Category: Buzz Chart

New Found Glory have been through the wringer. Less-than-ideal situations with record labels and mixed reactions to last LP ‘Coming Home‘ cannot have been the easiest things to deal with. But rather than letting these factors beat them down, the band seem to have been spurred on to forge a new relationship with Epitaph Records.

The signs are also good for the new material itself. The first song to reach the public domain from forthcoming album ‘Not Without A Fight‘ is titled ‘Listen To Your Friends‘ and it’s back to the classic anthemic New Found Glory pop-punk style. Singalong choruses, punchy melodic guitars and heartfelt lyrics with the subject matter being somewhat akin to ‘My Friends Over You’. This is perfect fuel for the band’s energetic live show which transcended all expectations last year with an enthusiastic and packed-out crowd singing back every word of every song at the considerably large Brixton Academy a few months ago.

Having gone a little too far in the mellow direction with ‘Coming Home‘ and then experimenting with a second ‘From The Screen To Your Stereo‘ and Bridge 9-released EP which featured new material and covers of hardcore tracks, New Found Glory are back to what they do best – writing modern pop-punk classics.

NFG’s sixth original album ‘Not Without A Fight‘ is released via Epitaph Records on 9th March and I’d put good money on New Found Glory winning this particular fight.

Winey G.

You know what you’re going to get with Long Beach’s sunniest sons – fun, chirpy choruses and horns galore. Their latest album, Audacity, has buckets of all of these things, but it’s on this release, over 10 years after they first burst out of the West Coast scene, that they really show they’re able to mature to become a new breed of Duckling.

For a start, there is more singing on this record, which is absolutely inspired. Whilst other groups would come off as cheesy and tacky, Dizz, Andy and Young Einstein are able to shimmy their way across the stacatto brass with ease. They’ve taken a step up lyrically too, something they’ve admitted to spending a lot of time on to make the album more personal, which adds to the overall complexity of arrangement found throughout the 12 tracks.

The track you can hear is the opening track, Let It Die which contains everything mentioned above. One thing they won’t let die is the funk, so whack on your headphone and feed your quack habit!

Abjekt.

When historians cast their eye back at the UK ’76 Punk Explosion, The Damned forever remain in the shadows of the Sex Pistols and Clash, with the former still intermittently raking in the filthy lucre, and the latter forever lauded by critics.

The Damned were, and remain, the perennial runts of the pack. Outcasts. But of course let’s not forget, unlike their contemporaries, The Damned, at their conception, didn’t have a svengali-like manager behind the scenes, pulling the strings and plotting outlandish cunning stunts to elevate their muse’s careers.

No, The Damned, they did it their way… and that’s why I’ve always admired them greatly, and have chartered their voyage for many a year. Their music was a huge influence on me. How can I ever forget November 23rd 1981, The Damned at Brighton Top Rank. My first gig. Monumental. Ack, I’m getting all misty eyed. That was, this is…

“So, Who’s Paranoid?” is a brand new 13 track album from The Damned, with Dave Vanian and Captain Sensible at the helm, and supported by a very solid crew, who’ve been on board now for a number of years. After a number of spins, I declare this, for the most part, to be a very decent album, containing pop-rocking jams, psychedelic wig-outs, and lashings of furious fretwork from ‘Sonic’ Sensible, marvellous.

Standouts for me are “Nation Fit for Heroes”, “Under the Wheels”, “A Danger to Yourself”, “Just Hanging”, “Nothing!” and the closing “Dark Asteroid” which culminates in 10+ minutes of spaced out cosmic overdrive, a lot of fun! Not so enjoyable were the Vanain-led ballads, notably “Since I Met You” and “Nature’s Dark Surprise“. A bit too mature even for my forty-something ears. And I did laugh at “Shallow Diamonds” which was clearly inspired by the film “Blood Diamond“… I’m sure De Beers would disagree that those valuable lumps of compressed carbon are about as much use as a candy bar! Ha!

Pete Craven

Yet another in a seemingly endless stream of talent suckling on the murky River Aire, before leaving the greying hues of Leeds and West Yorkshire to show the rest of the country just how this music thing should be done.

Beneath four masses of faded hoodies, tatty jeans and unkempt hair is the musical rumbling buzzing on lips across the country, Pulled Apart By Horses. For once, this isn’t about being part of a cool scene, having loads of myspace friends or catching onto the next hip thing. The fact is that they are, simply put, just really fucking good.

