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Jana Horn – Optimism

Jim Wirth
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Jana Horn – Optimism
It seems simple enough on the surface. “Baby, there ain’t no clouds,†Jana Horn sings blithely on the title track of her debut album, voice as clear as a mountain stream. “Baby, there ain’t no crying, or figuring this thing outâ€. However, for all of the promise of blue skies, sunshine an...

It seems simple enough on the surface. “Baby, there ain’t no clouds,†Jana Horn sings blithely on the title track of her debut album, voice as clear as a mountain stream. “Baby, there ain’t no crying, or figuring this thing outâ€. However, for all of the promise of blue skies, sunshine and one-word answers, there’s something profoundly inscrutable about Optimism, a curious deep-fake ‘folk’ record which smacks of Broadcast, hippy Donovan, Julia Holter, Syd Barrett and the more wistful bits of The Cure while retaining an odd, metallic taste entirely of its own. By the time you’ve realised that her pond has no bottom, it’s already too late.

Raised in a strict Baptist household in Glen Rose, not too far from Dallas, Horn tells Uncut that her only significant childhood exposure to pop was Michael Jackson’s Greatest Hits, a bit of Queen and a spell playing bass drum in her school marching band. However, she embraced local psychedelic-country culture after a move to bohemian Austin in her late teens and started to make music of her own.

Having abandoned a first effort at a solo album, she returned to the studio in 2018 with local weirdniks Knife In The Water as her backing band and laid down 10 tracks, finally releasing them privately in the depths of lockdown. No Quarter Records boss Mike Quinn – best known for releasing work by Nathan Salsburg, Joan Shelley, Sam Coomes and Endless Boogie – happened upon Optimism soon after, he tells Uncut: “I blindly stumbled upon it while clicking around on Bandcamp. Blew me away.â€

If Horn’s quietly piercing voice (and some of the most sinuous bass-playing this side of Forever Changes) explains some of that leftfield wow factor, Optimism’s greatest strength lies in how it manages to turn twenty-something relationship angst inside out, striding absent-mindedly through the language of the love song to feel for the delicious nothing that lies beyond. As Horn sings on the slightly windswept “A Good Thingâ€: “There is no end to the lines that you’ll cross when you can’t see themâ€. The way Horn explains it, her songwriting is a matter of unfocusing her mind and seeing what happens; “it’s just a process of being open and available and not trying too hard,†the 28-year-old tells Uncut. It’s possible to discern where some of her lyrical adventures start – a night in with the cat on the gaunt “Tonightâ€, a trip out of town on the unabashedly blissed-out “Driving†– but it’s rarely apparent quite how they end. “What are we watching?†she asks on the sleepy “Man Meanderingâ€, a question about TV choices that scratches at the fabric of the cosmos, while the clippy-clop of “Changing Lives†goes from Garfield-style “I hate mornings†ennui to a tentative bit of theology (“what God is not, he isâ€).

All these glitches in the matrix coalesce into something more profoundly unsettling on “Jordanâ€, which started out as a break-up song but morphed into a nightmarish quasi-biblical epic. Horn’s male avatar is sent from home in Galilee to meet “a man who is so dark, he has black bullets in his handsâ€, with the hope of warding off “the greatest bomb†which has been planted “to sort out the uncleanâ€. It’s a mad jumble, a forced march through alien lands set to an ominous bass thud and unsettling Stereolab lava lamp noise, which ends in death or salvation, or both, or neither.

The adventure, though, is what matters; opening the door, daring to go further. Optimism’s sleepy horns and electric pianos lend it an outward resemblance to the works of contemporary retro-futurists like Jessica Pratt or Cate Le Bon, but perhaps its strongest resonance is with Joni Mitchell’s 1968 debut, Song To A Seagull, another record which worried at the seams of romantic song, stripping out emotional clutter, spectrally aware that more profound forces might be at play.

Made for uncertain times, Optimism is funny, clever and elegant, but it’s not a record that seeks approval or constructs a tidy narrative. It ends with the near a cappella “When I Go Down Into That Nightâ€, Horn venturing deeper into delicious abstraction. “When I go down into that night, and there’s no hope in the plan, and I can barely see my feet, will you meet me where I stand?†she asks. The ground that she walks on is treacherous, maybe even non-existent, but Optimism plots an intriguing course away from the everyday. Tread carefully and follow.

Jake Xerxes Fussell – Good and Green Again

Stephen Deusner
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Jake Xerxes Fussell – Good and Green Again
The centrepiece of Good And Green Again, the ingenious and soulful new album by North Carolina-based folk musician Jake Xerxes Fussell, is “The Golden Willow Treeâ€, an epic story-song about the sinking of a ship. Combining lyrics and melodies from various folk tunes – including a song by The C...

The centrepiece of Good And Green Again, the ingenious and soulful new album by North Carolina-based folk musician Jake Xerxes Fussell, is “The Golden Willow Treeâ€, an epic story-song about the sinking of a ship. Combining lyrics and melodies from various folk tunes – including a song by The Carter Family and another by a North Georgia singer named Paralee McCloud – it’s an intricate tale of maritime espionage, of courage and conspiracy, betrayal and comeuppance, told over a dozen swashbuckling verses. Fussell recounts a sailor’s offer to scuttle his own ship to win the favour of a rival captain, depicting the event in grave detail: “He had a little auger fit for the bore, and he bored nine holes in the bottom of the floor,†he sings, his robust voice sounding particularly downcast. “And sunk her in the low and lonesome water/And he sunk her in the lonesome sea.â€

Those last two lines become the song’s primary refrain, growing more intensely regretful and melancholy with each repetition: as the sailor navigates the dark waters back to the captain, as he asks for his reward, and as he is double-crossed and thrown into that same “lonesome seaâ€. At nine minutes, “The Golden Willow Tree†is the longest song Fussell has ever recorded; not once, however, does it call attention to its length. Instead, the time flies by. He is a fine singer, a sharp guitarist, but most of all he’s a natural storyteller, drawing you into this unusual tale. The source material, along with some of the language and details, may be very old, but he makes it sound so very present tense, as though this sinking ship holds the key to understanding our current moment. And maybe it does: this is a song about the present falling away into the past, into
the “low and lonesome†sea of memory.

Good And Green Again is, at its heart, an album about loss. These nine songs are full of ships lost beneath the waves, burning mills that will never be rebuilt, men who march off to war never to return, and the lovers who pine for them. But it is, crucially, also an album about rebirth. The folks who wrote the songs that Fussell uses for raw material understood that humanity must die and buildings must crumble so that new generations and new monuments can take their place. And Fussell understands that he is engaging in a similar process by combining those songs in new ways and singing them in the 21st century, highlighting folk music’s potential as an endlessly renewable resource. For him a song is no older than the last time it was sung. His fifth album, Good And Green Again is his most thoughtful, his most eloquent, and his most poignant explication of this idea.

