Heart - The Second Ending - Live at KWSU TV 1976

‘Live On Air’ with Heart is a real wet dream for any fan of the bands early material. This is a recording with the band from very early days when the original line-up was still intact and the band were first breaking out, before they were a household name. This was recorded live at the KWSU-TV (A public TV station out of Washington State University) in Feb-March 1976 and the show was called Second Coming, right before the release of the debut album ‘Dreamboat Annie’. This is a terrific show, taped in front of a small audience. The set featured 9 songs at an approx 55-minute show and I’m doubtful anyone left disappointed even though probably none realized they were witnessing the beginning of a superstar career. The Second Ending was a show that was broadcast somewhat irregularly in the Pacific Northwest beginning in early 1976 and ran for at least 2 years. If you go through the Archives Department at WSU you will find that this show was aired on Saturday the 9th of April 1976 at 10:30 pm with a re-run on Sunday they 10th of April at 6:30. Many newsletter clips from student magazines at the time refer to the group as ‘Hart’ and that they are from Canada. This really proves how unknown they were at the time. The director of ‘The Second Ending’ series Michael J. Costones would actively seek out local artists to showcase on the series. The studio is very small and held between 50-75 people, mostly WSU students. On this date for the Heart performance, it is clear the majority of the crowd had never heard of the band and are visibly blown out by this unknown band from the Pacific Northwest. This show is a real treat to hear. The sound quality is better than most Live On Air series albums I've bought before. Very listenable considering the performance, which is excellent. It even has Roger pulling out the bow and doing a Dazed And Confused type thing on his Les Paul. The tracks are all from Dreamboat Annie except for ‘Heartless’ and ‘Devil delight’ that were written around the same time and would appear on the album ‘Magazine’ that was delayed and released first in 1978. The productions and rarity of the show makes it a must have for any old time Heart fans. British label Plastic Head has during the last ten years released a lot of re-issue under their side labels Back on Black and Rock Classic records. Now they have found a ‘copyright gap’ when it comes to American live radio broadcasts. Radio broadcasts that are under the public domain in the States are legally public domain even in the UK. They started a new side label called Southworld to release this kind of material. I have seen people saying these are bootlegs because the bands which music they release have nothing to do with them. However the gap in the copyright law seems to make these legal. The might look cheap on the cover and lacks any fancy booklets as the label can’t use the bands’ real logo and they can only use photos for which they can get the copyright too. Even though the discs looks ‘cheap’, the music in many cases is splendid and features unique live material from an era in the band’s history which might not have been released on any other official live albums.  From: https://tpl.se/music/heart-live-on-air-1976/

Zoot - Eleanor Rigby (Beatles cover)

For the release of Zoot's inaugural single, "You Better Get Going Now," the band draped themselves, as well as the gaudy Berties discotheque venue, in bright pink. Pushing the slogan "Think Pink - Think Zoot," the band would later burn their pink suits and bare their backsides in an act of defiance that ultimately was unable to resurrect their forever pink-stained careers.
Forming in Adelaide, South Australia, in 1966 and calling themselves "Down the Line," a soon re-badged Zoot achieved local fame on the dance scene before moving to Melbourne in 1968. Shortly after their pink-fuelled launch, their second single, "One Times, Two Times, Three Times, Four," peaked at number 32 on the Melbourne charts and the band began playing the Melbourne TV show Uptight regularly. Their next single, "Monty and Me," hit number one in Brisbane and the band, along with local contemporaries the Valentines, the Flying Circus, and New Dream, developed a strong teen following with their blend of disposable pop. Replacing guitarist Roger Hicks with Rick Springfield saw the band's sound begin to mature, and they toured with the cream of Australian pop on the national Operation Starlift Tour in September 1969. They ended the year by being voted Top Australian Group in Go-Set magazine's Pop Poll.
Despite burning their former pink outfits for the cameras and baring their backsides for Go-Set, their next single, "Hey Pinky" (April 1970), failed to chart. Nevertheless, the band placed second to the Flying Circus in Hoadley's National Battle of the Sounds final in July 1970 and released their debut album, Just Zoot, the following month. The band achieved their biggest hit with their next single, a cover of the Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby," which peaked at number four on the national charts in March 1971. The single later achieved gold status after being re-released by EMI in 1979 and Zoot formed a reputation for performing heavy covers of well-known songs. Zoot's next single, "The Freak," failed to achieve chart success and, still haunted by their former teen-star status, the group disbanded in May. Several of the band members continued successful careers in music and film, including Rick Springfield, who went on to achieve international success as a singer and actor in the U.S.  From: https://www.allmusic.com/artist/zoot-mn0000813009#biography  

The Story - So Much Mine

The Story’s debut Grace in Gravity no doubt escaped many folk-pop lovers, but The Angel in the House made its presence felt subtly at adult album alternative stations across America. Syncopated percussion and bossa nova rhythms mark the sound of the Story's second album, while a more formed feminist, and at times metaphysical, sensibility permeates the lyrics. Virginia Woolf inspired the album's title, and liner notes explain the other literary thoughts (from Germaine Greer, Horton Foote, et al) that underscore individual songs. Angel concerns itself with the psyche of womankind - how woman is affected by the struggle to find herself, to find love, and to hold on to both. At times, it's a dark process. "The Barefoot Ballroom" begins with Brooke stating, "sometimes I'm happy. mostly I'm not. I like to be alone a lot." The beautifully arranged "At the Still Point" features shifting time signatures and percussive nuances such as hand drums; "Missing Person Afternoon" uses congas. The a cappella opening of "In the Gloaming" is breathtaking; a piano comes in on the second verse, and the two women sing lyrics inspired by playwright Harold Pinter.  From: http://jenniferkimball.com/cds/f/The_Story

Smokey Robinson & The Miracles - Going To A Go-Go

Though it’s title track ignited a nationwide fad for go-go music, Smokey Robinson & the Miracles' Going to a Go-Go LP certainly wasn't just a cash-in effort. It's one of the best records the group put out, and the first six songs make for the best side of any original Motown LP of the '60s (granted, all but one are also available on dozens of Miracles compilations). The four biggest hits were among the best in a set of Miracles archetypes: the throwback to the aching '50s doo wop ballad ("Ooo Baby, Baby"), the flashy up-tempo dance song ("Going to a Go-Go"), the dancing-with-tears-in-my-eyes jerker ("The Tracks of My Tears"), and the mid-tempo orchestral epic ("My Girl Has Gone"). "Choosey Beggar" is one of the sweetest of all Robinson's lead vocals, with stunning background work by the rest of the Miracles. Even the album tracks shine, with "All That's Good" and "Let Me Have Some" working as excellent additions to the program.  From: https://www.allmusic.com/album/going-to-a-go-go-mw0000872358#review

