Undertone
Image: Marianne Harris
Photo: Chris Howley - Chrisseesit Flickr
{Take your pick} News Lives Anti-Flag Summer Stampede
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Page 24 - 25 Deafhaven Emily’s Army
Introducing Drones Fort Hope Girl Band
States Smallpools
Features Interviews with Mallory Knox Heavens Basement Emily’s Army Hang The Bastard Hawkeyes
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The Ultimate Festival Survival Guide Who To Catch at Reading and Leeds Festival Survival: Girls & Toiletry Why your parents have a better music taste Blast from the Past
Reviews Jay Z Hugh Laurie Edward Sharpe Queens of Stone Age Kodaline Jimmy Eat World Matt Corby
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The Flaming Lips Disclosure Demi Lovato Pet Shop Boys Selena Gomez Calling All Astronaughts Undertone 3
Editorial
Robin looks really Thicke in parody gender reversal video Katie Pathiaki. Assistant Editor It’s not news to anyone that music is occasionally misogynistic, and it is not uncommon for music videos in certain genres; hip-hop, for example, to show some female nudity. However, what IS news, and very surprising to see, is a mainstream song condoning forceful sex with women go straight to number one. What is even more shocking is the video that has been banned, well, everywhere, for such a high profile track. We all know what I’m referring to; Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke.
How did this filthy song get to number one? Lyrics give the green light to those using force to get their girl to overcome any shyness in the bedroom, “And that’s why I’m gon’ take a good girl, I know you want it” Do you know that she wants it? If that isn’t bad enough, since when was saying “You the hottest bitch in this place” a way of complimenting a girl? “Bitch” is derogatory and demeaning, a phrase which relates a women to a dog... oh wait, Thicke has already clarified that he thinks women are animals... in every chorus. “But you’re an animal, baby it’s in your nature”
“
I’ll give you something big enough to tear your ass in two
”
Everything about this song is offensive to women; however, there’s one part in particular which crosses the line entirely. “I’ll give you something big enough to tear your ass in two//Nothing like your last guy, he too square for you, He don’t smack that ass and pull your hair like that” T.I’s rap may go over many heads as they carry on thinking that it is a ‘fun song’, but, there’s nothing at all ‘fun’ about
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sexual abuse. Vulgar imagery of non consensual sex automatically pings into my mind when T.I raps his disgraceful verse. Imagery is not far off that though, as in the official video, models strutted around naked while the men ogle at them, chasing them about the set. T.I actually lives up to his acclaimed sexual abuse as he brushes and tugs at a topless model’s hair. To be honest, it is verging on being a full blown porno as the girls, wearing only nude coloured thongs and occasionally, shoes, play with sexualised toys while the men, who are wearing a full 5 piece suit (including sunglasses) watch them straddle their stuffed barnyard animals, breasts jiggling everywhere. Why is it acceptable for these women to be venerable, disposable objects for the three men in the video? Easy answer, the men remain within their clothing to reinforce the idea of power among all men. In an interview with GQ Robin Thicke attempts to give reasoning behind their chauvinistic behaviour “We tried to do everything that was taboo.
Editorial Bestiality, drug injections, and everything that is completely derogatory towards women.” “People say, ‘Hey, do you think this is degrading to women?’ I’m like, ‘Of course it is. What a pleasure it is to degrade a woman. I’ve never gotten to do that before.’ Well, if that doesn’t provide a solution to everything, I don’t know what will. Who on earth would want to create a video degrading women for fun? Well, a woman, of course. It is as if director, Diane Martel, has been used as a scape goat to allow the video to be as offensive as possible, because if a woman directed it then of course it’s only for fun! Right?
“
What a pleasure it is to degrade a woman
”
Diane Martel, in an interview with Grantland, tried to combat the controversial views of the public; “I don’t think the video is sexist. The lyrics are ridiculous; the guys are silly as fuck. That said, I respect women who are watching out for negative images in pop culture and who find the nudity offensive, but I find [the video] meta and playful.”
Alongside an image role reversal, the team have swapped the lyrics to aim at the naked men strutting around the stage “You’re a good boy, Can’t let it get past me, You’re just so manly” This is the perfect comeback video in my opinion, it shows exactly how much women are dolled up and thrown about like objects once you see men performing the exact-same thing. The women in the video remain fully clothed and are still very sexy, looking into the camera next to their naked man.
Somehow, I, like many other women, am not in on the joke. If the video is a joke, then why aren’t Robin Thicke, Pharell and T.I. stripped down and ‘playfully’ strutting around in nude coloured underwear, too? This month, the female community fought back; a number of parodies have targeted Thicke, however, the video which has caused a storm is parody “”Blurred Lines” Sexy Boys” by boylesque trio Mod Carousel alongside vocalists Caela Bailey, Sydni Deveraux and Dalisha Phillips. The video shows men strutting around women in suits wearing nothing but tan coloured thongs and high heeled shoes, slathered in makeup.
Due Youtube’s ban on the video, you can watch the original here on vevo: http://www.vevo.com/watch/robin-thicke/blurredlines-unrated-version/USUV71300526, But be careful, don’t watch it at work, boys, or you might have to give an embarrassing explanation to your boss as to why you can’t move from your desk for a while. Or, if you are a respectful gentleman, here’s the link to the Mod Carousel parody ‘Sexy Boys’ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKfwCjgiodg
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news
Would you Belieb it? -This kid just doesn’t stop
Image curtosey of justinbeibermusic.com
It’s that time again where we get to discuss the ins and out of our favourite pop teen sensation. But what has the ‘Baby’ singer been up to this time? This one is a corker. According to a video released by gossip site TMZ, Bieber is seen to be urinating into a mop bucket in the kitchen of a New York City restaurant before squirting cleaning fluid onto a photo and swearing about the former US president. The 19-year old has since been in contact with Ex President Clinton and apologised for his actions. Justin later posted about their interaction on social media website Twitter. The tweets thanked the former President for “taking the time to talk” and that Clinton’s words “meant a lot. #greatguy,” They have since been removed from Bieber’s Twitter profile. “Let the Bodi’s hit the floor” In another turn of events, due to Justin Bieber’s crazy antics, popular Chicago nightclub Bodi, was reprimanded for knowingly having Bieber, underage in the US, in the venue and could now face $1,000 fines according to Sky News. Bodi issued a statement saying the singer made a brief appearance to support a friend who is a DJ performing at the nightclub. It added that he was not served alcohol “Neither Justin nor anyone affiliated with Bodi broke any laws,” the statement said. “We believe this matter amounts to a simple misunderstanding with local police officers.”
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A representative for Bieber did not comment. Conan takes no prisoners Justin, 19, came under fire when he was filmed peeing into a restaurant mop bucket and cussing at a picture of the former president, Bill Clinton. The popstar has since apologized for his actions. TV host Conan O’Brian is here to ensure that we don’t let Bieber slip away too easy however and when discussing the apology, Conan said there is “no plan on when Bieber plans to call everyone who has heard his music.” Conan then showed a series of fake tweets from the Biebs to other celebs, and they read as; Pope: “Dig your costumes. Nailing my look was the first step for me. You’re on the path. #keepstriving.” Paul McCartney: “who r u” Stephen Hawking: “Thanks for being cool about my posse taking your wheels for a joy ride. U the chillest sick kid I ever met.” Morgan Freeman: “get well soon sir, South Africa needz u!”
news Could you spit that again Mr. Bieber? The 19 year old was videoed and photographed spitting off a Toronto balcony onto his Belibers, with the evidence hitting the TMZ website on July 25th. Earlier on in the day, the Beibs took an Instagram video of his fans below the same balcony, tagged “I wake up this morning to this best fans in the world #beliebers #sexyfans”
Several days after the images hit the web however, the rep over at Team Beiber released a statement slamming TMZ for photoshopping the pictures and stated that Justin fans were not outside his balcony. They also added that the star had bought fans hot chocolate earlier that day. This could be easier to believe if the star didn’t have a rep for spitting already. And if he hadn’t had posted the Instagram video showing the fans outside.
‘Wake Me Up’ becomes fastest selling single of the year Swedish artist Avicii released “Wake Me Up” on Sunday (21st July) and it became the fastest selling single of 2013, according to the Official Charts Company. The record was previously held by Robin Thicke, with his collaboration with Pharrell and T.I, “Blurred Lines.” “Wake Me Up”, a collaboration with Aloe Blacc, sold almost 267,000 copies to take the top spot from Thicke. This is the 23 year old DJ and producer’s second number one this year. Image curtosey of avicii.com
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news
Glee star found dead in Vancouver hotel room.
Cory Monteith, best known for playing quarterback Finn in popular TV show Glee, was found dead in his hotel room in Vancouver on the 13th July. Staff at the Fairmount Pacific Rim hotel discovered Monteith’s body after he missed his check out time.
Police immediately ruled out foul play, and following a post mortem on July 15th, it was revealed that Monteith had died from a “mixed drug toxicity” which consisted of heroin and alcohol. His death appeared to be accidental. Monteith, who is originally from Calgary, had been staying at the hotel for a week, and was said to be in “good spirits” while hanging out with friends and meeting with the co-founder of children’s charity Project Limelight Society, whom he had been involved with since 2011. Cory had a history with substance abuse, having first received treatment when he was 19 years old, and admitting himself into rehab at the end of March this year, where he completed his treatment a month later. In an interview with Parade in 2011, Monteith admitted he was “out of control” and had taken “anything and everything”. TMZ and People magazine reported that a private cremation for Cory took place on July 16th, and was attended by his immediate family and girlfriend Lea Michele, his co-star on Glee. His father, Joe Monteith, who divorced Cory’s mother when he was just 7 years old, was “totally devastated” after finding out he was not invited to the intimate ceremony. Cory only reconnected with his father in 2009 when Glee lifted off the ground, and speaking with Parade in 2011, said “I couldn’t shut the door on him” when his father reached out to him. Girlfriend Lea Michele, who plays Rachel alongside Monteith on Glee, had helped him through his rehab stint in April, and was apparently unaware that he had started using again when the cause of his death was revealed. The pair had been dating for around a year and a half before he passed away, although Michele says she “can’t even remember a time” when Cory wasn’t her boyfriend. In an official statement through her agent, Lea has said she is “deeply grateful” for the support from friends, family and fans, and that she has
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been grieving alongside Cory’s family who have been “supporting each other” during this devastating time. Monteith’s death caused worldwide shock, with Twitter being the first to react with an influx of tweets from Glee fans and fellow celebrities. Teen star Selena Gomez, who worked alongside Monteith on the film Monte Carlo, tweeted a picture of her and Cory sharing a hug at the 2011 Kids Choice Awards with the words, “This hurts. I love you Cory. Rest in peace. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.” Glee co-star Mark Salling said, “going through a million memories and emotions today. I’ll love you always Brother Cory.” Fox have also confirmed that the start of production for Season 5 of Glee has been delayed due to Cory’s passing. It is tremendously sad to say goodbye to such a talented young man, who had a promising future and touched the hearts and minds of people everywhere.
Radiohead manager rises to defend Spotify
Brian Message, the manager of Radiohead defended the Spotify service “as a good thing” for musicians, the managers and the fans in an interview with BBC Newshour. During the interview, Message states “I think myself and a whole range of managers look at new technology developments such as Spotify as a good thing” as it provides a new way for artists and their fans to communicate with each other, “Streaming services are a very new way for artists and fans to engage” This week, Thom Yorke and Nigel Godrich pulled their band Atoms for Peace from the Spotify library due to the lack of support for new artists provided by the service. Message reassures in the interview that his relationship with Thom is not going to be damaged or awkward with this difference of opinion. “As a manager of Thom, I obviously sit up and take note when he says, ‘Listen guys, we need to look at how this works. It’s a good and healthy debate that’s going on right now’” “He’s rightly asking the question of ‘Come on guys, what’s in this for new music and artists.” Spotify themselves have responded to the
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criticism from Yorke, reporting that they will have paid $1 billion to the holders of music rights by the end of 2013. Since the BBC Worldwide interview, Godrich has tweeted about Message’s comments on the debate, joking that the manager may have shares in the streaming service; “@pitchforkmedia He has shares in the company. Maybe that has something to do with it.” “@pitchforkmedia Actually... he may not. But it wouldn’t surprise me ;)”
Robin Thicke shoots to number one in album charts “Blurred Lines” may no longer be the fastest selling single of the year, but Robin Thicke is still dominating the charts. Thicke’s album, Blurred Lines, has hit the top spot in the album charts this week (ending 21st July), knocking Jay Z’s Magna Carta Holy Grail. While this is Thicke’s sixth studio album, it is only his second album in the UK Top 40 Album Chart. Thicke spoke to officialcharts.com on the success of Blurred Lines; “Thank you for making my new album Number 1 in the UK! This is a dream come true.” Image curtosey of robinthicke.com
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news
Magna Carter app under investigation
An investigation into the app for Jay Z’s new album Magna Carta Holy Grail has been requested. The Electronic Privacy Information Centre (Epic) have challenged Samsung for the software that is considered invasive, “depriving users of meaningful choice regarding the collection of their data”. The Magna Carta app allowed early access to Jay Z’s new LP, and was installed by around 1.2 million people. To install, users had to give up details of their location, call details, networks and other applications already on their phones. Users also had to sign in through Facebook and Twitter, and allow Magna Carta to post on their behalf.
