{"id":31093,"date":"2025-08-29T16:27:10","date_gmt":"2025-08-29T16:27:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/31093\/"},"modified":"2025-08-29T16:27:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-29T16:27:10","slug":"idles-cmat-the-hives-the-beths-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/31093\/","title":{"rendered":"IDLES, CMAT, The Hives, The Beths, more"},"content":{"rendered":"

Well, there goes the summer. Usually a holiday weekend there are no major new released but this week not so, with three albums that will for sure make my Best of 2025 list and the other three are excellent too: I review the latest from The Hives, Idles, The Beths, CMAT, Modern Nature<\/strong>, and Ganser<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

This week\u2019s Indie Basement Classic is a lost gem from one of the original shoegaze greats, Swervedriver.<\/p>\n

Over in Notable Releases<\/a>, Andrew reviews the new Blood Orange, plus End it, Rakim & Big Ghost Ltd, and more.<\/p>\n

Have a great and hopefully long holiday weekend. See you in September.<\/p>\n

\"THE_HIVES_forever<\/p>\n

ALBUM OF THE WEEK #1: The Hives \u2013 The Hives Forever Forever The Hives<\/strong> (PIAS)
No really, this is the best album The Hives have made<\/p>\n

After over a decade in hibernation, The Hives roared back to life in 2023 with The Death of Randy Fitzsimmons<\/a>. Middle age didn\u2019t slow them down one bit\u2014their high-octane, braggadocious brand of garage rock sounded as fresh as it did when they dropped Veni Vidi Vicious 25 years ago, and their live show was like they never left. Then The Hives did something they\u2019d never done before in their 30-year career: instead of taking a break after the tour, they rode the high straight back into the studio and immediately made another album.<\/p>\n

You can feel that energy and momentum in The Hives Forever Forever The Hives, the Swedish quintet\u2019s seventh album and, I\u2019m just going to say it, their best yet. No, frontman Howlin\u2019 Pelle Almqvist has not stolen my laptop. This record rips. Some credit surely goes to co-producers Mike D (Beastie Boys) and Pelle Gunnerfeldt (Viagra Boys), as well as input from Josh Homme, but this is clearly the work of a band striking while the iron is hot. They haven\u2019t changed their formula\u2014big riffs, big drums, breakneck tempos, anthemic choruses, and heaps of attitude\u2014but this album feels like the purest distillation of everything The Hives do best. Every song is precision-crafted, stuffed with memorable moments, delivering Maximum Hives Satisfaction.<\/p>\n

The album opens with \u201cEnough is Enough\u201d and its pile-driver riff before Pelle interrupts with \u201cEveryone is a little fucking bitch!\u201d\u2014a perfect kickoff. From there, the record doesn\u2019t let up, though there\u2019s plenty of variety: the groovy, go-go-ready \u201cPath of Most Resistance\u201d; \u201cBorn a Rebel,\u201d which borrows more than a little from Steve Miller Band\u2019s \u201cAbracadabra\u201d (and makes it work); the gear-shifting \u201cPaint a Picture\u201d; and the joyous title track, which sounds like a packed audience, arms linked, pogoing in unison. At a breathless 33 minutes without a dull moment, The Hives Forever Forever The Hives makes them your new favorite band all over again.<\/p>\n

The Hives Forever Forever The Hives by The Hives<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014<\/p>\n

\"the<\/p>\n

ALBUM OF THE WEEK #2: The Beths \u2013 Straight Line Was a Lie<\/strong> (ANTI-)
This New Zealand quartet remains and the top of their sparkling guitar pop game on their fourth album<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been three years since The Beths\u2019 winning Expert in a Dying Field<\/a>, and their fourth album took a little longer to arrive than the previous three. Frontperson and songwriter Elizabeth Stokes had started taking SSRIs, which in some ways gave her more confidence but also seemed to block her usual creative pathways. \u201cI was kind of dealing with a new brain, and I feel like I write very instinctually,\u201d she says. \u201cIt was kind of like my instincts were just a little different\u2014they weren\u2019t as panicky.\u201d It took time to reroute her circuitry and find her way back to the well of songs.<\/p>\n

That process in part inspired Straight Line Was a Lie, but the title (and title track) is also a reminder that there are rarely shortcuts and sometimes the path less traveled is the most rewarding. \u201cThe straight line was a circle,\u201d Liz sings. \u201cGuess I\u2019ll take the long way \/ \u2019Cause every way\u2019s the long way \/ And I don\u2019t know if I can go round again.\u201d Stokes is an empathetic lyricist who isn\u2019t afraid to put her vulnerabilities and foibles into her songs\u2014and paired with her sharp-as-ever knack for instantly memorable melodies, it\u2019s a hard-to-beat combination.<\/p>\n

