Rush – 2112 (Deluxe Reissue) (Album Review)

It is difficult for this generation to gauge how much of an impact an album like '2112' would of had when it first dropped - why, my own Dad was only fourteen when this came out. Rush were a band that were yet to release anything successful in a commercial or critical sense, and they flopped with their first real attempt at experimentation, the forgettable 'Caress of Steel'. All things considered, I am still surprised at how fresh and playful '2112', the follow-up, sounds.

Written by: Jonny Rimmer | Date: Wednesday, 09 January 2013

Caroline Street - Salt And Vinegar (Album Review)

If you're from Cardiff the chances are the band name here has already piqued your interest. 'Caroline Street' (also known as chippy lane or chip alley) is a well known avenue of late night/early morning takeaways in Cardiff's city centre frequented by those in need of food before making their way home after a nights clubbing. Why then would a band based in Helsinki, Finland use this as their name? The answer is lead singer and songwriter Tom Morgan who was brought up in Pembrokeshire, West Wales before moving to Helsinki 8 years ago and found it had a nice ring when deciding on his band name. While the wooden chip forks used as the bands logo (they plan to print some and use them instead of business cards) may give the impression this is all some sort of gimmick, he's deadly serious about turning what's currently a hobby into a full time job as a professional musician and on this evidence he's well on his way.

Written by: David Ball | Date: Monday, 07 January 2013

Everything Everything - Arc (Album Review)

When a band is difficult to pigeon-hole, such as Everything Everything, it is hard to mark out exactly what development would be. On 'Man Alive', their debut, the quartet were so fiercely unique that it was hard to keep up. However, the atypical math rock structures were never a problem – rather, it was the band's indecisive nature of when to switch gear that held it back from being the memorable release it could have been. That, and the almost comical vocals.

Written by: Jonny Rimmer | Date: Saturday, 05 January 2013

Pitbull - Global Warming (Album Review)

Before I delve into a review of Pitbull's seventh studio album, I might as well inform the hipper-than-thou diversity brigade that there is nothing on 'Global Warming' that you will be able to enjoy even ironically, so you might as well jog on now. This is, as ever, a glorified compilation of generic club “anthems” that is nevertheless classified as an LP. Even Pitbull knows that is what it is; in fact, Pitbull has a type of diabolic genius, at least in terms of business.

Written by: Jonny Rimmer | Date: Saturday, 05 January 2013

Dropkick Murphys - Signed And Sealed In Blood (Album Review)

The first lyric of an album can often be a mission statement, and the Dropkick Murphys new 'Signed and Sealed in Blood' seems no different - "The boys are back and they're looking for trouble." But what kind of trouble are they after with album number eight?

Written by: Heather McDaid | Date: Friday, 21 December 2012

Metallica - Quebec Magnetic (Live DVD Review)

Documenting two shows the band played in October and November 2009 on their World Magnetic Tour, the video release captures a stunning live experience replete with outstanding band performance, a dynamic audience, and screaming guitar feedback. Many songs are from Metallica's latest studio album 'Death Magnetic' from 2008, but longtime fans will be pleased to see classics like 'Master of Puppets', 'Enter Sandman', and 'One.' As they have done in the past on entire albums, Metallica also throws cover songs, paying tribute to the bands that inspired them to pick up and play.

Written by: Jonathan Lin | Date: Friday, 21 December 2012

Jack Beats - Somebody To Love (Album Review)

“We just love hybrid music” is the altogether quite genuine confession of Jack Beats’ masterminds - Niall Dailly and Ben Geffin in their online bio and 'Somebody To Love' provides the proof. This nine-track offering is a melting pot of 2012’s dance music trends that obscures this record from anything a casual dance music fan would have envisaged hearing two years prior.

