CONTENTS ng Death Quit Dancing + Upcoming
4-5 Introduci Gigs To Look Out For!
rfly whilst 6-7 Outcr y Collective hit Cardiff Ba The Blackout hit London once again erview 8-9 Under Construction Festival Ov
Thanks to all the other bands and photographers who allowed us to use photographs/ artwork.
w) 10-11 Dopamine’s Return! (Inter vie lease Show At 13 Funeral For A Friend Album Re Spillers Records Store 14 Zico Chain - Cardiff Barfly
16 Enter Shikari - Bristol Academy to Cardiff
Under Construction Festival: Mangaka Maiden
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le 19 The Guns return to Cardiff in sty nts!)
ge 20 The Guns Interview (Contains tan ni 22 11 Questions with Bensem & Mi
Death Quit Dancing: Danielle Heywood
Mimi Soya, Recluse
15 P.O.S - Bristol Fiddlers Club
out 18 Flood Of Red pour their hearts Barfly
Contributors (A-Z): Simon Ayre Nadine Ballantyne Alex Brady Paul Esp Anneka Sillitoe Ed Townend Daniel Whyte Rachel Williams
Soya
Further information and news can be seen on: www.soundscapemagazine. com
24 Outcr y Collective Interview CD Reviews y Collective, 26-30 ETID, The Used, Muse, Outcr Spider Kitten s, Eighth 28-29 Loci, Recluse, The Cafe Kid TAT, Parachute
Wave,
30 Flood Of Red, AFI soundscape magazine 03
Music To Die For
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Words: Alex Brady
www.myspace.com/deathquitdancing
D
eath Quit Dancing. Make what you will of that band name but the only time I have come across death dancing is in “Danse Macabre” by French composer Camille Saint-Saëns, where Death appears at midnight on Halloween and uses his power to bring forth the deceased to dance as he plays his fiddle; most people will know it as the theme tune to “Jonathan Creek” and I strongly urge you to listen to it regardless of your musical taste. Bearing that in mind, this band must have some pretty powerful stuff if they are able to make death dance, and dance enough that they have to tell him to quit it. Their album, “No Rest for the Wicked”, has been the talk about town for a long time, with many people expecting great things. Consisting of Nick Lane, Chris Kempster, Hywel Rees, Geraint Rees, James Watkins and Simon Butcher, the boys have certainly produced something worth talking about, and for all the right reasons. Kicking things off with “Dress Like Halloween”, sticking with a Saint-Saëns theme, there is something daunting about the intro to this track. With a quote from the film “Face Off”, “If you dress up like Halloween, ghouls will try to get in your pants,” it feels as though the song is waiting, build up the anticipation to a near unbearable level, to then start chasing you down, finally catching you with the superb vocals. The high-power drums and guitars keep the energy flowing faster than water off Niagara Falls. Certainly a powerful start. Photos: Danielle Heyw
ood
It’s not until track 2, “I’ve Just Gone from 6 to 12”, that you realise that there is a hint of Enter Shikari about this lot, only with more sense and direction. Their use of synth is subtle but its impact makes all the difference, taking the track from being good to damn good! Especially as the synth can easily become an overused and abused instrument and is one that should be kept to those who know how to employ it. Over the next couple of tracks though, things get a bit same-y. Don’t get me wrong, the vocals are excellent, but they all seem to be have the same tone and delivery. The odd dash of screamo does help to keep things fresh but you can’t help but switch off a little. Thank god things pick up come “5:1 Albatross”. The slow fadein gives you the impression it is running towards you, eager to pick up where it left off in “Dress Like Halloween”, ready to pummel your ears with a fistful of sounds. The powerful bass and relentless drums bring the album to a new level and remind me a little of early Lost Prophets, but with much more appeal and a front man I can look at without feeling ill. I would love to see this song played live, with such an immensely climatic ending you can guarantee the crowd would be begging for more. I have always thought that the last track on an album must be the hardest to work on. That sound is the one that will be the freshest in the listener’s mind, it is the last chance for the band to make a good impression but it is also the track that could ruin everything if not done well, like a really good film with an awful
ending. I really struggled to decide what I thought of “Touche”, the closing chapter to “No Rest for the Wicked”. I can safely say that it is not my favourite track on the album, but neither is it the worst. So, after much deliberation and rocking thoughtfully in my chair to look intelligent, I decided to view this track as an experiment. In order for a band to progress, they have to come up with fresh ideas, something different from what they have done before to prevent the onset of monotony that will inevitably infect them if they stick with the same old. The best way to do this? Experiment. “Touche” had all the same elements of the other tracks, powerful vocals, the synth, the intense energy that has been their trademark throughout this album, but all mixed up into something different. The pace and sound felt heavy, as though weighed down with effort or some inner burden. The only significant downside to this track is the strange wailing sound effect about 2 minutes in, which I can only describe as a gerbil in distress. To wrap things up, I can only see great things for this lot. They have the ability to fill the gap left by people like the Lost Prophets and Funeral for a Friend, both of whom have disappeared from the mainstream music scene, but what Death Quit Dancing do is so much, much better. They have an appeal that will span age gaps, from the youths who think anyone over 24 doesn’t have a clue about music, all the way up to the 30 year olds who despair for the children of today, they have the power to appease all and it is definitely music worth coming back from the dead for
.
