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Less Than Jake – See the Light

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After half a decade of inactivity on the studio album front, Less Than Jake really are back with a bang with ‘See the Light‘. Released via Fat Wreck Chords, ‘See the Light‘ is the band’s ninth studio album to date, a thirteen track release that should no doubt please long term fans of the band and win over new admirers, too.

Right from the opening of first track ‘Good Enough‘ there’s a fantastic familiarity about the music; the track is complete with the energy found on early albums such as ‘Losing Streak‘ and ‘Hello Rockview‘, whilst also featuring powerful production values and a strong sense of the pop sensibilities that have helped propel the band forward throughout the years. Blurring the borders (and boundaries) between old school and new school Less Than Jake, ‘Good Enough‘ provides a fantastic introduction to this release, setting the bar extremely high with an opening that makes it instantly clear that ‘See the Light‘ is likely to be an extremely special album from Less Than Jake.

As the band launch their way through the ‘See the Light‘ studio album you get to experience a number of sides and sounds of Less Than Jake, from the short and snappy blast of ‘A Short History Lesson‘, to the more relaxed pace and chilled out vibe of ‘Do the Math‘. The band bounce through the album with a strong sense of style, with the horn section driving right through the heart of the release. Whilst lyrically the album may touch upon some pretty dark subject matter, the band always manage to make the music sound extremely upbeat and positive. There’s an impressive lyrical strength present throughout and you can definitely tell that the band have matured a lot as musicians over the years; you can tell that this is an album from a band with a huge amount of experience, but there’s also much about the music that feels extremely familiar from even the earliest of the band’s releases.

Just as Less Than Jake begin the album with a bang in ‘Good Enough‘, closing number ‘Weekends All Year Long‘ ensures that the album not only has an incredible opening, but also an absolutely sublime closing anthem. There’s an underlying instrumental aggression about the sound, some extremely hard hitting vocals, and also some of the band’s most memorable horn work to date. The track just seems to slot together incredibly nicely in all areas; it’s tight, well worked, and everything about the track just feels right.

Some of the tracks present on this album are amongst the best that Less Than Jake have ever written, and it’s all been produced by the band’s very own Roger Lima, an extremely impressive point when you consider that this album probably has the best production values of any album that the band have ever put out. Less Than Jake’s last album to be put out through Fat Wreck Chords came way back in 2000 with ‘Borders & Boundaries‘, and by returning to Fat Wreck for ‘See the Light‘ they have managed to once again do the label incredibly proud with another incredibly high quality ska punk studio album that should most definitely put a huge smile on the face of fans of the genre.

Everything that made Less Than Jake such an exciting band in the late 90s/early 2000s is still there in abundance with ‘See the Light‘, but there’s also a fantastic depth and lyrical maturity about the band now. Musically the album is extremely tight, and at every step and turn there is much to admire and appreciate about the material on display here. Listening to this album you feel an extreme sense of happiness and joy; not a nostalgic appreciation for what the band were, but a fantastic admiration for what the band very much still are today. After more than 20 years on the scene, Less Than Jake are still as relevant today as ever, producing absolutely fantastic ska punk music that comes complete with lyrical depth, instrumental strength, and a fine art for crafting an incredibly catchy chorus. The ska punk scene may not be as thriving today as it once was, Less Than Jake are still doing their thing with incredible style, however, and they evidence in ‘See the Light‘ just how strong a ska punk band they still truly are.

Gravity Rush Review

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Although originally intended for release on the Playstation 3, Gravity Rush is a game that feels every bit as though it was always destined to become a handheld title.

Taking control of a girl called Kat (who has a mysterious and magical black cat), the game takes you on a journey as you learn to harness a variety of magical powers for the good of the floating city of Hekseville. Kat’s actions are not taken entirely positively at the beginning of the game, as you explore and your powers grow, however, the people of Hekseville begin to take note of the work that you’re doing to piece the city back together again, and your reputation grows as your powers develop.

An extremely enjoyable pick-up-and-play title, Gravity Rush introduces new skills and powers as you progress, making the game more difficult as you go along and therefore keeping you gripped throughout. Whilst the graphics may not push the limits of the Playstation Vita’s capabilities, the game nonetheless has an extremely impressive aesthetic style that’s warm and easy on the eye. With bright and vibrant colours at the forefront of the game’s visual style, Gravity Rush is always a pleasure to look at as well as a delight to play, and whilst admiring some extremely stunning scenery you also get to play a handheld title that’s enjoyable, different, and comes with a good degree of challenge.

