Flynndie Reviews #55: Circa Waves - Young Chasers

Written 28th March 2015

Circa Waves – Young Chasers

The Band: Kieran Shudall (lead vocals/guitar), Joe Falconer (lead guitar), Sam Rouke (bass), Sian Plummer (drums)

This week sees the release of the keenly anticipated debut album from Liverpool 4-piece Circa Waves with ‘Young Chasers’.  Becoming an increasingly popular up-and-coming young band, Circa Waves have previously been tipped for big things with some high-profile support slots including supporting Interpol on last year’s NME Tour (alongside Royal Blood and Temples no less) and supporting The Libertines at their series of gigs at Alexandra Palace.  With a number of singles garnering some much deserved air-play under their belts, the band are about to embark on their very own headline UK tour and with the album’s release this week, let’s find out what these young Scouse upstarts are all about with their debut record.
 

Young Chasers

1. Get Away

2. T-shirt Weather

3. Fossils

4. Lost It

5. My Love

6. Deserve This

7. Young Chasers

8. Good For Me

9. Stuck In My Teeth

10. Best Years

11. The Luck Has Gone

12. So Long

13. Talking Out Loud

Launching with energetic guitars and percussion the album opens with ‘Get Away’, previously launched as a debut single from the band, and sets the early tone and vibe of the frantic 3-minute Indie-pop these young lads are all about featuring a big sing-a-long chorus “And I can’t get away if I wanted to/My hands are tied/Tied to you/And I don’t mind, nooooo”.  Recent single ‘T-shirt Weather’ follows which opens with a bit more chilled out rhythm to it while still carrying a confident swagger; it’s light-hearted and easy-listening “And I remember T-shirt weather/I remember some days/We were singing our lungs out/In the backseat together”.  And while we’ve had two solid openers from the band it’s third track ‘Fossils’ which really starts to show the full potential of this band, with some incredibly tight, free-flowing guitar-pop akin to early sounding Strokes with an infectious melody and another big chorus “The one day I want/Something I just can’t get/I’m a long way from home/I’m a long way from home”.  If you’ve never previously heard much material from Circa Waves before then this previous single is a recommended starting point.

Circa Waves played the opening slot on last year's NME Tour

‘Lost It’ features the first track on the album that has previously been unheard before its release and opens with a more chilled guitar-riff and mellow tempo throughout it that gentle coasts along nicely, again in the vein of style of The Strokes from their second album ‘Room on Fire’.  ‘My Love’ sees the band pick up the tempo again with an urgent riff gently hammering away through it alongside backing bass and soft tender vocals here from Kieran “I know it’s not enough to be with you/I’m clinging to the walls that you can see through…And I’m giving up/My love/My love seems somewhere else”.  ‘Deserve This’ is the most stripped down track on the album so far with gentle teasing guitars and more tender vocals here from Kieran questioning “Oh and why do I deserve this?/I was never good on purpose/Oh why?/Oh whyyyyy?”  It finds the band here creating a sound similar to that of Arctic Monkeys midway through their fourth album ‘Suck It and See’. 

Meanwhile midway through the record we have title-track ‘Young Chasers’ featuring an instant and urgent guitar-riff at its heart and clocking in just over 2-minutes long “Make your mind up/And I’ll chase you through the seats/The chase will wind up/I got blood on the soles of my feet” while the frantic pace of the record continues with another excellent single ‘Good For Me’ again built on effortlessly coasting Indie-pop, the track is a fun romp with real charm about it “You’ll see/Yeah you’ll see/You’re just no good for me/Good for me/Good for me”.  The big singles keep coming here with another sweet, charmer of a track ‘Stuck In My Teeth’ again featuring a cool, flowing rhythm with racing vocals and building guitars and the urgently repeated line “I’m a little too young without enough time/I’m a little too young without enough time”.  It’s again Indie-pop at its finest.
 

