Sean’s music resonates with a lot of people. He offers a social commentary which is spot on and relevant to his demographic which consists of twenty-somethings who have been through, or are going through exactly what he’s singing about. Take opening track ‘No Show’ for example – an ode to your first ever job in retail. It’s not a rallying of the troops but more a message of solidarity, McGowan telling the listener that he’s been there and he gets it.

The last track and latest single from the EP, ‘Costa Del Solution’ is a tribute to the package holiday. Its catchy melody juxtaposes with the point being made in the song of the absurdity of working fifty weeks a year just to live for the remaining two. Simple, effective and clever, it shows the true potential that Sean McGowan has to offer.

The EP is book-ended by two spoken pieces ‘Gag, Pt. 1’ and ‘Gag pt.2’, the former acting as an introduction to himself and what he’s about, the latter coming as a message that tells the listener that they can make a difference. Future generations are relying on us and that change is possible with a little “Graft & Grief”.

For what it’s worth, the new addition of the backing band is fine. It does sound in parts like the tracks were hastily arranged. Room for improvement? Sure. But the music on offer here is about much more than that. What truly shines through is Sean McGowan’s knack for penning relatable lyrics, his likable wit and his sharp take on being stuck as another cog in the machine. Clocking in at only 20 minutes long, it’s an EP that’s well worth your time. It introduces McGowan well and whets your appetite for an upcoming full length record.

CHRIS MARSHMAN

The appetite for ‘As You Please’ started to build when lead single ‘In The Middle Of It All’ was released. With a sampled falsetto intro, it hinted at what Citizen would experiment with on the record. However it’s hard not to feel a touch deflated when the progress shown on the aforementioned song is not really touched upon again. What you do have however, is a record that feels like a direct continuation from their previous effort.

That’s not to say ‘As You Please’ is bad – it isn’t. There are some standout moments to appreciate and enjoy, such as the massive ‘Medicine’ which sounds like Citizen at their finest. The bridge especially inspires you to punch the air with joy at the cacophony of noise filling your ears. There is also the incredible ‘Control’; a song which grabs your attention immediately with an electro tone and heavy drums, before sending you on a four minute ride where it’s genuinely difficult not to be taken in by everything going on in the song. The drum work is imposing and effective, and Nick Hamm and Ryland Oehlers do incredibly well to make two vastly different guitar parts work so well together.

There is a lot of good on ‘As You Please’ that shows that Citizen are still entirely capable of creating a genre defining album, the problem is that the strong parts only makes fleeting appearances. The rest of the record is absolutely fine, but it does kind of just pass you by. Anyone expecting a huge progression on ‘As You Please’ will end up disappointed, whereas those who were happy with the band’s sound on their previous records will arrive at the end feeling satisfied if not thrilled. Overall it feels like a record which will see Citizen through the next couple of years. If in the future they can carry forward what they found on the likes of ‘In The Middle Of It All’ then album number four could be very special.

CHRIS MARSHMAN

One band they can learn from is the first of tonight’s tour package; Homebound. A band who have been building momentum since releasing their EP ‘The Mould You Build Yourself Around’ via Rude Records earlier this year, this tour comes at an ideal time for them, allowing them to build on what they’ve started and start to get their name out as part of a higher profile package. The band do well to fill the stage, and despite the room still being less than half full, they give it their all. It would be good to see what this band could do in a smaller room with a more energetic crowd, but what they provide is pleasing enough. This tour will do its job and get their name out in preparation for a headline run of their own.

The main support tonight comes from Broadside, who definitely lean more towards the poppier side of pop punk. Whether it’s intentional or not, they build anticipation well by spending a good fifteen minutes on stage before actually beginning their set. The set is only five songs long, which is forgivable if the already mentioned standing around was due to technical issues, but not so much if not. Broadside manage enough time to show the now almost full room what they’re all about, providing 20 minutes of poppy, melodic tunes held together with a synth backing track,the songs resonating well with those at the foot of the stage. Front man Ollie Baxxter has an incredible voice that helps elevate the band from fun to impressive. Broadside have a pretty big future ahead of them, that much is clear to see.

