Fiat Lux to Return with a New Studio Album after almost three Decades

Fiat Lux are back! The Yorkshire based group will release their first new material in almost three decades. The new album will be entitled 'Saved Symmetry' and this will be their second album release and a follow up to their 1984 debut 'Hired History'. Already in 2018 they issued the first single from the album titled "It's you" which proves that the band remained loyal to their original sound and in fact it sounds like we have been transferred to the golden Fiat Lux era in the 80's. The second single "Everyday In Heaven" is going to be released in February.

In 2007, short after we started our blog where we included a short story on Fiat Lux in our 'The Story of' label and today we are happy to see that there will be a new chapter in 2019 after three decades of break.

In Prospect: 2019 Album Releases (First Quarter)

In this first week of January, just after we completed our Top 100 singles list of 2019, time to give you a small digest of some of the anticipated release for the first quarter of 2019. 

The Belgian group Balthazar will return with a new album in January and it will be their fourth release and the follow up to their album ‘Thin Walls’ from 2015. The album will be entitled ‘Fever’ and its release was preceded with the release of the single of the same name in October last year.

Brooklyn based Beirut will return after four years break with a new album in February. The new album will be entitled ‘Gallipoli’ and as the previous two, it will be released through 4AD. Two singles were already issued from "Corfu" and "Gallipoli"were issued in later 2018.

After eight years of hiatus Ladytron will return with the self-titled sixth studio album. The album will be released in February and it was already announced with three singles and two videos in 2018. Sadly the band did not appear in any of them. As per media announcements, the sound on 'Ladytron' will be heavier than on the previous album. 

Sharon van Etten will release her sixth album ‘Remind Me Tomorrow” on Jagjaguwar. The album was preceded by two singles in 2018 and Sharon certainly got big plans for 2019. Yesterday she announced the video for the third single "Seventeen" on Youtube.

White Lies will return with their fifth studio album this year fittingly entitled 'Five' which was preceded by three single releases. The band continues to deliver uplifting and melodic post punk and has also revealed  some interesting artwork material on their album and single releases covers.

Boy Harsher will release their second album this year on February 1st and this will be their first follow up to their debut from 2016. In 2017 the duo released the 'Country Girl' EP which was pronounced as the EP of the year on Burning Flame. So far two singles were announced from the upcoming album.

The Brooklyn based Xeno & Oaklander will release their seventh studio album in March. The album is going to be entitled 'Hypnos' and the first single from the album and the visual concept have already been reveled. "Angelique" is the first lead track for now while the animations were provided by by Mike Meire.

Best of 2018- The Singles

This year, for the fist time we were counting down the top 100 favorite singles  tracks which were either officially released or were simply great album tracks. Just a short refection on the top 3; No 3 is Pinkshinyultrablast's song "In the Hanging Gardens" which combines more influences than any other tune on he charts. It is layered, complex and one of the few songs that was holding the synth pop torch in 2018. At No 2, we find "At least the Sky is Blue" by Ssion and yet another collaboration with Ariel Pink. The video for the song was voted as Video of the Year on our site. And finally, No 1, certainly one of the biggest surprises in 2018, "I Love You, but I am Lost" by Tears for Fears. It was released in the last weeks of 2017 and managed to make an impact on us in 2018. It was not love on first listen, but the song managed to grow becoming the song of the year. Not all Tears for Fears would agree here, but we think that the band managed to reinvent themselves not losing their aesthetics.

Please find the entire top 100 list below.

