Ten reviews you might have missed

Reviews from Tuesday 25 July 2017

LIVE: 2000 Trees Festival 2017 – Friday

2000 Trees is now in its second decade as a festival and as the event continues to impress year after year, it happily shows no sign of slowing down. As an alternative festival that focuses on celebrating UK acts both new and old, there aren’t many line-ups that can

Sheer Mag – ‘Need To Feel Your Love’

With their debut record, Sheer Mag pick up exactly where they left off and that is by no means a bad thing. ‘Need To Feel Your Love’ is twelve songs of straight up rock ’n’ roll that will get your hips moving and feet tapping the second you hit

Monday 24 July 2017

VISTA – ‘Long Live’

Joined by guitarist Greg Almeida, VISTA is the newest musical project for front woman Hope Vista, following a previous solo career. That career spawned a track called ‘Dominance’ back in 2015 and it pops up again here, in reworked form, as ‘Dominance 2.0’. Aside from a more

LIVE: 2000 Trees Festival 2017 – Thursday

Sunday 23 July 2017

Saint Apache – ‘Wolf Machine’

When a press release describes a band as “fiery noise beasts” you expect a procession of searing riffs that would melt your face off if you got too close. Maybe it’s a classic case of going a bit too far with the platitudes, but what Saint Apache

Friday 21 July 2017

LIVE: The Wonder Years / Muncie Girls / The Dirty Nil @ The Hippodrome, Kingston

Pop punk shows are an equaliser. It’s impossible to judge anyone based on superficial things like social status when you’re four beers deep, arm around a stranger screaming your favourite band’s lyrics right back at them. These shows are communal therapy of sorts, but due to the unshakeable stigma

Wednesday 19 July 2017

Basement Revolver – ‘Agatha’

Well, this is just delightful. Basement Revolver’s ‘Agatha’ EP is a sombre affair, focusing on mental struggles and their physical manifestations, but there’s something sweet amongst the bitterness. Four tracks of poetic, anatomical and environmental imagery, it’s a dark but beautiful record and one to turn to for a

Rozwell Kid – ‘Precious Art’

If you like Weezer, you will enjoy West Virginia’s very own Rozwell Kid’s new album ‘Precious Art’. The album might feature humorous lyrics, but the underlying meaning to this album is singer and guitarist Jordan Hudkin’s battle with mental health. ‘Wendy’s Trash Can’ features typical indie rock guitar riffs and

Tuesday 18 July 2017

Sleep Token – ‘Two’

The press release for Sleep Token’s second EP ‘Two’ describes the band as “an entity unlike any encountered before. The mortal representatives of the ancient deity known only as ‘Sleep’, Sleep Token are led by the masked and cloaked figure appointed ‘Vessel’. Encountering Sleep in a dream, Vessel was

Goldfinger – ‘The Knife’

Say the name Goldfinger to pop punk fans of a certain age and you’ll likely strike up a nostalgic conversation. Say Goldfinger to anyone else, and once you’ve established it’s not the James Bond film you’re talking about, you’ll probably get little more than a blank expression

The Smile Bunch – ‘…But Do the Aliens Believe in Me?’

The ability for bands to record, release, and promote their own EP or album through any of the many online platforms shows what is possible even if you don’t have a record label, magazine cover, or summer of festival appearances to boost your profile. Such an approach

LIVE: Linkin Park @ The o2, London

Californian rockers Linkin Park return to London for the first time in three years and as we’re about to find out, things have changed in that time. Whether or not that change is for the better will depend on how long you’ve been a fan of the band. Linkin Park

Sunday 16 July 2017

Decapitated – ‘Anticult’

‘Anticult’ opens as you would expect a Decapitated record to open – with a haunting lick and the promise of a tirade of punishment. But the subsequent stylisation and effects pedals used show a new direction for one of extreme metal’s greatest ever bands. The build up to the drop and

Friday 14 July 2017

Oh Wonder – ‘Ultralife’

Oh Wonder have been nothing short of a phenomenon since the duo popped up on the scene. Boasting melodic choruses and beautiful harmonies, this London-based pair have gone from strength to strength off the back of their 2015 self-titled album. With such a successful debut, it can be daunting

Cocaine Piss – ‘Piñacolalove’

Self-described as a ‘glittershitstorm’, Liege, Belgium’s noisiest sons (and daughter) Cocaine Piss have been tearing up stereos, venues and general presumptions about hardcore’s inherent machismo since their 2013 demo through to last year’s debut full-length, the Steve Albini-produced ‘The Dancer’. This month the band have returned with

The Gospel Youth – ‘Always Lose’

The Gospel Youth have already found a place in the hearts of plenty. With heartfelt lyrics and melodies that possess that intangible ability to stir your emotions, they tread the line between pop rock and pop punk with ease and they’re a band it’s not hard to fall in love

Thursday 13 July 2017

Wren – ‘Auburn Rule’

If there’s one record label that consistently has its finger on the pulse of the UK underground scene, it’s Holy Roar. They championed the likes of Rolo Tomassi and Gallows way before they became household names, and more recently have put out releases by some of the UK’s most

Bad Sign – ‘Live & Learn’

London’s Bad Sign are a band making huge waves everywhere they go at present and those of us who have followed them from the beginning have been waiting for the release of a full length album for longer than we can remember. But that wait is finally over. ‘Live

Wednesday 12 July 2017

Best Ex – ‘Ice Cream Anti Social’

Alcopop! Records are doing pretty well right now, aren’t they? Latest signing Best Ex, formerly Candy Hearts, is set to add another string to their bow with latest release ‘Ice Cream Anti Social’. Proud and poppy, it’s different to what you’d expect from the previously pop rocking group. ‘Girlfriend’ opens

LIVE: The Smith Street Band @ Stereo, Glasgow

Growing up and studying in Glasgow gives you a certain fondness for a Friday night ‘up the toon’ – especially if, like me, you’re now officially a soft southerner living in and around another big old messy town at the opposite end of our island. The official Scottish holiday period