Author Archives: natalie

Book Review: Davey Havok’s ‘Pop Kids’

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Being a pretty big AFI fan, I was really excited to read the lead singer, Davey Havok‘s debut novel ‘Pop Kids’. To summarise, its the story of the young famed-obsessed Michael Massi, a self-proclaimed straight edge vegan growing up in a small town in California. Rebelling against his meat eating Italian parents, Christian neighbours and outcast social status, he sets up film nights in an abandoned theatre, dreaming of propelling himself to the heights of reality TV stars and the bright lights of LA.

I’m sure I’m not the only person who began reading this and immediately thought of Havok writing himself as the lead. Written in first person, its hard to differentiate the character’s thoughts from that of the author. The references to AFI’s lyrics are also easy to spot (for those of us who’ve listened enough), the Phoenix Theatre, the ‘candle wax and dried up flowers’.

I’ll be honest. I didn’t find the lead character likeable. I found him increasingly unlikeable. Without giving away too much of the plot, his judgements on women, criticising a friend’s girlfriend for refusing to perform OJ (oral joy, as he calls it..), then his obsession with the vegan blonde Becca, who he admires for her purity, whilst applauding Stella for her impurity. It’s vaguely hypocritical. Oh, and the constant referencing to clothing brands. Not being American, many times I had to Google the name, just to find out which item he was actually referring to.

Havok’s music taste, I’ll allow without judgement. Michael’s neverending quest for fame though, just feels cheap. I want him reach into the book and ask him why he needs it so much. Why he’s risking everything he has for it. Why he’s so devoted to the vapid Stella.

Feeling worlds apart from Michael, its hard for me to understand his goals. He grew up with the LA stars on the horizon, I grew up with the faint glow of London. Perhaps I’m simply more grounded in reality. Perhaps some are just born with loftier ambitions. Either way, the dissosociated youth presented in the novel is quite detached from my own experience. I can imagine his world exists, somewhere. Maybe at the parties I wasn’t invited to, amongst the ‘cool’ kids that I never fitted with.

It was a great relief when I read that the author doesn’t see himself as the lead either. I’m afraid I was starting to pass judgement on him, based on the character. However, its done nothing to deter the idea that I missed out on a lot in my teen years..

RC xx

Jimmy Eat World New Single ‘I Will Steal You Back’

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I know, its Friday. I normally run a piece on a slightly less-well-remembered artist. However, I’m making an exception this week, simply for this song.

Jimmy Eat World have long been one of my favourite bands. I religiously buy their albums whenever they come out, because I know they’ll always be brilliant. I even decided to run this post today before hearing their new track ‘I Will Steal You Back’.

I have heard it now though, so don’t worry. Its beautiful, hopeful, enduring with the slightest hint of melancholy.Its the perfect soundtrack to a cold, rainy spring that hasn’t begun yet.

Basically, its Jimmy Eat World in a nutshell and its brilliant.

I suggest you drop whatever you’re doing right now and have a listen to this:

FYI They’re playing Download festival this year if you’re going..

Have a great weekend!

RC xx

Canterbury Pledgemusic Campaign

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Well I mentioned them just a couple of days ago, but now I’ve got some more news for you! Hampshire kids Canterbury have signed a deal with Hassle Records and are following the likes of Bring Me The Horizon in releasing it through a Pledgemusic campaign.

As well as the album, the band are offering fans the chance to pledge for exclusive acoustic house gigs, handwritten lyric sheets and even to appear on the album as part of the backing vocals.

Everyone who pledges will also receive a free copy of the band’s new single ‘You Are The One’, plus a download of their new EP, out later this year and a load of online goodies.

At the time of writing (Tuesday eve) some of the more exclusive options have already sold out, so snap up something fancy while you still can! In the meantime, here’s a quick taster of what’s to come..

Check out Canterbury’s Pledgemusic campaign here.

RC xx

New Music Monday: Enter Shikari ‘The Paddington Frisk’

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Right. So Enter Shikari‘s new video for ‘The Paddington Frisk’ is only 1:24 long. That’s a bit weird. Oh, and it seems to be a Japanese TV show featuring a dinosaur hanging itself. Then the band do some strange kind of macarena dance.

Can’t tell if this is the band poking fun at others in the rock music world for taking themselves too seriously, or if frontman Rou Reynolds just woke up with a really crazy idea and then went for it..

I’d like to say something more in-depth about this, but having watched the video 3 times now, I still have no idea what he’s saying for most of it. Instead, let’s focus on the fact that whilst watching, The Jonas Brothers ‘Pom Poms’ came up as a suggested video. So we should all just remember that there are much, much worse things to listen to out there. Right, I’m done. Enjoy:

RC xx

London Rock Gigs: April

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Wow, April’s really crept up on me. I’ve been more than busy, starting a new job (yay!), flat hunting (difficult) and other things which have really eaten up my time lately. Hopefully you didn’t miss the Paramore gig at The Garage this week, which actually I didn’t go to either. Heard some great things about it though.

Anyway, as per usual, here’s my roundup of the best London (and other UK) gigs this month:

 

Bleeding Through

Camden Underworld, Fri 19 April, £17 TICKETS

If you’ve heard of Bleeding Through, you should’ve bought tickets for this already. Hardcore metal. Enough said.

 

Canterbury

The Garage, Tues 23 April, £9 TICKETS

I’ll always have a soft-spot for these hometown boys. They’re great and the gig is cheap. If I haven’t convinced you to go yet, have a watch of this:

 

Lower Than Atlantis

Shepherd’s Bush Empire, Thurs 25 April, £16.25 TICKETS

Pop-punk from Hertfordshire in the style of You Me At Six. Go for a bit of a dance. Go on, it’ll be fun..

