In a culture that’s become increasingly impersonal and dehumanising, bands willing to get their hands dirty and dig into real, human issues are more essential than ever before. Turn on the radio and you’ll hear plenty of auto-tuned and hyperquantized songs about going to a club and getting “crunk on da flo’,” but turn it off and look around you and you immediately realise that the radio doesn’t reflect reality.
Why?
Because it’s easier to bury your head in the sand than it is to take even the smallest of actions. Petrol Girls get this – and Read more…
Since I travelled to Paris to see THE END, an opera starring Japanese virtual pop idol Hatsune Miku, Japanese-culture-related music has been thin on the ground here at TMMP. Enter Sithu Aye and an EP that began as a joke, but wound up becoming seriously awesome.
Senpai (in English, someone who will never notice you) is one of the Read more…
After the recent loss of David Bowie, the rock world needs all the unique and exciting oddness it can get. With Anarchytecture – their third album since reforming in 2009 – Skunk Anansie continue to contribute exactly that.
Although rock is the dominant flavour present on Anarchytecture, there are plenty of extra spices floating in the mix. Skin’s vocal is, as always, unmistakable – and curious listeners can expect a healthy helping of dub vibes and electronic elements alongside the big riff monsters and vulnerable ballads that tick Read more…
Panic At The Disco have long been synonymous with sexy, sensual, and theatrical pop-rock-or-just-pop-I-can’t-quite-tell. From stomping grooves to synth-heavy production, ecstatic vocals, the occasional tasty guitar riff, and a heaped helping of just-fuck-me-already attitude, Panic At The Disco have already proven to the world that they have what it takes to entertain and beguile massive crowds of pleasure-seekers.
Of course, success brings haters, people eager to tear others down, often simply because they just don’t get it. To be honest, in Panic At The Disco’s early days, I always shrugged my shoulders and Read more…
I’ve ranted and raved about these guys for years – and frankly, they fucking deserve it. Dorje are an industry unto themselves, topping album charts across the Internet with their latest Catalyst EP, racking up some 800,000 YouTube views for their signature song Aeromancy, and nailing one of Indiegogo’s top crowdfunding campaigns while handling everything in-house with zero label backing.
Respect is due here – and this year will see a second EP alongside much touring. By the time Dorje are done, their peers will be craning their necks to catch a glimpse of them.
If you just can’t cram enough mind-ruining math rock into your day, Black Peaks’ latest single Saviour is a must-listen. A massively improved version of an already epic track from early EP Closer To The Sun, and a mouth-watering taste of what to expect from Black Peaks’ upcoming album Statues, Saviour will blow you away. Play loud.
As with Dorje and Black Peaks, I’ve written many an evangelical word about Signals over the years. Breaking fresh ground with every note, this Southampton-based math-pop quartet are genuinely unique. Hard-earned technical skills, thoughtful musicianship, never-less-than-perfect production, and an instantly recognisable sound topped off with Ellie Price’s consistently passionate vocals all add up to an act capable of cutting the mustard like a legendary ninja.
When they’re not inducing jawbreaking gurns in Dorje, guitarist Rabea Massaad, drummer Ben Minal, and bassist Dave Hollingworth can be found frying facial features as Toska. Instrumental progressive metal is the name of the game here, departing from the standard Periphery-aping clone formula employed by many of their peers in favour of a genuinely new vibe. Toska’s debut EP Ode To The Author does contain hints of Karnivool, Porcupine Tree, Tesseract, and even Incubus – but more than that, it represents the birth of a meditatively immersive New Sound.
More to come on this one – but for now, just trust me. This will be frickin’ special.
Hatton Manor – aka Matt and Hannah – are in the earliest of early days right now. But they are still one of the most flat-out superior acoustic guitar-and-vocal duos I’ve ever heard. Dipping their toes into the live and festival circuits during 2015, as well as releasing their debut EP Eden, Hatton Manor are moving into a new phase full of experimentation. By turns graceful, gritty, joyful and dark, Hatton Manor know how to strap you into an emotional rollercoaster from note one. Awesome.
Thoughtful EDM might seem like an oxymoron – but Princess Slayer make it work through a creative approach that blends hedonistic playfulness with ruminative sincerity. Drummer and producer Vince Welch digs up gut-rumbling grooves, cute melodies, and carefully constructed sonic strata while vocalist Casey Lim thinks out loud through an intimate and vulnerable yet confident vocal. With many collaborations and their Living EP behind them, a Princess Slayer album is rumoured to be on the way. With any luck, 2016 will be the year it surfaces – and when it does, expect something exceptional and exceptionally cool.
Dorje’s first ever release, Primordial Audio Chronicle, formed the backbone of one of Indiegogo’s most successful crowdfunding campaigns of 2012; the video for their signature track Aeromancy has attracted some 800,000 views to date; and 2015’s Catalyst EP managed to top album charts across the Internet. Not a bad backstory for a band who are essentially an industry unto themselves, hitting heights that even bands with serious label backing struggle to reach.
All – the second Catalyst EP track given a spectacular Read more…
The guitar world is well known for its over-the-top machismo and cutthroat competitive obsessions. The upside of that dark side is that it makes artists like Sean Ashe stand out that much more. Warm, vibrant, and invigorating, Sean Ashe’s new album Flux (reviewed on TMMP here) heralds the triumphant arrival of a great new voice on the guitar scene.
In this interview, Sean Ashe and TMMP talk Flux, creativity, evolution, and more…
Your debut album Flux is due out this month. How’re you feeling now the release date’s so close?
While a typical response, I’m so excited. This is my first album, and I’m making sure I take it all in. I only get one first album! Everyone who’s heard it has said so many positive things. It’s left me feeling so excited for the future, and incredibly inspired to make more music.
How would you describe the process of writing and recording Flux?
The process of writing this album was really tough. Not Read more…
Where have all the real rock stars gone? Those unique individuals capable of capturing the imagination of a mass audience without dumbing down the fruits of their labours? The musicians who can spin your head around, widen your horizons, and still meet with large-scale acceptance?
On Blackstar – his twenty-sixth album – David Bowie inspires, provokes, bewilders and bewitches as only he can. Taking the scenic route through Blackstar‘s title track, full to bursting with Read more…
Rock’n’roll, garage rock, psychedelic rock, alternative rock – call it what you like, throw a rock today and you might well hit someone in a soundalike, dime-a-dozen band matching one of those descriptions. They look the same, sound (almost) the same, pose the same way in pictures – and they’ve occupied the “wrong side of the tracks” position in the mainstream for over a decade.
If you love getting lost in oceans of warm, seductive notes, Flux should be top of your 2016 wish list. Sean Ashe is a sublime guitarist, and with this collection of gorgeous instrumental tunes, he hits the sweetest of sweet spots.
A sense of pure, unadulterated joy permeates opener Imagine (deep-pocketed grooves, sensual tones, a graceful piano solo) and Memory Lane, the latter of which skips playfully from slinky licks to what sounds like Read more…
