The Saturdays - 30 Days (Single Review)

Less than six months after releasing their third studio album ‘On Your Radar‘, The Saturdays are back with yet more new music. Their new track, titled '30 Days', premiered on The Chris Moyles Show on BBC Radio 1 on 30th March 2012.

Written by: Lara Rainsforth | Date: Thursday, 19 April 2012

Bleech - Mondays (Single Review)

The London trio Bleech consists of Jennifer O’Neill, Katherine O’Neill and Matt Bick. Their debut single was released back in 2009 and three years later they are releasing their debut album, set for release later this year.

Written by: Lara Rainsforth | Date: Thursday, 19 April 2012

Europe - Bag Of Bones (Album Review)

Despite quite a few people thinking Europe's career has been all about 1986's 'The Final Countdown', many actually believe their most recent release, 2009's 'Last Look At Eden', was their best. Indeed, since returning from a decade long hiatus at the turn of the century, Europe have been pretty prolific turning out 4 studio albums, 2 live DVD's as well as touring extensively.

Written by: Dave Ball | Date: Thursday, 19 April 2012

Blood Red Shoes - In Time To Voices (Album Review)

Blood Red Shoes are one of very few NME-esque bands of 2007/8 that I haven’t at some point shiftily deleted from my ipod as a kind of coming of age, “I no longer like jangly high-octane indie pop” statement. But despite being a little sentimental about them, I didn’t expect to heard word of another album. I was surprised, I couldn’t remember their sound being something you could produce 3 albums worth of songs out of and assumed they’d disappeared somewhere down the line.

Written by: Ellen Davies | Date: Wednesday, 18 April 2012

Torche - Harmonicraft (Album Review)

Torche are one of those bands who don’t believe in clichés. They are a stoner rock band by most accounts but, rather than sticking to the reverberating spaced out weed-a-thon favoured by most of their contemporaries in the genre, Torche have spent most of their career being more concise than any band of their ilk has a right to be. 2008’s 'Meanderthal' set their template up and with 'Harmonicraft' they have really upped the consistency levels to produce what should end up as a firm favourite for fans of heavy music this summer.

Written by: Ben Bland | Date: Tuesday, 17 April 2012

Blacklisters - BLKLSTRS (Album Review)

Some people will hear this album and zone out. They will argue that there is no point in Blacklisters’ deranged psycho hardcore noise. They will say that for all the pun-filled song titles and undeniable attitude, “BLKLSTRS” brings nothing new to the table and is just another in a long series of records that makes a racket but fails to bring any songwriting clout to the tale. They are talking a load of crap.

Written by: Ben Bland | Date: Monday, 16 April 2012

Maps & Atlases - Beware And Be Grateful (Album Review)

There are plenty of bands that have managed to fuse the craft of fusing pop music with peculiarly jittery math rock but there are few who have managed to do it absolutely seamlessly. On this, their second full-length album, Maps & Atlases have proved that it is possible to meld math and melody to the point at which it almost does not matter that the underpinning to these tunes is essentially the sound of angularly weird guitars. In fact 'Beware and Be Grateful' might be that very rare thing…a largely experimental rock record with the potential to transcend the boundaries and cross over on to your radio any day now.

Written by: Ben Bland | Date: Thursday, 12 April 2012

Gringo Star - Count Yer Lucky Stars (Album Review)

Gringo Star emerged from Atlanta's independent music scene in 2008 with critically acclaimed debut 'All Y'all' in 2008. The band are now back with 'Count Yer Lucky Stars', which is every bit the same catchy garage rock and is released on the 30th of April.

Written by: Steven James | Date: Tuesday, 10 April 2012

Counting Crows - Underwater Sunshine (Album Review)

It's always a risky strategy to release a covers album, which is exactly what this first release in four years is. Some people would swat it away as “lazy songwriting”, and what if the songs are beloved pieces of beauty that should never have been messed with in the first place? What if it's the exact opposite? What if the songs chosen are rubbish and the sight of them on an album by someone else is still just cause to not buy them again? The thing I respect about this particular album though, above all else, is that this is an album the band just wanted to make because they like the songs, and hope the general public do too. That's it. No other reason, and I must admit, the songs chosen are by and large, pretty good. After all, the subtitle to the album is “What we did on our Summer Vacation”, which translates as “We're having some fun here and just fancy playing some music without having to take it too seriously.”

Written by: James Ball | Date: Tuesday, 10 April 2012

Alabama Shakes - Boys And Girls (Album Review)

Bluesy rock hasn't been done so good since a certain two-piece “brother/sister” outfit from Detroit were with us. Rough Trade Records, and many other people on Twitter that I follow have been raving about this lot for days before I wrote this review. They are the next big thing and rightly so. That's it. We're done. Review over.

Written by: James Ball | Date: Monday, 09 April 2012

The Fray - Scars And Stories (Album Review)

'How to Save a Life'. You remember the song. It was all over the charts and the radio about six years ago. That song that made grown adults cry. That song with such a huge poignant sentiment engulfing it it was impossible to ignore. You felt dirty for liking it because it was mesmerising and everywhere. Whatever happened to the band that made it?

