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Blitz Kids

Blitz Kids - Never DieBLITZ KIDS
‘Never Die’
[Hassle Records]

For a young band Blitz Kids sound mature beyond their years with latest mini-album ‘Never Die’. Opening track ‘You’re Dead To Me’ shows great intent to carve their own space in the new wave of British rock acts taking the world by storm. And with emotional vocals and uplifting guitar tone during ‘Strangers With Memories’ an overall feel of anthemic rock slots Blitz Kids neatly alongside their peers We Are The Ocean, Lostprophets and Deaf Havana.

The band recorded the 6 track album at Stakeout Studios with Jason Wilcock which appears to be an intelligent choice as the slick production refines the sound to a polished finished product. With stand out track ‘Never Die’ available for a FREE download from the band’s website and with an extensive UK tour coming up (including a support slot with the awesome Mallory Knox) it’s worth checking out Blitz Kids now as they prepare to fully make their make in 2013.

Words: Emma Wallace

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Tweak Bird

Tweak Bird
‘Undercover Crops’
Mini album / Volcom Entertainment
www.tweakbird.com

tweak bird undercover cropsBack in 2010, the Crossfire office was buzzing on the debut Tweak Bird album. The crunching riffs of doom layered with catchy vocals played openly on this stereo here for months, but where the fuck have this band been since?

As we live in a society where the earth seems to spin at a million miles an hour faster than back in the 90’s due to this stupid thing that was invented called the interweb, we expect far too much from bands these days, but with Tweak Bird, they probably stuck up their middle fingers and said, “fuck it, we will drop our shit when we are ready”. And here it is, seven new tracks that will rip your ears a new beat with a plethora of new, filthy riffs and a cool arse vibe only associated with the Brother’s Bird.

Testing the psyche with a drug induced, robotic chant of ‘EVERYONE IS PARANOID’, Tweak Bird launch Undercover Crops with every stoner’s nightmare. A bong-full of repetitive words that you will never probably forget followed by what they are known best for, driving beats, crunching riffs and sing-a-long vocals that make up the track ‘People’, available for free download on this page.

Next track Phychorain will be engrained in your conscience for years once you hear it. They take this dream scape with aplomb, spreading imaginary rainbows across and underlay of haunting samples and baritone guitar riffs that would appease any Sabbath fan. The Weight only furthers the storm with an extension to Psychorain. These could easily be played back to back live and may have even been written in the same session. Who knows, but a breather is offered for the laid back vibes of Pigeons which sees the brothers come down a level, in a similar way to how Janes Addiction do so well. Once they’ve managed to completely pull back from dense riffs, Bunch O’ Brains brings the new material to a boil once again with slamming, repetitive slabs of stoner bliss and catchy vocal melodies. Seriously amazing stuff.

The mini-album ends on familiar riffs with Know It All and paves way for next year’s UK tour and full album that is said to be in the works. Overall, this 17 minute drug-fueled aural delight is yet another splendid offering from the two stoners that know best. Get Tweaking.

FREE DOWNLOAD:

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We Are The Physics


We Are The Physics
Your Friend, The Atom
[This Is Fake DIY Records]

We are the Physics describe their sound as ‘Mutant science punk rock’ and, to be honest, I would’ve put them in a similar category myself. The sound is a vivid mix of genres which create a very exciting and moreish vibe about it.

It’s hard to explain. Like hipsters that found themselves in a studio after mainlining cocaine. The band explain their stance themselves: “Making a fairly derivative sound more interesting.” . Essentially they sound like an indie band (with the temperament of Battles) who have spent a lot of time listening to bands like At the Drive-In. The end result takes mundane ‘indie’ and kicks it into the curb.

‘Your Friend, The Atom’ is like the soundings of a group of particle physicists working on the Hadron Collider whilst writing some epic music. The album maintains an obvious, and somewhat expected Scientific feel about it. Robotic sounds and weird electronic tinkering is scattered across the entire album, even shouting science jargon like “Subject vs. Subject”!

