Weezer Return with New Self-Titled Album in August; Fall Tour Includes LA, San Diego, Las Vegas

SoCal band Weezer announced a new album, Weezer, out August 21 via Reprise/Warner Records. Lead single, “We Might as Well Be Strangers” featuring Wednesday's Karly Hartzman, is available now.

After releasing blue, green, red, white, teal, and black albums, Weezer returns with a new color, gold, for the 20th album. Following a 30th anniversary tour that saw Weezer play their debut album in full, the band reconvened in Orange County – a midway point between where they all live in California – and essentially went back to where they started: in a rehearsal space, playing together, writing together, figuring out what they wanted to do next, and what the shape of that next project looked like.

The songs were written by three of the band’s four members, marking the first time Weezer frontman/guitarist Rivers Cuomo and drummer Pat Wilson had written the basics of a song together since their first album.

When it was time to record, the band chose two producers: Klas Ahlund and Kenneth Blume (FKA Kenny Beats). Kenny said he wanted to make “the most violent Weezer album ever.” While Klas took a more mathematical, stringent approach to recording, Kenny pushed the production to the “rock band in a room” feeling: no grid, no click track, no pitch correction. Drums were recorded with all four playing live, listening to each other and still re-shaping the songs.

Fans can presave the album now and an exclusive signed vinyl is available for presale on the band’s webstore HERE.

STREAM “WE MIGHT AS WELL BE STRANGERS” FT. WEDNESDAY

WATCH THE “WE MIGHT AS WELL BE STRANGERS” FT. WEDNESDAY MUSIC VIDEO HERE

PRE-SAVE WEEZER NOW

Earlier this year, the band announced their Weezer: The Gathering tour, a 32-date run across North America. They’re joined by The Shins and Silversun Pickups as support. In celebration of this announcement, the band hosted a week of events in Los Angeles, including Weezerpedia trivia, a pickleball tournament with fans, and more. For full tour routing and information on upcoming dates, visit Weezer’s website HERE.

Track listing:

Say Yes
Shine Again
Don't Make It Weird
We Might As Well Be Strangers ft. Wednesday
C.E.O.
Hoops
Nowhere
The Show Must Go On
Up In The Clouds
The LA Sound

Tour Dates:

Sat Jun 27 – Halifax, Nova Scotia – Halifax Music Fest*
Tue Sep 08 – Sacramento, CA – Golden 1 Center
Wed Sep 09 – San Francisco, CA – Chase Center
Fri Sep 11 – Portland, OR – Moda Center
Sat Sep 12 – Vancouver, BC – Rogers Arena
Sun Sep 13 – Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena
Tue Sep 15 – West Valley City, UT – Maverik Center
Wed Sep 16 – Denver, CO – Ball Arena
Sun Sep 20 – Saint Paul, MN – Grand Casino Arena
Tue Sep 22 – Chicago, IL – United Center
Wed Sep 23 – Detroit, MI – Little Caesars Arena
Fri Sep 25 – Toronto, ON – Scotiabank Arena
Sat Sep 26 – Laval, QC – Place Bell
Sun Sep 27 – Boston, MA – TD Garden
Tue Sep 29 – Philadelphia, PA – Xfinity Mobile Arena
Wed Sep 30 – Brooklyn, NY – Barclays Center
Fri Oct 02 – Washington, DC – Capital One Arena
Sat Oct 03 – Charlotte, NC – Spectrum Center
Sun Oct 04 – Raleigh, NC – Lenovo Center
Tue Oct 06 – Columbus, OH – Nationwide Arena
Wed Oct 07 – Milwaukee, WI – Fiserv Forum
Fri Oct 09 – Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena
Sat Oct 10 – Atlanta, GA – State Farm Arena
Sun Oct 11 – Orlando, FL – Kia Center
Tue Oct 13 – Sunrise, FL – Amerant Bank Arena
Wed Oct 14 – Tampa, FL – Benchmark International Arena
Fri Oct 16 – Houston, TX – Toyota Center
Sat Oct 17 – Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center
Sun Oct 18 – Austin, TX – Moody Center ATX
Tue Oct 20 – Phoenix, AZ – Mortgage Matchup Center
Wed Oct 21 – San Diego, CA – Viejas Arena
Fri Oct 23 – Las Vegas, NV – T-Mobile Arena
Sat Oct 24 – Los Angeles, CA – Crypto.com Arena
* = Festival

Out now: 'Badges' by Britpop forerunner The Loft

The Loft

Badges
(Tapete)

Last year, Britpop forerunner The Loft released the winsome Everything Changes, Everything Stays the Same. 

