Coaster: Automatic Pilot

Dutch folk-tinged slowcore duo Coaster are back with a new single, Automatic Pilot, the first taste from their new album A Happy Sad. Paul Dijkman and Bart Appel have come up with a dreamy pop song about trying to cope, with the vocals, muffled percussion and guitar tugged in nicely into a synth-driven soundscape. The video was made by Annick de Wit & Paul Dijkman.

Renée Fleming & Béla Fleck: Tiny Desk Concert

Watch opera singer Renée Fleming and banjo maestro Béla Fleck perform four songs for a NPR Tiny Desk Concert. They were joined by mandolinist and singer Sierra Hull , bassist Mark Schatz , fiddler and singer Michael Cleveland , and guitarist Jake Stargel. Top shelf bluegrass with a twist, breathing new life into songs as old as the hills.

Setlist:

1. In the Pines
2. He's Gone Away / Storms Are On the Ocean
3. Blackest Crow"

» napalmdeath.org

Scott McCloud: "Make It To Forever" video

Watch the Scott McCloud video for Make It To Forever, the title track from his new album: "His husky vocals will be appreciated by fans of Bob Mould, Henry Rollins and Iggy Pop. Life has provided him with enough hassles and bruises, but he shows his scars with pride. He is still standing, with a take it or leave it attitude."

» Scott McCloud on Facebook

HCTF review of Make It To Forever

The Bullfight: tour dates

Dutch folk noir band The Bullfight have added a couple of shows to their tour in The Netherlands to promote their latest album 81 Bedford St., a soundtrack for a film noir movie that does not exist: "Most soundtracks are connect-the-dots affairs, with a few well-known popular songs and a run-of-the-mill theme that a composer won't lose any sleep over to create to something memorable. Not so for 81 Bedford St. on which the band's resident writer and multi-instrumentalist Thomas van Vliet went above and beyond with a bunch of songs that are closely linked to create a narrative, but also can hold their own and be enjoyed as such. There is jazz, industrial noise, torch singing, avant-garde, pastoral violin driven baroque pop, and much, much more."

Ratt / The Temptations: Get Ready for Lack of Communication

Bill McClintock made a mashup of The Temptations : and Ratt: Get Ready + Lack of Communication = Get Ready for Lack of Communication. Plus a bit of Dimebag Darrel's solo from Pantera's I'm Broken. Want more? His YouTube channel has lots of them.

Ladytron: in-studio performance @ KEXP radio

Watch the video of the in-studio performance by British electronic band Ladytron on The Afternoon Show @ KEXP radio in Seattle, recorded on June 6, 2026. They performed three songs from their latest album Paradises, plus long time fan favourite Destroy Everything You Touch.

Elephant Stone: I Got A Pill

Canadian psychedelic raga band Elephant Stone throw a punch at the fake comfort offered by swallowing a tablet to get people's mind away from reality on their new single I Got A Pill. Demagogues love them, because people won't take notice of all the shit they are doing. When they realise what is happening, the com down from a bad trip will be hard to deal with.

It is another first taste from their new album ASHA, due for release on August 28th via Elephants On Parade/Little Cloud Records. It is available for pre-order here (vinyl, digital). The video was directed by Adam Traynor.

The Fierce & The Dead: "Shake Hands And Exit" video

English experimental rock band The Fierce & The Dead have made a video for their Shake Hands And Exit single: "A song that is a bit sneaky. It tells you that everything is cool and froody, before offering a series of prog metal explosions that tell a different story. This is the kind of song that Soundgarden were chasing when they were in their prime: intense, a bit frightening, but irresistible like all things that unsafe or at least unhealthy." It is a track from their fifth studio album, Regional Theatre, due for release in October.

Napalm Death: Tiny Desk Concert

Watch English grindcore pioneers Napalm Death perform eight songs, for a NPR Tiny Desk Concert. 40 years of mayhem and no signs of slowing down.

Setlist:

1. Instinct of Survival
2. Strong-Arm
3. Everyday Pox
4. Throes of Joy in the Jaws of Defeatism
5. Amoral
6. Dead
7. Scum
8. You Suffer

» napalmdeath.org

Mouth Ulcers: "Silent Pictures" video

Watch the Mouth Ulcers video for Silent Pictures, the title track from their debut EP: "Suppressed emotions, a longing for a past where things were supposedly better, being vulnerable but afraid to show it, it's the full monty of angst and weltschmertz that can be overwhelming. Disgruntled youths of all ages will love it. Some of them might even make the trip to the guitar shop, inquiring about the pedal they need to have to buy to get that wall of sound."