Written by: James Ball | Date: Monday, 09 April 2012

Visceral Attack - Quick And Severe (Album Review)

It’s far from everybody’s cup of tea, but Visceral Attack’s debut album ‘Quick and Severe’ has put the band on the thrash metal map. The quintet based between Belfast and Fermanagh have already gigged with thrash giants Gama Bomb and Municipal Waste and established themselves as a hot prospect on the metal scene. Although initially recorded in 2010, the album has been rereleased under independent Belfast label Punkarama Records and the band are off on a tour of England and Scotland to promote their debut effort.

Written by: Daniel Lynch | Date: Monday, 09 April 2012

The Safety Fire - Grind The Ocean (Album Review)

One can only assume that it has been a frustrating few years for The Safety Fire in many ways. It is 2012 now, six years on from their formation, and only now are they releasing their long-awaited debut album. In the interceding time the likes of TesseracT and Periphery have come along and become stars of the ground that The Safety Fire also tread; a region of progressive metal that alternates brutality and melody with startling ease and precision.

Written by: Ben Bland | Date: Thursday, 05 April 2012

Ufomammut - Oro: Opus Primum (Album Review)

Italian trio Ufomammut have never been ones to play by the rules. After all, their last album, 2010’s 'Eve', was essentially one forty-five minute symphony devoted to the first woman on earth. Two years on and things haven’t really changed that much. 'Opus Primum' is the first part of two 'Oro' records to be released in 2012 by the band and, much like 'Eve' this is essentially one long piece divided into separate tracks. In a way this is the strongest facet of the record. The memorable moments are the little motifs that crop up throughout the album’s duration, the ones that signify that 'Opus Primum' is one complete work of music.

Written by: Ben Bland | Date: Wednesday, 04 April 2012

Anathema - Weather Systems (Album Review)

It takes some bands five years to find their true identity. It takes others a decade. Perhaps in some rare cases a band will get an opportunity to find their real self twenty years into their existence. Anathema may just be one of those rare bands. 2010’s 'We’re Here Because We’re Here' was a stupendous return from a group who had been absent for seven years. That record turned Anathema from a good band to a truly great band, a band whose output deserves to go down in history with the finest artists of their time. Last year’s 'Falling Deeper', a largely orchestral reworking of old doomier material, confirmed that their run of good form was to continue and, in case you were in any doubt, 'Weather Systems' is another truly spectacular release.

Written by: Ben Bland | Date: Wednesday, 04 April 2012

Motionless In White - Creatures (Album Review)

Motionless in White have finally released their first debut studio album, although having being together for just over six years, they have started to make an impact. The Pennsylvanian band has pushed the boundaries with this release, expelling not only their maturity but also the boundaries of screamo into something enjoyable. They have kept firmly in touch with their original sound; ‘Creatures’ is theatrical and ready to bring the house down.

Written by: Yasmin La Ronde | Date: Tuesday, 03 April 2012

Es Muss Sein – Es Muss Sein (EP Review)

Es Muss Sein, meaning ‘It Must Be’ in German, is the nom de plume taken by talented Kent teenager Poppy Wilson. The singer-songwriter’s self-titled debut EP was released on April 1st and from the sounds of this three-track production, this is certainly not the last we will hear from her.

Written by: Ryan Crittenden | Date: Monday, 02 April 2012

Pelican - Ataraxia/Triaxis (EP Review)

Pelican have been gone for a while, for too long actually. There are tons of instrumental post-rock/metal bands in the world but few that can be said to really matter. Pelican are one such band. Their discography is littered with records that many similar bands will never manage to match for quality. From their debut full-length 'Australasia' through to 2009’s 'What We All Come to Need' Pelican have soared ahead of the pack. This is a band that does more than create just the generic wall of shimmering sound. Pelican create compositions that are stunningly complete. A band like Pelican rarely need words, the music does is all that any listener could ever need.

Written by: Ben Bland | Date: Monday, 02 April 2012

Phantom Limb - The Pines (Album Review)

Phantom Limb have been a performing act since 2008 when they released their debut album 'Phantom Limb', alongside the single 'Don't say a word'. Their first album was produced by the bands guitarist Stew Jackson but for their second album they have stepped away from the safety of their hometown to record in California with Marc Ford, formerly of The Black Crowes. They have also stepped out of the shade and into a sound that is their own. It is a record drenched in soul/Rnb and country, which is a mix that still seems relatively unexplored.

Written by: Charlie Hurt | Date: Friday, 30 March 2012

Conan - Monnos (Album Review)

The first word that comes into my head related to the word 'Monnos' is “monolithic”…something massive and nigh on invincible. Whether that is the first thing the members of Conan think of as well would be interesting to know. This doom metal trio clearly want their music to be something rigid and all powerful, not winning over their listeners but forcibly taking them over.

Written by: Ben Bland | Date: Friday, 30 March 2012