One Louder Magazine… RESURRECTED!

One Louder Magazine… RESURRECTED

Introduction
Album of the Week
Honorable Mentions
Missed The Cut
Addendum
On The List
Looking Forward To
Fine Print
About One Louder Magazine

Another week, another blog, huzzah!

Remember when I said I would take Monday off to complete the 4-day extended weekend? Yeah, well, that turned into a five-dayer, ha! Wasn’t feelin’ it on Tuesday, so I took it off, as well. Now I’m down to something like 150 hours of vacation time left. A good problem to have! In fact, it was so darn nice that I looked at the calendar and what would happen if I took every other Friday and Monday off for the next two months, leading to shorter four-day weeks. I’d still have 100+ hours, so it’s on the noggin, for sure, hmmmmmmmmm…

As assumed, the 4th of July sucked. The dogs were shivering and shaking, didn’t know what the hell was going on or anything… but we did our best to keep them calm and collected. The best part of the day, of course, was the BBQ I attended earlier.

There was a six-hole, par-three whiffle ball golf course… which was entirely more fun than it ever should’ve been. INSANE fun!! But that was probably due to the fact that I hit a hole in one on my very first swing. Hole one = hole in one! Don’t worry, I made up for that with a shot in the river. But… house rules dictated that each person gets one mulligan per round. That was my mulligan!

Ate a couple of Louisiana hot links, salad, and chips and salsa. But really, it was just about hanging out with some friends on the river for a few hours. Good times. Nah, great times!

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Even with five days off – and no listening to music (at all!) on four of ’em – I still managed to make it through (almost) the entire listening pile. My guess is that most bands don’t release albums on holiday weekends since people tend to travel, go camping, and/or more. This could lead to albums being overlooked, and bands don’t want that!

If there was going to be an AOTW, it would be the latest from Deep Purple. Those dudes have been delivering killer shit since the late ’60s. There are still three original members in the band. Great fucking album… but AOTW? Maaaaaaaayyyyyyyybe…

Are you a casual fan who stumbled across this site? If so, be sure to SUBSCRIBE, as these are delivered every Thursday at 9 PM PT. With a subscription, you’ll be sure to never miss an issue!

😁 BE THE REASON SOMEONE SMILES 😁

Be sure to let me know what you agree / disagree with, etc… always fun to hear your opinions, too. Happy listening… and see you next week!

Cheers,

Troy

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Album(s) of the Week** – July 3rd to July 9th, 2026:

None.

Honorable Mentions (in order by “popularity”*):

6,165,519 – Deep Purple – SPLAT!

Deep Purple isn’t my earliest memory of hard rock music, but they were certainly amongst the first wave, specifically the ‘Machine Head’ (1972) album. I fell in love with the band immediately and have been a fan ever since, including their recent releases. I love me some Deep Purple! Older releases, newer releases, really doesn’t matter… here they are with their second release featuring “new” guitarist, Simon McBride. Major shoutout to the three original members still doing their Deep Purple thing nearly 60 years later: vocalist Ian Gillan and bassist Roger Glover, both 80 years young, and drummer Ian Paice, 78 years young. Just out there crushing it!

From Deep Purple: “With more than 120 million albums sold since forming in 1968, Deep Purple have long secured their place in rock history. Rather than simply preserving their legacy, they continue to extend it, driven by the same spirit that defined their earliest work.

Says frontman Ian Gillan: “Where we are now with this incarnation of Deep Purple feels very much like a very ‘now’ version of Deep Purple as it was in the seventies.”

Once again, the band has teamed up with renowned producer Bob Ezrin. Together, they have crafted an album that draws on the sound and attitude that has always set Deep Purple apart from the rest. SPLAT! is the heaviest Deep Purple album in many years, with the band playing together in the studio – the way Deep Purple have always recorded.

Ian Gillan: “I have to say, now we are very much back in with material that is compatible with ‘Highway Star’, ‘Smoke on the Water’, ‘Lazy’ – the dynamics, the balance, and the fun of the music we made from ‘69 to ‘73.”

