Crippled Black Phoenix - London Highbury Garage (Upstairs) - November 11th 2010

Crippled Black Phoenix is not really the sort of band one expects to be headlining corporately sponsored events such as tonight’s Relentless Energy Session. The band, spearheaded by guitarist Justin Greaves (formerly of Iron Monkey and Electric Wizard), do not tour regularly in the UK and are armed with a unique sound somewhere between post-rock and prog. They are hardly the type usually chosen for this kind of show. Chosen they are though and they are backed up by two promising British artists in Dark Horses and Anna Calvi.

Written by: Ben Bland | Date: Monday, 22 November 2010

The Ex-Men - Famous (EP Review)

Fame, fame, fame. For millions of people, it seems to be an achievement in itself in this day and age. The cult of celebrity is a phenomenon that we all seem to buy into, at least subconsciously, and so the vast number of songs that are dedicated to either desiring fame or flaunting it (see 90% of modern American R&B) is hardly surprising. The Ex-Men, based in Glasgow, are the latest in this glittering tradition.

Written by: Jonny Rimmer | Date: Monday, 22 November 2010

4th Street Traffic - Long Way Round (Single Review)

Welsh rockers 4th Street Traffic have returned to release their latest single, ‘Long Way Round’, and let me be the first to warn you: it’s a loud one. From the first lingering chord, the band make it clear that they are not making concessions: they have produced a rock anthem which oozes nostalgia in every note, longing for the days when Lady Gaga was more interested in colouring in than acting like a pretentious berk.

Written by: James Conlon | Date: Thursday, 18 November 2010

The Vampire Diaries - Original Soundtrack (Album Review)

"Sleep all day. Party all night. Never grow old. Never die. It's fun to be a vampire" - The awesome tagline from The Lost Boys. The what? you ask. I guess nowadays The Lost Boys doesn't mean much anymore as it's all about Twilight, True Blood and The Vampire Diaries. America have gone vampire mad, and the rest of the world are quickly catching on. As is the case with most movies and TV shows, the soundtrack is an integral part of the appeal, and now into its second series, The Vampire Diaries is about to release their first soundtrack from the show.

Written by: Katie Territt | Date: Wednesday, 17 November 2010

Ed Drewett - Album Sampler (5 Track Review)

Many of you may already be familiar with the Essex born singer songwriter Ed Drewett for many reasons. Most people would have heard his vocals on the Professor Green hit ‘I Need You Tonight’ where he lent his voice to the chorus.

Written by: Steve Wellman | Date: Wednesday, 17 November 2010

The Concretes - WYWH (Album Review)

For those new to this Swedish pop collective, their newest album ‘WYWH’ is perhaps not the best indicator of the band’s overall sound.

Written by: Jonny Rimmer | Date: Wednesday, 17 November 2010

The Savings And Loan - Today I Need Light (Album Review)

Religion and Alcohol have become somewhat synonymous with the city of Glasgow over the years, and Scottish poet Martin Donnelly’s strait-laced but passionate lyrics beat these themes throughout his band’s debut album ‘Today I Need Light’.

Written by: Jonny Rimmer | Date: Monday, 15 November 2010

Monster Magnet – Mastermind (Album Review)

Monster Magnet have been playing mind-blowing, ribcage-shaking stoner rock for the best part of two decades now and ‘Mastermind’, the band’s eighth effort, offers no exception to that rule. Even if their last album ‘4-Way Diablo’ may have caused a certain degree of disappointment amongst fans, this latest offering is definitely a return to their earlier form.

Written by: Rob Sleigh | Date: Thursday, 11 November 2010

Beady Eye - Bring The Light (Single Review)

Cast your minds back to August bank holiday, 2009. The news had just filtered through that Oasis were splitting up and this time it was for good. Today, we discovered how the younger Gallagher would sound moving forward and it's basically the same.

Written by: Dave Ball | Date: Wednesday, 10 November 2010

John Legend & The Roots - Wake Up (Album Review)

A match made in heaven, the old campaigners of hip- hop The Roots meet the incredible soul power house that is John Legend. These two forces have come to together to make a concept album of two purposes.  Firstly to create a master piece of soulful, instrumental jazz blended with the John Legends' smoothest vocals to date. And secondly, to project the thoughts and fears of working class Americans, as the battle to reverse a failing economy spirals on, the light of Obama's shinning beacon of hope begins to dim and anger over the war in Iraq increases. But the overriding message of this twelve track offering is not to give up hope, but rather to literally "wake up" stay optimistic and "straighten it out".

