Return From Exile have signed to Standby Records. The band will enter the studio in mid April to finish recording their self-titled debut album with Zack Ohren (All Shall Perish, As Blood Runs Black, Conducting From the Grave, etc.) with a release date slated for late summer.
Tuesday, 31 March 2009
News - Anti-Flag - New Label + New Album Ahoy!
Anti-Flag are going to release their new album "The People or the Gun" on the 9th of June through SideOneDummy.
Track Listing:
1. Sodom, Gomorrah, Washington D.C. (Sheep in Shepherds Clothing)
2. The Economy is Suffering.Let It Die
3. The Gre(A)t Depression
4. We Are The One
5. You Are Fired (Take This Job)
6. This Is The First Night
7. No War Without Warriors (How Do You Sleep?)
8. When All The Lights Go Out
9. On Independence Day
10. The Old Guard
11. Teenage Kennedy Lobotomy
Tour Dates:
May 21 - Hellendoorn - Dauwpop Festival (Netherlands)
May 21 - Ysselsteyn - Jera On Air Festival (Netherlands)
May 24 - Leeds - Slam Dunk Festival (UK)
May 26 - Brussels - AB Box Club (Belgium)
May 27 - Utretcht - Tivoli (Netherlands)
May 28 - Copenhagen - Loppen (Denmark)
May 30 - Hassleholm - Siesta Festival (Sweden)
June 19 - Zurich - Abart (Switzerland)
June 20 - Southside Festival (Germany)
June 21 - Hurricane Festival (Germany)
June 26/August 12 - 2009 Warped Tour (USA)
News - Funeral for a Friend Play Reading/Leeds
Funeral for a Friend will play on Friday August 28th in Reading, and the Main Stage on Sunday 30th in Leeds. The lineup for these dates so far stands as Kings of Leon, Kaiser Chiefs, Placebo, Fall Out Boy, Deftones, Funeral For A Friend.
For more details visit www.readingfestival.com / www.leedsfestival.com.
News - ersey Budd - UK Tour & New Single
Jersey Budd will release new single "The Shotgun Times" on the 4th of May and then the debut album "Wonderlands" on the 11th of May.
UK dates:
April
Sun 5th GLASGOW, ABC 2 with Eskimo Joe
Mon 6th BIRMINGHAM, The Rainbow with Eskimo Joe
Tue 7th MANCHESTER, Academy 3 with Eskimo Joe
Wed 8th LONDON, Koko with Eskimo Joe
May
Fri 8th LONDON, The Indigo with Little Feat
Sat 9th LIVERPOOL, The Academy with Little Feat
Sun 10th OXFORD, The Academy with Little Feat
Mon 11th LEICESTER, University
Tue 12th ABERDEEN, Tunnels
Wed 13th INVERNESS, Mad Hatter
Thu 14th ACCRINGTON, Library
Fri 15th MANCHESTER, moho live
Sat 16th SOUTHAMPTON, Hamptons
Mon 18th GUILDFORD, Boileroom
Tue 19th LONDON, Hoxton Bar and Grill
Wed 20th BATH, Moles
Thu 21st CARDIFF, Barfly
Fri 22nd BRIGHTON, Freebutt
News - Twin Atlantic Work On Their New Mini-Album In California!
Submitted: "Twin Atlantic are set to begin work on their forthcoming mini-album in Los Angeles, California. The as yet untitled release due out this summer will be produced by John Travis (The Answer, Kid Rock, Sugar Ray), in sessions that will see the band remain in California until the end of April.
Singer Sam McTrusty said "We are so excited about being given this opportunity and are really looking forward to seeing what happens in the studio. Our initial conversations with John have pushed our songwriting and playing to new places, and we have a feeling the end result is going to be something really special.""
News - Kasabian The Impaler
Submitted: "The new Kasabian track 'Vlad The Impaler' will be available from 7:30 tonight (March 31st) until Midnight April 3rd only from www.kasabian.co.uk you have to download the track to watch the video featuring Noel Fielding."
The track is from their new album "The West Rider Pauper Lunatic Asylum" is coming out on the 8th of June.
News - Run Run Runnerz...
Champion Records (Robin S) will release Runnerz’s new CD "I’m Lost" on the 4th of May.
News - Avenue: Can You Feel It?
Avenue will release their new single "Can You Feel It?" on the 15th of June and this will be followed by their debut album in the Autumn through Crown Records.
News - Clock Hands Strangle: Live at WMSE
Submitted: "On May the 12th, Clock Hands Strangle will be offering a taste of their new full-length by way of a digital EP, Live at WMSE. Culled from a performance on WMSE at the Milwaukee School of Engineering, the EP contains four live versions of songs that appear on Distaccati, which comes out June the 16th.
You can stream "Desert Music (Live)" from Live at WMSE.
www.chocolatelabrecords.com/2009/clock-hands-strangle-in-studio-wmse
Download and share the studio version of "Desert Music."
www.chocolatelabrecords.com/mp3/desertmusic.mp3"
News - What Will You Find? Zao I Think.
Zao have posted their new track "What Will You Find?" on the MySpace Metal page (www.myspace.com/metal) from their new album "Awake?" which is being released on the 5th of May through Ferret Music.
Monday, 30 March 2009
Review - Thursday - Common Existence
Thursday - Common Existence
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7 out of 10
After label issues and a resultant compilation album, a powerviolence influenced side project, and an (admittedly well received) stopgap split EP with Envy, we finally have a new Thursday album. Has it been worth the wait? Well, a few years ago, I might have said no. I always thought that while Thursday were quite good at what they did, what they did never really grabbed me. Call me shallow, but I needed my post-hardcore to have a selling point. Refused's samples, Coheed & Cambria's space epics, or even just HIFH's homegrown flavour gave me something to latch on to that Thursday's solid but unspectacular rock didn't. But in the intervening years, well I guess we've all grown up and moved on, and I suppose powerviolence and Japanese bands have helped us both.
If I'm being totally honest, I tried to write a track-by-track review for this, but my notes for most of the tracks seemed to come out along the lines of "quiet passage.builds to some crashing guitar work.esoteric lyrics...atmospheric keyboards", and no-one wants to read variations on that eleven times. However, listening to eleven variations of that doesn't seem to pose a problem. This CD has practically lived in my car stereo for a month and it's melodies have gradually burrowed into my brain. While the main body of most of the songs are built on the tried and tested quiet/loud dynamic, and Andrew Everding's keyboards do underpin a lot of the more relaxed passages (as well as some of the heavier sections), there are sufficient deviations and flourishes to keep it interesting. The slow-build of 'Love Has Led Us Astray' brought back memories of the last Crime In Stereo album, and the slide guitar break in 'As He Climbed The Dark Mountain' was an unexpected pleasure (although I'm not too sure about the PR blurb's claim of this being a first for post-hardcore since I seem to remember Deftones doing something similar). Actually, the Deftones seem to appear a few times in my notes, as 'Circuits Of Fever' borrows their echo-box vocals trick, while 'Time's Arrow' seems to exist at a strange intersection of a more sample-driven Deftones number and an (Noel-led) Oasis live acoustic number.
Unfortunately, a few of the tracks don't really bring anything new to the table ('Last Call' and 'Unintended Long Term Effects', for example), and Walter Schreifels' contribution to 'Friends In The Armed Forces' almost passed me by before I checked the liner notes (a shame on an otherwise great track). But despite these minor annoyances, I still keep hitting replay when the CD finishes. I suppose moving on can be overrated sometimes.
Listen: www.myspace.com/thursday
Tracklist:
1. Resuscitation Of A Dead Man
2. Last Call
3. As He Climbed The Dark Mountain
4. Friends In The Armed Forces
5. Beyond The Visible Spectrum
6. Time's Arrow
7. Unintended Long Term Effects
8. Circuits Of Fever
9. Subway Funeral
10. Love Has Led Us Astray
11. You Were The Cancer
Review - Metric - Fantasies
Metric - Fantasies
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9 out of 10
Members and collaborators of Broken Social Scene are just so damn spellbinding; whether it's Feist, Stars, Jason Collett, or in this particular case, synth-pop outfit, Metric. Fronted by the remarkable Emily Haines, Metric also features fellow BSS-er, James Shaw on guitar and is rounded out by Josh Winstead and Joules Scott-Key on bass and drums, respectively. The band's forth album, "Fantasies", is a decagonal steam of luscious melodies anchored by Haines' gossamer vocals.
Describing "Fantasies" in simple adjectives is a lesson in folly. Existing as abrasive and silken, buoyant and dreary, intricate and undemanding, "Fantasies" occupies multiple planes, transcending the traditional concepts of pop music. Whether it's the lashing overdriven bass of "Front Row" with Haines asserting, "He's not perfect / He's my hero / Smashing the piano / Spitting on the front row" or the guitar-propelled and seemingly Depeche Mode-inspired "Sick Muse," ("You better watch out / Cupid stuck with me a sickness / Pull your little arrows out") there's a inspired duality present in many of the songs. Conflict and concord exist on the same level and it's that byzantine emotional mire that ultimately sets you the listener free.
Let's forget for a moment that "Front Row" was featured in a recent episode of Gray's Anatomy; everyone deserves to pay their bills. Bottom line, "Fantasies" is one of the finest and most rewarding albums that I've heard this year. "Satellite Mind," Help I'm Alive" and "Blindness" take an extraordinary effort and thrust into a whole other echelon. Consider this an obligatory twitter and check out Metric post-haste.
Listen: www.myspace.com/metricband
Tracklist:
1. Help I'm Alive
2. Sick Muse
3. Satellite Mind
4. Twilight Galaxy
5. Gold Guns and Girls
6. Gimme Sympathy
7. Collect Call
8. Front Row
9. Blindness
10. Stadium Love
Review - ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead - The Century of Self
...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead - The Century of Self
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10 out of 10
"The Century of Self" is album number 6 from Texas prog-rockers ...And You Will Know Us From The Trail of Dead, and a triumphant return from the ashes of a break from their former record label.
This sixth record has been dubbed as their true return to form as a result of their newly found artistic freedom, and what a return to form it is. It's a prog masterpiece without the pretention, or the boredom that the word "prog" is so commonly associated with. Every individual track on this album is excellent, and perfectly executed. The somewhat industrial sounds which crept in on the 2006 effort "So Divided" have disappeared, and are replaced by sing-along hooks, soaring riffs and ruthless choruses that are just a joy to listen to.
