Fall Out Boy – From Under The Cork Tree
Fall Out Boy’s last full length release was ‘Take This To Your Grave,’ and although a lot of people liked this album – I was definitely not one to be considered a fan. This album sees the band develop and mature into something far greater than they were back then, and in developing and maturing their sound, Fall Out Boy have produced a truly incredible album. The other day I reviewed a 5 track sampler of the album, in which I said that if that was anything to judge by then their album was to be truly something special. It really is something special and I am glad to have gotten hold of a copy before its release this coming Monday.
There are 13 tracks on display on this new album and not a single one of them disappoints. I had a feeling that the label may have put all the good material on the sampler and then the album was going to have 5 good tracks, with a load of average ones. This is definitely not the case and in ‘From Under The Cork Tree’ the band have produced a truly fine album worthy of being in anyone’s CD collection. Seriously, whatever type of music you’re predominantly into – I swear that you will find enjoyment in this Fall Out Boy album, it really it a fine piece of work.
My favourites on this CD are probably ‘Dance, Dance,’ ‘7 Minutes In heaven,’ ‘Nobody Puts Baby In The Corner,’ and the almighty ‘Get Busy Living Or Get Busy Dying.’ These are all great tracks and show off perfectly the fine skills that Fall Out Boy have to offer. There is never a dull moment on this album, but I just feel that these 4 tracks in particular really do convey the fun and enthusiasm that Fall Out Boy ooze seemingly with ease. The tracks have awesome vocals with great lyrics, strong guitar riffs, quality bass lines, and some superb drum work. Fall Out Boy, on this album have written some of the catchiest songs that I have ever heard in my life and I for one love it.
If you are into your Pop Punk or your Post-Hardcore, and haven’t yet checked this band out (god forbid) then make sure you check these guys out as they fuse the two perfectly and in doing so have created a truly immense album. I can see Fall Out Boy being around for some time to come yet with their fun, upbeat and frantic Pop Punk anthems.
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The Departure – All Mapped Out
I was expecting to dislike this track, having seen the band play with Feeder the other month and finding them distinctively average. This single however is fairly solid and to an extent does enough to please me. It doesn’t entirely change my opinion of the band as I still feel that they are fairly average, however alongside most of the stuff out there at the minute, this song is fairly good. It has some funky bass lines, and I think that this is what I liked most about this single.
The track is only 3 minutes long, however seems to drag on after about 2 minutes because of it’s slow pace and little in the way of keeping you amused. Don’t get me wrong – the first few minutes of listening to this song are great; it just gets a bit tiresome after that. With every listen I seem to think less and less of this track, so have done the track a favour and listened to it a fairly minimal amount of times (4 or 5.)
This is a track only really suitable for die hard Departure fans. I feel that anyone not too keen on the band will probably not have their opinion changed by this one. I feel that they sound a lot better on CD than they did at Brixton Academy, but then again when they played at Brixton the almighty Thee Unstrung had just played a blinder, so it was going to take a lot to live up to what they had come up with I guess.
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Days of Worth – The Western Mechanism
It’s funny that a band this great can be from a place as dull as Surrey. Days of Worth burst onto the scene with this album, and it is a truly fine piece of musical excellence. What with the angst ridden lyrics, powerful guitar riffs, demon drum beats, and immensely powerful vocals – this band will have you hooked. From start to finish this album really is a masterpiece, reminding me very much so of Hell Is For Heroes at their peak, with the strong elements of bands such as Jane’s Addiction and Soundgarden.
Days of Worth are a band on the almighty Visible Noise label – the same label as multi-million selling commercial giants Lost Prophets. They certainly rival this band in terms of there powerful transfusion of songs, highly powered vocals and all around commercially viable, truly brilliant tracks. This band possess a lot of power in their music, and on this album show signs of remarkable display with their powering, always interesting and exciting music.