Fussell was working towards this album long before he was a recording artist. The son of academics who took their children along on research trips around the county, the Georgia native learned to play guitar by listening to old 78s by Blind Boy Fuller, Rev Gary Davis and Mississippi John Hurt, and as a teenager he took his first guitar lessons from Precious Bryant – a blues artist who had been recorded by the renowned historian (and Fussell family friend) George Mitchell in the late 1960s and who just happened to live down the street. He developed a keen interest in the family business, eventually studying folklore at Ole Miss and doing important work in the Mississippi Delta. In the early 2010s he moved east to North Carolina, where he found a community of likeminded artists including Nathan Bowles, Hiss Golden Messenger’s MC Taylor, and Joe O’Connell (Elephant Micah). Recorded between tours supporting Joan Shelley and gospel greats The Como Mamas, his albums – starting with his 2015 self-titled debut – reveal him to be many things all at once. Fussell is a snappy, unshowy guitar player whose crisp picking adds flair to the occasionally odd imagery of his reclaimed lyrics, a song collector with unimpeachable taste as well as a thorough knowledge of the American folk catalogue, and in particular a singer whose voice is robust yet gentle, always conveying the humanity of the songs he sings.

To helm Good And Green Again, Fussell conscripted his friend and occasional tourmate James Elkington, who has produced his own solo albums (also for Paradise Of Bachelors) as well as Shelley’s excellent Like The River Loves The Sea from 2019. Recording at Overdub Lane, a small studio near Fussell’s home in Durham, they corralled a crew of musicians to bring the songs to life, including bassist Casey Toll (HC McEntire, Skylar Gudasz) and drummer Joe Westerlund (Grandma Sparrow, Megafaun). Bonnie “Prince†Billy sings along on opener “Love Farewellâ€, his voice slightly distorted as though concerned about taking any attention away from Fussell. But the heroes of this album might be the horns, a relatively unprecedented sound on a Fussell album. They add a funereal gravity to “Carriebelle†and a curious dignity to closer “Washingtonâ€, unobtrusive but still evocative.

Elkington somehow makes this set of songs sound even more intimate and immediate than previous collections, adding flourishes of horns and fiddle here and there but also emphasising the crests and waves in Fussell’s voice. You can hear his every sigh and breath on “Rolling Mills Are Burning Downâ€, his voice holding certain syllables (“darlinnnnnnnn’’’) to evoke a palpable and relatable sense of regret and resignation. “Love Farewell†is a masterclass on the power of a sustained note, as he holds his notes and hollows out the vowels. It gives the song a meditative quality, yet he still manages to navigate the playful hook with wry jubilation.

As “The Golden Willow Tree†closes its epic at the bottom of the sea, Fussell slides slyly into the jumpier rhythms of “In Floridaâ€, one of three instrumentals he composed for Good And Green Again. This is his first album to include his own compositions, none of which feature vocals: not only does he not consider himself a songwriter, but he wanted those instrumentals to lighten and liven the album up. And they do. With its gangly barnyard riff and reeling fiddle runs, “What Did The Hen Duck Say To The Drake?†gives him a chance to show off his picking skills, and Fussell plays every lick like it’s the punchline to the title. “Frolic†sounds like the memory of a play song he might have heard growing up, such that it becomes less about a game and more about the memory of a sweeter time.

There is something comfortable in the sturdy humanity of all of Fussell’s records, but especially this one – something reassuring about the idea, passed down through generations, that from loss comes gain, from death rebirth. It might be tempting to chalk it up to the pandemic; after all, he recorded the album in late 2020, when vaccines were just becoming a reality after long months of lockdown. But the humble hopefulness conveyed by these songs would have come through no matter the circumstances. They speak to a big-hearted artist marking the exciting and heartbreaking passage of time through old songs and now some new ones, too.

Rob Aldridge & The Proponents – Mind Over Manners

Rob Hughes
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Rob Aldridge & The Proponents – Mind Over Manners
Rob Aldridge isn’t familiar to most, but that’s no reflection on his talent. Having spent the last few years touring the American South and breaking onto the festival circuit, first as a solo artist and then heading up The Proponents, the Alabama native is finally starting to get noticed as a so...

Rob Aldridge isn’t familiar to most, but that’s no reflection on his talent. Having spent the last few years touring the American South and breaking onto the festival circuit, first as a solo artist and then heading up The Proponents, the Alabama native is finally starting to get noticed as a songwriting frontman capable of a gnawing hook and a finely weighted turn of phrase. Jason Isbell is a fan, having commandeered Aldridge and the band as the opening act on his recent swing through the state. And the connection to Drive-By Truckers is deepened by way of The Proponents’ lead guitarist Rob Malone, who left the former after 2001’s Southern Rock Opera, just prior to Isbell’s arrival.

The Truckers are actually a decent marker for the kind of rugged, wind-blown roots-rock that Aldridge trades in, forgoing any cheap fetishisation of the South for something more nuanced and considered. Mind Over Manners, the successor to The Proponents’ self-titled 2018 debut, slinks between soulful, rustic blues and wired rock, driven at its most lawless moments by the fierce guitar interplay of Aldridge and Malone, not unlike the Truckers’ squalling axis of Hood and Cooley. This is best heard on “Ball Of Yarnâ€, which lopes into view on a softly swinging bassline before ripping through the sky like a tempest. There is, too, an echo of Tom Petty’s Heartbreakers in the fizzy electric charge of “Twisted Blanket†or the burning rage that consumes “Explaining To Doâ€, on which Aldridge addresses the hypocrisy of organised religion: “If asses were as narrow as minds/They’d put a thousand in a pewâ€.

Elsewhere, Aldridge is more reflective. The unsettling “Poor Tasteâ€, a persuasive duet with fellow Muscle Shoals singer Wanda Wesolowski, deconstructs a toxic relationship. “Want It More†and “Loneliest Of Company†both reference first-hand struggles with depression, the former also laying bare its impact on Aldridge’s marriage. Meanwhile, the Wilco-ish “Beatlesque Nowhereâ€, shaped by a subtle string motif, is proof of deeper musical ambition.

The Soundcarriers – Wilds

Wyndham Wallace
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The Soundcarriers – Wilds
It’s unfortunate that The Soundcarriers are so identified with ‘hauntology’, the term coined by Simon Reynolds to describe what he referred to as “ghostified†music. While it’s unquestionably invited and warranted, this emphasis on the Nottingham band’s expertise at evoking a bygone er...

It’s unfortunate that The Soundcarriers are so identified with ‘hauntology’, the term coined by Simon Reynolds to describe what he referred to as “ghostified†music. While it’s unquestionably invited and warranted, this emphasis on the Nottingham band’s expertise at evoking a bygone era, as well as the technical manner in which they do so, focuses the spotlight on their historical influences. Prioritising style over their substance does the quartet few favours, however, because it makes it harder to think of them as a ‘living’ band. The reality is that while they may raise ghosts from the past – among them producers from the 1960s and early 1970s such as Joe Meek, David Axelrod and Serge Gainsbourg – The Soundcarriers are considerably more substantial than they are spectral.

