Moneen – If Tragedy Is Appealing, Then Disaster’s An Addiction

Moneen are another of those bands with song titles of epic proportions, however don’t get the wrong impression and think that this band take themselves far too seriously, and thus not worthy of your time as quite frankly; they are. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I received this single, however the band seem good at what they do, which seems to me to be of the Emo/Rock variety. In this day and age, ‘Emo’ is a derogatory term which often when mentioned discredits a band as no one wants to be seen as an ‘Emo’ band – it’s more an insult than a reflection of genre, however Moneen do what they do well, so don’t be put off by the ‘Emo’ moniker – take this as an opportunity that not all ‘Emo’ bands are image focussed and anally retentive as this is certainly not something which Moneen are guilty of as a band.

This single has been a good introduction to the band for me, with strong guitars and soaring vocals throughout which make this a strong track from a band that obviously have a successful future ahead of them. From the press release it seems like Moneen are a hard working band that are always out there touring the globe to spread the word, clearly it seems gaining themselves new fans everywhere they go. With the popularity of this brand of Emo/Rock seemingly on the increase, Moneen are a band that if they stick at what they do best then they should go far as a band, 2006 may well be their year to shine. This will only be available as a download single, however if you own iTunes or another such download programme, then I strongly urge you to support the band and download this one on August 13th.

Label: Vagrant
Release Date: 13th August 2006

Rating:

Orson – Happiness

I wasn’t terribly impressed with the last Orson single ‘Bright Idea’ as I felt it lacked any degree of real strength, however I was a big fan of first single ‘No Tomorrow’ – a track that I felt had real character and power, so upon first listen I didn’t really know what to expect from the track. The track opens well with a strong guitar riff which leads you to believe that this is going to be a strong track from the band again, however it soon develops that this is not the case at all. This is another mid-tempo pop song from the band with no real sense of urgency, and so I feel that the band have once again fallen flat on their faces with this one.

‘Happiness’ plods along without really leaving any sort of impact, with a chorus that seemingly does not go with the flow of the music whatsoever. ‘No Tomorrow’ was a strong track that got stuck in your head and had you humming along for weeks, however I really feel that Orson are a one hit wonder band as since then, they have really shown no sign of reproducing the quality that was shown here. Both ‘Bright Idea’ and now ‘Happiness’ have been plodding singles that have really failed to interest me. It is not often that I find music that I fail to enjoy on any level, however Orson have now managed this on two successive occasions.

Label: Mercury
Release Date: 7th August 2006

Rating:

My Awesome Compilation – Awake

This is the third single to be taken from the bands debut full length album ‘Actions’ and could become one of the infectious pop punk tracks of the summer. It is in a similar vain to the bands two previous single releases of ‘Put Up A Fight’ and ‘Set To Go’, with a similarly catchy beat to it and strong vocal harmonies which will get lodged in your brain from the first listen. With the heat wave that’s currently upon us, ‘Awake’ will be sure to cheer up a few sweltering bodies and offer them a bit of enjoyment as they fry in the heat.

I don’t think this track is as good as their past releases, particularly ‘Put Up A Fight’ which I think would have made a greater summer anthem, however it should go down well with Kerrang and Scuzz viewers once the video gets play listed. The nasally vocals on display here may not be to everybody’s taste, however I find them to be endearingly British, and it’s refreshing to hear this in an English band, rather than the pseudo-American accents that we’ve become accustom to in recent years with every band under the sun seemingly trying to be Californian. Check out these Leicestershire lads if you’re a fan of catchy music that’s good to dance to through these summer months.

Label: Sorepoint
Release Date: 7th August 2006

Rating: