Category: Buzz Chart

We were all waiting with baited breath for this new Modest Mouse record for a long time, and suddenly the prospect of the former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr standing alongside Isaac was almost too much to handle. Then finally it happened. Modest Mouse’s tenth album, We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank, arrived and all was good in the world.

Those expecting a return to the sound of early Modest Mouse from albums like Lonesome Crowded West and Moon and Antarctica will be a little disappointed, as this continues in the vein that Good News for People that Love Bad News did, with Epic hoping that it would have its own ‘Float On‘ success story. The first single ‘Dashboard’ is undeniably catchy and Marr’s influence does come through strongly, but the rest of the album is just incredible.

Brock’s songwriting, with wry, beautiful, yet still very cryptic lyrics are a little more barked-out than previous albums, showing he still has the raw passion for music that he has always had. ‘Little Motel‘ is he quieter, mellower track with the suitably dark subject matter, whilst ‘Missed the Boat‘ is the happy sing-along track with strong harmonies.

I do have to admit. I am a massive Modest Mouse fan and obviously may be a little biased towards them, but for the first time, they have made an album with tracks on it I really don’t like. ‘Florida’ and ‘We Got Everything‘ seem so much weaker compared to anything they’ve ever done before. Having said that, the rest is absolutely cracking and they couldn’t have produced a finer record with as many soon to be classics if they had tried any harder.

And I will always be a fan of bands whose singer sticks up for people getting hurt at their live shows. I hope the guy being a tit in the front row at the Royal Albert Hall really did get the shit kicked out of him like Isaac said he would.

Tim Mogridge

Brazilian party animals Bonde Do Role are currently of interest and with the release of their debut album …With Lasers, it is easy to see why. Whilst their fellow Brazilians CSS are winning over the indie kids, Bonde are bringing in the bigger drums and the Baile vocals to give the music scene over here something it will never have heard before.

Solta O Frango, the second track on the album, sets the scene for the rest of the record perfectly with the 808 claps snapping over the chanted chorus before Marina goes back into hollering the verse as if she were standing on a float at a Carnival.

Gasolina is the stand out track on the album with Diplo’s production proving to be yet another winner on his list of achievements as the horns pump out a low melody and those drums get you pumping and shaking like an epileptic staring at a strobe light.

Single Office Boy is a guitar led song which continues to the singing chorus and feels a little more poppy than the rest of hte album, proving Bonde aren’t just a baile funk group. Their music is so much fun that it really makes no difference whether you can understand the lyrics or not, you’ll be too busy dancing and mimicking the shouted parts [even if you’re just going OLOLOLOL SERI SAAAAAAAAO which means precisely nothing] to care.

…With Lasers is just the sort of thing you want to wyle out to this summer. If you don’t pick this album up, you’re a chump. Yes, that’s right, a chump.

Abjekt.

The Procussions’ feel good summer hip hop vibes have been banging boomboxes for years now and so when one of the group comes out with a solo record, you sit up and you take notice.

Mr J Medeiros is a producer/rapper from the group and comes with a Braille-esque voice, delivering thought provoking messages aimed at helping you realise that there is hope amongst all your problems. Sure, you’ll have heard that before, but when you’ve got beats as good as this album, and a delivery which feels both genuine and easy, it rings that little bit more original and true.

Looking down the list of guests on the album Of Gods And Girls, you know this going to be a heavyweight release, with production from 20Syl of C2C and Hocus Pocus, Stro from the Procussions, Joe Beats and Ohmega Watts and a guest spot on the vocals from Crossfire HQ favourite Pigeon John.

This track, Keep Pace, is a perfect example of what to expect from the album, which is out in July on Rawkus records, especially since you hear that even rappers are skint too when Medeiros checks his bank balance over the phone.

Abjekt

It was nearly a year ago that I first clapped eyes on Gallows, supporting zombie-core pioneers Send More Paramedics at the Kingston Peel. I hadn’t really heard about them before, and was impressed by their onstage intensity.

It wasn’t until I wrapped my ears around their recently-released ‘Orchestra Of Wolves‘ debut that I truly fell in love with this bunch of self-proclaimed ‘skinny kids from Watford’. Fast forward a few months, and Frank Carter’s crew are now – quite rightly – the talk of the town, thanks to the aforementioned record and a slew of truly blistering live shows.

If you haven’t yet acquainted yourself with ‘Orchestra Of Wolves‘, then you’re in luck; because it will shortly be re-released on Warners. Not only do you get the original album in all its twisted hardcore/rock n’ roll glory, but there’s also a bonus CD that features live tracks, a couple of new songs, and an excellent Black Flag cover. A pretty sweet deal, all told.

You can check out new single ‘Abandon Ship‘ on the link above. As anthems to doomed romances go, it’ll take some beating, and is best experienced in the live setting – where it’s guaranteed to get an already volatile pit to go that little bit crazier. “Mayday”? Mayhem, more like.

Alex Gosman

There are some record labels that you can always trust to deliver the goods.

Before the wonderful invention of the internet made it easy for us to hear every bad we could possibly ever want to check out, we trusted labels to feed us with good music, buying everything the likes of Sub Pop, Dischord, Epitaph and many more put our way and they rarely let us down.

Ecstatic Peace, run by Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth fame, is one of these labels, issuing a never ending stream of strange and challenging records.

Black Helicopter are remarkably more accessible than many other releases on Ecstatic Peace. They’re a comfortable listen, taking me back to the early nineties when the twisted indie sounds of Pavement, Small 23, Big Trouble House, Archers Of Loaf and Built To Spill were making some of the most exciting and addictive records of the period. Their sound is dark and quirky yet the songs are gorgeously melodic and accessible, propelled by layers of explosive Sonic Youth guitars.

