|
|
|
|
| LATEST
ALBUM REVIEWS >>> SCROLL DOWN >>> |
| SANCTIFICATION
>>> PLANAR EVIL >>> BRESCHDLENG >>> AZARATH >>> FIREBUG >>> DIE PRETTY
>>> AHAB >>> ABRAMIS BRAMA >>> NITKOWSKI >>> TEN
CITY NATION >>> THE DEVILROCK FOUR >>>
DEAD STARS >>> STUPIDITY >>> SYRACH >>> AMBASSADOR GUN
>>> MORAL DILEMMA >>> MASTERS OF REALITY >>> JAMES YORKSTON
& THE BIG EYES FAMILY PLAYERS >>> OKIE DOKIE >>> FATHER MURPHY >>>
BLINDFOLD >>> BLEED FROM WITHIN >>> THE CHURCH >>> GULLICH >>>
NINJA DOLLS >>> OEN SUJET >>> STREET SWEEPER SOCIAL CLUB
>>> NUTSAK >>> END OF EVERYTHING >>> INNOCENT ROSIE
>>> OBLIQ >>> THE MORNING AFTER >>> ANDY NICE >>> ELECTRIC RIVER >>> CHEVAL
SOMBRE >>> WAVVES >>> GOODNIGHT AND I WISH >>> ADMIRAL ANGRY
>>> SLEEPER >>> FALCONGATE >>> MANGROVE >>> THE THING >>> HYSTERICA
>>> KONG >>> HOW’S MY POP >>> THE DANDY WARHOLS >>> MAGNETIC MORNING
>>> GARETH SAGER |
 18th
AUG '09: ALBUM REVIEW(s):
EXTREME METAL ON METAL BAKED BEAN DIVE IN TO THE WAITING PILE.
Really is a non-stop operation, got this death metal album here, on top
of the ever-growing pile, can’t for the life of any giant black spider
read the logo or find their name anywhere, growling about washing his hands
in the blood of the lamb or something like that, what was going on in the
mind of those that made thisremarkable piece of art...? We’d probably make
more of an effort to find out what the damn logo on the none more black
cover said if it wasn’t such standard issue generic death metal splurg
and same old same old bass drum pounding conformity... Same goes for this
one here, perfectly readable logo this time, well not perfectly readable,
some kind of legible, may as well be the same CD as the first one still
stuck and growling away in the player though... Same with this third one
and this forth - bad black metal meets Iron Maiden effort from Norway...
We get so much of this stuff, every day, more of it arrives from all over
the planet, a never ending spewtum of copycat extreme metal. More coffee,
next CD, throw it in the disc mangler.. What was it that band Blue
Blud said when we interviewed them that time? “Heavy metal is like baked
beans, everyone wants their beans orange and tasting just like the others,
no one wants their baked beans purple of green do they” – something like
that anyway, they were supporting some new band called Faith No More, who,
they were pointing out, would never get anywhere sounding all weird and
different like they were...
Onward with the never ending pile of extreme metal baked beans... Ah, this
one’s a little better, and a just about readable logo as well – SANCTIFICATION
– Black Reign (Pulverised) – Relentlessly heavy, pounding, a brutal onslaught
of riffs, low-end vocals jousting with a never-ending barrage of kick-drums,
regulation bass churning, all in an orange tomato sauce and death metal
from Sweden, they really could be from anywhere, their warring shitstorm
of atmospheric extreme death metal does stand out a little, slightly off-orange
beans in a slightly purple kind of way – www.myspace.com/sanctificationband
or www.pulverised.net – Now were
crunching... extreme metal blow out, next... PLANAR EVIL –
Mankind Way Of Life (MDD) – Old school Italian thrash metal on a German
label, 80’s sounding trashing speed and Slayer and Overkill and Testament
and Anthrax and really not bad at it in their own raw basic dented can,
low budget own brand beans kind of way. Decent old school skate-thrash
metal – www.myspace.com/planaerevil
BRESCHDLENG
– Breschdleng (Prevision) – Tough sounding hardcore metal with a 90’s groove
to it. Serious hardcore noise (and aggression) from Southern Germany and
sung in what were told is an obscure German language called Swabian. No
idea what they’re singing and yelling about, nothing dubious we trust.
Their name apparently means strawberry - monstrous hardcore groove with
a manic sounding German screaming and yelling (get the feeling from checking
websites that those lyrics are nothing bad, their politics appears to be
sound).... Kind of like all the yelling and hardcore punk metal groove
actually, really do hope nothing bad is being shouted about here – mean
looking bunch of crunchers - www.myspace.com/breschdleng
- next please... AZARATH – Praise The Beast (Agonia) – And
on it goes, storm after storn of deathly black extreme metal orange baked
bean wasp-bothering noise and more raving frothing extreme extremities
and hoover-sucking vocals. This lot are actually from the US, they sound
like they’re more likely to be from mainland Europe, they sound like a
thousand bands you already heard, they do it well enough, worth an ear
if you should need more beans on toast - www.myspace.com/azarathtl
– that’s enough metal and orange baked beans for a Tuesday morning... More
coffee, get me out of here... metal on metal... drive you insane, the louder
the better, volume's the game... we love the smell of metal in the morning,
now what's happening in the real world today?