The upbeat tunes and strong bass-lines are impressive, and the vocals match in pace. With standout tracks on the album, the heroic and aptly named intro ‘Go Go Nucleo -> For Science‘ and the more relaxed, but incredibly catchy ‘There Is No Cure For The Common Cold So Don’t Expect A Cure For Cancer’; ‘Your Friend, The Atom’ is an excellent scientific discovery.

Words: Arif Noor

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Jaill

Jaill
‘Traps’
Sub Pop

jaill_trapsTraps is Jaill’s third full album, and their second for Sub Pop. That they’ve been around for 10 years and only managed three albums in that time suggests that they might well be immersed in the slacker ethic that enshrouded some of Sub Pop’s bands back in the late 80s/early 90s. Still, we’re not here to criticise a band’s work ethic, it’s the end result that counts after all. Traps might be a bit of a patchy, beige affair, but it does possess some redeeming features. Disengage your brain entirely, take in the summery tones of the album and it’s actually not a bad set of songs. Pay too much attention and it all seems a bit bland and overwrought.

It starts well with ‘Waste A Lot Of Things’, a breezy pop tune that initially sounds as if its wearing a massive grin on its well tanned face. Under the sunny disposition there are lyrics awash with darkness, the odd lost mind and a dollop of sadness, the kind of thing that’d bring down any sun-kissed holiday – like sand in your sandwiches.

Frankly Vincent Kircher’s a bit of a buzz kill on this album, for all the uplifting backing vocals (which are reminiscent of label mates Fruit Bats) and surf-guitar breaks, he’s there, banging on about his sexually frustrated girlfriend or whatever. ‘Everyone’s A Bitc’h is a perfect example of this. It kicks in with a nicely serrated new-wave riff throws in a bunch of great harmonies, and then Kircher’s there moaning about how his (ex) woman thinks he’s a bit vanilla. Whether he’s aware that she’s using gay slang to describe his prowess is open to debate, as he seems to think it’s something to do with ice-cream.

At this point, it’s worth considering whether it’s better to ignore what Kircher’s going on about and just concentrate on how he sounds because there’s more misery on the way with ‘Horrible Things (Make Pretty Songs)’. Yet here it works so much better, there’s no juxtaposition of breezy pop tunes and sorrowful lyrical content, it just cuts to the chase. “No one to take care of, no one to take care of me” Kircher intones over a delicately strummed acoustic guitar; the heartbroken lyrics fitting perfectly.

‘I’m Home’ opens like a high pitched take on The Breeders Cannonball before turning into a spiky pop-nugget complete with woozy keyboard interjections. ‘House With Haunting’s laid back swing is pretty good fun but doesn’t really go anywhere. It’s a similar problem with ‘Madness’, which is a nice sounding if unrewarding strum. Yet for all these misfires, when the band and Kircher are on the same page emotionally, everything clicks. Million Times’ heart-rending sob story fizzes with a palpable tension and it is arguably the best thing on the album by some stretch.

They close out with ‘Stone Froze Mascot’ which is catchy enough but lacks enough force to smash its way into the pleasure centres. It’s this lack of force and focus that hinders the album; ultimately it’s a nice enough but Jaill and Kircher in particular sound a little confused. By the end, it’s easy to see why his girlfriend legged it hurling ice-cream related insults, sometimes you need a little bit of unadulterated excitement.

6/10
Sam Shepherd

On tour in the UK:

Sep 25 – Green Door Store, Brighton, UK
Sep 26 – Sebright Arms, London, UK
Sep 27 – Soup Kitchen, Manchester, UK
Sep 29 – Stereo, Glasgow, UK
Sep 30 – Stereo, York, UK
Oct 1 – Oporto, Leeds, UK

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The Flaming Lips

The Flaming Lips
The Flaming Lips and Heady Fwends
(Bella Union)

HEADY-FWENDS_theflaminglipsIt’s been a while since The Flaming Lips seemed absolutely vital. Probably the last time they could have been considered essential listening was back when Yoshimi was battling those evil robots. Some might argue that The Soft Bulletin was the high point, and others might even dig further back to Clouds Taste Metallic or …Satellite Heart. Whatever, it’s fair to say that Coyne and chums have been a little off the boil of late. Embryonic was a move towards a filthier, darker, more overdriven sound, and although it might not have been a grand success, it did seem as if The Lips were getting back on track.

