With the exception of Crass, no British anarcho-punk band was as celebrated (or as prolific) as Conflict. One of the most intense and passionate bands on the scene, Conflict played brutalist, no-frills punk rock with a tough, aggressive edge while their lyrics were furious broadsides against war and class division, and in support of anarchist principles and animal rights. Founded by vocalist Colin Jerwood, Conflict established their template on 1983's 'It's Time To See Who's Who', and though they experimented with relatively elaborate production and artful audio collages on 1986's 'The Ungovernable Force' and 1989's 'Against All Odds', their unapologetic attack ultimately changed little with the passage of time, as their musical ferocity walked hand in hand with their ideals.
Formed in the South London community of Eltham, the first edition of Conflict came together in 1981, featuring Colin Jerwood on lead vocals, Steve Gittins on guitar, John Clifford on bass, Pauline Beck on additional vocals, and Francisco "Paco" Carreno on drums. After making a name for themselves on London's underground punk scene, Conflict got a valuable endorsement when fellow anarchist punks Crass arranged for them to release their debut seven-inch, a four-song EP titled 'The House Than Man Built', through their Crass Records label. Crass's affiliated Corpus Christi imprint issued their 1983 EP 'To A Nation of Animal Lovers', focusing on the evils of experimentation on animals, which included guest vocals from Crass vocalist Steve Ignorant. Pauline Beck had dropped out of the band by the time Corpus Christi issued Conflict's first full-length album, 'It's Time To See Who's Who', and by the time their second LP, 'Increase the Pressure', appeared in shops in 1984, the band had started their own label, Mortarhate Records. In 1986, Conflict issued a pair of live albums -'From Protest to Resistance' was a self-released non-profit LP benefiting a fund to bail anarchist activists out of jail, and 'Only Stupid Bastards Help EMI', released by New Army Records. 1986 also saw Steve Ignorant of Crass join Conflict on stage, trading off vocals with Jerwood, and 1987's 'Turning Rebellion Into Money' was another live set, this one featuring Jerwood singing Conflict songs and Ignorant performing material from the Crass songbook. Ignorant would also appear on the 1988 studio album 'The Final Conflict'; by this point, Colin Jerwood and Francisco "Paco" Carreno were the only original members still in the band, as a variety of players moved in and out of the lineup.
1989's 'Against All Odds' was an unusual release, with the title track, over fourteen minutes in length, filling all of side one in its original vinyl edition, as five tracks of more conventional length appeared on the flip side. The prog rock influences that made themselves known on the epic-scale "Against All Odd" were also audible on 1993's 'Conclusion', a studio effort that found Conflict still in aggressive form while employing a more polished production, with heavy metal guitar textures. 1994's 'It's Time To See Who's Who Now' found the group taking a look back to their first album, re-recording twelve tracks from the debut. It would prove to be the last studio album of the 1990s from Conflict, though a steady flow of live releases and re-issues would keep fans occupied, and Jerwood and Carreno kept the band on the road, with the drummer also collaborating with the group Inner Terrestrials. American fans got a chance to catch up on their back catalog when the U.S. punk label Go-Kart Records struck a deal with Mortarhate Records to reissue most of Conflict's albums stateside. It wouldn't be until 2003 that Conflict would issue a fresh set of songs, 'There's No Power Without Control', which featured the controversial track "An Option," which was seen by some fans as calling for the U.K. to close its borders to Muslims, though others saw it as Jerwood assuming the voice of an unreliable narrator. It would prove to be Conflict's final studio set with Francisco "Paco" Carreno; he died on February 20, 2015. Jerwood continued to tour with various editions of Conflict in Carreno's last years, and continued to do so after he passed, though no new studio recordings emerged. In 2023, Cleopatra Records released 'The Serenade is Dead', a three-song vinyl seven-inch that included three classic Conflict tracks -"C.R.A.S.S.," "Might and Superior," and the title tune. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Von LMO (born Frankie Cavallo; March 10, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist.
Cavallo has made various claims about his life and origins. At times, he has claimed to have been born in 1924 to Sicilian parents living in Brooklyn, at other times he has said that he is an extraterrestrial from the planet Strazar. Cavallo has cited Bill Haley & His Comets and Jerry Lee Lewis as being particularly inspirational for his music. In 1982, Cavallo moved to Long Island and married a woman with two children. In 1984, this marriage produced a son for Cavallo. Cavallo tried to live a simple home life on Long Island (which he referred to as "The Sticks"), but was haunted by the demons of his past, including his heroin addiction. His continued drug use and violent past, including growing up with a violent and abusive father, caused him to violently physically and emotionally abused this family for 10 years, before divorcing and returning to New York City.
In the 1990s, Cavallo collaborated with the San Francisco Bay Area bands Monoshock and OATS. Both were very short-lived.
