Arctic Monkeys burst on the scene with an explsoive / abrasive sound.  Since 2006 - the band's sounce has evolved into a more melodic sound .. but their just-announced album The Car, Alex Turner telling Big Issue that “it’s louder.”

Drummer Matt Helders had previously said the follow up to the follow-up to 2018’s Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino was “... it’s never gonna be like ‘R U Mine?’ and all that stuff again, you know, the heavy riffs and stuff. But there are riffs in there and [it’s] a bit more up-tempo, even though it’s not loud.”

Turner doesn’t fully agree. “It’s a response I’ve had to other things we’ve composed,” he said. “This idea of something sounding ‘cinematic’. I never completely subscribe to it, but it’s louder this time.”

He added - “I think we’ve got closer to a better version of a more dynamic overall sound with this record.  The strings on this record come in and out of focus and that was a deliberate move and hopefully everything has its own space. There’s time the band comes to the front and then the strings come to the front.”

Arctic Monkeys recently played the Zurich Openair festival and debuted a new song called “I Ain’t Quite Where I Think I Am.” Watch fan-captured footage below.

Gorillaz debuted a new collab with Tame Impala  called “New Gold”  (August 19) at All Points East Festival in London.  During their headlinign set Damon Albarn brought out Tame Impalato perform the track - saying “It’s kind of a mad song, to be honest with you” 

Over the course of their set, Gorillaz also brought out a bunch of other special guests, including De La Soul, Happy Mondays’ Shaun Ryder and Mos Def

70 years ago John Graham Mellor, aka  Joe Strummer was born, and Dark Horse Records is commemorating the anniversary by releasing "Fantastic" - one of the final songs by the late Clash and Mescaleros frontman, as well as an Eddie Vedder cover of “Long Shadow”.

“Fantastic” was recorded in Wales in December 2002 just weeks after Joe Strummer And The Mescaleros’ final show and was never released. It’ll appear on Joe Strummer 002: The Mescaleros Years,  the first comprehensive collection of Strummer’s work with the Mescaleros, the band he was fronting in his later years.

Vedder’s cover of the Streetcore track “Long Shadow” is not on the comp - but  Lance Bangs filmed Vedder performing the song beside a campfire; the clip ends with Vedder stating, “I just think that what Joe did with the Mescaleros and those records, and those songs, and those words, it was a very communal sound. I think when you have a communal sound, the listener feels like they can be part of that community.”

 Judd Apatow organized a benefit concert for benefit for Victims First, an organization whose mission is to “support, empower, and protect victims of mass casualty crime through rapid response, financial assistance, community preparedness education, as well as care support and advocacy for policies that help all victims/survivors”,  in Los Angeles.  At one point in the night - an unexpected on-stage collaboration between Beck, Greg Kurstin, Tenacious D, John C. Reilly and Dave Grohl took place - with the crew covering  Seal & Croft’s “Summer Breeze.” 

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Tuesday night’s performance marked one of the first in-person appearances for Grohl after the sudden and tragic passing of Taylor Hawkins on March 25. 

The Killers debuted a new song during their set at Spain's Mad Cool Festival last month, and now the band has officially released the song.  "Boy" is another arena sized track mixing rock and  new wave synths. 

 "This was the first song written after we had to cancel the Imploding The Mirage tour due to the pandemic," lead singer Brandon Flowers says. "I had recently moved back to Utah and started to make trips to Nephi, where I grew up. I found that the place I had wanted to get away from so desperately at 16 was now a place that I couldn’t stop returning to. I have a son approaching the age I was at that time in my life. With 'boy,' I want to reach out and tell myself - and my sons - to not overthink it. And to look for the “white arrows” in their lives. For me now, white arrows are my wife, children, my songs and the stage."

 Check it out below and don't miss the Killers in DC on October 10

St. Vincent - aka- Annie Clark filled in for Jon Batiste along side The Late Show With Stephen Colbert house band Stay Human - and during a commericial break - they busted out an amazing funky / jazzy cover of  Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams” 

Only the studio audience at the Ed Sullivan Theater that night was lucky enough to see the full performance - until now -  as the cover has been uploaded to the show's “The Late Show Commercial Breakdown” YouTube series.

St. Vincent - aka- Annie Clark filled in for Jon Batiste along side The Late Show With Stephen Colbert house band Stay Human - and during a commericial break - they busted out an amazing funky / jazzy cover of  Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams” 

Only the studio audience at the Ed Sullivan Theater that night was lucky enough to see the full performance - until now -  as the cover has been uploaded to the show's “The Late Show Commercial Breakdown” YouTube series.

Joe Walsh's sixth annual VetsAid concert -  raising money for veterans’ services charities - will take place November 13 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH - with a stacked lineup - 

This year’s VetsAid is a celebration of Ohio rock, with the Cleveland-based James Gang (joined by Warren, OH naive Dave Grohl), Dayton’s the Breeders, Cleveland’s Nine Inch Nails, and Akron’s the Black Keys.  

In a statement - Walsh said

 “It all started in Ohio.  Picking up my first guitar as a kid in Columbus set me on a musical journey to Kent State, Cleveland and then the world. It is a great privilege for me to share the stage once again with my original James Gang buddies and this incredible group of Ohio rock legends like Trent Reznor and Nine Inch Nails, The Black Keys, The Breeders and Dave Grohl. I believe in Ohio and look forward to celebrating our musical legacy while honoring our veterans with VetsAid 2022.”

Tickets for VetsAid 2022 go on sale Friday, August 5 at 10 AM.