Jay Z was asked his reaction during a Twitter Q and A on 8th July, to which he replied “Sux must do better” Magna Carta Holy Grail is the UK’s Number One album at the time of this article (17th July 2013)
Johnny Rotten to be named icon of music Former frontman of the Sex Pistols John Lydon, known to most as Johnny Rotten, is to receive an award for his contribution to music. The singer songwriter will be presented with the award in London on October 15. Lydon has rejected previous award offers, most notably in 1996 when he called the U.S Rock and Roll Hall of Fame a “p*** stain”. The star had not commented on the honour, but it was posted on his website, and members of his band tweeted about the award so it seems Johnny Rotten may have accepted the award this time. The award, the BMI’s Icon Award, recognises musicians with “a unique and indeliable influence on generations of music makers” and it has previously been awarded to Queen and Van Morrison. Photo curtosey of Shell Smith http://www.shelleyannphotography.com
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John Mayer buys fan a guitar! Doesn’t every girl dream of meeting a rockstar? How about a rockstar and his A-list popstar girlfriend? That dream came true for one lucky girl in New York, who was certainly in the right place at the right time. Julie Fermin, 16, and her friends just happened to be browsing the very same NYC music shop that stars John Mayer and girlfriend Katy Perry took a fancy to. When the group noticed Mayer, who has recently undergone vocal surgery prior to the release of album number six, Julie admitted “I turned my back to them and sat down because I didn’t want them to think I was crazy” Talking as if they were friends, Katy and John struck up a conversation with Julie about her love for the guitar. “He asked me how long I’d been playing and
asked which guitar I was looking at” Unable to afford the guitar Julie was just browsing the store when John and Katy entered the shop. After photos, John and Katy bid their farewell to the excited group of friends. To top it all off, an employee approached Julie and her friends and told Julie “you should get even more excited because John just bought you this guitar!” Yes, you heard it. John Mayer had added the price of the guitar to his tab at the shop and purchased it for Julie. “I couldn’t believe it” She admits. Needless to say, the teenager is absolutely in love with her new guitar and it’s all thanks to John Mayer and being in the right place at the right time. Talk about lucky right?
...and a new album is on its way
Grammy award winning singer/songwriter and musician John Mayer will release his new album on 20th August. The album, entitled Paradise Valley was produced by Mayer and Don Was, who also produced previous number one and Gold certified album Born and Raised, released by Meyer in 2012. The album is currently available to pre order,
and fans that do, receive an instant download of “Wildfire”, a track off the album. Along with a new album, Mayer released his first single “Paper Doll”, currently available to download and began his first tour in three years on July 6. The tour started in Milwaukee and is a 40 stop tour, wrapping up on October 5th in Los Angeles.
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Atoms for Peace pull music from Spotify Thom Yorke and Nigel Godrich have pulled the most recent Atoms For Peace album “Amok”, as well as Yorke’s solo LP “The Eraser” from Spotify in protest due to the business model endorsed by the streaming service. Godrich posted a whole statement explaining the duo’s actions, whilst Yorke tweeted: “Make no mistake, the new artists you discover on #Spotify will not be making any money. Meanwhile Shareholders will shortly be rolling in it. Simples.” Part of Godrich’s statement included the following: “The numbers don’t even add up for Spotify yet... But it’s not about that... It’s about establishing the model which will be extremely valuable. Meanwhile small labels and new artists can’t even keep their lights on. It’s just not right. Plus people are scared to speak up or not take part as they are told they will lose invaluable exposure if they don’t play ball.” Yesterday (15th July), Spotify responded with a statement that included the following assertions: “Right now we’re still in the early stages of a long-term project that’s already having a hugely positive effect on artists and new music. We’ve already paid US$500M to rights holders so far and by the end of 2013 this number will reach US$1bn.
Much of this money is being invested in nurturing new talent and producing great new music. “We’re 100% committed to making Spotify the most artist-friendly music service possible, and are constantly talking to artists and managers about how Spotify can help build their careers.” Yorke & Godrich’s decision has been criticized due to the fact that in 2007 Yorke released Radiohead’s “In Rainbows” on “pay what you want” basis, on which subject Yorke has said: “For me “In Rainbows” was a statement of trust. People still value new music ... that’s all we’d like from Spotify. Don’t make us the target.”
Put that phone to the left, to the left Image curtosey of beyonce.com
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During her Atlanta performance with the Mrs Carter Show this year, Beyonce demanded a fan put his phone away. A video has been uploaded of the event. It shows Beyonce encouraging her audience to sing along to Irreplaceable, with the lines “to the left, to the left” until she catches a member of the crowd with his smartphone. Beyonce tells her fan to enjoy the moment, instead of trying to film it for later, “You can’t even sing because you’re too busy taping. I’m right in your face, baby. You outta seize the moment. Put that damn camera down.” After the chastisement, the fan put his phone away and sang the famous line to the star. Beyonce responded with “Yes, that’s much better!” This is not the first occurrence with Beyonce scolding her audience members. She has previously threatened to have a man removed from her performance in Denmark when he slapped her bum.
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Helen Flanagan releases music video? A video featuring Helen Flanagan was premiered on the morning of 18th July leading to speculation that Flanagan had released her own music video. The video shows Helen struggling to lip sync in time with the music, suggesting that maybe it is not a wholehearted attempt for a music career. Turns out, it is not.
New Zealand band, The Neo-Kalashnikovs asked the soap and jungle star to be in their first music video, since the guitarist of the band is a fan of Helen. While it is not the best music video ever made, it is sure to gain the band some attention..
Emphatic Release Date Announced
Emphatic have announced a release date of September 17 for their second album, Another Life. The album will be the first to have Toryn Green as frontman. Green was previously the singer of the multi platinum awarded band FUEL, as well as the vocalist for Apocalyptica, a Finnish cello rock band. Justin McCain, guitarist of the band has
commented on the album as “a reflection of the trials and tribulations we went through as a band over the past couple of years” Another Life is the second album for the band, following debut album Damages, featuring their hit single “Bounce”. No doubt, the band are hoping to continue their success this time around.
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news Image curtosey of @TaylorSwift13 via Twitter
Taylor’s Huge Restaurant Tip
A $500 tip was left by 23-year-old Taylor Swift after she treated her dancers and friends on Friday 19th July at an Italian restaurant. An initial $800 was spent just on the food, catering for guest and close friend Ed Sheeran, along with 18 people from her tour crew. Manager of the restaurant Ron Trombino
described Taylor as being ‘very, very nice’. After being asking if Taylor gave a generous tip, Ron was left smiling confirming Taylor’s generosity. If a $500 tip sounds a lot, try comparing that to tip left by Jay-Z thought to be 100 times Taylor’s tip, reaching a huge $50,000 at a Miami nightclub in 2011.
Wiley to face legal action UK rapper Wiley could be facing legal action as a consequence of walking off stage 30 minutes short of his 45 minute set.
It didn’t end there. Wiley also managed to slip in how much he was still paid even for the short 15 minutes he appeared on stage. “I just earned £1000 a minute. I’m gonna p*ss this 15k up the wall”. Legal action is to be hoped for after CockRock Festival stating the star had contracted for the full 45 minutes and failed to even perform half of that. Not surprisingly, Wiley has found to have said very little about this incident and has failed to comment to anyone directly.
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Image curtosey of Clozone
The star was booed off stage after just 15 minutes being performed atCockRock Festival. Following this, a rather OTT reaction saw the Roll Deep star hit social network sites to fire abusive comments towards the crowd that had previously caused him to flee the stage. Comments included ‘inbreds’, ‘witches children’ and ‘invalids’.
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Jay Z is bill-bored Jay-Z has recently hit out at Billboards music charts branding it ‘irrelevant’ to him’. This statement occurred since the star finds the company isn’t keeping up with the ‘changing times’. On July 4 the rapper released his latest album named Magna Carta Holy Grail but, although it went platinum, it failed to make the number one spot on Billboard Hot 100. It was found that Billboard refused to include 1 million sales of the album because they were bought in bulk involving a deal with Samsung. Samsung purchased the 1 million copies for around $5 each and made them available to their customers before the official release date of the album. Despite the album not topping the Billboard Hot 100, it has peaked at number one on the album chart since its release on July 9th. The rapper revealed how he strongly disagrees with Billboards decision not to include the first sales of the album, stating that all revenue streams should be recognised. “If you’re not with the changing times, you’re irrelevant to me. I’m going to move on,” he said.
Kan-ye leave me alone! After another confrontation with the paparazzi, Kanye West is unlikely to be prosecuted. The father of new born baby North West found himself involved in more altercations with media at LAX airport in Los Angeles July 19. It was initially thoughtt the star had punched a photographer after being showered with questions, resulting in Kanye allegedly stealing some camera equipment from the photographer. Whilst attempted robbery claims were quickly dropped, the rapper could still face criminal battery charges. It is also thought that the hip hop star is willing to part some cash to make the incident go away. Completely legal. This is not the first time Kanye has found trouble with paparazzi. Earlier in the month Kanye lashed out at a photographer, a clip that spread across the web along with a rather humorous clip of him walking into a pole. Image curtosey of Renan Facciolo
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A burn out for this years Burn Out Low ticket sales and not enough interest are a festivals worst nightmare. Unfortunately for Burn Out their worst nightmare became a reality last week. As you probably know by now, here at Undertone we’re huge fans of this years Burn Out festival. So we were gutted when we got the news that the festival would be cancelled. With a line up, consisting of big names like Kids in Glass Houses, We Are The Ocean, Blitz Kids and Mallory Knox, you’d think people would be flocking for tickets. But apparently not. Festival organisers took to Facebook on Tuesday to release their statement explaining the situation.
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Rumours... Time to put them to rest. This will be an open and to the bone announcement. Some, probably won't get passed here and know what the over all outcome is and that's all they needed to know, but there are others who may wish to know and hear more than a standard statement would provide. Burn Out is cancelled. There is no nice way to put it. This is devastating for me. Burn Out is not run by a big company. It has a core team of 4 people and a couple of great people on the outside who have supported it to the Nth degree. We're music fans who did our best to try and provide an event to like minded individuals, we all work full time and put our own money into this. We have worked for the last 10 months or so on this event. And we have really given it as much time as possible to get on track and to be a success, which has lead to the last minute announcement. It's not ideal or how we envisaged things turning out. For that I can only apologise. But due to low sales we were facing losses far too great to overlook. The event was set with a capacity of 800 a day. We were a tiny festival in the grand scheme of things with a line up we hoped competed with some of the larger events. But we fell short. With only 250 sales across the weekend, the losses to carry on were doubling the costs to cancel. We would have needed to sell over 400 tickets in the last 5 days to even get the event to a point were the losses to continue were similar to those to cancel. I never expected I would need to write this
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statement, I never planned for it, I have already spent over £500.00 to get the wristbands printed... This was never our intention. But staring at a substantial loss and knowing that would be our loss, the hardest decision had to be made. I am sure we are going to hear cries of "If you didn't have the money you shouldn't have attempted the event" or similar, but this would be naive. Even if I did have £X amount in my account, the event would still be going down this route. No one expected the line up to falter to this extent. Granted we had set backs and issues with the line up and structure of the festival that have affected the promotion of the event, but never was it anticipated it would end this way. We are trying to salvage something from all of this. Last Resort are still looking to come down and party and so a one off club night at The Anvil will be taking place, and we are trying to get some of the bands to play a free entry event at The Anvil across the weekend. If we can get this off the ground we will announce asap, but aware to some it may be too little too late. But, I am already losing a considerable amount of money, it's only fair I attempt to get something out of it as an apology to those who showed good faith in the event. Everyone will receive a refund on their tickets and anyone who is still going to utilise any travel and accommodation booked will receive priority on entry to any event we get arranged and we will also hand out some Atticus clothing. We know we can't fully make it up to anyone. But we are trying to provide some sort of silver lining. We'll hopefully have details soon on which bands will be playing. Again we are sorry it has come down to this, but we hope this has provided some insight into the situation we faced.
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A free event did take place with bands like Arcane Roots and Height’s in attendance and We wish the festival organisers the best of luck and hope to see them back next year.
Lives
Anti-Flag
Electric Ballroom, London July 4th 2013
Image curtosey of David Cooper
When the band take to the stage and breaks out the first few chords of ‘Turncoat’, the crowd goes wild. The floor of Camden’s Electric Ballroom turns into a whirlwind of thrashing, leaping and fist-pumping, becoming such a hive of emphatic activity that it is almost impossible not to be swept up in it all. The unstoppable pace of songs such as ‘The Press Corpse’ and ‘A New Kind of Army’ keep the crowd on their toes all night. But Anti-Flag make it perfectly clear that tonight isn’t just about how high you can jump or how loud you can sing along.