In 2007, Cavallo was convicted of second-degree robbery, and sentenced to three and a half years. He was released from prison in 2010 and began performing with former collaborator Otto von Ruggins in Avant Duel, a space rock outfit based in Brooklyn, New York. Avant Duel debuted with 'Beyond Human' on March 10, 2012, marking Cavallo's first studio release in over fifteen years.
In 1994, Foetus released a cover of Cavallo's song "Outside of Time" on the single 'Vice Squad Dick'. Julian Cope is a notable admirer of Cavallo's music, which he has called a work of genius. He has written a rave review of the album 'Red Resistor' on his website. Suicide front-man Alan Vega described his admiration of Cavallo, writing "Red Transistor... Von LMO sang and played guitar and Rudolph Grey was on guitar or bass and it was total insanity. Von LMO was a nut, a great nut. I was afraid to be in the same room as him. One night they played at Max's and everyone was too afraid to sit up front as they smashed guitars and things were flying all over the place. I went into the front room in fear of my life and tried to get everyone to come with me. Nobody came with me because it was such an intense show." [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]
Velvet Crush is an American power pop band from Providence, Rhode Island, United States, that achieved prominence in indie-rock circles in the early- and mid-1990s. The band broke up in 1996 but re-formed in 1998 and have continued to record, releasing their most recent album in 2004. Vocalist/bassist Paul Chastain and drummer Ric Menck are the band's core members, having previously worked together as Choo Choo Train, Bag-O-Shells, and The Springfields, and they share singing and songwriting duties. Guitarist Jeffrey Underhill (of Honeybunch) played on the band's first three albums, 'In the Presence of Greatness', 'Teenage Symphonies to God', and 'Heavy Changes'. 'In the Presence of Greatness' was produced by Matthew Sweet, while the second and third albums were produced by Mitch Easter.
Chastain had recorded in the mid-1980s as a solo artist and as a member of Nines and The Stupid Cupids, while Menck had been a member of The Reverbs and The Paint Set. The long association between Chastain and Menck began in 1987 with the indie pop band Choo Choo Train, who released two singles and an EP and were signed to the British indie label The Subway Organization. The duo also recorded for Sarah Records as The Springfields, and for Bus Stop as Bag-O-Shells. Both had been based in Chicago, but they relocated to Rhode Island around this time. Opting for a more rock-oriented power pop sound, the duo formed Velvet Crush in 1989, with Jeffery Borchardt of Honeybunch. After three singles on Bus Stop Records, the band released a cover version of Teenage Fanclub's "Everything Flows", as an extra track on the CD Single of 'Ash & Earth', on Seminal Twang, run by David Barker of Glass Records, who was in charge of the Paperhouse label for Fire Records at this time. Paperhouse were keen to release the first Velvet Crush LP, but they chose to sign to Creation Records in the UK, who issued the band's debut album, 'In the Presence of Greatness', in 1991. The band stayed with Creation for a second album, 'Teenage Symphonies to God', released in 1994 (on Sony Records in the US). The group members spent the next few years acting as Stephen Duffy's backing band, recording two albums with the singer. Velvet Crush returned in 1997 with the 'Heavy Changes' album, now on the Action Musik label. Another album, 'Free Expression', followed in 1999, by which time the band was reduced to a duo of Chastain and Menck. 'Soft Sounds' followed in 2002, and 'Stereo Blues' in 2004.
In 2015 David Barker revived his Glass Records label, and reissued 'In the Presence of Greatness' on vinyl in October 2018 on the Glass Modern imprint. In July 2019 Menck and Chastain reunited with Underhill and added Jason-Victor on lead guitar for a mini-reunion tour of New England. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]
Suede kick-started the Brit-pop revolution of the 1990s, reviving the romance and drama of glammy guitar rock for an era that got mired in the swirling neo-psychedelia of shoegaze and Madchester. Despite their enormous influence, Suede always seemed to exist on the margins of Brit-pop, never indulging in the laddish behavior that wound up defining the scene by the mid-'90s. Part of this was due to a matter of taste: Suede didn't favor the brightly colored sounds of the swinging '60s, they preferred the seedy, arty styles of proto- and post-punk. It proved to be the foundation for an enduring career, yet after the release of their eponymous debut in 1993, Brit-pop soon became defined by boisterous hooks and lager-swilling loud guitars, and the group was ill-equipped to combat the shifting tides due to a rift between their vocalist Brett Anderson and guitarist Bernard Butler. Butler left during the recording of 1994's 'Dog Man Star', a weighty double-album that emphasized the gothic undertones in Suede's work. Continuing with guitarist Richard Oakes, Suede swapped gloom for "Trash," creating a fizzy spin on glam for 'Coming Up', their biggest hit album of the '90s. The group followed in that direction for two more albums before splitting, only to reunite a decade later with 'Bloodsports', an effort that touched upon the highs of 'Suede' and 'Dog Man Star'. The reunited Suede turned into an institution as they found new ways to spin their signature sound on such albums as 2022's 'Autofiction'.