GIGS TO LOOK OUT FOR! Who: Bloc Party When: 16th October Where: Newport Centre Who: Nine Black Alps When: 21st October Where: Cardiff Barfly Who: SWN Festival When: 22nd-24th October Where: Various Venues Around Cardiff Who: Biffy Clyro Plus: Pulled Apart By Horses
When: 25th October Where: Cardiff Uni Who: Frank Turner When: 27th October Where: Cardiff Uni
Who: VV Brown When: 19th November Where: Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff Who: Gary Numan When: 19th November Where: Sub 29 Who: Super Furry Animals When: 20th November Where: Coal Exchange Who: Rise Against When: 22nd November Where: Cardiff Uni Who: Kasabian When: 22nd November Where: Cardiff CIA Who: Taste Of Chaos
Who: Accident Music When: 27th October Where: Cardiff Barfly
Killswitch Engage, In Flames, ETID
Who: Vans Off The Wall KIGH, Attack Attack, FFAF +More When: 30th October Where: Birmingham
Who: Gay For Johnny Depp
Who: Devil Sold His Soul When: 6th November Where: Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff Who: Motorhead When: 13th November Where: Newport Centre Who: The Automatic Plus: Exit International
When: 13th November Where: Cwm Parc Hall Who: Bring Me The Horizon When: 18th November Where: Bristol Academy
When: 28th November Where: Bristol Academy Plus: Outcry Collective
When: 2nd December Where: Cardiff Barfly Who: Status Quo When: 4th December Where: Cardiff CIA Who: White Lies When: 4th December Where: Cardiff Uni Who: Gallows When: 7th December Where: Newport TJ’s Who: Paramore When: 14th December Where: Cardiff CIA
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Outcry Collective
The Blackout
Cardiff Barfly, 20th August
Camden Barfly, 3rd August
Plus: The Dead Formats (8/10)
A very quiet Barfly tonight, either that’s because it’s A-Level results night or someone’s not doing their job right! Tonight kicks off with some very odd locals who leave before they even get a chance to see the main acts tonight, Where’s the musicianship in that? The Dead Formats looking slightly pessimistic about the empty floor still take to the stage and throw off energy spurts to who ever has bothered to watch. Even with the fact they have two key singers who are both as diverse as a Mouse marrying a Tiger, it works well. One punk looking tattooed pierced bloke throws down the screams and rampages off the stage as the other smartly dressed harmonises the songs with his clean vocals. Well worked, expect to hear about these boys soon! As people are scarced around barfly the singer jumps out and collects everyone in around the front before he commits himself to a non stop sprint around the floor all night. Bouncing off the walls, running in and out of a slightly scared crowd, the singer barely spends a songs worth on stage. It fits in great with their attitude and sound, despite the lack of crowd it doesn’t effect the effort the whole band throws into the gig and as they clearly said “We just love playing live...” and tonight proves it. Outcry Collective are definitely a band worth your attention, you wont regret it. (N.B)
Plus: We Are the Ocean (7/10)
Tonight’s gig is an odd one. Not only is it a really tiny venue for The Blackout to play, but they’re leaving the songs up to you! It’s a requests gig and you get to pick the track they play. Immediately there’s a problem though because they state the tracks they’re not playing and it’s a couple I know a few people had really wanted to hear them play just one more time. It bugs me when bands totally ditch playing anything they consider too old, because without them first tracks they wouldn’t be known by half the people that had come to see them. It’s because all too common in the music industry these days and as living proof, look how quickly Finch dropped off the face of the planet when they refused to play the one track everyone wanted. 3 Years on and they’re playing it again and suddenly people care! Just learn now bands, before you make it big... always give your audience what it wants! Anyway back to the gig. They’re being supported by We Are the Ocean tonight. A band I like to call We Are Not Alexisonfire, because they clearly wish they were. It’s a shame half the kids down the front have no idea who Alexisonfire are so therefore think this band is original. If you’re smart enough to know who Alexisonfire is, well done! And if you want to see a good band, go see them, avoid copy cat bands like WATO! They play well though, nothing wrong with their playing, so it’s just a shame everything sounds so
lifted straight out of the quality albums we know and love by another band. The kids eat out the palm of their hands though, problem is they always do if there’s one guy that’s semi-attractive, oh well, can’t win them all. A bit later The Blackout take to the stage, play a bouncy set as usual, this time hand picked from those in the room and a few stragglers on Twitter thanks to Gavin Butler (vocals) being attached to his iPhone as much as I am mine! They play both oldish and new, including the kid pleaser’s that they all scream for down the front. The mosh pit is lively, some would say a little too lively when a fight breaks out. The band don’t seem to notice and continue playing whilst security and sound men alike try to defuse the situation and remove those causing trouble. I watch in amazement that a band from the clubs no bigger than this just a few years ago are having people fighting in their mosh pit over something probably really petty, strange moments like this seem to follow them. They end their set with one more track after their usual ‘I’m a Riot’ and I feel a tear prick the corner of my eye. They’re truly big now, far bigger than anything I couldn’t hoped for them. So when singer Sean Smith asks me outside when he’s next going to see me and I answer I really don’t know, I mean it. This band could be globe trotting even more than they already have been at any second, so if you can catch them somewhere, get there quick! (A.Sillitoe)
15th August, Cardiff
Above: Mc Quantrill
a It’s never been easier to start heard
band and get your music with the internet, but that’s becoming startlingly more obvious. However, the long tradition of being in a band as a teenager is taking off too. With more interest in younger bands in community centres and by young people in general, as well as the influence of the internet’s huge expanse of music and knowledge, a lot of bands are already hitting their peaks in the teens. Under Construction Festival in Cardiff is an event that showcases this talent, keeping the bill strictly under-18 and inviting bands to play on a professional level. The festival’s name comes from the idea that the artists playing are still ‘under
The best part of the festival is that it brings music to the community and it’s completely free. Talent ranges from young to younger; with already experienced metal band Here Lies The Enemy headlining the event, and Kamikaze Veterans on second bringing surprising political punk to a surprised audience. Acts also include alternative rock from Any Other Day and an extra long set from local rapper MC Quantrill. Although the festival is mainly host to family and friends of the acts, it also aims to attract all young people and With acts ranging from a raw provides a great sense of compunk band to an anti-knife crime munity and involvement. MC and of course, the classic http://www.myspace.com/ cover band, variation is key to soundscenefestival satisfying tastes at the festival (E.Townend) and introducing new music too.
construction’ and aren’t as polished as most music. The event is primarily organised through regular meetings and over the internet and run as part of Cathays Community Centre’s music project. In its third year, and without many of the problems plagued by the many complications of putting on a festival (weather, legal restrictions and requirements, band drop outs) an eco-friendly solar powered stage was the setting for ten acts with workshops also on site.
Top Left: Kamikaze Veterans Right: Here Lies The Enemy Other Day, Theatre Of Machines, Left: Crimson Skies, Bottom Left: Any Kamikaze Veterans, Right: 39 Curses
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W
e all thought the rumours were true, at a time where the local scene seemed to be coming to a halt, Dopamine were dead. But then they go and surprise us all after an 18 month break with 2 unique shows. ‘Experiments with Truth’ one night and ‘Audition Your Escape Plan’ the next. We also thought that these gigs would be the end but as we caught up with Dopamine before their show, it’s most certainly not.
squeeze one out and then we’re goingmto as and when we can really.
Both nights were splendid and packed out, everyone that was anyone showed up to the pits of a venue Barfly, all friends and familiar faces to Dopamine and you could feel that presence in the air tonight. Something that feels to be missing from many gigs lately. Neil’s vocals along with new guitarist Todd really stand out on both nights. Not a fault in place from what must of took an absurd amount of time to practice. Let’s just hope they don’t leave it another 18 months!
Neil: I don’t think that actually happened. Just that practices were really really long, even just playing them from start to finish both on the same night takes about two and a half hours. So once you start playing a certain song six or seven times and another song three or four times, you’re suddenly there for four hours, but it was fun.
First off, lets ask what’s on everyone’s mind... You were back to a 3 piece, how did this happen? Neil: When the band first started off we were a three piece, many moons ago. And since then we’ve had other guitarists who have joined the band and left, we’re obviously hard work to get on with, But Todd’s joined the band... Todd: I was the nearest guy to their houses who could play guitar. Sam: (laughs) We got a map and just drew a line. Are Dopamine currently working on any new Albums or EP’s? Neil: We have written a new song called 1984 and we’re playing it tonight! Are you working on any more? Neil: Well, to cut us some slack, we have had to learn 26 songs, so we haven’t had a lot of time to write new songs. But we have managed to
Was it tricky learning the two albums in full for these shows? Todd: If we pull it off, then we’ll say it was easy. If we make a few mistakes we’ll say it was really hard! Are there any songs you got sick of practising then?
Dan: I don’t think any songs got boring to play though. Have you got any favourites you can’t wait to play? Todd: First track on the second album (Who You Are)! Sam: I think I’m looking forward to the new one just to engage peoples response.
while you’re playing. If it’s a slower song that maybe should have peoples attention and shouldn’t be speaking, over here it doesn’t happen but in Japan it’s silent. Sam: It’s like first song, (claps), silence. Neil: Yeah, Masses of applause and then silence again. Sam: It’s brilliant. Would you say more respectful then? Neil: Yeah, not that we deserve it, it’s just because you’re so used to playing in the UK, anything that’s different is good I think. Todd: Neil wanted to take these shows out there which would have been cool. Neil: Yeah, still might try! As kids, what did you want to be when you grew up? Neil: Footballer! I still want to be a footballer, I haven’t given up. Sam: He’s still having dreams of getting spotted.
