Hit Singles

Hit Singles

Can announce Live In Aston 1977

Can have announced details of the latest in their ongoing series of focusing on the band’s live performances. Live In Aston 1977 is set for release on vinyl, CD and digitally onMay 31 via Mute and Future Days. DAVID BOWIE IS ON THE COVER OF THE LATEST UNCUT – ORDER YOUR COPY HERE You can hear “Vier” from the album below. You can pre-order the album by clicking here. The release follows Can Live in Paris 1973, the first of the series to feature the late Damo Suzuki, Can Live in Brighton 1975, Can Live in Stuttgart 1975, (Uncut’s Reissue of the Year in 2021) and Can Live in Cuxhaven 1976. Can fans should check out the next issue of Uncut for some very special news.

Hit Singles

Broadcast release an unheard vocal take of “The Games You Play”

Broadcast have released a previously unheard vocal take of “The Games You Play“, which you can hear below. DAVID BOWIE IS ON THE COVER OF THE LATEST UNCUT – ORDER YOUR COPY HERE The track is taken from Spell Blanket – Collected Demos 2006-2009, which is released May 3 on Warp Records. “The Games You Play” is an unheard vocal version of an instrumental track called “DDL” which first appeared on the All Tomorrow’s Parties 1.0 compilation in 2001 and was subsequently compiled on The Future Crayon rarities album in 2015. You can read more about Spell Blanket – Collected Demos 2006-2009 in the current issue of Uncut. On September 28, Broadcast will release Distant Call, a collection of early demos that were worked into finished productions appearing on Haha Sound, Tender Buttons and The Future Crayon. Distant Call will be the final Broadcast release.

Hit Singles

The Beatles’ Let It Be is coming back to screens

Let It Be – director Michael Lindsay-Hogg’s 1970 film about The Beatles – is finally getting re-released. The film, which has been out of circulation for decades, will launch exclusively on Disney+ on May 8, 2024. DAVID BOWIE IS ON THE COVER OF THE LATEST UNCUT – ORDER YOUR COPY HERE Advertisement The documentary has been restored by Peter Jackson’s Park Road Post Production using the original 16mm negative and remastering the sound using the same MAL de-mix technology that was applied to Jackson’s Get Back series. Michael Lindsay-Hogg says, “’Let It Be’ was ready to go in October/November 1969, but it didn’t come out until April 1970. One month before its release, The Beatles officially broke up. And so the people went to see ‘Let It Be’ with sadness in their hearts, thinking, ‘I’ll never see The Beatles together again. I will never have that joy again,’ and it very much darkened the perception of the film. But, in fact, how often do you get to see artists of this stature working together to make what they hear in their heads into songs. And then you get to the roof and you see their excitement, camaraderie and sheer joy… Read More →

Hit Singles

Worlds of echo

“There are a great many interesting things about Arthur Russell, one of which is that he was rediscovered through his music being made available for the first time, in many cases. So he was similarly simultaneously discovered and rediscovered. There’s very little biographical information in terms of him speaking about himself to the press. Consequently, there’s an element that Arthur can be whoever you want him to be, enhanced by the fact that he was adept at so many different forms of music. DAVID BOWIE IS ON THE COVER OF THE LATEST UNCUT – ORDER YOUR COPY HERE “He was a complicated person, of the type who have different versions of themselves. He practised Buddhism, but he was also wildly ambitious. He made avant-garde music, but he also made very warm and accessible music that he hoped would be commercial. I found that going through his archive in great detail just further enhanced the idea that he was an enigma. Advertisement “I’ve seen much of his record collection, and he did have things like Tommy James & The Shondells records. And he did like ABBA! But I don’t know how many Beatles or Beach Boys records he had. In the… Read More →

Hit Singles

The Cult announce 40th anniversary tour

The Cult will mark their 40th anniversary with a UK tour in the autumn, concluding at London’s Royal Albert Hall on November 4. Says the band’s Billy Duffy: “Following up from the great energy of Death Cult 8323 shows, I’m looking forward to bringing that sense of celebration of the band’s music, and the communion with our fans, to Cult 8424. CFFC. Let the ceremony commence!” See the poster below for the full list of dates: Tickets go on sale on Friday (April 19) at 10am BST from here.