It was the London band's debut full-length effort, having previously put out two mid-Eighties singles on a then-nascent Creation Records (later home to The Jesus and Mary Chain, Primal Scream, My Bloody Valentine, Oasis and other influential acts) before swiftly breaking up.

Now singer/guitarist Pete Astor (also known for his tenure in The Weather Prophets) and the other original members - drummer Dave Morgan, bassist Bill Prince, and lead guitarist Andy Strickland - are back sooner than expected with Badges, another jangly indie pop gem.

Produced by Sean Read (Dexy's Midnight Runners, Edwyn Collins), Badges opens with the fast-paced "Happenstance," which had its genesis with the last Loft lineup before it split up. "Sad Comedian," the first of several highlights, boasts a T Rex-inspired rhythm. The sublime "Campervan" is Astor's subtle tribute to people who vacation around England in compact vans while living in their vehicle. The darker hued "Goodbye Saturday Night" details the ritual of going out on the town and finds Astor intriguingly namechecking real UK locations. Another standout is the harmoniously retro "C'mon Let's Hear it For the Now." Then there's the mysterious-sounding "Junk Shop," about looking for love and loosely based on a W.B. Yeats writing.

You might like if you enjoy: Lloyd Cole, Nick Lowe, The Church, Robyn Hitchcock, 1960s psychedelia

To purchase: the-loft.bandcamp.com

Out Now: 'Tracks from the Attic Revisited,' New Album by David J of Bauhaus, Love and Rockets Fame; SoCal Shows Soon

David J (David John Haskins) - best known for his stints in Bauhaus, Love and Rockets, Tones on Tail and more - just released his 'Tracks from the Attic Revisited' album. The 10 songs were originally among 37 home recordings on Tracks From the Attic, a 2024 triple album released by Independent Project Records in 2024. Some were reshaped and rewritten, to be later reinterpreted and recorded with a full band. 

Tracks From the Attic Revisited was produced by David J, with the British musician also handling vocals and acoustic guitar. Other contributors are: Jason Roberts (guitar), Jon Bernstein (piano, organ), Tony Green (bass), David Raven (drums), Dan Clucas (trumpet), Robert “Smokey” Miles (accordion), John Courage (lap steel) and Stephen Perkins from Jane’s Addiction (congas).

The frequently enchanting album is highlighted by the catchy "I Wish Those Spacemen Would Come," where Haskins sings about "oligarchs and tech bros," and a jangly guitar leads the way; "Leaning Towards the Falls," a ballad bolstered by gorgeous twinkling piano work; the laid-back groove of "The Most Beautiful Girls in the World" (who "are on Sunset Blvd. and Times Square"); and the swelling organ-enhanced "All The Pilgrims."  

Album formats include black or gold LP, special edition CD, and digital formats. Order here via Independent Project Records (IPR).

David J begins a run of select cross-country shows at LA's Zebulon on June 8 for a record release party; more TBA (see list below). 

Track List:

1. I Wish Those Spacemen Would Come (Revisited)
2. If Muzak Be the Junk Food of Love (Revisited)
3. The Most Beautiful Girls in the World (Revisited)
4. Leaning Towards the Falls (Revisited)
5. Homo Sapien Blues (Revisited)
6. I’ll Put Off Thinking About You for Awhile (Revisited)
7. New Year’s Day (Revisited)
8. All The Pilgrims (Revisited)
9. Vincent in the Flames (Revisited)
10. Punishment By Roses (Revisited)

Tour Dates:

6/08 Zebulon, Los Angeles, CA. (Record Release Party)
6/09 Casbah, San Diego, CA
6/12 Museum of Post Punk & Industrial Music (in conversation with Martin Atkins, Chicago, IL
6/15 Ypsi Ale House, Ypsilanti, MI
6/16 Ritual, Ann Arbor, MI
6/18 Electric Gardens Studio, Atlanta, GA
6/20 House Party, Raleigh, NC
6/24 House Party, Ashville, NC
6/27 Dex Fest, Chapel Hill, NC

More about Tracks from the Attic and Revisited:

When David J first went digging through boxes of old tapes, he uncovered demos recorded over four decades and approached material that sometimes he had no recollection of having written as when producing another artist’s music.

The old home recordings became new demos for Revisited: ideas were reworked, lyrics were adjusted when they showed a potential to narrate more recent life events. Once reshaped, the songs were shared with musicians who convened at Ear Gallery Music in Los Angeles.

