Flynndie Reviews: #46 Nine Black Alps - Candy for the Clowns

Written 24th April 2014

Nine Black Alps – Candy for the Clowns

The Band: Sam Forrest (lead vocals/guitar), David Jones (lead guitar), Karl Astbury (bass), James Galley (drums)

Saturday the 14th December 2013.  A notable date for Manchester’s very own Nine Black Alps as they played a triumphant home-coming set at Manchester’s Gorilla to celebrate 10-years of the sounds, the tours, the blood, sweat and tears that were all part and parcel of being in Northern Hemisphere rockers Nine Black Alps.  But alas the gig at Gorilla was only the start of such jubilations as the 4-piece band returns with this their fifth album ‘Candy for the Clowns’, released this week on Hatch Records, and the follow-up to 2012’s fourth album ‘Sirens’ (previously reviewed in Flynndie Reviews #32 here).  Does their latest record continue their 10-year anniversary celebrations and offer further loud and fun sweet-tasting treats or do we end up with a nasty-tasting sour-sucker?

Candy for the Clowns

1. Novokaine

2. Blackout
3. Supermarket Clothes
4. Patti
5. Something Else
6. Morning After
7. Come Back Around
8. Not in my Name
9. Destroy Me
10. Take Me Underground
11. Clown

Opening with a building high-pitched guitar riff before ripping into an industrialist rhythm ‘Novokaine’, which was previously previewed online before the album’s release, is a fun and loud opening track and shows the core sound of no-nonsense carefree rock that Nine Black Alps are all about while Sam snarls delivering its chorus “Hear me now/Call my name/Novok-aaaaine”.  ‘Blackout’ follows with menacing guitars and rhythms before building to a big sounding chorus, another staple of the Alps’ trademark sound “Here comes the Blackout baby/Here comes the Blackout baby/Here it comes!”  Another track previewed early online ‘Supermarket Clothes’ features a fast, frenetic toe-tapping melody and duelling guitars between Sam and Dave with some nice lines through its verses “There’s a place where I can make the scene/In the pages of your magazine/Pretty faces filled with snow white teeth” it’s a fast, upbeat track that flows smoothly.

‘Patti’ has been a recent live favourite on tour for the band and is driven by a fierce bass line by Karl and brutal percussion from James, making it the perfect formula for hot and sweaty mosh-pits.  It’s another hard and fast track that pulls no punches while its lyrics paint a psychedelic, trippy ride “Spin like a top/Let your tired arms drop by your side/Take off your clothes/You can float/You’re as high as a kite”.  ‘Something Else’ opens with a bass line solo before speeding along with guitars racing along faster than Sonic the Hedgehog in a Formula 1 car with the “So shine a light on me/So shine a light on me” chorus backed with a nice guitar solo giving the track a form of brief rest-bite between its high-octane verses.

Midway through the album we have ‘Morning After’ and this is possibly the standout track on the album for me personally.  This is delightful, jangly Indie-pop while retaining a rocky edge and a nice, calming isolated rhythm to it.  A real change of pace for the album so far, it’s a song that in my opinion highlights the often hidden charm that lays tucked away under Nine Black Alps armoury of heavy, industrialist, guitar rock sounds, while laced with poignant and tender lyrics “Lying in your bed with a broken wing and staring at a dying light/Everytime you speak the room would spin and everything is one big lie.”  Next we have ‘Comeback Around’ which returns back to the band’s more familiar foot-stomping rock and overall this is a much more traditional Nine Black Alps track with them sounding much more like their material from their second album ‘Love\Hate’ here.  With a punchy, head-banging rhythm ‘Not in my Name’ is vicious, no-nonsense scuzzy guitar-rock “Do what you want you can take it from me/I’ll be around do whatever you need” before the repeated track-title’s chorus sees Sam sneering “Not in my name/Not in my naaaaa-me!” 

• Nine Black Alps rocking London’s The Borderline harder than a pissed-up rockin’ horse

The album calms down again with ‘Destroy Me’, another edgy-rock track that buzzes away hard like a bee overdosed on the amber nectar while ‘Take Me Underground’ is the most chilled track on the album, with a forlorn, shoe-gazer melody at its heart on a lazy summer’s day “So take me underground/I need no invitation/So take me underground/And win me over”.  It sees the band dabble at US-style college-rock.  Featuring some power-rock, closing track ‘Clown’ has quite an up-and-down rhythm about it, another track that burns and works away at the listener “And you always let me down/Yeah you always let me down/Make me feel like such a clown” it’s another busy, urgent track and sums up the overall mood and sound of the record.   

10-years on and five albums in not many band’s nail shoe-gazing, fuzzy guitar-rock with the edge and verve of Nine Black Alps; their sound may not appeal to all tastes but they still remain a tight, full-on and no-nonsense, underground Indie-rock band laced with some subtle underlying melodies to their sound for good measure.  ‘Candy for the Clowns’ is a tight little package and almost like a time-capsule of Nine Black Alps sounds over the past ten years, perhaps a personal note back to their fans?  It doesn’t quite reach the heights of their excellent debut album ‘Everything Is’ for me but is still on a par with their more recent material and a nice follow-up album to fourth album ‘Sirens’ in my opinion and I will give this one 7 Novokaine’s out of 10 but would suggest if you’re all for a bit of carefree, heavy guitar-rock then you may find much more here to fulfil your sweet-tooth, candy appetite and would suggest to add an extra mark to this review score.  10-years on and Nine Black Alps are still celebrating and rocking hard and I didn’t mention the word 'grunge’ once in this review! Oh…

