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Reviews

Steriogram – Schmack

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Chances are, in 5 years time you won’t even remember the name of this band and will have completely forgotten about this album, however at the moment its fun to listen to and has some amazingly catchy tunes embedded into its 12 track line up. This band made it big over here after breakthrough single ‘Walkie Talkie Man’ was used for the iPOD adverts. I really don’t know what sort of genre you would put on this band but what I do know is that they have some seriously catchy lyrics, amazingly cool guitar riffs, booming bass lines, and demon drum beats.

Such tracks as ‘Walkie Talkie Man,’ ‘Fat and Proud,’ and ‘Wind It Up’ really stand out and put a smile on your face. They’re not the most technically advanced of tunes, but nonetheless they push all the right buttons and with them the band has really provided the listener with some solid listening pleasure. Steriogram combine normal vocals with spat out rapping and through doing so they really do sound excruciatingly good. It often makes me cringe when bands try and incorporate rapping into the experience, but when it is done well the sound is sublime and Steriogram are evidence of this.

This may not be the most memorable of albums, but is does have some catchy beats and fun songs that will get you dancing away and singing along for weeks. Be sure to check this band out, as if you enjoyed ‘Walkie Talkie Man,’ then chances are that this album will tickle your fancy. I can see Steriogram disappearing into the abyss after this album, but for the moment the fun of this album is up for the taking.

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Senses Fail – Let It Enfold You

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Senses Fail is a once cliched emo band from New Jersey. The music on this ‘Let It Unfold You’ album is generic bilge that offers nothing new to the genre whatsoever. This album was followed by ‘Still Searching’ however which I personally believe to be a greatly impressive album; proof that the band did not need to be as generic as they were with this release.

The music is all very similar on this album and none of the tracks really shine through. Tracks contain titles such as ‘Rum Is for Drinking, Not for Burning’, ‘Lady in a Blue Dress’, ‘Irony of Dying on Your Birthday’, really however you will not be able to tell where one track ends and the next begins. All the music is here incredibly similar and when you finish listening to this album you will not be able to relate to any of the tracks by their titles as all are just so similar and when listening it is incredibly difficult to tell them apart.

With this ‘Let It Unfold You’ album Senses Fail stuck to the scream-melody-scream format and the music is therefore greatly lacking in depth. Each and every scream is seemingly precisely planned, you know where each and every shout will come and never does the music surprise you. Instrumentally this band has a little to offer but still the music is lacking. There is a definite absence of originality here, Senses Fail do not prove themselves to be a particularly exciting band at all with this album and as the band drones from track to track never does the bands sound contain any underlying energy or passion.

‘Let It Unfold You’ was released back in 2004 and was followed in 2006 by the greatly superior ‘Still Searching’. There is just no comparing these two albums, with ‘Still Searching’ the band sound so accomplished and yet here the music lacks direction and power and merely washes over you as you listen. There is little originality on display on this album and as you listen to it you’re just left hoping for it all to come to an end. ‘Let It Unfold You’ is not at all an album that I would recommend listening to, I do however suggest giving ‘Still Searching’ a listen as this is a greatly more enjoyable album. ‘Still Searching’ is packed full of promise, little on this album however will impress you in the slightest and ultimately the ‘Let It Unfold You’ album I feel will always leave you disappointed.

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Review Star

The Wildhearts Strike Back

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Everyone loves The Wildhearts – they’re one of those bands with universal appeal, regardless of your musical genre/s of choice you will find yourself singing along to this band at every opportunity. This is a double CD of some of the bands greatest material taken from a variety of live performances between April and May 2004.

For your money here you will get the renditions of 21, yes that’s right kids, 21 of the bands finest tunes including ‘Vanilla Radio,’ ‘Caffeine Bomb,’ ‘Love you till I don’t,’ and ‘Turning American.’ There are too many great tracks on this CD to mention really but you can be sure that you will be getting your monies worth and more with this fantastic album. I don’t usually comment on album artwork, but the artwork for this CD is just too good to miss out really. For your money you will get two covers, one in a Star Wars fashion, and another in a crazy psychedelic style. They both look really cool, but then again it’d be shame to ruin a CD of such high quality with a poor cover, so the cover here does the CD proud.

