Fuzz Club Vinyl & CDs

Review: When Jesus & Mary Chain reunited in 2007 there were tons of questions about what this would mean for their music, music in general, and the planet. Well, OK, maybe more their music. The notorious 1998 on-stage implosion between brothers William and Jim Reid was a culmination of tension between the siblings that afforded the band their inimitable conflict of sound, but also seemed to call definite time. It would be another decade before they attempted to work together again, with a show at Coachella, then another ten years passed while they figured out where from there. In the end, Damage & Joy was the answer, 2017's album, co-produced by Youth in a bid to bring in a potential mediator should things go sour. They didn't, and the record was well received - somewhere between old JAMC and a new era. Now we have Glasgow Eyes, an extension of that. Rather than born of conflict, tracks feel united in a common goal, synths rising to the fore above guitars, combative tones receding in favour of comfortable juxtapositions and contrasts.

Review: Four years, a lot of gigs, and a change of lineup are all that have stood between Vyvyd and The Uncanny Extravaganza. New Candys triumphant return after the best part of a half decade is exactly that, unleashing some of the most powerful tracks in their oeuvre after no less than two years spent writing, recording and producing them. Which is ironic, given the raw, unfettered distortion that makes much of what's here so compelling and utterly devastating. It would sound off-the-cuff, it it weren't so complex. The Uncanny Extravaganza is one of those records that makes you genuinely excited about the prospect of seeing a band live again. It's loud - even if you've got the volume down - and its disharmonious, it's soaring and distant yet immediate and up front. It's psyche-infused garage rock with a dusting of raucous shoegaze (if that's possibly a thing), at times nodding to the likes of Ringo Deathstar or Death In Vegas, in other moments Spiritualised. Or maybe that's just us.

Review: 'Behind The Green Door' understands the power of lunging rhythms. A one-man-band by some estimations - the 'group' has just a single permanent member, Danny "Lee Blackwell" Rajan Billingsley, with the founder, drummer James Traeger, only involved intermittently. And this isn't the only norm defied. Psychedelic garage rock for some, to us it's a kind of hypnotic, swampy, choral thing with shades of rhythm and blues and soul. With plenty of encouragement to chant. In 2023, Night Beats dropped a sixth studio album, Rajan, and then promptly ran back into the same ether that's been obscuring them from many views since 2009. Still, if you caught a glimpse then, or rather an earshot, and took the brave decision to follow, here's where we've wound up - and it sounds awesome.

Review: The Vacant Lots is a Brooklyn based duo who drops their new album this Autumn. It was written under isolation during the Covid pandemic and is quite possibly Jared Artaud and Brian MacFadyen's best work yet. The eight tunes might be minimal in design but they are maximum in intent and intensity with minimalist post-punk/synth-pop sounds all coming on strong. Over the top of the sounds comes smart, pithy lyrics with plenty of guitar agues and a darkness that brings to mind New Order and Jesus And Mary Chain. Add in the ever present spirt of New York and you have a fine album.