in the song’s video, which presents Cale collaborating once again with Pepi Ginsberg, a director noted for “[adding] depth to an already unfathomable piece of art” (FADER) on their previous work together.

Watch John Cale’s Video for “How We See The Light”

Cale has often said that something shifted inside his mind during the pandemic, realizing that, nearing 80, he was living and working through something that many of his past contemporaries weren’t. He wanted to document it. He wrote more than 80 songs in a period of a little over a year, collectively surveying the range of human experience in the process—humor bled into frustration, regret gave way to forgiveness, sadness tangled with surrealism. What’s more, Cale has never relegated himself to the old guard, to sitting on the sidelines and kvetching about modernity and the way things used to be done. The classically trained violist who studied with John Cage and Aaron Copland has long been a hip-hop zealot, especially the creative ways it wields technology to create multi-dimensional textures or build surprising melodies. POPtical Illusion synthesizes those emotions and enthusiasms into a dozen electronic playgrounds, Cale’s magisterial voice webbing across it all with puns and insights, grievances and quips, and some version of truth.

John Cale has always been a musician of the times, helping to usher in titanic shifts in sound and culture. The bleeding edge drones of his Sun Blindness Music opened the path to The Velvet Underground. The frantic rock of Fear and Slow Dazzle, not to mention his production with Patti Smith and the Stooges, framed a half century of punk, post-punk, and art-rock to come. And his curiosity about the way electronics could be more than a gimmick in rock music served as an inspiration to an uncountable number of crucial scenes. Once again, on POPtical Illusion, Cale stands as a musician of these times. He looks at the orchestrated turmoil of recent history, furrows his brow in disgust, and then turns on his heels toward a future, even if he—like all of the rest of us, really—doesn’t know just what he’ll find or who exactly he’ll be there. He’s simply happy to be going toward it all.

POPtical Illusion will be available on 2xLP, CD, and digitally. The Domino Mart pink & mint vinyl 2xLP edition pressing of 1000 includes a 7″ featuring 2 exclusive tracks, and a POPitem – a limited edition illusionary twirling paper Objet.

Pre-Order POPtical Illusion: Domino Mart | Digital

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Jessica at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Alessandro “Asso” Stefana set to release his new self-titled album May 17th.

Alessandro Stefana (“Asso”), the Italian composer, musician, and producer who has contributed to album’s by PJ Harvey, Mike Patton, and Calexico, amongst others, releases his self-titled sophomore album on May 17 via Ipecac Recordings.

A preview of the nine-song collection arrives with today’s release of the song, “The House” (ipecac.lnk.to/asso).

Throughout the album, Asso performs an eclectic array of instruments (ukelin, Marxophone, organ, pedal steel and baritone guitars, and more) and in varying genres, borrowing from rootsy folk and primitive blues to soundtracks, psychedelia, desert ballads and ambient explorations. Asso merges the past and present courtesy of the Smithsonian Folkways archives, adding Appalachian folk icon Roscoe Holcomb‘s vocals to freshly re-imagined versions of the revered singer/banjo player’s songs.

“It is a powerful and moving testimony to a bygone era,” Asso says of his addition of Holcomb’s vocals. “I have always been fascinated by the idea of mixing folk, a music so intimately linked to the land, with something that goes beyond the boundaries of the genre.”

Asso’s debut solo release, Poste e Telegrafi (2013), was dubbed “one of the most striking works you’ll hear from a young composer all year” by Pitchfork, and AllMusic who deemed it “an impressive debut.”

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Monica at Speakeasy PR.]

The Monsters announce first tour of Mexico and the western U.S.

Legendary garage punks The Monsters will tour through Mexico and the US West Coast in late April through May, beginning their trek in Mexico City and concluding up the Pacific Coastline in Seattle. This string of shows is their first-ever tour through western America and marks the band’s return to the New World since their 2014 Midwestern tour anchored by a headlining appearance at the Muddy Roots Festival. In two, with the Swiss quartet, Slovenly Recordings founder Pete Menchetti will DJ punk, garage, and exotica 45s during the pre-show and after-parties.

It’s common to read names like Celtic Frost, LiLiPUT, and The Young Gods as pioneers of Switzerland’s fringe rock movements. However, The Monsters are justifiably well deserving to be included in this category due to their creation of an off-branch rock genre they dub “trash rock, a subgenre that’s influenced a whole new generation of underground punk groups since the band formed in 1986. This genre is a strange mix of rockabilly grooves fused with chainsaw-fury speed punk, and The Monsters have only become faster, funnier, and more furious with age with their proof on their recent album, You’re Class, I’m Trash, which saw release via Voodoo Rhythm Records, Slovenly Recordings, and Sounds of Subterrania.