Plurabelle - Our Fires

It's all about the ominous vibes with Plurabelle's Our Fires, a track imbued with such an oppressive aural quality that it's kind of impressive. Couple that with the 2 tone music video by Mattis Dovier, who seems to be taking a few queues from Maruo Suehiro's muzan-e (A more violent ukiyo-e) stylings and low-fi PC graphics and you've got yourself one hell of a horror music video. The track is taken from Phantom Pyramid LP, set to release on June 16th via Stellar Kinematics.
Adolescence, embodied by the mutation into a monstrous beast, is a tribute to B-movies, drawing references from John Carpenter's or illustrator Charles Burns' universes. Symbolism in the transition into adulthood is seen as a rite of passage, requiring the death of a human being and the birth of another. The haunting mystical song immerses us inexorably into the intricacies of this transformation you can't avoid, whatever you do.  From: https://awesomerobo.blogspot.com/2014/07/plurabelle-our-fires.html

OK Go - This Too Shall Pass

The second music video for "This Too Shall Pass" was co-directed by Damian Kulash and James Frost. Similar to the band's video for "Here It Goes Again", the "This Too Shall Pass" video features a four-minute, apparent one shot sequence of the song being played in time to the actions of a giant Rube Goldberg machine built in a two-story warehouse from over 700 household objects, traversing an estimated half-mile course. As the song and machine operate, the members of the band are seen singing alongside the machine, with the members being shot at by paint guns at the song's finale. Parts of the machine are synchronized in time with the music; in one instance, glasses of water are used to repeat part of the song's melody in the fashion of a glass harp. One part of the machine shows the "Here It Goes Again" video on a television before it is smashed by the machine. The MAKE magazine 1993 Ford Escort racecar, used for the 24 Hours of LeMons, appears in the video along with a miniature LEGO version of the car. Alongside the LEGO car, several LEGO mini-figurines are displayed as a reference to the marching band video.
The floor plan for the Rube Goldberg machine used in the video covered two floors of a warehouse and had several distinct stations that worked in time with the music. The video's inspiration was from the band, who wanted "a giant machine that we dance with", a long-term aspiration of the band and inspired by other Rube Goldberg machines shown in videos on YouTube, including the interstitials used on the Japanese children's show PythagoraSwitch. While they considered the idea of the machine for each song on Of the Colour, they opted to use "This Too Shall Pass" to make the end result "majestic and epic", even though it already duplicated the previous marching band video. They sought help through online science message boards, eventually coming in contact with Syyn Labs. From a pool of talent at a Syyn Labs-hosted "Mindshare LA" gathering, about 55 to 60 people from Syyn Labs, the California Institute of Technology (including some who work at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and participated in the Mars Exploration Rover program, hence the model rover seen in the video) and MIT Media Lab helped to design and construct the machine. Damian Kulash's father (Damian Kulash Sr.) also participated in the machine's construction.
The team had to work on a limited budget, using recycled trash for many of the props in the device; after filming, the total estimated cost was approximately $90,000. The team avoided the use of "magic" — automated devices like computers or motors — and instead focused on purely physical devices. The total time to create the video from conceptualization was about six months, with two months of planning and four months for design and filming. The warehouse where filming took place was in the Echo Park section of Los Angeles, and was secured by Syyn Labs in November 2009. The final construction within the warehouse took over a month and a half during January and February 2010. The band members helped in the last two weeks of construction, having spent the previous four months on tour.
Once the machine was completed, the filming, using a single Steadicam, took two days to complete on February 11 and 12, with an estimated 60 takes for the machine to properly function. The first day of filming included 47 takes, none of which successfully completed the entire machine and necessitated a second day of filming. Many of the takes ended only 30 seconds into the process, at the start of the song's chorus, where a tire would fail to roll properly into the next section of the machine. Syyn Labs had a group of 30 people to help reset the machine after each failed take, a process that took upwards of an hour depending on how far the machine ran. There were no significant injuries during filming; Tim Nordwind once was hit hard with paint at the end, while the Steadicam operator nearly got hit with one of the barrels at the end of the mechanism in the shot used for the final video. His reaction may be seen in the released version of the video.  From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/This_Too_Shall_Pass_(OK_Go_song)#cite_note-wired_video-8

How To Destroy Angels - The Space in Between

This is the album and video version of ‘The Space In Between’. After opening with a looped drumbeat, ambient and delayed guitars enter, followed by a deep synth strings bassline and  Mariqueen Maandig's softly-sung verse. The chorus features more guitars layered on top of the differing bassline and harmonized vocals, followed by a second verse characterized by echoing Swarmatron manipulations. Even more guitars enter for the final chorus, which builds its harmonies as it repeats twice, matching the building layers of guitars. The entirety of the song cuts off suddenly at the end of the second chorus repetition.
The video, directed by Rupert Sanders (who is primarily known for creating video game advertisements) is set in a hotel room, and opens to the corridor outside. It cuts to a shot of an ajar door, and of an over-running sink, to show that something surprised the room. Once the vocals come in, we are given a shot of a recently-murdered (albeit singing) Bride (Maandig) sitting against a bed, surrounded with blood. Following close up shots show that a struggle had occurred, and show a long-burning candle near a stack of papers and a shot of another, unmoving, dead body; that of the Groom (Reznor) in a pool of his own blood.  We are then shown a woman (Molly McDowell) speaking on the phone, and a man (Atticus Ross) watching motorbike racing on the hotel's television. The pair are totally oblivious to the scene beside them despite the carnage. The video shows the weapons beside both the Bride and the Groom (a glass and knife respectively), to convey to the viewer that they killed each other. The video cuts to show that the candle has ignited the stack of papers, and gives us the close up of the murdered man's face.
The remainder of the video shows the spread of the fire engulfing the corpses and their half of the room, and the apparent nonchalance of the supposed murderers. The video also reveals that there is apparently another man in the bathroom, but only his feet and hands are ever seen. The video cuts out abruptly as the Bride and Groom are totally consumed by the fire.  Director Rupert Sanders has said that this video is a metaphor for how neglect can allow love to die, symbolised by the self destruction of the married couple, totally ignored by the pair opposite. The video can also be seen as a partial rebuke towards much of the negative response that Maandig and Reznor received after their engagement was made public, a reminder that everyone is human and that everyone can be hurt.  From: https://www.nin.wiki/The_Space_In_Between

