After several weeks of heart-op-enforced inactivity, I needed a good night out to celebrate my return to the real world. This gig provided everything I required within a few short hours. Read more…
Throughout ‘Pages Apart’, South-East alt-rockers Atiptoe blend Biffy Clyro’s off-kilter riffs with clean and pristine guitar-pop commercialism, resulting in four tracks sure to satisfy musos and casual listeners alike. Everything you need is here: Precociously tight playing (‘Congratulations Professor’); badass guitar intros (‘No Dogs (Dogs Kill Penguins)’); frenetic five-Jägerbombs-in-ten-minutes energy (‘Rud’s Yard’) and catchy lyrics layered over mathy complexity (‘My Flexible Friend’).
In the depths of a freezing winter, even the smallest fragment of sunshine can be refreshing. With their new EP ‘Beautys’, Guildford-based acoustic duo Bare Jams offer a full day’s worth of shining light and upbeat vibes – and all listening ears are better off for it. Opening track ‘Good Times Roll’ is a fat slab of nicely orchestrated and funky acoustic pop that shifts gears into reggae for some satisfying variation; ‘Carry On’ is a backbeat-heavy tune made to make heads bob and necks relax; ‘Chase The Sun’ positions Bare Jams in direct opposition to the face-to-screen iPhone obsessed lifestyle so ubiquitous in modern British culture; and closer ‘Going Up’ features earthy acoustics and lyrics offering a level-headed take on youthfulness and the inexorable forces of aging. Read more…
As regular readers will know, Jamie Lenman is a big deal where I’m from. My Facebook feed literally blew up with the release of the double-A-side Fizzy Blood/Pretty Please, news of his secret set at The Boileroom in Guildford, and the dates for his Heavy / Mellow Band’s recently completed tour. On top of all that, of course, there is this album. Not just a standard-length LP, but a 70-minute double album that takes in so many styles that I felt compelled to delay this review and let it all sink in and mature for a while. Now, however, it’s ready to go. Read more…
Opinion
As the first Musical Melting Pot Top 10 demonstrates, I’m a bit of a fan of Princess Slayer. Their first EP is stunning, and their live set – their first show ever, as part of the launch party for said EP – was, frankly, even better. Read more…
Opinion
I think I need to move to Southampton. Those of you who have been following the Musical Melting Pot social media feeds have most likely noted my love of math-pop quartet Signals; now, having discovered ‘indie banger pop’ band Mr Tom, my loyalty to Guildford is becoming somewhat tested. Read more…
Opinion
I love the Guildford alt-rock scene’s current direction. There are so many fantastic bands strutting their stuff in the South East right now – and with this show, local promoters Genrebomb presented a sizeable crowd with no less than four up-and-coming new talents: Read more…
Fiction
An unbreachable azure haze drifted between them for a moment, and all was lost. The night came. Long, dull, dark, and pitiful. Chilled breezes and aching, empty discomfort. Read more…
After battering my brain with progressive music for my last two reviews, this album by The Swears comes as a welcome relief. Sometimes simplicity is just what you need. Read more…