Independence Day; one of the greatest days in American history. It’s only fitting, therefore, that one of the USA’s most politically motivated punk bands should come over and kick some serious British ass at tonight’s London show. However, a home-grown act start the show in the form of Gnarwolves. Who needs eardrums these days? Apparently not us. Gnarwolves absolutely blow the roof off the place in sheer volume alone, with strong drum beats coursing through every inch of audience. Their music comes across a little discordant at times, but their energy makes up for it. Tonight is all about punk, so a little inconsistency hardly matters; Gnarwolves have the ideal punk vibe to win over this crowd. In a last-minute alteration, Great Cynics step in to replace original support act Sharks who, instead of being here in London tonight, made the recent decision to break up. Shame. Although Great Cynics churn out solid tune after solid tune, some of which are actually much easier on the ears than the previous act, they simply don’t pack enough of a punch for this audience. They want action, they want attitude, they want punk! Instead, they get mild-mannered alt rock, which sees spirits drop. Anti-Flag have never been a background noise band; if anyone thinks they can just bop along mindlessly to some catchy tunes tonight, they are very much mistaken. Not only are Anti-Flag going to make you listen to what they have to say, but their fans won’t take any prisoners either.
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We are encouraged to celebrate and admire those who fight for our country, but ‘Die For Your Government’ makes us think twice about whether soldiers being encouraged to leave our country and die at war is really something to be proud of. They even pause halfway through their set tonight and take a minute to talk very frankly about the imprisonment of punk band Pussy Riot and their treatment by the Russian government, urging the crowd to sign a petition against it. Whether you agree with Anti-Flag or not, at least they have the guts to stand up in front of audiences all over the world for what they believe in. The anthemic beat of ‘Hymn for the Dead’ has everyone chanting like some sort of punk tribe, whilst ‘Post-War Breakout’ has one of the most irresistible dance rhythms of the night. ‘Die For Your Government’ gives everyone, both band and fans alike, one last rant of the night before they clamber into the crowd- drum kit and all- for the final song, ‘Power to the Peaceful’. Music today is bland. Sure, it’s enjoyable, but it lacks the conviction from artists of the past who tried to change the way of the world. Today we face economic breakdown, unemployment, war and a lack of trust in our government, but the music scene rarely dares to confront these issues; except for Anti-Flag. It is bands such as them that show us there is still hope for modern music after all.
Words: Sam Lawrie
Deafhaven
Lives
The Barbary, Philadelphia, PA July 1st 2013 When it comes to black metal, people probably think of church burning, being grim and long haired men in corpse paint. Deafheaven are actually none of those things. Deafheaven are an ambient, experimental, shoegazey black metal band. To promote their newest (and an incredibly beautiful masterpiece) release, Sunbather, Deafheaven announced a tour with another band from Sargent House Records, Marriages and Nothing, making a stop at The Barbary in Philadelphia. It was a hot and humid July day and many people were waiting outside the venue. The doors finally opened as the line stretched down the street. Before you knew it, the show was a sell out. The Barbary was packed with people waiting to witness an incredible performance by three bands. The opening band was Nothing. I feel as though they were the perfect band to open for Marriages and Deafheaven. There was lots of gear on stage to create that extremely noisy sound. They were a mostly instrumental band that did well to build the audience’s anticipation for the bigger acts. Marriages then took to the stage and played most of the songs from Kitsune. Emma Ruth Rundle’s beautiful singing voice complimented the experimental chaos of Marriages. Even though they had a few minor technical difficulties with her guitar amp not working, she still managed to hold it together
and delivered an amazing and breathtaking performance. Marriages definitely gained a good few fans that night. Last but not least was Deafheaven. As soon as the guys went on stage, the crowd went crazy. They opened up with the starter track from Sunbather, ‘Dream House’ the perfect way to start their set. I was in the perfect position to watch the audience as well as the band. Amazing. George Clarke’s connection with the audience was beautiful and the band definitely delivered a flawless and emotional performance. The tour ended a few days ago but if the these bands come to a city near you in the future, be sure to not miss out on a life changing experience.
Words and Photos: Sofie Kranstz
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Lives
Summer Stampede Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park July 6th 2013
The vast expanse of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park was a fine match for the colossal show about to take place - a revelry of folk, acoustic and Americana, courtesy of Gentlemen of the Road. Despite the hype, Californian sisterly trio, HAIM, didn’t appear to have the groundbreaking edge that was expected. The eighties inspired synth surged through the speaker’s and the sisters joined with their rocking electric guitars and vocals. ‘Falling’ started to take shape, however through the mumbles and “HEY”s the crowd seemed to have been Luke-warmed up for the other acts to follow. After an all right performance from HAIM, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros took to the stage in all their American, vintage-esque beauty. The ten musicians on stage made their entire set jubilant, and the “sixties festival” vibe was the perfect setting for the thousands of people to enjoy the festival experience. Their most famous tune “Home” was most definitely a highlight of the entire day. Alex and Jade jumped down from the stage and asked members of the audience stories to fit in with the song, creating a huge sense of togetherness
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between the band and the crowd. BEN HOWARD tested the waters with new material which was excitedly received by the fans. Opening the set with ‘Keiko’, the crowd were engrossed in his deep, melodic performance. Singing some of his most loved hits, ‘Only Love’, ‘The Wolves’, ‘Keep Your Head Up’ and ‘The Fear’, the crowd echoed the howls and the choruses, creating another momentous experience . India Bourne held her own and her pure talent and passion surged through, becoming the envy of all the ladies present that day. Ben and the band created yet another beautiful, emotionally moving show for the masses, setting the bar high for the next two acts. VAMPIRE WEEKEND took to the stage, dressed in smart-casual attire. Their performance was vibrant and a great crowd pleaser. Songs like ‘Diane Young’, ‘Holiday’, and ‘A-Punk’ sent the crowd into an upbeat frenzy, with sunny guitars and pounding drums, creating a real energy and buzz. It was safe to say that those at Summer Stampede had one heck of a warm up for the headline act: Mumford & Sons. It was banjos galore; a celebration of fine music
Lives inhibiting the crowd. I could feel it. Being branded by Marcus Mumford as “The best crowd they’ve played” felt like a huge achievement to everyone as one of the biggest factors that contributes to the success of their gigs is the support of the crowd. At one point in the show the crowd were silenced as the band stood together like brothers to perform ‘Reminder’, the sense of unity was heartwarming.
from fine gentlemen and set to be a memory for a lifetime to come. Mumford & Sons had taken Glastonbury by storm the week before, how would this performance fair against it? It was breathtaking. It knocked the socks off of Glasto for sure. The massive affair had a sense of intimacy, as though it was a party amongst friends. Alcohol flowing and laughter all round - dancing and singing along to upbeat tracks such as ‘Babel’, ‘Lover of the Light’, ‘Little Lion Man’ and ‘I Will Wait’ really cemented the joyous sense of occasion. What is important to note is the way that Marcus and the boys could control the mood. From jubilance to emotion filled, heart-aching beauty; they portrayed the messages of their music perfectly. Feeling the sorrow of ‘Ghosts That We Knew’; the underlying angst of ‘Thistles and Weed’ and ‘Dust Bowl Dance’ was
The show closed on ‘The Cave’ and one of the most incredible collaborations that could be imagined when performing a cover of Fleetwood Mac’s ‘The Chain’. As they picked their way through the intro to ‘The Cave’, the excitement of the audience was immense as they clapped and cheered along. Shouting along to the chorus, a burst of confetti amongst the dark blue sky and show lights created this euphoric, fantasy land, where the joy from everyone, performing and spectating, exuded into this one big picture of a dream. Their final song ‘The Chain’ originally performed by Fleetwood Mac will forever be one of my most treasured moments. Mumford & Sons were joined on stage by Vampire Weekend, Ben Howard and band, ALL TEN of Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros and the HAIM sisters, creating a majestic jam that will never be forgotten. It really brought home the wonder of the day. The sense that this wasn’t just another show. It wasn’t just another piss up for festival goers. It was a day to celebrate the love for that one thing that makes us the same, performer or audience - the love of music.
Words: Ashley Chalmers Photos: alicerosemcl.tumblr.com
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Lives
Emily’s Army The Lexington, London July 15th 2013
Visiting another country for the first time is a daunting task for any band, let alone four guys who are barely out of their Californian high school. Nonetheless, Emily’s Army are here to break out of the East Bay and make their mark on British soil. The tiny upstairs of The Lexington bar slowly fills with people eager to see the long-awaited UK debut of Emily’s Army- but not before one of our own home-grown acts warm them up first. Decade hit the stage with some of the best live vocals of any band that have ever been stuck in a supporting slot. Whether credit goes to frontman Alex Sears’ vocal chords or The Lexington’s hardworking sound technicians, the band come across clear as a bell, and one would imagine that listening to them on record wouldn’t sound too different to their performance tonight. With a high energy and similarities to successful British rock bands such as You Me At Six and Lower Than Atlantis, Decade show a huge amount of potential. As four- mostly- teenage boys walk onto the stage, a cynic would assume that tonight is just going to be some kids messing around with instruments and silly lyrics about how difficult puberty is. They’d be wrong. It’s soon clear that Emily’s Army are due much more acclaim than appearances would suggest. Brothers and vocal duo Cole and Max Becker sing their hearts out with surprisingly
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mature tones to their voice, and this rings out effortlessly during songs such as ‘Part Time Bum’, ‘Avenue’ and ‘I am the President’. Although related, their vocal style is not at all similar, with Cole bringing out an edgy, modern garage-rock side of the band while Max has a slightly more punk feel to his voice. Despite this, neither of them comes across as bitter, angry,
Lives
overlooked teenagers; their vocals have a bright, upbeat quality to them. Perhaps this is due to their young age, but this doesn’t lessen their skill. Michael Jackson, Britney Spears, Paramore… Some of the world’s most successful artists started at tender ages. Who knows, perhaps Emily’s Army will be next?
could pick them up and place them right in the middle of a stadium and they wouldn’t feel out of place. Sure, they may only manage to fill it with a row or two of fans, but their enthusiasm, their
For anyone who has been to The Lexington, you will know how absolutely miniscule the venue is. If not, let me sum it up; I’ve been in larger living rooms than the venue floor. With a capacity just topping the 200 mark, it isn’t exactly “Hello Wembley!” in here tonight. However, as Emily’s Army take to the stage, the limited numbers are instantly forgotten. With their outstanding energy- jumping off of amplifiers, tearing from one side of the stage to the other, parting the crowd to form a “Wall of Hugs” (the hippie alternative to a “Wall of Death”)- you
vivacity and their larger-than-life personalities would be right at home, particularly during upbeat tracks such as ‘Kids Just Wanna Dance’ and ‘The Rescuers’. Emily’s Army don’t care how big or small their fanbase is; they’re going to give them everything they’ve got, no matter what. London music lovers can be a tough crowd to please, but the general consensus here tonight is that Emily’s Army have done a pretty good job of winning them over. It’s not always easy for a band to make their name go global and, in all honestly, tonight probably won’t propel Emily’s Army to instant worldwide fame. However, if they’re trying to get themselves known throughout Britain as a fun, exciting Californian band who are bringing youthful punk-rock into 2013, they’ve succeeded.
Words and Photos: Sam Lawrie
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Introducing
Introducing This Month..
Drones
There’s a new punk band in town; Drones are ready to put their middle fingers up to the world, and they don’t care who they piss off on the way! Drones have come a long way from the small town of Camberley, Surrey, where they first picked up their instruments and started putting the world to rights in 2010. Since the release of their debut album, Mutiny, they have exploded onto the punk scene. It’s not surprising that kids at almost any British punk rock show are wearing a Drones shirt, but the huge success that followed their debut release in December 2011 certainly wasn’t expected. “We couldn’t believe it. It was mind-blowing, really,” says frontman Daly George, “We just couldn’t believe how people really responded to it, actually got it, understood what we were on about. It completely exceeded our expectations.” Punk comes in so many forms nowadays- poppunk, garage punk, ska punk- that it’s hard to pinpoint which umbrella Drones would fall under.
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With hardcore influences from Gallows, a political backdrop similar to Anti-Flag, and the original punk ethic from The Clash, Drones have selected an eclectic mix of inspirations to create their own unique sound. “Growing up I’ve always listened to more of the American/ Canadian side of music,” Guitarist Rob King says, speaking of his own inspiration, “The likes of early Green Day, Sum 41, Rise Against and Alkaline Trio have had a huge influence on my style as a guitarist and my general view on writing.” It hasn’t always been an easy ride, but Drones have always stuck to their guns. Their song ‘Shells Fall, Pins Pulled’ is an anti-MOD track, fighting against their propaganda advertising. This is just one example of a politically influenced Drones track (trust me, there are plenty more where that came from!) and Daly simply shrugs it off as part of his character. “I’ve always questioned things, it’s just in my nature to think ‘why is that happening like that?’ And then ‘Shells Fall, Pins Pulled’ came along.” He acts as if being passionate and opinionated is no big deal when, in actual fact, it’s hard to find
Introducing
a modern band who truly stand up for what they believe in. Rob pretty much sums it up. “I’ve always seen punk as doing exactly what you feel is right despite any preconceived notions.” With one critically acclaimed album under their belt, airtime on BBC Radio One and a recent slot supporting iconic hardcore punks H2O at the Camden Underworld, you’d think the four of them would finally take a step back and relax. But, when you’re working your way up the music industry ladder, things just don’t happen that way. Drones revealed their brand new single, ‘Empty Words’, at the beginning of July. It’s exciting and chaotic, but Daly manages to sum up the furiously fast-paced track in one simple sentence. “’Empty Words’ is about being stuck in the middle of a strained relationship of two people that I care about, and having to act as a messenger,” he says. This is the fans’ first taster from their upcoming
second EP, Free Marked Kids, which is set for release this September. Needless to say, Drones are creating quite a buzz around them- and just in time, too, as to top it all off they’ve notched up a nice little headline slot at London’s The Garage this September. Surely they couldn’t possibly fit anything else into their busy schedule?! “What else are we doing this year?” Daly smiles shrewdly, “We’ve got Rebellion Festival. We hope to hit Europe, because a lot of our fans on the internet and stuff are actually from Europe. We’ve got a couple of tours lined up.” Will we be able to go anywhere on the punk scene in 2013 without hearing Drones’ name? Their status is set to grow even more in the coming months, but Daly’s self-assured smile suggests that they are completely prepared for the challenge.