Previous singles 'Stuck In My Teeth' and 'Young Chasers'

‘Best Years’ opens initially with a bit more of a dirty rock sound to it before gathering full momentum and coasting along with guitars from Kieran and Joe duelling it out with some nice riffs while Sam’s bass and Sian’s drums providing a fitting setting.  ‘The Luck Has Gone’ is arguably the most poignant track on the album featuring tender lines “Did I leave this too long now?/Did I tie my tie too late?/I’m a million miles away/From the things I’d like to say” with an intricate guitar riff through it and backing percussion and this is a really nice track on the record.  ‘So Long’ opens more up-tempo before featuring gentle guitar strums from Joe to accompany Kieran on vocals here before diving into a 100mph chorus “The night’s still young/But the day is so long/And you wish you stayed at home/And you wished you never come” before closing track ‘Talking Out Loud’ slows the pace down with a chilled out number rounding off the album nicely.
   

Overall this is a cracking debut record from Circa Waves full with bursts of lively, pure 3-minute Indie-pop tracks that The Strokes themselves would be proud off.  This is free-flowing, easy-listening yet essentially, incredibly catchy guitar-pop much in the mould of early sounding The Maccabees and to a lesser extent Arctic Monkeys but crucially these four-youngster from Liverpool have honed their sound to near-perfection and I can see this catchy record remaining on repeat for a while yet and should still be a lot of good fun to listen to a few months down the line.  Tracks like ‘T-shirt Weather’, ‘Fossils’ and ‘Stuck In My Teeth’ are text-book mainstream Indie-pop and will see the band quickly develop a big following while tracks like ‘Deserve This’ and ‘The Luck Has Gone’ shows there is a mature charm about this 4-piece that could see them still go on to bigger things.  Without question this is a solid debut album from Circa Waves full of some great enjoyable numbers and I’m going to give this one a highly recommended 9 ‘Fossils’ out of 10 as this is a welcome record from these four Young Chasers.

 

So Long

Flynny

 

Track 2 – ‘T-shirt Weather’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9z_cyIgE9s

 

Track 3 – ‘Fossils’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBp8QwT4_R0

 

Track 8 – ‘Good For Me’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cI9ZEa1U16g

 

Band website:

http://www.circawaves.com

Flynndie Reviews #50: Catfish and the Bottlemen - The Balcony

Written 14th September 2014

  

Catfish and the Bottlemen – The Balcony

The Band: Van McCann (vocals/guitar), Billy Blakeway (guitar/vocals), Benji Bibby (bass/vocals) Rob Hall aka Dr. Bob (Drums)

This week see the release of Catfish and the Bottlemen’s much anticipated debut album ‘The Balcony’.  Originally hailing from Llandudno, Wales these four young upstarts are hell-bent on making a big impact on the Indie-Rock scene and have been garnering some serious attention and airplay from the likes of X-FM, Zane Lowe and Steve Lamacq, thus gaining the band a lively and intense fan-base.  I’ve been closely keep an eye on these lads for about three-years now upon hearing early single ‘Broken Army’ (previously reviewed in Flynndie Reviews #25) and listening to their debut EP ‘The Beautiful Decay EP’ a ridiculously obscene amount of times upon its release.  Having been lucky enough to catch the band live on a number of occasions I can confirm that Catfish and the Bottlemen seriously deliver a full-on rock ‘n’ roll assault live and on a number of times I have walked out of their gigs overhearing people saying “Wow that band were just fucking amazing!”  So with a lot of anticipation and building hype how does ‘The Balcony’ shape up then?

