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Sonic Boom Six post new video!
Sonic Boom Six have just posted their new video for What Doesn’t Kill You Make Stronger. To check out the clip, directed by Matt Fleming, just watch below!
What Doesn’t Kill You Make You Stronger is the B-Side of the New Style Rocka single which is available on CD single from Rebel Alliance right here!
Sonic Boom Six Official Site
Be sure to check out Matt Fleming’s site too! He has also directed videos for The King Blues.
Fireworks – Gospel review
Having released their debut album, All I Have To Offer is My Own Confusion back in March 2009, Fireworks are back with their brand new second full length Gospel..but what do they have to offer this time round?
What All I Have To Offer… gave us was pop-punk, singalong anthems in all their glory. Detroit and I Support Same Sex Marriage were songs you could sing along with at the top of your lungs. However, the same cannot be said for Gospel. But that doesn’t neccessarily make it a bad album. Gospel may not live up to it’s predecessor but it’s still got some of Fireworks best work on it.
I Am the Challenger shows us a deeper, more emotional side to Detroit pop-punks with a stripped down, acoustic pop-punk “ballad” (if you will). It’s always a risk to make songs like this especially when pop-punk is usually thought to be one of the more upbeat genres, but in Fireworks case, it’s a risk worth taking as what it amounts to is something stunning. Paintings of Paul Revere follows and this is again, Fireworks showing us what they’re really made of. This is Fireworks having matured over the last couple of years although we still get the occasional “woah-ohhhh” that we all know and love and what this album lacks in anthems, it more than makes up for in great songs. Whilst it may not be as slick as All I Have To Offer… and can take a couple of listens to grow on you, it’s the individual songs that pack the hardest punches.
Fireworks – Gospel album sampler
However, the anthems and hope that All I Have To Offer… gave people isn’t completely left out. I Locked my Time Capsule is easily one of the best (if not THE best) on the album, with the line “Just do what you can to do what you love” – it gives the audience hope that they can achieve whatever they want as long as they put their mind to it. Just remember that Fireworks were once just kids from the suburbs and it’s always an achievement in itself to break out of a basement or wherever they jammed to tour the world. So, I Locked My Time Capsule is more than hope – it’s in it’s own right, trying to push people and give them inspiration to live out their dreams too. Maybe it’s unintentional, but even so it’s still a message to take from the song.
The Wild Bunch is an excellent closer for the album. This is, along with I Locked My Time Capsule, the anthem of the album. It fits in at the end nice and neatly, with massive hooks to sing your heart out to. This is a record for the kids who don’t fit in and were pushed back from society to stand up and say “fuck you, if you don’t like who I am then I don’t give a shit”. And rightly so. Fireworks have shown that with a little bit of persistence, everything will pay off in the end.
*EXTRA*
The deluxe edition of the album also comes with two extra tracks, Gloom and The Weekend Before Halloween. Why Gloom didn’t make it on to the normal release of the record will forever remain a mystery, the stand out line being “Everything works out for everyone but me”. So there you have it. If you’re wondering whether the deluxe edition is worth getting for the two extra tracks, the answer is yes. Fuck it, it only really needs to come with Gloom.
For fans of: The Wonder Years & Make Do and Mend
To order the album on Vinyl or CD through Banquet Records, click here.
Fireworks on MySpace
Iron Chic/Pacer split review
All In Vinyl have recently released the first limited edition 7″ split as part of their second series of exclusive splits! This time New York’s own Iron Chic (featuring ex-members of Latterman, Agent and Small Arms Dealer) and the UK’s very own Pacer (who recently served as main support on Iron Chic’s UK tour) have got the special vinyl treatment!
The split contains 2 new songs from each band and it really is both band’s at their very best. Iron Chic continue to serve up their own slice of punk rock and feed it to us with Those Heads Are Our Heads and Climate Is What We Expect, Weather Is What We Get. Iron Chic is another band that the underground punk scene so desperately needs right now. Straight to the point anthems with lyrics to shout from the top of your lungs and this is exactly what they have acheived with these two songs. Finding another band like them is a hard task and with the experience they have, it’s no real surprise that they continue to release amazing songs like these two.