Standing in Supermarket Clothes
Flynny

Track 1 ‘Novokaine’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SaGVP29bEA     

Track 3 ‘Supermarket Clothes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Q7McsqmMoo   

Manchester Gorilla 10th Anniversary gig setlist:

http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/nine-black-alps/2013/gorilla-manchester-england-13c471e9.html

Band website:

http://www.nineblackalps.com/

        

Flynndie Reviews: #45 Howler - World of Joy

Written 26th March 2014:

Howler – World of Joy

The Band: Jordan Gatesmith (vocals, guitar), Ian Nygaard (guitar), Max Petrek (bass, keyboards), Rory MacMurdo (drums)

So today’s review sees the long-awaited return of US Minneapolis-based 4-piece Howler who are finally making their return after seemingly falling off the face of the planet since releasing their enjoyable, surfer and slasher-based style of garage-rock with 2012 debut album ‘America Give Up’ (previously reviewed in Flynndie Reviews #22).  Now suddenly seemingly out of nowhere the band are returning on the Rough Trade label, with this ‘World of Joy’ out this week but has the long break done the young-upstarts a ‘world of good’ or created a ‘world of pain’ with this their second full album?

World of Joy

1. Al’s Corral

2. Drip
3. Don’t Wanna
4. Yacht Boys
5. In the Red
6. World of Joy
7. Louise
8. Here’s The Itch That Creeps Through My Skull  
9. Indictment
10. Aphorismic Wasteland Blues

Opening with the fuzzy, upbeat and rocky guitar rhythm of ‘Al’s Corral’ this track sees Howler return to their light-hearted but distinct garage-rock style which was a major feature of their debut album while Jordan teases with lines “I won’t say yes but I might say maaaay-be/If I drink and I ask around/It’s the only place for me”.  It’s a fun, energetic opener with a nice hint of Thin Lizzy underlying the track and gets the record of to a fine start.  ‘Drip’ is another full-on garage-rock number, featuring plenty of layers of guitar distortion used throughout, with a staple guitar-rhythm that ‘Up the Bracket’ by The Libertines was built on and a raucous Ramones-esque repeated chorus “Drip/Drip/Put him on a drip”. 

Meanwhile third-track ‘Don’t Wanna’ is a real standout and somewhat calms the pace of the album with some dreamy but still upbeat, semi-acoustic guitar-pop featuring some of my favourite lines on the album “You don’t have to be anyone if you don’t want to…You don’t have to listen to The Smiths if you don’t want to”, which ironically, or perhaps more so intentionally, is followed with a delightful, jangly Smiths-like guitar solo.  For the record I would actually highly recommend going back and listening to the full The Smiths back-catalogue and certainly feel that actually this third track is the band’s nod of approval to the legendary Manchester band.  ‘Yacht Boys’ opens with a haunting, western guitar-solo backed by an 100mph guitar-riff and even faster drums from new band member Rory.  Another no-nonsense, raucous garage-rock track with an underlying menace to it, this is what The Strokes would sound like on acid, and also reminds me of forgotten psychedelic rockers 80’s Matchbox B-Line Disaster.

‘In the Red’ follows next and is another rocky, upbeat affair and smacks of rhythms of The Clash and The Ramones with a dreamy chorus “No I won’t do you no wrong/No I won’t do you any harm”, it’s another good fun, surfer-rock track and really shows how tight the band are playing here. Title-track ‘World of Joy’ is a much more, slower and menacing affair, as guitars and a groovy bass-line chug away at the track like a runaway train, while Jordan’s voice has an effect used on it on this track making it his voice much softer and understated and despite being the title-track, this is a much more different sound from the band than previously and perhaps the darkest track on the album so far.  ‘Louise’ is another much more upbeat and incredibly catchy tune; again with Libertines\Strokes sounding guitars racing through its veins while Jordan croons about the song’s protagonist “Louise/Oh Please/I wanna tell you I love you/But I know it’s not enough!”  It’s an urgent and very instant track.  Not only is ‘Here’s the Itch that Creeps Through My Skull’ a barmy but brilliant track-title, but for me it’s another stand-out track on the record, with a dreamy, jangly guitar-riff at the heart of it.  Another track that’s sound again shows more than a subtle nod to The Smiths and again shows more great range on display on this album from these four young shit-kickin’ upstarts from Minnapolis.   

Initially percussion-driven with some hollering and wooo’s thrown-in ‘Indictment’ has a true US-college vibe about it, the perfect companion soundtrack for burning away and heading out on a long road-trip, with guitars and bass duelling right away before mid-way through the track, the song’s drops down a few gears “Well help me Jesus, right here on my search/I know I swear to you, I never burned down no church”, it’s another fun track with its tongue firmly placed in cheek.  Closing track ‘Aphorismic Wasteland Blues’ has a very retro, somewhat Beach Boys sounding vibe about it, bluesy, jolly and carefree it effortlessly closes the album all the time while showing off the cheeky-charm and talent of what Howler are all about.

