Brand New
Anyone who had any doubt that Jesse Lacey is a songwriting genius; an unparalelled lyrical Behemoth; a throwback from bardic traditions who in times gone by may have graced the ears of kings with his deep, dark, gleefully sadistic and painfully witty tales.. I point you in the direction of Brand New’s latest, simply titled album Daisy. Ok, so it’s hard to be objective when you love a band this much.. bias will always creep in. That said, Daisy, released around 2 weeks ago, has rocketed to #6 in the US album charts, which speaks for itself, and suggests that there is no stopping this juggernaut of a band.
The stylistic shift that Brand New have made over the last 9 years is a much documented one, and to echo the musings of many journos before me I pose the question: who would have thought that the same young Pop-Punk band from Long Island, New York, who enjoyed a degree of success with Your Favourite Weapon: a fun and thoughtless teeny-Punk effort in 2001, could become the authority on Progressive and Experimental Emo / Alternative, crafting as they do emotive, intense and lyrically poignant songs full of depth and meaning. Equally, who would have thought that these boys could follow up The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me with an equally perfect album, maintaining stylistic consistency whilst still injecting new sounds and ideas into their music. I was sceptical.. evidently unnecessarily.
The album opens with Vices, which starts with a crackly megaphone sample of On Life’s Highway, a gospel hymn written by Bertrand Brown, before exploding into a distorted, discordant powerchord frenzy. Vices opens the album like a punch in the gut, ending as abruptly as it begun and leaving you feeling flustered, disoriented and bewildered. Tracks such as Bed, title track Daisy, and the first single from the album, At The Bottom, by comparison are time-sig-bending, slow-building, emo-infused soft-rock tracks. Powerful, thoughtful, perfectly arranged, expertly and interestingly produced and heart-wrenchingly introspective, these are 3 highlights of the album, and indeed Jesse Lacey’s songwriting career, displaying prominent, guttural basslines, delicate and ornate guitar lines, complex kit patterns and, of course, Lacey’s signature strained, raw and emotive vocals that tug at the heartstrings and stir the soul.
At this point I must humbly concede that I simply haven’t the linguistic prowess to do Daisy justice… You just have to buy it. It is a phenomenal effort that flows seamlessly from each tortured track to the next; a genre hopping masterpiece. Get on down to the MySpace page and prepare to be amazed.
Air Traffic & Astro Firs
June 29, 2009
Astro Firs
Between the 16th and the 22nd of June, Air Traffic and Supervision Management buddies Astro Firs embarked on a 7 gigs in 7 days tour, and I was lucky enough to catch the final leg at the Deaf Institute in Manchester. Astros opened up to a near capacity crowd who welcomed the Indie Rock band wholeheartedly, despite the atmosphere suffering slightly from the fact that it was broad daylight. Heavy rock riffs, epic chant-along choruses, typically cheeky-chappy geordie banter from front man Scott and an energetic live presence ensured an entertaining set from these lads. I guess you could describe Astros as Indie for the Emo fan.. as they boast Indie-Disco beats and jagged guitar work, but their tone and production is heavier and darker than the uber-fay Indie tosh in the charts. All in all these guys are an awesome Rock band, and definitely an act to look out for in a town near you.
Air Traffic
Air Traffic hit the stage at dusk, with light still filtering in from the skylight, which contributed to an eerie half-lit feel about the Institute. As such it took the crowd a little longer than usual to warm to this Ambient Rock 4-piece, who, let’s be honest, are used to bigger stages. Still, old favourites like Charlotte, Shooting Star and Come On, as well as brand new as yet unrecorded tracks, eventually had a sold out Deaf Institue chanting back lyrics and swaying appropriately. This was my first Air Traffic show and they won me over with the key-infused introduction to the very first track. Chris Wall’s key lines, and fairly standard soft-rock 4/4 tempos will draw comparisons to such stadium-bands as Coldplay, Embrace and Keane, but Wall’s cracked and haunting voice, always pitch perfect; and the upbeat, jagged and distorted guitar work of tracks such as Charlotte set these boys apart as an edgier, anthemic rock alternative to the mainstream. Ethereal yet punchy, anthemic yet intimate, catchy yet sincere, and lightyears better than Indie Pop chart-wank like.. ye you guessed it.. Scouting For Girls, Air Traffic are incredible on record, and even better live. Buy their back catalogue and go and see them immediately!
Shell Beach - Click For Myspace
Ever wondered what Hungarian Screamo might sound like..? No me neither.. But I came across this little Emo gem Shell Beach while sifting through various online applications for The Great Escape Festival. These guys didn’t really fit with the aesthetic of the event and as such we didn’t give them too much thought, but that said they are definitely worth a listen if you’re into your Flood Of Red, Bullet For My Valentine, We Are The Ocean, The Blackout, Fei Comodo and the like. Tracks like Stendhal Syndrome display chugging metal guitar power chord progressions a la Bullet, and distorted and melodic whirlwind riff-work that you might associate with the Flood boys. Meanwhile tracks such as Are We Ok? drift effortlessly between Pop-Punk verses with typically Punk beats and vocal melodies, and Screamo choruses.