The Wildhearts are a truly electric live band and this really comes across on the CD here. Sometimes you can be at a gig thinking how amazing it is, then later hear a clip from the gig and be really disappointed with what you hear. With ‘The Wildhearts Strike Back,’ the excitement of the live shows has definitely been captured and comes across full throttle. If you are a fan of the band then this CD is a vital one for your collection and needs to be picked up sharpish. However, if you are not a Wildhearts fan then firstly what do you think you’re playing at, and secondly go and buy this CD now as I swear it will leave you converted to the wicked ways of The Wildhearts.

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AFI – Retrospective

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This is a collection of some of AFI’s finest material from the golden years when they were signed to Nitro. It spans the years of 1995-2000 and there will doubtlessly be countless squabbles amongst fans of the band about how their favourite AFI track was not included in the CD, but quite frankly AFI just have way too many good songs to include them all on this Nitro archive album. This CD contains 15 songs of the bands finest moments and clocks in at just less than 40 minutes. This release is more for the newer fans of the band that fell in love with them after ‘Sing The Sorrow,’ because those that have been fans of the band since the very beginning probably already own the majority, if not all of this material.

Such classics are present on this CD as ‘I Wanna Get a Mohawk’ ‘The Days of the Phoenix,’ and ‘The Lost Souls.’ The latter two of course taken from the bands successful album ‘The Art of Drowning’ and ‘I Wanna Get a Mohawk’ from the bands highly influential debut album, ‘Answer That and Stay Fashionable.’ The album is pretty much in chronological order running from newest to oldest material, apart from ‘I Wanna Get a Mohawk’ which they have seemingly chosen to place as the 12th track on the CD. The CD has some interesting choices for inclusion on the CD, and as I have already said should provide quite a good idea of what the band were once like for those that only discovered the band after their 2003 release ‘Sing The Sorrow’ on Island Records.

So, if you are a new fan of the band then you will probably want to check this album out as the old AFI material (when they were a credible Hardcore band) is a hell of a lot better than their newer stuff. However, if you already own the bands Nitro back catalogue then this probably isn’t worth buying as aside from the few rarities on display here that you’ve probably acquired some way or another anyway everything is readily available on the old albums and EPs. For me, listening to the AFI Retrospective has been a great nostalgic experience and certainly reminded me of the good times that were once had with this once awesome, now average band.

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Beastie Boys – An Open Letter to NYC

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‘An Open Letter to NYC’ is the third single to be lifted from the bands critically acclaimed latest album, ‘To The 5 Boroughs.’ This track is an ode to the cities multiethnic and cross-cultural strength and resilience, and sees the band taking on some more old skool beats, along with some truly creative twists thus ensuring that they stay at the top of the alternative rock/hip hop game.

This really is an amazing tune and shows just why the band are as big as they are in this day and age. They are so good at blending hip hop with alternative rock, adding neat little scratches to the mix, and making tracks that are full of creativity and jam packed with excitement. The Beastie Boys are clearly one of the greatest bands ever to have come out of New York. They make truly inspirational music that has a mass appeal being loved by many, and hated by few. The line in the song ‘Dear New York I know a lot has changed, 2 towers down but you’re still in the game,’ shows the bands passion for their hometown, and shows that the Beastie Boys are proud to be from a city that has been through so much and somehow come out smelling of roses.

Beastie Boys will always have a special place in mine and many others hearts due to the true genius of their music which makes every seconds listening pleasurable. There is never a dull moment with these guys and after all these years they still seem to be producing the goods and pressing all the right buttons. This is a fresh sounding new tune and amongst the sea of average tunes that are currently out at the moment it towers high above the rest.

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Tsunami Bomb – The Definitive Act

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Tsunami Bomb are almost certainly one of the greatest female fronted bands in Punk Rock. Agent M has such an amazing voice – within seconds her voice can change from to melodic to heavy and it just sounds amazing. She really is a talented front woman and is definitely what makes Tsunami Bomb sound so special. I have always considered myself to be a fan of the band, and this CD certainly doesn’t make me reconsider my position as a fan. The band here has produced another fine effort which shows just why they are as big as they are. This is probably the last album the band will be releasing on Kung Fu due to a bit of a fallout with the label, but they are definitely bombing out on a high!

This is a 12 track album with a very raw edge about it. Due to the band being on Kung Fu, people have always thought of Tsunami Bomb as being a Pop Punk band but this is certainly not the case and for anyone listening to this record that fact is as clear as day. Tsunami Bomb are a fine Punk Rock band and produce music which is intelligent, heavy, and full of passion. You can tell that the band really believe in what they are singing about and this is a quality that a lot of bands seem to lack.

