Lewca - Friday Night Rockstar - Album Review

Album released: 16/12/22 

Available from: https://lewca.bandcamp.com/music

The story so far…

Brixton born, Parisian commuter, Lewca has released 3 EPs between December 2020 and June 2021. The first two (3 Kids & A Mortgage and Walking The Hedgehog) appear on opposite sides of a vinyl. His third EP Geezer Pop was included alongside the first two on a CD titled Year One.  Lewca has also released a number of excellent singles in collaboration with the crème de la crème of the new music scene (Sean Buckley, Ben Todd, OrangeG, Post Industrial Poets, Fire Up The Sun, The Geezer Choir, Invisible Squirrel and Le Spectre). Head over to Lewca’s Bandcamp site to order your vinyl, CD or digital downloads. 

Lewca is a natural storyteller and in each song, you learn more about his life, loves, losses, dreams and realities.  His songs usually contain witty self-deprecating humour, whilst others are poignant or angry at injustices in the world. 

Lewca’s been influenced by everything from The Clash, Ian Dury, The Streets, Tom Waits, 2-Tone, Reggae, Hip Hop, Rave, and a thousand other artists and genres but crucially the influences aren’t mimicked, they just fuel his fire, and he retains his own character and distinctive voice. 

The music assisted by his main man S.O.A.P. (DJ Son of a Pitch) takes on genres as fit the mood of each song so you can’t pigeonhole the Lewca sound. 

Friday Night Rockstar - The Album

I’ve had early access “perks n shit” so I can provide this track-by-track album review…

Such a Cunt 

Yes, this album has more than a few profanities on it so if that offends you or your sensibilities you might as well fuck off now.  Still reading? Awesome! The album opens with a piano ballad and an acknowledgment that life is finite. It then offers a message of self-improvement set to wicked drum n bass track.

Friday Night Rockstar

Title track and first single from the album is an ode to the joys of being a weekend warrior. There’s some brilliant lyrics “Ain’t even made it, already overrated…since the late Nineties, I’ve been sedated”.  “I’ll be yelling in a pub til they put me in the ground”.  Punky metal shredding guitar riffs from John Michie and Zar Acoustic have been cut up and rearranged and these two appear on most of the album tracks.  Liverpool’s psychedelic garage act Mondo Trasho also feature on the chorus. 

Harmony Korine 

A tale of Lewca’s 1980s childhood with a flashback inducing chorus about driving around, kids unrestrained in the backseat of a smoky car.  Klaxons A bouncy electro track with klaxons. A song that deals with the passing of time and then comes full circle.  The title is the name of a controversial filmmaker and skateboarder who is turning 50.   I had a similar wake up call recently when I realised both Eminem and Johnny Lee Miller are both 50 now. 

A Million Things 

A short song about beloved comedian Bill Hicks. “This is just a ride…It feels like the Universe is falling to bits”.

Everyday Struggle 

This is the flip side of Friday Night Rockstar, the daily grind and commute required to pay those bills. “It’s hard labour, I ain’t done no crime, I’m selling my life one day at a time”. Lewca acknowledges he can’t complain too much about his lot but it’s still a pain in the arse working for The Man. The music is catchy, and a bit of a bop enhanced with the awesome vocals of Oh! Paulo and the Harmonica of OrangeG.

Forget My Name 

A song from the dark nights of the soul when the mind turns sour.  Lewca talks of depression in the first half of the song and then says a door was opened and with help he came through the other side. Gorgeous vocals from Victory Flow lifts this song even higher making it one of the highlights of Lewca’s career. 

Incredible 

A song about Lewca under the influence at a karaoke party. His confidence in his abilities is chemically enhanced with James Willows crooning “I feel incredible I feel fucking awesome”.   The voices in his head provided by Ambre are telling him “You’re so wicked baby loving your song I wanna listen to you all night long”. This universal acceptance of Lewca’s talent is undercut in Lewca’s own lyrics but they can’t get him off the mic. A classic single. 

The Love Within

Lewca’s pornographic love song to his wife set to stabbing organ and funky bass.