Written by: Owen Sheppard | Date: Wednesday, 10 November 2010

Mona - Trouble On The Way (Single Review)

Mona are a four piece rock group straight out of the U. S. Of A. They’re based in Nashville and are becoming one of the most talked about bands out there. They have managed to amass a gigantic following on sites such as MySpace, with 180,000 page views before a single track was even posted to the site.

Written by: Rhys Morgan | Date: Tuesday, 09 November 2010

Burn The Fleet - Black Holes (Single Review)

Burn The Fleet are well known for their live shows and their debut EP was released on independent label ‘Walnut Tree Records’, home to the next generation of bands, including Tiger Please, Cuba Cuba and Bayonets. The band themselves are quite an individual mix between metal riffs, experimental and rock anthems.

Written by: Matthew Williamson | Date: Monday, 08 November 2010

The Candle Thieves - Sunshine And Other Misfortunes (Album Review)

Before getting into this review, I should first point out that this isn’t a brand new album. In fact it was released in April of 2010 so is a little over 6 months old. However, having seen them perform a support slot for Badly Drawn Boy recently (and completely out shine him I should add) I felt compelled to write something to draw more attention to this little known band.

Written by: Dave Ball | Date: Friday, 05 November 2010

Chiddy Bang - The Preview (Album Review)

'The Preview’ is exactly that, it is a preview of the forthcoming 2011 album from Chiddy Bang and it promises to be an excellent album. The duo from Philadelphia are releasing ‘The Preview’ on the back of the success from single ‘Opposite Of Adults’, which saw them go from one of the most hyped hip-hop acts around to challenging the charts.

Written by: Steve Wellman | Date: Thursday, 04 November 2010

Nelly Furtado Feat. Wiley - Night Is Young (Single Review)

The songbird and the godfather of grime have teamed up with Sketch Iz Dead to create a real floorfiller of a track, 'Night Is Young'. This won’t sound out of place on the club scene or the radio with the four to the floor beats on the chorus that have become big in today’s charts make this track potential chart material.

Written by: Steve Wellman | Date: Thursday, 04 November 2010

Pure Reason Revolution - Hammer And Anvil (Album Review)

Pure Reason Revolution claim to be proof that a band can be influenced by ELO, Smashing Pumpkins, Soulwax, Depeche Mode and The Beach Boys all at once, despite sounding nothing like them. This is evident within the album ‘Hammer and Anvil’ which features a constant combination of electro-pop and rock guitar riffs throughout.

Written by: Steve Wellman | Date: Thursday, 04 November 2010

Sleigh Bells - Infinity Guitars (Single Review)

It's not a huge surprise that Brooklyn based duo Sleigh Bells aren't a household name. Signed to Mom + Pop Music, an independent label based in New York, Derek E. Miller and Alexis Krauss have only been making music together for two years. Having only previously released a handful of tunes online, it's about time that the band start to get some recognition from their soon to be adoring public. 

Written by: Katie Territt | Date: Tuesday, 02 November 2010

Jamiroquai - Rock Dust Light Star (Album Review)

After spending almost 5 years in the music wilderness since the release of 2005 offering, 'Dynamite', Jamiroquai enjoy a welcome reawakening with their 7th studio album, 'Rock Dust Light Star'. Fronted by energetic, big hat wearing Jay Kay, the band triumphantly and effortlessly deliver yet more jazz/funk with a hint of electro in the way only Jamiroquai can.

Written by: Brian Thompson | Date: Tuesday, 02 November 2010

Kobra And The Lotus - Out Of The Pit (Album Review)

The metal scene of today is bursting at the seams with talent. Most of said talent is clearly placed at the experimental end of the metal scale. Bands like The Dillinger Escape Plan and Opeth take the genre of metal and move it on to higher plains. Kobra and the Lotus is a metal band and they are at totally the opposite end of the scale to the aforementioned experimentalists. Does this necessarily make their debut record worthless?

Written by: Ben Bland | Date: Monday, 01 November 2010

Doris Brendal - The Last Adventure (Album Review)

Doris Brendel, the daughter of famed classical pianist Alfred Brendel, is set to release her latest album ‘The Last Adventure’ on the 1st November. She was the vocals behind 1990s alt-rockers ‘The Violet Hour’ who were signed to Sony, now, just as they receive critical acclaim, Doris is forging a new path in music with her own release.

Written by: Steve Wellman | Date: Friday, 29 October 2010