Category: Buzz Chart

Hailing from Brooklyn, We Are Scientists took the UK by storm with their infectious, unpretentious indie calling card. Straddling the line between darker pop punk and retro indie chic, they manage to avoid the mutated indie ‘scene’ and come out the other side still smelling of roses. Tracks off the album like ‘This Scene is Dead’ and ‘Cash Cow’ seem content with self awareness, bright and sharp,’ and ‘Inaction‘ even seems to give the scene a good kicking.

On the flip side they also produced the wonderfully seductive ” Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt” slithers its way around your mind with vocals courtesy of frontman Keith Murray. The three piece describe their sound as “advanced high level sectional articulation”, its layers of guitars with disco beats, curling basslines combine with intelligent lyrics, thumping chorus lines and some sparkling tunes.

One thing’s for sure – they do seem fond of re-releasing tracks. With ‘Nobody Move Nobody Get Hurt’ re-released earlier this year, they’re following it up with the quirky, unbelievably catchy ‘The Great Escape’. With the summer (questionably) upon us, the more buzzing, upbeat and addictive tracks the better- and this is an absolute blinder of an indie gem. Exhilarating, exciting, topped off with a wonderful sense of urgency- this could be the anthem of the summer, and the soundtrack to the festivals. Scuzzy guitars and staccato turns, this is unchallenging, unmitigated fun – turn it up loud and enjoy!

Black Flag. Black Sabbath. The two blacks. What more do you need in life? But hey, this is about Black Flag, we’ll move onto Sabbath next week. Find me a band more hardcore than Black Flag and I’ll call you a liar. Led by guitarist Greg Ginn, these street punks terrorized the world throughout the eighties with the most ferocious bursts of noise to rise from the punk underground then or since.

It was tempting to go for an older track or one of the classic early singles like ‘Jealous Again‘ or ‘Six Pack‘ but instead we give you ‘Slip It In‘ – a charging Henry Rollins led tirade that cuts a bass and drum grove that will have you kicking the legs out from under your table before drop kicking your computer into the nearest wall.

James Sherry

Take one multi-Scribble Jam winning emcee, one member of exquisite turntable crew Animal Crackers and mix them up with the beats of a prolific and forever-innovative producer and you’ll get Glue. Rapper Adeem proves time and again that he’s not just limited to battling, with his well thought out and always interesting lyrics, flowing over Maker‘s incredible beats and with DJ DQ up on the cuts, you can’t go far wrong.

This track, A Lot To Say, is taken from their upcoming album Catch As Catch Can and is to be released on the legendary Fat Beats label. The group have taken the step of putting this track up for download so as to spread the word and prove just how useful and broad the world wide web can be. But this is more than just an exercise in the internet’s potential, this is a brilliant track which showcases all 3 members’ strengths and if this is anything to go by, the album will be an absolute cracker!

Abjekt

Those of you who skated in the early 90’s with Zac, Richie Hopson, Gorm etc may well have bumped into our friend Richard File skating curbs and ledges schralping in Sutton and Croydon with Curtis McCann and Paul Shier. Since then, he has shared duties with James Lavelle on the U.N.K.L.E project, released a bunch of stuff on Mo’Wax Records and has also co-written the film score to cult film Sexy Beast.

On July 3rd, File’s brand new EP is released to the general public that witnesses a different side of his musical talents than heard before. “Neon One” is 3 tracks of subtle guitar work with an indie feel akin to the likes of Ambulance Ltd, Radiohead and The Verve’s psychedelic offerings, leaving you with subtlety and deepness only found in the higher regions of the Dead Meadow.

The fact that skaters continue to push music all over the world, assures me that music from this EP will end up on a skate video at some point, as lead track Big Mistake would fit like a pork pie in the hands of Shakespeare. Support other skaters and check this record out.

The follow up to 2004’s critically acclaimed, mega selling ‘They’re Only Chasing Safety’ – ‘Define the Great Line’ is undoubtedly set to establish Floridian Christian mob Underoath as leaders of the “Screamo” pack without dispute.

Having drafted in Killswitch Engage guitarist and well-respected genre producer Adam D to give both vocals and guitars a kick up the backside of the most epic proportions, the result is a career-defining record that oozes quality and drips raw emotion from every pore. From the all-out assault of lead track ‘In Regards to Myself’ to the piano-led delicacy of the awesome ‘To Whom it May Concern’, the results are never anything less than spectacular – a true classic in every sense.

Tear up any pre-conceptions and open your ears, mind and soul to what is to be one of the year’s true masterpieces.

Following Lou Barlow’s departure/squeezing out of the original Dinosaur Jr line-up (now unexpectedly back together again!), Lou sought solace in his 4-track porta-studio and began creating tape after tape of minimalist, stripped down song-writing and can be single-handily credited for creating the so called Lo Fi explosion in a dark and distant world before i-pods and computer files.