At the heart of SPLAT! is an idea conceived by Ian Gillan. Rather than treating the end as destruction, the album imagines it as transformation: SPLAT! explores the end of humanity not in any crude apocalyptic sense but as a metamorphosis beyond physical existence. To celebrate the release, Deep Purple will continue their extensive 2026 touring schedule with no fewer than 86 shows across 28 countries on three continents.

New music from SPLAT! is already on the way. Deep Purple invite fans to follow the journey in the weeks ahead.

Ian Gillan sums it up: “Deep Purple is in a great place right now.””

4,633,932 – Motörhead – Kiss Of Death (20th Anniversary Edition – 2006) (2 CDs)

Can’t go wrong with Lemmy and the boys from Motörhead! I love their raw rock-punk-metal delivery, and they always put on an outstanding show! Their music is fast, fun, raw, dangerous, and exciting. Gone, but never forgotten… RIP Lemmy and Phil Campbell :-(

From amazon: “First released in 2006, Kiss of Death is Motorhead’s 18th studio album and was the follow-up to their 2004 album, Inferno. Unmistakably Motorhead, they pick up where they left off, continuing the heavier side of the band with standout tracks including “Sucker,” “God Was Never On Your Side,” and more.

It also features guest appearances from Mike Inez (Alice in Chains) and C.C. DeVille (Poison). The 20th Anniversary Edition contains 3 bonus tracks alongside liner notes from Classic Rock’s Dave Ling. It also contains an exclusive bonus live LP from the band’s 2007 performance at Lowlands Festival in Biddinghuizen, The Netherlands.”

494,621 – L.A. Guns – Live From The Guild Theatre (Live 2025) (CD / DVD)

L.A. Guns, what can you say? One of those bands from the ’80s who were big, but not huge. Good, solid songwriting and totally perfect for this era, and their music holds up well as evidenced on this live album. Fun fact: my band got to open for these guys, and I was honored that Phil played through my amp. Super nice guys and a great show!

From Cleopatra Records: “L.A.’s longest-standing Sunset Strip era hard rock outfit, L.A. Guns, brings the firepower on this explosive concert album!

Recorded last year at the gorgeous Guild Theatre and celebrating the release of their critically acclaimed new album Leopard Skin, the Gunners fire off killer versions of fan favorites including “Electric Gypsy,” “One More Reason,” “The Ballad Of Jayne,” and more!

Longtime vocalist Phil Lewis and the man who put the Guns in both L.A. Guns and Guns N’ Roses, Tracii Guns, have never sounded better!”

277,838 – Moonspell – Far From God

A band that’s been hit-or-miss for me throughout the years… I kinda dig this one, though. They’re a Portuguese band that has that gothic/doom delivery that sounds like a cross between Type O Negative and H.I.M.

From Napalm Records: “On July 3, 2026, MOONSPELL return via Napalm Records with Far From God, a record born out of five years of creative searching, doubt, and ultimate rediscovery. Far from playing it safe, the Portuguese pioneers deliver a work that feels like a rebirth: darker, sharper, and emotionally unfiltered. Rather than bending to modern trends, MOONSPELL double down on identity and substance. Far From God is a bold and beautiful statement of Gothic Metal in its purest form: dark, romantic, dramatic, and unapologetically heavy.

The first single and album title track, “Far From God”, sets the album’s tone with burning intensity. A hymn to tragic vampiric love, the song revives the mystique and romantic darkness that once defined the genre, while layered keyboards subtly expand the atmosphere without softening its heaviness. Dense guitars, deep resonant vocals, and dramatic dynamic shifts evoke a timeless gothic aesthetic, restoring danger and elegance to the narrative of the vampire. Songs such as “Cross Your Heart” reveal a more affirmative side of the album, built on brooding melodic motifs and grounded, deliberate riff work that balances restraint and impact. Echoing the spirit of the band’s past while embracing a modern, shadowed edge, the song reflects on roadside shrines and lives lost too soon; the steady forward drive of the rhythm section mirrors the endless motion of the road itself. Fernando Ribeiro’s unmistakable and singular vocal presence, moving between low gravitas and restrained intensity, reinforces the song’s emotional weight without excess.