Motus Tenebrae - Deathrising

While this may be my first experience of Italian doomsters Motus Tenebrae, they’ve been together since 2001, a miserabilist five piece that have released an impressive four full length albums prior to this slab of grief. Look, before we get down to the review proper, there’s something we have to talk about. This may save you some time. Your enjoyment of this album is going to be directly proportionate to the extent to which you enjoy Paradise Lost. While it is true to say that there are a plethora of different influences to be heard on this album, anyone with even a passing knowledge of the more downbeat corners of our beloved heavy metal will prick up their ears on hearing the music, perhaps with a slightly upturned Spock-ian eyebrow raise. You see, it’s entirely fair to say that “Deathrising” passes more than a fleeting resemblance to the sonic mastery of Paradise Lost circa “In Requiem”. It wouldn’t be fair to say that they are an exact copy, though certainly to my ears, there are enough parallels to make this more than accidental. Take, for instance, the vocal phrasing of vocalist Luis McFadden on (admittedly excellent) track “Black Sun”. Having been a fan of Nick Holmes for his entire career, the singing is almost an exact simulacra of his pipes. Given that I’ll listen to pretty much anyone with the slightest audio resemblance to Ozzy Osbourne-era Sabbath, I can’t claim that this gave me any cause for concern.
Elsewhere, this is thoroughly meaty, full-fat excursion into the depths of misery. Listening to the album in a single, concentrated sitting with no distractions it’s possible to hear a refinement of the modern, polished be-doomed metal. In particular, the bottom-end grunt of Andreas Das-Cox (bass) and the drums of Andrea Falaschi (drums) underpin the tracks really effectively. On third track, and all-round-stormer “For a Change”, it’s great to hear the band loosen up a little and up the tempo.
Title-track “Death Rising” exemplifies the album’s approach. It begins with a gnarled, appropriately grim guitar tone, before opening up with delicate, minor-key melodies and guitar touches, and an almost-dream like wash of keyboard news. Long-time readers may recall that in general I approach the presence of keyboards in my heavy metal like I approach the presence of Jeremy Clarkson on my tellybox; I know that they appear to be popular, but I just find them irritating. Harvey Cova manages to do a cracking job on the keyboards here, mostly, I think, by being sympathetic to the rest of the music and not drowning everything else out. It’s a mark of the musician that he has been relatively subtle throughout the album in how the keyboard has been deployed.
The production has that modern punch and sheen that we have come to take for granted, though pleasingly, the guitars have had their grit and attack well preserved. Through a decent pair of headphones the whole thing sounds like it has been given a really expensive production, easily sitting shoulder to shoulder with anything produced by the “big name” producers, though as a minor gripe, I would have liked to have heard the guitar melodies pushed slightly louder in the mix, as occasionally I felt they were drowned out by the bottom end. There’s a lot to enjoy here, and while the Paradise Lost comparisons are too close for comfort at times, they wouldn’t be the first, nor indeed the last band to do a decent job of producing something that they can claim as their own while using that mighty outfit’s blueprint – it certainly hasn’t done any harm for Gothic-era boredom-inducers Katatonia, for instance.  All in, I found myself agreeing that “Deathrising” had done enough to satisfy the “would listen again” test by some margin. An accomplished, if not entirely original, treat.  From: https://avenoctum.com/2016/01/19/motus-tenebrae-deathrising-my-kingdom/

Cranes - I Hope

British group Cranes are known for their haunting, otherworldly sound, distinguished by the curious, childlike vocals of singer Alison Shaw. Though their music resists easy categorization and has evolved over the course of the group's career, their work is well regarded by fans of dream pop, gothic rock, darkwave, and related genres. They formed in the mid-'80s and initially had an abstract, quasi-industrial sound, featuring heavy drum machine beats and harsh, noisy guitars. Their full-length debut, 1991's Wings of Joy, was a more polished refinement of their ethereal style, and their most commercially successful efforts, 1993's Loved and 1994's Forever, contained their most accessible, pop-informed material. Following the relatively straightforward alternative rock of 1997's Population Four, Cranes returned from a brief hiatus with an updated lineup and a slightly more electronic sound for a trio of albums beginning with 2001's Future Songs. The band resumed performing in 2023, and released several reissues and archival collections, including the 2024 box set Collected Works, Vol. 1 (1989-1997).
Cranes were founded by siblings Alison Shaw (vocals, bass, acoustic guitar) and Jim Shaw (guitar, bass, keyboards, drums) in Portsmouth, England in 1985; the two have remained the band's only consistent members. Heavily influenced by the Cure and Nick Cave as well as industrial acts like Foetus and the Young Gods, Cranes released their first demo cassette, mini-album Fuse, on Bite Back! in 1986. Self-Non-Self, another mini-album and the band's first vinyl release, appeared in 1989, at which point the band started gaining attention from famed DJ John Peel. They recorded two sessions for his radio show, and signed to the BMG-affiliated label Dedicated in 1990. By this point, the band's lineup had expanded to include multi-instrumentalist Mark Francombe and guitarist Matt Cope. Two EPs, Inescapable and Espero, were issued during the year, and the group appeared on the cover of Melody Maker. Wings of Joy, Cranes' full-length debut, arrived to positive reviews in 1991, and the group expanded their audience when they opened for the Cure on their world tour in 1992. Forever, the band's 1993 full-length, was their commercial breakthrough, in part due to the U.K. Top 30 success of the heartbreaking single "Jewel," which was given a transformative rework by the Cure's Robert Smith. Third album Loved followed in 1994, featuring another of the group's most memorable songs, "Shining Road," which also made the U.K. singles chart.
La Tragédie d'Oreste et Électre, an experimental work inspired by Jean-Paul Sartre's play Les Mouches, was released in a limited edition of 10,000 copies in 1996, though it was actually recorded during the same time period as Loved, and the two were initially intended to be issued together as a double album. Full-length Population Four, the band's only album with drummer Manu Ros, and EP Collection, Vol. 1 & 2 both appeared in 1997. However, Dedicated folded, and Cranes' lineup at the time disbanded. The Shaw siblings reformed Cranes in 2000, this time featuring guitarist/keyboardist Paul Smith, bassist Ben Baxter, and drummer Jon Callender. They launched their own Dadaphonic label, while issuing their music stateside on Instinct. Future Songs, which sounded thoroughly like Cranes but incorporated ambient and trip-hop influences, appeared in 2001, with the single "Submarine" including remixes by techno producers like Dietrich Schoenemann (Prototype 909) and Jack Dangers (Meat Beat Manifesto).  From: https://www.allmusic.com/artist/cranes-mn0000128141#biography

