Ten reviews you might have missed

Reviews from Friday 07 August 2020

In Hearts Wake – ‘Kaliyuga’

In Hearts Wake are a band that have always championed life and its sustenance, and new album ‘Kaliyuga’ is the pure embodiment of that sentiment. Following their last three records ‘Earthwalker’, ‘Skydancer’ and ‘Ark’, all of which orbit around themes of earth, wind, and water respectively, this record

Avatar – ‘Hunter Gatherer’

Swedish metallers Avatar have been honing their craft for nearly 20 years. From their early days as a melodic death metal band to 2018’s conceptual ode to the King, ‘Avatar Country’, they have shown over the course of seven studio releases and countless live shows that their particular brand

Wednesday 05 August 2020

Stand Atlantic – ‘Pink Elephant’

In the two years since Aussie natives Stand Atlantic released debut album ‘Skinny Dipping’, they’ve worked to build up a strong, international fanbase. As they embarked on headline tours, sat comfortably on festival lineups, and saw themselves supporting well-established bands such as The Maine, it became clear

Thursday 30 July 2020

Creeper – ‘Sex, Death & The Infinite Void’

Creeper have never been in short supply of theatrics. Their origin is rooted in the mysticism of Room 309 and the concept of The Callous Heart and The Stranger, a concept that was woven into the fabric of debut album ‘Eternity, In Your Arms’. An album that

Monday 27 July 2020

Wilderun – ‘Veil of Imagination’

There’s a balance to be struck in folk metal. With a genre so delicately perched between accessing ancient heritage through music, and heaviness through modern metal, failing to achieve harmony between the two can lead to music that feels unsure of itself. Too hard into modernity and

Friday 24 July 2020

Broadside – ‘Into The Raging Sea’

The path to album number three hasn’t been the smoothest for Broadside. Coming two years after sophomore full length ‘Paradise’, singles ‘King Of Nothing’ and ‘Empty’ marked the end of an era for the Virginia band in May 2019 as their final releases on Victory Records. With guitarist and

Thursday 23 July 2020

The Acacia Strain – ‘Slow Decay’

A lot of bands are full of rage and anger – especially in the metal community – but you’d be hard pressed to find a band harbouring more of that disgust than The Acacia Strain. The Massachusetts bruisers have been cursing the world and everything in it for

Lakes – ‘This World Of Ours, It Came Apart’

Watford six piece Lakes released their debut album ‘The Constance LP’ last year, packed full of dreamy pop rock tunes. Described as a ‘glock-rock’ band, they combine the fairy-tale sound of the glockenspiel with pretty guitar licks, catchy melodies and post-rock inspired unpredictable rhythms. With a distinct DIY ethic,

Friday 17 July 2020

Dehd – ‘Flower of Devotion’

On their second full-length, Dehd are shrugging off their debut’s position on love: painful but necessary. This time around, after spending much of the last year alone, vocalist Emily Kempf is acknowledging how necessary and empowering solitude and loneliness can be. With this broadening of subject matter

Strike Anywhere – ‘Nightmares of the West’

It might be 10 years since Strike Anywhere released new music, but their infectious, melodic, hardcore-infused punk rock commentary on the state of the world has never been more relevant. Their latest EP ‘Nightmares Of The West’ tackles themes of personal loss, global injustice, and political frustration, but also

Thursday 16 July 2020

The Lawrence Arms – ‘Skeleton Coast’

Since forming in 1999, The Lawrence Arms have wanted to take us through the windswept streets of their hometown of Chicago. We’d hear tales from the late night bars, the basement shows, and generally be thrust into the claustrophobic nature of life in the belly of a

Tuesday 14 July 2020

Weigh The Anchor – ‘Right At Home’

Pop punk sometimes feels like a genre that hasn’t really moved much over the last twenty years – but dig a little deeper, and you realise the label is applied to a whole heap of bands who, in reality, sound wildly different. When it’s done well, you find bands

Friday 10 July 2020

Creature Creature – ‘Two Finger Tantrum’

It’s unusual for a folk-punk band to change their style and release one of the most interesting and dynamic albums we’ve heard this year. And yet, for 40 Shillings On The Drum, their debut album ‘Two Finger Tantrum’ is such a departure from their folk sound, they’ve rebranded themselves

Thursday 09 July 2020

Decay – ‘Staring at the Sun’

Looking for your next favourite emo band? Say hello to newcomers Decay. The Liverpudlian four-piece’s debut record ‘Staring at the Sun’ showcases their impressively accomplished sound, offering up 40 minutes of melodic emo laced with heavier moments. Fans of the genre are going to have an absolute blast with

Kestrels – ‘Dream or Don’t Dream’

Hailing from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Kestrels are back with their fourth full length release ‘Dream or Don’t Dream’. It’s been four years since their self-titled third album was released, with singer / guitarist Chad Peck bringing in Michael Catano on drums and featuring Dinosaur Jr’s J Mascis as a

Wednesday 08 July 2020

Sharptooth – ‘Transitional Form’

Sharptooth whip up a snapping, snarling swirl of feminist hardcore – they have a lot to say, and with new album ‘Transitional Forms’, they demand to be heard. In 2017 their debut album ‘Clever Girl’ made a big impression, hitting as hard with its message as it did with

Tuesday 07 July 2020

ManDown – ‘We Want Blood’

When their original bands tapped out, two fighters stepped back into the ring – battered and bruised, but baying for a return to form. ManDown is the name of this tag-team, a power-duo who still have music to make and, with debut EP ‘We Want Blood’, they’re proving there

Monday 06 July 2020

The Beths – ‘Jump Rope Gazers’

Every one of us, at some stage, will reach a point in our lives where distance wedges itself between us and the people we love. Long-lasting friendships feel strained, relationships become a chore, and once prominent figures in our lives drift away. It’s not always something we

Friday 03 July 2020

Phoxjaw– ‘ROYAL SWAN’

Cast your mind back to the children’s television show Stingray, and you may remember its famous opening ‘Anything Can Happen In The Next Half Hour’. Exactly the same phrase could used before one of Phoxjaw’s live shows. The Bristol four-piece’s music harks back to an earlier time, with clear

The Winter Passing – ‘New Ways Of Living’

Irish quintet The Winter Passing might be relatively unknown outside of their native island and, frankly, it’s a damn shame. They’re a band that have flown under the radar and deserve more plaudits than they’ve received. As the scene expands thanks to the likes of Fontaines DC, The Murder