01. Tears For Fears - I Love You But I 'm Lost

02. SSION ft. Ariel Pink - At Least The Sky Is Blue

03. Pinkshinyultrablast - In The Hanging Gardens

04. Seinabo Sei - I Owe You Nothing

05. MGMT- When You Die

06. Thom Yorke - Unmade

07. Lady Gaga- Your Song

08. Chvrches ft Matt Beringer - My Enemy

09. Johnny Marr - Hi Hello 

10. Robyn- Honey

11. BadBadNotGood - I Don't Know

12. David Byrne - Everybody's Coming to my House

13. U.S. Girls- Rosebud

14. Ladytron - The Island

15. Arcade Fire - Put Your Money on Me

16. Soft Cell - Northern Lights

17. Thom Yorke - Suspirium

18. St Vincent - Fast Slow Disco

19. Sufjan Stevens - Mystery of Love

20. Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds - If Love Is The Law

Best of 2018 - Top 10 EPs

EP has always been a good format to discover new artists and music and like every year, we are presenting you our favorite extended players in a top ten list. As always the EP is connecting the world from New Zealand, Australia via Europe all the way to US and Canada.

Best of 2018- The Album List

2018 has been quite silent and not such active year with news and updates from our end. Musically there were some interesting releases but much weaker with offer (hardly any synth pop) than the previous years in this decade. Regardless of this, every year comes with a certain charm and some records still manage to impress and leave a long-lasting memory.
What was evident, especially in the top albums pool, is that top four albums, in direct or in indirect way link to the LA music scene, and at least two of them feature collaboration with Ariel Pink which means that we have a thematic top five for the first time.
This year on our menu we have top ten favorite albums plus additional ones worth mentioning, also great but did not make such impact like the first ten. Of course there are always other good ones that we missed who might be considered in the years to come along the new releases.

Best of 1988- Top 50 Singles

In the 20th Century, the year 1988 was the year with the most Roman numeral digits, but more important, in science and technology, it was the year of the first Internet-based chat protocol between  the USA and Europe. 

On the music level, in the UK the charts were dominated by the Stock-Aitken-Waterman hits who received the Brit Award for their production skills most notably for the success of Kylie Minogue and Rick Astley. In the USA the charts were dominated by George Michael, Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson. 

On the different floors House music was slowly emerging, while Alternative and indie rock were even more diversified into various other musical expressions including the emerging Shoegaze sound. Of course there was a whole lot of different music moving people' hearts...

01. The Church - Under The Milky Way

02. Morrisey - Everyday is Like Sunday

03. Enya - Orinoco Flow

04. Pet Shop Boys - Domino Dancing

05. Morrissey - Suedehead

06. The La's - There She Goes

07. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - The Mercy Seat

08. Tracey Chapman - Fast Car

09. The House of Love - Christine

10. Sonic Youth - Teenage Riot 

11. The KLF - What Time is Love? (1988)

12. Michael Jackson - Smooth Criminal

13. INXS - Never Tear Us Apart

14. S'Express - Theme from S'Express 

15. Inner City - Good Life

16. Bryan Ferry - Kiss and Tell

17. Fine Young Cannibals - She Drives Me Crazy

18. Eighth Wonder - I'm Not Scared

19. George Michael - One More Try

20. Tanita Tikaram - Twist in my Sobriety

Soft Cell's -Keychains and Snowstorms- Compilation Announced

Soft Cell have announced the release of 'Keychains and Snowstorms', a brand new compilation which comes on 9CD+DVD package. It will feature a wealth of material – 50 percent of which the label claim is unreleased – including 12-inch mixes remastered, B-sides remastered, new extended/reworked versions, early versions and demos, radio sessions, live recordings and more. 'Keychains and Snowstorms' is presented as a ten-inch square book packed with photos and a new essay by Simon Price. It will be released on 7 September 2018.

Section 25 Release 8th Studio Album - Elektra

Section 25 are back with a brand new studio album titled 'Elektra'. This is band's 8th studio album and somehow leads back to the Section 25 old work of tracks recorded in one take and plenty of improvisation. The album is released via Austrian label Klang Galerie on CD and all major download platforms. The CD includes an 8 page booklet called 'Section X Section'. This has a foreword by John Robb and contributions / observations from band members past and present.

http://news.section25.com/2018/07/new-section-25-album-elektra-out-now