Perfect Boston indie rock. Get it.

James Sherry

In case you couldn’t tell from the title, there’s a dark sense of humour present on ‘Life Is A Grave…‘ that has long been the Nekromantix trademark.

This is the Danish psychobilly trio’s seventh full-length record, and whilst the subject matter remains largely the same (i.e. romance, death, or both), the quality of the music is more than enough to explain why the Nekromantix are regarded by many as psychobilly royalty.

There’s plenty of prime wrecking pit fodder on offer in the likes of ‘Voodoo Shop Hop‘ and ‘B.E.A.S.T.‘, with lead vocalist/upright bassist Kim Nekroman hollering and twanging away like a demon on speed. He’s not afraid to slow things down from time to time, though; as best witnessed on the sultry slices of lounge-a-billy that are Horny In A Hearse‘ and ‘My Girl‘. There’s even a cheekily-titled instrumental (‘Panic At The Morgue‘) and the great tunes and tongue-in-cheek lyrics remain present throughout.

Check out ‘Nekro High‘ on the link above; it’d be a grave mistake not to. A ghoulish mistake, even.

I’ll get my coat.

Alex Gosman

Flicking through the mainstream press can be a rather dispiriting experience when you’re confronted by page after page of so-called ‘hardcore’ bands with suspiciously elaborate haircuts, so be thankful that bands like Pulling Teeth exist; guaranteed as they are to restore your faith in the genre.

Packing eleven tracks into just under fifteen minutes, the band’s ‘Vicious Skin‘ debut is a refreshingly unpretentious and brutal slice of crossover thrash-core, which should have fans of DRI, early Suicidal Tendencies and Municipal Waste wetting themselves with delight. Make no mistake: this is first and foremost a hardcore record with metal influences, as opposed to yet another tired exercise in the omnipresent metalcore sound.

There have plenty of brains mixed in with the musical brawn, too. ‘Prepare For The Worst‘ is a damning indictment of the human race’s selfish nature, whilst ‘Weapons Of Mosh Destruction‘ sees vocalist Mike Riley taking pit-Nazis to task as he howls “The only way you can compensate/Is by pounding on kids half your weight”. So listen up, all you idiotic Kung-Fu amateur types.

Check out ‘Heretic’ on the link above.

Alex Gosman

I can’t really say I’m a massive fan of all these new indie-pop bands popping up every other day, but Good Shoes debut album Think Before You Speak is making me change my mind about the ‘latest sensation’. I have to admit, I went to see them play recently, and due to my booze intake and the size of the venue, I kind of missed their set. I heard them though, and was quite impressed.

Think Before You Speak combines the sounds of the new Thamesbeat scene- a mix of upbeat technical guitar pop and intelligent lyrics- and musical influences from modern bands like The Futureheads, all the way back to indie pioneers like Gang Of Four, The Jam and Buzzcocks. They have clearly drawn on The Futureheads start-stop sound and style, helped along by vocalist Rhys Jones’ singing and witty analysis of people and places.

Stand-out tracks on the album are Nazanin, a simple yet very confessional look at Jones’ self, as well as the paranoia-driven anthem of All In My Head. But I always think the best songs are those written about where you grew up. Morden regales the bands hometown and how, although it should be a nice leafy suburb town in South West London, it is actually a shit-hole full of skinheads, drug dealers, and alcoholics singing 80’s pop whilst stumbling out the pub.

I’m always worried when a new band appears that sound very similar to everything else that’s around right now. It seems far too easy just to disappear if you don’t make a good first album. Good Shoes have managed to produce a very good, well-rounded first album, and sure to be around for while to come.

Tim Mogridge

J Mascis and the gang can do no wrong in my opinion. I love them. So do you. If you don’t then you’ve probably got something wrong with you. They make me think of summertime and having fun. The original line-up of Mascis, Lou Barlow, and Murph have reunited to record together again for the first time since 1988’s “Bug”.

The new single “Been There All The Time“, taken from the new album “Beyond”, is going to get you throwing yourself about, air-guitaring all over the place and yelling along to J’s distinctive voice. Pure, classic Dinosaur Jr. again, showing how they got themselves to the fore-front of the indie scene in the Eighties, and still have the energy, passion and talent to carry it on in 2007.

Oh come on. It’s Dinosaur Jr! What more do I have to say? This is amazing!

Tim Mogridge

Imagine Brighton in 1978. Punk rock had taken over the fashionable mod movement from the 60’s and mohawks ruled the airwaves, in fact the only thing that was holding up the pier was the whafts of hairspray and bottles of merrydown!

It wasn’t long before the seaside town had a flagship, sing along punk rock band that reflected the mood of drunken youth and Peter & the Test Tube Babies were the 4 piece made sure they were heard all over the UK. With 3 chords, a bottle of merrydown and some electricity, their popularity grew amongst the punk scene with releases such as Banned from the Pubs, Run Like Hell from the album Pissed and Proud in 1982.

But in 1984, The Loud and Blaring Punk Rock LP was released and caused much banter with songs such as Oral Annie, The Queen Gives Good Blow Jobs, Student Wankers, Child Molester, Porno Queen, Breast Cancer, Vicars (Wank Too) and Pick Your Nose and Eat It. It seemed that Peter had made the most repulsive punk record to date and that is why this album is featured here today because it’s a living legend!

As I type this I could not count the amount of times that this has been played in the car on road trips to either go on missions to see bands outside of town and skate trips. It’s a classic that has to be in your collection if you like cheeky punk malarkey, so go and find it!