When learning new skills and putting Kat’s new powers into action, it really feels as though the game’s platform has been extremely well thought about; Gravity Rush always feels as though it’s designed to make the most of the Playstation Vita’s key features, utilising the touch screen as well as the system’s physical buttons to provide an extremely satisfying overall gaming experience. Sometimes you can play a game and feel as though the publisher wasn’t really thinking about the end user when the controls for the game were thought up, or when a game is released for multiple platforms it can sometimes feel as though the key features and functionalities of the system have been overlooked, with Gravity Rush being a PS Vita exclusive, however, this is a game where the controls always seem to come very naturally and the game therefore runs very smoothly both visually and also in terms of how it actually plays.

Utilising comic book panels in order to help tell the story of the game as you progress, Gravity Rush is a good mix of comic book cool and superb superhero gameplay, a great open world adventure game that has an impressive aesthetic style and a very intriguing key protagonist in Kat. The game has a light-hearted tone which fits well with its superhero style, and if you own a Playstation Vita then Gravity Rush really is a must have title. As you play the game you want to learn more about Kat and never want the game to end, she’s a fun character to play as and is definitely a key part of the game’s charm and success. When you’ve finished with the game you feel that you want to know far more, and as there’s a Gravity Rush sequel currently in development it’ll definitely be interesting to see where the next game takes things.

Gravity Rush offers something a little bit different and this is most definitely one of the key strengths of the title. It’s unique, it’s interesting, and from start to finish the game never once loses its charm. Depending on your gameplay style you’re probably looking at about 10-20 hours to complete the game, as it’s such a beautiful game to look at though, if you’re anything like me you’re going to want to take your time to really stop and admire the aesthetics of the production, so you’re probably looking at the upper end of this scale in all probability. It might not be the longest game in the world, but it IS the kind of game that you’re really going to want to see through to the end, so Gravity Rush should definitely provide you with your money’s worth and leave you with a huge smile on your face upon completion.

If you own a Playstation Vita but haven’t yet played Gravity Rush, now is the time to see about changing that as it’s a game that’ll sure not leave you feeling in the least bit disappointed.

TRC – Nation

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The UK hardcore scene is currently so packed with bands, both good and bad, that attempting not to sound like anyone else is a difficult task indeed. One example of not falling into this trap, however, is TRC, a band that is refreshingly combining grime with hardcore, adding fresh new flavours within the hardcore scene. Now for me, when their 2011 album ‘Bright Lights‘ came out, the idea and potential was there, but the execution wasn’t. This was until they released the single ‘#TeamUK‘ (included as track 4 on ‘Nation‘), when they showed the world what they can really do, with fantastic patriotism at the same time. Now that we finally have new album ‘Nation‘, is their potential truly shown? The answer is most definitely a massive fuck yeah.

‘Nation‘ is packed front to back with 8/9 out of 10 songs with the exception of lead single ‘We Bring War’, which has to be a modest 9.6 out of 10; a relentless, full throttle rager of a song, just excellence in its purest form. TRC’s Charlie Wilson has to be up there with the best riff writers out there in the UK at the moment. His work on ‘Nation‘ is excellent on a very riff heavy album, there’s some very well executed rapped speeches, and the album also contains the best use of breakdowns on a hardcore album I’ve heard for a long time. The opening 2 tracks show how the band can excel with equally technical and bouncy instrumentation, just made to jump around like a daft bugger in packed sweaty venues.

Now a lot has been said about rap vocalist Chris Robson, whom I will get onto in just a moment. Right now I’d like to give some credit to the unsung harsh vocalist Anthony Carroll. Carroll’s raspy screamed vocals offer such a raw intensity to TRC’s music, adding such ferocity and venom to the tracks he features on. His vocals on the tracks ‘Motivator‘ and especially ‘We Bring War’ go fantastically with Robson’s vocals, which is what pushes the quality of these tracks over the edge. If there’s one criticism I have of this album, it would be Carroll’s underused vocals, which only feature on 4 tracks on the album. As stated earlier, Robson’s vocals have been talked about a lot with regards to this album, mainly because his vocals and lyrics are nothing short of amazing here, and this is what gives TRC their unique selling point. His style and sometimes, lyrical themes have split opinion on occasion, but this is what takes TRC’s music to a whole new dimension, and offers different themed songs not usually heard within UK hardcore, giving TRC yet another great stand out point. Robson delivers his lyrics with such passion and a real bite, which makes it very difficult to see why some people are H.A.T.E.R.S.

