Are you a writer or illustrative artist who enjoys nerding out about music?
TotallyWired Magazine is looking to recruit to our team a handful of new creatives from around the world. Whether it’s a chance to gain some hands-on experience in Music Journalism or to meet and connect with other fantastic members of our team, this is the perfect place to let your talents grow.
Our artists help develop the magazine’s visual style and are working on some exciting upcoming projects.
Writers roles are super easy to work around whatever schedule life throws at you. Got a band that you want to shout about? The stage is yours.
God, I can’t believe I’m writing this but, a whole ass DECADE has passed to the day since Matthew Murphy (Love Fame Tragedy), Dan Haggis (Dan The Man), and Tord Øverland Knudsen, better known together as the iconic indie band The Wombats released their second full-length LP; This Modern Glitch. To this day one of the most interesting drops of an indie band who rose to fame in the late 00’s because of the left turn it took. Now I’m not saying it’s as sharp a turn as something like Radiohead’s Kid A was to OK Computer, but This Modern Glitch completely reinvented The Wombats sound at one of the strangest periods for modern music. It was 2011, around the time where pop music was changing completely, four on the floor beats, synth-ridden hooks, and the age of the pop ‘band’ was on its way out. So what does a Liverpudlian three-piece do for their next outing? Drop one of the coolest follow-up records of all time, that’s what.
This Modern Glitch takes that raw indie rock outfit from the band’s debut album, and polishes it off, wraps a layer of divinely played synths, and just dial up the wow factor to 11. Kicking off with Our Perfect Disease, slapping you straight in the face with this new synth focused style right off the bat, in fact, there’s no guitar until about 44 seconds in, and further yet there are no LOUD guitars until after a minute of playtime. It’s there with the vocal hooks and spunky guitars that the resonant Wombats sound comes out to play, and as the song progresses the signature twangy Bass tone from Knudsen gets thicker and heavier, and Murph’s guitar gets thrown about in your face more. Somehow it’s the perfect evolution from A Guide To Love Loss And Desperation, and as soon as it’s done the absolute anthem that is Tokyo (Vampires And Wolves) kicks off.
Tokyo is the perfect track for any party, lord knows any piss up I’ve been to hasn’t been complete without blasting this on full singing along to our heart’s content. The intro synth riff, the pulsating bass and the thumping drums carry this song straight into the aether. If you’re new to the sound of The Wombats, Tokyo is a brilliant starting point to get you hooked.
Jump Into The Fog slides right in next and acts as this slower but still effortlessly gorgeous power trip. Again combining the sounds of synth-led pop with the indie structure we’d already grown to love since the marsupials debut album back in 2007. Jump Into The Fog leaves you in a trance for 3 minutes and my god is it wonderful. It manages to pull off this wonderous mixture of texture and dynamics and is only heightened in a stripped-back setting like so. After being an epic synth led song, and now working as an acoustic rendition, swapping lead synths and guitars for cellos and pianos and reinventing the vibe to their own song? Absolutely majestic.
1996 is a weighty synth thumping beast of a tune, acting as the physicality of the themes within the track talking about the horrors of the modern world, longing to go back to the days of 1996 after not being “cut out for the modern life”. It’s the kind of song you just wanna drink and dance to and not have a single care in the world. The Wombats have perfected the danceable sad song and they make no exceptions here. You may feel like you’ve slowed down time, but if you’re soundtracked to The Wombats, you don’t have to worry about a thing.
This Modern Glitch is filled with delightful surprises such as the U-Turn that is Anti-D. A softer sentimental track, proposing the idea that this person could be your anti-depressant. Twinkled with violins that take you back to the days of brit-pop, but with synth under roots that ground you back to The Modern Glitch of life you’re in. Other brilliant tracks I have to gloss over sadly otherwise we really would be here all day, are the sparkly spotlights of Last Night I Dreamt… No no not The Smiths song. This track talks about someone having an epiphany after having a dream that they very bluntly, died alone. Which is fair enough, to be honest, hope you’re good Murph.