Heady Fwends is probably not the best release by which to judge the state of The Flaming Lips’ collective consciousness, it is after all yet another one of those little diversions that Wayne Coyne seems to like taking his band on.

Discounting Wayne’s own distractions (twitter seems to be taking up a fair amount of his time) the band itself seems to have been content with messing about over the years. There was the Boombox Experiments, the 4xCD lunacy of Zaireeka, the Gummy Skull (with USB inside), and their foray into the world of covers courtesy of their take on Dark Side Of The Moon.

Indeed it is that particular release that rather sets the precedent for Heady Fwends. It too was released for Record Store Day initially, and it featured an occasional guest spot for the likes of Henry Rollins. Taking the guest spot to its logical conclusion, Heady Fwends is an album created by the collaborative efforts of The Lips and whoever they could convince to take part. The overall impression that Heady Fwends gives is that it’s more of a knockabout than a serious attempt at an album. If it’s taken in that spirit, then overall it’s pretty good fun, if slightly flawed.

It all kicks off in suitably wonky fashion with Ke$ha’s effort, 2012 (You Must Be Upgraded) which sounds like Yeah Yeah Yeah’s channelling early Ween – only not quite as good. There are other let downs along the way, the collaboration with Lightning Bolt I’m Working At NASA On Acid should have been a mind bending collision of noise, but when they hit the chaos section it all seems a bit contrived and a missed opportunity. Meanwhile Supermoon Made Me Want To Pee (with Prefuse 73) just seems like an exercise in boredom at the mixing desk. Helping The Retarded To Know God (with Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros) is a bit of a dawdle too with could do with a hefty edit. Not that there aren’t some fine flourishes to be found in the vocal melodies or the heavenly tacked on coda, but it drags quite dramatically.

There are some high points too however (as an aside, Coyne seems at pains to explain just how high/fucked up constantly). Children Of The Moon takes Tame Impala aboard the honking mothership from Close Encounters for a woozy and quite wonderful rustic jam. That Ain’t My Trip (with My Morning Jacket’s Jim James) sounds like an outtake from Embryonic, and is a suitably over-driven bundle through choral chants and earsplitting amp terrorism. The funereal space-scream of Is Bowie Dying? occupies similar territory, combining noise a Twin-Peaks guitar twang and existential dread. Nick Cave turns up and puts in an archetypal Cave performance, for some reason he sounds like an intensely sarcastic David Thomas at times, but it works. Finally, the epic sprawl of the cover of First Time Ever I Saw Your Face is genuinely affecting at times, with the unpleasantness that kicked off between Coyne and Erykah Badu in the wake of that video unable to cast a shadow over it.

So plenty to like, but also a fair few missed opportunities. Hopefully The Flaming Lips will return to concentrating on making music without the distraction of their Fwends for the foreseeable future. The world needs another vital Lips album.

6.5/10
Sam Shepherd

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Turbonegro

TURBONEGRO
‘Sexual Harassment’
(Volcom)
www.turbonegro.com

TURBONEGRO_sexual_harrassment_album_artAlmost fifteen years have passed since Turbonegro released ‘Apocalypse Dudes’, a record dubbed by none other than Jello Biafra as “possibly the most important European record ever.” High praise, indeed – and it is an awesome record. Equally impressive, though, is the fact that the Norwegian death-punks are still around, with their long history of drug addictions and personnel changes hopefully behind them.

The departure of long-standing frontman Hank Von Helvete could well have been the final straw for the band, but ‘Sexual Harrassment’ is as superb a comeback as the Turbojugend faithful could hope for. New vocalist Tony Sylvester’s gravel-throated roar lends a raw edge to the frenetic punk rock attack of ‘I Got A Knife’ and ‘Hello Darkness’, whilst the wonderfully-titled ‘Shake Your Shit Machine’ is as fine a slice of bar-room boogie as they’ve ever produced. Musically, there are no great departures from the Turbonegro of old, but the quality of the songs here is undeniable – with the call-and-response chorus of ‘TNA (The Nihilistic Army)’ sure to go down a storm live, and the bizarre spoken-word outro of ‘Dude Without A Face’ proving that these old dogs can still throw a curve ball or two.