There are many slabs of musical brilliance on display on this record, with many of the tracks shining through and sounding amazing. Tracks such as ‘Standard Suburban Anthem,’ ‘Ladies and Gentlemen,’ and title track ‘The Western Mechanism’ really do go down a treat with their energetic, emotional display of rocking excellence. Days of Worth really are a fine British rock band and are definitely a band that the UK should be proud to have. These tracks in particular show off the band’s musical expertise, especially ‘Ladies and Gentlemen.’ The band released this one as a single and it really is a stormer with awesome guitar work, booming bass lines, and vocal superiority over most bands out there. Days of Worth are vocally and lyrically spot on, and the instrumental backing really does compliment their sound and works really well. Days of Worth aren’t just a collection of musicians doing their own thing – they are a group in every sense of the word and work well as a band and team.
This is definitely a band that you want to be checking out if you are a fan of contemporary Rock music and enjoy a band that does things just a bit different and sounds great for it. Recently there has been a large wave of bands coming through and holding the flag high for British rock band – I think that Days of Worth are another of these bands with their tremendous ‘The Western Mechanism’ album. With this CD, Days of Worth should begin to make their assault on the mainstream, attacking at full force. Hopefully before long this band will be as big, if not bigger than their label mates Lost Prophets.
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Pixelface – Quarter-Life Crisis
Pixelface have been gigging regularly around Norwich for about a year, going on their first UK tour in September 2004. They are a melodic skate punk band, occasionally adding a twinge of Ska into the mix. The band have played with many bands such as the amazing, sadly now gone Solabeat Alliance, as well as other great bands such as Phinius gage, Sonic Boom Six, Fireapple Red, Catch-It Kebabs, Vanilla Pod, and Route215. This is the bands latest CD and sees them pull off 6 tracks with a large degree of style, and a huge serving of talent and excitement.
There are many average bands out there, but Pixelface are most certainly a cut above the rest with their impeccable rhythm, and finely executed tracks. ‘Victim/Bully’ is definitely one of my favourites on this EP – it is one of the aforementioned Ska infested tracks and really does go down a treat. It is fun, fast, energetic and frantic, and will almost certainly start off a huge pit at the bands live gigs – it really is an immense track and the band deserve a lot of credit for it. With its fine guitar work, awesome bass lines, incredible drum beats, and amazing vocals it is sure to become one of your new favourite songs. ‘The Hypocritical Oath’ is another one of my favourites from this EP – it really has got everything you could possibly wish for in a track. It is fast, exciting, and full of fun – you’re sure not to tire of it for months to come.
Pixelface really are quite a great band and I will definitely be looking out for them in the future. This Norwich based band have a lot to offer and I would strongly advise you to check them out if you’re up for a good bit of melodic skate punk with the odd hint of Ska here and there for good measure. If they carry on like this, then there should be many a fine release to come from this young band.
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Audioslave – Out Of Exile
When a band consists of 75% of the members of Rage Against The Machine, and their final member and singer is the ex singer of the late, great Soundgarden – they’re never likely to release anything bad are they? As expected, this release is a great display of fine rocking, with Chris Cornell’s vocals sounding as amazing as ever. As much as I love Rage Against The Machine – the idea of them with a singer rather than a rapper never fails to put a smile on my face. I love Zack De La Rocha and have been looking out for his material ever since Rage Against The Machine split up, however the idea of a Rage Against The Machine with a singer always excites me greatly, especially when that singer happens to be the amazing Chris Cornell. You can’t better Audioslave really – they are an almost perfect rock band with incredible style and impeccable judgement over what tracks to include on their albums.
This album kicks off with the amazing ‘Your Time Has Come’ and throughout its duration never fails to impress with its fast, exciting and truly infectious sound. This album is uplifting, strong and is verging on perfection – seriously this album has it all, awesome guitar solos, super drum beats, some of the best vocals you will ever hear, and some truly cracking bass work. Every track is a blinder on this album – not a single track disappoints, with the band never failing to put a smile on my face throughout the entire album. Generally I can not listen to albums in their entirety – I will find myself skipping parts of tracks, or skipping them in their entirety but that just doesn’t happen with this album. I can listen to it from start to finish, feeling truly exasperated and happy as hell at the end of it.
The first single to be released from this album will be the awesome ‘Be Yourself.’ This really is a fine single, and although it’s a lot softer than 2002’s Self Titled debut album debut single ‘Cochise,’ however it is just as amazing and rivals it in terms of quality and all round general finesse. It is a strong effort and sees the band have a good crack at melodic, heartfelt rock music. It should go down well with the rock world when it is released on June 6th and will be hopefully getting frequent radio airplay before then.