It's really difficult to put into words how good this album is; I've battled with writing this review simply because I can't find the words to describe it. The sheer ambition and the musical tale that is told in "Isis Unveiled" is simply a delight to behold, and the sincerity behind "Pictures of an Only Child" is just bloody marvellous.
All I can say here is that this is truly a wonderful album. It's taken me a while to come to this conclusion, but it's the only real conclusion I can make. Miss this album at your peril.
Listen: www.myspace.com/trailofdead
Tracklist:
1. Giants Causeway
2. Far Pavillions
3. Isis Unveiled
4. Halcyon Days
5. Bells of Creation
6. Fields of Coal
7. Inland Sea
8. Luna Park
9. Pictures of an Only Child
10. Insatiable One
11. Ascending
12. An August Theme
13. Insatiable Two
Review - The Gaslight Anthem - Great Expectations (Single)
The Gaslight Anthem - Great Expectations (Single)
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8 out of 10
If, by now you haven't heard of The Gaslight Anthem, then you must've been living with your head under an extremely large rock. Great Expectations is the first song you hear on the latest album and is a bit of a bad choice for a first single. It's not that it's a bad song by any means, but when the strength of the material on the album this is culled from is so strong, you begin to wonder why they bothered. This song is definitely sing-along material and the album is no doubt going to be the summer soundtrack for many indie and punk rock kids this summer.
The added bonus is a b-side of two acoustic tracks in the form of Miles Davis & The Cool and Great Expectations, both of which are culled from sessions for radio stations in America.
Listen: www.myspace.com/thegaslightanthem
Tracklist:
1. Great Expectations
2. Miles Davis & The Cool (Acoustic at KEXP)
3. Great Expectations (Acoustic at YROCK)
Review - This Distance - The Reality, The Perfection
This Distance - The Reality, The Perfection
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8 out of 10
The depths of the valleys has an undeniable knack for producing some ridiculously talented young bands (the average age of these guys is just 20). South Wales mob This Distance seemed to have appeared out of nowhere and have been creating quite a large buzz around the melodic metalcore scene. The Reality, The Perfection is a statement of intent that is grandiose in structure and is a perfect example of how not to sound like every other Misery Signals and Shai Hulud rip off band that have formed over the past few years.
The open chorded chug of "An Introduction" would have you believe that This Distance are playing things safely. This isn't the case as second track "Fallen" is a rollercoaster ride of melody, brutality and so many danceable parts that 'the kids' are liable to break their ankles in a fever of two stepping madness. Notching up quite a number of impressive support slots already with the likes of Eternal Lord, Trigger The Bloodshed and UKHC heavyweights Your Demise the future is looking extremely bright for this bunch of chaps.
Listen: www.myspace.com/thisdistanceuk
Tracklist:
1. An Introduction
2. Fallen
3. From The Shores (Instrumental)
4. True Loves Lie
5. Remembering Never
6. Mind Over Matter
Review - Pearl Jam - Ten (Remastered & Remixed)
Pearl Jam - Ten (Remastered & Remixed)
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9 out of 10
Brendan O'Brien's experience producing for the likes of AC/DC, Stone Temple Pilots and Limp Bizkit has now been applied to what, for many, is not only a defining album from the Grunge era but any era. Ten is a rare gem, where not a single track remotely approaches the term 'filler'. Once and Even Flow are surely the finest opening one-two since Black Dog and Rock and Roll. Alive would have made the album a milestone on its own. An album which, even today, demands playing from beginning to end. So, has it been worth the effort? Can we avoid the phrase 'rip-off'?
Well, yes and no. The remix is certainly, to quote O'Brien, 'a more direct sound'. Everything has a metallic sheen but not in a gratuitously tinny way. Rather, the remix emphasises the more 'metal' aspects of the songs and really exorcises forever the description of this album (and therefore the band, since they've never topped this debut) as 'grunge' in any way. It's riffs and solos to the fore, folks, with the twin guitar barrels of Gossard and McCready blasting everything away. Vedder's voice, shorn of any extraneous echoes or unnecessary backing vocals, roars like some re-tuned Ferrari. Krusen and Ament sound absolutely thunderous. This is Classic Rock - capital 'C', capital 'R'.
With such perfection, any 'extras' would be hard-pushed not to disappoint and the demo-quality half-dozen on offer here will be of interest to true Jam-ophiles only, although it's interesting to see what didn't make the cut in 1991. If you pretend to care about rock music at all, you'll already own Ten. If you don't, well, where have you been for the past eighteen years?
Listen: www.myspace.com/tenclub
Tracklist:
1. Once
2. Even Flow
3. Alive
4. Why Go
5. Black
6. Jeremy
7. Oceans
8. Porch
9. Garden
10. Deep
11. Release
12. Brother
13. Just A Girl
14. Breath And A Scream
15. State Of Love and Trust
16. 2,000 Mile Blue
17. Evil Little Goat (Studio Out-Take)
Review - Rolo Tomassi - EP (Reissue)
Rolo Tomassi - EP (Reissue)
View The Review-cd.jpg)
8 out of 10
With their debut album out last year Rolo-Tomassi come-of-age (in years and music) with the re-release of 2006's untitled EP with new artwork and lyrics to help trace your journey into their world.
Imagine being thrown into the heart of a frenzied brawl, fast and ferocious it leaves multiple people pile-ups as it jumps to the next victim, this is not dissimilar to the enthralling fracas that erupts on this CD, pulling you through each volatile track with its magnetic hold.
Genre blurring or defying, there's much to pull apart and wonder at with Rolo Tomassi's amalgam of sinister synth-core come post-hard-gore which is chip-tuned like a beat-em-up / slice n' dice video-game that's springing to life in front of your.ears. With track titles like Cirque De Funk the Sheffield five-piece eagerly nod in acknowledgement towards the more crazy elements of their music which could be Primus meets Polysics in Fuck The Pleasantries Let's Remix (Colon Open Bracket Remix). To some it's inexplicable and headache inducing, to others it's intoxicating and genius. After looking back to this EP, these charming tykes, still so young, have lots to look forward to and many more to excite.
Listen: www.myspace.com/rolotomassi
Tracklist:
1. Film Noir
2. Curby
3. Cirque Du Funk
4. Seagull
5. C Is For Calculus
6. Fuck The Pleasantries Lets Remix (Colon Open Bracket Remix)
7. C Is For Drowning Under Waves Of Listless Apathy (Ornine Remix)
Review - More Than Life - Brave Enough To Fail
More Than Life - Brave Enough To Fail
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8 out of 10
Gallows, love them or hate them, have dragged British hardcore kicking and screaming into the eye of the mainstream and their success is almost certain to rub off on more up and coming bands from a scene that waddles from the exceptional to the mundane. Depending on your viewpoint this will either be construed as a great thing or something that is going to dilute a genre you love. But none of this matters to More Than Life, a passionate five piece from Frome who "thrive on interacting with their fans in a live environment" as they are keen just to make the music that means the most to them and this is where, right on cue, their new EP Brave Enough To Fail comes in.
Opener Aperture shows that More Than Life have more than a touch of the epic at their finger tips and more than a passing resemblance to Modern Life is War. This slow churn is swiftly vanquished by Faceless Name which jumps in like November Coming Fire swinging fists at Give Up The Ghost/American Nightmare (delete as honesty permits). Mixing fiendish finger tapping with a good honest chug on In Hindsight throws More Than Life into the Gallows shaped bag that mixes British hardcore ala The Legacy and label mates Dead Swans with the American chug masters of Bane, Throwdown and Terror. The energy and frenzy practically sprints out of the speakers and even the most hardened of slow motion doom purveyors would find it hard not to air drum to this gutsy display. Whilst More Than Life aren't breaking any fences down into untrodden land, they are succinctly giving it their all and with the sort of vocals that sound like Tetsuya Fukagawa tearing himself a new larynx, you can already tell that their upcoming shows are going to be nothing short of frenetic.
In conclusion More Than Life chiefly are a young band trying to share their scars, perhaps a little prematurely considering the depth on display, in an exciting and mettlesome manner. Good stuff.
Listen: www.myspace.com/morethanlifehardcore
Tracklist:
1. Aperture
2. Faceless Name
3. In Hindsight
4. Never Ender
5. Brave Enough To Fail
6. Fear
Review - The Slow Life - Be Not Afraid
The Slow Life - Be Not Afraid
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8 out of 10
The Slow Life are like Ronseal. This statement could, in theory, prove the basis for the entire review although you wouldn't know if they were any good or not now would you. Well lets ruminate on this a little more thoroughly then. The first track on Be Not Afraid is an instrumental affair imbibing the deep humming of a cello wit ha dream stealing sleight of violin that wearily lollops straight into track 2 - I Can You Will - in which the vocals of Darren Bancroft drift in like a gentle tide rolling up and down a sonic beach. Fitting in between a dainty Explosions in the Sky, Brenda and Jesu (minus the programmed drums and with a lesser penchant for industrial mechanisms) The Slow Life come across as big admirers of Scottish mood magicians Aerogramme and on the gentle slow-motion duvet wrap around of Outlines we also get shades of Sigur Ros, Midnight the Dog and Jacob's Stories. Inevitable comparisons with all of these aforementioned bands and many more (Godspeed and A Silver Mount Zion for two) will be made, however The Slow Life don't shirk away from the sleeve that they hold high and still manage to create warmth and serenity track to track that most bands would bleed their rhythm sections dry for.
The soft plodding pace of this record works well; with only a few subtle changes of gear, feedback manages to manifest itself into nimble finger picking and then vice versa. As previously mentioned with a name like The Slow Life you know exactly what you are getting, anyone expecting blast beats here are going to realise soon enough that some books covers act as mighty fine judges. It does come as something of a shock, after all that, when the realisation sets in that this band hails from London, as their music has a strangely forlorn rural feel about it. The imagery that their music evokes is that of swelling hills, drifting clouds and wind dancing playfully in your hair. This seems to come across most perfectly in the almost gang like vocals of Home, obviously this is despite the lyrics referencing "Meet by the high-rise" - not exactly a common site in wooded farmland but never the less a feeling is a feeling.
