In 2015, musicians need more than good songs to succeed. They also need passion, drive, determination, and ambition.
Amber My Ember have all of the above.
Lumina is a truly wicked track, Read more…
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As a straight white guy who spends a lot of his life around music, I get a lot of stick for standing up for anyone who doesn’t fit that same template. But it’s worth doing – and it’s also awesome to be able to point to bands like Sonic Boom Six and say “Look – they’re doing it right!“
No Man No Right – a fun but equally powerful pro-woman ska track, complete with tongue-in-cheek video and infused with that inimitable Sonic Boom Six style – is right on the money. But there’s a question lurking out there – “But you’re a man. So why do you give a shit anyway?”
Here are a few experiences that answer that question:
1) Seeing countless women at rock / punk / metal shows getting leered at, harassed, and/or subjected to the sadly-classic and none-more-creepy “Mystery Grope”;
2) Listening to assorted tossers at shows pointing out to their mates that a female performer is “…pretty good for a girl!” (especially at acoustic shows, where chatting over the performers marks you out as a prick to begin with);
3) Watching female performers “grin and bear it” through sets punctuated by enthusiastic requests that they Read more…
As much as I love the more…shall we say…out there end of music, I’ve always had a soft spot for deep, immersive grooves regardless of genre.
Hyde – the latest hotly-anticipated release from Norwegian star Astrid S and epic producer Lido – possesses Read more…
If your day is getting to you, listening to The Breakers could go one of two ways:
1) Heck’s beyond-insane mathcore-or-noise-or-whatever onslaught helps you release all that tension and frustration, as you headbang your way into a blissfully ecstatic semi-transcendent state…or
2) It just gives you a headache, resulting in you taking all the painkillers and maybe weeping from the trauma.
Either way, at least some kind of Read more…
A great remix is a beautiful and rare thing. Now that the technology needed to mash up and rework the works of others is easily affordable, the number of people diving into the world of digitized sound manipulation has mushroomed.
Unfortunately, not everyone with a DAW and fancy plugins is an instant genius. Getting good at any art takes time – and on Licence To Be Cruel, five outstanding producers have taken four fine tracks from Julia Biel’s recent album Love Letters And Other Missiles and given them Read more…
This album is so dirty and graceful that if it were a car, it would look like this:
Fans of radio- and arena-ready rock with major-league personality are going to find themselves in heaven here. Those given to analysing every note in order to divine a band’s influences will be in there a while, ticking off everyone from Audioslave and Soundgarden to Royal Blood, Led Zeppelin, Van Halen, Buckcherry, Mötley Crüe, Foo Fighters, Queens Of The Stone Age and Them Crooked Vultures over the course of 40 minutes of rock’n’roll bliss.
That said, you don’t have to be the music world’s equivalent of a Read more…
This seems to be the weekend for experimental electronica on TMMP. This time out, long-time favourite Giacomo Pope returns with some literally-titled Newness – a five-minute slice of ultra-chilled and wordless vibes complete with detailed layers and trademark synthesised warmth.
Giacomo Pope’s ability to make machine music breathe is a true talent. The perfect antidote to a long, stressful week. Read more…
When the first couple of tracks on an album carry “Explicit Lyrics” warnings, I consider that a good sign. After all, who wants to hear a band holding back?
After seven conceptually-themed Coheed And Cambria albums comes The Color Before The Sun, a collection of autobiographical tracks based on frontman Claudio Sanchez’s life. It’s a real right-angled creative direction change, but judging from the unmistakable passion that permeates its entire running time, it was clearly necessary.
Given its nature, this is not an album that can (or arguably even should) be compared to Coheed And Cambria’s previous efforts.
The question is: Does The Color Before The Sun work as an album in its own right?
The answer is Read more…
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Fancy a challenge? Then try this:
Stick this EP on, sit down, and try to remain perfectly still.
It’s fucking impossible.
Calling Arcane Roots passionate, energetic, talented, and epic is like calling the sky blue. Those labels aren’t subject to debate, but undeniable facts. Heaven & Earth sees Arcane Roots push themselves to a new level, penning some of their most accessible tunes to date while remaining unafraid to tangentially turn into raw, frenetic math-ridden riffage whenever they deem it most appropriate.
Opener If Nothing Breaks, Nothing Moves illustrates Read more…
Prepare to enter a world of post-rock-flavoured euphoria. A weird but rewarding world populated by countless notes, rhythms, riffs, and melodies. A place where Celtic melodies merge with modern metallic intensity, where listeners are free to dance, mosh, or crane their necks to squint at skyborne melodies so vibrant you can easily visualise them.
The word “moderation” doesn’t exist in VASA’s vocabulary. Colours sees Read more…