Guillemots - Get Over It

The first thing that strikes me with this is the the retro feel to it. It sounds very 80s, electro-pop. It bounces along cheerfully despite the more downbeat topic of the lyrics, which was interesting. The bassline is a particular highlight to me, it chugs along well and really compliments the music well. I’m not sure on the specific instruments used in this track but they have used the double bass often and to great success in the past and this would explain the prominence of the bassline. The vocals form a catchy melody and overall the song sounds very radio-friendly. However, it just isn’t quite catchy - it is but it isn’t because we’ve heard it all before, it’s nothing new and while this may have sounded special years ago, in modern days it sounds quite tired. Not bad but not great.

By Matt Shaw

Stephen Malkmus and The Jicks - Real Emotional Trash

I’ve found Malkmus’s past work hit and miss myself, not always a fan of drawn out guitar for lengthy periods personally so admittedly i approached this cautiously. I was pleasantly surprised in general. Typically, there are long instrumental parts but Real Emotional Trash is full of psychedelic and of guitar improvisation that really works. Also prominent is the electric piano and poetic lyrics that sometimes work but largely it’s the music which is the focus and makes up for some lacklustre lyrics.

Opening track “Dragonfly Pie” sets the tone for the album, crackled guitar accompanied with electric piano and it works this time for Malkmus. This is an album he has been searching for and his persistence has paid off to some degree. “Gardenia” is different though, a short jangly pop-esque track, which fails to interest much. Sometimes the guitar riffs are overdone however and like his past work, descends into an uninspiring ramble that just doesn’t interest. Fans of Stephen Malkmus will enjoy this no doubt as it isn’t much different to his past work. I personally found some of the tracks on this effort more enjoyable than the past stuff i have listened to. As a consequence to it sounding similar to previous work, it sounds somewhat stuck in the past sometimes. Yes it is melodic, yes it contains some interesting lyrics, albeit rare but overall it just isn’t quite as good as it may have could of been. Nevertheless i enjoyed it. I’m not really inclined to say whether it’s good or not, I’m on the fence so to speak. For fans of Malkmus this will no doubt be a good listening experience. For somebody new to him, they maybe put off by some of the lengthy instrumentals. “Cold Son”, “Dragonfly Pie” and “Out of Reaches” are my personal favourites. Plenty to be enjoyed but takes a while to appreciate it at times.

By John Siwicki

The Epochs - The Epochs

The definition of an “epoch” suggests a new point in history, and in a musical era where nearly everyone sounds the same, this Brooklyn quartet are certainly something refreshingly different.  Opener ‘Thunder And Lightning’ could be seen as the band’s genesis or big bang – a heavily drummed introduction to a debut that will be anything but predictable from start to finish.  Beyond the fittingly thunderous, irregular pulse of the drumming, ‘Thunder And Lightning’ is otherwise stop-start crunching guitars, slowly throbbing bass, and laidback rock vocals with an occasional snarl reminiscent of Supergrass’s Gaz Coombs, voicing such apocalyptic proclamations as “the floods dry up” and “cities will burn under the sun”.  While atmospheric and musically interesting throughout, the track quite deliberately never takes off, and this grows to be a regular feature of The Epochs’ debut.

Electronic flourishes crop up occasionally in the first track, in the form of synths and jittering clicks and beats, but it is not until second track ‘Opposite Sides’ when harder edged, squelching beats echoing Radiohead’s ’15 Step’ gain prominence in the mix.  Here and on many other tracks, vocals are pitched higher than before, with falsetto harmonies accompanying a lead vocal barely more prominent than a chesty whisper (the singers, Hays and Ryan Holladay are brothers, which goes some way to explain their impressively synchronised vocals).  Throughout the album’s fifty-minute duration, the vocals remain laidback, morphing from lethargic rock into a soulful croon reminiscent of Beck’s less energetic moments – particularly on album closer ‘Giving Tree’.