The Monsters have performed on stages across the continents of North/South America, Asia, Europe, and Australia. Their first run across the West Coast holds special meaning for the quartet, with the band sharing their thoughts below.

The Monsters are a Garage-Trash band out of Switzerland. We’ve played almost everywhere in the world, from Tomsoe, Norway, above the Arctic Circle, down to Buenos Aires, Argentina. From Japan to Mexico and to unusual places like Vietnam, Sicily, and more. But we never played the US West Coast, although that’s where a lot of inspiration for what we do comes from. Time to change that, for good!

The Monsters have a long history with the West Coast of the USA. Jan – the drummer – was born in San Luis Obispo in the summer of love, and Beat-Man – the CEO – even has family in Los Angeles. It’s like coming home, and we wanna show what we do and present to you our Super-1-Riff-Rock’n’Roll-Boogie-Trash.

The Monsters were formed in Berne, Switzerland, and that’s as un-American as a town can be. From the very beginning, we were unsatisfied with the music scene in general, and spezialy the music scene in Switzerland. At first, we were against pop music. Now it’s the copycats, the bands living and celebrating the past. We can’t stand it and hate it today as much as we hated it yesterday.

But instead of complaining, we create new music, a new listening experience for you and your brain, and it will be so loud that we can’t hear you complaining about it.

That’s our goal; you’ve been warned. – Beat-Man, Janosh, Swan Lee, and Pumi.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Matthew at Shattered Platter.]

Rewind Review: Green Velvet – Whatever (2001)

House and techno music were in a weird spot as the 1990s were ending and a new century was beginning. People had been raving away through the nights and early mornings of the 1990s in anticipation of living in a future that would, of course, never truly arrive. How would techno evolve in this new world / era?

Green Velvet had a pretty good idea how: Mix a bit of industrial music with trance and house, don’t skimp on the partying, and take the new century as it comes, baby. He released the perfectly titled Whatever just as the new millennium launched, summing up everyone’s attitude after the spectre of the Y2K apocalypse turned out to be a Scooby-Doo-style faker.

Opening track “Genedefekt” is almost like the opening theme of a video game with its 16-bit bleeps, but the thumping bass and machine drums elevate to something with a bit of menace – not unlike how a lot of people envisioned the next century as it arrived. That arrival, and not knowing what was coming next, is summed up in GV’s big hit, “La La Land.” The catchy bass and gets in your head and won’t escape as GV sings, “I’ve been the one to party until the end. Looking for the after-party to begin.” Like a lot of us, GV was there dancing until the end of the previous century and hoping the next one would be an even better after-party.

Also like a lot of us, GV was wondering if he should reinvent himself, and even how to do so, in the new millennium. “Stranj” has him singing, “For the first time I’m starting to realize I need to come down from this high, and be that person my family wants me to be – a model citizen of society.” GV calls out people who try to sabotage his dreams, racists, haters, and people living in fear on “When?”, and gives them rapid, energetic beats to shake them out of their brain fog.

“Sleepwalking” is a salute to “the weird ones” (“not the cool kids”) who find solace in the night and self-harm. GV hopes they’ll realize “Hatin’ themselves doesn’t make them happy.” “Stop Lyin'” is, as the kids call it, a banger – and a classic one at that. The near-goth synth-bass is outstanding, and the industrial beats would do Nitzer Ebb proud…as would the following near-instrumental track, “Minimum Rage,” with its alarm clock sounds, throbbing beats, and sampled crowd chants. It instantly brings to mind visions of people in black rubber shirts dancing under strobe lighting.

“GAT (The Great American Tragedy)” has GV screaming “Do what you like if you feel right!” by the end of it. It’s a panicked, wild track boiling with anger at being told what to do from every angle all the time. “Waitin’ 4 the Day2End” is a slice of GV’s life as he goes down to the corner diner and starts his own daily grind…along with everyone else around him from the guy next to him, the “old friend hooked on heroin,” and a party promoter who appears to be in a lot of trouble. The album ends with “Dank” – a snapping, double-dutch beat song about smoking weed that turns into a bumping floor-filler just when you think it’s finished.

That’s how Green Velvet was going into the new millennium – reflective, angry, high, and aching to get the rest of us off our assess to create the future we wanted in the here and now.

But, you know, whatever.

Keep your mind open.

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Levitation France releases full 2024 lineup.