The first change of pace comes in the shape of When You Carry a Hammer with its jaunty swinging beat bringing across a far more folky Bright Eyes/Bonnie 'Prince' Billy/Dawn Chorus style hootenanny (without the knee pumping banjo). This stops almost as soon as it starts however with a plunge back into the pedestrian string vibrato of Day For Night, which results in just above stationery heart string pulling.
Be Not Afraid seems a more than apt title as although the music doesn't reassure you that everything is going to be ok, it does provide you with a companion for the journey, with what appears to be a certain degree of experience and tenderness. A calming whisper in the ear.
Listen: www.myspace.com/theslowlife
Tracklist:
1. Key
2. I Can You Will
3. Outlines
4. Pitchfork
5. Anything 1&2
6. Home
7. When You Carry a Hammer
8. Day For Night
9. Everso
10. The Hunter Street Drift
11. Levity
Review - Nephu Huzzband - No, Not Ever (Single)
Nephu Huzzband - No, Not Ever (Single)
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7 out of 10
A cliché as worn out as Gazza's sanity is that you eat first with your eyes, a sentiment that chef of the moment Heston Blumenthal no doubt agrees with and so to do the four minds behind Nephu Huzzband. Their deliciously packaged new single proves testament to this theory with its charcoal black cardboard wallet in which nestles the blacker than the night CD (the finish of which is more than deliberately reminiscent of wax) but thankfully these are no Lady Gaga types - pleasing to the eye, jeopardising to the ear - and this only applies to the music, Bring Me the Horizon would balk at the lack of matching haircuts.
What you do in fact get is the sound of Joseph Fritz' first night in prison, of straight jackets being loosened and above all the sound of guitars left discarded on stage as feedback reigns and a lovelorn crowd pleads for more. Taking cues from grind masters such as Army of Flying Robots, Melt Banana, Among the Missing and Pig Destroyer but shovelling it through an Indie rock mangle. Creating a clean gleam for this Ian McKaye loving (yes there are definite aspects of Fugazi as well as Minor Threat here) punk progression. No Not Ever is the sound of a minute long blowtorch blast much akin to Mike Patton favourites East West Blast Test smashing their way through a cover of Blur's We've Got a File on You.
The list of comparisons could go on forever, namedropping further acts such as .And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, Sonic Youth, Joy Division and At the Drive In but this would all be in vain because although the band with the slightly bizarre incestuous insinuated name do take elements from all of the aforementioned, they blend them together into an excitingly different but palatable cocktail. Pour yourself a glass.
Listen: www.myspace.com/nephuhuzzband
Tracklist:
1. No, Not Ever
Review - BM Linx - Black Entertainment
BM Linx - Black Entertainment
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6 out of 10
Black Entertainment starts with a promise, a Valentine's promise:
"We want to take you for a rise, we're gonna make everything alright, leave your thoughts and fears to the side, this one's for you my valentine"
This is a hedonist's call to arms, a promise of things to come as the thumping prelude really kicks off into The Outlaw Jim Rose which is the sound of electronica rocking with the swagger of The Rolling Stones. This is how Nine Inch Nails might have sounded if Trent Reznor had discovered MDMA and The Stone Roses instead of Throbbing Gristle and befriending Brian Warner. In fact perhaps BM Linx should rename themselves The Rolling Stone Roses. Fuck it BM Linx is a more than suitable name as it hints at their big beat predisposition much as Underworld's name suggests basement-like rave thrashings.
Red House Empty sounds like DJ Shadow remixing a Led Zeppelin song about the chemical generation and just when you think its going to let up they find another gear and barbarically it urges your body on. This album also includes an acoustic version of the all American rawk song Understanding Orange in which it comes across as a less than middle of the road dullition of the original. Dreary.
This album could be described as the soundtrack to the year of the party crasher (sorry Keith Buckley but BM Linx might have stolen it), this band, in the words of The Flight Of The Conchords, "Like to rock the party". Unfortunately like anyone who parties there must be a comedown and this comes in the form of Clean Dirt which starts out as the sort of introspective, self indulgent pandering that contents all those scraped-empty types on Sunday afternoons and this continues with the acoustic stylings of instrumental White Limousine which slowly perks you up until you realise it is in fact Saturday and it is time to do it all over again with the bass throbbing, overdriven stomper Find the Water.
Fun in the "let's get blind and forget things" sense of the word, this unlikely however to have much in the way of staying power in our ADHD driven society but for a quick blast of grintastic gurn gravy, slap it on.
Listen: www.myspace.com/bmlinx
Tracklist:
1. Valentine
2. The Outlaw Jimmy Rose
3. Kids on Fire
4. Red House Been Empty
5. Clean Dirt
6. White Limousine
7. Find The Water
8. 123CAT
9. Defender
10. Ives Park
11. UO Acoustic
Review - John Frusciante - The Empyrean
John Frusciante - The Empyrean
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10 out of 10
John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers is today one most coveted guitarists of his time, yet for almost the entirety of his varied career he has led a double life as a solo artist, playing and recording his own music, displaying his wide prowess as a song writer, vocalist and multi instrumentalist, while demonstrating his wide musical influences from Hendrix to the Wu Tang Clan. 'The Empyrean' is Frusciante's twelfth release(10 albums, 2 EP's) ,having being released worldwide on January 20, 2009 through Record Collection, an independently owned label that was formerly part of the Warner Music Group.
The record in question was reputedly recorded between December 2006 and March 2008, and is intended to be a concept album of sorts. As a reaction to the virtuoso 'guitar god' excess of the RHCP's 'Stadium Arcadium' Frusciante now investigates a more psychedelic sphere, moving away from the Hard Rock sound he exhibited on tracks like 'Dani Calfornia' and 'Ready Made', instead returning to his enduring interest in more textured sounds. Frusciante claims the word Empyrean means "the highest point in heaven", yet rather than having any direct religious connotations he stated,
"It is meant more as a symbol for something that is out of grasp, but there's something that makes us reach for them, just as human beings, whether it's on an instrument or anything else."
On the record Frusciante handles the vocals duties, guitars, bass, keyboards, piano and synthesizers, with long time collaborator Josh Klinghoffer playing keyboards and drums and his RHCP band mate Flea playing bass on a number of tracks. Indie Godfather Johnny Marr (of The Smiths whose influence is highly prevalent on Frusciante's previous work with the RHCP and solo) plays on two of the tracks, reputedly laying down his parts in a single night that he had off from touring with Modest Mouse (another influence on Frusciante's output over the past few years).
Frusciante claims he experimented with his singing on this release, attempting to create a different character for each song. Meanwhile the recording took place at Frusciante's Hollywood home, giving a warm and comfortable sound: at the beginning and end of each track you can hear Frusciante and friends shuffling around, tape machines clicking off and so forth, giving a intimacy to the recording, like you are sitting in the room with them as they records the songs. Frusciante also took care of the mixing on this record in order to not lose another point of expression in the record making process, experimenting extensively with the analogue tape manipulation and treatment using reverbs and delay.
The opening track "Before The Beginning" clocks in at almost 10 minutes, starting with gentle strumming and dubby ghost like reverb through which the metronymic drums emerge. It sounds similar to "Out on the weekend", the opening track of Neil Young's 'Harvest', until soaring David Gilmore like guitar solo joins the fray, displaying Frusciante's signature expressive string bending. The track is a basic tour de force for Frusciante's howling guitar and at first it may appear to be pure ego trip, a self indulgence juggernaut of soloing. Yet when placed within the context of the record as a whole it is apparent that it is in fact gently setting the intergalactic sonic landscape that Frusciante conjures through the rest of the album. The following track "Song to the Siren" is originally from Tim Buckley’s 1970 album 'Starsailor' and though placing a cover song on a concept record sounds like a risky venture it works well. It begins with haunting keyboards and Frusciante's voice echoing out of a small space (like the bow of a little fishing boat?) the story following an oceanic theme, inviting the unseen subject to swim over, while android seagulls squawk overhead.
"Unreachable" sounds like a piece from Frusciante's 'Shadows Collide with People' (2004), thumping good time Pop Rock with rich melodies and good hooks. Frusciante's soaring vocals retain but are sent through a battery of vocoders, mingling with glistening synth, reverb and chorus, wrapping around Flea's ever present bass. It's an emotional exorcism that rises and falls. The breakdown to sparse drums is soon joined by Hendrixesque lead guitar that howls out of the sky from all directions, backwards echoed, a declaration of cosmically twisted intent, going from the analogue psychedelic to the digital, as if the sail boat is turning into a paisley space cruiser.
"God" starts as dream pop along the lines of French Electro Pop duo Air or ex-Sneaker Pimp Kelli Ali, but the track soon kicks into a brooding rhythm of kick drum and electric piano leading into a maelstrom of synth and digital processors, the star ship sail boat going into hyperspace, edging out on gentle violin. "Dark/Light" carries on where the previous track left off with Frusciante's voice searing out of an ion storm over a calm piano line leading into a drum machine and organ waltz of falsetto vocals, a cruise into the calm of space with the billions of twinkling of stars in the back ground while the busy, almost dubby, bass adds volumes of colour as it riffs away over the "Bohemian Rhapsody" like chorus of "ah's". On "Heaven" Frusciante's voice is a Bee Geesque falsetto backed by meek guitar, tough bass and whirling organ, the drums picking it up, holding a post card like snatch of Bob Dylan's "Ballad of a Thin Man" with the organs and late night jazz club beats. Bitter sweet synths shatter like glass, as the vessel skirts through the vapours swirling around a gas giant.
"Enough of Me" is a broken carousel of synth like a graveyard of broken satellites; solar panels reflect the sun's orange glow, the crashing drums and pounding bass fall away as quickly as they appear. The track offers an unsettling sound yet it is triumphant and optimistic, picking up into an almost Hendrix like fast paced shuffled of broken guitar sounds, the dying malfunctioning satellites relaying half forgotten and confused messages into the dead of space.
"Central" is another piano driven ballad with Johnny Marr's acoustic guitar backing Frusciante's soaring yells as the pace picks up to a high speed run through an asteroid belt, tortured guitars moaning into the background, dropping down and building up again to epic proportions, searing solos and tearing distorted rhythms, wailing synths sending messages across the universe before tripping in to a choir of lead guitar and bass drowning Frusciante's voice into near obscurity, finally ending on a gentle wind down as the ship clears the asteroid belt.In "One More of Me" Frusciante's voice is a deep baritone echoing out into the void, backed by moaning violin, the eulogy to a dying star as the ship passes by. Frusciante's voice steps into a piecing shriek as the strings work away and the ship fades away into the distance leaving the star to collapse upon its self."After the Ending" is a space walk with a helmet filled with voices drenched in reverb and reversed echo, like the spirits of a hundred dead space jockeys all trying to tell their stories at once. Floating through the void of the endless night peppered with a hundred billion planets, slowly drifting towards the third stone from the sun, not knowing what to find there or what to expect, only knowing the journey is over.