On Wilds that’s more obvious than on their three previous collections, which have generally been more whimsical, flower-power affairs, indebted to breezy sources of folk, tropicália and psychedelia like Pentangle, Erasmos Carlos and The United States Of America. Leonore Wheatley’s maidenly vocals still indicate a fondness for chasing white rabbits like Grace Slick or skipping round maypoles in the style of The Wicker Man – though occasionally her detachment also brings to mind another classic film, 1975’s psychological horror The Stepford Wives – but the trio behind her have never sounded more muscular. Indeed, one wonders whether, had they hired, say, Alan Moulder as producer, they might even have ended up sounding like Ride on Nowhere, whose choirboy harmonies contrasted so effectively with their barrage of noise. Wilds, in other words, leaves the flowers to Wheatley and the power to Dorian Conway, Paul Isherwood and Adam Cann.

This is especially notable in the force with which Cann drums, whether thwacking his kit like it’s a recalcitrant child in a Barry Hines novel amid “Falling Backâ€â€™s relentless, Electric Prunes fuzz – compare his technique, incidentally, with Loz Colbert’s on “Seagullâ€, Nowhere’s opening track – or meting out more measured punishment on “Tracesâ€, around whose abrasive effects and loping beat he hammers his cymbals or rolls his sticks on the snare for extra frills and spills. There’s a motorik quality to some rhythms, too, contributing to the songs’ propulsive immediacy and, simultaneously, their mesmerising character. The smell of sweat, one imagines, is as potent in their studio these days as the marijuana and incense thickening the air.

Such energy is similarly evident in Isherwood’s bass playing, the scratchy, percussive sound of his strings sometimes genuinely overwhelming the notes he’s plucking. Indeed, its physical nature is almost central to the frantic “At The Timeâ€, certainly more vigorous than the synths pulsing through its verses. It’s as vital, too, to “Traceâ€â€™s forward motion as “Driverâ€â€™s, another high-throttle tune on which he scurries around his fretboard, hurtling towards a climax distantly echoing the finale of David Bowie’s “Suffragette Cityâ€. In addition, many of these tracks are pacier than any they’ve previously put to tape, exhibiting an oft-uncontained, formerly absent aggression which intimates a greater urge to animate their audience, previously only suggested by Celeste’s knowingly titled “The Last Broadcastâ€.

It’s knowingly titled, of course, because The Soundcarriers have frequently been compared to another hauntological act, Broadcast, and there’s little question they inhabit an analogous world. The galloping “Wavesâ€â€™ chiming zither and reverbed flute provoke irresistible memories of Get Carter – a touchstone they also share with Stereolab, who covered the theme tune – and “Happens Too Soon†conjures up The Free Design, whose Chris Dedrick wrote the liner notes for The Soundcarriers’ debut, 2009’s Harmonium. Even their choice of guerrilla studios, including a Peak District cottage, a gallery and a former primary school, subliminally – if advertently – summons up memories of what the late Mark Fisher once referred to in a 2012 essay, “What Is Hauntology?†as “the lost futures that the 20th century taught us to anticipateâ€.

The Soundcarriers’ future, however, is far from lost. For all the geeky talk of plate reverbs and tube amps which inevitably surrounds them – and which, like Stereolab’s space-age imagery, tends to exclude more mainstream audiences by implying a demand for familiarity with its significance – what they are is timeless. That’s best illustrated by Wheatley’s evocative, infectious melodies, which could be compared to Amelia Fletcher’s or Sarah Cracknell’s. Wilds will continue to content those eager to brandish their knowledge of Ennio Morricone, Os Mutantes or Jacques Dutronc, but it nonetheless cries out for attention from those looking for more primal, immediate pleasures: beauty, bliss and release.

Melody’s Echo Chamber announces new album Emotional Eternal and shares “Looking Backward”

Matthew Neale
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Melody’s Echo Chamber announces new album Emotional Eternal and shares “Looking Backward”
Melody’s Echo Chamber has shared details of her forthcoming third album Emotional Eternal, as well as a music video for first single. ORDER NOW: Johnny Marr is on the cover in the latest issue of Uncut "Looking Backward" is the first taste of new music from the French musician - AKA Melody...

Melody’s Echo Chamber has shared details of her forthcoming third album Emotional Eternal, as well as a music video for first single.

“Looking Backward” is the first taste of new music from the French musician – AKA Melody Prochet – since her 2018 record Bon Voyage, and is accompanied by a CGI-animated video made by the artist in collaboration with Unreal Engine specialist 3D artist Hyoyon Paik (Chlöe).

Prochet described the dreamy new track as “a vivid, nonchalant, poetic march to the Unknown”, adding: “I wrote the lyrics on my way to Stockholm, in transit at the airport, there was a man creating light reflections with his watch and playing with light on the floors and walls.

“It felt like an act coming from a source of pure creativity, it made me happy to catch it and inspired me to write the song.”

Watch the artist ride a leopard, float with butterflies and soar through the sky in the video for “Looking Backward” below:

Speaking on the new album, due out April 29 via Domino and available to pre-order here, Prochet said: “I hope the record has that uplifting quality. I wanted to be more grounded and mindful through the process. I guided the sessions with simplicity – a contrast with the maximalism of Bon Voyage and the wilderness of my delusions.

“I made some big and impactful decisions and changes to my life. It took me to where it is peaceful, and I think the record reflects this. It’s more direct.â€

Emotional Eternal tracklisting:

1. “Emotional Eternal”
2. “Looking Backward”
3. “Pyramids In The Clouds”
4. “The Hypnotist”
5. “Personal Message”
6. “Where The Water Clears The Illusion”
7. “A Slow Dawning Of Peace”
8. “Alma_The Voyage”

Jimi Hendrix estate sues heirs of Jimi Hendrix Experience’s rhythm section

Will Lavin
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Jimi Hendrix estate sues heirs of Jimi Hendrix Experience’s rhythm section
The estate of Jimi Hendrix has filed a lawsuit claiming that the estates representing his late Jimi Hendrix Experience bandmates, Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell, do not have the right to sue them for copyright claims. ORDER NOW: Johnny Marr is on the cover in the latest issue of Uncut READ ...

The estate of Jimi Hendrix has filed a lawsuit claiming that the estates representing his late Jimi Hendrix Experience bandmates, Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell, do not have the right to sue them for copyright claims.

Dorothy Weber, the lawyer representing Experience Hendrix, LLC and Sony Music Entertainment, filed the suit on Tuesday (January 18) in the US District Court in the Southern District of New York.

According to Rolling Stone, it comes after a letter Sony Music received in December from British lawyer, Lawrence Abramson, in which he claimed the label owed Redding and Mitchell’s estates performance royalties for roughly 3billion streams of the Experience’s songs.

Abramson didn’t specify an amount they were looking for but did say that “such streaming figures and sales is estimated to be in the millions of pounds”. He added: “Ignoring this letter may lead our clients to commence proceedings against you and may increase your liability for costs.”

The letter prompted Weber to take acton on behalf of Experience Hendrix and Sony, who claimed they were unable to be sued by the defendants because both Experience members previously signed waivers.

