The Files And Fires - For People Talk Lightly (Album Review)

Deriving their name from a passage in Albert Camus classic existentialist novel The Plague, Connecticut based avant gardists The Files and Fires return with their sophomore release, the inquisitively titled 'For People Talk Lightly'.

Written by: Patrick Gormley | Date: Thursday, 11 August 2011

Natalie McCool - Your Hero (Single Review)

Cheshire-born Natalie McCool has already begun to make waves in the music industry, particularly after the release of her recent and fantastic ‘Black Sun’ EP. With a newly filmed video, Natalie is now ready to release her next single from the EP in the form of ‘Your Hero’.

Written by: Katie Territt | Date: Wednesday, 10 August 2011

John B - Clwb Ifor Bach - 5th August 2011

Once again, John B, the make-up’d drum and bass electro fusion king, tore up Aperture last Friday with a killer 90 minute set that oozed of his mutli-genre’d madness we all know and love.

Written by: Elliott Batte | Date: Wednesday, 10 August 2011

Charlie Simpson - Parachutes (EP Review)

Charlie Simpson’s musical path has been a very public one. The music tastes the average 26 year-old moves between and develops over the years are normally restricted to an ever-changing iTunes playlist and choosing between your favourite band tour t-shirts.

Written by: Helen Manley | Date: Tuesday, 09 August 2011

Crosses - † (EP Review)

Call it a side project or 2/3rds of the latest super group, it won't make the EP ‘†’ any less special. The band members include Deftones front man Chino Moreno, Far’s Shaun Lopez and the unknown Chuck Doom. They have joined forces to collaborate on this atmospheric sound that features the indolent yet sexy beats we’ve come to love from Deftones and the melodic undertow of Far.

Written by: Kimberley Martinez-Meakins | Date: Tuesday, 09 August 2011

Lotus Mason - Lotus Mason (Album Review)

The keyboards used for 'Do You Love Me' must have been an in-joke, right? Overlapping cheesy deep voices last used effectively at the very beginning of Queens 'One Vision' make an appearance here, but instead if enhancing an excellent intro like they do in that song, they completely distract here on two occasions in the middle of the track. The sounds used for the melody actually made me laugh too, and the funniest part is this song clearly is supposed to be dead serious.

Written by: James Ball | Date: Monday, 08 August 2011

REM - Life’s Rich Pageant (25th Anniversary Edition) (Album Review)

It’s difficult to review an album that’s been out for 25 years featuring a band whose sound hasn’t really changed an awful lot in that time. What they have done though, listening to the core album through from start to finish, is create a sound that has not aged one bit. It’s hard to believe that in a year the New Kids on the Block debut album, Europe’s 'Final Countdown' and Berlin's 'Take my Breath Away' were doing the rounds, R.E.M were busy making a record that would have a strong, relevant musical style to what they would write 25 years later and it would still sound entirely fresh and original.

Written by: James Ball | Date: Monday, 08 August 2011

Trivium - In Waves (Album Review)

Trivium – amongst many metal-loving friends of mine – are almost that musical marmite that divides our crowd. Usually echoing praise for the same bands and not really feeling certain bands’ vibes, it’s a strange moment to find a band that can earn so much respect yet evoke such disagreement in a usually unanimous group. I suppose, in a weird kind of way, they’ve managed to break our group and offer for an interesting debate. Some say 2006’s ‘The Crusade’ was their peak and, ever since, they’ve been unable to remotely compare. Others have rather enjoyed watching them progress to 2008’s ‘Shogun’ and “can’t wait to see where they go from here”. Well, that mystery is over as Trivium unleash their fifth studio album ‘In Waves’ for our judgement; filling many I know with excitement and dread in equal measures. So, which side of the group will be proved right?

Written by: Heather McDaid | Date: Monday, 08 August 2011

Noel Gallagher Tickets For London & Edinburgh Shows ONSALE 9AM (Friday 5th Aug)

Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds have announced details of the first of their highly anticipated  live shows this Autumn. Noel and Co are to play Dublin, Edinburgh and London during October. Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds Tickets are ONSALE 9AM TODAY, Friday 5th August.

Written by: Jon Stickler | Date: Friday, 05 August 2011

Coma Recovery - Goddverb (Album Review)

New Mexicos purveyors of dark, industrial post rock Coma Recovery, return with their latest offering the deeply intense 'Goddverb'. Conjuring visions of a scorched, cracked earth scattered intermittently by deathly, bare, skeletal trees encircling broken, desolate, grey cities engulfed by vicious, tumultuous, biting winds choking the air with grit and dust, 'Goddverb' can be seen as a perfect soundtrack to this post apocalyptic landscape teetering on the edge of the abyss. Depressing stuff?? Not in the least.

