Alt-UK

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Archives for February 19, 2005

Fall To Fiction – Wings Lay Shattered

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Fall To Fiction are a Emo/Post Hardcore band from around Kent and Sussex, and can often be seen frequenting the Tunbridge Wells Forum and other such local venues. They are still a young band, and are probably one of the most talented bands around this area at the moment. The band says that they combine a mixture of post hardcore ear piercing screams, with emotional breaks, and add to that a sprinkling of pop punk. I’d probably agree with that – the only problem with this is that by saying this of them you will probably get the wrong idea and that may mean some of you will automatically decide not to listen to them. I really don’t like a lot of Emo/Post Hardcore – the vast majority of it sounds the same and there are a lot of bands out there trying to ride on the success of others by producing generic, sound alike tripe. It really doesn’t work like that – you have far more chance of getting noticed if you’re doing it a bit different thus making your performance that extra bit special. Fall To Fiction do that, and as a result in ‘Wings Lay Shattered’ they have produced a fine CD made up of five cracking songs.

The CD opens off with a cracking track in ‘Ruby Red’ and really sets the pace for the rest of the EP. In this track the band show off some fine vocals with strong melody, cracking guitar riffs, some truly inspirational bass lines, and some superb drum beats. They carry this through and show signs of excellence on each and every single one of the tracks on display on this EP. I particularly like from this EP the fourth track ‘Simple minds, Simple hearts.’ It has a really strong intro and maintains great momentum and power throughout the song making way for a very interesting and exciting listen. The vocals on this track sound amazing with the guitars seemingly done to perfection, and drums proving the ultimate backbeat for a truly classic tune. I really love this track – it just sounds so silky smooth with the band having an aura of true finesse about them.

Fall To Fiction really are coming on in leaps and bounds and if this EP is anything to go by then before long this band should be huge. They really do have a great talent for penning a fine tune and each and every one of them is obviously an extremely talented musician with a very bright future ahead of them. Not only is the bands music great, but lyrically they are also amazing and really show signs of great maturity in their song writing for their age. I strongly urge you to check this band out live if you get an opportunity as I can pretty much guarantee that you’d have a great time and they wouldn’t disappoint.

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The Black Velvets – 3345

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On the basis of this single alone, The Black Velvets seem like quite a bog standard rock band, and there’s definitely nothing here that you won’t have heard before. If I hadn’t liked their first single then I’d have reason to believe that this band are over hyped – but I just think that they’ve just made a bit of a poor choice for their second single and released something which really won’t impress many people. ‘3345’ will be released on the 14th of March through Vertigo Records, and unless you’re a diehard fan I wouldn’t suggest going out and buying this single.

I was quite excited when I first put this CD in my player as it starts off quite energetic and as quite an exciting single – but with three minutes of the same thing it just doesn’t do it for me. Sure, The Black Velvets aren’t a bad band and this single does have some great potential with its catchy chorus and strong guitar hooks, but the problem is the band just doesn’t seem to make the most of what they’ve got. This track plods along, never really doing anything to impress after that initial buzz. The chorus is catchy, but after a while I just found it boring me and rather annoying.

I really think the band could have done a lot better with this single – for the first time listener its really not going to capture their attention and make them want to go out and buy this release. The track just doesn’t manage to maintain its momentum after the initial exciting and innovative introduction. After a while it loses all the energy it seemingly had to start with and it’s a relief to hear the track end really which is quite a disappointment seeing as I really liked the bands first single and was greatly looking forward to this single. Maybe the band can rectify themselves and come back with a strong third single, as I really can’t see this one doing well.

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The Mad Capsule Markets – Happy Ride

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As if you could have ever doubted them – The Mad Capsule Markets are back with another storming single in the form of ‘Happy Ride.’ It is to be released on February 28th through Gut Records and makes me further question why this band has never really made it massive. The band keep releasing single after single, and indeed album after album of musical gold yet they never seem to get the recognition that they so greatly deserve. I sense that the reason for this is the fact that they are from Japan – I reckon that if they were from America then they’d be massive by now, which is a real shame as they really are one of the finest bands in the world right now and are producing some truly godly music.

This song has the superb pop catchiness that you can always rely on The Mad Capsule Markets to give you, but at no point does it ever sound at all like a pop record. It is far too heavy for that with its powering guitars, fast pace drum beat, and super slick vocals. This track gives the idea of Surf Rock meets Heavy Metal with its “woo woo” backing vocals meeting the heavier, harder hitting main vocals. I’m not too sure about the inclusion of ‘Cracker!!!’ as a B-side – I personally like it with its Drum ‘n’ Bass feel, but I reckon that a lot of fans of the band will probably find that they don’t like what it has to offer. It’s track 6 off of the bands album, and I’ve often seen it criticised. I don’t really know what people have against it to be honest because I think it’s a great tune. It has awesomely heavy vocals over a Drum ‘n’ Bass back beat and goes down a treat with its raw, edgy feel. Other B-side, and incidentally the albums title track ‘CiSTM K0nFLiqT’ is another cracking number. It is the song that ends the album, and has been used this time round to end the single – and it certainly ends it in quite spectacular style.

There really is no denying this bands talents – they are definitely one of the greatest bands even to come out of heavy alternative music, let alone heavy alternative music in Japan. The Mad Capsule Markets truly are a force to be reckoned with and I really hope that there is plenty more to come from this band in the future, as without them alternative music will just be a much duller place.

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