Alexander Laurence's Blog, page 79
June 5, 2025
Gina Birch Craves Peace in the Chaos on New Single; Second Solo album Out July 11 via Third Man
GINA BIRCH CRAVES PEACE IN THE CHAOS ON
NEW SINGLE “DOOM MONGER” —
STREAM/ WATCH THE OFFICIAL VIDEO
LEGENDARY POST-PUNK ICON’S
EAGERLY AWAITED SECOND SOLO ALBUM, TROUBLE,
OUT JULY 11 ON THIRD MAN RECORDS — PRE-ORDER / PRE-SAVE
PRE-ORDER THE SPECIAL ROUGH TRADE VINYL VARIANT HERE
NORTH AMERICAN TOUR SUPPORTING MIKI BERENYI TRIO
BEGINS OCTOBER 10 IN WASHINGTON, DC
Photo Credit: Dean Chalkley
Legendary artist, Raincoats co-founder, songwriter, filmmaker, and feminist icon Gina Birch today shares new single “Doom Monger” taken from her eagerly awaited second solo album, Trouble, arriving via Third Man Records on Friday, July 11. Pre-orders are available now. An official music video – directed by Birch and famed photographer/filmmaker Dean Chalkley – is streaming now on YouTube.
LISTEN TO “DOOM MONGER”
WATCH “DOOM MONGER” OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO
Birch succinctly explains the feelings behind the song, “This is about the world going to hell in a handcart, feeling overwhelmed, but yearning for peace and happiness.”
Diving into the processes involved in the making of the video, she shares, “At art school I had made a 16mm film made up of nine Super 8 screens of a friend, standing in Alexandra Park, turning round. I divided the body into head, torso and feet. Each frame was filmed independently and I then refilmed the Super 8, on a grid, and filmed on 16mm rewinding the canister each time. This process has inspired me to make several videos, and now one for myself, using 9 frames. I wanted to make a colourful fun video for ‘Doom Monger’, that had an element of humour to it. With 9 screens to watch simultaneously, it’s possible to miss things, so the video may have to be viewed several times. Among other things, I seemingly punch myself, and I outstretch my arms and have to duck down out of their reach. I hammer frames out of the way, and I turn negative on many occasions, and I layer the individual frames so that there is a complex layer of images at other times.”
“Doom Monger” follows previous single, “Causing Trouble Again” which was inspired by 2024’s Women in Revolt, an exhibition of feminist art and activism at Tate Britain which included one of Birch’s most recognized art pieces, 1977’s 3 Minute Scream, a landmark short film in which she stares down the camera and, as the title suggests, screams for the duration of a Super 8 cartridge. Birch created the epic six-minute track by inviting several female artists, including experimental music pioneer Cosey Fanni Tutti and writer/painter Caroline Coon, to record themselves saying the names of women who have inspired them – women who have indeed “caused trouble.”
The video for the song – directed by Birch and famed photographer/filmmaker Dean Chalkley features an all-star collective of fellow female artists including Birch’s longtime friend and co-founder of The Raincoats, Ana da Silva, Neo Naturists co-founder Christine Binnie, singer-songwriter Amy Rigby, X-Ray Spex and Essential Logic co-founder Lora Logic, painter Daisy Parris, artist Georgina Starr, writer Jill Westwood, multi-disciplinary artist and activist Bobby Baker, award-winning costume designer Annie Symons, veteran photographer and Raincoats collaborator Shirley O’Loughlin, amongst many others.
Propelled by Birch’s springy bass and a breakneck drum machine beat, “Causing Trouble Again” crescendos until hundreds of names are being read aloud: Nina Simone to Dolly Parton, Grace Jones to Louise Bourgeois, Elizabeth I to Stormy Daniels. The result is extraordinary – a jubilant exploration of what it means to go against society’s grain, overlaid with fuzzy guitar solos and rebellious flair.
WATCH ‘CAUSING TROUBLE AGAIN’ OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO
PRE-ORDER / PRE-SAVE TROUBLE
Birch will celebrate the arrival of Trouble with a series of live dates with her band-mates ‘The Unreasonables’, Marie Merlet and Jenny Green (who are also featured on the album and have co-written several songs). Including a Rough Trade East Instore on July 16th (tickets here) and appearing as special guests on Miki Berenyi Trio’s upcoming North American tour. The 15-city run gets underway October 10 at Washington DC’s Pearl Street Warehouse and then travels through a tour finale at West Hollywood, CA’s famed Roxy Theatre. Highlights include stops at such historic venues as Brooklyn, NY’s Music Hall of Williamsburg (October 11), Toronto, ON’s The Great Hall (October 15), Chicago, IL’s Lincoln Hall (October 17), Seattle, WA’s Neptune Theatre (October 23), and San Francisco, CA’s Great American Music Hall (October 27). For complete details and ticket information, please see https://ginabirchmusic.com/#live.
