Signals. [Interview]
Long-time TMMP favourites Signals. are nothing if not ambitious, combining the best elements of math-rock and pop – two very different genres – into something vibrant, exciting, and fresh. A year ago, Signals. were sitting on one of my favourite EPs of the year; today, they’ve got a successful Kickstarter campaign, a new song (Sleep Talk), and a new record deal under their belts – and the heavily-anticipated party starts on October 19th with the commencement of Signals.’ quirkily-monikered ‘Sleep TourK’.
Read on to learn more about Signals., the joys of connection, and the intense demands of their most private creative ritual – exclusively revealed below. Read more…
The first time I heard the intro to Can’t Explain The Tide, I definitely didn’t realise that it was a live recording. However, things quickly became clearer with the arrival of second track P.I.P (Persuasion Is Power) and what I initially felt was an awkward shift in production style. 
Flatline Stereo
Pure punk-metal grit, guts, and glory. Stick-in-the-head songcraft; one-inch-punch drums; confident and melodic guitar work; sick beatdowns – all that and more is present on opening track and lead single Follow Me alone. Personal highlights abounded on Last One Standing, but it you were to stick a gun in my ear and force three choices I’d have to pick Tell Me Something‘s epic drum work; second single I’m Not Leaving‘s slick and slinky electronic touches; and Living In A Hurricane‘s modern rock chorus-writing mastery. 
I’m not one for golden-age thinking. Although the alt-metal movement that got me into music birthed some breathtaking albums, a lot of it was shit. Alt-metal’s new breed, however, are taking the best of the past and using it to forge a better future. 
It’s weird to think this gig would never have happened had the Boileroom’s licence been suspended – but the former did happen, because the latter wasn’t. The peacefully dubstep-loving crowds were out in droves last night to check out: 
BEAR know how to fucking rock. Tighter than a gimp suit that’s been left in the wash and as dense as a black hole’s singularity, on Mantiis Belgium’s loud-and-clear answer to the Dillinger Escape Plan take on desire, exploitation, and self-centredness via much brutal riffing and a no-nonsense video. Not for the faint of heart, but an undeniable blinder for the rest of us. 
Regular TMMP readers (as well as my family, friends, and any stranger who’s sat next to me on the train for more than five minutes) will probably be sick to death of hearing me rant about how goddamn amazing Marmozets are. Well, I have many a good reason for doing so – and this 13-track slab of genius is another one to add to the list. 
Their name might evoke images of seedy backstreet Chinatown massage parlours, but Dragons That Make Love To Pandas offer much more than just happy endings. Every moment on Roundabouts is masterfully tuned to elicit maximum pleasure of a different sort – the kind of excitement that comes from having one’s auditory cortex stimulated by a unique combination of stylistic elements. DTMLTP drop ska, math, guitar-pop and more into the musical equivalent of CERN’s Large Hadron Collider, and what emerges is appropriately awe-inspiring. 
And now for something completely different.