Zerell – Lonely Street
This is a 3 track CD from London band Zerell featuring the tracks ‘Lonely Street,’ ‘My blood is for real,’ and ‘Mexican airforce thumb.’ It’s certainly not a bad little CD and had I not seen them live a few months ago I’d probably appreciate it more. Live, they are one of the tightest bands I’ve ever seen – a really quality group of performers, but on this CD they just seem to be lacking something. The buzz that was there at the live show is missing meaning I just can’t get a lot out of this CD.
‘My blood is for real’ probably comes out the best on this CD and some of the live energy can be felt in the driving guitars, neat bass lines, and cool drum beats. This is a fine track with a fair bit of power, some cool lyrics in an awesome vocal style, and a good bit of the punch that was felt in the live performance.
I think what the problem here is that at the Maidstone Basement gig you could tell that the band were really enjoying themselves and putting there all into it but this just can’t be felt on this recorded effort. Although it’s not a bad CD, it’s just not as good as I was expecting following the success of the live gig. Be sure to check this band out some time as they really are a quality live band and have a lot to offer. I believe that at the moment the Antiproduct drummer is standing in for the band as the old drummer has now left for pastures new. Zerell will be playing a few gigs with them from the 20th to the 22nd of January so that should be pretty cool. If you can get along to any of the dates then make sure you do because I promise you, you will not be disappointed as both Zerell and Antiproduct are amazing bands.
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Tripdash – This Spells Disaster
Tripdash are a fun, fast and friendly young band from Newcastle and despite their young age they are absolutely oozing with talent. Musically, Tripdash are really tight with some amazing drum beats, super guitar riffs, booming bass lines, and genius vocals. Lead vocalist Johnny has a really great and distinctive voice which will help Tripdash stand out from the crowd.
There are 5 tracks on display here showcasing Tripdash’s amazing and truly original sound. This is apparently only the bands second studio recording, and is their first under the moniker Tripdash so good on them I say because this EP really is quite extraordinary. Tripdash have catchy, somewhat addictive tunes which will have you singing along in no time. With great guitar hooks, and superb choruses the songs are sure to have you hooked. I absolutely love opening track ‘High Expectations,’ and can’t find fault in the incredible ‘Channel 5.’ Right from the start, ‘Channel 5’ never fails to impress with its amusing lyrics and fast, upbeat tempo. If P-Rock was still about then this tune would be Number 1 on their play list for months – it really is that good.
Not a single one of these tracks fails to impress me and I swear that before long this band will be huge. The talent is most certainly already there, as are the tunes so all the band need now is a bit of luck and for this CD to fall into the hands of the right person and they could be huge. ‘This Spells Disaster’ could spell success for Tripdash.
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THE*GA*GA*S – Sex
THE*GA*GA*S are a lot better than what I was expecting them to be. When I received this CD my first thoughts were that THE*GA*GA*S would be another mediocre band of the ‘The’ band garage rock society. Luckily they are definitely not this and what they actually are is an exciting up and coming UK Rock band with a hell of a talent.
‘Sex’ is the first commercial single to be lifted from the bands album which will be released through Sanctuary Records on the 7th of February. It has fast, exciting guitars which drive the band with awesome bass lines, great drum beats and truly exquisite vocals. This single is a sure fire success and as far as commercial debut singles go it is absolutely perfect. With its ever catchy beat, and strong vocal firing of the word ‘Sex’ it is sure to stay fresh in everyone’s mind, never to be forgotten. With this single, not only do you get the cracking tune of ‘Sex’ but you also get the hammering ‘Exit Lights.’ This is another storming tune where the band again show their passion for the music which they create and offer up another electric, fast paced blinder of a track.
This band is amazingly talented, and with this crushing single they are sure to shoot to stardom. Many UK bands have broken through in 2004 so I am sure that THE*GA*GA*S will continue this trend into 2005 and be one of the success stories of the year. Sanctuary Records are set to unleash the beast on January 31st.
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Dude on a Mission – Moments Erased EP
I need to be honest here, when I first heard some material from this band a while back they weren’t sounding too pretty. Since then the band seem to have found their niche as on this EP, DOAM come across as a fine band of quality musicians. Sure there are areas that the band can improve on, but then again no ones perfect! Having been together for around 3 years, DOAM seem to have acquired a unique and interesting sound and have an aura of intense enthusiasm and excitement about them.