Tonight, though, belongs to Trash Boat. The band come on stage to a full room before launching into ‘Tring Quarry’. Midway through the set, front manTobi Duncan explains that the band had reservations about coming to Wales at all on this tour, in part due to a paltry attendance at their last South Wales show. Tonights’ packed out room is a testament to how much the reach of the band has grown in the last year, thanks to 2016 s album of the year contender ‘Nothing I Write To You Can Change What You’ve Been Through’, which tonight’s set borrows heavily from. Trash Boat are the real deal; from the opening power chords of ‘Tring Quarry’ to the emotive ‘The Guise of a Mother’, to the wonderful set ending ‘Strangers’, the band don’t miss a beat. Rostocks vocals are strong, switching between aggressive and clean without any effort. The crowd is told that this is the last set of shows in this tour cycle before writing begins for their sophomore effort. The band admit they could become the sort of band that release two albums and forget their EP tracks, but this should hardly be cause for concern. Trash Boat are a shining light in an over saturated scene, and if the second album does for them what their debut did then you can expect to see them bothering bigger venues than this very soon.

‘South Drive’ makes for a strong opener – fast, tight drum-work drives behind tasty guitar licks and strong vocals. Lyrically there’s nothing new going on here, as vocalist Sammy Clifford drops into the chorus with, “Cut the cord, shut you out, spit your taste out of my mouth” you’d be forgiven for mistaking him for Ben Barlow of Neck Deep – no really, they sound almost identical. While that may be a good thing for some, it will certainly cause a fair few to glaze over.

While a lot of ‘SKRWD’ is quite a rinse and repeat formula, there are a few other stand-out tracks. ‘Graveyard Shift’ (which has a pretty hilarious accompanying video) blasts through with ROAM-esque hooks that are quite difficult not to jam along to. The lyrical relatability of ‘Fair Weather’ also pins it up there as one of the best; we can all agree we have friends that are dicks, but no, we wouldn’t have it any other way.

It’s pretty clear why No Sleep picked these guys up so quickly, they’re green as grass yet making tracks that are as tight as some bands with a hell of a lot more experience. It’s somewhat of a disappointment then, that they don’t do enough to create something that separates itself from what is already on offer. It’s safe to say that ‘SKRWD’ will be the divider of opinion and the starter of YouTube comment wars. The guys will certainly make a mark with this E.P, and they’ve showcased a tonne of potential. WSTR, you did good… but you’ll need to do quite a bit more to find your own sound and separate yourself out from the crowd.

WILL ATKINSON

Any long-time deathcore enthusiasts will know the ‘poster boys’ of the scene – Suicide Silence, Whitechapel and Job For A Cowboy to name some recent big ‘uns – have always taken a staunch anti-religion/government/establishment stance in their music. But with ‘Holy War’, these infamous Aussie filth-mongers are wearing this stance so firmly on their sleeve, it’s basically a humanist sandwich board. The lead up to the release was surrounded by a swathe of much-expected controversy; with the release of the eyebrow raising ‘full album cover art’ and the music videos depicting the dark and twisted side of religious extremism and indoctrination – it’s safe to say that it set out to ruffle more than a few feathers. But through all of this kerfuffle, it’s without a doubt that Thy Art Is Murder have created yet another genre defining album.

The 2012 Megaladon that was ‘Hate’ launched the Sydney crew firmly into the ears of Deathcore fans worldwide after a pair of relatively successful EPs, bringing a fresh, modern sound that the genre seemed to be crying out for. The sinister leads, the room-shaking beatdowns and utterly feral vocals all packaged up in the crystal clear production proved to be a winning combo. And with the latest effort, it seems that they’ve taken some advice from the age old mantra; if it ain’t broke – ramp up the aggro and watch the world burn.
Opening tracks ‘Absolute Genocide’ and ‘Holy War’ pile on those unsettling lead vibes and hype building low-end chugs that have become part-and-parcel of Thy Art’s string work. They whip the classic deathcore hallmarks into a bloodthirsty frenzy in the opening tracks and when frontman CJ ‘Bear-Satan’ McMahon’s savage and foreboding growls pounded into the mix, the atmosphere that these tracks create is just overwhelmingly heavy.
Later tracks, ‘Coffin Dragger’ and ‘Violent Reckoning’ ramp up the pace dramatically, with some fiercely groovy riff work from Sean Delaney and Andy Marsh coupled with the always mind blowing drum work from the behind-the-kit monster that is Lee Stanton – ‘Holy War’ consistently hits the right notes at all the right times, delivering pure, unrefined thunder track-after-track.

