<p><em>A year ago, I made a post expressing my disappointment with one of the worst years ever for my kind of music: indie rock, and all the adjacent styles like shoegaze, post-punk, goth, synth-pop, and others.</em></p>
<p><em>Only artificial-intelligence radios like Apple Music’s Discovery Station managed to save 2024, by making me discover music from the past.</em></p>
<p><em>Well.</em></p>
<p><em>This year is much better. I would even say it feels like a rebirth.</em></p>
<p><em>So yes, as usual, the Top 100 or Top 50 best-of-the-year lists from websites or magazines we all used to love are still very disappointing. These rankings acknowledge everything but – everything but – the music. It’s all about TikTok virality, the “right” political views, the “right” political fights, the “right” attitude, visuals, costumes, videos, dances, provocations, looks, and the perceived feelings of the new generation. In the end, very little is left of the music itself.</em></p>
<p><em>But once again, this year is not a total disaster. From my side, I count 14 records this year that may last, albums that could endure in rock history, or at least stay in my playlists for a long time, or even earn a place as vinyl in my collection.</em></p>
<p><em>Some of them even made it into the mainstream (and often terrible) Top 100 or Top 50 lists – how can you rank music anyway? You can’t. Every album deserves to be cherished, they are so different. Anyway, good news is that these Top 100 or Top 50 lists often include artists like Wet Leg, Wednesday, and even Momma.</em></p>
<p><em>But let’s be frank: once again, indie rock is no longer seen as a trend worth pushing to the masses. As a result, most of these albums remained under the radar, if not completely ignored.</em></p>
<div class="wordads-ad-wrapper wordads-ad-wrapper--inline wordads-ad-hidden"><div class="wordads-ad"><div class="wordads-ad-title">Advertisement</div><div class="wordads-ad-content" id="wordads-ad-497998" data-ad-height="250" data-ad-width="300"></div><div class="wordads-ad-controls"></div></div></div><p><em>In short, we saw:</em></p>
<ul>
<li><em>The brilliant return of veterans like Prolapse and Idlewild</em></li>
<li><em>A brand-new sound from Wednesday, is it country, grunge, or indie rock?</em></li>
<li><em>A full-on hold-up by Wet Leg (who didn’t hear about them this year?)</em></li>
<li><em>Superb returns and career-best albums from relatively new bands like They Are Gutting a Body of Water, Just Mustard, Prewn, Sword II, and Hatchie</em></li>
<li><em>Obscure albums from obscure bands like Nyxy Nyx, with great potential for future cult status</em></li>
<li><em>Good old shoegaze at its best, like Keep</em></li>
<li><em>Brand-new, traditional indie rock from Rocket</em></li>
<li><em>Indie-rock-adjacent projects, like the dub-goth album The Bug &amp; Ghosts Dubs</em></li>
</ul>
<p><em>Overall, a great year.</em></p>
<p><em>Looking forward to 2026.</em></p>
<p><em>Best of Indie-Rock Albums 2025, A to Z sorted:</em></p>
<ul>
<li><em>The Bug &amp; Ghost Dubs “Implosion”</em></li>
<li><em>Hatchie “Liquorice”</em></li>
<li><em>Idlewild “Idlewild”</em></li>
<li><em>Just Mustard “We Were Just Here”</em></li>
<li><em>Keep “Almost Static”</em></li>
<li><em>Momma “Welcome To My Blue Sky”</em></li>
<li><em>Nyxy Nyx “Cult Classics Vol. 1”</em></li>
<li><em>Prewn “System”</em></li>
<li><em>Rocket “R Is For Rocket”</em></li>
<li><em>Sword II “Electric Hour”</em></li>
<li><em>They Are Gutting A Body Of Water “Lotto”</em></li>
<li><em>Wednesday “Bleeds”</em></li>
<li><em>Wet Leg “Moisturizer”</em></li>
</ul>
<p><img data-attachment-id="5340" data-permalink="https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/2025/11/29/best-of-indie-rock-albums-2025/c71f0461-c483-47d0-a616-501c8ffab412/" data-orig-file="https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/c71f0461-c483-47d0-a616-501c8ffab412.jpg" data-orig-size="855,1140" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1764426062&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}" data-image-title="c71f0461-c483-47d0-a616-501c8ffab412" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/c71f0461-c483-47d0-a616-501c8ffab412.jpg?w=225" data-large-file="https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/c71f0461-c483-47d0-a616-501c8ffab412.jpg?w=768" src="https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/c71f0461-c483-47d0-a616-501c8ffab412.jpg" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-5340" alt="" width="855" height="1140" srcset="https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/c71f0461-c483-47d0-a616-501c8ffab412.jpg 855w, https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/c71f0461-c483-47d0-a616-501c8ffab412.jpg?w=113&amp;h=150 113w, https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/c71f0461-c483-47d0-a616-501c8ffab412.jpg?w=225&amp;h=300 225w, https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/c71f0461-c483-47d0-a616-501c8ffab412.jpg?w=768&amp;h=1024 768w" sizes="(max-width: 855px) 100vw, 855px"></p>
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Best Of Indie-Rock Albums 2025