GINA BIRCH – TOUR DATES 2025
JULY
16 - London, UK - Rough Trade East In-Store
NORTH AMERICAN TOUR
(All Dates w/ Miki Berenyi Trio)
OCTOBER
10 – Washington, DC – Pearl Street Warehouse
11 – Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg
12 – Cambridge, MA – The Sinclair
13 – Montreal, QC – Bar Le Ritz PDB
15 – Toronto, ON – The Great Hall
16 – Ferndale, MI – The Magic Bag
17 – Chicago, IL – Lincoln Hall
18 – St. Paul, MN – Turf Club
20 – Denver, CO – Larimer Lounge
21 – Salt Lake City, UT – Urban Lounge
23 – Seattle, WA – Neptune Theatre
24 – Vancouver, BC – Hollywood Theatre
25 – Portland, OR – Mississippi Studios
27 – San Francisco, CA – Great American Music Hall
28 – West Hollywood, CA – The Roxy Theatre
THE ALL-AMERICAN REJECTS DROP NEW SONG “EASY COME, EASY GO”
THE ALL-AMERICAN REJECTS DROP NEW SONG “EASY COME, EASY GO”
WATCH THE VIDEO HERE
Photo Credit: Andy Knight
The All-American Rejects have dropped a new song, “Easy Come, Easy Go,” the track at the center of their ongoing, viral DIY house party tour. The song, a straight rock ’n’ roll track embellished with a meandering indie verse, arrives with a claymation video directed and animated by Justin Le Burgos of Rough N’ Tumble Productions. The video features a claymation Tyson Ritter deep in a daydream.
All Streaming to “Easy Come, Easy Go” HERE
Watch the video for "Easy Come, Easy Go" HERE
The track which accumulated close to 200,000 pre-saves has been a staple at each stop of the band’s now-viral DIY tour, which has drawn national coverage from CNN, NBC Nightly News, Good Morning America, and further coverage from Rolling Stone, Vulture, FADER, Pigeons & Planes, and more. The shows—announced with minimal notice—have taken place in unexpected locations: a bowling alley in Minneapolis, a farm in Iowa, a graduation party in Missouri, a backyard in Chicago, a college in Green Bay, and the kickoff show at a USC house party. They’ve garnered over 65 million impressions in just the past two weeks.
The song, which will appear on the Rejects’ forthcoming fifth album—their first in thirteen years—follows the first single, “Sandbox,” which arrived with its own incredible Joseph Kahn–directed video. This summer, The All-American Rejects hit the road as direct support for the Jonas Brothers on their massive nationwide arena and stadium tour. The tour kicks off August 10 at MetLife Stadium, with stops in DC, Nashville, and more (full dates HERE).
For More on The All-American Rejects
CHICAGO RAPPER RECOECHI ANNOUNCES DEBUT ALBUM 'FLAVAZ' VIA CLOSED SESSIONS
CHICAGO RAPPER RECOECHI ANNOUNCES DEBUT ALBUM FLAVAZ VIA CLOSED SESSIONS
LISTEN TO “GIANT LEAPS” FT. femdot.
ALBUM ARRIVES AUGUST 14
Chicago artist Recoechi has announced his debut album FLAVAZ, out August 14 via Closed Sessions. The announcement arrives alongside the first single, “Giant Leaps,” featuring fellow Chicagoan femdot.
FLAVAZ is undeniably a Chicago hip-hop album. With production from Renzell (Chance the Rapper, Isaiah Rashad, Mick Jenkins, Vic Mensa, Saba, Noname, theMIND, Femdot) and additional production from C-Sick and others, Recoechi delivers top-tier storytelling across a sprawling record that introduces an entire arsenal of characters—each drawn from the depths of human experience. The project captures his upbringing on Chicago’s Southeast Side, while also channeling the many styles born from the city to carve out a voice entirely his own. It's political, personal, about the streets, recovery, reflective—and ultimately about survival and self-discovery.
Recoechi shares of the album: “It’s my first project ever, so this represents me coming out of growing into my sound, period. Renzell is a musical genius, and he played a strong role in developing my recording process. Flavaz is me giving different types of flavors. That’s something me and him would say a lot when we were cooking up in the studio—‘that shit flavorful’—which turned into its own thing. It’s also a reference to me always being on my lil smoothie shit because I stay with a different flavor. That’s a real strong part of me because I wanna promote healthy eating.”
Photo Credit: Christian Loggins
FLAVAZ Tracklist
FLAVAZ
DA GODLY ft. JazStarr, Denzel Lavell
CONCENTRATION USA ft. MOYANA
AMERICAN PIE ft. Vai Shakoor, Tree
PIE ft. MOYANA
GOLDEN ft. JazStarr
GIANT LEAPS ft. femdot.
INTERRUPTION
N*A MOMENTS**
MICROPHONE DRIP ft. Mother Nature
CAKE INTERLUDE ft. Tree
CAKE
TO BE LOVED ft. Galaxy Francis
FEEL SOME TYPE OF WAY
HEAR WITHCO EYES ft. MOYANA
STARVING ARTIST
For More on Recoechi
June 4, 2025
IVY Announce New Album & Share Lead Single "Say You Will"
IVY
ANNOUNCE NEW ALBUM
OUT SEPT 5TH VIA BAR/NONE RECORDS
SHARE LEAD SINGLE “SAY YOU WILL”
Today, Ivy have announced their first new album in 15 years. Built from the ground up using demos and song fragments dating from between 1995 to 2012, Traces of You is due out September 5th via Bar/None Records. “The world thought IVY was gone after 2012, and for a time we did too. And after Adam’s death in 2020 it seemed certain,” shares the band’s Andy Chase “So Dominique and I are thrilled to give everyone a brand new IVY album, with our beloved Adam playing on every song!”