So after seemingly disappearing of the face of the planet, Howler have actually gone away, honed their sound even more and delivered in my opinion a quality second album.  I always thought these young lads showed a lot of potential back in late 2011 with their ‘This One’s Different EP’ (also reviewed in Flynndie Reviews #19) and their early 2012 debut album ‘Amercia Give Up’ but I have to say I’ve listened to ‘World of Joy’ a few times now and am started to think this album is really starting to show these youngsters live up to their full potential.  You can see many rock ‘n’ roll influences with this record, ranging from the obvious Ramones, The Smiths and The Strokes, particularly with Jordan’s “don’t give a fuck, drawling vocals” drawing a similar comparison to early Julian Casablancas, but also to the more subtle Thin Lizzy and The Stooges.  I read a quote from lead-singer Jordan that the band’s aim with this record was “supposed to be almost like a jukebox at some sloppy bar in Minneapolis” and I think they really nail that sound with this record while giving the band quite a range of songs and a fun, tight, rocky record which I’ve overall been really impressed with and am going to award this one 8 “Itch’s Though My Skull” out of 10.  If you like stuff like The Libertines and The Strokes I would seriously recommend checking out this fantastic record.

In the Red
‘Flynny’

Track 3 ‘Don’t Wanna’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50QFJJQGTrs  

Track 9 ‘Indictment’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCGMoyF-a8M

Flynndie Reviews: #44 Reverend and the Makers - Thirty Two

Written 24th February 2014

Reverend and the Makers – Thirty Two

The Band: Jon McClure (lead vocals/guitar), Ed Cosens (guitars/bass/backing vocals), Joe Carnall (bass) Jimmy Welsh (drums), Laura McClure (vocals/keyboards)

This week sees the release of Sheffield’s own Reverend and the Makers fourth album ‘Thirty Two’, their follow-up to 2012’s '@Reverend_Makers' (reviewed in Flynndie Reviews #28), which was a triumphant success for the band despite little mainstream radio airplay or television appearances and in my opinion a great-sounding, dance and Indie-pop record in itself.  While that third record’s title showed an obvious nod to social media site Twitter, their latest album title ‘Thirty Two’ is perhaps a hint at The Reverend; Jon McClure’s coming of age.

However, before we dive straight into the review of this album, I think it’s well worth a mention of how the band have gone about repaying fans that have invested in the new record via Pledge Music, with Jon and Ed actually taking the time out to tour round the country in a camper van and play intimate acoustic gigs in fan’s homes.  Yes this band actually come round to your house and play in your front-room!  I think this was a brilliant personal touch and a great gesture to repay the band’s die-hard fans known as the RevArmy and you can check out some video links of the small, fun and rowdy performances (one of which even included a marriage proposal! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7L7EJwL5AFM) at the end of this review.

Thirty Two

1. Detonator

2. I Spy
3. The Devil’s Radio
4. Nostalgia
5. Happy Song
6. Different Trains
7. Time
8. Old Enough (To Know Better)
9. Play Me
10. The Only One
11. Your Girl

‘Detonator’ launches the Reverend’s latest offering and with its sparkling synths and bass-heavy rhythm it makes no secret of the very much dance-vibe this album smacks of throughout while Jon is in full-flow with sexual innuendos “You’re no agitator/More a spectator/I’ll take ya somewhere/We can hit your detonator”.  With more industrial synths pumping away at it, ‘I Spy’ continues the early up-tempo melody of the LP with a chilled Ibiza Club rhythm coursing through its veins and some great verses “Tell me what are we doing here?/You control all my strings like a puppeteer/I’m a ship lost at sea but I’m yours to steer”.  This is a track that will sound great in the summer sun.  ‘The Devil’s Radio’ has a much more familiar Reverend and the Makers sound about it, fast and fun with a delightfully underlying Ska rhythm to it that sees the band much more at the roots of their sound from debut album ‘The State of Things’ and is a very much an instant track on the album, it’s lyrics suggesting that gossip is indeed ‘The Devil’s Radio’.

With brass-sounding synths, trumpets and steel-drums ‘Nostalgia’ has very much a jolly Reggae and Caribbean flavor about it and features a great, reflective opening line “We all love a little nostalgia/It isn’t what it used to be/Tamagochi, Trolls and Crocodile Dundee”.  Yes Crocodile Dundee himself gets name checked on the latest Makers record!  It’s a light-hearted track that bounces and flows and is likely to be a live favourite with its sing-a-long “La, la-la-la-la's” throughout.  ‘Happy Song’ is the slower, ballad track of the record and reminded me of ‘Sex with the Ex’ again from the band’s debut record, with a similar sound and pacing as that track and after the fast tempo of the opening four tracks this track sits well at this stage of the record.  ‘Different Trains’ picks up the pace again, another large-sounding upbeat track and sees vocal duties here shared between bassist Joe and Jon with each line through the verses “I invented penicillin while I found a plaster/I’ve got 50 caps, I’ve just got the one” before it’s chorus “And now the hare and the tortoise roll into town/There’s no need to worry, you don’t have to hurry/We’re two different trains”.  ‘Time’ has very electronic buzz about it and is another synth-driven track with a strong catchy bridge midway through it “Don’t ya wanna go outside/In the sunshine sometimes” and is another confidently assured Reverend and the Makers style track.