x |
 17th
AUG '09: FIREBUG – Season For Change (Buddha Belt) – Rather lush
female-fronted retro alternative melodic hard rock. Originally from Chicago
and now located in Los Angeles, Firebug have one positive foot in the 70’s,
folk rock, restrained touches of Led Zeppelin, Fleetwood Mac while their
other foot is positively planted in the U.S. radio-friendly alternative
rock of the 90’s. Lush, strongly-voiced classic American alternative hard
rock, twelve impressive tracks, no fillers, just classic melodic hardrock
– simple as that, classic song-based guitar driven beautifully-voiced impressive
imaginative classic melodic rock –
www.firebugmusic.com
DIE
PRETTY – Bitter Sweet (Unconform) – Girl fronted bratty catchy hi-energy
punk pop from Brooklyn, New York. For some reason she’s reminding us of
that singer from No Doubt, far more attitude and energy though, far more
in your face – Rancid, Social Distortion.... Formed by brother and sister
tag team Skip and Sarah back in 2008, they’re a ball of no messing catch
punk-pop energy, you can catch the catchiness here – www.myspace.com/dieprettynyc
or www.unconform-records.de
X |
 15th
AUG 2009: AHAB – The Divinity Of Dreams (Napalm) – “Funeral nautic
doom metal” says the publicity blurb... well they’re not that fast! This
is seriously slower than slow metal – anthemic, melodic, treacle thick
and monastic. Surprisingly listenable, almost soothing. Ahab are a German
four piece, the cite the sea as their main influence, if that is the case
then their sea is calm, forebodingly dark, at ease, anre ready to swallow
whole sailing ships - they’re in the doldrums... This is seriously
slow metal – superslow, anthemic, serious metallic redemption, kind of
threatens to become some kind endurance test by the fifth seven and a half
minute track Tombstone Carousal although they do keep investing their positive
durge with colourful imagination – seriously good, seriously slow, serious
sea-calm doom metal... www.napalmrecords.com
or www.myspace.com/ahabdoom
ABRAMIS
BRAMA – Smakar Sondag (Transubstans) - How much more Seventies could
it be? None, none more Seventies. Swedish hard rock, classic Seventies
hard rock – Swedish prog-ish hard retro groove rock - Deep Purple, Uriah
Heep, Stone Sold, Bad Company, Led Zeppelin, Mountain, Cream ... the full
on authentic sounding real deal. Sung in Swedish, no idea what they’re
on about, nothing dubious we trust.. They rock, if Seventies hard rock
is your thing (and why the hell wouldn't it be!) then this is good good
good... and you just know their flares are bigger and better than anyone
else’s. Cool as f.... –
www.abramisbrama.com
or www.myspace.com/abramisbrama
or www.recordheaven.net
x |
 14th
AUG 2009: NITKOWSKI – Chauffeurs (Function) – From London
with some blustery scratchy, rather busy, spiky, mathy alt.rock (and some
rather intriguingly strange looking artwork). Itchy music, itchy and scratchy
and with a sometimes shouty man adding vocals that never push too much
at you – their pecking at your head is kind of positive. This is good,
there’s a lot of this scratch indie shouty mathy rock complexity around
- you’ve got to have an edge these days, a bit of depth to stand out, something
a little more, Nitkowski do... Tumbling up stairs, cantankerously good,
alive with energy , razor sharp, jagged, slightly worrying, mangled and
knotted and if they do have a Don Cabellero feel then we’re talking Don
Cab with a broken bottle and a menacing look in their collective eyes.
Nitkowski have a sense of light and shade, a genuine need to push at the
edges rather than just follow the pack, something good evolving here –
www.myspace.com/nitkowski
TEN
CITY NATION – At The Still Point (Sturm Und Drang) - Whooops, release
dates, tube trains, buses, all easily missed when the sun is out and well...
Ten City Nation’s second album came out last week, released on their own
label on August 3rd and more of their slightly different, rather English,
grungy guitar bluster that once again comes laced with their always passionate
commitment. Old battles lost replaced with new battles found and
a positively lo-fi raw rather personal sound – to call it grunge is wrong,
like My Vitriol before them, the spirit of grunge is where Ten City Nation’s
sound is anchored, there’s other things here though, Manic Street Preachers
are as much of a reference point as Nirvana – nothing too obvious though,
they’re a band influenced, very much a band doing their own thing though,
Ten City Nation have their own sound – a sometimes compelling, sometimes
very dark inward looking sound and a commitment that’s grounded in something
lost on most English indie rock bands these days – www.tencitynation.com
x |
 14th
AUG 09: ALBUM REVIEW: THE
DEVILROCK FOUR – First in Line (Unconform) - Good time AC/DC flavoured
ear-friendly melodic pop rock ‘n roll, touch of The Cult about them, Danko
Jones... Throwaway pop rock from Melbourne, Australia, harmlessly likeable
– www.thedevilrockfour.com
or www.myspace.com/thedevilrockfour
13th
AUG 09: DEAD STARS – Break The Tide (self release) - Landed here
from Brooklyn, New York, with an orange post-it note stuck to the front,
“we’re looking for you to release our album or at least review it” said
the rather reasonable friendly note. Well now, let's have a listen... Breezy
90’s sounding radio-friendly Lemonheadish indie guitar alt.rock isn’t really
going to set our pulses racing, sounds a little dated and well, we’re being
as polite and we,, – here’s a link if you’re curious... Good luck to them,
hope they find that label - www.deadstarsmusic.com
.