Formed in 1994, Ivy includes Andy Chase, Dominique Durand, and the late Adam Schlesinger. Sadly, Durand and Chase assumed that Ivy was in the rearview after Schlesinger tragically passed away from COVID-19 in 2020. While prepping recent reissues of their back catalog, the band unearthed a trove of reel-to-reel tapes and old hard drives stored in their Rhode Island studio. The duo knew they would only consider working on Ivy demos featuring Schlesinger, but they were overwhelmed by deciding which songs to finish. In response, they reached out to Ivy's backing keyboardist and guitarist, Bruce Driscoll, to help go through the archives and revive these lost recordings.
Every song on Traces of You features contributions from Schlesinger, with the blessing of his family. The resulting music possesses the twinkling magic of Ivy’s classic work, paired with the kind of emotional wisdom gleaned from surviving life’s most challenging moments. Lead single “Say You Will,” an oceanic synth-pop song featuring drums from Joey Waronker (Beck, R.E.M.), was built from a 2009 demo where Schlesinger played bass and keyboard.
WATCH OFFICIAL VIDEO FOR “SAY YOU WILL”
From their 1995 debut Realistic on forward, Ivy specialized in chic pop music brimming with empathy and gorgeous textures. Their six studio albums featured exquisite arrangements and influences: 1997’s Apartment Life was an indie-pop classic; 2000’s Long Distance incorporated trip-hop and a Stereolab-esque electronic sheen; and 2005’s In the Clear was a glowing synth-pop opus. Along the way, Ivy dabbled in the film world, contributing a cover of Steely Dan’s “Only a Fool Would Say That” to the movie Me, Myself & Irene and scoring the film Shallow Hal, among others.
Over the years, a new generation of artists discovered Ivy, citing them as a major inspiration and influence, recognizing the cinematic nature of Durand’s vocals, and the band’s airtight arrangements and airy dreampop sound. These include some of indie’s biggest names (Snail Mail, Beach Fossils) and emerging artists who are making huge waves in 2025 (Momma, Slow Pulp, Wishy, DJ Python).
The band broke their years long silence in late 2021 to honor the passing of Adam Schlesinger, compiling home videos from studio sessions and those early tours in memory of their friend and bandmate into a moving tribute video. Over the last few years, they’ve reissued Realistic, Apartment Life, and Long Distance, including rare demos and unreleased music with each release.
Ivy by Michelle Shiers
Tracklist:
01 The Midnight Hour
02 Fragile People
03 Mystery Girl
04 Traces of You
05 The Great Unknown
06 Say You Will
07 Heartbreak
08 Lose It All
09 Wasting Time
10 Hate That It’s True
Understandably, recording without Schlesinger was often an emotional experience, with Durand citing “Fragile People” especially as a tune that brought her and Chase to tears in the studio. “Unintentionally, the song stirred up something really melancholy for us— in a very specific way—about Adam,” she says. She notes that Ivy didn’t want to lean on cliches about losing Adam when writing lyrics. “It's influenced by the loss of someone like him, but we did it in a way that's very subtle,” she says. “There's a ghostly feeling in the meaning of the lyrics.”
Poignantly, Traces Of You ends with “Hate That It’s True.” An aching pop song about the pain of unresolved grief and the power of eternal love, it’s dominated by a melancholy Schlesinger acoustic guitar and Driscoll, Chase and Durand whispering incantations of affection. In the end, the album honors Schlesinger’s musical talents and creativity—but just as much magnifies the magic of Ivy, and the indelible chemistry and spirit that can’t be broken by space or time.
“You can imagine how terrible it's been to lose Adam,” Chase says. “The only silver lining is that we could breathe life into these songs that he contributed to and it was a great experience making this record happen. It was some of the most fun I've ever had, working on music with Dominique and Bruce.”
“It was also bittersweet,” he adds. “But what was nice about the bittersweetness was that I wasn't alone in feeling that way. We all did. We were like a school of fish— three little fish, missing that fourth fish, all swimming in perfect union with each other, going through both the highs and lows.”
Connect with Ivy:
SKINHEAD share saga of group dining dynamics on new single “Separate Checks”
Skinhead share saga of group dining dynamics on “Separate Checks”
New LP from the Cali-based / New England-bred artist It’s a Beautiful Day, What a Beautiful Day out June 20th
Photo courtesy of Skinhead.
Skinhead will release their sophomore LP It’s a Beautiful Day, What a Beautiful Day on June 20, 2025, via Closed Casket Activities. Today, they've shared the album's catchy and relatable tale of group dining titled "Separate Checks."
The band offers: “Like most Skinhead songs, 'Separate Checks' is based on true events. It also serves as a cautionary tale to anyone who wants to share a meal with the band. You have been warned."