Jeff Buckley - Live in Chicago 1995

 Jeff Buckley - Live in Chicago 1995 - Part 1

 Jeff Buckley - Live in Chicago 1995 - Part 2

 

Singer, songwriter, and guitarist Jeff Buckley's untimely death gives this 108-minute live performance inevitable poignancy and power as a rare, complete document of his passionate writing and playing style. At the time of Buckley's ascendance in the mid-'90s, both his high-flying vocal attack and his edgy poetic sense struck older listeners as genetic markers from his father, folk-rock legend Tim Buckley. Yet Buckley pursued a much more electric, rock-ribbed style, nodding toward behemoths like Pearl Jam and even Led Zeppelin. This 1995 concert is a single, complete show from the tour that yielded the posthumous Mystery White Boy live album. It likewise impresses, both for Buckley's own songs and the bold cover choices included, here including songs associated with Nina Simone and the MC5 (a range that explains the emotional epics that Buckley favors). Visually, the unadorned lighting scheme casts an often harsh light on the pale, dark-haired frontman, but a generally solid performance is sonically captured with satisfying detail, and the 5.1 surround sound mix gives the DVD version an appropriate club ambience.  From: https://www.amazon.com/Jeff-Buckley-Live-Chicago/dp/0738900672

 

Skunk Anansie - Charlie Big Potato

British alternative quartet Skunk Anansie played what their lead singer, Skin, called clit-rock - an amalgam of heavy metal and Black feminist rage. Skin began singing in high school for a classmate's band after considering the offer for over a year. Six years after that band broke up, the members of Skunk Anansie (including bass player Cass, guitarist Ace, and drummer Robbie France, who was replaced by Mark Richardson in 1995) met one another by chance. Their name was taken from the West Indian folktales of Anansi the Spider-Man, with a slight change of spelling and "Skunk" added to make the name nastier.
The group played its first gig at London's Splash club in March 1994, subsequently taking six weeks to record its debut album, Paranoid and Sunburnt, at a "haunted house" outside the city. The band's first single, "Selling Jesus," was featured on the soundtrack of the film Strange Days; Stoosh followed in 1996, and three years later Skunk Anansie returned with Post Orgasmic Chill. They broke up in 2001, with Skin moving on to a solo career (releasing Fleshwounds in 2003 and Fake Chemical State in 2006). The group re-formed in early 2009, playing sold-out shows and recording three new tracks for a greatest-hits album, Smashes & Trashes. The reunion went so well that they decided to stick together and record a new album, Wonderlustre, released in the autumn of 2010, with the track "You Saved Me" used in Zack Snyder's 2011 movie Sucker Punch, along with their remix of Björk's "Army of Me."
Sadly, former drummer Robbie France passed away after his aorta ruptured in January 2011. The band released its fifth album, Black Traffic, in September 2012 and backed it with an extensive European tour. The first single from the album was "Sad, Sad, Sad." The group followed this up with the live album An Acoustic Skunk Anansie: Live in London, a recording of their performance at Cadogan Hall, London in April 2013, before their sixth studio effort, Anarchytecture, arrived in 2016. The following year, the band put out 25live@25 - a compilation album that traversed 25 years of live material.  From: https://www.allmusic.com/artist/skunk-anansie-mn0000019831#biography  

The Small Glories - Had I Paid

Winnipeg's the Small Glories are an acclaimed roots music duo featuring former Wailin' Jennys singer/guitarist Cara Luft and singer/guitarist J.D. Edwards, both of whom are exceptionally gifted instrumentalists in the folk, country, blues, and bluegrass genres. They initially gained attention touring in 2014 and gained wider buzz with their 2016 debut, Wondrous Traveler, which showcased their impressive dual-lead-guitar approach and rich vocal harmonies. The inception of the Small Glories began in 2012 when longtime acquaintances Luft and Edwards were paired for a show celebrating the 25th anniversary of Winnipeg's West End Cultural Centre. The performance was greeted with enthusiasm and sparked the notion of a future collaboration. Prior to joining forces, each musician had enjoyed a lauded career, with Luft having co-founded the Juno Award-winning trio the Wailin' Jennys and issuing her own highly regarded solo albums. Similarly, Edwards had distinguished himself playing in traditional bluegrass outfits and his own genre-bending blues, country, and R&B projects. Following their initial performance in 2012, their individual careers took precedence for a few more years until 2014, when Edwards joined Luft on tour. Again, the chemistry between them was undeniable and they quickly solidified their creative partnership. In 2016, the Small Glories issued their full-length debut, Wondrous Traveler. A sophomore album, Assiniboine & the Red, arrived in 2019 and included the single "Oh My Love."  From: https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-small-glories-mn0003488352#biography  

School Food Punishment - Loop, Share

Before breaking up in summer of 2012, School Food Punishment had proven itself to be one of Japan’s more consistent and forward-thinking rock outfits. Across three EPs and two albums, school food punishment espoused a unique electronic rock sound that had more in common sonically with avant-garde jazz than any kind of conventional rock music. This sonic direction can mostly be attributed to two of the band’s members: lead singer and guitarist Yumi Uchimura and keyboardist Masayuki Hasuo. Across all their projects, the group largely maintains a similar sonic palette and consistent lyrical themes of love, escapism and coping. And that’s not a bad thing: the group’s signature jazz-inflected electronic rock sound is one of the best genre-permutations this side of Kid A, proving to be a well of endless bounty for the group. Riff-rain follows their first two EPs, “school food is good food” and “air feel, color swim”. The latter EP spawned one of the band’s most successful singles, “you may crawl” and became how most of Japan learned of the band. So how do they follow such an immensely successful and well-regarded EP?
It’s immediately evident from the first song on Riff-rain, “Flow,” that the band has located its strengths and pulled them to the front. The song kicks off with the beautiful piano work of Masayuki Hasuo and puts extreme emphasis on the vocal work of lead singer Yumi Uchimura. The song itself is a midtempo piano-led ballad featuring some of the best vocal work from Uchimura up to this point. On the song, Uchimura likens the distance between her and the object of her affection to a body of water, and the five and six-beat meters in the song show just how indebted to jazz music the band really is. This song is followed by “Feedback,” another piano-led ballad that puts the spotlight on Uchimura’s transcendent vocals. In fact, this seems to be the approach of the entire EP, lending it a remarkable consistency that “air feel, color swim” in some ways lacked.
The synths on this EP are decidedly low-key, lending the tracks a sort of floating ambience that evokes a warm, summery feeling. Never are the tones icy or rigidly electronic, and this approach works perfectly in conjunction with the lyrics, which often address subjects of love and living. Standout lyrical tracks include “Egoist,” in which Uchimura laments the egotistical nature of a lying lover. The lyrics are poetic in their connections as she compares his narcissistic tendencies and her attempts to change him to yelling at a traffic light to change colors. The final track on the EP, “Over” ends using the same piano arpeggio that opens the album, creating a closed-loop of an experience that lends itself to multiple listens. It’s moments like these that populate the entire EP. From the soft electronics and beautiful instrumental work from the entire band (with noteworthy bass riffs on almost every song by Hideaki Yamasaki) to the stunning vocal melodies and masterful lyricism, school food punishment’s third EP is easily on par with their previous two, and indeed may be one of their best artistic endeavors.  From: https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/62478/School-Food-Punishment-Riff-Rain/