With another fast and urgent rhythm ‘Old Enough (To Know Better)’ is another solid track on the record with guitars and keyboards jamming along frantically as one while Jon belt’s out the track-title over the chorus “She says I‘mmmmm/Old enough to know better”, while ‘Play Me’ sees a sudden halt in pace on the record, featuring a piano ballad backed with lovely Beatles-esque string-sections and generally being an all-round charmer of a track.  ‘The Only One’ was previously the first single lifted off the album and is large sounding pure guitar-driven Indie-pop with a polished chorus “I want you to make me feel like I’m the only one/The only one” being perfect for radio airplay so get it out there!  Closing track ‘Your Girl’ was the first preview we got of the new Makers album, initially being made available as a download for those that pre-ordered the album from the Pledge Music site and what a closing track we have here.  With an industrialist, scuzzy, dirty rhythm and melody to it that smacks of the Prodigy from their ‘Fat of the Land’ days, this is a strong, buzzing closing track that doesn’t pull any punches “Your girl’s got you wrapped around her finger/And your girl is the reason that you don’t ring us…We’ve turned to calling you the pilot light/Because you won’t be going out tonight” and in my opinion this track sees the album finish on a real high.

So overall ‘Thirty Two’ seems like a fluid, natural progression from Reverend and the Makers’ previous album '@Reverend_Makers' and much like its predecessor has a positive banging dance-vibe at its core.  For me in particular ‘Detonator’, ‘The Devil’s Radio’, ‘Different Trains’ and ‘The Only One’ are all solid tracks and closer ‘Your Girl’ is a “proper banger!”  In particular, and as has always been the case with Reverend and the Makers’ records, Jon’s lyrics are intelligent and diverse almost somewhat poetic and again finds him on good form here.  For me the album doesn’t quite reach the heights of their debut record ‘The State of Things’ but this is still a good record and certainly a strong follow-up to '@Reverend_Makers' while tracks like ‘The Devil’s Radio’ and ‘The Only One’ would sound great with some radio airplay so get behind them.  Throw in some nice, gentle tracks (‘Happy Song’, ‘Play Me’), some underlying Ska (‘The Devil’s Radio’) and a Caribbean-Reggae influenced sound (‘Nostalgia’) and the record starts to show more range with a few more listens and I’m going award this one a solid 7 Detonators out of 10 and would recommend to go and check this album out!

Thirty Three

Flynny

Track 10 ‘The Only One’

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAj5Plq4r9o

Track 11 ‘Your Girl’

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgJcilSxXbo

Reverend and the Makers Newcastle house-gig #1 of #32HouseGigs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wh1ropH_VLY

Reverend and the Makers Whitehaven house-gig #5 of #32HouseGigs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7uqZKezdes  

‘Miss Brown’ acoustic private house-gig

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEC3CPO5_D8
 

Band Website:

http://www.reverendandthemakers.com 

Flynndie Reviews: #43 Maxïmo Park - Too Much Information

Written 30th January 2014

Maxïmo Park – Too Much Information

The Band: Paul Smith (lead vocals), Duncan Lloyd (guitars/backing vocals), Archis Tiku (bass), Lukas Wooller (keys/synths/backing vocals) Tom English (drums)

What initially started out as a trip to the studio to record a new EP turned out to be much more successful than first planned and has seen Newcastle descendants and Indie and Electro pop-pickers Maxïmo Park instead return with this ‘Too Much Information’, their full-blown fifth studio album.  The follow-up to the band’s successful fourth record ‘The National Health’ (previously reviewed in Flynndie Reviews #26 here with an in-depth profile of the band), an album which in itself saw Maxïmo Park pushing their musical boundaries; furthering their sound as just simply as rocky guitar band and packing in a great range of tracks, from piano ballads and fuzzy, electro-rock (‘Hips and Lips’), to some tender acoustic ballads (‘The Undercurrents’, and ‘Unfamiliar Places’)  and of course the more traditional up-tempo, guitar-rock tracks the band are noted for from their earlier albums ‘A Certain Trigger’ and ‘Our Earthly Pleasures’.  So with a diverse and interesting range of back-catalogue tracks and albums already in their locker, how does fifth record ‘Too Much Information’ shape up for t’Park?

Too Much Information

1. Give, Get, Take

2. Brain Cells
3. Leave This Island
4. Lydia, The Ink Will Never Dry
5. My Bloody Mind
6. Is It True?
7. Drinking Martinis
8. I Recognise The Light
9. Midnight On The Hill
10. Her Name Was Audre
11. Where We’re going

With twinkling synthesizers ‘Give, Get, Take’ gets us up and running before being fully backed by up-tempo percussion and further synth-sounding guitars, the chorus ringing through “You give a little…You get a little…You take a little more”.  It’s a bright up-beat track and hints at the electronic, synth-based direction the band take more with this record.  Second track ‘Brain Cells’ was previously the first comeback track released from the album and for me was a completely different and unexpected sound from the band, again very electronic with a synth-driven beat chipping away at it but much more slower and deliberate than that of the previous opening track; it’s quite lo-fi and understated and has a dark, mysterious chorus “Didn’t learn anything today/If I didn’t know my brain cells wear away”.  This is a much more different track than anything the band has done previously yet is still strange, fascinating and compelling none the less, with an isolated dance-vibe about it.  ‘Leave this Island’ is the first full single to be lifted from the album and continues the keyboard and synth-driven direction of the record so far with another shy but sparkling, synth rhythm running through its veins with light backing guitars.  It’s another deep, thought-provoking track full of mystery “Let me know when you want to leave this island/I’ll stand up for you”.

