Listen to this: Manchester Orchestra - Virgin
So, it would certainly appear we are in for variety when Manchester Orchestra’s third album Simple Math drops in May. The title track is was grand, orchestral and simply stunning, second track to be released ‘April Fool’ was much closer to the sound of their second album, and now we have been given ‘Virgin’, which is another game entirely. Listen below.
Review: Johnny Foreigner - Certain Songs Are Cursed EP
This EP comes on the back of a frisbee, which is an argument for the continued production of physical music if I’ve ever heard one, but lets not get into that.
News: Hold Your Horse Is live album and tour.
In order to raise cash to record their debut album, hopefully out by the end of the year, Hold Your Horse Is have decided to release a live album, available for download from their Bandcamp for as much as you are willing to donate (£1 or more).
The album, titled ‘Like, Live And Stuff’ was recorded at the Camden Purple Turtle in London on February 15th, whilst the band were on tour with Mojo Fury, and includes previously un-heard track ‘Absurd’.
The band are also having a t-shirt sale.
Like, Live And Stuff can be streamed below, but it’d be nice if you’d chuck a few quid the bands way if you like it.
Like, Live and Stuff by Hold Your Horse Is
Hold You Horse Is will also be playing the following gigs with Ute:
1/6: Edge Of The Wedge, Portsmoth
2/6: The Flapper, Birmingham
3/6: Ryan’s Bar, Derby (free entry)
4/6: Windmill, Britxon (Cats and Cats and Cats all-dayer)
5/6: The Croft, Bristol
Listen to this: Brontide - Matador
The first track to be taken from the bands debut album Sans Souci, out on Holy Roar Records on May 30th.
The album was recorded as one 51 minute piece, so this is just a taster of what it has in store.
Review “Wasting Light - Foo Fighters”
‘THESE ARE MY FAMOUS LAST WORDS’ and with that scream, Wasting Light, the Foo Fighters 7th album explodes into life. Wasting Light has been heralded as the return to the days of “The Colour And The Shape” however by looking back to the bands past, they’ve evolved into something different, and just as good. The album contains none of the acoustic ballads that have been featured on the previous two albums, instead the focus is on the hard, fast and huge sounds that are found en mass throughout the record. The band have created one of the highlights of their career by returning to the hooks and power of the early albums.
The first half of the record alone places it as one of my favourite in the bands back catalogue, Bridge Burning, Rope, Dear Rosemary, White Limo and Arlandria are all excellent pieces of rock and roll. Also of highlight are the closing two songs, the slower paced I Should Have Known with whisper-like vocals regarding former friends and enemies, and album closer Walk that features an astounding bridge with Grohl screaming ”I Never Want To Die”. Every song on the album has a sense of anthem and are certain to be incredible live.
As mentioned before, the album starts with a bang with the aforementioned “Bridge Burning”, a sign of the power and quality of songs to come, before moving onto first single “Rope” with it’s bass focused verses and anthem chorus. Following in this style and slow verse, powerful chorus comes “Dear Rosemary”, which features vocals from Bob Mould (Formerly of 80s hardcore legends Hüsker Dü) before the band turn the distortion up to full on the blistering “White Limo” with Grohl screaming unintelligible lyrics (the only one I can understand is “Limooooooo”) over furious playing from the band. Closing the first half of the record comes “Arlandria”, one of my favourite songs of the year so far due to it’s groove in the guitar playing and Grohl’s excellent vocal performance (especially during the breakdown).
Unfortunately it’s after this point that the album shows one of it’s few weak points, “These Days, Back & Forth, A Matter Of Time and Miss The Misery” all are a bit too similar. The songs are still excellent but they follow almost identical patterns of slow chorus bursting into large chorus. Whilst this occurs earlier in the album as well the sound is fresh enough and differs enough for there to be a definite difference in the songs, “Back and Forth” has it’s infectious chorus, “These Days” seems to be built for being played to an arena full of fans as the sun goes down. That said, all of the songs still sound better then almost anything released this year so far. However it’s in the closing two songs that pushes Wasting Light into album of the year territory. Firstly there’s the haunting ” I Should Have Known” which builds up Grohls regrets and feelings regarding what was happening in regards to his friends/family/bandmates, in particular a few lines do at least refer to the late Kurt Cobain (for the first time in a Foo Fighters song despite some claiming every song refers to him). Before kicking in with a bass breakdown (courtesy of former Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic) that is heavier then anything dubstep has to offer. Album closer “Walk” is another stand-out track. With a style that seems similar to fan favourite album “With Nothing Left To Lose”, “Walk” is a beautiful explanation of how Grohl built himself and the band into the rock stalwarts that they are today. The entire song is excellent, but the breakdown that ends with him screaming “I Never Want To Die” pushes the song into one of my favourite from the band.
