Treviso, Italy-based two piece Kill Your Boyfriend are releasing their fourth album 'Voodoo' via Sister 9 Recordings (Europe), Little Cloud Records (North America) and Shyrec (Itay). A frantic and hypnothising bacchanalia of Psych & Industrial tinged soundwaves, the new album is a collection of reverb laden necromantic charms, summoning the souls and bones of the greats in the Rock & Roll pantheon of the 1950s. The duo delivers such glittery dark enchantment via 7 hoodoo hymns, travelling with a crumbling, ghostly and magically whizzing Rocket 88, in the company of Marie Laveau and madame Lalaurie. It's a relentless whirl of Voodoo-Psych, Industrial-Billy, Electro-GrisGris, which you can dance to.

The new LP follows 'Killadelica', where Kill Your Boyfriend had refined their debut signature sound, bridging the gap between the semi-obscure but hauntingly fascinating tradition of Veneto's PostPunk (Death In Venice, Evabraun, Pyramids, etc.) and contemporary Psych-Nouveau. With 'Voodoo', Matteo Scarpa and Antonio Angeli, explore new genres and expand the sonic borders, without losing their original intent. They replace the synth bass with a bass-guitar, adding more fluidity and weight to a renewed and punchier rhythmic section. Electronic and acoustic percussion are fuller and heavier, and the band's new stomp-machine is a hyper-convulsive version of the saturated Rock & Roll and R&B drumming, from the cheap garage studios of 1950s indie labels.

Sida A is the most Rock & Roll of the two, and it is inspired by Michael Ventura's essay "Hear that Long Snake Moan", which brought forward the idea that "the Voodoo rite of possession by the god became the standard of American performance in Rock’n’Roll" where the performers "let themselves be possessed not by any god they could name but by the spirit they felt in the music”. Each song invokes one or a set of the lost souls of the Rock & Roll era, with 'The Day The Music Died' referring to the infamous 3rd of February 1959. Side B descends deeper into the magic swamps of Creole magic, with music taking on a much more liturgical function, conjuring shamanic possessions via extra layers of tribal percussion. The band says of side B: "we see it as a one long ritualistic descent into a psychedelic underworld made of echoing voices, claustrophobic spaces populated by lost souls, enchanters and witchdoctors."

For fans of: Throbbing Gristle, The Soft Moon, Suicide, Cult Of Dom Keller, Sonic Youth, The Cramps, Sisters Of Mercy, Wall Of Voodoo

TRACK LISTING

1. The King
2. The Man In Black
3. Mr Mojo
4. Buster
5. The Day The Music Died
6. Papa Legba
7. Vodoo

Bones Shake are a scuzzy, fuzz enthused garage rock trio formed in Manchester in 2011. They play everything to the extreme; violent bottle-neck blues riffs, drums kicked, pounded and exploited and squeals of reverb drenched vocals which when combined, will help save your soul. With a relentless energy, they’ve never taken their foot off the gas. Those efforts have been rewarded by Sister9 Recordings who release second LP Bleed on 22 July.

Through tirelessly playing across the UK and Europe, they have attracted a cult following that sees them fill out venues wherever they go; including a sold-out performance at the infamous Raut Oak festival. With a string of previous releases under their belt, they have gone from strength to strength and their last EP Privilege was released via Belgian label Never Trust Hippies. First LP Sermons was released in May 2019.

If Nick Cave and Alan Vega has a musical baby, it would be Bleed. Talking about the LP, Bones say that “Bleed is a regurgitation of sins, regrets and remorse. Bleed came about over lockdown; we broke everything apart and tried to put everything back together again afterwards. We tried adding a bass, a second guitar: none of it worked but trying those things it inadvertently changed the sound, it became bigger, more urgent, more primal. It was us against the world again”

Opener ‘Hey Hey’ is a stomper which grabs an instant hold and doesn’t let go. Its intense and penetrating, grabbing your soul and daring you to ask for release; is there a purer embodiment of rock n roll? Title track ‘Bleed’ has one of the catchiest guitar riff openings you may ever find and ‘Psychotic & Sweet’ with its tongue in cheek lyrics and infectious hook is sure to linger in your head for days. ‘Give Me Something’ is the slowest track, it gives you a precious moment to catch your breath and take a beat, to revel in its splendour.