STUPIDITY
– I Need You (Go Fast) – Gravel-throated bar room alt.punk-pop from Sweden,
hint of LA new wave circa 1981, you know the kind of thing, not doing much
for these ears – www.stupidity.se
SYRACH
– A Dark Burial (Napalm) – This one has to be a joke right? Comedy doom
metal band with death warmed up on vocals....Oh yes, look at the cover,
definitely a joke – those witty Norwegian metal types, oh, hang on, the
singer’s called Ripper, wonder if he knows Mr Owens from that band Steel
Dragon ... “Our doom is the law, obey!” – Right Rip, got you there... nearly
had us – www.myspace.com/syrach
or www.napalmrecords.com
x |
 12th
AUG 09: AMBASSADOR
GUN – When In Hell (Pangea) – They’re from the USA, Minneapolis in
fact, we’re talking a shitstorm of heavy heavy intense metal.... A kind
of Slayer stomping on Mastodon for taking Nasum’s cheese biscuits without
asking nicely - a relentless kind of rage and growl. Relentlessly intense,
extremely heavy - no intention of stopping for anything, no time for breath,
no time for reflection, just pile in there with the riffs and the vocal
wall of metal noise – when in hell indeed. Frothing, boiling, relentless
metal intensity. Who knows what they’re on about? Bottom Feeder, Death
Nail, Killed Hooker’s Money – don’t really want to look too closely,
doesn't sound too savoury. If you like your metal intense and Slayer-like
then this storm is an impressive cut above the average – www.myspace.com/ambassadorgun
MORAL
DILEMMA – Agree To Disagree (Pumpkin) – Back for more, the three of
‘em, all mohawked up and raging away with their no messing shouty hardcore
punkified speedmetal streetpunk attack. Cleo, Pasty and Craig, the three
of them right there on your toes, shouting and speeding and riffing, nothing
ground-breaking or different, just straight in there with some seriously
good no messing energy, some throaty vocals, a bag of confrontational attitude
and a whole load of raw blistering speed punk class. They’re from London,
they’ve risen out of the DIY squat punk scene, they're loaded with hard
hitting no messing raw angry bite and a serious no messing second album
that more than builds of the debut. Spot on sound, spot on raw production,
spot on attitude, and like we said last time around, proper London punk
rock, go grab a slice – www.pumpkinrecords.co.uk
MASTERS
OF REALITY – Pine/Dover Cross (Brownhouse) – ‘Proper’ new album from
Chris Goss and his on-off band known as Masters Of Reality. A rock record
that once again touches on the later things Led Zeppelin did in quite a
big way - bits of groove, bits of stoner rock, bits of Cream, very much
rhythm orientated old school rock record once more. Mahavishnu Orchestra
seem to have influenced things rather a lot this time around, bits of free-form
instrumentals, lots of this is instrumental actually and once you let it
flow and accept it for what it is and just let the groove and the prog-fusion
and the bits of later Zeppelin goodness flow in that familiar Masters was
- the Presence and the alt.country tinge and the groove and such – then
this is a rather enjoyable new album, not sure how relevant it all is in
2009, enjoyable when the groove and flow gets you though... www.mastersofreality.com
x |
 11th
AUG 09: JAMES
YORKSTON & THE BIG EYES FAMILY PLAYERS - Folk Songs (Domino)
– The folk singer from Fyfe, this time with the rather sublime Big Eyes
Family Players and some rather fresh sounding contemporary folk simplicity.
This time James has gathered together a simple soothing and extremely beautiful
set of mellow fair-bodied folk songs - traditional songs, compelling
songs, old songs of Britain and Ireland gathered together.... Just simple
songs, beautifully played, lovingly arranged, words to drag you in, tales
and textures and everything just perfectly right. I shall be honest here,
folk is not my first choice in terms of a musical port of call, this is
one of the most delightfully inviting albums for a long long time... garters
and ribbons tied around gates and all waiting, a set of absolute pleasures.
And real folk, simple folk, none of this smoothie-folk, nu-folk, coffee
table-folk nonsense, just heartfelt crafted timeless traditional contemporary
goodness and an absoulute delight. Highly recommended. – www.myspace.com/jamesyorkston
or www.dominorecordco.com or
www.jamesyorkston.co.uk
OKIE
DOKIE – Okie Dokie (Aagoo) - Ain’t felt this good for an hour.....
Now we’re motoring - fourth day, five day marathon... Okie Dokie, here
we go again, strap yourself.... This is a head-driller, no idea who they
are or where they’re from... hang on... Val Verdie, California. Right
then - eight tracks, we couldn’t resist cutting to the chase, track seven,
straight to it, moving like a parallelogram – more in a moment.
Back to the start first though... There’s three of ‘em, Mikey, Mikal,
Ryan, they sound like they’re armed with power drills and buzz saws...
They’re powered by a maniac of a drum machine (apparently no human drummer
could handle the task – so they say - what’s wrong with those Californians!?).
Part time outragious, full time contagious (or something like that)...
Austere precision so they say. They sound like that band who found the
legendary brown note, the one that makes you shit when they play it
Actually they sound like manic killer punk rock muppets, with an extra
maniacal vocalist spinning cryptic high speed yelping yappy riddles and
slashing cutting barb - wonder what he’s on about? This is good - battering
ram directness and eight slices of slashing punk rock - he sounds like
a manic pirate’s even more manic parrot with those manic vocals on that
nailed-down wired-up version of Motorhead... we should be tired, all we
are is... Okie Dokie are wired, raw, blistering, maniacal, wired some more
and all rather different - ice pick kicking ooga booga and relentlessly
drilling at you non stop, you’ll love it or hate it, I love it... www.myspace.com/okiedokieusa
or www.aagoo.com
Five
best ever covers of Motorhead until Okie Dokie came along....
1:
COCKNEY REJECTS and their dysfunctional car crash of a live version on
the b-side of the Hang ‘em High single
2:
POISON IDEA's version that's nearly as dysfunctional as the Rejects...
3:
All MOTORHEAD’s versions, take your pick – we’ll it ain’t a Motorhead song
is it! They’re all covers, you knew that already right.... All good clean
fun, lighten up, have another stick of gum...