“The demos were like neglected little seeds that had been set aside, or fallen on fallow land,” David J says. “They’ve been gathered up, nurtured, tended and brought back to life as little buds. Now this is the bloom.”

Nineties UK Rock Band Gene to Make First US Live Appearances in Nearly a Quarter Century This Winter

photo: Jim Mitcham

Since I interviewed the band during its heyday, I'm hoping to catch the SoCal appearance...

Veteran Britpop band Gene will do its first North American shows in 24 years, after reuniting last year to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the band’s debut album, Olympian.

Original members Martin Rossiter (vocals), Matt James (drums), Steve Mason (guitars) and Kevin Miles (bass) shared the stage together again for the first time since a farewell show in London in 2004.

After a run of sold-out UK shows earlier this year, and the release of the live album, ‘Apollo’, recorded at the band’s return in London last October, Gene will play select dates in North America this November, which include the Darker Waves festival on November 14. Ensuring what will be a very welcome return to these shores after an absence of over two decades, Martin Rossiter says, “In this increasingly bleak world, come and throw your arms in the air, and your legs if you must, for an evening of vim and vigour.”

After being approached at the end of 2024 about the possibility of playing again as Gene by Creation Records founder Alan McGee and Toura Toura’s Kevin Fitzgerald, the four band members met for the first time in many years, and the speed at which things have progressed since is testament to the group’s enduring passion and immediate reconnection.

“All four of us met up, probably for the first time since our last gig (in 2004), and it immediately felt just like it had always been,” explains Matt James. “We were always very self-depreciating as a group and the banter quickly kicked back in. After a few quips barked across the pub table we relaxed and we all laughed a lot. Straightaway it felt like we were a band again.”
“We all put our energy into making this musically spectacular,” explains Martin. “Within five minutes, the conversations between the four of us had reached the point of, 'how do we make this brilliant?' So that drive is still there, the dynamic was still there and so I started daydreaming about what it would be like to waggle my – slightly larger – ass on the stage one more time.”

Gene formed in 1993 and made their debut with the single For The Dead the following year on the indie label Costermonger, which was founded especially for the release by the journalists and authors Keith Cameron and Roy Wilkinson. Limited to 1,994 copies, the seven-inch sold out in two days.

The band’s debut album, Olympian, arrived in 1995, with singles Sleep Well Tonight, Haunted By You, and the title track – and would reach the UK Top 10. Olympian was followed in 1996 by rarities and b-side collection To See The Lights, before second full album, Drawn To The Deep End, also went straight into the UK Top 10 in 1997, with hits Fighting Fit, We Could Be Kings, Where Are They Now? and Speak To Me Someone. 1999’s Revelations and 2002's Libertine came next. 

Reflecting the live reputation the band enjoyed throughout their career – both for their shows and as festival favorites – Gene’s then final gig took place at the London Astoria on December 16th, 2004.

In their absence, Gene’s influence has still been keenly felt, not only earning continued plays on UK radio stations including BBC 6 Music and Absolute, while enjoying growing streaming numbers, but the group’s entire back catalogue was re-pressed on vinyl in 2020, alongside the release of new best of collection, Yours For The Taking. 

While Olympian’s 30th birthday year added a great sense of occasion for the band and fans alike, the four-piece was keen to ensure the London show (and all future shows) was a celebration of everything Gene stood for. “Olympian’s anniversary was a good reason for doing it, but we looked forward to playing songs from all of our career,” says Matt. “It’s a lot of fun playing as Gene again.”

In celebration of the band’s return, a live album, ‘Apollo’, has just been released. More than 5,000 fans packed the sold-out Hammersmith Apollo in London last October.

The LP showcases some of the band’s best-known songs — including Olympian, We Could Be Kings, Speak to Me Someone, Fighting Fit, and For the Dead — alongside deeper cuts, B-sides, and rarities specially rehearsed for the show. 

Track listing:

1. London, Can You Wait?
2. Be My Light, Be My Guide
3. We Could Be Kings
4. Where Are They Now?
5. Truth Rest Your Head
6. Your Love It Lies
7. Longsleeves For The Summer
8. Sleep Well Tonight
9. Save Me I’m Yours
10. O Lover
11. Speak To Me Someone
12. A Car That Sped
13. Walking In The Shallows
14. Haunted By You
15. Olympian
16. For The Dead
17. Sick, Sober & Sorry
18. Fighting Fit
19. I Can’t Help Myself
20. Who Said This Was The End?