'The Empyrean' is a raw departure from Frusciante's previous work, yet still exhibited his sensibility for catchy melodies and deep layers. As a result 'The Empyrean' is not much of the same, not mere left over riffs from the last Red Hot Chili Peppers record, but an evolution in Frusciante's music. The guitarist's virtuosity is ever present but sparsely used with the songs, not the guitarist's ego, coming first. Instead the brand of virtuosity that is exhibited is more towards strong song writing, well thought out arrangements and meticulous mixing. Devoted RHCP fans will revel in the familiar guitar work yet also be captivated by the whole other side to Frusciante, while those who are less than fond of the Chili's will be surprised by the experimentalism of the record. Those who are of no opinion either way will simply discover a strong and deep piece of work with which to fall asleep to and conjure fantastic and wild dreams or else wake up to with a dose of equalizing psychedelic spiritualism.
Listen: http://www.myspace.com/johnfrusciantemusic
Tracklist:
1. Before the Beginning
2. Song to the Siren
3. Unreachable
4. God
5. Dark/Light
6. Heaven
7. Enough of Me
8. Central
9. One More of Me
10. After the Ending
Review - The Appleseed Cast - Sagarmatha
The Appleseed Cast - Sagarmatha
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6 out of 10
Whilst previous albums have seen The Appleseed Cast dip their toes into the post-rock pool, Sagarmatha, their tenth album, sees them dive head first into the murky waters of post-rock. Having completely removed themselves from their emo origins, The Appleseed Cast are now free to join the ranks of delay pedal bothering, quasi-instrumental bands.
The biggest surprise of this record is that singer Christopher Crisci's vocals have taken a back seat to the rest of the band. When they are present, they're usually soaked in reverb and delay, being employed as an extra instrument or an additional texture rather than a focal point for the song. It's a standard post-rock trick, one that can be used to great effect but more often than not gets wheeled out when a band is lacking inspiration. Sagarmatha gives the impression that The Appleseed Cast aren't completely confident in their abilities as a full on post-rock band and more often than not they seem to fall back on the standard tricks of the trade. It's as if they've read the guidelines of how to do post-rock but are afraid to deviate too far for fear of failing. The whole record comes across as a little restrained, which is a shame as there are moments that stand out. 'So The Little Things Go' features guitar work that recalls The Appleseed Cast at their finest and a crescendo that any guitar band would be proud of; 'An Army Of Fireflies' is as driving and as urgent as Explosions In The Sky at their finest, benefiting from its brevity rather than out staying its welcome, as parts of Sagarmatha do.
Not unlike most post-rock, Sagarmatha plods along at a steady pace, never veering too much form the trodden path. Whilst this record has some good moments, it also has far too many dull parts, parts that just fade into the background, that merge into one another, that lack any real focus or intent. That's not to say that Sagarmatha is a bad album, because it's not, as The Appleseed Cast touch upon some moments that shine, it's just that too often do they seem content to play it safe, and stick to their self imposed straightjacket of post-rock.
Listen: www.myspace.com/theappleseedcast
Tracklist:
1. As the Little Things Go
2. A Bright Light
3. The Road West
4. The Summer Before
5. One Reminder, An Empty Room
6. Raise the Sails
7. Like a Locust (Shake Hands With the Dead)
8. South Facing Col
9. An Army of Fireflies
Review - Kyoto Drive - Spotlights and Stars
Kyoto Drive - Spotlights and Stars
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8 out of 10
Kyoto Drive has crafted an EP that is constantly reminding me of other bands, without allowing me to ever nail my flag to a mast before the song changes and another influence is recognised. If I had to try and describe this EP (which I do as I am supposed to be reviewing it) I would say that it is the child that resulted from the Early November and Taking Back Sunday having a one-night stand, putting the baby up for adoption and it being raised by Matchbook Romance and Spitalfield.
Over the space of the four tracks on the EP these are just some of the bands that I am reminded of. This sounds like high-praise and, honestly, it is. This EP has grown on me over the last few days I have been listening to it. It's raw and unpolished, the closing track tries a little too hard to be 'epic', and there are moments when the instrumentation is not as tight as it should be, but the potential is there.
The EP opener Don't Turn Your Back on the Sun does the perfect job of setting the EP up for its short life-span. It places the band firmly in the "too-heavy to be pop-punk, but not heavy enough to be 'hardcore'" camp. There is thankfully no screaming here, even when it seems like there could be, Kyoto Drive seem to prefer gang vocals to shout-y one, something that only furthers their appeal.
I have fallen for this EP in quite a big way. The band is obviously ambitious - they are doing the opposite of what is popular right now. The trend says make your songs 3 minutes or less so they put everything around the 4 minute mark. The trend says song structure should be intro, verse, chorus, break-down, repeat, so Kyoto Drive try to do something a bit different. It is refreshing to hear. It is easy when doing reviews to simply say, "this album shows potential" and that "this is a band to look out for", but I feel this EP deserves more than that. This EP is not perfect, but I believe this band is doing something that needs to be supported. They are giving this EP away for free on their MySpace page, so what excuse do you have not to give it a listen? And if you like it, which I think you will, look out for their debut album coming out later this year and buy it.
Listen: www.myspace.com/kyotodrive
Tracklist:
1. Don't Turn Your Back on the Sun
2. The Stealaway
3. The Man vs. Everything I Love
4. You Had me at Hello
Review - Art Brut - Alcoholics Unanimous (Single)
Art Brut - Alcoholics Unanimous (Single)
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4 out of 10
A pair of mental confessionals, one about drink, the other about food. Das Brut appear to be abandoning their 'Art Wave' conceptualising in favour of setting the writings of Adrian Mole to the music of Post-Punk for Dummies. Or maybe that's the point - it's really deep, so it has to, you know, seem really shallow? Like, the most banal music is closest to the human heart? Like that bloke said, you know? The really clever one?
No. Maybe Black Francis will bring more weight to bear on his production of the forthcoming album, Art Brut vs. Satan - worth doing for the title alone, I would say. However, on the strength of this single, to paraphrase another great man - 'it's good, but it's not right'.
Listen: www.myspace.com/artbrut
Tracklist:
1. Alcoholics Unanimous
2. Just Desserts
Review - Too Pure To Die - Confess
Too Pure To Die - Confess
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1 out of 10
I let out a huge sigh as Too Pure To Die’s latest "effort" comes to a conclusion. A lot of genre names get thrown around these days, and very little it seems is black and white any more. But calling this band ’metalcore’ is borderline offensive. In fact, calling them anything but ’shit’ should be punishable by law. "Am I getting through now?" No, Paul, no you are not. Please stop this nonsense.
Two complete spins of ’Confess’ and I still can’t find a single redeeming feature therein. Horrible nu metal production, intertwined with weak vocals and songs akin to a Pritt Stick; trying so hard to glue to you but always failing. At least Linkin Park has catchy songs.
A completely forgettable album and a completely forgettable band. Hailing from Des Moines, they’re also not doing themselves any favours by sounding like Slipknot. At the best of times, they come across like a watered-down, poor man’s version of Hatebreed mixed in with the aforementioned Iowa nonet, which says it all. At the worst, they sound like a sub standard nu metal band who would have found themselves swept under the carpet ten years ago, let alone in 2009.
The strength of Trustkill’s past roster, as well as some quality recent releases (see Adversary’s ’Singularity’ for an example of this) will surely go even further to erasing Too Pure To Die from existence. I’m not going to waste my time or theirs any longer. About as essential as mood music in a knocking shop. Avoid.
Listen: www.myspace.com/toopuretodie
Tracklist:
1. Confess
2. My Vow
3. Gotham City
4. Can I Live
5. Saving Grace
6. One True Thing
7. Define Irony
8. Rock Bottom
9. Omerta
10. Trial
11. Find My Way
Review - Filthy Dukes - Nonsense In The Dark
Filthy Dukes - Nonsense In The Dark
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5 out of 10
Does anyone like the Human League? Well, get stuck into this lot. If you have any doubts that the 1980s are currently de rigueur for musical body snatchers, then one listen to this debut album should confirm things. An alternative title might be 'Disco of the Living Dead', as amongst the full-on blips and ultra-violent Casiotone riffs almost the entire dance oeuvre of that benighted decade is distilled for your clubbing pleasure. There's Numan. There's Erasure. There's Kraftwerk. There's Toni Basil. There's.hang on, Toni Basil? Oh yes. Drown in those electro-handclaps and yelping cheerleader backing vocals. These atmospheric exhumations tend to overshadow the actual guest appearances from Orlando Weeks, Brandon Curtis, Tommy Sparks and others. 'Melancholy epic' could just as easily be 'diet Depeche Mode'. 'Potential pop smash' may actually end up on a remastering of the Ghostbusters soundtrack.
Whether Rat Scabies' drum contribution to You Better Stop is programmed or played we are not told, but it's one of several ironic titles on show; Cul De Sac being the top of the pile of aftershave in this particular gents', which manages to convey almost exactly the feeling of being lost in an anonymous, deserted estate somewhere. Rock is pilfered, too, with the intro to Rush's Spirit of Radio making an appearance in the KP snack-referencing Light Skips Cross Heart and the Scorpions seemingly providing the start to the strongest track on offer, Tupac Robot Club Rock - a thundering hip-hop/glitch monster with in-your-face verbiage from Plastic Little. But it doesn't do to think about dance music too much. As Mr. Sparks says in his Euro-titan Messages, 'turn your mind inside out - nothing really matters when you're out of control'. If you want to soundtrack that, Filthy Dukes are as good as any.