With “The Great Wolf in the Sky” feat. Alicia Nuhro (strings), MOONSPELL deliver one of the album’s most epic moments, structured around expansive keyboard themes, harmonized guitar lines and a chorus built for collective resonance. Melancholic yet powerful, the track stands as a tribute to wolves who once walked alongside the band and to a fan and friend who passed before hearing the album, bridging MOONSPELL’s past, present and future in one sweeping, dignified anthem.

Thematically, Far From God moves through Baudelairean love, existential guilt and redemption, Christlike resurrections, and the quiet nobility of creatures of the night. Vampires, werewolves and sacred symbolism are not escapism here, but vehicles for genuine dark emotion: solemn, romantic and unfiltered. The album rejects artificial gloss in favour of fantasy grounded in sincerity, rediscovering the heart of Gothic Metal in its most authentic form.

MOONSPELL’s forthcoming magnum opus – produced with Jaime Gomez Arellano (Paradise Lost, Sólstafir, Ghost among many others) – shines like a black diamond, luminous yet shadowed in texture and colour, both musically and sonically. It reconnects with the darker spirit of MOONSPELL’s classic era while sounding powerful and contemporary. Far From God is not nostalgia; it is a statement. A Gothic Metal hallelujah. MOONSPELL’s Irreligious of the 21st century. It’s not only a powerful reminder that MOONSPELL remain a defining force in the genre they helped shape, but an album that will truly save Gothic Metal from boredom and predictability!”

154,176 – Margo Price – Days Of Unrest

Listed as country – and it is-ish – but it’s so much more. She just has a really fantastic, soulful, beautiful voice. Good tunes, I dig! Margo Price is so great!

This surprise release is her first “all-protest” project. It contains four original songs and five cover songs, including ‘De Colores’ (A traditional Spanish-language folk song and farmworking anthem, featuring Memphis Mariachi), ‘Deportee (Plane Wreck At Los Gatos)’ (written by Woody Guthrie to protest the media’s treatment of migrant workers, featuring Joan Baez and Memphis Mariachi), ‘Oval Room’ (written by Blaze Foley about Ronald Reagan), ‘Long Haired Country Girl’ (Written by The Charlie Daniels Band, featuring Billy Swan), ‘Maggie’s Farm’ (by Bob Dylan to protest and critique modern capitalism), and the four aforementioned original songs.

40,256 – Low Cut Connie – Livin In The USA

Low Cut Connie is a Philly-based rock ‘n roll band featuring long-standing original member and principal songwriter Adam Weiner on vocals and piano. He has received critical acclaim from a wide variety of artists and other celebrities, including Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, Howard Stern, Rob Thomas, Barack Obama, and more. It’s just a solid rock ‘n roll album that (at times) reminds me of a 21st-century Rolling Stones.

From amazon: “Adam Weiner is a rock & roll artist from Philadelphia who has released 7 studio albums under the name Low Cut Connie. Since forming in 2010, Low Cut Connie has earned a devoted fanbase that includes President Barack Obama, Sir Elton John, and Bruce Springsteen.

In 2024, he released the award-winning documentary film ART DEALERS. He has received acclaim from The New Yorker (“Pandemic Person of the Year”), Rolling Stone, NPR’s Fresh Air, and appeared on Late Night with Seth Meyers, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’s #PlayAtHome Series, and PBS Newshour. His writing has been published in SPIN, Billboard, and Talkhouse. On July 3, 2026, he will release his 8th studio album, Livin in the USA.”

8,716 – Thurnin – Termina

I’ve never listened to one-man band Thurnin prior to 2025’s ‘Harmr’ – Jurre Timmer “formed” the band in 2020, three full-lengths, this his fourth – but he is absolutely on my radar now! Excellent, super-mellow, all-instrumental dark acoustic folk from the Netherlands. Gorgeous, haunting, beautiful.

