Clever stop-motion? Check. Vinyl porn? Check. Adrenalin fuelled rock-goodness? Check. Must be the new video from Leeds rockers Hawk Eyes then..
There’s something Reuben-ish about the new single ‘You Deserve A Medal’. It might be the shortness of the track (only 1:56, gosh!), but either way its not a bad thing. Tearing through in the blink of an eye, this is one that you’ll want to put on a repeat a few times to really appreciate. Either way, you’ll be humming this to yourself all day..
The band’s new album ‘Ideas’ is out now. Catch them on a very brief tour of the UK (read: only Birmingham / Sheffield / Leeds) next month.
I’ve been desperately trying to keep up with Pure Love. Last year, having seen Gallows at Reading festival and become a vague fan, I decided to go to their Valentines day gig in Shepherd’s Bush. It wasn’t to be though. The friend I was planning to go with was running late at work. We’d made plans, I couldn’t go alone and leave her with nothing to do on the most romantic day of the year (debatable). Not when we were both single.
To cut a long story short, we spent the evening drowning our sorrows in wine and chocolate. It wasn’t a bad night, but I couldn’t help feeling that I’d missed out. This year I missed out again as I already had plans. Safe to say, I’ve been pretty determined not to miss out on their album release.
As the name suggests, the album is full of anthems, dedicated to the lost young people today. The band manage to sum it up pretty well, sauntering through dark relationships in ‘She’. There’s even a quick reference to singer Frank Carter’s departure from Gallows two years ago on ‘Bury My Bones’ as he growls ‘I’m so sick of singing about hate..’.
‘The Hits’ is a straight-up punk song, with ‘Anthem’ adding an underlying bluesy tone, almost reminiscent of The Gaslight Anthem. (Even if I can’t help thinking of the ‘down and out’ song from Bugsy Malone).
The record really picks up with the more joyful ‘Beach of Diamonds’ and rock’n’roll esque ‘Handsome Devils Club’. The entire record’s intended outreach can be summed up in the track’s lyrics ‘we are the wrong and the guilty, we are the young and the unimpressed’.
‘Riot Song’ is an instant classic, starting off a little slow, only to channel The Clash with the ear-worming chanting ‘there’s a riot on the streets of England’. ‘March of the Pilgrims’ is a more than fitting finale to the record, building up to a roaring crescendo
I wouldn’t quite associate the songs with the name Pure Love, but this record definitely fits the band members’ description of being a more positive take on life than the savage angst of Gallows. Its definitely a fitting anthem for the so called ‘lost generation’, almost becoming what you wanted Greenday’s American Idiot to be; churning the hopelessness of today’s recession-clad society into a cry for change.
Hey you! Yes you! Like a bit of melodic-hardcore? Then stop what you’re doing and listen to this..
Napoleon are a 4-piece unsigned hardcore rock band from Exeter. Unfortunately, vague youtube comments tell me their singer is leaving, but hopefully that won’t stop them from being awesome tunes like this to the public!
Note to anyone thinking of forming a band: Pick a name that’s easy to search for.
Apparently no-one mentioned this to North London’s Scholars. Lucky for them then, they managed to grab the most obvious Facebook page name: https://www.facebook.com/scholars (I’m linking this now, because if you search for them on there, you’ll find nothing).
The 5-piece have been paying their dues for the last six years, working hard at honing their sound and live performance. The effort has clearly paid off as they’ve landed some impressive support slots, touring with the likes of Pure Love, Twin Atlantic and Canterbury.
A quick rummage around their YouTube channel produces a few gems too.. Drifting between The Bravery style indie rock, breezy pop-punk ‘Tornadoes’ and the more post-hardcore influenced new single ‘Black and Blue’:
You can catch Scholars on tour in the UK this March, or at Camden Barfly on April 10th for their debut album launch show. ‘Black and Blue’ is out on April 1st, with the album ‘Always Lead, Never Follow’ out on April 8th. For more info, check their Facebook page here.