Listen: www.myspace.com/filthydukes
Tracklist:
1. This Rhythm
2. Elevator
3. What Happens Next
4. You Better Stop
5. Messages
6. Tupac Robot Club Rock
7. Nonsense In The Dark
8. Cul-De-Sac
9. Light Skips Cross Heart
10. Don't Fall Softly
11. Twenty Six Hundred
12. Poison The Ivy
13. Somewhere At Sea
Review - Go:Audio - Drive To The City (Single)
Go:Audio - Drive To The City (Single)
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7 out of 10
Anvilicious is a buzz word I’ve recently noticed, in literal sense it’s not an actual word but what it describes is types of media which are so heavy-handed and unsubtle about delivering their point that it’s like being hit with an anvil.
So how does this relate to Go:Audio’s new single ’Drive to the City’? Well my point is this single wants to be a huge catchy pop / rock song and Go:Audio’s delivery is completely anvilicious.
It almost feels like a laundry list of criteria that this track set out to achieve and I’m sure if you listen closely enough you could hear all the boxes being ticked. There is no doubt that is a pop song though, it could definitely cater to the masses as with its overly infectious chorus melody, there’s no doubt about it, the line ’Drive to the City’ is certainly cemented into your subconscious.
Although this may seem like a negative review it’s really not, this song does everything it was designed to do and does it well, my gripe is more at the way it was put together with all its key components, it’s all so, safe.
Go:Audio know what they’re doing and what they want to be and I’m quite sure they’ll achieve the success they demand, I’d just personally like to hear a few more risks.
Listen: www.myspace.com/goaudioband
Tracklist:
1. Drive To The City
Review - Gareth Hardwick - Aversions
Gareth Hardwick - Aversions
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8 out of 10
It is said that when one door closes, another opens - often to places undreamed of. Gareth Hardwick could be forgiven for thinking such a cliché to be as useful as a smug reviewer at the time his computer decided to eat his new album, leaving naught but a slightly singed smell of contempt behind. Thankfully, he chose to open a most intriguing door, by sending his back catalogue to a variety of co-conspirators in the world of drones and ambient noise. This album is the result and it is a true phoenix, indeed.
Earnest fans of alpha-wave music may go into relaxed raptures over the Kranky roster and Stars of the Lid without realising we have our own here in Britain on Low Point. Although Telecaster-based, Hardwick seems to channel into the audible what some venerable chap centuries ago called 'the music of the spheres' - sounds at once timeless, ethereal and unique. If this is what happens when he has an accident, then heaven only knows what he's capable of when his hardware works. Musica universalis, indeed.
Listen: www.myspace.com/garethhardwick
Tracklist:
1. Aversions
2. Last Heights (Library Tapes Remix)
3. David (Apalusa Remix)
4. High Tension (Xela Remix)
5. Interlude
6. Carnations (Steinbrüchel Remix)
7. Last Heights (Strategy Remix)
8. Dissolve (Chris Herbert Remix)
9. Lost in the Memory (Machinefabriek Remix)
Review - Left Alone - Left Alone
Left Alone - Left Alone
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3 out of 10
This 'street punk' trio from Los Angeles care nothing for critics, apparently, so they won't mind the likes of me describing them as a bizarre, future-echo McFly, desperately shouty and about as unique and meaningful as Busted. If it's a weekend and you fancy pogo-ing your silly haircut off then they're the band for you. Wishing Well has a catchy chorus, Low Fidelity could be on the soundtrack to some godawful cartoon called The Clash Babies. Otherwise, the best that can be said is that the songs are all no longer than three minutes each and the bassist's called Nick Danger. I think I care about as much as they do.
Listen: www.myspace.com/leftalonepunx
Tracklist:
1. Spiked With Pain
2. Branded
3. Sad Story
4. Bottles of Wine
5. Porcelain
6. Bombs Away
7. Brindle
8. Intermission
9. Self Made
10. Wishing Well
11. Empty
12. Low Fidelity
13. Do The Depression
14. Something For Nothing
15. Get Dead
Review - Katlow - Gorgeous / 57 Manchester Road (Single)
Katlow - Gorgeous / 57 Manchester Road (Single)
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7 out of 10
I tried, I really did, but I honestly can’t shake of the obvious comparison that Katlow is likely to draw. Although I don’t consider it to have negative connotations but my first thought was an instant similarity to Kate Nash.
Maybe it’s the fact that she’s a young girl with a slight twang in her vocal, maybe it's because she’s singing about everyday life which in my opinion is a market currently being over saturated. But maybe there’s room for one more and if I’m hard pressed, I haven’t came across another that warrants it as much as Katlow.
So the basics, strong vocals, catchy melodies, well structured and paced songs, all pretty standard affair. The lyrics are very much in waves, often having great touches of observational and social comments with the odd well laid out metaphor at its peak, and blatant telegraphed and uninspired lines at its depth, although fortunately for Katlow there is far more of the high points.
Personally I wasn’t too overwhelmed with the CD until I reached the last track, my attention was truly caught by the change in time signature and great use of harmonies, this is a song that appears upbeat and positive but once you truly embrace the lyrics you decipher that there are very dark distinctions to the content, a feature I always admire in a song and basically adds that touch of depth.
Katlow ticks all the boxes and there is no doubt the potential is there, I’m sure once she reaches her peak her potential will be endless, she’s just not quite there yet.
Listen: www.myspace.com/katlowmusic
Tracklist:
1. Gorgeous
2. 57 Manchester Road
3. Untitled B side
4. Untitled B side
Review - The Broken Family Band - Please and Thank You
The Broken Family Band - Please and Thank You
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7 out of 10
Imagine, if you will, the Charlatans playing folk songs. That's a bit what The Broken Family Band sound like, and it's actually quite a lot better than that sounds. There's a rather nice jaunty summer feel about this album which, considering the lovely weather we've had this last weekend is rather well timed. The album is loosely based around the theme of "being nice to people" which fits the cheery tunes quite nicely, although there is a dark sense of humour and a hint of the sinister running through its veins.
I actually really rather like this, and it's the darker themes that really make it - it could so easily have ended up being twee and annoying. But who could fail to love a song called St Albans which contains the line "You were only in St Albans 'cos you thought you were having sex / no one wants to fuck you in this town".
Listen: www.myspace.com/thebrokenfamilyband
Tracklist:
1. Please Yourself
2. Salivating
3. St Albans
4. You Did a Bad Thing
5. Cinema vs House
6. Borrowed Time
7. Mimi
8. Don't Bury Us
9. Stay Friendly
10. Son of the Man
11. The Girls in this Town
12. Old Wounds
Review - Adversary - Singularity
Adversary - Singularity
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8 out of 10
Trustkill is a label that has always managed to keep a blip on my radar, and they've had some great bands on their roster over the years. It’s interesting to see how the label has moved with the times and latest signing Adversary are testament to that.
Straight out of Virginia via Gothenburg, Adversary don’t make any effort to hide their influences, but occasionally, if you’re good enough, you don’t have to. I can hear bits and pieces that shine through from both sides of the Atlantic; from the melodic yet crushing dual guitar attack of In Flames to the scathing rasp of Zao’s Daniel Weyandt, this is straight-out modern metal but with an increasingly rare twist: it’s actually pretty damn good.
Tracks such as opener ’Hedonist’ combine elements of European melodic death metal with modern American metal effortlessly, and are executed with impressive precision. ’The Grand Mistake’ continues the pattern and ends with an absolute beast of a riff that would surely turn the most rigid of crowds into a seething mosh pit.
Further in, and yet more European influences suddenly fly out at me. ’In Vino Veritas’ and ’Manifest Humility’ is a storming pair of tunes that sound like they’re fresh off the Nuclear
Blast pile.
’Singularity’ is an album that creates the illusion of being forgettable upon first listen (no thanks to the bottleneck in the US metalcore scene at the moment), but repeated listens and the infectious subtleties slowly worm their way out.
The highlight for me actually comes in the form of an instrumental track. This is certainly no
slight on vocalist William Clapp (in fact his black metal tinged growl is a breath of fresh air amongst a sea of monotonous Howard Jones clones), but the brooding yet distinct ’The Ashes of Faith’ stands out like a monument amongst desert dunes. With driving riffs comes a dominating rhythm that never lets up; with distinct solo work comes a brooding, almost ’Justice’-era Metallica impression.
The next couple of songs sadly pale in comparison, and the album begins to drift in the direction of generic obscurity. It never quite picks itself back up before it ends, but ’Singularity’ does more than enough to hold its own. A very solid album overall, with more than a few hints of greatness that will hopefully come to the fore as the band progress.
I’d actually go as far to say that they are giving some of the bigger names a run for their money. In fact right now, I’ll take ’Singularity’ over current releases from any other American band I can think of who are attempting to play the same style of music. With a number of the more established bands falling into decline and maintaining their positions as flagships as a matter of course, the time has come for some of them (mentioning no names Trivium) to be knocked off their pedestals. Adversary manages to single-handedly walk up to their peers with a copy of ’Singularity’ and say, "stick that in your pipe". For a debut album, that’s pretty damn impressive. This lot should already be huge and with Trustkill’s help, it's surely only a matter of time.
Listen: www.myspace.com/adversarymetal
Tracklist:
1. Hedonist
2. The Grand Mistake
3. Singularity
4. In Vino Veritas
5. Manifest Humility
6. By Apathy Undone
7. The Ashes Of Faith
8. Dying Art
9. The Romance Of Lies
10. Wisdom In Regret
Review - Triple Agent - Teen Slasher EP
Triple Agent - Teen Slasher EP
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8 out of 10
The "Teen Slasher EP" is the debut effort of Swiss breaks DJ Triple Agent and it certainly leaves a noticeable mark. Yet the four tracks on this EP do not sound like they are from the any trashy Hollywood teen slasher flick that I have ever laid eyes on. Naturally this can only be a good thing.
The title track 'Teen Slasher' is a horror show of oscillating synth and hard lines that soars high and refused to come down, making for a harrowing nocturnal ordeal that only gets darker as it progresses through it's 10 minute duration, peppered with ghastly cackles straight out of Ed Wood movie starring Bela Lugosi. Hints of Death in Vegas's amp fiddling and Fischerspooner's retro stylings seem to appear from this track's gloomy recesses on more than one occasion.
