The Church back with a new album next month

The Church has unveiled its new single “Western” from upcoming album 'Lacuna,' slated for  Oct. 30 via Cooking Vinyl. The veteran Aussie-bred alt-rock band's song follows the previous single “Sacred Echoes Part II.” 

“Well, we were in Texas, weren't we?” says bassist/vocalist/founder Steve Kilbey about the regionally named single, which was recorded in Austin, TX. “As a kid, all there was on TV were Westerns, so I let it all soak in and this is what came out. Some nice six-string bass counter riffs going, and the song is basically a shaggy dog story that just jumps all over the place… breezy and uncomplicated.”

The Church "Western"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8dgaUcORqk

Of “Winter” on the new album, Kilbey says, “This is the most old-fashioned, old school, Church-styled song for a while...It could have easily been on Blurred Crusade. A bit of continuity right back to the olden days.” 

“The lyrics [to 'Forever'] fell out of the sky and into my head,” Kilbey says. “We did a bit of work on the middle eight and the outro which has a bit of a Neil Young feeling, I guess. It was a very different style of vocal performance which I hadn’t really done before. It’s one of my favorite tracks on the album too.”

Then there's “Sacred Echoes” (released in Winter 2025 in shortened form as “Sacred Echoes Part II”), for which the singer adds, “Bleak and yet beautiful ‘Sacred Echoes’ is unlike any previous Church song ever with its almost orchestral climaxes and its somber mood...The lyrics and voice are the weariness at the point where hope and hopelessness merge. The music is by turns delicate and sparse turning into a churning monstrous racket. Intense, forlorn and exultant."

Current band members include bassist, vocalist and founder Steve Kilbey; longtime collaborator, drummer and producer Tim Powles, who’s remained a staple across 18 albums since 1994; guitarist Ian Haug, who has been strumming with the band since 2013 and is formerly of Australian rock band Powderfinger; multi-instrumentalist Jeffrey Cain from American alt-rock band Remy Zero who first joined the band as a touring musician before joining the band full time in 2020; Ashley Naylor, one of Australia’s finest guitarists and a long-time member of Paul Kelly’s touring band; and newest member Nicholas Meredith on drums. 

Track listing:

Lumbini Grove
Western
Ferrari
Sky River
Winter
Have You Been Here Before
The Lemurian
Everytime
Sky and Hill
Paladin
Martian Skyline
I Want It
The Place of Eternal Spring
Rapture
Forever
Lumbini Theme (Slight Return)
Sacred Echoes

Midge Ure solo collection due this winter

On Nov. 13, Chrysalis Records will release a new Midge Ure retrospective, 'Chapters: The Best Of (2026),' showcasing music he created in the '80s. This follows his recently acclaimed new studio album A Man Of Two Worlds, released earlier this year.

Listen to Midge Ure 'Fade To Grey (Single Version) on YouTube

In addition to Midge Ure solo tracks, the 3CD Deluxe Edition consists of the new stereo mixes and for the first time, newly recorded studio versions of Visage’s 'Fade To Grey' and Phil Lynott’s 'Yellow Pearl.' 

CD 1 contains seventeen tracks, including two bonus tracks not on the standard version. CD 2 consists of ten newly commissioned remixes by artists and producers who have worked with Midge over the years, such as soundtrack composer Craig Armstrong, Richard Barbieri and Steve Jansen (Japan), Wolfgang Flür (Kraftwerk), and Chris Payne (Visage/Gary Numan), among others. CD 3 consists of new Instrumental mixes of all seventeen tracks from CD1.

The set will be available on a Double LP Black Vinyl, a CD Standard Edition, a 3 CD Deluxe Edition and Super Deluxe Edition to exclusively release a Blu-Ray Atmos Mix of the compilation and a hand-pressed edition of the 2 LP on Splatter Vinyl.

Track listings:

CD One - The Songs [2026 Stereo Mixes]

01 Yellow Pearl 2.27
02 Fade To Grey 3.56
03 No Regrets 4.04
04 The Man Who Sold The World 6.00
05 After A Fashion [Midge Ure & Mick Karn] 4.12
06 Living In The Past 5.44
07 The Gift 5.07
08 If I Was 6.15
09 That Certain Smile 4.10
10 Wasteland 4.52
11 When The Wind Blows 4.11 *
12 Call of The Wild 4.24
13 Hell To Heaven 4.05 *
14 Answers To Nothing 5.01
15 Sister & Brother [Midge Ure & Kate Bush] 5.47
16 Dear God 5.02
17 Remembrance Day 4.30
* Deluxe Edition bonus track