Listen / share "Separate Checks" on DSP's
Listen / share "Separate Checks" on YouTube
Picking up where their 2023 LP left off, Skinhead's new nine-track offering delivers a violent fusion of Punk, Oi!, and Hardcore. Featuring a formidable lineup of current and former members from bands like Criminal Instinct, Human Garbage, Terror, Rude Awakening and God’s Hate, and engineered/mixed by Taylor Young at The Pit Recording Studio, Skinhead blends raw emotion with compelling storytelling. For fans of love, loss, and everything in between, It's a Beautiful Day, What a Beautiful Day is a must-hear. Pre-order / pre-save here.
It’s a Beautiful Day, What a Beautiful Day , cover art:
It’s a Beautiful Day, What a Beautiful Day , track listing:
.45Kill YourselfChuckEverything Is StoriesAncient HistoryDreamsJog Your MemorySeparate ChecksThat's A Promise (The Song About A Dog)BC Camplight Crashes Into An Alt-Pop Fever Dream w/ Title Track "A Sober Conversation" | LP out June 27 via Bella Union
BC Camplight
Unveils Title Track “ A Sober Conversation ” Single/Video
Crashing Listeners Into An Alt-Pop Fever Dream
A Sober Conversation LP Due Out June 27 via Bella Union
A Sober Conversation LP pre-order link
“With a freshly destroyed heart, he turns the aftermath into an end-of-the-world epic.”
“Bold and breathtaking... His upward creative trajectory continues with A Sober Conversation, featuring some of his most immediate songwriting to date allied to some of his darkest lyrical subject matter – offset by his trademark brand of dry humour.” – Uncut, 8/10
“a playfully post-modernist triumph.” – MOJO, 4 stars ****
Singles: “ A Sober Conversation ” “ Where You Taking My Baby? ”
“ Two Legged Dog ” (ft. Abigail Morris of The Last Dinner Party)
Credit: Jessica Branney
Virtuoso songwriter and pianist Brian Christinzio who performs as BC Camplight today unveils his jangly alt-pop single and album title track “A Sober Conversation”, the latest off his new album A Sober Conversation due out June 27 via Bella Union. The deceivingly upbeat single illustrates his internal battle with substance abuse and admitting the truth of his own childhood abuse through a heated conversation that turns into a literal car crash. The chant "now's the time for a sober conversation" in the bridge is Brian getting ready to accept things. “I think we all reach a point in our lives where we can no longer run from ourselves or our pasts,” explains Brian. “When I found myself no longer able to stay one step ahead of my fears and memories I stopped running, let myself feel it all, and had a long talk with myself. The talk was dark and disturbing but genuine and life-changing. This song is that sober conversation".
Listen / Share: “A Sober Conversation”
The new collection documents the last two years of his life, finally confronting a shocking childhood trauma while embracing sobriety, to create the most riveting and revealing record of his storied two decade career. It has already earned widespread acclaim for cinematic indie-folk stunner “Where You Taking My Baby?” and lead single “Two Legged Dog” featuring Abigail Morris from The Last Dinner Party spanning BrooklynVegan, NME, Clash, Dork, Northern Transmissions, When The Horn Blows, and The Line Of Best Fit, as well as being playlisted at 6Music.
The beloved artist’s 2005 debut was backed by musicians who would eventually join The War On Drugs, who he went on to perform live with as well as guest-starring on Sharon Van Etten’s album Epic. A Sober Conversation, the sometimes haunting quasi-concept record is marked by ruthless tragic-comedic purging and sublime, intricate melody, knitting lyrical screenplays to dazzling arrangements. It is BC Camplight at the height of his remarkable powers. Brian shares, “I had spent 30 years being terrified to open that door, and afraid of the price I’d pay once I had. I’ve opened the door. To some extent this album is what was on the other side. I hope it helps me but this album is also for everyone that is having trouble finding their bravery, finding themselves.”
BC Camplight has an extensive fall UK/EU tour featuring his biggest headline shows to date including performances at the Roundhouse in London and the O2 Apollo in Manchester. All dates and tickets are available here.