All tracks here dabble with electronic intrusions, including vocoders; synths; string samples mimicking white noise; and artificial chimes and beats that squelch, clap and clatter.  These musical components, alongside the more conventional drumming and electric and acoustic guitars, all remain pointedly reserved.  On the rare occasions when the band do seem to lose their cool, such as during the finale of romantic ‘Picture Of The Sun’ – which likens the highpoint of a relationship to “sunlight all night long” – or during the keyboard and sample-heavy choruses of ‘Mouths To Feed’, the musical crescendos tend to be cut prematurely short, or soon return to a calmer pace.  All this suggests a band willing to rely on their musical adeptness and diversity of styles over conventional scaling choruses and solos.  In fact, The Epochs often evoke Maroon 5’s smooth R&B without the mainstream compromise (and basically much, much better), or The Postal Service’s prominent electronic element, without the overt indie/emo tendencies.

By Ryan Daff

Amy Studt - Chasing The Light

In the fleeting winds of change and trends, the name of the feral, searching muso Amy Studt that was blowing around freely in 2003 stopping for three top twenty singles, has probably been buried under the avalanches of KT Tunstall, Kate Nash and Amy Winehouse. Her name will not, on this evidence take long to float back into people’s thoughts.

This is due, in no small part, to the fact that Amy Studt has selected her most piercing, frantic and delving snippet of her current mindset, ‘Chasing The Light’ to burst back into recognition. Giving her 2nd album, ‘My Paper Made Men’(released 28/04/08) a welcome push in the process. Vocal elasticity is both prevalent and striking, as the range flits from a slow Rachel Yamagata/Kathryn Williams lucid beginning, before making a striking and gripping climb to an Amy Lee (Evanescence) pitch. It is an impact that is helped along by adept percussive versatility that creates a ladder for the vocals to clamber up.

This song, rather like Amy’s career so far (after he debut album release she shunned the limelight for a while and went to serve coffee for a living), acts as both a beacon and a warning. The vocal tones and lyrics highlights the strength of hope and its pitfalls, but one thing is made clear;
“Don’t go through life with eyes wide shut”

There is certainly a renewed vigour to Amy Studt and, the early signs are there to suggest that she has found a great way to channel it.

By Dave Adair

Wojtek Godzisz - Beltane

Wojtek follows up last years great single “The Moon And The Yew Tree” with “Beltane.”The track was inspired the Pagan feast that brings in the “greening of the Earth” at the start of the spring. The track starts off like a song from a villain in a musical. As Wojtek is telling the story and those shouty background vocals its hard to not think of a Disney movie here.  Just going through the song it seems like the perfect song to sit around singing together wearing a colorful collection of capes and a fire pit has to the in the works somewhere. Wojtek again has this really rare vocal that sounds so polished and raw at the same time. It is a joy to hear. “Beltane” is another fabulous single from Wojtek.

By John Siwicki

Hush The Many (Heed The Few) - Revolve

“Revolve” came in the most beautiful sleeve to the offices. It was wrapped up in this hand tied cloth that was so beautiful designed. I will cherish this sleeve as the bands new single is something really special. After tinkering with greatness on the “Mind The Sprawl” EP the bands’ new single delivers on all of the promises that they showed there. The record features brilliant vocal play between a young man and women. The male vocal provided Nema is such a force with this dark and brooding vocal that is the rock on the song. At first, he sounds very familiar as I spent a few minutes trying to place him. As with most epic songs it starts off slow and begins to build and build. Yet, “Revolve” takes you for a little ride. The frantic and schizophrenic end that makes the song just down right massive.

By John Siwicki

Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds - Dig Lazarus Dig!!

The mustaches are big and bushy and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds are back in rare form.   Last year, Bad Seeds side project Griderman has awakened Nick and the boys for their fourteenth album together. The Grinderman project was straight up rock music and unlike anything the Bad Seeds have ever tackled. “Dig Lazarus Dig” takes a similar lo-fi approach to the recording process. The songs are stripped down and Nick Cave’s lyrics could only be classified as ‘dirty.’

On the bands official website Nick Cave had this to say about the album. “Ever since I can remember hearing the Lazarus story, when I was a kid, you know, back in church, I was disturbed and worried by it. We are all, of course, in awe of the greatest of Christ’s miracles - raising a man from the dead - but I couldn’t help but wonder how Lazarus felt about it. As a child it gave me the creeps, to be honest…..”

