ALBUM REVIEW – Teenage Mafia – Pseudo-Masochism

In the sanitised mainstream music scene we all live in, where every band the NME shovels your way has been through the bleaching process to ensure they’re ‘genuinely nice guys’ and their record label / publisher / plugger is paying the magazine and BBC plenty of cash to get coverage, it’s heartwarming to know there’s still an element of real danger out there.

Of course the NME wouldn’t dare get near Teenage Mafia for fear of being killed, maimed, or (more likely) have large objects rammed up their arses. If Teenage Mafia suddenly became backed by some media mogul or some label splashing the cash, then the NME wouldn’t dare slag them off for fear of losing the one thing they care about – ADVERTISING REVENUE – it’s a sorry shadow of itself these days that rag. Yes, we used to hate it years ago, but it was for exactly the opposite reason; because they slagged off shit to high heaven! The hacks / journos / critics / wankers were hated by the readers (and yet loved all the same) as they’d rip a band to pieces, particularly any band they’d built up themselves that had made it big. Today, their journalism is governed by advertising – they’d dare not slag off Alan McGee’s new label even if it is shit, for fear of losing out on the potential revenue. They review X-Factor wank because the Cowell pays big dollars, it’s all about the Money Honey and fuck all about the Art. It’s just like local shite radio stations like Heart FM, they’d never sanction an ‘alternative’ music show because Andy’s Fucking Tyres of Prestatyn is highly unlikely to want his products and service associated with Nine Inch Nails [there’s a pun in there..!!].

Pseudo-Masochism is basically Damir Bojanic, that axe-wielding homicidal maniac from Klaus Kinski, which is no longer a band but a stable full of 5-legged retard horse-humans that piss on each other. There’s so much output from their association that it’s hard to keep up (Irma Vep, Sex Hands, Pussycat Dolls, Dog Legs).

‘It’s more punk orientated these days,’ claims Damir, and on hearing the opening track Holy Landfill, you’d quite possibly agree, but he’s talking bollocks, as there on this goes beyond punk and slips into that Klaus cesspit of orgy-doom, where they have sex with household objects and snort chicken bones. There’s 21 tracks on this masterpiece of shit and only 5 of them are over two minutes long. You get random acts of violence with Octodad, Satan is Vegan. You get neo-fascist jazz with I’m Friends With Dick Laurent and you do get a blast of excellent pure punk rock with (Verb) Your Own (Expletive) (Noun).

The background to the album is as Damir explains, ‘I basically get dreams telling me what to do and this specific dream was a horse showing me my next album and it was called Teenage Mafia and had me screaming and playing drums which is something I can’t do. So I went in and recorded 20 drum tracks without really playing drums before and then did all the guitars the same day vocals the next day. I suppose it’s my subconscious telling me I can do it? I dunno. All in all I think it was done in under 56 hours.’

If you like your music fucking mental, deranged, over the top, immediate, beserk, twisted, irrational, demented, frantic, unhinged and ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL, then Pseudo-Masochism by Teenage Mafia is the album for you…

If you don’t like your music like that then buy the NME, listen to Coldplay and get the fuck off my website.

4080 Peru is aired in Bangor

The film - 4080 Peru – is aired in Bangor featuring a soundtrack composed by Mank.

4080 Peru is an experimental multimedia project created by James Ray, the industrial-rock pioneer known for his work with The Sisters of Mercy and James Ray’s Gangwar. Far from a traditional cinematic release, the project is an avant-garde soundtrack film designed to be an immersive, sensory-heavy experience rather than a narrative story. Ray famously envisioned the work as the "soundtrack to the best horror movie you’ve never seen," creating a haunting, atmospheric loop that clocks in at approximately 52 minutes. The film serves as a visual canvas for a dense "wall of sound," utilizing black-and-white, dreamlike imagery that leans heavily into dark ambient and industrial aesthetics. It features surreal motifs, most notably slow-motion footage of koi carp, ethereal ghost-like figures, and abstract nature scenes intended to evoke a sense of dread and mystery.

The musical score for the project marks a significant departure from Ray’s typical hard-edged rock roots, favouring drone-heavy, trancelike compositions built from deep electronic soundscapes and layered samples. 4080 Peru first gained notoriety through live performances in the mid-2000s, specifically at The Garage in London in February 2005, where Ray performed the music live against a massive projection to create an overwhelming auditory and physical environment. The project resurfaced years later at the Industrial #18 Festival in Cannes in 2014 and through collaborations with the 25men collective (which where Mank came in). While a physical DVD titled Empty Hearts Break was produced in limited quantities featuring the film with multiple audio tracks, it remains an extremely rare collector's item. Today, the work survives as a cult piece of underground history, with fragments and visual loops occasionally appearing on Ray's official digital channels or fan-run archives.