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Ethel Cain's new song "Nettles" out now, new album out 8/8
WILLOUGHBY TUCKER, I’LL ALWAYS LOVE YOU
SET FOR RELEASE AUGUST 8COMPLETELY SELLS OUT GLOBAL WILLOUGHBY TUCKER FOREVER TOUR, KICKING OFF IN AUGUST
Press photo, credit Dollie Kyarn.June 4, 2025—Ethel Cain unveils a new song, “Nettles,” today, listen here. The track is the first from her forthcoming sophomore album, Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You , set for release August 8. Preorder begins this Friday, June 6.“This song and the last track on the record were both written the same week, the very first week I moved into the house in Alabama where I finished Preacher’s Daughter,” says Cain. “In similar fashion to Preacher’s Daughter (specifically ‘A House in Nebraska’ and ‘Strangers’), I wrote what essentially became the beginning and end of the story without realizing it. What were originally just little vignettes of emotion I was feeling at the time ultimately became the tentpoles for a larger narrative. 'Nettles' became a dream of losing the one you love, asking them to reassure you that it won’t come true and to dream, instead, of all the time you’ll have together as you grow old side by side. Every once in a blue moon, it feels good to slough off the macabre and to simply let love be.”Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You serves as a prequel to Cain’s globally adored 2022 debut album Preacher’s Daughter and recounts the story of Ethel’s first love, Willoughby Tucker, and their humid, laden romance. Cain produced and recorded the album over the past year in her home studios in Coraopolis, PA and Tallahassee, FL. The writing of the songs themselves spans her entire career as Ethel Cain, with some dating from the earliest days of the project and its mythmaking. Cain will celebrate the release with her massive Willoughby Tucker Forever tour across North America and Europe kicking off in August. The tour sold out completely upon on sale in March, with 170,000 tickets sold in just a few weeks. The run will see Cain headline New York’s Radio City Music Hall and Kings Theatre, two nights at Los Angeles’ Shrine Auditorium, Berkeley’s Greek Theater, five nights at London’s Eventim Apollo, two nights at Paris’ L’Olympia and many more. See below for full tour routing and visit www.daughtersofcain.com for more information.Furthermore, Preacher’s Daughter debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top Album Sales chart, #10 on the Billboard 200 and #10 overall in the U.K. following its first ever vinyl release on April 4. Order Preacher’s Daughter via Cain’s webstore here.Ethel Cain is the creation of Florida-born multidisciplinary artist Hayden Anhedönia. After years spent teaching herself to produce at home in the Florida panhandle and releasing various projects, Cain moved to Indiana and singlehandedly wrote, produced, recorded and mixed her acclaimed 2021 EP Inbred from the basement of the old church where she lived. Cain’s debut album Preacher’s Daughter, a multimedia work that took more than four years to assemble, was released in May 2022 to praise from The New York Times, NPR, Vogue, W Magazine, V Magazine and more, with many critics naming the album one of the best of the year. Cain has spent the years since playing sold out shows and packed festival sets around the world; walking in New York and Paris fashion weeks and collaborating with Givenchy, Miu Miu and Calvin Klein; and collaborating and sharing stages with Florence + the Machine, Mitski and more.
Album artwork: photo by Silken Weinberg, artwork by Hayden Anhedönia.ETHEL CAIN—WILLOUGHBY TUCKER FOREVER TOURAugust 12—Paramount Theatre—Seattle, WA August 13—Paramount Theatre—Seattle, WA August 15—Queen Elizabeth Theatre—Vancouver, BC August 16—Edgefield—Portland, OR August 18—The Greek Berkeley—Berkeley, CAAugust 20—Shrine Auditorium—Los Angeles, CA August 21—Shrine Auditorium—Los Angeles, CA August 22—Arizona Financial Theatre—Phoenix, AZ August 24—The Bomb Factory—Dallas, TX August 25—713 Music Hall—Houston, TX August 26—Moody Amphitheater at Waterloo Park—Austin, TX August 28—The Eastern—Atlanta, GA August 29—The Eastern—Atlanta, GA August 30—Asheville Yards—Asheville, NCSeptember 4—Stage AE —Pittsburgh, PA September 5—The Anthem—Washington, D.C. September 6—The Met—Philadelphia, PASeptember 9—Radio City Music Hall—New York, NYSeptember 10—Kings Theatre—Brooklyn, NYSeptember 12—Roadrunner—Boston, MASeptember 13—Outer Harbor Live at Terminal B—Buffalo, NY September 15—Queen Elizabeth Theatre—Toronto, ONSeptember 16—Queen Elizabeth Theatre—Toronto, ONSeptember 17—Masonic Cathedral Theatre—Detroit, MISeptember 19—Palace Theatre—St. Paul, MNSeptember 20—The Salt Shed (Fairgrounds)—Chicago, IL October 2—O2 Apollo—Manchester, EnglandOctober 3—O2 Apollo—Manchester, EnglandOctober 4—O2 Academy Glasgow—Glasgow, ScotlandOctober 6—Eventim Apollo—London, EnglandOctober 7—Eventim Apollo—London, EnglandOctober 9—Eventim Apollo—London, EnglandOctober 10—Eventim Apollo—London, EnglandOctober 11—Eventim Apollo—London, EnglandOctober 14—Ancienne Belgique—Brussels, BelgiumOctober 15—TivoliVredenburg—Utrecht, NetherlandsOctober 16—TivoliVredenburg—Utrecht, NetherlandsOctober 18—L’Olympia—Paris, FranceOctober 19—L’Olympia—Paris, FranceOctober 21—Carlswerk Victoria—Cologne, GermanyOctober 23—Tempodrom—Berlin, GermanyOctober 24—Docks—Hamburg, GermanyOctober 25—Vega—Copenhagen, DenmarkOctober 27—Sentrum Scene—Oslo, NorwayOctober 28—Fållan—Stockholm, SwedenOctober 31—Stodola—Warsaw, PolandNovember 1— Velký sál Lucerna—Prague, Czech RepublicNovember 2—Gasometer—Vienna, AustriaNovember 4—X-tra—Zurich, SwitzerlandNovember 5—Alcatraz—Milan, ItalyNovember 7—Razzmatazz—Barcelona, SpainNovember 8—Teatro Eslava—Madrid, SpainNovember 9—LAV Warehouse—Lisbon, PortugalAllo Darlin' shares new single, "Cologne" from their first new album in eleven years, 'Bright Nights'
Allo Darlin' shares new single from their first new album in eleven years, Bright Nights
Album is out July 11 on Slumberland, pre-order it HERE
STREAM: "Cologne" -
Streaming Services
Press Photo below by Jørgen Nordby
It's been eleven years since the last Allo Darlin’ album, the Anglo-Australian indiepop quartet are finally back with a new record Bright Nights. The album is due July 11 on Slumberland (USA) and on Fika Recordings (UK) ahead of live UK dates in October.
