Archives for March 13, 2005

Suffocate Faster – Only Time Will Tell

March 13, 2005 by Rich Leave a Comment

I was actually looking forward to playing this CD – being a fan of New Found Glory, I was excited to hear the first release from Chad Gilbert and Ian Grushka’s label Broken Sounds. When I read the press pack and saw that the first CD to be released on the label was an album of Hardcore I was even more excited as Hardcore is probably one of my favourite genres and I like the vast majority of Hardcore bands. Suffocate Faster however are another matter, and this album really was a great disappointment.

What I was expecting to be an exciting street-core record is in fact a dull, uninspirational hardcore CD where every song sounds exactly the same and if it wasn’t for short gaps between songs you wouldn’t know where one song ends and the next one begins. This really is one of the worst records that I have heard in a long time – it is quite short at only half hour long, but this half hour will be the longest half hour of your life as the band slowly drones on through their monotonous album of sheer tedium.

If you like Hardcore, then I suggest that you don’t check this album out as it may put you off Hardcore for life. It really is a useless album, after today the only use I may get out of this CD is as a coaster, or perhaps a Frisbee.

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Rich

UK based film graduate with a huge passion for music, sports and video games.

Kaiser Chiefs – Employment

March 13, 2005 by Rich Leave a Comment

The Kaiser Chiefs are a fast growing band from Leeds, and I am sure that by now you have all heard of this amazing band. This album was released last Monday and the chances are that by the end of the day, it is going to be the official album chart Number 1, or failing that is going to be at least Number 2. This album takes heavy influence from the Britpop scene, as well as borrowing heavily from the Madness, and having incredible pop sensibilities. They have truly produced an album of anthems in ‘Employment’ and not single one of the tracks on display here sounds out of place, or isn’t single release worthy.

Right from the very start with champion track ‘Everyday I Love You Less And Less’ you know that this album is going to be an absolute blinder. This gives the album a truly electrifying start, and from this initial buzz the band just seems to go from strength to strength. The band cruise through the already released singles ‘I Predict A Riot’ and ‘Oh My God’ as well as banging out a whole batch of other beauties. ‘Na Na Na Na Naa’ is a really fine song with a chorus that you will be singing along to all week. It really is a modern day classic and wont be leaving your head for weeks, perhaps months to come after you listen to it.

Tracks ‘You Can Have It All’ and ‘Caroline, Yes’ take on a very different approach to the songs that the band have already released as singles, however are still amazing in their own right. For what these tracks are, they are incredible – and although they may disappoint some people looking for an album of drunken sing along track like ‘Oh My God,’ I’m sure that a lot of people will find great enjoyment and understanding in these tracks. After all, if the whole album sounded the same then it really wouldn’t be as interesting as it is and would definitely get really tedious after a while.

In ‘Employment,’ the Kaiser Chiefs have produced a truly fine album that will surely be seen as one of the releases of 2005. This was a highly anticipated album, and does not disappoint – the hype that this album received was understandably so as it truly is a masterful CD. It may not be perfect, but there are a lot of truly fine songs on display on this album and it’s definitely not the sort of album that you’re going to be forgetting in a hurry. Buy this album now if you haven’t done so already – I promise you will not be disappointed with what you find.

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Rich

UK based film graduate with a huge passion for music, sports and video games.

The Lucky Nine – The Lucky Nine EP

March 13, 2005 by Rich Leave a Comment

The Lucky Nine are an elusive super band made up of members of a variety of top bands including ‘A’, Hundred Reasons, and the wonder band that once was earthtone9. If someone was to hand you this EP, then you probably wouldn’t pick up on the members other (former in the case of ex earthtone9 drummer Richie Mills) bands, other than the obvious familiarity in the form of Hundred Reasons front man Colin Doran also being The Lucky Nine vocalist. The Lucky Nine may not really sound like any of the other bands they have come from to form this band, yet in their own right this band are truly amazing and well worth checking out.

In this EP, The Lucky Nine have produced 5 amazing songs which are well worth checking out. Colin Doran seems to be much more comfortable producing ear piercing screams than the vocals he used with the last Hundred Reasons release, and his vocals fit together perfectly here with the powering guitar riffs, exciting drums, and truly incredible bass lines. Right from the offset you know that this EP is going to be something special as the band fire into ‘Hibernate’ with an impeccable guitar riff of sheer extreme power. This power continues throughout the EP and at no stage on this release does the band ever show signs of slowing down or tiring. The band powers through these five songs at a remarkable pace and with impeccable precision.

With this release, the band shows that they are an exciting Rock band that can take on a variety of different stances. The band show how they can go from heavy with ‘Hibernate,’ to melodic with ‘We, The Possessed,’ and finally show their electronic edge with final track on the EP, ‘The Programmed.’ Not a single track on this CD sounds out of place, and with this release the band most certainly shows off their fine talent and high energy. There’s never a dull moment here, with the band always there to keep you entertained with your ears glued to the speakers.

The chances are that this band wont exactly be as big as ‘A’ or ‘Hundred Reasons, which is a shame because in my humble opinion this band are a far lot better than these bands are and have a lot more power, imagination and excitement. I am really looking forward to seeing this band play at the Give It A Name 05 event as if this EP is anything to go by then The Lucky Nine will put on an incredible, energetic, heartfelt, and generally all round exciting show.

Rating:

Rich

UK based film graduate with a huge passion for music, sports and video games.