Freeze The Atlantic - Speakeasy (Album Review)

If there's one thing that bugs this reviewer to the core it is the lack of authenticity in British music today. Say what you like about quintet Freeze the Atlantic, but their penchant for rock n' roll riffs and raw vocals immediately bares them as a stark contrast to the waves of trendy “post-punk” bands that you'll read about in the NME.

Written by: Jonny Rimmer | Date: Thursday, 06 September 2012

Bell Gardens - Full Sundown Assembly (Album Review)

Pop music Don’t you just love it?

Written by: Ben Bland | Date: Wednesday, 05 September 2012

Alanis Morissette - Havoc And Bright Lights (Album Review)

Back in 1995 Alanis Morissette's third album, 'Jagged Little Pill', redefined the female singer songwriter, marrying an explicitly delivered vitriolic narrative to commercial indie-pop sensibilities. It sold 33 million copies, inspired a generation of watered down copycats like Natasha Bedingfield and turned it's emotionally erratic creator into a feminist icon whose every move was magnified for the whole world to see. Particularly her behaviour in theatres. Since then Morissette's music has played out like a public therapy session, working through her endless issues with an honesty and self indulgence that's sometimes profound, other times narcissistic. Her eighth studio album 'Havoc And Bright Lights' continues that formula. "This record, as always, is a snapshot of what I currently obsess about, care about, and what strikes me at four in the morning in my most introspective moments”, she states. “It is my emotional, psychological, social and philosophical commentary through song”. Business as usual then.

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Wednesday, 05 September 2012

The Pineapple Thief - All The Wars (Album Review)

Let’s be honest here, I should absolutely love The Pineapple Thief. Their sound contains hefty elements of my two favourite bands of all time (Oceansize and Radiohead), not to mention the likes of Anathema, Pink Floyd, Pearl Jam and Porcupine Tree. Furthermore their last album, 2010’s “Someone Here is Missing”, brought an impressive new level of energy and vitality to their sound. Following as it does the band’s finest album to date, therefore, my expectation levels for “All the Wars” were high to say the least. This, in some ways, really is make or break time for The Pineapple Thief.

Written by: Ben Bland | Date: Monday, 03 September 2012

Skam - It's Come To This (Album Review)

Last year American broadcaster Paul Gambaccini claimed rock music was dead. Fans were understandably irate. Classic Rock magazine even penned a well written article full of factual statistics that disproved the smug Yank's nonsensical assertion. However, here's a better way to make that point. Simply take Mr Gambaccini's head, gaffer tape it to a Marshall amp turned up to a volume that would please Nigel Tufnel and blast this rollicking début album from Leicester power trio Skam down his auditory canals. Within seconds of hearing their bludgeoning hard rock repertoire the self styled 'Professor of Pop' will not only admit he was wrong, but that his opinions on music are total and utter.........

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Friday, 31 August 2012

Wot Gorilla? - Kebnekaise (Album Review)

Halifax troupe Wot Gorilla? clearly aren’t messing about on their debut album 'Kebnekaise'. Right from the off the band take more twists and turns than a twisty-turny thing doing a twisty-turny dance at the local club’s ‘Twist & Turn’ night. Think Tubelord mixed with Maps & Atlases and you are approaching the level of math rock goodness that Wot Gorilla? inflict over the course of 'Kebnekaise'.

Written by: Ben Bland | Date: Friday, 31 August 2012

Rita Ora - ORA (Album Review)

It’s hard to believe that Rita Ora is only just releasing her debut album as it seems like her music has been around for what seems like forever. Signed to Jay Z’s record label Roc Nation, Rita’s album was sure to be electric and full of exceptional lyrics and infectious beats, as well as her recent three singles.