4:
PRIMAL SCREAM and that swirling Hawkish version on Vanishing Point
5:
REO SPEEDEALER’s version, we’re still adding the REO, who care’s what the
lawyers say, you’ll find it on this month’s Organ Spotify
x |
 10th
AUG 09 - FATHER
MURPHY – And He Told Us To Turn To The Sun (Aagoo) - Where to
start? An album unlike anything that’s gone before, not a difficult album
– well in terms if listening this isn’t a difficult album, in terms of
telling you about it then it most certainly is difficult. Seems they’re
from Italy and we can be here all day throwing things we’ve never heard
or indeed heard of in the CD mangle in the corner, most will be predictable,
a lot of it will be at best, average... and then once in a while something
will stop us and demand we stop whatever we’re doing and pay full and proper
attention. They’re kind of making some sort of avant-folk, then again they’re
not, anyone remember those early Huge Baby days? Kayo Dot? Stripped back,
skeletal, otherly... Dark... Morricone.... yeah, I know, Italian, mention
spaghetti Westerns – cheap lazy shorthand music journalism... it
does have the pace and space though, the drama, the less is more feel,
the quiet tension, the dark detuned minimal guitar, the strange voices,
the falsetto crooning, the off-hinge whispered keyboards... This Heat,
Robert Wyatt, Birthday Party, Lairs, Huge Baby.... only nothing like any
of that in anyway what so ever... and all rather quietly intense and yes,
very much otherly, intriguingly otherly... Nine songs, intriguing titles....dirgy
in a positive way... monastic.... wonderfully different... sinister...
are we evil? We are evil (we are Devo?).... Forcing who on who’s knees?
Where to start? Highly recommended, we don’t know how to tell you
about it... wonderful...
www.myspace.com/reverendmurphy
or www.aagoo.com
BLINDFOLD
– Faking Dreams (Cinepop) – Pleasantly polite melodic and rather heavily
Radiohead influenced indie rock Sigur Ros tinged expansiveness from Iceland.
Nothing new and like so many things that flow by, but this would be rather
difficult and a touch heard-hearted to not like this – www.blindfoldmusic.co.uk
6th
AUG 09 - BLEED FROM WITHIN – Humanity (Rising) - One of them there
growling up a shitstorm type vocalists and what sounds like a second dick-caught-in-zip
type screamer alongside him... Some brutal metal riffs, some raging speedhorn
stomps and some violent brutal brutal yelping tantrum plagues... Did we
say they were brutal? Brutal, intense, relentless, locked on... who knows
what they’re yelling about? Price of fish? State of the Japanese knotweed
invasion? Colour of Lemmy’s underpants this week? What the devil might
be having for tea tonight? Ah look, you’ve heard it all before, a brutal
stew of intense brutally brutal shouty metal and noise and violence and
brutal yelling and riffing and raging and speedhorning and if you want
another helping of metal brutality then, without doing anything that new
or different, this debut album from this Glasgow outfit really ain’t bad...
www.myspace.com/bleedfromwithin
or www.myspace.com/risingrecordsuk
X |
 5th
AUG 09 THE
CHURCH – Untitled #23 (Second Motion) – The Church are a far too well
kept secret, one of the most constantly reliable and creatively wholesome
rewarding bands of the last thirty or so years. The psychedelically-edged
Australians just keep on quietly doing it – quiet in all senses - they’re
an unassuming legend amongst those who are lucky enough know about them...
And Untitled #23 is as inspiring as anything the band have done - a little
more restrained now, not so many blurred crusades these days.. Mellow consideration
and quiet reflective creative contentment – sometimes dreamy, sometimes
creamy, always intriguingly wordy (in an uncluttered simple kind of way).
The Church gentle glide, they glow, the create quietly unassuming sky touching
epics, they have done for years and years, they’re clearly still putting
their horse before their gorgeously easy cart. Torches that keep on burning,
slowly uncoiling rich vibrant beauty, as mysteriously dark and as instantly
accessible as ever, warm space between the notes and another instalment
in what really has been a rich long-flowing unbroken stream of instinctive
distinctive creative gentle vine-heavy goodness – www.secondmotionrecords.com
or www.myspace.com/thechurchbandofficial,
out this week and available in the UK via www.cargorecords.co.uk
x
4th
AUG 09 - GULLICH – Gullich (Pay For The Piano) – A trio from North
East English with a debut self-titled eight track mini album of spiky mathy
awkwardly angular indie rock They show a lot of ambitious promise,
a little predictable right now and a little lacking in terms of texture
and dimension – those guitars riffs and that voice stay at the same level
and never vary in terms of scratchy texture from start to finish. Textures
and mathy moves we’ve heard already and crying out to be taken somewhere
just a little different... Hopeful start though, let’s see what evolves,
worth sticking around to see where they take it, see if they can get a
little more in there.. www.gullich.co.uk
or www.payforthepiano.co.uk
NINJA
DOLLS – 1, 2, 3 Go! (Unconform) - Fast feisty female fronted punk pop
from Sweden, not many dimensions to it, that never stopped those Ramones
though... www.unconform-records.de
x |
 2nd
AUG 09 - OEN SUJET - Life Given To Quiet Places (LOAF) -
Oen Sujet are from Montreal, but they could be from another planet. This
glassy filigree of complex, space-age sound glistens like pollen and diatoms
under an electron microscope or a leaf under an ordinary one. Oen Sujet
imbue electronica with vibrant, hypnotically detailed life, taking analogue
synth warm purity and a whole zoo of the best sort of sonic glitch and
bloop that pepper techno or drum n bass, and using them in a way that's
a polar opposite to the usual - long, long epics packed with time changes
and super-rich harmony. 'Life Given To Quiet Places' might even be
some sort of breakthrough in music, some kind of breaking down of a whole
bunch of barriers: between contemporary classical and pop, between electronic
cool and heartfelt prog. It certainly defies description. Blending
immaculately with the clear, meticulously crafted production is the gorgeous,
gently soaring voice of Julie Blanche, thoughtful lyrics knitting all together
into a seamless, unique whole. That whole can be called an inseparable
mixture of Plaid and Burt Bacharach, of Stereolab and Aphex Twin, with
the melodies and structures of Yes and early Genesis. Despite the
electronic, bleepy, glitchy soundscape, those endlessly shifting key changes,
and the lovely female voice breaking into warm chorals recall the Sea Nymphs...
but little else comes close.
