Tag: punk

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Live Reviews

Trash Talk – Live

Trash Talk, Cerebral Ballzy
The Barfly
22.11.10

A word from the promoter before the show lets us know that this event is a couple of tickets away from selling out. It seems they completely underestimated something along the way as we get into the upstairs room to find it at possibly the fullest I’ve ever seen. Even for support act Cerebral Ballzy, it’s a bit of a strain to get any sort of view at all. And forgive us, but we don’t fancy being too near the front given both bands’ reputations for hurling objects (and themselves) into the crowd as well as a tendency to puke / spit / generally emit bodily fluids when on stage. Despite being confined to a small square near the back of the venue, it’s still possible to enjoy Cerebral’s exuberant take on old-skool punk rock and hardcore as they barrel through upbeat songs about “drinking til you puke”, “not having enough money to pay for the tube” and “girls”. It’s certainly obvious these guys are basically kids but that’s what makes their reinvention of the genre so potent and fun.

Trash Talk have pretty much lived in the UK this year and it’s clearly a big deal to them that this will be their last show in the UK until summer 2011. Even though that doesn’t seem so far away, I think it’s safe to say that the UK will be a touch more boring without their perpetual presence. Their music is somewhat darker than what has preceded tonight and menacing basslines are coupled with frenetic drumbeats and vocalist Lee Spielman’s shouty/screechy/growly sounds. Throughout the set, the mic is passed to audience members etc as Spielman literally climbs the walls of the venue (seriously, what is he holding on to?!) It’s almost as if the wirey, long-haired singer has been re-incarnated as Spiderman as he flips around, bouncing off the walls. Trash Talk have managed to carve themselves a niche in the live scene in the UK, somehow attracting indie kids and metallers alike to their frenetic live show and it’s safe to say that many will be awaiting their return with baited breath.

Winegums

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Album Reviews Buzz Chart Reviews

No Age

Everything In Between
Sub-Pop

Three albums into a short yet critically lauded career, at this stage No Age would probably be forgiven a mis-step. With two great albums already under their belts the band have quickly become one of Sub Pop’s most prized assets, and the addition of Everything in Between to their discography will do this status no harm.

Unlike the band’s previous albums, Everything in Between wastes no time in getting straight into it. The usual ambient and feedback interludes are saved for the second half of the record, as we are greeted by straight up garage rock tracks, laced with more melody than ever before. The band have lost none of the warm and comforting fuzz that they’re known for, but there’s an added sheen to the production of songs like ‘Glitter’ that feels like a step forward for the band. This progression is so slight that they could never be accused of attempting to sound more radio friendly, and when they want to, as on ‘Fever Dreaming’, they still channel raw punk influences.

What makes No Age such an interesting recorded band, though, is their ability to switch it up and produce moments of shimmering instrumental beauty. The first sign of this falls seven tracks in, as shoegazy interlude ‘Katerpillar’ breaks up the record’s two halves. From here the record becomes more varied, as a trio of slow burners ‘Sorts’, ‘Dusted’ and ‘Positive Amputation’ add gorgeous texture to the record. It’s the band’s ability to switch effortlessly between the two that makes them so special, as the album finishes on the poppy duet ‘Chem Trails’.

Where exactly Everything in Between ranks next to Nouns and Weirdo Rippers remains to be seen, but it already feels like a record that could be lived in for a long time to come. In a year where indie rock has at times looked so short of ideas, No Age remain one of the genre’s bright sparks.

Sleekly Lion

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Album Reviews Buzz Chart Reviews

La Dispute & Touché Amoré

Searching For A Pulse / The Worth Of The World
No Sleep Records

Two of the pre-eminent members in burgeoning Post-Hardcore scene ‘The Wave’, La Dispute and Touché Amoré release this brand new split 7”inch Searching For a Pulse / The Worth of the World. This pairing of some of punk’s most exciting young blood means expectations are set high, but the two bands meet them convincingly.

Touché Amoré kick off the split with I’ll Get My Just Deserve, which is boosted by the contributions of La Dispute’s distinctive vocalist Jordan Treynor. The ascending guitar melody injects the track with a great sense of urgency, which is just as well, as like most of Touché Amoré’s material the song is over in a flash. But it’s the vocal interplay between the two singers that is most impressive about the record’s first half, and although very brief, hints at the further potential of this collaboration.

La Dispute offer the weightier half of the release, which picks up where their immense 2008 debut left off. How I Feel is the heavier of the two tracks, working around up-tempo guitar riffs before breaking down into an epic shouting contest between the two vocalists. The 7”inch is rounded off by the slower paced Why It Scares Me, the record’s calmest offering which puts emphasis on Treynor’s lyrical sprawl. Whether or not you like La Dispute, or indeed this record, will ultimately hinge on what you make of Treynor’s melodramatic vocal style.

Personally I like a little melodrama in my hardcore, and few do it better than both La Dispute and Touché Amoré. As expected, then, this split is one of the year’s standout punk releases and promises much for the next full lengths from both bands.

Sleekly Lion