All things considered, this album really doesn’t change much from ‘Hate’. Sure, the songwriting definitely feels more mature – there’s a certain swagger to Thy Art Is Murder on this album, that only a band that is truly on form can have – and the same relentless brutality is definitely there, but there is no drastic change to the formula. While there are a few tracks that fall victim to the occasional lack of creativity, ‘Fur and Claw’ certainly feels that it could have done with being a minute less than it is, the boys from Down Under have proved once again that their gurn-inducing brand of deathcore is amongst the best in the world. Thy Art aren’t reinventing the wheel; they’re giving the wheel a brand new paint job, some sweet flame decals and giving it a whole new lease on life.

CHRIS CHANDLER

Initially conceived in 2008, Hevy had built itself a reputation as one of the best small festivals in the UK until a series of stumbles led to an inexplicable storm of schadenfreude when 2013’s event was cancelled at short notice. Taking stock of their situation, the organisers of Hevy – always more interested in creating a fantastic event than generating publicity or securing high-profile sponsorship – came back with a vengeance in 2014 and put together a line-up and a festival which reassured attendees that lessons had been learned.

And with 2015’s incredible line-up, Hevy has not so much silenced the remaining doubters as gagged them with gaffer tape, bound their limbs together and thrown them to the endangered wildcats. The whole line-up is killer, but below is a list of the acts we’re most excited about and think you should be too.

Coheed and Cambria

Melodic, heavy, progressive, narrative, genre-defying… we could reel off positive adjectives to describe New York’s Coheed and Cambria until they dried up and we are left having to invent new ones. Those fresh-baked words still wouldn’t be sufficient to convey the ambition and impact of C&C’s 2004 masterpiece ‘In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3’, which the band will be playing in full at Hevy 2015. Not so much a ‘difficult second album’ as a ‘difficult (to see how any band could ever top this) second album’, hearing the third chapter of The Amory Wars in its entirety will be nothing short of a religious experience. [Rob Barbour]

The Dillinger Escape Plan

Not one for the faint hearted, The Dillinger Escape Plan are an eruption of mathcore and literal chaos. If leaping from guitar cabs, stage diving, and swinging from the lighting rigs without ever missing a note sounds impressive – or even impossible – then seeing truly is believing when it comes to this genre-defining group. Never one to disappoint, DEP always deliver a jaw-dropping performance. [James Davenport]

Fightstar

Recently revived following a hiatus which outlasted the entire careers of several bands, Charlie Simpson’s post-hardcore powerhouse are back. And not back in the ‘go through the motions, collect the cheque and fuck off on holiday again’ sense either. With a new album, ‘Behind the Devil’s Back’, due in October it’s clear that the quartet mean business. Closing the second stage on Friday night, we’re anticipating a rapturous reception. Just don’t expect them to descend onto the stage in a Delorean. [Rob Barbour]

Creeper

Emerging from the ashes of South Coast sleeper superstars Our Time Down Here, Creeper wasted no time casually dropping one of the best EPs of 2014 before hitting the road to build their cult. 2015 has seen the band going from strength to strength, culminating in the recent announcement that they’d signed to Roadrunner Records. That’s A Big Freakin’ Deal. Catch them now, because you can bet they’re going to be playing much, much bigger stages before long. Expect material from forthcoming EP ‘The Callous Heart’, epic fist-in-the-air singalongs and Will Gould being A Fucking Rock Star. [Rob Barbour]

Press to MECO

Press to MECO are absolutely bloody ridiculous. Lulling you into a false sense of security with vocal harmonies tighter than a dead miser’s fist before battering you with juggernaut riffage, their sound occupies the exact midpoint between Killswitch Engage and the Backstreet Boys. With their début album due later this year, the Croydon-based trio make an unholy amount of noise relative to their size and are sure to leave any bystanders wondering just what the hell just happened. Check out their ‘Affinity’ and ‘Press to MECO’ EPs and prepare for some seriously violent crooning. [Rob Barbour]

Thrice

How could we not include Thrice? Quite possibly one of the most important bands of the 2000’s, Dustin Kensrue and co. have chosen Hevy Fest to make their long awaited UK return following their decision to start making music again. Looking at their most recent setlists, you can expect a career spanning show that doesn’t hold back on the heavy hitters. It’s going to get a bit silly and we can’t wait. [Chris Marshman]

The Get Up Kids

The Get Up Kids may not have the same profile as contemporaries like Jimmy Eat World but they’ve had arguably more impact on your favourite bands than any other single act. However much they might like to disassociate themselves from the term, they are quite simply one of the most influential ’emo’ bands of the last twenty years – a status largely attributable to 1999’s genre classic ‘Something to Write Home About’, which they will be playing in full on the Saturday night at Hevy. Some will have a little dance, some will have a little cry, but everyone’s going to have a good time. [Rob Barbour]

