A chance meeting with someone who managed to get out of a cult inspired songer-songwriter Drew Danburry to write Oh, the Joy of Life! for his band Icarus Phoenix, taking a scalpel to all the false promises that keep religious fanatics in check. O, and the leader will fuck your sister. Nice constrast using upbeat, sunny side up music to expose the dark side. Evangelicals will hate it.
Avant-prog improv trio Stick Men have posted a recording of their show @ Elkton Music Hall, Elkton, MD on April 3, 2026 on Bandcamp. Pay-what-you-want for this board mix made by F.O.H. engineer Robert Frazza, so it sounds rather splendid. As per usual there are plenty of King Crimson tunes - check their treatment of Red - carefully arranged for this power trio format, as well as some stuff from the upcoming new studio album. Dive into The Well to get an idea what they have in store.
Watch Laurie Anderson perform five songs, including a slowed down cover of Dirty Blvd. by her late husband Lou Reed, for a NPR Tiny Desk Concert. She played electronics and violin, with Martha Mooke (viola, electronics) and Doug Wieselman (guitar, clarinet).
Setlist:English baroque-pop band Tugboat Captain have come up with a subtle song in irresistible 5/4 as the lead single for their new album All At Once. The dreamy Us & The Moon is shared canvas for all members, with each one of them adding sonic flourishes, embracing the vocal harmonies. It is a gentle plea to take care of one and other as the world is raging outside.
Us & The Moon is a self-released single. Buy it from their website. The All At Once album will be available on July 17th (vinyl, digital).
HCTF review of Dog Tale
German/English noise rock quartet BLKE have successfully mixed the density of bands like the Jesus and Mary Chain with the pounding rhythms of Krautrock, wrapped in a cloak of in-your-face psychedelic rock and post-punk. Their self-titled debut album is a freight train that pushes aside anything that gets in the way.
The songs come off as a dark and pessimistic - starting an album with a song called How about I end life sets the tone from the get-go, but there are rays of light poking through the clouds as a sign that not everything sucks. The band may be sitting on a wall of sound, but listen more closely and find out that there are some stairs as well as invitations to come up there and enjoy the view.
