CONRAD KEELY – ‘Original Machines’ (Superball) [7]

Whether or not it’s a discovery you end up savouring, solo albums provide a fascinating insight into the musical private lives of your favourite bands. Written on tour with Texan avant-garde rockers …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead, Original Machines has the haphazard charm of a playground kickabout with Conrad Keely’s heroes. Ostensibly a journey around the world in 24 songs, the album hops from J-pop through Richard Ashcroft miserablism and ‘90s shoegaze to George Harrison sitar envy like it makes complete sense. Which, peering into the lopped-off boiled egg melange of Keely’s head, it probably does.

FOR FANS OF: Ride, Ryan Adams, Elbow, The Lemonheads

www.facebook.com/conradkeelymusic

(this review was originally published in rock sound magazine issue 209 Feb 2016)

IDOLS OF APATHY – ‘Life Lessons’ (Self-Release) [7]

Calling themselves ‘tech metallers’ to stand out from the current glut of metalcore bands, Essex sextet Idols Of Apathy certainly display plenty of technical ability, but may need a little longer to develop a truly individual voice. This second EP fuses Sikth-style shapeshifting with the highly modern bombast of Bring Me The Horizon, and every growled phrase hits hard and low. From Jack Dervish’s impressively robust vocal to a not one, not two, but three-pronged guitar attack, IOA are meeting the mark, no question (especially on opener Bipolar), but pushing even harder could reveal the potential to exceed it.

FOR FANS OF: Bring Me The Horizon, Polar, Sikth

www.facebook.com/IdolsOfApathy

(this review was originally published in rock sound magazine issue 208 Jan 2016)

SMOKEY BASTARD – ‘Back To The Drawing Room’ (Bomber Music) [5]

The schizophrenic Balkan folk intro on opener Archipelago could have you scrabbling for the off button within seconds, but persevere and you’ll find more to savour on Smokey Bastard’s latest album. Ostensibly the Reading sextet’s attempt to break out from the Celtic punk scene, Back To The Drawing Room aims to do for gruff punk what System Of A Down did for nu-metal. You can imagine them being a killer festival band – it’s nothing if not original and the punk heart choruses bleed true – but, for God’s sake, don’t put it on while driving or you’ll crash the fucking car.

FOR FANS OF: Flogging Molly, Against Me!, Gogol Bordello

www.smokeybastard.com

(this review was originally published in rock sound magazine issue 207 Dec 2015)

THE MANIC SHINE – ‘Trial And Triumph’ (Pledge) [6]

Previous The Manic Shine albums have showcased a talented band with bags of ideas, but a somewhat scattergun approach when settling on a musical direction. On third full-length Trial And Triumph, the London quartet have kept the prog meandering to a minimum, and settled on a sound that sits somewhere between Audioslave, the latter day grunge of Fuel, and the big riff danceability of The Music (remember them!?). A few lightweight lyrics aside, this is a punchy 38 minute ride, with singer and guitarist Oz coming off like a less histrionic Perry Farrell, and while not revolutionary, it’s certainly diverting enough.

FOR FANS OF: Audioslave, Black Stone Cherry, Jane’s Addiction

www.facebook.com/themanicshine

(this review was originally published in rock sound magazine issue 207 Dec 2015)

DINOSAUR PILE-UP – ‘Eleven Eleven’ (So) [8]

This third Dinosaur Pile-Up album is the first in the Leeds trio’s history not to feature their one constant member Matt Bigland on every instrument. A team effort at last, album opener 11:11 rams this point emphatically home – its tick-tick-boom dynamics framing a tsunami-rivalling central riff. The paucity of fresh ideas occasionally apparent on 2013’s Nature Nurture has disappeared, and Bigland’s newly limitless melodic ammunition ensures harder-edged tracks (the La Faro-tinged Bad Penny) remain eminently hummable, while mellower ones (Might As Well) still have stickleback spines for defence. A skillfully rendered blast of modern grunge, and well worth your time.

FOR FANS OF: Fighting With Wire, Nine Black Alps, Ash

www.dinosaurpileup.com

(this review was originally published in rock sound magazine issue 206 Nov 2015)

EXPOSURE: MODERN PAIN – Stabbing The Lone Star State Into US Hardcore’s Heat Map

FOR FANS OF: Trash Talk, The Jesus Lizard, Obliterations
FROM: Dallas, USA
RELEASE: Peace Delusions (Album, Bridge 9. Out September 04)
TOUR: You heard the man. Soon!

HOW DOES A TEXAS BAND CATCH THE EYE OF A BOSTON HARDCORE LABEL LIKE BRIDGE 9?
Says guitarist Jay Chary:
“Honestly I have no idea! We were on tour, getting ready to sleep after a show, and they emailed asking if we wanted to do a record. We got back, rented a practice room and started writing!”