CD Two - Connections

01 Fade To Grey - Chris Payne Mix 5.13
02 After A Fashion - Richard Barbieri Remix 5.15
03 The Man Who Sold The World - Midge Ure 2026 Remix 7.46
04 That Certain Smile - Craig Armstrong Remodel 4.44
05 Call of The Wild - Ty Unwin Reconstructed 4.55
06 If I Was - Blank & Jones so8os Reconstruction 6.45
07 Sister and Brother - Steve Jansen Remix 4.35
08 Wastelands - Danny Mitchell’s Remix 8.04
09 Answers To Nothing - 2026 Rework 5.15
10 Dear God – Flür/Duggal Remix 5.05

CD Three - The Music [2026 Instrumental Versions]

01 Yellow Pearl 2.27
02 Fade To Grey 3.56
03 No Regrets 4.04
04 The Man Who Sold The World 6.00
05 After A Fashion [Midge Ure & Mick Karn] 4.12
06 Living In The Past 5.44
07 The Gift 5.07
08 If I Was 6.15
09 That Certain Smile 4.10
10 Wasteland 4.52
11 When The Wind Blows 4.11
12 Call of The Wild 4.24
13 Hell To Heaven 4.05
14 Answers To Nothing 5.01
15 Sister & Brother [Midge Ure & Kate Bush] 5.47
16 Dear God 5.02
17 Remembrance Day 4.30

Live Dates:

Nov. 20 - York, UK - Barbican
Nov. 21 - Derby, UK - Vaillant Live
Nov. 22 - Hull, UK - Connexin Live
Nov. 23 - Brighton, UK - Dome
Nov. 25 - Cardiff, UK - Depot
Nov. 26 - Llandudno, UK - Venue Cymru
Nov. 27 - Watford, UK - Colosseum
Nov. 26 - Llandudno, UK - Veune Cymru
Nov. 29 - Coventry, UK - Warwick Arts Centre
Nov. 30 - Guildford, UK - G Live

Tickets available from midgeure.seetickets.com/ & www.midgeure.co.uk

Bryan Adams news

Bryan Adams' next studio album, How’s It Goin,’ arrives November 6 via BAD Records.

Rooted in the people, places, landscapes and stories that have shaped his home country of Canada, How’s It Goin’ draws on country, folk and rock.

For Adams, the album began with a single song inspired by Canada’s east coast and grew into something much bigger: a collection of stories about the country he has called home throughout his life.

“The idea was simply to make a record about Canada,” says Adams. “It started with writing the song for the documentary Canada’s Wild Eastern Edge and after doing so much research, I was inspired to start writing more songs about Canada. Musically it took me somewhere a little different too, which made the whole thing exciting.”

Among the album's songs is ‘The Ballad of Terry Fox,’ a tribute to one of Canada’s most inspirational figures. The song will also feature in the forthcoming documentary film about Terry Fox, Run Terry Run.

The album will be released across CD and LP, with the LP housed in a gatefold sleeve with printed inner sleeves, obi and shrink wrap. A special A4 hardback book edition will also be available, featuring the album on CD, song lyrics and images connected to the stories and subjects explored across the record.

PRE-ORDER HERE

WATCH ‘The Ballad of Terry Fox’ video HERE

WATCH ‘51st State’ video HERE

Track Listing: 

How’s it Goin’
Highway 16
Diesel & Dirt
The Battle Of Lundy’s Lane
The Ballad Of Terry Fox
51st State
When Canada Joined Newfoundland
A Handful Of Gold
Iron Ribbon
The Bridge
Canada’s Wild Eastern Edge
Heave Away
Lake Ontario ** digital album bonus track

Stagecoach '27 lineup and on sale announced

Riley Green, Zach Top and Garth Brooks will headline Stagecoach '27 at Empire Polo Field in Indio on April 23-25. 

Other notable acts on the bill include Brothers Osborne, Hardy, Willie Nelson & Family, Journey, Kelly Clarkson, Pitbull, Florida Georgia Line, Flo Rida, Sean Paul, Matchbox 20, Carin Leon, Turnpike Troubadours, The Fray, Stephen Wilson Jr., Charley Crockett, Shaboozey, Melissa Etheridge, David Lee Roth and more. 

Tickets go on sale this Friday at 11 a.m. A limited time payment plan is available for $49 down. Currently, GA passes start at $589. 

For more details on the other packages, go to stagecoachfestival.com.

Cold War Kids mark 20th anniversary of 'Robbers & Cowards' with deluxe edition

Cold War Kids' debut album Robbers & Cowards featured the singles “Hang Me Up to Dry,” “We Used to Vacation” and “Hospital Beds,” and landed on the Billboard 200. On October 30, the OC-reared band will unveil 'Robbers & Cowards/Complete Cowards (20th Anniversary Edition)' via UMe.