With a delightful track-title ‘Lydia, the Ink Will Never Dry’ sees the first real guitar-driven track of the record so far, riding along with a very jangly, Smiths-like guitar at its heart while also reminding me of the band’s excellent past single ‘Books from Boxes’.  This is a much more familiar Maxïmo track and perhaps the most instant song on the album so far.  Up next ‘My Bloody Mind’ is the heaviest guitar track so far on the record, still backed with flirting synthesizers and a gritty, western like guitar rhythm and bass melody at its core, before a slight pause and some random spoken-vocals from Paul “A random phrase/Is as good any”.  It’s quite a charmer of a track and another more instant track on the record at this point.  An oriental sounding gong marks near the midway point through ‘Too Much Information’ and opens sixth-track ‘Is It True?’, initially a bass-driven track by Archis, while Duncan teases with shimmering guitar effects and Lukas’ keyboards give the track an extra dimension and a much fuller-feel; its a soft, seductive track, think along the lines of 80’s classic ‘Tainted Love’ by Soft Cell but perhaps more poignant and with a slightly, darker underlying melody to it and you get an idea of the sound here.  ‘Drinking Martinis’ leans towards another guitar and percussion-driven track but this time soft and soulful “You were drinking Martinis in-front of me/But now that you’re gone/Do you feel anything?”  This is somewhat a playful, gentle ballad thrown into the mix midway through the record.  ‘I Recognise the Light’ starts off with quirky, upbeat and urgent duelling drums and guitars which form the basis for the track; it’s a catchy, swaggering track which defines its own rules and moves to its own beat of its drum “I never been to Mexico City but I recognise the lights/I’ve never been to Santiago but it keeps me up at night”.

With driving drums and a playful guitar riff ‘Midnight on the Hill’, is another confident, assured number from the band, with a steady and calm rhythm to it and is a track that seems to effortlessly chug along nicely at this stage of the album.  Meanwhile ‘Her Name Was Audre’ opens with a drum-solo and quickly becomes more of a familiar, fast and upbeat Maxïmo Park guitar track with its chorus finding Paul fascinated with the track-title’s protagonist “Her name was Audre and she had a lot to say/She didn’t bore me with her consummate display” while the second-half of the track sees a playful bass riff and some quite quirky keyboard and synth sounds before closing with a twist: slowly unwinding and then closing with an almost circus-like drum-roll from Tom, quite a different sound to the rest of the song.  Closing track ‘Where we’re Going’ is another guitar based track but with a much more mellow melody to it featuring some more cryptic lines from Paul “What’s appropriate in the circumstance? It’s in the sub-text/What’s appropriate in the circumstance? It’s in the sub-text.”

So overall ‘Too Much Information’ had been a somewhat of a rollercoaster ride with plenty of thrills, spills and surprises along the way.  For me this is possibly the most challenging Maxïmo Park album to-date; more heavily influenced by their electronic, synth side than any of their previous albums yet still a highly enjoyable record with plenty of tracks you will find yourself humming along and dancing to (or perhaps that was just me!)  Paul’s lyrics are often witty, cryptic and entertaining as always and again proves the case on ‘Too Much Information’, while Duncan and Archis remain on top of their game creating some memorable guitar riffs and bass melodies but perhaps Lukas has the last hurrah with many synth and keyboard driven tracks seemingly being the main focus of this album. 

‘Too Much Information’ certainly has plenty of ‘information’ going on within each track on this record and the album as a whole feels that plenty of time should be given to listen to it and to carefully nurture its tracks to fully appreciate them.  This LP is packed full of charm and delights with a few surprises along the way and a grower with repeated listens and I’m finding myself awarding this one 8 Brain Cells out of 10 for Maxïmo Park.  Also check out the Deluxe edition of the album to find a bonus CD with 5 additional tracks, covers by the band of some of their influences that have more than likely helped defined the direction of ‘Too Much Information’.  

Drinking Martinis

Flynny

Track 2 ‘Brain Cells’

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfQbpunQ2WI    

Track 3 ‘Leave This Island’

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJK82x8wkxA  

Track 4 ‘Lydia, the Ink Will Never Dry’

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8P3SWta0-xw

Band website:
http://maximopark.com/

       

Flynndie Reviews: #42 The Rifles - None the Wiser

Written 25th January 2014

The Rifles – None the Wiser

The Band: Joel Stoker (lead vocals\guitar), Luke Crowther (guitar\vocals), Rob Pyne (bass), Grant Marsh (drums)

Today’s review sees the return of Chingford’s finest, The Rifles, with this their 4th album ‘None the Wiser’.  Arriving on the scene back in 2005 the band released their excellent debut album ‘No Love Lost’ in 2006 to critical reception, a classic album packed full of massive Indie Mod-rock anthems which still sound great today.  This was later followed by 2009’s ‘The Great Escape’ another fantastic record by the band, again packed with more great and instant power-pop guitar tracks and perhaps showed even more mature song-writing than their debut album.  2011 saw the band release their 3rd album ‘Freedom Run’, another solid album to add to the band’s ever-growing back catalogue, albeit without original rhythm section Rob on bass and Grant on drums.  However, the band have now come full-circle as these two members return forming The Rifles original line up, alongside Joel and Luke of course, on this their latest offering.

