Reviews

Mr Miagi – Think Outside The Box

June 3, 2004 by Rich Leave a Comment

Mr Miagi are a 6 piece Skacore band from Bournemouth that have been going since April 2001. This is a 4 track EP of Skacore madness. Track 1, ‘Compete For Gain’ is a skacore track with a fast brass section and some very strong drumming. The vocals in this track are done great and are in great tune and the backing vocals really seem to fit in. It is a fast paced song and has a good rythmn to it and I think that it is a top quality tune. The second track, ‘Music, Money and More’ is another Skacore track and again has a very fast pace. The horn section is awesome – the drumming is strong, the guitaring is great and the vocals are superb. This is a great track and I really like it. It is quite a long track at 3:40 but it manages to stay exciting throughout and is not repetitive like many songs of this length. Track 3, ‘Taken From The Mould’ is another good track. It seems a bit slower than the others and takes a more plain Ska path but the vocals still have hardcore elements and work well with the instrumental side of things. Even though I like this track I feel that it is the weakest track on the EP as it is lacking in power and remains merely good rather than great and I feel that they could have made it great if they had tried harder with it. Track 4, ‘Gareth Case’ is an awesome Skacore track and I really enjoyed listening to this one. At almost 6 minutes long you would expect it to get really tedious after a while but it remains exciting for the whole time and is really enjoyable. The vocals on this track really stand out as they are so powerful and they really blow you away. The drumming is very fast and the horn section is awesome. You can tell that this band have got something special going here and their songs show some awesome Skacore and they really sound like a band with experience.

Rating:

Rich

UK based film graduate with a huge passion for music, sports and video games.

Mavis – The Mavis Crisis

June 3, 2004 by Rich Leave a Comment

This is a nice little album here from the indie pop band Mavis. The main vocalist is a male and then the backing vocals come from a female, called Claire Dembry who also plays the viola on this CD. The instruments give the songs their poppier element with catchy, and a very upbeat tune that will stick in your head for ages, then the indie comes in with the vocals which are very powerful and are sung ast points with a Noel Gallagher voice but at others with a Ska sound like Madness. As it is indie pop, some of the songs take a more poppy approach than indie whereas others contain full on indie so it is a good album to because you can listen for changes in style and there is enough in every song to keep you entertained for hours. There are 12 songs on this CD and each song is different with many different things to take in from it. I am not normally a big fan of indie but this album really opened my eyes to the quality of music that indie produces and I am sure that I will be listening to a lot more indie bands in the future. These songs are interesting because you can really listen to the lyrics and think about the emotions that the band were feeling at the time and it is actually quite a fun thing to do. I enjoyed listening to this CD because it was really mellow and it really chilled me out, I am sure that this album will often end up playing when I am feeling a bit down or am in a mood. I will be looking out for more releases from this band in the future because I really liked them and can se them getting on things like MTV2 and Top Of The Pops in a few years time. Check out this band if you are even remotely interested in indie because I am sure that you will find this CD enjoyable. In fact even if you don’t tend to listen to indie check this band out because I don’t normally but I really liked this band and it is obvious that they have a lot of talent.

Rating:

Rich

UK based film graduate with a huge passion for music, sports and video games.

Mad Mike Jones: Mototrax 1: Music fuelled by Motocross

June 3, 2004 by Rich Leave a Comment

This is a CD of US Metal bands such as Slipknot, Disturbed, Static X, and Mudvayne. It is mainly a CD of live tracks and remixes, so dont worry, if you want to go out and buy this it wont be just songs that you already have on the albums, and will provide you with something new and interesting to listen to. The mixes are very interesting because they are nothing like the original versions and the 2 that really stand out to me are the Mudvayne – Dig remix, and the Slipknot – Sic remix. The Mudvayne tune is particularly interesting because the vocals have been distorted and it just sounds really good as it is nothing like the original and is packed with excitement from start to finish. The reason I liked the Slipknot remix was because I am not normally very keen on Slipknot but this tune brought out the best in them and it just sounds really good. Mike Jones has picked some really good songs to showcase on this CD and has compiled a truly fine Metal CD. This CD is full of energy and as there is a lot of variety you do not get bored. Track 7,’Hed PE Vs Bad Azz’ is particularly different because it is a sort of Hip Hop / Metal crossover that works really well to produce a top quality tune. The live songs are interesting because as well as the energy of the music you get the energy of the crowd that you would not get with a normal album track. IF you are into Metal then this is a good CD to buy because it is filled to the rim with energy and contains a variety of sounds that will keep you occupied for hours.

Rating:

Rich

UK based film graduate with a huge passion for music, sports and video games.