Through all of Suede's history, vocalist/lyricist Brett Anderson and bassist Mat Osman remained at the band's core. The son of a cabdriver, Anderson formed the Smiths-inspired Geoff in 1985 with his schoolmate Osman and drummer Danny Wilder.Anderson was the group's guitarist; Gareth Perry was the band's vocalist. Geoff recorded two demos before splitting up in 1986, as Anderson and Osman left to attend university in London. A few years later, the pair formed Suave & Elegant, which lasted only a few months. By the end of 1989, the pair had placed an advertisement in New Musical Express, asking for a "non-muso" guitarist. Bernard Butler responded, and the trio began recording songs, primarily written by Anderson and Butler, with the support of a drum machine. Taking the name Suede after Morrissey's "Suedehead" single, the trio sent a demo tape, 'Specially Suede', to compete in Demo Clash, a radio show on GLR run by DJ Gary Crowley. "Wonderful Sometimes" won Demo Clash for five Sundays in a row in 1990, leading to a record contract with the Brighton-based indie label RML. By the time the band signed with RML, Anderson's girlfriend, Justine Frischmann, had joined as a second guitarist.
Suede placed an advertisement for a drummer, and former Smiths member Mike Joyce responded. Joyce appeared on the group's debut single for RML, "Be My God"/"Art." Scheduled to be released on a 12" in the fall of 1990, the single was scrapped shortly before its release due to a fight between the band and the label. Throughout 1991, the group rehearsed and recorded demos, eventually adding drummer Simon Gilbert.Frischmann left Suede in early 1992 to form Elastica; she was not replaced. A few months later, Suede signed a two-single deal with the indie label Nude Records. Shortly afterward, the band appeared on the cover of Melody Maker, without having released any material. The weekly newspaper declared them the Best New Band in Britain.
"The Drowners," the band's first single, appeared shortly after the Melody Maker cover, and it became a moderate hit, debuting at number 49 to strong reviews and word of mouth. "Metal Mickey," released in the fall, became their breakthrough hit, reaching number 17 on the U.K. charts after a suggestive, controversial performance on Top of the Pops. Anderson soon became notorious for causing controversy, and his infamous comment that he was "a bisexual man who never had a homosexual experience" was indicative of how the group both courted controversy and a sexually ambiguous, alienated audience.
A short tour before the spring release of their eponymous debut album was very successful, setting the stage for "Animal Nitrate" debuting at number seven. Shortly afterward, 'Suede' entered the charts at number one, registering the biggest initial sales of a debut since Frankie Goes to Hollywood's 'Welcome to the Pleasuredome'. By the summer, Suede had become the most popular band in Britain -winning the prestigious Mercury Music Prize for Best Album that fall- and they attempted to make headway into the United States. Their progress was halted when Butler's father died that fall, forcing the cancellation of their second tour; they had already begun to be upstaged by their opening act, The Cranberries, who received the support from MTV that Suede lacked. Shortly afterward, the band was forced to change its name to The London Suede in America, due to a lawsuit from an obscure lounge singer performing under the name Suede.
Tensions had begun to develop between Bernard Butler and the rest of the band during the group's 1993 tours, and they peaked when they reentered the studio to record a new single in late 1993. Butler conceived the song "Stay Together" as a sweeping epic partially in tribute to his father, and while it was a success upon its February 1994 release, debuting at number three, the recording was not easy. As they were working on Suede's second album, Anderson and Butler began to fight frequently, with the guitarist claiming in a rare interview that the singer worked too slowly and that his partner was too concerned with rock stardom, often at the expense of the music. Butler left the band toward the end of the sessions for the second album, and the group finished the record with Anderson playing guitar. Bernard's departure launched a flurry of speculation about Suede's future, and 'Dog Man Star' didn't answer any of those questions. The grandiose, ambitious, and heavily orchestrated 'Dog Man Star' was greeted with enthusiastic reviews but muted commercial response. As Suede were working on their second album, their remarkable commercial success was eclipsed by that of Blur and Oasis, whose lighter, more accessible music brought both groups blockbuster success in the wake of Suede.
While 'Dog Man Star' sold nearly as well as 'Suede', the impression in the press was that the group was rapidly falling apart, and the band didn't help matters when Butler was replaced by Richard Oakes, a 17-year-old amateur guitarist, in September. Suede embarked on a long, grueling international tour in late 1994 and the spring of 1995, before disappearing to work on their third album. In the interim, Butler had a Top Ten single with vocalist David McAlmont, and Gilbert, the only gay member of Suede, was attacked in a hate crime in the fall. At a fan club gig in January of 1996, Suede debuted several new songs, as well as their new keyboardist, Neil Codling, Gilbert's cousin. The group returned as a five-piece in September of 1996 with 'Coming Up'. A lighter, more band-oriented affair than either of Suede's two previous albums, 'Coming Up' was an unexpected hit, entering the charts at number one and generating a remarkable string of five Top Ten hits -"Trash," "Beautiful Ones," "Saturday Night," "Lazy," and "Filmstar." 'Coming Up' was a hit throughout Europe, Canada, and Asia, but it wasn't released in the U.S. until the spring of 1997.