Hit Singles

Nini Iris: Tbilisi’s Songbird Takes Flight with the Haunting New Single “Psycho”

Hailing from the vibrant streets of Tbilisi, Nini Iris isn’t your average pop star. Her music is a captivating tapestry woven from the rich threads of Georgian folk melodies and modern pop sensibilities. Raised amidst the echoes of traditional music, Nini’s inherent talent blossomed early, serenading loved ones long before captivating the world. Her journey to musical stardom began on the electrifying stage of The Voice. There, with a soul-stirring rendition of “I See Red,” Nini‘s raw power and authenticity turned every chair. While mentors battled for her inclusion, Nini chose Niall Horan, her long-time idol, as her guide. Throughout the competition, she left an indelible mark, challenging expectations with her choices. Radiohead and The Cure might seem like unusual picks on a reality show stage, but for Nini, they were brushstrokes on a canvas far more intricate. However, it’s in her original compositions that Nini truly shines. Her songwriting is an exploration of self, a blend of timeless elegance with darker, textured undertones, all woven together with a pop sensibility that makes it undeniably catchy. Her performances are more than just songs; they are stories. Layered with personal narratives and delivered with powerhouse vocals, Nini leaves audiences breathless in… Read More →

Hit Singles

Toumani Diabaté & Ballaké Sissoko – New Ancient Strings (reissue, 1999)

In 1970, Sidiki Diabaté and Djelimady Sissoko recorded an album of instrumental kora duets called Cordes Anciennes (Ancient Strings). Although it was only released in France and Germany on a specialist ethno-musicological label, as western interest grew in ‘world music’, it came to be regarded as a landmark release – not least because it was the first ever recording devoted solely to the rippling, harp-like textures of the kora. DAVID BOWIE IS ON THE COVER OF THE LATEST UNCUT – ORDER YOUR COPY HERE More than a quarter of a century later, Lucy Duran, professor of music at the London School of Oriental and African Studies, persuaded Joe Boyd to commission a belated sequel for release on his Hannibal label. Advertisement As Djelimady had died in 1981, Duran proposed that Sidiki Diabaté should instead duet with his son Toumani, whose debut album Kaira she had produced in 1988, and who was fast emerging as the most gifted among a new generation of kora players. However, before Duran and her sound engineer Nick Parker reached the Malian capital Bamako in 1997, Sidiki died from a stroke while visiting relatives in Gambia. Reluctant to abandon the project which she had already decided… Read More →

Hit Singles

Waxahatchee – Tigers Blood

Over the past decade and a half, Katie Crutchfield has amassed a deep catalogue of quiet revelations, full-band exorcisms and adventurous collaborations, but it took until now for her to write her first love song. It’s called “Right Back To It”, and it’s the immediate standout of her grounded and radiant new album. “You just settle in/Like a song with no end,” she sings in close harmony with MJ Lenderman, the North Carolina songwriter and guitar of the alt.country band Wednesday, whose tender drawl seems to wrap its arms around Crutchfield’s distinctive, cawing voice. In the background, you hear the melodic pluck of a banjo and a slow-moving drumbeat, all propelling one of Crutchfield’s most satisfying, singalong choruses. It’s not just Waxahatchee’s first love song: it’s the first one you can imagine playing on pop radio. DAVID BOWIE IS ON THE COVER OF THE LATEST UNCUT – ORDER YOUR COPY HERE This gift for immediacy has always hidden in the subtext of Crutchfield’s music. On her early, home-recorded releases, the Birmingham, Alabama-born artist stood apart from fellow DIY songwriters with a peculiar gift for melody and lyrics that burrow deep under the skin (“I don’t believe that I care at… Read More →

Hit Singles

Crystal Starr Shines Bright with Latest Release “Too Late”

Crystal Starr, a two-time award-winning recording artist hailed by The Source Magazine as “The Girl with the Golden Voice,” continues to enchant audiences worldwide with her dynamic pop sound. With her latest release, “Too Late,” Starr once again demonstrates her talent in creating compelling melodies that resonate with listeners on a profound level. Starr‘s musical journey is proof of her multifaceted talent and unwavering dedication to her craft. Born to a Puerto Rican mother and an African American father, she grew up surrounded by music that ranged from Madonna to salsa, influencing her own style in the process. Drawing inspiration from icons like J.Lo, Tina Turner, and Whitney Houston, Starr has forged her own path in the pop music scene, infusing her music with a modern twist while paying homage to the classics. From her early days singing for pop sensation Jessica Simpson to sharing the stage with legends like Stevie Wonder and Lady Gaga, Crystal‘s rise in the music industry has been nothing short of remarkable. Her stage presence and powerful vocals have earned her acclaim both on Broadway and at major music festivals, captivating audiences with every performance. Starr‘s latest single, “Too Late,” is a heartfelt reflection on… Read More →

