PRIMAL SCREAM - 'Can't Go Back'

As previously reported, Primal Scream are back this summer with their 9th studio album Beautiful Future. The first single is "Can't Go Back" and it has a new video, which features Bobby Gillespie walking down a seemingly endless hotel hallway, as girls are being mysteriously (and creatively) killed one by one. The style is very much a throwback to videos of the early 80's with its intentionally cheap looking set and silly acting from the girls-kinda reminds me of an old Tom Petty or Robert Palmer video. If you give the song a chance, it really kicks in and kind of rocks.

Primal Scream - Can't Go Back (music video)

PRIMAL SCREAM Return with Beautiful Future

Preimal Scream are on the verge of releasing their ninth studio album, Beautiful Future, on July 21st in the UK. The new set features collaborations with Björn Yttling (Peter, Björn & John), Lovefoxx (of CSS), and Josh Homme. The first single is called "Can't Go Back" and is streaming now.

As usual, Primal Scream are wildly unpredictable from album to album. Björn has the described the new album by saying, "It's much more pop and Krautrock than before. It sounds a bit like Alan Vega and Suicide."

Beautiful Future is the follow-up to the 2006 release Riot City Blues.

Primal Scream - Urban Guerilla (link)

Tuesday Throwback - MY BLOODY VALENTINE

In light of the news that My Bloody Valentine are reforming and will soon be releasing the follow-up to their classic 1991 LP "Loveless", let's take a look back at why the band are regarded on an almost Godlike level.

After a series of EP's in the eighties, MBV released the 'You Made Me Realise' EP in 1988, considered to be the band's breakthrough release. The title track was released as a single, garnering a heapload of acclaim for the shoegazer band from Ireland.

You Made Me Realise (1988)


A new single quickly followed. 'Feed Me With Your Kiss' was taken from the official debut LP "Isn't Anything", an album that solidified MBV as a strong force in the post-modern rock world of the late 80's.

Feed Me With Your Kiss (1988)


In 1991 My Bloody Valentine released "Loveless", an album that is now considered one of the best albums of the 90's and the greatest shoegazer set ever recorded. Endless bands and artists note "Loveless" as a major inspiration.

Only Shallow (1991)


To Here Knows When (1991)


Soon (1991)


Following the staggering critical success of "Loveless", the band's record deal dissolved and they went into near obscurity. Kevin Shields went on to join Primal Scream for the albums "XTRMNTR" and "Evil Heat" and Colm O'Ciosoig eventually joined Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions.

In 2003, Shields contributed new solo songs to Sofia Coppola's beloved film 'Lost in Translation', a move that brought My Bloody Valentine's music back into the spotlight.

Kevin Shields - City Girl (from Lost in Translation) (2003)


A new MBV album is expected in the next few months. The recording will be a combination of new stuff and collected unreleased material from the "Loveless" era.

SATURNA...Ready For Lift Off

I have a soft spot in my heart for bands that embody that timeless dark-romantic dreampop sound that made bands like SLOWDIVE and RIDE so special. SATURNA are another great new band from Portland, Oregon, with a brand new LP called "Some Delicious Enemy". The ten song set is a dreampop juggernaut, echoing the blistering atmospherics of early 90's shoegazer bands. Tasteful electronic touches elevate that nostalgic sound into something more along the lines of CURVE or early 2000's era PRIMAL SCREAM.

"Some Delicious Enemy" is also a solid rock album wherein the band finds their own footing in a forest of influences. This is the kind of album that could very possibly come out of nowhere and become huge within no time. The new single 'Pop Rocks' is a catchy trip through a swirling world of guitars and cow bells, perfect for alternative radio. Lead-off track 'Roll Down' is a soaring intergalactic epic lullaby and 'Fall' has a headjerking industrial beat that culminates into a blazing inferno of spaced-out guitars. In fact every song here has its own infectious flavor...delicious indeed.

DOWNLOAD - Saturna - Pop Rocks

STREAM - Saturna - various tracks

Triple Threat at FIXED Party

Norwegian band DATAROCK stole the show at Studio B last night, easily outperforming a rather tense version of THE PRESETS. The beat-heavy night got started with Swedish synth trio LO-FI-FNK, which I just discovered is pronounced funk not fink as some might have thought. LO-FI-FNK was fun, especially when a drunk (and seemingly obsessed fan) jumped onto the stage and danced behind the band during the song "Heartache", oblivious to the ironic lyrics being sung..."Would you just get out of my face, you're crashing the party". It was a gas.
DATAROCK took the stage shortly after, fully clad in their infamous hooded red track suits. I had no idea folks were so familiar with these guys. The crowd was so into it, dancing wildly and singing along to most of the songs. In fact, at one point three guys rushed the stage, creating quite an onstage scuffle. Synthesizers flew. Cuss words flew. Security pounced. It got crazy for a minute. But DATAROCK didn't hold a grudge and soon the party resumed, bigger than ever. When the guys took to their most popular song, "Fa-Fa-Fa", the crowd erupted into a celebratory dance party. Fun was had by all. THE PRESETS seemed unusually tense, particularly before their set, hovering over the sound mixer for a good 20 minutes. Once onstage, they lacked the energy of previous shows. In fact, I don't think I saw the drummer smile even once throughout the entire set. But still, THE PRESETS's huge electro sound won the crowd over, continuing the party into the wee hours of the night.

The unsung heroes of the night were DJ's JDH and DAVE P, lacing each set together with solid electro jams. I absolutely love that they started the night off with PRIMAL SCREAM's early classic "Come Together". Perfect.