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Hills

Hills
‘Milarepa’
Rocket Recordings
hills

Sweeping in from the same smouldering Scandinavian scene that birthed one of the most mind expanding albums of 2014, Hills’ latest offering is an intoxicating smokescreen of otherworldly noise to knock you right off you chair.

Breathing new life into the often-over-populated pool of psych, ‘Milarepa’ sees the seven-piece laugh in the face of tradition, fully embracing heavy hallucinatory territories on a free-flowing flute trip led by drones.

Their forthcoming album, Frid, marks the bands ninth year together and their third LP. Suitably homed to the prolific Rocket Recordings, this is said to be Hills’ most out-of-mind and out-of-sight effort to date, crystallising everything that makes these Scandinavian satyrs stand out from the global herd.

Recommended as a feast for seasoned crate-diggers and fresh-faced converts alike, stream Hill’s latest with haste.

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Årabrot

Arabrot
Arabrot
‘Mea Culpa’
Fysisk Format / Eolian Empire

Standing alone and steadfast as the great outsider of the Norwegian music scene since his inception in 2001, Kjetil Nernes’ one-man arts-and-music project, Arabrot, have consistently left their cult following in awe with juggernaut-sized riffs and boundary-breaking soundscapes of distortion and doom. Just fresh from a stint on the road collaborating with the Quietus founder John Doran, in celebration of the publication of his recent memoir, it is with huge excitement that we report Arabrot will be releasing a brand new EP titled You Bunch Of Idiots on June 23rd.

To mark the occasion Arabrot are streaming ‘Mea Culpa’, a grinding and onslaught of foreboding dirge inspired by Nernes’ recent battle with throat cancer, which Nernes explains was written one afternoon whilst drinking alone in a deserted London pub, shortly before being informed of his alarming health condition. “I didn’t know how seriously ill I was at the time but something within didn’t feel quite right,” he recently told Noisey. “The gargoyles on the Victorian houses opposite [the pub] were gazing down at me.

Stream ‘Mea Culpa’ below and hear Kjetil conjure his trademark vocal snarl, wrought with disgust as he spits out a striking yet doubly catchy mantra of, “foul mouth!” through gritted teeth.

You Bunch Of Idiots will be released June 23rd via Fysisk Format / Eolian Empire.

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No Joy

no_joyNo Joy
‘Hollywood Teeth’
Mexican Summer

Keeping in check with 2013’s Wait to Pleasure, No Joy’s latest cut is awash with mighty shoegaze soundscapes and lurid vocal swirls. Kicking off with a wave of reverb and delay that crashes into your psyche at full force, the track’s spearheaded by frontwoman Jasamine White-Gluz’s breathy cry of “all I want is to be with you”.

It’s not all ethereal magic and choral delicacies here though, as No Joy switch up a gear midway through this belter, driving on a violent key change with a furious pulse. It’s no question that this would deliver a sincere punch in the live arena; a co-headline tour with Cheatahs which they just finished.

Due for release on June 8th via Mexican Summer, More Faithful is sure to satisfy your guitar rock craving just as much as a pining for shoegaze intricacies. Pre-order a copy here.

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Luvv

luvvLuvv
‘Nothing’

Fans of reverb unite. Cardiff’s Luvv are your new favourite band as they emerge from the unknown with ‘Nothing’, a melodic slice of 80s indebted, feisty post-punk that’s guaranteed to blow the cobwebs clean away.

With nods to their fellow Welshmen, Chain Of Flowers, and noise comrades, Eagulls, Luvv cook up a storm of euphoric guitar tones and tight muscular beats, as frontman Matt Short’s vocal musings on the woes of success fly high above the racket.

Recently picked up by the respectable Fat Cat Demo contingents on SoundCloud, look out for Luvv breaking out of the valleys with full force this year.

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Puppy

puppy

Puppy
‘The Great Beyond’

Firm Crossfire favourites, Puppy, have re-emerged with a brand new video for ‘The Great Beyond’ to tie in with the announcement of their debut EP which is to follow later this summer on Best Fit Recordings.

Taking a couple of cues from Mr Lynch, ‘The Great Beyond’ materialises as a twisted Black Lodge karaoke, with Puppy’s riff worship flowing from Mascis chug to Hammett-style power metal with ease.

Watch this freaky new visual below and catch them live through May and June.

May
24th Nottingham, The Chameleon (Dot to Dot)
30th Wychwood Festival

June
9th London, Birthdays (w/ Theo Verney)
27th London, Old Blue Last

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So Stressed

So_StressedSo Stressed
‘Apple Hill’ / ‘Merv King & The Phantoms’
Honor Press

So Stressed hail from Sacramento and make the kind of ear stinging post-hardcore that demands playback at maximum volume for guaranteed bone crunch. The three-piece have recently hooked up with Honor Press, a brand new label founded by Meredith Graves of Perfect Pussy fame, for the release of their debut album, and ‘Apple Hill’ / ‘Merv King & The Phantoms’ is our first taste.

Fans of noise giants Metz and Pissed Jeans will find solace here, along with those who favour the scrappy racket of Greys and Bad Breeding too, as So Stressed kick out steaming jams riddled with angst, tension and set to blow.

Surprisingly, the trio are reportedly hell bent on perfection, and have a policy of immediately scrapping any song if one band member has the slightest doubt about its intensity. This mutual insistence on the perfect may come as a shocker context to their unhinged and explosive sound, but you can only admire a band who have spent over two years grafting in the studio to get their debut right, their way. Look out for So Stressed’s first album The Unlawful Trade of Greco-Roman Art due for release on May 25th.