Few indie rock bands are working at The Beths\u2019 level when it comes to sparkling, nuanced guitar pop. There are the buzzy, hook-laden power-pop jams you expect\u2014\u201cTake,\u201d \u201cNo Joy,\u201d and the title track\u2014but the band also show off some new moves: the tender \u201cMother, Pray for Me,\u201d the dark and simmering \u201cArk of the Covenant,\u201d and the bongo-fueled closer \u201cBest Laid Plans,\u201d which takes a few skronky cues from Bowie\u2019s Berlin period. The album\u2019s standout, though, is \u201cMosquitos,\u201d one of Stokes\u2019 best songs to date, mixing vivid imagery (\u201cI\u2019m only here to feed mosquitos\u201d) with a widescreen arrangement by guitarist\/producer Jonathan Pearce and a muscular, locked-in performance by the band.<\/p>\n

Liz may be unsure of her next move on a personal level, but she and The Beths have never sounded more confident than they do on Straight Line Was a Lie.<\/p>\n

Straight Line Was A Lie by The Beths<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014<\/p>\n

\"cmat<\/p>\n

ALBUM OF THE WEEK #3: CMAT \u2013 EURO COUNTRY<\/strong>(CMATBABY \/ AWAL Recordings)
Nobody else is making music like this Irish sensation and she\u2019s utterly charming on Album #3<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is making no sense to the average listener,\u201d Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson tells the listener, interrupting her own song, \u201cJamie Oliver Petrol Station,\u201d about a minute in. \u201cLet me try to explain myself in a few words.\u201d This is CMAT in a nutshell: singing about her disdain for celebrity chef Jamie Oliver (\u201cthat man should not have his face on posters\u201d) but then catching herself\u2014\u201dOK don\u2019t be a bitch \/ The man\u2019s got kids \/ And they wouldn\u2019t like this\u201d\u2014all against a twangy, orchestral pop backdrop.<\/p>\n

EURO-COUNTRY is CMAT\u2019s third album, and she says it\u2019s her most \u201ccountry\u201d record yet. That\u2019s true, in a way, though it\u2019s an Irish version of country\u2014more like The Waterboys circa Fisherman\u2019s Blues filtered through a distinctly modern lens. Tracks like \u201cTree Six Foive\u201d (that\u2019s \u201c3-6-5\u201d with an Irish accent) and \u201cWhen a Good Man Cries\u201d lean most heavily into the genre, but for the most part CMAT remains straight-up pop. \u201cI don\u2019t know anyone that\u2019s making anything that\u2019s like my music,\u201d she told MOJO recently, and she\u2019s not wrong.<\/p>\n

The country-ness really comes through in Ciara\u2019s lyrics, which are personal, emotionally rich, unexpected, and often laugh-out-loud funny (but never novelty). She\u2019s got the same wit and attitude as Reba McEntire or Dolly Parton in their prime, and she\u2019s just as quick to poke fun at herself. \u201cI\u2019m a writer, I don\u2019t do crushes,\u201d she sings on \u201cJanis Joplining,\u201d following it immediately with \u201cI do problematic attentions.\u201d She can also devastate with heartbreak, like this verse from \u201cLord, Let That Tesla Crash\u201d:<\/p>\n

\n

My memories are loaded with what I wanted
But I couldn\u2019t have with you
That picture\u2019s burnt on my TV
Now I watch Coronation Street through ghosts of you all neon green<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The hook quotient is just as high as the one for one-liners and there isn\u2019t a forgettable song on EURO-COUNTRY. Produced by Oli Deakin (who also worked on her debut If My Wife New I\u2019d Be Dead), the record is lushly arranged and a showcase for Ciara\u2019s acrobatic voice, which can bellow, side-eye, or soar. Especially striking are the harmonies, which at times approach Kate Bush\/Kirsty MacColl levels of gossamer, particularly on the Dusty Springfield-esque \u201cPaint a Sexy Picture for Me,\u201d the album\u2019s most undeniable song.<\/p>\n

CMAT may well win the Mercury Prize next year\u2014and she\u2019d deserve it. There\u2019s truly nobody else like her.<\/p>\n

\u2014<\/p>\n

\"idles<\/p>\n

IDLES \u2013 Caught Stealing Original Motion Picture Soundtrack<\/strong>\u00a0(Partisan)
The Bristol band bring their dark\/heavy postpunk sound to the big screen, soundtracking Darren Aronofsky\u2019s latest film<\/p>\n

I haven\u2019t yet seen Caught Stealing, Darren Aronofsky\u2019s movie adaptation of Charlie Huston\u2019s novel (and not the Jane\u2019s Addiction song everyone immediately thinks of when they hear the title), but IDLES\u2019 soundtrack is pretty cool. The film is set in NYC\u2019s East Village in the late \u201990s, when it was still gritty and a little dangerous, and you can feel that menace in these tracks. The music was composed by Rob Simonsen but performed by the band, giving it their trademark intensity. In addition to score pieces, there are four proper songs, all dark and snarling with a foreboding sense of dread. The best of the bunch is \u201cRabbit Run,\u201d with its blast-furnace chorus.<\/p>\n