'Coming Up' never did win an audience in America, partially because it appeared nearly a year after its initial release and partially because Suede only supported it with a three-city tour. Nevertheless, the record was their most successful release to date, setting expectations high for the follow-up. Upon their return to the studio in the fall of 1998, Suede decided to ditch their longtime producer, Ed Buller, choosing to work with Steve Osborne, who had previously produced New Order and Happy Mondays. The resulting album, 'Head Music', was released in May of 1999; an American release followed in June. Featuring heavy use of analog synthesizers and drum machines, 'Head Music' divided opinion among hardcore Suede fans, who preferred the band's more guitar-centric approach. However, the production changes were largely aesthetic, and the band still delivered plenty of anthemic glitter rock glitz with songs like "Electricity," "Can't Get Enough," and "She's in Fashion."
Around 2001, Suede found themselves at a career crossroads. Keyboardist Codling, who had contributed greatly to the writing on 'Head Music', left the band and was replaced by Strangelove's Alex Lee. Adding to the sense of change, the band's label, Nude Records, went bankrupt and Suede were left at the mercy of their parent label, Sony. Also around this time, Anderson, having struggled with drug addiction (he later admitted to being a crack addict), finally decided to get clean. Despite these upheavals, by 2003 Suede had finished their fifth studio album, the Stephen Street-produced 'A New Morning'. Unfortunately, public interest in Suede, not to mention the Brit-pop sound, had faded by the early 2000s and the album sold poorly. Several concerts followed in support of the band's 2003 compilation, 'Singles', but by October, Suede had announced they would not be releasing any new music in the foreseeable future. They played their final concert at the London Astoria on December 13, 2003, before going on indefinite hiatus. Following the break, Anderson did the previously unthinkable and reunited with original Suede guitarist Bernard Butler under the name The Tears. The duo released a well-received 2005 album, 'Here Come the Tears'. Also during the hiatus, Anderson recorded four low-key solo albums with 2007's 'Brett Anderson', 2008's 'Wilderness', 2009's 'Slow Attack', and 2011's 'Black Rainbows'.
Finally, in 2010, with Codling back on board, Suede reunited for several live shows beginning with a performance at the Teenage Cancer Trust show at Royal Albert Hall on March 24. This led to more shows, including a tour promoting the compilation album 'The Best of Suede'. By 2011, the band had begun performing new songs live, and in 2012, Suede announced they were in the studio working on a new album with producer Ed Buller, who had produced the band's first three albums. In 2013, Suede released their sixth studio album and first album of all-original material since 2003, 'Bloodsports'. Suede debuted several of the 'Bloodsports' tracks online, including "Barriers" and "It Starts and Ends with You." The release featured a more mature perspective from Anderson, and a sound that harked back to the grand guitar pop of Suede's early work. After playing anniversary concerts celebrating 'Dog Man Star' in 2014, Suede returned to the studio to make their seventh studio album. In September 2015, they announced the impending release of 'Night Thoughts'. A dark, majestic album that recalled 'Dog Man Star', 'Night Thoughts' saw release in late January 2016, debuting at six on the U.K. charts. Later that year, the band released a super deluxe 20th anniversary edition of 'Coming Up'. The band spent 2017 in the studio writing and recording their eighth LP. The record -titled 'The Blue Hour'- marked the first effort collaboration with producer Alan Moulder (The Smashing Pumpkins, Nine Inch Nails) and arrived in September 2018. 'The Blue Hour' debuted at five in the U.K., their best chart position since 'Head Music' in 1999. Also In 2018, the band was the subject of a documentary called "Suede: The Insatiable Ones", which was directed by Mike Christie.