Recently released on tiny DIY label Big Scary Monsters, ‘Meat Balloon‘ is this lot’s first physical offering and comes on limited edition white 7″ vinyl. Already we’re in love… Contained within it’s grooves are dense and elastic bass lines that bounce like space hoppers, squealing guitars and smashed glass fevered vocals. Throwing a gracious nod to Rage Against The Machine and the gods of grunge, theirs is a sound that’s filthy rotten and caked in sweat, yet strangely invigorating and move-busting.

With half the music press hot on their tails after only 7 months of existence, Pulled Apart By Horses have an awful lot of hype to live up to and maintain, but so far it seems that’s not going to be a problem at all.

Trotty P.

The Americans are at it again. Not content with making everything bigger and better than ever before, they’ve only gone and got great at making dubstep. Philly native Starkey is a man who wants to mix things up a bit and with his new album, Ephemeral Exhibits, he’s done just that. Whilst some dubstep can get a little monotonous over the course of an hour, especially if it sticks to the same style for the whole time, Starkey has made sure that there isn’t a moment to get comfortable.

Taking influences from grime, bassline, garage and dubstep, Starkey has created what is becoming known as street bass, where anything goes. The beats bang, the bass wobbles and the synths create atmospherics seldom heard in such contexts. But what sets this album apart from the rest of the scene is the use of vocals to enhance to tracks.

The track you can hear by clicking above, Pressure, is a perfect example of that, giving a multi-dimensional feel to the song with a build up so well defined it’s impossible to imagine how the track could have been any better.

Americans have begun putting their stamp on the South London sound, but if its as good as this, no-one is going to care less. A very late entry in to the album of the year charts, but richly deserved.

Abjekt.

If you’re in search of the perfect three minute pop song then look no further. Frankmusik‘s ‘Three Little Words‘ is electro-pop at its finest.

Camp as can be, dripping in singalong melodies and with enough lyrical sentiment to strike a chord. The production on this EP is top notch combining danceable rhythms, infectious beats, electronic meanderings, disco synths and Frankmusik’s pure-as-can-be yet slightly erratic vocal stylings.

The song is appealing on so many levels that it’s difficult to imagine anybody not liking this, although I’m sure there are plenty whose tastes are not catered to by ‘Three Little Words‘. Second track ‘Better Off As Two‘ comes close in the perfect three minute pop song stakes although ‘Three Little Words‘ is a tough act to follow. Taking a slightly more sedate pace, Frankmusic earnestly reels off this bittersweet ditty. Pulsating synth and beats fuel the perpetual positivity of the track. ‘Run Away From Trouble‘ follows with a stab at something more intense which is somehow reminiscent of Annie Lennox.

Frankmusik’s lingering vocal lines and an ethereal feel in the musical arrangement mean that this downbeat effort is an unexpected gem. A lounge-style piano-backed version of ‘Three Little Words’ rounds off the release with a very ‘live’ feel proving Frankmusik’s talent beyond the rather elaborate production of the songs that have gone before.

Winey G.

International Artists Records produced some of the most daring and ground-breaking records to come out of the trippy-cactus drenched Texan rock scene of the late sixties. Most notable of all obviously being the LSD-fried glorious wreck of a band that went by the name of the 13th Floor Elevators.

Led by the crazed genius of Roky Erickson (read the incredible book about the band by Paul Drummond for the full story) they defined psychedelic rock and allowed bands like fellow Texans the Butthole Surfers to go even further ‘out there’ years later.

Bubble Puppy were label mates with the Elevators and were equally freaky! Their strange name came to them while they were on some particularly potent acid at a Hendrix gig and this, their only album for International Artists is an incredible ride through trippy psych pop and harder rock. The stand out track is still the wonderful ‘Hot Smoke And Sasafrass’ single that kick starts this album, but the title track and ‘I’ve Got To Reach You‘ are equally crazed and addictive.

The Charly organization have reissued and remastered this seminal sixties album complete with eight bonus tracks with a hard-back book digipak cover and a booklet, which they will continue to do with all of the International Artists back catalogue. They’ve done a beautiful job with the remastering and packaging and this definitive Bubble Puppy package is a must have for freak-flag flyers the world over. And just you wait until the 10-CD 13th Floor Elevators box set comes out….

James Sherry

The Bronx return on the 11th, with their new album titled The Bronx (III) and it’s a welcome return for a band that echo the likes of 31G’s (arguably) best ever export, Swing Kids.

Taking a step back from the ever perfected, million-dollar studio produced album, The Bronx have made this record their own by recording it in their own LA studio and thus, seem to have created a punk rock masterpiece.