The Balcony:

1. Homesick
2. Kathleen
3. Cocoon
4. Fallout
5. Pacifier
6. Hourglass
7. Business
8. 26
9. Rango
10. Sidewider
11. Tyrants

Opening track and previous single ‘Homesick’ starts with a stripped-down guitar riff from front-man Van and lines “I got mislead, mistook, discard/Anything that I said/See I’m not the type to call you up drunk/But I got some lies to tell” and an almost calypso drum-rhythm from Dr. Bob before it gets into full-swing after with a great chorus “I said “I’m only looking out for you”/She said “it’s obvious that’s a lie”/I only ever put out for you/You know it’s obvious you don’t try” which gets the record off to a great start.  However, if ‘Homesick’ is a great opener then it’s second track and previous single ‘Kathleen’ that starts showing the full potential of Catfish and the Bottlemen “You’re Simpatico/And of all the lifts home/And all the mixed feelings/You’re cuts above/And you don’t own worries/Or a chest full of heartache” as the band continue their tight sound with some nice guitar licks from Billy and perfectly timed bass from Benji giving this track a delightful rhythm and groove to it while featuring an infectious chorus as Van belts out “I gotta give it to you/You give me problems!/When you’re not in the mood”.  As Indie-Rock tracks go this is nigh-on fucking perfection.  ‘Cocoon’ continues the smooth groove on the album so far building with rocky drumming and bass, before effortlessly coasting along with crisp, clear vocals again from Van “I remember when we swapped names/And I thought maybe/You’d stay and try and outdrink me/Your friends all hated it” followed by “Fuck it if they talk/Fuck it if they try and get to us”.  This is a smooth track, with particularly great guitars, drums and bass over the bridge before the chorus.

Fourth track ‘Fallout’ features sharp guitar strums and accompanying bass notes and percussion, the band still continue a nice smooth sound here with an edgy chorus “And we just always seem to just fallout/When I’m most in need of it/You just seem to call out/When I’m up for leaving it” you can tell the band really believe what they’re into here and enjoying themselves on this track.  Much like second track ‘Kathleen’, ‘Pacifier’ captures the core-sound of Catfish and the Bottlemen here with another excellent Indie-Pop Rock track “Oh but babe/You know I tried and failed/But you just don’t know how it feels/To lose something/You never have and never will” before the track rocks out in its final third with Van repeating the track-title “I’m her pacifier/I’m her pacifier”.  It’s another very instant and incredibly catchy tune yet sounds pulled off with effortless ease here by the band.  ‘Hourglass’ showcases a lesser seen side of the band as Van picks up acoustic guitar here, with a driving, backing bass rhythm here from Benji, it’s a sweet and tender track midway through the record and builds up steady layers with gentle backing vocals, light-drums and even charming piano notes, a surprising ballad to be found here on the album.

• Catfish and the Bottlemen previously stormed through a set at London's the 100 Club back in 2013 

Getting back much more up-tempo, ‘Business’ goes back to Catfish’s full-on, ballsy rock.  Another strong track pulsing along with driving bass and percussion “I wanna make you my business/I wanna tolerate drunk you honey/I wanna make you my problem” another very instant track featuring some nice guitar work here and a nice guitar solo midway through, meanwhile ‘26’ was previously an opening live favourite and one which I always thought was a great track that the band opened with and the final recording here further confirms that with a fast accelerating guitar rhythm driving away at it “I’ll come/Based on/Facts like/She’ll be there/Making self-control”.  This is a fast-paced and no-nonsense track.  Previously another early single ‘Rango’ remains upbeat and tight guitar-rock with smooth vocals here from Van a particular highlight “You see Abby she’s got to wait/Until she gets you on your own/She’ll make you make mistakes/And you can offer to take her home” and this track features a really nice guitar solo from Billy in its latter stages and is generally another very likeable track. 

So far ‘The Balcony’ has been some ride and then track 10 ‘Sidewinder’ hits you!  This is full-on, ballsy rock with an amazing opening guitar-riff.  This track previously featured on the band’s ‘Beautiful Decay EP’ but is such a strong track in its own right that it just had to feature on this debut record with some of my favourite lines on the album “Give me some/Assumptions I/Can make of you/Cause you’re getting lazy/You used to frustrate me” and “Whoever/You’re mixing/Your drinks with/Is dying to/Go to town on you”.  This is another seriously solid track before the album closes with another live favourite and another track from their previous debut EP which has been re-recorded here, ‘Tyrants’, which has a raw industrialist hard-rocking vibe about it and a particularly nice closing guitar and rhythm featuring some great closing lines “Tyrants helped build us/Then they won’t/Mind throwing it away”.  It’s another great track to close this debut album with the fiercely rocky instrumental ‘Trippin’’ tagged on to the end of the album nicely much like the band’s live shows.