Neil: I’m looking forward to playing songs we never actually played live before, which in some instances can be a bit scary but it’s good fun, because when we were regularly gigging we had like a set of ten songs we used to play and they wouldn’t really change, might add one in, take one out or what ever, but this time it’s 26 contenders... all in there.
Neil: I’m at my physical peak now, if it doesn’t happen soon it’s going to be a struggle. I do look on the website to see if they will have any new players.
Who’s been your favourite band to tour with ever?
Sam: I’d say footballer as well. I wanted to be Eric Cantona.
Neil: I’m going to say my favourite tour ever has been in Japan because the culture is so different. You can’t explain it, it’s just a very different place in a good way. The crowds are really strange in a good way, like over here you’re lucky if you get people being quiet in between songs and
Dan: Footballer.
Todd: Wales team are looking for some players, you could join them. Neil: I know but I’m a bit old for that though.
Todd: I wanted to be a fisherman. I just wanted to fast forward to being old and just having one of those winnebago’s and go fishing all the time. I didn’t think I really wanted to work.
Neil: Why a winnebago? Sam: What kind of fishing? Todd: Just fishing. You know, down Porthcawl you see those guys... Sam: So, three footballers and a fisherman. Dan: Next album title I think! Did you ever expect to be in a band hard work when first starting out? Neil: It’s not hard I don’t think, well there’s a lot of travelling, you don’t really do anything, for like one hour of the day you do something. I find it a bit boring, well not boring, you’re
looking for something to do rather than being hard. Todd: If you’ve got a job and all that and you’re rotating it... Neil: That’s hard... Todd: Yeah, that’s hard. Neil: You are right, in the early days it is hard when your juggling it about but as soon as you take the plunge into the clunge and just do the band full time then it’s not a problem really. It’s more fun. Todd: It’s your life then. As 3 of you are in other bands, do you find it hard to make time for
both and do you feel you sometimes get a little bit lazy with one project? Neil: That’s the only reason why we haven’t gigged in so long is because it’s too hard to contemplate doing both. You don’t want to do both of them half hearted. There’s no point. I kind of decided it’d be one full on and then as soon as some time is available we can do the other one. It was just getting to the point where we hadn’t gigged for so long we had to do something because people were messaging us on myspace and asking if we were playing again. Sam: Everyone thought that we had broke up. soundscape magazine 11
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Neil: A lot of people had been like ‘Oh you’re getting back together now’, we didn’t split up but I mean you can understand why people would think it when you drop off the music radar for 18 months. Todd: It’s a long time! Neil: Yeah it is a long time. We’re just really chuffed that it’s done really well pre-sale wise for tonight and we’re just please that people still take an interest in us and appreciating the fact that they’re being patient with us. There’s people coming from all over the place today as well, from Germany, France, Holland. Todd: No Pressure! How long have you been with them now practising? Todd: I told this story yesterday. I remember seeing Ryan playing and he said it might be his last show and this was ages ago, April last year and I was like ‘Oh man, I’d love to play with these guys’ but nothing came of it and then Sam asked if I wanted to join a few months back, and then he’s like ‘Oh we got some shows’, and I looked at the shows and it was both albums! I was like ‘Oh.. cool, lets crack on!’. What can we expect next for Dopamine? Neil: We haven’t really discussed it have we. We gotta play by ear haven’t we, because everyone’s got other things going on.
Sam: Write some new stuff! We noticed you got some new merch (Dopamine are not fucking dead)! Neil: Our fans love a bit of merch. I can name names of people I know that will buy our merch, they collect it if you know what I mean. It’s like collecting records. There are people out there who collect our t-shirts. So we gotta do stuff otherwise it’d be like ‘New show, ain’t got a new tee’... Dan: We don’t wanna let them down. Neil: Yeah, we don’t wanna let them down. We’ve written that new song, I’d like to record that, I can’t see us finding time to go an record an entire album in one go, so I can see us maybe recording a couple of tracks here and there and then eventually having a record that’s written. So when we got time and we’re all free we’ll release that and tour again. Sam: I think it’d be a stronger album because of that as well rather than just rushing an album out, just take our time. Neil: We can all write songs in this band, so there’s no limits to what we can do. Sam: We’re in a nice situation where we’re doing it because we want to do it now. Todd: I’m gonna put massive blues solo’s on everything, that’s going to be the new sound. It’s going to be amazing
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Left To Right: Todd, Dan, Neil, Sam As dozens of skinny-jean
Funeral For A Friend Album Release at Spillers Records Monday, 28th September
As dozens of skinny-jean clad post-emos with haircuts circa 2005 mulled around the worlds longest established record store, the Funeral boys set up shop. Fresh from playing the gargantuan crowds of festival season, the boys certainly had a treat in store for the intimate crowd. The band played songs spanning the entire breadth of their decade in the music industry, with fan favourites such as Juneau from the bands debut. Renowned for their singalongability, highlights came in the form mass crowd participation of History, which, of all the bands songs lent itself most easily to being played acoustic. The set was brought to an emotional conclusion with the 2007 hit Oblivion, moving one crowd member close to tears. Overall, not a bad way to spend a Monday afternoon, Spillers once again deliver the goods with another unmissable event. For news about more instore appearances, visit: www.spillersrecords.com Words: Rachel Williams Photo: Simon Ayre
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Zico Chain
T
he clan that follows Zico Chain are easy to spot at tonight’s gig, showing off their ‘ZC’ tattoo’s for all to see, and why not. Zico Chain are back at Cardiff Barfly promoting new album ‘These Birds Will Kill Us All’. The last time we saw them all the media were praising these young alternative rockers, loving them, comparing to them to many classic titan bands and finally they’re back with force and what feels like some maturity within their new tunes.
Plus: Spiridion Members Of Me
don’t care, they look happy they’re just playing. Spiridion on the other hand go the other way and are more metal than you’d expect, with a mix of Sepultura esque beats and effects, Deftones melodic vocals with a pinch of good old numetal screams of Spineshank. A mix you’d think that works, however, even though the first song was a belter of a tune and really made you alert, after that it all feels the same. There’s only so much of the same distorted style lingering guitar effects you can take. Zico Chain always seem to pull in a hell of a mix of a crowd. All here to see these glam looking, leather pants wearing, slick sounding trio
of a rock band. Despite the new tunes they throw about tonight, which are sounding like a step up compared to last release ‘Food’. It keeps the crowd weary and in check. But when last few hits such as ‘Where would you rather be’ get played the crowd don’t hesitate to finally move their feet and literally as a pit starts up amongst the few willing for the final few minutes It kind of creates that atmosphere that ZC know they are still loved. They always manage to put on a dynamic show and although it feels like the major media this time are leaving them out, it doesn’t seem to bother anyone, the fans don’t care, they’re just here on a Friday night to have a good time. (8/10)
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The first bands we catch are Members of Me, a very happy young band for Barfly’s liking. Although pop rock may not be the ultimate choice for a support band, they
Cardiff Barfly, 25th September
P.O.S - Fiddlers Club, Bristol - 2nd Oct
P
unk, original, staggering. P.O.S. is from Minneapolis in the US and a stand-out support act on a British bill. Despite punk roots, Stefon Alexander is rapping with a purpose. Aggressive, yet sedate – his stage persona reflects in no way what his lyrics are saying. Despite the calm demeanour and smiles, his beats and rhymes are powerful like in the fantastic ‘Purexed’. However, he can’t help but hide his reaction to the disinterest in the crowd, here to see headliners The King Blues, asking how much people paid
without saying why and cutting each song to switch to another. This might have been to keep interest however, as in a half hour set he managed to fit in eleven songs, nine of which were off his latest album “Never Better” which leans more towards the rough MC approach rather than his punk-influenced albums before. The one thing that really brought the set down was the continuing attempts to get the crowd involved, possibly a factor of a good first date in the UK and expectations from the US. The Bristol crowd
weren’t as savvy or involved with the shouting and off beat raps as he would’ve liked. However it’s difficult to comprehend the gig without this, just P.O.S. rapping over his DJ (Paper Tiger) playing incredibly well-crafted, ear-punishingly raw beats with occasional live scratching of the rapper’s voice. The music itself is fantastic and hearing and seeing it live is an incredible experience for a fan, but was slightly hampered by the low atmosphere in Fiddlers Club. (8/10) Words&Photo: Ed Townend
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Enter Shikari
TDWP has to offer, which it seems is a good time all round.