No, it’s not quite ‘Apocalypse Dudes’, but this is arguably Turbonegro’s finest and most adrenalized record in a decade. They’ll be playing the Lock-Up stage at this year’s Reading/Leeds festivals, before returning in November for the following dates:

Thu 22nd – London Electric Ballroom
Fri 23rd – Manchester Academy 2
Sat 24th – Glasgow King Tuts

Alex Gosman

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Of Mice and Men

OF MICE & MEN
The Flood (Deluxe 2 Disc Re-Issue)
(Rise Records)
http://www.facebook.com/ofmice

Southern California’s Of Mice & Men are constantly growing in popularity. The band -who are currently on the Vans Warped Tour- have quenched fans’ thirst for new material with a 2 disc deluxe re-issue of their critically acclaimed album ‘The Flood’ featuring 4 new tracks.

The bonus tracks start with a tantalizing instrumental piece ‘The Calm’. The reverberating clean guitars are a beautiful yet eerie experience to behold, clearly implying the saying ‘The calm before the storm’…

As ‘The Storm’ picks up tempo, Austin Carlile’s strained and emotional screams kick start a typical ballsy Of Mice & Men riff. On the original release of ‘The Flood’, ‘Ben Threw’ and ‘Ohioisonfire’ showed Of Mice & Men’s capability to produce intense riffs and rhythms whilst maintaining an underlying bounce, but they are nothing in comparison to the punishing assault of third bonus track, ‘The Flood’ and final new number, ‘The Depths’. It seems that after the departure of Shayley Bourget, clean vocals have been left to one side with the band focusing on a new level of heaviness.

Presented with flowing continuity, the bonus tracks are an impeccable addition to ‘The Flood’. The production of the tracks is highly commendable in its own right, the magnitude of the atmospherics are on the same level as Bring Me The Horizon’s ‘There Is a Hell, Believe Me I’ve Seen It. There Is a Heaven, Let’s Keep it a Secret’. With its new additions, the re-issue can be appreciated by fans from across the metal spectrum with influential elements of artists such as The Devil Wears Prada, We Came As Romans, Pierce The Veil & even Slipknot shining through.

If first time around, ‘The Flood’ begged to differ that metalcore was a dying art, the re-issue demolishes any ideas that the genre is dated and builds a platform from which Of Mice & Men can dominate the current scene. The flood is coming again.

Words: Emma Wallace

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The Gaslight Anthem

THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM
Handwritten
(Mercury Records)

‘Handwritten’ is more of a natural evolution than ground-breaking revolution for The Gaslight Anthem, with not a great deal changing sound or format wise. But this is no criticism as again the band presents another solid album that portrays their All-American Rock’n’Roll/Post-Punk style.

With a mixture of Bruce Springsteen charisma and Hot Water Music emotive rock, title track ‘Handwritten’ and first single from the album ‘45’ are nostalgic perfection. There is something about The Gaslight Anthem ‘s vintage sounding guitar tone that touches the heart and sends the mind back to a time and age that not many of us have visited.

The main area of evolution for the band is the lyrical content which appears more open, personal and engaging. A perfect example of the lyrical maturity coming at the end of the album, the beautifully captivating acoustic track ‘National Anthem’ is the definitive moment of the record and the perfect conclusion. Brain Fallon claims to have written the song in one take, yet again demonstrating his unrivaled song writing talent and emotional awareness.

You can always trust in The Gaslight Anthem to deliver but although ‘Handwritten’ is bloody good, it seems nothing will quite match their second (and mainstream breakthrough) full-length ‘The ’59 Sound’. Despite ‘Handwritten’ hosting its own potentially stadium filling anthems and vintage gems, ‘The ’59 Sound’ still remains the bands’ strongest effort to date, arguably this may remain the same for a long time, after all you can’t beat perfection.

