Prog is known for going over the top, stuffed to splitting point with pomp and circumstance. Epic-length albums, EPs, and even songs are more or less the norm. But prog is really about much more than that. It’s about thinking differently; being progressive. Read more…
When an album brings to mind Boy Hits Car (one of my favourite bands of all time) and Spotlight Cannibal (one of my favourite bands of right now), it’s a winner in my eyes. On this, their eponymous debut album, Yeti Love are winning at music, and doing it in style. Read more…
Last Friday night was pretty damn special. As I said before, it was the best gig I’ve ever been to. It even beat Mötley Crue – something I’d always assumed was impossible. In short, Reel Big Fish killed it.
However, the greatest headliners are usually made so by being forced to raise the bar by their support acts. If the supports suck, headlining bands often suffer for it. The Jellycats, then, were the perfect opening act – and this album contains many of the songs that made the start of my night absolutely perfect. Read more…
It would take a hard-hearted writer to heap criticism on a track called Feels So Good – and when it’s pulled off this well, there’s really no reason to in the first place. Upbeat, bouncy, and irresistibly catchy, this is a great comeback track from a band nearly stopped in its tracks by major brain surgery. Read more…
This is really interesting. A true musical melting pot that barely contains a brew of pop, rock, and punk spiced up with plenty of brilliant musicianship and real songwriting nous, Futures is intense, solid, and gloriously beautiful. Super cool, and an unmistakable sign of greater things still to come. Read more…
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If I’d recorded my reaction to this album’s opening bars, it’d be viral on YouTube by now. You have to ask: How does this guy do it? Most drummers would struggle with that very first high-speed drum flourish, let alone everything that follows. Let’s get stuck in.
Cheap As Fuck And Awesome As Hell sounds like Jeff Beck at his finest. The guitar is brutally tortured, notes squeezed to within an inch of their lives, there’s a super-cool keyboard line and some immense effects, and it all adds up to a fusion tour-de-force that, you’d assume, was created by a group of virtuosi working in collaborative harmony.
Only…it isn’t. On EEPS, Marco Minnemann plays everything. Everything. Vinnie Colaiuta may well be known as “The Alien”, but maybe it’s time that nickname jumped ship. Read more…
Dirty. Raw. Harsh. Aggressive. Frenetic. Hyperkinetic. Unrelenting. Packed with catchy and well-crafted tunes. Performed by a group of guys who clearly love what they do. Moving On is all of the above, and more besides. Read more…
This is more like it.
When I last reviewed twothirtytwo, I wasn’t too impressed. But on this four-track extended player, things are very very different indeed. Gone are the awful drum sounds, below-par production and scrappy guitar tones; this is a complete 180-degree turn from what came before. Read more…
When I discovered this band, they were opening a show at The Boileroom. Judging by that set and this seven-tracker, it won’t be long before you’ll spot them playing much higher up the list. Read more…
UPDATE: TMMP has been reborn! This video has the full story:
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There are three kinds of bands: Those who sound good on record, those who sound good live, and those who do both. Ideally, every band would fit the third mould – but even if that were the case, Black Peaks would still stand out by a dozen country miles. Read more…