The Bronx rock hard. Very fucking hard. Kicking off with the huge tune Knifeman. As soon as guitarist Joby J. Ford starts playing and Matt Caughthran screams down the mic “I wanna be original, I wanna be surrounded by art,” you know you’re in for a treat, and this sets the tone for things to come.

Inveigh follows up and maintains the chaos in typical fireband fashion. They shred and pound with Matt yelling “..and I’ll be waiting for you deep in hell..” A minute and 40 seconds pass and we introduce a cheeky baseline, which gives a moment for us to catch our breath…just a moment though before Joby explodes and Matt loses control “Look at us now!”

Past Lives greets our ears next, but regrettably, a thought crossed my mind of “Have I heard this before?” It’s a very samey track kept afloat only by Matt’s vocal talents, it almost seems as if it doesn’t belong, maybe it was a mistake? We can only hope.

Business continues though Bronx style, with the tubs getting a good thumping courtesy of Jorma Vik on Enemy Mind. The song releases yet more anger on the world “Out of the way he’s got something to say…fire…there’s so much fire…staring…I cant stop staring…” a brilliant track. Serious spine-tingling stuff.

Six Days A Week and Young Bloods follow up and sound rather similar I have to say, but it’s not the worst thing in the World, not the best either with Young Bloods perhaps being the weakest of the two. If you’re a life-long fan then I’m guessing you’ll be shouting: “Fuck off” right now, but it isn’t what I, personally, have come to expect from them.

Things look up mind as Joby’s seemingly endless talents are portrayed on the opening of Minutes In Night. The opening riff is an awesome display of how an axe can really be played before setting the tone for the whole song. Arguably, the best track on the new album due to such a killer intro and the way that it actually makes me want to run outside and punch the next guy I see in the face.

The Bronx’s return then is a much-welcomed one.
In an age where pop music rules the airwaves, its still a calming thought that punk isn’t dead.

Marc Ramage

New Jersey’s The Gaslight Anthem have melted the hearts of people across the UK this year with a lot more heart melting to be done! Their punky, slightly Bruce Springsteen-esque anthems transcend a multitude of scenes resulting in something truly genuine and definitely worth a listen no matter what music you’re into.

New single ‘Old White Lincoln‘ is no different to any other song from sophomore album ‘The ’59 Sound’. Expertly paced with a cunning combination of gentle musical prowess and a rousing singalong chorus, this track is something you can listen to on a rowdy roadtrip with your friends or on a mundane Sunday at home with your parents. But perhaps not if your parents are anti-tattoos.

There are pretty much no limits to where The Gaslight Anthem’s heart-rending music would be appropriate so the chances are that there will be an occasion soon when you’ll find their soothing tones a comfort or an inspiration.

Winegums

This is the first single from the Goons’ second album I Hate My Hair And Want To Die, which carries on their very stripped back, garage band esq. sound but also happily maintains their supreme catchiness.

The Goons were never meant to be a band, they formed in 03 on the set of Ozzie Wrongs (aka Oscar Wright-lead singer) film Wasted Youth, about a group of surfers who form a band. This in turn sparked mass creativity and the immense urge to form a real band and The Goons of Doom were born.

Back to the song then. The band describes For A Girl as: “Man’s eternal search for peace within the confines of male-female bonds,” which is spot on, those 12 words some up the 4:27 song perfectly…. but is this a bad thing?

Should a song by a band that categorically don’t really give a fuck and totally don’t take themselves seriously (echo’s of Fingered springs to mind …”we got so high, ate some magic mushrooms and I swear I fingered you again..I swear I fingered you again..I swear I fingered you again..it was a weekend come-on,”) be so easily and so philosophically summed up?

In my honest opinion no and I am not contradicting my self. I do realise I earlier wrote that it maintains their supreme catchiness and it does, I stand by what I said. I first listened to For A Girl two days ago and yesterday I found myself humming the tune in the shower and I had it in my head all day, but this doesn’t mean the song is brilliant, its average at best.

The lyrics aren’t great ” I understand I shouldn’t smoke but I’m a smoking kind of bloke and promise not to choke I’m not from choking kind of folk,” is just one of the lines which don’t work, its almost child like rhyming.

I really hope this doesn’t showcase what is to come from the new album, a step back if you will. The Story Of Dead Barbie And Ghost was a fun mixture of 60s Britpunk, sometimes straight up punk and horror pop madness which worked so well. I just pray the Goons haven’t grown up too much and made a record of so-so poppy love songs.

Marc Ramage