The Fall of Troy

The return of The Fall of Troy is very welcomed indeed. The fact they’re playing their 2005 album ‘Doppelganger’ is just the icing on the mathcore cake. The musicianship, the intensity and the damn bloody good songs make sure of an unmissable set by the recently rejuvenated trio. [Chris Marshman]

As It Is

It’s fair to say that As It Is took a lot of people by surprise with their debut album ‘Never Happy, Ever After’; garnering great reviews everywhere you look and earning them a spot on the Fearless Records roster. They’re currently busy tearing it up over in the US on Warped tour too. We’ve got no doubt that they’re going to pull a huge crowd in what could be one of the funnest sets of the weekend. [Chris Marshman]

Arcane Roots

It’s been a little while since the boys in Arcane Roots were in the spotlight and there’s a reason as to why everybody is so excited that they’re seemingly on their way back to kick our heads in with their brand of progressive post-hardcore mathy brilliance. Arcane Roots never disappoint, they don’t know how to. This will be one of the sets of the weekend. [Chris Marshman]

Vales

So Friday is over. You’re hungover (probably). You’ve probably just gone to see some monkeys, maybe a lion. You know how it is and now you’re wandering around the main arena looking for something to do. Step up Cornwall’s own hardcore/screamo lot, Vales. If it’s intensity, brilliance and showmanship you’re looking for then look no further. Their set will wake you up, it will gear you up for the rest of the day and it will leave you remembering just how great watching bands in an animal sanctuary in the middle of England surrounded by friends really is. [Chris Marshman]

Truth be told, no matter where you look. The organisers of Hevy Festival have put together a line up that has incredible strength in depth. Back in its glory days Hevy Festival was constantly on the lips of those that attended as one of the best festivals in the UK today. Last year critics were silenced with an event that showed glimpses that the rebirth of Hevy was on its way. This year… well. Prepare to have the weekend of your life because Hevy Festival is back.

WORDS BY: ROB BARBOUR, CHRIS MARSHMAN AND JAMES DAVENPORT.

Bristol based rockers Turbowolf have released the video for their song ‘Solid Gold’ check it out below.

Turbowolf will play the Reading and Leeds Festival this year.

The hype that seems to be building behind The Gospel Youth ever since they announced the fact they were even a band has shown no signs of slowing down recently. The Brighton based pop rock quartet have bagged their highest profile gig to date supporting Deaf Havana in Oxford and now they’re gearing up for the release of their EP ‘Empires’ which has already started gaining great reviews.

The potential behind The Gospel Youth has always been there. In Sam Little they have a front man who goes almost unrivalled in terms of ability and every one knows just how good The Auteur were, so it’s absolutely no surprise that ‘Empires’ is five tracks of glorious, anthemic pop rock.

The comparisons are ready made with ‘Homesick’ almost sounding as if it was written by Deaf Havana… it really is that accomplished, it’s quite astonishing that a band in the infancy of their careers can create something so well rounded and complete. That remains a general theme throughout too, each song sounds like it has been in the head of the writer for years, so much so that it’s already been written to perfection.

There are plenty of singalongs to be had too, It’s hard to not be able to imagine a room full of screaming teenagers belting back the chorus of ‘Lighting Fires’ and practically the whole of ‘If She’s The Rope’ back to the band, with the latter proving the immense song writing abilities of The Gospel Youth, as if they were ever in doubt. It’s a four minute ballad that will more than likely incite a few tears from the bands already loyal following.

The EP wraps things up with the energetic title track ‘Empires’ which is essentially The Gospel Youth at their very best. From start to finish there is an urgency to the song which is infectious. The bridge is where the song really comes to life though. The group vocals that echo behind a lone guitar before Sam comes back in to nail a big note at the end accompanied by some incredibly effective drumming from Max Wingell.

The Gospel Youth have done something quite remarkable with ‘Empires’ it’s incredibly rare to see a band able to put out music that’s so accomplished so early in their careers. This EP will put The Gospel Youth amongst the elite of British up and coming rock bands and is hugely deserving of 20 minutes of your time.

CHRIS MARSHMAN

You can check out a brand new song called ‘South Drive’ by pop punkers WSTR over at New Noise Magazine.

The song is taken from their upcoming record ‘SKRWD’ out September 16th through No Sleep Records