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letlive.

Fake History
Epitaph Records

letlive.fake historyOn first hearing ‘Le Prologue’, the opening track to ‘Fake History’, it’s easy to assume that you’re about to hear a drawn out, suspense building intro track that you would’ve lost interest in before reaching any kind of semblance to a song… but no, letlive. write off the suspense and unleash an outrageous and calculated assault, aimed straight at your unsuspecting nervous system feet first with big fucking boots on. Before you know it, track two, ‘The Sick, Sick 6.8 billion’, has happened and it’s happened hard, and you don’t get a chance to breath until it’s over.

If you miss the time when Anthony Green was still in Saosin, and Glassjaw had just released Worship and Tribute, ‘Fake History’ is probably going to blow your mind. In terms of a post-hardcore record, it’s near perfect, and considering the fact that it’s basically an hour long, keeping the listener interested is a victory in itself. ‘Fake History’ achieves this with variety. Each track is a journey, both vocally and musically, and this allows the whole record to ebb and flow as a whole. Vocalist Jason Aalon Butler can belt out an ear-splitting scream, switch effortlessly to a whisper, and tops it off by holding those big notes in a way that Andrea Bocelli would most likely have busted a blood vessel or two. The drums on ‘Casino Columbus’ sound like thick, heavy artillery whereas tracks like ‘Lemon Party’ provide rhythms that’ll have your dancing shoes on in seconds. Sure, loads of bands can mix it up in an album, but what sets this apart is that it’s all presented so damn stylishly. All the musicians are solid and it’s undeniable that Butler’s vocal skills are slick as hell and more than accomplished.

If you were fortunate enough to see them at the Old Blue Last for their first UK headline show, then you won’t need convincing. If you missed it, fear not, for it seems clear that letlive. are a bomb that will be exploding into your lives, turning and rolling heads simultaneously, and ‘Fake History’ is lighting the fuse. This album is what you love about post-hardcore. It highlights everything that was good and exciting about the genre: unforgiving and impassioned vocal hooks, a rhythm section that is both restrained and relentless, all of which will get you singing, dancing and generally losing your shit.

Oli Knowles

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Music News

Track of the Week: True Widow – Skull Eyes

truewidowTexas stonegazers True Widow are back with a brand new video titled ‘Skull Eyes’ this week, a single lifted from their new album that will be released on Kemado Records this month.

The 3 piece band who tour constantly in the US have a new record that combines shoegaze indie and stoner rock that sits somewhere between what Dead Meadow, Codeine and Earth manage to bring together combining mesmerising riffs and luscious vocals that border on stoner but sit deep in hypnotic psych.

Look out for the album As High As The Highest Heavens And From The Center To The Circumference Of The Earth, out on May 2nd as it will be one of those come down records you just need to have in your collection.

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Music News

Cave In announce new album

Cave In have announced the release of a new album.

The album, set for release on May 24th on Hydra Head Records is called White Silence. It’s their first album since 2005 and you can check the tracklisting below:

1. White Silence
2. Serpents
3. Sing My Loves
4. Vicious Circles
5. Centered
6. Summit Fever
7. Heartbreaks, Earthquakes
8. Iron Decibels
9. Reanimation

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Music News

Watch: New video from Atmosphere

It’s another video from those Minnesotans – Atmosphere have dropped some visuals for the track She’s Enough from their new album The Family Sign.

Not only is the tune a banger, but the video is excellent and reminds you of the days when all you had to do to get a girl was put chewing gum in her hair. Those were the days. Keep your eyes open for the cameo to end all cameos in the lunch hall.

Huge.

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Music News

Watch: New Kito video

Mad Decent have uploaded the video for the new Kito and Reija Lee track On The Jam.

The track is taken from their Sweet Talk EP which is available to buy now and which features another three tracks, all of which are bangers. Click play on the video below and watch this space for a Buzz Chart review of the EP.

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Music News

Watch: New video from Hocus Pocus

French hip hoppers Hocus Pocus have set a new video live.

The track, Equilibre, features fellow Frenchman Oxmo Puccino is taken from the group’s last album 16 Pieces which was released last year. With the sunny weather currently hitting our streets, it’s the perfect soundtrack to your day, so get to clicking the play button below and nod that head of yours.

You can also check out our live review from their sold out show at London’s Jazz Cafe here.

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Live Reviews

Live review: Hocus Pocus

Jazz Cafe, London
09.04.11

When a well established French act come to town, it’s a pretty safe bet that there will be a large crowd, all of whom are ready to prove their Gallic credentials and support their countrymen. So when it was announced that hip hop act Hocus Pocus were hitting the capital, it was clear that the Jazz Cafe in Camden was going to be full to the brim, and that’s exactly what it was.