The expanded edition sees the band digging into their vault to complete four songs left unfinished at the time, along with six live recordings—five previously unreleased—captured across the U.S. and Europe in 2007. Complete Cowards will be available as a 2LP on black vinyl or limited-edition Brick Red vinyl, both with alternate and new artwork, and 2CD. All physical configurations are available for pre-order now: https://coldwarkids.lnk.to/CompleteCowardsPR

Robber & Cowards / Complete Cowards (Trailer)

A special Digital Deluxe Edition will also feature a newly reimagined version of “Hang Me Up to Dry” by Phantogram, available to stream. The collaboration offers a first glimpse at another chapter of the 20th anniversary celebration, with more artist reinterpretations of songs from Robbers & Cowards coming in 2027.

“Phantogram made ‘Hang Me Up To Dry’ introspective, emotional, dark and beautiful,” says Cold War Kids frontman and primary songwriter Nathan Willett. “When we had the idea to cover some songs they were the first band we thought to ask and they made it completely their own.”

Hang Me Up To Try (Phantogram Version)

The four newly completed songs—“Loyalty,” “There Goes The Night,” “Jesse Latour” and “She Can Do No Wrong”—all date back to the Robbers & Cowards era but never made the original album. Cold War Kids returned to the material two decades later to finish and record the songs for the anniversary collection. “Loyalty” and “There Goes The Night” were released earlier this year, offering the first previews of Complete Cowards – stream both songs now: https://coldwarkids.lnk.to/CompleteCowardsPR

The collection's six live recordings capture Cold War Kids onstage in 2007 during the whirlwind period following the release of Robbers & Cowards. Recorded in Amsterdam, Atlanta, Paris and Philadelphia, five of the performances are previously unreleased and include “Saint John,” “Hair Down,” “God, Make Up Your Mind,” “Passing The Hat,” “Dirt In The Ground” and “Hospital Beds.” The performance of “Saint John” recorded at the Paradiso in Amsterdam was previously released on 2008’s The Paradiso Sessions while the others are being released for the first time. 

Nathan Willett says: “Robbers & Cowards is our first album. I don’t think I could ever feel as warm and nostalgic towards any music as I do towards this album. Revisiting the music, lyrics, and visuals of R&C is entering a portal back to our early days of 2004 to 2006. Before the whirlwind of tour, before this band would become our future - We came together as friends who shared inspiration and influences. We made a Bluesy punky primitive soaring soulful tender and earnest kind of sound. It was a blissfully naive time. We worked extremely hard with no ambitions, no industry connections, no clue.

What we did have was a tight knit group of friends that would hang out all hours of the night talking about music and art and life. Those friends are in the artwork and the lyrics. Our band became the center of our little scene. We were scrappy and found ways to write record and release our own music, book shows, and make new friends who shared the same language. It was a beautiful and creative period and we would never be the same again.

To be immersed in this world 20 years later and add to the story of R&C by digging through live performances, visual art, and making new recordings of unfinished songs, has been a full circle experience. We can’t wait to share it again with you all.”

ROBBERS & COWARDS / COMPLETE COWARDS (20TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION)

2LP
SIDE A

1. We Used To Vacation
2. Hang Me Up To Dry
3. Tell Me In The Morning
4. Hair Down
5. Passing The Hat
6. Saint John

SIDE B
1. Robbers
2. Hospital Beds
3. Pregnant
4. Red Wine, Success!
5. God, Make Up Your Mind
6. Rubidoux
7. Sermons vs. the Gospel

SIDE C
1. Loyalty
2. There Goes The Night
3. Jesse Latour
4. She Can Do No Wrong

SIDE D
1. Saint John (Live in Amsterdam, NL - The Paradiso - 2/8/07)
2. Hair Down (Live in Atlanta, GA - Vinyl - 3/23/07)
3. God, Make Up Your Mind (Live in Paris, FR - La Cigale - 2/12/07)
4. Passing The Hat (Live in Paris, FR - La Cigale - 2/12/07)
5. Dirt In The Ground (Live in Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church - 3/29/07)
6. Hospital Beds (Live in Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church - 3/29/07)

2CD
CD 1

1. We Used To Vacation
2. Hang Me Up To Dry
3. Tell Me In The Morning
4. Hair Down
5. Passing The Hat
6. Saint John
7. Robbers
8. Hospital Beds
9. Pregnant
10. Red Wine, Success!
11. God, Make Up Your Mind

CD 2
12. Rubidoux
13. Sermons vs. the Gospel
14. Loyalty
15. There Goes The Night
16. Jesse Latour
17. She Can Do No Wrong
18. Saint John (Live in Amsterdam, NL - The Paradiso - 2/8/07)
19. Hair Down (Live in Atlanta, GA - Vinyl - 3/23/07)
20. God, Make Up Your Mind (Live in Paris, FR - La Cigale - 2/12/07)
21. Passing The Hat (Live in Paris, FR - La Cigale - 2/12/07)
22. Dirt In The Ground (Live in Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church - 3/29/07)
23. Hospital Beds (Live in Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church - 3/29/07)