There is never a dull moment on this release – Audioslave are frequently pressing the right buttons and doing all the right things to get me literally jumping around the room with excitement. This album fills me with energy and makes me glad to be alive; there is just so much to be gained from listening to this album. It really is a fine CD and I can see it being one of my favourite releases of the year. Audioslave are a fine bunch of musicians and in ‘Out Of Exile’ have created a truly amazing album.
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The Aquabats! – Charge!!
When I saw that the band had donned exclamation marks on the end of their band name, CD title, and every single track – I thought that this album may consist of some forced ‘wacky’ antics by the band. Luckily I was wrong and once again The Aquabats have come up trumps in producing a CD if true greatness. Some say that they don’t like this CD because it sees the band drop their horns and in doing so drop the ‘Ska.’ The thing is, The Aquabats never really have been a Ska band – they are just a fun band singing about issues such as being a nerd. ‘Nerd Alert’ is testament to this and is a cracking track that will put a huge smile on your face as soon as it begins to play.
There are many great tracks on display on this album such as the tremendous ‘Fashion Zombies!’ the incredible ‘Stuck in a Movie!’ and other such classics as ‘Hot Summer Nights (Wont Last Forever) and ‘Awesome Forces.’ Although the horns are now long gone, the band have replaced them with some awesome synthesizers and as a result their sound does not lose out at all from them losing the horns. On display on this album are some fine bass lines, awesomely tuned guitar riffs, some superb drum work, and as ever the obligatory amazing vocals with even better lyrics. A fine example of the bands greatly amusing lyrics can be seen in track ‘Look At Me, I’m A Winner!’ If you are a fan of the band then its tracks such as this and ‘Fashion Zombies!’ that you will want to be checking out as they are definite Aquabats classics that will be remembered for some years to come.
I have always been a great fan of this band and this album merely furthers my love of the band. After listening to this incredible album my fandom of the band does not at all diminish, with the album leaving me with a huge grin on my face. The use of synthesizer on this album gives the band a really retro Nintendo style feel and this is by no means a bad thing. This is a fun and upbeat album and will surely be the soundtrack of the summer with its fast, exciting tempo and general happy, summery feel. This album has a gloss of furious upbeat fun, and although it’s not going to be to everyone’s taste – those it does appeal to should be truly amazed by this brand new Aquabats album.
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No Comply – Unleash The Fury
If you are a fan of the band then you really need to invest in this DVD. The live material is only really the quality of bootleg, but when a band is on a tight budget it’s hard to get good quality recordings. The live material is watchable, however it just doesn’t capture the energy that can be felt at a No Comply gig and really doesn’t do the band justice on their amazing live performance.
I think that No Comply have done a pretty good job with this DVD – including amusing behind the scenes footage from their tour, with the No Comply gang hanging out having a laugh with a number of other bands. If you look closely, members of bands such as The Mercury League can be spotted hanging out amongst the ranks. There are frequent amusing interviews with band members on this DVD and they are really what make the DVD worth having for fans of the band. When you consider what you get on this DVD, it can be seen that it really is a fine investment and is a good solid piece of entertainment. The live material could of course be better, but bonuses such as interviews with band members, the bands promotional video’s that have been shown on TV channels such as Scuzz, studio clips, and behind the scenes footage really make up for this and make way for an interesting and exciting DVD.
If you are a fan of this band then the chances are you will know about their energetic and electric live show. Do the band a favour and help fill their pockets by getting yourself a copy of this DVD – it is well worth your hard earned cash and is a must have for any avid No Comply fan. It seems that any band who’s anyone has a DVD now, so the fact that one of the UK’s finest rising artists has one really is rather fitting.
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Leon – Be There
Leon have started up their own label to release their music – Freezer Records, and are soon set to self release an album called ‘Uppers and Downers.’ The first single to be taken from this album is the quirky little number ‘Be There.’