Written by: Lara Rainsforth | Date: Friday, 31 August 2012

Sacred Mother Tongue - A Light Shines (EP Review)

Following the release of 2009's ear shattering debut album 'The Ruin Of Man', Metal Hammer magazine described Northampton four piece Sacred Mother Tongue as "The most convincing young British Metal band to emerge in a long time". Successful sets at 2010's Sonisphere and last year's Download festivals justified their growing reputation, cultivating a rabid fanbase who'll be raging with delight at the quality of this EP's blinding new tracks. However, they should rein in that excitement for now - 'cos this is merely musical foreplay! Sacred Mother Tongue's full length second album, 'Out Of The Darkness' will drop in early 2013 and if this material is anything to go by their popularity is about to explode like a white hot Supernova.

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Thursday, 30 August 2012

Monuments - Gnosis (Album Review)

‘Djent’... that most troublesome of metal genre beasts. Easy to deride and hard to love it may often be but the technical skill involved makes up for that right? Wrong! There is nothing worse than a sea of bands essentially ripping off the style of a few innovators (Meshuggah, Textures, etc) with about as much desire to add new aspects as Oasis had to make a full-on avant-garde jazz record. Is such an opinion lazy? Undoubtedly, but that does not make it incorrect.

Written by: Ben Bland | Date: Wednesday, 29 August 2012

Lianne La Havas - Forget (Single Review)

If you’re someone who ditches an artist once the mainstream latches on then you’ll be overlooking a real gem with Lianne La Havas’s follow-up to her debut album ‘Is Your Love Big Enough?’, which peaked in July at Number 4 in the UK album chart.

Written by: James Brown | Date: Wednesday, 29 August 2012

Alt-J - An Awesome Wave (Album Review)

I first heard of this band in about May of this year, listening to the radio and hearing the band's name for the first time. I was a bit confused, thinking I'd heard it wrong, but no. It was in fact Alt-J. The meaning behind this name is actually the sign for the Greek symbol Delta, which is a little triangular shape when it appears on screen when pressing these keys into your computer keyboard - however, before you get excited, this only works on Mac computers. Sorry Microsoft users.

Written by: Emma Dodds | Date: Wednesday, 29 August 2012

Circa Survive - Violent Waves (Album Review)

Circa Survive have never really found it easy to please their listeners. Their debut album, 2005’s 'Juturna' won them a coveted place near the top of the arty alt-rock scene, but it also seemingly set a bar that many fans feel they have been unable to reach again since. Such criticisms may be ridiculous, as the aforementioned debut is nowhere near as good as some fans claim, but at the same time they have also stuck. Despite 2010’s brilliant 'Blue Sky Noise', which saw the band hugely improve their songwriting, 'Violent Waves' is still likely to be most readily seen in comparison to their seven-year-old debut than anything else.

Written by: Ben Bland | Date: Tuesday, 28 August 2012

Robert Cray - Nothin' But Love (Album Review)

Robert Cray has had quite the career as a musician. A five-time Grammy Award winner, Cray also takes the helm as bluesman for his own band, and the new album 'Nothin But Love' is his sixteenth studio release.

Written by: Jonathan Lin | Date: Tuesday, 28 August 2012

Green Day - ¡Uno!, ¡Dos!, ¡Tre! (Album Review)

One of the biggest bands to shake up punk rock music in the last two decades is back to show these newbies how it’s done.

Written by: Sophie Williams | Date: Friday, 24 August 2012

Ensiferum - Unsung Heroes (Album Review)

Some metal bands are just a tad too bombastic for their own good. It’s one thing for legends like Maiden and Priest to release records that threaten to sag under their own OTT nature, it is quite another for the vast majority of the depressingly large power metal scene (Manowar are, of course, the worst offenders) to inflict upon the world a ton of albums that offer nothing but soggy riffs and lyrics about wanking over dragons...or something. The recent trend of bands from the world of folk metal to move towards the horrid flatulence of power metal has produced plenty of divisions, and even more bad records.

