Category: Buzz Chart

At a time in the UK when most indie rock bands preferred to gaze at their feet and flop their fringes about to the fey music shimmering from their amps than rock the fuck out, Swervedriver were a deep breath of petrol infused air. The release of their debut album ‘Raise‘ back in 1991 provided the UK with one of the few bands that could stand up to the barrage of incredible alternative music flooding out of America at the time.

Although they hailed from the university town of Oxford, the sounds Swervedriver spawned on this debut album conjured up images of dusty American highways, sandblasted deserts and long, bleak road-trips and this re-mastered version makes it sound as relevant now as it did then. So many classic songs are packed on this album it’s hard to pick favourites but for newbies head to ‘Song Of Mustang Ford‘ and ‘Rave Down‘ for the ultimate introduction to this band.

But it doesn’t end there. Inspired by the band’s recent reunion, Creation have reissued their first three albums, all in digipacks with four bonus tracks on each. Next up was ‘Mezcal Head‘, originally released in 1993 it saw the band expand their gloriously fuzzy psychedelic sound with another stellar collection of songs backed by a sturdier production and massively beefed up sound. Although it didn’t bring Swervedriver the massive acclaim and fame they deserved, it showed the band at the peak of their powers and popularity.

Last in this reissue series is 1995 release ‘Ejector Seat Reservation‘ that, despite featuring one of their best songs ‘The Other Jesus‘ was weighed down with too much filler and marked the down-turn in the band’s career.

The good news, however, is they are back, gigging again and firing on all cylinders. It’s a pleasure to have them around again. And it’s even more of a pleasure to have their past back in beautiful digipack, remastered, extra track form.

James Sherry

Abstract Rude is a rapper that has bubbled under the radar for quite a while now. However, his new album, set for release in early 2009, is coming out on Rhymesayers, home to Atmosphere, Jake One, Brother Ali, I Self Devine and P.O.S. Surely if there was a label that excuded the highest of standards, it’s this Minneapolis based home of hip hop.

In the run up to the just finished US elections, we were inundated with song after song of people getting on their respective political high horses, demanding this and that, explaining to the world that if one person got into office, the world would be an amazing utopia, empty of problems and devoid of evil.

Clearly, this was never going to be the case and this is what Ab Rude raps about in this track. Yes, he’ll vote for Obama, because he is the lesser of two evils, but he implores the listener to remember that whilst there is hope in change, nothing will be fixed immediately. What makes this track stand out above the others is that Ab never preaches, he never sounds like he’s forcing his ideas upon you and this plan of attack brings his intelligent and level-headed ideals to the fore.

That, and the beat is fucking dope.

Abjekt.

A twenty five song debut album from an American bloke with a shabby beard and unkempt hair thinning down toward a somewhat stout waistline: already we’re conjuring images of some droning, drawn out, lifeless prog-metal, but take note because little could be further from the truth.

Benji Hughes plays the kind of upbeat, mellow, warm & fuzzy sunshine pop that sets a soundtrack to summer days spent relaxing on the beach with friends. With women as a clear centre of his world, he sings brittle lyrics that are both cutting and forgiving in the same breath. Drawling about loves lost, loves left behind and loves entirely untouchable; there’s a humour, a wit and an observant wisdom to Benji that’s truly addictive. His is a sound that, although often compared to Beck, is entirely more dreamy, uplifting and optimistic.

‘A Love Extreme‘ is an album that fizzes with contradiction and irony. Starkly juxtaposed, the magic in Benji’s music lies between sandpaper vocals, prickly notions and fluid, soft melodies. The placement of pop song “Tight Tee Shirt” sitting abruptly next to the melancholy “You Stood Me Up” is precisely the use of light and shade that proves Mr Hughes and his creation is a lot more serious and carefully thought out than first glance might suggest.

3 years in the making, this debut might be all we have to cling to for a while so it’s just as well that there’s so much to get your head around. Keep an ear to the ground because, should he find time amongst womanizing, Benji Hughes could be a legend in the making.

Trotty P.

A brand new album from Canadian trailblazers DOA, that marks 30 years in the Punk Rock Business, albeit a brief break in the early Nineties. I think we can let ’em off for catching their breath back there!