As a whole, Wasting Light is a tremendous album, moving away from the softer side of the band found on the previous two albums, and going back to the start has allowed the band to move forward in a way most didn’t think was possibly after 16 years together. Despite a weaker second half, the Foo Fighters have made one of the best albums of the year, and possibly one of the best in their career.
9/10
Download: Dear Rosemary, Arlandria, Walk
Andrew Dolan
Video: Penguins Kill Polar Bears - Sapling
Here is the video for the new single from Penguins Kill Polar Bears.
Sapling is out digitally on May 23rd through Mountain Halo Records.
News: Changes to Spotify’s free service.
Spotify is great for checking out a band you’ve been recommended or wanting to give a listen to for a while without having to pay for their music or pirate it.
However, their are changes coming in on May 1st that make affect people’s ability to use Spotify in the future.
The changes are as follows:
- New Spotify users will be able to enjoy our unrivalled free service as it is today for the first 6 months.
- As of May 1st, any user who signed up to the free service on or before November 1st 2010 will be able to play each track for free up to a total of 5 times. Users who signed up after the beginning of November will see these changes applied 6 months after the time they set up their Spotify account.
- Additionally, total listening time for free users will be limited to 10 hours per month after the first 6 months. That’s equivalent to around 200 tracks or 20 albums.
The changes will not affect anyone paying for Spotify Premium or Unlimited.
For more information, click here.
Stream: Guillemots - Walk The River
You can now stream the entirety of the new album from Guillemots below!
Tour dates: The Revival Tour.
Dates for the UK/Ireland leg of Chuck Regan’s Revival Tour have (finally) been annouced.
If you don’t know what the Revival Tour is, it’s a collection of musicians, led by Chuck Regan from Hot Water Music, getting together in an attempt to bring the openness and giving that folk music was formed on back to music. For more information, see the official site.
On the September/October UK/Ireland (and European, dates on the official site) leg of this years Revival Tour, Chuck will be accompanied by Brian Fallon (from The Gaslight Anthem), Dan Andriano (from Alkaline Trio) and Dave Hause (from The Loved Ones), plus Jon Gaunt on fiddle and Joe Ginsberg on bass, and will play the following dates:
27/8: O2 Academy, Bristol
28/8: Academy/Academy 2, Manchester
29/8: O2 Academy/Olympia, Dublin
30/8: ABC/O2 Academy, Glasgow
1/9: Northumbria Students Union, Newcastle
2/9: Rock City, Nottingham
15/9: Shepherds Bush, London
16/9: University, Cardiff
17/9: Pyramids, Portsmouth
Video: Manchester Orchestra - Simple Math
Check out the video for Simple Math, the first single to be taken from Manchester Orchestra’s third album of the same name, out May 9th on Favourite Gentlemen Records.
Listen to this: The Wonder Years - Local Man Ruins Everything
I think in a list of recent albums that could be considered hard to follow, The Wonder Years second album The Upsides, released last year, is probably near the top. I won’t go into everything that is wonderful about that record, suffice to say it’s easily one of the best pop-punk records of recent years and if you haven’t heard it, check it out.
The bands third album Suburbia I’ve Given You All And Now I’m Nothing is due out this June on Hassel Records, and as this new song evidences, they are still on top form. The music still rocks, the lyrics are still wonderfully personal yet easy to relate to, and the whole thing continues the “everybody deserves to be happy” message behind The Upsides.
Listen below:
Review: TV On The Radio - Nine Types of Light
SO! Album five (or four, depending on who you talk to) for TV On the Radio, New York-based Art-rock funksters. What’ve you got for us?
More New York-based Art-rock funk?
Oh.