Weber has alleged that Mitchell signed a document in September 1974 releasing the Hendrix estate from legal claims and agreeing not to sue the Hendrix estate. She’s claimed that Redding, too, signed a similar document in April 1973. Both musicians were allegedly compensated for signing the documents.

The estates of both Mitchell and Redding have claimed they are no longer bound to those documents, whereas the Hendrix estate disagrees and has said they are still enforceable. The Hendrix estate wants a judge to issue a declaratory judgment saying that those contracts are still valid.

“Any claim of ownership by the Defendants was time barred decades ago,” Weber said in her filing, adding that she wants a judge to declare that the rhythm section’s estates are making claims without any legal merit.

The Jimi Hendrix Experience broke up in June 1969 after Redding quit the band. Mitchell continued to play intermittently with him until his death in May 2003.

Jimi Hendrix. Image: Getty Images

Hendrix died in September 1970. His father, James Allen “Al” Hendrix, was heir to Jimi’s estate and later formed Experience Hendrix with his daughter, Janie, who has continued to run the company following Al’s death in 2002.

Redding left his estate to his partner, Deborah McNaughton, who turned it over to her sisters after she died. Mitchell died in November 2008, leaving his daughter, Aysha, to inherit his estate. The rhythm section’s heirs entered into contracts with new estate managers last August.

The lawyer representing Redding and Mitchell’s estates has claimed the musicians “both died in relative poverty having never received their true entitlement from their works, performances, and founding membership of the Jimi Hendrix Experience.”

My Bloody Valentine blast Spotify for showing “completely incorrect and insulting” lyrics

Alex Gallagher
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My Bloody Valentine blast Spotify for showing “completely incorrect and insulting” lyrics
My Bloody Valentine have criticised Spotify for showing incorrect lyrics on the shoegaze pioneers' songs on the platform. ORDER NOW: Johnny Marr is on the cover in the latest issue of Uncut READ MORE: My Bloody Valentine – Isn’t Anything / Loveless / m b v / EPs ’88–’91 review S...

My Bloody Valentine have criticised Spotify for showing incorrect lyrics on the shoegaze pioneers’ songs on the platform.

Spotify launched its lyric feature for all users in November of 2021, allowing fans to read along to lyrics while they listened to a song.

“Just noticed that Spotify has put fake lyrics up for our songs without our knowledge. These lyrics are actually completely incorrect and insulting,” the band tweeted. “We’re not sure where they got them from, probably one of those bullshit lyrics sites on the internet.”

At the time of its announcement last year, the streaming giants said they had partnered with lyrics database company Musixmatch for the function. Lyric cards on Spotify still say they are licensed and provided by Musixmatch.

My Bloody Valentine were previously long-time holdouts with regards to their catalogue being on streaming services. In March of last year, the band signed with Domino Records, who released the band’s discography on Spotify, Apple Music and other platforms.

Last year, My Bloody Valentine also revealed they were working on two new albums for Domino, which will follow up their 2013 comeback record mbv. At the time, Kevin Shields commented that the first album would contain “warm and melodic” material while the second would be more experimental.

The band’s Bilinda Butcher suggested that the recording of the albums could be completed by the end of 2021, with Shields echoing her remarks. “I don’t want to be 70-something wanting to make the next record after mbv. I think it’d be cooler to make one now,” he explained.

Radiohead side project The Smile announce worldwide ticket ballot for London shows

Matthew Neale
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Radiohead side project The Smile announce worldwide ticket ballot for London shows
Radiohead side project The Smile have confirmed details of a ticket ballot for fans from around the world for their upcoming London shows at Magazine. ORDER NOW: Johnny Marr is on the cover in the latest issue of Uncut READ MORE: Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood on his film scoring career: â€...

Radiohead side project The Smile have confirmed details of a ticket ballot for fans from around the world for their upcoming London shows at Magazine.

The group – comprising Radiohead’s Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood, plus Sons Of Kemet’s Tom Skinner – announced the three live shows earlier this month (January 5), due to take place across January 29 and January 30.

The trio said in a press release: “We have been overwhelmed with how quickly the three shows on 29th & 30th sold out. Thank you so much for the response.

“We wanted to try to make this a global audience in the venue as well as online, so we’ve held back some venue tickets for sale – a pair for every country in the world across the three shows. We would love it if you could join a show timed to suit your motherland’s time zone.”

The time zones for tickets are:

– Saturday 8pm for EMEA
– Sunday 1am for the Americas
– Sunday 11am for APAC

Thom Yorke, Johnny Greenwood and Tom Skinner
Thom Yorke, Johnny Greenwood and Tom Skinner as The Smile. Image: Press

Ballot entries must be submitted by 10pm GMT on January 23. Winners will then receive an email from Dice with a private link to purchase a pair of tickets for their specific time zone by January 24. Fans can enter the ballot here.

All three livestream broadcasts will also be available to ticketholders as on-demand replays for 48 hours from 2pm GMT on January 30.

The Smile released their debut single “You Will Never Work In Television Again” on January 5, produced by Yorke and Greenwood’s long-time collaborator Nigel Godrich.

Listen to Big Thief’s stripped-back new single, “Simulation Swarm”

Elizabeth Aubrey
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Listen to Big Thief’s stripped-back new single, “Simulation Swarm”
Big Thief have shared a new, stripped-back single, "Simulation Swarm" - you can listen to it below. ORDER NOW: Johnny Marr is on the cover in the latest issue of Uncut READ MORE: Big Thief: “We need each other to survive†The track is taken from the group's upcoming 20-track new doubl...

Big Thief have shared a new, stripped-back single, “Simulation Swarm” – you can listen to it below.

The track is taken from the group’s upcoming 20-track new double album Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You, which is set for release on February 11 via 4AD.

It follows on from the last two songs shared by the band, “No Reason” and “Spud Infinity”. Prior to that, the group released “Time Escaping”, “Change”, “Certainty”, “Little Things” and “Sparrow”.

While the latest release is a staple of the band’s live shows and a fan favourite, the song has never been released previously.

Listen to it below:

“One of the things that bonds us together as a band is pure magic,†lead vocalist Adrianne Lenker said in a statement recently about Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You.

“I think we all have the same guide and none of us have ever spoken what it is because we couldn’t name it, but somehow, we are all going for the same thing, and when we hit it… we all know it’s it, but none of us to this day, or maybe ever, will be able to articulate in words what the ‘it’ is. Something about it is magic to me.â€

Big Thief will head out on a UK and European tour in 2022 in support of their upcoming new LP. You can see their UK and Ireland dates below.

February 2022
24 – Manchester Academy 1, Manchester
25 – Barrowland, Glasgow
26 – National Stadium, Dublin
27 – O2 Academy Bristol, Bristol

March 2022
2 – O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London
3 – O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London
4 – O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London

Animal Collective share new single and announce UK and European tour

Will Lavin
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Animal Collective share new single and announce UK and European tour
Animal Collective have announced a UK and European tour alongside the release of a new single - find out more below. ORDER NOW: Johnny Marr is on the cover in the latest issue of Uncut READ MORE: Panda Bear: “The music would put me in a dream state†Following a spring US tour, the ban...