And oh, the tunes. So many tunes, any of which would be stretched out for
a whole song by more miserly songwriters, like the sudden killer chorus
around nine minutes into Bird and Binocular. All five mini epics
are constructed out of tiny chunks of compelling melody, shifting from
simple nursery rhyme to sophisticated Bacharach progression to hymnal in
a few lines. The depth of imagination in each composition is breathtaking,
the detail bewildering but so inviting. The more you listen, the more comes
to life, each part delightful and surprising in itself. And the entire
album holds together, as a unique whole.
Spectacularly beautiful... and not really like anything else. - www.l-o-a-f.com
or www.myspace.com/oensujet
x |
 1st
AUG 09: STREET SWEEPER SOCIAL CLUB – Street Sweeper Social
Club (Cooking Vinyl) - Burger flippers grab your spatulas... sit up, pay
attention, time to rage.... Street Sweeper Social Club is Tom Morello and
Boots Riley and their self-titled debut album drops over here this coming
Monday. It rules! Go out and get....
What... you want more from us? Oakland pro-active hip-hop legend
and all round positive social force Boots Riley On voice and words - best
know as leader of The Coup (Wire heads, does he sound like arch Honey Nut
fiend Omar or what?), Tom Morello, he of the (still) mighty, (still) cool
as f*** Rage Against The Machine on guitar and bass, Stanton Moore of Galactic
laying down some serious drums.... Oh look, this is frontline Rage, no
ifs, no buts... this is switch-flipping Rage good.... Boots Riley fits
the bill perfectly, The Coup are widely acknowledged as being one of the
best hip-hop outfits out there, his words bite, he’s got things to say
and ways to say it. Born in Chicago and raised in Oakland, Boots became
a teenage community organiser, served on the central organising committee
for the Progressive Labor Party and lots more, “Boots Riley has been an
integral part of the progressive struggle for radical change through culture”
– if you don’t know him already, you’re getting the picture, he fits right
there with Morello’s trademark riffs. This is seriously in the zone raging
against the machine, a megablast... and some of it is just damn well infectiously
good... two by two, Promonade. Those familiar “steamroller” riffs,
“It’s revolutionary party jams” says Morello... Rage and depth and funk,
and giant slabs or rock “This is a time when the working class is being
fleeced left and right, they’ll need something to listen to on their ipods
while storming Wall Street”. Front line Rage in every way, this rules,
one of the albums of the year, big rock monster, shake it by its furry
hand... www.streetsweepermusic.com
or www.cookingvinyl.com
x |
 NUTSAK
– Failed Musician (Signed By Force) – Frantic jazz, only it isn’t, scratchy
alternative rock, only it isn’t... John Coltrane for Sonic Youth fans?
Maybe? Frantically busy and rushing from one side of your mind to the other...
they swipe you with outbursts of frantic instrumental avant flavoured experimental
jazz and just when you think you’re getting somewhere near working them
out, off they rush with some frenetic wired garage punk or an insane working
of
My Favourite Things that ends up as some manic freeform feedback
jazz fest once more – and always precise and, in a loose and manic way,
so very tight (and easy to listen to). My Favourite Things is brilliant
actually, raindrops and roses and the fine sound of music
Mostly this is instrumental jazz noise - not too noisy, not too difficult,
not too hardboiled, just frantic frenetic jazz-fried other rock... they’re
not adverse to a touch of garage punk and a touch of bad attitude though
– They F**ked Good Tonight has a touch of the GG Allin about it...
It just may be an eclectic ride but it does all make sense and it does
flow as one glorious genre-bending irreverent whole, give it a few plays
and you’ll suddenly find you love all the Hidden Charms (the Willie Dixon
Hidden
Charms actually), they go to many place and sound like nothing but
Nutsak, recommended. – www.signedbyforce.com
or www.myspace.com/nutsaklove
31th
JULY 09 - END OF EVERYTHING – A Man Made Sun (Casket) – Rough
clanking clattering crashing punk/metal stew of aggression, pissed-off
intent, angry bile and delicate flower picking... They’re from Glasgow,
they sound like the type of people you avoid making eye-contact with on
late night buses. It isn’t entirely clear if this brutally raw mess is
by accident or blistering intent, it is violently good though (and we may
have lied about the flower picking element). Fast, heavy, direct, relentless,
a glorious road accident of an album, ‘basic’ production, drums sound like
cardboard boxes, nothing subtle, six tracks, hang on here comes a moody
slow one, no, they’re taking off like a bull in yet another china shop,
good stuff, who knows what he's singing (yelling) about... www.endofeverything.co.uk
INNOCENT
ROSIE – Bad Habit Romance (self release) – Twelve slices of decent
enough standard issue high energy heard it all before a million times L.A
glam metal Guns ‘n Skid ‘n Roses Row stuff (from Sweden), one shot of Jack
is as good as the next right? Should you want more of it that is, up to
you really -
www.myspace.com/innocentrosie
x |
 30th
JULY 09 - OBLIQ – Antenna (Ensue) – Rather impressive four piece
band from Sweden with some rather epic, rather lush, rich, refined, flowing,
easy on the ear, contemporary, indie rock colour... All good and Doves
and Editors and Coldplay and Keane and... and really rather good
if you like that kind of thing. good look to 'em, all a little nice and
polite for these awkward ears but hey... strong vocals, soothing epicness,
pleasantly uplifting...