Levitation France returns with another fun lineup of pyschedelia, shoegaze, rock, and even rap this year.

Sleaford Mods closes the two-day festival on Friday, May 24th. Upchuck will provide some wild punk rock for you, Sweeping Promises will bring the fuzz, and psych-rock giants Acid Mothers Temple will melt your mind.

Don’t miss Deap Vally on the 25th. This show is part of their final tour before they put up the guitar and drum sticks to be full-time moms. Another good duo, Ghostwoman, will be worth your time. Melts are a hot new band playing a cool mix of post-punk and electro. Lysistrata are a hungry, raw, French rock band that I’m sure will put on a blistering set in front of their countrymen. Hoover III play nice psychedelia, whereas Fat White Family play somewhat dangerous psychedelia. I hope they come tour the U.S. after this.

Tickets are on sale, and Angers is a lovely town. Plus, you’ll be in France before the Olympics, so get there before the rest of the world does!

Keep your mind open.

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Review: Fake Youth Cult – White Light / Black Noise

Fake Youth Cult is actually Dutch artist Richard van Kruysdijk, who created his new EP, White Light / Black Noise, with minimal arrangements. “The concept behind the songs is: create one song a day with a minimal, mainly analogue setup. Just a few synths, some drum samples, a sequencer and GO!” – he says in the press release sent to me. The result is an impressive work that mixes dark techno with some punk, and one track is even meant for a ballet performance.

The trolling synth-bass of “Visitor” grabs your attention right away, and you feel like you’re about to enter a combat arena filled with menacing robots. “Scorched” is probably how the dance floor is left after it’s played, as it’s full of powerful synths and hot, crashing beats.

Then along comes “Messing,” which will become your new favorite industrial dance track. It hits all the right beats and notes, transporting you to dark clubs in places with leaky ceilings and sweaty people who may or may not be undead fiends. “Smear” roars right by you like an out-of-control truck hauling scrap metal.

“Management” starts off side B (if you’re hearing this on vinyl) with pulsing sounds that mimic a lover’s heartbeat in the throes of rapturous sex. The looped, echoing vocals of a woman saying, “I feel…I see…I touch…I need…More…” are alluring and haunting. “Pulsar,” the closing track, is the one made for a ballet performance. van Kruysdijk often collaborates with dance troupes, and this track, with its relentless kick drum and buzzing, ticking motor-like beats, must create quickened heart rates in the dancers and audience.

The whole EP is like that, really. It’s heart-racing. Brace yourself before you play it.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Dan at Discipline PR!]

Review: Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol – Big Dumb Riffs

Aaron Metzdorf, the bassist for Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol, described the writing process of their new album, Big Dumb Riffs, as “What if we just played two notes the whole song? What if we tuned down to almost unusable string tension? What if we write a record that will make everyone say ‘Wow, that is dumb.’?”

That record would be a fun ride, that’s what would happen.

RBBP are never short on heavy riffs, goofy lyrics, and projecting a raw, fun energy, and this time they’ve gone all-in with that idea. Right away, “Clowntown” unleashes chugging, charging mania and you can’t help but laugh as you’re moshing. “1-800-EAT-SHIT” is just as fun, and I’m sure causes phone number chants whenever it’s played. “Papa Pop It” has early Primus-like bass licks all over it.

Leo Lydon‘s guitar on “Peanut Butter Snack Sticks” sounds like he’s pulled it out of a deep fryer and is playing it with a belt sander. Sean St. Germain‘s drum groove on “Whip It Around” immediately grab you and make you pay attention. The song transitions perfectly into “Body Bag” – which hits harder than a good number of doom metal tracks.

“Brat” stomps along like an angry elephant as Lydon calls out haters who can’t and won’t back up their words. “El Sapo” is a quick roughie, leading into the almost-panicked “Bastard Initiated.” I’m sure the pits during this song are bonkers (and, really, I’m sure their entire shows are just plain nuts). “Blue Collar Man” throbs, growls, and snarls as Lydon sings about a woman in love with a blue collar worker, but the lovely dream seems to turn into a nightmare.

They save the longest track on the record, “In a Jar” (at three minutes and thirty-eight seconds), for last. “I’m going to fucking kill you,” Lydon almost croons as he and his pals slow down the pace, but don’t relent on the fuzz.

Again, Big Dumb Riffs is a crazy ride that’s over in a flash – a bit like a roller coaster that only slows down at the end but your brain is still foggy from the adrenaline rush and your body is a bit sore from banging around in the car.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Dave at US / THEM Group.]

test plan are “Walking in a Vacuum” with their new single.