St. Paul & The Broken Bones - Convex

For all their efforts to expand their 8-piece band’s sound to include psychedelia and hip-hop rhythms, and as wide ranging as their lyrical pursuits have been – whether exploring Greek mythology, space travel and astronomical phenomenon, or sci-fi fantasy – St. Paul and The Broken Bones has always been a funky, R&B revue at heart. It’s been 9 years since their debut album, but nothing defines Paul Janeway and his comrades at their best better than that 2014 single, “Call Me,” with that phone number call out inspired by Wilson Pickett. Now on their fifth full-length release, St. Paul & Co. offer up their quietest, most intimate album yet, but on tracks like “City Federal Building,” “Sea Salt,” and “Wolf in Rabbit Clothes” you still hear that simmering funk and R&B underpinning that brought the band to the party.
Like most albums arriving after the global pandemic, Janeway has written his own quarantine love song, “Lonely Love Song,” sung over a gently played acoustic guitar. “Death ain’t what scares me,” he states, “it’s missing all that love that you give me,” before admitting there was some comfort in the world shutdown, “I wish we could be bored all the time.” But the singer with the remarkably high, tenor voice, has reported that the primary influence of the songs on Angels in Science Fiction, was learning about the birth of his daughter. In the album’s closing lullaby for “Marigold,” he expresses the separation anxiety that impacts many parents who travel to make a living: “I don’t want you to be alone, but I gotta go/I’ve got a show,” sung over a gently played piano with supportive strings. The 12-track album begins as it ends, a quietly sung ballad written to his future daughter, Janeway sings “I hope you get your mother’s eyes,” then seems to pray for angels to protect the child. The title track has a similar theme, as the former preacher Janeway confesses his questions about the presence of the divine, except that now, “I see (God) in your eyes,” and “Every prayer goes to you,” the gift of his daughter.
Musically, the entire project is delivered in more of an intimate, reflective mood. But here and there, the vibrant jazzy presence of Janeway’s Broken Bones bandmates rise to the surface. On the quieter song of praise for the “Magnolia Trees,” the band’s lush R&B soulfulness lifts the chorus up in tried-and-true fashion. And when the singer looks out on the world’s brokenness and “crumbling skyscrapers,” in “City Federal Building,” the rhythm section provides the sturdy drum beat and fine walking bassline that puts a skip in your step. Producer Matt Ross-Sprang and this able band take every opportunity to add a bit of sparkle and shine, with Browan Lollar on guitars, Al Gamble on keys, drummer Kevin Leon, bassist Jesse Phillips, and able horn section Allen Branstetter, Amari Ansari, and Chad Fisher adding what’s appropriate for the quieter, more gentle mood of this outing.
As a fan of St. Paul & the Broken Bones’ live show, I’m drawn to the songs that hint of the soulful, funky side of the band, a shout here and there in “Oporto-Madrid Blvd,” the hint of funk in “Sea Star,” the sultry bass line of “Wolf in Rabbit Clothes” that sends Janeway into the stratosphere of his falsetto with the jazzy piano pushing the tempo. But for all that, Angels In Science Fiction is designed to be a more reflective record, centered around Janeway’s meditation on the new life arising from the ashes represented in the birth of his daughter.  From: https://thefirenote.com/reviews/st-paul-the-broken-bones-angels-in-science-fiction-album-review/

Percival - A Tam Na Hore

Alan - Who are you and who answers questions?

K - I'm Katarzyna.

M -  and I'm Mikołąj. We're the band Percival and you probably know us because of our collaboration with CD Projekt RED in creating soundtrack for the Witcher 3 game.

K - We're not a typical band because we have many musical projects in one: we play a historical Slavic music as Percival, we play folk metal music as Percival Schuttenbach and we also have Wild Hunt Live shows where we present music known from the Witcher III game.

Alan - How many times were you playing in Czech republic?

K - A lot :) We live not so far from the CZR, so we visit it quite often.

M - This year we played at Blavicon - Witcher Festival in Tabor, we also gave one show in Prague as a part of our spring Percival tour. In the past we've participated in some historical festivals in Czech Republic, so yes, it's a lot.

K -  And soon we're going to play in Brno at Game Access Conference with Wild Hunt Liven project and we're really excited about that.

Alan - Where can we check you out?

M -  Please follow us on Facebook (Percival Schuttenbach), on Instagram (@percivalwhl,  @mikołajrybacki, @katarzyna_cello), we have also our website www.percival.pl and we also have our online shop where you can buy our CDs, T-shirts and more.

K -  Also please subscribe to our channel on YouTube - we release a new video almost every week: musical videos, Q&As and other stuff. We have our own show "Don't you shoot that!" where we show our musical lives and soon we're going to release the first episode of the third series. We know many people are looking forward to it.

Alan - When someone would have interest in your concerts in Czech Republic, where they can hit you out?

K -  As we mentioned before, very soon (May the 26th) we'll give a Wild Hunt Live show at a big event in Brno - Game Access. It'll be a treat for all Witcher's fans. The show is a combination of beautiful music, great lights, wonderful dance and acrobatic performances and video projections with the Witcher game fragments. It is definitely worth seeing.

M -  We definitely want to come to Czech Republic more often and we will. We have more and more fans here in your country.

