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Hornet to host free live music nights in Soho!
Rock n’ roll outfit Hornet will be hosting free live music nights starting from 10th November.
The band will be playing at The Intrepid Fox, with support from fellow rock n’ roll buddies Pink Cigar and Enteric. Tickets are free, so just turn up on the night and go in to enjoy some free music! Full details, as well as the band’s Facebook pages can be found below!
If you can’t make it down to the show, then the next one is scheduled for 1st December, 3 weeks after the first. More details to be released soon.
Bands: Hornet, Pink Cigar & Enteric.
Date: Thursday 10th November 2011
Location: The Intrepid Fox, 15 St Giles High St, London WC2H 8LQ
Time: 8pm-11pm
Tickets: Free Entry
MAKE SURE TO CLICK ATTENDING ON THE FACEBOOK EVENT!
Hornet on Facebook
Pink Cigar on Facebook
Enteric on Facebook
The Ocean’s Eyes – Lost Along The Way review
Since May 2010, The Ocean’s Eyes have been slowly but surely progressing and making noise in the UK pop-punk scene. With the recent release of their second EP, Lost Along The Way, how have The Ocean’s Eyes been doing since the release of their debut EP, Lions at the beginning of this year?
Very well infact. Lost Along The Way has a polished sound and the songs have matured nicely. The band clearly wasted no time in getting down to business after the release of Lions and the ending result is a 4-track EP filled with some alternative rock crosses pop-punk gems. The band tease the listener. 4 tracks just isn’t enough. The EP shows that The Ocean’s Eyes are eccentric, hard working and above all passionate about what they’re doing. From opener Keep Me A Secret, which isn’t far removed from any of You Me At Six’ work to songs like Room Of Red on which they sound similar to Welsh quintet Kids in Glass Houses.
Lost Along The Way brings together different genres – rock, pop and punk. With it’s harmony driven choruses the band also have a raw edge to them. It doesn’t clash and it makes for something that makes them stand out. Finding bands in the pop-punk scene in the UK can often be hard – especially finding good ones, but in the last few years bands like You Me At Six have torn down that wall and paved the way for others. Closely following in their footsteps and taking note are The Ocean’s Eyes. With I Am Mighty Records behind them, who are doing excellently in finding the best in UK talent, The Ocean’s Eyes could soon be on their way to the heights of You Me At Six or Kids In Glass Houses. And let’s hope so, with an EP like this they deserve every good thing that comes their way.
For fans of: Kids In Glass Houses, You Me At Six.
The Ocean’s Eyes Official Site
The Ocean’s Eyes on Facebook
The Ocean’s Eyes on Twitter
Rivalries – An Ever Emerging Light review
As it’s always said, bands that are in their early stages haven’t always found their feet yet but more often than that they can be surprising. Rivalries began life in February 2011 and have since released their debut EP, An Ever Emerging Light.
Their Thrice inspired punkish rock is decent. It’s hard to critique too much but it’s downside is that it does feel a little rushed and sloppy at times. This doesn’t need to be seen as something bad though, as it’s obvious that Rivalries are capable of more than what they have given us so far. It must be kept in mind that this band are only 8 months old, therefore things may feel a little rushed. But the 5 track EP does have it’s major strong points and these come mainly in the form of Only In Your Head, which wouldn’t sound out of place on a Basement record. Only In Your Head is Rivalries proving themselves. It shows that, although despite being young and new to the scene, they do know how to make fantastic tracks.
Rivalries have a lot of work before they’re up there with the likes of bands like Thrice and even Basement, but An Ever Emerging Light is like the calm before the storm. Big things are coming and when they do, Rivalries will emerge triumphant. With proof that even in their earliest and most rough stages that they have the capability to write great songs, once they settle and have their feet firmly on the ground these great songs will evolve in to fantastic songs. Certainly one to watch in the future.
For fans of: Basement, Thrice.
An Ever Emerging Light is out now.
Rivalries on Twitter
Rivalries on Facebook
Rivalries on Bandcamp
James Deane – Diamonds & Hearts released on January 16th 2012
James Deane (no, not THAT one) is to release his debut album Diamonds & Hearts on January 16th next year. Mixing country, soul and rock n’ roll and taking inspirations from the likes of Neil Young and Jackson Browne, the album is sure to win a few new fans for Deane.
