Caught in the Crossfire

If you’ve recently fallen for the loveable post-everything-core noise of hip London trio Test Icicles, then get ready to fall in love all over again because ‘Justamustache‘ is probably your favourite record. You just don’t know it yet.

Thunderbirds Are Now! are brought to you by the kind people at French Kiss Records (otherwise known as fab art-punks Les Savy Fav) and deliver catchy, high energy dance-fused rock that draws on the frantic power of At The Drive-In alongside the deranged shronk rock of their aforementioned label bosses. That said, they never stray to far left of centre for the mainstream to understand and successfully walk the line between art and commerce with ease. Watch these Thunderbirds go!

James Sherry

Rise Above Records have been responsible for some incredible releases over the last few months. New albums by Taint and Capricorns are about to put ground-breaking UK metal back on the map, whilst Circulus and Witchcraft released records so steeped in seventies folk and rock you start to question what decade you’re actually in! Next up, here comes Sheavy.

‘Republic?’ is the bands fourth album for Rise Above and it’s business as usual in the Sheavy camp. Here you get eleven slabs (yes, this one goes to eleven) of Black Sabbath inspired stoner/doom rock that is packed with fuzz and distortion and vocals that sound more like Ozzy than Ozzy himself!

A few years back you couldn’t swing a bong around without spilling rancid bong water all over a stoner rock band, but it seems that the majority of the bands have finally smoked too much and can’t do anything but sit down and drool. Not Sheavy – these guys are still waving their freak flag high and long may they continue to do so.

James Sherry

Public Enemy have always been seen as one of the godfathers of hip hop. Their classic albums “It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back” and “Fear Of A Black Planet” brought their plight of the underprivileged to the plate and smashed a home run against oppression.

Chuck D and Flav are back with their first studio album in 3 years, and from the off its like they’d never been away with the heavy drums of “New Whirl Odor“.

Chuck D’s angry and punchy flow gives every track that hardcore snap that we’re used to with Public Enemy, and Flav is the perfect compliment to him, as ever. The use of strings on “MKLVFKWR” and guitars in “What A Fool Believes” provide a nice detour from the usual boom bap but its during “Bring That Beat Back“, that you remember just how influential their sound was.

Public Enemy are back with a voice as loud and justified as it has ever been, don’t sleep on it.

Sam Hesketh

Take one of the most talked about producers of the year and throw him alongside one of the most productive emcees in the underground.

Now mix that up with a cartoon that has taken the States by storm, and you have Dangerdoom. Danger Mouse, of Gorillaz and Grey Album fame laces a great diversity of beats for MF Doom [Madvillain] to rap over.

The upbeat tracks like “Benzi Box“, “Old School” and “Vats Of Urine” leave you bopping and head nodding, whilst the down tuned sounding tracks such as “Bada Bing” and “Mince Meat” are more like Doom’s solo stuff, which makes the listener sway in acknowledgement. All these are helped with guest spots from Wu Tang’s Ghostface, Talib Kweli and Cee-Lo.

A lot of the time, super group type deals don’t work, falling under the hype that precedes them, but not this time. As the masked villain says, and delivers…..he makes mince meat outta that beat Mouse.

Sam Hesketh