Sleaford Mods: “Mork n Mindy”

by Patrick Baillargeon

“Mork n Mindy” is the sound of central heating and the rest of the smells of Sunday dinner in a house in a residential area in 1982.

The duo Sleaford Mods have just announced the imminent release of its sixth studio album, Spare Ribs. The new single, “Mork n Mindy”, with Billy Nomates, underlines this announcement, enhanced by a brand new video. Directed by Ben Wheatley (whose latest production, Rebecca, is currently on Netflix and features the band’s Jason Williamson), it was filmed in Nottingham in a replica of the house where Jason grew up. According to the duo, “‘Mork n Mindy’ is the sound of central heating and the rest of the smells of Sunday dinner in a house in a residential area in 1982. Concrete, dusty garages, nicotine, where the beauty lies mostly in the small cracks in the shell of your imagination.” Spare Ribs, which also features the sulfurous Amy Taylor from Amyl and the Sniffers, will be released on January 15, 2021 on the Rough Trade label.

Gospel / Soul

The Staple Singers: “Respect Yourself”

by Rupert Bottenberg

A simple but effective animated video for the powerful, politically charged “Respect Yourself”, a massive hit in 1971 for the number-one family in gospel soul.

In their heyday at the turn of the ’70s, Roebuck “Pops” Staples and his children, including the mighty Mavis, were the number-one name in gospel soul, and they brought their music’s spiritual strength out of the church and into the streets. Come Go With Me: The Stax Collection, an exhaustive seven-disc overview of the their discography, is out November 13 on Craft Recordings. In the meantime (and right before the big American election), the label has shared a simple but effective animated video for the powerful, politically charged “Respect Yourself”, a massive hit in 1971. Juxtaposing images and slogans of protest from then and now, it shows how little necessary change has occurred – and reminds us that the socially aware soul music of the Stax label hasn’t lost its staying power either.

Disco / Electronic / Pop / Techno

Mirwais: “2016: My Generation”

by Yohann Goyat

Mirwais returns with a video in which all the codes of pop culture collide at 100 km/h

Twenty years after his iconic album Production, the French artist Mirwais finally returns. With the track “2016: My Generation”, he introduces his next album, The Retrofuture, to be released in early 2021. Mirwais collaborated with Ludovic Houplain (alias H5) for the production and direction of this exciting, futuristic, 10-minute short film, which he used for his music video. The two of them have presented it at several festivals and won various awards. It’s a journey back in time, in which all the codes of pop culture collide at 100 km/h: sex, the internet, politics, art, sport, the stock market, porn, a speech by Hitler and another by Trump… These are the last six minutes that Mirwais used to illustrate “2016: My Generation”, which is due to be released during the upcoming American elections.

Here is the trailer of 2016 : My Generation.

Electronic / Experimental / Contemporary / Industrial

Laibach: “Smrt za Smrt (REvisited)”

by Geneviève Gendreau

A new interpretation of a masterpiece of post-industrial music.

Laibach aren’t shy about any grandiloquent act, and return with a new interpretation of a classic of their repertoire, “Smrt za Smrt” (“death for death”, in Slovenian).

First released in 1984 on Rekapitulacija 1980-84, this piece has been modified at leisure by the band during their tours. This reinterpretation remains faithful to the original, but proves to be incredibly gripping, showing a musical maturity that was lacking in the original version. The clip, saturated with strong images, also contributes to this.

Dominoes, representing each of the faces of the damned (highly ironic effigies of the group’s 64 members and collaborators, past and present), collapse and shatter in a diabolical and perfectly symmetrical round. The image of an Earth under pressure freezes the blood. With this denunciation of an industrialized merry-go-round, a source of perdition, the group hits its target head on. Never grotesque, in spite of its emphatic character, it becomes the saviour of a bruised and decimated humanity.

A musical and visual masterpiece in the purest tradition of post-industrial music, directed by Jean “Valnoir” Simoulin and Metastazis.