Out today is the new single “Cologne," the third track to be taken from the forthcoming album.
On their first new material in a decade, Anglo-Australian indiepop quartet Allo Darlin’ return with their upcoming album Bright Nights in July 2025 and marking the return of their smart, beautiful pop music, with lyrics that resonate with experience and melodies that chime, echo and soar.
Missing each other and the music they made together, Allo Darlin’ started having group Zoom calls during the early days of the pandemic, and decided that when the pandemic was over, they would become a band again. True to their word, in early 2023, the band announced that they would play a couple of shows in October of that year in the UK, and the fan response was truly overwhelming. Tickets sold out in minutes, with fans traveling from all over the world, and the band had to upgrade their London show to a venue twice the size of the original. It seemed like their fans had missed Allo Darlin’ as much as they had missed each other.
Bright Nights follows the emotional tides of the preceding ten years: “It’s an album from the heart, dealing with themes of love, birth and death, which are things we reflect more on than we did when we made our first album. I would hope that the album sounds timeless and joyous, at other times reflective and emotional” says songwriter and vocalist Elizabeth Morris Innset.
Drawing inspiration from a mix of classic pop, folk and country, Bright Nights picks up where Allo Darlin’ left off with the warmth of 2014’s We Come From The Same Place, and recalls the confident and sophisticated sound of their second album, Europe. “When I listen to it I think of the desert, but I can see the sea. The sweet sounds of summer’s bright nights in the Northern hemisphere, but an awareness that winter will one day return”.
While Bright Nights isn’t a country album, the timelessness of folk and country influences weave throughout the record. "My Love Will Bring You Home" might be written about Elizabeth’s young daughters, but it’s a mother’s love song, disguised as a country love song. “It also makes me feel a connection to the place I come from, which is a country town in Queensland, Australia - if I think of myself as a country singer, it makes more sense that I come from Rockhampton.”
TOUR DATES
October 7 - Nottingham, Old Cold Store
October 9 - London, EartH Hall
October 10 - Glasgow, Stereo
October 11 - Manchester, Band On The Wall
Allo Darlin' were formed in 2008 after Australian Elizabeth Morris arrived in London and bought a ukulele from the Duke of Uke shop in Shoreditch. Like a whole host of Australian musicians before her, Morris had headed to London to realise her musical ambitions, a young woman with the small instrument in the big city with even bigger ideas. Once there happenstance, chance encounters and a Bruce Springsteen cover for a compilation would all conspire to create the crack squad that has endured, Morris being joined by fellow Brisbanite Bill Botting and the British duo of Michael Collins and Paul Rains.
From its first line (“Will you go out with me tonight, lose it on a disco floor?”) the self-titled début the foursome released in 2010 fizzed with the effervescent, intoxicating energy and excitement of the opportunities and experiences it offered. From frosty night buses through to fiscal inadequacy and everything in between, it was an album which presented the city as a blank canvas where everything was fair game for romanticising and celebrating, and a world where most of life's tribulations could be solved with the warm embrace of a loved one. Fresh, bright and unashamedly hopeful and idealistic, blissful exuberance ran through it like the sound of a band in love with being in a band.
Writing in his 1200 word essay on the album for Australia's The Monthly (later featuring in his writing compilation Ten Rules Of Rock And Roll), former Go-Between Robert Forster suggested that the band “now have doors open before them”. Thus follow-up Europe could be viewed as the album The Go-Betweens dared them to make, culminating in the sparkling pop perfection (and throwback to Morris' native Queensland) of lead single 'Capricornia'. Their sophomore effort simultaneously looked at the Europe of her present alongside the Australia of her past, offering a stunning reflection on belonging and sense of place and a band at their most dazzlingly technicolour that built on the eagerness and immediacy of the debut with contemplation, sophistication and ambition.
Successor, 2014’s We Come From The Same Place dwelt on belonging in terms of new beginnings and documented Morris' journey into a new chapter in her life, resulting in an album that saw her flit between the uncertainty of starting anew and post-resettlement confidence.
Allo Darlin's songs work because, to borrow from Don Draper's Kodak Carousel pitch in Mad Men, they take us to a place where we feel loved. Emotional trust falls, they often take us to parts of ourselves we've either suppressed or have yet to discover and then are always there to catch us if and when we get there.