Bristol Academy 7th October
Enter Shikari, a band everyone in the UK has heard of whether loved or hated. Who knew you could take some breakdowns, some electronica, some melodies and screams along with 4 good friends and come out with something the majority of kids will love. And as friendly as ever, just like they were your mates, Enter Shikari walk on stage casually, greet those screaming at the front and get on with the show. An intense, rave-tastic, metaltastic, hits filled of a show. Everything seems in place tonight, from the set list to the lighting to the crowd jumping around as if it were Christmas, and of course the band who seem to jump around more and more each time I see them, and each time I do I’m reminded why I liked this band in the first place. (9/10)
Plus: The Devil Wears Prada These youngsters grow up so fast, it only seems like last year Enter Shikari were getting all the lime light along with UK metaller’s BMTH and together blending up a new form of music for many to love or hate. A few albums into their life span and Enter Shikari are back on the road, known for their energetic shows, it’s bound to be a head splitting night. For this tour ES have brought along with them US hardcore act ‘The Devil Wears Prada’. More known for their name? Or their intense live show? Either way, the music is nothing out of the ordinary but they put on a hell of a show as it’s all they can do really. The crowd however are feeling different and feeling whatever
Words&Photos: Nadine Ballantyne
Flood Of Red
S
cottish underground hero’s return to dull ol’ Cardiff tonight whilst having to compete with the majority going to All Time Low. Barfly should be full of dedicated music lovers only (and those with good taste). First we get to witness locals Dead Against The Rest, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen these lads play and I’d completely forgotten about the whole classic rock jamboree they have going on. A strange buzz to start the night off. As much as you’re willing this band to be good, it seems time’s had it’s way with them, that and they were just much more enjoyable the first time around. The singer just feels too much like he’s trying to be Jack Black and although they all look like they’re enjoying what they do it’s not enough for this crowd. The music needs a fresh approach because it’s just old dust gathering up and no one wants to know. But by all means a good effort.
Flood Of Red, if you haven’t seen them already, you bloody should. One of the few bands that you will see the emotion just fall of them, just as easy as the sweat off their backs do from their impressive energetic performance. Every hit, every strum, every melodic cry full of what they truly care about, their music. Another band in another tour to promote their new album, but there’s a difference, Flood Of Red just released theirs digitally for $1. Tonight they play to apparently their biggest audience they’ve had in Cardiff so far and a crowd who are loving every minute of it. Last song as always brings shenanigans, a pit to which singer Jordan has no fear to walk out in front of. But then to witness a sudden change where each member pulls out a drum and starts smacking the hell out of it to the final beats of the night. It’s one of those moments that make your hairs stand up on end. A true moving moment you could watch again and again. (9/10)
Plus: Dead Against The Rest Cardiff Barfly, 4th October Words&Photos: N.Ballantyne
Clwb Ifor Bach 29th Sept
The mother fucking guns...
Plus: Accident Music & All The Damn Vampires
A
fter a small disappearance from the Guns, they’re back in Cardiff not long after playing to an overwhelming crowd at Tj’s the other month. Openers All The Damn Vampires get things moving with a bit of straight up rock n roll. All was going well and promising but it’s hard to miss that only 2 out of the 3 are really doing all the work as the guitarist remains static and unimaginative. Along with vocally 3 people screaming what ever song they seem to please doesn’t seem to work either. If they choose a key singer they’ll be right on track for a intriguing local punk band.
Next up and clearly containing members all from broken bands (Ex-Midasuno & Lostprophets), they know their time is now and show it bloody well. Again another ballsy rock n roll band, energetic yet enough to get a bit of a sing song along with their fans too. Can’t ask much else from this band. What the majority have been waiting for, The Guns, and as it’s been a bloody long time no doubt the crowd are ready to burst, as are the band. Ploughing through a set of songs of the latest release ‘With The Guns’ (which isn’t actually new, well if you’ve seen them enough before hand you’ll know!). They’ve come back refreshed with
some new perks and some new backup female singers (although only one plays with the band tonight). It adds a little jazz, a little extra touch to the band, like they really care about the little things and are there to please as well as have a bloody good time whilst doing it. But it’s not just a music show, as Alex’s comedy talk antics between songs keep the crowd on a high and listening intently. Although it feels like a short set by the boys, that’s probably just because everyone was enjoying and screaming their asses off so much, that time flew by. These boy’s should be much bigger than most the rubbish this country spills out! (10/10) soundscape magazine 19
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efore Tuesday nights gig, where it was really the only place to be. We caught up with Alex from The Guns before hand and boy, did he have a lot to say! SSM: Where the hell have you been for a while and what were you up to? Alex: That’s a good question actually. Quite a lot. I’ve been in the studio, starting up a production company called The Lodge Productions. We’ve been writing and recording a second album along with a pile of other stuff. Basically, we’ve made a second album within about a month because our first album took so fucking long to come out. We made it just over two years ago, and we’ve just been sat on it for ages because we’ve had so much trouble with record companies. We were with a European label over in Germany called Motor Records and basically they delayed it for two years, they were like ‘No wait, we’ll release it soon, it’ll be so good and we’ll get press and whatever’. So in the end I got sick of it and I said fuck it, and just released it myself under The Lodge Productions. So I’m waiting for a
The Guns Interv
knock on the door now, and for them to be like ‘You’re going to court’. We made the second album ourselves at Lodge Productions which is a recording studio I run with my friend Dan, who’s an engineer there, and I produce bands and stuff as well. So that’s been up and running, as well as us just generally practising and getting ready to do some more shows. It’s a weird situation we’re in at the moment because we’ve got to tour this first album, even though it’s all old stuff to us, it’s new to other people. So we’ve got to understand that and give it to them. We’re just dying to play the new stuff, it’s a lot darker and more raw I guess. I’ve also been doing stuff with The Milk, as you’ve probably seen. Pretty much everyone I run into ever is like ‘Oh my god have you seen this?’ and I’m like ‘No... no I haven’t’. There’s still a lot of people who can’t put two and two together and don’t recognise my voice. But I’m in the middle of making a DVD for that. But that’s all under wraps I guess, there’s a lot of stuff coming from there. I’m still putting it on the net so people can see stuff for free, but there’s DVDs and CDs coming, as well as a Guns DVD, ‘cause I’ve got an editing suite at the recording studio, at the Lodge.
