FTA is in the UK! Or rather I am currently in the UK, and that being the case, I figured why not make a playlist of my favorite UK artists to share? I’m always down to share tunes and want to start making playlists and such more of a thing we feature, so here you go!
This is a list of my favorites that range from DIY punk to down tempo electronic to Northern Irish protest songs and indie songs sung in Welsh. Speaking of which, I would be remiss if I didn’t remind readers (who I assume are mostly American) that the United Kingdom is made up of four individual countries— England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales—all of which have their own vibrant culture and histories. Indeed, the UK is not just England even though that is what most Americans think of when they hear the worlds “United Kingdom.” And though yes, England is the most represented on this playlist, I tried my best to include songs I love from all four constituent nations.
Also, this is meant to be a snapshot of my personal tastes and what I’ve been listening to most over the last few years; this is not a definitive list. I left off all of the biggies and obvious ones, you all know who the Beatles and Blur are (and I was never a huge Britpop person anyway), and who the greats of every decade are, so I didn’t feel a need to include bands like New Order, Culture Club, Sabbath, Zeppelin or The Rolling Stones etc even though I do love their music.
And while most of those big names aren’t here, there are a few notable exceptions because I love those artists and that love transcends the fact that they’re widely known (you’ll know who) and some are too big an influence/regular presence in my life to not include. The things that were left off were not because I don’t enjoy them, but rather to focus more succinctly on the artists I did pick, some of whom I know you’ve never heard of and want to make sure you’re aware of them. It’s also only one song per artist because my hope is that if you like what you hear, you’ll be sure to explore more. In any case, enjoy and go ahead in the comments and tell me what you liked and what you’d pick!
FTA is pleased to debut the next installment of the Sean Spada Doppleverse with the release of brand new single “Set Up to Self-Destruct,” which comes complete with a music video to accompany the tongue-in-cheek despairing nature of the track.
Directed by Nikki Belfiglio (of Bodega), the simple imagery of the video effectively captures the mood of one’s fated abject failure but still set on making the most of the hand that you’re dealt. The scene-for-one unfolds as a dapper Spada dons a cardboard party hat dodging darts and large looming green hands between bouts of casual juggling and blowing up balloons all by his lonesome. It’s unclear just how dire the situation may in fact be, but there is a real calming sincerity in the vocal delivery that makes you feel like even though you’re clearly fucked, everything is gonna be ok. Or maybe not, but what else can you do other than keep pushing forward?
The track itself expertly weaves in and out between piano-ballad and pop-rock, knowing just when to tuck in its tail and when to triumph. The struggle to keep pushing forward these days when you’re already stacked to lose is quite relatable, and Spada brings us these short moments of hope and positivity that often gets lost in the impossible situation of existing.
The track is part of Spada’s upcoming album, The Wild Ride, due out 10/7. Spada will play a release show the same day at Piano’s with support from Pete Donnelly Combo and Onesie. Tickets here. Watch the video below:
Angel Olsen has had a triumphant 2022, releasing the celebrated album, Big Time (Jagjaguar) and is fresh off the success of the Wild Hearts tour with Sharon Van Etten and Julien Baker (see our coverage) as well as her “Big Time” collaboration with Sturgill Simpson. She already had a string of European dates scheduled for the end of this year and has now announced a North American leg beginning in January 2023 with Erin Rae supporting.
See all North American dates below and listen to “Big Time” with Sturgill Simpson.
Angel Olsen at SummerStage, August 2022 (photo by Kate Hoos)
Wet Leg is on a seemingly never-ending tour to support their self titled debut album and have just added even more dates to their already hefty touring schedule. These new dates will also see the band return to NYC and this time not in an arena (after their turn supporting Florence & the Machine at MSG this past weekend and at the Sea Hear Now Festival in Asbury Park, NJ), returning instead to smaller rooms. For that run, they will be playing four shows here in a variety of venues reminiscent of their initial burst into New York a year ago. They will play shows at Music Hall of Williamsburg, Elsewhere, Webster Hall, and Bowery Ballroom (with support to be announced).
Keeping up their breakneck pace, the band says they have already completed their second as of yet untitled album, though no further details have been announced at this time. In the meantime their extensive tour continues and in addition to their NYC shows, it will also see them crisscrossing North America, the UK, Europe and Asia between now and July 2023, including supporting slots for Harry Styles at Wembley Stadium next June.
See below for all North American 2022 tour dates, live video and highlights from their Baby’s All Right and Brooklyn Steel shows.