Also here is a cover of \u201cPolice and Thieves,\u201d which impressively avoids sounding like either Junior Murvin\u2019s original or The Clash\u2019s iconic version. Instead, it comes off like an IDLES original, bristling with menace and bite. How will all of this play in the film? I\u2019m looking forward to finding out.<\/p>\n

Caught Stealing (The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) by IDLES<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014<\/p>\n

\"modern<\/p>\n

Modern Nature \u2013 The Heat Warps<\/strong> (Bella Union)
A new twin-guitar attack leads Jack Cooper back to Ultimate Painting territory<\/p>\n

On the first three Modern Nature albums, Jack Cooper (Ultimate Painting, Mazes) seemed intent on pushing as far out there as he could with records that were gorgeous and experimental, drawing as much from spiritual jazz as from folk or rock. On The Heat Warps, Cooper circles back toward more traditional song structures and instrumentation, aiming more directly at the pleasure centers.<\/p>\n

Part of that shift is due to new member Tara Cunningham, making Modern Nature a two-guitar band for the first time. \u201cWe have a very similar approach to the guitar and that extends to the way we sing,\u201d says Cooper. \u201cSo it gives the music an interesting balance.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Heat Warps is gentle and warm, encouraging listeners to slow down and relax at its pace. For fans of Ultimate Painting, this is the closest Cooper has come to that sound\u2014somewhere between The Velvet Underground, The Grateful Dead, and Television at their most tranquil\u2014since that band unexpectedly dissolved in 2018<\/a>. It\u2019s a welcome return to a style that feels so natural to him, while still keeping the cosmic\/earthy thematic vibes that have defined Modern Nature from the start.<\/p>\n

The Heat Warps by Modern Nature<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014<\/p>\n

\"ganser-animal<\/p>\n

Ganser \u2013 Animal Hospital<\/strong> (felte)
Working with Liars\u2019 Angus Andrew, this Chicago post punk band level up on their first album in five years<\/p>\n

Chicago band Ganser\u2019s last album, 2020\u2019s Just Look at That Sky, delivered sharp post-punk that stayed fairly down the middle of the genre\u2019s lane. Not so with Animal Hospital, which expands their sonic aspect ratio to IMAX levels.<\/p>\n

Working with producer Angus Andrew of Liars, the band have added a wide array of electronics to their dark, slashing sound. This record sounds big\u2014textural and atmospheric\u2014sometimes ripping the sky open, other times dancing in the moonlight. It also makes for a great headphone album, where the details shimmer and crackle in the mix.<\/p>\n

Ganser are still armed to the teeth with angular guitars, but on Animal Hospital they\u2019re no longer just playing the club\u2014they\u2019re piloting a star destroyer.<\/p>\n

Animal Hospital by Ganser<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014<\/p>\n

\"swervedriver\"<\/p>\n

INDIE BASEMENT CLASSIC: Swervedriver \u2013 Ejector Seat Reservation<\/strong> (Creation Records, 1995)
The UK shoegaze vets\u2019 best but least heard album<\/p>\n

Swervedriver were one of the best groups of the original shoegaze era, but by 1995 interest in the genre in their home country (and label, Creation) had fully moved on to Britpop. Unlike some bands (Ride, Lush), Swervedriver stuck to their guitar pedals while trying to expand upon their sound with their third album,\u00a0Ejector Seat Reservation. It was still heavy, but there was an equal emphasis on melody and maelstrom, with elements of Bowie and Bolan added to the mix\u2013not to mention a string and horn section. It\u2019s Swervedriver\u2019s best album and loaded with memorable songs, including pile-driver \u201cBring Me the Head of the Fortune Teller,\u201d the poppy\/heavy \u201cThe Other Jesus,\u201d elegant first single \u201cLast Day on Earth,\u201d and soaring closing cut \u201cTo the Birds.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unfortunately there was no time to celebrate: Creation Records dropped Swervedriver the week after\u00a0Ejector Seat Reservation was released and deleted the album from their catalog, making it for years the band\u2019s hardest-to-find album. Thankfully, it has been rescued and reissued a couple times since and is on streaming services.<\/p>\n

Ejector Seat Reservation (Happening Edition) by Swervedriver<\/a><\/p>\n

Looking for more? Browse the Indie Basement archives<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And check out what\u2019s new in our shop<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Well, there goes the summer. Usually a holiday weekend there are no major new released but this week…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":31094,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[264],"tags":[24567,24568,14867,18,117,24569,24570,19,17,24571,337,24572,20672,24573],"class_list":{"0":"post-31093","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-bills-indie-basement","9":"tag-bvhome","10":"tag-cmat","11":"tag-eire","12":"tag-entertainment","13":"tag-ganswr","14":"tag-idles","15":"tag-ie","16":"tag-ireland","17":"tag-modern-nature","18":"tag-music","19":"tag-swervedriver","20":"tag-the-beths","21":"tag-the-hives"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31093","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31093"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31093\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31094"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31093"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31093"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31093"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}