None the Wiser

1.Minute Mile

2. Heebie Jeebies
3. Go Lucky
4. All I Need
5. You Win Some
6. Catch Her In The Rye
7. The Hardest Place To Find Me
8. Shoot From The Lip
9. Eclectic Eccentric
10. Under And Over

Opening with up-tempo percussion and a catchy guitar-riff at its heart, ‘Minute Mile’, a track the band has previously given early previews with on Twitter, sees them in instantly familiar territory with percussion and guitars driving the track verses along before a large sing-a-along chorus “But it’s hard to find the words to say/And it’s hard to know if you’re feeling the way that I feel/The little things you don’t realise/Are the things that let me know you could only be mine”.  The track has a confident swagger about itself and lays down a good foundation for the rest of the record.  Meanwhile ‘Heebie Jeebies’, the first song the band released from the album, is pure power-pop and a jolly romp of a track.  A more rocky and catchy affair, the lyrics are easily accessible and portray the feeling of the morning after a heavy night out “I got the Heebie Jeebies early in the morning/I got the shaky knees, the fear’s come a-calling/When I feel the blood running through my veins/Right down from my toes to my belly and brain”.  This second track is a familiar Rifles-type anthem, very much in the style of their songs from their debut album ‘No Love Lost’ and a great track to get ready to for going out at the weekend!

‘Go Lucky’ follows and sees the band initially open with a punk-rock drum-riff before featuring a very nice guitar solo.  The whole rhythm and melody to this track are very bright and up-beat, with a retro style and this is a real up-lifting, feel-good track the like of which the band have an effortless knack for writing.  Continuing with the up-lifting vibe ‘All I Need’ again is very up-beat and chirpy, featuring a nice rhythm and guitar-hook at its core accompanied by a charming harmonica throughout, the track has somewhat of a bluesy feel to it and will certainly help brighten up these cold winter days.   Fifth track ‘You Win Some’ is a more chilled and mellow sound, with a distinctly picked guitar-riff backed with organ keys and shimmering percussion flowing through it, featuring a nice poignant chorus midway through it “Yesterday is over and it won’t be back again/But there’s beauty in tomorrow if it means that I can change”.  Overall it’s a calm, relaxing track.  ‘Catch her in the Rye’ has a funky Mod guitar-riff at its heart, with steady verses before a nice bridge “Cause there’s a million things you missed at school/There’s a million and one like you” before another big chorus “So catch her she’s in the rye/And I don’t care what you do like” it’s a charming track much in the vein of ‘She’s Electric’ by Oasis with a dreamy closing to it.

• The Rifles stormed through a set at The Forum, London back in November 

‘The Hardest Place to Find Me’ is a stripped-down acoustic track, with a hazy, summery vibe backed with tambourines while featuring a nice chorus “I took the pages of my life and then I tore that book apart/And on every single line I see the hardest place to find is in my heart”.  The acoustic, folk-like sound continues for the first-half of the track, before picking up with upbeat electric guitars and percussion during its second-half giving the song a much fuller feel.  With initially more slow-tempo verses ‘Shoot from the Lip’ is playfully nudged along with a one-two rhythm and percussion pulsing this track along with backing guitar strums and beautiful string sections in its second-half.  The verses really flirt with the listener “But nothing quite says it like a four lettered word/So we shoot from the lip with a loaded tongue”. 

With more bluesy-rock ‘Eclectic Eccentric’, a tongue-twister of a track title in itself, continues the jolly, upbeat vibe of this record and sees the harmonica make its second appearance on the album and is another foot-stomping, romper of a track with a feel-good vibe.  Album closer ‘Under and Over’ sees a picked acoustic riff and some clapped percussion, before a full-throttle chorus “Water keeps on rolling/Under and Over/Around we keeping on trying/Any which way that we can make a living”.  This a large-sounding, epic track at around 7-minutes and finishes an already strong album on a real high.

In my opinion ‘None the Wiser’ sees a band that have consistently written good albums and some great anthems with their singles, really at the top of their game!  Every track on this record is strong easy-listening, with some great melodies, tight rhythms and percussion and featuring some thought-provoking, well-written lyrics throughout.  For a band that has somewhat unfairly been labelled a ‘cult-band’ in the past, I would recommend to give this record a listen as this may finally be the time The Rifles get some well-deserved recognition and sees big things for them.  ‘None the Wiser’ is a fantastic record and I can see me having this on repeat for some time in the near future so therefore I’m going to award it 9 Heebie Jeebies out of 10 and say that The Rifles have already set the bar high for 2014!  

Go Lucky

Flynny

Track 1 ‘Minute Mile’

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWKZPR4980U

Track 2 ‘Heebie Jeebies’

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a25k8d59rsM   

Track 5 ‘You Win Some’

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPb44fBpAgQ

Band website:

http://www.therifles.net      

Flynndie Reviews: #41 - Top 10 Albums of 2013

Written 4th December 2013:

So as another year draws to a close, I’ve decided to compile my personal favourite Indie and Alternative albums from the past 12 months and list my selections here, highlighting the albums I found myself listening to the most over the course of the year.  For me 2013 has generally been a steady year for fans of Indie music, which in particular has seen many ‘big hitters’ return with either their 3rd, 4th or 5th album furthering their sounds but also in a few cases there have been some great new bands arrive on the scene with some debut albums to look out for in case you may have missed them earlier this year.

So put on your dancing shoes and pack your air guitars as we head out on tour and check out 10 of the top albums from 2013!