‘Unwell’ was the first single and to go with the track the band gathered a group of merry misfits and put together a video which is both a poignant sign of the times and a harsh take on reality. The track’s ferocious energy doesn’t let up and the intensity is only sated in the guitar interludes. They have come a long way from their inception and nowhere is this more prevalent than in ‘Come Home’, a Suicide-esq, post punk masterpiece which stands apart. Bones explain “Fundamentally this album sounds better because we were less lazy, I mean physically… We carted our own amps and drums to the studio, we utilised our own organic sound rather than relying on studio gear. We were also a lot more disciplined, In the end Bleed captures us live like no other recording has, every guitar note, every skin hit and every scream resonates more in the ears than any other Bones Shake Record ever has before”.

‘Cold Heart’ sees a return to the most familiar Bones sound and belongs firmly in the Mississippi dive bars. Closing off with ‘Car Crash’, a final kick in the teeth, a cacophony of noise that sees out the album and leaves you wanting more – so much so you just start it from the beginning and experience Bleed all over again. You know it makes sense.

FFO: The Stooges, The Cramps, The Birthday Party 

TRACK LISTING

SIDE A:
Hey Hey
Bleed
Psychotic & Sweet
Give Me Something

SIDE B:
Unwell
Come Home
Cold Heart
Car Crash

Bones Shake are a scuzzy, fuzz enthused garage rock trio formed in Manchester in 2011. They play everything to the extreme; violent bottle-neck blues riffs, drums kicked, pounded and exploited and squeals of reverb drenched vocals which when combined, will help save your soul. With a relentless energy, they’ve never taken their foot of the gas. Through tirelessly playing across the UK and Europe, they have attracted a cult following that sees them fill out venues wherever they go; including a sold-out performance at the infamous Raut Oak festival. They have released 4 EPs and 3 LPs to date which has seen them go from strength to strength. Their last EP Privilege was released via Belgian label Never Trust Hippies and new album 'Bleed' is out on 8th July 2022.

TRACK LISTING

1. Privilege
2. Cracked Lips
3. King Dick
4. Fryin' Line
5. Bucket O' Blood
6. Girl
7. Cops
8. Kicks

Kill Your Boyfriend are a two-piece psych tinged, post-punk outfit formed in 2011 in Venice, Italy. They are Matteo Scarpa on guitar and vocals, and Antonio Angeli on drums. In Killadelica, the focus of the songs shifts from the person being killed, to the killer. It is the band's first album that features female names as track titles, which are taken from real female serial killers. The band explain that “the tracks are inspired by their stories and attempts to unravel the feelings that led them to make such extreme gestures, their motivations and emotions - revenge, hatred, search for power, lust, avarice.” They further explain that “the themes explored point to an unfortunate fact, that most of these forces ae still present in modern society.”

The album’s story starts with ‘Anula’, a slow building track that explodes into cacophony with an ethereal vocal that remains long after it’s gone. ‘Jean’ and ‘Natasha’ offer a frenetic pace that captivates from the opening beat, with an instant desire to move along, in whatever fashion, exuding from the depths along with the hints of something dark and dangerous. ‘Nancy’ wastes no time in asserting its influence with the lyrics “Fear fear fear fear fear” and then the duo of ‘Agave’ and ‘Belle’ work in unison to add a little theatre; with extended background drone rising to new heights in the haunting synth melody that could repeat forever. ‘Marie’ and ‘Elizabeth’ offer a distinct industrial vibe, with the latter being the perfect lead single choice, attracting attention across the globe. Together they are powerful, creating something that can’t quite be named, just below the surface. You know it’s there, but you can’t quite place it. The intrigue is intense. This is only compounded by ‘Eve’ which ramps the tempo up to the max, leaving you breathless and wondering what happened. ‘Aileen’’s countenance is more subtle in its execution before the concluding ‘Kathy’ knows how to mark its presence, ensuring that the stories relayed here, are not easily forgotten.

There are no two tracks alike, just as is the case with the people whose stories are being told. There is no doubt that Killadelica is dark, and yet whilst exploring a topic that most would consider macabre, Killadelica's sound explodes into kaleidoscopic and luminous reflections of light, creating a weighty juxtaposition that makes the album a must listen to for anyone of a psychedelic, post-punk or even industrial persuasion.

FFO: The Soft Moon, Suicide, Sonic Youth

TRACK LISTING

A1 Anula
A2 Jean
A3 Natasha
A4 Nancy
A5 Agave
A6 Belle
B1 Marie
B2 Elizabeth
B3 Eve
B4 Aileen
B5 Kathy