Weeknight gigs are normally low-energy affairs. The crowd is usually set on saving its energy for Friday, that one long last push needed to get work done and dusted before the weekend. Then, come Friday and Saturday night, it’s time to go the fuck off and spend the rest of the weekend in recovery.
Normally.
When The Dillinger Escape Plan are in town, it’s a different story – and when they have the likes of Primitive Weapons (92%) in tow…Jesus. Hailing from New York and clearly fired up by Read more…
As the music industry slows down, its alternative end hibernating while the pop-enamoured mainstream hungrily ogles Christmas shoppers, the time has come to look back on a seriously strong year for organised soundwaves. For me, it’s been heavy, intense, and a hell of a lot of fun thanks to the releases listed below.
With so many exceptional contenders in the running for the top spot, the thought of ranking them in order of quality is plainly ridiculous. So instead, I’ve picked out three releases that had memorable impacts on me when I first heard them, and assembled the others in alphabetical order.
The Pretty Reckless’s Who You Selling For – along with previous effort Going To Hell – is conclusive proof (if it were honestly needed in 2016) that women belong in rock music, and are fully capable of kicking ass. The sexists of the music world are like Wile E. Coyote; they’ve run off the edge of the cliff, nothing surrounds them but empty air, they’ve looked down, and they’re panicking. Sonic Boom Six’s The F-Bomb picks up where that image leaves off – it’s cheeky, chirpy, happy and hard-hitting (sometimes simultaneously), addressing a wealth of gender-related issues and providing a great ska-fuelled party soundtrack as only Sonic Boom Six can.
Musically, Dissociation is The F-Bomb’s polar opposite. The Dillinger Escape Plan’s swan song is crammed with brutal and ultra-experimental mathcore – but it’s also Dillinger’s most delicate and diverse album. The Dillinger Escape Plan are living proof that you can achieve great things without compromise, by sticking to your guns and just going for it.
Beyond that point, you’re free to dive into an epic range of albums including solidly grooving rock sets, monolithic slabs of military-grade metal, and progressive masterpieces. Since I’ve not reviewed many EPs this year, I’ve also included a pair of extended-playing mind-blowers in the form of Dorje’s Centred And One and Toska’s Ode To The Author. Dorje specialise in utterly idiosyncratic rock tunes with added progressive spice, while to me, Toska (made up of Dorje’s backline, namely guitarist Rabea Massaad, drummer Ben Minal, and bassist Dave Hollingworth) represent the future of instrumental metal.
Both Dorje and Toska are bands on the rise – and they fully deserve to hit the same peaks enjoyed by the biggest names on this list.
There’s little more to say; for me, this list represents the top albums of 2016. Enjoy the full reviews linked below, follow TMMP on Twitter, subscribe to my brand new YouTube channel, and stay tuned for more world-class music next year!
Outside the Scala, London is wilting under a mid-September heatwave. Passers-by and queuing punters fan themselves with gig flyers, eagerly awaiting the welcome cool of air-conditioned surroundings. Within the Scala’s walls, mere minutes away, awaits an equally overwhelming experience.
Tiny Moving Parts (85%) do math-rock right, blending Read more…
Back in 2002, few people would have predicted that Biffy Clyro would reach the heights they have today. Thousands hoped that success would rain upon the Scottish trio – but on paper, it still seemed unlikely. Biffy have always been a complex, intricate proposition, no matter how many great hooks they proved capable of conjuring up – and the Number One spot is generally reserved for those who appeal to the lowest common denominator.
Of course, Opposites – a double album, no less – proved past doubters, myself included, wrong. Despite my love of prog and long-term Biffy fan status, Opposites still flew over my head, although I still got a warm fuzzy feeling from watching them finally make it. Read more…
When I first heard In Dynamics’ second EP Questions back in 2014, I was floored. Few bands are that on it so early on in their recording careers. In Dynamics were a hot prospect then – and over the past two years they’ve been hard at work crafting this full-length alongside Chris Coulter, the production mind behind releases from Arcane Roots and Jamie Lenman.
Fans of the above and Biffy Clyro should probably get a bucket before listening to Everything I See, because they will be salivating for the duration – and nobody wants drool drying into their carpet Read more…
With their new album Celebrate (reviewed in full on TMMP here), Tiny Moving Parts are flying the flag for manically complex, yet still emotionally evocative rock. With that in mind, I chatted to TMP vocalist/guitarist Dylan Mattheisen about Celebrate, motivation, golf, and more… Read more…
Too often, punk-inspired music seeks to do little more than recycle the ways of the past. The cookie-cutter pop-punk path has become especially well-worn, with countless bands applying generic formulae to their own music. When a band take a fresh approach to punk, though, greatness results.
Celebrate has given me reason to celebrate. Cheers, Tiny Moving Parts.
Tiny Moving Parts’ songs are freakish but friendly mutants. Like Beast from The X-Men, they’re Read more…
You never know what’s going to happen in Brighton on a Saturday night.
When Toska (97%) are on a lineup, though, you can always expect to be blown away. Time and time again, I’ve watched these guys tear venues apart – and with an extended tour behind them, Toska are now capable of pulling off next-next level performances. Holy hell.
Opening their opening set with two new tunes (A Tall Order and Congress), Toska wasted no time getting stuck into an unrelenting barrage of ultra-complex instrumetal moments. Eschewing Read more…
If you’re a UK-based rock, metal, and/or punk fan, you need to be at Camden Rocks Festival this year. The lineup is fucking ear-watering, totalling 200 bands performing live and in your face over the course of one single day and multiple London venues.
At the time of writing, 80 bands still have yet to be announced – but of those we do know about, here are seven of my personal favourites:
SikTh
As any self-respecting tech-metal fan knows, SikTh are absolutely sick. Returning to shatter minds after an extended split via a series of rapturously received reunion shows and last December’s awe-inspiring Opacities, SikTh are continuing to Read more…
If you need proof that black clouds can have silver linings, here it is.
Cleft pretty much define modern instrumental math-rock, summoning and summarily mutating the spirits of everyone from Tom Morello to Metallica, Muse, Biffy Clyro and Royal Blood while ensuring such Read more…