Pacer’s two new songs, Throwback & Bricklayer, are also exceptional. It’s a lot to say for them, as it’s quite often that Pacer aren’t sure where they stand on their sound. Sometimes it’s here, sometimes it’s there and then sometimes it’s all over the place but since releasing their debut EP, No. 1 last year, they have done some work and already matured in to one of Britain’s best up and coming punk rock outfits. Throwback is the highlight on the EP and they have taken a note straight out of Iron Chic’s book in making anthems. If Pacer continue to make songs as brilliant as Throwback (or if not better than Throwback) then in the future, we best hold tight as we’ll all be in for a real fucking treat.
Iron Chic recently finished off their UK tour with a stunning headline show at The Peel in Kingston. Footage of the show can be seen below of the band opening with Every Town Has An Elm Street.
The vinyl is available to purchase right now with an immediate download of the 4 songs.
To buy the split from All In Vinyl, click here!
To buy the split from Banquet Records, click here!
Artist Of The Week: Ben Marwood
What do you get if you take honest music, a dose of wit, folk music played on an acoustic guitar and a pinch of punk rock attitude? The answer is Reading’s own Ben Marwood.
Ben Marwood is like a real life superhero (minus the superpowers and secret life). Working a desk job usually, Ben Marwood will more than often pick up his guitar and perform for anyone who’ll listen. Recently, he found himself touring with ex-Million Dead frontman and all round legend, Frank Turner.
Having released various splits and EPs (including his own This Is Not What You Had Planned EP in 2008), Ben released his debut album Outside There’s A Curse in January via Xtra Mile Recordings. What is contained in Ben’s music is getting harder to come by as times progress. It’s honesty in it’s rawest form. There’s nothing complex to it, but it’s not something easy to pull off and for that Ben Marwood must be praised.
Songs such as Oh My Days are highlights in Marwood’s music – a song about wanting to escape from his own hometown of Reading. While it may sound cliché, it seems Ben’s real home is touring and doing what he loves best (and what he is clearly best at). Being an opening act is never easy but on the recent tour with Frank Turner (and Franz Nicolay), Ben has shown real promise. Earning new fans up and down the country, his sharp wit and connection with the audience is second to none.
If you like your music raw with honesty, then Ben Marwood is for you. If not…what’s wrong with you?
Ben Marwood Official Site
Ben Marwood on Twitter
Ben Marwood on MySpace
To buy Outside There’s A Curse through Banquet Records, go here!
Head Above Water – Community Records compilation
Last month, to coincide with the one year anniversary of the tragic disaster of the BP oil spill just off the coast of the gulf of Mexico – Community Records released a free 36 track compilation to highlight the long lasting problems that the spill caused.
The compilation comes equipped with tracks by A Billion Ernies, Caddywhompus and even the UK’s own, Sonic Boom Six.
Gulf Tides 12: One Year Later – BP Drilling Disaster – April 20, 2011
To sign a petition to make BP pay for the damage they caused, visit here.
To donate to the Gulf Restoration Network, just visit here.
TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE COMMUNITY RECORDS COMPILATION AND HOW YOU CAN HELP, CLICK HERE.
Artist Of The Week (return special!): A Billion Ernies
The return of the Artist Of The Week feature is here! and to kick us off this week (as we end it)..A Billion Ernies!
A Billion Ernies make modern day racious ska punk straight out of California. Their style of ska punk has everything you want: the punk rock ethic, the brass instruments, the punk riffs and the gritty attitude. If ever there was a band that hadn’t needed to be heard, it should be A Billion Ernies. The band, who have been together almost 10 years, state that although there have been twists and turns – they wouldn’t have it any other way.
Taking inspiration from the likes of Refused, RX Bandits and even The Dillinger Escape Plan, the band have since released 3 albums, as well as EPs and last year a split with Informat – which contained 5 new phenomenal tracks. The opening track Hopeless, probably the heaviest out of the 5 showcases the bands more hardcore side whilst Eight Long Years (a reference to how long the band have been together) fuses their hardcore side with their ska side creating an epic monster of a track.
For those who say punk is dead, A Billion Ernies are a band who will turn round and give a big “fuck you!” to you right in your face before turning back around laughing. Sure, the days of Sex Pistols and Ramones have been long gone now, but it’s now 2011 and as long as there are still bands such as A Billion Ernies putting in the work…who really needs another Johnny Rotten?
