Teenage Fanclub on Life, Death, and Remaining Seated
The simple joys of writing songs and sharing them remain the driving forces for indie pop veterans Teenage Fanclub. Norman Blake and Raymond McGinley discuss.
Ian Rushbury
It's all my big brother's fault. If he hadn't played me Abbey Road a thousand years ago, I'd have turned out normal. Being a bassist, writer, and music geek is huge fun though. And the hours are great. Favourite Beatle: still Paul.
John Cale Collaborates with Contemporary Artists on ‘MERCY’
John Cale enlists Weyes Blood, Sylvan Esso, and Animal Collective to create a dark, unsettling new LP, MERCY, combining darkness with beauty on a knife edge.
British ToyTown Pop Anyone? ‘Climb Aboard My Roundabout’
Grab your copy of Climb Aboard My Roundabout! The British Toytown Sound 1967-1974 and settle down to listen to three CDs of pre-pubescent pop.
Luke Haines and Peter Buck Subvert Alt-Rock with ‘All the Kids Are Super Bummed Out’
Luke Haines and Peter Buck’s All the Kids Are Super Bummed Out is a weird jumble of pop art, lo-fi, and gallows humor thrown in a bucket and left unattended.
Fifty Years of Motorik Celebrated in ‘Neu! 50!’
Neu! 50! highlights how when Neu! were good, they were great, and when they weren’t great, they had the good taste to be interesting, at the very least.
Suede Go Back to Basics with ‘Autofiction’
Suede survived grunge, Britpop, emo, and everything else the last 30 years could throw at them. But have they survived the pandemic? Find out on Autofiction.
Lou Reed Unplugged: The Velvet Underground Reimagined on ‘Words and Music’
Lou Reed and John Cale hint at the other side of the swinging ’60s with a fascinating collection of mid-’60s demo recordings for the Velvet Underground.
Guy Chadwick Ponders the Past, Present, and Future of The House of Love
With a new album, tour, and eight-CD retrospective of his ’90s work, the House of Love’s Guy Chadwick seems remarkably laid back about it all.
Josh Rouse Gets Back to Basics on ‘Going Places’
After a holiday album and a record that swapped guitars for synthesizers, Josh Rouse returns to wistful Americana in fine style on Going Places.
Roxy Music Invented the 1980s with Their Swan Song ‘Avalon’
Forty years ago, Roxy Music stepped away from the recording studio, but not before leaving behind an album that defined the 1980s. It’s the ultimate marriage of high concept, high art, and high-quality popular music.
The Darkness Blow a Raspberry at Covid with ‘Motorheart’
No misplaced macho nonsense. No self-righteous pomposity. The Darkness hit the dress-up box hard, knock out some killer riffs, and are laugh out loud funny while they’re doing it.
Matthew Sweet Channeled Divorce Into the Power Pop Hall of Fame With ‘Girlfriend’
Thirty years old and still virtually unsurpassed, Matthew Sweet’s breakup album Girlfriend rescued his career and breathed new life into the ailing power-pop genre.