YOU MUST BE EXCITED TO FINALLY SHARE PEACE DELUSIONS WITH THE WORLD…
“Definitely. There was always a difference between us live and on record, so with this LP we wanted that super noisy essence. Some friends said the first mixes sounded like ‘if In Utero was a hardcore album’, which was pretty crazy. We were referencing stuff Steve Albini did in the studio with bands like Failure, Nirvana and The Jesus Lizard though, so I think it captures it.”

ANY PLANS TO COME TO THE UK?
“We’ve been talking. I think the UK has one of the best hardcore scenes right now, so we may even try and pair up with a British band – that would be cool.”

 

www.facebook.com/modernxpain

(this preview was originally published in rock sound magazine issue 205 Oct 2015)

DAMN DICE – ‘The Great Unknown’ (Self-Release) [6]

London quartet Damn Dice may have recently toured with L.A. Guns and cite Skid Row as one of their main influences, but the double-kick work and low-end riffing on The Great Unknown has a meaner, more modern edge reminiscent of Godsmack. It’s vocally that the cock rock comparisons make sense; raucous gang refrains chime in behind Alex Davidson’s clarion tenor throughout. There is some filler, and this solid debut is least interesting at its most conventional, but the hard metal of tracks like What Now? and Driven recall Corabi-era Mötley Crüe, which would be well worth exploring on any follow-up.

FOR FANS OF: Godsmack, Glamour Of The Kill, Mötley Crüe

www.damndice.com

(this review was originally published in rock sound magazine issue 204 Sept 2015)

 

EXPOSURE: THE ARMED – Motor City Deviants Ripping Up The Rulebook

FOR FANS OF: Converge, Harm’s Way, Nine Inch Nails, The Blood Brothers
FROM: Detroit, USA
RELEASE: Untitled (album, No Rest Until Ruin. Out now)
TOUR: Working on UK dates, but “it’ll be on our terms, so it takes a little longer”.

Detroit has a knack of producing bands a decade too soon. Just as The Stooges, MC5 and Death were punk before punk had a name, The Armed are a future hardcore doesn’t even know it needs.

They may number four in their latest photo, but with a revolving door policy on collaborators, don’t assume that’s the settled band. “Sometimes there’s fewer, sometimes there’s more. It’s like Fight Club. We’re not supposed to talk about it,” explains keyboardist Dan Stolarski, somewhat unhelpfully.

The Armed may not want you to know who they are, but they damn well want you to know what they sound like. Every release, including their latest Untitled album, is available for free download – “It allows us to be more selfish, art-wise” – and the internet is peppered with their extraordinary music videos, most notably Polarizer, built entirely of clips from other artists.

“Videos are instantly shareable, and as the album’s about cultural misappropriation, we did that in the most literal way possible. Kanye’s pissed!” He always is. In the meantime, better get on YouTube.

www.facebook.com/thearmed

(this preview was originally published in rock sound magazine issue 204 Sept 2015)

PHILADELPHIA COLLINS – ‘Derp Swervin” (Exploding In Sound) [7]

Ostensibly a side-project for Devin McKnight of Speedy Ortiz and Ovlov drummer, Theo Hartlett, Philadelphia Collins’ fuzzy slacker rock is in a similar ballpark to their day jobs, but they actually sound like they’re having even more fun on Derp Swervin’. Calling in a handful of guest vocalists, including Palehound’s Ellen Kempner and Two Inch Astronaut’s Sam Rosenberg, lends each track a slightly different flavor to the last and makes for a charmingly diverse 18 minutes. Anyone partial to a cereal variety pack combining Ben Folds’ rockier moments, Lemuria fuzz-pop and the lo-fi melancholy of Heatmiser is in serious luck.

FOR FANS OF: Heatmiser, Screaming Females, Desaparecidos

www.philadelphiacollins.bandcamp.com

(this review was originally published in rock sound magazine issue 203 Summer 2015)

 

THE BASTARD SONS – ‘Smoke’ (Kaiju) [7]

As the heavy music family tree divides into sub-genre after sub-genre, sometimes it’s refreshing to encounter a band whose only grand plan is to play balls out, pedal to the metal, rock’n’roll. This York quartet’s debut has an aggression and attack reminiscent of Cancer Bats, but they can swing as well as pummel, and often open up into hooky choruses with a whiff of Appetite For Destruction-era Guns N’ Roses about them. It’s sleazy, lyrically direct, riff-heavy rock made for sinking whiskey, riding motorcycles, and banging heads. Should real life get in the way, perhaps a bit of air guitar?

FOR FANS OF: Cancer Bats, Soil, En Garde, Bullets And Octane

www.thebastardsons.co.uk

(this review was originally published in rock sound magazine issue 203 Summer 2015)