Alongside friends Jason Loewenstein and Eric Gaffney, Lou created Sebadoh to provide an outlet for the burst in his song-writing creativity that had previously been suppressed by Dinosaur Jr’s notoriously uncommunicative frontman J Mascis.

This timely reissue of the classic Sebadoh ‘III‘ album comes bolstered with an extra disc of tracks recorded around the same time, plenty of which are unreleased until now. This album also happens to feature some of the band’s finest songs in ‘The Freed Pig’ and the screeching rocked-out noise of ‘Gimme Indie Rock’.

If you’re new to the world of Sebadoh, then this is certainly the best place to start. Click here to buy this amazing record!

It can be hard work being a dedicated Sonic Youth fan. Although part of the obvious beauty of the band is you never quite know what you’re going to get next, when some of their more recent releases have been patchy to say the least and others seem to consist of Thurston’s guitar leaning up against an amp and feeding back for thirty minutes, even the most hardcore fan is going to have their patience well and truly tested.

Thankfully we’re on safe ground with latest release ‘Rather Ripped’. This is classic Sonic Youth, buzzing with Ranaldo and Moore’s trademark guitar beeps and squeals, Kim Gordon’s panting vocals and Steve Shelley’s infectious grooves. Switching between bursts of chaotic noise and some sublime chilled and loose vibes, the whole album is packed full of quality tunes and blissful melodies. If not quite up there with classics like ‘Daydream Nation’ and ‘Goo’, ‘Rather Ripped’ comes damn close and on evidence of the first few listens it could be a real grower.

James Sherry

Mix ex-members of ska, hardcore and punk bands and add them into a new melting pot, and what would you expect the result to sound like? Not reggae, is my bet. However this self-titled album, The Aggrolites debut on Hellcat Records is one that recalls the sounds of a funky James Brown and laid back Bob Marely fused with the odd Doors moment to create 19 bizarre but strangely addictive songs.

You can’t help but get into the groove of these songs and if you are still smarting at the thought of no Glastonbury this year, I urge you to buy this. Whack it on, turn it up and get your mates round in the garden and chill in your own mini Glastonbury. It’s the perfect partner to heady summer nights with it’s sunny melodies like ‘Mr. Misery‘ and ‘Funky Fire’. Having toured with the likes of Rancid and Madness, there is a wide ranging appeal to their joyful and passionate tracks which will brighten up even the rainiest of days.

With their fifth studio album ‘Meds‘ still riding high in the charts worldwide, Placebo are back with the second single from what looks to be their most successful album to date. One thing is for sure – they’ve come a long way baby. Brian Molko’s songwriting has audibly grown and matured, and their new single ‘Infra Red’ is the perfect showcase for this fresh sound.

Dimitri Tikovoi is back in the producing seat, and has stripping away the effects and paraphernalia, revealing again the solid foundations to Placebo. ‘Infra Red’ curls its way around you with softer understated verses swept up by delirious choruses, with crunching guitar and attack. Lyrically the track is as dark and paranoid as ever, Molko’s unique vocals are unnervingly menacing “someone call the ambulance there’s gonna be an accident, I’m coming up on infra-red, there is no running that can hide you…” – but at the same time so sweetly seductive with rapturous guitar highs.

With an album bursting with potential singles, ‘Infra Red’ is another exciting release from a band who are simply going from strength to strength, growing with every release. Out now.

Are you sitting there just waiting for something fresh to explode in your ears right now? Bored of the same of rubbish that mags like the NME keep going on about week after week? Well, I don’t read their mag but I guess they are all over this like a rash as TV On The Radio are back with a brand new album and I can tell you it’s an incredible experience from start to finish.

Unique sounds are hard to find but this 5 piece have found a sound that sits between heaven and hell and right on the edge. But before you start thinking it’s heavy metal, read on, as this is some of the best scenic indie rock you will find this summer that mixes an incredible production with creative thoughts that you would only really associate with bands such as The Flaming Lips and Fugazi but TV On The Radio sound nothing like either. They have their own sound that could easily soundscape an old 1930’s chain gang film, multitracking vocals, mixing the voices of man and woman to create a beautiful blend of harmonies that your ears are screaming out for.

The track “Hour” is one of the stand out tracks on this epic 11 track album, in fact you can hear it on this very page. It has the same feel to it as some of the newer Dischord artists like Q and not U. In fact there is absolutely no point in mentioning every single track on this album as they all form a jigsaw puzzle that all falls into place as you play the entire record. But look out for forthcoming single Wolf Like Me as it’s a rocking little gem that will encapsulate you.

This band are really difficult to pigeonhole but they are a lot easier to house in your CD collection so go out of your way to get this record as it’s out on July 3rd on 4AD.

Chuck Bangers