I tried to be interested in this song, but I just couldn’t get in to it. There’s nothing particularly bad about it, in fact it’s well produced, intelligently crafted and sublimely executed, however I just can’t find myself getting into it because there’s nothing that really grabs me about the track. It is melodic, and I can see that there may be a large audience out there for this kind of track, but it’s just not edgy enough for me.
Leon’s ‘Be There’ would make excellent background music for any occasion – you can just sit back, relax, and forget that any music at all is playing. I just can’t see myself listening to this track for any other purposes as it just doesn’t capture me in a way that I like my songs to. Like I have already stated, I don’t dislike this track, or in fact the B-side ‘Prozac Generation’ – it’s just a bit too melodic and safe for me. There’s no denying Leon Black’s song writing ability and I just hope people recognise this and help make ‘Uppers and Downers’ a success.
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Hellogoodbye – Hellogoodbye EP
Hellogoodbye are actually an amazing band – I wasn’t sure whether they were going to be up to much, having read a variety of reviews and finding a fairly mixed reaction to this EP. Hellogoodbye are a band that heavily emphasise the keyboards in there music. This is great as it makes them sound like a cross between 80s synth pop and modern day Pop Punk/Emo. This is a genius mix and in doing this, the band have produced an EP that oozes fun and energy, with a truly exciting feel to it.
Hellogoodbye are unashamedly cheesy and are a band that is showing clear signs of living for the moment and having fun while they can. This EP consists of 6 of the greatest songs that I have heard for a long time and the band really do impress with this debut EP. It pushes all the right buttons and I can assure you – if you played this at a party, everyone would be up and dancing, it really is that amazingly fun and effortlessly catchy. There is never a dull moment on this EP, with tracks especially pleasing me being the amazing opener ‘Shimmy Shimmy Quarter Turn,’ and EP closer ‘Bonnie Taylor Shakedown…2K4’ The band starts on a high, so I guess they felt they had to end on a high as well. ‘Shimmy Shimmy Quarter Turn’ is definitely one of the greatest songs that I have heard for a long time now. It is amazingly catchy, and superbly written with awesome guitar work, some demon drum beats, and truly astounding bass lines. The vocals are spot on and really do finish the track off nicely, creating an exciting, energetic and entertaining pop classic.
This band really do have a fine talent for penning a good tune, and that is clearly evident on this EP where they have created 6 tracks of pure brilliance. If you have not yet heard this band then I suggest you go out there and listen to them – they may well become one of your new favourite bands. It certainly worked for me, after hearing this EP I was hooked on this band and will definitely be looking out for them in the future. Such a fun, energetic and exciting band is always worth a listen – this CD is likely to be in my changer for some time to come.
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Fall Out Boy – From Under The Cork Tree (Sampler)
I wasn’t expecting much from this CD to be honest, after their last album ‘Take This To Your Grave’ failed to push all the right buttons for me. I thought the last album was way too predictable, with every song suffering from sound alike syndrome, however from what I can make of the 5 tracks that I have here (this is an album sampler) the new album really will be something special.
Stand out tracks here are definitely the amazing ‘Dance, Dance,’ and the superb ‘Get Busy Living or Get Busy Dying,’ however having said this there is never a dull moment on this CD. The band definitely seems to have seen the error of their ways and in doing so have come back with a blinding effort. On this CD, Fall Out Boy seem to effortlessly blend Post Hardcore with Pop Punk and come out trumps every time. There is never a dull moment here, with every track as catchy and memorable as the last. I never would have expected this from this band, but they definitely seem to have done it and produced a blinder of a CD. The tracks here are intelligently written with great musicianship, and lyrics that you’ll be singing for months, maybe even years to come. Every track has a killer chorus that will have you hooked right till the last second, when the song will disappoint you by coming to an end.
I really hope the band can sell a lot of copies of this album as they are far greater than most of the bands out there doing the whole Post Hardcore/Pop Punk thing. Fall Out Boy really are in a league of their own with their original and catchy Punk anthems. The new material will surely go down a treat with the fans of the Warped Tour – it really is incredibly catchy and accessible. The first single to be released from this album will be ‘Sugar, We’re Goin Down’ so make sure you go out and buy it when it emerges – it is a cracking little number. Hopefully Fall Out Boy will be heading over to these shores before long.
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