www.obliq.se
or www.myspace.com/obliqonline
THE
MORNING AFTER – You Can’t Hurt Steel (Rising) – A not altogether convincing
attempt at some kind of 80’s power/hair metal hybrid... All Maiden and
Europe and Helloween and apocalyptic screaming sci-fi and singalong bits
and Malmsteen style guitar solos and what nice neat short tidy hair they
all have... www.myspace.com/themorningafterrock
ANDY
NICE – The Secrets Of Me (Front And Follow) – Andy Nice is currently
recording and performing with Tindersticks. He’s previously worked with
Luke Haines’ Barder Meinhof, Cradle Of Filth, Orbital, he’s also the cellist
with string/dance music aficionados Instrumental.... The Secrets Of
Me is a pleasantly soothing, restrained, quiet, mostly instrumental
solo album. Layers of cello, slowly gliding string driven textures and
all rather enjoyably soothing in a slow-moving richly textured chamber
orchestra kind of way – www.frontandfollow.com
ELECTRIC
RIVER – Radio No Go (self release) - Big bold Clash-like radio friendly
pop-rock energy and attitude from the Kent band, energy and songs that
now and again hit the spot (an now and again don’t quite...). Hardworking
committed band doing it the right way, good look to ‘em - www.myspace.com/electricriver
CHEVAL
SOMBRE - Sombre (Double Feature) – A rather glowing one-man band from
Hudson River, NY and a collection of eleven rather sombre, rather delicately
detailed slowcore folk songs. Songs that wash over in a gentle psychedelic
kind of way, touch of Spacemen 3/Spectrum in there – he, his name seems
to be Cheval Sombre, he has been recording with Sonic Boom, as well as
collaborating with Dean Wareham (Galaxie 500, Luna) and Britta Phillips
(Luna) – indeed Sonic Boom plays on all of these delicately warm gentle
tracks... mellow warm slowcore alt.folk and organic electronically
detailed acoustically driven psychedelia... rather beautiful. Eleven fine
songs, including a version of the Doors song
Hyacinth House – www.myspace.com/chevalsombre
or find copies in the UK via www.cargorecords.co.uk
WAVVES
- Wavvves (Bella Union) - From California and kind of sounding like it,
San Diego... Californian lo-fi fluster and artrock bluster and busy busy
busy scratchy fuzzy and some kind of one man noise-pop lo-fi scratchy garage
thing that sometimes gets angular (in a not that angular kind of way really),
an album that’s sometimes rewarding, sometimes a little annoying and sometimes
leading to sentences that never quite end... Scratchy lo-fi tendencies,
Californian goth girl obsessions, skateboards, weed, fuzz... a one man
wall of indie-rock lo-fi noise from Nathan Williams... bits of clipped
electronics and fractured fuzzy experimental noise, always around the lo-fi
no-fi songs though, this is pop first and foremost, pop songs... and if
we’re honest, which we always are, a little take it or leave it.... I think
we’ve had enough now... www.myspace.com/wavves
29th
JULY 09 - GOODNIGHT
AND I WISH – A Ruffled Mind Makes A Restless Pillow (Modern Pop) –
Titled after a Charlotte Bronte quote, a collection of songs reference
the thoughts we take to bed - the fears, the loves, the worries and ambitions,
the spying flies and that space just before dreamscape... A Collection
of songs, different songs, whispers, echoed thoughts in the night breeze...
Lullaby Pop so it seems, a set of songs that began their lives as an aid
to help cure bouts of insomnia suffered by singer/songwriter Brandon Jacobs
– “I would write instrumental pieces to listen to when I tried to sleep,
then, as time went by, I started adding stories, poems and nursery rhymes
to the music”. Some of the songs are sweet, some innocent, some of them
maybe a little too twee... Some charming, all very atmospheric, some of
it magical... microphones set up in dark stairways and underneath wind
chimes in the garden at night, in a haunted house, with the noise of mice,
the space shared with loved ones.... Touches of Tim Burton, Daniel Johnson,
The Divine Comedy... A mostly delightful English album, some of it poignantly
beautiful, and if it is Lullaby Pop then it must just be slightly left
field sometimes magical alternative Lullaby Pop... Brandon Jacobs is also
drummer and founder member of Neil’s Children. A Ruffled Mind is released
as a limited to 250 pressing of two CDs, Sun and Moon, the CDs come in
hand made black velvet bags... www.myspace.com/goodnightandiwish
ADMIRAL
ANGRY - Buster (Shelsmusic) – Late night blistering metal, these things
shouldn’t be listening to first thing in the morning... A raging frothing
yelping screaming pit of tantrum throwing churning brooding metal. Modern
grindcore intent and a whole dark blue bag of spitting chewing aural savagery...
