Niki N. Phaser

            Since his departure from Placebo, in September 2007, drum virtuoso Steve Hewitt hasn’t been slacking off. Helped by friends and family, Hewitt has started a new musical project. The band is called Love Amongst Ruin. This will also be the name of their debut album. Yes, that is correct, an album is already on the way. It was recorded at the Moles Studio (Bath, UK) in the spring-summer period of 2008. Paul Corkett, who produced The Cure’s Bloodflowers, among other noteworthy stuff, was invited to work on some of the tracks. It’s not the first time Hewitt collaborated with this producer. Paul Corkett also produced and engineered Placebo’s Black Market Music. The mixing was done overseas, at the prestigious Bernie Grundman studios in Los Angeles by Brian Gardner, whose discography is as eclectic as can be: from 2Pac to Red Hot Chili Peppers to Barbra Streisand.

            Currently, Steve Hewitt is putting the ‘finishing touches’ on the band’s line-up, as most of the musicians involved in the recording sessions are members of other bands and unable to commit long term to Love Amongst Ruin. Rehearsals are on the way, but before the band premieres any new music, there is still the issue of finding the right management and a label. Knowing that, studio-wise, Steve Hewitt wasn’t restricted to playing only drums for Placebo, one cannot help wondering what this new project of his will sound like, especially since he’s also doing vocals for his new band. For more info, check his:

MySpace Page 

While we are waiting… and waiting… and, you guessed it… for Blink 182 to release some new material, we should all take a moment and remember the wonderful non-single masterpiece that was Violence, song which appeared on as of yet still their final album, the self-titled (or untitled) from 2003. Because of this album, the band’s 2005 hiatus was even harder, because it marked the beginning of a new sound for the band. While still punk and pop, this album had more serious tones. Unlike previous stuff, it talked about love, not about dating, about intimacy, not about hanging out. The sound was hinted at by earlier songs like Stay Together for the Kids or Adam’s Song, but Blink 182 is the album where the boys grow up, they are done with practical jokes, because they feel new things and they need to get them out there. Violence is by no means the highlight of the album. It shares the title with I Miss You, All of This or I’m Lost Without You, but, still, Violence probably has the best chorus on the entire thing. The live version sounds great, too, but you kinda notice the lack of the slight reverb on the “You kill me” line. It makes all the difference.

Album Version

After a few days ago it was reported that Amelle Berrabah left the British pop force, Sugababes, it is now officially confirmed that it’s actually the last original member, Keisha Buchanan, that is no longer a sugababe. The departure was obviously not as peaceful as these events are advertised to be in Pop La-La Land. Buchanan herself confessed on her twitter page that “Although it was not my choice to leave, it’s time to enter a new chapter in my life”. This is not the end of Sugababes (should it be?), as a new member was already being groomed in the person of Jade Ewen, singer, actress and Eurovision contestant. The new Sugababes album, Sweet 7 will come out on November 23rd, probably re-recorded with Ewen, even though the last single to feature Keisha Buchanan, Get Sexy, reached the second spot in the UK and represented a strong comeback for the band. Maybe the music woun’t be affected, considering that the girls weren’t always holding writing credits, but it’s always sad when a band becomes an institution where people come and go.