Tugboat Captain: All At Once

English baroque-pop band Tugboat Captain made good use of the facilities of their own "Ctrl P" studio, run by singer Sox and bassist Joshua Cobb for their new album All At Once, allowing the band to put layer upon layers and letting textures take centre stage when they felt the song needed it. The tracks were recorded in two weeks, in a flurry of activity and creativity that saved the songs from becoming too smooth and polished.

The main themes are about being lost and overwhelmed, cast adrift in a sea of both opportunities and uncertainties. Heartbreak is of course part of the equation, but the lyrics dig deeper, about going down the rabbit hole and stumbling around in the dark, echoed in the shifting time signatures that are used within a song. All At Once isn't a downer album however, but a journey through an emotional minefield. Tread lightly and something new that one might have missed at the first listen will come to the fore to wonder about. Who knew that singing along to You Know I'm Really's killer line "maybe I'm really fucked up now" could be so much fun.

Cover Me: Golden Brown

Watch Alex Kapranos and Julian Corrie of Scottish rock band Franz Ferdinand tackled the Stranglers classic Golden Brown for an acoustic session on French radio OÜI FM, recorded on July 3, 2026.

» franzferdinand.com

Johnny Marr: "Spin" video

Watch the video for Spin, the lead single for Johnny Marr's new album The Age Of Everything. His signature guitar tone is in fine fettle. Hopefuls from all over the world have tried to replicate it and they all came up short.

Michael Whittle: Lie To Me So I Will Be Alright

Composer Michael Whittle gets away from his day job writing scores for commercials and movies with the desolate single Lie To Me So I Will Be Alright. Since the 'net connected everything it had also a nasty side-effect. No, not the rampant rise of fake news and providing a platform for people with too much time on their hands "doing their own research". It is easy to feel terribly lonesome and lost in the digital age and Whittle latched upon a conspiracy foil, the Dead Internet theory, for a morose shoegaze exercise that could be mistaken for a long lost '90s indie classic.

John Watts: "The Worker" solo acoustic 2 Meter Session

Watch John Watts perform a solo acoustic rendition of The Worker for Dutch show 2 Meter Sessies. He is part of the line-up of a show @ Bostheater in Ommen on August 29, sharing the bill with The Prodigal Sons. He takes his New Wave band Fischer-Z on tour again in the Fall to celebrate their 50th anniversary.

Maryscoovy: Bizarre Cast of Characters

photo: Kim Schotanus

Between 2022 and 2025 Frysian psych-punk garage Maryscoovy had the opportunity to mess around and play really fucking loud @ Dee Nijverheid in De Westereen, an "anti-squat" building they themselves lovingly referred to as The Rathaus. It was an oasis for creativity and lots of live music. The quartet honed their craft to create a bunch of super tight high energy songs and the cream of the crop is now available on their debut album Bizarre Cast of Characters, aimed all the folks who don't fit in (and most likely don't want to).

Despite flying the garage flag, the band goes way beyond the limitation of "one two three four" rock songs. Things get weird in a good way and there is plenty to enjoy for fans of Pere Ubu, Pixies, and even the doyen of smart tongue-in-cheek avant-garde, Frank Zappa.

The Wedding Present: live @ Hidden Hall in Seattle video

Watch English indie band The Wedding Present perform an afternoon set @ Hidden Hall in Seattle on April 24 as part of their North American tour. The show was filmed by independent radio station KEXP.

Taxi Girls: "Midnight Mixtape" video

Taxi Girls have made a video for Midnight Mixtape, a track from their Static album: "Imagine Blondie having a rowdy sleepover with The Hives and The Shirts. Whatever bad things the universe may have in store for them, they are ready to face them head on, armed with the holy trinity of rock 'n' roll instruments. As Lou Reed once wrote: you can't beat guitar, bass and drums."

» taxigirls.bandcamp.com

HCTF review of Static

Westside Cowboy: Pin Up Boys

Mancunian indie quartet Westside Cowboy have been playing in Up Boys at pretty much every show for year-and-a-half, but never got around to recording it properly in the studio. They tried and tried, but it never really gelled. A semi live take should have salvaged it, but even that take on the classic loud-quiet-loud approach stumbled and fell flat on its back. That is a pity, but rest assured: they will get it right on stage.

Martyrs: Drowning Days

Welsh synth duo Martyrs have proof that you can feel sad and overcome by grief on a glorious day, even when they are in their favourite city Barcelona. With Drowning Days they are trying to come up for air after being swept on their feet by a tidal wave of emotions. They describe the song themselves as "saddest banger of the summer", which is an accurate description for this mix of old school early techno and electronic pop.

» Martyrs on Bluesky

HCTF review of the Church Street EP