Radio Gigolo

A song imagining future fame, when Lewca’s a changed into mainstream big shot.  “I’d be like someone else I don’t even know.  So hungry for fame I’d even sell my name for some spicy wings or a TV Show”.  As Lewca admitted when I interviewed him, if he ever made it as a rock n roll star, he’ll probably be dead in a couple of years. So, buy his album but don’t buy two copies. 

Golden God

Lewca raps over this unhinged backing track and contains many classic rhymes “don’t fuck with my mid-life crisis, got a cocktail bitch, show me where the ice is.” “I’m way too old and I’ve got a dad bod, no connection, no money, long shot”. “It’s fine in my mind I’m a golden god.” screams Lewca. 

A Song

A punk hedonistic banger with Arabic and Caribbean trimmings. Lewca tells a few stories with a common theme when an angry girl in a club, an uncaring supervisor, and finally his kids tell him to cry them a river and write a fucking song about it. This is that song. 

Fell In Love With A Serial Killer 

A brilliant song written by Ben Todd and given the Lewca cartoon sheen as a serious theme - holding a relationship with a woman who enjoys killing people. They say love is blind and we’ve all got to go somehow, and no-one wants to die alone… 

Smoke In The Air

The acidic drum n bass beats are back on the album’s closing track. “When I’m dead and gone, and the party is over, just play my song, look over your shoulder. I’ll be there, floating like the smoke from a Saturday night in the air”.  

So that's the album.  If you already know Lewca and have read this far you don't need any encouragement from me.  Please share this review so others might discover him.  If you are new to Lewca then you can find him on all the usual socials and streaming sites. 

I urge you to order your copy of the excellent Friday Night Rockstar album on the format of your choice.  It'll be out mid-December, so it'll make a great stocking filler for your kids!  

Friday Night Rockstar is available from:  https://lewca.bandcamp.com/music

Further Lewca Listening... 

I interviewed Lewca and played several songs from this album on my November 2022 DAFTPOM Show on InYourEarsMusic.com.  Lewca interview begins at 22 minutes.

 

Mixtape Nov 2022

 This November 2022 Mixtape blog arrives on the seventh anniversary of my first monthly blog.  They have been fairly sporadic over the last three years as I focused on radio shows but I’m hoping to revive them in a regular format.  (Hoping but not promising).  

Here’s twenty recent tunes I recommend you listen to and the playlist to stream as you read. If you can support the independent artists with a purchase, share their music or this blog, they and I will be very grateful.  

1) I Don’t Feel Today - Common Goldfish

Tottenham based band making groovy tunes that sonically hark back to the Madchester scene.  Common Goldfish have released three excellent singles to date - Shout Louder and Feel The Fuzz are the other two.  A band that I have really been enjoying since discovering them in the submittracks@inyourearsmusic.com inbox. I Don't Feel Today | common goldfish (bandcamp.com)

2) My House - 3 Little Wolves 🐺🐺🐺

My House sounds like The Cure during their Pornography era mixed with the melodic tunes of Peter Hook’s Monaco.  It has been a pleasure to hear the development of this band over the last few years. Frontman Paul was an old friend of mine since the 1990s and I’m so pleased that his band have been going from strength to strength and have a debut album expected early 2023.  3 Little Wolves (bandcamp.com)   

3) Devil Bar Blues - Jack Gill

Jack Gill hails from Liverpool and delves into heavy blues riffs.  Fans of The Heavy North and Mexican Dogs should check out his back catalogue as I am.  A live album and about six previous singles to discover if you’re digging this recent song.

4) I Wanna Be Overrated - YNES 

Perhaps the wittiest lyricists out there on the underground scene backed with well-produced snotty punk music.  “I wanna be truly hated by someone than myself. I wanna be overrated”.  Looks like this is the eleventh single and the ones I know are all brilliant. Hopefully YNES will feel overrated by my review.  YNES (bandcamp.com)

  

5) Rush - Jaap Stamina

Kent based electro artist who has released a huge trance tune that takes me right back to the Nineties.  It’s got a menacing pounding beat, acidic squiggles, a chilled interlude and a glorious build up and it bangs like a couple of horny rabbits. This one is released on 18th November.  Pre-save Rush by Jaap Stamina

