Category: Album Reviews

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Marmozets

Passive Aggressive
(Free Download)

Freebies are always good. Even better when said freebie is actually really rather special. Marmozets’ average age is 17 years, yet they have produced an EP that belies their lack of years and consists of some ace melodic post-hardcore. Their edge of more yelpy vocals, slightly schizophrenic guitar lines and crashing drumbeats is leveled out by the purest of melodies and some catchy choruses. This band are proving early on that their knack for songwriting is not one to be sniffed at.

Occasional triple vocals led by an assured Becca MacIntyre as the band’s frontwoman (or girl, really) make the band stand out and ensure that the family affair of a band (the quintet consists of two sets of brothers and sisters) are one that won’t be ignored. They’ve already received plaudits from the likes of Kerrang! and Dan Carter on the Radio 1 Rock Show. This won’t be an underground act for much longer.

The overwhelming result of this EP is to highlight the band’s immense potential as major players on the UK rock scene. Make sure you catch them in small venues whilst you can and definitely snap up a copy of this release on the free download wire before they, quite rightfully, start charging you for the pleasure.

Winegums.

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Mayer Hawthorne

How Do You Do
(Universal Republic)

When he burst onto the scene a couple of years ago, Mayer Hawthorne was something of an unknown quantity to most. Some eagle-eyed hip hop fans recognised him as DJ Haircut of Now On but this new smooth, Motown styled persona was certainly a change from his normal routine. Now known more for his debut album A Strange Arrangement than any of his group work, Hawthorne has gone to Universal from revered hip hop label Stones Throw, but those fearing a change in output can rest easy – the new album is definitely one for fans of its predecessor.

Tales of love abound throughout the release, whether it’s falling for a girl, being in love or suffering from the acrimonious split. From the opening track Get To Know You where he describes his wish to find out more about the object of his affection in order to “get it on tonight” to the Snoop-guested Can’t Stop which documents the struggle to let feelings for the girl go to the instantly catchy The News which turns the tables and blames the girl on the split – “What we had, was all I knew / What we lost, was all on you / I’ve got news for you, we’re through”.

The music isn’t complex, but that’s its most potent weapon. Short stabby horns and bouncy drums surround Hawthorne’s voice as he brings to mind all the greats from a bygone era. With closed eyes, this could easily have been made in Motor City by the legends and stands Hawthorne alongside contemporaries like Raphael Saadiq in achieving such an accolade.

This is feel good music, whatever the weather, once these tunes hit, it’s sunshine and smiles. What might have started off as a jokey side-project is now a thoroughly respectable and enjoyable career.

Abjekt.

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Misfits

The Devil’s Rain
Megaforce

Now just down to Jerry Only, it’s hard to face this new Misfits album without some trepidation. I will confess to being a big fan in the olden times, first reading about these New Jersey Horror Punks in the pages of Sounds magazine, and then some of the more informed ‘zines, before chancing across a copy of their seminal Beware Of 12” for the princely sum of one pound at a record fair in ’84. That record, and the amazing Static Age recordings of the band in their primitive ’78 state, are pretty much the essentials for me. All I’ve needed.

I went and saw Danzig on their first UK tour in ’88 (supporting Metallica) and figured that was as close as I would get to a taste of the Misfits legacy. Then, in the mid-Nineties there was a regrouping of sorts with Only and his guitarist brother Doyle in the line-up. It wasn’t enough for me to go see them initially, but then curiosity got the better, and I stumped up for a ticket to see them at The Camden Underworld. I was suitably entertained, and they put on a crowd pleasing show, high on theatrics and all the hits (from hell). I recall also having a hilarious time one night with former ‘fits guitarist Bobby Steele and drummer Joey Image, whose Undead we put on in Brighton. But my time with the present-day Misfits was done, and in the ensuing years I’ve been only vaguely aware they still existed, and continued to tour.

The Devil’s Rain is 16 all new/original tracks, with Jerry on bass and lead vocals, augmented by one time Black Flag alumni Dez Cadena on guitar, and some young dude on drums. They do a pretty okay job of retaining the Misfits sound, namely Jerry trying to sing like Danzig, and songs loaded with rousing choruses that celebrate B-Movies and Sci-Fi – indeed the track listing reads like an obscure films directory – Land of The Dead, The Black Hole, Twilight of The Dead, Curse of The Mummy’s Hand – and it goes on and on all the way to the closing Death Ray.