This band were a huge influence on me in the early Eighties – picking up their “Positively DOA” EP in ”81 was an El Dorado moment, I’d truly struck gold. And it marked the start of my long term relationship with these Vancouverites and their rabble rousing music. I’ve pretty much followed them thru most of their subsequent releases, jeez that’s a hell of a lot of DOA friends! Sure, we’ve experienced ups and downs along the way… with some records not quite up to scratch. But I can report that a bulk of “Northern Avengers” 15 tracks are really top notch, with Joey Shithead howling like a grizzled hound dog and peeling of scorching riffs, whilst bassist Randy Rampage and drummer Floor Tom Jones (!!) keep the engine room stoked red hot.

Like they’ve been doing for the past 3 decades, their songs rally against the war machine, corporate greed, religious fanatics, police brutality, fighting fascism, and celebrates still being a Punk, right on! Oh, and they like Hockey, the Ice type, ya goofs! It’s a Canadian thing.

In conclusion; a cracking return to form. “Northern Avenger” is Punk with a big shot of Rock, and guess what… it’s co-produced by… Bob Rock!! Check out the track “Crossfire” on the player!

Pete Craven

“I can’t say I have the time!” sang Vic Ruggiero, a man best known as the vocalist and organist of NYC ska stalwarts The Slackers, on one of his band’s most popular tracks (‘Have The Time’). The man does not lie; and given that he’s released no fewer than 17 albums with The Slackers since the early 90s (as well as four previous solo albums), it’s a wonder that he can spare any time to sleep. You’d think that such a quantity of releases would result in a lack of quality.but, well, you’d be wrong.

‘Something In My Blindspot‘ sees Vic temporarily abandoning the ska-based sounds of his ‘day job’ band in favour of a more stripped down, rootsy vibe. ‘Innocent Girl‘ is a beautifully simple acoustic jaunt, owing a debt to classic 60s pop, whilst ‘If This Night‘ is a banjo-led folk/country number. There are also a couple of soulful duets, featuring Lisa Mueller (of German swing band Black Cat Zoot) and a wild, squalling brass section at work on ‘Lonely Nights‘. You can almost imagine Vic and his band checking into a remote countryside studio and recording this album amidst late-night jam sessions, conversations and a few beers. And frankly, it sounds all the better for it.

Overall, ‘Something In My Blindspot‘ is a great record that constantly refuses to be pigeonholed into any particular genre. Check out ‘Taking Care Of Business‘ on the link above.

Alex Gosman

Once upon a time an annoying dwarf with a piano called Jools Holland introduced “The Dog Himself” to us, the British public. At first glance it was just some bloke with dungarees, a beard and a guitar. But as soon as that dude began to play all of Mr. Holland’s “wonderful!” and “Superb!” guests that night became irrelevant.

Since that event in Seasick Steve‘s life he has been on the up and up. After the incredible, almost mainstream, success of his second album ‘Dog House Music‘ and numerous sell out gigs, he has gone from having a cult fan base to nation wide acceptance from critics and new fans alike.

The main tale told on with this release is focused on his days of travelling and finally coming to terms to settling down after a life of excess and adventure. Known as a traveller for a period of his life ‘Prospect Line‘ documents Steve’s time hopping trains and waiting on his free ride. The beautiful ballad ‘Walking Man‘ boasts the line “my name is Steve and I’m your stayin’ man”. Another indication that the once hard to pin down hobo is now ready to find a place and call it home.

Another recurring theme on this album is booze and lots of it. Songs like ‘Thunderbird‘ are a salute to the man’s days of drinking, drinking and drinking some more. “If you’re gonna sing a song about drinking wine…..you should drink some wine.” I think that says it all really. The man needs no excuse to enjoy a jug or two of cheap wine.

Seasick Steve is a fantastic raconteur. Every song on ‘I Started Out…‘ tells a story from his past. Even the most pointless of tales sound like good times. For example, the song ‘Chiggers’ is about a type of insect that bites you on the legs. Simple and pointless but it’s the way Steve sings and plays with such heart that makes an otherwise boring tale enjoyable.

Although the slightly polished nature of this Warner Bros. release smoothes the edges of his sound a little, Steve still manages to give you that raw, dirty, Mississippi feel to his music. Rather than sticking to the blues mould he progresses to more of a full band sound with Swedish drummer and tour mate Dan Magnusson. He is not the only dude joining Steve on this record. Nick Cave and his Grinderman posse jam on ‘Just Like A King‘ with fantastic results. Seasick has made a few friends on his journeys as of late.