DIGITAL DELUXE EDITION

1. We Used To Vacation
2. Hang Me Up To Dry
3. Tell Me In The Morning
4. Hair Down
5. Passing The Hat
6. Saint John
7. Robbers
8. Hospital Beds
9. Pregnant
10. Red Wine, Success!
11. God, Make Up Your Mind
12. Rubidoux
13. Sermons vs. the Gospel
14. Loyalty
15. There Goes The Night
16. Jesse Latour
17. She Can Do No Wrong
18. Saint John (Live in Amsterdam, NL - The Paradiso - 2/8/07)
19. Hair Down (Live in Atlanta, GA - Vinyl - 3/23/07)
20. God, Make Up Your Mind (Live in Paris, FR - La Cigale - 2/12/07)
21. Passing The Hat (Live in Paris, FR - La Cigale - 2/12/07)
22. Dirt In The Ground (Live in Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church - 3/29/07)

A trio of Eighties reissues by Billy Bragg due in November

I first became aware of these albums when I did research for my interview with Bragg for his album 'Don't Try This at Home.' I look forward to experiencing these fresh re-releases.... 

English folk/rock singer/songwriter Billy Bragg - best known in America for the late '80s/early '90s alt-rock radio hits "Sexuality," "You Woke Up My Neighbourhood," "She's Got a New Spell" and "Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards" - will reissue three of his classic albums – ‘Brewing Up With Billy Bragg’ (1984), ‘Talking With The Taxman About Poetry’ (1986) and ‘Workers Playtime’ (1988) – on Nov. 6 via Cooking Vinyl. 

The remastered vinyl was handled by John Webber at Air Studios from high-resolution transfers taken from master tapes in Billy Bragg's archives. Each album will be in a gatefold sleeve. The titles will also be available on CD and a limited edition run of colored LPs.

PRE-ORDER NOW

Track listings:

Brewing Up With Billy Bragg

1. It Says Here
2. Love Gets Dangerous
3. The Myth Of Trust
4. From A Vauxhall Velox
5. The Saturday Boy
6. Island Of No Return
7. St Swithins Day
8. Like Soldiers Do
9. This Guitar Says Sorry
10. Strange Things Happen
11. A Lover Sings

Talking With The Taxman About Poetry

1. Greetings To The New Brunette

2. Train Train
3. The Marriage
4. Ideology
5. Levi Stubbs’ Tears
6. Honey I’m A Big Boy Now
7. There Is Power In A Union
8. Help Save The Youth Of America
9. Wishing The Days Away
10. The Passion
11. The Warmest Room
12. The Home Front

Workers Playtime

1. She’s Got A New Spell

2. Must I Paint You A Picture
3. Tender Comrade
4. The Price I Pay
5. Little Time Bomb
6. Rotting On Remand
7. Valentines Day Is Over
8. Life With The Lions
9. The Only One
10. The Short Answer
11. Waiting For The Great Leap Forwards

Paul Simon news

The live album “Paul Simon: The Quiet Celebration Concert,” is coming out Oct. 9 on 3LP, 2CD, digital music platforms and online streaming. “Under African Skies,” featuring a duet with wife Edie Brickell is streaming now; listen HERE.

This recording was seen and heard in the Quiet Celebration concert film that debuted on Disney+ and Hulu. The album opens with 'Seven Psalms,' a 33-minute piece, arranged and composed especially to be heard and seen live. 

In the film, Paul reflects on his return to playing live. “It’s enabled me to play with musicians again. I really missed it. Everybody has enjoyed the experience so much, there’s been a feeling of camaraderie and elation that we were playing this piece of music that we were really interested in, and that had a significant effect on me. It made for one of the most extraordinary tours I’ve done - maybe the most joyous.”

These performances concluded the first leg of Paul’s Quiet Celebration US Tour. The band included Mark Stewart, Steve Gadd, Bakithi Kumalo, Andy Snitzer, Mick Rossi, Jamey Haddad, Gyan Riley, Nancy Stagnitta, Caleb Burhans and Eugene Friesen. 

Set/track list:

Seven Psalms
Graceland
Slip Slidin’ Away
Homeward Bound
The Late Great Johnny Ace
St. Judy’s Comet
Under African Skies
Rene & Georgette Magritte With Their Dog After the War
Rewrite
Spirit Voices
The Cool, Cool River
Me & Julio Down by the Schoolyard
Father & Daughter
50 Ways to Leave Your Lover
The Boxer
The Sound of Silence

Photo credit: Jake Edwards