Suede returned in September 2022 with 'Autofiction', an edgy, post-punk-inspired album produced by Ed Buller. 'Autofiction' debuted at number two on the U.K. charts and the group supported it with a co-headlining tour of North America with The Manic Street Preachers. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Underworld are a British techno institution whose sound is a progressive synthesis of old and new, an approach that has served them well for several decades. The trio's two-man front line, vocalist Karl Hyde and keyboard player Rick Smith, have been recording together since the early-'80s new wave explosion. After the pair released a pair of obscure rock albums, they hit it big the following decade with new recruit Darren Emerson. Traditional song forms were jettisoned in favor of Hyde's heavily treated vocals, barely-there whispering, and surreal wordplay, stretched out over the urban breakbeat trance ripped out by Emerson and company while Hyde's cascade of guitar-shard effects provided a bluesy foil to the stark music. The first album by the trio, 'Dubnobasswithmyheadman' (1993), appeared to a flurry of critical acclaim and reached number 12 in their native U.K. 'Second Toughest in the Infants' (1996), the group's following LP, updated their sound slightly, scraped the Top Ten, and remained on the chart for over eight months, thanks in part to a boost they received from appearing on the soundtrack of the seminal "Trainspotting". Although that has remained the group's commercial peak, Underworld continue to record challenging and well-received albums, as well as soundtrack material, amid numerous solo pursuits. Their ninth album, 'Barbara Barbara, We Face a Shining Future' (2016), earned Underworld their first Grammy nomination, after which they collaborated with Iggy Pop for 'Teatime Dub Encounters' (2018). Following the ambitious DRIFT Series 1 project, the group released the full-length Strawberry Hotel in 2024.
The roots of Underworld go back to the dawn of the '80s, when Hyde and Smith formed a new wave band called Freur. The group released 'Doot-Doot' in 1983 and 'Get Us Out of Here' two years later, but subsequently disintegrated. Hyde worked on guitar sessions for Debbie Harry and Prince, then reunited with Smith in 1988 to form an industrial-funk band called Underworld. The pair earned an American contract with Sire and released 'Underneath the Radar' (1988) and 'Change the Weather' (1989). Each album produced a single that reached the back half of the Billboard Hot 100, but Underworld disappeared shortly thereafter.
As they had several years earlier, Hyde and Smith shed their skins yet again, recruiting hotshot DJ Darren Emerson and renaming themselves Lemon Interrupt. In 1992, the trio debuted with two singles, "Dirty"/"Minneapolis" and "Bigmouth"/"Eclipse," both released on Junior Boys Own Records. After they reverted to Underworld, 1993's "Rez" and "MMM...Skyscraper I Love You" caused a minor sensation in the dance community. Instead of adding small elements of techno to a basically pop or rock formula (as many bands had attempted with varying success), Underworld treated techno as the dominant force. Their debut album, 'Dubnobasswithmyheadman', was praised by many critics upon release later in 1993 and crossed over to the British pop chart, peaking at number 12. Hyde, Smith, and Emerson impressed many at their concert dates as well. The trio apparently relished playing live, touring Great Britain twice plus Japan, Europe, and the annual summer festival circuit, where their Glastonbury appearance became the stuff of legend.
'Dubnobasswithmyheadman' was released in the U.S. in 1995 after being licensed to TVT Records. During the rest of the year, Underworld were relatively quiet, releasing only the single "Born Slippy." Finally, 'Second Toughest in the Infants' appeared in early 1996 to much critical praise. The trio gained no small amount of commercial success later in the year when "Born Slippy" (specifically its B-side version, "Born Slippy .NUXX") was featured on the soundtrack to "Trainspotting", the controversial Scottish film that earned praise from critics all over the globe. In the U.K., 'Second Toughest' peaked at number nine during a 34-week stay on the album chart. Underworld also remained busy with Tomato -their own graphic design company responsible for commercials from such high-profile clients as Nike, Sony, Adidas, and Pepsi- and remixing work for Depeche Mode, Björk, St. Etienne, Sven Väth, Simply Red, and Leftfield. Emerson continued to DJ on a regular basis, releasing mix albums for Mixmag! and Deconstruction. Underworld's 1999 LP, 'Beaucoup Fish', entered the U.K. chart at number three. The band continued to tour the world, as documented in 2000 with the live album 'Everything, Everything', after which Emerson left to continue his DJ career. 'A Hundred Days Off', Underworld's first LP as a duo since 1989, was released in mid-2002. One year later, the stopgap compilation '1992-2002' appeared.
By 2005, the duo had officially been joined by one of Britain's most respected DJs, Darren Price (although he contributed to 'A Hundred Days Off'), and his work also appeared on a series of online-only EPs Underworld released during 2005 and 2006. They also recorded new material for the soundtrack of the Anthony Minghella film "Breaking and Entering". Their first "proper" full-length since 2002, 'Oblivion with Bells', appeared in 2007. It was followed in 2010 by 'Barking', an album that featured numerous guest producers including Paul van Dyk, Appleblim, and High Contrast. Underworld simultaneously released two more compilations, the triple-CD '1992–2012' as well as the single-disc 'A Collection' (which featured previously unreleased collaborations with Brian Eno, Tiësto, and Mark Knight & D. Ramirez), in late 2011.
In 2012, Underworld served as music directors for the opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics, held in London. They wrote two songs ("And I Will Kiss" and "Caliban's Dream") for the opening ceremony, and 11 of their tracks were included on the ceremony's official soundtrack album, 'Isles of Wonder'. Underworld were granted the prize for Innovation in Sound at the 2012 Q Awards. In 2013, Karl Hyde released his debut solo album, 'Edgeland'. The following year, he issued a collaborative album with Brian Eno, 'Someday World'; the full-length was quickly followed by 'High Life', an excellent album that recalled Eno's pioneering work with Talking Heads and David Byrne during the '70s and '80s.
