Category: Buzz Chart

Music can be seen as the crafted language of sound, the distortion of noise to evoke meaning, a blissful assault on the senses summoning an assault with much more power than any intoxicating concoction can create. It is the only true global language, and certainly the most neutral. In the past, Portishead have utilised their musical words, and have filtered through some of those most delectable and haunting melodies as seen on debut, Dummy, and combined them with the unparalleled angelic voice of the awe-inspiring Beth Gibbons.

This long awaited, aptly penned ‘Third‘ album, was most auspicious considering the relentless progression displayed on eponymous second album; I for one was suffering from serious anxiety attacks merely placing the disc into my laptop, unbeknown as to what kind of terrified beauty may leak into my iTunes library. It would appear that not only have the band delved into a musical thesaurus, but they’ve become bilingual and have made up their entire dialect of their own.

While the seductive and concupiscent Glory Box-esque tracks are notably absent from Third, there is still the same mournful grace apparent in Beth’s rich vocal. Amidst the eclectic variety in the musical melee, her voice (I know I’m touching on this too much, but it truly is mind melting) soars through every off beat snare and all spook ridden keys to grasp upon your soul and plunge it into a dark, dank ketamine tunnel, drowning in such vast emotion. It’s absolutely magnificent, I really cannot emphasise this enough. That iconic P stands as strong as ever, manipulating the magic number into one of the finest albums of the millennium thus far. Please, support this wonderful band and indulge yourself into Third and its tragic magic. This is music at its most powerful and out now.

Joe Moynihan

Click these links to watch Portishead video clips:

‘We Carry On’
P Film 2
P Film 1

Christ almighty. Cancer Bats have never exactly been musical lightweights, but even the bass-heavy hardcore rumblings of their excellent 2006 debut ‘Birthing The Giant‘ couldn’t prepare me for the sheer size and ferocity of ‘Hail Destroyer‘. It’s as if the Canadian quartet have put themselves through the musical equivalent of a boot camp, and emerged sounding heavier, yet also leaner and more muscular than ever before.

Guitarist Scott Middleton has upped his riff ante into the Stratosphere, and the rest of the band are no slackers either; vocalist Liam Cormier roaring like an insane lion throughout. And whilst the band’s hardcore roots are by no means severed, it would be inadequate to describe ‘Hail Destroyer’ as a great hardcore record. Genres be damned, it’s a great record, full stop. Check out the title track on the link above, especially if you’re feeling a bit sleepy at work, and need something to blast away the cobwebs with the force of a jet-propelled nuclear warhead.

When this lot aren’t in the studio, they’re usually out on the road; and sure enough, they’ll be over here to level UK venues next month. Get in on the action at the following shows:

MAY:

Mon 12th – Cardiff, Barfly
Tue 13th – Birmingham, Barfly
Wed 14th – Glasgow, Barfly
May 15th – York, Fibbers
May 16th – Cambridge, Barfly
May 17th – Brighton, The Great Escape festival May 18th – Leeds, Cockpit May 19th – Nottingham, Old Angel May 20th – Sheffield, Corporation May 21st – Manchester, Satan’s Hollow May 22nd – London, Camden Barfly

Alex Gosman

It’s not going to be easy to write a review on this album. You see, Atmosphere are my favourite group and have been for many years, so the worry of bias is hanging over me. Yet when I press play on the record and hear the first twinkles of glockenspiel opening what has been my most hyped album ever, I know it’s not the bias talking, but simple fact.

Atmosphere have never catered to what’s fashionable or what’s likely to sell them more records and this trend continues on Lemons, with typically brilliant story telling from wordsmith Slug and that snappy snare drum that we’ve come to know and love from beatmaster Ant. However, the Minnesotan duo have changed it up on their sixth album.

Tracks like You give the group a poppier dynamic, the inclusion of a sung chorus, something which happens a few times on the album, bringing a dimension to the listener that has never before been released. The album is much more stripped down than usual, they’re trying different things, the fuzz and bass of Shoulda Known and Can’t Break, the beatless Guarantees and the haunting backing vocals on Me.

Don’t fret though, this is still undeniably an Atmosphere album, the bass line on Waitress reminiscent of Pour Me Another and Dreamer showing they can still rock a happy but punchy vibe. To finish off the album with their unique and beautiful happy/sad In Her Music Box [which you can hear by clicking the player] is a fitting end to what is without a doubt the album of the year.

When life gave Atmosphere lemons, they painted it gold both sonically and lyrically. Untouchable.

Abjekt.