'Mars Needs Women' features lounge club grooves, twinkling synth and funky bass, backing amusing sounds bytes mixed together to create a dialogue regarding the red planet, women and mutants. With the metronomic thumping bass and hollow alien grooves you can almost picture a cafeteria within a pressured Martian base, full of bored miners congregating around the corners of the drab room: leaning against tables pushed up against the walls, nursing their imported Earth lagers, their gaunt faces decorated by the light reflected off the spinning disco ball hanging overhead, wishing indeed there were some women on Mars to keep them entertained. 'Catch A Fire' is a Fruity Loops fanatic's wet dream of bouncing synth lines and brooding bass that steadily builds. Strong Techno undertones, extensive vocoder use and equalizer fiddling creates a dangerous track that sounds similar to the Hot Rod Herman remix of Rob Zombie's 'Dragula', another reaching almost the 10 minute mark. 'Mesca' is much of the same as the preceding tracks with howling lead guitar samples thrown into the fray.
As a debut the 'Teen Slasher EP' is a bold statement of retro styled dance floor beats. Maybe the only downfall is the length of the tracks, which are an absolute gift to any DJ's looking for something to chop up and play around with, but maybe too much of a mouthful for the casual listener. Hopefully in future works the tracks will be pruned down to the real base elements in which Triple Agent's little dance floor horrors will truly come into their own.
Listen: www.myspace.com/tripleagentbreaks
Tracklist:
1. Teen Slasher
2. Mars Needs Women
3. Catch A Fire
4. Mescal
Review - Nekkrosis - Technotic Subversion
Nekkrosis - Technotic Subversion
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6 out of 10
An extreme metal Blue Jam of an album, Technotic Subversion is the sound of a man being eaten by the hordes of Cthulhu whilst Slayer and Rage Against The Machine play in the background. At the same time. In a cave. Surrounded by screaming children. And zombies. The standard criticism of 'you can't hear the words' is really a blessing in disguise, once you read the lyrics kindly reproduced with the album - that's if the song titles haven't given you a clue, of course.
Top of the pops here are; Psychotic Cannibal Massacre ('Satan said this is my key to hell.'), Crackwhore and Scrotesque (Note how I refrain from quoting those last two). This is an album to worry parents, frighten children and probably kill small animals.
Listen: www.myspace.com/nekkrosis
Tracklist:
1. Reanimated Flesh
2. Only The Dead
3. Psychotic Cannibal Massacre
4. Shit
5. Crackwhore
6. Death Is A Sexual Preference
7. Scrotesque
8. Ceremonial Clit Confiscation
9. Scene Queens
10. Ye Olde Skool Slaughter
News - You Heartless Bastards!
Submitted: "Heartless Bastards have announced a clutch full of shows to tie in with their recently confirmed appearance at ATP curated by The Breeders. The dates currently look a little something like this (more shows to be added over the coming weeks):
May
11th London Hoxton Bar & Grill
12th London Dublin Castle
13th London 229 (Club Fandango)
16th Brighton Great Escape (venue TBA)
17th Minehead Butlins ATP curated by The Breeders
The Ohio trio release their latest album 'The Mountain' on Monday (6th of April) through Fat Possum Records."
News - Are You Awake Zao?
Zao have announced the release of their new full-length album "Awake?" which was produced at Lambesis Studios by Zao’s own guitarist Scott Mellinger (with As I Lay Dying vocalist Tim Lambesis and Daniel Castleman). The album will be released on the 5th of May through Ferret Music and will be a digital release with a limited and numbered physical pressing.
News - The Lemonheads - New Album
The Lemonheads have entered into a licensing agreement with Cooking Vinyl and they have announced they will be releasing their covers collection "VARSHONS" through the label on the 15th of June.
Track Listing:
1. "I Just Can't Take It Anymore" (Gram Parsons)
2. "Fragile" (Wire)
3. "Layin' Up With Linda" (G.G. Allin)
4. "Waiting Around To Die" (Townes Van Zandt)
5. "Green Fuz" (Randy Alvey & Green Fuz)
6. "Yesterlove" (Sam Gopal)
7. "Dirty Robot" v/ Kate Moss (Arling & Cameron)
8. "Dandelion Seeds" (July)
9. "Mexico" (Fuckemos)
10. "Hey, That’s No Way To Say Goodbye" f/ Liv Tyler (Leonard Cohen)
11. "Beautiful" (Linda Perry)
Sunday, 29 March 2009
Review - Imelda May - Love Tattoo
Imelda May - Love Tattoo
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8 out of 10
Is Jazzabilly an acceptable musical genre? 'Cos it pretty much sums this album up quite nicely. There are tracks that are pretty much all out Rockabilly, and those which slow it right down in a smoky backroom jazz style, but the majority of the songs fall somewhere between the two, and it works really well - due in no small part to Imelda's fantastic voice. Husky and sexy she never sounds like she's giving it less than 110%.
I'm normally one of the most static people you'll ever meet, but every time I put this album on I find myself tapping my feet and nodding my head, and if I'm not careful one of these days I'm going to start dancing round the room and really freak my housemates out.
If you like the idea of Amy Winehouse but aren't so keen on the horrible tabloid filling reality or the ridiculous over the top caricatured wailing then you just might love this.
Listen: www.myspace.com/imeldamay1
Tracklist:
1. Johnny Got a Boom Boom
2. Feel Me
3. Knock 123
4. Wild About My Lovin'
5. Big Bad Handsome Man
6. Love Tattoo
7. Meet You at the Moon
8. Smokers' Song
9. Smotherin' Me
10. Falling in Love With You Again
11. It's Your Voodoo Working
12. Watcha Gonna Do
Review - Kyza - Love N Music / Dirty (Single)
Kyza - Love N Music / Dirty (Single)
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8 out of 10
'Love N Music' the first single coming from Kyza's new project 'S.O.S' sees the emcee showing his love and dedication to music "spread love to the sound of the music". It sounds cheesy on paper, but when played out against a sterling production job courtesy of GHOSTTOWN, it sounds absolutely untouchable. A summery, feel good vibe that will keep your head nodding and your toes tapping whilst you're cruising around with the windows down this summer.
Dirty, the b-side to this single is a sexed up, adulterated (booty) call to arms, which kind of detracts from the chilled out vibe of the a-side. Full of dirty bass, dirty beats and even dirtier lyrics. Your whole family would blush if they were to hear this...
"The one thing that can heal the wounds of old people, can fill your grooves. I love music"
Indeed Kyza, indeed.
Listen: www.myspace.com/saysoseddso
Tracklist:
1. Love N Music
2. Dirty
Review - The Cess Allan Band - History Books
The Cess Allan Band - History Books
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7 out of 10
Watford's stomping The Cess Allan Band bring you this 6 chapter disc "History Books" and it's a story with two parts. Chapter One of "History Books" starts off with a foot stomping sea shanty rendition of The Supreme's "Baby Love" which leads us into gang chant infused "Stay Inside". Nick Read's (Read? Is there a theme here?) cheeky-chappy voice lends a shambolic quality that gets in the listener's face and buys him a drink. I'm sure that this and the other rabble rouser of a song "The Devil I Know" with a great kazoo solo go down a storm live.
I then turn the page.The other chapter of the story is a 2 part dreary heartbreaker, which could be a great present for mother's day. The fact that it needed to be dragged out to 2 separate sections is questionable.
The Epilogue to the story is the final track "Casablanca" - which starts off like a Damien Rice cover but thankfully the big guns come out and the track turns into a euphoric call to arms. The strings come in and stamp "Classic" on it in big red letters. The only problem is that it drops back into housewife favourite territory and fades out.
So a literary comparison for The Cess Allan Band can be found in one of the UK's longest running journals, a favourite of mine; the Beano. You see, some tracks I can see Dennis the Menace being into, music to steal sweets to! Unfortunately it all goes a bit Walter the Softy at times and no one likes the softys except their Mum's.
Get your pea shooters and catapults and start causing mayhem instead!
Listen: www.myspace.com/thecessallanband
Tracklist:
1. Baby Love
2. Stay Inside
3. Are You Going To Come Back To The Old House?
4. The Devil I Know
5. Are You Going To Come Back To The Old House? Part Two
6. "Casablanca"
Review - Chris Cornell - Scream
Chris Cornell - Scream
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4 out of 10
'Influenced by Pink Floyd's The Wall ' it may be, but the only obvious connections between this crazy collaboration and Waters' conceptual crew are a song called Time and some ticking clocks during Enemy. There's certainly no cohesive concept, unless you think that idea begins and ends with songs which run into one another. Cornell makes a grandly obvious statement from the off, though, with album artwork replete with shots of him smashing guitars. OK, we get the message - except guitars are not entirely absent, just polished to death and smoothed out to nothing - much like the rest of the album.
Timbaland's production work is flawless and results in the musical equivalent of Damien Hirst's diamond-studded skull - expensive, shiny and very, very silly. Only those involved in the making of it will see anything else, I fear. This is a shame, since Cornell obviously isn't afraid to try some new settings for his classic rock voice. He croons through much of Scream in a quite robotic manner, however - in keeping with the android nature of much of the music. Fans of the man who may have got over the shock of the single Part of Me will hang their heads in shame at this collection of vocoder-overloaded, Michael Jackson-style yelps and 1980s blippy thunder. They may not get as far as the pseudo-Bollywood of Take Me Alive, let alone the We Will Rock You drums of Lost Cause. If you find yourself hankering after a Swarovski crystal-studded iPhone, however, you'll probably love it.
Listen: www.myspace.com/chriscornell
Tracklist:
1. Part Of Me
2. Time
3. Sweet Revenge
4. Get Up
5. Ground Zero
6. Never Far Away
7. Take Me Alive
8. Long Gone
9. Scream
10. Enemy
11. Other Side of Town
12. Climbing Up The Walls
13. Watch Out
14. Lost Cause
Review - Filthy Dukes - This Rhythm (Single)
Filthy Dukes - This Rhythm (Single)
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9 out of 10
From the moment the pulsating beats start on this delightfully dark dance track, any surrounding setting it's listened within will be momentarily transformed into a dancefloor thus demonstrating the movement inducing skills of its DJ creators.
For maximum twilight effect, the London trio of DJ's and now band, Filthy Dukes have enlisted the unearthly vocal forces of one Samuel Dust, of maestro-synth-rock Late of the Pier fame and it works in dancefloor thrilling volumes. This Rhythm appears to have been uprooted from eighties electronic-noir and polished spotless with a naughties sheen that proves these boys can hop from decks to laptops and back again with the prowess of a seamless mix set many a DJ aims for.
