UK Punk has had a bit of a resurgence in the past few years, with acts like Bob Vylan and Kid Kapichi bringing the likes of grime into the sound. The result has been massive for the scene on an even larger scale with Idles having sold out numerous dates instantly.
It is a good time to be a proud fan of the UK Punk scene. Continue reading
The resurgence of 1990s Nu Metal shouldn’t be a real shock to anyone of a certain age. The enduring music put down by Korn, early-Deftones, Limp Bizkit, Snot, and many others funneled the heaviness of metal and the flavor of Hip-Hip from the decade before into an intoxicating blend. And while I love my trad metal brothers and sisters for repping songs about swords, wizards, and dragons; they were likely never stopped and frisked by cops, seen friends die in a hail of bullets, or poisoned by lead in their water. King 810 have, and they have become the flag bearers of what music marketing expert Finn McKenty (The Punk Rock MBA)calls crossover culture. Kids are more genre agnostic than ever, and when a band can filter past influences and present it to modern audiences a new and unique way, they click big-time. Fans love a groove they can latch on too and lyrics that feel authentic. King 810’s last album La Petite Mort Or A Conversation With God showed they were far from the run of the mill. They take it up another notch on Suicide King (KINGNation).Continue reading
If art is a manifestation of the human spirit and the human heart, then I wouldn’t have liked to have gone through the emotional pain and heartache that War Waves lead singer and chief protagonist Marc Newby has been through. His latest artistic endeavour, following on from his previous outfit, Collisions, has been conceived as an attempt to win back the love of his life.
Working with Steve Mann at Backwater Records, a man who has been a longtime champion and supporter of bands from the Ipswich area, War Waves passionate and heartfelt approach to songwriting will appeal to the ears of listeners already won over by the likes of The Gaslight Anthem or Idlewild; listeners of a certain vintage will doubtless be able to wax lyrical over the more than occasional nod to Mr. Stephen Patrick Morrissey.
These are no bad things of course. There is a rawness and emotional heft to the songs that often startle as much as they reassure. Whether down to the colourful language in the lyrics- the dropping of the c-bomb once or twice raises the eyebrow- or the matter of fact candour, the net effect is immediate and dynamic. The production retains that sense of this record being recorded as live and that lack of tinkering adds to the sense of a man on a zealous, emotional mission.
The ordinariness of the songs settings – ‘My Friends Wedding’ and ‘Hockey Stick’ are good examples of this – and the universal messages within them remind one, thematically at least, of the kitchen sink dramas beloved of The Streets or Plan B or, even Jarvis Cocker at his most suburban. Newby’s drama is highly personal but his honesty and lack of self-serving sanctimony means you are drawn to his tale. The fact that he has a way with a tune doesn’t hurt either.
Newby pulls no punches and grants no quarter; fortunately there’s an absence of hubris as well which is all the more appealing given the self-satisfaction that often accompanies records that are about the state of a heart. War Waves have conjured a decent début album with plenty of ideas and flourishes that you will doubtless be filing very readily under: ones to watch.
7.0/10
MAT DAVIES