Alt-UK

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Archives for June 6, 2004

Best Left Dead – Demo

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Best Left Dead are a four piece band from God knows where playing a mixture of Old School Punk and Metal and I must say that it is sounding mighty fine from where I’m standing! I had not heard of the band before I got this little baby free (e-mail best_left_dead@yahoo.com for your copy now) but was very pleased with what I heard when I put the CD on for the first time, and after many a listen I am now writing this here review.

This is a four track CD, with the fourth track on the CD being an awesome cover of ‘Puff (the magic dragon.) They also up three originals, which will blow you away with their power, flair, and pure style. Right from the word go you can tell that they are not a band who take themselves way too seriously, proclaiming ‘Lockup your daughters we’re Best Left Dead.’ This track is an awesome affair of Rock ‘n’ Roll greatness with some fast drumming, nifty bass lines, ace guitar licks, and astonishing vocals. Right from the offset there is something to rave about with this wonderful band, and the talent is kept up throughout the record resulting in one of the best Demo’s that I have heard for a long time. All of the songs show such skill, and have such a raw edge – this is a CD that really makes you want to go and see the band live as the live feel is captured here on CD and it is immense!

My favourite of the 4 tracks has to be the third track, ‘Summer’s over’ as this is just such an amazing song with some really great driving guitar riffs. The vocals are so good on this track, really shining through in an Old School Metal kind of fashion – this band are really great at what they do and the music which they create is really interesting to listen to – this track in particular as it is just so raw, quite obviously recorded just as it would be played live. The band show off so much talent on this CD and seem to be really experienced musicians at what they are doing.

This is a great CD which I advise you all to get as you definitely wont be disappointed with what you hear – this band really have a knack for what they do, creating a Demo of pure finesse. I certainly wont be forgetting the ‘Puff (the magic dragon)’ cover in a while – that’s for sure! Check out the band at their site people and see about getting the CD now!

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Funeral For A Friend – Casually Dressed And Deep In Conversation

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Funeral For A Friend are a band that unless you’ve been living under a large rock for the last couple of months, you probably will have heard of. They are a quintet from South Wales and provide their own take on intelligent, Emotional Hardcore. It is intelligent as the songs are well structured, with everything carefully thought through, and everything manufactured to perfection, from the clear, undistorted vocals right down to the clean guitars and drum beats. Their sound is well produced and this is no major surprise considering the fact that they are now signed to Warner.

It is not my favourite thing when major labels tweak and refine bands music so much so that it barely sounds like the band at all, in a vain attempt to shift a few more copies – but I found myself really enjoying this CD and really getting in to it. It is an intensely emotional affair with the band really spilling their heart in to it, but at the same time it also has a great power to it with some of the vocals coming firing through in an almost hardcore fashion. They are an Emotional Hardcore band but have a hell of a lot of firepower and with this album are really pushing the fact forward.

Stand out tracks on the CD are obviously the extremely carefully chosen singles that are ‘She Drove Me To Daytime Television’ and ‘Juneau.’ These tunes are the perfect example of the sorts of tunes that you want to be releasing as singles when you are on a major label – they have the fire power to attract the Rock audience but at the same time have the pop sensibilities to attract a more mainstream, single buying public. I am actually quite a fan of these tunes, as I have seen how far the band have taken the tunes from the EPs with a re-make of original tune ‘Juno’ from the Between Order And Model CD being renamed to ‘Juneau’ to fit the new sound for the album and the original version of ‘She Drove Me To Daytime Television’ which was first released on the ‘Four Ways To Scream Your Name’ EP. I was proud to consider myself a fan of both of these CDs after I had heard them and these two tracks were ones that really appealed to my taste at the time. It is not until you are a fan of the originals that you can really begin to appreciate the brilliance of the production and work that has gone in to changing them both. I may not be a fan of Major’s, but they sure do have what it takes to refine and tweak a song in order to turn it in to something that a mass audience can enjoy and also appreciate.

Funeral For a Friend’s ‘Casually Dressed And Deep In Conversation’ – same band, better production. That’s pretty much all there is to it – with a bit of modern technology, a fairly unknown, underground Emotional Hardcore outfit have been turned in to the next big thing.

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Bedford Falls Demo

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This is a 2 track Demo CD from the South Wales band that is Bedford Falls. They play chilled out rock music that is sure to put a smile on your face with its unique and exciting style. These guys sure know how to pen a fine tune and as a result have come out on top with these 2 blinding tracks which show tremendous style, and immense flair.

This band has a great talent for what they do – this is shown with these two excellently produced tunes of Rock supremacy. They have some awesome vocals, strong bass lines, firing guitar riffs and smash heavy drumming. This is what I like to be listening to as it chills you out and sounds cool at the same time – perfect for any occasion/mood. I love the way that the second track, ‘Wire Act’ kicks off as it is such a chilled out beat that conveys fun and excitement for music. When you are listening to a band it is always good to hear that they are having just as much fun playing the song as you’re having listening to it – if they’re not then you begin to question why they’re making the music that they are. Bedford Falls sound very much laid back indeed, keeping a good, strong beat at all times and never going out of tune.

If it is excitement that you are looking for then this band will more than likely provide for you – I felt that the music which they have created here was very laid back indeed giving off nothing but positive vibes. These are tunes that will cheer you up if you are depressed, or keep you cheerful when you’re happy. This band really can’t be knocked for what they are doing as it is definitely verging on perfect with happy times being had by all. The mood has certainly been set and is set permanently on ‘happy times’! I love the way that the vocalist here stays calm and collective at all times and never loses his cool – an extremely talented man that does not need to break into hardcore just to grab your attention – the sheer power of his voice alone will do that!

This is definitely a group of extremely talented musicians, and they all sound like they are having the time of their lives – it is great stuff, it truly is. If you are fond on Rock music and are willing to check out something that is refreshing, laid back, and heavily chilled out then make sure you check out Bedford Falls as they are the perfect band to listen to after a stressful day in order to clear your head of all things bad. I will be looking forward to hearing more stuff by these guys as after listening to this CD I was smiling from ear to ear and it left me wishing that it was more than just a two track Demo CD. If they can leave you feeling chilled out after a mere 2 tracks – think what they could do with a whole album! Inspiring stuff – its music like this that’s the reason you started a band in the first place!

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