Words: Sam Lawire
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Introducing
Fort Hope
Although you’ve probably heard of the fellas behind this Hertfordshire quartet, Fort Hope are a relatively new prospect. Formerly four fifths of rock band My Passion, Fort Hope have reinvented their image and their sound. Gone are the days of guyliner and gold paint and in are the checked shirts and turned up jeans. Gone are the industrial introductions and thunderous guitar riffs and in are more acoustic ballads. It’s a change for the better if anyone were to judge. Consisting of guitarist and vocalist Jonathan Gaskin, guitarist and back-up vocalist Ande D’mello, bassist Simon Rowlands and drummer Jamie Nicholls, Fort Hope’s mellow alternative rock is perfect for the wonderful weather of 2013. Releasing their debut EP earlier this year Fort Hope have been met with an incredible response. Supporting the likes of Andrew McMahon, The Maine and Fearless Vampire Killers across the UK, Fort Hope have managed to convert those wary about the new band whose roots sprout from such a controversial plant. If you’re into soft alternative rock then Fort Words: Elly Rewcastle Photos from Facebook group: Fort Hope Hope are for you.
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Girl Band
Introducing
Words: Jack McKeever Photos from Facebook group: Girl Band Girl Band is a noise- rock/ grunge quartet from Dublin, Ireland, and they make a mighty righteous racket, and their distinctly un- Googleable name means it’s hard to find much more information on them. Nevertheless they grabbed a lot of attention earlier this year when there deliriously noisy but funky cover of House DJ Blawan’s “Why They Hide Their Bodies Under My Garage” began circulating the blogosphere. Their debut EP “France ‘98” (which is available for free download via their bandcamp page) is a meticulous and versatile exercise in guttural, sludgy postpunk noise. Bringing to mind the early work of Liars as well as “Read and Burn”- era Wire, Mudhoney and Pissed Jeans, it’s all buzzsaw guitars, ear piercing levels of feedback and volume and the kind of youthful tenacity that seeps from the pours of a band hungry to make an impact.
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Introducing
Small Pools
Words: Katie Pathiaki
Photos from Facebook group: Statesmusic
Smallpools are an indie- pop four piece from Los Angeles, and if you are looking for a feelgood summer soundtrack. Smallpools is the band to accompany you in the sizzling sun while the BBQ’s burning and the drinks are flowing. Upbeat and cheerful, each track sounds like an intoxicated but sun- kissed blend of indie influences. From Vampire Weekend and Passion Pit to Foster the People and Mumford and Sons, a mixture of synths, guitar, drum beats and the occasional tambourine is the perfect recipe for a light-hearted high pitched technoindie EP, self-titled ‘Smallpools’. It is guaranteed that, even if it is not sunny outside, the second you listen to this band it will be glowing inside your head.
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States
Highly stylized aesthetics and lushly layered pop might be the place to find the roots of States in terms of sound, but the essence of the band holds itself under the idea that creation comes from collaboration. Ideas need to be cultivated, grown, and harvested. “Here we are,” front woman Mindy White declares, “and we can go wherever we want.” With no confines and no chief-songwriters
Words: Elly Rewcastle
Introducing
to be praised - or the pressures of hype and business - States debut album Room to Run is much more than an album full of ‘90s chart minded hooks; it’s the debut of a band that works as a collective. Now onto their second album, fully funded through Kickstarter, an online campaign where fans donate money in exchange for exclusive opportunities like t-shirts and meet and greets, the only way is up for States.
Photos from Facebook group: Statesmusic Undertone 31
Interviews
An Interview with: Mallory Knox
Elly Rewcastle
Ahead of their staggering performances across the UK, Mallory Knox have left their own stamp of awesome on the British rock scene. Undertone caught up with guitarist Sam Douglas for a quick chat about Reading and Leeds, new music and those inter-band relationships we love Since the release of your debut album, you have stormed through to the top of the British music scene, how has that impacted you as a band and as individuals? Are you spotted in the street now? I don’t think it’s really changed anything too much. We are all still really driven to be successful & made us even more so really. We aren’t blind to the fact that a lot of cool stuff is happening for us at the moment and we are all really happy with things but we just want to keep on climbing that ladder so to speak.
very proud about. The TV/Radio support has been nothing short of fantastic as well. I don’t think we could have expected much more support than we’ve had for this album. You recently accompanied Don Broco on their headline tour, are there any plans in place for your own UK headline tour? Yeah we did & it was a lot of fun. We did a short run of like 7 shows back in April & we didn’t really have know what to expect but all of the shows basically sold out which was a really good feeling. I’m sure we’ll be looking to do a bigger headline tour in the future.
How did you find the reaction towards Signals?
This months issue of Undertone is focusing a lot on Reading and Leeds and as a result of the phenomenal work and reception you’ve received you’ve been invited to the festival to play main stage, what was your reaction to the news?
Really positive. Credit: really Marianne HarrisThe fact it made Top 40 in the Official Charts was something we were all
Just pure excitement & shock. I remember we were in the van on the way up to Banquet Records to
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Interviews do an in store signing when we got the call from management saying there’s an offer for us to open the Main Stage at Reading & Leeds and the van just erupted into noise. All 5 of us turned into little screaming schoolgirls basically, it was a great moment. There have been some huge and incredible bands that have played main stage at Reading and Leeds, which bands and artists have been your favourite to play? Who have been your favourite headliners? I’m gonna say Blink-182 just because they’re my favorite band. Unfortunately I didn’t get to go but James & Joe did & I know they loved it. Mikey was lucky enough to catch Foo Fighters one year as well & he came back saying they were the best live band he’s ever seen. It’s such a big deal to us to play this stage because when you look at all the bands that have played there before you feel very honoured to even get the opportunity to play that festival let alone the Main Stage. I mean, that is the stage isn’t! Ask a lot of bands what stage they would love to play and I bet a lot would say Main Stage R&L. We feel very lucky. What can we expect from Mallory Knox at Reading and Leeds? Will your set be different from those we’ve seen at UK festivals previously such as Slam Dunk and Takedown? Perhaps. It’s hard because I don’t know what more we can do than what we already do in a 30 minute set. We aren’t gonna have fireworks & fire and all that but I think it’s going to be different just because of what the occasion is. We are always passionate when we play live but I think the emotion between us 5 whilst we are up there doing our thing will be even higher. I have been nervous about it pretty much since we found so I dread to think how I’m gonna be 10 minutes before we play. What do you have planned in terms of set-list? Like I said we have 30 minutes so I think we’ll just go out with the songs we are most well known for. We’ll see if anything changes from now until then but i think we already have a pretty good idea of what songs we’ll play. You’re playing on the same day that rapper Eminem headlines the festival, are you a fan? Will you be standing side stage telling the real Slim Shady to stand up? Huge fan. Never in my life did I think that I’d be sharing a stage with Eminem. He’s definitely in my Top 5 to watch this year as well but I highly doubt I’ll be allowed side stage for him! If I’m allowed then yeah I’ll be standing there grabbing my crotch rapping every word to “Sing For The Moment” for sure!
Do you have anything in the works in terms of new music? If so, will we catch a sneak peak of any at R&L? Yeah we are well into writing Album 2, it’s still probably a long way off until we think about recording them let alone releasing them so no new songs at R&L. We have the mentality that Signals pretty much got us there so it’ll be nice to play those songs on a stage like that. This year you were nominated for best British newcomer at Kerrang Awards, how did that feel for you? It was fantastic. To even get to go to the awards was unreal and we were all just really happy to be there. I met Mark Hoppus who was pretty much the reason I played bass in the first place, Brian May was there as well. It was the most surreal night but so much fun! Unfortunately you lost out to Lower Than Atlantis - not a bad feet, how are relationships between bands on the British rock scene? I think there’s a lot of friendships in British Rock music at the moment. You kind of get the sense that everyone is backing each other to do well & every festival is always a party because it’s just the best place to hang out with everyone being there. Are forming these relationships with bands like Lower Than Atlantis, Don Broco, Deaf Havana and Young Guns etc. valuable to you? Do they offer things in terms of experience and touring etc? Absolutely. Deaf Havana have been one of my favorite bands for the last 3 years so the fact that we are friends with them now & I get to talk to them about music and just general rubbish is amazing. UK rock music is so strong right now & it’s a pleasure to be surrounded by so many talented bands. Finally, what is the best piece of advise ever given to you and the best piece of advise you, yourselves, could give? Just to work hard and put everything you have into it. If you truly believe in it then you never know what could happen. The best advice i could give, which isn’t a lot is to just try and write the best songs you can for yourself and no one else. Write the songs you would want to hear & hopefully that way other people will listen.
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Interviews
An Interview with: Heaven's Basement
Jenna Young
After a slow start, rock band Heaven’s Basement have exploded into the British heavy rock scene with their debut album Filthy Empire. Now that they are hitting the UK, touring with a solid lineup and an album to support them they seem set to take over the modern metal scene. Undertone caught up with the band to chat history, decisions and stepping into the States.
With headline shows, you’ve got a crowd that know your music and know what to expect - a basement crowd knows that it’ll be a sweaty and chaotic affair from song one. A festival crowd are mixed, some of them know you, some of them are just passers by that like what they hear. We play the same show, but we give it an extra push to make sure that we win the new ones over. I like that feeling, we all do.
What is the meaning behind your band name?
Why should people come and see you live?
There is no ‘meaning’ as such, but the name derived from what the rehearsal space that the band used to practice in was called.
Without a shadow of a doubt, we’re one of the loudest bands in the UK. Our shows will have you sweating so much you’ll lose a stone in an hour. Our fans are a good bunch and everyone looks after and has a good time. A Heaven’s Basement show is one of the best parties you’ll ever go to and you’ll meet great people.
How did you make the decision not to release a full length album until 4 years into your career? The band wasn’t ready. Line up changes and set backs hit the band quite hard in the early years but the band pushed through and here we are today on our most successful ever tour. You’re on the line up for Reading and Leeds. What’s it like playing a festival vs a normal headline show?
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Of all the bands you’ve played alongside, who were your favourite? I’m not too into ‘oldschool’ but Ugly Kid Joe were insanely brilliant to play with. Wit Cranefield is the best frontman i’ve ever seen live. He has a true talent for connecting to an audience. The Darkness were also brilliant, a true highlight and nice gents.
Interviews Images by - Jeff Antebi
What acts have influenced you both on CD and live? From Queen to Slipknot, I listen to it all. Music is still as exciting as ever and there’s always something new and exciting to listen to. You just have to go hunting for it, or be the guy that writes it. What’s it like playing America as a reasonably small British band? Special. A band like us playing across America is a big deal. So many people take interest in us just based on that fact, and the Americans them self are very intrigued by British music. It’s quite the privilege. What are the main differences between supporting and headlining? When I play a support show, i’m there to make
the headliners feel the pressure. I’m there to steal their fans. I want to show new people that there’s fresh blood waiting to be supped up. At a headline show? Those are the people that have already been stolen - we play hard, loud, and get dirty. Without any cliché, It’s a rock show - we’re not there to look pretty. Is there a common theme in all the songs on your album? I’d say so, they’ve all been a part of the success the band has had. Each song lends it self to being able to take your mind on a journey and make your own assumption. How do you chose which songs will be singles? A lot of singles are actually determined by radio. If a station like Radio One chooses to play your song, you go make a video and thank them. Gift horses don’t come very often.
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Interviews
An Interview with: Emily's Army
Sam Lawrie
Emily’s Army are the new kids on the punk block. With their first ever UK tour kicking off this month and a brand new album under their belt, we caught up with them to talk producers, politics and playing Warped Tour! This is your first time in the UK. How are you finding it? Max: Well, we looked left instead of right. Cole almost got hit by a car, that was the first thing that happened to us on UK ground. Really successful then (!) So, why did you decide that now is the right time for you guys to branch out to the UK? Joey: I think because it’s not a tour where we’re playing crazy sold out venues, which is kind of the point of it. We’re coming out here and we’re playing shows to groups of people that will go back and tell their friends. The majority of us are still in our teens and so getting out here and getting our name out is pretty sick.