Girls / Fast Cars is a brilliant no-nonsense song, brilliant for any sort of workout or when you need to run for a train. I’ve tried it with both and it works, just try not to sing it out loud and look like a lemon at a knife fight in the bowels of Blackfriars station… Definitely more one of the more traditionally rocky songs of the album, but still matched with the synth-tastic sounds of 2011 and feeling right at home among the tracks of This Modern Glitch.
Techno Fan is a song I think everybody relates to at some point in their life. You stay away from something your whole life convinced it’s “not for me darling”, only to find yourself slap bang in the middle of a club moshing to something you’d never heard of before, or you know whatever it is you’ve avoided… It’s a cheerful, bright and spanky song that asks you to “move with me or get out of my face”. This song gets going and if you’re not on board it will sail on without you, and you’ll have to catch it again from the start because it’s got a motive that requires you to pay attention. It’s a phenomenal feeling and you just have to ride this train.
There’s so much identity within this album and so much nostalgia I associate with it and with this band. This Modern Glitch did the hard thing of adapting an indie band to the turn of the new decade, but it blended the two perfectly and without it, we surely wouldn’t have got any of the brilliant work from Murph, Dan, and Tord throughout The Wombats’ musical career and their own solo discographies.
The perfect summer album to play when the world feels wrong, and after the year we’ve had, with things looking up on the uncertain horizon, perhaps This Modern Glitch is what we need all over again.
Listen to This Modern Glitch (10th Anniversary Edition) on Spotify now. Presented proudly, 10 years running.
Trashmouth Records, an independent label run by brothers Liam and Luke May, is the New Malden equivalent of Muscle Shoals’ Fame Studios.
The Mays recorded, engineered and produced the debut albums of bands such as Madonnatron, Warmduscher and the Fat White Family. “Trashmouth produced and released records by bands that no one else would touch with a 10-foot pole and not only lived to tell the tale but proved to have been visionary in their blind faith.”
As scouts of raw talent and miners of sonic gold Trashmouth Records are unequalled by any in their contribution to recording some of the best music of our era…
Clams Baker, the inimitable front man of Warmduscher (the best boogie band in London, and that bass, my God) spoke lovingly of Trashmouth: “When I think of the South London music scene, I immediately think Windmill, Fat White Family, and Trashmouth Records, then I forget what I was thinking about thanks to the last 10 years they are celebrating! Very blessed and honored to be a part of it. Long live the hustle, I can’t wait to see what they think of next.”
Clams Baker III, Benjamin Romans-Hopcraft and Saul Adamczewski of Warmduscher (and friends) at the Windmill. Photo by Lou Smith @lousmithphoto.
The label is soon to release a celebratory album of remixes. “Trashmouth Records – 10 Years Still Not Dead” marks the 10th Anniversary of the inception of the Trashmouth Experiment & features remixes of some of the label’s favourite tracks and artists…”
Thus far one remix has been dropped, a Trashmouth redux of “Yolk Buns USA,” from Warmduscher’s infamous debut album Khaki Tears (an album which was recorded in a mere three days if the rumors are true.)
Other remixes which will be included on the album are a Trashmouth redux of “Heaven on Earth,” a sonically schizophrenic rocker from Fat White Family’s scorching debut, Champagne Holocaust, and other auditory delights from Madonnatron and Meatraffle among others.
Brothers Luke and and Liam May, who founded and continue to operate Trashmouth Records.
In the label’s own words: “The LP will…encompass a visual history of the label within its artwork, featuring photographs of the now legendary Trashmouth nights at the Brixton Windmill, where bands bitched and bonded, where blood, booze and tears were spilled in almost equal measure and where the seeds of a small corner of modern musical history were inadvertently sewn.”
Join the infamous label in celebrating ten years of “Blood, Booze and Tears in Equal Measure…” by purchasing their 10th anniversary record featuring remixes from their top artists, available May 17th on Bandcamp and beyond.