Underworld announced plans to reissue their studio albums in remastered and expanded editions. A 20th anniversary edition of 'Dubnobasswithmyheadman' appeared in 2014, available as a double CD as well as a super deluxe five-CD version, loaded with remixes and unreleased recordings. This was followed by a similar reissue of 'Second Toughest' in November of 2015 (a bit short of its actual 20th anniversary), again as a two-disc edition, as well as an expansive four-CD configuration, including an entire disc devoted to charting the evolution of "Born Slippy .NUXX," from studio demos and live incarnations to an iconic, era-defining anthem. In 2016, they returned with new music and a new label as Caroline International issued 'Barbara Barbara, We Face a Shining Future'. The album became their third Top Ten U.K. hit and was nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best Dance/Electronic Album. After a pair of non-album singles, Underworld worked with Iggy Pop on 'Teatime Dub Encounters', a five-track EP issued in 2018.
Later that year, the duo kicked off an ambitious project titled 'Drift'. Issuing material on a weekly basis, they split the series into "Episodes," releasing 'Dust', 'Atom', 'Heart', 'Space', and 'Game' into late 2019. A compilation box set considered the band's tenth studio album, 'DRIFT Series 1', arrived in November. Originally planned to be the end of the project, it simply marked the end of the first phase as Underworld decided to continue with it, though no releases have yet appeared as part of the second series. To celebrate the accomplishment, they promoted the effort with live shows in Colombia, Mexico, Belgium, the Netherlands, and England. The band then released a few reworked and live versions of classic tracks, including "Two Months Off" and "Juanita." They began issuing new material in 2023, starting with "and the colour red" and "denver luna." Two collaborations with KETTAMA followed, and the full-length 'Strawberry Hotel' arrived in 2024. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Formed in 1980 initially as The Green Telescope, then The Thanes of Cawdor, this Edinburgh outfit has seen numerous personnel changes over the years, although they have always been led by singer/guitarist Lenny Helsing. Another constant in the band's lifespan has been the unmistakable influence of jangling '60s garage rock.
The Thanes' first album, 'The Thanes of Cawdor', was released in 1987 and saw them win support slots with The Soup Dragons, Primal Scream, and the re-formed originals (and influences) The Remains, Sonics, and ? & the Mysterians. The 'Complete Undignified Nobleman Sessions' surfaced in 1997 on the Italian Misty Lane label and featured typically '60s-inspired self-penned cuts, plus covers of Caretakers of Deception and The Guess Who numbers. Third studio album 'Downbeat & Folked Up', released on Screaming Apple (2003), was recorded at Liam Watson's Toerag Studio in London and featured a cover of The Beau Brummels' "Don't Talk to Strangers." The Thanes' output up to 2001 is neatly captured on the Rev-Ola compilation 'Evolver' (2004), and on a live album, 'A Night in Great King Street' (suitably "recorded live in a dingy cellar," as the cover states), issued on Larsen in 2007. Between 2010 and 2012, The Thanes joined the resurrected lineup of revered '60s beat/psych combo (and fellow Scots) The Poets, and after a number of years returned to the studio themselves in 2013 with Angus McPake (guitar/organ/vocals), Mark Hunter (bass/vocals), and Mike Goodwin (drums) joining Helsing. The release on State Records, "She's Coming Back to Me," featured a cover of The Poets' "Love Is Fading Away" on the flip. This was followed in 2014 by the Dirty Water-issued single "Dishin' the Dirt." [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
While The Stooges, Blondie, and Talking Heads are revered for their punk rock antics and unchangeably praised for being a part of a major rock revolution in the late '70s, there's one band that's been consistently overlooked. The Testors created just as much noise as The Dead Boys and rioted far more than The Germs. The were even kicked out of Canada for causing a ruckus. Sonny Vincent (vocals/guitar), Gene Sinigalliano (guitar), and Gregory R (drums) formed the Testors in New York City in 1975, quickly becoming mainstays at Max's Kansas City and CBGB's. They'd only release one single, the limited-edition 7" "Together"/"Time Is Mine" in 1976, while dismissing offers from records labels. For them, it was about rock & roll; pedal-to-the-metal rock & roll. Before breaking up in 1981, the Testors amassed a limitless amount of material, but it would be nearly two decades until the public would hear of the Testors again. In 2003, Swami Records unearthed some of the band's greatest work so it could be heard for the very first time. The double-disc release 'Complete Recordings: 1976-79' captured the raw spirit of the Testors, finally giving them their proper place among the punk rock history books. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
While their peers were writing songs about daydreams, flowers, and ocean waves, shoegaze pioneers Swervedriver married their extraterrestrial guitar tones and dazzled, swirling production to songs about cars, restlessness, and escapism. The band's initial run in the '90s produced some crucial documents in shoegaze's development, in particular their 1991 full-length debut 'Raise' and its 1993 follow-up 'Mezcal Head'. They disbanded in 1998 but regrouped a decade later, first playing a series of reunion performances before continuing to expand the parameters of their muscular take on shoegaze with new material like their 2019 album 'Future Ruins'.