Avant-Rock / Experimental / Contemporary / Post-Rock

SUUNS: “Fiction”

by Patrick Baillargeon

“Fiction” is altered by distorted voices and heavy, disturbing instrumentation, at a creeping pace.

SUUNS release their new EP, Fiction, on October 30. In the meantime, they’ve shared a video for the title track. The third extract from the six-song mini-album, “Fiction” is altered by distorted voices and heavy, disturbing instrumentation, at a creeping pace. The song was inspired by BJ Burton’s work with Low, and is about the passage of time, both fast and slow. The video, directed by Dr. Cool (Jordan Minkoff), is fully animated. Given the limited time and the impossibility of filming anything during Montreal’s lockdown, Minkoff asked the band to send him videos of their performances. He then coaxed the images out by rotoscoping them, and transforming them into something glowing and a bit science-fiction. Known for his colourful and wacky style, the videographer sheds some light into the darkness of SUUNS.

Hard Rock

FUZZ: “Mirror”

by Patrick Baillargeon

With hammering drums and powerful guitar riffs, there’s pure FUZZ to be found on the new single “Mirror”.

The Los Angeles trio of Ty Segall (drums, vocals), Charles Moothart (guitar, vocals), and Chad Ubovich (bass, vocals) release III this Friday, October 23, on the esteemed label In The Red Recordings, five years after the double album II. In the meantime, they present an excerpt, “Mirror”, after a hallucinatory stop-motion video for “Spit” and the single “Returning”. “Mirror” picks up the energy of the previous tracks, with pounding drums and powerful guitar riffs. It’s pure FUZZ. Here, the band uses III‘s ensemble approach of taking the essential ingredients of “guitar music” and “rock ’n’ roll power trio”, and putting them on the chopping block. The clip, directed by Joshua Erkman and shot with very limited means given the current restrictions, is a real freakfest, with some bodily oddities as a bonus.

Garage Rock / Lo-Fi

Quintron & Miss Pussycat: “Goblin Alert”

by Patrick Baillargeon

An ode to that special monster that frequents Quintron & Miss Pussycat concerts, soaking up the extravagance of their performances.

Quintron & Miss Pussycat are back with Goblin Alert, their new album just released on Goner Records. The Q&P experience is a barely controlled electronic chaos, an amalgam of “Swamp-Tech” rhythms, small explosions, incredible clothes, and puppet theatre. To mark the release of this 17th effort, the ineffable duo from Louisiana present a video for the album’s title track. “Goblin Alert” is an ode to that special monster that frequents Quintron & Miss Pussycat concerts and soaks up the extravagance of their performances. The freak in the pink beret, who smokes two cigarettes at a time and invents his own dances? The guy at the merchandise table who spills his drink in the t-shirt box, but knows the lyrics to every song? You get the picture. The video was shot by brilliant Louisiana filmmaker Drew Stubbs during Q&P’s last show before Armageddon arrived, on Shrove Monday at One Eyed Jacks in New Orleans’ French Quarter. If you look closely in the crowd, you might see Seth Rogan with glitter on his face trying to escape, and also the Jesus freaks who arrive by bus every year to protest the duo’s annual rituals. An unpretentious, fun little clip that will put a smile on your face.

Free Jazz

Rob Mazurek: “The First Kid in Space” (parts 1, 2, and 3)

by Steve Naud

Follow a little girl’s interstellar adventures to the sound of the first three excerpts from Rob Mazurek’s new album.

On November 20, trumpet player and composer Rob Mazurek will release Dimensional Stardust, the new album from his Exploding Star Orchestra, on International Anthem, a label that’s increasingly essential on the world jazz scene. For this new record, the free-jazz veteran has called upon the cream of Chicago’s jazz community: Nicole Mitchell, Jeff Parker, Tomeka Reid, Damon Locks, and Jaimie Branch, among many others. The music videos accompanying the first three excerpts from Dimensional Stardust were directed by artist Mikel Patrick Avery, who staged the intergalactic adventures of his own daughter, the very sweet Olivia Avery-Velez. Fasten your seatbelts!

