It has been four years since we last featured the noirish Americana of Ben de la Cour, and eight years since we first featured him. He has a new album just out, Shadow Land which we’re enjoying a hell of a lot. The record is jam-packed with soul-bearing songs about loss, danger, addiction and longing. It is a darkly beautiful meditation on what it means to … Continue reading Ben de la Cour – Shadow Land
Last year Australian singer-songwriter Dan Brodie released an excellent album titled Funerária do Vale which created its own heady, musical stew from blues, country, folk and even some rockabilly influences. One of the tracks, We’ll Never Drink (Again) is a gently mournful reflection on a relationship breakdown, and a standout on the album for us. There is a new video for the song, which uses footage taken … Continue reading New Video: Dan Brodie – We’ll Never Drink (Again)
Steve Earle & The Dukes will release new album Ghosts of West Virginia on 22nd May via New West Records. The album centres on the Upper Big Branch coal mine explosion that killed twenty-nine men in that state in 2010, making it one of the worst mining disasters in American history. Investigations revealed hundreds of safety violations, as well as attempts to cover them up, and … Continue reading Steve Earle & The Dukes – Devil Put The Coal In The Ground
Raw Texas duo The Ghost Wolves consists of husband and wife, drummer/vocalist Jonny and vocalist/guitarist Carley Wolf. Their sound is a fusion of punk, rock ‘n’ roll, garage punk, and blues with an equally ripe appetite for electronic imagination. Like the bastard child of The Cramps and The Ramones, latest (unhinged) release is Let’s Go To Mars backed with Last Man. Stream both here and … Continue reading New Single from Ghost Wolves
And here we have the final part of our favourite tunes of 2019… Discover and enjoy. 25 UV Race – Mr Blame A brash, unapologetic race through proto-punk stomp and malodorous glam-punk aesthetics. 24 Lonesome Shack – The City is a Desert Anchored by an insistent country blues refrain that has a touch of something primal about it, and sounds like it could … Continue reading Mad Mackerel’s Best Songs of 2019 (Part 3)
50 Sleaford Mods – O.B.C.T 49 Deliluh – Freeloader Feast 48 The Paranoyds – Hungry Sam 47 Cherry Pickles – Lily Is A Spy 46 The Warlocks – Disfigured Figure 45 Silverbacks – Pink Tide 44 Marika Hackman – The One 43 Lonesome Shack – Too Bad 42 FEWS – Anything Else 41 Darrin Bradbury … Continue reading Mad Mackerel’s Best Songs of 2019 (Part 2)
Sometimes you get an email from a band that already pretty much sums up everything we might want to say about a record in a couple of brilliant sentences. Deeside’s Chupa Cabra is a perfect case in point. First, they describe their music as “nauseating, salivating, hypnotizing, no good sucker-punch-piss-yourself polystyrene agitator Blues“. Nice! And they go on to describe their new single Violent Urges … Continue reading Introducing >>> Chupa Cabra
Human Touch is the new single from Nottingham duo Whisky Stain. A lean howl of squalor and heartache, the track adds a soupçon of tenderness to an otherwise raw and visceral punch to the guts – file somewhere near BRMC, Royal Trux and Death From Above 1979. Stream it below, or watch the single’s video – an emotive study of sexuality, violence, stigma and healing. Buy … Continue reading Introducing >>> Whisky Stain
Raw blues duo Left Lane Cruiser are back with a new record, Shake and Bake – meaning another tasty helping of their lowdown, sleaze-ridden garage blues. The Waltz is the latest track shared from the record and it is a heavy-duty monolith of fuzzy, fried rock’n’roll, just like the devil intended. Give it a spin here. The album is out on the 31st May via Alive NaturalSound … Continue reading Left Lane Cruiser – The Waltz
Courtney Barnett is releasing Everybody Here Hates You as a standalone single and as an exclusive 12″ single for Record Store Day. Everybody Here Hates You is built on a bluesy guitar chug and is a a rollicking paean to depression and self-belief; complete with squalling guitars, organs and tambourines. Watch the lyric video below. Continue reading Courtney Barnett – Everybody Here Hates You
The Mad Mackerel 