<p><em><strong>Back in 2001, Paris had a very different rhythm.</strong> Most white-collar workers, myself included, stayed in the office until 10 or even 11 p.m. After work, we’d head out to restaurants, then bars or clubs. Weekends were for sleeping off the excesses. It wasn’t exactly the environment for family men, but we were lucky to witness one of the most dramatic shifts in the city’s nightlife and dining culture: the rise of the “Lounge.”</em></p>



<p><em>Half the restaurants, bars, and clubs suddenly turned “Lounge.” That meant restaurants with dim lighting, open kitchens (a novelty at the time), a hostess in high heels selling cigarettes inside the restaurant, where smoking was still allowed, and of course, the signature “Lounge” furniture. Upstairs, a “Lounge” bar played chilled electro, served overpriced wine and cocktails, and offered low couches and tables where people half-danced, half-posed. For the truly committed, the real party kicked off downstairs in the club, after 2 a.m.</em></p>



<p><em>This shift came at the expense of traditional bars and brasseries—the kind that served hearty food and real atmosphere. It’s ironic that what tourists now crave as “authentic Paris” was still very much alive then. It was normal in those days to see white-collar and blue-collar workers finishing lunch at the same counter, chatting over coffee, even discussing politics. The blue collars were literally in paint- or cement-stained uniforms. That shared space might be part of why political extremes didn’t feel so present—everyone still inhabited the same world, and we understood each other a little better.</em></p>



<p><em>“Lounge” culture changed that. Politically, not for the better. But food-wise, things got more refined. The presentation improved, even if the portions shrank and the prices soared. Musically, there was also a silver lining: “Lounge” gave a platform to French electro—the famed French Touch—with acts like Daft Punk, Cassius, Justice, and Air gaining global recognition.</em></p>



<div class="wordads-ad-wrapper wordads-ad-wrapper--inline wordads-ad-hidden"><div class="wordads-ad"><div class="wordads-ad-title">Advertisement</div><div class="wordads-ad-content" id="wordads-ad-751174" data-ad-height="250" data-ad-width="300"></div><div class="wordads-ad-controls"></div></div></div><p><em>But as punk rock goths at heart, The Cure for me and Joy Division for my wife, our personal revelation came from Miss Kittin &amp; The Hacker. They brought something else entirely: the aesthetic, the attitude, the darkness, and the sound. They were more than music—they were a statement.</em></p>



<p><em>Tracks like “Life on MTV” or “Frank Sinatra” hit like a sonic bulldozer at the Mezzanine—the bar on the first floor of Alcazar, one of our regular “afterwork” haunts. For us, that duo’s work was far more mind-blowing than the official French Touch. They weren’t slick or polished. They were raw, ironic, and dark. And that’s exactly what we needed.</em></p>



<p><em>Could Miss Kittin &amp; The Hacker make it today? I’m not so sure. That infamous photo of The Hacker pointing a gun at Miss Kittin dressed as a nurse would probably get banned from social media. Lyrics like “suck my ****, kiss my ass” would raise all the wrong flags. Their tracks satirized a lifestyle of excess: strip clubs (“my girlfriend is a stripper, in a Swiss peep show, dancing on a carousel”), alcohol excess, drugs, corporate numbness, masculine bravado. To say it ended in the ’60s or ’80s would be dishonest. That world was still very much alive in the 2000s. Maybe it lingered until 2010, then faded. Perhaps it’s a generational thing—our Generation X, now in leadership, started shifting away from the macho posturing that once fuelled their coldwave, dark electro aesthetic.</em></p>