Praise for Allo Darlin':
"Breezy rom-pop brilliance." 8/10, -NME
"Classic indie pop... doesn't rewrite the formula for wistful bedsit charm as much as show that it can still be carried out masterfully." -Pitchfork
"A masterclass of modern cult pop." -The Guardian
"Terrific, witty and heartfelt, like a less moody Belle & Sebastian." -The New York Times
Allo Darlin'
Bright Nights
(Slumberland / Fika)
Street Date: July 11, 2025
PRE-ORDER IT HERE
Track List:
1. In The Spring
2. Tricky Questions
3. My Love Will Bring You Home
4. Northern Waters
5. You Don't Think Of Me At All
6. Historic Times
7. Cologne
8. Stars
9. Slow Motion
10. Bright Nights
ALLO DARLIN' LINKS:
Bandcamp
Insta
gram
Official Site
Slumberland
The Reunited Original Alice Cooper Group Releases Roaring Second Single "Wild Ones"
The Reunited Original Alice Cooper Group Releases Roaring Second Single "Wild Ones"
New Album "The Revenge Of Alice Cooper" Out July 25th Via earMUSIC
LISTEN TO "WILD ONES" HERE AND WATCH THE VIDEO HERE
Photo credit: Jenny Rishner
[June 4, 2025] The original Alice Cooper Group roars back today with their long-awaited return, unveiling their second single, "Wild Ones"—a blistering, riff-driven homage to youthful rebellion and the raw energy that made them icons, watch the video and listen here. Inspired by the 1953 cult classic The Wild One, starring Marlon Brando, the track channels the same defiant spirit that once rattled middle America and helped define a generation. With snarling guitars, thunderous drums, and Alice’s signature snarl leading the charge, "Wild Ones" is more than a song—it’s a declaration. This is the Alice Cooper Group with engines revved—still loud, still dangerous, and still unapologetically untamed.
Reuniting five decades after their rise to fame, the band channels the chaos, danger, and cool of their early days, a time when rock was feared, eyeliner was scandalous, and every show felt like a revolution. The Revenge of Alice Cooper is a high-voltage journey into vintage horror and classic '70s shock rock, capturing the sound, energy, and mischief that made the original Alice Cooper band legendary. In a truly special moment, the album features a posthumous appearance by Glen Buxton, the band's original guitarist who passed away in 1997, through an unreleased recording that seamlessly blends the past with the present on "What Happened To You," featuring his original guitar part.
As an added bonus, the box set and limited smart format include two exclusive, never-before-released tracks. First is a long-lost 1970 version of “Return of The Spiders,” recently discovered after more than 50 years and newly mixed by legendary producer Bob Ezrin. The second, “Titanic Overunderture,” is a powerful new composition blending vintage recordings with brand-new performances. For both tracks, Alice Cooper, Neal Smith, Michael Bruce, and Dennis Dunaway reunited with Ezrin in a traditional Connecticut recording studio, rekindling the spirit and sonic energy that first defined their groundbreaking work in the 1970s.
This album is a celebration of friendship, nostalgia, and the timeless sound that solidified Alice Cooper as a rock icon. Fans can expect a powerful and nostalgic experience that bridges the gap between the band's storied past and their vibrant present. From the venomous bite of "Black Mamba" to the rebellious charge of "Wild Ones," and the soft, haunting melodies of "See You on the Other Side, " every track feels like a rock ‘n’ roll classic.
Tracklisting (CD/2LP):
Side A:
1. Black Mamba
2. Wild Ones
3. Up All Night
Side B:
4. Kill The Flies
5. One Night Stand
6. Blood On The Sun
Side C:
7. Crap That Gets In The Way Of Your Dreams
8. Famous Face
9. Money Screams
10. What A Syd
Side D:
11. Intergalactic Vagabond Blues
12. What Happened To You
13. I Ain’t Done Wrong
14. See You On The Other Side
Bonus Tracks only available in the Box Set on 7inch Vinyl and as download in smart format:
1. Return Of The Spiders 2025
2. Titanic Overunderture
About The Alice Cooper Group
The original Alice Cooper group - Alice Cooper (vocals), Michael Bruce (guitar), Dennis Dunaway (bass), Neal Smith (drums), and Glen Buxton (guitar) - redefined rock in the early 1970s, blending raw, hard-hitting music with shocking theatricality. With Bob Ezrin at the helm, they pioneered shock rock, delivering rebellious anthems, dark storytelling, and over-the-top stage shows featuring guillotines, snakes, and macabre theatrics. Albums like Love It to Death (1971), Killer (1971), School’s Out (1972), and Billion Dollar Babies (1973) turned them into superstars, producing legendary hits like “I’m Eighteen,” “Elected,” “School’s Out,” and “No More Mr. Nice Guy”. Their mix of hard rock, glam, and horror made them one of the most influential and controversial bands of their era, leaving a permanent mark on rock history. Alice Cooper has sold countless millions of records worldwide and shaped rock history forever. Inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2011, their music remains as powerful and relevant as ever. Now, with The Revenge of Alice Cooper, the original band reunites for one more epic chapter, reclaiming the sound and legacy that made them legends.