#10. Parlour Flames – Parlour Flames (Released 20th May - Reviewed in Flynndie Reviews #38 – 7/10)

May saw the release of Parlour Flames debut album of the same name, featuring former-Oasis guitarist Bonehead teaming up with singer, song-writer, poet, Vinny Peculiar.  As I previously said when I reviewed this record, those expecting guitar-rock in the style of Oasis because of the Bonehead-connection would be way off the mark.  What we had here, was a jolly, charming record with light-hearted, chilled melodies laced with witty, tongue-in-cheek lyrics from Vinny (‘Sunday Afternoon’, ‘Pop Music, Football and Girls’) to more guitar-scuzzy tracks (‘Get in the Van’) brilliantly swaggering Indie-pop (‘Manchester Rain’) and a couple of psychedelic numbers (‘Jump the Brook Ruth’, ‘Broken Hearted Existentialist’) in all making this a nice, chilled and witty debut record from the Manchester duo.

Recommended Tracks: ‘Manchester Rain’, ‘Get in the Van’, ‘Jump the Brook Ruth’

Personal Favourite Track: ‘Pop Music, Football and Girls’ - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdEkXqIsS3c  

#9. Editors – The Weight of Your Love (Released 1st July – Reviewed in Flynndie Reviews #39 – 7/10)

2013 saw Editors return with their much-anticipated 4th studio album ‘The Weight of Your Love’.  Returning with excellent comeback single ‘A Ton of Love’, this track was pure guitar-pop and hinted at the band’s return to a large guitar-based sound as opposed to the more electronic sound of their 3rd record ‘In This Light and On This Evening’.  And while the new album did feature some more traditional Editors guitar-based tracks (‘The Weight’, ‘Formaldehyde’) the album featured much more thoughtful, deeper ballads by the band backed with string sections (‘Honesty’, ‘What is this thing called love?’) to piano-driven tracks (‘Two Hearted Spider’) with passionate and high-pitched vocals from lead-singer Tom Smith being a feature throughout the record.  This is probably the most soft, caring and tender album by Editors to-date.

Recommended Tracks: ‘The Weight’, ‘Honesty’, ‘Formaldehyde’

Personal Favourite Track: ‘A Ton of Love’ - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQQ2gTkV-GM  

#8. Nick Mulvey – Fever to the Form EP (Released 17th June)

Over the summer I managed to catch an X-FM Xposure night at the Camden Barfly.  3rd act on the bill that night was a guy called Nick Mulvey and what followed over the next 20-25 minutes was one of the most amazing acoustics sets I've seen!  With well-written and beautifully structured acoustic melodies influenced by Latin finger-picking and African rhythms, Nick has quite a unique, chilled, flowing sound that I’ve not heard too often and this EP really captures his style and sound well.  In particular if you like Ben Howard, I would certainly recommend to check out some of Nick’s material and really think this guy could become quite a success over the next 12 months; I can’t recommend the opportunity to try and catch him live enough though!

Recommended Tracks: ‘Juramidam’ 

Personal Favourite Track: ‘Fever to the Form’ - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ds0jtuyslbI

#7. Miles Kane – Don’t Forget Who You Are (Released 31st May)

The end of May saw Miles Kane release his 2nd-solo album ‘Don’t Forget Who You Are’.  Featuring a great collection of tight Indie-rock tracks, with big sing-along choruses (‘Taking Over’, Better Than That’, ‘Give Up’), to some retro Indie-pop (‘Don’t Forget Who You Are’) to dreamy, acoustic tracks (‘Fire in my Heart’)  this is another fine effort from the young Scouse Mod.  A more full-on and rocky album than Miles debut effort ‘Colour of the Trap’, for me this record builds a lot on his song-writing style and in my opinion tops his fine debut album as well, with a catchy, up-beat Indie record.  If you can I’d recommend picking up the special edition version of the album as it features 3 excellent bonus tracks ‘Start of Something Big’, ‘Caught in the Act’ and ‘First of my Kind’ which help build on an already fine record.

Recommended Songs: ‘Don’t Forget Who You Are’, ‘Better Than That’, ‘Give Up’

Personal Favourite Track: ‘Taking Over’ - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saPSlDlVmnk

#6. Red Kite – Songs for Crow (Released 5th November)

A great new band I came across in 2013 was London-based 6-piece Red Kite, fronted by former-Cooper Temple Clause guitarist Dan Fisher and also being notable for featuring two-drummers in the band.  ‘Songs for Crow’ was originally released back in May for those that pre-ordered the album via Pledge Music while November saw a general release for the album, which was a fine blend of Alt-Rock.  Featuring some great alternative guitar-pop with fantastic guitar-hooks (‘The Gathering Storm’, ‘Montreal’) to dark, brooding, Indie-rock (‘Red Blooded Males’) to the more stripped-down, poignant acoustic numbers (‘Songs for Crow’, ‘No Painter of Note’) this a dark, thoughtful record with a lot of heart and care poured into it, particularly in the lyrics, creating a unique Alt-Rock sound for the band Red Kite and a band I’m looking forward to hearing more from in the future.

Recommended Tracks: ‘The Gathering Storm’, ‘Poltergeist’, ‘Red Blooded Males’

Personal Favourite Track: ‘Montreal’ - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24x5KzmZeiQ  

#5. Johnny Marr – The Messenger (Released 22nd February)

2013 was also the year that former-Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr surprised many by releasing his debut solo-album ‘The Messenger’ after previously playing guitar full-time with many other bands including The Cribs and Modest Mouse.  And in my opinion the long wait for a solo album from Mr Marr was well worth it as ‘The Messenger’ was a fine guitar record.  With a fine blend of cool, swaggering Indie (‘The Right Thing Right’, ‘Upstarts’) catchy, upbeat and urgent tracks (‘I Want the Heartbeat, ‘Generate! Generate!)’, to the baggy album title-track (‘The Messenger’) and the excellent, jangly and very Smiths-esque (‘New Town Velocity’) overall made this a very cool, understated and enjoyable record from the Manchester guitar legend.