It’s been quite a year so far with London based 5-piece Lights.Action! Following on from two successful single releases last year (Satellites and Story of a Broken Boy), adrenaline filled appearances at Leeds Festival, the Great Escape and Download along side support slots for Boy Kill Boy, Aiden and I Was A Cub Scout, to name but a few – the band’s ever growing fan base fought off competition to secure them funding for a full length album with the Slice The Pie – the website that enables artists to raise money directly from their fans to professionally record and release an album.

This month sees the release of their debut mini-album on Xtra Mile Recordings, a collection of their best tracks to date, and the perfect way to mark this chapter of their career, before it all kicks off with the new album. Mixed by Richard Wilkinson (Ox Eagle Lion Man, Bombay Bicycle Club) the EP kicks off with single ‘Aurora‘, edging up the tempo with rich guitars, angst driven bass lines combining with Patrick Currier’s commanding vocals. The tracks share the same fervour, with punchy melodies colliding into an intelligent combination of rock, emo and pop, without bowing completely to either genre. With an American-lilt to his vocals Currier throws out intelligent lyrics, encased in addictive riffs and it’s easy to understand why these guys attract such a loyal fan base, with the energy and passion never dropping.

A spine tingling cover of Imogen Heap’s ‘Hide & Seek‘ is an unexpected but stunning addition to the EP, the fragility and serenity of the harmonies highlighted by the coursing guitars and searing riffs of the previous tracks. ‘All Eyes to The Morning Sun‘ is a good showcase for Lights.Action! and well worth a listen. With a new album in the pipeline, they could well be the ones to watch for 2008. Enjoy.

Dee Massey

‘How Heavy This Axe‘ declares the second track on ‘Gods Of The Earth‘. Not quite as heavy as The Sword’s music itself, you suspect. This Texas quartet’s 2006 debut album ‘Age Of Winters‘ saw them worshipping unashamedly at the altar of the riff, but this time around, they’ve upped the stakes to the extent that they themselves could well be considered riff gods.

The likes of ‘Under The Boughs‘ and ‘Fire Lances Of The Ancient Hyperzephyrians‘ (!) are rooted somewhere between the lurching riffs of High On Fire and the propulsive stoner-core of Corrosion Of Conformity, and there is no shortage of conviction or musical swagger on show throughout the whole nine tracks (here’s to quality over quantity!). The band have been described as sounding like “…a bunch of bison being pushed over a cliff” ; as bizarre as that may sound, it’s not inaccurate.

The Sword have never exactly been slackers – in the live setting or on record – but with ‘Gods Of The Earth‘, they’ve proved themselves to be amongst the finest ambassadors of Southern rock today. If you were unfortunate/dumb enough to miss their recent UK tour, then console yourself by checking out ‘Lords‘ on the link above. Hopefully they’ll be back soon.

Alex Gosman

So here we are, an era where genre-fusions are so common you probably wouldn’t bat an eyelid at a Latino hip-thrusting maraca-shaking outfit throwing in some gang vocals and blast beats. And in keeping with this mish-mash of ‘whatever sounds can be shoved together we will bloody well do it‘ mentality, we have Torche, a band who mix so many genres it is often hard to keep up. Whilst the doom metal, thrash metal, stoner rock and psychedelic rhythms that are apparent here please (immensely, I should add), what is so impressive about Torche is that it is done in a particularly pop-ish (if there is such a word) manner.

Think Pelican on speed. Think Cult Of Luna played in a major key. Think a 21st century Pink Floyd (ok, ok, it’s not that good) but this is seriously imperious stuff, played with a swagger so lean that would make Mike Jagger come across all humble. ‘Meanderthal’ is a drug-infused journey of sound-scapes so extroverted and yet so introverted that as a listener you wonder if you are welcome on their journey at all. Whilst the latter parts of the album veer into distinct stoner rock measures, the early songs on ‘Meanderthal’ are a life-affirming voyage of triumphant anthems that would send any mind into places it has probably never been before.

‘Meanderthal‘ is a record that literally DEMANDS to be played from start to finish, and it is also a record that not only demands but deserves attention and utter, wholesome admiration.

Nick Calafato

This is the follow up to 2002’s “Do The Pop” compilation (on Shock Records) which set to educate the masses on the veritable explosion of music that shook the Antipodes back in the late Seventies and on thru the Eighties.

“Redux Part One” uses the latter platter as a template, and includes those two big hitters The Saints and Radio Birdman, as well as post-Birdman member’s collaborations in The Visitors, New Christs, Hitmen and New Race. But compiler Dave Laing casts his net wide over the two discs, to further expose a plethora of underexposed but no less infectious hi-energy sounds from across the country, as Australia’s youth tuned in and turned on to produce their own primal rockNroll.

