Ten reviews you might have missed

Reviews from Thursday 21 May 2020

COPE – ‘THE SHOCK DOCTRINE’

The concept of the ‘Shock Doctrine’, made popular by Canadian author Naomi Klein, is a simple one: if people are too tired, poor, miserable or apathetic to stand up for themselves, then governments and other powerful bodies can get away with pretty much whatever they want. As such, these

Tuesday 19 May 2020

Naked Next Door – ‘Swerving Out Wide’

Artists, fans, and the entire music industry are aching to reconvene inside bustling venues and across festival fields. New releases can’t quite remedy that ache, but they offer a lifeline – something to enjoy in our stay-at-home bubble and get excited about. There’s something extra special about

Thursday 14 May 2020

Non Canon – ‘Non Canon II’

In January 2019, Barry Dolan was writing and demoing tracks for what would become ‘Non Canon II’. During this process, the first of what turned out to be many deadlines for the UK’s departure from the EU loomed large in his mind. At the time, the drama unfolding at

Monday 11 May 2020

Hayley Williams – ‘Petals For Armor’

Far from the mania of 2000s pop-punk and from the pastel pastiches of ‘After Laughter’, ‘Petals For Armor’ recounts tragedy and travesty. The debut solo release from Paramore front woman Hayley Williams has been long anticipated – perhaps no more so than by Williams herself, who after

Thursday 07 May 2020

Can’t Swim – ‘When The Dust Settles’

So, winter has finally decided to go into hiding for another year and the sun has necked a few coffees to kickstart the warmer seasons with a nice chunk of overtime. Pizza sales are going to spike, everyone and their nan is going to show a bit

Friday 01 May 2020

Diet Cig – ‘Do You Wonder About Me?’

New York state indie duo Diet Cig promise a wealth of emotions on their sophomore record ‘Do You Wonder About Me?’. They want you to dance, to cry, to laugh, to commiserate, and over this collection of bubbly pop-infused tracks, they deliver in an abundance. This

Thursday 30 April 2020

GroundCulture – ‘How Well Do You Really Know Yourself?’

From Parkway Drive and Architects, to Knocked Loose, Code Orange and myriad bands in between, it’s hard to remember a time the heavy music scene was in such an internationally magnificent state as it is now. As the bigger names find themselves landing coveted festival headline slots once reserved

Havok – ‘V’

Over the last decade, Havok have earnt their place as one of the most prominent thrash revival bands. Instead of introducing new genres to the mix, they stick to the blueprint handed down by the titans of thrash, and they do it well. With the exception of a couple of

Wednesday 29 April 2020

Gold Key – ‘Panic Machine’

When the time came to record the follow-up to 2017’s ‘Hello, Phantom’, the members of Watford-based Gold Key bundled into a van and got dropped off at a cottage in Gwynedd, North Wales. With no car, no phone signal, and nothing within walking distance, they were completely off-grid as

Tuesday 28 April 2020

Boston Manor – ‘GLUE’

Boston Manor have proven once before that they struggle to sit within their comfort zone, and you’ll be delighted to hear that as they embark on their third album cycle with ‘GLUE’, this refusal to conform to expectations remains strong. Boston Manor are not here

Crywank – ‘Fist Me ‘til Your Hand Comes Out My Mouth’

After over a decade of delivering a unique brand of “anti-folk”, Crywank are calling it a day. Should this be the last time our paths cross with the Manchester duo, then ‘Fist Me ‘til Your Hand Comes Out My Mouth’ encapsulates the entire chaotic, and often confusing,

Monday 27 April 2020

The Rocket Dolls – ‘The Art Of Disconnect’

Big riffers The Rocket Dolls are hardly new kids on the block, having worked tirelessly playing around their native Brighton and beyond since 2008. All this persistence paid off, and their bombastic 2018 album ‘Deadhead’ arrived with generous praise, aimed mostly at its powerful sound: a type of hard

Dance Gavin Dance – ‘Afterburner’

Dance Gavin Dance have become a real force to be reckoned with over the last few years. Forming back in 2005, they were quickly picked up by Rise Records and released a slew of powerful and varied albums, quietly plagued by line up changes and complicated

Friday 24 April 2020

Elephant Tree – ‘Habits’

There is a real sense of impending doom around the world at the moment, so it seems a great time for psychedelic prog-doom merchants Elephant Tree to release their highly anticipated third album ‘Habits’. Their last full length LP was in 2016, but this new release is

Elder – ‘Omens’

Elder’s fifth full length release is their first as a quartet, having added former guest guitarist Michael Risberg to the line-up, as well as welcoming new drummer Georg Edert to replace Matt Couto. This new addition of an extra member is evident in the depth of sound throughout this

Thursday 23 April 2020

The Used – ‘Heartwork’

If you were a fan of post-hardcore and emo back in its heyday and The Used weren’t included in your regular rotation of bands, you were doing it wrong. A vital component in the genre’s popularity surge and one of the early breakthrough acts of the movement,

Malevolence – ‘The Other Side’

Malevolence put themselves on the map with their 2013 debut album, the wonderfully punishing ‘Reign Of Suffering’. Regarded as something of a hardcore classic, it was a fine example of metallic hardcore, but they were only to better it. Their 2017 album ‘Self Supremacy’ offered a broader sound by

Monday 20 April 2020

Chapter and Verse – ‘Love & Error’

2019 was quite the year for Chapter and Verse. After they made their way around the UK supporting the likes of Emarosa, Poets of The Fall, and Press To Meco, as well as squeezing in their own headline shows and the release of sophomore EP ‘Glow’, we didn’t have

Trivium – ‘What The Dead Men Say’

Over the course of eight albums, Trivium have built a reputation as one of metal’s biggest bands. After a lull, they recaptured the thrill of their earlier work with

Sunflower x Poisonous Birds – ‘Low Tide and the Dying Sun’

Aside from a single track released under his project, Sunflower, it’s been a while since we’ve heard anything from Mark Holley, and what a drought it’s been. His main project, Black Foxxes, have been all but silent since 2018 but as we await what will inevitably be