Hit Singles

The Other Two reissue their debut album, The Other Two & You

DAVID BOWIE IS ON THE COVER OF THE LATEST UNCUT – ORDER YOUR COPY HERE The Other Two – aka New Order‘s Stephen Morris and Gillian Gilbert – reissue their debut album, The Other Two & You, on streaming platforms, CD and, for the first time in 30 years on vinyl, from May 31 on London Records. Stephen and Gillian say, “Is it really 31 years since this was first released? It doesn’t seem that long ago, but that’s old age for you. We’re both very excited that this album (our first attempt at the pop solo spin off malarkey) is getting another outing. This time with added vinyl connoisseur appeal and remixed sleeve artwork.” Advertisement You can pre-order here. The 2024 reissue contains a previously unreleased version of ‘Innocence’ from Love To Infinity on both CD and Vinyl. You can listen to a previously unreleased remix of “Innocence” from Love To Infinity. Advertisement [embedded content] The tracklisting for The Other Two & You is: CD Tasty Fish The Greatest Thing Selfish Movin’ On Ninth Configuration Feel This Love Spirit Level Night Voice Innocence (Love To Infinity 7″ Remix) *different version to the original Loved It (The Other Track) Vinyl … Read More →

Hit Singles

Back To Black

It’s been 13 years since she died, but it often feels like Amy Winehouse never went away. The details of her life, all the squalor and the glory, continue to be raked over in the tabloids. Every new British singer from Adele and Raye struggles to escape the long dark shadow of her towering beehive. And the content stream is never ending: after the legacy album editions, the books and Asif Kapadia‘s Oscar-winning documentary, we have, after a promotional campaign that seems to have lasted for most of 2024, Sam Taylor-Johnson’s biopic, Back To Black. DAVID BOWIE IS ON THE COVER OF THE LATEST UNCUT – ORDER YOUR COPY HERE Let’s be clear: if you’re looking for dramatic insight into the raging soulstorm that fuelled her greatest music and tore her mind and body apart, you are barking up the wrong tree. If it isn’t quite the Hallmark version, Back To Black plays very safe with some very dark materials. Advertisement But it may be impossible to make an entirely dull film about Amy Winehouse. There are hints of something interesting here. Marisa Abel, one moment looking like Dot Cotton’s dissolute daughter, the next like a young Streisand in a… Read More →

Hit Singles

Watch a video for Rich Ruth’s new single, “No Muscle, No Memory”

Rich Ruth will release a new album, Water Still Flows, on June 21. Appearing via Third Man Records, it’s preceded by a single, “No Muscle, No Memory” – watch the video below: [embedded content] Water Still Flows is the Nashville-based experimental musician’s third record, and the follow-up to 2022’s acclaimed I Survived, It’s Over. Recording took place in Ruth’s home studio in the city during breaks between touring as a solo artist and with SG Goodman. As Ruth explains, the album was inspired by the struggles of being a touring musician in today’s harsh environment: “After spending a large portion of the past 12 years touring and recording, none of this stuff has gotten easier. Much of the anxiety and intense feelings I’ve poured into this record are a direct correlation to the uncertainty of trying to earn a living with music. Advertisement “Despite many hopeful opportunities I’ve been given, it has taken a toll on my body and mental health merely trying to survive playing music in the current age. The soothing quality of these new pieces reflect a constant search for solitude and stability. The frenetic, heavier parts mirror the tense variability I feel on a regular basis… Read More →

Hit Singles

Linda Thompson announces new album, Proxy Music

Folk-rock royalty Linda Thompson has announced that Proxy Music, her first new solo album since 2013’s Won’t Be Long Now, will be released by StorySound Records on June 21. The title refers to the fact that Thompson herself was unable to sing these songs, due to a rare condition called spasmodic dysphonia that has periodically affected her career since the early 1980s. Instead, vocal duties are handled by a range of all-star guests including John Grant, The Proclaimers, The Unthanks, Eliza Carthy, Rufus Wainwright and various members of Thompson’s talented extended family. Hear lead single “The Solitary Traveller” – written with James Walbourne and sung by Kami Thompson (AKA The Rails) – below: Advertisement [embedded content] “Solitary Traveller, I wouldn’t know,” says Thompson. “I’ve never been one. But, if you have a lot of people in your life, you sometimes yearn for solitude. Conversely, solitary people often crave company. It is a bit of a dichotomy. My daughter doing the honours.” Pre-order Proxy Music here and check out the tracklisting below: The Solitary Traveller feat. Kami Thompson Or Nothing at All feat. Martha Wainwright Bonnie Lass feat. The Proclaimers Darling This Will Never Do feat. Rufus Wainwright I Used To… Read More →