It’s been a whirlwind month for the poor suckers out on of the frontlines of the music industry, myself included. Like everybody else, I have been glued to my laptop for livestreams, during which I have broken two Bose speakers and possibly also ruptured my roommate’s left eardrum, but I’m chalking that up to her allergies and not to the volume at which I was blasting MISTY MILLER’s livestream with Easycome Acoustic Club.
Speaking of recent noteworthy streams, Glasgow’s own indie goth-pop darlings, THE NINTH WAVE (rock n’ roll social workers if ever any did exist) played a livestream show at Leith Theatre with Lucia and the Best Boys, and I hope to hell you blessed your ears and eyes with it—it was the first time the songs from their sophomore album Happy Days! were played live, and thus a red-letter day…
Glaswegian indie rock outfit the Ninth Wave. Photo credit: @olierskine
If you are of the festival going-persuasion, LUCIA AND THE BEST BOYS announced that, come September, they will headline the River Stage at TRNSMT Festival. (Other headliners include Lil Simz—be still, my beating heart!—Sports Team and Walt Disco.) A word of advice, preorder your tickets, plan your wardrobes and sort your granola out NOW. It’ll give you something to live for. And don’t bring a tent if you really want to have fun; tents just get in the way. So does complicated eye makeup, which only summons rain. Just wear some big earrings. Searing the lead singer’s retinas with reflective bling is a far better way to get their attention than looking like a raccoon having an existential crisis.
Lucia of Lucia and the Best Boys. Photo credit @neelastica
The Best Band in all the World, GOAT GIRL, are headlining Wide Awake Fest on Friday, September 3rd where they are billed above Idles. This suggests that there is indeed justice in the Universe. Black Country New Road, black midi, and Tropical F Storm (Iggy Pop’s BBC 6 show turned me on to these freaks, go give their tune “Brain Drops,” a listen, it’ll melt your synapses) will also perform.
The magnificent South London indie rock band Goat Girl. Photo credit: @hollyemmw
If you like GOAT GIRL then saunter on over to Bandcamp and check out The Most Underrated Band in all the World, MADONNATRON, who are once again flying under the radar. I’m over here chewing my acrylics in anticipation of what fresh sonic delights they are possibly preparing to unleash upon us unworthy listeners. Musica Alla Puttanesca was released nearly 2 years ago and I’m hungry for more…
Speaking of bands rumored to be releasing new albums in the near(ish) future, FAT WHITE FAMILY released their firstborn film, a gonzo digital diary entry romantically dubbed Moonbathing in February. I’m sure the sight of Alex White’s lovely mullet in a bubble bath was enough for many of you to give the film a five-star rating but hearing the Fat Whites revert to their country roots—with Lias on guitar, Nathan on keyboards, and Alex on flute and sax–was melancholy bliss beyond belief.
(Lias Saoudi and Saul Adamczewski of Fat White Family. Photo credit: the incredible @lousmithphoto)
The unmissable Slovenian duo known as ‘Zalagasper’ (za-la-gas-pah) are an ambient fueled daydream who weave electronic soundscapes with deadpan vocals to create their uniquely supernatural sound.
In a small city in northern Slovenia, a sudden unexpected partnership occurred after singer Zala Kralj met with songwriter and producer Gašper Šantl via Instagram. Teaming up allowed these two already talented songwriters to interpret each other’s work and craft a sound all of their own.
The two soon became musically inseparable and stood out amongst their local music scene with a sound they simply describe as ‘sensitive story-telling.’ Their explosive popularity led them to represent their country on the world stage at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2019.
The strong bond between the two is beautifully apparent and their enigmatic performance certainly secured a mass of new followers from around the globe who were similarly held captive by their mysterious yet enchanting nature.
Kralj’s soft, eerie singing style is arguably what first strikes you about this band. Since the memorable performance of their single ‘Sebi’, the band soon went on to release their debut album ‘4’ which received much praise from their growing following, especially across Germany, Poland and other regions across the world who were similarly taken in.