Seasick Steve has lived the life so many blues and country musicians could only dream of for inspiration. A man who has had to contend with an abusive stepfather, a man who left home at thirteen, who has been locked up, homeless, suffered heart attacks and hobo’d his away across most states of the ol’ U.S of A. and that’s just scratching the surface. Seasick is a man who’s music you can believe. No bullshit gimmicks. Simply put, he’s an enigma of a dude with a gob full of stories him and his guitar are itching to tell you.

Tom Lindsey

Regardless of age, you would have heard or listened to an artist influenced by the Bomb the Bass sound. Back in the mish/mash of the late 80s Tim Simenon dropped the cut n’paste classic Beat Dis closely followed by the excellent ground breaking Enter The Dragon album.

If you are expecting another rehash of hiphop fused with crazy samples, this album will be a shock, that’s DJ Yoda’s game in 2008. If Enter the Dragon was your thing in the early 90s, its likely you, like Bomb the Bass, have moved on. Electronic music changes fast, from the likes of Massive Attack, Leftfield to the darker Unkle all injecting more feeling and a greater range of emotions in to their programming and delivery, this could be the next meaningful step forward solidifying a more tense, deep sound to the dance music genre.

The first cut off the album is “Smog“, instantly haunting, a nervous tone sets the vibe, Paul Conboy provides vocals and works himself in to the abyss of Simenons dark, despairing musical backdrop. “Butterfingers” keeps the dark, claustrophobic unease with Fujiya and Miyagis’ David Best eerily whispering through lyrics about playing Tetris on his eyelids, which somehow feels fitting to the soundscape. There are no shortage of nods back to his previous years either with a few Adamski style beeps and echoes now lurking as scars from his previous battles in the studio.

All the vocalists on Simenons latest creation are male, and include grunge journeyman Mark Lanegan (Screaming Trees/QOTSA) oddly appearing on “Black River” which is marginally more organic and human than the clean beats that are present right through the album. Paul Conboy from APE pops up again to laces a few more tunes, including “So Special” which is the lead single from the album. Jon Spencer, (yes from The Blues Explosion) appears to finish the album off with the murky, very urgent Manga/Akira style beat on “Fuzz Box“.

This album is certainly a taste of the future, but will fit right in, and trump the current crop of bands such as MGMT and the other acts/producers that have salvaged their mini-moogs from the attic. The thing that sets this album apart is the greater levels of depth applied to the simplest of beats, Future Kaos is built on possibly one of the most solid musical foundations of the last 20 years. Delaying the album release for the last couple of years has only served to let peoples music tastes evolve enough to be ready for this album, as Simenon is undoubtedly light years ahead of most in the studio and with this release will leave many playing catchup all over again like it was ’88.

Philip Procter

Joel Grind IS Toxic Holocaust. The one man death metal mission. Many session musicians have fallen by the way side since the birth of Toxic Holocaust but it has been solely Mr. Grind cultivating this landscape of horror and killer riffs since the band’s inception in 1999.

The first impression you get from Joel Grind is that he knows his shit. He seems like the type who has been hiding in his “Mom’s” basement for years collecting black and death metal vinyl, shredding to himself and writing pen pal letters to Obituary before finally realising that he could do it all himself. After donning his bullet belt and leathers he set to work on making his third full length and relapse records debut ‘An Overdose of Death…‘ Which, I can tell you now, kicks seven shades of shit out of your ear drums.

On first listen it’s easy to write off Toxic Holocaust as a rip-off band. On closer inspection you realise that they are not a dodgy tribute act or covers band but simply students of the game. Their bludgeoning tracks, backed up by an equally vicious live performance, should silence all critics and nay sayers. Toxic Holocaust are young and blood-hungry. They have taken what made bands like Venom, Exodus, Slayer, Kill ’em all era Metallica and Testament so great and given a fresh take on it from a young, rabid perspective. It’s by no means original, but my god is it refreshing to hear such balls to the wall metal from the younger generations.

It’s hard not to head bang or wish you were watching this band live when you hear the record. From opening track ‘Wild Dogs‘ to the amazingly titled ‘Nuke The Cross‘ the Holocaust don’t give you time to breathe.