From his bandcamp page: “Acoustic dark/dream folk solo project from The Netherlands.

One last dawn is all I plead for, To not gently fade away
Three pyres I have made, for those I miss the most
Five years lost to time, The sixth is mine to take
Seven stars I plucked for thee, The eight came falling down
And when the ninth day comes, and all must come to pass
This tenth day now, not meant to be, is where I’ll lay to rest

Eternity is not for me, the end was always here
This sea, a grave, my resting place, for now my end is near”

All writing, instruments, recording, and mixing by : Jurre Timmer
Additional vocals on Wyrttruman : Soraya Lamoudi
Additional guitars, Vocals and Flute on A Panacea For My Dreams by : Nathanael Larochette
Mastering by : Ted Whitten Media
Art by : Jack Bailey
Album Logo by : Asmo Grimae

5,920 – Solace – Fading Failing Ruin

Heavy-duty riffs, these stoner-doom metal warriors are the real deal! Gonna keep my eyes and ears on these fellas!

From their bandcamp page: “SOLACE deliver their fifth studio album “Fading Failing Ruin” just in time to celebrate the anniversary of their 30th year as a band. And all the heaviness, experience, and obvious maturity of their songwriting across three decades is perfectly reflected in the seeming ease with which these master craftsmen hammer out one captivating and crushing track after the other.

Revolving around apocalyptic, infernal, and end-time themes that easily fit this day and age, “Fading Failing Ruin” nails the current global mood by taking a strong dose of inspiration from the earliest days of metal and blending it with contemporary heaviness. SOLACE have called their amalgamation of doom and heavy metal with hardcore elements dirt metal, while elsewhere it has been somewhat tongue-in-cheekily dubbed shorecore. Others file the New Jersey five-piece under stoner metal – and in truth, all these descriptions have and still fit the band to an extent.

With “Fading Failing Ruin”, SOLACE erect a new milestone of US heavy metal that respects traditions from both sides of the Atlantic while churning toward a chaotic future. Time to bang those heads!”

3,898 – WitchSorrow – The Devil And All His Works

Well, the band has been releasing albums for over a decade and a half now, so I’m a little late to the party… but better to be late to the party than never going at all. WitchSorrow deliver meaty, beefy, fat AF riffage on this stoner-doom album, and it has all the feels. I’m gonna need to dig into their past catalog, ’cause this shit’s the real deal.

From Church Road Records: “For Witchsorrow, doom metal is an obsession. Slaves to Black Sabbath, and proudly continuing the heavy work of the genre’s high priests Cathedral, Reverend Bizarre, Electric Wizard, Candlemass, and Saint Vitus, the Hampshire-based trio’s fanaticism has made them one of the underground’s leading lights.

Forged in 2006 around the core duo of Necroskull (vocals/guitar) and Emily Witch (bass), across four albums, their sound has retained the traditions of doom metal – and here metal is just as important a word as doom – while carving a place all of their own within it. Invoking the dread and despair of Sabbath’s signature song, their music is also that of dyed-in-the-wool metal maniacs, proud and unashamed.

It’s found its share of acolytes as well, having shared stages with heroes like Electric Wizard and Vitus, as well as performing their hymns to the void at Download, Roadburn, ArcTanGent, Desertfest, and countless others.

As they enter their twentieth year, the fire has not dimmed on their fifth offering, The Devil And All His Works. Eight years since the true metal attack of 2018’s highly acclaimed Hexenhammer, even as the swan song for longtime drummer Wilbrahammer, it finds the band sharpening their claws and delving even deeper into the depths of doom metal than before. From the mighty, organ-infused opener Omnia Finiuntur to Bacchus’ celebration of sin, the fist-raised chug of Hades Chains (featuring guest roars from Serena Cherry of Svalbard/Noctule) or the epic A Quintessence Of Dust (featuring Employed To Serve’s Sammy Urwin shredding a killer lead), fans of this stuff in its most arcane, heavy and occult-edged form will fall under its spell.