Post-Punk

Viagra Boys: “Ain’t Nice”

by Patrick Baillargeon

Another absurd and deranged clip from Viagra Boys, which augurs well for the album to come.

With the devastating tune “Ain’t Nice” and the delirious video that accompanies it, Stockholm post-punk band Viagra Boys announce their new album Welfare Jazz, which will be available January 8 via YEAR0001. The album is produced by Matt Sweeney (Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Run the Jewels), Justin and Jeremiah Raisen (Yves Tumor, Kim Gordon, Sky Ferreira), and former collaborators Pelle Gunnerfeldt and Daniel Fagerström (The Hives, The Knife). As derisory as ever, the band members return to their saxophonic post-punk to deftly challenge society’s normalisation of toxic masculinity, racism, misogyny, classism and self-obsession. Singer Sebastian Murphy, who cultivated – with little difficulty – the image of a staggering drunk or drug addict in previous videos, is back in that role for the new one, “Ain’t Nice”, but this time making a mess along the way. Stealing scooters and jackets, disrupting picnics, Murphy leaves no innocent bystander unmolested, until a kid knocks him out. He then wakes up in a luxurious estate with all the “nicest” things, surrounded by servants wearing powdered wigs, all very 18th-century… Another absurd and deranged clip from Viagra Boys, making pleasant promises after the rather disappointing EP Common Sense, released last March.

Disco / New Wave / North East Asian / Post-Punk

LeeNalchi and Ambiguous Dance Company: “Feel the Rhythm of Korea”

by Rupert Bottenberg

Vibrant views of various cities, with the band’s new-wave pansori and the troupe’s manic moves

While the pandemic stifles travel, the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) aims to cheer the world up by providing picturesque postcards from around the country in the form of peppy pop-music videos, in their Feel the Rhythm of Korea series. The rapid-fire excursions feature the music of formidable funk-punk pansori troupe LeeNalchi, extracts from their excellent album Suggunga, and the outrageous choreographies of their inseparable associates in Ambiguous Dance Company. The first three clips – exploring the major cities Seoul, Busan, and Jeonju – hit the web at the end of July, and have since been seen by some 25 million viewers each. The KTO has just put out three more, showcasing temples, markets, parks, and other pertinent points on the maps of Andong, Mokpo, and Gangneung. The next best thing to being there…

Contemporary Jazz / Electronic / Folk / Traditional

Tigran Hamasyan: “37 Newlyweds”

by Rupert Bottenberg

In Armenia’s time of need, celebrated jazz pianist Tigran Hamasyan rallies hope with a splendid video, and a way to help.

Paying tribute to tragic Armenian heroes of a hundred years ago, as history repeats itself, folk-jazz fusioneer Tigran Hamasyan provides more than a sympathetic gesture for his country with the splendid video for “37 Newlyweds”, a cut from his album The Call Within, released at the end of August. He’s also helped launch the Tigran Hamasyan & Friends for Artsakh fundraising initiative, to provide desperately needed aid for civilians in territory under siege – consider making a donation.

Katel feat. Bonbon Vodou: “Je t’aime déjà”

by Luc Marchessault

From Karen Lohier, alias Katel, a portrait of love in eight verses, each based upon a Greek word.

The first single from an album of uncertain release date, which will be the fourth by Karen Lohier, aka Katel. The drawings and inks are by Julie Gasnier, who also directed the video. Katel is accompanied by Bonbon Vodou, a duo formed by Oriane Lacaille and Jerem. It is a portrait of love in eight verses, each based upon a Greek word: Mania, Storge, Eros, Pragma, Philia, Philautia, Agape (sung by Oriane Lacaille in Creole), and Ludus. “I love you that you barely touch me / I have just experienced love, Eros / The flesh, the ass, the blood, the veins / And in the end the skin on the bone”…