If you still hanker for a shot of modern day Misfits then this album ticks a lot of boxes, but expect music that’s often more Rock than Punk, and is just a bit too formulated and dramatic, but I’ve no doubt Jerry has his heart in the right place and has given these songs his very best shot. It’s high on horror business, but just don’t go expecting all hell to break loose.

Pete Craven

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Evidence

Cats & Dogs
Rhymesayers Entertainment

When Dilated Peoples MC Evidence announced he was signing to independent rap heavyweights Rhymesayers Entertainment, a number of eyebrows were raised. However, two years down the line, the LA native has finally dropped his second solo album and the label has proved the perfect home for the record, continuing the tradition of fine releases.

This album doesn’t try to be fancy – there’s no sampling obscure hipster indie acts, there’s no turns with Evidence trying his hand at singing – this is a straight up, no holds barred, rap record and it’s all the better for it. Mr Slow Flow laces slamming beats from the likes of long-time friend Alchemist and legendary DJ Premier to fantastic effect, permeated by quality guest spots from the likes of Slug, Aesop Rock, Prodigy of Mobb Deep and Raekwon.

His distinctive voice delivers perfect line after perfect line with lyrics that are both meaningful and yet never convaluted. It says a lot for his talent that he’s able to rap in the way he always did and yet still seem fresh and as such is certain to gain some new fans on this record as well as please his legions of old fans who loved his Weatherman LP so much.

So yes, this is a rap album, nothing more, nothing less. But when you hear his flow over the beats on It Wasn’t Me, You and To Be Continued, you won’t want anything else. Evidence is an underrated gem and hopefully this album will turn more people onto his undoubted talent.

Trillzilla.

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Game

R.E.D.
Interscope

After having released numerous successful free mixtapes over the past year [many of which can be found reviewed on this very site], there was a lot of expectation for Game‘s [yeah he’s dropped the The apparently] album proper and, thankfully, he’s managed to pull it off. Whilst many more people are buying the new Weezy album, this is the full length to cop if you have to make a choice – stellar beats, top class guest spots and the Compton rapper on fine form.

After a strong opening with hot kid on the block Kendrick Lamar, the action goes full throttle with Dre and Snoop smashing it out the park on Drug Test, a simple yet utterly chest-throbbingly large bassline on Martians Vs Goblins which sees Tyler, The Creator show his legit skill on the mic over a good beat and even give Game some shit for naming his favourite rappers, a slur that’s been used against him for years [to which he jovially replies “Fuck you Tyler”] and the Zombie Nation sampling Red Nation featuring Weezy.

The middle section doesn’t dip either, the Motown-esque hook on Good Girls Gone Bad being following quickly by the sometimes stripped Ricky, which begins with gunshots and crying before Game lays it down plain and simple “My nostalgia is 100% Compton, zero per cent snitch”. Tracks with Ricky Ross and Young Jeezy follow with Game bringing his A-Game throughout. Whilst some critics claim he doesn’t have his own sound, the rapper showcases a flow which simply can’t be dismissed on R.E.D., something that perhaps lacked in terms of consistency over a record before this release.

The only slight on the album is that he has three R&B tracks in a row on the record. I’m a fan of R&B, so that in itself isn’t the problem, but it would have served the overall flow of the album a little better had they been fanned out. Indeed, when the third of the trio is the ultra-catchy Chris Brown led Pot Of Gold, it makes the first two [with Lloyd and Mario respectively] seem totally obselete.

But that’s only a small criticism and with Premo bringing his trademark sound to Born In The Trap towards the end of the record, it ends on a high. It’s a long album, over an hour and with 21 tracks, but within these 70 odd minutes, Game has made his best album yet. If you don’t grab this, you’re most certainly missing out.

Abjekt.

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Hildamay

We Loved, We Lost EP
A Wolf At Your Door Records

For A Wolf At Your Door Records’ latest export, Hildamay, the second half of 2011 has so far been one of the most crucial periods of the band’s career; from receiving commercial radio attention from none other than Radio One’s Zane Lowe to going on a hugely anticipated tour with hotly tipped label mates Mallory Knox, Hildamay are certainly making big strides towards greatness. With this in mind, much is to be expected of We Loved, We Lost and while it’s not exactly make or break, it certainly will be a release that carries a lot of weight on their path to success.

