Weekly digest #68

Featuring Sugar, Slift, Smashing Pumpkins, Steve Albini, shoegaze and more

📷 Sugar in 2025

You’ll have to excuse the proliferation of Sugar links in this week. I may limit each issue to just one story per band, but I’m also fizzing with excitement at the thought of seeing the reformed Sugar return to the UK in two weeks’ time for their first shows since 1994’s UK FU:EL tour.

That was a round of shows I caught on their Manchester date, which marked the first of the nine Bob Mould shows I’ve now seen so far (most recently in 2025) – adding to one Greg Norton show with UltraBomb but, to my eternal regret, none by Grant Hart.

I’ll be seeing Sugar soon with my friend, and the drummer in my university band, Matt, who now owns Hüsker Dü’s New Day Rising – though not The Replacements’ Let It Be – as a result of my introductions. (And one out of two’s not bad.)

And so to the links, which are mainly taken from my social media feeds, so if you want more of this sort of thing than you can follow me on Facebook, Threads, Bluesky and Mastodon (I’m also on Instagram).

Headlines

Smashing Pumpkins, The Cure, Iggy Pop and more for Mixtape game soundtrack (NME)

Rolling Stones announce new album featuring Robert Smith and Paul McCartney, share ‘In the Stars’ (Brooklyn Vegan)

McAlmont & Butler announce anniversary reissue of debut album with outtakes, demos and remixes (NME)

Cancer Bats have announced their eighth studio album, Give Me Dirt (Kerrang)

Oasis documentary from Peaky Blinders creator and Meet Me In The Bathroom filmmakers coming to Disney+ (Stereogum)

New releases

French heavy psych band, and Sub Pop artists, Slift release ‘The Day Of Execution’ (Stereogum)

Listen to Winona Fighter’s high-octane new single ‘Bombs Away’ (Kerrang)

Movements announce new LP Happier Now and share 2 new singles (Brooklyn Vegan)

General Chaos release video for ‘Zipco’ from Can’t Please ‘Em All (Punk News)

The Last Dinner Party share ‘Big Dog’ (Stereogum)

Listen/watch

Watch Sugar reunite for first show in 31 years (Stereogum) AND Sugar roared back to life at their first show in 31 years - Webster Hall Night 1 full video, pics, setlist (Brooklyn Vegan) AND Sugar bring out Craig Finn, Patterson Hood and Jason Narducy at NYC reunion show (Stereogum)

Among Legends drop ‘H/A/C/K’ from upcoming Lose My Grip album (The Punk Site)

Converge unleash new song ‘Doom in Bloom’ (Consequence of Sound)

Scowl’s Kat Moss join Hayley Williams for ‘Parachute’ live in Oakland (Kerrang)

The Hives release live video for ‘Bogus Operandi’ (Punk News)

Long reads

Remembering Steve Albini: the life and legacy of a punk legend (Rolling Stone)

How does our shoegaze grow? (Chicago Reader)

Los Campesinos! break down what it actually costs to tour North America (Stereogum)

UltraBomb (Greg Norton, Derek O’Brien and Ryan Smith) on Minnesota, hard rock, and being unapologetic (PopMatters)

Red Hot Chilli Peppers‘ Stadium Arcadium turns 20 (Stereogum)

Elsewhere on Substack

The Lives of Famous Men's Dylan Mandel shares his listening habits; Bad Cop Bad Cop's Stacey Dee shares the ins and outs of the touring life

And finally…

Dave Grohl says his boozy vocal regimen was “all a lie” (NME)

Do you have a Substack article, news tip or other piece of writing you’d like to be considered for the digest? Send it to tangleofwires@gmail.com (same goes for press releases etc.)