<p><em>But what an era it was. Their First Album brought the edge, the spice, the danger. Without it, those “Lounge” nights would’ve bored us to death. And maybe, just maybe, they were the peak of French goth-electro—though today’s scene is far from over. We now hear haunting echoes of that spirit in newer acts like Essaie Pas, Peine Perdue, or Automelodi.</em></p>



<p><strong><em>Goth is not dead. Not even close.</em></strong></p>


<figure class="wp-block-post-featured-image"><img width="720" height="1057" src="https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/img_0862-1.png?w=720" class="attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" style="object-fit:cover;" srcset="https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/img_0862-1.png?w=720 720w, https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/img_0862-1.png?w=102 102w, https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/img_0862-1.png?w=204 204w, https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/img_0862-1.png?w=768 768w, https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/img_0862-1.png 884w" sizes="(max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px" data-attachment-id="4701" data-permalink="https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/2025/06/27/did-miss-kittin-and-the-hacker-have-it-all-right/img_0862-1/" data-orig-file="https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/img_0862-1.png" data-orig-size="884,1298" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}" data-image-title="img_0862-1" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/img_0862-1.png?w=204" data-large-file="https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/img_0862-1.png?w=697"></figure><div class="wordads-ad-wrapper wordads-ad-wrapper--gutenberg_rectangle"><div class="wordads-ad"><div class="wordads-ad-title">Advertisement</div><div class="wordads-ad-content" id="atatags-370373-690f19663de75" data-ad-height="250" data-ad-width="300"></div><div class="wordads-ad-controls"></div></div></div>

Did Miss Kittin And The Hacker Have It All Right?

<p><em>Mind-blowing period. And mind-blowing magazine: Les Inrockuptibles, Nov/Dec ’91.</em></p>
<p><em>My Bloody Valentine is releasing “Loveless” and discussing it in a long interview, with stunning photos of the band. We were already over-excited (we had been waiting 3 years since “Isn’t Anything”), a bit disappointed (we didn’t immediately recognise the “Isn’t Anything” sound), and a bit stupid too: how could we not realise that we were being spoiled with such an avalanche of superb records reviewed that very same month?</em></p>
<p><em>My Bloody Valentine “Loveless”, Nirvana “Nevermind”, Mudhoney “Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge”, Teenage Fanclub “Bandwagonesque”, Neil Young &amp; Crazy Horse “Weld” (still my favourite Neil Young album by far), Saint Etienne “Foxbase Alpha”, Swervedriver “Raise”, Babes in Toyland “To Mother” (Nirvana / Hole / Babes in Toyland / L7, that’s pure grunge, the rest isn’t).</em></p>
<p><em>Add to that the first news about the beautiful “Spooky” from Lush, to come just a few months later, plus an interview with one of my favourite fiction authors, the deeply missed Paul Auster, and you get an exceptional moment in the life of music, rock, books and the arts in general.</em></p>
<p><em>We didn’t know it.<br>We were inside it.<br>It was happening then.</em></p>
<p><img data-attachment-id="5286" data-permalink="https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/2025/11/02/nov91-my-bloody-valentine-is-releasing-loveless/img_2211/" data-orig-file="https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/img_2211.jpg" data-orig-size="1500,2000" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;1.6&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;iPhone 15&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1761413610&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;5.96&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;125&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.012048192771084&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}" data-image-title="img_2211" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/img_2211.jpg?w=225" data-large-file="https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/img_2211.jpg?w=768" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-5286" src="https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/img_2211.jpg" alt="" width="1140" height="1520" srcset="https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/img_2211.jpg?w=1140&amp;h=1520 1140w, https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/img_2211.jpg?w=113&amp;h=150 113w, https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/img_2211.jpg?w=225&amp;h=300 225w, https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/img_2211.jpg?w=768&amp;h=1024 768w, https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/img_2211.jpg?w=1440&amp;h=1920 1440w, https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/img_2211.jpg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1140px) 100vw, 1140px"></p>
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Nov91: My Bloody Valentine is Releasing “Loveless”