“I wanted everything to be as pure as possible,” asserts Necroskull. “Everything had to be total doom, to an even higher degree than before. I’m still as proud to call ourselves a doom metal band as I ever was. I don’t know anything else.”

The album’s lyrics and title – taken from an occult book by legendary author Dennis Wheatley – come from the idea that The Devil is present in everything, and about knowing when to let him in and when to cast him out.

“I noticed when I was writing the lyrics that there was something of him there in everything I was coming up with as a metaphor for things both good and bad,” explains Necroskull. “I’ve previously written cautionary tales about people getting into Faustian pacts without realising what they’re dealing with, but here there was a different balance. Bacchus is about the joy of decadence and sin, but there’s also things that touch on impermanence and loss and feeling like there’s a dark force at the edge of reality out to hide misfortune for you to trip on.”

With new drummer Scott ‘Doom’ Taylor (Vnder A Crvmbling Moon, Garganjua) now on board, the crusade continues apace. On the anthemic headbanger In Triumph We Rot!!!, Witchsorrow sing of a life dedicated to doom, both as a passion and simply an unavoidable calling. Two decades into their mission, The Devil And All His Works is their most captivating sermon yet.”

From Metal Injection: “Concluding the week with some fuzzed-out, smoky jams; Witchsorrow’s first record in eight years is a dynamic one with the sloooooooooow riffs you’d expect, but some driving mosh-able tunes as well. Shiny new drummer Scott Taylor brings a lot to this album with his pummeling.”

2,209 – SubtractiveLAD – Onward

I have been listening to Stephen Hummel (aka subtractiveLAD) for years now. I love his all-instrumental ambient/soundscape-y electronic pieces, which are mellow, beautiful, mesmerizing…

From his bandcamp page: “Ambient drone pieces composed around highly processed lap steel guitar performances.

Darker emotionally but in a contemplative way. Like much of my work, there is a melancholy tempered by hopefulness. Perhaps you will find a kind of empathy in these tones? A hand to hold in the dim light.

Recorded, mixed, and mastered at 24-bit / 96 kHz for your high-resolution pleasure.”

2,141 – TodoMal – Graveyards Of Joy

Kinda sorta tasty goth-doom metal – or in their words, “atmospheric doom” – all the way from Spain! These dudes are on my radar now (having released two albums prior to this). Fun fact: TodoMal translates to “all evil” or “all wrong”.

From their bandcamp page: “TODOMAL emerged from the arid heartlands of eastern Spain in 2020, forging a deeply personal sound from the solemnity of doom metal, the sweep of cinematic rock and the quiet weight of lived experience. ‘Graveyards of Joy’ is the third album from this Anglo-Spanish duo, and the closing chapter of a trilogy that began with ‘Ultracrepidarian’ (2021) and deepened with ‘A Greater Good’ (2023).

Written in solitude following personal tragedy, ‘Graveyards of Joy’ channels grief, anger and hard-won hope into nine tracks of slow-burning, widescreen doom. The music breathes: vast Hammond-driven passages give way to desolate folk, Morricone-like strings open onto dusty, cinematic plains, and heavy, uncompromising riffs anchor songs that never lose sight of melody. Lyrically, the album conjures a landscape drawn from the ghost towns and depopulated provinces of rural Spain, a terrain that is raw, honest, and untamed. Loss runs through every song, but so does the search for something on the other side.

This is a record that balances the dramatic with the delicate, the dark with light, and arrives fully formed: a DIY work of striking emotional depth and modern, alternative edge.”

1,626 – Fernando Perdomo – Clouds 7

I can’t get enough of Fernando, and that’s a good thing since dude is incredibly prolific. He released an album every month in 2025 called the “Wave” series. Now we’re onto 2026 and the “Clouds” series. As usual, it’s packed with tasty all-instrumental guitar shred… that’s mellow. Diggin’!