Written by: Patrick Gormley | Date: Thursday, 04 August 2011

Ryan Leslie - Glory (Single Review)

Do you know who Ryan Leslie is? The R&B singer, multi-instrumentalist, rapper, producer, songwriter and entrepreneur has been working to make other people successful since his internship with Younglord in the early 2000’s, which he claims ‘jumpstarted his career’.

Written by: Emma Newlyn | Date: Wednesday, 03 August 2011

TEETH - Care Bear (Single Review)

Remember Outrun? That game where before you start a major race you hear that 8 bit “bip, bip, beeeeeeeep!!!” Well, that’s a reasonable description of the first few seconds of the first actual single from TEETH. What follows gets a little more layered and then a LOT more noisy. This is the epitome of lo-fi, with heavy synths, catchy melody and then the fuzziest, most primordial, crunching drums n overdrive guitar combo you’ll hear this year, and it’s in no way unpleasant.

Written by: James Ball | Date: Tuesday, 02 August 2011

The Victorian English Gentlemens Club - Bag Of Meat (Album Review)

Once again it's the same old story of don't judge an act by the name. The Victorian English Gentlemens Club are not really what I expected. The name suggests violins and pianos or at least some kind of stomping jigs. But none of this can be found here.

Written by: Craig Willis | Date: Tuesday, 02 August 2011

City Reign - Daybreak (Single Review)

This track by Manchester (even though two of them started life in London) newcomers City Reign is pretty good if slightly unspectacular. It has all the ingredients to break it above being average into definite “good” territory, including a stabby punchy guitar, insightful lyrics, a long “whoooaaaaaahhh” section and some drum fill that make you worry for Sam Jones’ arms as he crashes with utter devotion, especially towards the end of this track. It’s got that bratty sound that Dive Dive have managed to perfect over recent years, while still tipping their caps at arguably Manchesters biggest export, Oasis.

Written by: James Ball | Date: Monday, 01 August 2011

Innerpartysystem - Not Getting Any Better (Single Review)

I had strong hopes for Innerpartysystem. They liked to sit on the fragile fence between dance and metal when releasing debut single 'Don’t Stop' a few years ago, and I loved every single second of it. It was intense, lyrically strong and able to get feet tapping and pulses racing. It would have been acceptable to listen to at Download and equally so at Global Gathering. It was a genre-breaker.

Written by: James Ball | Date: Monday, 01 August 2011

Of Mice & Men - The Flood (Album Review)

After several line-up changes in the past year, Of Mice & Men are back together with a nearly original line-up and are stronger than ever before. Since Austin Carlile's departure early last year, the band have toured strenuously with ex-Sky Eats Airplanes vocalist Jerry Roush. However, the start of 2011 proved to be a historic one in the bands history, as Austin Carlile took up the offer put forward by the band and label Rise Records to create a sophomore album.

Written by: Matt Turner | Date: Friday, 29 July 2011

Collapse Under The Empire & Mooncake - Black Moon Empire (EP Review)

Merging the combined talents of one of Germanys most influential and well respected post rock bands Collapse Under the Empire with the blissfully talented yet reclusive Russian post rock quintet Mooncake, give us the heady ingredients that are used to make Black Moon Empire, arguably one of this years most eagerly anticipated EPs.

Written by: Patrick Gormley | Date: Thursday, 28 July 2011

Soundgirl - Don't Know Why (Single Review)

Bringing back the feisty sense of feminism that girl bands have been seriously lacking since bands such as The Spice Girls and Sugababes are the brand new British pop group Soundgirl. With certain influences from the likes of Destiny’s child and TLC the girls are bringing back the traditional sounds of Old School R’n’B while creating their own individual and fresh beats, ready to wow the charts.

Written by: Catherine Rea | Date: Tuesday, 26 July 2011

Enter Shikari - Live From Planet Earth (Album) Fizzy Water & Spikey Blankets (DVD) (Review)

For a band that created such a big impact when entering the music scene with their electronic hardcore sounds and visual shows of 2003, is Enter Shikari’s live album too much of an ambitious move? Though Shikari fans have always been loyal, even when the dynamic band was experimenting with different sounds in a never-ending battle with the music industry and an obsession with gaining further popularity, does this new album stand out as good as their previous work?

Written by: Catherine Rea | Date: Tuesday, 26 July 2011

Thrice - Yellow Belly (Single Review)

If you haven't heard of Thrice, I'm not sure I can forgive you. Granted, no album or single has entered the UK top 100, but who listens to the charts anyway?  Last year they played on the main stage at Leeds and Reading Festivals (they were immense) and they supported the outstanding Brand New at Wembley Stadium prior to their own UK tour.  Oh and did I mention they are awesome? They formed back in 1998, they are well known for their heavily distorted guitars, prominent lead guitars and frequent changes in time signatures.

Written by: Kimberley Martinez-Meakins | Date: Friday, 22 July 2011