Listen: www.myspace.com/filthydukes
Tracklist:
1. This Rhythm (Radio Edit)
2. Filthy Dukes Kill Em All Remix
3. Fred Falke Remix
4. Emperor Machine Remix
5. Toddla T Remix
6. This Rhythm (Album Version)
Review - Queensryche - American Soldier
Queensryche - American Soldier
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5 out of 10
I'm sure Geoff Tate had only the noblest of intentions when he interviewed various members and ex-members of the US Army for this album, Queensryche's twelfth. The project also had deep, personal connotations, since Tate's father had spent his working life in the military. Also, Tate duets with his ten year-old daughter on the strongest track Home Again. This album does not attempt to rewrite history or air-brush over that most futile and destructive aspect of humanity - unlike many American works of art, from whatever discipline, which use war as their subject. However, since it is titled American Soldier and since the sound bites are from American soldiers, that history ends up being given a certain gloss anyway. The universal truth of war's horrific stain on life and love has to come through a national perspective many feel has had far too much air-time already.
The soldiers' reminiscences are many times more powerful than the music on offer, of course, which leaves Queensryche in the rather invidious position of soundtracking that which ought not to be soundtracked - and certainly not from a chiming 1980s metal band still flying the flag as the thinking man's Def Leppard. As a 'concept album' it coheres less well than its acclaimed predecessor Operation:Mindcrime, resulting in a worn kitbag of well-meaning platitudes about how terrible war is, with the stars-and-stripes thrust in the top. 'A fool is left to live as brave ones fall', Tate opines during Middle of Hell. This is certainly true in war - American or otherwise. The trouble is, it can also be said of music. American Soldier, although not 'FUBAR', is a touch 'high speed'.
Listen: www.myspace.com/queensryche
Tracklist:
1. Sliver
2. Unafraid
3. Hundred Mile Stare
4. At 30,000 Ft
5. A Dead Man's Words
6. The Killer
7. Middle of Hell
8. If I Were King
9. Man Down!
10. Remember Me
11. Home Again
12. The Voice
Review - Nik Drou - Here's to Future Nostagia!
Nik Drou - Here's to Future Nostagia!
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5 out of 10
Hello Nik!
I know he's reading this, as I found his blog!! On it, he admits that he is spends his days searching google, looking for album reviews - well here is another one for the collection!
A thesaurus in each hand and a crate of energy drinks at his side, this MC brings us an explosion of brain-fart's that have been collected onto vinyl for your listening pleasure. Listening to Nik Drou's new 12" is like being cornered by someone at a party and forced to listen them ramble on about conspiracy theories, the state of the nation, petrol prices, growing poverty gap, office politics. whilst listening to Metal Machine Music. At first interesting, then oppressive. Nik Drou has too much to say.
The first track "Uni of Life" - chock full of smart lyrical observations about the trials and tribulations of internet research.. and then a collection of incessant rhymes that exhaust the listener more than anything.
The second track "Bullshit Machine" is an odd affair - sparse Dalek-style beats with a GLC vocal style. "Death by Snoo Snoo" is a fisher price sampler special with some megaphone effects that were stolen out of the Stereo MC's back pocket. The last track "We Already Know Too Much" is the highlight of the 12" - I just can't stop thinking of the Hitcher from Mighty Boosh!?
Nik has got some good ideas, they're just all over the place and really hard to comprehend with having them written down and numbered. Shows promise, buts needs direction.
WANTED:
Any DJ's need an MC - extensive vocabulary, needs focus - will rap for good beats!
Listen: www.myspace.com/nikdroumusic
Tracklist:
1. Uni of Life!
2. Bullshit Machine
3. Death by Snoo-Snoo
4. We Already Know Too Much
Review - Roll Deep - Movin In Circles / Club 7 (Single)
Roll Deep - Movin In Circles / Club 7 (Single)
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4 out of 10
This is everything that is wrong with the UK grime/hip hop scene. Boring, uninspired flows spat with a really unconvincing tone and beats you've heard six trillion times before on Channel U. Absolutely terrible.
Listen: www.myspace.com/rolldeepofficial
Tracklist:
1. Movin In Circles ft. Kivanc
2. Club 7 (Radio Edit)
Review - Tom Williams and the Boat - Doing My Best EP
Tom Williams and the Boat - Doing My Best EP
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7 out of 10
I think I've been putting off listening to this 'cos I don't like the cover. I know they say you shouldn't judge a book by its cover (although let's be honest, you pretty much can to a point) but it's hard not to. I mention this only because the music contained within far transcends the homemade "charm" of the artwork.
Enough of my complaining. The EP itself is actually really rather good. Kinda anti-folk (as I believe it's now called) with hints of Dylan and The Band and Frank Turner and even Teenage Fanclub and Mogwai in places, although Tom and his Boat hails from the opposite end of this sceptred isle - Kent, to be precise. There's also a nice poetry in the lyrics which elevates it above the average.
Listen: www.myspace.com/williamstommusic
Tracklist:
1. 24
2. Concentrate
3. Mary
4. Voicemail
5. Doing My Best
6. My Will
Review - Voluntary Butler Scheme, The - Multiplayer (Single)
Voluntary Butler Scheme, The - Multiplayer (Single)
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6 out of 10
Forget the Bermuda Triangle - the Voluntary Butler Scheme is where dead rock stars hang out. It's on MySpace, it must be true - Marc Bolan on bass, the King on guitars, Roy Orbison on glockenspiel. . . Anyway, back in what passes for the real world, we have music that could bring a smile to the face of the recently deceased. The spirit of the Kinks has truly passed onto this band from Stourbridge, who mix up the whimsical British pop template with the best of Parklife-era Blur and some prime Hefner wit. Indeed, the VBS are carrying on a tradition, here, with lyrics such as 'you can't go treating my heart like bagpipes any more' - a tradition running past those Kentish darlings of Peel to the likes of Barrett and Stanshall. And all with a perfectly-judged Motown vibe, too. Get it on!
Listen: www.myspace.com/thevoluntarybutlerscheme
Tracklist:
1. Multiplayer
2. Alarm Clock
Review - Sneaky Sound System - Sneaky Sound System
Sneaky Sound System - Sneaky Sound System
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2 out of 10
When The Sound broke out of their native Scandinavia the kind of sound SSS are trying to emulate on this self titled debut was a fresh and innovative take on the electro fused guitar pop of the late eighties. Three years too late however and SSS have managed to make a pedestrianised version of all those records that set benchmarks for what could be done with the watered down retro kitsch Topshop was pushing that season. In terms of song writing, it's melodic, shiny in places and sounds nicely produced, but not overdone. This album does what it does well and if it were released as an EP it might gain quite a bit of notice. However, due to the nature of its contents, it gets old, fast.
With that said, if you need easy listening this will do the trick. Coming to the background music of a Hollyoaks episode soon...
Listen: www.myspace.com/sneakysoundsystem
Tracklist:
1. I Love It
2. Pictures
3. UFO
4. 16
5. It's Not My Problem
6. Kansas City
7. When We Were Young
8. I Just Don't Want To Be Loved
9. Because of You People Say I'm Crazy
10. Lost In The Future
11. Don't Get You
12. I Want Everything
13. Where Do I Begin
Review - Billy Vincent - Sugar & Soap (Single)
Billy Vincent - Sugar & Soap (Single)
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5 out of 10
This London five-piece describe themselves as 'dirty folk', which you may think is a description of the music. Not so. I have no idea of their collective personal hygiene but 'dirty folk' this most certainly is not - at least, not on record. Live may be a different kettle of squirmy herring, of course, but I'm not reviewing that - this is the plastic platter, or the virtual va-va-voom, so to speak. There's potential for greatness, here. Sugar & Soap has a grabbing catchy stomp about it, like a (much) younger Jackie Leven. Sequins is the same, with some firm slide guitar, it's just. well, let's put it this way - if you've never heard anything by the sorry one-hit wonder Jilted John, then Billy Vincent are a perfectly sound, rockabilly-tinged folk band. However, if you have heard that 'Gordon is a moron', then the 'dirtiness' of this band's intent may be, er, tarnished somewhat.
Listen: www.myspace.com/billyvincent
Tracklist:
1. Sugar & Soap
2. Sequins
Review - Trip - River Phoenix (Single)
Trip - River Phoenix (Single)
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7 out of 10
You know those sorts of bands you see on really badly produced 'teen dramas' on E4? The ones that are all sunglasses, tight jeans and hair with absolutely no musical balls to back up their image? Trip is exactly the product of that. This is badly done emceeing and badly played indie all rolled into one horrible concoction of saccharine sweet, bad for your teeth pop; which is why you will keep going back for listen after listen.
It might be cheesy, but summertime is definitely on the way and this will be a big song to watch out for.
Listen: http://www.myspace.com/tripskingdom
Tracklist:
1. River Phoenix
Review - Vialka - Succès Planétaire International
Vialka - Succès Planétaire International
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7 out of 10
I've been avoiding starting this review for a couple of days now. Not because this is a bad record, because it's not, but more that I'm not sure how to approach reviewing it. Vialka have got me stumped. My frame of reference for this style of music is pretty limited and I hate to fall back on lazy journalism techniques, but the best way I can describe Vialka is like Gogol Bordello meets Battles. There's a hint of Fugazi in there as well. Let me try again. Vialka are a two piece gypsy folk punk band from France. Succès Planétaire International is their sixth album. Their motto for this record was "more rock, less talk." Most bands could do with taking their advice.
The first thing that you hear on Succès Planétaire International is what can only be described as a folk waltz riff being played by a tuba. This is the first thing that confused me. I don't think I've ever heard a tuba being used on record. I guess there's a first time for everything. The next thing that threw me was the drums and guitar. This is where the motto of "more rock, less talk' comes into play. The drummer scatters around her snare drum and hi hat recalling the precise, syncopated style of Battles' John Stainer, whilst the guitar plays a descending riff that wouldn't sound out of place on a Fugazi record. Over the course of six minutes, Vialka twist and turn their way through four different time signatures, numerous stops and starts and at least three different musical styles. As odd as it is to compare a folk band to Battles, it's not that far off the mark. 'Good Riddance' again showcases Vialka's tendency towards intricate rhythms, with both guitar and drums showcasing restrained yet complex riffs, fusing both folk music and math rock seamlessly. Like a cross between Battles and Gogol Bordello.