Animal Collective have announced a UK and European tour alongside the release of a new single – find out more below.

Following a spring US tour, the band – comprising Avey Tare, Panda Bear, Geologist and Deakin – will hit the road on this side of the pond beginning November 2 at Dolan’s in Limerick, Ireland.

They will then make stops in Dublin, Bristol, Manchester and Glasgow before heading across to mainland Europe for a run of dates that will wrap up on November 27 in Cologne.

Animal Collective are due to release their 11th studio album, Time Skiffs, on February 4 via Domino; it’s their first since 2016’s Painting With. You can pre-order it here.

On the heels of recent singles “Prester John” and Scott Walker tribute “Walker”, the band have now shared a third track from their upcoming LP, “Strung With Everything”, an experimental, psychedelia-inspired record that clocks in at almost seven minutes.

The track comes alongside a colourful animated video directed by Abby Portner. Discussing her work with the band and the video, she said: “Recently for Animal Collective’s live shows I have been designing and animating all of the video content out of cut paper. I have been editing together symbols and coloured static silhouettes that match the music’s feeling and rhythm. The videos are like pictographs that tell a story organically and simply.

“For the ‘Strung With Everything’ video we wanted to continue with this process to match the style of the band’s live shows in a music video.”

You can watch the video below:

You can see Animal Collective’s UK and Ireland tour dates below – get your tickets here.

NOVEMBER 2022

2 – Limerick, Ireland – Dolans
3 – Dublin, Ireland – National Concert Hall
6 – Bristol, UK – SWX
7 – Manchester, UK – Albert Hall
9 – Glasgow, UK – Saint Luke’s

For all other dates, visit the band’s official website.

Animal Collective have shared three EPs since the release of their last album: The Painters and Meeting Of The Waters from 2017, and Bridge To Quiet, which arrived in 2020.

Watch Stephen Malkmus debut two new songs at first gig in two years

Will Lavin
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Watch Stephen Malkmus debut two new songs at first gig in two years
Stephen Malkmus debuted two new songs at a gig in Portland at the weekend alongside one of Pavement's classic tracks. ORDER NOW: Johnny Marr is on the cover in the latest issue of Uncut READ MORE: Stephen Malkmus: “This is gonna be my PJ Harvey song…†The singer-songwriter, best kn...

Stephen Malkmus debuted two new songs at a gig in Portland at the weekend alongside one of Pavement’s classic tracks.

The singer-songwriter, best known as the frontman of indie rock stalwarts Pavement, played his first gig since 2019 on Sunday (January 16) at The Alberta Abbey.

Accompanied by his live band – made up of The Decemberists’ Chris Funk, Brad Truax and Jake Morris – Malkmus’s set included a performance of Pavement’s “Father To A Sister Of Thought” and a cover of Wilco’s “Box Full Of Letters”.

He also debuted two new songs titled “MTV” and “Making Friends”, and he played “Blue Arrangements” by Silver Jews, the New York band he formed in 1989 with Bob Nastanovich and the late David Berman.

The two new songs are yet to be released, but fan footage from the show has landed online – you can check out clips from the show below.

You can listen to the Portland show in full here:

Stephen Malkmus played:

“Amberjack”
“Xian Man”
“Signal Western”
“Making Friends”
“MTV”
“Brainwashed”
“Juliefuckingette”
“Shadowbanned”
“The Greatest Own In Legal History”
“Piccolo”
“Not Fade/Seeger”
“Blue Arrangements” (Silver Jews song)
“Faces Of Ocean Rain”
“Father To A Sister Of Thought” (Pavement song)
“1% Of One” (Stephen Malkmus And The Jicks song)

Meanwhile, Pavement have announced Terror Twilight: Farewell Horizontal, a special reissue of their final studio album Terror Twilight.

The band’s fifth studio LP was originally released in June 1999 and was produced by Radiohead collaborator Nigel Godrich.

The reissue is described as “an exhaustive†45-track reissue of Terror Twilight, featuring the remastered original album, B-sides, home demos, rehearsal tapes, “era-appropriate†live recordings and the rough tracks from Pavement’s scrapped session at Sonic Youth’s Echo Canyon studio.

The 4xLP and 2xCD editions of the reissue will both include a book with never-before-seen photos, commentary and context from band members Mark Ibold, Stephen Malkmus, Bob Nastanovich, Scott “Spiral Stairs†Kannberg and Steve West, as well as Godrich.

Pavement will tour in the UK and Ireland later this year – see their upcoming live dates below and find tickets here.

OCTOBER 2022
17 – O2 Academy, Leeds
18 – Barrowland Ballroom, Glasgow
19 – Usher Hall, Edinburgh
20 – O2 Apollo, Manchester
22 – Roundhouse, London
23 – Roundhouse, London
24 – Roundhouse, London
25 – Roundhouse, London

NOVEMBER
10 – Vicar Street, Dublin, Ireland
11 – Vicar Street, Dublin, Ireland

The Specials would love to collaborate with Madness

Arusa Qureshi
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The Specials would love to collaborate with Madness
The Specials bassist Hor­ace Panter has revealed that the band would love to collaborate and tour with Madness. ORDER NOW: Johnny Marr is on the cover in the latest issue of Uncut READ MORE: The Specials – The Ultimate Music Guide Panter told the Daily Star newspaper's Wired column (vi...

The Specials bassist Hor­ace Panter has revealed that the band would love to collaborate and tour with Madness.

Panter told the Daily Star newspaper’s Wired column (via Music News) that there had previously been talk of the groups doing a co-headline tour or heading into the studio together to record.

He said: “Let’s see what we can do. There was talk about a doubleheader, but nor­mally if we are mak­ing a record then they are tak­ing a break, but it would be good to do something with those guys.â€

The Specials, who formed in 1977, currently comprise of bassist Panter, guitarist Lynval Golding and vocalist Terry Hall.

Back in September, The Specials released an album of cover songs titled Protest Songs 1924-2012.

The group’s most recent album of original work, Encore, landed back in 2019.

The Specials
The Specials, 2021. Image: Press.

Madness, meanwhile, announced details of a UK and Ireland arena tour last year, which took place in November and December 2021.

In November, it was announced that Madness would be headlining Tramlines festival alongside Sam Fender and Kasabian. The band are also due to play Edinburgh’s new pop up venue The Big Top on June 12, with Biffy Clyro, Fatboy Slim and Snow Patrol playing subsequent dates.

In other Specials news, Neville Staple – best known as a legacy member playing on-and-off with the troupe from 1978 to 2012 – announced his latest solo album, From The Specials & Beyond.

The 12-track record will dive deep into Staple’s tenure with The Specials, breathing new life into some of his most treasured efforts with the Two-Tone pioneers including smash hits “Ghost Town” and “Monkey Man”.

Watch highlights from End Of The Road Festival 2021

Michael Bonner
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Watch highlights from End Of The Road Festival 2021
Warm yourself in the depths of winter with this highlights clip from last year's tremendous End Of The Road festival. CLICK HERE TO BUY OUR NEW ISSUE As you'll hopefully remember, Uncut was on site for the festival - which took place at Larmer Tree Gardens last September. You can find our hi...

