Such Gold
‘MISADVENTURES’
Razor & Tie Records
Facebook
American pop-punk is kicking off in the UK – is it just because they’re American? Hell no. It’s because pop-punk is awesome.
After having a few setbacks in 2012 Such Gold have retained their strength and are back with their debut studio album, Misadventures that oozes impeccable pop-punk. If you have been with Such Gold from the start and you have enjoyed their previous EP’s, you’re truly in for a treat.
The album kicks off with the aggressive, yet upbeat ‘Two Year Plan’, which is pretty much the album condensed into two minutes and eighteen seconds of pure pop-punk brilliance. To be honest, most the songs merge into each other. They’re not particularly bad, just generic pop-punk tunes. However, there are a couple of songs which are more distinctive than the others. ‘Storyteller’ is a lot heavier than the rest and offers a chance for the listener to really appreciate the devotion that these guys have put in.
The lyrics portray a veil of youthful emotion. When vocalist Ben Kotin sings …and I wish that I could say the days alleviate / this artificial pain I never thought that I’d be feeling at this age”, his words strike a familiar chord; this is music you would listen to while trashing your ex’s house.
Kotin’s vocals blend perfectly with the pounding drums and contagious guitars to create a relentless wave of emotional angst and passion throughout. Everything that comes out of his mouth just seems like he is in a hurry to tell you, and that you must know whatever he is saying instantly.
Misadventures has everything that you would expect from a pop-punk record: catchy riffs, great beats and a singer screaming into your ear drums. Oh, and what is a pop-punk song without the whole band shouting in the background? Although most of the songs just get a nod of approval, there are some goldmines – pun not intended. It’s a good album, not spectacular, but worthy of your time none the less.
Words: Emily Gunn
If there’s one thing that will instantly grab our attention when hearing about a new band it’s the words ‘featuring ex-Fugazi member…’ Such was the incredible influence and power of their music, ideas and attitude that anything the members of Fugazi have created since their hiatus is always met with excitement and interest. 
There’s a reason why Black Flag are so heralded and respected so long after they existed by younger generations. It’s not just the fact that they had a cool logo, it was also their inspiring drive and energy that, against all odds, saw them power their utterly uncompromising and original noise at a time when long hair, tattoos and punk rock was not a career option. They sounded the way they did because that’s how they felt and how they wanted to express their feelings. Pissed Jeans are no Black Flag tribute band, but there’s something about their ridiculously heavy punk rock noise and venomous approach that makes you feel if Black Flag had existed in this frustrating, jittering modern world, this is what they’d sound like.
Earache Records have surpassed all previous attempts of longest doom records by unleashing the beast that is 
And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead are arguably the most consistent alternative rock band of all time. Formed back in 1995, the two members that formed the band have never delivered an album that you can fob off. All of their eight studio projects have delivered their unique sound at the highest level mixing apocolyptic guitar punk with rock and roll at the highest level and then stripping it down to melodic undertones big enough to fill a desert. 
Those who picked up the limited edition, spaghetti stained ‘I Spit On Your Graves‘ 7″ that was released by the Italian based label 
Listen without prejudice, as George Michael once said. After all, it’s tempting to view this record through a prism of ‘What Frank And Jim Did Next’, given their pedigree in Gallows and The Hope Conspiracy, and given Frank’s assertion that he’s “so sick of singing about hate” on first single ‘Bury My Bones’. That track is included here, and although it’s a decent tune with a great riff, there are more rewarding treasures to be found on ‘Anthems’.
Fidlar, formed of four guys from LA, bring their self-titled album to our shores, and it’s nothing short of memorable, rowdy rawness. The 14 tracks make up a gritty backbone that will soon if not already establish this band, dragging them out of the back streets of the underground scene and placing them fearlessly and certainly confidently on the radar of new music for 2013.