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You’ve just come off Warped Tour. How did that work out for you? Cole: It was really awesome. It was really hot. Like, you guys think it’s hot today; in Las Vegas, I think it was 40 degrees Celsius. Did you have a favourite date on the tour? Max: Mine was New Jersey Joey: Yeah, New Jersey was really fun. That’s kind of the perfect example of why we’re coming out here. Three years ago we played three shows in New Jersey, three small apartment buildings, and then we came back and we played to - I don’t know how many people were watching us! Max: Six, seven hundred people. You guys grew up in a very punk-orientated area and you list bands like The Clash and Operation Ivy as influences, so you’re obviously inspired by original punk rock music, but
Interviews your latest album (Lost at Seventeen) comes across with a modern touch. So, how have you infused old school punk rock with the fresh 21st Century sound? Max: I was thinking about that earlier and, you know, we’re not that skilled with our instruments. Joey’s pretty good, but the point is, we’re not trying to model how the old musicians played music but bring out more of their vibe to our fans. Joey: It’s just a bunch of different styles. We’re obviously influenced by a lot of old school punk, but also by artists that are around now. We’re very aware of different music and how we can fit them together to make our own orginal sound. You’ve also listed bands like The Beatles and The Beach Boys as influences as well, so where do you guys get these sort of 1960’s influences from? Cole: My mum, her favourite band is Creedence Clearwater Revival, so I grew up listening to that. The Beatles… I know a lot of people that just go through Beatles phases, and I went through a huge Beatles phase in sixth grade, so that’s where I picked up a lot of my writing style. Max: In terms of Beach Boys, we’re all pretty into the surf culture in California, so that’s where we got that from. We really love that idea of just having a good time. Billie Joe [Armstrong] produced your latest
album; what was it like for you guys to work with such a successful musician? Cole: It was awesome. He definitely knows his stuff; he’s been around the world and back several times, so it was awesome getting to work with somebody who comes at it from a different angle. We all think about our songs the same way, and so having his opinion in the mix too was awesome. Joey, how did you find working with your dad? Joey: It was cool. When we were in the studio, it wasn’t really like father-son. I remember when I went home I was like, “oh yeah, that was awesome” but when we were in the studio it was just like producer to his own record. I think it’s like in any situation, there’s business and there’s family, and I’m lucky enough that I can mix them both. Travis, you joined the band a little later- how did you find it settling into a band with guys who have been friends since they were little kids? Travis: Well, I’ve known Joey since fourth grade, and we played in a school band together, so that was pretty natural. But then I met Max the year before, a little bit… I just saw him, I said hi, that was about it. But I just came over to their house to play this show and it worked well. I mean, they’re nice people! Joey: Actually, Cole, on the day of our first show, was outside playing a little kickball-
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Interviews
Cole: No, I was playing volleyball in my PE class. Joey: And he fell and broke his wrist, so he couldn’t play guitarCole: I didn’t fall, the ball hit me straight on Joey: That’s even more embarrassing! But then I called Travis and I was like, “Hey, can you learn twelve songs?” and he’s like “yeah”. [He] showed up, and played twelve songs! There’s been quite keen support from you for feminism- would you just explain where you guys stand on it? Cole: We just don’t believe in bullying. We don’t believe that anybody should be denied rights. I think it’s stupid that perfectly capable people are denied jobs with equal pay. I think it’s a really important issue, especially in the U.S. right now, and it’s really important to us because we believe in everybody having equal opportunities. Lots of young people are being directly affected by government decisions today, but they don’t always stand up and question them. You guys add a political edge to your music- at such a young age, what made you feel like you wanted to do that? Max: Well, of lot of times, older people just kind of disregard the younger generation’s opinion when it could have a lot of meaning. I don’t really venture into that with my writing but I like listening to what [Cole] is thinking about because I think it’s worth listening to. Cole: I think to all of us it’s important that everybody has a voice. In America there are a lot of people who think they don’t have a
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voice at all, and so nobody’s taking a stand and questioning anything. The only people who are participating are the people that are making the wrong decisions, and they’re terrible decisions for everybody. So I think it’s really important as somebody with a growing public stance that we help spread the message that we can make things better. You guys were really young when you started, so why did you decide to pick up your instruments and start a band at such a young age? Joey: School of Rock. Cole and I watched it a lot, and then we decided we should start a band. [Max] started playing bass and it lasted for a week and we kicked him out. The day we kicked him out, I remember, I walked through the house, opened up the door to his parents’ room and Max was crying on the bed to his mum, and then his mum’s like “Cole, Joey, you guys need to let Max back in the band”, so we let him back in the band. Max: And you ended up getting a fantastic musician. You did start young, but now you’ve been a band for a while and you’ve all grown up a bit; sitting here today, do you guys feel you’ve got what it takes to stick Emily’s Army out into adulthood? Max: We’ve kinda figured it out one step at a time. It’s really fun. It’s almost like a documentary, our music, because it’s like each step of our life is being noted, you know what I mean? This is a pretty awesome step forward, travelling. Maybe something crazy will happen next year, you never know.
Interviews
An Interview with: Hang The Bastard
Jack McKeever
You recently decided to re- issue almost your entire catalogue in one big compilation. Why was this? Tomas: We thought in light of the progression of the bands sound and what with the fact lots of people were requesting previously released and long sold out releases. It was a good thing to do, to consolidate everything in one release. There are a hell of a lot of different sounds and styles in your music. Is the songwriting and structuring process a collective band effort? We are very organic when writing music, we have never planned anything we just get together, a riff is played and it goes from there really. We “jam” songs out and then tweek it if needs be. Sam (guitarist) has been on top form of late and the new song reflects that I feel. Where does your lyrical inspiration come from? Well I’m new to doing vocals having played bass and drums for years this is a completely different angle for me. I’m enjoying writing lyrics a lot and am enjoying the expression of it all. As for the content people will have to listen and get from it what they will. Listening to your music, it sounds like there’s a
great camaraderie between you all, as though you all know exactly the sound you want and how to create it. Are there many disagreements? We are very much a collective having been a band for a few years now we all get along well and work at bringing our individual pieces to the table. You’ve released split singles with fellow UK hardcore bands Brotherhood of the Lake and Brutality Will Prevail. Do you feel a particular affiliation with those bands, as you’re all at similar points in your careers? It feels like a movement. We also did a split with the London punks Abolition. We get on well with those bands and have played shows with all of them over the last few years. We share a common goal and at the end of the day its good to have a laugh. What plans do you have for the rest of the year after Download? We have a lot of things going on, release wise and tours being booked up as we speak. We are very active at the moment but you’ll have to wait and see what we have in store for you. But I assure you you’ll have a “bangover” for days.
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Interviews
An Interview with: Hawkeyes
Jack McKeever
1.Some of you guys had been playing in the UK hardcore punk scene for years before forming. Did you ever play in bands with each other before Hawk Eyes? Hello! Yes Ryan and Paul were in a few bands together before Hawk Eyes. This band was never supposed to be the main band, it was formed alongside other bands but somehow this grew heads, legs and arms and became everyone's priority. 2. UK hardcore is an absolute hotbed of activity at the moment. How much of a close community is there? We've been fortunate to gig with and become friends with some brilliant bands but terrible humans. Guilty parties include Turbowolf, JCQ, These Monsters, Blacklisters, Humanfly, Exit_ International, Bad for Lazarus aand many more. There is a genuine wish to see each other succeed and to help each other where we can. I'm not sure any of these bands are hardcore but they are all nice people. 3.There are a hell of a lot of different influences in your sound. How easy is it to bring everything together and turn it into one sound? The way we write songs is everyone brings their ideas and we throw it all in a pot, be as honest as possible about which ideas are 'good' and see what happens. There isn't one person writing the songs are demanding what everyone does. One thing we
all agree on is that there is no point in doing the same thing over and over again. 4.“Ideas” certainly sounds like a lot of precision and contemplation went into it. How long did it take to write? Ideas took about a year to write, it was demo'd and then demo'd again, then we ripped the songs apart, argued about it and then recorded it. We put that much work into it that towards the end we lost our minds a bit but what's the point of doing something half hearted? 5.What’s great about “Ideas” is that it it’s a hugely accomplished record, but it still feels like there are so many sonic routes you could travel down and explore on the next album. The kind of creativity that you guys exhort means you can pretty much go anywhere from here. Are there any ideas about what the next album will sound like yet? The next album is not far from being completed, just the vocals and some overdubs are left to do. It doesn't sound anything like Ideas or Modern Bodies which I am pleased about. One thing we have been never been short of is ideas for new songs it's just deciding which ones are the best ideas that is the hard part. 6.“Ideas” is considerably more melodic than “Modern Bodies.” How did the ethos change between albums? The ethos didn't change at all, we just didn't see
Interviews
any point in doing the same thing again. We toured Modern Bodies for a long long time and we were all ready to expand our musical horizons. 7.Do you have any non- musical influences that seep into your work? Life is always the biggest influence, a lot of ideas we have for songs/titles/nonsense comes from spending so much time together in a van driving across the UK/Europe. Is that an answer i'm not sure? 8.What’s your favourite venue that you’ve ever played on a UK tour? London Forum was very impressive. It was also interesting being blocked in the car park the next day by UB40. I also like gigs near home so we can go to bed early. 9.As chaotic as your music can be it’s also very
meticulous. How often do you guys rehearse? We are very busy all the time, it's rare that we don't rehearse/gig/write music at least once a week. Sometimes to not be in each other's pockets all the time, we are going to counteract this by going to Europe for most of August! 10.What are your plans for the rest of 2013? Tour tour tour, release out new Ep in August and finish the new album, probably start writing the next one too.
You can pre-order Hawkeye’s EP, ‘That’s What This Is’ over at www.hawykeyesmusic.bandpage. com now.
Features
The Ultimate
Festival Survival Undertone 40
Features
Undertone
Image curtosey of CTom Thorpe - Flickr
Guide
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There comes a point in a person’s life where they take a step back and say...
“I want to go to a festival”. Is this you?
no surprise that folk are nervous about their first time away. Drink, drugs and horrible people ring any bells? Probably. But face it, you get those all the time wherever you go. Don’t let rumours spoil what could be the best weekend of your year, possibily ever.
Festivals are expensive. It’s a big step to make that decision and fork out nearly £200 for a festival, or even to get the guts to ask your parents. Be it a treat for yourself, a birthday or early Christmas present, chances are a festival ticket will be one of the best presents you’ll Of course you’re going to get people ever receive. who are rude and obnoxious but you can’t step foot in any city across the Your first festival will always be UK without coming face to face with something special. I remember the at least one. The only difference here first time I took those steps out of my being you’ve all paid money to spend back yard, on my way to T in the Park. a weekend in a smaller space listening Scary but exciting. Turned out that to incredible music. You’ve got to the festival was totally unforgettable! remember you’re all there for the music, Missing a 5am bus and not sleeping that’s why you’ve paid the money, for 42 hours was the perfect ending! taken the journey and made the effort So it’s speaking from experience that to scream about your favourite artists I say you’ll never forget that weekend. on Facebook and Twitter. There are stories from festivals that would creep the hell out of me now, and I’ve been going to festivals on my lonesome for a good few years so it’s Undertone 42
As usual though, aside from all of the excitement, it’s getting nearer to the date and the panic is starting to set in. What do you wear, what do you take,
how much money do you take, where do you camp? The questions are never ending. But hopefully there’s enough experience in the Undertone office to help you through your weekend in one piece. We’re going to give you the tips you need to survive and who we’re checking out at this years Reading and Leeds!
Just remember how much money you’ve paid to be there. This years festivals will only happen once, there won’t be another T in the Park 2013 or Isle of White 2013, so be sure to treasure the moment. You want to remember it from experiencing it first hand, getting drunk or high or spending it by your tent with your friends isn’t the way we Now, there’s no need to panic anymore. recommend you spend your festival. Just follow these steps and use your common sense when you’re in the Be safe. Be sensible. Use that common arena and in the campsites and you’ll sense and make sure your weekend is be fine. totally unforgettable.
So it’s time to wrap up the tent, grab the nibbles and prepare for the maddest, probably the dirtiest and more than likely the wettest weekend of 2013.
Image curtosey of Eleanor Carter Flickr
1. Stick Together Make sure you’re not on your own. Being stuck in a massive field alone is not ideal, especially when you’re surrounded by 80,000 people. If you go with a group stick in pairs, at least and accept that if you’re in a huge group you will get split up. Two or three of you is perfect.
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No Arguments Please
Avoid arguments and learn to compromise. The main thing here, as afore-mentioned, is to stick together. Compromise of bands is a good idea. There are plenty of online sites that can generate you a timetable to avoid clashes and you can plan out your weekend well in advance. Undertone 44
Image curtosey of
Emelie Lundqvist
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Image curtosey of Jamesmabrown - Flickr
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3. Trust the Tent
Take a tent you know and trust. Trust a tent, sounds odd doesn’t it? But when you’re in the middle of a massive field of drunken idiots and your “festival-ready” pop-up tent floods, it’s just crap. On top of that you’ll have to go to the camping trucks in the middle of the field and spend 80 quid (valuable food money) on an actual half decent 4-man tent with poles and stuff. So make sure you’re familiar with your tent, pitch it in the garden a couple of times so you get used to putting it up and taking it down. Undertone 47
4.
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Chose your campsite wisely
The campsite you choose is very important. Reading and Leeds for example, is infamous for it’s red campsite. The place for little sleep, wild after parties, and odd conversations at 7am. If you’re confident that you can handle anything at all, then red is the section for you. Do be warned, at Leeds, it’s on a massive hill and when I say massive, I mean...massive!! On the other end of the scale, if you’re more for the music during the day and sleeping at night then the brown campsite is your kind of thing.