Los Destructos – Be The Pig

June 3, 2004 by Rich Leave a Comment

I would just like to say thanks to Tommy for sending me this cd to review because it is one awesome cd and I truely think it is a great piece of punk from the Scottish 3 piece here. The cd opens with a rather odd song really because it is nothing like the rest of the album so if you are one of those people that listens to the first song then you make your decision, please dont do it with this cd because after the first track it is a cd of true awesome punk rawk and I would recomend it to everyone. Theres a Rancid/NoFx sound to this band and it is truely unbelievable, when I first heard this cd it totally blew me away with its melodic punk. It is 17tracks long in total and lasts 33 minutes, but it does’nt feel as if its that long as when you are listening to it you just go into a world of your own and time flys by and soon you are hearing ‘Why would anybody want to listen to music that makes you hate, when you can listen to music that makes you love.’ And that is how the cd ends, with a line from a film I think it is, not quite sure what film it comes from though. I think they would class their music as in the latter of the two and so would I. In all this is a great cd and I would recomend it to anyone, and I have been recomending it to everyone! So if I havent already recomended it to you, please go out and buy this cd as it is melodic punk at its finest!

Rating:

Rich

UK based film graduate with a huge passion for music, sports and video games.

Lewinski – Only When Im Punk

June 3, 2004 by Rich Leave a Comment

This is a 6 track EP from the band Lewinski and as you have probably guessed from the title of this, they are a Punk band. They are singing Punk and what they are singing really mean something to them and it also meant something to me. They are singing about things they mean but at the same time they make it sound good as a song. Track 5, ‘Always On My Mind’ is a punk cover of the original version of the song. They have sped up the tempo of the song and generally revamped it into a good Punk song. I really did enjoy listening to this EP as it is a genuinely good punk record and I am sure that I will be listening to this CD for many years to come. The vocals are really hard hitting and they truly are coming from the heart which is good because some bands just make lyrics with emotions that they are not really feeling, but these lyrics mean something to the band and you can tell this by the way the songs are sung and the power in the voice. Their sound is very interesting because the voice is very similar to that of Daniel Johns from Silverchair yet the style is obviously punk, and good punk it is too. Lewinski are soon to move over to California where there record label is based and hopefully someday this band will be headlining on the Warped Tour! I wish this band all the best with their future in America.

Rating:

Rich

UK based film graduate with a huge passion for music, sports and video games.

Punchbowl – Its Us And Me EP

June 3, 2004 by Rich Leave a Comment

Punchbowl are a four piece ska punk band. This is a 7 track EP and shows that they can do ska punk and pop punk well, and with great passion. Track 1, ‘Blue TV’ is a tribute to their old band that was called Blue TV and it is a pop punk song. The vocals are sung in a NoFx kind of way and the drumming is of a medium pace. The guitarring is quite soft on this song but it still manages to sound quite good. The second song, ‘Sound Of Music’ is more of a ska song with a fast tempo and wonderful ska sounds. The pace of this track is a lot quicker than the first and the guitar and trombone come through really well with fast drumming at times. The third track, ‘Should I Try’ also has a Ska feel to it, with the trombone and all. The guitar riff is also fast and Ska’y, and the drumming seems to be fast again. The vocals are kept the same and are very melodic and well recorded with an American feel about them. The forth track, ‘Cancer’ starts off with a storming guitar riff. This track is more of a punk track again with the NoFx style vocals and fast drumming pace. This is a good punk track with great lyrics. The fifth track, ‘Ice Cream’ starts off comically with a kid asking for ice cream with his dad replying ‘No, go to bed you *****ing little shit.’ It is a Ska Punk track and could easily be a Less Than Jake song. The horn section produces a great sound here and there is also some excellent drumming. ‘Northern Line,’ the sixth track is another Ska song and has a very two tone, Madness kind of feel about it. Drumming is fast, horn section is amazing and there is also a very strong guitar riff. The seventh track, ‘Proofs In The Pudding’ starts off very pop punk’y, like a Sum41 track. So no surprise that it is not Ska’y at all. The drumming is really good, as is the guitar riff. There are also some really cool bonus tracks which I do not know the titles of. So, all in all this is a good Ska Pop Punk CD with many exciting tunes and also some comical bonus tracks added into the bundle.

Rating:

Rich

UK based film graduate with a huge passion for music, sports and video games.