Live shows:

Jun 26 - Southampton, UK - The Brook
Jun 27 - Newport, UK - Corn Exchange
Jun 28 - Lancaster, UK - Kanteena
Sep 25 - Valencia, ES - Visorfest
Oct 9 - London, UK - The Roundhouse
Oct 10 - London, UK - The Roundhouse
Nov 12 - San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore
Nov 14 - Huntingdon Beach, CA - Darker Waves Festival
Nov 16 - Chicago, IL - Bottom Lounge
Nov 17 - Toronto, ON - Danforth Music Hall
Nov 19 - Washington, D.C - Howard Theatre
Nov 20 - New York, NY - Sony Hall

Tickets available from all venues and www.geneofficial.com

Little Big Town To Unveil New Album in August

Little Big Town – Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Schlapman, Phillip Sweet, and Jimi Westbrook – have announced their 12th studio album, It’s A Dying Art, arriving August 28 via MCA. Co-produced by Gena Johnson and Fairchild, the release features collaborations with Ashley Monroe, Jason Isbell, and Kelsea Ballerini.

The album is available for pre-order now in multiple physical and digital configurations, including CD, vinyl and retailer-exclusive variants. LittleBigTown.com will feature limited runs of exclusive signed and special color vinyl editions. Pre-order/pre-save HERE.

Latest single “Over and Over” was co-written by Fairchild, Ashley Ray, Jonnie Simpson and Madi Yanofsky. The group debuted it live at this year’s Stagecoach. Listen HERE. Earlier this month, the group debuted the first offering from the upcoming album, “Hey There Sunshine” at the 61st Academy of Country Music Awards. Watch the video HERE.

Track listing:

1. Intro
2. Sucker For A Sad Song (with Ashley Monroe)
3. The Door (with Jason Isbell)
4. Dying Art
5. Hey There Sunshine
6. Over And Over
7. The Idea
8. We Could Have It All
9. Crickets
10. Closing Time (with Kelsea Ballerini)
11. Long Way To Your Heart
12. It's Coming Around
13. Jet Plane

The Long-Awaited Return of The Durutti Column

More than forty years after their debut, The Durutti Column - guitarist Vini Reilly, drummer and percussionist Bruce Mitchell and producer and instrumentalist Keir Stewart - return with new album 'Renascent' on July 31.

It marks the group’s first collection of new material since 2010’s A Paean to Wilson and carries a Factory Too catalogue number in collaboration with Oliver Wilson, continuing the legacy of Manchester, UK's famed Factory Records. Visually, Renascent reunites the band with original Factory design collaborators, Mark Holt and Hamish Muir of 8vo. 

Musically, “Every single piece of music writes itself,” Reilly notes. Longtime collaborator Mitchell recalls the instinctive nature of ideas captured quickly, often in a single take. Stewart expands on this philosophy, emphasizing freedom and presence. 

The album was assembled over several years in an organic fashion. Recording sessions often took place informally, sometimes in Reilly’s own kitchen, with minimal equipment and an emphasis on immediacy. “For Friends Everywhere” revisits “For Belgian Friends” (from 1980’s A Factory Quartet). Rearranged as an orchestral octet, it transforms a long-standing live favorite. 

For Reilly, “empathy is the essence of humanity, if you lose that ability to empathize, it’s the deadening of your own soul.” Renascent's pieces were often shaped by personal connections and human stories. 

“Vin’s songs are constantly surprising,” says Mitchell, “you want to keep on listening to them over and over again.” On hearing the completed Renascent Mitchell says: “it’s like a child that leaves home for a long time and then they return and you love them all the more all over again.”

First track “Liars” (listen/watch here) consists of Reilly repeating “I am sorry, I love you.” It’s also evident in Renascent being among the most collaborative albums Durutti have made – and not just because of the increased input of Mitchell and particularly of Stewart. Reilly’s Manchester neighbor, folktronica artist Caoilfhionn Rose sings on “Agonistes” and sings and plays piano on “Sargasso Sea.”

Few people are more unpredictable than Reilly, who says, “From the moment we’re born we’re never ever instigative, only ever reactive. It’s like Newton’s law of motion, if you’re not pushing against anything, you lose momentum.” 

The album will be available across a number of formats including digital, CD (both with the bonus track “All They See is Fire”) and transparent yellow vinyl. There will also be a limited edition vinyl LP featuring alternative artwork, pressed on bottle green vinyl and featuring an oversized booklet. The official Durutti Column store will host some very limited editions including a cassette, and a very special edition slipcase version of the album (limited to 1,000 copies worldwide) with alternative artwork, heavyweight black vinyl, a DVD with visualizers for every track, 4 art prints and a folded poster. Rough Trade have their own exclusive edition of the album (limited to 500 copies), a split purple / green vinyl version, with a bonus flexi disc of “All They See is Fire.”