1,222 – Thumos – Asebeia And Corruption Of The Youth

My review of 2025’s double-album ‘The Trial of Socrates’: “Holy shit, YES! This awesome ~1 hr and 49 mins of all-instrumental doomy post-metal is just what the world needs now. Never heard of the band until 2022’s ‘The Republic’ – granted, they’ve only released a couple of singles and very short EPs – but they are on my radar, for sure. I hope they come to town because I imagine it would be amazing. Anyway, go check this band and album out… they’re stellar.”

This new release fits in nicely as a companion to that album. My only complaint is that it was far too short at only 36:32. I needed more!

From the band: “This isn’t a new standalone album, and it isn’t a b-sides collection. It’s more of a companion to The Trial of Socrates [2025] that was written and recorded in unison with the purpose of covering what some scholars would consider to be the remaining “authentic” dialogues of Plato.”

Missed the Cut (in order by “popularity”*):

9,549,551 – Madonna – Confessions II

I like Madonna, but not this album. It’s pretty bad. She is firmly entrenched in the club / dance / electronic scene versus her earlier output, which is more pop-oriented. I dig that she’s still going at it, but this is not a release I’ll listen to again. But hey, don’t listen to me. Fans and critics alike are eating this album up!

85,599 – Shining – Tous Unis Contre L’Humanité (Live In France)

There are two Shining bands (and I like both versions!). This one is from Sweden, not Norway…”Glossy black metal with the right amount of rock and riffs!” – MetalSucks.net.

I’ve enjoyed releases in the past – “I don’t care much for the growly whisper-y vocals, but musically it is quite amazing and diverse. Nice!” – but I am a little underwhelmed with this one. It was recorded in various locations in France between 2008-2014. It’s raw and ugly AF. Stick with earlier and/or studio albums.

85,599 – Shining – Tragedy And Triumph (The City Of Vilnius In Flames) [LIVE]

^^^See above.

58,048 – Matt Cardle – The Great Escape

Matt is a British singer-songwriter who won the seventh season of The X Factor in 2010, and here he’s back with his fifth full-length after a 7-year break. It’s not bad, per se, and I could totally see why people like his releases, but it’s a little too “grand” and “epic” for my taste.

30,783 – Mary In The Junkyard – Role Model Hermit

In most cases, an indie rock trio (or duo, quartet, etc) would be a massive swing and a miss. This is not an album I’ll reach for again, but it was one of the better indie rock bands I’ve heard in some time. This is their debut release.

17,477 – Phideaux – Automoto Animus

Phideaux is prog-rocker Phideaux Xavier. He also adds in bits of psychedelic rock and art rock for good measure. It’s ok-ish, but nothing I need to hear again. Meh.

7,124 – Hannah Juanita – The Magnolia Sessions EP

I enjoy the idea of these ‘The Magnolia Sessions’ releases, yet I haven’t really caught on with them, unfortunately. Hannah Juanita plays country, and this EP is only eight songs with a runtime of 21:16.

1,824 – Gods & Punks – A Shrine By The Sea

Gods & Punks are a South American psychedelic-stoner rock band with some prog-doom metal tendencies. They’re going for a “Black Sabbath meets Rush” sound. I enjoyed it more than I did 2024’s ‘Death’, but it still falls a little short for me.

From their bandcamp page: “Brazilian stoner rock band Gods & Punks will release their sixth studio album, “A Shrine By The Sea,” on July 3rd, 2026 via Electric Valley Records. The album will be available digitally and on vinyl, with pre-orders starting May 1st, 2026.

Conceived as an ode to the sea, “A Shrine By The Sea” features two extended compositions: “The Lighthouse” (Side A) and “Poseidon” (Side B), each running 21 minutes and 12 seconds. The album highlights the band’s signature blend of heavy riffs, psychedelic passages, and progressive structures.