6) Rock N Roll Ain’t Dead While We’re Living - Laurie Wright 

This is a glam rock stomper with a lo-fi punk sheen. London’s Laurie Wright has been releasing loads of great modern punk rock songs lately and this one is a life-affirming sing-along song with elements of The Clash and Slade thrown together. Laurie Wright (bandcamp.com)

7) 80s Clowns - Feardrops

Synthesizers and drums provide an eerie music, similar to Tubeway Army, with lyrics about “Winter in a forest town, haunted by those 80s Clowns”.  This could easily appear on a Stranger Things soundtrack.  Feardrops are a new project based in China that have released five singles in 2022 but have relatively few listeners - so they need to be heard. 

8)  Taste The Brainbow - Blokeacola 

Taste The Brainbow was the first single taken from Blokecola's excellent Wig Game EP.  The lyrical content is darker than previous releases and Blokeacola has used cut n paste phrases from the internet as his lyrics which certainly makes this a unique project.  Despite the oppressive themes there is still dark humour here "Not even Facebook wants my data".  The music and vocals are wonderful and the whole EP is worthwhile investment of your time (and some coins). Wig Game | Blokeacola (bandcamp.com)  

9) Silent Fears - Echo Northstar 

New wave minimalist keyboards, a persistent drumbeat and a beautiful voice rising above it all.  A wonderful piece of music from a London based Irishman.  Also check out his previous single Someone Else which I played on my DAFTPOM Show a few months ago.   Echo Northstar (bandcamp.com)

10) Fly Away - Romy 

Romy is a teenage sensation (13) who is writing and recording songs well in advance of her years.  Fly Away is a song about wanting to escape when faced with memories sparked by a photo. Romy plays acoustic guitars and sings her heart out.  She has released six songs this year and is one to watch for the future. Fly Away | Romy (bandcamp.com)

11)  Death Masks - Lossline

Manchester's Lossline bring the drums on this upbeat gloomy anthem. The lyrics are universal and depressing but there is beauty in the bleakness - perhaps the majesty of the music carries it.  "And we sleep with white noise because our thoughts are too loud.  And we sleep next to our phones, cos we just can't switch off, anything, anytime for anyone".  Taken from the album When I Look Out I See No Stars. Lossline are a band to wallow in.  When I Look Out I See No Stars | Lossline (bandcamp.com)

12) Radioactive Hybrid Terror Pigs - Joe Peacock 

A blistering tornado of guitars and pounding drums sees Joe with his most aggressive sound yet. Surprising from Joe who is an old hippy friend from my student days. You never know what to expect from Mr Peacock, from one release to the next but there is always an intriguing personal or historical story behind each song.  This one deals with animals taking over the land deserted by humans in the wake of a nuclear disaster.  Some great grunting noises at the end too.  Joe Peacock (bandcamp.com)

13) We Need Light In The Dark - Tobisonics 

The title track of Tonbisonic's debut album is beat track, a bell chiming, a repetitive chant, strange noises that appear in your headphones, samples and 80's keyboards to build up a great electro track.  The album was written about his battles with his mental health issues and contains seven top tunes. 

We Need Light in the Dark | Tobisonics (bandcamp.com)

14) When Our Lungs Are Empty - Joe Adhemar

The final track of Joe Adhemar's fifth album is a stunner - the album About The Soul has been released on Bandcamp, CD, and a very tasty Vinyl.  It is finally coming to the streaming sites in December.  World weariness is a style that Joe has nailed here and the closing chants of "fade away" are a perfect ending for this album which mixes up the genres and incorporates more electronic synthesizer elements than his previous work (outside of the Invisible Squirrel alter-ego).  About The Soul | Joe Adhemar (bandcamp.com)   

15) Save My Soul - Solar Eyes

Save Our Souls is a great psychedelic space rock song from Birmingham’s Solar Eyes. It is taken from their second EP Alcatraz released at the end of October. There is plenty to love about this band so give them a follow and we can all go for a trip together. 