Recommended Songs: ‘Upstarts’, ‘The Messenger’, ‘Generate! Generate!’

Personal Favourite Track: ‘New Town Velocity’ - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXEc9WZ1bkY 

#4. Franz Ferdinand – Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action (Released 26th August)

Late summer saw the return of Scottish art-popsters Franz Ferdinand with their 4th album ‘Right Thoughts’.  Returning with the jazzy, upbeat and incredibly catchy comeback single ‘Love Illumination’, it was an early indication that Franz were set to release an upbeat, pop record and in my opinion this album was a fine return to form for them.  Packed with some funky and danceable tracks (‘Love Illumination’, ‘Stand on the Horizon’), to some pure Indie-pop (‘Right Action’, ’Fresh Strawberries’), some more familiar, fast and urgent Franz Ferdinand (‘Bullet’), while recent “spooky” single ‘Evil Eye’ was the perfect sound-track for Halloween parties everywhere, ‘Right Thoughts’ was one of 2013’s most pleasant surprises for me.

Recommended Tracks: ‘Right Action’, ‘Love Illumination’, ‘Evil Eye’

Personal Favourite Track: ‘Stand on the Horizon’ - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45zwH8uwvRU

#3. The Strokes – Comedown Machine (Released 25th March - Reviewed in Flynndie Reviews #36 – 7/10)

March saw the return of one of New York’s finest, The Strokes, with their 5th studio album ‘Comedown Machine’.  The last couple of Strokes albums had been a bit more experimental with their sound and so was the case with ‘Comedown Machine’.  Packing in a range of different styles from opening track ‘Tap Out’ flirting with retro guitar-sounds, to dabbling with 70’s disco (‘Welcome to Japan’), to guitars sounding like synths backed with falsetto vocals (‘One Way Trigger’), garage-rock (‘50/50’) to more familiar sounding Indie-pop Strokes tracks (‘All the Time’, ‘Partners in Crime’), and finally closing with ‘Call It Fate, Call It Karma’, probably the most bizarre Strokes track to-date yet strangely compelling at the same time; overall this lead to a great sounding and interesting record in my opinion which has certainly been a grower for me more with each listen over the past 12 months.

Recommended Tracks: ‘All the Time’, ‘One Way Trigger’, ‘Welcome to Japan’

Personal Favourite Track: ‘Partners in Crime’ - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajqKSzihNJw  

#2. Arctic Monkeys – AM (Released 9th September – Reviewed in Flynndie Reviews #40 – 8/10)

Possibly the most anticipated album of 2013 was Arctic Monkey’s 5th album ‘AM’ and in fairness the Arctic’s delivered another solid record to build on their ever-expanding hits-list.  We had already had an early preview of ‘AM’ with the excellent riff-heavy single ‘R U Mine’ and this was followed by ‘Do I Wanna Know’ driven by another ballsy guitar-riff at the heart of it.  ‘AM’ also featured some 70’s glam-rock (‘I Want It All’), stripped-down, dreamy ballads (‘No 1 Party Anthem’, ‘Mad Sounds’) to the semi-acoustic (‘Fireside’) and even a couple of hip-hop and prog-rock influenced tracks (‘Arabella’, ‘Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High?’).  Finishing the year with an Arena tour, 2013 was yet another successful year for the boys from the Steel City.

Recommended Tracks: ‘Do I Wanna Know?’, ‘Arabella’, ‘Fireside, ‘Snap Out of It’

Personal Favourite Track: ‘R U Mine’ -  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQH8ZTgna3Q

Arctic Monkeys played a triumphant set at Earls Court back in October

 

#1. Primal Scream – More Light (Released 13th May)

So maybe a little bit of a surprise at the #1 spot but for me ‘More Light’ by Primal Scream has to be my most listened to record of the year.  I was lucky enough to catch the band at this year’s iTunes Festival and before the gig I decided to check out their latest record and I’m sure glad I did.  Featuring a great collection, of 13 distinct and differing tracks, there is a real variety of sounds on this album in particular but crucially what we have here are some brilliantly-written tracks throughout.  From psychedelic and trippy (‘River of Pain’, ‘Hello Johnny’), to some deliciously dirty and vicious guitar-rock (‘Hit Void’, ‘Sideman’) to the understated and beautifully-calm (‘Tenement Kid’) and also thrown in are some big sounding, distinctly Primal Scream-style singles (‘2013’, ‘Invisible City’, It’s Alright, It’s Ok’) and overall this all adds up to a great, alternative-rock album and for me this is Primal Scream’s best record since 2000’s classic ‘XTRMNTR’ and well worth checking out.

Recommended Songs: ‘Hit Void’, ‘Tenement Kid’, ‘Sideman’, ‘It’s Alright, It’s OK’

Personal Favourite Track: ‘Invisible City’ - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1-EhPniUAM  

Bobbie Gillespie 'rocks' a pink-suit as Primal Scream played the iTunes Festival at The Roundhouse in September 

So that covers my favourite albums of 2013, many thanks for taking the time to read and if you have any recommendations of records for me to check out as well, feel free to leave suggestions in the comments section below or send them across on Twitter.

Here’s to more Alternative, Indie and Rock music in 2014!

‘Flynny’