Swervedriver were formed in Oxford, England in 1989 by vocalists/guitarists Adam Franklin and Jimmy Hartridge, bassist Adi Vines, and drummer Graham Bonner. Fusing the swirling textures of the shoegaze aesthetic with the more traditional boundaries of pop, the group debuted with a series of brilliant EPs -'Son of Mustang Ford', 'Rave Down', and 'Sandblasted'- before issuing their full-length debut, 'Raise', in 1991. After a U.S. tour in support of Soundgarden, Bonner left the band, followed quickly by the departure of Vines; 1992's 'Never Lose That Feeling' EP, their strongest effort to date, initially appeared to mark the group's swan song. But in 1993, Swervedriver returned; with the core of Franklin and Hartridge rounded out by new drummer Jez Hindmarsh, they released their sophomore LP, 'Mezcal Head'. An import-only release, 'Ejector Seat Reservation', followed in 1995, and featured new bassist Steve George. In the fall of 1998, Swervedriver resurfaced with their fourth effort, '99th Dream', and the 'Wrong Treats' EP followed in 1999. Bonner and Vines, meanwhile, continued as Skyscraper, and Adam Franklin recorded as Toshack Highway. Swervedriver were on hiatus for much of the 2000s, until an October 2007 announcement that the group would re-form and commence touring the following year. The next several years found Swervedriver -Franklin, Hartridge, and George, with Hindmarsh, Bonner, or, starting in 2012, newcomer Mikey Jones (Bolts of Melody, Heaven) on drums- sporadically touring and appearing at festivals internationally, as well as making an appearance on "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon". The new single "Deep Wound" was released in the fall of 2013, and the group also announced plans for the arrival of a new full-length album in 2014. The album, titled 'I Wasn't Born to Lose You', eventually got pushed back to a release date of early March 2015 and was preceded by second single "Setting Sun." The album would be Swervedriver's fifth full-length studio long player and the band's first since 1998's '99th Dream'. Following the album's release, the band took a three-year recording break but did continue to gig. After concluding a U.S. tour in 2017 they recorded what would become their sixth studio album. 'Future Ruins' was released in 2019 and saw the group moving away from the familiar and nostalgic reworkings of their '90s sound in favor of more experimental writing and arrangement choices.
In 2020, Swervedriver publicly shared an alternate recording of their debut EP for the first time. They had been unsatisfied with their first attempts at recording the four songs that eventually made up their 1990 Creation Records introduction 'Son of Mustang Ford', so they quickly re-recorded what became the EP, but held on to the first, rejected sessions. To celebrate the 30-year anniversary of 'Son of Mustang Ford', the band pressed a limited vinyl run of the unreleased sessions under the new title 'Petroleum Spirit Daze'. The pressing sold out immediately, and three years later they re-pressed more vinyl and made the recording more widely available. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
During the first wave of U.K. punk rock, plenty of bands sang about a world full of violence and chaos, but Stiff Little Fingers didn't have to imagine a dystopian world -living in Belfast, Northern Ireland at the height of "The Troubles," police brutality and terrorist violence were simply a part of daily life, and the band's music was a powerful response to what they saw, raw-boned rock & roll that balanced rage at a world gone mad against hope for a better day. Stiff Little Fingers were formed in 1977 by singer and guitarist Jake Burns, guitarist Henry Cluney, bassist Ali McMordie, and drummer Brian Faloon. Burns, Cluney, and Faloon had previously been in a cover band called Highway Star, but when Cluney became a convert to punk rock, Burns and Faloon followed suit, and after recruiting McMordie, they took the name Stiff Little Fingers from a song by The Vibrators.
Shortly after the band started playing out, Burns struck up a correspondence with reporter Gordon Ogilvie, who urged Burns to use his own experiences of Belfast life in his songs; Ogilvie began collaborating with Burns as a songwriter, and Ogilvie and music writer Colin McClelland agreed to manage the band. McClelland booked time for the band at a studio in a local radio station usually used to record commercial jingles; the band cut raw versions of "Suspect Device" and "Wasted Life," two anthemic tunes that became SLF's first single, released on their own Rigid Digits label in early 1978. The influential BBC disc jockey John Peel started spinning "Suspect Device" on his show, and soon the indie label Rough Trade struck a distribution deal with Rigid Digits; in 1979, Rough Trade released Stiff Little Fingers' brilliant first album, 'Inflammable Material', and it became one of the first independent punk albums to chart in the U.K., rising to 14 on the British sales surveys.
