Mush "Down Tools (Rough Trade Publishing)"
Leeds, UK band Mush have announced their third album, Down Tools, which will be out July 8 via Memphis Industries. (Their previous record, Lines Redacted, came out in February 2021.) This is the first album they’ve made since the death of guitarist Steve Tyson in 2020, and they once again worked with producers Lee Smith and Jamie Lockhart (Yard Act, The Cribs). “They let us do whatever we want within reason, we have fun and you kind of forget they are actually both amazing at what they do,” says singer/guitarist Dan Hyndman. “So much of the guitar had to be improvised in the studio which was stressful but also intrinsic to creating the non-linear vibe of some of the stranger tracks.”
The first single off the album is “Get On Yer Soapbox,” which is powered by an off-kilter earworm riff and Hyndman describes as “a righteous wig-out number, like ‘Alternative Facts’ but with more cowbell.” He adds, “All the solos are improvised and I very much doubt I will ever be able to recreate them live, you can hear the track going off the rails which is something I’ve found exciting on records. Lyrically again it’s a kind of re-purposing of an old idiom which I like to do. Generally being ‘on your soapbox’ is considered to be a bit of a slur but I think a bit of self-righteousness is warranted from time to time, especially with the shower of shite we’re dealing with.”
Mice Parade "lapapọ (Rough Trade Publishing)"
Mice Parade returns from a decade of silence to release lapapọ, an album that spans the many styles of their storied career, and features guest singer appearances by Angel Deradoorian (Dirty Projectors) and Arone Dyer (Buke & Gase). The rock is louder; the West-African-inspired highlife breaks are chubbier; the dueling drumkits are more complex, the instrumental passages more serene. What started as a home recording project in the late 90s soon morphed into a formidable and completely unique live band of incredible musicians from around the globe, all live-mixed and effected by legendary UK engineer Brandon Knights (aka Dub Warrior), the longtime sound engineer for Lee Scratch Perry, Soul II Soul, Gladiators and others.
After 9 albums and nearly 15 years years of worldwide touring, including festivals across the UK, Iceland, mainland Europe, Turkey and Japan, and supporting Stereolab across the US, Mice Parade fans can finally hear some new music, and the live band hopes to safely reunite later this year.
Throughout it all, Adam has mostly recorded with same ethos: allowing only one take for each track, forcing him to either leave in mistakes or address them with mutes or distractions, and embracing the Bob Ross concept of ‘happy accidents.’
This was a strict rule for the first several albums, and while he eventually became less strict about it, it’s still a goal that is achieved more often than not. Perfection is not the goal – indeed, there should be no such thing in music. Most songs are not even written before pressing the record button, but instead are built piece by piece in improvised fashion.
lapapọ is a Yoruba word meaning something akin to “totally” or “altogether.” A worldwide tour was in place around the album’s intended release, only to be cancelled upon the initial Covid lockdowns. Now it will finally see a release. it’s a record that’s worth the wait.
Hollie Cook "Happy Hour"
The beating heart of Steve McQueen’s mighty historical film series Small Axe was the music of Black England during the mid-to-late 20th century, and its best episode was Lovers Rock. A celebration of the titular reggae subgenre, the hour-long film pivoted on a London house party dancefloor scene gloriously soundtracked by Janet Kay’s 1979 courtship referendum “Silly Games.” For some it was a reminder, for others a revelation, of a style that, in its heyday, got little traction beyond the UK and Jamaica—a Philly soul sibling less concerned with politics or Rasta theology than with battlefields of the heart. While men certainly distinguished themselves in lovers rock, it was a less male-dominated space than roots reggae, especially in the UK, where lovers rock fully bloomed and where women shone brightly, even if they were often denied agency. English artists beyond the genre felt its sweet and sultry pull: Sade reflected its influence on an album named after it, as did the Clash on a highlight of London Calling.
Hollie Cook, a London-raised singer in her mid-30s, missed the music’s golden era, but over the past decade she’s become its most notable booster, expanding its possibilities the way Sharon Jones revitalized 1970s soul. Her fourth LP (fifth if you count the Prince Fatty-remixed Hollie Cook in Dub), Happy Hour refines her muscular sound, which echoes tough British roots acts like Aswad as much as the silk sheet approach of Janet Kay and Caroll Thompson. The daughter of Sex Pistols drummer Paul Cook and Culture Club backing vocalist Jeni Cook (Boy George is Hollie’s godfather) started her career as a latter-day member of the Slits—all of which might explain her taste for rough edges. The tension between soft and hard animates her sound. Happy Hour’s title track bolts on Ben Mckone’s hot-stepping drums and cymbals, which bushwhack through clouds of reverb, conjuring the wooziness of being two or three drinks in, as the singer laments how margaritas can’t cure her jilted ache. In “Moving On,” she pledges to ditch a toxic mate while a tart string quartet telegraphs a queasy, echoing uncertainty.
Weed paeans are reggae tradition, like whiskey ballads in country, and “Kush Kween” advocates the psychic benefits of home gardening, as well as consuming the harvest, with a guest appearance from Jamaican singer Jah9. But the best moments veer from tradition. On “Gold Girl,” Cook side-eyes a femme fatale with old-school vocal drama, unfurled over strings and mixing-desk antics like a triangulation of British touchstones Shirley Bassey, the Slits, and Soul II Soul. “Move My Way” updates the mix with a touch of ’90s UK garage, suggesting a new direction Cook’s sound could take, situating lovers rock in a continuum of Black British musical invention like the outstanding recent Soul Jazz compilation Life Between Islands.
Cook co-produced Happy Hour with Mckone and keyboardist Luke Allwood, taking the reins from Youth, the bassist and post-punk dub master who produced Cook’s 2018 Vessel of Love, though he returns to help out on the mix here. But the most notable guest spot is the most subtle. Dennis “Blackbeard” Bovell, known for his landmark work with Linton Kwesi Johnson, is an architect of UK dub and lovers rock who wrote “Silly Games” and even had a cameo in McQueen’s film. On “Praying,” the legendary producer joins Cook’s backing vocalists to express collective resilience in the face of heartbreak, wondering “what now?” and ruing “the mistaken hope that we were blessed.” With Cook insisting that “somehow we’ll make it through,” the song hints at the stealth cultural politics of lovers rock, while nodding to a creative forbear. But here, it’s Cook calling the shots, and carrying the torch with style.
Redd Kross "Neurotica (35th Anniversary Reissue)"
Redd Kross’ 1987 album Neurotica is getting a 35th anniversary reissue. It’s set to arrive on June 24 via Merge. The reissue features a series of recently unearthed unreleased demos from that era. The original album is now available on streaming platforms; listen below. The band’s last album was 2019’s Beyond the Door.
Neurotica’s 2xLP gatefold vinyl reissue comes in two different colors: translucent turquoise for the original album and translucent orange for the demos. It was remastered by JJ Golden.