Volcanic Tongue : A Time-Travelling Evangelist s Guide to Late-Twentieth-Century Underground Music - David Keenan

Volcanic Tongue

A Time-Travelling Evangelist s Guide to Late-Twentieth-Century Underground Music

By: David Keenan

Paperback | 10 June 2025 | Edition Number 1

At a Glance

Paperback


RRP $36.99

$33.25

10%OFF

or 4 interest-free payments of $8.31 with

 or 

Available: 10th June 2025

Preorder. Will ship when available.

Volcanic Tongue presents the first ever collection of multi-award-winning author David Keenan's music writings. Keenan has been writing about music since publishing his first fanzine, inspired by The Pastels and by Glasgow (and Airdrie's) DIY music scene, in 1988. Since then, he has written about music for Melody Maker, NME, Uncut, Mojo, The New York Times, Ugly Things, The Literary Review, The Social and, most consistently, The Wire. Volcanic Tongue was also the name of the record shop and mail order that Keenan ran with his partner Heather Leigh in Glasgow from 2005-2015.

Volcanic Tongue features the best of his reviews, interviews and think pieces, with exclusive in-depth conversations between Keenan and Nick Cave, members of legendary industrial bands Coil and Throbbing Gristle, krautrock legends like Faust, Shirley Collins, the first lady of English folk, Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine, German auto-destructives Einsturzende Neubauten, as well as discographical analysis of the back catalogues of groups like Sonic Youth and musicians like John Fahey, extensive writings on free jazz and obsessive in-depth digs into favourites like Pere Ubu, Metal Box-era Public Image Ltd, Lou Reed, Bob Dylan, guitarist and vocalist John Martyn and many more. It is an essential addition to any music fan's bookshelf.

This first collection of his legendary criticism functions as an extended love letter to the revolutionary music of the 20th century and the incredible culture that sustained it.

More in Music

Cher : The Memoir, Part One - Cher

RRP $49.99

$35.95

28%
OFF
Taylor Swift : A New Era - Katy Sprinkel

RRP $29.99

$28.50

How to Disappear - Colin Greenwood

RRP $55.00

$39.90

27%
OFF
The Voice Inside - John Farnham

RRP $49.99

$34.95

30%
OFF
Wildfire : My Ten Years Getting High in The Prodigy - Leeroy Thornhill
Heartbreak Is The National Anthem - Rob Sheffield

RRP $29.99

$27.90

Alfred's Basic Adult All in One Course 1 : Alfred's Basic Adult Piano Course - Willard A Palmer
Piano Adventures All-In-Two Primer Lesson/Theory : Lesson & Theory - Anglicised Edition
How to Make Gravy - Paul Kelly

RRP $24.99

$23.75

Tina Turner : My Love Story (Official Autobiography) - Tina Turner
The Storyteller : Tales of Life and Music - Dave Grohl
Faith, Hope and Carnage - Nick Cave

RRP $34.99

$31.75

Taylor Swift Style : Fashion Through the Eras - Sarah Chapelle

RRP $49.99

$38.75

22%
OFF
Behind the Seams : My Life in Rhinestones - Dolly Parton

RRP $85.00

$56.25

34%
OFF
F*ck, That's Delicious : An Annotated Guide to Eating Well - Action Bronson
The Artist's Way : A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity - Julia Cameron
Kid A Mnesia : A Book of Radiohead Artwork - Thom Yorke

RRP $65.00

$48.75

25%
OFF
Metallica All the Songs : The Story Behind Every Track - Benoit Clerc