Debut album from the LA crew (and they do sound like a crew rather than
just another band) and some intense modern screaming hardcore metal that
comes with just a little something extra... a little more colour, imagination,
a little more danger... You probably won’t want them flying at your head
all day everyday, and on some mornings yelping screaming man is going to
be the last thing you need, on days you do though, on days you do then
this is intensely good edge-pushing metal. Sometimes the music is good
enough to cut through all the crap, sometimes the music is worth it...
www.myspace.com/admiralangry
x |
 29th
JULY 09 - SLEEPER – Behind Every Mask (Mush) – Claustrophobic electronica,
hissing samples, textures and all through a lo-fi, dark, moody (maybe sinister)
experimental hip-hop filter. Clever soundscapes, otherly textures, grainy
atmospheres, grimey drums, thick layers of dusty North American musical
thought. An instrumental album layered with digital intrigue (and nothing
to do with any female fronted Brit Pop band of the 90’s). Less is more,
lots of less and more and everything else here, a crafted sound, clever
considered constructions... and none of this sounds as if it happened in
any kind of accidental press it and see kind of way... this sounds and
feels like every note was placed with purpose, every sound carefully considered....
who knows if that is the case, feels like it though, a work of depth –
circuit-bending beat driven electronic soothing goodness and well worth
your delicate ears. Out now and available in the UK via www.cargorecords.co.uk
or www.myspace.com/madawkward
28th
JULY 09 - FALCONGATE – Disappear Here (Lockjaw) – They’re from Hungary
and they’re another one of those competent enough indie emo guitar rock
bands who could be from Hungary or Brighton or California or pretty much
anywhere really. They do their slick thing well enough, no hint of identity
or x factor or any kind of desire to push anything, no risk taking, no
challenge... You’ve heard all this before, and one of those auto-tuner
vocoder things just kicked in so the eject button is about to be hit and
just what is the point in another record like this? And look at that bit
there with the press release; really not sure how the label can be claiming
the flag of punk rock with this one, this musical conformity is probably
about as far away from the idea of punk rock as you could possibly get...
here’s a link if you want to investigate and make you own mind up - www.falcongaterock.com
MANGROVE
- Endless Skies (Transubstans) – Decent enough melodic 70’s stoner flavoured
heavy rock from Stockholm... Psychedelic edges, unashamedly retro, Sabbath
flavoured, big galloping riffs, ex members of Sideburn... www.myspace.com/mangrovesweden
or www.recordheaven.net
x |
 27th
JULY 09 - THE THING – Bag It! (Smalltown Superjazzz) – The Thing
have a new album out this week, this is good news for peace and quiet loving
reflective types everywhere.... More of their hardboiled freeform noise
and spiky jazz challenge. Serious other rock, more blurring of the barriers
and pushing at the rules. This time the band travelled to Chicago to record
with arch Jazz disliker Steve Albini – although pretty much everything
we’ve ever heard from The Thing has been recorded the raw Albini press
the button and capture the vibe kind of way anyway, not sure what they
thought he was going to add (isn’t he jut a tape operator when it comes
down to it anyway? Guess the name on the sticker on the front helps? Makes
some kind of statement in terms of where they are?). Raw hardboiled left-field
jazz noise and loose pieces that once more cling on to the edge of some
kind of solid construction frame while the sax honks like a pack of rabid
geese and the rhythm section go their very own inspiring way once more.
Pretty much avoiding the covers this time other than touching on The Ex
and Japan’s 54 Nude Honey (they are known for their free jazz improv interpretations
of things they’ve borrowed from good people like Lighting Bolt, White
Stripes, PJ Harvey and such). Just how the Jazz world views them I don’t
know, they’re certainly deconstructing and contradicting pretty much every
barrier - the spirit of free jazz and dare we even say John Coltrane
channelled through some brutal avant other rock noise cloud that’s been
thrown at the wall at the back of garage rock. Spontaneously thrilling,
alive with danger and as always with The Thing, a rollercoaster of cutting
edge free jazz noise and just the fine challenge of thrilling music. A
band bot to be missed....Jazz noise for people like Albini, Jazz
for rock heads..
Bag It is out now on the consistently excellent Smalltown Superjazzz label.
The Thing play a rare UK show at the Field Day festival in London next
weekend (further Field Day details further down the page) – www.smalltownsuperjazzz.com
x |
 25th
JULY 09 - HYSTERICA – Metalwar (Crong) - Dangerous looking big-breasted
leather-clad women with names like Hell’n, Bitchie, Sinderella, Sat Anica
and such, all there in the flames with their axes, chains and growling
faces and shinny black PVC and singing of halloween and being midnight
queens searching for love in the graveyard and sounding like WASP on a
bad hair day telling Manowar they’re not loud enough! They’ve got a Song
called Pain In The Ass, best not go there... “Where’s the priest to bless
the beast?” An undoubted work of metal genius... strap what on? “We
are the girls made of heavy metal, We’re here to raise some hell, We play
so f**king loud your ears will start to bleed..”. they’re going to rock
until we drop so it seems, bang your heads, lose control, bring your sword,
we’re going to break some laws, listen up. Obey their words... Ripping
and crunching! Stand and shout, louder” Hysterica, how much more
metal could it be? None, none more metal, metal album of the year without
a doubt, we mean it maaan, god save..here's a Youtube,
here's some links - www.hysterica.se
or www.myspace.com/hysterica
KONG
– They’re a bothersome band this Manchester lot, scratching and poking
and prodding away, agitating, buzzing around your head, flying at your
face, taught, wired, never letting up.... Debut full album.... bruising,
intense, jagged, fractured, bleak, angst-ridden, riffs contradicting reflection...
insect rushing... fractured, broken, mended, fractured again... Kong are
different, and like we’ve said before, they’re one of the best bands in
the UK right now... boundary pushing, tripping up over their own boundaries,
taking risks, challenging themselves, challenging us, clever, never ever
obvious, still can’t predict where they’re going... one unholy row, metal?