<p><em>Is Prolapse the Best Post-Punk Band Ever?</em></p>
<p><em>I thought so before the concert in London last Sunday, but now it’s confirmed. Prolapse is, without a doubt, one of the most essential post-punk bands ever.</em></p>
<p><em>They tick all the right boxes: a fantastic debut in 1994 with killer EPs (“Pull Thru’ Barker”) and the cult album “Pointless Walks to Dismal Places”; an uncompromising, sharp, and noisy post-punk sound that nods to Joy Division but remains unmistakably their own. They reinvented punk completely, hence the post-punk label, with a wild mix of trance, madness, and freshness that still bursts through both live and on record (just listen to the “fight” at the end of “Tina This Is Matthew Stone”).</em></p>
<p><em>What’s equally impressive is their new album, “I Wonder When They’re Going to Destroy Your Face”, released this year. It’s as if they’ve stepped straight back into 1994, the same aggressive punk vibe and raw energy, the same uncompromising spirit. How many bands manage to return decades later with that same fire, attitude, and talent?</em></p>
<p><em>And that concert last Sunday… I went with my 21-year-old daughter. She grew up coming to indie rock shows with me, Hope Sandoval from Mazzy Star, Lana Del Rey (before the fame), Ex:Re, all unforgettable nights. But like me, she was blown away by Prolapse.</em></p>
<p><em>It’s hard to explain: the sheer immediacy of their sound, the power from the very first song. We were in awe within seconds. Honestly, the show could have ended right there and it would still have been worth it, a historic moment, an event.</em></p>
<p><em>Then there’s the humour. Linda and Mick never stop joking, especially Mick, who fills the gaps between songs with absurd and brilliant commentary:</em></p>
<div class="wordads-ad-wrapper wordads-ad-wrapper--inline wordads-ad-hidden"><div class="wordads-ad"><div class="wordads-ad-title">Advertisement</div><div class="wordads-ad-content" id="wordads-ad-467325" data-ad-height="250" data-ad-width="300"></div><div class="wordads-ad-controls"></div></div></div><p><em>“Only five girls in the audience, I see.”</em><br><em>“George Bush’s face has been compared to a chimpanzee. I mention this because I’ve been compared to George Bush. And, well, yes, George Bush side by side with a chimpanzee, that works.”</em></p>
<p><em>Or Linda’s trademark:</em></p>
<p><em> “Mick, you forgot all the lyrics again,” to which he calmly replies, “People don’t care, they don’t see the difference.”</em></p>
<p><em>Musically, Prolapse swing between raw aggression (“This is a love song,” says Mick, not even close!) and moments that almost recall 60s rock. But let’s be honest: this is punk, pure and feral. You either love it or you don’t. My daughter gave the concert a perfect 10, her best since Ex:Re in 2019, and she’s seen plenty since. For me, it was the most emotional and exhilarating live experience since the Clamm / Ditz / Lambrini Girls trio at Grauzone Festival in The Hague in 2023.</em></p>
<p><em>And here’s the thing: Prolapse aren’t even a professional band anymore. Linda now works as a newspaper editor, but when she returns to music, she refuses to play in any “boring” band. Prolapse still have that spark, that punk madness, she craves. Watching Mick and Linda in trance on stage, completely lost in it, we were right there with them.</em></p>
<p><em>Maybe that’s the real secret. Prolapse are one of those rare bands who enter the same trance as their audience. Most bands today, even great alternative ones, feel disconnected from the crowd. The transcendence is gone. Prolapse, on the other hand, couldn’t care less about image or attitude. They just deliver,&nbsp;the purest, most electrifying post-punk concert you could ever dream of.</em></p>

<figure class="wp-block-post-featured-image"><img width="720" height="923" src="https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/img_2274.jpg?w=720" class="attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" style="object-fit:cover;" srcset="https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/img_2274.jpg?w=720 720w, https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/img_2274.jpg?w=117 117w, https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/img_2274.jpg?w=234 234w, https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/img_2274.jpg?w=768 768w, https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/img_2274.jpg?w=799 799w, https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/img_2274.jpg 1179w" sizes="(max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px" data-attachment-id="5274" data-permalink="https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/screenshot-3/" data-orig-file="https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/img_2274.jpg" data-orig-size="1179,1511" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;Screenshot&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1761818145&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Screenshot&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}" data-image-title="Screenshot" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="<p>Screenshot</p>
" data-medium-file="https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/img_2274.jpg?w=234" data-large-file="https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/img_2274.jpg?w=799"></figure><div class="wordads-ad-wrapper wordads-ad-wrapper--gutenberg_rectangle"><div class="wordads-ad"><div class="wordads-ad-title">Advertisement</div><div class="wordads-ad-content" id="atatags-370373-6905dee5cd7f7" data-ad-height="250" data-ad-width="300"></div><div class="wordads-ad-controls"></div></div></div>