With their new success in England, Stiff Little Fingers relocated to London, which led to drummer Brian Faloon leaving the group (as did co-manager McClelland). Jim Reilly signed on as drummer in time for the sessions for SLF's second album, 1980's 'Nobody's Heroes', their first LP in a new distribution deal with Chrysalis Records. The album fared well, as did the 1980 live set 'Hanx!' and 1981's polished but effective 'Go for It'. However, Reilly quit the band after the release of 'Go for It', and Dolphin Taylor, formerly of the Tom Robinson Band, took over behind the drums. Released in 1982, 'Now Then...' was a more pop-oriented effort that didn't please fans and made no great impression on the charts; as ticket sales began to lag, acrimony rose within the group, and in early 1983, Jake Burns announced Stiff Little Fingers had broken up.
Little was heard from the members of Stiff Little Fingers (though Burns released a few singles with his group Jake Burns & the Big Wheel) until 1987, when Burns and Ali McMordie got together for a few pints and decided it was time to give SLF another try. With Henry Cluney and Dolphin Taylor returning to the lineup, Stiff Little Fingers launched a successful tour of the U.K. and Europe, and the group opted to make the reunion an ongoing concern. In 1991, the band began work on a new album, but McMordie bowed out of SLF, saying he was unable to commit to their increasingly busy schedule, and the group recruited a new member, former Jam bassist Bruce Foxton. Issued in 1991, 'Flags & Emblems' became the first new Stiff Little Fingers album since their reunion, but by the time they released 'Get a Life' in 1994, Henry Cluney was out of the group, with Burns handling all guitar work in the studio and Dave Sharp (formerly of The Alarm) or Ian McCallum joining SLF for live dates, depending on availability. In 1998, McCallum was officially named Stiff Little Fingers' full-time guitarist, while drummer Steve Grantley had taken over for Dolphin Taylor, who left to spend more time with his family.
Stiff Little Fingers toured frequently and continued to record, releasing 'Tinderbox' in 1997, 'Hope Street' in 1999, and 'Guitar and Drum' in 2003, and after Foxton left to join the group From the Jam in 2006, Ali McMordie returned to the lineup. However, by his own admission, Burns was unhappy with his own songwriting, feeling he was writing because he had to and not because he wanted to, and in 2008, after turning 50 years old, he decided to scrap an SLF album in progress as he felt his material was subpar. However, several years later, when news broke of the pedophilia scandal in Ireland's Catholic Church and how it affected men of his generation, Burns was inspired to once again write songs that dealt with injustice and how it ravaged the lives of ordinary people. In 2013, Stiff Little Fingers eagerly began work on a new album, financed by their fans through a crowdfunding campaign, and in 2014, 'No Going Back' was released. In 2017, Stiff Little Fingers offered evidence of their continued strength as a live act with 'Best Served Loud', recorded during a 2016 St. Patrick's Day show at the Barrowlands in Glasgow, Scotland. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Siniestro Total (meaning literally "total write-off" as in the insurance term for a vehicle that is beyond repair following a motor accident) is a Galician punk rock group from Vigo, Spain. It was founded in 1981 during the cultural movement called "Movida Viguesa" by Julián Hernández, Alberto Torrado and Miguel Costas. After many changes in personnel, current members are Julián Hernández, Javier Soto, Óscar G. Avendaño, Ángel González and Jorge Beltrán.
Their first album, '¿Cuándo Se Come Aquí?' (When do we eat here?), features very short songs, with a marked punk style. In the second one, 'Siniestro Total II: El Regreso' (Siniestro Total II: The Return), songs are essentially punk, but more instruments come to play. In the third one, 'Menos Mal Que Nos Queda Portugal' (At least we still have Portugal), the punk evolves to a more classical rock, although lyrics are still punk. In the fourth one, 'Bailaré Sobre Tu Tumba' (I'll dance over your grave) the rock style continues. The fifth and sixth ones, 'De Hoy No Pasa' (Today is the last time) and 'Me Gusta Cómo Andas' (I like the way you walk), the rock is still softer, becoming power-pop, whereas the lyrics continue being punk in essence.
The seventh, 'En Beneficio De Todos' (For the general good), they get back to rock, and lyrics evolve and become more complex. The eighth and ninth ones, 'Made In Japan' and 'Policlínico Miserable' (Miserable clinic), feature a harder rock (even heavy metal, and lyrics are darker and more critical. In their tenth album, 'Sesión Vermú' (Vermouth session), the rock is softer. They make an unexpected turn in their eleventh album, 'La Historia Del Blues' (The history of blues), and they play blues, with lyrics based on someone else's work (Jack Griffin). With the twelfth one, 'Popular, Democrático y Científico' (Popular, democratic and scientific), they return to rock, with a style close to grunge. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]