Pounding the skins on this LP is Zeke’s own Donny Paycheck who has the ability to produce a sound from his drums on par with a war zone. Believe me when I say, friendly fire this is not! The speed at which he plays is equally matched with Grind’s raspy and gargled vocals. On N.W.O.B.H.M-esq ‘Lord of The Wasteland‘ Grind sounds like he’s dining on a meal of broken glass and rusty needles. ‘Grave Lord’ is the one for the old school speed metallers and will certainly have you wishing you were witnessing the carnage live.

‘Future Shock‘ salutes the classic Motorhead sound where as, what is bound to become a pit classic, ‘War Is Hell‘ unleashes a barrage of killer licks and breakdowns. This album grips you from start to finish with absolutely no let up. It’s simply packed with brutal riffs and has no room for filler.

With so many bands these days churning out trash and death metal releases it has become increasingly harder to siv through the shit. Toxic Holocaust stand decapitated head and shoulders above the rest. ‘An Overdose Of Death…‘ is one of the best albums of this genre I have heard in while. I strongly suggest you strap on your gauntlets, dust off the studded biker jackets, bow down and submit yourself to the Gravelord.

Tom Lindsey

“You ain’t fucking with them Jake One beats” blasts Freeway on his opening to forthcoming single The Truth, taken from Jake One‘s new album White Van Music and, quite frankly, Freeway knows what’s up.

Jake One has produced across the entire spectrum of hip hop, from G Unit to I Self Devine, even chucking in John Cena’s entrance theme for the WWE. So when he decided to make a record and show just how far he could cast his line, guest spots from the underground’s finest with MF Doom, Slug, Blueprint and Brother Ali to the commercial brightlights with Young Buck, Busta Rhymes and Keak Da Sneak, prove Jake One caught one this big.

Throughout the album, the beats bang but always fit the lyricist on each track, never falling into the trap of cut-and-pasting an accapella over a beat to save time – Slow jams, club bangers, soulful winders, he has laced them all on this record. The track you can hear is the aforementioned single featuring Freeway and Brother Ali, so get to clicking. Hearing a line about the ROC being replied to with a line about the RSE sums up just what Jake One has achieved on this record – Nooks and crannies to lights on Broadway, he brings them together with ease.

Plus this record has MF Doom rapping about steak and you just can’t you fuck with that.

Abjekt.

Let’s face it, as cunning plans go, this was a good one. Having not made a really essential album since 1988’s ‘And Justice For All’ (even though 1990’s ‘Black’ album had it’s moments, it was generally a step too far in the commercial direction) the band hit an all time low with the truly abysmal ‘St Anger’ record and the cringe-worthy ‘Some King Of Monster’ documentary.

There are, however, conspiracy theories that the band intentionally recorded an album so bad that whatever they did after it would be seen as a glorious come-back and a return to the magical days of their first four albums. The dirge of ‘St Anger’ surly can’t have been an accident, they must have done it on purpose. And it worked. The release (and inevitable early internet leak) of ‘Death Magnetic’ has been met with wildly enthusiastic reactions from all and sundry claiming it to be a return to the glory years. And for once, believe the hype ‘cos it really is.

It feels so good to have Metallica back on track after they’ve spent so many years trying to run away from their classic sound in search of other styles and moods that rarely worked. Metallica were an incredibly important band to me personally. Not only were they the first truly heavy band I saw live (when my father took me to Monsters Of Rock in 1985), they shaped my musical word and opened up a whole world of heavy music from The Misfits to Exodus and back again.

‘Death Magnetic’ is everything you could hope for from a Metallica album in 2008. Just for starters, the production is fantastic. Rick Rubin has done an incredible job in guiding the band back to the energy and sound that made their initial records so exciting. The sound, from beginning to end, just goes KRUNCH KRUNCH THUMP. Pure heaviness all of the way without ever resorting to the sludge of ‘St Anger’. They manage a sound that is both crystal clear yet totally down-tuned and heavy.

With ten songs in over seventy minutes there’s a hell of a lot here to digest and it takes a few spins to crack it but once you’re in it will get it’s claws into you and never let go. I’m not even going to single out the tracks. Listen to the whole album from beginning to end. See if you can handle that ipod shuffle generation.

James Sherry