Talking about the album, Deane said:
“The album was recorded in London with Andy Ramsay who was a member of the hugely influential band Stereolab. Andy’s studio is crammed with rare vintage guitars, amps, synths and drums and we had a great time at the sessions. The 12 tracks were recorded mostly live and we decided to use an upright bass in place of the usual electric bass and French horn where a string section would usually be used. I think this approach gives the album a unique sound, it’s heartwarming yet raw.”
Sister City – Carbon Footprint review
Sister City believe that “music is a shared experience” and so if that’s the case, then they are sharing their debut album “Carbon Footprint” with you. The indie/punk crossover is often hard to come by. It can be quite a common genre, but being able to pull off decent songs can prove difficult for most bands.
Carbon Footprint may not be anything groundbreaking. Nor new or unique. But that doesn’t take away from the fact that every track on the album is fantastic. Catchy and upbeat, but with mellow songs intertwined within, Sister City have hit all the right heights on their debut album. From the beginning (Hit Too Hard), Sister City will appeal to fans of The Wonder Years right threw to songs like Reinventing Adm Linder which would appeal to a different crowd. That’s not a bad thing though – infact, it’s one of Sister City’s strengths. Appealing to a diverse crowd of people will give the band a huge boost in the right direction.
Listening to Carbon Footprint, it’s hard to believe just how small Sister City are. As aforementioned, it may not be groundbreaking but it’s still a great album. By this time, Sister City should be touring a lot more and playing sold out shows around the world or at least in their own terrority. Maybe it shows that people nowadays would rather shell out and pay for a dance track then listen to some really great music. However, the punk scene is always filled with energy and with that energy will come Sister City’s determination and to reach higher for bigger and better goals.
Carbon Footprint is only the start in what will hopefully be a long, eventful career for the band. It’s easy to let albums slip away from you and not get a chance to listen to them, but if you at least do one thing today after reading this – go download the album. Not only is it free, but the music’s pretty good too!
For fans of: Johnny Foreigner.
Dead End Story EP review
Finland. A place where rock music is dominated by glam metal and HIM. In Finland, it’d be pretty easy to find at least 10 bands that all have the exact same style of glam as each other, thus making it hard to tell the difference between each band.
Nobody ever really associates Finland with punk, but hoping to change that are Dead End Story. Melodic punk rock straight out of Finland. They released their free two track single in the summer of this year and it’s safe to say that they stick out like a sore thumb – in the best way possible.
Both tracks, Workaholic and Yesterday’s Burden are in the same vein as bands like Rise Against. To put it subtly, Dead End Story have a big problem here. Both tracks are flawless. So why is that a problem? They now have to make their next release just as good. It shouldn’t be such a big problem though. With Dead End Story’s determination and hard work, it seems that their hard work could well pay off while destroying generic glam bands in their way.
For fans of: Rise Against.
Dead End Story’s Blog
Dead End Story on MySpace
Dead End Story on Facebook
Dead End Story on BandCamp (with free EP download)
Addictive Philosophy – Studio review
Ska and reggae are music genres that can be hard to perfect. If you have what it takes, you’ve got it. If you don’t, give up. There’s no inbetween. Bands can never be just “ok”, it’s either good or bad and so if you’re in a ska or a reggae band, you better make sure you can play good music.
Addictive Philosophy’s debut album, thankfully, is good. Playing in the same vain as bands like Madness and The Specials, as well as more modern day bands like The Skints; Studio is a high energy album fit for anyone to put on their skanking shoes. Vocalist Gez Addictive should take pride in the fact he sounds like a young Joe Strummer, but that’s not his greatest atribute. Infact, his greatest atribute is the fact that Gez and the rest of the band aren’t afraid to say what they feel. Songs like All I Want might not be ground breaking, but it is in some ways thought provoking. It’s a simple concept of not wanting war and being free – something that 99.9% of people in the world can most likely relate to.