16) Chemical Burn - Lyon Tide 

A dance banger from Birmingham's Lyon Tide.  They have embraced their inner Chemical Brothers and written a biological love song that really kicks. It is the opening song from their amazing second album Life Pop Bang which deserves a much wider audience.  I recommend you check out the album.  Trust me!  Life Pop Bang | Lyon Tide (bandcamp.com)

17) Shelly Gold - GreenCircles and Ollie Winder

Ollie wrote the lyrics and teamed up with Newcastle band GreenCircles who provided the music and backing vocals.  It sounds like an early Roses song, complete with reversed guitar parts, a Jackon Pollock/John Squire paint splatter artwork.  It's got quality lyrics and music and I hope you love it as much as I do.  Shelly Gold | GreenCircles and Ollie Winder (bandcamp.com)

     

18) Wrote For Luck - Kinfauns

The combined vocals of the wonderful Amelia Coburn duetting with Andrew Johnson, singing the lyrics of Shaun William Ryder and playing the music of Happy Mondays on ukulele and acoustic guitar.  The result is gorgeous as you can hear.  Wrote For Luck | Kinfauns (bandcamp.com)  

19) Forget My Name - Lewca

The next single from Lewca's forthcoming Friday Night Rockstar album.  I think this is one of the most powerful tracks from Lewca so far.  It features vocals from Victory Flow and has stunned the listeners to my recent DAFTPOM show.  It pulls at the heartstrings as a tale of struggling and fighting against the odds.  The album is out Mid December and can be ordered here...  Friday Night Rockstar | Lewca (bandcamp.com)

20) Change Is On The Horizon - Voldo

Groovy laidback beats, weird noises and samples "Gotta make a change" this has a contempory feel but is steeped in deep cuts from their record collections.  Taken from the new Voldo album Melting Pot which, as its name implies, takes all their influences and forges something new and compelling.  Melting Pot | Voldo (bandcamp.com)  

Please also check out my blog reviewing The Shop Window's second album which is released at the end of November.  I'll be back next month with my blog on my albums of the year.  

The Shop Window A 4 Letter Word

Album Review

A 4 Letter Word

The Shop Window

reviewed by Old Indie Kid 

Release date: 25th November 2022 on Vinyl & CD with a digital release in December. 

Pre-order a physical copy today before they sell out! 

theshopwindow.bandcamp.com/

spinoutproductions.com/shop/

Maidstone’s greatest indie jangle pop band, The Shop Window have returned with a second album of delicious aural treats.  But before I dive into that, let's reflect on their journey so far.  During the Britpop years Carl & Syd were members of 90's band Westpier - label mates of Sleeper.  The friends reunited in 2018 when Carl returned to Kent after years of living overseas and they added Phil and Martin to complete The Shop Window line-up.  Their first release was on Bandcamp at Christmas 2019, and they followed up during the lockdowns with a string of singles, a 7" vinyl, and award-winning videos before dropping their debut album in June 2021 - The State Of Being Human.     

Mere months after the debut album, they started playing gigs and releasing singles from the follow up, which will soon be in your hands, your ears and your life.  They have released a second 7" on indie label Spinout Nuggets, a wonderful acoustic EP (raising funds for MacMillan Cancer Support), a second Christmas single, and a Forgotten single in collaboration with new music legends Sean Buckley, Jen Dixon & Chris James Willows.     

The second album has been in the can for months, but they delayed the release date until confirmation that the vinyl pressing plants could keep up with the demand for this highly anticipated second album.  No need to fear - Spinout Nuggets and the band are pleased to announce they are taking pre-orders and licking stamps, so your stockings needn't be empty this Christmas!     

But how does this second set rate as a collection of songs?  Does it hang together well, does it have overarching themes, maybe even a character ark?  That’s what I will now attempt to answer, with a track-by-track review.  I will also be trying to decipher the cryptic crossword clue set in the album's title - A 4 Letter Word. Crucially, what is that word, and more importantly, is it a rude one?

The Shoppies 2022

Eyes Wide Shut, a recent 7" single, opens the album with a gorgeous slice of upbeat jangle cake with a catchy chorus and harmonies.  My favourite part is the second half when the vocals end (no offence intended), but this is when the music rises, and you can enjoy the tightness of the band.  Some great "Wah-Wah" effects, and the final moments remind me of something just out of reach - perhaps the strings heard on Jollification by The Lightning Seeds?  Solid start to album #2.