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Anyway, the second album’s pretty sweet, really massive, so it’s all going good and we’re just glad to do shows again now we’ve got time to do them. SSM: Your sound has changed since the original writing for album number 1 first began, why have you ditched the synths and would you ever consider putting them back in? And why have you added the backup singers to your touring line up? Alex: Basically, when we were doing the first album, we were doing it in a rush and we went from two studios, we ran a studio over in Pontypool called The Den, that’s where we first started writing and started out as The Guns, and we started as a five piece with a keyboard player. We jammed for a while and we just loved it. So it kinda worked for a while, but the more we played the more we knew we just wanted to get like harder rock and roll, it just kept getting harder naturally. We were just playing and it was just happening. We were turning songs that we’d written from the beginning, soft, singy ones, just harder live, so we were just like fuck this, clearly keyboards don’t fit here. We just said ‘Keyboard’s not working, are they?’ And he was just like ‘No. I’d best go.’
But then, the reason I’ve brought backing singers in as well, is now we’re starting back up because we’ve been away for a while, just to keep these first early songs fresh. We got them in basically because there’s backing singers on the second album. It’s not a massive deal, they’re not all over it, there’s just one or two songs where there are girls on there. It’s cheeky sexy more than anything else, it’s not like ‘Oh my god, there’s girl singers in the band, it’s Beyonce’. I just thought it’d be a lot more fun for the boys as well when they’re playing. I know how frustrated they are with playing the old stuff for so long, but people actually know it now. The worst thing is, you don’t want to go to a show and you just get this bands album and then you’re like ‘bangin’, I’m going toa go see this live’, and then you just see a bunch of new shit. It’s just a waiting game. Also to get the girls warmed up before the second album. It gives them a good go at it, just to do bits and pieces on stage and it’s fun for them. They
can come and go if they want, they’re not permanent fixtures. It’s always changing, it’s always rock and roll. SSM: We hear that album number 2 is done, when are you planning to unleash this on the world? Alex: I guess next year at some point. We’re doing three different releases of this album, not from a money perspective but just because we’ve got so much stuff. We’re doing the demo versions, plus the standard one and then the upgrade will be a double disc with more songs on. We’ve got the original demos of those songs and they’re totally fucking different. ‘Gordon’s and Lemonade’ just sounds like a cowboy song, it’s unbelievable, it literally does sound like a wild west cowboy song. The first demo of that is fucking nuts. And then we’re doing a gold disc edition. I’m going to produce them and do them like as cheap as we can, just so kids can have them and people can listen to them. There’s just too much money in this world and too many people are greedy as fuck. That’s going to have a DVD with it because when we did the touring in Germany for a couple of months we had a documentary crew with us, basically that’s all documented. I’m scared to see it actually. There’s a lot of stuff I don’t want to see on there. SSM: What era would like to go back to and why? And if you could embody any person living or dead, who would you pick and why? I’d probably go to the medieval days. I’d take Tom and the boys with me because it’d be completely bad ass, we’d all be drinking from goblets,
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completely just growing beards. We’d wear armour during the day and we’d be jousting and shit, riding horses all willy nilly, picking on the jester in the daytime. But then in the night time we’d just be walking around in loincloths, drinking out of wooden goblets really really hard cider, just chilling with the king. He’d be alright with us, like maybe Henry VIII, just having a banquet. SSM: Anyone you would embody? Alex: There’s so many, I might be Ash out of Evil Dead, if the movie was real and it wasn’t a film, if it actually happened. The more I think about it, I’d probably change my mind through the night. Maybe one of the Beatles, Lennon or McCartney, just for the sake of playing and not being able to hear your own instruments because everyone’s just fucking screaming over it. I’d probably do myself from an earlier period and just live it again up until now and then get to this question and do it again, like a massive groundhog day. Maybe from the age of 13 upwards. And then go back again because every time I could improve it and just makes notes, like ‘remember not to say no to him’, ‘remember not to do that’, could become a millionaire. I probably wouldn’t want to be a millionaire though. It’d be boring wouldn’t it. I’d rather just have to work my arse off just to do what I love because that’s what I’m doing now. I’ve had jobs and they just weren’t for me. I’d rather be poor and happy than rich and miserable. That’s how it is now, because I’m getting to do what I love. I just think a lot of people need to do that. It’s scary, but if you take the jump, and just be like, I love doing that, then just fucking do it. If you love it that much and you keep doing it, eventually it will pay off.
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probably wo millionaire uldn’t want to be a wouldn’t it. though. It’d be boring work my arsI’d rather just have to ‘cause that’se off just to do what I love what I’m do in g n Words:Annek o w a Sillitoe & Photos: Dan N.Ballantyn
e
iel Whyte
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So we just carried on doing shows I guess, and they just kept getting harder and faster. It’s more simplified if anything, because when we first started writing the first album I started writing riffs that were like really complicated, and then, after we’d done it all and recorded it, I just thought, there’s no need for it. But that’s why in the newer stuff, it makes a lot more sense and it’s a lot better, but you’ll also hear it’s a lot simpler, in a better way, if that makes sense. It’s just a lot harder and more simple. Like Queens of the Stone Age crossed with Eagles of Death Metal and Rolling Stones, it’s all in there and kicking off.
In the first issue of Soundscape Magazine we introduced you to South
Wales musical force BenSem, We hope you managed to check out the bands debut album ‘Western Lights’, if you have we’re sure you’ll agree it’s pretty damn good and we were lucky enough to catch up withh lead singer Sem to give us the low down on the band, the music industry and why they are giving their debut album away for free! 1. How did you get started? My friend gave me a guitar and that was that. I never stopped. I began writing music, and then starting playing acoustic gigs with Pete Rawbone (guitarist). We have had a few bands changes since those days but everything has gone from strength to strength. 2. What have you got going on at the moment? At the moment we have been giving our album away for free which has been a great success. The management team suggested it and we were a bit taken back by the idea but two months later and we have given away over 30,000 copies which is a bit mind blowing. You can download the album for free from www.tinyurl.com/westernlights. We signed a licensing deal with Bunim Murray Productions which will have our music played on several MTV shows, and E Entertainment show “Keeping Up With The Kardashians” which is awesome. We have also signed a development deal with Stone Music which will help us develop on the live scene and allow us to play many venues throughout the UK, USA and Europe. For the last year we have also had a film crew from Coolhead Productions follow us around, as they are making a documentary about us. That is hilarious because you always end up saying something on camera that you wished you hadn’t. soundscape magazine 22
3. Favourite music and why? Nirvana and Pearl Jam. I love everything that Kurt Cobain stood for, and Eddie Vedder what a voice. 4. Favourite book and why? I can’t read, only joking probably anything by Stephen King, I like a good horror story. 5. Favourite film and why? Jaws, that film is so god damn scary that even now I won’t go in the sea. 6. Best experience in the business? Being able to give away the album, and so many people download it. Being able to do that without a label was a rush. It shows how much the industry is changing. 7. Why should Soundscape readers care? BenSem is an opportunity to listen to music that is not being spoonfed to them. The music is real, and if people don’t like it that’s cool I’m not going to force feed them it. The entire music industry at the moment is spoon feeding people the music that they listen to. At the moment we are able to put the music out there the way we feel it should be for us. The industry has not tained it yet. It’s music that if you like it, you will connect with it. 8. Tell our readers an interesting fact about yourself/company/band? I’m a playstation 3 addict. 9. Best thing about coming from/being/playing in Wales? Playing to home fans, its always good coming home. 10.Who are your role models/idols? Kurt Cobain and my mum. 11. Hardest thing about the current business? How long have I got for this question (laughs).The current music business is ruined. As I said earlier listeners are spoon fed music. The majors have
too much power. They messed up when the internet came along, and they didn’t adapt fast enough to the change. They are currently in panic mode and are reinventing everything that made them cash in the past and putting it out today. They knew that it worked so why change it. I think give them a year and they will be sat around their big swanky boardroom tables asking the same question as they are today. How can we increase our revenue? and the answer will be simple, not flash in the pan artists like they are bringing out today, but long sustaining bands that will stand the test of time, like Queen, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Bruce Springstein, Bon Jovi and all the other legends that we all have on our Ipod’s. Where are the artists like that? there are not any at the moment, why because the label thinks that the risk is too big, and they don’t give them the chance. The ironic thing being that if they did, they would find a huge difference, especially in their revenue streams, which to them is all music is about, it’s about pushing a product. I don’t see BenSem as a flash in the pan band. The music is commercial, and its memorable. We are the band that will be here ten years from now, still writing our own music that doesn’t need to be enforced by fashion statements and gimmicks. That is the hardest thing with the industry. They have messed it up beyond repair, and they will realise that to get it back on track they need to go back to square one, which was when it was just about the music. We will be waiting in the sidelines for that day, and that is when you will see BenSem go straight to the top.
