The Witzard

Daniel Ledinsky & Dave Sitek (TV On The Radio) are THE NEVERLY BOYS . While it appears as though they've released a few now-scrubbed songs and have, seemingly, had a couple false starts over the years, Ledinsky & Sitek have finally unleashed their proper debut album together as THE NEVERLY BOYS , Dark Side of Everything . Back when these Nation/world-wide shut downs first started happening a few months ago, as events, concerts, and whatnot started getting cancelled indefinitely, many artists began hosting livestreamed concerts, album listening parties, etc. It was Tuesday, March 17, 2020 and we saw a post on both THE NEVERLY BOYS & Dave Sitek 's personal Instagram page that Sitek would soon be hosting a late night stream of THE NEVERLY BOYS' then-untitled album on his page (@davesitek.) We, of course, tuned in, as did many other fans who had been hearing rumblings about the project for quite a while now; R&B/Psychedelic Soul-Funk singer and producer Migu...

Since effectively re-forming and returning from the "f**king dead" seven years ago, Swedish Punk/Post-Hardcore band Refused were awarded The Special Prize for Music Exports by the Swedish Ministry of Trade in 2013, have released a new album, Freedom (2015,) an EP entitled Servants of Death , and most recently, "Chippin' In" as SAMURAI from upcoming video game, Cyberpunk 2077 . Last month, frontman Dennis Lyxzén (@dennislyxzen) hinted at new Refused material within an Instagram post: "Oh. In between recording @refused and @invsn records there's also this..." making reference to SAMURAI 's "Chippin' In." Now, Refused have returned with "Blood Red," the first proper single from their upcoming fifth studio album, WAR MUSIC . It was accompanied by a "Blood Red" -tinted music video directed by Daniel Gray with live footage filmed by Eric Richter , which features present-day Refused artfully juxtaposed ag...

Refused is a Swedish Hardcore Punk/Post-Hardcore band, which was, originally, active from 1991-98; during their brief 7-year initial run, Refused released three full-length albums, two compilations, and multiple EP's, culminating with their genre-shaping '98 album, The Shape of Punk to Come . Refused have been effectively re-formed since 2012 and their current line-up consists of frontman Dennis Lyxzén , drummer David Sandström , guitarist Kristofer Steen , and bassist Magnus "Flagge" Björklund . Refused 's members, during their two iterations, multiple hiatuses, and break-ups, have, also, functioned within a number of currently active and inactive solo projects, side-bands, etc. including, but not limited to: Abhinanda , AC4, Brainsquashed Puppies , David Sandström Overdrive, Final Exit , The (International) Noise Conspiracy, Instängd , INVSN/The Lost Patrol, and most recently, Fake Names with members of Minor Threat, Bad Religion, Embrace, SAVAK & Girls...

INTRODUCTION: Maybe, it's in the gray hairs that I've started finding in my thinning hair. Maybe, it's that dreaded third decade of life that seems to have been rearing it's ugly face around every corner. Maybe, it's a quarter life crisis, but something has been keeping me up at night. I sometimes, stay awake into the early hours of the morning spinning records and fumbling with CD jackets from high school, grasping hold of my youth for dear life. I search out elusive first presses of albums I'd somehow, lost to time, hoping that they'll somehow, tighten the thread leading from middle school to adulthood. To be clear, I'm not fishing my torn band T-shirts or "bondage" pants from the depths of my closet, but as I make the transition into my 30's, shedding roommates and getting oil changes at regularly scheduled intervals, I can't help ruminating on where these albums came from and how they've shaped me. I can't help begging th...

"It's not a reunion anymore. This is one of the most radical things we've ever done, both musically and lyrically," Refused frontman Dennis Lyxzén quipped upon the sporadic release of the Swedish Hardcore Punk band's first single in some 17 years, "Elektra." "Nobody wanted us to f*ck with the image of the band who makes a great album and splits up," drummer David Sandström added. "Nobody wanted us to dilute it. That actually provoked us." While it should have arguably been one of the formative Punk Rock records I 'cut my teeth' on as an angsty teenager along with Black Flag , The Misfits, and Minor Threat/Fugazi , for whatever reasons, I hate to admit, I only first heard Refused's genre-shaping magnum opus, The Shape of Punk to Come just a few years ago; upon a first listen, "Elektra" follows in line with what Rolling Stone sums up as a seamless "fusion of Hardcore, Techno, Jazz , and Hip-Hop ,...

While I think my overall musical tastes are pretty cultured and broad-spanning/sound, I must admit that I'm not too keen on current world music. Honestly, when I hear "World Music," what first comes to mind is African Tribal drums, Middle Eastern Acid Rock, Swedish Pop , Mariachi, and South African jam bands . I'm vaguely familiar with Asian Jazz-Fusion , Grime, bagpipe-led Celtic Punk , and Finnish/Norwegian Death Metal. When I first got my learner's permit [license] back in high school, my buddy Ryan and I were driving all over New Jersey , searching for terribly assembled D.I.Y. Punk shows @ dirty VFW halls and seedy hole-in-the-wall bars/clubs. 1970-80's Hardcore Punk is generally associated with it's formative New York , California , and UK scenes... But I guess we, myself included, tend to forget that there are rebellion-fueled, aggressive, socially awkward teens all over the world! Somehow, throughout my 10-12 year relationship with Punk Roc...

I was seriously considering writing up a review for Frank Ocean 's just-released, Billboard chart-topping album: channel ORANGE ... until I saw Refused rip shit up on Fallon @ 1am late last night. Refused are a pretty infamous, recently re-formed Swedish Hardcore band that were originally active from 1991-98; They released 3 seminal albums in their heyday - including The Shape of Punk to Come , while it was critically-acclaimed, the band still feels that it didn't get a proper "push" back in the day (1998). "We never did The Shape of Punk to Come justice back when it came out; too tangled up in petty internal bickering to really focus on the job. And suddenly there's this possibility to do it like it was intended. We wanna do it over, do it right. For the people who've kept the music alive through the years, but also for our own sakes. We feel that you deserve it and we hope the feeling is mutual!" - Refused While taking part in a full-fledge...