Ten reviews you might have missed

Reviews from Monday 15 July 2019

LIVE: Gojira / Rolo Tomassi / Dead Label @ O2 Apollo, Manchester

One of the biggest venues in town before you hit arena level, Manchester’s o2 Apollo is the perfect setting for a good, old-fashioned theatrical show – it is, after all, a former theatre, and its sloping floor offers perfect vantage points to all. It might be a million miles

Friday 12 July 2019

Torchbearer – ‘Against The Tide’

Hardcore punk newcomers Torchbearer are ready to set the world alight with their brand new EP ‘Against The Tide’. Formed of ex-members of Blowgoat and Collapse (who previously toured stadiums with Anthrax), they may be at the beginning of their journey, but they have enough passion

Lights – ‘Skin & Earth Acoustic’

Acoustic albums are an opportunity to extend a body of work in ways that not only offers a reimagining of the artist’s music but also a chance to get a closer glimpse of the stripped back emotion that goes into their dedicated songwriting process. Scarlett-haired songstress

Thursday 11 July 2019

Bleached – ‘Don’t You Think You’ve Had Enough?’

Under the hot sticky skies of 1980s Los Angeles, as described in Brett Easton Ellis’ novel Less Than Zero, it paints a picture of the hedonistic lifestyles of young, rich college students. It is an environment of endless excesses but is ultimately a hugely vacuous and pointless

Tuesday 09 July 2019

He Is Legend – ‘White Bat’

When He Is Legend arrived on the scene in the early 2000s, they were a bit of an anomaly. Their immediate peers in bands like Every Time I Die and Norma Jean were still sticking to their own brand of angular metalcore, and hadn’t yet started experimenting with other

LIVE: Community Festival 2019 @ Finsbury Park, London

Based just outside Central London in Finsbury Park, Community Festival has become a mid-summer favourite for festival goers of all ages. With a line-up that combines the best of indie and alternative music, there’s something for almost everyone. The Punktastic team braved the intense sunshine, downed a few ciders, and

LIVE: Converge / Terror / Sect / Fange @ The Ritz, Manchester

Being the opening act for a seminal, vastly influential band like Converge must be beyond nerve-wracking. Being that act on just a couple of weeks’ notice because the original opener pulled out last minute, doubly so. With that in mind, fair play to Fange for getting up there and

Sunday 07 July 2019

LIVE: Single Mothers @ The Key Club, Leeds

If there’s one pertinent question in punk at the moment it’s, ‘Why isn’t everybody listening to Single Mothers?’ The self-proclaimed ‘band that split up in 2009 and have been touring ever since’ are a unique bastion within a genre where originality can be found somewhat wanting at

The Bottom Line – ‘No Vacation’

As gaps between debut and sophomore albums go, seven years is pretty extreme – especially for a band that resides in the eternal churn of a genre like pop-punk, where visibility and popularity is key to survival. It doesn’t seem to have fazed Brit four-piece The Bottom Line though,

Friday 05 July 2019

Fangclub – ‘Vulture Culture’

Inspiration for art can come from many different places. Be it visual or chemical, external factors or internal feelings. Like so many of the most compelling, thought provoking, and moving artists, Fangclub channel emotion as their main source of inspiration – both negative and positive, they embrace it all,

Thursday 04 July 2019

Jamie Lenman – ‘Shuffle’

Cover albums are always a guaranteed slice of fun. There’s something special about hearing brand new reworked versions of songs, especially when the artist performing them transforms the track and makes it their own. No matter the artist or the genre of the song, covers albums will

Tuesday 02 July 2019

LIVE: Taking Back Sunday / The Frights @ Troxy, London

It’s been over a year since Taking Back Sunday graced our shores for 2018’s Slam Dunk Festival, but we’re lucky enough to have them back, playing one of London’s prettiest venues. Main support comes from America’s The Frights, offering an energetic performance of 80s surf pop-rock, filled with thrashing guitars

Monday 01 July 2019

LIVE: Sum 41 @ O2 Victoria Warehouse, Manchester

In the springtime of 2011, Valencia was the scene of the ironically titled ‘MTV Winter’. Under the hazy night sky, the square of the city’s famous Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències was packed with fans eagerly anticipating a bill of bands at the knife edge

Sunday 30 June 2019

LIVE: Crystal Lake / InVisions / Captives @ Star & Garter, Manchester

Sometimes, gig venues – especially new or refurbed rooms – can feel a bit too sanitised. Star & Garter is not one of those gig venues. A well-known sight to anyone who’s ever departed from Platform 14 of Manchester’s main train station, the listed building looks almost abandoned from

Wednesday 26 June 2019

LIVE: All Points East @ Victoria Park, London

All Points East festival returns to East London’s Victoria Park in 2019 with six standalone events spread over two weekends. The festival, only in its second year, has already won the award for line-up of the year at the 2018 UK Festival Awards, and in May 2019 won the

LIVE: Dinosaur Pile Up @ Boston Music Rooms, London

The weather outside may have been dull and dreary, but the atmosphere inside the Boston Music Rooms was the complete opposite as rock lovers flooded into the venue to see Dinosaur Pile Up play a special intimate set. The only band on the line up, the evening

Monday 24 June 2019

LIVE: Fever 333 @ Electric Ballroom, London

Strength In Numbers is a statement adopted by Fever 333 as a sign of unity, and the fact that they have managed to sell out Camden’s Electric Ballroom with no support acts to play before them speaks volumes for how many people have faith in this band; tonight is

Tuesday 18 June 2019

Baroness – ‘Gold & Grey’

Baroness are one of the most respected and well-loved bands in metal today, and for good reason. Their records are consistently brilliant, having racked up numerous awards nominations and countless mentions on ‘Greatest Albums Of All Time’ lists from various publications. Not only is the

Saturday 15 June 2019

LIVE: Camden Rocks Festival 2019

Camden Town; arguably the geographical epicentre of the British music scene. There’s nowhere quite like it. As soon as you walk out of the dusty tube station and into the equally dusty streets, it’s like stepping into an alternative dimension compared to the rest of London. That, however, is

Thursday 13 June 2019

LIVE: Underoath / Parting Gift @ Electric Ballroom, Camden

Since they reformed in 2015, Underoath playing live in the UK has been a rarity, with the band citing cost as the primary reason. When they have made it over the pond, though – usually for festivals and warm up shows – they’ve been lauded as being at the