The album is built around much the same charming and detailed instrumentals, quickly becoming the bands signature theme. The album owes a great deal of it’s effect to Gašper Šantl’s own talents as a trained producer, who has certainly taken them from one level to the next.
Storytelling seems to be a popular theme throughout this duos work together. Through intrinsic melodies and soft-spoken lyrics, these two musicians fit together like two pieces of a puzzle. The picture they paint in their collaboration is one that needs to be seen (or felt) to be believed.
The bands most recent single, ‘sto idej’ suggests a promising follow up to their first album with a somewhat change in mood. With more experimentation, their sound is slowly beginning to evolve – I hope you’ll agree that a staple of any great band is to keep on surprising their listeners. With no sign of their success dwindling, these two performers from a small corner of Europe might just take over the world yet.
Welcome back to Creators Monthly, and blimey, what another great month! Thanks to all the artists who submitted their music to us this month – a record-breaking number! Here are just some of our favourites.
So strap in and prepare yourself – let’s take it away!
The Clockworks
Post-punk rock bands from Ireland are something of a favourite here at Totally Wired. The Clockworks hit single ‘Enough is Never Enough’ is another great example of a song we can’t get out of our heads. With nods to The Clash and other legendary bands, The Clockworks are now taking on the world for themselves. We look forward to the band’s new single due for release very soon.👀
This 6-piece psychedelic rock band hailing from Germany create this superb blend of garage-punk with a prominent twist of indie-rock. Something about their cool but fun charm hits home with fans of bands such as The Strokes and The Libertines. A certain experimental approach in the production of their music, their latest single ‘Purgatory Pool Party’ is the perfect tune to put a spring in your step.
Tapwaterlucy is an indie-pop artist from London who, counter to what her name suggests, is anything BUT bland. ‘Bringing glamour meets satire in both her music and visuals’ is how this 20-year-old singer describes her style, combined with a touch of comedy, this artists concoction of tastes makes for the perfect antidote for lockdown-blues.
A luscious, hopeful tune could be precisely what the world needs right now. Brightest London, from Ohio, describe their ethos as ‘music for a long drive’. The band threw themselves into their projects over the lockdown months, offering a sense of freedom and adventure in a time where neither feels within reach. Their latest single, ‘Try’, has a spectacular escapism quality, with a tear in our eyes and hope in our hearts for getting back to reality soon, Brightest London are here to see us through.
Chloe Berry from NYC is an artist who perfectly encapsulates the life of a young person in the big city. Her first single, ‘Fed Up With You,’ is a captivating life lesson, full of continuously uplifting grooves stacked ontop of sorrowfully slow verses – a story of ups and downs and a perfect anecdote for life. An artist who is well worth checking out.
Whilst sat in her childhood bedroom in Chicago, Daphne Browdy found inspiration for her single ‘Bookend’, a song about a year of losing friends, making new ones and wrestling the feeling of being isolated from them. A touching melody that comes right from the heart and one to which we can all relate. This young artist is on a mission of exploring her soul’s inner depths through her enchanting tunes. This is only the start of her musical journey and we hope to see more great music on the horizon. We can’t wait to hear what comes next!
New-wave psych-rock band, The Worn Jets, offer up something of a nostalgic quality to their kick-ass sound, taking us right back to the golden days of garage-rock. Their New EP TWJ takes inspiration from many of their punk-rock predecessors. We can’t wait to see even more music coming soon.
While not playing with his band 80 Unlacey, featured in September’s Creators Monthly, Dylan Innes has set about on a solo journey. Collaborating with audio engineer Doug Williams, Dylans’s solo album ‘Taste the Tide’ is set for release this month. After listening to his recent work, it’s an album you should be dead excited for.
Ivan4sure is an artist from Hungary set for his first EP to be released later this year. His latest single, ‘Tinder Date’, was inspired by a quarantine date no less and was released as a funky upbeat ‘Valentine’s Day special’. The song and it’s fresh new sound has given us a sneak peek into what’s in store; definitely an artist to have on your radar this year.
