Wire – “Eardrum Buzz”

It probably doesn’t need to be said out loud, but the ’80s were a weird time. In the ’70s, Wire were the genre-busting art school firebrands redefining punk, and on their second resurrection in the early 21st century, they were the angry elder statesmen of art rock. But their second incarnation, where they absorbed the […]

New Order – “Touched By The Hand Of God”

As mentioned, part of the promotion around the release of New Order’s Brotherhood: The Definitive Edition was the second season of the excellent Transmissions podcast that tracks the history of the band through the “World In Motion” single. One of the choice tidbits was the origins of the “Touched By The Hand Of God” single, […]

COLLAPSE – “Syrup”

Gig-going wasn’t the primary purpose of going to Japan earlier this year – it ranked somewhat below taking my son to see a giant Buddha statue an hour outside of Tokyo – but I was still thrilled to be able to manage both a huge arena show – Hitsujibungaku in Yokohama – and a little […]

Supercar – “Lucky”

The current explosion of Japanese shoegaze bands can usually be traced back to the early 2010s and the Kinoko Teikoku supernova, but if you go further back in time you’ll find the real big bang began in the late ’90s – not quite early enough to be contemporaries of the UK forebears, but certainly immediate […]