Ten reviews you might have missed

Reviews from Thursday 12 May 2022

Cage Fight – ‘CAGE FIGHT’

You sit on the side-lines wanting to get stuck in. Two opposing fighters, locked together in combat, exchanging blows. It’s vicious, brutal, almost anything goes. There’s nowhere to run, no escape. It’s intense, visceral, blood splashes across the canvas – and you’re only listening to Cage Fight,

Friday 06 May 2022

Simple Plan – ‘Harder Than It Looks’

It’s been 20 years since Simple Plan burst onto our airwaves with the uniquely infectious debut album ‘No Pads, No Helmets… Just Balls’. Two decades and five albums later, and the band’s sixth release ‘Harder Than It Looks’ has an equally punny title and is closer musically to their

Puppy – ‘Pure Evil’

If 2019’s debut LP ‘The Goat’ was anything to go by, then existing listeners of London three-piece Puppy already had plenty of reasons to be hyped when the band announced the release of ‘Pure Evil’. The promise of a second full-length, complete with a sizeable flurry of

Wednesday 04 May 2022

Peaness – ‘World Full of Worry’

In a world which seemingly lurches from one disaster to another, we each develop our own coping mechanisms. For Chester-based trio Peaness it’s to write, in their own words, “sad bangers,” and their debut ‘World Full of Worry’ is chocked full of them. It’s the ideal blend of dark,

Tuesday 03 May 2022

LIVE: Salem @ Cathouse, Glasgow

On any given night, Glasgow’s alternative scene descends upon Cathouse for an unholy communion – but tonight is special as Southampton’s favourite son, Will Gould, is back in town, this time with his side project, Salem. Just one month after rocking Glasgow’s Garage with the much more theatrical Creeper, where

Thursday 28 April 2022

LIVE: Ghost / Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats / Twin Temple @ The O2 Arena, London

If you know anything about Ghost, it’s that they thrive on the theatrical. Everything about their genetic make-up, from the narrative intricacies of their century-spanning storytelling to the dazzling costumes and the shrouded mystery of the members (apart from front man and band mastermind Tobias Forge, of course),

Tuesday 26 April 2022

Cold Years – ‘Goodbye To Misery’

Let’s admit it, the past two years or so have been a little weird for all of us. The pandemic affected everyone in different ways; some used it to learn new skills while others used the time to reconnect with former loves, whether that be people, books, films. In

Friday 22 April 2022

Northlane – ‘Obsidian’

Northlane’s last album ‘Alien’ saved them. The band were ready to throw in the towel, seeing their ticket and album sales declining, feeling as though something was missing, and that album could’ve been their swan song. Thanks to the brutal industrial approach to their signature groove-laden sound and

Wednesday 20 April 2022

Bob Vylan – ‘Bob Vylan Presents the Price of Life’

“Some are drowning in money, I’m barely keeping my head up / price of life on the rise, I’m feeling like it’s a set-up,” spits Bob Vylan – the eponymous vocalist of the band of the same name on their latest record ‘Bob Vylan Presents the Price of Life’.

Spanish Love Songs – ‘Brave Faces Etc’

When Spanish Love Songs released their 2020 album, ‘Brave Faces Everyone’, we started our review with the line “Look, we get it. The world has gone to shit.” Little did we know, just a few weeks later, it was going to get worse. With live music put on hold

Tuesday 19 April 2022

Greyhaven – ‘This Bright And Beautiful World’

At first glance, Greyhaven’s new record ‘This Bright And Beautiful World’ looks like a relatively upbeat, happy outing. Ignore the monochrome balloons and metallic dullness of the cover art, it sounds like it’ll be a nice album based on the title doesn’t it? If you’ve heard of the

Prince Daddy & The Hyena – ‘Prince Daddy & The Hyena’

It’s been proven over the course of history that death is inevitable, so it’s no surprise we all naturally fear the end of our lives. It’s a notion that Kory Gregory of Prince Daddy & The Hyena feels deeply. While writing what would become the band’s third album, he

Wednesday 13 April 2022

Cancer Bats – ‘Psychic Jailbreak’

Not since The Style Council penned their 1985 hit ‘Come to Milton Keynes’ has a Buckinghamshire new town been so effortlessly crowbarred into a song. Then again, have you ever “melted faces in Milton Keynes”? Well Cancer Bats have, and they want you to know about it. The self-proclaimed ‘road

Monuments – ‘In Stasis’

One way to put pressure on yourself is to call your band Monuments. It’s a name that makes you think of a towering, dominant band whose music will last the ages, and it’s a name the UK band have spent the last ten years trying to live up to.

Friday 08 April 2022

Out Of Love – ‘So Far, So Good’

Since their inception in 2020, London 5-piece Out Of Love have set out to make their mark at any given opportunity. Releasing a steady stream of music from the off, fans have discovered and enjoyed 2020’s debut EP ‘I Am Not Me’ and the impressive ‘Funny Feeling

Wednesday 06 April 2022

Panic Shack – ‘Baby Shack’

Attitude can get you a long way. If punk was a reaction to glam, Panic Shack are a reaction to groups of cocksure lads clogging up the Cardiff music scene. They embody the ethos perfectly; anyone can be in a band, everyone has something to say and these five,

Tuesday 05 April 2022

LIVE: Palm Reader @ Signature Brew Brewery, London

“We’ve been a band for more than 10 years, and it’s only recently that we’ve started playing to crowds like this, so thank you,” says Josh McKeown, Palm Reader vocalist. You can see from the look on his face that he means every word of it. In fact, gratitude

Monday 04 April 2022

Meshuggah – ‘Immutable’

Six years out of a game they have been playing for over three decades, Swedish legends Meshuggah are back with their brand new ninth studio album, ‘Immutable’, and after nine albums, this band’s innovative creativity in metal music and consistency to smash through their own expectations is

Friday 01 April 2022

PUP – ‘The Unraveling of PUPTHEBAND’

The next release after a successful album can be a tricky one. After two successful albums, it’s even more difficult. For PUP, after releasing three almost flawless albums, they’ve left themselves an absolute mountain to climb to reach the Everest of heights they’ve set their standards at. Fortunately, they’re

Wednesday 30 March 2022

Carpenter Brut – ‘Leather Terror’

Of all the progenitors of that cult-of-neon we call synthwave releasing new records this season, Carpenter Brut may well be the most highly-anticipated. The slasher-inspired icon of the genre has never been one to be satisfied with standing still for too long, with his last full release