Warm yourself in the depths of winter with this highlights clip from last year’s tremendous End Of The Road festival.

As you’ll hopefully remember, Uncut was on site for the festival – which took place at Larmer Tree Gardens last September. You can find our highlights blog here.

While we wait to learn more about the 2022 line-up, End Of The Road have put together this sizzling reel featuring a few of the many peaks from last year’s festival. And, yes, that is Uncut’s own Tom Pinnock interviewing Sleaford Mod Jason Williamson at the 28 second mark!

End Of The Road Festival runs between September 1 – 4 in Larmer Tree Gardens, Salisbury. You can find more details about ticket info from the EOTR website.

Pixies have already been announced as one of this year’s headliners. Stand by for more announcements soon.

The making of The Damned’s “Neat Neat Neat”

Graeme Thomson
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The making of The Damned’s “Neat Neat Neat”
“It’s pretty simple, really,†explains Brian James, The Damned guitarist and composer of their classic 45 “Neat Neat Neatâ€. “It’s a rock’n’roll song.†Kicking off with a corrupted Eddie Cochran bass twang, The Damned’s second single throws together bursts of thrilling guitar ri...

“It’s pretty simple, really,†explains Brian James, The Damned guitarist and composer of their classic 45 “Neat Neat Neatâ€. “It’s a rock’n’roll song.†Kicking off with a corrupted Eddie Cochran bass twang, The Damned’s second single throws together bursts of thrilling guitar riffage over an addictively stuttering rhythm, a coolly impenetrable lyric and a chorus that lands like three swift rabbit punches. The result is a supercharged blast of punked-up garage rock.

“Neat Neat Neat†was recorded live in a room once used by British fascist Oswald Mosley, squeezed between a terraced house and a garage, fuelled by cheap cider, copious ciggies and a surfeit of hostile energy. “There’s nothing posh about it,†says Captain Sensible, who played bass on the record. “It’s rough and raw. It was made in this dingy room with four fairly aggressive people shouting at each other! That’s why it sounds the way it does.â€

The Damned had formed in 1976. In October, five weeks before the Sex Pistols’ “Anarchy In The UKâ€, they released their debut, “New Roseâ€, the first British punk single. Shortly afterwards they joined the Pistols, The Clash and Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers on the infamous Anarchy Tour of the UK. “Everyone wanted to be the pre-eminent punk group, especially the managers,†says Captain Sensible. “They had this dreadful rivalry. The bands got on, but the managers were all sneering at each other. It was quite funny, really.â€

They recorded “Neat Neat Neat†less than a month later, at Pathway Studios in north London, during sessions for their debut album, Damned Damned Damned. As with “New Roseâ€, the producer was Nick Lowe. “We all knew that something was going on and our time had come,†says Lowe. “It all seemed very natural. There was a distinct meeting of minds, which was really exciting.†“Neat Neat Neat†emerged as the obvious choice for the album’s opening statement, as well as the band’s next single. “That was the track where I thought we had something really different,†says drummer Rat Scabies. “I always thought it had a really good groove, with the snaky bassline. It’s kind of slippery. Dare I say it, it’s a proper piece of music!â€

The original Damned lineup split within a year of the song coming out. Later in 2022, they will reunite for a series of UK dates. “Obviously “Neat Neat Neat” has to be there and “New Rose”,†says James. “They’re always a pleasure to play. Do we play them as fast as the recordings? Faster!â€

Tindersticks announce 30th anniversary compilation Past Imperfect

Tom Skinner
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Tindersticks announce 30th anniversary compilation Past Imperfect
Tindersticks have announced a new 30th anniversary compilation, Past Imperfect: The Best of Tindersticks ’92-’21. ORDER NOW: Johnny Marr is on the cover in the latest issue of Uncut READ MORE: Tindersticks – Distractions review The Nottingham band, whose latest album Distractions c...

Tindersticks have announced a new 30th anniversary compilation, Past Imperfect: The Best of Tindersticks ’92-’21.

The Nottingham band, whose latest album Distractions came out in 2021, will release the 20-track collection on March 25 via City Slang. It’ll comprise material from across the group’s three-decade career.

Previewing the record, Tindersticks have shared a previously unreleased song called “Both Sides Of The Blade”, which frontman Stuart Staples wrote for Claire Denis’ upcoming film Avec amour et acharnament.

The stirring track arrives with a black-and-white official video starring Suzanne Osborne. Directed by Staples, the clip serves as the singer’s “own visual take on the song (with a lot of help from his friends!)”.

Tune in here:

You can pre-order/pre-save Past Imperfect: The Best of Tindersticks ’92-’21 from here.

Speaking of the band’s 30th anniversary, Staples explained: “One of the greatest things I feel in approaching this milestone, is that all of the mistakes we’ve made are our mistakes. If there’s something wrong, there’s something wrong because we decided in the moment that this is what we should be and we physically made it that way.

“I’m kind of proud of that. We’re still here, we’re still connected, we’re still pushing and it’s been totally on our own terms. I can’t really think of many other bands that are in that situation.”

Past Imperfect also features an unreleased version of “Her” as well as the songs “My Sister”, “Can We Start Again?”, “Willow” and “Both Sides Of The Blade”. You can see the full tracklist below.

01 “City Sickness”
02 “Her (’92)” (Unreleased Version)
03 “Tiny Tears”
04 “Travelling Light” (Single Version)
05 “My Sister”
06 “Rented Rooms”
07 “Can We Start Again?”
08 “Dying Slowly”
09 “Sometimes It Hurts”
10 “My Oblivion”
11 “Harmony Around My Table”
12 “Show Me Everything”
13 “This Fire Of Autumn”
14 “Medicine”
15 “What Are You Fighting For?”
16 “How He Entered”
17 “Were We Once Lovers?”
18 “Willow (New)”
19 “Pink In The Daylight”
20 “Both Sides Of The Blade”

Sonic Youth announce rarities compilation In/Out/In, share slow-burner “In & Out”

Matt Doria
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Sonic Youth announce rarities compilation In/Out/In, share slow-burner “In & Out”
Sonic Youth have announced In/Out/In, a compilation of rare tracks recorded throughout the 2000s. ORDER NOW: Johnny Marr is on the cover in the latest issue of Uncut READ MORE: Sonic Youth’s Lee Ranaldo: “We kept our lives sane so we could make the music radical†Due out March 11 vi...

Sonic Youth have announced In/Out/In, a compilation of rare tracks recorded throughout the 2000s.

Due out March 11 via Three Lobed Recordings, the five-track effort bundles two songs recorded at the band’s old stomping grounds – the Echo Canyon studio in New York, which they operated before relocating to Hoboken – in 2000, one tracked during a soundcheck in 2010, and two home recordings minted in 2008.

To preview the record, Sonic Youth have shared the slow-burning jam “In & Out”. It’s the aforementioned track pulled from a soundcheck – which took place before a show in the Californian city of Pomona – spanning over seven minutes of atmospheric buzzing, cantering percussion, experimental twangs and Kim Gordon’s wordless vocal melodies.

