Francesco Amoroso per TRISTE©

“The fire is out, and spent the warmth thereof,
(This is the end of every song man sings!)
The golden wine is drunk, the dregs remain,
Bitter as wormwood and as salt as pain;
And health and hope have gone the way of love
Into the drear oblivion of lost things.
Ghosts go along with us until the end;
This was a mistress, this, perhaps, a friend.
With pale, indifferent eyes, we sit and wait
For the dropped curtain and the closing gate:
This is the end of all the songs man sings.“
(Ernest Christopher Dowson – Dregs)

Chi li ha sempre seguiti lo sapeva già da qualche giorno, ma adesso è ufficiale: dopo sedici anni (forse potremmo dire “dopo ventiquattro anni”, a essere buoni, visto che i due lavori della band usciti negli anni 2000, dopo che Bloodflower aveva inaugurato il nuovo millennio, sarebbe meglio dimenticarli) The Cure -o i Cure, come abbiamo sempre detto in questa periferia dell’impero- tornano con un nuovo album: Songs Of A Lost World uscirà in tutto il mondo il prossimo 1° novembre (il giorno dei morti… sarà un caso?). Ora sappiamo che l’album conterrà otto lunghi brani (e già ci chiediamo se ci sarà spazio anche per la solita canzoncina che, negli anni ottanta, al primo ascolto ci faceva gridare allo scandalo per la sua banalità e per il suo essere “troppo commerciale” e che poi abbiamo finito per cantare -magari con le lacrime agli occhi- per qualche decennio) e che ne esiste una versione doppia con gli stessi brani (?) strumentali e una versione BLU RAY (una versione Blu Ray? Siamo ancora negli anni dieci?). Alcuni dei brani sono già stati eseguiti dal vivo durante il tour Shows of a Lost World, che lo scorso anno ha girato il mondo e coinvolto più di un milione di persone. Possiamo anche, finalmente, ascoltare (nella sua versione definitiva in studio) il primo brano dell’album (la cui playlist definitiva è, al momento, ancora segreta): si tratta di Alone, già suonato per aprire ogni concerto di quel tour.
Tutte queste notizie, probabilmente, le avrete già lette altrove, magari con maggior dovizia di particolari. E, quindi, perché riproporle qui?

Since 2018, Vancouver BC’s jangle-pop meets riot-twee trio WUT have been making a local name for themselves with their joyfully heartfelt live performances. In 2020, the trio released NOW, an energetic cassette accompanied by 10 DIY music videos. These earnest and often humorous videos reflect WUT’s playful yet sincere songwriting. Recently, WUT recorded Mingling with the Thorns, their sophomore full-length album, which came out August 23rd on HHBTM Records. Mingling with the Thorns was created during two years of intermittent quarantines which caused guitarist Kaity McWhinney (Knife Pleats / Love Cuts), bassist Tracey Vath (Knife Pleats / Love Cuts), and drummer Lauren Smith (Tough Age / Jock Tears), to write songs independently, and share their ideas through countless emails, dropbox folders, and google drives. Long periods of isolation were consumed by experimentation with different arrangements, and often an idea would be re-worked over and over (and over) again. This resulted in a collection of carefully crafted pop songs that reflect the bands mutual love for c86 jangle pop and early Flying Nun Records bands. McWhinney’s longtime friend and musical collaborator, Riley (Artsick, / Burnt Palms) joins WUT on the track Your Feelings, which pushes the band into the realms of garage rock with her raw and frenetic lead guitar. On a surface level, Mingling with the Thorns may seem fun and carefree. However, a dig deeper into the album’s lyrical content draws up themes that grapple with patriarchy and late stage capitalism; specifically the struggle to find personal autonomy within these social systems.
Today we have the honour to share with you the world premiere of thier latest video, Talking To Strangers.

Tears Run Rings is comprised of Matthew Bice (vocals, guitar), Laura Watling (vocals, bass), Ed Mazzucco (guitar), and Dwayne Palasek (drums). Over the past 15 years, the band has released three albums: Always, Sometimes, Seldom, Never (Clairecords, 2008), Distance (Clairecords, 2010) and In Surges (Deep Space Recordings, 2016) and four EPs. Now they are back with album four, Everything In The End,which will be out September 6th, 2024 on Shelflife Records. In 2018, after their first live show in 10 years, the band was renewed with musical inspiration and ready for a new chapter. Everything in the End was written over the course of the next several years. While TRR did get together on several occasions for in-person songwriting sessions, the album was largely a long-distance effort, recorded in both Portland and San Francisco home studios. The idea of having a double LP drove the concept of four sides to the album, each with a distinct tone and feel. After Lost Touch, the first single from the new albu, today we have the opportunity and the honour to share with you the exclusive premiere of Helios Helada, which will be out next Friday August 2nd.

If you follow Triste©, you know Lila Tristram. She is a musician, fiction writer, artist and teacher based in East London. We loved sister EPs Our Friends pt. I & II, released over the course of 2020 via wiaiwya (UK) and Inpartmaint Inc (Japan) and fell definitely in love with her with Black and White Memories Ignited by the Scent of Springtime Explode in Colour released in December 2022: a collaborative project with The Last Dinosaur’s Jamie Cameron. The following home, was recorded, produced and mixed by Lila Tristram herself and released in 2023. After two years hidden in a remote countryside studio, Lila opens a new chapter. She put together a 5-piece band and emerged with an elegiac indie-rock record, described by Annie Needham as “a masterpiece.” The first single from the album, Sounds Like Easter, was premiered here and now we have Baby, the second single, that will be available on all major streaming platforms tomorrow, 24th July 2024, but we have the honour and opportunity to have it on TRISTE© as an exclusive premiere.