Alan - What’s your last album, and what are you planing to do?

K -  We have a lot of exciting plans - concert tours, new shows, new albums with all our projects. We have many, many ideas and usually not enough time to make it all happen. But we're doing our best :)

M -  When it comes to our latest album, we released two of them this year: Slava III with Percival project - songs of West Slavs, the other one is "Dzikie Pola", the newest album of folk metal Percival Schuttenbach. Both are great :)  We put a lot of work into preparing them and we're really happy with the results. Now we're planning new albums, we don't have time to rest.

Alan - Where in Czech was the best city to play, and why?

K - So far we've played mostly in Brno and Praha and we must say that both are great. The audience always gives us a very warm welcome and it's a pure pleasure to play for them. So it would be really hard to say which one is better.

M -  We are always very happy to come and play for our fans in Czech Republic and  we can't wait to play Wild Hunt Live in Brno.

Alan - Do you have any favourite festival?

K -  You mean the festival we played at or just a festival in general? Also, a historical festival or a metal festival? Because they're totally different kinds of festivals and we used to play at both. There's so many great festivals, it's hard to distinguish only one.

M -  When it comes to historical festivals, the Festival of Slavs and Vikings in Wolin is probably one of our favourites, because, first of all, it's the biggest such festival in Poland, even in this part of Europe, so it's most impressive, but also because we go and play there every year, for almost 15 years now.

Alan - And in foreign countries? do you have any favourite festival or club?

K -  I don't think we have any favourite club in any foreign country yet. We haven't played enough shows abroad to have our favourite club.

M -  When we talk about festivals there's a few we'd love to play at, like Brutal Assault in Czech Republic, Wacken in Germany and the most crazy one, 70 000 tons of metal, the world's biggest heave metal cruise. That would be awesome to play there :)

Alan - Do you know any Czech musicians or bands?

K -  Yeah, sure, a few of them. My favourite band from Czech Republic is SSOGE (Silent Stream of Godless Elegy), they play really beautiful, very unique music. From time to time we meet at the same stage.

M -  The other such band we know and like is Cruadalach. We also know Helena Vondrackova i Karel Gott :D But also 123 minutes - we're not sure how to pronounce the name :) We were once at their concert a long time ago and we were really impressed.

Alan - Would you mind to cooperate with any Czech artist, and if yes with who?

M - Yes, why not. We don't have anyone specific in mind, but if there's an opportunity (and time!) we would be happy to do it. We're very open for any cooperations.

K -  In the past we already cooperated with Czech artists. On our "Svantevit" album our guests are Jan Vrobel, the ex-vocalist of Cruadalach and Pavel Zouhar, the ex-violinist from SSOGE. We also recorded some vocals for one of the Cruadalach albums.

Alan - You are a long time on the scene. Do you have any unfulfilled musician dream?

M -  Well, we're still working on it, we've been working on our musician dream for 20 years. Our main dream, our main goal is just to be able to live doing what we love - which is creating and playing music - and being able to do it without any limitations of any kind.

K -  I don't think there's an end to this journey. We must keep going and we'll probably never reach the point when we can say ok, that's it, we're here, we achieved everything we wanted, our mission is complete. We love that journey and the vision of constant progress but we also love what we've already achieved and what we have. We cooperate with great musicians, we give plenty of great shows, we keep growing, we have big plans for the future. We feel like all the best things are still ahead.

Alan - What 3 songs do people wanna hear on koncerts? and what is your opinion?

K -  It depends. We have three different musical projects and we play a different repetoir in each of them. There are some songs that people like the most, we're not always sure why they like these particular songs, but we don't argue with that and just play them on our shows and have fun.

M -  Some of our songs are popular because of the Witcher game, that's obvious. We play them on every show with every project - like Sargon (which is "Silver for monsters") or "Lazare ("Steel for humans").

Alan - What is your favourite 3 songs from you?

K -  Oh, this question is too difficult, definitely. We've been writing songs for 20 years and have plenty of them. I can't choose just 3 favourite songs, not even 10 favourite songs. It's impossible! I like plenty of them and it's a pleasure for me to play all of them.

M -  It is always nice to play the newest songs from the newest albums - they’re fresh and exciting and we can't get enough of them. But on the other hand, we sometimes reach for our older repertoire, for songs we haven't played for years and find them exciting too. We're sentimental about all our songs.

Alan - What do you wanna say to your fans in Czech Republic?

K - Thank you for your support, you're great! We love you Czech people and love playing for you! We hope we can play for you as often as it's possible!

M -  Yes, playing for you is a pure pleasure. See you in Brno :)

From: https://www.metalheartradio.com/en/articles/interview-with-percival-201

Spooky Tooth - Society's Child (Janis Ian cover)

"Society's Child" (originally titled "Baby I've Been Thinking") is a song about an interracial relationship written and recorded by American singer-songwriter Janis Ian in 1965. According to Janis Ian, Atlantic Records refused to release it although the company had financed the recording; the artist took it to Verve Records who agreed to release it. The song's lyrics concern an interracial romance – a still-taboo subject in mid-1960s America. Ian was 13 years of age when she was motivated to write and compose the song, and she completed it when she was 14. Released as "Society's Child (Baby I've Been Thinking)", the single charted high in many cities in the autumn of 1966 but did not hit big nationally until the summer of 1967.
The lyrics of the song center on the feelings of a young girl who witnesses the humiliation that her African American boyfriend receives from the girl's mother and the taunts that she herself endures not only from classmates but also from educators whose hypocrisy leads them to "laugh their smirking stares" while acting as "preachers of equality". It closes with her decision to end the relationship with the boyfriend because of her inability to deal with the social pressure. In her autobiography, Ian made this comment about the concluding line: "I didn’t want the breakup for their relationship to be just society’s fault. I wanted the girl to take some responsibility for it, too."
In 1964, Ian lived in East Orange, New Jersey. Her neighborhood was predominantly populated by African Americans and she was one of very few whites in her school. She said: I saw it from both ends. I was seeing it from the end of all the civil rights stuff on the television and radio, of white parents being incensed when their daughters would date black men, and I saw it around me when black parents were worried about their sons or daughters dating white girls or boys. I don't think I knew where I was going when I started it, but when I hit the second line, "face is clean and shining black as night", it was obvious where the song was going. I don't think I made a conscious decision to have the girl cop out in the end, it just seemed like that would be the logical thing at my age, because how can you buck school and society and your parents, and make yourself an outcast forever?
Songwriter and producer Shadow Morton signed Janis to a record contract and made the decision to issue "Society's Child" as her first release. Ian's original title for the song was "Baby, I've Been Thinking", but Morton changed it to "Society's Child". It was recorded using six studio musicians.  Leonard Bernstein's producer saw Janis perform "Society's Child" at The Gaslight and scheduled Ian to perform the song on Inside Pop: The Rock Revolution, an April 25, 1967 CBS television special about new pop music. After acknowledging the controversial nature of the subject, Bernstein praised the musical qualities of Janis Ian's "marvelous song": "Society's Child" contains many of the musical joys we've talked about, and some we haven't – like fascinating sounds, both natural and electronic, like a strange use of harpsichord, and that cool nasty electric organ. There are astonishing key changes, and even tempo changes; ambiguous cadences, unequal phrase lengths – the works! So it would seem that the kids of our pop generation have a lot to say. Later Janis Ian acknowledged the "incredible impact" that the program had on her career. Largely owing to Bernstein's efforts, Verve Records started promoting it in trade magazines and many radio stations picked it up. Some stations, such as Chicago's WLS, did not play the song, but rival station WCFL did, and there it peaked at #12 on 17 August and lasted twelve weeks on the playlist. Though several radio stations were slow to add the song to their playlists, this behavior extended the record's airplay life.  From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Society%27s_Child