Have a listen to it below:

According to a caption for “In/Out/In” on Bandcamp – where fans can pre-order a limited black vinyl pressing of it – the record is said to “reveal their last decade to be still heavy on the roll-tape and bug-out Sonic Youthâ€.

“The sequencing here is especially well thought out,†it continues, describing opener “Basement Contender” as “a super-unfiltered glimpse of the band at Kim and Thurston [Moore]’s Northampton house creating a gentle springboard of Venusian choogle, with phased Lee [Ranaldo] lappings at cascading Thurston figures forming a simmering soundtrackâ€.

The song “Machine” is said to have been recorded during the sessions for Sonic Youth’s 15th and final studio album, 2009’s ‘The Eternal, “and is a steamy exercise in stop-start rhythmic grunt amidst a jungle of chiming and upward spiralling chord progressionsâ€.

“Social Static” – a score piece from the titular film helmed by Chris Habib and Spencer Tunick – is described as “draping white sheets of noise over your head then descending into a gauzy maw of car-alarm guitars and ambient-yet-disruptive turbulence that eventually subsides into a smoky codaâ€.

In/Out/In comes as the latest in a series of archival Sonic Youth projects dropped on Bandcamp, with Rolling Stone reporting that future releases will include deluxe reissues of 1987’s Sister and 1995’s Washing Machine. Moore is also said to be working on a memoir, titled Sonic Life, which will expand on the group’s entire 30-year tenure.

Though Sonic Youth have no active plans to reunite, Ranaldo told Rolling Stone yesterday (January 18) that he’s not against the idea. “For a long time,†he said, “my initial response to people who did [reunion concerts] was, ‘They’re just doing it because they want to make money.’ It felt like such a cheapening way to go about that.

“But there’s a whole other side of it, people who want to see a band again. I felt that way when I saw Television and Gang Of Four reunion shows. I didn’t care why they were doing it. It was just marvellous to see them again. But we haven’t had to deal with it yet. It remains an open question mark.â€

Take a look at the cover art and tracklisting for In/Out/In:

1. “Basement Contender”
2. “In & Out”
3. “Machine”
4. “Social Static”
5. “Out & In”

Jenny Hval shares new Paul Simon inspired-single and unveils details of new album

Elizabeth Aubrey
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Jenny Hval shares new Paul Simon inspired-single and unveils details of new album
Jenny Hval has shared a new single from her new album: listen to "Year Of Love" below. ORDER NOW: Johnny Marr is on the cover in the latest issue of Uncut READ MORE: Jenny Hval – The Practice Of Love review The single follows on from the album's first single release, "Jupiter". Hval's ...

Jenny Hval has shared a new single from her new album: listen to “Year Of Love” below.

The single follows on from the album’s first single release, “Jupiter“. Hval’s new album, Classic Objects, will be released on March 11. You can pre-order the album here.

Speaking about the Paul Simon-inspired new single, Hval said it was inspired by a true story of a marriage proposal that happened in front of her while she was performing.

She explained: “For me, this experience was very troubling. It confronted me with the fact that I am also married. What does that detail from my private life say about me as an artist?  ‘Year of Love’ asks, who am I as an artist? Do my private actions betray my work and voice?â€

The song’s video was directed by Hval, Jenny Berger Myhre, and Annie Bielski.

Speaking about the video, which you can watch below, the three said: “A sense of loss and joy intertwines in a world of disconnected rooms. The artist inhabits these rooms. She is frozen in time, space, and mid-vowel. She is aware of her immediate surroundings. She is aware that there is more beyond what she can see.

“A version of her exists in a compressed, compromised, and objectified state. She is sitting in a room, in a house, in a neighbourhood, in the art industry.â€

Tracklist for Classic Objects
1. “Year of Love”
2. “American Coffee”
3. “Classic Objects”
4. “Cemetery of Splendour”
5. “Year of Sky”
6. “Jupiter”
7. “Freedom”
8. “The Revolution Will Not Be Owned”

Hval’s new album was mixed by Heba Kadry and is described in a press release as “a map of places; past places, like the old empty Melbourne pubs Hval’s band used to play in, public places Hval missed throughout lockdown, imagined, future places, and impossible places where dreams, hallucinations, death and art can take you. It is interested in combining heavenly things and plain things.”

Speaking about the ideas behind the album, Hval said: “In 2020, like everyone else, I was just a private person. No artists were allowed to perform. I was reduced to ‘just me.’â€

The experience led Hval to reflect on her life, including when she was 24 in Australia and diagnosed with celiac disease. The diagnosis affected the beginnings of her musical career.

“Although I would not say I have a disability, just an invisible complication, this revealed to me the impossible expectations of physical ableness from the music industry, or any industry relying upon a precarious workforce,â€Â Hval explains. “It revealed to me how little the human experience and its diversity is valued in music, which in turn revealed that it’s not really a very sustainable or even relevant form of expression.â€

The album will see Hval reflecting on her life after the pandemic hit, a time where her past and stories felt “completely stripped of value.”

Hval continues: “This made me want to write simple stories. My problem was that I found that the music component in the writing process made the words stray from their path and even jump into the absurd. I think it is just bound to happen when there is music involved. After all, a song isn’t just words, it has a melody, and the reason we have melodies is to step into the dark and jump off cliffs.â€

Hval has also announced a series of tour dates – you can see the full dates below and buy tickets here.

MARCH
11 – OSLO, Munchmuseet
17 – BERGEN, NO, Kulturhuset | Bergen
18 – STAVANGER, NO, Tou Scene
26 – TRONDHEIM, NO, Dokkhuset

APRIL
5 – STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Fasching
6 – COPENHAGEN, Enmark, Bremen Teater
7 – BERLIN, Germany, Columbia Theater
9 – BRUSSELS, Belgium, BRDCST Festival
11 – LONDON, UK, EartH
13 – PARIS, France, La Gaîté Lyrique

MAY
9 – BOSTON, Arts at the Armory
10 – BROOKLYN, Elsewhere
11 – PHILADELPHIA, PhilaMOCA
13 – WASHINGTON, Miracle Theatre
14 – COLUMBUS, Skully’s
15 – CHICAGO, Constellation
16 May – CHICAGO, Constellation
17 May – TORONTO, Lee’s Palace
20 May – SEATTLE, Neumos
21 May – PORTLAND, Holocene
24 May – OAKLAND, Starline Social Club
25 May – LOS ANGELES, Lodge Room

Bono says he dislikes U2’s name and is “embarrassed” by most of their songs

Tom Skinner
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Bono says he dislikes U2’s name and is “embarrassed” by most of their songs
Bono has spoken of his dislike of U2's name, most of their songs and his own singing voice. ORDER NOW: Johnny Marr is on the cover in the latest issue of Uncut READ MORE: U2 – The Joshua Tree 
30th Anniversary Edition review During an appearance on the Awards Chatter podcast (via The ...

Bono has spoken of his dislike of U2’s name, most of their songs and his own singing voice.