P4FT – Here Come The Constabulary

June 3, 2004 by Rich Leave a Comment

I had never heard of this band before receiving this CD but P4FT are a 4 piece pop punk band from right here in England. Track 1, ‘So Small’ has very melodic vocals and some awesome drumming to go with the superb guitar playing. I really like the way the vocals are repeated by someone else after they have been spoken the first time in the main song because it makes the song truly original and is really effective. The chorus here is extremely powerful and it is seems really cool to me because it is extremely melodic and heartfelt. The second track, ‘Ska Sofa’ is, as you can imagine more of a ska track and has a kind of two tone feel to it. I really like it because the vocals are excellent and tune in general rules as it has a nice refreshing feel to it. The third track, ‘Han Solo’ is much faster paced than the other songs on the CD and although it is alright on record I feel that to experience it at its best you really need to hear it live as it just doesn’t do itself justice on record. The ‘Chewbacca coming at ya, run away run away’ bit gets really repetitive and dull after a while so it is not really the greatest of album tracks. The fourth track, ‘Teenage Lesbian Vampire Nazis’ is, like the first two tracks very melodic and it is also a humorous tune that really put a smile on my face. The drumming is great and the whole of the instrumental side just seems to gel really well with the vocals on this one to create a really soothing atmosphere. The final track on this CD, ‘Here Come The Constabulary’ starts off with some very obscure sounds coming out of the guitar and a very fast drum beat before launching you into the vocals. These vocals are again superb abd very hard hitting, all building up to the line ‘I wont give in.’ It seems to fit together really well and I really like what the band have done here. This band call themselves ‘punk-pop’ but I really feel that they can not easily be pigeonholed as although it may be leaning that way it is also extremely melodic and contains aspects of Rock, and they definitely don’t sound like any of the mainstream American punk-pop bands such as Blink182 and New Found Glory!

Rating:

Rich

UK based film graduate with a huge passion for music, sports and video games.

Turtlehead – Dont Count On It / Safe

June 3, 2004 by Rich Leave a Comment

This is a 2 track c.d. from the Scottish 4 piece known as Turtlehead. This is a good offering of melodic punk and is compiled of 2 very catchy songs that will get you singing along after a couple of listens when you have learnt the words. I would compare them to Snuff as they just seem to have that Snuf sound that we all know so well! Even though there are only 2 tracks here to review, there is still a lot to appreciate and I can tell from this that they are an awesome band with a hell of a lot of potential. Check them out. They have planned a full European tour for 2003 so when you get the chance to, go along and see them, I assure you, you will not be disappointed!

Rating:

Rich

UK based film graduate with a huge passion for music, sports and video games.

Total Chaos – Punk Invasion

June 3, 2004 by Rich Leave a Comment

This is a Punk CD from the band Total Chaos that once wowed Brett Gurewitz and were signed to Epitaph. They play Punk in its original kind of form and in this day and age it is a rarity to find a traditional Punk band still going and this is why this CD brought a smile to my face. The songs are pure Punk and I really like what this band are doing. They play Punk and by the way they play it you can tell that it is something that they really love. You can see from their haircuts that they are am proper Punk band and that they live Punk 24/7. The songs are all quite good quality songs and this is good because the vocals actually mean something rather than being whining vocals about how they broke up with their girlfriend. The vocals are sung in a true Punk fashion and fit in nicely with the Drums, Bass, and Guitar to form great Punk tunes that have lyrics that stick in your head. This is a fantastic Punk CD from this band and if I get the chance I will try and get hold of their older CDs and hopefully they will be as good as this one. The only downside about this CD is that it isn’t very original. They sound very much like The Exploited and even do a cover of one of their songs. This CD is still quite good but they could easily be a ‘The Exploited’ tribute band. Buy this CD if you are a fan of The Exploited and other Punk bands in that vain.

Rating:

Rich

UK based film graduate with a huge passion for music, sports and video games.

46 Itchy – Jack’s Creation

June 3, 2004 by Rich Leave a Comment

This is some great music from Sunderland’s Ska Punk’s 46 Itchy, who sure know how to make some good skanking music. On this CD are 7 tracks of infectious Ska Punk, which is extremely funny, and the lyrics just make you laugh. You will especially laugh on track number 7 as it is truly comical, it is one of those songs that you need to hear to fully understand the humour of it. This 7 tracker kicks off with ‘Karate Girl’ which has a good old trumpet to kick it off and straight away this is stuck in your head! Don’t worry though, its not stuck in your head because its annoying, its stuck in your head because it is a great song! All the songs on this 7 track EP are very caatchy and get you singing along, as well as skanking maniacally around the room. The songs that stood out to me were ‘Karate Girl,’ ‘Part Time,’ and ‘Get Up Get Out’ because they got me skanking the most, basically. Well, if you like Ska Punk I truly suggest you get out there and buy this CD!!! Watch out for them this year as soon they could be up there with the leading Ska Punk acts in the UK suck as [spunge], capdown, lightyear, King Prawn and all the rest of the leading Ska Punk acts!

Rating:

Rich

UK based film graduate with a huge passion for music, sports and video games.