With this EP the band supply 3 amazing tunes that will have you dancing away, singing along, and if you are a musician will leave you with the urge to replicate the sounds you are experiencing. The band describe themselves as a melodic rock band with a hint of punk and a hint of funk – and I guess this is a fair description really, but just saying that of them really doesn’t do them any justice at all as they are so original that from this description having not heard them you will inevitably get the wrong idea. All of these songs are awesome, but track 2, ‘Moments Erased’ particularly appealed to me with its strong vocal style, great bass lines, fine guitar riffs, and super drum beats. The backing vocals go really well with the lead vocals and make way for a truly amazing listening experience. The quality continues into final track ‘Bite The Bullet’ and the EP is rounded off nicely with a cool finisher which leaves you wanting to hear more.
This young band has a hell of a lot of talent and if they keep on improving at the rate they have been then before long they are going to be huge. They have certainly developed as a band, and these days far overcome the idea you get in your head of the band from their name. I can’t wait to hear the next CD from these guys because I’m sure that they’re going to further improve and produce a CD of even greater excellence. Dude on a Mission is most certainly a name you won’t be forgetting in a hurry.
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Steriogram – Schmack
Chances are, in 5 years time you won’t even remember the name of this band and will have completely forgotten about this album, however at the moment its fun to listen to and has some amazingly catchy tunes embedded into its 12 track line up. This band made it big over here after breakthrough single ‘Walkie Talkie Man’ was used for the iPOD adverts. I really don’t know what sort of genre you would put on this band but what I do know is that they have some seriously catchy lyrics, amazingly cool guitar riffs, booming bass lines, and demon drum beats.
Such tracks as ‘Walkie Talkie Man,’ ‘Fat and Proud,’ and ‘Wind It Up’ really stand out and put a smile on your face. They’re not the most technically advanced of tunes, but nonetheless they push all the right buttons and with them the band has really provided the listener with some solid listening pleasure. Steriogram combine normal vocals with spat out rapping and through doing so they really do sound excruciatingly good. It often makes me cringe when bands try and incorporate rapping into the experience, but when it is done well the sound is sublime and Steriogram are evidence of this.
This may not be the most memorable of albums, but is does have some catchy beats and fun songs that will get you dancing away and singing along for weeks. Be sure to check this band out, as if you enjoyed ‘Walkie Talkie Man,’ then chances are that this album will tickle your fancy. I can see Steriogram disappearing into the abyss after this album, but for the moment the fun of this album is up for the taking.
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Senses Fail – Let It Enfold You
Senses Fail is a once cliched emo band from New Jersey. The music on this ‘Let It Unfold You’ album is generic bilge that offers nothing new to the genre whatsoever. This album was followed by ‘Still Searching’ however which I personally believe to be a greatly impressive album; proof that the band did not need to be as generic as they were with this release.
The music is all very similar on this album and none of the tracks really shine through. Tracks contain titles such as ‘Rum Is for Drinking, Not for Burning’, ‘Lady in a Blue Dress’, ‘Irony of Dying on Your Birthday’, really however you will not be able to tell where one track ends and the next begins. All the music is here incredibly similar and when you finish listening to this album you will not be able to relate to any of the tracks by their titles as all are just so similar and when listening it is incredibly difficult to tell them apart.
With this ‘Let It Unfold You’ album Senses Fail stuck to the scream-melody-scream format and the music is therefore greatly lacking in depth. Each and every scream is seemingly precisely planned, you know where each and every shout will come and never does the music surprise you. Instrumentally this band has a little to offer but still the music is lacking. There is a definite absence of originality here, Senses Fail do not prove themselves to be a particularly exciting band at all with this album and as the band drones from track to track never does the bands sound contain any underlying energy or passion.
‘Let It Unfold You’ was released back in 2004 and was followed in 2006 by the greatly superior ‘Still Searching’. There is just no comparing these two albums, with ‘Still Searching’ the band sound so accomplished and yet here the music lacks direction and power and merely washes over you as you listen. There is little originality on display on this album and as you listen to it you’re just left hoping for it all to come to an end. ‘Let It Unfold You’ is not at all an album that I would recommend listening to, I do however suggest giving ‘Still Searching’ a listen as this is a greatly more enjoyable album. ‘Still Searching’ is packed full of promise, little on this album however will impress you in the slightest and ultimately the ‘Let It Unfold You’ album I feel will always leave you disappointed.