• The Bottlemen tear through another dynamic and energetic set at The Borderline

As I said at the start of this review I’ve been closely keeping an eye out for Catfish and the Bottlemen as one to watch and have always been patiently looking forward to this debut album ‘The Balcony’ over the past three years.  As time went on I was a little apprehensive as to the final sound of this album what with high hopes for this band but I have to say these four young lads have delivered a debut album they should be very proud of.  There are many strong tracks on this record with for me personally ‘Cocoon’, ‘Pacifier’ and particularly ‘Sidewinder’ and ‘Kathleen’ being amazing highlights from this bright, young band and I’m going to give ‘The Balcony’ an unprecedented 10 Pacifiers out of 10 as this is a quality debut record.  Every 5 years or so a band comes along which just changes the game and for me Catfish and the Bottlemen are the real fucking deal.  Their music is no-nonsense ballsy rock about being young and in complicated relationships something everyone can relate to but they back them with amazing guitar riffs and rhythms and ‘The Balcony’ doesn’t disappoint.  The band look and sound great and are amazing live probably due to their sheer dedicated commitment to live touring over the past 7 years, so try and catch them in small venues while you can as I can only see this band going all the way on to much bigger things.

 

Simpatico

‘Flynny’

Track 1 ‘Homesick’

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhfXl1OefI8

Track 2 ‘Kathleen’

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgW67efQduY 

Track 5 ‘Pacifier’

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iX1sJClsQxE

Track 10 ‘Sidewinder’

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWvN42M8JWQ  

Band website:
www.catfishandthebottlemen.com

Flynndie Reviews: #48 Kasabian - 48:13

Written 5th June 2014:

Kasabian – 48:13

The Band: Tom Meighan (lead vocals), Serge Pizzorno (lead guitar/vocals), Chris Edwards (bass), Ian Matthews (drums)

After a 3-year break this week sees the return of perhaps Leicester’s second most famous son’s (after Gary Lineker of course!) with the return of Indie electro-rockers Kasabian and this their 5th studio album, cunningly named after its running time, ’48:13’.  The latest record is the band’s follow-up to their successful 4th album ‘Velociraptor!’ which I previously reviewed in Flynndie Reviews #18 and very much enjoyed at the time describing it as a much more ‘experimental’ album by the band and displaying a great range of different styles for them including some nice stripped-down acoustic tracks (‘Goodbye Kiss’), some, raw and dirty electro-tracks (‘I Hear Voices’, ‘Switchblade Smiles’) to the more familiar ‘lad-rock’ (‘Days are Forgotten’ ‘Let’s Roll Just Like We Used To’) that Kasabian are well known for.  We’ve had an early preview of new Kasabian material with recent upbeat single ‘Eez-Eh’ which has proved a bit of a ‘marmite-track’ with some fans loving it, while others were not too keen on it but let’s give the new album 48:13 a full chance and see how it shapes up.

48:13

1. (shiva) (1:07)

2. bumblebeee (4:01)
3. stevie (4:45)
4. (mortis) (0:47)
5. doomsdate (3:40)
6. treat (6:53)
7. glass (4:48)
8. explodes (4:18)
9. (levitation) (1:19)
10. clouds (4:45)
11. eez-eh (3:00)
12. bow (4:27)
13. s.p.s (4:22)

So the album opens with ‘(shiva)’ (yes all the track-titles are listed in lower-case and played havoc with the spell-checker here) a short and subtle, lo-fi synth based instrumental track teasing the opening of this record, while the album fully picks up with second track ‘bumblebeee’ and sees Tom’s vocals opening with the urgently repeated ‘Yeah, Yeah, Yeah’ backed to rocking guitars.  The verses here are again subtle and serene, backed with gentle keys before the main direct and to-the-point bridge “Life is so simple when you’re with me/Because when you’re with me/I’m in ecstasy/I’m in ecstasy”.  This is a direct and more familiar type of Kasabian guitar-track early on the record.  Initially slowly building-up with synth-sounds and percussion third track ‘stevie’ is a confident and assured, swaggering Kasabian track with an uplifting chorus “All the kids they say/Live to fight another day/Live to fight again”. 