It doesn’t take long for the band to display exactly why they describe their sound as Punk ‘n’ Roll (the opening bass line of EP opener Parachutes, to be exact) and why they’ve generated so much hype in the relatively short time since being signed, from start to finish every single chorus on the EP seems capable of inciting a mass sing-along and every verse seems to build up to these perfectly. It truly is a credit to the band’s songwriting ability that everything about the structures of the songs on We Loved, We Lost feels perfectly natural without falling into a lull of predictability, something which many bands seem to fall victim to recently.

The band certainly wear their influences on their collective sleeve, with elements of Hot Water Music especially creeping it’s way into the band’s sound quite often, though this isn’t to say that the band don’t have their own identity, with the title track in particular showing a unique blend of intricacy and pure balls to the wall aggression that is often difficult to blend cohesively yet the band seem very comfortable in their ability to bring the two together effectively.

Picking a specific highlight from the bunch would be a nigh on impossible task but the aforementioned title track and the brilliantly paced Delicate are definitely two of the most memorable tracks on the record, although there isn’t a dull moment to be found on the EP. With most fans having already heard This House Became Our Home on their recent split EP with Mallory Knox there was plenty to be optimistic of and thankfully the band have duly delivered.

All in all, Hildamay have crafted an impeccably structured and sonically beautiful EP which could easily be looked back on in coming years as the record that determined what was to come. On this evidence, the band have certainly lived up to (maybe even surpassed, depending on who you ask) expectations and have built a solid foundation for a career that will hopefully lead them onto bigger and better things; with a support slot for Crossfire favourites letlive. coming up in the next few weeks they could well be on their way sooner than expected. Definitely ones to watch.

Ryan de Freitas

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Retox

Ugly Animals
Ipecac

Retox-Ugly-Animals_album_sleeveClimbing out of those skin tight nylon body suits and into yet another punk vehicle, The Locust’s Justin Pearson and Gabe Serbain have been making waves in the hardcore scene with their new band; Retox. Joined by Michael Crain and Thor Dickey on guitar and bass respectively, Retox are a more straight-forward band than we’re perhaps used to from Pearson, but if anything it only goes to make this his most focussed and exciting venture in years.

With a self titled EP already under their belts, Ugly Animals is the band’s debut full length, although calling it that is arguably manipulating the facts. What we have here are a blistering eleven songs in thirteen minutes, tearing through your system with all the energy and swagger of their live show. It’s always a difficult task to capture this kind of riotous enthusiasm on record, but this brisk collection will have you reaching for the play button as soon its run through its modest duration.

The LP has something of Head Wound City feel to it, with Serbian behind the kit again delivering a controlled if still exhilarating performance. While the hooks may be somewhat difficult to pick out at first, with repeated listens this at first record really starts to take its pointed shape. Clocking in at under 15 minutes you’d be a fool not to check out Ugly Animals, which, for our money, is one of the essential hardcore releases of 2011.

Sleekly Lion.

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SSS

Problems To The Answer
Earache

Ladies and gentlemen, the ‘angriest record of the year’ award is well and truly in the bag already. The mid-00s resurgence of thrash was quite rightly a cause for celebration after the genre’s relative drought in the 90s, but in terms of genuinely great record, few of the new school bands held a candle to SSS’s blistering debut. Combining thrash and hardcore with a seething, British malevolence, it infused a classic sound with a fresh sense of vitality.

Fast forward a few years, and although little has changed musically in the SSS camp, they’re sounding ever more refined – and ever angrier. Ripping through 25 tracks in 40-odd minutes, vocalist Foxy takes aim at the meat industry (‘The Kill Floor’) and the mess that is this country’s state education (‘Tales Out Of School’). Much like Gallows did on ‘Grey Britain’, SSS are holding a mirror up to some of the worst aspects of humanity, and it does not make for a pretty picture.

Doesn’t sound like much fun? You couldn’t be more wrong, mainly because ‘Problems To The Answer’ rocks like a bastard, with the riffs never less than razor-sharp, and the pace almost relentless. Napalm Death vocalist Barney Greenway even pops up to lend his leathery lungs on a couple of tracks; clearly, he knows a great band when he hears one.

The sheer velocity means that a few of the shorter tracks do become hard to distinguish, and although the two instrumentals (‘Future Primitive’ and closer ‘Strangenotes’) provide some variety, they both last longer than is really necessary. Ultimately, though, that matters little. In thrash terms, SSS are much closer to prime-era DRI and Crumbsuckers than to anything from ‘Death Magnetic’ (a fact for which we should be forever thankful), and, like too few bands, they’re getting better with time. Long may they rage.

