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Outsideleft Week in Music Under Cracked Clouds We're hearing from... Crack Cloud, Bödel, Bright Eyes, The Wolfgang Press, Light of Eternity, Anna Butterss, Bill Leeb, Quivers, La Lom, Thee Marloes, Starcrazy,  Shelley Byron, Hamish Hawk, Melt Banana, She Drew the Gun, Killer Mike / Anthony Hamilton, The Door and The Window, Orville Peck/Alison Russell & Mdou Moctar

Outsideleft Week in Music Under Cracked Clouds

We're hearing from... Crack Cloud, Bödel, Bright Eyes, The Wolfgang Press, Light of Eternity, Anna Butterss, Bill Leeb, Quivers, La Lom, Thee Marloes, Starcrazy, Shelley Byron, Hamish Hawk, Melt Banana, She Drew the Gun, Killer Mike / Anthony Hamilton, The Door and The Window, Orville Peck/Alison Russell & Mdou Moctar

by OL House Writer,
first published: August, 2024

approximate reading time: minutes

Musically, Crack Cloud are clever enough musicians and writers to use The Clash, Mott The Hoople, Sparks, Animal Collective and, at the top of Crack of Life, the first track, Curtis Mayfield among many other influences, artfully...

intro.

Wow! What an entertaining Outsideleft Week in Music this is. Thanks immensely and mainly to our super reviewers... Martin Devenney (1), Hamilton High (2), Tim London (1), Ancient Champion (5), Lee Paul (2), Ogglypoogly (2), Alan Rider (6),

singles.

ANNA BUTTERSS - Shorn (International Anthem)
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by Ancient Champion

It's always exciting to hear what Anna Butterss does next. And ahead of a new LP 'Mighty Vertebrate', here is Shorn. Wow! What a word. Shorn here is subliminal. Shorn of shit for sure. I mean, when you play it for the 100th time, new things that you'd never heard before step forward and make themselves known. It is lush in like the way you remember your life - rich and lush when excessive and excessively drunk. It is rich. It is like the LIz Taylor and Richard Burton of pop right here in a few minutes that you won't ask for back.

SHE DREW THE GUN - Mirrors (Submarine Cat)
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by Martin Devenney

Martin Devenney reviews the new She Drew The Gun right here

KILLER MIKE / ANTHONY HAMILTON - Nobody Knows (Loma Vista Recordings)
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by Lee Paul

Yeah well I just love rap when it gets the gospelly background treatment. Marginally glitchy for moments at the outset then... Killer Mike and Anthony Hamilton - you're kidding me. This is like perfect pop now. From the LP Songs For Sinners & Saints. Turn it up.

STARCRAZY - I 'Aint That Crazy (Streaming and download platforms)
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by Alan Rider

Sydney band Starcrazy are a bunch of retro rockers who have clearly been overdosing on 70s glam rock, power pop and NWOBHM, and don't they look it!  Imagine a glam rock/pop tribute band with their own songs and you'd be there.  I feel that statement should be qualified with some caustic put down or other, but hell, the sun is out, I'm in a good mood, and this is a fun record, with a great bass riff, by a bunch of unfashionably long haired rockers who look like they are having a great time doing it.  I'll cut them a break.

BöDEL - Grisarna och snuten (DiSTAT Records)
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by Hamilton High

Whither you. Like it or not this is one intense aural pummeling. Swedish hardcore band Bödel have an interesting father/daughter line up which is also sort of weirdly cute in the fruit doesn't fall far from the tree way. I go to see my kid's band performances at the Symphony Hall and it is all very respectable.  Singer Leya formerly of punk band Chörnobyl, and her dad Arvid get together (with drummer Masken and bassist, Henke) to speed punk rock out in the most sincere sonic violence way there can be, and it is all very respectable. It's all worthy of a giant great big wow.

SHELLEY BYRON - Moon Song (independent)
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by Ogglypoogly

Found yourself with five minutes to spare and ears that cry out to be filled with something all a bit lovely? Well it’s high time you listened to Shelley Byron, who conveniently have a shiny new track out.  “An ode to the quiet ones in our lives” Moon Song is something quite remarkable, both lyrically and in it’s composition which moves between tempo and tone so fluidly it’s hard to believe this isn’t a long established band with a vast following of dedicated fans.  Make the discovery early, you don’t want to miss a moment more from them.

BRIGHT EYES - Bells and Whistles (Dead Oceans)
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by Ancient Champion

OMG. I cannot enthuse enough about this, like I don't know if Conor Oberst was out of form, but this has everything that says this is a huge giagantic return to form. Be amazed. He can write, he could always write... "Fancy cheap thrills cost a lot..." There can be accidents when you play God...! Then comes the brass and the guitar dueling with the... whistlers... Alex Orange Drink's whistles. Daphne my cats ears are dancing at that bit. She is staring at the source of the sound, Heavens Above. I am lost for the words to attempt to impress the brilliance of this upon you. If you're gonna write, write this well or don't. Please, just don't if you won't. Wow! 

LA LOM - 72 Monte Carlo (Verve)
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by Ancient Champion

La Lom's 72 Monte Carlo drips with affordable small block V8 luxury. It's got it understatedly. I always wanted a Monte Carlo. Well I wanted an aging Cadillac but at a $3,000 starting price, $25,000 now, cheaper than a Malibu back then, the Cheverolet Monte Carlo is a Cadillac for everywoman and man. I think my best friend Walt used to use one as a mobile fast food wrapper trash can. The music. Oh just gorgeous. A Monte Carlo could would not be worthy of less.

THEE MARLOES - Not Today (Big Crown)
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by Lee Paul

Alright, I love Big Crown Records because they are consistently great at scouring the planet to unearth soul with a certain twist. Thee Marloes have an Surabaya, Indonesia twist. It's cool, it's spare, it's a joy. The LP is Perak and listening here it is easy to imagine how great your living room might feel with this record streaming through it.

