Les Claypool has his work cut out for him with the announcement of the Claypool Gold '26 US tour. Each night his three bands - Primus, The Claypool Lennon Delirium, and The Frog Brigade will be on stage in shapeshifting order. Things will be weird and unexpected for sure.
The Claypool Lennon Delirium have just released a new single, WAP, a chugging psychedelic rocker. It is their first new music since the release of their South of Reality album in 2019.
English indie duo Wings of Desire have set their sights on releasing a new song with each full moon. The first one, Whisper, is slow burn that catches fire near the end, from dreampop to shoegaze to noise. The track deals about getting a loved one out of his or her shell, making sure that the words that were uttered by that person were heard and ensuring that help is on the way.
Dutch brothers Nolle and Beinte Groen fell in love with smooth jazz-tinged soulful rock of the early 70s. The self-titled debut EP by their Baby Condor duo gives plenty of room to carefully recorded percussion, strings, woodwinds and brass, besides the usual suspects like guitars and keyboards. The brother constructed their own safe space, naming it Mermaid Studio, filling it with refurbished goodies to capture their music. Yes, they are old school - they even wrote a song about the Luxman L-4 stereo amplifier, Silver Stereo, that was the heart and soul of their parents hi-fi system.
Being siblings their voices blend together seamlessly, reaching a peak during Dreaming of the Day, a song about a crumbling relationship that may well or may not be saved. If anything they make a case to slow down and smell the roses, getting away from the hustle and bustle and show some love for Backcountry Towns. The Groen brothers are off to a great start. Baby Condor are ready to explore the skies, being confident that their wings can take them anywhere they want.
English musician Michael de Albuquerque's solo output consisted of three albums in the early Seventies. Best known as the bass player for the Electric Light Orchestra from 1972 to 1974, he had no chance to get his own music on that band's records, so he went out his own with a blend of orchestrated soft rock, progressive rock and funk. The people at niche label Think Like a Key took upon them to created lovingly restored reissues with the help of fabled retired sound engineer Prof Stoned. With the upcoming release of Stalking The Sleeper the set is now complete.
It is De Albuquerque's most ambitious effort, with songs that go through hills and valleys. He starts out pretty straightforward with the only cover on the album, Ray Charles' I Gotta Woman, but after that the gloves come off for a sonic journey, channelling Bowie's floor filler Fame (Patience Cousin!), going all out with the widescreen The Wreckers and the subtle piano-driven pop of Tonight On The Highway. The bonus tracks - three from his band with ELO bandmate Mik Kaminski and a latter day demo with John Marcangelo - are nice to have, but they take away a bit from the flow of the original album.
English indie rockers Captain Wilberforce did release a few singles after their damn fine full-length When The Dust Just Won't Settle hit the shops in 2020, but it took them some time to come up with another album. The long wait is almost over - Another World. Another Life. Another Time drops on February 20, and if the new single Got It is an indication of what's in store, it will be a cracker.
In just a little over two minutes of jangling pop goodness they take a good-natured stab at a couple failing to listen to each other at a therapy session. The song was inspired was by the BBC TV series, hosted by Dr Orna Guralnik who tries to patch things up.