Alex Gosman.

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Sainthood Reps

Monoculture
Tooth & Nail Records

The debut from Sainthood Reps is at times lush and dreamy, at times a full-on barrage of riffs, but always beautifully chord crunching and satisfyingly grungey. Guitarist Derrick is also in Brand New and the sound of BN’s last two albums (and the Long Island scene in general) is certainly recognizable within the Sainthood Reps texture.

However, SR take the quirkier side that Brand New have toyed with in recent years and just run with it. It’s hard to describe Monoculture as anything other than a great rock record, thus it has evaded any pesky “emo” stereotyping where Brand New will forever be plagued by that term and its now-negative connotations.

Monoculture kicks off with serious intent and an absolute belter of a riff that demands to be played loud. The vocals join the fray with an angry swagger which grips you from the get-go. This album is filled to the brim with crushing riffs and crashing drum patterns but there are also moments of sincerely silicate beauty.

‘Hotfoot’ is the perfect representation to both these sides of the band, showcasing both the Jekyll and the Hyde if you will. There’s an insistent and relentless feel throughout this album and even when the quiet beauty surfaces, it’s always accompanied by a menacing undertone where you can’t quite figure out what’s coming next or when the huge guitar riffs are going to come thundering back in.

Parts indie rock, parts grunge and parts something you can’t quite put your finger on, this debut is a wholly satisfying listen. Sure, most of the elements are not totally original, but the way Sainthood Reps have crafted the elements has produced something almost ethereal. This is really an intense yet listenable rock record with both hooks and plenty of intrigue. Hopefully we’ll see a lot more of these guys in the future.

Winey G.

Holiday Makers by sainthoodreps

DINGUS by sainthoodreps

Monoculture by sainthoodreps

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Scream

Complete Control Session
Side One Dummy Records

Scream’s place in the annals of US Hardcore History is assured notably for their 4 albums albums on Dischord Records. Formalised officially in 1981, the band comprised brothers Franz and Pete Stahl, on guitar and vocals, with bassist Skeeter Thompson and drummer Kent Stax holding it down in the engine room.

The debut Still Screaming was a rip-roaring collection of thrashers. By their second album This Side Up they were well on their way from straight-ahead Hardcore, throwing in reggae fused jams (on the side produced by Dr Know of Bad Brains (a band whose influence on Scream cannot be understated) and then some heavy rocking numbers on the flipside where they added a 2nd guitarist.

Whilst many of Scream’s peers had discarded their ‘70’s rock albums in the Punk Rock Year Zero, these guys clearly still had their Zeppelin, Purple and Sabbath records at the forefront of their collections and in my opinion, were a better band for it. This Side Up was the first album I picked up, in ’84, at Max’s Records in Eastbourne. I sure hit the jackpot there but I was also gutted a couple of years later, whilst overseas, my brother told me that he’d seen them play a show in Brighton. Oww!!

After the ’86 Euro-tour, Kent Stax left, and was replaced by a young DC skin basher by the name of Dave Grohl, who augmented a line-up that would release 3 more studio albums, touring relentlessly, including more trips to Europe (where I finally got to see them again in ’88). The end of the century was also the end for Scream as they fell apart on West Coast during a US Tour. The Stahl brothers headed to Los Angeles and started WOOL, with Pete later forming cult Stoner outfit Goatsnake. Dave went to Seattle, joined Nirvana and paid his dues to his former band by wearing a Scream t-shirt in the Teen Spirit video. Franz would also play in Foo Fighters early on.

The band has reunited occasionally over the years with Dave Grohl drumming, but with global world domination now firmly on his radar Kent Stax returned and these 7 songs were recorded live in February 2011 at Dave’s home studio and capture a band in really fine, fine form. The end result is totally raw and smoking, kicking off with the soulful rock grooves of opening duo Stopwatch and Get Free before the doors are blown open by the blasting Jammin’ at 606. Imagine Lemmy and the Bad Brains going off in the studio! Elevate is fired by a (way) snazzy NY Dolls inspired lead  and tongues are firmly in cheek for The Year Bald Singers Were In which vibes like a lost-track from This Side Up. Move (All Alone) is sublime, scorching riffage and cracking vocals. Demolition Dancing closes with “something’s gonna happen, that’s for sure”… and it really is! I would love to see them play again, let’s hope that they tour soon.

Pete Craven