QUIVERS - Fake Flowers (Merge Records)
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by Hamilton High

This is genuinely exciting guitar pop... They have everything to be the next gen giants. Might be Australian? You can hear their pop genealogy. Whatever they're doing isn't easy to do. Just great. 

THE WOLFGANG PRESS - Sad Surfer (Downwards Records)
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by Alan Rider

The first new material for 30 years from yet another re-formed once great post-punk band.  Unfortunately, this is not so great, and it does make you wonder whether this was such a good idea.  Sometimes it's better to let your past reputation remain intact.

BILL LEEB - Demons (Metropolis)
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by Alan Rider

We reviewed Front Line Assembly frontman Bill Leeb's first solo single and felt it just sounded like Front Line Assembly.  Let give him a second chance.  Nope, sorry, this one sounds exactly like Front Line Assembly as well.  There is a solo album coming up.  Expect that to sound just like Front Line Assembly too.  Bill isn't big on surprises, I guess.

ep's.

LIGHT OF ETERNITY - Extended Play (L.o.E Records/Bandcamp)
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by Alan Rider

I am a bit late to the party with this one as it came out in June, but it is still well worth flagging as this makes mincemeat of most of the drums and guitar driven music I come across.  That's not a surprise as this is the baby of former Killing Joke drummer Big Paul Ferguson and has every bit of the power that you would expect from that.  The  strong opener, 'Edge of Fate' is akin to Killing Joke at their finest.  You couldn't hold a candle to Killing Joke when they were firing on all cylinders and Ferguson's driving drums were absolutely integral to that.  Light of Eternity amply illustrates just how important that contribution was, as this has that signature drum sound and is frankly, great!  That high standard is maintained until 'Extended Play' ends on a high with 'Tipping Point', which, again, is reminiscent of classic Killing Joke.  With guitarist Geordie's premature death, Killing Joke may be no more, but I'd say that Light of Eternity has taken up the mantle in no uncertain terms.

long plays.

MELT BANANA - 3+5 (A-Zap)
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by Alan Rider

Alan Rider reviews 3+5 and interviews Melt Banana over here, don't miss...

HAMISH HAWK - A Firmer Hand (So Recordings)
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by Ogglypoogly

A Firmer Hand has been on Ogglypoogly's turntable for a while. Difficult by all accounts, to take it off. Look over here

CRACK CLOUD - Red Mile (jagjaguwar)
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by Tim London

Crack Cloud wear their influences on their sleeve, where their hearts are, Tim London says. Read his full review, right here.

so, have you got anything else.

MDOU MOCTAR - The Agadez Folders: Live at Sultan’s Palace (YouTube)
by Ancient Champion

You know, Mdou Moctar deserves pages and pages not the one line bon mot I usually manage. It's worth heading over to YouTube to check out their story of getting The Agadez Folders: Live at Sultan’s Palace together at all. It will be 45 brilliant minutes you won't ask for back. "On our way to film at a location out in the bush, Mdou suddenly stops the car to talk to a guy walking a couple camels. They exchanged numbers. Unbeknownst to me, Mdou was plotting to get 50 camels to show up at the king of Agadez's palace where the famous Agadez mosque is." If you're from the UK or USA you will know about the Henley Passport Index list... I am going to look for you but I would guess Niger doesn't rank too highly, and even as the UK sinks down the index and you come up against more travel barriers like the new european north korea that we are, we're still nowhere near facing the trouble people from NIger meet at the gate. Oh, here it is, Niger is 83rd in the index. 
Passports
The barriers are higher. But just look how Mdou Moctar styles them. Here is just the most amazing primitive rocknroll, played by Mahamadou ‘Mdou Moctar’ Souleymane - Lead Guitar, vocalist, Ahmoudou Madassane - Rhythm Guitarist,Souleymane Ibrahim - Drums,  Michael 'Mikey' Coltun - Bass Guitar . Oh man, listen to the bass! So very, very, very, Velvety. You know what I mean. So fucking great.

THE DOOR AND THE WINDOW - Production Line EP (Rough Trade)
by Alan Rider

The Door And The Window are usually described as an 'art punk DIY band' from 1979. Formed by Nag  and Graham Bendle, despite the lack of any musical training or experience, they turned up at gigs by big name bands claiming to be the local support act and, amazingly, were allowed on stage to play.  They self released their first single, recorded on a cassette player, with the pair of them hand-painting all the covers. You can't get more DIY than that. This is the follow up, released on Rough Trade (with a Crass inspired 'do not pay more than 55p' printed on the cover), which was awarded joint 'Single Of The Week', along with Ian Dury's 'Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick' by the New Musical Express.  Despite their lack of traditional musical ability, they regularly performed on the same bill as bands like The Pop Group, Scritti Politti, Delta 5, Swell Maps, and The Raincoats and had a rotating cast of members, with Mark Perry joining them in 1979 as drummer and co-writer. Graham Bendle is now a film director (review of his latest one coming up in OL soon) and has also written a book 'Permanent Transience' about his experiences with the band that is well worth a look.  You need to know these things.

ORVILLE PECK/ALISON RUSSELL - Chemical Sunset (Warner)
by Ancient Champion

Oh fuck. This is the oozing class old school epically voiced giant duet... I had to just put on repeat for a while this morning. From the LP 'Stampede' - okay now you are kidding me! I love this so much. I love everything about it. I wanna say Alison and Orville never sounded better. Well, maybe I can say they never sounded better together. It's like Kamala's joy vs the America is dying thing. Here's the relentless joy!

Essential Info.

main image Crack Cloud.
The previous Outsideleft Week in Music is here.

OL House Writer

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