Prolapse, The Lexington, Oct25

<p><em>So how was the Nine Inch Nails concert at Amsterdam’s Ziggo Dome this June? Well, well, for a band that has been active since… 1988 (!) it was absolutely amazing. I will have a hard time deciding which concert gave me the most chills this year; Have a Nice Life in London a few weeks back has been a strong competitor. But I can admit the superiority of Trent Reznor, and Trent Reznor above his band, starting by playing “Right Where It Belongs” solo, a cappella/piano, at the very beginning of the concert in the middle of the standing area: what a trip, what guts, what power, what talent, what voice, what songwriting too, as the songs have been stripped down and worked on by themselves. Pretty rare in music in general, including in the world of current pop divas.</em></p>
<p><em>One of my daughters, who is used to small and large venues, pop divas, even hip hop and electro, told me this was the first time she heard a singer sound exactly like on the records (if not better, I would add). This start gave me the most chills I’ve had this year so far, and maybe in a long time.</em></p>
<p><em>The rest of the concert was a blessing, even though it was missing some of my most cherished songs. But there was enough for everyone: from the most obscure songs in their catalog to the most popular ones, in a rock version like “The Perfect Drug” (my wife’s favorite moment), or pure electro played again in the middle of the standing area (my two daughters’ favorite moment, one of them being addicted to the Challengers movie soundtrack by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross).</em></p>
<p><em>Overall, Nine Inch Nails have progressively become the kings of rock, for so many reasons, starting with immense talent. Having seen them live three times over the last 25 years, I can acknowledge this.</em></p>
<p><img data-attachment-id="4774" data-permalink="https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/2025/07/04/nine-inch-nails-ziggo-dome-june25/nin-concert-2/" data-orig-file="https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/nin-concert-2.jpeg" data-orig-size="4032,3024" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}" data-image-title="NIN Concert 2" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/nin-concert-2.jpeg?w=300" data-large-file="https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/nin-concert-2.jpeg?w=1024" src="https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/nin-concert-2.jpeg" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4774" alt="" width="1140" height="855" srcset="https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/nin-concert-2.jpeg?w=1140&amp;h=855 1140w, https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/nin-concert-2.jpeg?w=2280&amp;h=1710 2280w, https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/nin-concert-2.jpeg?w=150&amp;h=113 150w, https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/nin-concert-2.jpeg?w=300&amp;h=225 300w, https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/nin-concert-2.jpeg?w=768&amp;h=576 768w, https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/nin-concert-2.jpeg?w=1024&amp;h=768 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 1140px) 100vw, 1140px"></p>
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Nine Inch Nails, Ziggo Dome, June25

<em>June 1991, Les Inrockuptibles made the unexpected choice of putting Bill Pritchard on the cover. Fair enough. But inside, there was plenty to feed the curiosity of Shoegaze and Postpunk devotees—like me, then and now. And what heroes we had…</em>

<em><strong>Vaughan Oliver</strong> – The visionary graphic artist behind nearly all the iconic 4AD record sleeves: Lush, Throwing Muses, Pale Saints, Clan of Xymox, Cocteau Twins, Pixies, This Mortal Coil… you name it. Vaughan passed away in 2019, but his visual language still lives on each time we pull one of these records from the shelf.</em>

<em><strong>Martin Hannett</strong> – The sonic alchemist who shaped the haunting atmosphere of Joy Division, and also left his mark on New Order and Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. He died young in 1991, only 42, but his influence echoes through generations. Some geniuses speak once—and for good.</em>

<em><strong>Ned’s Atomic Dustbin</strong> – Featured in a long and heartfelt interview around the release of their explosive debut “God Fodder”. They talked about how they got there (hard work), how success changed their lives and relationships—with friends, fans, even their parents. Jonn Penney, their singer, foresaw a bright future for the band. Success faded, but he found balance: music became a passion again, not a paycheck. Sometimes, heroes settle down—for the best.</em>