The Scribes are a Hip Hop group from the UK with a brand new single we just can’t get out of our heads. ‘Haunted House’ is a tune created in collaboration with producer J-Boom, a ‘fitting soundtrack to the chaos of 2020.’ The video for Haunted House drops on the 15th of March, so keep your eyes peeled.
‘Oo Ah, la La’ is not just an exciting first single from artist Fin Cliff, but a cracking one too, and all from the bedroom of this 17-year-old from Leicester, UK. Finn started releasing music just last year, with all of his current singles written to be played live once music is finally back on stage. A young artist with a lot of talent and one we’re incredibly excited to hear more from.
The latest single from Vanarin, ‘Care’, is a whirlwind of synth sounds and warped guitar melodies, ripe for a tune full of nostalgia and one that gets us incredibly excited for the future. Care is the first single of the ‘Italian Alt-Pop’ groups new album ‘Treading Water’, a highly anticipated follow up from their first album in 2018.
BEL’s second feature on Creators Monthly, but we just can’t help ourselves! After capturing wide attention with her single ‘Treading Water,’ the writer behind the synonym, Isabel Whelan, has somehow topped herself with her latest tune. It makes us wonder just how far this young songwriter will go – one to watch out for, that’s for sure!
On Vocals: Raff Law, Bass: Kelvin Bueno, Drums: Rudy Albarn Keyboard: Amin El Makkawi
Director: Eric Anderson, Sound: Graham Potter, Camera Operators: Aimee Clarke, Jamie Pitt, James George Potter, Producers: Eric Anderson, James George Potter
Five years ago The 1975 dropped their monumental album I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it, or as I’ll be referring to it (because effort gah) as ILIWYS. If you thought the 80s vibes couldn’t be topped after their self-titled debut, “aha, you are dead wrong”. The 1975 are a band with so much more to offer than your typical indie-pop band, delivering an entire era defined by it’s words and art, to the point of their live shows encapsulating the entirety of their songs personalities, The 1975 are a statement to the word ‘Artist’. I think it’s an underappreciated art to produce an album, make it go in various musical directions but seamlessly tie it all together and create a genuine universe for all its songs to coexist. But here proves that its all possible, and is utterly majestic when that happens. So as a brief inquiry (aha – nice right?) into the realm of ILIWYS, I hope you can look back on this album with me and appreciate the ingenuity that makes this record so bloody great.
After two years of so much identity with a black and white aesthetic, what better way to revitalise your sonic vision than with the bombastic colour of pink and the intro that is Love Me. A song that takes your hands and dances with your bones like a piss up that snogs you when you sit back down. Leading straight into the 80s drooling UGH! which delves into the topics of addiction, something frontman Matty Healy has been more than open about over the years. The music video based upon the incredible live show set, designed by Tobias Rylander which just has to be mentioned because it is enriched in beauty.
Then changing the pace the album goes into A Change Of Heart, a slow ballad that swoons you to sway during the comedown of a party. A pretty coloured song that blinds the facade of a story about two people falling out of love with each other. The 1975 have a knack for writing tear-jerking relatable hits, curse you Matty with your big words giving me the biggest feels. She’s American blasts in next, a personal highlight of 80s pop perfection, the synth bassline, the Johnny Marr / shoegaze-like hybrid guitars that caress you into a dream, goodness me that song makes me feel things on an inhuman level.
If I Believe You is a fan favourite that takes off next (although I have no idea why I say fan favourite as if other tracks aren’t faves also) a waltz that opens up a conversation between Healy and God, begging the question; “And if I believe you will that make it stop”, questioning Healy’s lack of faith and desire to have something to believe in, during a period of uncertainty, proclaiming “I’ll be your child if you insist, I mean if it was you that made my body you probably shouldn’t have made me atheist” Please Be Naked accompanies us next, an instrumental track that whispers in your ear so much with so little. A piano-led track that drowns you in the sweet sorrow of this little album I love.