Written by: Ben Bland | Date: Tuesday, 21 August 2012

Joy Wants Eternity - The Fog Is Rising (Album Review)

Hailing from Seattle, Washington, JWE is a five-piece band that has been active since 2005. 'The Fog Is Rising' is their second full album release after five years of silence, and their instrumental post-rock highly reminiscent of Explosions In The Sky and Mogwai has earned them loyal listeners. The album starts strong with the energetic 'Our Backs Into The Wind' and doesn't need to work hard to put a smile on one's face; the equally hopeful tone of the title track that follows does a similar thing, making these two tracks good, if slightly generic, openers.

Written by: Jonathan Lin | Date: Tuesday, 21 August 2012

Aiden Grimshaw - Misty Eye (Album Review)

Aiden Grimshaw is perhaps famous for having the most memorable quiff on an X Factor contestant since the show’s inception; but that was two years ago and now, like many of the shows participants, he’s keen to distance himself from the commercial conformity of ITV’s juggernaut and to create a new identity, personal to himself as a music artist.

Written by: Chloe Scannapieco | Date: Monday, 20 August 2012

Don Broco - Priorities (Album Review)

Finding bands who are quality live and on disc is often more difficult than you'd think. Don Broco are a force to be reckoned with in a live capacity, and though there was nothing wrong with their previous releases - their new record 'Priorities' is set to catapult their on-disc quality to dizzying heights. Taking more time and paying more attention to the intricacies of their work has paid off, big time.

Written by: Heather McDaid | Date: Thursday, 16 August 2012

Lynyrd Skynyrd - Last Of A Dyin' Breed (Single Review)

It's a tired cliché to describe an ageing rock & roll band as survivors, but if that label belongs to anyone it's Lynyrd Skynyrd. Formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1964 the subsequent decades have seen the southern rock stalwarts experience wonderful highs courtesy of timeless anthems like 'Sweet Home Alabama' and 'Free Bird', as well as an earth shattering low that almost destroyed them. Back in 1977, following the release of their ironically titled 'Street Survivors' album, founding member, lead singer and voice of a generation Ronnie Van Zant was killed on tour when the band's plane crashed in a forest in Gillsburg, Mississippi after running out of fuel. Guitarist Steve Gaines, his sister and backing singer Cassie along with members of their road crew and airline staff also died on impact. The rest of the band somehow pulled through, albeit in a damaged state – both physically and mentally. After a ten year hiatus they regrouped in 1987 with Ronnie's brother Johnny Van Zant taking over on lead vocals. Since then ill health has claimed every member of the original line up with only guitarist Gary Rossington left to fly the flag. Through triumph, tragedy and countless tribulations the spirit of their music has endured. So it's fair to say 'Last of A Dyin' Breed', the title track and lead single from their thirteenth studio album, is easily the most aptly named record of the year thus far.

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Thursday, 16 August 2012

Eclipse - Bleed And Scream (Single Review)

If you thought arena ready rock music with stratosphere straddling choruses and kick ass guitar pyrotechnics was wiped out decades ago you'd be mistaken. That wonderfully cheesy, chest beating genre is still thriving, albeit estranged from popular culture and subsequently free of the watered down wannabes who'd polluted the scene by the tail end of the over indulgent, hedonistic 1980's. Whilst no longer swimming in the commercial mainstream that made global superstars of Motley Crue, Bon Jovi, Def leppard and Whitesnake, the music lives on courtesy of a younger generation of bands raised on the classics of yesteryear. Particularly in Scandinavia, where it appears the last two decades of music never really happened. Groups such as Work Of Art, H.E.AT, Grand Design, Brother Firetribe, Crazy Lixx and W.E.T have all delivered fantastic records jam packed with loud guitars and soaring melodies, crafting classically styled, hard hitting AOR with razor sharp contemporary production values. No band epitomises that better than Swedish four-piece Eclipse, whose 2008 release 'Are You Ready To Rock' was hailed as an absolute tour de force. They've taken their time to craft follow-up album 'Bleed And Scream', but if this title track and lead single is anything to go by it'll be an absolute monster.

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Wednesday, 15 August 2012