TRC definitely deserve a hell of a lot more credit than they get, and certainly should be playing in bigger venues than they currently are. They have produced an absolute stormer of an album in ‘Nation‘ and this is definitely one of the finest in a line of brilliant albums released in 2013. Make sure to catch them on their October/November tour, they’re playing enough dates, so you have no excuses.

Ashestoangels – With Tape And Needles

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With a synth presence reminiscent of the opening of Michael Jackson’s ‘Beat It‘, the ‘With Tape And Needles‘ studio album opens up in impressive style as ‘The Highest Choir‘ immediately introduces us to Ashestoangels’ strong 80s influence. It’s only a short introductory track, it immediately gives you an idea of the directions that the band is approaching this album from, however, combining an 80s electronic vibe with a gothic punk presence. The album has been produced by Aiden’s William Francis, and you can definitely feel his influence on the album as the band progresses through the nine tracks present on this release.

‘Dolls Dolls Dolls‘ follows on from ‘The Highest Choir‘ with a huge amount of energy, with a simplistic electronic backdrop that nicely compliments the tracks overriding gothic rock sound. Although the synth sound is very basic, it provides a great ambience and adds character that would be greatly missed without its presence. ‘Lumi‘ meanwhile provides a whole different outlook as it follows, slowing things down and sounding extremely atmospheric and textured; there’s a lot going on within the track and with each listen you feel like you gain something new from the music. Rather than feeling cluttered, every sound present in the track just seems to fit perfectly, providing a very satisfying and extremely enjoyable overall listening experience.

With next track ‘Wintervention‘ there’s a fantastic AFI feel about the music once the band gets into its stride, and even the title of the track makes it seem as though it would have been perfect for inclusion on AFI’s 2006 ‘Decemberunderground‘ studio release. The vocals feel a little rough at the beginning, as the band progresses through the track the rawness of the music begins to feel a lot more comfortable though, with fantastic backing vocals present that provide incredible depth and ultimately make the track stand out as one of the best of the album. ‘Wintervention‘ recovers strongly from its shaky beginning, growing in strength and stature as it progresses, and ultimately evolving into something far greater than the intro would have you believe it was ever capable of becoming.

As ‘Good Things Come To Those Who Waste‘ opens there’s a piano presence in the intro that quickly disappears as the rest of the band joins in; it doesn’t really seem to fit, and the track would perhaps benefit from this intro being changed to encompass the full band rather than focusing purely upon the piano. The band often makes good use of the synth, utilisting it to add depth and texture to the music, on this occasion the piano definitely feels a little bit forced in the sound though and this therefore detracts from what is otherwise a pretty decent offering of music. The synth is used well later on within the track, sadly the piano intro just feels a little disorientating, however, and this is definitely something for the band to think about in the future.

With the swirling synth sounds of ‘Elsinore‘, this is another track from the album that sounds absolutely huge. The band has things absolutely spot on here, with the vocals sounding incredible and the track offering a great deal instrumentally also. The electronic elements of the music are absolutely exceptional in ‘Elsinore‘ and this is without doubt a track that could easily attract widespread appeal.

Following on from ‘Elsinore‘, ‘SOS‘ has a huge amount to live up to, once again featuring a pretty stripped back intro with Adam Crilly’s vocals sitting atop of a simplistic piano presence. After the extreme strength of ‘Elsinore‘, ‘SOS‘ just feels a little limp, failing to hit the incredible highs of the previous track and ultimately feeling quite disappointing in comparison. Towards the back end of the track the band shows more than a little fire in its belly and the track sounds more successful as a result, at times though it does feel as though there’s perhaps a little too much going on in the sound. Whereas in ‘Lumi‘ there’s a lot going on but everything feels like it has a place and belongs, the second half of ‘SOS‘ does actually feel slightly cluttered with everything that’s going on, and could perhaps benefit from a little less congestion.

With final track ‘Ghost Frequency‘ the band is able to get things back on track for one final time, with a good amount of energy coming across in the sound and a catchy chorus also present. There’s some decent synth work, and although ‘Elsinore‘ and ‘Wintervention‘ are the best tracks on the album for me, ‘Ghost Frequency‘ is definitely a decent offering of music, making sure that the album ends in style. The outro to ‘Ghost Frequency‘ closes ‘With Tape And Needles‘ out nicely, and all things considered the album definitely leaves you wanting for more.