“The Lighthouse” explores a wide dynamic range, moving between atmospheric sections, slow doom passages, and Sabbath-inspired riffing. The track also features guest vocals by Andrea Ruocco (ex-Spiral Guru), adding a distinct layer to the band’s sound. On the other side, “Poseidon” presents a more fluid and psychedelic approach, with a calmer tone that gradually builds intensity while maintaining a strong sense of space and immersion.

The album was written and arranged remotely, combining new material with reworked ideas developed over time. Recording followed the band’s established workflow: guitars and drums tracked in Rio de Janeiro by Rodrigo and Gabriel, bass recorded by Pedro in Santos, and vocals performed by Alexandre in Paris, France.

Mixing and mastering were handled by Andre Leal and Kleber Mariano at Studio Jukebox (Volta Redonda, Brazil), continuing the collaboration established on the band’s previous album, “Death” (2024).

Since their debut “Into the Dunes of Doom” (2017), Gods & Punks have steadily built recognition within the heavy underground scene, including appearances on Doomcharts’ year-end lists. With “A Shrine By The Sea,” the band further refines their approach to long-form compositions, delivering a focused and immersive listening experience.

About Gods & Punks:
Gods & Punks is a Brazilian stoner rock band known for combining heavy, psychedelic, and progressive elements into expansive compositions. With six studio albums released, the band continues to explore new sonic territories while maintaining a strong identity within the genre.”

579 – Troy The Band – (des)

My name is Troy, so there’s no way I wasn’t gonna listen to the latest release from Troy The Band, right?! I’d love to say that they did me proud and released an album of absolute bangers… but that wasn’t the case. Sure, there were “moments”… but they were few and far between. They blend an eclectic mix of doom metal, shoegaze, noise rock, and experimental rock.

177 – WeedWizard – Blood Cathedral

Love the band name, but the love ends there. Ugly, raw sludge-stoner metal. Definitely a band for someone(s) out there, but not this guy. Moving along…

62 – Steve Austin – The Magnolia Sessions

Steve Austin is the lead vocalist and guitarist of experimental, artsy fartsy, avant-garde, psychedelic noise rock band Today Is The Day. Here he forgoes all that, goes solo, and releases an album packed with outlaw country tunes. I love the ability to do a complete switcheroo – kudos to him – but I am not a fan.

Addendum (in order by “popularity”*) – Albums that were released earlier in the year (or previous years) that I missed, but are worth mentioning, anyhow:

None.

On the List (in order by “popularity”*) – Albums that I didn’t get to (yet) for one reason or another. Will (hopefully) get to them at a later date:

Only listing ones that made me take notice, not everything…

0 – Various Artists – Armagideon Time: When Punk Met Dub (1978-1984) (3 CDs)

Punk-Dub. From amazon: “3CDs exploring the post-punk / dub crossover explosion of the late 70s and early 80s. In the wake of punk rock, as artists began to express their eclectic tastes and broaden their sound palettes in ways unimaginable just a few years before, the scene’s love affair with Jamaican reggae and dub blossomed. The resulting crossover saw punk rock groups begin to adopt dub rhythms and production techniques into their sound, and established reggae and dub producers begin to work with punk rock bands.

Oozing liquid, analogue echo, sparse reverb-laden vocals, heavy-duty basslines and laid-back rhythms, ‘Armagideon Time’ journeys into the dub-punk crossover in the UK and further afield, bringing together raincoat-adorned working-class bands, Jamaican producers, British reggae pioneers, die-hard punks and London-based future dub exponents in an unlikely soundclash adventure across 3CDs.

With scene-setting notes by low-end legend Jah Wobble and band-by-band biographies, this is a must-hear sequel and companion piece to our highly regarded ‘Roots Rock Rebels’ punk/reggae set. For fans of post-punk, dub and reggae, and the socio-political scene of late 70s and early 80s multicultural Britain.”