Je Suis Animal - Beginning of Time

With the end of the year quickly approaching I was trying to assemble a rough cut of my favorite albums for 2008 and when I looked through the stack of cd’s I realized that there were more than a couple that I somehow neglected to write about.  It’s probably laziness or just a simple lack of time.  I work slowly, and am in constant awe of how other people seem to be so prolific with their writing.  So in an effort to bring you up to speed - at least my speed - I’ve got a couple posts about albums I’ve been enjoying this year but neglected here on the Finest Kiss.
The first such album is Self-Taught Magic from a Book by Je Suis Animal which came out way back in February over in Norway on the Perfect Pop Label.  It then got released in Australia on Lost and Lonesome in June and will be released in the UK in December on Angular.  No word on a US release date, but all of those labels do mail order.  Je Suis Animal are mostly from Norway but sound like they’ve been hanging out with Broadcast circa The Noise Made By People or maybe they are Electrelane reincarnated.  They have a slight 60’s spy sound provided by the use of old synthesizers, mixed with a 60’s girl group feel not dissimilar with what Lichtenstein are doing.  What makes this album so engaging is the guitar sound that rattles, drones and engulfs you like Stereolab at their most Krautrock.  I’m not kidding about the Broadcast comparison.  It is uncanny - on songs like Fortune Map, Mystery of Marie Roget and Indifferent Boy the band ratchet up their haunting, evocative charm.  I’ve been listening to this record most of the year and my favorite songs have evolved, starting with the more straightforward krautrock like Indifferent Boy and Secret Place, but like all really good records, every song ends up being a favorite and you can’t pick just one.  From: https://finestkiss.wordpress.com/2008/11/15/catching-up-je-suis-animal/

Mooon - Rainbow Flowers

Mooon recently appeared unannounced on stage at café Altstadt with Hidden Charms. Shortly after, the three young blues rockers from Aarle-Rixtel played in Eindhoven again, to be precise in the Effenaar at Club 3voor12/Eindhoven. High time to talk to them extensively. We meet in Mooon’s regular rehearsal space with the telling name 'Repetitiecentrum deoefenruimte' in Helmond, where the Melissa Etheridge and Adele covers of the rehearsing neighbours can sometimes be heard clearly. This is where brothers Gijs and Tom de Jong work on their music with their cousin Timo van Lierop almost every Tuesday.

Was there no rehearsal space available in Aarle-Rixtel?

Gijs: "We certainly had that space, we have a great place at home where we played for a while. After some trouble with an angry neighbour, we eventually had to look for a new rehearsal space." Timo adds; “Too bad, because spontaneous rehearsals – after all, we are not only family but also neighbours – are no longer possible.” Tom: “It has ensured that we rehearse with more focus and with more results, that is the only positive aspect of this situation. We have become more serious here in Helmond, because we pay for this space. That gives a different feeling than jamming and hanging out at home. Maybe we will be grateful to our neighbour for that one day. One day.”

Mooon is still a very young band, but your examples are very old by now. How did you come into contact with this music?

Gijs: “During a renovation, we were often forced to be in another room of the house. There was a record player and a pile of old records there. That is how Tom and I started playing this music. We soon wanted to start making music ourselves. Timo – our cousin and neighbour – already listened to this music a lot, so a band was quickly formed.”

When can we expect an album or EP?

Gijs: “We are going to record a whole album at the end of February. We wrote a lot about this last year.” Tom: “We don’t know yet when we’re going to release the album. The plan is to record everything first and then approach labels.
Timo: “That way we can work completely independently. That way no one can interfere. Not that we’re going to do crazy things, the album will stay in the same atmosphere that people know from us. Blues, garage and nice spacey, everything is in there again. Just all the music that we like ourselves. From blues to elevator music. Only dubstep you’ll never hear from us.”
Gijs: “We’re all going to sing on the album, and there are more instruments to be heard. And maybe the Hammond from the jam session in Gemert will return.”

What are your main ambitions for 2016 besides recording, and hopefully releasing the album soon?

All three in unison: “Play!”
Tom: “We mainly want to play a lot. And preferably on our own. We don't come from the rock academy, and we don't know much about 'the world', we just want to be appreciated for our music. So far that's going pretty well; we don't go after performances too much, luckily we get enough cool opportunities and offers."
Timo: "We also want to participate in Popronde this year. Last year we did register, but we didn't make it through the selection. Probably also because we were way too lax. We didn't have any well-recorded music out then and no website. We're never that quick with that kind of thing. Now the EP is on Spotify and we finally have a website, so we have a much better chance."