All things Mank on link2wales

ALBUM REVIEW - Holy Coves – Peruvian Mistake

 

Holy Coves – Peruvian Mistake 

★★★☆☆½

Peruvian Mistake, the debut LP from Holyhead’s Holy Coves, is a confident blend of Britpop swagger, psych-tinged atmosphere, and emotionally charged indie rock. Frontman Scott Marsden leads the charge with cool vocals and a knack for crafting driving, melodic hooks.

From the opening stomp of Let’s Go to the swirling melancholy of Droner—a standout track of supreme quality—the album balances anthemic ambition with raw edge. There are definite nods to Oasis and Kasabian, but Holy Coves carve out their own space with introspective lyrics and consistently strong songwriting.

Peruvian Mistake was recently hailed by Louder Than War as having the strength of a “greatest hits” collection, and yeah, I wholly agree. It's an album packed with riffs, emotional weight, and the restless energy of a band ready to break out.

Access All Eirias 2012

 

The Access All Eirias festival featured a diverse lineup of Welsh talent, celebrating the rich musical heritage of the region.
The event was headlined by Only Boys Aloud, a Welsh male choir that gained national attention for their performances.
Supporting acts included Mike Peters, frontman of The Alarm, and Pocket Venus, an indie rock band from Conwy.
Other performers were Sophie Evans, a Welsh singer known for her appearance on Over the Rainbow, Côr Glanaethwy, a Welsh choir, and Sioned Terry, a Welsh singer-songwriter.

NEW ALBUM - Houdini Dax - You Belong To Dax Darling

 

Houdini Dax – You Belong to Dax Darling 

★★★★☆

This is their debut album - You Belong to Dax Darling, Cardiff trio Houdini Dax channel classic British pop through a modern indie lens, delivering a record bursting with energy, charm, and retro flair. Echoes of The Beatles and Supergrass ring out across fuzzy guitars, catchy hooks, and off-kilter melodies that never take themselves too seriously.

From the vibrant stomp of Robin You Lie to the whimsical bounce of Fizzy Moon, the band mix psychedelic playfulness with sharp songwriting. Their youthful confidence is matched by tight musicianship, making for a debut that feels both nostalgic and fresh.

While a few tracks veer more into mood than memorability, the album’s infectious spirit and creativity carry it through. You Belong to Dax Darling is a fizzing, feel-good ride from one of Wales’ most promising indie outfits.

Heldinky play Cob Records, Bangor

Found this gem of a video of Bangor lounge band Heldinky playing at Cob Records on Record Store Day, with a great version of Nine Inch Nails' Piggy (Nothing Can Stop Me Now)

Yucatan release Enlli EP

(by Adam Walton - taken from BBC website as they alway take stuff from mine)

The delicate carousels of the guitar in the Enlli EP's lead track, Cur, hung on a firmament of piano notes as clear as stars in a cloudless sky, pick me up and elevate me out of the smouldering back garden, lifting me above the treetops so gently I hardly notice the lawn I was supposed to have mown yesterday evening. I can feel a breeze on my face, but it's not coming from the weather: it's the breaths of the choir that splendidly billows out the sails of the first two tracks on this EP... somewhere in amongst the ice sparkles of glockenspiel and Dilwyn's lonely voice. Dilwyn is Mr Yucatan, if Roger Hargreaves had ever thought to write a book about a humble sonic explorer.

And I swear to you: I feel cool, liberated, blown far away from the inconsequential chaff by the beautiful visions landscaped to perfection on this EP.

If it doesn't remind you of Sigur Rós' atmospherics you're being deliberately contrary. Sigur Ros' music is inspired by the Icelandic land and skyscapes. Over recent years their music has lost some of its evocative power because TV producers have bled their albums dry to bring celestial beauty and drama to snake oil TV shows that are as mysterious as con men fleecing pensioners. And Sigur Rós' unwitting (and, I believe, unwilling) omnipresence on Saturday evening ITV has weighed these once otherwordly tracks down with humdrum associations.

It's a great shame.

Back to Yucatan. In exactly the same way that the strange landscapes of Iceland permeate Sigur Rós' music, so does the dramatic geography and meteorology of Wales shape Enlli. Particularly, this EP is inspired by the 'evocative mystique' of Ynys Enlli, off the West coast peninsula of Pen Llyn.

And although the approach is similar, in some respects, to Sigur Rós: minimal orchestration, echoey grandeur, a sound to fill a night sky with bright wonders, this EP is as unique as the landscape that inspired it: no more similar to Sigur Rós than a photo of Ynys Enlli is to a photo of some weird volcanic moonscape on Iceland.

In particular, Dilwyn's voice is more grounded, less ethereal than Jonsi's. He sounds like a man awed by what he sees around him - which is resonant to me as a listener because throughout this EP I'm awed by what I'm hearing.

It's breathtaking, emotive and suffused with enough magic to turn a bad afternoon into one illuminated by marvels.

Enlli is released on Recordiau Coll on 23 August.