<em>And then came the reviews. <strong>Chapterhouse’s “Whirlpool”</strong>—critically dismissed at the time, but an instant classic for many of us. <strong>Les Thugs’ “I.A.B.F.”</strong>—an absolute stormer (have you heard this fierce French band? You should). And a wave of unforgettable EPs:</em>
<ul>
 	<li><em><strong>The Boo Radleys</strong>, “Every Heaven”</em></li>
 	<li><em><strong>Moose</strong>, with the legendary “Jack” EP</em></li>
 	<li><em><strong>Pixies</strong>, firing back with “Planet of Sound”</em></li>
 	<li><em><strong>Th’ Faith Healers</strong>, preparing their “In Love” EP and the monumental first album Lido (still awaiting a proper vinyl reissue!)</em></li>
 	<li><em><strong>Curve</strong>, unleashing “Frozen” and getting serious buzz in NME again</em></li>
 	<li><em><strong>The Popguns</strong>, quietly brilliant with “Still a World Away”, anyone else remember? I do.</em></li>
</ul>
<em>It truly was a mind-blowing era for Shoegaze and Postpunk. A storm of sound and vision, with passion bleeding from every page.</em>

<img data-attachment-id="4725" data-permalink="https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/2025/06/22/june-1991-shoegaze-postpunk-heroes/img_0872-1/" data-orig-file="https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/img_0872-1.jpg" data-orig-size="1586,2000" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;1.6&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;iPhone 15&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1750612435&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;5.96&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;32&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0076335877862595&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}" data-image-title="img_0872-1" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/img_0872-1.jpg?w=238" data-large-file="https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/img_0872-1.jpg?w=812" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4725" src="https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/img_0872-1.jpg" alt="" width="1140" height="1438" srcset="https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/img_0872-1.jpg?w=1140&amp;h=1438 1140w, https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/img_0872-1.jpg?w=119&amp;h=150 119w, https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/img_0872-1.jpg?w=238&amp;h=300 238w, https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/img_0872-1.jpg?w=768&amp;h=968 768w, https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/img_0872-1.jpg?w=812&amp;h=1024 812w, https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/img_0872-1.jpg 1586w" sizes="(max-width: 1140px) 100vw, 1140px">

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<img data-attachment-id="4723" data-permalink="https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/2025/06/22/june-1991-shoegaze-postpunk-heroes/img_0874-1/" data-orig-file="https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/img_0874-1.jpg" data-orig-size="1670,2000" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;1.6&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;iPhone 15&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1750612616&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;5.96&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;40&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0041322314049587&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}" data-image-title="img_0874-1" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/img_0874-1.jpg?w=251" data-large-file="https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/img_0874-1.jpg?w=855" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4723" src="https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/img_0874-1.jpg" alt="" width="1140" height="1365" srcset="https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/img_0874-1.jpg?w=1140&amp;h=1365 1140w, https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/img_0874-1.jpg?w=125&amp;h=150 125w, https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/img_0874-1.jpg?w=251&amp;h=300 251w, https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/img_0874-1.jpg?w=768&amp;h=920 768w, https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/img_0874-1.jpg?w=855&amp;h=1024 855w, https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/img_0874-1.jpg 1670w" sizes="(max-width: 1140px) 100vw, 1140px">

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June 1991 – Shoegaze & Postpunk Heroes

