Simon Neil of Biffy Clyro
Scottish Rock Gods Biffy Clyro are back with yet another epic, apocalyptic monster of a track, That Golden Rule, which is to be released tomorrow (Monday the 24th of August ’09), from new album Only Revolutions (set for release October this year). Biffy fans will be pleased to know that the band are again working with Puzzle producer Garth Richardson, who played such a huge part in the album that catapulted the trio into the mainstream in 2007, but the direction will be more ‘classic Biffy’, as stated by drummer Ben Johnston in an XFM interview.
Following on from the incredibly successful and highly acclaimed ’non-album’ single Mountains from 2008 was never going to be easy – Mountains being by far their most commercially appealing effort, peaking at number 5 in the UK. However with signature Biffy, distortion-doused, whirlwind riff-driven verses, characterised by that standard Simon Neil growl, and high tempo, Punky drum lines, juxtaposed against delicate, beautiful, sparse and stripped down choruses with descending melodies, That Golden Rule holds its own. The track is essentially split into two parts – the second being a jaw-droppingly immense piece of Classical-infused instrumental Rock, with irregular, start-stop rhythms, and heavy powerchord progressions mimicked by a powerful string section blasting out intense melodic riffs.
That Golden Rule is both challenging and infectious to the modern rock fan. With stadium worthy, chant-along choruses and complicated polyrhythms it is instantly accessible and yet also undoubtedly genius in musicality – a real work of art to rival even Mountains.
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!
Armstrong + The Mission District – Live Review
May 3, 2009
Armstrong Promo Shoot
(Click image for Myspace)
Last Wednesday I sauntered on down to the Dublin Castle to watch Armstrong, and then (not gonna lie) get a bit drunk, and then watch the Mission District. So apologies to the middle two bands (who wont read this anyway!) but I was catching up with people and such during their sets… oops.
Armstrong took to the stage early in the evening for this Rock Sound Magazine party, in front of an intimate crowd predominantly made up of ‘industry’. Unfortunately, Armstrong‘s explosive set packed full of infectious and anthemic Pop / Rock tracks was at times marred by technical problems and perhaps more so by frontman Tim Talbot‘s ill health (he is currently trying to shrug off a throat and sinus infection!)
Talbot winced through the pain however and his voice held out for such gut-busting sing-along anthems as Scars and Stories and Sirens, displaying his incredible range and one hell of a set of lungs. Meanwhile, the muscular, rip-roaring, fist-in-the-air riffs of tracks like Every End were delivered with the usual vigour by the axe-wielding man mountain Jay Armstrong and screaming shredded solos were whipped up by lead guitar-slinger John Atkins. Meanwhile the meaty rhythm and bass combination of Harry Armstrong and Sam George remained (mostly) tight as ever and at times, I’m sure, the mixture of bass-enormity and George‘s ‘Kick the fuck out of the drum-kit’ attitute must have meant the show registered on the Richter Scale.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve seen my fair share of Armstrong shows and this wasn’t the best ever, but the combination of illness and technical fault meant that the boys kinda took to the stage having already written off the show… and the result is that they looked more laid back and relaxed than usual. They seemed to enjoy themselves and this rubbed off on an intimate and welcoming crowd, who enjoyed such comedy moments as Talbot losing his mic (had to be there). In short, not technically the best performance from these stadium-worthy Rockers, but still a display of awesome stage presence and showmanship, great tracks, and as always a good laugh.
The Mission District Promo Shot
(Click image for Myspace)
Ok so fast forward about an hour, too many free (thankyou Jager-sponsored Armstrong boys!) Jagermeisters, a few Jack Daniels and you can imagine why my memory of The Mission District may be borderline hazy.
These guys were, on the night, possibly the exact opposite of Armstrong: pure polished and perfect Electro-Pop / Rock.. technically flawless, but at times lacking soul and verve. That said, a five piece band with a lot of equipment on a tiny stage, I think it’s fair to say that perhaps TMD are destined for bigger things and were somewhat confined by their surroundings. Also, having played 25 venues in 30 nights prior to this, it’s understandable that they weren’t going to throw everything into this show in front of about 8 people (thankyou for the promotion, Rock Sound!) So aside from stage presence, this Canadian outfit, consisting of two guitars, bass, vocals, drums, laptop and occasionally synths, and at least 1 backing vocal, were the epitome of polished perfection.
The pop-hook-synth-line drive, tight-as-fuck (to the extent that the beats could almost be processed!) drumming, incredible close harmonies and epic choruses of tracks such as Heartbreaker, The Best Of You And Me and So Over You are reminiscent of Electro-Pop monsters Hellogoodbye, Sherwoord, and Shiny Toy Guns, while the floating and haunting vocals in tracks such as Youth Games are at times not dissimilar to Keane. Basically these guys have really thought about their act. The image is spot on, the sound is polished, the production perfect, and the direction is relevent, and with tours booked with Saving Aimee and Elliot Minor for this Summer, and having recently signed to a UK label.. well if’s safe to say you will be hearing a lot more about these guys. So don’t be a fool, check them out, and you can tell everyone you heard them first.. (I won’t rumble you!)
Hollywood Undead – Undead
April 27, 2009
Hollywood Undead - Promo Shot
(Click Image for Myspace)
Hip Hop / Crunk / Metal crossover act Hollywood Undead know how to party, if this video for Undead (Out of the way) is anything to go by.
With ominous Marilyn Manson-esque distorted guitar riffs, huge and punchy staccato power chords and single note bass lines, dark and hooky synth sounds, agressively spat rhymes and epic chant-along choruses it would also seem that they know how to write an awesome Rock / Crunk song.
Add to that the (admittedly not too original) anonymity / mask combo; a seriously explicit, sleazy and grimey video featuring violence, substance abuse, alcohol consumption and gratuitous nudity; and a Fuck You attitude, and it’s easy to see why these guys are creating a bit of a buzz for themselves.
So lads… kick back, open up a beer, send the girlfriend out to make some tea, and see if you can watch this video all the way through without feeling a tiny bit jealous that you aren’t living out your own Rock and Roll dream lifestyle:
Phantom – Watch this space.
April 22, 2009
Phantom
(Click Image for Myspace)
Phantom – There’s nothing to be found on these guys anywhere on the web. There’s always something exciting about coming across a band noone seems to know anything about, and whose identity is completely unavailable online. There’s no information on who these guys are, and no pictures. Not only does this allow you to feel like you might have stumbled across an otherwise undiscovered little gem of a band, it also allows you to focus solely on the music, unhindered by image or reputation. I am really excited about Phantom, and I hope that they’re one of those outfits where you can look back and say ‘Yeh, I spotted that..’.
If you can kind of imagine a darker and more foreboding Bloc Party, retaining the dance beat and strained soulful vocals.. meets a slightly more Pop-hooky This Et Al, complete with guitar-wank pomp and show, ambient and ethereal guitar licks and apocalyptic drum work, then you’ve just about got the concept of Phantom. Dance Rock meets Experimentalism meets Indie meets Soul equals genius! Check them out.
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!