World music is often seen as a dirty word, a genre with slight returns at best. On Succès Planétaire International, Vialka have proven not only that world music shouldn't always be disregarded, but that you can produce interesting and thought provoking records under its umbrella, without sounding like one of those terrible bands that always get booked for Later With Jools Holland. Just remember: "more rock, less talk."
Listen: www.myspace.com/vialka
Tracklist:
1. Premiers Pas
2. 100% Hello
3. One For The Road
4. Good Riddance
5. Do What Now?
6. Dutar
7. Always Against
8. Hole In The Bucket
Review - Chasing Ora - Here and Winning (Single)
Chasing Ora - Here and Winning (Single)
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5 out of 10
With an attitude like Here & Winning, there's no stopping London and Essex based sextet Chasing Ora. The group's debut single evokes a nineties sound, particularly that of an array of female artists with Sheryl Crow somehow triumphing on top of those long forgotten sisters, Alisha's Attic (Who? Exactly!) a coincidence considering the four men in the band are fronted by sisters, Natalie and Joanna Jones.
The melodies and vocals laying on top of each other in this track give Chasing Ora an enigmatic sound with many layers to peel back, but as they are all similarly toned there's no surprise waiting underneath, just a stamping drum beat. Though feisty, this offering is laid-back, and suggest that perhaps Chasing Ora are most listenable live, which could explain the band's cemented presence among London's turbulent live scene, where they are 'there and winning' apparently!
Listen: www.myspace.com/chasingora
Tracklist:
1. Here and Winning
2. Running Scared
Review - Metro Station - Shake It (Single)
Metro Station - Shake It (Single)
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4 out of 10
Coming on stronger than an advert for clean teeth and fresh breath, this zesty bubblegum-pop single by Miley Cyrus' brother's band contains the right ingredients to give teens something to smile, sing and shout about too. Metro Station reportedly owe their success to the power of the internet and it's community sites, but if the incessantly catchy hooks and energy that's charging through the melodies on this offering's anything to go by their music's attributed to their popularity too. To some the stimulating sounds on Shake It will tire quicker than the flavour disappearing out of said fresh breath bubblegum, as there is a persistent generic aspect of their sound too and how do you Shake It? Or, shake what exactly?
Listen: www.myspace.com/metrostation
Tracklist:
1. Shake It (Radio Mix)
2. Shake It (Instrumental)
Review - Iain Archer - Songbird/Frozen Lake (Single)
Iain Archer - Songbird/Frozen Lake (Single)
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5 out of 10
Macy Gray styled soft vocals, Jack Johnson like guitar work. Sounds like a decent combination really doesn't it? I though it sounded good, till I listened to it. To be honest I'm making it sound worse than it is, husky yet soft vocals, scratchy acoustic work with the occasional string chamber group backing, and all the potential for a really good track.
Unfortunately the vocals are just grating, the playing is mediocre and predictable, the tracks go on too long and the lyrics are just dull and uninspiring. You have to wonder where this went wrong.
Skip this and buy a pint instead.
Listen: www.myspace.com/iainarcher
Tracklist:
1. Songbird
2. Frozen Lake
Saturday, 28 March 2009
News - The Red Chord - July Tour
The Red Chord return to the UK to play some live dates in July:
SAT 4 JULY KINGSTON FIGHTING COX
SUN 5 JULY YEOVIL ORANGE
MON 6 JULY MANCHESTER MUSICBOX
TUE 7 JULY SHEFFIELD CORPORATION
WED 8 JULY LONDON UNDERWORLD
THUR 9 JULY BRISTOL CROFT
News - Paolo Nutini UK Tour Starts To Sell Out...
Paolo Nutini has the following UK tour dates:
MAY
2nd Lincoln Engine Shed
3rd Preston 53 Degrees
8th Liverpool Academy
11th Norwich UEA
12th London, Electric Ballroom - SOLD OUT
13th Bristol Academy
14th Wolverhampton Wulfran
16th Aberdeen Music Hall
17th Kilmarnock Grand Hall
18th Dunfermline, Alhambra
19th Inverness, Ironworks
20th Glasgow ABC - SOLD OUT
The direct buy link for tickets is
http://www.seetickets.com/see/event.asp?e|artist=PAOLO+NUTINI&n|artist=null&resultsperpage=20&filler1=see&filler2=PAOLO%20NUTINI&filler3=id1warner&orderby=date
News - Sonic Boom Six: City Of Thieves
Sonic Boom Six will release new album "City of Thieves" through Rebel Alliance Recordings on the 20th of April and have announced a new tour too.
'CITY OF THIEVES' TOUR with special guests Random Hand
APRIL
30th BRIGHTON THE ENGINE ROOMS
MAY
01st LONDON THE SCALA (CLUB NIGHT LATE SHOW)
02nd LONDON UNDERWORLD
03rd BRISTOL CROFT
04th EXETER THE CAVERN
05th CARDIFF BARFLY
06th YEOVIL ORANGE BOX
07th READING FACE BAR
08th ALTON COMMUNITY CENTRE
09th MANCHESTER
10th YORK FIBBERS
11th DARLINGTON FORUM
12th CAMBRIDGE MAN ON THE MOON
14th PLYMOUTH WHITE RABBIT
15th KETTERING SAWYERS
16th BRIDLINGTON SPA MUTINY FEST
17th DUNDEE DOGHOUSE
18th GLASGOW IVORY BLACKS
19th NEWCASTLE TRILLIANS
21st PETERBOROUGH PARK
22nd NARBETH QUEENS HALL
23rd BARROW IN FURNESS CANTEEN
24th LEEDS UNI SLAM DUNK
26th LIVERPOOL BARFLY
27th BIRMINGHAM ASYLUM
28th BLACKPOOL WEST COAST ROCK CAFE
29th NOTTINGHAM MAZE
30th SOUTHAMPTON TALKING HEADS
31st LONDON UNDERWORLD
News - Guns On The Roof Gigs
Guns On the Roof have recently confirmed various live dates across the UK / Europe:
Apr 3 - Joseph Well w/ Goldblade - Leeds
Apr 11 - Moodeaze Strummer Fest - Gosport
Apr 14 - Subway To Peter - Germany
Apr 15 - Music House w/ Deadline - Slovakia
Apr 16 - Club Randal w/ Deadline - Germany
Apr 17 - Chemiefabrik - Germany
Jun 5 - White Lion - Chepstow
Jun 6 - Shed - Leicester
Jun 9 - Brannigans - Blackpool
Jun 11 - Underworld w/ The Members - London
Jun 12 - Crypt w/ ANWL - Hastings
Jul 17 / 18 / 19 - Mighty Sounds Festival - Czech Republic
Aug 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 - Rebellion Festival - Blackpool
News - The King Blues - "I Got Love" Single
The King Blues will release their new single "I Got Love" on the 4th of May. The band will be pairing up with uLive to do an extensive University and College tour throughout late April/May. Dates are as follows:
27-April Sheffield Students’ Union
28-April Derby Students’ Union
29-April Uxbridge - Brunel Students’ Union
30-April Bath Students’ Union
01-May Swansea Sin City
03-May Hull University Union
04-May Guildford - Surrey Students’ Union
05-May Colchester - Essex Students’ Union
06-May Norwich - The Waterfront
07-May High Wycombe - Bucks Students’ Union
08-May Reading Students’ Union
09-May Liverpool Guild of Students
10-May Preston - 53 Degrees
11-May Glasgow Strathclyde Students’ Union
News - The Worst Kind Of Cuts; The Paper Kind.
The new Papercuts album "You Can Have What You Want" is out on the 13th of April and they have the following tour dates lined up also:
09 Apr 2009, Deaf Institute, Manchester
10 Apr 2009, The Clarendon , Hartlepool
11 Apr 2009, Bird On The Wire, Barden’s Boudoir, London
12 Apr 2009, Freebutt, Brighton
13 Apr 2009, Rough Trade East Instore (6pm) London
14 Apr 2009, Café de La Danse, Paris
15 Apr 2009, The Cellar, Oxford
16 Apr 2009, Sonic Cathedral - The Legion, London
17 Apr 2009, Buffalo Bar, Cardiff
News - Placebo - Battle For The Sun Track Listing Revealed
Placebo have revealed the track listing for their new album "Battle For The Sun" which is released on June 8th.
Track Listing:
1. Kitty Litter
2. Ashtray Heart
3. Battle For The Sun
4. For What It’s Worth
5. Devil In The Details
6. Bright Lights
7. Speak In Tongues
8. The Never - Ending Why
9. Julien
10. Happy You’re Gone
11. Breathe Underwater
12. Come Undone
13. Kings Of Medicine
Friday, 27 March 2009
News - Black Sabbath - In Digital Glory At Last!
Submitted: "The Black Sabbath back catalogue will be available digitally for the first time in the UK from Monday 30th March following a deal struck by Universal Music Catalogue UK, a division of Universal Music UK.
Brian Rose, Managing Director, Commercial Division of Universal Music UK said: "The Black Sabbath catalogue is one of the most iconic catalogues to be missing from the digital market. We are delighted that from 30th March music fans will finally be able to download and stream Black Sabbath's music from our digital partners. This is a significant step for us, and will be happening alongside the physical release of 'Paranoid' as a Deluxe Edition, showing our commitment to providing music fans with the very best both physically and digitally."
From 30th March, 18 titles from the Black Sabbath catalogue will be available for download from retailers including iTunes; Amazon.com MP3 store; Tesco Digital; 7 Digital; Play.com, HMV.com MP3 stores and Lost Tunes.com.
The albums will also be available from streaming partners such as Spotify, Napster and We7. Also available for the first time will be ringtones of classic tracks Paranoid, War Pigs and Iron Man."
DIGITAL CATALOGUE TO BE AVAILABLE FROM 30th MARCH:
BLACK SABBATH (1970)
PARANOID (1971)
MASTER OF REALITY (1971)
BLACK SABBATH, VOL 4 (1972)
SABBATH BLOODY SABBATH (1973)
SABOTAGE (1975)
TECHNICAL ECSTASY (1976)
NEVER SAY DIE! (1978)
HEAVEN AND HELL (1980)
LIVE AT LAST (1980)
MOB RULES (1981)
LIVE EVIL (1982)
BORN AGAIN (1983)
SEVENTH STAR (1986)
THE ETERNAL IDOL (1987)
PAST LIVES (2002)
THE SINGLES (2000)
WE SOLD OUR SOUL FOR ROCK ’N’ ROLL (2006)
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