Written by: Owen Sheppard | Date: Tuesday, 18 December 2012

Michael Schenker - Temple Of Rock: Live Over Europe (Live Album/DVD Review)

Long before the good old internet, live rock & roll record's were an exciting window to a thrilling, unknown world. During the seventies and eighties the cream of those albums delivered intense, primal performances that were raw, in your face and utterly captivating. These days concert releases don't hold a candle to the likes of Thin Lizzy's 'Live And Dangerous' or Rory Gallagher's 'Irish Tour '74'. However, if anyone's still capable of delivering a blinding live album it's the enigmatic German guitar God Michael Schenker. As a precocious young gun with hard rock rabble-rousers UFO the ex-Scorpion's phenomenal fretwork helped make 1976's 'Strangers In The Night' one of the greatest live albums of all time. A trick he repeated in 1981 with the Michael Schenker Group's highly regarded 'One Night At Budokan'. Since then he's knocked out numerous live releases, which were unfortunately overshadowed by long running battles with various addictions that tarnished his reputation and nearly killed him. But the redemption of a fallen hero makes a great story, and this CD/DVD/Blu-Ray package proves that one of the most influential six string magicians of all time is back with an amped up bang. 'Temple Of Rock - Live Over Europe' finds 'Mad Mickey' and his all star band tearing through UFO classics, MSG standards and Scorpions favourites on a fantastic live release that sits comfortably alongside his very best.

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Friday, 14 December 2012

The Cramatics - Like Gold (Single Review)

According to The Cramatics, ‘stars that shine the brightest are the stars that slowly die’. I have no idea if this is true or not - I’m not Stephen Hawking - but I do know that lots of interesting things are formed in the centre of dying stars, things like... gold. Incidentally, 'Like Gold' is the name of the Cramatics new track (did you see what I did there? I’m here all week), and it’s worth a listen if you get the chance.

Written by: V O'Hagan | Date: Thursday, 13 December 2012

Blur - Parklive (Album Review)

The summer of 2012 was all about London and the Olympics. Whilst the rest of the world watched the amazing sports on show, those of us here in the UK got to experience some of the special events held in the Olympics' honour. Music played a huge part in the games and sponsor BT hosted a series of gigs in Hyde Park under the banner of "London Live", the highlights of which were the two special nights to coincide with the opening and closing ceremonies.

Written by: Katie Territt | Date: Monday, 10 December 2012

Annie Dressner - Strangers Who Knew Each Other’s Names (Album Review)

The female singer songwriter space is a pretty difficult one to break into these days. With a wealth of options available from established names such as Laura Marling and Ellie Goulding to the well hyped up and comers like Ren Harvieu finding your own niche in a crowded genre is a real challenge. With her debut album ‘Strangers Who Knew Each Other’s Names’ that’s exactly what US transplant Annie Dressner is trying, and mostly succeeding to do.

Written by: David Ball | Date: Friday, 07 December 2012

Plastique - A Paper Cut From A Paper Kiss (Single Review)

If you’re a woman and you’re knocking on a bit (late twenties, that’s when things traditionally start going tits-up... or tits-south as the case may be) you understand all about the pressure to look young and stay young, even if it means hacking your body to pieces and injecting poison right into your lovely face. Plastique, an electro-rock trio based in London, describe their latest single as “a song about the ageing process... how woman are frequently told they have a best-before date.” It’s called ‘A Paper Cut From A Paper Kiss’, it’s out in January, and it’s kick-ass.

Written by: V O'Hagan | Date: Friday, 07 December 2012

Beans On Toast - Fishing For A Thank You (Album Review)

I cannot quite decide whether I hate Beans on Toast or really hate Beans on Toast. Whether for right and wrong I cannot help but take music quite seriously. No matter how much some bands prattle on about how, at the end of the day, they are just ordinary people doing whatever takes their fancy, in actual fact on some level they are all artists. Music is art. A great pop song is art as much as a technically proficient slice of prog metal and a haunting piece of ethereal drone. Yeah, the fact I feel I need to point it out probably makes me a pretentious bastard but for that you will get no apologies. Such a needlessly smart arse introduction has only been put to press so as to give a context to this record. After all, Beans on Toast (aka. Jay McAllister) makes music impossible to describe music as art.