Ashestoangels showcase a lot of great ideas throughout the ‘With Tape And Needles‘ album; the music isn’t always perfectly executed, but the creative vision is most definitely there and this therefore holds much promise for the future. The more stripped back moments of the music can sometimes feel a little too bare and at other times there are elements of the sound that feel slightly misplaced or a little too busy, when the band gets the formula right the music has a huge amount to offer though, with Ashestoangels at times showcasing some absolutely sublime vocal and instrumental talent.

Time will only tell as to what the future holds for Ashestoangels, if you’re a fan of the likes of AFI, Aiden and Fearless Vampire Killers, however, ‘With Tape And Needles‘ is definitely an album that’s well worth a listen.

OneRepublic – Counting Stars

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Taken from OneRepublic’s third studio album, ‘Native‘, ‘Counting Stars‘ clocks in at just past the 4 minute mark and comes complete with a large number of tempo changes. The formula is much the same as with OneRepublic single success stories of the past, and having hit number 2 in the official UK singles chart ‘Counting Stars‘ has actually become OneRepublic’s biggest commercial success as a single here in the UK, going one further than ‘Apologize‘ which hit number 3 back in 2007.

Whilst the track starts out well and Ryan Tedder’s vocals sound as excellent as ever, the frequent tempo changes of the track just really seem to kill the momentum of the music and the song therefore feels extremely long and meandering. ‘Counting Stars‘ is far from being a bad track, and its huge commercial success says a lot about the band’s ability to mould elements of indie, rock, and pop to produce a sound that is clearly very well received by the music purchasing public. As a piece of music this is most certainly a single that has a lot to appreciate about it, for me there have been better singles from the band in the past, however, and ‘Counting Stars‘ suffers from its sporadic shifts and bursts of tempo.

Definitely give ‘Counting Stars‘ a listen if you’ve liked any of OneRepublic’s music in the past, given the extensive radio airplay and huge commercial success of the single though there’s probably a high chance that you’ve heard and made your mind up about this one already.

Miss Vincent – Creepy

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Clearly influenced by American punk rock bands such as Alkaline Trio, Bad Religion, and AFI, Miss Vincent is an extremely impressive up and coming band from Guildford with a strong knack for crafting catchy punk rock songs complete with absolutely huge choruses. Whilst keeping an obviously British vocal sound, Miss Vincent very much wear their influences on their sleeve, penning five songs here that some of their influences would no doubt be extremely proud of writing if they were their own.

‘Deadlock‘ gets the release off to an incredibly impressive start, a catchy track with an absolutely brilliant intro that instantly has you hooked and fully expecting something rather special from the rest of the EP. Right from the word go here the band really draws you in with a strong instrumental ability and incredibly powerful vocal presence from frontman Alex Marshall. It’s the perfect opening track as it very quickly grabs you, something that’s absolutely essential given that the entire EP clocks in at just over 15 minutes.

With second track ‘I Don’t Want This‘ the band continues to deliver, a fast and frantic number that features an incredibly catchy chorus and at times very strong Bad Religion influence. The high energy of the track continues into third song ‘Planning To Fail‘, another incredibly infectious offering that fans of the genre should absolutely love. It’s the vocals of Alex Marshall that really stand out most strongly here, there’s a great deal of depth to his voice and he seems absolutely perfect for fronting a band of this sort. All four of the band’s members are very clearly incredibly capable musicians, the presence of lead vocalist Alex Marshall however is what ensures that Miss Vincent is not just a good band, but a great band.

An extremely impressive guitar intro to fourth track ‘Carry On‘ kicks the song off with a huge amount of style, and as the track progresses it’s ensured that this is another fine offering of punk rock that will live long in the memory. With final track ‘Testing Times‘ it’s then confirmed that there’s not a single bad track on this release; the infectious nature of the EP continues as the band’s members further demonstrate their incredible ability as musicians to mould elements of punk, rock, and pop together, producing a strong sound that is intensely fun and enjoyable to listen to.

It’s impressive to think that Miss Vincent only actually formed in 2012 and that the best is probably still yet to come. Moving forward it’ll certainly be interesting to hear a full-length release from Miss Vincent, and given the strong ability to pen a fine punk rock tune that is showcased here, the future should certainly be bright for this young band. For those that grew up on Epitaph/Fat Wreck Chords artists, listening to Miss Vincent is a definite must as this is a band that clearly takes great influence from many of the artists that have been signed to these labels over the years, a band that is easily equally capable at the sound as any of the giants of the genre. With the ‘Creepy‘ EP currently available for free download from Bandcamp, there’s really no reason not to give this release a go, and every reason to head along to the website right now and make sure that you get this EP downloaded.

