Howls occupy the straight-ahead, no-nonsense end of the post-hardcore spectrum – and it won’t be long until they’ve carved out their own niche down there. Listening to No Living feels like riding an ancient rusty rollercoaster on the edge of falling apart; sophisticated, smooth, and genteel this is absolutely not. Read more…
Acoda have spent the last few years forging a real reputation for pushing themselves right to the edge of their abilities – and Truth Seeker sees that edge extended even further than before. Injecting a post-hardcore core with guttural guitar tones, syncopation aplenty, wickedly snaky grooves, and extra-strong songwriting chops, Acoda are going to make a serious mark on the rock world’s 2015 with this album. Read more…
Hailing from the edge of Cornwall and pissed off beyond reason, Patrons have set out to shatter skulls with their upcoming EP The Momentary Effects of Sunlight – and in that mission, they will absolutely succeed. Comprising four tracks of harsh and raw post-hardcore, The Momentary Effects of Sunlight is an absolutely essential set to add to your collection if you like your music made of 100% pure catharsis, with just enough light/shade contrast to prevent it all from becoming overwhelming. Read more…
An elegantly understated and wistfully melancholic collection of prime-cut songs in the singer-songwriter vein, Symptoms managed to halt my search for something dense and heavy, and keep me blissfully entranced by something delicate instead. On the day after the Charlie Hebdo murders, angry aftershocks are rippling around the world – but albums like this are fully capable of reminding us all that peaceful action is a more effective response to conflict than blind rage. Read more…
A message for punk-loving guys suffering from the January (and/or pre-Valentine’s-Day) blues: If Bowling For Soup’s upcoming greatest hits package doesn’t entirely cure your affliction, this album will. Read more…
Punchy and poignant punk-pop songs painted in primary colours on a pitch-black background. That’s a lot of alliteration – but it’s also an accurate way of summarising Bowling For Soup’s considerable back catalogue.
Bowling For Soup are punk-pop legends for a reason. On the surface, their songs are easily accessible and stand right on the brink of being disposable. But none of the tracks in this collection fall over the edge, thanks to a rare emotional depth and a wealth of genuinely awesome hooks that, well, get you hooked immediately and will never let you go. Read more…
Modern pop-punk bands can be divided into two categories: those who settle for penning copy-and-pasted pastiches, and those who pump their heart and soul into their music and make even this now-getting-quite-old-and-tired genre feel fresh and exciting again. No prizes for guessing which side Boston Manor fall on; if they were shit, I’d have just moved on and you wouldn’t even be reading this! Read more…
Dropped right before Christmas last year, Rose Coloured’s Doorstep Volume 2 compilation doubtless made great stocking filler for a number of Surrey and Hampshire’s resident music fans. It also offers plenty of great reasons to get excited about the Guildford- and Aldershot-centred music scenes in 2015. Read more…
Although I’m not exactly a pop fan (see here for proof), every now and then a track pops up with exactly the right vibe and vocal to pique my interest. Thanks to the likes of Submotion Orchestra, Luciana Caporaso, and Princess Slayer, that may well start happening more and more often in 2015 – starting with Cherae Leri’s deep, slow, and exotically hypnotic blend of R&B, pop, and modern soul. Read more…
In the weeks leading up to Christmas, the metal side of the music business shuts down. Fans of heavy music across the world use the festive season to hibernate, nurse their bangovers, get drunk, and sharpen their skills on FIFA while the pop side of the music world excretes yet another warbling X Factor karaoke puppet and shoppers get smothered under a tidal wave of Now That’s What I Call Christmas! CDs. All goes quiet on the metal front until the new year hits.