Minimal waffle, maximum music – I’m very aware that there is too much music and not enough time! I’ve had close to 1,000 albums pass through my inbox this year alone (I’ve probably only been able to listen to about a third of them), and what I’m presenting are my favourite albums of 2018, the albums that I’ve connected most with, that matter most to me, one way or another.
Hope you find something new to get into… Continue reading
Sad news last night as according to reports Pete Shelly singer of iconic punk rock band The Buzzcocks died suddenly after suffering a heart attack. He was 63. He was living in Estonia at the time of his death. As the frontman of one of the first wave UK punk bands in the 1970s, Shelley with his Buzzcocks mates innovated song-writing for punk, giving the embryonic genre many classic songs. Shelley went on to find success as a solo artist as well as activity with his main band. Pete’s music and legacy will live on in every punk band and every fan, for all time. Many people from across music and the arts commented publicly what Pete and his music meant to them. We send our deepest sympathies to his family, friends and many fans at this time. Continue reading
As the Ghost Cult Albums of the Year 2018 run-down approaches the business end, picking up where Part 1 left off, we invite you to peruse the albums that, democratically voted for by the entire crew, make our Top 25 and didn’t just prick up our ears, but smashed their way into our hearts and minds. Read on…
By the time the final album for 2018 is released, from Watain’s Trident Wolf Eclipse (Century Media) to Sulpher Aeon’s The Scythe of Cosmic Chaos (Van) – both of which were reviewed by Gary Alcock, and neither of which made the final list, trivia fans, – over 1,000 albums will have passed through the Ghost Cult reviews inbox, we will have covered just shy of 550 releases (we do a fair bit of filtering to protect our writers ears from some of the less inspiring releases), and our entire crew will have nominated and voted for 244 of them to be considered as our #1 for the year.Continue reading
I love random. I honestly thought when I received Transmaniacon it was just… random fate. Then I put on my glasses and actually read what I had been sent. Transmaniacon featuring Lydia Lunch and Maya Berlin. Lydia Lunch… Lydia Lunch… the same Lydia Lunch of my childhood? The same Lydia Lunch from the Lower East Side? The Lydia Lunch from those movies? The Lydia Lunch I had just seen with Anthony Bourdain on Parts Unknown?Continue reading
What a truly intriguing mix of styles this appears on paper! A duo comprised of Punk underground overlord and current Dead Cross member Justin Pearson and hip-hop producer Luke Henshaw, Planet B are bringing so much to the table of their self-titled album (Ipecac Recordings) and are doing do with politically charged lyrics which are looking to rail against “the lack of humanity in the world…….”Continue reading
Hardcore punk greats Minor Threat caused a stir this weekend with a photo shared that calls back their classic cover of 1985’s Salad Days album. The new photo of drummer Jeff Nelson, singer Ian MacKaye, guitarist Lyle Preslar and bassist Brian Baker — sitting on the front porch of Dischord Records house in south Arlington, Virginia was posted on Baker’s Instagram page and was shared by Dischord on Facebook. “This is a non-story. Jeff insists that we always take a porch shot for posterity when the four of us are at Dischord. This is just the first one we’ve had taken since I’ve had an Instagram account.” 2018 marks another anniversary for the band as their classic album Out Of Step was released thirty-five years ago in 1983.Continue reading
One of the first UK rock musicians to demonstrate how crowd-funding could really be successful in the non-mainstream world with his phenomenally successful 555% (Pledge Music) campaign, in 2014 Ginger Wildheart embarked on the G*A*S*S (Ginger Associated Secret Society) project. Fans signed up, and in return, received three exclusive tracks a month and opportunities for a whole host of goodies. At the end of the process, a ten-track release of the most popular tracks, Year Of The Fanclub, was made available to the general public. G*A*S*S Mark II (Round Records) is the Directors Cut… Ginger’s own preferred curation of his favourite tracks from the experiment.Continue reading
On Heavy Yoke (Solid State/Indie Recordings) Azusa is a bit all over all the place. Solid State’s own website has them described as “Can you imagine Kate Bush fronting Slayer; Death collaborating with Annette Peacock?” And they’re not technically wrong. Heavy Yoke is ripe with flashes of Thrash, Death Metal, Punk, Pop and Prog. It seems contradictory or musically adverse, but these are professionals at work.Continue reading
“Learn to trust yourself, no one else matters”: the opening statement to Laura Jane Grace & The Devouring Mothers first album is stark and powerful. Delivered in a snarled spoken word so as to puncture the eardrum as the first thing you hear to launch an album Grace apparently feared would never be if she didn’t make it this year, it’s a strong portent of things to come, that Bought To Rot (Bloodshot) is as much a lyrical album as anything else.Continue reading