<p><em><strong>When I was a teenager in the ’80s, there were three main “music clubs” at school:</strong> one for The Cure fans, another for U2, and the last one for Depeche Mode.</em></p>
<p><em>Back then, we didn’t really have access to many records, only the mainstream ones. So we completely missed out on The Cure’s early trilogy “Seventeen Seconds, Faith, and Pornography”, as well as most of Depeche Mode’s early albums. U2 seemed more accessible in that regard, especially with “War” and later “The Joshua Tree”, which even resonated with us from a “punk goth” perspective. But everything changed in 1989 with “Disintegration”. That album hit us hard. We instantly became hardcore fans of The Cure, while U2 took a different path, leaning increasingly into pop sounds.</em></p>
<p><em>Depeche Mode made a strong return in 1990 with “Violator”, but it didn’t quite click with us at the time. It wasn’t punk, nor fully goth—it leaned too heavily on synths. And we were rock fans, a bit goth, into guitars. Sure, “Music for the Masses” in 1987 had already impressed us, especially with darker tracks like “Never Let Me Down Again” and maybe “Strangelove.” But Violator? It felt too smooth, too electronic.</em></p>
<p><em>Funny thing though—like a fine wine, “Violator” aged incredibly well. It grew in stature over the years, eventually becoming one of the most acclaimed synth-pop albums ever, and arguably Depeche Mode’s best. It didn’t hurt that artists like Marilyn Manson and Johnny Cash gave new life to “Personal Jesus” with their iconic covers. But even without that, Violator slowly but surely won over even the indie rock crowd.</em></p>
<p><em>As the decade progressed, our tastes shifted even more decisively back toward guitar-driven music—first with shoegaze (My Bloody Valentine), then grunge (Nirvana), and eventually Britpop (Blur). I still remember seeing Blur play to just 200 people during their “Leisure” days. They were pure punk energy back then! So, there wasn’t much room for synth-pop in our lives at that time, aside from the Madchester scene (like Happy Mondays), which had a whole different vibe.</em></p>
<p><em>Looking back, “Violator” may have featured artwork by Anton Corbijn, the same visual genius behind U2’s Joshua Tree, but that wasn’t enough to win us over back then. It was a hit, sure, but mostly with people more into electronic music. We stayed loyal to rock.</em></p>
<div class="wordads-ad-wrapper wordads-ad-wrapper--inline"><div class="wordads-ad"><div class="wordads-ad-title">Advertisement</div><div class="wordads-ad-content" id="wordads-ad-151581" data-ad-height="250" data-ad-width="300"></div><div class="wordads-ad-controls"></div></div></div><p><em>But here’s the twist, recently, I revisited what many consider the holy trinity of Depeche Mode: “Black Celebration”, “Music for the Masses”, and “Violator”. And now? “Black Celebration” speaks to me the most. It’s raw, dark, almost gothic in tone, closer to rock than many remember. Even deep cuts like “Dressed in Black” feel like forgotten masterpieces.</em></p>
<p><em>Truth is, maybe we were just too young in 1986 when “Black Celebration” came out, along with its surrounding singles: “A Question of Time,” “Shake the Disease,” and the title track. We danced to those at teen clubs and parties, alongside tracks like “Close to Me” by The Cure, “Life’s What You Make It” by Talk Talk, Bowie’s “Let’s Dance,” and even, yes, Michael Jackson or Madonna. And of course, U2.</em></p>
<p><em>Today, listening to those three albums back-to-back, I find “Black Celebration” to be the real jewel. If “Violator” is a synth-pop summit, “Black Celebration” is a dark rock cathedral.</em></p>
<p><em><strong>Argh, another vinyl to buy.</strong></em></p>
<p><img data-attachment-id="4745" data-permalink="https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/2025/06/23/from-goth-to-synth-with-depeche-mode-its-a-question-of-time/img_0893/" data-orig-file="https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/img_0893.jpg" data-orig-size="1500,2000" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;1.6&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;iPhone 15&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1750704167&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;5.96&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;125&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.010309278350515&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}" data-image-title="img_0893" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/img_0893.jpg?w=225" data-large-file="https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/img_0893.jpg?w=768" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4745" src="https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/img_0893.jpg" alt="" width="1140" height="1520" srcset="https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/img_0893.jpg?w=1140&amp;h=1520 1140w, https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/img_0893.jpg?w=113&amp;h=150 113w, https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/img_0893.jpg?w=225&amp;h=300 225w, https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/img_0893.jpg?w=768&amp;h=1024 768w, https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/img_0893.jpg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1140px) 100vw, 1140px"></p>
<p><img data-attachment-id="4750" data-permalink="https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/2025/06/23/from-goth-to-synth-with-depeche-mode-its-a-question-of-time/img_0894/" data-orig-file="https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/img_0894.jpg" data-orig-size="1500,2000" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;1.6&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;iPhone 15&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1750706058&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;5.96&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;40&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0064102564102564&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}" data-image-title="img_0894" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/img_0894.jpg?w=225" data-large-file="https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/img_0894.jpg?w=768" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4750" src="https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/img_0894.jpg" alt="" width="1140" height="1520" srcset="https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/img_0894.jpg?w=1140&amp;h=1520 1140w, https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/img_0894.jpg?w=113&amp;h=150 113w, https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/img_0894.jpg?w=225&amp;h=300 225w, https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/img_0894.jpg?w=768&amp;h=1024 768w, https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/img_0894.jpg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1140px) 100vw, 1140px"></p>
<p><img data-attachment-id="4743" data-permalink="https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/2025/06/23/from-goth-to-synth-with-depeche-mode-its-a-question-of-time/img_0892/" data-orig-file="https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/img_0892.jpg" data-orig-size="1500,2000" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;1.6&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;iPhone 15&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1750704141&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;5.96&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;200&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.016666666666667&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}" data-image-title="img_0892" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/img_0892.jpg?w=225" data-large-file="https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/img_0892.jpg?w=768" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4743" src="https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/img_0892.jpg" alt="" width="1140" height="1520" srcset="https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/img_0892.jpg?w=1140&amp;h=1520 1140w, https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/img_0892.jpg?w=113&amp;h=150 113w, https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/img_0892.jpg?w=225&amp;h=300 225w, https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/img_0892.jpg?w=768&amp;h=1024 768w, https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/img_0892.jpg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1140px) 100vw, 1140px"></p>
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From Goth to Synth: With Depeche Mode, It’s a Question of Time