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You can download the album at www.tinyurl.com/westernlights. If you really enjoy it you can purchase a hard copy and T-shirts from the bands website. Many thanks to Sem and Michelle Ellen for all the help.
Readers may recall MiMi Soya’s EP review in the first issue and impressed by this Brighton based 4 piece. Well since then, vocalist Hero has left the band and been replaced by Jorja. Here she is to tell you about herself and a little of what is going on in the MiMi Soya camp. 1. Who are you and what do you do? I’m Jorja, and I sing for MiMi Soya and study for a vocal degree at a music institute in Brighton.
11 Questions with singer Jorja 8. Why should Soundscape readers care? Because we care for the Soundscape readers and wanna show them a seriously good time! 9. Tell our readers an interesting fact about yourself/company/band? Hmmm... My dog can back flip!
2. How did you get started? Chris (MiMi’s guitarist) asked me to come along to a practice and sing a couple of the tracks and shortly after asked me if I’d join the band!
10. Who are your role models/idols? As a singer I look up to Lauren Hill, she stands for what she believes and produces some seriously beautiful lyrics. True talent.
3. What have you got going on at the moment? We’re currently writing new material for our new EP and getting ready for our next tour!
11. Hardest thing about the current business? Trying to please everyone. Just do your thing and don’t forget to please yourself during the process.
4. Favourite music and why? I couldn’t possibly pick my favourite genre, so something along the lines of R&B, Pop punk and Reggae... 5. Favourite book and why? ‘Over heard in a dream’ by Torey Hayden... AMAZING, something to think about. 6. Favourite film and why? Easy, The Little Mermaid, Happy memories... 7. Best experience in the business? Definitely going on my first tour with MiMi. I had the best time.
www.myspace .com/mimisoy a www.labrecor ds.co.uk Words: Paul E sp
So that’s Jorja, The Little mermaid loving, back-flipping-dog owning new singer in MiMi Soya, go to www.myspace.com/ mimisoya to check them out and say hello and definitely look out for the bands new EP and catch them on tour
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“My dog can back flip!”
Outcry Collective over the course of this year have continued to push their name out there, with the media loving every inch of these energetic happy chaps, they took time out to fill in some answers for us after we saw them tear up Barfly...
Tour has been wicked. Firstly touring with The Dead Formats is awesome because they are brilliant dudes, and the shows have been really fun. I would say our best show was the one closest to home, the crowd were really cool.
First off, Hows the tour going, has the response off the crowd been what you hoped for?
We’ve witnessed you a few times over the last 6 months and your live shows are always on top form no matter
who’s there, Do you feel you tend to grab more fans from your live appearances than say radio play or what people read about in the press? Definitely, I would say that since we have played shows since the record has been out, people have really liked our live show a lot more. We give it 110% every show nomater who is there, if there are 5 people in the audience,
too, and they had tons of energy, it was a fun show. How does a festival compare to venues such as Barfly?
Photo&Words: N. Ballantyne
that’s 5 potential fans, and if we sell a record, our job is done as far as we are concerned because one person will walk away happy. What’s the best show you’ve ever played? We all have different ones, mine would be Guilfest I think, the crowd was the biggest we have ever played
You get to hang out with a few bands and watch loads of music at festivals, so that is always fun, and there is always a party or something afterwards, which we all enjoy. One off shows tend to be smaller for us too so its always nice to play our music on bigger stages. Articles is a energetic mix of your sound, Was the writing process just as fun and energetic or was it stripped down and serious? (Do you write anywhere, any time?) To be honest, we wrote half the record over time, and then changed our drummer, to then complete the second half. So when Sam joined, the process changed dramatically, it became much more organic and fun, but we still had to bash out some tunes to begin recording. I would say it’s a mix of serious and fun. And we are always thinking about writing, always wanting to evolve. Now when we write, we let everything happen naturally. We base our ideas literally on whether they make us nod our head and feel good. Then we combine that with throwing in as much groove and energy as possible, try to
incorporate new fresh styles and influences, and a song is born. Any tips you’d give to young bands starting out that you’ve learnt from your own experiences? I try to learn something and improve on it every show. Whether it be to do with performance, tone, energy, fitness, etc… Always make sure you love what you are playing and who you are playing it with. What are your plans once this tours over? We are going to finish off some b-sides, then record an in-session of some of our lighter more dynamic songs. What is the wildest ambition for your band? I think my wildest ambition is to play somewhere quite high up on the bill at a big festival like Reading and Leeds, and have lots of supporters there for you, to echo the hard work you had put in to get there. Lastly, In three words sum up ‘Outcry Collective’? ‘Boom Boom Pow’
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myspace.com/outcrycollective
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sight to the band, well a variety of shits n giggles on the DVD plus two extra bonus tracks that could have easily been slipped into the album as a whole!