Enthusiasts will be familiar with material from the likes of The Psycho Surgeons, Fun Things, Chosen Few, Victims, X, Scientists, Leftovers, Razar, Rocks and The Manikins. from the “Killed By Death” albums, and the excellent “Murder Punk” comps, but there’s a whole bunch of real obscurities here including the hi-octane ME 262 with their ace “Gonna Die“, raw ’77 rumblings from Perth’s The Geeks, Sydney spikey tops The Last Words (who would record for Rough Trade), a filthy raw blast in “Nothing to Say” by Melbourne’s The Reals, the super primal and catchy “Heard it on The Radio” by The Orphans (another Perth outfit) and it was good to hear Hitmen singer (and ‘Birdman MC) Johnny Kannis with his spunky rendition of The Seeds classic “Pushin’ Too Hard“.

To close, things get downright primordial, as we’re transported way back to 1974, with cuts from Deniz Tek’s pre ‘Birdman combo TV Jones and a scuzzy garage recording of “(I’m) Stranded” by Kid Galahad and The Eternals, who would become better known as The Saints.

The music is complemented by a massive booklet that extensively details each track, as well as photos and flyers from the era. Fine piece of work, looking forward to Part Two already… yeah hup!

Pete Craven

As on their debut album from 2005 (In the Bottles) this Orange County quartet continue to mine the rich heritage of their SoCal roots. In 1981 Broken Bottles would have been found on the latest “Rodney on the Roq” compilation, alongside their peers Shattered Faith, Social D, Agent Orange, et al. With “Hospital” they’ve produced another shot of straight forward and well-tuned Punk tunes that peel back the lid on the plastic realities of life in Suburbia, and failing to attain the American Dream.

This time around they’ve switched their fixation from “Gothic Chicks” to “Psychobilly Girl’s“, recall days getting drunk in the “California Sun” and hanging out under Santa Monica Pier. And they strongly advocate the practice of Skate and Destroy. There’s also a reprise of “Poor Me” that originally surfaced in 2002 on the flipside of killer seven-inch “Radioactive San Onofre“… which incidentally liberates the distinctive riff from epic D.I. anthem “Falling Down“. Yet another direct link to their ancestry… there’s no doubt, Broken Bottles are products of their environment.

Pete Craven

What is it that the world famous Abjekt gets up to on a Sunday evening?

That’s a question that has passed the lips of many people, not least the Dali Lama, George W. Bush and Bungle from Rainbow. Well, now the truth finally comes out. This past Sunday, I was scowering MySpace during a bout of undeniable boredom, looking for new tunes that I can bump at ridiculous levels and wind up my downstairs neighbours even more. What I found was a jackpot of epic proportions – EKP.

What do I know about him? Fuck all other than he’s Swedish and his tunes are amazing. His album Things You Already Know Just Here To Remind You is the bastard child of RJD2 and Reanimtor, which is a good thing for me seeing as they are two of my favourite producers.

EKP is able to lay chilled out beats next to big band bangers without a problem and the track you can hear here, Followed, is the best of the lot. It’s as if he took a track from RJ’s Since We Last Spoke album, injected it with some type of illegal anabolic steroid and then kicked the volume control until it submitted and made the drums sound like some kind of hip hop propeller.

What I did after discovering EKP to finish off my Sunday however, you really don’t want to know.

Abjekt

This is the 2nd full-length release from Spanish nutcases Proclamation. They rule…I dunno if they are black war or death metal, but what I do know is both of their albums are amazing. Messiah Of Darkness And Impurity is seriously heavy. The riffs are killer and you get nothing short of total war brutality from this release brought to you courtesy of the impressive Nuclear War Now Records who have packaged this album for $5 alongside an amazing Vinyl version that comes with crazy photo’s and other stuff that really stops you from wanting to download this. Take note you bunch of tits who believe “the record industry is dead” – no, commercial music is dead, metal is so dead it lives and breathes.

I really wanna see this band live, they’re in the same sort of vein as Revenge or Blasphemy so I imagine they kill it, or you. The song titles are correct, you don’t get much better than ” Unholy Wine of Fornication” and you will will have to look far and wide to find another band that huck more bullet belts than Rambo. If you don’t like this album or think its too heavy you’re a fucking fanny and know nothing about metal. This is what metal is all about….they’re so sick. Go on the internet and buy it now!!! NOW!!!

French