<p><em>I still remember the first time I heard Have a Nice Life. It wasn’t through a playlist or a recommendation, it was at Supersonic in Paris. The DJ played the song “Guggenheim Wax Museum” before the headliner took the stage, and within seconds, I was fascinated. It felt like being punched in the stomach by something ancient, gothic, and weirdly sacred. That track didn’t just sound dark, it sounded haunted.</em></p>
<p><em>How had I missed this band? Turns out, I wasn’t alone. Have a Nice Life has spent most of its existence under the radar: no marketing push, almost no interviews, just a myth slowly taking shape through word of mouth and a handful of intense live shows.</em></p>
<p><em>And somehow, “The Unnatural World”, their 2014 album, completely passed me by. Which feels like a failure. It’s the record I now play obsessively, though diehard fans will tell you “Deathconsciousness” (2008) is the real masterpiece. They’re probably right. But that doesn’t stop “The Unnatural World” from being mine.</em></p>
<p><em>Eventually, bits of their lives started to surface. Dan and Tim, two normal guys, family men. One’s even a high school teacher. Imagine being a teenager and realizing your teacher is behind one of the most emotionally crushing records of the 21st century. Do they know? Do they feel it?</em></p>
<p><em>For years, the band operated like a ghost, limited shows, just raw, overwhelming music that you either stumbled across or didn’t. It created a strange intimacy, almost like being in a secret club with no membership card.</em></p>
<p><em>That changed recently. Their current tour has pulled them into the light, and the reception has been massive. As The Guardian put it in their review of this year’s Outbreak Festival, the band’s set has been the best performance of the festival, especially when fans sang “Bloodhail” back at them with the passion of football supporters at Wembley. That image is perfect: sacred melancholy turned communal catharsis.</em></p>
<p><em>And here’s the thing: they’re not just good on record. Live, they’re transcendent. Guggenheim Wax Museum hits just as hard in a crowd as it did in that first night in Paris during the DJ set.</em></p>
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<p><img data-attachment-id="4700" data-permalink="https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/2025/06/20/have-a-nice-life-a-band-revealed/f02bc9e3-97f5-4d2a-8245-7b8213472bd9-1/" data-orig-file="https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/f02bc9e3-97f5-4d2a-8245-7b8213472bd9-1.jpg" data-orig-size="735,1163" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1750332861&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}" data-image-title="f02bc9e3-97f5-4d2a-8245-7b8213472bd9-1" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/f02bc9e3-97f5-4d2a-8245-7b8213472bd9-1.jpg?w=190" data-large-file="https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/f02bc9e3-97f5-4d2a-8245-7b8213472bd9-1.jpg?w=647" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4700" src="https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/f02bc9e3-97f5-4d2a-8245-7b8213472bd9-1.jpg" alt="" width="735" height="1163" srcset="https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/f02bc9e3-97f5-4d2a-8245-7b8213472bd9-1.jpg 735w, https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/f02bc9e3-97f5-4d2a-8245-7b8213472bd9-1.jpg?w=95&amp;h=150 95w, https://concertandvinyl.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/f02bc9e3-97f5-4d2a-8245-7b8213472bd9-1.jpg?w=190&amp;h=300 190w" sizes="(max-width: 735px) 100vw, 735px"></p>
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