During an appearance on the Awards Chatter podcast (via The Times), the frontman explained that he turns off the radio when the group’s tracks are played because he can’t listen to his vocals.

He also claimed that he had only learnt how to sing “recentlyâ€.

Bono – real name Paul Hewson – went on to admit that he “still” doesn’t like U2’s band name. “I really don’t. But I was late into some kind of dyslexia,” he said. “I didn’t realise that The Beatles was a bad pun either.

“In our head it was like the spy plane, U-boat, it was futuristic – as it turned out to imply this kind of acquiescence, no I don’t like that name. I still don’t really like the name.”

He continued: “Paul McGuinness, our first manager, did say, ‘Look, it’s a great name, it’s going to look good on a T-shirt, a letter and a number’.â€

Explaining that most vocal performances “make me cringe a little bit”, Bono said that U2’s 2004 single “Vertigo” is “probably is the one I’m proudest of”. “It’s the way it connects with the crowd,†he added.

“I’ve been in the car when one of our songs has come on the radio and I’ve been the colour of, as we say in Dublin, scarlet. I’m just so embarrassed.â€

Although he believes “the band sound incredibleâ€, the 61-year-old frontman said his voice is now “strainedâ€.

Looking back to the ’80s, Bono went on to recall how the late Robert Palmer told U2 bassist Adam Clayton: “‘God, would you ever tell your singer to just take down the keys a little bit, he’d do himself a favour and he’d do us all a favour who have to listen to him.’

“But I was thinking out of my body. I wasn’t thinking about singing. I didn’t really think about changing keys. Did we ever change a key?â€.

He added: “I do think U2 pushes out the boat on embarrassment quite a lot and maybe that’s the place to be as an artist, you know right at the edge of your level of embarrassment.”

U2
U2. CREDIT: Helena Christensen

Bono said that U2’s 1980 debut record Boy contained “very unique and original material” in terms of lyrics, as did some “other albums” that followed.

“But I don’t think I filled in the details,” he continued, “and I look back and I go ‘God’.â€

You can listen to the conversation in full above.

Back in November, U2 guitarist The Edge revealed that the band were working on a new album. The update came shortly after the four-piece released the track “Your Song Saved My Life”, their first new material in two years.

U2’s most recent studio album, Songs Of Experience, came out back in 2017.

Bruce Springsteen confirmed as the highest-paid musician of 2021

Matt Doria
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Bruce Springsteen confirmed as the highest-paid musician of 2021
Bruce Springsteen has been named the highest-paid musician of 2021, bringing in a reported sum of $590million (£431.3million) – most of which he earned via the landmark sale of his masters and publishing rights last month. ORDER NOW: Johnny Marr is on the cover in the latest issue of Uncut ...

Bruce Springsteen has been named the highest-paid musician of 2021, bringing in a reported sum of $590million (£431.3million) – most of which he earned via the landmark sale of his masters and publishing rights last month.

The figure comes from a new report shared by Rolling Stone last Friday (January 14), wherein former Forbes editor Zack O’Malley Greenburg noted that all but three of last year’s ten highest earners banked on multi-million dollar catalogue sales.

Springsteen’s record-breaking deal with Sony Music, valued at $550million (£402.1million), marked the biggest sale a musician had ever made for their discography. It gave the company ownership of The Boss’ entire back catalogue, which spans 20 studio albums, 300 songs, seven EPs, 23 live records and more.

Word of the sale first came last November, when it was said he’d set his sights on upwards of $350million (£256.5million) for both the publishing rights and recorded masters to his expansive catalogue.

It was initially reported that Springsteen pulled in $500million (£365.6million) from the sale, though Greenburg says his $550million figure was generated “by scouring public documents and interviewing individuals with direct knowledge of major dealsâ€.

The bulk of the remaining $40million that Springsteen earned in 2021 came down to his return to Broadway last summer (where he played a sprawling 26 shows), as well as two collaborative projects with former US president Barack Obama – a book and Spotify-exclusive podcast both titled Renegades: Born In The USA.

Jay-Z tailed Springsteen in Rolling Stone’s report, racking up an approximate figure of $470million (£343.6million). The bulk of his earnings came from his $302million (£220.8million) sale of TIDAL – the divisive music streaming service he’d originally bought for for $56million (£40.9million) – to Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey.

David Bowie is best-selling vinyl artist of the 21st century

Charlotte Krol
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David Bowie is best-selling vinyl artist of the 21st century
David Bowie has been revealed as the 21st century's best-selling vinyl artist. ORDER NOW: Johnny Marr is on the cover in the latest issue of Uncut READ MORE: David Bowie’s contemporaries on lost album Toy: “We always felt that they were great songs†The late musician's vinyl sales f...

David Bowie has been revealed as the 21st century’s best-selling vinyl artist.

The late musician’s vinyl sales for the 2000s of 582,704 (calculated up until January 6) place him ahead of the only other act to top half a million units on the format – The Beatles (535,596 sales).

As revealed by Music Week’s chart analyst Alan Jones, in the 2020s the same two acts lead the way with Bowie on 134,237 sales and The Beatles on 113,613. Based on the Top 10,000 vinyl sellers of 2021, Bowie placed third (53,181) behind The Beatles (58,567) and Taylor Swift (56,917).

However, Bowie is ahead on vinyl for the two years of the decade so far due to a successful reissues campaign.

david bowie
David Bowie playing keyboards, performing live onstage in Iggy Pop’s backing band during ‘The Idiot’ tour. Image: Ian Dickson / Redferns

Most recently, Bowie’s “lost” 2000 album Toy has landed in the UK Top 5 with strong physical sales (based on Official Charts Company data). Music Weeks adds that the sales revenue will be substantial as Rhino Entertainment moved almost 1,000 (989) copies of the six 10†vinyl box that retails at almost £120 on the official website.

Total week one sales for Toy were 7,400, including the vinyl sales, 5,851 CD box sets priced at £26 (currently sold out on the official store) as well as 240 downloads and 304 sales-equivalent streams.

Toy, released on January 7, a day before what would have been Bowie’s 75th birthday, was the week’s overall biggest seller on physical formats (based on substantial CD volume).

Another Bowie vinyl – one of three Top 40 entries – claimed the most vinyl sales of any album in the past week. Hunky Dory, which was released to mark its 50th anniversary at the end of 2021, made a re-entry at Number 31 – its highest position since 2017 (2,081 of its 2,550 sales in the week were vinyl).

The third album appearance in the latest chart is 2016 Bowie compilation Legacy, which jumped 38-19 (3,231 sales), reaching its highest chart position for exactly a year amid the Bowie75 campaign activity.

The news comes as the vinyl format has continued to enjoy consecutive years of growth for nearly 15 years. The BPI reported recently that UK vinyl sales in 2021 were the highest they’ve been in 30 years despite widely publicised issues with backlogs and delays.

In the US, vinyl has overtaken CD in unit sales for the first time in decades. According to data from the MRC and Billboard, 38.3 per cent of all album sales in the country last year were in vinyl format, while it accounted over 50 per cent of all physical album sales (41.72 million sales out of a total of 82.79 million).

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