Lostmyhead and The Ballad Of Me And My Brain drift into your ears, starting with a track with a lyric that quotes back to a song off the band’s debut EP. “Then he said I lost my head / Can you see it?” With that calmic haze being stripped away for a loud angry tantrum about the disconnection between Healy and his mind. It’s the subtle transition between the frail state of mind (ha reference) Healy has to deal with that makes this pairing so devastatingly divine.
Somebody Else, arguably the bands most popular tune is a slow ballad about the pain of moving on after a relationship and it’s hauntingly sad. The line “I don’t want your body but I hate to think about you with somebody else” is so simple yet so resoundingly relevant within so many of our lives. Somebody Else creates an involuntary emotional attachment to you and because of that makes it one that you can’t get out of your head.
It disapparates into Loving Someone, which has become an LGBTQ anthem. Delving in the topics of how disenfranchised the population is and the systematic homophobia within that.
“It’s better if we keep them perplexed,
It’s better if we make them want the opposite sex”
Which all leads to a Healy delivering a spoken-word piece to end the song that just pauses for thought but demands to be heard. With the backing music continuing with thumping bass and twinkling synths, drummer and producer George Daniels is a genius and the talent he shreds throughout this album is nothing shy of blessing upon the music scene. The almost instrumental ambient synth-scape title track of (okay I’ll do it just this once – deep breath) I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it injects a pure sense of vulnerability here, and if the work of Daniels and co haven’t impressed you yet then this surely shall, and the standalone lyric of “Before you go, turn the big light off” just gives me chills it’s beautiful… yET sO uNAWARE oF iT!!
Jokes aside, the albums biggest radio hit comes on in the form of The Sound that really bops with you no matter where you are. That hook of “I know when you’re around cause I know the sound of your heart” being tattooed on people all over, reposted all over Tumblr and such, covered to death but purely because it’s such a danceable and sing-a-long track. It’s music video flashes on screen with quotes of harsh remarks on the band from critics and such, many of whom now absolutely love the band so I don’t know what that says about media pandering.. But it’s a great song with a great video, check it out if you haven’t. The 1975 is a band that’s very self aware, it knows when to take itself seriously and when not to and I think this video is a brilliant example of that.
My favourite track on the album succeeds that one, This Must Be My Dream being this 80s pop powerhouse that screams in your face, god I just love it so much. Although it doesn’t get played very often, Healy once stating he didn’t like the song because it was so hard to sing. But I mean this was before the days of Love It If We Made It and People, so what gives Matty? But the cute Paris succeeds my favourite track, and this is another one of my faves, another fan fave and recently (well as recent as the last time they were on tour – yikes) revealed to be Healy’s favourite of the album, which is a very valid statement as the song is wonderful.
I give you that acoustic rendition because one, it’s stunning, two, it doesn’t get enough recognition and three, the next 2 tracks on the album take a more acoustic approach, completely bookending the last part of the album. Nana and She Lays Down close the album on possibly some of the most personal lyrics Healy has penned down. Nana about the way Healy deals with the then-recent passing of his Grandmother, and She Lays Down about the postnatal depression his mother had just after having Healy. Two incredibly personal tracks that expose the innards of Healy’s brain even more so than some of the other deeper cuts of this album. I shan’t quote from either as I think it’s best to listen to those songs fully to respect and appreciate the messages of each, but trust my they are witheringly pulchritudinous.
ILIWYS ends there, going through various sounds and heaps of emotion and is just such a phenomenal album. One of my favourite records of all time that I know I’ll cherish till the day I die, as will so many others. ILIWYS defines a generation of woe, lust, highs and downfalls that embedded within the DNA of Healy and The 1975, manages to enchant their audience in such a way that has never really been done before. The 1975’s fanbase is something different let me tell you that, but it’s a wonderful community I’m proud to be a part of. There’s a quality of emotional imperfection that ILIWYS narrates which touches a generation of music fans. From only 5 years, the impact it’s had is immeasurable, and I really believe will keep inspiring kids for years to come.