At times the production is tinny and substandard, and front man Totik Zoli can seem more comfortable screaming: his singing voice is comparable to the hollow tones of Ian Watkins. That said the tracks themselves hold up: they’re entertaining and at the very least display some excellent guitar work, and aside from all else it’s interesting to see how Hungary does Emo.
Madina Lake – Never Take Us Alive
April 27, 2009
Madina Lake - Promo Shot
Check out the awesome new video to accompany Madina Lake’s hot new single Never Take Us Alive.
In true Madina Lake fashion, this track is full of rip-roaring riffs, heavily distorted power chord progressions, sing-along pop-hooks, and fist-in-the-air defiance-fueled choruses. Cheesy, tick.. Emo, tick.. but I still fucking love it.
Fluid Lines, Calories, The River Phoenix
April 17, 2009
Fluid Lines
(Click Image for Myspace)
Fluid Lines – I’ve known of these guys for years. Or at least I’ve known front man Calum Wood and some variation of other musicians under the collective name of Fluid Lines for years – I believe they’ve been through a fair few personnel changes in the good few years they’ve been busting out Pop /Punk anthems. Truth is Wood is the kind of guy you can’t help but admire: for his persistence, his entrepreneurial capacity, and his knowledge of all the cogs of the ugly machine that is the music industry. He and the current Fluid Lines line-up work hard at their image and their sound and the result is that as they’ve grown up (Wood himself is still only 20!) their music has matured too. Tracks like Sleepless and Right Place At The Night Time display ambient and melodic guitar licks, sing-along choruses with epic call-and-response chants and at times Tonight Is Goodbye-esque vocal antics. These are truly accessible Pop / Rock anthems. High Friends In Low Places meanwhile I think is a nod to their slightly less polished Punk roots, displaying a classic punk drum beat, heavily distorted guitars, and the very epitome of an epic Pop / Punk chorus.
Sure, there are comparisons to be made here with fellow British Power Pop outfits such as You Me At Six, Tonight Is Goodbye and Kids In Glass Houses, but Fluid Lines hold their own, and bring something slightly edgier with influences clearly including darker Punk outfits such as AFI.
The hard work is clearly finally paying off for these Hertfordshire boys: with a Myspace page boasting over 13,000 friends! And 2009 looks set to be a big year, with some really exciting shows coming up including a slot at the Jack Wills sponsored Varsity match in front of around 10,000 people! So if your guilty secrets include the likes of Tonight Is Goodbye and You Me At Six check out this awesome outfit.
Calories
(Click Image for Myspace)
Calories – Exciting British three-piece, Calories, lend a slightly experimental and progressive twist to traditional Indie / Pop sounds, with apocalyptic drumming, intricate bass lines and ethereal guitars steeped in reverb. Despite only releasing debut album Adventuring early-mid March this year, tracks like A Bear A Bison and Forests Of Varg display an intelligence, versatility and experience beyond their short time as a band. Calories take all the catchy Pop accessibility of a lot of mainstream Indie Pop in our charts but make it.. well.. good! What’s more, despite an admirable amount of inside industry buzz about these boys, with comparatively only a handful of Myspace friends and limited still to smaller venues and support slots, there’s something oddly comforting and intimate in enjoying a relatively unknown band. Fans of White Lies, Bloc Party and everything between will love this energetic Indie / Rock outfit.
The River Phoenix
(Click Image for Myspace)
The River Phoenix – I first came across this band in the Nettwerk office when I was given the album to check out. I was hooked immediately, and was delighted to hear they would be playing The Great Escape Festival. For me, this unashamedly Emo / Rock band, hailing from a tiny island between Denmark and Sweden called Bornholm, pick up where bands such as Placebo leave off. Guttural, riff-tastic and muscular guitar work; epic drumming; and the distinctive Brian Molko-esque yelp of singer Kristian Wichman are defining characteristics of The River Phoenix’s debut album Ritual which was released in 2008 by Nettwerk Music Group.
Ritual opens with the broken amp-bass-fuzz of 5 Wheel Drive: a seriously anthemic Alt Rock track which flits effortlessly between a straight rock 2/4 verse rhythm, and a stadium worthy chorus with a 6/8 sway that will bury itself in your brain to resurface at regular intervals during your day: so warm up your karaoke voice. The album continues with the equally genius 28 83 7 which opens with all the guitar-fuelled pomp and grandeur of a heavier Coldplay track and displays an intelligent pop-sensibility in the undeniably catchy and accessible vocal harmonies. Meanwhile, softer tracks such as Kittens and A Seed Upon The Wind bring relief between dark and atmospheric songs: most notably To Be Willing To March, an ominous, crashing and dischordant track, full of Taking Back Sunday-esque guitar licks and Coheed And Cambria style vocal harmonies.
Fans of everything from U2 to Placebo: Coldplay to Brand New and Coheed And Cambria to Taking Back Sunday should definitely give these boys a listen and seeing as The River Phoenix have been good enough to post the first 6 tracks of their album in order in their Myspace player, you’ve got not excuse not to get stuck in!