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Muse (4/10) ‘The Resistance’ Every Time I Die (9/10) ‘New Junk Aesthetic’ One of the most anticipated albums of the year is about to finally drop. American hard rockers Every Time I Die are about to show how it’s meant to be done. There’s not a drop of sweat that falls of these boys that doesn’t contain some form of creativity as New Junk Aesthetic features artwork on every page from their own blood, guitarist Jordan Buckley, as well as being in what feels total control in means of how they want to sound and how you’re going to perceive that. Although not as brutal as their first albums, most bands never are, but the difference is ETID are moving forward musically and bringing the whole fan base with them. Elements from their early days do feel present within this, ETID just do what they do best mixing it up with such a dynamic range of vocals and guitars, nothing is predictable about this album, only that Wanderlust would be the obvious single but only for being the most powerful of the album. If you have the dough, it’s worth buying the deluxe CD with an intriguing in
The Used (8/10) ‘Artwork’ The album opens with an amazingly catchy track. It’s full of powerful drum beats and heavy bass lines. The guitar riff is extremely strong and the three together in the breakdown part of the song are just epic. The rest of the album follows in this very form. The vocals are everything you would expect from singer, Bert McCracken from start to finish of this album. His unique style to put melodic tones next to hefty screams are one that have kept both fans and fellow musicians amazed for years now. And this album does not let us down one bit on this front. It’s a great mix of the melodic and the crazy, the soft and the harsh heavy tones. It’s a powerful release and sees the band heading back to their roots a little more on this one. It’s everything you want from The Used and more. This album is set to be on the top of my playlist for many a month to come yet! Favourite Tracks: Blood on my hands, Sold my Soul, The Best of Me. (A.Sillitoe)
Muse have transformed from a screaming-guitar force of nature with a dash of beautiful piano in their first albums Showbiz and the modern classic Origin of Symmetry to escalate into epic bravado in Absolution and the quintessential Black Holes & Revelations. Yet, with the latter of these releases, there have been a few worrying signs, especially in the catastrophic single ‘Invincible’. Despite the weird Hawaiian influence, this song floored me with its nauseatingly sentimental hope expressed in its music and lyrics such as “there’s no one like you in the universe” I was seriously hoping their new album The Resistance would shrug off this pretentious little error. I was disappointed. From the track ‘Resistance’ you get the sense that despite the off-beat style it’s far too predictable. The rock opera aesthetic present is going to continue to kill this album. Although a seemingly horrible comparison to make, Muse seems to be turning into a Queen-like entity. Some may baulk and say there is nothing wrong with this. May I make one thing clear? This is a new millennium, gone is the
sense of pomp and circumstance which made British rock shiny and glamorous. In 2001, the blistering sense of chaos and uncontrollability in Origin of Symmetry allowed the behemoth of feedback to appear in mainstream British music. Alas, track four, the ridiculously titled track ‘United States of Eurasia’, heralds the worst of what’s to come. Even the pioneers of self-indulgent progressive rock The Mars Volta would grow tired with this piece. Muse may be influenced by Queen, by all means this is a given – but I wouldn’t expect reproductions of Beatles music by say Oasis… (oh, wait.) I mean, great, make a Queen homage and stick it on a tribute album, but don’t treat it as serious music on your latest album and risk losing the fans who loved your feedback and biting lyrics. C’mon Muse, please inject your originality back into our lives and stop killing us with your aspirations for the West End. If Matt Bellamy really wanted to be the next Freddie Mercury, he should be replacing Adam Lambert as the next front man of Queen, not giving us this drivel. As for tacking Chopin onto the end of the piece, well, my respect for your musical genius makes me want to simultaneously applaud your classical knowledge in the face of bafflingly unaware new talent and boo you off for inflating your ego to invincible proportions. Besides this monstrosity however, there are some great highlights. The fresh sounding ‘Undisclosed Desires’ and the incredible hard rock track ‘Unnatural Selection’ (which is definitely the best song on the album) are great stomping grounds for the fantastic work
of Chris Wolstenhome tying in some industrial-sized bass riffs and excellent drum work provided by Dominic Howard give some relief in comparison to the further horrors like the LloydWebberian ‘Guiding Light’ and the similarly sickening Kaiser Chiefs inspired ‘I Belong To You’. However along with the single ‘Uprising’, another great point of the album is the ‘Exogenesis’, which deserves an album review all of its own. This three-part track begins with a great pulsing beat accompanied by a 40-piece orchestra leading into a great juxtaposition of rock band and symphony, the combination of which kicks the crap out of Metallica or Queen, with the diverse styles working against each other, instead of together. The melding of epic beat, orchestra and Bellamy’s voice is incredible. His vocals reach the incredible and brilliant falsetto with such grace – but more like an opera singer than the emotion-laden voice of Jeff Buckley. It creates an open-ended idea with such originality it almost makes you forget the mistakes of the earlier songs. I’m sure many Muse fans will appreciate the solo efforts of front man Matt Bellamy’s singing with piano, as the simple combination is stunning. Although this album does display Muse’s fascinating originality, it also mixes in vile faux-revolutionary songs that unfortunately do follow from ‘Invincible’. Nowhere can I see this mutated track listing being referred to as a ‘concept album’, so I won’t judge it as one, and it has no excuse for being like a musicals soundtrack anyway. The idea that Muse are a progressive rock act is true, but
they were uniquely progressive in their work – and now that work has turned into homogenised mush. (E.Townend)
Outcry Collective (8/10) ‘Articles’ Having witnessed Outcry Collective live prior to the release of their debut album, it’s a great way to see a transition of hearing a song live to being recorded and Outcry Collective are one of those bands who sound stupidly good on CD as they do live, as well as in your face. Articles contains an energetic mix of modern rock, catchy bass lines, punchy drum beats and all the rest you’d expect to hear. Every track in it’s own is a hit and the thought wonders around your mind... ‘Why isn’t this band more known...’, but they’re still in the early stages of a promising career. Having recently made ‘Dead In The Water’ into a video, it’s one of the key tracks off the album that really shows you what they’re all about as well as tune ‘Moonlight’. (N.B)
Spider Kitten (7/10)
‘Rats From A Sinking Ship EP’ When you remove a CD from the case and find an evil cat staring at you in the face you know you’re going to be faced
with something out there... and it is. It’s dark, it’s eerie, the bass line is wonderfully low, it’s bordering industrial and it’s nothing like I’ve quite heard before from any Welsh band (especially as most these days are generic indie bands). This 4 track EP somewhat contains a consistent style, even if they range from slower beats and distorted cries to clean melodies and then back to distorted punchy vocals, it somehow works for them, if you ever wanted Black Sabbath to become downright dirty and feel like a cult, it would be them.
Loci ‘Medic’
Recluse (5/10) ‘Baby Monster’ By the Ep title I’m expecting this to be a roller-coaster of a ride, something loud, or surreal, or just plain noisy... What we’re faced with is another group of 3 lads from Cardiff doing their best to sound like Nirvana, tracks such as ‘Back in the Ground Again’ boast that enthusiasm. It just all sounds a little refurbished, taking the old and keeping it that way with some extra beats thrown in. But they’ve only been together for a year, we’ll give them time to work on it and find a way to make tracks pop and sound like their own. ‘Blue Room’ is a definite track to check out for those ‘Kyuss’ fans. (N.B)
It kicks off with hard hitting track ‘The Clientele’ with a great riff and gang vocal chorus, the EP sounds great with top notch production. Next track is electic tune ‘She Said’, which contains a bunch of different time changes and styles and sounds great. ‘Yaaaay! Break ups!’ and ‘Steve’s House’ are great slices of prime pop/punk with clever lyrics (the band have a great sense of humour) and classy choruses. The EP ends with an acoustic tinged track ‘Pan Am’, it’s a great follow up track with a unique vocals from Niall. Head on over to the bands myspace and download this EP completely free of charge, you can also download the bands debut album for free too! Now surely that’s an offer you cant refuse! (P.Esp)
(7/10)
Who’s up for some dirty rock n roll? Loci’s recent release ‘Medic’ should be right up your rotten street then, comprising of some grunge ridden, nirvana esque melodies mixed in within their own tastes and screams takes this 3 piece to the next level rather than another 90’s grunge rip off band. ‘Medic’ is basically 6 tracks of well produced, well thought out, well sandwiched together, 90’s tunes. Tracks ‘Crash’ and ‘Quoits’ are top hits although track Z? is rather mysterious as the name it self. Still worth a listen though! (N.B)
The Cafe Kids (8/10)
‘I’ve Made A Huge Mistake’ EP www.myspace.com/thecafekids
Anyone that had downloaded (for free) The Cafe Kids debut album would have been eagerly awaiting the release of this EP (also available for free to download from the bands myspace). The Cafe Kids are a 4 piece Pop/punk band from Bristol fronted by Charismatic-as-hell front man Niall Everitt and this EP is the bands second release and full of the bands trademark, well written pop/punk.