10/4- Ciudad De México, MX @ Lunario
10/6- Seattle, WA @ Climate Pledge Arena
10/7- Eugene, OR @ McDonald Theater
10/9- Mountain View, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheater
10/12- San Diego, CA @ Cal Coast Credit Union Amphitheater
10/14- Austin City Limits
10/15- Los Angeles, CA
[Return to the UK and Europe]
12/1- Nashville, TN @ Brooklyn Bowl Nashville
12/2- Harrisburg, PA @ XL Live
12/4- Louisville, KY @ Headliners Music Hall
12/5- Saint Louis, MO @ Delmar Hall
12/6- Kansas City, MO @ The Truman
12/13- New York, NY @ Webster Hall
12/14- Brooklyn, NY @ Elsewhere Hall
12/15- New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
12/16- Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
Wet Leg at Baby’s All Right/Brooklyn Steel (photos by Emilio Herce)
The members of post hardcore/punk super group Hammered Hulls— Alec MacKaye, Mary Timony, Mark Cisneros, and Chris Wilson—have all been in numerous influential bands: Helium, The Make-Up, The Faith, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, The Warmers, Autoclave, Kid Congo, Titus Andronicus, and Wild Flag to name but a few. And together as HH they have just announced their debut full length, Careening (10/28 via Dischord) which follows their 2019 self titled EP. They have also shared the first single, “Rights and Reproduction,” a song loaded with a palpable push and pull tension, coupled with MacKaye’s urgent vocals and full of the legacy and sound of the great Washington DC bands that have come before them (and often times included them).
Fellow DC veteran and living punk legend Guy Picciotto of Rites of Spring and Fugazi shared these thoughts via a press release on Hammered Hulls and the song saying:
“Alec MacKaye has been a source of inspiration to me since I was 15 years old when his bands the Untouchables and Faith made their massive crater-sized impacts on me. “Inspiration” doesn’t do it justice – in the chaos of his performance and the power of his voice, Alec was always to me the distant horizon of what any singer could aspire to be. It is surely the only debt you can incur that feels like a gift.
That he now continues to provide that same energy to me 42 years later with his band Hammered Hulls is not really a surprise but it is wildly welcome. Mary Timony, Chris Wilson and Mark Cisneros, three musicians of absurd pedigree, sensitivity and skill, create a weave that’s both tough and lithe, the ideal setting for Alec’s singular voice and words. Their new single “Rights and Reproduction” colonized my mind when I saw them play it live and is now just as disruptive in its recorded form. A highwater mark has been redrawn. Hammered Hulls are for real.”
The band also shares on their Bandcamp “Hammered Hulls’ debut LP Careening may very well be the last record to be recorded and mixed at famed Washington, DC area recording studio Inner Ear. Engineered by studio owner Don Zientara and produced by Ian MacKaye, Careening was started right before the pandemic lockdown and completed in summer/fall of 2021.”
In support of the album, the band will embark on a short tour which will hit NYC on December 2nd at TV Eye (they will also make stops in Washington DC, Cleveland and Baltimore).
Listen to the song below and pre-order the album now via Bandcamp:
Hammered Hulls performing in 2019 (photos by Kate Hoos)
Several months after the release of their wonderful double album, Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You (4AD), Big Thief have announced more tour dates that will see them playing dates all over the globe. The will hit Asia and Australia to wrap up 2022 before picking things up in 2023 in North America. For that leg of the tour, they will begin in Burlington, VT on January 31, 2023 before winding their way around New England and the South, concluding at Radio City Music Hall in New York on March 2. They will then head to the UK and Europe for a string of dates through the end of April. Tickets will go on sale Friday September 16th at noon with local dates open for pre-sale at 10am; see full list of dates below.
BIG THIEF: 2022 TOUR
11/12- Seoul, KR @ Rolling Hall
11/14- Osaka, JP @ Club Quattro
11/15- Osaka, JP @ Club Quattro
11/18- Tokyo, KP @ O-East
11/21- Perth, AUS @ Astor Theatre
11/23- Melbourne, AUS @ The Forum
11/24- Melbourne, AUS @ The Forum
11/27- Sydney, AUS @ Enmore Theatre
11/30- Brisbane, AUS @ Princess Theatre
12/2- Auckland, NZ @ Powerstation
12/3- Auckland, NZ @ Powerstation
12/4- Wellington, NZ @ Opera House
2023
1/31- Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground
2/3- New Haven, CT @ College Street Music Hall
2/4- Philadelphia, PA @ Franklin Music Hall
2/5- Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE
2/7- Nashville, TN @ The Ryman
2/9- Oxford, MS @ Lyric Oxford
2/10- Fayetteville, AR @ George’s Majestic LoungeSat.