In recent years, songs by The Durutti Column have surfaced across television, gaming soundtracks and high fashion runways. 

About The Durutti Column:

From their arrival in 1980 with The Return of the Durutti Column, released on Tony Wilson’s Factory Records, The Durutti Column stood apart from the post punk making waves in the UK. In recent years, artists like Frank Ocean, The Avalanches, Yung Lean, Youth Lagoon and Mark William Lewis have declared or demonstrated Durutti’s influence. In the past year Blood Orange sampled “Sing to Me” for 2025’s single “The Field,” and the band was hymned by Harry Styles as a key influence on 2026’s Kiss All the Time. Disco Occasionally.

Styles has involved the band in his curation of this year's Meltdown Festival, where they will be celebrated with a special concert For Vini: A Tribute to The Durutti Column on June 17 in London. Renascent producer Keir Stewart (guitar, bass, samples, keys) will be joined by Durutti Column collaborators Liz Rossi (violin, piano), Caolfhionn Rose (vocals, piano) and Sam Morris (French horn) as they interpret key moments across the band’s six decade career.

LISTEN | WATCH“LIARS”

PRE-ORDER/SAVE

Track Listing:

Echoes In The Memory
Your Shadow At Morning
Time Present And Time Past
Agonistes
Liars
Vapour In A Matchbox
Your Shadow At Evening
Sargasso Sea
Scammer
For Friends Everywhere
All They See Is Fire (CD / digital bonus track)

Album Reviews: Social Distortion, Red Rockers - Live, Romeo Void - Live

Social Distortion

Born to Kill

(Epitaph)

Led by singer/guitarist Mike Ness, Social Distortion was a vital part of the OC punk scene during the ‘80s and saw commercial success in the ‘90s via such modern rock radio hits as “Ball & Chain,” “Bad Luck,” “Cold Feelings,” “Let it Be Me” and “I Was Wrong.” 

Now, Social D is back with a vengeance on Born to Kill, its first studio album in 15 years. The creative fire still burns deep for Ness, who recently battled cancer. He co-produced this one with Dave Sardy (Oasis, Bush) and the powerful songs contain various hallmarks that made Social D the pride of Fullerton: pile-driving guitars and lyrics reflecting a battle-scarred survivor’s experience. 

Lucinda Williams duets with Ness on terrific old school country-tinged bar room tune “Crazy Dreamer”; the winsome roots rock-leaning “Tonight” sports a subtle Johnny Cash vibe, and “Partners in Crime” boasts psychedelic guitar bits and name checks David Bowie (Ness also pays subtle tribute to other idols like Lou Reed and Iggy & the Stooges on the fiery title track). Elsewhere, the band surprises with an edgy, compelling cover of Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Game” (Ness’ falsetto is impressive), and Benmont Tench (Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers) adds welcome piano work here and there. Information: epitaph.com

Red Rockers

It’s in Our Blood

Romeo Void

Live ’81-‘85

(Liberation Hall)

Alt-rock bands Red Rockers and Romeo Void both formed in 1979 and released debut albums with like-minded titles (Condition Red; It’s a Condition) two years later on seminal San Francisco indie label 415 Records that were overseen by producer David Kahne. New Orleans’ Red Rockers, fronted by singer/guitarist John Thomas Griffith, found inspiration in The Clash’s punk ethos. Northern California’s Romeo Void and no-holds-barred vocalist Debora Iyall (a Patti Smith acolyte), leaned more toward new wave with jazz touches.

It’s in Our Blood documents a powerful ’23 hometown reunion show, where Red Rockers sound raucous as ever while playing the entire album plus Who and Clash covers. Live ’81-‘85 comprises engaging performances over that span from America and the UK/Europe. Standouts include the college/modern rock radio/dance club hits “Never Say Never” and “A Girl in Trouble (Is a Temporary Thing),” where Iyall’s sassiness and Benjamin Bossi’s wild sax work show why they were in a league all their own during the ‘80s. Each live title is available on LP, CD, digital; additionally, Red Rockers have a Blu-ray with two bonus tracks including its pop hit “China.” Romeo Void’s liner notes include lyrics and rare photos, while Red Rockers’ contain an essay. Information: liberationhall.com