Eighth Wave (8/10) ‘Last Nights Hero’ www.myspace.com/eighthwave
Eighth Wave are a mainstream pop/rock band from Wigan and ‘Last Nights Hero’ is the bands Debut album. The sound of the band is very American, and I don’t mean that in a bad way, some of my favourite bands (as I’m sure are yours) are American, it’s just rare to find a young British band making this kind of music and on the whole it’s pretty great. The band are
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propelled along by Si Roddam’s soulful and pretty damn awesome vocals, the guy’s got an impressive set of pipes for sure, shown to good effect on album opener ‘Days and Nights’ an up tempo rocker with a memorable chorus. Each song on this album is well crafted, with catchy-as-hell vocal hooks and big, big choruses as well as the production being is spot on. This record sound’s huge as produced by Andy Giblin (Profane, Slipknot) and Steve Rushton (former Son of Dork co-front man and now a successful solo artist in his own right), and including the rest of the band Matt Ashton (Bass), Chris Wainwright (Drums) and Scott Steele (lead guitar and backing vocals), it all sounds powerful amongst the bundle as well. Check out ‘All In Your Head’ and the heartfelt ‘Waiting For Tomorrow’. I just feel the band don’t really let go and rock it up, I’ve heard they really hit that gear live but nothing other than ‘Til We Die’ hints at that on the record. This really is a good album and if you are a fan of this kind of music it’s great to see a British band giving the Americans a run for their money. (P.Esp)
TAT - ‘Soho Lights’ (8/10) I was told, no demanded to check out TAT by a friend who had just seem them play at this years Warped tour, where they’ve been regulars since 2006. If you didnt know, TAT are a female fronted, 3 piece Punk Rock band from London. They’ve been around with various line ups since 2003 but this is the bands debut full length album released on the bands own label, Red Wagon
Records. The album kicks off in style with ‘Road To Paradise’ a cracking fast paced tune with smart lyrics from Tatiana, who has an insane ability to fit 2 lines of lyrics into a space where only one should fit and make them legible and in tune! Next track ‘Sympathetic Lies’ has a ska-type feel and gives Tatiania a chance to show off her singing and guitar playing. Third track ‘Pessimist’ is the one you’re gonna want to hear! It’s a beast of a song, fast paced with a hell of a vocal hook, I dare you not to love this track! It’s not all fast paced, frantic drumming and spitfire vocals, TAT can and do slow it down with style on ‘Stay Up’, a semiacoustic number. ‘I dont want to (love you)’ and ‘Diamond Child’ kick things back up a gear again, both standout tunes with great, memorable choruses. Every track on this album is great, no filler what so ever. It’s a very compelling album with each track a little different and with very clever lyrics and great playing and also some pretty amazing guitar solos too! The album ends with ‘Live For Rock’ , a song telling you exactly where the band are coming from and ending with the shout “Thank you Cleveland’! Any band that quotes Spinal Tap is pretty damn OK with me! We’re really looking forward to catching the band when they finish touring the states this year! (P.Esp)
Parachute (9/10) ‘Losing Sleep’ ‘Losing Sleep’ is the bands debut album and it’s brilliant! If you are a fan of heartfelt rock music then this is for you, I’d say it’s a cross between Maroon 5 (when they were good i.e some of the first album) and Matchbox Twenty. First single ‘She Is Love’ has been all over the internet and used for an American TV ad, it’s a simple song, just acoustic guitar and vocals, but what a song and what a voice vocalist/guitarist/pianist Will Anderson has, instantly likeable with unique phrasing, it’s a killer song. Will’s voice is just as good on the heavier tracks, stand out ones being ‘She (for Liz)’, which has a chorus that goes on for days and personal fave ‘New Year’, which is pretty much the perfect melodic song. This really is a great record, it took me a little by surprise, after the first couple of listens I liked it enough. The songs kept popping up in my head and the more I listened to it the more I loved it. Tracks like ‘Mess I Made’ and ‘Back Again’ show different sides of this band, but one thing that is a constant is the great song writing and the excellent production by John Shanks (Janes Addiction and Stoke 9 among others). You should definitely give this album a chance, you may just love it! (P.Esp)
Flood of Red (10/10)
‘Leaving Everything Behind’ Glaswegian melodic rock outfit Flood of Red have been gracing my ears since February 2007. The first time I caught them live was supporting The Blackout way back when nobody knew who they were. And despite liking how The Blackout play live, Flood of Red, for me stole the night with their own unique blend of melodies and fierce musicianship. And since then it’s only got better and better. ‘Leaving Everything Behind’ is the bands first full length release and it’s stunning to say the least. From start to finish you get a sense of just how amazing Flood of Red really are. The way their soft key melodies sit with this collective of epic guitar riffs, hard bass lines and strong drum beats is a pure joy to the ears. From the prelude opener to this album and through both hard and soft tracks you fall in love with singer Jordan Spiers soft voice with it’s rich Scottish accent. Keyboardist Dale Gallacher uses the keyboard for it’s real purpose, not just rave licks as is the case with anyone else. And on a whole it’s the most freshing album you’ll hear for a long time
yet. And at just 63p currently, that’s the bargain of the century, I think.
“emo”, saying how they’d given up punk in favour of something more commercial and saleable.
It’s nice that a band these days aren’t afraid to do their own thing and filter themselves outside the barrage of emo, screamo, rave bullshit that the kids just lap up. This is music for those who will go far in the world by daring to be different. This is the music that will live on.
But with 2009’s release Crash Love the band showed what they were doing in 2006 was just something they wanted to do then and what they wanted to do now was take that newer sound and put it in the middle of all that horror punk sound and make everything a bit more melodic. And it’s a smart move, it’s an amazingly unique sound.
Favourite Tracks: Paper Lungs, Electricity and The Edge of the World (A.Sillitoe)
AFI (8/10) ‘Crash Love’ AFI have been around since the dawn of time (okay, not quite but it’s been 18 years!). They have been through many transitions as a band, changing from their hardcore punk roots to a horror-punk sounds in the early 2000’s. The band took a bit of a hiatus in after 2003 release, Sing the Sorrow, for a much deserved rest from the industry (despite everyone wanting back in not long after). Returning to the spotlight in 2006, the band released Decemberunderground, an album that went to number 1, but was criticised left, right and centre. So many people said the band had gone
Bands like Aiden are clearly big fans of AFI, trying to copy their older sound, but with a newer edge and none have succeeded in this way. From album opener “Torch Song” you get a sense of old AFI hitting back hard. It’s still not quite ‘Days of the Phoenix’, ‘Girls Not Grey’ or ‘Leaving Song Part II’ but it’s definitely in the direct of their old skool sounds. This album is a definite must have for any AFI fan and something that everyone else should check out just for the sheer uniqueness of it. It mixes melodies, drama and overall is catchy to the core. 2009 is definitely gonna be a big year for this old band!
(A.Sillitoe)