With Love To Lead, the second track, is full of imagined chivalrous actions as Kings, Princes and Knights fight each other to win the hand of ye Maiden fair.  Noble quests are undertaken, and honourable stands are made.  I think the 4-Letter Word must be one highly favoured  by The Beatles, and it's the unifying theme of the album.

The Lay Of The Land was the first single released way back in November 2021.  Musically, The Shoppies are drifting into the otherworldliness of 60's psychedelia (Pictures of Matchstick Men) and borrowing images from Lewis Carroll’s Alice In Wonderland.  The opening line “Time will take its toll down the rabbit hole” also links to one of the major themes from the debut album - that of aging.  The song also confirms that LOVE is "the meaning of life".  The song's reference to Magpies links to the imagery for the single and album covers - each has a silhouette of an animal with a heart.    

Dancing Light is a wonderful composition, echoing the jangling goodness of a Smiths record. Dancing Light is sweetness and light and has a stirring chorus full of emotion. Great harmonics on the repeated refrain "Let me feel the love , sweeps me up in waves, falling from above, moves in many ways".  It’s a tender song that lets the listeners in behind The Shop Window. 

It’s By Design deals with the idea of whether fate or chance determines who we form relationships with. "Stars aligned to make this history, so they say".  The musical interplay between the band is excellent and very engaging to the listener, especially in what I will term the middle eight / bridge / bit in the middle with no singing. (I dropped out of recorder lessons aged 5 and my musical terminology has only marginally improved).  Trust me it's very catchy and this would be a stand-out track for most albums - but a 4 Letter Word has such a high-quality threshold that it's an album of highlights.   

Circles Go Round is the opening song on Side B (get it on vinyl if you want your circle to go around).  Circles Go Round sounds like former single Out Of Reach's riff and beats were put in a blender on high speed.  It’s another jaunty Smiths-esque tune that seems to oscillate between speeds.  It’s bound to have crowds of middle-aged fans putting their backs out trying to dance to this at live gigs.  The song was written about Carl and Syd, getting the band back together and creating new music as old friends.  "Jump start the heart again, sit back and ride the wave... Years roll by, let this define us". 

Lighthouse is a truly fantastic song.  A tale of anxiety being overcome by LOVE, hope, and other ace things.  A lovely LOVE song written by Carl to his wife. "When you radiate light it's a window to the heart of you. Lighthouse of hope sending a beacon to my call".  It'll melt your heart and leave you singing, "ba ba-ba ba-ba ba" as it fades away.   

        

That Feeling is, in my humble opinion, the closest The Shop Window have come to the early sounds of The Stone Roses, and that's not a comparison I make lightly.  This is perfect lush indie pop and wrapped up in less than 3 minutes. The chorus proclaims, "When I get that That Feeling I'm alive". (However, the correct answer is "I need sexual healing").   

Maid Of Stone is catchy, yet mysterious.  To me it speaks of childhood and a mother's LOVE "It's in this place where we began, where we walked before we ran" and "Inspiration - TV Screens, in shop windows, chasing dreams, Sheltered by a Maid of Stone".  I absolutely adore this song from my Maidstone brothers.      

Low sounds magnificent and it is well placed as the final track on the album.  The frustration of the Covid lockdowns is captured by the lyrics "A year disappeared, frozen in time, never get it back, Mother Nature's crime".  A world-weary song where Carl sings of "running on fumes" and a determination to keep your head above water and try not to fall into despair.  The music is heavily influenced by the slower majestic Blur songs - and it wears it well.  It builds to a good place and ends the album with LOVE as the savior.   

    

Conclusion - if you loved the first album - this is even better. If you haven't discovered The Shop Window before, then are you in for a treat!   

theshopwindow.bandcamp.com/

spinoutproductions.com/shop/

Further reading - My review of The Shop Window debut album The State Of Being Human

Did you know???  Carl co-wrote a song called Ocean Blue sang by Kylie Minogue.  Hear it below.  

(50) Ocean Blue (B-Side) Kylie Minogue - YouTube