I think that a few people may be put off by first track ‘Dawn On A Funeral Day’ as it really is a bit of a letdown, but I was well prepared for this as I had heard the track on the ‘Punk Rock Is Your Friend’ compilation and knew what to expect. For me this is the only lowlight of the CD and from track 2, ‘Being Alright’ onwards the CD just seems to get better and better and the band seem to sound amazing at all times.

There are so many standout tracks from this album that it is hard to pick a favourite, but ‘A lonely Chord’ is certainly one of the first songs that comes to mind. This is an awesome track with some strong drumming, fine guitar riffs, amazing bass lines, and the ever excellent vocals of Agent M. Her vocals really seem to work well on this one and you can just feel the emotion in her voice as she blasts through the track. This really is a powerful tune and I think that it has come out really well on record. ‘Safety Song’ is another of the names that springs to mind as being a slight cut above the rest. The female and male vocal collaboration really does go down a treat on this track and sounds absolutely perfect. The two very different vocal styles work really well together and the contrast in sounds makes way for a truly amazing tune.

I truly believe that any one of these tracks could be released as a single and do well as they are all such amazing quality tunes with such depth to them that it is unbelievable. Every time you listen to this CD you seem to pick up on something you had missed on a previous listen, meaning that you never tire of the album and every listen is one of utter astonishment. Once again Tsunami Bomb have produced the goods and made a superb album that I won’t be putting down for a long while yet.

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Say No More Demo

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This is the first Demo from Maidstone band Say No More and is a really promising first effort. The band have been together for just over a year, but they only played their first gig at the end of March and so far have only played about three gigs in total so they are still in the early stages of development really. This is a 4 track Demo showing off the bands fine Pop Punk which draws influence most notably from Blink182.

The Demo kicks off with the Intro, which starts the CD off in a Hardcore fashion and is closely followed by the bands first track of the CD, ‘Come Home.’ There is definitely a Tom DeLonge influence to the vocals in this track, with some strong drum beats, amazing guitar riffs, and some smooth bass lines which finish the track off nicely. This is a well put together first track for the Demo which gets you in the mood for more. The band then moves on to the second track, ‘Careless.’ This is another good track and the band continues to impress with their, fast, funky pop punk. Again, the drumming is really strong and makes the song sound truly amazing – concluding with a smart drum solo that will almost certainly have you tapping your feet to. This is probably one of my favourite tracks from the Demo and it really does go down a treat. The band just sound amazing on this track and you’d never believe that they’ve only been together just over a year and played a mere three gigs.

‘Where’s Dad’ is the third track on the CD and the band carry on their full on assault of good quality Punk Rock that you can see yourself dancing to at a gig. This truly is another classic track from the band and is proof hat they will one day be something quite special. If they can do this after a year of being together and barely any gigs then in a few years time there is no reason why they shouldn’t be one of the leading bands in the scene. They have definitely got talent and really show it off on this Demo. ‘One Last Word’ is no exception to the rule as the band finish the CD off nicely with another serving of Punk Rock. This is a nice little number to end the CD with as it is a top quality tune and the band as always really do sound good on it. The instrumental side of this track sounds spot on, as do the vocals – it really is a genius tune and I am sure that the band are really proud of what they have produced here.

Say No More are by no means perfect, but they have definitely got something good going here and have plenty of stuff they can work on to improve their sound and continue to grow as a band. After a first Demo you can generally see whether a band is going to work or not, and on the basis of this Demo, Say No More are certainly going to work long term and end up being something truly astounding one day. They have the basics and have definitely got talent so there is no reason why the band shouldn’t go on to achieve greater things in the scene. I’m really looking forward to hearing what the band come up with next as I truly believe that they have a bright future ahead of them.

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Whitmore – Solstice Rise

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Ok, I have to admit I have never really been a very big fan of Whitmore as in the past I have always found them pretty cheesy and wasn’t at all impressed with their last album on Moon Ska. However, I did find myself quite enjoying them last year at one of their gigs and they were sounding pretty fresh so I went into listening to this album truing to forget my previous judgements of the band.

For the most part this is quite a good album with a lot of good tunes and a few I recognise from their live shows and the good points definitely outweigh the bad points. I have never really liked Jay’s drumming but on this album it really seems to shine through and sounds amazing. He has definitely upped his game and is now drumming confidently and sounding sublime for it. This is definitely an area the band have improved on and definitely deserve credit for it as the first few times I saw them live I felt that the drumming was really letting the band down and making them sound worse than they really are. One of the tracks I feel has really come together well on this CD with drums, guitars, bas, and vocals all sounding perfect is ‘Flicking The Bean.’ This track has a bit of a Ska vibe and the band drive through it frantically making way for an awesome tune that would definitely get the pit moving and the Ska kids skanking. I like the feel of this tune and think that it is probably one of the greatest songs the band have ever produced.