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The Wildhearts Strike Back
Everyone loves The Wildhearts – they’re one of those bands with universal appeal, regardless of your musical genre/s of choice you will find yourself singing along to this band at every opportunity. This is a double CD of some of the bands greatest material taken from a variety of live performances between April and May 2004.
For your money here you will get the renditions of 21, yes that’s right kids, 21 of the bands finest tunes including ‘Vanilla Radio,’ ‘Caffeine Bomb,’ ‘Love you till I don’t,’ and ‘Turning American.’ There are too many great tracks on this CD to mention really but you can be sure that you will be getting your monies worth and more with this fantastic album. I don’t usually comment on album artwork, but the artwork for this CD is just too good to miss out really. For your money you will get two covers, one in a Star Wars fashion, and another in a crazy psychedelic style. They both look really cool, but then again it’d be shame to ruin a CD of such high quality with a poor cover, so the cover here does the CD proud.
The Wildhearts are a truly electric live band and this really comes across on the CD here. Sometimes you can be at a gig thinking how amazing it is, then later hear a clip from the gig and be really disappointed with what you hear. With ‘The Wildhearts Strike Back,’ the excitement of the live shows has definitely been captured and comes across full throttle. If you are a fan of the band then this CD is a vital one for your collection and needs to be picked up sharpish. However, if you are not a Wildhearts fan then firstly what do you think you’re playing at, and secondly go and buy this CD now as I swear it will leave you converted to the wicked ways of The Wildhearts.
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AFI – Retrospective
This is a collection of some of AFI’s finest material from the golden years when they were signed to Nitro. It spans the years of 1995-2000 and there will doubtlessly be countless squabbles amongst fans of the band about how their favourite AFI track was not included in the CD, but quite frankly AFI just have way too many good songs to include them all on this Nitro archive album. This CD contains 15 songs of the bands finest moments and clocks in at just less than 40 minutes. This release is more for the newer fans of the band that fell in love with them after ‘Sing The Sorrow,’ because those that have been fans of the band since the very beginning probably already own the majority, if not all of this material.
Such classics are present on this CD as ‘I Wanna Get a Mohawk’ ‘The Days of the Phoenix,’ and ‘The Lost Souls.’ The latter two of course taken from the bands successful album ‘The Art of Drowning’ and ‘I Wanna Get a Mohawk’ from the bands highly influential debut album, ‘Answer That and Stay Fashionable.’ The album is pretty much in chronological order running from newest to oldest material, apart from ‘I Wanna Get a Mohawk’ which they have seemingly chosen to place as the 12th track on the CD. The CD has some interesting choices for inclusion on the CD, and as I have already said should provide quite a good idea of what the band were once like for those that only discovered the band after their 2003 release ‘Sing The Sorrow’ on Island Records.
So, if you are a new fan of the band then you will probably want to check this album out as the old AFI material (when they were a credible Hardcore band) is a hell of a lot better than their newer stuff. However, if you already own the bands Nitro back catalogue then this probably isn’t worth buying as aside from the few rarities on display here that you’ve probably acquired some way or another anyway everything is readily available on the old albums and EPs. For me, listening to the AFI Retrospective has been a great nostalgic experience and certainly reminded me of the good times that were once had with this once awesome, now average band.
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Beastie Boys – An Open Letter to NYC
‘An Open Letter to NYC’ is the third single to be lifted from the bands critically acclaimed latest album, ‘To The 5 Boroughs.’ This track is an ode to the cities multiethnic and cross-cultural strength and resilience, and sees the band taking on some more old skool beats, along with some truly creative twists thus ensuring that they stay at the top of the alternative rock/hip hop game.
This really is an amazing tune and shows just why the band are as big as they are in this day and age. They are so good at blending hip hop with alternative rock, adding neat little scratches to the mix, and making tracks that are full of creativity and jam packed with excitement. The Beastie Boys are clearly one of the greatest bands ever to have come out of New York. They make truly inspirational music that has a mass appeal being loved by many, and hated by few. The line in the song ‘Dear New York I know a lot has changed, 2 towers down but you’re still in the game,’ shows the bands passion for their hometown, and shows that the Beastie Boys are proud to be from a city that has been through so much and somehow come out smelling of roses.
Beastie Boys will always have a special place in mine and many others hearts due to the true genius of their music which makes every seconds listening pleasurable. There is never a dull moment with these guys and after all these years they still seem to be producing the goods and pressing all the right buttons. This is a fresh sounding new tune and amongst the sea of average tunes that are currently out at the moment it towers high above the rest.
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