Image curtosey of Whereismal.com
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5. It’s going to be smelly...
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Image curtosey of Camperman64 - Flickr
Accept that you’re going to smell. Take deodorant, wet wipes and dry shampoo. If you’re lucky some festivals are starting to use full working showers that have private cubicles and are cleaned hourly. Sounds awesome right? No. They get dirty within 10 minutes and they’re really expensive to use. From experience I’ve found that the good old DIY perspective works the best.
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6.
Don’t forget the wellies!
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Even if it doesn’t rain, do you want to ruin the new pair of Converse you saved up to buy? God only knows what those shoes will get pitted in over the weekend. Invest in some good wellies, take lots of carrier bags and tons of socks as well just in case this ‘oh so reliable British weather turns back to bite you in the ass with good old fashioned rain.
Image curtosey of Thewayforward - Flickr
Proof!
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7.
There’s always free stuff!
You’d be surprised how much free stuff you can snag out of a festival. There’s always some dude handing out ponchos as you queue for the signing tent. Instead of just getting one, they’re not that reliable, grab a handful, a dozen or so, then later on you can be the knight in shining armor and help someone else out. Not only have you stopped some poor lad from getting drenched as he watches Green Day on his own, but you’ve also made a friend. Job done. Undertone 54
8.
Take your own nosh!
Unless you don’t mind spending nearly 6 quid on some chips or a burger then take your own. Try to make do with tons of crisps, cereal bars, dried fruit and nuts. Yum. Same for drink, if you’re taking alcohol make sure you can carry it all across the fields to your campsite. Make sure you have plenty of water.... there are usually refill points so make sure you take big bottles that you can refill.
Image curtosey of Mark Gledhill - Flickr
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9.
Image curtosey of Ed @ Mist Productions - Flickr
Get into it, or get out!
Someone falls over? Pick them up. It’s not nice to fall over in a crowd. It’s even worse to fall in a mosh pit. So if you’re having a mosh to Nine Inch Nails or Green Day, make sure you don’t be a dick and pick up those guys who lose track of their feet and hit the deck.
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10.
You’re there to have fun!
Don’t be a spoil sport. All of you have paid a hefty amount to be where you are! Join in with the fancy dress, say hello to a stranger and even hop up on their shoulders. Sing your heart out, dance like mad and just have the best time you possibly can! As long as you’re safe, sensible and stick together there’s no harm in a little fun!
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Image curtosey of Braden Fletcher - Flickr
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Who to catch!
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Reading & Leeds 2013
Undertone reccommends.... Whether you’re watching it from the muddy fields of Brahman Park, from the equally as muddy fields of Richfield Avenue or from your sofa via the streams and videos released online, you’re going to want to know who’s top of the list to see this year.
Image by Marina Chavez - taken from MTV.com
Headliners! Naturally Undertone is in love with this years line up and wow the headliners have some potential right?
best album, Biffy have proved their worth on a massive, energetic UK arena tour, selling out venues across the country.
Green Day open the festival up at Reading, the punk masters made a surprise appearance at last years Reading so this year Leeds aren’t half happy that they’re getting their share.
New album Opposites has received a massive reaction, rated highly by reviewers across magazines, websites and blogs alike. Biffy Clyro are as clean as they come, there aren’t any eccentric theatrics or unnecessary pyrotechnics, they just bring themselves, their equipment and their outstanding talent and put on a show worth watching.
Be sure to check them out, with classics like Basket Case, Minority and American Idiot surely making an appearance alongside those tracks from their recent album trilogy Uno, Dos, Tre, Green Day’s set isn’t about to disappoint. Get yourself to the front of the crowd and if tradition still stands, frontman Billie Joe Armstrong might just get you up on stage! Opening the Leeds leg of the festival are Scottish rock Gods Biffy Clyro. Recently crowed with a shiny Kerrang award for
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Finally Eminem. The real slim shady. Whether you’re a fan or he’s your guilty pleasure, Eminem has some classics that he’ll be bashing out at Reading and Leeds this year. Although the Detroit born rapper hasn’t released a new album since 2010’s Recovery, there is news of a brand new album in the works for release this year so fingers crossed this legendary hip hop artist will bring some new Eminem to the festival
alongside those tracks you get stuck in the back of your head and mutter for hours on end. No doubt the Real Slim Shady will be lost amongst those standing up in the crowds. As for the rest of 2013’s R&L line up, it’s hard to
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know where to begin. After much deliberation and arguments in the office, we have complied our top ten list of who to catch at this years Reading and Leeds.
BΔSTILLE London band Bastille have been
taking the UK by storm, their indie/ alternative rock has been in high demand after their fourth single Pompeii reached number 2.
Image from bastillebastille.com
9.
City & Colour
Image by Master of Puppets - Wikipedia Alexisonfire’s Dallas Green brings his flavoursome acoustic folk rock combined with catchy lyrics to the hopefully sunny weekend.
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8
Hawk Eyes
Image taken from hawkeyesmusic.bandpage.com Hawkeyes (nee Chickenhawk) are prepared to launch straight into a clusterfuck of heavy riffs, more riffs and even more baddass riffs! Not a band to miss at this years festival that’s for sure.
7
Frank Turner
Ex-punk Frank Turner combines catchy, intelligent lyrics with a unique guitar-based sound. Since playing the Olympic Opening Ceremony last year, he’s taking music, and hopefully your festival, by storm.
Image byManxStef - wikipedia
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6
System of a Down
It seems R&L is picking those back of hiatus’ this year. Although they’ve been back on the scene for nearly 3 years, it’s nice to have System back on British soil. The ‘Chop Suey’ band will be sure to rock your socks off in their ruthless and
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energetic set.
Fall Out Boy Back from a hiatus with a slap in the face, Fall Out Boy are ready to unleash their taste of pop-punk onto eager punters catching them this weekend.
Image taken from FallOutBoy.com
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4
Nine Inch Nails Trent Reznor and this years band are back. After returning from a four year hiatus last year, Nine Inch Nails are returning to Reading and Leeds with the promise of a new album in September. Maybe we’ll catch some of those new tracks alongside those we love.
Image by Rob Sheridan
3
We Are The In Crowd
Light hearted pop-punk all the way from Poughkeepsie, New York. We Are The In Crowd have those infectious lyrics and poppy hooks to get your weekend started!
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2
Alkaline Trio
Emotional punk influenced rock without being self-involved. Just what you need really to make your Reading and Leeds badass.
1
Kodaline
Image by Jonathan Weiner
Kodaline are a four-piece alt rock band from Dublin, their soft rock sound propelled them to the Irish Album Chart’s No1 spot and are set to take the next year by storm
Image from Kodaline Facebook
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Essential Survival Girls & Festival Toiletry Words: Katie Pathiaki
Images: Jackie & Dennis - Flickr
Admit it, the only time you wish you were a boy is at a festival. It's so unfair that they can pee anywhere, but us girls have to find a little bush and squat in the nettles (that happens, ouch.) or face the dreaded festival toilets, and yes, they are as bad as you have heard. So here are a few top tips on keeping your bum off of the scum.Finally, our dreams have come true! There is a way for a girl to wee like a man; many ways in fact! The first is for the sophisticated festival-goer, the girl who doesn't mind spending a lot on urinating comfortably. The 'She Wee' comes in at a pricey £10 but does the job, no germs, no mess. Made from polypropylene, this plastic tube is not going to break in your bag, which is a plus. Although £10 is a bit pricey for some, so there is a similar alternative for those short on funds. 'GoGirl' is $12.99(£8.50) and made of silicone, so it makes a seal against your body which means that there is almost no chance of accidental spillage if you are awkwardly aiming at a toilet. However, £8.50 can still be considered as too much to spend on an easy way to wee. So the P-Mate is available for £3.99, and there's three in a pack. Unfortunately, the P-Mate is made from cardboard and therefore, is non reusable, meaning that if you need a quick wee whilst waiting for your favourite band, you would have to buy a few packs for the weekend, making it an expensive investment. If not, there’s always the Cup and Throw. The free way to pee, it's exactly what it says on the tin. Either that, or brave the bogs. You can find all of the products above at their respective websites http://www.shewee.com http://www.go-girl.com/ http://www.pmate.co.uk/
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Why your parents have a better music taste than you I’d like to begin with a hypothetical scenario. Imagine an alien arriving on Earth with no knowledge of humanity or its culture. If you were then to play that alien a selection of chart music from the 50s-80s, covering artists like Queen, The Beach Boys, Bon Jovi, The Beatles and The Kinks, the alien would be able to identify that each of the songs were by a different artist. Now, if you were to play that same alien some of the big pop hits post-millennium, it’d be a different story. I find that even I have trouble telling music from the likes of Beyonce, Rihanna, Rita Ora, Jessie J and Nick Minaj apart. This suggests that there is a fundamental problem with modern chart music: it all sounds exactly the same. I am aware that seems an odd claim to make in a music magazine, but it’s true. The fact is that the music our parents liked was an awful lot better than the music that record labels pump out these days. Even from the more alternative end of the musical spectrum, there’s a growing homogeny. It seems like every pop-punk band sings with the same blink-182 inspired accent and a huge proportion of the ‘hard rock’ bands around prefer producing a wall of noise to actually writing lyrics. To prove this, ask a non-Slipknot fan to pick out more than about three words from any given song. It’s difficult. Obviously, there are exceptions. The influence of Frank Turner, and the more mainstream Ed Sheeran, have brought guitar-based singer-songwriters firmly back into the sphere of cool, whilst Lady GaGa can hardly be called similar to anyone. In fact, she’s probably more similar to that hypothetical alien from earlier. Unfortunately for us though, as music consumers, these unique acts are few and far between and, overwhelmingly, modern music is an amorphous mush of
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uninspired, generic noises. The problem is not with musicians and artists, but with the business brains of record label executives and the consumers foolish enough to buy into the repetition they produce. We all remember the dance group Cascada. Their 2006 album ‘Everytime We Touch’ sold well over two million copies worldwide, despite virtually every song being virtually identical. The fact that audiences seemed largely unbothered by this represents a sense of diminished expectations around music. One reviewer said that “after nearly an hour of the same repetitive beat, one’s senses can become a little jaded,” but most were broadly positive as to the overall appeal of the album, even though it only really had one song with a series of different lyrics. This isn’t a special case either. In fact, it’s how virtually every pop album goes these days. So when something as brilliant as Ed Sheeran’s ‘+’ comes along, it’s rightly heralded as genius. That album covers a huge range of musical styles and really shows Sheeran’s versatility. Compare that to any of Rihanna’s last two or three albums and it becomes even more impressive. The success of ‘+’, selling more than 1.5 million units in the UK, should’ve theoretically triggered an increase in more versatile, creative music, but this simply hasn’t happened. Perhaps that’s because Rihanna’s ‘Loud’, released the year before, sold around 2 million units and featured 2 singles certified Platinum by the BPI. The fact is that the standard formula followed by most pop music is a formula that gets indisputable results and, as long as it continues to get those results, there is no incentive for the industry to change. Music has always been about making money, but audiences used to be more accepting of differences and creativity. You’d be forgiven for thinking that the fragmented, track-by-track mentality of modern music consumption would
encourage quality. Surely a free stream of a single by an unknown artist would encourage variety more than the days where you had to walk down the high street to buy a CD? Bizarrely though, with the rise of tailored playlist services that cater to personal tastes, people tend to retreat into their own little musical bubble. They listen to the music they like and nothing else. And so, from the point of view of those trying to break into the music industry, the best way in is to be exactly the same as everyone else, which is an incredibly depressing thought. What has happened to the days of our parents when the charts were full of variety? There were always trends and popular genres, but everything was at least different enough to make things interesting. It seems, though, that modern consumers and labels are perfectly happy with the status quo. Our parents had entire eras of their life defined by popular music, mirroring their struggles. In the 1960s and 70s, bands like The Sex Pistols and The Rolling Stones shaped a generation. Us? We have a woman gyrating her hips and singing about whips and chains. Worldwide, she sold well over four million units. Words: Tom Beasley Images: Ryan Hall @ frogbillgo.deviantart.com & freestockphotos.com
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Blast from the Past Imagine, it's the summer of 2003, we are all ten years younger, a bit fitter and very eager to get out into the sizzling sun. (Sun? It must be 2003) Whilst catching the rays, you lie back, enjoying the current number one "It's ya girl, Bee, it's ya boy, young", Beyonce featuring Jay Z. This track has been described as "History in the making", and how right they were. 'Crazy in love'
was the track that launched Beyonce's solo career away from the group Destiny's Child after they announced a hiatus in 2002. Since her number one hit with Jay Z, Beyonce has released four studio albums all peaking at number 1 in the US charts. Her first album, released in 2003, sold 118 million copies worldwide. Beyonce was also the first woman to headline Glastonbury for 20 years, and has won an incredible seventeen Grammys. Therefore its hardly surprising that Beyonce has been called 'the best selling music artist of all time', having kick started her solo career with “Crazy Love� almost a decade ago. So what happened to all of the other artists who made number one in the charts of 2003? Many are simply forgotten, such as David Sneddon who sung Stop Living The Lie. Some became one hit wonders, classics that we all grew to love. These bands only managed one or two classics however before either breaking up, or falling silent for what seems like eternity. R.Kelly lost the keys to his Ignition and Gareth Gates became a Spirit in the Sky as they both disappeared off of the face of the earth. Subsequent tracks by R.Kelly failed to reach the attention of the nation, although the rapper has released several new albums since 2003. Gates released one album, 'Pictures of the Other Side' in 2007 which only charted at a peak of 23 in the UK album charts. The small minority managed to make it through to 2013, while others could only try. Christina Aguilera could not be held down after her album 'Back to Basics', released in 2006, climbed to number 1 in the album chart, as did her sixth album 'Bionic' which became available in 2010. How did she manage this amount of success after so many others had dissolved away?