Written by: Ben Bland | Date: Thursday, 06 December 2012

Boris/Joe Volk - Split Release (Album Review)

It would probably be fair to say that Boris are one of the most wilfully diverse, and often difficult, bands of the last two decades or so. Running the gamut through drone, sludge and good old fashioned hard rock with admirable ease, the Japanese group deserve their place near the very top of the experimental music tree. Having said that, in recent times Boris have occasionally flattered to deceive. Their records have remained consistently good, but it is the classics records, especially 'Heavy Rocks' and 'Pink' that remain most vigorously praised. Joe Volk (pictured, above), meanwhile, is likely to exist a bit off the radar even for fans of the avant-garde scene. Best known for his work as vocalist for Crippled Black Phoenix, whom he sadly left behind earlier this year, Volk is also a creator of delightfully melancholic folk. A bizarre pairing for a split release then?

Written by: Ben Bland | Date: Tuesday, 04 December 2012

Tellison - Contact! Contact! (Reissued Album Review)

With the best will in the world, Tellison are never going to be big. You can just tell. Bands that are as good as they are at spiky, hooky alt-rock generally fall into three categories. They either get lucky and get big really fast, get big after somebody at a major label realises they could be made to look really cool on telly or remain acclaimed and loved by many but never break through into the mainstream due to a lack of the ‘cool factor’. Tellison sit very much in the last of those categories. The fact that they are awesome at what they do is neither here nor there. None of them can regularly be seen sporting red chinos, and that is what the currency of the British music scene seemingly is these days.

Written by: Ben Bland | Date: Thursday, 29 November 2012

Aerosmith - Music From Another Dimension (Album Review)

To say the response to the Bostonian bad boys first new studio album in over a decade has been lukewarm is like saying the good ol' gun lovin' people of Texas are a tad disappointed by Barack Obama's re-election. With mixed reviews and abysmal first week sales in the US you'd think they'd served up the biggest turkey this side of Noel. Thing is, despite numerous flaws 'Music From Another Dimension!' is actually pretty damned good. Although critics have rightly focussed on the album being too long, with too many ballads and too many contrasting styles, it's really not that black and white. Whilst far from perfect, at it's best this is Aerosmith on scintillating form, sweeping away the memory of 2001's characterless 'Just Push Play' with an album that's best described as a glorious mess. A bit like the band themselves really.

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Friday, 23 November 2012

RNDM - Acts (Album Review)

It’s hard to know what to make of RNDM. They are not really a bona fide supergroup, but then the presence of Jeff Ament from Pearl Jam on bass is probably all they need to get a far greater than average amount of attention for this, their debut album. Musically, this is all solid meat and potatoes alt-rock. There is little of the restless creativity that has been an integral part of Ament’s main band for the last fifteen years or so, but then there is actually a rather distinct lack of... well, anything at all pretty much.

Written by: Ben Bland | Date: Thursday, 22 November 2012

Victoria Hume - Numbers (Single Review)

Oh God do I love this song. Although it reminds me (in a good way!) of the ‘Call Of The Yeti’ song from the Mighty Boosh, I’m assuming that London-based singer/songwriter Victoria Hume is going for something a bit more profound.

Written by: V O'Hagan | Date: Thursday, 22 November 2012

Seb Stone - Stand (Single Review)

Ealing-based Seb Stone has his finger in every pie. He engineers and produces all of his music, plays the drums, guitar, bass and piano, as well as penning his own songs and singing. His EP, 'Ordinary You' is out now, 'Stand' is the first single.

Written by: V O'Hagan | Date: Thursday, 22 November 2012

Madness - Oui, Oui, Si, Si, Ja, Ja, Da, Da (Album Review)

If you’re ever feeling bogged down with the amount of work you have to do, you really should have a quiet word with the lads from Madness. 2012 has been a stupendously hectic year for our favourite nutty boys; performing on top of Buckingham Palace, at the Olympic Closing Ceremony and a plethora of outdoor concerts was only a warm up for their extensive ‘Charge Of The Mad Brigade’ tour kicking off next week (yes, that was a shameless plug. Buy tickets here). All of this was achieved whilst the band were beavering away at their tenth full-length studio effort ‘Oui, Oui, Si, Si, Ja, Ja, Da, Da’. After their sumptuously conceptual 2009 masterpiece ‘The Liberty Of Norton Folgate’ was heralded by many as the best output of their entire career, Madness had one hell of an act to follow.

Written by: Alec Chillingworth | Date: Thursday, 22 November 2012