As the opening riff of “Dig Lazarus Dig” invades my ears and Nick Cave starts with his dark and descriptive narratives. Cave gives an vocal that sounds like he is giving a sermon on a mountain. The guitars have such a noisy and filthy sound to them its really remarkable. “Night of the Lotus Eaters” is built around some of creepiest sounding music I have ever heard. If you combine this with Nick Cave dark tones this is one that will scare the shit out of you. “Albert Goes West” starts up a lot of mixed feelings. Lyrically, it is pretty good as it is classic Cave story telling. Then during the middle of the song he goes into this strange breakdown about dancing. At first, it was a little weird but it grew on me as it was part of the charm of the song. “We Call Upon The Author” more than another song on here sounds like it should be in a church. The organ is all over this and then the hook “we call upon the author to explain” just feels right inside a place of worship. “Jesus of the Moon” is one of the few ballads on the record and this was always a trait that the band were great at. Also, we have Nick opening up “I couldn’t just consign it to the garbage bin.” “More News From Nowhere” would be the perfect flip side for Grinderman’s “No Pussy Blues.” Instead of a man sounding on his prime like in “No Pussy Blues” on “More News” he sounds broken and on his last gasp. Cave comes across like a man defeated and empty.

The record is hilarious, creepy, and exciting in all different places. For guys who have been around for as long as they have and to make an album as rich and complete as this is a special feat in itself. The band sound refreshed, happy and ready to take things on again. The sound is always a great touch the heavy noise and distortion Bad Seeds is always better than the ballads in my book. The band showing no signs of stopping it will great to have Nick’s dirty tricks keep coming back.

By John Siwicki

British Sea Power - No Lucifer

Awhile back, I read a negative review of British Sea Power’s latest album “Do You Like Rock Music?” and it really got me angry. For some reason with this band they hit all chords with me so much sometimes I just don’t see negatives here. “No Lucifer” is the bands second single from the said album. The song starts off with a quiet first 20 seconds and then morphs into a giant sing a long. By the end of the song you will be chanting “Easy, Easy, Easy.” The song is also a tribute to an English wrestler. Then a lyric like “give me the dummy, tit” could mean a lot of things in that context as well. This is another fine epic from the band really shows off all the meat that the album really has to offer.

By John Siwicki

Does It Offend You Yeah? - We Are Rockstars

I didn’t think much of this band after hearing the mess of their previous single “Let’s Make Out.” The song was so messy but not in that good way. “We Are Rockstars” changes the game and sounds nothing like “Lets Make Out.” It takes Daft Punk rather than Death From Above 79 to heart more. The synth driven melodies are incredibly infectious but my favorite part of the Daft Punk robotic vocals. If we combine those two elements with some cowbell we have one hell of an indie-electro-dance machine going here. This song caught me by surprise and was a lot of fun. I just hope more songs like this and less shouting.

By John Siwicki

Nine Inch Nails - Ghosts I-IV

Trent Reznor is slowing turning himself into a pioneer of digital music. The release of his album “Ghosts I-IV” can very well be looked back as a landmark release. The album is a collection of four separate 9 track EPs. You can get the first nine songs free or you can spend 5 bucks and get the whole thing for a download. There were also many other packages included a limited edition set that went for $300 that he actually sold out of.

The album comes in at over 110 minutes of pure instrumentals so it will be hard to pinpoint a lot of single tracks here. But, each Ghosts set gives you a variety of things from the quiet ambient tracks to the large and chaotic traditional hard industrial pieces that we have all come to love. When I first downloaded the album I thought that I would never listen to the whole thing and I just wanted to support Trent’s new platform. But, if you just throw this album on one night it is really easy to get lost inside of it.

The deal here is amazing 5 bucks for a 36 track album. It is hard to say no to that even if you are not a fan of the band. The album can be recommended for more than just the bands hardcore following. The attention to detail and all the little noises in the song really make it a spectacular album.

By John Siwicki

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