Theatre: The Fall

Irish quintet Theatre go for a wall to wall late 80s sound on their debut single The Fall, a song about facing the ruins of a broken friendship. It turns out that the breakup is actually good news, as the other involve party was a toxic asshole. They have been gigging endlessly to build a fanbase and that paid off, landing them a record deal with Echo, a hip BMG imprint. The video was directed by Keelin Sutcliffe.

Labasheeda: instant crowdfunding show in Amsterdam; tour dates

Amsterdam based art-rock band Labasheeda will play a special instant crowdfunding show at Zaal 100 in their hometown on May 16 for their new album. Expect many guest players and a VJ. Two sets and the album can be purchased right there and then.

Tinned Meats: Kilter

Psych jazz with a punk attitude plus a seasoning of noise and prog sounds like an interesting idea, right? English quartet Tinned Meats put all those elements in a blender for their second album Kilter. Some of the songs are quite abstract, almost like sketches, but messing around with them any further would surely have killed the vibe.

Spontaneity sits next to carefully composed parts, making it an album that requires some time to fully appreciate. Chopped guitar notes a la Televion and Devo are softened a bit by the three=part harmonies. This is a band that sounds no other, or a bunch of your favourite artists from various genres at the same time. A long overdue breath of fresh air in the overcrowded post-punk scene.

XTC: "Live Boots - Live At Emerald City 1981" for Record Store Day

Live Boots - Live At Emerald City 1981 is supposedly the first of a series of XTC recordings. This show has been circulating among collectors in rather bad sound quality, but none other than Andy Partridge has overseen the mastering for this Record Store Day release (April 18), so it will definitely be an upgrade. Did he sign off on the horrible artwork as well? 2500 copies of the 2LP are available worldwide.

Spottiswoode: It Wasn't In The Script

photo: Brian Geltner

English singer-songwriter Jonathan Spottiswoode has been a parent of a daughter now for quite some time, which made him reconsider his responsibilities as well as the undeniably fact that he is getting older. On his new album It Wasn't In The Script he can not help but wonder how much it has changed in his life, but now that he has adapted to this new reality, he actually quite likes it. He even went as far as to have his daughter singing backing vocals on most of the tracks. Being joined by your offspring is tricky - what if the little brat hasn't been gifted with the genes of the parent or, even worse tries to steal his thunder? It turns out that little Sophie actually can carry a tune (phew) and while she probably will hate her contributions once she hits puberty, she will come around eventually and cherish these moments in the recording studio.

As a songwriter and musician Spottiswoode alway has been on the fence between jazz and pop, both as a solo artist and fronting his ace band His Enemies, taking cues from both English folk and the less polished sound of off-broadway performances. While he has been spending most of his time in New York for longer than he cares to remember, the pull of London is always there, hence a heartfelt song about wanting his kid the sights of Camden town - "I'm a washed-up rock and roller, I played a season in hell Now I'm pushing a stroller along the Regents Canal // Couples grinning like they know who we are // But it's not me, it's my baby, she's the star" - in When I'm With You.