It seems to be the thing at the moment for some slightly-forgotten bands to make their return with a new album. What’s that called – reunited album season? There’s many a band that I’d like to see come back from an indefinite (or even undeclared) hiatus, but I’m always a bit cynical when they do.
The first question to ask it, have they gone in a new direction? Is the band suddenly inspired to return, they’ve patched up their problems and want to start over (see Fall Out Boy, yesterday). Otherwise, there’s always that worry that the new return-to-form will actually just be another album in a line of many others, where the band has already established their sound and don’t really know where to go with it.
This seems to be the case with the new offering from Alkaline Trio. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve long been a fan of the band. It’s just something about the way new single ‘I Wanna Be A Warhol’ has me singing along unconsciously to the words of ‘Heart Stops Beating’ by +44. It’s not particularly bad. There’s nothing particularly good about it either though, which is disappointing coming from a band who’ve wowed me many times before.
Anyway, you can make up your own mind here:
‘I Wanna Be A Warhol’ is available from iTunes now. You can pre-order the new album ‘My Shame Is True’ from http://www.alkalinetriostore.com/, its out April 1.
Fact: Bands from South East England are seriously overlooked. I would know. I’m a Home Counties kid myself, growing up with the likes of Hundred Reasons and Reuben. I’ve seen many a good band disappear, never getting the recognition they deserve.
One band that look set to break the trend is Reading natives Attention Thieves. The four piece formed in 2008 and have already had praise from the big rock magazines – Kerrang, Rock Sound and Big Cheese. They’ve even bagged themselves a play on Radio 1 after an impressive set on the BBC Introducing Stage at Reading and Leeds last year. Oh, and they’ve won a Best Grunge/Hard Rock Group award from a radio station in Washington, DC.
Their sound is straight up British rock, with a post hardcore streak down the middle and a few punchy, punky choruses thrown in for good measure.
The band are releasing their new single ‘Can’t See The Light’ (think a slightly metal Hell Is For Heroes) on March 11. Track is below for your listening pleasure..
Clearly not ones to take a break, they’ve also got a much-hyped UK tour coming up this February / March with pop punks Neck Deep. For a full list of dates, check their facebook (London show is free entry!).
Anyone else looking forward to Bring Me The Horizon’s new album ‘Sempiternal’? (I definitely am) What’s more exciting than the album coming out, is the fact that the band are releasing it direct to fans. You can pre-order the album from the band’s Pledgemusic page here.
Out today as well is the band’s new video for ‘Shadow Moses’, the first single from the album. Its amazing. (and well suited for the current blizzard weather). But seriously, you must watch this now. Right now.
On the genre section of Rat Attack‘s facebook page, it simply states ‘party punk’. After a few listens to their tracks online, it doesn’t seem like such a bad description really. Full of angry vocals, power chords and an underlying sense of fun, the Exeter four piece know how to make an impression.
‘Bad Catholic’ starts out with a glam-rock tale of girls, before plunging into a Papa Roach-esque screeching refrain. For a bit more of a taster, here’s their new video for ‘Heartbeat’, featuring the vocals of Liam Cronby (We Are The Ocean). If that’s not enough ,it also has a guy crowdsurfing in a crocodile costume. Now that’s not something you see everyday.
Download ‘Bad Catholic’ from the band’s soundcloud here. Or check their Facebook for more info and UK tour dates in March.
Its still snowing here (booo) so I’ve been stuck indoors again. Today consisted of trying to remove the rust from a Wii remote. It did not work. Luckily, after an hour or so of trying, I found another controller.
Anyway, here’s a bit of feel-good fun to cheer everyone up. Herts punk-rockers Lower Than Atlantis have released their new video for ‘Go On Strike’, taken from their third album ‘Changing Tune’ out now. Its the perfect soundtrack for anyone who thinks Christmas finished too early last year..
You can catch the band on tour in the UK this April. Dates on their facebook here.
The Rock Chic 