Translated from: https://www.popei.nl/eng/blog/interview-met-mooon/79

Gipsy Kings - Sessions at West 54th 1997

The Gipsy Kings are largely responsible for bringing the joyful sounds of progressive pop-oriented flamenco to the world. The band started out in Arles, a village in southern France, during the '70s when brothers Nicolas and Andre Reyes, the sons of renowned flamenco artist Jose Reyes, teamed up with their cousins Jacques, Maurice, and Tonino Baliardo, whose father is Manitas de Plata. They originally called themselves Los Reyes and started out as a Gypsy band traveling about playing weddings, festivals, and in the streets. Because they lived so much like Gypsies, the band adopted the name the Gipsy Kings. Later, they were hired to add color to posh parties in St. Tropez. Popularity did not come to Los Reyes right away, and their first two albums attracted little notice. At this point the Gipsies played traditional -- albeit passionate -- flamenco music punctuated by Tonino's precise guitar playing and Nicolas' exceptional voice. Though they had devoted fans, they still had yet to gain wider recognition until 1986 when they hooked up with visionary producer Claude Martinez, who could see that the Kings had the makings of a world-class band.
Thanks to Martinez, the Kings began to relax a bit and take on a more contemporary edge, combining their traditional songs with sounds from the Middle East, Latin America, North Africa, a hint of rock, and their inimitable joy. It was, in a music industry filled with flamenco purists who resisted any kind of change, a very daring move, and many felt the Gipsy Kings would fall flat and disappear. But the naysayers were wrong. In 1987 they released "Djobi Djoba" and "Bamboleo" on an independent label and scored two smash hits in France. Their success led them to sign with Sony Music and release their eponymous debut album later that year. Again, they had tremendous sales in France, and then found their album was appearing on the Top Ten album charts in 12 European countries, including England, which is traditionally unreceptive to international music.
In the late '80s, the Gipsy Kings debuted in the U.S. at the New York New Music Seminar. This led them to sign to Sony in America. In 1989, they were invited to perform at the inaugural ball for George Bush, but they chose to return home to rest and be with their families. Later that year, they held an SRO concert at the Royal Albert Hall, where the Gipsy Kings hobnobbed with some of the world's biggest pop stars, including Elton John and Eric Clapton. To top off their great year, the Kings' debut album spent 40 weeks on the U.S. charts and went gold, becoming one of the few Spanish albums to do so. The Kings have had an active release schedule ever since, including the albums Mosaique (1989), Live! (1992), Love & Liberte (1994), Tierra Gitana (1996), Cantos de Amor (1998), Somos Gitanos (2001), and Roots (2004). After extended touring, a new studio album Pasajero appeared in 2007, followed later that year by Live in Los Angeles. The Gipsy Kings continued touring the globe almost incessantly before taking an extended break during which several greatest-hits and best-of compilations appeared. In September of 2013, the band celebrated its 25th anniversary with the release of Savor Flamenco.  From: https://www.allmusic.com/artist/gipsy-kings-mn0000555695#biography  

The Asteroids Galaxy Tour - The Golden Age

In an age where conformation culture is threatening individuality in the music industry, The Asteroids Galaxy Tour are a unique feat – a group who haves repeatedly rebelled against the norm. Since the band’s inception, not only have they released three studio albums but their songs have been featured in iPod and Heineken commercials, and hit USA TV shows including Gossip Girl, CSI Miami and Suits. Their current album, Bring us Together, was released to critical acclaim in September 2014. The band’s lead singer Mette Lindberg formed the band with fellow Danish musician Lars Iverson in 2007. They met through mutual friends, who introduced Mette to Lars, the latter of whom was looking for a singer for his band. “We kind of looked at each other and said OK – let’s try to give it all we got.” Similar to her stage persona, Lindberg is ebullient and effervescent and possesses the ability to be refreshingly candid. During her conversation with Schön! she discusses all things Asteroids Galaxy Tour, from the beginnings of the band, to their evolution and their future plans.
They have had a meteoric rise – space pun intentional – and went from recording at Iverson’s home studio, to partying on a private yacht with Katy Perry and Rihanna. So does it feel like fame happened overnight? Mette Lindberg disagrees. “It takes a lot of time and a lot of hard work to make things happen. And sometimes when you create a song you have to remember that it might be a long time before you hear it on the radio. Of course we got some attention from the beginning, as in within the first year, but it took two years before our first album was released, so to us it feels like a long time coming.” Their first big break came when they were contacted by the management team of Amy Winehouse to open for her whilst on tour in Copenhagen. It was their first stadium show and Lindberg remembers her moment on stage as “super fast and super slow at the same time”. Recommended to Katy Perry by a friend, the band also got to support the California girl on tour in Europe.
Lindberg still finds it strange when her music is played on TV and radio. “It’s a bit funny, you know”, she says of her listening to her music on CSI Miami or when she first saw the iPod Touch commercial in a pub in London. Her first thought was “What the hell - they are playing my music”, followed by bewilderment. Working in tandem as a duo certainly means she and Lars have gone beyond the stage of being merely colleagues. She clarifies, though, that like all friendships it has its ups and downs. “We toured a lot for the second album and at one point Lars and I got a bit annoyed at each other. We travelled so much together, we were always together and it felt like we did everything together…we lost that friendship and I think most bands can relate to that. It’s the big issue that splits up bands. We took a break after that, we wanted to think about whether we want to make more music together.” Time off and a DMCs meant they decided not only to renew their friendship but to start work on their third album.
Listening to Bring us Together, it is obvious that it has a very different sound and feel to Fruit and Out of Frequency. For this album Lindberg and Iverson “wanted to write about their longings and the lust for everything - their search for euphoria” combined with a “moment that will never end”. It is a much more personal record about “that everlasting emotion of love that will not diminish” and the need “to stay in that moment forever, to feel the loneliness and longing” which eventually ends in jubilation. Lindberg further explains that with their second album they “tried to create a retro ‘60s or ‘70s vibe, whereas Bring it Together focuses on getting a more present and more futuristic tone”. They have foregone the use of drums in this album entirely and instead the beats resemble more of an electro and club sound. The change in direction is in keeping with the bands ethos in that they “don’t want to be the kind of band that can be defined into an exact genre”.
Having just finished touring to promote their new album, Lindberg explains “there are too many highlights”, but if she had to pick she would say it was the pleasure of playing the album to a live audience. The ability of music to affect people in a sub dimensional level and to have that connection with the audience is “invaluable and priceless”. Her one take home piece of advice for up-and-coming musicians would be to “learn to say no [if offered something they don’t believe in] as it’s much easier to say yes”. Now that touring is over, will they be taking a break before recording again? “Well actually I’m on my way to the studio to meet Lars now - we are going to collaborate on a song but I’m afraid I can’t tell you what it is, though it’s going to be big and exciting I think.” Wait and watch this space, then. In the meantime, The Asteroids are well and truly on their way to conquering the universe.  From: https://schonmagazine.com/AsteroidsGalaxy/