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Aliment

Aliment
‘Car Crush’
La Castanya

aliment_band

There seems top be a Spanish invasion going on right now in the punk scene. Just last week we were discovering the garage vibes of new Madrid band The Parrots and this week, another Spanish band who have garage in their veins has arrived, bang on cue.

Aliment’s ‘Car Crush’ track, an upbeat, punk rock sing-a-long with pop tendencies that kicks out the jams and is over in a flash. They may have garage roots somewhere in their DNA but have more in common with the likes of Pegboy and the Marked Men whose driving punk rock is everlasting.

The trio, originally from Girona, now reside in Barcelona and have an album called ‘Silverback’ coming out via La Castanya this September. Have a taster from what’s coming and look out for them live, they sound like they could get a room going for sure.

Follow them here.

Zac

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WAND

Wand_Golem_CoverWand
Golem
In The Red

As the eerie space wind samples that precede Golem greet your ears, there’s a sense of trepidation and tension instilled, but its laced with magic and set to explode. Wand’s opening riffs are as merciless as they come, and take a firm grip on your malleable mind that refuses to let go for thirty five minutes straight.

Tube amps cooking hot and phasers set for the heart of the sun, Wand sound like Sleep on speed. The sheer power and noise behind ‘The Unexplored Map’ is enough to knock you straight through a stone wall, and it’s both terrifying and exciting that this is just the beginning of their nine track assault.

Sure, you could argue that there’s a somewhat saturated scene as of late, with any old Tom, Dick or Harry shouting the odds over a din of feedback and fuzz and calling it “psych”. But Wand are the antidote to these teenage dirt bags, standing alone in their own bold sonic dimension.

Tracks like ‘Reaper Invert’ and ‘Floating Head’ summon the kind of sludge you’d expect to hear oozing like molasses from the double-stacks of King Buzzo, while ‘Melted Rope’ floats up to newfound cosmic territories with delight, seeing frontman Cory Hanson’s vocal warble almost recalling that of Lennon’s, if he’d hooked up with Kevin Parker via some time travel assisted jam.

Wand’s display of fine sonic wares doesn’t stop there, though. ‘Cave In’s misleading riffs morph into a crazed double-time stampede of swirling noise that just cries for the volume knob on your hi-fi to be, not cranked, but yanked clean off in a frenzy of ear-bending glee. Shortly before namesake ‘Planet Golem’ stoops to Sabbath levels of dark doom rock before oscillating into near-speed metal territory.

Long after Golem has peaked, you’re left marvelling at a record that unites both the futuristic and the fantastical. Whether you’re a fan of medieval sludge and doom, or sci-fi synth mystique, Wand show no fear in blending the two together seamlessly.

Golem is out now on In Red Records.

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Bop English

CONSTANT_BOPBop English
‘Struck Matches’
Blood and Biscuits

Bop English, more commonly known as White Denim mastermind James Petralli, has been hard at work crafting a solo venture of, whilst certainly epic at moments, rather retrospective proportions. Peering through the psych-pop prowess that you’d expect from the man that wrote a song like ‘At Night In Dreams’, amidst the haze of riffs and effects, the singers roots come to light in a way that didn’t quite fit the White Denim mould.

‘Struck Matches’ flares up into an acoustic-guitar driven hark back to the glory days, with Petralli layering slap backed vocal delay’s over wah-wah’d licks a plenty. His warped horn section and Texan drawl almost conjuring memories of golden boys Petty, Harrison, Lynne & co. as he leads the way into an infectious Wilburys-indebted boogie that demands multiple replays.

Lyrically, Bop’s dealing with what sounds like a precarious balancing act between consciousness and mind-melt after being handed the pipe and not knowing exactly what lay within the bowl. He sees a walking disaster, but all that’s to be found here is a triumphant ode to blues-rock, teaming with hooks and Americana appeal.

‘Struck Matches’ is taken from Bop English’s Constant Bop LP, out now via Blood and Biscuits. Catch him live in the UK on the dates below.

MAY
29th Glasgow, Broadcast
30th Liverpool, District
31st Birmingham, Hare & Hounds

JUNE
1st Bristol, Louisiana
2nd Brighton, Sticky Mikes
3rd London, Oslo
4th Manchester, Night and Day

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Gallows

desolation_sounds_artworkGALLOWS
Desolation Sounds
(Venn/PIAS)

I like to feed on broken hearts,” roared former Gallows vocalist Frank Carter, but it seems that these days, his ex-bandmates like to feed on adversary. Be it Mr Carter’s 2011 departure, or that of his guitarist brother Steph two years later, each obstacle placed in Gallows’ way sees them return stronger, darker – and, dare we say it, better?

Certainly, Desolation Sounds is no mere re-tread of past glories. There’s still plenty of hardcore rock n’ roll vitriol on display in the likes of ‘Leviathan Rot’ and ‘Leather Crown’, but in general, this is a more expansive and ambitious beast of a record than its predecessor. Witness the eerie choral intro of ‘Chains’, which gives way to sludgy, granite-hewn riffs, or the brooding, gothic vibe of ‘Bonfire Season’, with Wade MacNeil’s mournful vocals lending a sinister edge to proceedings. Later, the clipped, almost robotic rhythms of ‘Death Valley Blues’ and the Mastodon-gone-schizophrenic attack of ‘Swan Song’ will have wondering just what else these guys have up their sleeves.

Overall, Desolation Sounds is the result of Gallows being completely true to themselves, and just as it must have been a liberating experience for its creators, it’s deeply compelling for the listener. Oh, and most of these songs will probably sound even better live. Find out for yourself at the following dates:

May
22nd – Glasgow Cathouse
23rd – Leeds Slam Dunk Festival
24th – Hatfield Slam Dunk Festival
25th – Wolverhampton Slam Dunk Festival
26th – London Garage
27th – Manchester Sound Control

Alex Gosman