Bursting onto the stage with a keyboard player, drummer, guitarist, bassist, three piece horn section and DJ Grem on the decks, frontman 20syl took the show by the scruff of the neck immediately, huge smile on his face and ready to dance. For their part, the crowd threw their hands in the air and began cheering and whistling along to every song from the word go too.

Running through the fan-favourites Smile [with UK’s Omar hitting the stage for the chorus line], Mr Tout Le Monde and Hip Hop?, 20syl was the perfect focal point for a band so tight it was impossible to find any imperfections. Speaking in both his mother tongue and excellent English, the rapper got the crowd singing drum kicks, turn table scratches and had the crowd bouncing and freezing at his every whim, providing a masterclass in crowd participation.

The fun wasn’t all focussed on their album tracks either, with each member of the band providing short recordings of one sound, be it a hi-hat, kick, snare or chorus line and building up a beat through these layered levels before perfoming a track over said improvised beat – it was truly something to behold. Even if the band hadn’t spoken English at any point, the non-Francophiles in the crowd would still have had a great time. It was what hip hop shows are meant to be – fun.

By the time the group had left the stage, there wasn’t a single person left in the venue that had any energy left, a perfect way to end the night.

Abjekt.

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Music News

Watch: New Murs video

West Coast MC Murs has released a new video.

The track, Varsity Blues, is produced by Aesop Rock and revives the team-up from Felt 3. The video is below and you can check out Murs if you live in London, when he plays Jazz Cafe on Wednesday 13th May, which you should do as he’s a blast live.

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Live Reviews

Live Review: Edan

Jazz Cafe, London
07.04.11

It had been a while since I last saw Edan perform a headline show, which was coincidentally at the Jazz Cafe too. Sandwiched between the two shows came an opening DJ slot for Public Enemy at the Brixton Academy when the MC was on criminally early, but it’s the shows like this when Portnoy is really able to show off his dexterity and he certainly didn’t disappoint this time around.

Proceedings kicked off with a screening of the film that had been made around his Echo Party mixtape with psychedelic colours and animation flitting around old Bollywood imagery culminating in half an hour of explosions for the ears and eyes. As soon as that was over, things really got going with Paten Locke, the hype man for the evening, delivery a short, sharp burst of his own lyrical prowess before the man himself walked down the stairs ready for action.

It would be impossible to put into words just how much fun was had on the night but suffice to say seeing a man rap whilst cutting two records at high speeds, delivering a word-a-man track with Locke and having him distort every last word of various tracks with some microphone manipulation pedals and switches will live long in the memory.

The two men on stage were having fun too – Edan putting on a wig whilst sitting down with a guitar and kazoo and Locke picking up some dainty sticks with which to deliver a few notes on a glockenspiel displayed the entertainment value perfectly. The duo then took turns scratching records in the vein of many great DJ team-ups, always with a smile on their faces before Edan mixed a folk song with rap drums – “Racial harmony right here”. Ladies in the crowd were given bunches of flowers towards the end too, bringing a light-hearted close to the night.

With tracks like Mic Manipulator, I See Colours [complete with chorus sing-a-long], Emcees Smoke Crack and Torture Chamber, Edan had every single person in the venue transfixed with his perfect delivery and old-school flow. When he did his patented showing of the vinyl cover when namechecking bands, Paten Locke dropped one of the sleeves, something which had “never happened before”, with Portnoy feigning anger for a split second before shaking his head and continuing the fun.

There are very few people in hip hop that have the skill of Edan and the stage show he performs is honestly one of the best around. He calls himself the Humble Magnificent and tonight was proof the second part of his name was well and truly on point.

Abjekt.

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Buzz Chart Music Reviews Single Reviews

Beastie Boys

Make Some Noise
Capitol

It’s been a while since we last heard music from the Beastie Boys. It was 2009 when they dropped their track featuring Nasty Nas Too Many Rappers and had everyone clamouring for a new album to drop, but with MCA’s fight against cancer, the album took a deserved lay-off. However, now the New York trio are back with Make Some Noise and it was absolutely worth the wait.

The intro wah-wahs slowly before the drums are unleashed and segue into a backdrop for the inimitable MCs to bring the house down. The drums are crisp, the tune is fun and the gang vocal chorus is classic Beasties. We all know what the rappers sound like and we all love them, so hearing them on a fresh beat is as enjoyable as it could ever be.

With MCA rapping about parties on the right and the left, it seems inevitable that your feet will start to tap, your legs’ll shake, your head will nod and before you know if you’re having your very own personal party in your chair. And that’s what the Beastie Boys are all about – getting rowdy. Despite their age, they can still mix it with the very best and if this is any indication of the new album, we’re all in for a treat.

“It’s the anti-depresser” runs one of the opening lines, too bloody right!

Abjekt.