The track that kicks the CD off, ‘Too Long Too Late’ is another amazing tune. It has a great vibe, and could easily become a hit with its extreme bounce and exciting feel. It is an energetic opener for the CD and really gets you in the mood for another helping of Whitmore. Again, the drumming on this track is awesome and the band really are sounding a lot better for their newfound drumming ability. The band probably couldn’t have picked a better tune to kick start the CD as this Punk little number really hypes you up for more. Another tune I feel has come out well is ‘Fighting For Today.’ This track really does sound great and it definitely feels like the band are putting their all into it. Whitmore really seem to be enjoying their music now and their music seems to have been given an injection of life and excitement.

If you have not been a fan of this band in the past the I still think you ought to check this CD out as I wasn’t a fan before hearing this CD but it has definitely converted me with its exciting, upbeat tracks which are sure to put a smile on the face of many people across the country. It is definitely an improvement on previous material they have released and as time goes on the band are definitely getting better and gelling better as a band. They’ve always been better than Uncle Brian ever were or ever will be, but this new album has taken the band onto a whole new level.

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Desert Monkey – Water Damage

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‘Water Damage’ is a 5 track EP from a band that I first heard a while back and was very impressed with – Desert Monkey. ‘Water Damage’ is another impressive release from the band and continues their assault of no holds barred rock music with a passion. They are such a powerful band and I feel that the majority of the power comes across in their vocals as the front man here is obviously very talented and has a fine art for superb vocals. The guitar riffs also create the feeling of power that you get when you listen to Desert Monkey as they are very dark and sinister and just generally sound amazing. There is a distinct dark edge to their music which really comes across well in these 5 tracks.

I think that the band have definitely improved since I last heard them and this EP is another classic that should see the band further their fan bass still and gain some good support slots. They have a hell of a lot of talent and you can tell that they have a passion for the music which they are creating and this is what makes it so special. There is never a dull moment on this CD and at every moment possible the band appears to be aiming to impress. There are 5 strong tracks here and it is hard to pick out the best tracks from it as they are all just so fine and the recordings just sound perfect. Sometimes recordings can be too clean, or indeed too rough but Desert Monkey seem to have got the mixture just right and the sound really does sound awesome and really suits their distinct style of rock music. They have a truly amazing drummer that really does knock together some astonishing beats that will have you tapping your feet in no time.

This band are still only young and I feel that they will be around for many a year to come yet and will be releasing CD after CD of pure Rock gold for some time. You just get a sense that they are in it for the long haul when you listen to this CD as it really seems like they are feeling the music and believe in what they are producing. If you get a chance then make sure you check this band out – in the mean time, buy this CD and prepare to be amazed by their brilliance.

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Rammstein – Amerika

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This is not the bands best ever single however I still like it quite a lot and it has a really catchy rhythm to it. Rammstein are everyone’s favourite Germans due to the superb music which they are renowned for releasing. They have had a number of astonishing albums and a string of great singles and it is no surprise really why they are so popular as they are a superb band with a hell of a lot of credibility.

As I have already mentioned, this is not the best single the band have ever released however it is still a credible industrial metal single and has one hell of a catchy chorus. This is a well thought out single and has a cracking guitar solo towards the end of the CD where the band really do shine. The solo has come out really great on CD and I am sure that live it would sound blinding and would really get the crowd going. Rammstein have never been one of my favourite bands however I do own the majority of their CDs and have always had a certain respect for them and this single has certainly added to my respect. It is a fine effort from the German industrial band and will most certainly be in my CD changer for a while, however I sense that it is one of those tunes that you like at first but grow to dislike over time which is why I believe it is not the bands best single as ‘Sonne’ still puts a smile on my face to this day.

On display here is near on 4 minutes of good quality music that will please the already converted and possibly gain the band a few fans who are new to listening to Metal that may go on and buy the bands previous releases and be well and truly impressed with what they find. It is always great to find a band and then buy their earlier recordings and find them even more enjoyable than the track that got you into them. Rammstein may not be at their best at the moment but they are still producing plausible music which is by no means rubbish and definitely shows elements of genius from the band. This single is proof that there is still life in the old industrial band and should be more to come.

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