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The answer is: she adapted to the times. 'Bionic' used a range of pop, electro pop, and synth pop to appeal to the evolved audience of 2010. Artists such as Skrillex, Deadmau5, and Knife Party were nowhere to be seen ten years ago, but 2013 has been called the year of dubstep, dance and electropop. It's almost like Christina predicted the future and adapted her music to the times. Think of it this way, Busted held two number one spots in 2003 with 'Crashed the Wedding' and 'You Said No' before their split in 2005. Now, imagine they reunite, sure we would all love to hear the oldies weloved like 'Year 3000' and see them live to feel a bit nostalgic, but if Busted released a new track in this era, they would not fit in at all. Gone are the times of boy bands singing cute cliché songs about never growing up. Current band 'The Wanted' tried calling themselves a 'ladband' in a desperate attempt to divert from this 2003 culture and appeal to this generation's audience. After Christina Aguilera’s discovery, however, she seemed to slope downhill. In 2010, 'Burlesque' created by and starring the singer premiered in cinemas. The film received less than positive reviews "cramps, clichéd and wastes a talented cast" (Rotten Tomato) This lead to a bad round of sales for her next album, 'Lotus' in 2011 which peaked at a disappointing 28 in the album chart. Christina did not give up, though, and lasted four seasons as a judge on the US Voice before disappearing, just like the rest. Did all the chart toppers of 2003 eventually disappear, with one exception of Beyonce?
The Black Eyed Peas have had 4 albums since their chart topper in 2003. 'Elephunk' sold more than 9 million copies worldwide and went platinum six times in the UK. 'Monkey Business' went platinum three times and was awarded a Grammy for best rap performance by a duo or group. 2005 saw the ''Peas'' most dramatic change from tracks on 'Monkey Business' with singles such as 'Don't Phunk With My Heart', 'Boom Boom Pow' and 'I Got A Feeling’, tracks which went on to feature on 'The E.N.D' in 2009. The group merged into this community of ever changing genres and saw themselves at the top of the dance charts with 'The Beginning' in 2010. Group leader, Will.I.Am, is determined not to fade away as he collaborates with popular artists of today. Collaborations include '#thatPOWER' featuring Justin Bieber, 'Check it Out' with Nicki Minaj, and 'Fall Down' featuring off the rails star Miley Cyrus. Will.i.am's electronic beats fit right in with today's chart music, and many of his songs are played in bars and clubs every night. So that is the answer, just like a chameleon, artists must adapt to survive in their current climates. It begs the question of who, from the charts of today, will still be making music in ten years time.
Words: Katie Pathiaki Images: http://beyonce.com/ http://wll.i.am/W disney wikia
Surprisingly, one band has made it successfully through this ten year period. Similarly to Christina, his band has adapted their music style throughout the years. 2003 was not The E.N.D for them.
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Reviews
JAY Z - Magna Carta… Holy Grail
Ashley Chalmers
The titan of hip hop, a god amongst the greats. Jay Zeesus is back with Magna Carta… Holy Grail – his twelfth solo studio album. Hype, buzz, hysteria, generated in a generation where Jay Z is more of a household name than a religious prophet, MCHG has been hastily awaited by fans on a global scale. His business strategies are second to none: allowing Samsung Galaxy customers to download his album exclusively on the fourth of July pocketing him a whopping $5million before MCHG’s release, making music history on a historic day. It may seem superficial, talking about his business, however it is evident in this latest record that he has no shame in doing so, so why not? Themes; we’re talking fame, money, drugs and the life of luxury, juxtaposed by a dislike for it all, the pressure, the paps, the fans. “Fuck hashtags and retweets” preaches Jay Z in ‘Tom Ford’, “Fuck the fame, keep cheating on me” in ‘Holy Grail’ feat Justin Timberlake… it seems that Jay Z, despite the fame; despite the status, feels a need to express the cautionary tales that come with fame, or as Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe describes it as “Humanising fame”. Incorporating the names of those fallen from fame – Kurt Cobain, for example: it is showing that despite the riches and the glory, it really is a dance with death – it can make you or break you. But when listening to it in order, from ‘Holy Grail’ to next track ‘Picasso Baby’, gloating about his wants and his art collection, it’s difficult to
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Reviews see whether or not the thoughts expressed about Jay Z’s love hate relationship with the fame are genuine. Featured in interviews on the back of the album release, Jay Z uncovered the hardships growing up, seeing so many things “on the streets”, the highs and the lows of his journey to the top. Maybe that is why the album appears a little bipolar, for his richness comes both materialistically and in life experience. A ‘drugs’ theme is prevalent throughout the record. The chorus in ‘Tom Ford’ refers to “Molly”, the street name for pure MDMA. Although he doesn’t “Pop Molly”, Jay Z “Rocks Tom Ford”, again tapping into that materialistic edge that comes with the fame. On the flip side of this, is the ability he has to bypass the drugs and be the best, to deserve to wear the labels. ‘BBC’s chorus is extremely catchy, and then you realise you’re singing “D boy drug dealer look, Billionaire, from the Coco leaf to the farmers, to the polo fleece to the bombers”. Politically fueled; what appears to be a catchy tune is one huge wake up call about the reality of the drug business. In terms of production, MCHG is an absolute dream. It sounds huge, the influences from Pharrell Williams and Timbaland in terms of production have completely run away with the sound of the album. Hitting the record with 90’s hip hop influence in ‘Picasso Baby’, Timbaland comes into his own, bringing a new dynamic that we’ve yet to see from him. You can really hear Pharrell’s’ influence in ‘BBC’, with the Latino spice that we’ve seen before in N.E.R.Ds ‘She Wants To Move’. Justin Timberlake’s vocals featuring in ‘Holy Grail’ are unlike anything we’ve heard from him before. His vocals aren’t as polished as they may seem on his latest The 20/20 Experience, they are raw and jagged, perfectly in keeping with the dark theme of the song. I feel his part really sets the tone and the benchmark for the rest of the album to follow. Then he’s featured on ‘Heaven’, which has an almost etherial sound. His falsetto, raspy, yet angellike; a juxtaposition to the poverty and anguish portrayed in the lyrics laid down by Jay Z. ‘Heaven’
is a standout track – you’re made to stop and really feel it. And then of course there’s Beyoncé. One of the world’s greatest power couples, it is only fitting that she appears on ‘Part I (On The Run)’. He refers to her as his ‘Eve’ from the Biblical story of Genesis; “Touch a n**** where his rib at, I click clat”. Eve was made from Adam’s rib, and Jay Z has taken that and turned it into almost what is a warning, that if you take a shot at his woman, he’ll “click clat”… shoot back. Her vocals are heavenly and intriguing and are a great contrast to his harsher style. Magna Carta… Holy Grail is an album that needs an open mind. Once you get past its up and down nature it really is a great one to listen to. Each song is diverse, full of colour and life that can only be taken from his earlier experiences, at the height of fame; as a father and a husband. You can feel the influences from all those who worked on the album and it appears as though each person had taken a different direction and tried something new. It’s well worth a listen, just to see how each artist contributes to the full shape of the record.
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Reviews Hugh Laurie ‘Didn’t it Rain’
Chris Fay No doubt there are a few people for whom this album will be their first glance at jazz or blues and there are few better ways to gain an appreciation than with Hugh Laurie’s work. Coming off his fame as Dr. House, there are bound to be a few fans of his interested in his music. This is his second album, and it immediately feels spicier than the last. The sultry tone of “St. Louis Blues” conjures images of a New Orleans Club, almost every track feels as though it would be perfectly at home in a 1920’s speak-easy. This sets a great standard for the rest of the album with “Junkers Blues” gifting us with a softer toned Bob Dylan’s “Get Stoned”. The spice is knocked up a notch when the album reaches the sensational and sensual ‘Kiss of Fire’. The title track, “Didn’t it Rain?” bounces along with vigor and energy. It is next to impossible to sit still with this song in your ears, no matter where you are. Things slow down with “Careless Love”, a tender and sleepy song song that warms your blood but brings proceedings down a step, leading perfectly to “One For My Baby”. If this is your first taste of Jazz or Blues, then you cant go wrong. Definitely a must.
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Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros
Ashley Chalmers The ten piece Californian band have been extensively touring the UK with their latest material, following the triumph of their record ‘Home’ from album Up and Below. Their sensual, vintage sound is nothing short of a sixties tambourine fueled sonic wave of happiness, and their latest album does not disappoint. Perfect for a layabout in a heatwave; it oozes with groovy summer haze.
Think Beach Boys and The Boat That Rocked (or Pirate Radio if you’re not in the UK). ‘Lets Get High’, the second track on the album is filled with cheer, energy and vibrance, brought together with the unity of group vocals (and there’s ten of them, so it’s quite spectacular). Lead singer Alex Ebert, has the perfect complementary tones that fit with the whole vintage vibe, as does Jade Castrinos, which are beautifully showcased in ‘Two’, where the two pair up yet again for another Sonny and Cher-esque collaboration seen before with their anthem ‘Home’. Love and groove is the order of the day with their latest record, whether it is upbeat in the form of ‘Lets Get High’, or mellow and trippy in ‘Please!’, it really hits you in the heart. There’s a sense of togetherness, friendship and happiness that exudes from their music, so whether you’re on your own and need a bit of company, or are with your mates enjoying the Summer season, this album is just the one for you.
Reviews
Queens Of The Stone Age
‘Like Clockwork’
Sofie Kranstz Queens of the Stone Age’s sixth and latest studio album …Like Clockwork features many rock legend cameos such as Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys, Dave Grohl of The Foo Fighters, Dean Fertita of The Waxwings, The Raconteurs and The Dead Weather along with many other well-known people in the world of modern rock and roll music. Former bassist, Nick Oliveri, also returned for the recording of … Like Clockwork after his allegations of domestic abuse. Frontman Josh Homme also experienced a personal near-death experience, arrests, loss and so much more over that six year time span and was ready to be back in action with Queen of the Stone Age’s most recent release. With that being said, …Like Clockwork has several variety sounds that were brought into it by the many featured guests. The album’s first track ‘Keep Your Eyes Peeled’ starts off in silence then bursts into Oliveri’s steady bass and drum-driven beat. ‘Keep Your Eyes Peeled’ reminds me of a warm, hazy, lazy Sunday at the beach. It is definitely a tune to listen to when one wants to relax. Towards the end, the song picks up a faster pace then goes back to its original calming and serene state. The second track ‘I Sat by the Ocean’ is another serene but yet upbeat track that straddles the line between desert rock and power pop embedded with catchy riffs towards the ending. ‘The Vampyre of Time and Memory’ is a different transition from the first two songs as it is much slower, smoother and more vulnerable track. The bluesy guitar in the background compliments the stable and simple drum beat along with the soulful and powerful piano ballad as well as Josh Homme’s easygoing and laidback vocals. In contrast to ‘The Vampyre of Time and Memory’, ‘If I Had a Tail’ is a more filthy and dirtier track. The dreamlike sound in the background followed by yet another simple drum beat compliments Josh Homme’s provocative lyrical theme in this song. The guitar riffs are distorted and a bit repetitive but all together, it works. ‘My God is A Sun’ at first reminds me of 70’s rock and roll music and a tune to play in the background during surfing season. It definitely
has a summer feel to it with strong material such as the heavy strumming of the guitars. The chorus has a catchy hard rock sound that can get stuck in your head for days. The song increases intensity as it goes on and ends almost the same way ‘My God is A Sun’ started. ‘Kalopsia’ is a much dreamier and somewhat haunting track to start with, but picks up to an angrier sound during the chorus. The verses are quiet and more settled and surprises the listener with a psychedelic and fiery tone. The finale is somewhat drastic, but short. Josh Homme screams a little bit until a sharp guitar screech finalise ‘Kalopsia’. Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails is featured in the track ‘Fairweather Friends’. He is somewhat hidden in the background. The piano piece in the background for ‘Fairweather Friends’ is the most memorable bit along with the fuzzy and distorted guitars. The guitar solo towards the ending is sweet and short and the song cuts off to the next track. The next track from …Like Clockwork is personally, the centerpiece of the entire album. ‘Smooth Sailing’ is somewhat jazzy and definitely a song to get funky to when out dancing. The guitars are tasty and have a bit of a robotic sound to it. Towards the end, the song intensifies and you can hear bees buzzing which gives the listener somewhat a trance-like feel until the song transitions to ‘I Appear Missing’. ‘I Appear Missing’ is a less catchy and poppy sound. The sound reminds me of a mid 2000’s hard rock band. Josh Homme’s vocals for ‘I Appear Missing’ is the most different in this track compared to the other ones. The music alternates between a gentle, lullaby riff and a more distorted and faster sound. This is definitely one of the stars on all of …Like Clockwork. The title track is peaceful at first and then explodes to a jazzy atmosphere. Josh Homme’s vocals are dreamy and ghost-like which mixes along with the bluesy chaos at the end. After that chaos, the song goes back into its dreamy and peaceful state and finishes beautifully. In all conclusion, …Like Clockwork has a lot of variety to it with all the different musicians featured in Queen of the Stone Age’s recent release. Usually it may sound like a bloody disaster with different cameos but they did not outshine the true sound of Queens of the Stone Age. It may not be their best record either, but I feel as though this record is a perfect example of making something great out of awful experiences and circumstances, given what the band has been through the past six years.