 

Honourable mention: Hit The Deck Festival in Bristol / Nottingham on Sat 20th and Sun 21st April. Lineup includs Mallory Knox, Sonic Boom Six, Fearless Vampire Killers, Rolo Tomassi, Lostalone etc

Tickets from £22

 
RC xx

 

Friday Classic: The Ramones ‘Suzy Is A Headbanger’

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True story: I once did a University project on The Ramones. Ok, not specifically The Ramones, but punk rock in general. They were one of my main examples though. I even paid homage to the band’s guitarist, Jonny Ramone and bassiest, Dee Dee Ramone at their gravestones in LA’s famous Hollywood Forever cemetery.

This song was a major track in my teenage years though. Mostly from the influence of my older sister (aptly named Suzie). You can probably guess why this became one of her songs of choice.

If you don’t already know who The Ramones are, you’re really missing out. They were one of the seminal punk bands of the 70s, inspiring the likes of The Clash and The Sex Pistols.

Where to start?

There’s plenty of compilation albums to check out. If you’re trying to impress someone though, probably better to start with the band’s original release ‘Ramones’, featuring the awesome tracks ‘Blitzkrieg Bop’ and ‘I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend’. Go check it..

RC xx

New Track From City and Colour ‘Thirst’

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I do miss Alexisonfire. The albums were good. The live shows, sadly I missed out on, but I heard good things about too.

cityandcolour

Luckily, singer Dallas Green has graced us with his solo project, City and Colour. The music is as beautiful as the name suggests. I think my favourite, though more than a little depressing, has to be the album ‘Bring Me Your Love’ . There’s some new music from the boy coming soon though, and I’m pleased to hear this little taster of it..

‘Thirst’ is more electronica, but not quite pop in the sense of Owl City. Its much more low-key and relaxed, without losing any of the heartfelt emotion that goes into each track.

Have a listen here..

RC xx

 

New Music Monday – Escape The Fate ‘You’re Insane’

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It’s a bit of a late one tonight, oops! Guess I’ve been having too much fun this bank holiday weekend..
You’d be forgiven for thinking this next track sounds more than a little bit like Papa Roach’s ‘Scars’, with a bigger dose of anger thrown in. I’m not arguing, but this song gets my approval for the awesome guitar solo. Also the irrelevant snake at the beginning. (Honestly, there’s a reason I’ll never move to the desert!).

Luckily, Escape The Fate don’t seem too phased by the scaly reptiles, or the heat blasting out. Which is surprising seeing as they’re definitely not dressed for it. Anyway, it doesn’t stop them rocking out like the best of them!

Check out the new single ‘You’re Insane’ below. It’s out now..

For those of you who don’t know, Escape The Fate are a five piece metal band hailing from the sands of Las Vegas. Their new album ‘Ungrateful’ is out May 14 and they’ll be touring the USA from mid-April. Uk folks,  you can catch them at Download!

RC xx

Review: Bring Me The Horizon ‘Sempiternal’

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Well there’s one album that I’ve been excitedly waiting for.. It was a nice surprise when this turned up yesterday!

Sheffield’s Bring Me The Horizon have just released their outstanding fourth album, Sempiternal. Well, for those of us who pre-ordered through their Pledgemusic campaign. The official album release is tomorrow, so I definitely recommend getting in on that if you haven’t already.
The record launches straight into the outpouring of a tortured soul, singer Oli Sykes screaming ‘I can’t drown my dreams, they know how to swim’. Turning his attention on to religion in ‘The House Of Wolves’ and ‘Antivist’, the scream-group shout-heavy drumming formula works perfectly. ‘Empire’ and ‘Crooked Young’ border on anthemic, ‘Sleepwalking’ brings in a nice eerie quality and ‘Go To Hell For Heavens Sake’ wouldn’t feel out of place in the end screen of a Resident Evil film.

Anyone who’s heard ‘Shadow Moses’ can guess why I opted to pre-order the album. Its just brilliant. There’s no way you could question that Sykes feels every word, its half a cry for help, half battle-call.

This is the sound of a band reaching their potential. If music quality really defined the success of a band, this will be the year that they cement themselves as one of the best young British bands around. If not, it’ll be a real shame, because this record deserves to be heard by everyone.

RC xx

 

Friday Classic – Marilyn Manson ‘mOBSCENE’

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Before the likes of Black Veil Brides and Aiden (but not so far back that we stray into KISS territory..), there was one name that was synonymous with the white face paint, sharply cut black clothing  and a penchant for girls in latex. Marilyn Manson (real name: Brian Warner) reportedly formed the band after a growing dissatisfaction with the music scene he inhabited in his days as a music journalist.

It was a venture that paid off, with Manson becoming one of the iconic figureheads of the early 00s rock music scene. The songs ‘Tainted Love’, ‘Personal Jesus’ and ‘Beautiful People’ were on the playlists at all the best rock clubs, his stickers were attached to everyone’s backpacks, he even became a national hate figure after the school shooting at Columbine, when it was discovered that the killers were fans. (If you’ve ever watched Bowling For Columbine, you’ll have seen how eloquently and succinctly Manson responded to this).

There may have been a few hurdles along the way, a short-lived marriage to burlesque performer Dita Von Teese, followed by a relationship with actress Evan Rachel Wood. The failure of Manson’s protegees Jack Off Jill. But that hasn’t stopped the band, who have a tour lined up with Alice Cooper starting in June. Dates on the band’s website.

 

RC xx