Six months after the release of their debut single, London’s test plan unveil their follow up single/music video ‘Walking in a Vacuum’, out on 26th March.

Uniting ferocious guitar-driven havoc and pulsating rhythmic force, ‘Walking in a Vacuum’ delves into repression and avoidance in the face of life’s pressures.
Loaded with hypnotic bass lines, resilient drum beats, raw, animated guitar hooks and propelled by manic and captivating vocals, test plan’s follow up single is a blast of existential despair and a love for intense volume.

“There’s a lot to be said for resilience in life, for grinning and bearing it.” says
drummer / vocalist Max Mason. “This can become psychotic when you begin to actively deceive yourself. Moving down the wrong path, aware of each step making things worse. ‘[Walking in a] Vacuum’ dances with this notion of pushing your emotions down and letting the world swallow you up. It’s a dance song about over-thinking and surrender, when maybe you should be doing neither.”

Recorded and mixed by Darren Jones (Fat Dog, The Fall, Gorillaz) in the band’s own north-east London practice space, ‘Walking in a Vacuum’ captures test plan’s intense and visceral energy, matching the force seen in their live performances; pumping and scuzzy in equal measures, seamlessly treading between dancing and moshing.

The accompanying music video, filmed, edited, animated and directed in-house by Mason, captures the essence of the song’s themes; propulsion, horror and elation, surfacing the concepts of resilience in a world filled with chaos and uncertainty. Mason muses on the idea of surrendering to overwhelming forces of the world: “It was a deliberate effort to be artistic and wanted it to feel as if it were a performance art in a gallery space. It was an attempt to make something that looked sort of cursed or horrifying without actually doing anything blatantly to make it so. The animated touches were a way to add an extra layer of mysticism; colour and playfulness to our otherwise angsty performances.”

test plan are set for a busy year with their biggest headline show to date, an overseas
summer tour starting at Paris’ Supersonic Block Party, a live session and a forthcoming EP. ‘Walking in a Vacuum’ will be released on 26th March with their headline single launch show on 29th March at Paper Dress Vintage with in violet and Brides.

Upcoming Live Dates:

29/03/24: Paper Dress Vintage, London (Single Launch)

18/04/24: Strongroom, London
24/05/24: Sebright Arms, London
01/06/24: Supersonic Black Party, Paris (FR)
06/06/24: Le Ravelin, Toulouse (FR)
07/06/24: Jokers, Angers (FR)

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Rory of test plan!]

Desire takes you to the “Darkside” on their new single.

Today Desire is sharing new single “Darkside” alongside the announcement of new album Games People Play, which will come out later this year via Italians Do It Better. This will be Desire’s third studio album following Escape (2022) & self titled Desire (2009).

“Darkside” is the new slow burning single from Desire. It’s nocturnal synthwave in their classic cinema sound. Megan Louise’s voice levitates over heavy 808 drums pivoting between sultry Dream Pop & spoken word. Our heroine serenades us while the impressionistic haze of Johnny Jewel’s production casts it’s spell. It feels like the opening titles to a Neo-noire film…Games People Play.

“The song is about the invisible line we draw between our outer reality & our inner world. The darkside is a meatphor for the unmasked internal space that we rarely share with strangers. A secret realm that never sees the light of day. On the endless hunt for love, we crave a deeper connection that can only come with truth. The mirror sees you…on the darkside. Crash into the starlight.” – Desire

“Darkside” on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdJ_bEvpfq4
“Darkside” on other streaming services: https://idib.ffm.to/darkside

Desire are embarking on a co-healine tour with Johnny Jewel with upcoming shows in San Francisco, Dublin, Paris, Manchester & Vancouver. In addition to this, Desire will also play Primavera Festival on May 29th and NYC Knowdown Centre on May 31st for a special performance, which will also see Johnny Jewel, Black Marble, Orion, Farah, Joon, Mothermary take the stage.

Tour dates:

Mar 22 – SAN FRANCISCO DNA Lounge (Tickets)
May 21 – DUBLIN The Button Factory (Tickets)
May 23 – PARIS Le Trabendo (Tickets)
May 24 – MANCHESTER YES (The Pink Room) (Tickets)
May 29 – BARCELONA Primavera In The City
May 31 – NYC Knockdown Center (w/ Johnny Jewel, Black Marble, Orion, Farah, Joon & Mothermary) (Tickets)
Jun 28 – VANCOUVER Rickshaw Theater

Keep your mind open.

[I desire your subscription.]

[Thanks to Frankie at Stereo Sanctity.]