Hit Singles

Jane Weaver – Love In Constant Spectacle

Jane Weaver is playing a very good long game. She’s just turned 52 and has spent over 30 of those years deeply involved in music in Manchester – from her early bands Kill Laura and Misty Dixon to her free-flowing solo output and more wayward projects such as Fenella and NeoTantrik – and yet this latest release, Love In Constant Spectacle, is by some distance her most satisfying album. Full of surprises and tantalisingly familiar, it’s the sound of Weaver stretching out and drawing from her wealth of experience to fashion a heartfelt, head-spinning account of grief and solace. DAVID BOWIE IS ON THE COVER OF THE LATEST UNCUT – ORDER YOUR COPY HERE Viewing the curve of her career, you can see how she got here: 2014’s The Silver Globe and its follow-up Modern Kosmology packaged her hippie-ish idealism in proggy chansons and Can-like grooves, a homespun blend of Hawkwind and Hot Chocolate that paved the way for Flock in 2021. This, she’d decided, was to be her pop breakthrough, one she’d play to her swelling fanbase at numerous festivals. She studied the hits of Hall & Oates and the Bee Gees and emulated the parts that worked for… Read More →

Hit Singles

Epic Soundtracks

In this month’s Uncut, we speak to the reigning king of jazz saxophone Kamasi Washington about how his upcoming album is inspired by new life and the need to overcome old divisions. “Music cleanses us,” he explains. Now read on for an extract from our interview… DAVID BOWIE IS ON THE COVER OF THE LATEST UNCUT – ORDER YOUR COPY HERE Advertisement Around midnight most evenings, Kamasi Washington will sit down at the piano in the living room of his home in Inglewood, Los Angeles, and begin to compose. Despite being synonymous with the saxophone, he only ever writes on piano, which goes some way towards explaining the harmonic richness of his music. “The piano is so much more versatile as far as being able to play the different parts and hear the song in its entirety,” he explains. “I played piano before I played saxophone, so it was always the logical choice. The saxophone is the racehorse, but the piano is the workhorse.” He never tends to get much written during the day. “When the world gets quieter, it’s easier to focus. There’s rarely something I have to do at one in the morning.” But there’s another reason for his… Read More →

Hit Singles

Hymns Ancient And Modern

In this month’s Uncut, we speak to Myriam Gendron, the enigmatic French-Canadian artist who has been quietly transforming folk songs and Dorothy Parker poems with intense, delicate results. With a new album of her own compositions imminent, we hear her remarkable story. Now read on for an extract from our interview… DAVID BOWIE IS ON THE COVER OF THE LATEST UNCUT – ORDER YOUR COPY HERE Advertisement On the wall of the music room in her Montreal home, Myriam Gendron has hung several posters: one from a party to celebrate the poetry publishing house run by her partner; another from a Michael Hurley show at La Vitrola, where Gendron played support; and a billing for Pour La Suite du Monde, a documentary set in the fishing community of a small island on the St Lawrence River. There too, is an enlarged print of a photograph the singer took of a studio house on Villa Seurat in Paris. “Henry Miller used to live there,” she says. “I was a huge fan of Henry Miller when I was a teenager, so I went to visit where he lived.” The picture she took to commemorate that day did not turn out as planned; a… Read More →

Hit Singles

Still On The Ledge

In this month’s Uncut, we speak to Richard Thompson about his brilliant new album, the magic of Big Pink, adventures in the Sahara and imaginary conversations with Sandy Denny. Now read on for an extract from our interview… DAVID BOWIE IS ON THE COVER OF THE LATEST UNCUT – ORDER YOUR COPY HERE Advertisement Inconspicuous in a black leather coat and cap, Richard Thompson remains undisturbed as he windowshops on London’s Denmark Street. For one of Britain’s most revered guitarists and songwriters, though, this particular road holds temptations and regrets at every turn. “Roger McGuinn left his Rickenbacker behind in the UK, because the neck was broken,” he says, eyeing a 12-string in one shop window. “Somebody fixed it and I bought it. I’m divorced from it now, but it was good while it lasted. Now I’ve got a Telecaster 12-string, which is great – Jeff Tweedy has three!” Further along the street, past a display fortuitously presenting two models from his past – a Gibson ES-175 and a vintage sunburst Stratocaster – he pauses to peer into the industrial interior of a chic steak restaurant. Thompson used to come here in the ’60s, back when this was La Gioconda coffee… Read More →