However, if that sounds to “John Lennon” for you, then maybe Stranglehold will be more to your fancy. With a slow tempo and droning vocals, the song describes “the system” having a stranglehold on society. It’s songs like this that are more relevant than ever in these times of our Tory established government. While not everyone would agree with Addictive Philosophy’s views, they’re certainly views to take in to account.
On the epic (and probably the highlight of the entire album) Supernatural Race Fiend, the lyric “This is our finest hour” is repeated plenty of times and it’s hard not to forget. Hopefully, this is not Additive Philosophy’s finest hour. And that’s not to say the album is poor, but Addictive Philosophy can now look to the future and give us more; having not peaked yet – the best is still yet to come.
For fans of: The Specials, The Skints.
Addictive Philosophy Official Site
Addictive Philosophy on Facebook
Peace Mercutio – Weather The Storm review
Being in an unsigned band is never easy. Getting your record out there and promoting it takes a lot of effort, building up a fanbase is tough and bands may feel like giving up. Luckily, Peace Mercutio haven’t done that. Having earned an impressive fanbase, Peace Mercutio have just released their fantastic debut album, Weather The Storm.
Weather The Storm is hard to get your head round. The tracks sometimes merge in to each other, which can be looked upon in two ways. Firstly, it could seem like you’re listening to one long track or secondly, you could easily get lost in the record. Hopefully the latter in most cases. Bringing together pop punk and alt rock, Peace Mercutio play their music with honesty and passion.
The songs have a certain diversity about them – on one side you have upbeat songs such as Building and Breaking but on the other you have the slower, more darker songs like Selah. Despite being worlds apart, Peace Mercutio have a fair bit in common with the UK’s own Basement – it’s often big and bold but they hit home hard with their slower, darker songs. Sing! Sing! tells everyone to “sing sing at the top of your lungs” – something that they hope people will be doing in the near future to their songs. And why not? Peace Mercutio certainly do have potential to do it with or without help of a record label.
Weather The Storm might not be flawless in any way, shape or form and it might not even be unique. But it sticks out. There’s something that Weather The Storm has that other bands in the same category as Peace Mercutio can’t execute as well. Maybe it’s the raw grit and determination that the Seattle rockers have been harvesting, or maybe it’s a secret that is better left known only to the band themselves. Weather The Storm is by no means perfect, but slowly and surely Peace Mercutio will reach massive heights soon enough. Weather The Storm is only the beginning. It is their own calm before the storm. Get ready.
For fans of: Basement, Thrice.
P.S. For a preview of Weather The Storm, check out the promo video. It’s a little cheesy, but the music more than makes up for it. Just click here!
New Age Extinction EP review
For a band that formed only in the summer of this year, New Age Extinction haven’t done too badly for themselves. Their self titled EP is only the beginning of their career and yet they seem to know where they’re heading.
Their mix of metalcore and hardcore works surprisingly well. New Age Extinction play like a metalcore band but bring the force of a hardcore band, combining it together to make something quite unique. They have Bullet For My Valentine riff styles, with Parkway Drive vocals – often it sounds a little mismatched, but for the majority of the time it does the trick.
For a band who have only been alive and kicking for a few months, it clearly doesn’t show how young they are. With songs like Sweating The Tension, it feels as though they already have long time experience. The self-titled EP can feel a little rushed in certain parts however, Make Your Own Life although heavy and hard hitting for the most part is let down with the clean vocals. But that’s not to be taken offensively, New Age Extinction are just obviously better with the heavier vocals. If they stick to that, then their sound will become tighter.
With more practice over the coming months and finding a tighter sound then New Age Extinction could be Ireland’s next big metal band. Or just Ireland’s next big band in general. After all, with only one 5 track EP to their name, they’re still better than U2.
For fans of: Parkway Drive, Bullet For My Valentine, Killswitch Engage.
The Musgraves to release “Last Of Me” on November 21st + Rihanna cover
The Musgraves are gearing up to release their new single, Last Of Me on November 21st and have also released a cover version of Rihanna’s “We Found Love” on YouTube.
The pop-rockers who released their debut EP, Lost In Familiarity this year caught the attention of more than just a few people when BT made their an instrumental of their track Discover Me as the campaign for one of their adverts.
With the band gearing up to release the single next month, they’re hoping that 2012 can only lead on to bigger things!