Not really, beyond that, falling upstairs, falling up mountains... disjointed...
fluid, angular... screaming... crashing... only got a CDr here, hope
there’s intense artwork.... discordant, disturbing, face-pushing... perpetual...punk,
post punk, Fugazi car crashes, buzzing... buzzing off it... chainsaw chaos,
destructive beauty, head-pecking goodness.... wound up tight... crash,
bang, devastatingly unconventional, crafted ferocity, crafted bliss, crafted....
falling off the roof of the world... as intense as any band who have ever
been called Kong.... disturbingly good and everything we dared to hope
their debut album would be.... abrasive beauty.... we told you all this
before didn’t we? - www.brewrecords.net
or www.myspace.com/kongdom
HOW’S
MY POP – On The Hop (Barnbox) – Northern indie pop (from Lancaster),
they sound like they want to be the next Arctic Monkeys or something, not
doing that much for us but hey neither do those Monkeys. Sound like they
should be all over XFM and the NME and the sun is out and live and let
live and here’s a polite link, next please – www.howsmypop.com
x |
 23rd
JULY 09: THE DANDY WARHOLS – The Dandy Warhols Are Sound (EMI) -
We used to be friends, a long time ago....
Bands come, bands go,
there’s always a new band... Haven’t really seriously encountered the Dandy
Warhols for what seems like ages, last century? We used to be friends,
a long time ago... Organ covers when no one knew them, brilliant (half-empty)
Camden pub gigs and topless roller-skating margarita incidents before all
the hype kicked in, bullying EMI in to releasing that first single when
over here they really didn’t seem that interested in the U.S band they
had on the label - trying to get them to let us do it seeing as they didn’t
want to do it themselves, getting the Brian Jonestown Massacre and all
their baggage in return (some thank you that was Dandys!). Oh yes, we used
to be friends, a long time ago.. A new album then, kind of lost touch,
is this where the band are at now? Less of that gloriously locked on forward
moving rather focused North American alt.space rock of the early days,
still sounds like no one else but them though, different drugs to slow
things down? “Let’s get this one recorded in one toke....” and funk, lots
of funk, too much funk? And that forth track, The Last High, sounds rather
too much like Bowie’s Ashes to Ashes doesn’t it...? It is that familiar
Dandys sound though and it is always good to run in to an old friend you
once felt so much for... old friends always make you smile don’t they?
Might not be the same as it was but they are still sound enough. Not sure
if this is a brave album or not? Is this the sound of a band growing gracefully
old and mellow? Or a band trying to challenge themselves and take a few
risks? They are still sound aren’t they? Yeah, The Dandy Warhols are still
Sound, this is a mellow album, a band at ease, kicking back, doing what
they want, under none of the pressure of past times, a relaxed band/. Some
bits of it works more than other bits and indie rock bands trying to funk
are always a little dubious and meeting old friends you grew apart from
is always a little awkward and I think I like this album don’t I? Yes,
The Dandy Warhols are still sound... www.thedandywarhols.com
x
21st
JULY 09: MAGNETIC MORNING – A.M. (Friend or Faux) – A.M is the debut
full length from dreamy creamy slowcore swirl-making song-crafting duo
Adam Franklin (from Swervedriver) and Sam Fogarino (he on Interpol). A
glowing set of gentle sonic washes, soothing textures, very much about
the songs though... Written, via the wonders of e.mail files, cyberspace,
tour buses and hotels, while both of their bands were busy globetrotting
with their two bands – “from Hawaii to England, New Zealand to New Jersey...”
it says here.. Beautifully soothing songs, uplifting interludes, progressive
shifts, just really enjoyably good...
www.magneticmorning.com
20th
JULY 09: GARETH SAGER – Slack Slack Music (Creeping Bent) – Founder
member of the legendary Pop Group with a new solo album... The Pop Group,
Rip Rig & Panic, Head, his most recent project C.C Sager, quite a history
here... history isn’t what matters though, respect to it and respect to
him, but this about new records and the new now and getting all fired up
and we are all prostitutes and so fired up, so fired up... He may
have been guitarist with The Pop Group, these twelve brand new tracks are
what we’re concerned with and with a history like his, there’s a lot to
live up to.. .He does, this is good... hard to pin down as well, good...
good good good.... All is good There’s all kinds of little hints in here,
that wonderful Pop Group legacy and all that awkward challenging angular
energy and bits of The Fall, New Order, Orange Juice, Wire, The Clash (The
Pop Group were right up there with them all back in the day of course).
Nothing slack here, all good lean challenging new wave button pushing angle
provoking goodness, still as challenging as ever, still as different as
ever, nothing safe, no taking it easy, history is now, we are all...
– www.myspace.com/creepingbent
or www.myspace.com/garethsager
(or some history - www.myspace.com/thepopgroup
X |
| ALBUM
REVIEW DIRECTORY |
| PREVIOUS
PAGE >>> THE DUEL >>> DEVIL DRIVER >>>
ONEIDA >>> CALLOUS >>> MALEFICENT >>> HEIRS
>>> FUZZ FUZZ MACHINE >>> THE STUPIDS >>> KLAY >>> GODDASS >>> HORDE OF
HEL >>> CURSIVE >>> KILLSWITCH ENGAGE >>> THE ROBOT LORDS OF TOKYO >>>
THE ATOMIC BITCHWAX >>> THE LEGENDS >>> SAD DAY FOR PUPPETS >>> ADAM FRANKLIN
>>> ASSEMBLE HEAD >>> TYR >>> MEAT PUPPETS >>> GAY BEAST
>>> ALEXISONFIRE >>> THE PRESENT >>> DREAM THEATER |
 |
|
|