Hit Singles

The Woman Who Fell To Earth

In this month’s Uncut, we speak to Annie Clark, aka St Vincent, about her the dramas and demons behind her sublime seventh album, All Born Screaming. Now read on for an extract from our interview… DAVID BOWIE IS ON THE COVER OF THE LATEST UNCUT – ORDER YOUR COPY HERE Advertisement Reclining on the sofa in her grand Edwardian hotel suite, Annie Clark seems immaculately composed as she recalls the first strange stirrings of her seventh album. “I had a sense that I wanted to be pummeled by music,” she says matter-of-factly, holding your gaze. “Who knows if I was reacting to things I’ve done in the past, or things that are around in the culture, but I wanted to be just pummeled. Shaken like a rag doll.” She pauses for a moment, maybe for effect, maybe just considering her words carefully, possibly pondering Brian Eno’s maxim that art is a safe space for violent experiment, a plane you can crash and then walk away from. “I really wanted to explore that feeling of digging your fingernails into your thigh,” she concludes. “You know, just so that it bleeds a little…” She looks like she means business. At various times over… Read More →

Hit Singles

Where It’s At

In this month’s Uncut, we bring together The Black Keys‘ Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney and Beck for an exclusive interview to celebrate their work together on The Black Keys new studio album, Ohio Players… Let’s just call them The Beck Keys. Now read on for an extract from this one-off encounter… DAVID BOWIE IS ON THE COVER OF THE LATEST UNCUT – ORDER YOUR COPY HERE Advertisement That’s a picnic lunch 20 years in the making. The two acts have been circling each other for decades, bound by their shared love of blues, funk and soul. After touring together in 2003, the three musicians often talked about jamming, recording or just hanging out together, but their plans only finally came to fruition in 2022, when Beck stopped by Auerbach’s Easy Eye Sound Studio in Nashville and the trio raced through a handful of songs in an afternoon. “When you’re working on a record and the songs are coming together, whatever the energy and the vibe, it just goes into the music,” says Beck. Such energies are evident on the lively Ohio Players, which combines the thickfreak attack of The Black Keys with Beck’s bottles-and-cans-and-just-clap-your-hands aesthetic. Of the album’s 14 tracks, Beck co-wrote seven and played on several others,… Read More →

Hit Singles

“I’ll Be Your King Volcano!”

This month’s Uncut cover story digs deep into David Bowie‘s groundbreaking Ziggy Stardust & The Spiders From Mars album, as an expansive new box set, Rock N Roll Star!, unearths outtakes, alternate versions, radio sessions and more to shed new light on his doomed extra-terrestrial rocker. In this excerpt from our cover story, we preview 10 tracks from the upcoming Rock N Roll Star! box… DAVID BOWIE IS ON THE COVER OF THE LATEST UNCUT – ORDER YOUR COPY HERE Advertisement DISC 1 “Hang On To Yourself” [Early demo] Advertisement Bowie had just met Gene Vincent when he recorded this demo at the home of an RCA executive in the US in February 1972, which might explain the retro feel of one of the Ziggy songs that took longest to get right. “Sweet Head” [Haddon Hall rehearsal] An early version of the Ziggy outtake that was probably dropped from the running order due to the sexual references. Bowie also dropped “Velvet Goldmine” for similar reasons – and along with the use of American slang, it shows that he was actively courting the US market. DISC 2 “I’m Waiting For The Man” [BBC Radio session] Bowie’s love of the Velvet Underground… Read More →

Hit Singles

Alice Cooper – Billion Dollar Babies (reissue, 1973)

Supporting the old trope that you must suffer for your art, Alice Cooper got an opus out of a toothache. On “Unfinished Sweet”, the deranged heart of the band’s sixth studio album, Billion Dollar Babies, frontman Vincent Furnier sings some lowdown dental blues, describing the pain like a “Saint Vitus dance on my molars tonight” and wincing at the paranoid hallucinations prompted by the laughing gas. The rest of the band are just as committed to the ludicrous concept, with Glen Buxton duetting with a dental drill before colliding head-on with a surf-rock/spy-theme breakdown. At no point does dentistry become a metaphor for anything else associated with rock’n’roll. It’s not about sex or VD. It’s not about drugs or ODs. It’s just candy and cavities. DAVID BOWIE IS ON THE COVER OF THE LATEST UNCUT – ORDER YOUR COPY HERE Therein lies the appeal of Alice Cooper. There was no concept so stupid that it couldn’t be parlayed into a catchy rock song, no idea so weird they couldn’t deliver it to radio with a black bow on top. Before the Ramones made dumb sound smart, Alice Cooper reveled in juvenile jokes, adolescent alienation and bludgeon-to-the-brain riffage. The band developed… Read More →