0 – Various Artists – Digging Your Scene: New Pop & All That Jazz (1982-1987) (4 CDs)

Pop, Jazz. From amazon: “4CD sequel to ‘Heaven Sent The Rise Of New Pop 1979-1983’, documenting the influence of jazz and 50s/60s black American music (including retro soul) on modern pop in the UK between 1982 and 1987. Celebrating an era when jazz inspired many pop acts, from bossa beats to mainstream covers of the classics; from Latin-fuelled club favourites to torch ballads and acid jazz grooves.

In 1982, a new jazz era was dawning, and Soho, a hotbed since the 50s, was where the renaissance began. Blue Rondo A La Turk, who had the first ‘New Jazz’ hit, were led by Chris Sullivan, who opened The Wag Club in Wardour Street in April 1982, a vital catalyst for the ‘New Jazz’ scene.

Vic Godard, singer with Subway Sect, recast as a crooner, hosted his Club Left jazz-swing nights at the Wag (as well as at London’s jazz capital, Ronnie Scott’s). Chief among the new acts were Weekend, who morphed into Working Week, whose 1984 debut single ‘Venceremos’ felt like a clarion call. Everything But The Girl had embraced jazz influences on their debut single, a cover of Cole Porter’s ‘Night And Day’. Meanwhile, Mark Reilly left Blue Rondo to form Matt Bianco, a more overtly pop/jazz creation.

Julien Temple’s Absolute Beginners film (including Eighth Wonder and The Style Council on its soundtrack) based on Colin MacInnes’ 1959 novel took jazz to a mainstream audience. When the film was released in 1986, jazz in its broadest sense was everywhere in British pop, from covers of jazz standards (Alison Moyet, Bronski Beat) to jazz pop hits from Swing Out Sister and The Blow Monkeys.”

Looking forward to (in order by “popularity”*) – These albums will be released this week and should be in next week’s AOTW blog:

16,262,890 – Rolling Stones – Foreign Tongues

11,185,744 – Ne-Yo – Highway 79

1,658,613 – Adam Lambert – ADAM

1,624,429 – Suki Waterhouse – Loveland

1,470,524 – Jack White – Frozen Charlotte

536,907 – DevilDriver – Strike And Kill

522,652 – Finn Wolfhard – Fire From The Hip

156,334 – If These Trees Could Talk – The Hidden Hand

124,429 – Allison Russell – In the Hour of Chaos

25,441 – Trashcan Sinatras – Ever The Optimist

18,712 – Blueneck – Moonlighting

14,050 – Nine Pound Hammer – Too Outlaw For Outlaw Country

1,392 – Koyo Bloom – Distance

970 – Jane Getter Premonition – Transmogrify

571 – Ealdor Bealu – Graves of the Silent Plain

332 – Shadow Of Jupiter – Bones

0 – Irata – Human

0 – Semantron – Secrets Of A Krummholz Heart

…and several others. Some that I am looking forward to and others not so much.

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Small print that’s normal size print:

*These albums are listed in order by “popularity”. Wait, what? How? By no means is it a measured calculation. They’re listed in order by number of ‘followers’ on Spotify. While it is listed by Spotify ‘followers’, the order would (most likely) be similar if looking at the number of ‘likes and/or followers’ on each band’s social media pages. Speaking of “popularity”, there is a bolded red number. This number (more or less) represents the number of Spotify ‘followers’ at the time of review.

**Album of the Week. No promises, but I will do my best to NOT include Greatest Hits, Best Of, Live releases, re-releases, etc. Even if these “new” releases include a ton of bonus goodies, multiple unreleased tracks, demo versions, etc, I’ll still (try to) hold off.

All albums are listened to IN FULL unless stated otherwise.

Some artists are quite controversial. My goal is to review the album on its own merits, not based on the history, beliefs (political or otherwise), police records, and/or anything else that could be considered “unsavory” of the artist(s).

(Almost) all albums are hyperlinked. I link in order by Bandcamp first, YouTube next, then Spotify last. This is so you can check out (AND PURCHASE) the album, if interested. I do and hope you do, as well!

Do you have any friends or family who might be interested in this weekly blog? If so, send ’em this way!

Until next week…

Cheers,

Troy