Life is a cabaret, old chums, with the scintillating Take Back The Night (Sumerian Records). A power-packed, credulity-stretching showcase of strong, strong pop-rock songwriting and arranging courtesy of Starbenders; this album is full of punky attitude and thrusting ambition.
Ronnie James Dio. David Bowie. Dimebag Darrell. Lemmy. Jeff Hanneman. John Lennon. Kurt Cobain. Layne Staley. Trevor Strnad.
Countless others.
We all know where we were when we first heard they had died.
For anyone fooled into thinking this is 2022, Arctic Monkeys deliver a musical message that the 1970s are still going strong, on their new record The Car (Domino Records) the follow up to 2018’s Tranquility Base Hotel + Casino
Not even a year on from their last EP, Boston Manor is back with their fourth full-length album, Datura (Sharptone Records). Over the past five years, the band has made a name for themselves by upping the ante with each release. Anticipation is high for Datura to see what the quintet can create next, with news of the band delving deeper into concept albums for the release, this is raised even further.
Tristan Shone knows a thing or two about wacky, unorthodox percussion, thanks in large part to his expertise in mechanical engineering. With that kind of arsenal at his disposal, Shone ran with it on his latest effort for Author & Punisher, Krüller (Relapse Records), eight tracks packed with diversity, uniqueness, and precision. It’s also his ninth full-length release since 2005, and it superbly stands alone.
Idles have come on in leaps and bounds since their last album Joy As An Act of Resistance (Partisan Records). It’s not even been 5 years since they were playing 100 capacity venues, yet here they are today having sold out giant venues like Alexandra Palace in under a day. With two giant albums under their belt, the big question was how the Bristol band were going to not only top it, but maintain the astronomical growth they’ve been on for the past 3 years.
Album artwork can really help set the tone for an album. Providing a visual companion and interpretation to the audio within, it gives the listener an idea of what to expect when they delve into the main work of art. At first glance Bars Of Gold’s new album Shelters (Equal Vision) would set an expectation to the listener that this record would be a soothing record consisting of seaside recordings and other ambience.Continue reading
It’s hard to put a finger on what exactly East Of The Wall is and this is a double edged sword in many aspects. Calling them a progressive band would be like calling a spade a spade: the music follows all the staples and notions of the genre, but, as a label, it still does not fit comfortably, especially with their new release NP – Complete (Translation Loss Records).Continue reading
Music reviewers are inherently sceptical and often contrarian creatures, so when an artist arrives carrying plaudits from the grandees of heavy music, it’s hard not to default to cynicism. You’d be especially forgiven for hanging onto that cynicism with both hands when metal’s own great soothsayer, Lars Ulrich, adds his own recommendations to the mix – Ulrich labelling Arctic Monkeys as his favourite Metal band in 2012 still raises some serious questions about his take on the heavy music zeitgeist.Continue reading
With the unlikely success story of his main venture Kvelertak becoming one of the most prominent Metal acts in recent years, drummer Kjetil Gjermindrød’s latest venture feels somewhat like a return to roots. Also consisting of brothers Espen and Inge, alongside childhood friend Andreas Espolin, Tempel has an air of those early stages Garage bands in the sense that it feels like it is being played purely for the thrill of it as opposed to having a grand plan. As a result, whilst certainly being an unrefined album, Tempel (Jansen Records) feels utterly pure and, quite simply, fun.Continue reading