Matt Catchpole

Pop essentials and a little bit more

KRAMER VS KRAMER – MC5 Mainman Is His Own Worst Critic In Brutally Honest 50th Anniversary Memoir

January 19, 2019

Few could claim to have lived a life less ordinary than the MC5’s Wayne Kramer.

HERE COMES SICKNESS – Mudhoney Bring Their 30th Anniversary Tour To London’s Camden Electric Ballroom

December 20, 2018

A little over a decade after punk kicked over the traces with its back to basics approach, a gaggle of lumberjack-shirted miscreants from Seattle picked up the baton and ran with it.
Reared on diet of hardcore, MC5 and The Stooges, Mudhoney were at the vanguard of the grunge revolution and their debut mini-album Superfuzz Bigmuff remains a defining document of the times.

STIR OF ECHOES – ‘The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society’ Evokes An Arcadian Vision Of A Vanishing England

December 10, 2018

One the few bright spots In an Autumn dominated by knife crime, lousy weather and the endless, wearying, machinations of Brexit, was the news that The Kinks had finally gone gold with The Village Green Preservation Society.

HEADLINE STRESS DISORDER – Mudhoney Satirise Social Media And The 24-Hour News Cycle On Caustic 10th Album ‘Digital Garbage’

December 3, 2018

Fuelled by scathing fury and a seemingly inexhaustible supply of scuzzy riffs, Digital Garbage sees Mudhoney frontman Mark Arm set his sights on post-truth…

UP ON THE STAND – MC50 Kick Out The Jams At The Shepherd’s Bush Empire

November 23, 2018

Anniversary tours are always tricky, especially for a band with the cachet of the MC5.
Reputations can be destroyed, legacies tarnished and there’s always the risk of being accused of “selling out”. Wayne Kramer has faced such a backlash before having previously reformed the band for a one-off show in 2003 with two surviving members as part of a Levi’s ad campaign.

MONSTER MASH – Jon Spencer and The Melvins Haunt The Camden KOKO Over Halloween

November 11, 2018

The suitably vampiric surroundings of Camden’s KOKO provides the perfect ambience for a diabolical double header, with Jon Spencer and The Melvins ghosting in for Halloween. Up…

STARDUST MEMORIES – Last Spider Standing Woody Woodmansey On Keeping Bowie’s Music Live With Holy Holy

November 9, 2018

Between 1970 and 1973 Mick “Woody” Woodmansey played drums on four successive David Bowie albums, which saw the Starman skyrocket from relative unknown to…

CUM ON FEEL THE NOIZE – Axeman Jon Spencer Returns With Bone Rattling Debut Solo Album

October 24, 2018

Like all the best guitarists Jon Spencer’s signature sound is instantly recognisable. Whether it be Pussy Galore, Boss Hog, Heavy Trash or the Blues Explosion, the…

A CHANGE IS ON ITS WAY – Northside Frontman Dermo Returns With Aggressive New Punk Quartet Time For Action

October 22, 2018

Hailed for their explosive live shows, Northside were an intrinsic part of the Madchester/baggy scene, which fused indie rock guitars with the dance beats of a flourishing underground rave culture.

WHAT YOU NEED – Brix And The Extricated Lay The Ghost Of Mark E Smith On New Album ‘Breaking State’

September 24, 2018

Following hot on the heels of its predecessor Part 2, Breaking State shows Brix and the Extricated staying true to their post-punk roots, while expanding their…

REBEL ROUSERS – Neville and Christine Sugary Staple Team Up With Specials’ Guitarist Roddy Byers On New Rude Rebels Release

September 11, 2018

Neville and Christine Sugary Staple have reunited with Specials‘ guitarist Roddy Byers, aka Roddy Radiation, for a new single and album. The single’s release was…

RAMA LAMA – Wayne Kramer’s Proto-Punk Legends MC5 Head To Europe For 50th Anniversary Shows

September 10, 2018

MC5 guitarist Wayne Kramer is heading to the UK in November on the latest leg of his Kick Out The Jams 50th Anniversary Tour. The…

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Author: Matt Catchpole