For fans of: Refused, Capdown and RX Bandits
For more on the band and to download their music for free (although donations are welcome!), head this way!
Changes
The site has just changed. It now has a proper domain and a better looking style.
I shall be blogging a lot more and continuing doing reviews as well as more interviews and reviews. I’ll even bring back the Artist Of The Week feature, starting now!
Caddywhompus – The Weight review
It’s hard to put a finger on what to expect from a band like Caddywhompus, but having recently released their EP, The Weight, it’s clear the experimental 2 piece have firmly found their feet and sound.
Coming straight out of New Orelans, Caddywhompus make noisy experimental music. It can either go disastrously wrong or fantastically right. Fortunately for the band, The Weight falls under the latter.
The Weight is a 4 track EP consisting of big verses and excellent music with a dash of perseverance. Opening up the EP is The Weight and it demonstrates just how well 2 pieces can work. The guitar riff and the beat of the drums work perfectly, even on the slower parts of the song. What Caddywhompus are best at is shifting the songs from one extreme to the next, The Weight could be easily split in to two songs but as one track it showcases exactly what they’re capable of.
Age of Wild Spirits is almost the complete opposite, as it shifts from a slow pace to a faster one and then back to slow. It may seem like it stops and starts and then stops again, but once the song kicks back in towards the end – it’s a sure fire anthem and shows that the band are confident in using both melodic and heavy techniques. Caddywhompus aren’t easy to grasp, but The Weight is, in one word, fantastic – drawing different ideas from different genres and throwing them in a blender can only be done one way. It must be a secret of the musicians, but that’s what Caddywhompus has done here. Blending together indie, pop, punk and just straight rock n’ roll attitude, you get something a little bit different but a little bit special.
Ending on The Focus, it’s another strange mix. Think of Brand New’s Play Crack The Sky before exploding in to Biffy Clyro’s That Golden Rule and…well, you’re still not really that close. To sum up what The Weight is in a short sentence or two…it’s different but it works well. It’s what Caddywhompus know and this is their niche. Their USP, if you will. While now you can enjoy the sounds of The Weight, it will be interesting to see where Caddywhompus take their mental music to next.
For fans of: Animal Collective and Algernon Cadwallader.
For more on Caddywhompus and to buy their merch or download their new EP FOR FREE, head here!
Lesbian Bed Death – Moonlight
Lesbian Bed Death have recently released a video for their song Moonlight which is the first to feature new lead vocalist Kittie Racchea.
The original version of the song can be found on their debut album Designed By The Devil, Powered By The Dead. The video was directed by Darren Teale.
The new version of the song can be downloaded from the following links:
Amazon
iTunes
Play
Lesbian Bed Death Official Site
Lesbian Bed Death on YouTube
Lesbian Bed Death on Facebook
Scumbag Philosopher: New single + tour dates with The Fall
Scumbag Philosopher (formerly ‘Fuck Dress’) are to release (or rather re-release) their single God Is Dead So I Listen To Radiohead.
The song was first released a couple of years ago on a limited edition 7″ single and was an indie hit in Italy and Spain. But now the band are hoping it proves to be a hit in other countries as it gets it re-release on US label, Words On Music on Monday 6th June. The song has the sound of what Jez from Peep Show’s music would sound like if he joined an indie band and..you know, wasn’t shit at making music.
The video to accompany the song has already been up over a year, but now that it has a re-release, it’s only neccessary to post it again. It’s…strange and doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, much like Radiohead then – who’s video for Just is spoofed in the following video!
The single is taken from the band’s debut album which will be released a little later in the summer and will be called It Means Nothing So It Means Nothing.
The band will also be playing a few dates over June and July:
Here are some live dates.
Wed 1st June – KOKO, London (with The Fall)
Fri 3rd June – MOHO Live, Manchester (with The Fall)
Sat 11th June – Glade Festival
Sat 2nd July – Manchester Roadhouse
According to the band, God Is Dead So I Listen To Radiohead is “about a certain kind of suburban Nietzsche freak who attaches themselves to certain introspective musicians and to certain philosophers – or rather to their more well-known quotes.” Nothing too in depth then!