BEEN STELLAR Share New Single & Video "Breakaway"
BEEN STELLAR
SHARE NEW SINGLE “BREAKAWAY”
EU & UK DATES UNDERWAY
LONDON WITH FONTAINES DC
DEBUT ALBUM
OUT NOW VIA DIRTY HIT
Been Stellar Press Photo by Santiago Cerrillo
Early Praise for Been Stellar
“a suite of cataclysmic anthems” - Pitchfork
“Steely Post-Punk” - Rolling Stone
“A raw and magnetic sound that strikes mercilessly” - Paste Magazine
"a howl of an indie rock record, wearing its scrapes and bruises proudly and sounding like it was made in the dark alley equivalent of a studio...This city may not be the same, but Been Stellar’s music fondly recalls the days when things were cheaper and scarier." - Brooklyn Vegan
"bleary and raw" - Stereogum ‘Best New Artists of 2024’
“Teeters at the edge of total oblivion” - MARVIN
"Transcendental dissonance" - FLAUNT
"a glowing, crackling set of songs that balances moments of frenzied melancholy (“Sweet”) with bits of chaos and urgency (“Can’t Look Away”)." - Alt Press
"develops perfectly on the post-punk ethos from which the band hails, but infuses it with a spaciness and shoegaze vibe" - Consequence
"Post-punk has lately been inundated to the point of oversaturation, but Been Stellar proves that this subgenre hasn’t lost its luster quite yet" - Uproxx
"Been Stellar celebrate the spirit of New York City with moody, charging alt rock." - Bandcamp
“The album will chew you up, spit you out, and disorient you, and once you’re back out, withdrawals from the pandemonium will make you want to do it all over again"- DIY
“A thriller from start to finish, Been Stellar’s ‘Scream from New York, NY’ is one of the most assured indie rock debuts to land on our desk this year” - Clash
Today, New York’s Been Stellar have shared their first single of 2025, the distortion soaked and melodic “Breakway.” The single follows a breakout year that saw the band release their debut album Scream from New York, NY via Dirty Hit, tour with The 1975 and Fontaines DC, and pack out clubs on their own merit.
“We needed to capture a few feelings with this song. Some mixture of sadness, anger, regret— and ultimately optimism,” shares vocalist Sam Slocum. “When Sky first showed me the initial idea it struck me how punchy yet melodic it was. There were already a few emotions in the guitar part alone, so the words followed naturally and the song came to life. We quickly brought it into the studio with Aron (Kobayashi-Ritch) and recorded it together live.”
The single arrives just before the band’s Primavera debut, and a run of EU & UK dates including three stops with Fontaines DC in London, Lyon & Arles. Tickets available HERE, and watch the video for “Breakway” below.
WATCH VIDEO FOR “BREAKWAY”
Scream from New York, NY is a remarkably brutal debut – bruised and volatile, it captures an image of ‘20s New York that’s unrelenting and harsh, where tenderness is a finite resource burned up by the machinery of the city and human connection is a luxury product. Leaving behind the driving shoegaze of their early recordings, the NYC-based five-piece tap into the disaffected sound and spirit of New York luminaries like Sonic Youth and Interpol, as well as the nihilistic, yearning cool of Iceage and Bends-era Radiohead, striking upon a sound that’s fearsome, buffeting and beautiful at the same time – a tidal wave as viewed from underneath.
As its wry title implies, Scream from New York, NY, is a record about what happens when language fails – between friends, partners, a city and its citizens – and the primal scream you might let out when words just don’t work anymore.
Preceding the album release, Been Stellar shared a handful of standout singles including the white-knuckled and cutting “Sweet,” the ferocious late-album highlight “All In One,” the masterfully dynamic “Pumpkin,” and head turning lead single "Passing Judgment."
WATCH VIDEOS FOR ALBUM SINGLES
“PASSING JUDGMENT,” “ALL IN ONE,” “SWEET,” & “PUMPKIN”
Tour Dates
June 4 - Sala Nazca - Madrid, ES
June 5 - Primavera Sound - Barcelona, ES
June 9 - Nuits De Fourviere - Lyon, FR*
June 10 - Theatre Antique - Arles, FR*
June 12 - Radar Estudios - Vigo, ES
June 13 - Primavera Sound - Porto, ES
July 5 - Finsbury Park - London, UK*
July 8 - Blind - Istanbul, TR
August 7-9 - Haldern Pop - Rees, NRW
August 15 - Pukkelpop - Hasselt, BE
August 22 - Reading Festival - Reading, UK
August 23 - Leeds Festival - Leeds, UK
*supporting Fontaines D.C.
Like so many other dyed-in-the-wool New York bands, Been Stellar are transplants. Guitarist Skyler Knapp and vocalist Sam Slocum first met in their freshman year of high school a decade ago; members of the cross country team, they bonded over the band t-shirt Skyler was wearing and decided to start jamming together. In Michigan, they started performing under the Been Stellar name, but it wasn’t until the pair began studying at NYU that a sound started to coalesce and the band took shape.
Determined to break new sonic ground, the band embarked on a relentless practice schedule, even renting scrappy studios on days off during tours with Fontaines DC and Shame. After befriending him at SXSW, the band tapped producer Dan Carey (black midi, Wet Leg) to help coalesce the disparate elements of their sound that had been percolating: forceful, driving physicality; pop classicism; gnarled beauty; and a rich emotional core. The resulting 10-song album announces Been Stellar as gimlet-eyed chroniclers of contemporary youth, staring through noise and confusion into the dark heart of modern life. These songs embody the spirit of a city that makes and breaks its inhabitants on a daily basis - an irony befitting the album’s tone: Been Stellar’s preternatural ability to capture the disconnection that haunts New York with photorealist detail might just be the thing that vaults them into its pantheon.
Been Stellar is Sam Slocum (vocals), Skyler Knapp (guitar), Nico Brunstein (bass), Gigi Giobbi (drums).
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