Miss Vincent is without doubt a band to watch out for in the future, with a very clear love and passion for punk rock, and an extremely strong knowledge and understanding of the genre.

DJ Fresh vs Diplo – Earthquake (ft. Dominique Young Unique)

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Having progressed from commercial drum and bass artist to respectable all-round dance artist, DJ Fresh has now teamed up with Diplo here for a track that doesn’t really seem to hold any trace of his roots whatsoever. Sounding more like a straight up Diplo song than a collaboration with DJ Fresh, ‘Earthquake‘ is a trap track that features vocals from American rapper Dominique Young Unique.

For those that have been a fan of DJ Fresh’s music in the past, ‘Earthquake‘ may well come as a bit of a surprise as it’s an urban track that whilst featuring a huge amount of bass, doesn’t really fit the DJ Fresh mould. Extremely loud and in-your-face, there’s a distinct lack here of the supreme pop sensibilities that typically make DJ Fresh singles so pleasing to listen to. Replacing the radio friendly fun with a weekend clubbing experience vibe, ‘Earthquake‘ is an extremely disappointing piece of music that fails to ever really ignite. The video for the track is extremely aesthetically pleasing with a superhero theme to tie in with the track’s presence on the Kick-Ass 2 soundtrack, the music itself however fails to feature quite so much charm with its generic trap formula.

Whilst fans of Diplo’s music may appreciate what they find here with ‘Earthquake‘, those that are expecting pop infused dance music in the typical style of DJ Fresh are unlikely to be quite so enamoured by the track, and a large proportion of DJ Fresh’s fanbase are likely to be left confused and disappointed by what they find here.

Sub Focus – Turn It Around ft. Kele

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A few years back there were a number of Sub Focus live videos that emerged of an unreleased track called ‘Turn It Around‘, a track that seemingly went on to become ‘Out The Blue‘ which was released as a single in 2012. Confusingly, in 2013 we now have a new single from Sub Focus titled ‘Turn It Around‘ making use of a very similar synth line. Featuring Kele Okereke of Bloc Party fame, ‘Turn It Around‘ has a more mellow feel to it than its predecessor, a nice fuzzy bass presence, and a lot to really love about it. Whilst there may be a lot to love here, the synth line similar to ‘Out The Blue‘ which appears in the track is one that you will probably either love or hate. With an almost 8-bit sound, the first occurrence of this synth line really stumped me when first listening to the track; expecting the track to drop into something with an extremely big sound, what’s actually thrown into the mix here is a slightly jarring synth line which absolutely spoilt the track for me on first listen. With repeated listens it became clear that it only actually crops up twice in the track and that the second instance sounds a lot more natural, it’s definitely a bit of a shock to the system when first hearing it though, and I feel that when it first appears it halts the momentum that has been built up until that point and that the overall flow of the music could have been stronger without it.

Looking into the positive aspects of the music there’s an extremely high quality drum & bass underbelly to the track, Kele’s vocals are excellent, and it ticks a lot of boxes in what’s required to make a successful dance single. ‘Turn It Around‘ is bound to get clubbers dancing en masse, is a song that should go down well with radio listeners, and is likely to perform extremely well in the single charts. Not everything about the track may be entirely to my personal tastes, this is nonetheless a pretty decent piece of music though and a drum & bass single that should draw in Bloc Party fans and Sub Focus fans alike, and potentially gain Sub Focus a good number of new devotees in the process.

Saints Row IV Review

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In the early days of the Saints Row franchise a criticism that was often levelled against the game was that it was nothing more than a GTA clone, with Saints Row: The Third, however, the franchise really began to develop its own very separate identity, and with Saints Row IV the game further distances itself from the GTA way.

With the majority of the Saints Row IV gameplay set inside a simulation, you spend most of the game attempting to infiltrate the main frame as you gain superpowers and smash your way through the Steelport setting, using your powers to try and take down the system. Steelport is the same setting as was utilised in Saints Row: The Third, we’re now five years on from the events of the third game though and the world is now a very different place with the leader of the Saints having now been elected president of the United States.