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Reviews Kodaline
‘In A Perfect World’ Katrina Quick Irish folk band Kodaline have taken the UK by an emotional storm with their debut album, In a Perfect World. Following the release of their heart wrenching first single “All I Want”, Kodaline have shown through their record that one of their biggest strengths is their versatility. Something of a masterpiece, this album carries all the tear jerking abilities of Coldplay whilst also managing to incorporate melodies similar to Oasis. “High Hopes” is a favourite, with heartfelt lyrics, as well as “One Day” and “After the Fall” – all invigorating singles. At times melancholy and then joyful, the brighter tunes remind me of Vampire Weekend and their ability to create a holiday vibe, with the sadder singles similar to Bon Ivor. If you’re a fan of any of the above, give this a listen.
Jimmy Eat World
‘Damage’
Elly Rewcastle. No matter what music you’re into, the chances are that you’ve heard of Jimmy Eat World. Their flavoursome and angsty emotive rock broke onto the music scene back in 1994 with their debut album Static Prevails. Since then Jimmy Eat World have never failed at producing catchy, poppy hooks that get stuck in your head for hours and hours on end such as 2001’s ‘Bleed American’ which gave us the classic tune ‘The Middle’. “Damage” is certainly a revitalising splash on 2013’s album listings. Picking up from 2010’s slightly floppy ‘Invented’ that failed to provide a track with the same energy and force found in Jimmy’s previous releases. “Damage” however just has the right amount of flare to bring back the Jimmy we love. Lead single “I Will Steal You Back” and title track ‘Damage’ are notably infectious, with catchy lyrics and a nostalgic feel when it comes to those poppy hooks we know and love. “Damage” features heavily strummed acoustic guitars with steady huge ballads like “Lean” and “Please Say No”. There are a couple of iffy tracks that are still lagging behind from the ‘Invented’ batch like “You Were Good” which, amongst its slightly heartbreaking tones, sounds like it’s only been tracked the once in a rush to get the album finished.
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Reviews
Matt Corby ‘Resolution EP’ Ashley Chalmers The third EP from sickeningly talented Aussie, Matt Corby, is set to take you on a tour of what it means to be overwhelmed in a place far from home. Inspired by living in a run down apartment in Hollywood – a place fixated on a materialistic culture, the Resolution EP reaches the corners and depths of a lonely soul, throwing in musical gems in it’s destructive path. Resolution perfectly showcases Matt’s versatility – from bluesy rock and roll inspired ‘Evangelist’ to the wonderfully soft and sensual ‘Lay You Down’, it is a revelry for the ears. The first track ‘Resolution’ portrays the journey of change, and the appreciation for those who carry you through it. Lyrics “You said don’t lie so I made the truth, seems like I lie to even you,” hits home the realisation that we all forget who we truly are and who really matters, but it take strength and courage to deal with our mistakes. With the fingerpicking acoustic guitar, matched with the tribal-esque drum beats, it has an Aussie feel and influence. Matched with his soulful and passionate vocals, it is jam packed with texture, however still carrying through the intimate connection between
himself and you, the listener. ‘Lay You Down’ is beautifully slow and melodic, where his vocal abilities are the star of the show. Much like songs ‘Big Eyes’ and ‘Untitled’ from his Into the Flame EP, it is the perfect break between faster paced triumphs that surge through and knock the socks from your feet. ‘Evangelist’ could possibly be the most energetic song from his entire back catalogue. Taking influence from his previous ‘Souls A’Fire’, with the American blues and soul – slow, gritty and sensual, it turns into a more sinister break down and then explodes into this inferno of angst, with rocketing guitars, heart-attack drum beat and soulfully lost vocal tricks that would give a rock band a run for their money. The song mellows out into a serene, slower paced section and then back into this adrenaline fueled finale. It’s a masterpiece, a kaleidoscope of genres, thrashed together to create this extremely personal, yet awe inspiring work of art. I have nothing but great things to say about 22 year old, Matty, so far. But if I was to split hairs, then I’d say we need a full feature album. I just can’t get enough, and I think you would all feel the same.
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Reviews Disclosure
The Flaming Lips ‘The Terror’ Jack Mckeever. If Wayne Coyne’s amphetamine psychosis has finally caught up with him then “The Terror” is one nightmarish realisation. It’s a paranoid, unnerving and terrifying record which finds The Flaming Lips largely scared by their own shadows. But The Lips’ music has always been otherworldly and to some extent, beyond comprehension. “The Terror” can be added to the already tall list of Flaming Lips albums that work majestically to carry you to another place and another mindset, even if this time around it’s a dark ride. The heartache of “Try To Explain” is desperate and lonely, the schizophrenia and paranoia of the circulating drones and freakish loops on “You Are Alone” is spine tingling, and the fragile doom of “Butterfly, How Long it takes to Die” is perhaps the most negative perception of life Coyne has ever written. They save the best for last though, on the intense “Always There… In Our hearts”, in which Coyne asserts things like “always there in our hearts, there is evil that wants out.” The song builds to a pugilistic and soaring climax, whilst still keeping its bleak tone. It’s not a pleasant journey, but it’s one that will completely engulf you.
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Jack Mckeever
‘Settle’
The Lawrence brothers (that make up Disclosure) have exercised a knowledge and understanding of old school Garage and House music well beyond their years since the release of their earliest singles. Whilst “Settle” largely does away with many of the old school vibes in favour of a more poppy trajectory, the brilliantly funky likes of “When a Fire starts to Burn” and the bass- driven powerhouse that is “Stimulation” are good enough to be considered in circulation for underground DJs even. Songs like “White Noise” and “You and Me” are two of the finest cuts to be accompanied by vocal guest spots, but “Confess to Me” featuring Jessie Ware towers above the rest, it’s grinding but sensual, a forward motion and ridiculously danceable. Unfortunately the fast- paced bangers are balanced out by the relatively lazy bounce of “Defeated No More” and the lovelorn Jamie Woon- featuring “January”, both of which will probably fail to sway much of a reaction out of you. Overall, “Settle” is a well- rounded statement of intent, but whether they decide to pursue success or stand by the love and appreciation of old school House that they obviously have remains to be seen.
Demi Lovato ‘Demi’
Abigail Brown
After two years, Demi Lovato has released her fourth studio album Demi. What is great about her songs is that they show raw emotion and are often reflective of her own life. ‘Heart Attack’ was the first song from the new album and has been an instant hit in the charts. It is not the best track on the album but is a good tune. The second track ‘Made in the USA’ is an upbeat track in which the lyrics tell a story of a strong and epic love. Lovato goes on to sing that she wants the whole world to know about the relationship, as their love will survive it. “No matter what the people say, I know that we’ll never break.” Being used by a guy who chases a girl just to let her go is the theme of ‘Without the Love. “Yeah you put me in the spotlight, just to steal the show.” Which is a stand out track on the album. ‘Neon Lights’ and ‘Two Pieces’ both resemble the shambles that was Demi Lovato’s poppier and manufactured second album and ‘Fire Starter’ are a total opposite to the image we have of the Camp Rock star. Lovato’s recent troubles are not kept in the dark and a lot of themes involve self-help and over coming barriers, much like the ambient and soft “Nightingale”. ‘In Case’ is a perfect ballad for Lovato’s voice whilst “Really Don’t Care” featuring Cher Lloyd and “Something That We’re Not” are both a surprising uplift to the album, tracks to dance around your living room to. Closing tracks “Never Been hurt”, “Shouldn’t Come Back” and the incredibly emotional “Warrior” bring the album to a close nicely. Each show the power and talent of the singers’ vocals combined with her emotional and heartfelt lyrics which end the album on just the right note.
Reviews
Pet Shop Boys Chris Fay Do you remember ‘Go West’? 1993? Were you born? If the answer to all of those questions is no, then you are in luck. Pet Shop Boys “Electric” is the perfect introduction to this most interesting of duos.
‘Electric’
Especially camp & utilitarian in its flamboyance, the old eurotrash soviet influence is strong with this one. “Love is a Bourgeois Construct” standing out as faux-Marxist dance anthem and closing your eyes lets “Axis” send you to the neon streets of Berlin, London or Tokyo in a digital haze of electric energy. Approachably Avant-garde and progressively retro, “Electric” is an album that pulses with a unique energy that is simply unmistakable. Each track generates a feverish buzz that forces you to drop everything you are doing and contemplate dancing around your living room/bedroom or even whilst you queue in Asda as your headphones are probably louder than the intercom system. Buy this album. Don’t let this one go unnoticed.
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Reviews
Selena Gomez ‘Stars Dance’ Alys Penfold While on hiatus from music to focus on her film career, Former Disney star Selena Gomez was inspired by the soundtrack from her latest film ‘Spring Breakers’ and channeled it into the upbeat and electric songs of her new album, Stars Dance. Taking influence from artists such as Skrillex, Cliff Martinez, Britney Spears and Gwen Stefani, Gomez has broken away from her band ‘The Scene’ after three successful studio albums which she said were a lot more “processed, but not in a negative way”. Come & Get It was the first single released from the new album, and really set the tone for what was to come. The track is heavily Bollywoodinspired and the video contains some kick-ass choreography. Each track has a very different beat to it, but nevertheless keeps the listener, literally, on their feet. It only slows down for “Love Will Remember” which was leaked on the internet about a week before the album release, and is particularly interesting due to a voicemail at the start of the song which is rumoured to be from Gomez’ exbeau Justin Bieber. First track from the album, Birthday, is the one that Selena says she is most excited for her fans to hear, as she thinks it will surprise them. The repetitive and almost sexual nature of the lyrics give off a similar vibe to Rihanna’s Birthday Cake from the Talk That Talk album.
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The second and tenth tracks of Stars Dance, Slow Down and Undercover, were both produced by synth-pop band, The Cataracs who have also produced for artists such as Dev, 50 Cent and Far East Movement. Gomez experiments with different licks and melodies in both songs, and Slow Down stands out due to its several beat changes. Title track ‘Stars Dance’, is slightly softer than the other tracks. Selena herself says that the song is “beautiful and sensual, but still exudes confidence” through the lyrics ‘I can make the Stars Dance, light up the moon.’ Travelling in South America has particularly influenced three songs on the album; Like A Champion, Come & Get It and Save The Day. Selena’s latino side comes out with background Spanish guitar, and you can really physically feel each song. B.E.A.T., like Birthday, gives off the shock factor. Is this really Selena, you will ask yourself. As its name suggests, this song is all about the beat. This song is heavily influenced by urban, and even has hints of Will.I.Am who could sum up the song in one word; DOPE! Each song is different in beat and melody, and Gomez’ vocal abilities suit dance music down to a tee. She may not be the best singer in the world, but this is definitely the most impressive album of hers and I think fans and new listeners will be thoroughly surprised by her new sound. I can see every single one of these tracks setting clubs alight everywhere, as you cannot help but move your body in some kind of way to these fun, positive and confident songs.
Reviews
Calling All Astronauts ‘Post Modern Conspiracy’ Katie Pathiaki Has classic rock stopped floating your boat? Then look no further than Calling All Astronauts with their new album Post Modern Conspiracy to perk up your head banging skull. With rock, drum and base, punk and dubstep mash ups in each track, “Alternative” doesn’t even cover this new generation band! Opening Track “Someone Like You” starts with a blend of guitar and electronic “zapping” noises, which is unusual enough, until vocalist David B grumbles in with his vintage rock voice. Following tracks “Freaks” carries on in a similar way to the former track. Track 3, “What’s so Good About” holds a very different aura to the previous two songs. Starting with very aborigine-style instrumental, the song bursts into an electronic mix of synths and drums, confusing the genre even further. The lyrics give little help, “What’s so good about hanging out with soap stars?” addressing political and personal issues, the genre would sway toward a punk movement, but the backing music contradicts this completely! It’s exciting not knowing what genre could pop up next, when “Scensters” starts, with a poppunk/pop-rock guitar intro kicks up, but collides
with the angry growls of the vocalist, verging on heavy metal behavior. Track five “Politicized” welcomes us with dubstep, which is very unexpected, as the track begins. The dubstep joins with drum and bass, and clashes into David B’s vocals. The whole song sounds very Prodigy-influenced with a lot of political scrutiny being thrown about in every verse. Nothing is ever predictable as “Simple Man” begins, with an 80’s feel, “Eye of God”, while chanting ‘I am the anti-Christ’, gives off goth rock impression, and “Faith In Your Cause” is heavily reliant on drum and bass to push the track along. There’s something new in every track for lovers of all genres, especially goth rock. The album’s 14 tracks will keep you guessing while their lyrics focusing on the decline of society will give you something to think about.
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SEE YOU NEXT MONTH!!!