Author: Crossfire

Brew Records have been churning out some pretty good bands recently, their latest is Kong‘s new release, Snake Magnet. 10 songs of some pretty mind-boggling stuff, this record pretty much sums up experimental music.

These 3 blokes from Manchester are certainly full of angst and are finding the cleverest way of venting it. Each track is its very own headfuck that’s going to leave you feeling drained, but in a good way. Kong are an extremely exciting band that are going to leave you guessing what their song’s going to do next. Whatever they do it’s definitely going to blow your brain.

It seems that this band are influenced by absolutely anything and everything, their music is so obtuse yet acute at the same time, you need to really appreciate music to enjoy it. They’ll fool you into thinking they’re going to play some rock and roll, then stop and have some neurotic screaming to throw you off balance.

That is exactly what Kong are about, throwing you off balance, catching you off guard, you never know what’s going to happen next and that’s such a fresh thing to have in a country full of predictability and let down. Kong are on tour this month and I for one am definitely going to try and check them out as I’m sure their live performance is as wild as the music.

Snake Magnet is such an impressive record and the amount of raw talent that Kong radiate is unbelievable. It is music that’s truly innovative and should be appreciated the fuck out of. If you are willing to give Kong a chance then they could just be your new favourite band.

Jonathan Teggert

Wounds are a new band crawling out of the Dublin punk scene with their obnoxious take on Punk. This 2 song EP consists of 2 songs, ugly mouth and trees, both odd names to music that is quite odd itself.

Ugly Mouth is a song based around one riff; a fast but grungy piece of guitar work, and the rest of the song grows from that. The phrase “kill the body and the head will die” haunts the song as it is shouted throughout it.

Trees takes a more groove filled bass line and makes it the foundations of the song. This song could appeal to a wider audience, as it sounds quite similar to some of the electro indie bands that are very popular at the moment. The vocals are very prominent in this song, screaming with desperation and anger.

These 2 songs are extremely ambient and for some reason disturbing. The tones used in the guitars, the clever use of feedback and eerie lyrics provide a great atmosphere. It sounds like the soundtrack to some futuristic post apocalyptic thriller. Combining all sorts of influence from styles such as punk, electro and industrial to achieve their sound.

I can’t imagine myself ever sitting down and listening to these songs though, I think they’d be interesting to see live, and I can imagine them providing a good soundtrack for a club, but I feel no different after listening. Wounds definitely fit in with the music market right now, but we’ll have to wait and see whether they are successful or if they fade away.

Jonathan Teggert

Inja spent his formative years touring with the likes of Taskforce and Foreign Beggars, working with some of the best the UK has to offer. The rapper, who is as comfortable running over booming bass as he is laid back beats, also made his name hosting nights, showcasing his ability to switch between fun banter and straight up lyrical bangers.

Hat Low, released on July 20th, features Fallacy and Skinnyman and is a wall-shudderer [yeah, that’s a word] of a track. Double time rhymes over the fuzzing bassline tells you just what Inja is all about, not letting up throughout his verse. Wear your hat low and your hood high, and if you don’t you’re going down.

Coming with a remix from UK stalwart Mr Thing, a dubstep remix and a DnB remix, there is something here for everyone. It got the crowd at the recent UK DMCs bumping so make sure you don’t miss out on this one.

Abjekt.