Words: Emma Wallace

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The Skints

‘PART AND PARCEL’
(Bomber Music)

Four school friends from East London with a shared love of traditional ska, reggae and punk, The Skints delivered a great (and, alas, underrated) debut in 2010’s ‘Live, Breathe, Build, Believe’. ‘Part And Parcel’, though, is a record that won’t be so easily brushed aside – mainly because it’s just too damn good.

They band have come a long way in the last two years, now placing more emphasis on reggae and less on ska-punk. However, the gritty edges haven’t been smoothed over, and the delivery is still razor-sharp; witness singer/guitarist Joshua Waters Rudge’ dazzlingly fast flow on ‘Live East, Die Young’, a catchy yet downbeat tale of local folks who took a few wrong turnings in life and paid the price.

That said, ‘Part And Parcel’ is not all tales of troubled times. Co-vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Marcia Richards deservedly takes centre stage more often, lending her soulful tones to ‘Ring Ring’, a love song laden with tinkling piano and trebly, sctatchy guitar straight out of the ‘60s. Elsewhere, the sweet harmonies and choruses of ‘Lay You Down’ and ‘Can’t Take No More’ will lodge themselves in your head – and you’ll be grateful.

Just like Capdown and The King Blues before them, The Skints are the latest in a long line of great British bands providing a strong message for the mind and a beat for the feet. In particular, if ‘Rub-A-Dub (DoneKnow)’ doesn’t get you dancing, youd be well advised to check your pulse.

‘Part And Parcel’ may owe a lot of its inspiration to the best of Jamaican music, but this is unmistakeably a London record, and easily a contender for one of the best of 2012. The band will be doing a full UK tour in October, and will play several gigs /festivals/other bits n’ bobs in the meantime – check www.theskints.co.uk for more info.

Alex Gosman

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Killer Mike

Killer Mike
R.A.P. Music
(Williams Street Recordings)

killermikealbumsleeveThere are a few ways of getting my attention and making me love what you’re doing – one is to be affiliated with Outkast and the other is to have El-P giving you beats – Killer Mike fits the bill with both of these and as such it was with excitement that I listened to his new album, R.A.P. Music [Rebellious African People].

The production is superb, that much goes without saying with El-P’s trademark layers surrounding the Atlanta rapper, whilst never engulfing him and stifling his lyrics and delivery. This isn’t your usual Dirty South fayre though, with opening track Big Beast laying down the gauntlet – never before have Bun B and T.I. rapped over so visceral a beat, their drawl sounding perfect alongside the Company Flow man’s beats. It’s not all dense though, there are plenty of catchy moments within the album, from the short-but-sweet Go [complete with DJ Abilities scratches], the bump-in-your-cars Southern Fried and the sing-a-long chorus of Anywhere But Here.

This album certainly isn’t just about the beats though, Mike kills it throughout regardless of the lyrical content. Bigging up himself up comes extremely easily, lyrics like “I go in, I go hard / I go stupid, oh my God / Shamalamadoomalama Shamalamadoomalama even when I ain’t saying shit”, “Ain’t I fresh, ain’t I clean / ain’t I ride through my city in the meanest machine” on some serious pimp shit, it makes sense that the rapper who seems larger than life says at much in his raps. He gets political too, breaking the light-heartedness immediately with a character assassination of a former President “I leave you with four words: I’m glad Reagan dead” and slams the police on Don’t Die, which sounds like NWA sent back from the future to smack kids listening to Drake: “I woke up this morning to a cop with a gun / who told me that he looking for a n**** on the run / I thought for a second, then I screwed my face / and asked them dirty pigs ‘why the fuck you in my place?’ / He said ‘Chill or we kill, this is a warning’ / then I told him ‘Fuck you, where is the warrant?'”

Whether he’s envoking the spirit of Ice Cube or reclining in the bask of his own Atlanta accent, Killer Mike has stepped up massively with this record. As he says himself on Jojo’s Chillin, “This album was made entirely by Jaime and Mike”, he’s always been a talent but going in so hard and with El on the boards behind him [and with a stellar verse on Butane], this is nothing short of a revelation.

Abjekt