For those that enjoyed Saints Row: The Third, Saints Row IV is a nice little followup to the game that provides an insight into what happened next. It’s unpredictable, out there, and a lot of the things that made Saints Row: The Third such a fun game to play return here, it’s just amped up a level, with the fairly regular open world gameplay of the third game ported into a world of simulation where telekinesis comes as naturally to you as walking and running, and where driving cars around the city can at times just be a drag when you could happily glide to your next location just as quickly.

Saints Row IV Dubstep Gun

Saints Row: The Third had some very cool elements of humour, and this aspect of the game is carried through into Saints Row IV with some at times rather amusing aspects of sexual humour and the inclusion of good fun weaponry such as the dubstep gun. The game doesn’t take itself too seriously, and when you first start playing the game it’s a huge amount of fun to roam around Steelport as you take advantage of your superpowers, launching your way up buildings and gliding your way through the city. The quests are on the whole quite entertaining to take on and there are some decent elements of gameplay throughout, at times the game can feel a little bit repetitive, however, and some of the gameplay can feel like a bit of a slog as you wade through the dull parts in order to reach the more fulfilling quests that the game has to offer. Even when the game is bland it’s still not bad, just a little on the repetitive side and it therefore falls a little flat at times when you’re not being hit with crude humour and amusing weaponry to keep you entertained.

If you played and enjoyed Saints Row: The Third then Saints Row IV is definitely a game to consider adding to your collection as the chances are that you’ll find a fair amount of enjoyment in its gameplay. If you’re a Playstation owner with Playstation Plus, Saints Row: The Third is currently available in the instant game collection and therefore well worth a download if you’re not yet familiar with the Saints Row franchise, and if superhero antics and sexual humour are your bag then Saints Row IV should certainly be your kind of game.

Open world environment aside, Saints Row IV is an extremely different game to Grand Theft Auto V, the focus here is very much on fun and humour rather than aesthetic beauty and movie-like storylines, if you’re looking for a fun way to spend your evenings/weekends though then this may well be the game for you. Grand Theft Auto V is an absolutely brilliant game that you’ll want to be playing for months to come, sometimes you just require a bit of light entertainment in your gaming life though and for occasions like those? Saints Row IV is a very good choice of game.

Panicland – MMXIII

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Based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Panicland is a three-piece pop band that takes on a range of different influences, with clear inspiration in their sound from the rock, indie, and R&B genres to name but a few. The Beach Boys is one of the artists specifically cited as one of the band’s influences, and this is certainly something that can be heard on the first track on the mixtape, ‘Rock Ur Body‘.

With a very laid back feel to it, ‘Rock Ur Body‘ is a very simple yet effective pop song which underlines the idea that less is sometimes more when it comes to penning the perfect pop song. It’s a simply constructed piece of music that is absolutely packed with positivity, the kind of track that you can definitely imagine an already established pop act enjoying a great deal of success with. The bass is very prominent in the sound here, providing a strong presence throughout the track and carrying a very heavy instrumental impact. Braedon Horbacio’s vocals are impressive, it’s the instrumental aspect of the sound that really makes the track, however, creating the feel-good factor and establishing the strong ambience of the music.

Second track ‘Hover‘ explores the band’s R&B influence, with the bass dropping back in the sound as the drumbeat becomes the overriding instrumental presence. ‘Hover‘ showcases a completely different side to Panicland’s sound, something which is again true with final track ‘Lockets‘ as the band moves into a more rock based territory. This mixtape serves as a demonstration of the versatility of this pop band’s sound, with an evident diversity of influences which makes the band an exciting and unpredictable prospect for the future.

Although all three of the tracks present on this mixtape explore a different side of the band, one feature that persists throughout is the band’s focus on simplicity. The chorus of ‘Lockets‘ only contains two different words as Braedon Horbacio repeats ‘It’s alright, alright, alright’, despite the fact that the chorus only contains two different words it’s still very powerfully sung out, however, and the band demonstrates a strong understanding of the pop genre and a solid sense of pop sensibilities that belies the young age of the band’s musicians.

‘MMXIII‘ is an impressive mixtape from Panicland, a young pop band that will only get better as they continue to progress and mature as musicians. Later this year they’ll head out to Toronto to work with Greig Nori (Marianas Trench, Hedley, Sum 41) on their debut album, and if this mixtape is anything to go by then Panicland is a band that you can definitely expect to hear much more from in the future, a young band that seems absolutely destined for success with such a strong knowledge and understanding of pop music and exactly what it takes to write and record a successful pop song.

You can listen to Panicland’s ‘MMXIII‘ mixtape on Audiomack, where the mixtape is available for streaming and also for free download.