‘mortis’ is another unusual track-title and the second really subtle instrumental on the record, with very light-acoustic strumming and somewhat disturbing background noises, a trick commonly used on third album ‘West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum’, before we pick up again with ‘doomsdate’ a fast, urgent guitar track featuring a quirky, squealing guitar riff over the main chorus “What you see is what you get with me/What you see is what you get with me”; it’s another fun track again with a dance-vibe at its heart.  ‘treat’ is very much more electro-driven, Indie-pop, almost like a lite-version of ‘Switchblade Smiles’ from previous album ‘Velociraptor!’ but doesn’t quite reach the heights of that excellent and deliciously dark track from their 4th album yet there is no doubt that this track is a very much a direct and recognisable trademark Kasabian sound and becomes very much an instrumental in its second-half.  ‘glass’ is much more stripped down, featuring Serge on vocal duties here for what is quite a trippy, psychedelic number midway through the record with spoken-word vocals towards the end of the track “A wise man told me that we are born with wings/But never taught to fly/Doesn’t that make you wonder why/Is it to prevent us from falling out of the sky”, while ‘explodes’ is a slow-burning electronic track again with Serge on vocals, as it chugs away at the listener “On and on it goes/Until my head explodes/On and on it goes/Until my head explodes” before ‘(levitation)’ is the final instrumental on the album (and you may have figured out by now that the three tracks in brackets on the track-listing are indeed this record’s instrumentals), and again here very much stripped down and psychedelic.   

We continue with ‘clouds’ which opens with a shoe-gazing, day-dreaming vibe about it and a distant-effect used on Tom’s vocals before the track picks up more in pace after about a minute or so and sees Serge sharing vocal duties here with a funky guitar-riff picking away throughout.  Previous come-back single ‘eez-eh’ continues the dance-vibe here picking-up the pace some more with a buzzing, trippy percussion-based rhythm to it, almost hip-hop influenced, with Tom spinning the track’s title throughout “Eez-eh/I’ll make you mad/Least I ain’t sleazy/I’m just trying to put the world to right”.  The track reminds me a bit in style of Reverend and the Makers and also ‘Hey Boy, Hey Girl’ by The Chemical Brothers but just overall felt a little bit more clumsy and awkward to me upon my first few listens but as I said earlier many others like this track and it’s not by any means terrible in my opinion. 

Next we have ‘bow’ another much softer track on the record, showing somewhat of a subtle nod to a Noel Gallagher solo type of track “Take a bow and say goodbye/And let the hours passing by/That you get to feel so high/And it’s over, it’s all over now”.  It’s a nice serene track and certainly the ballad of the album.  Finally we have closer ‘s.p.s’, an acoustic Beatles-eque stripped-down and dreamy number which I could picture going down well at the summer festivals with the sun slowing drawing to a close, it’s a calm, peaceful melody to close the record with.     

So for me then much like when I first heard ‘eez-eh’, ’48:13’ is somewhat of a mixed-bag as an album.  There are certainly some strong tracks here ‘bumblebeee’ and ‘doomsdate’ being two standout moments on the record and are certainly single material, which are complimented by some of the more lo-fi electronic-driven beats found here such as ‘stevie’ and ‘treat’.  The instrumentals throughout the album don’t offer too much for me but perhaps round the album off as a full psychedelic experience and overall I personally think that if you really enjoyed the two most recent Kasabian records you will still find plenty here to like and enjoy but for me while this album flows well it doesn’t quite reach the heights of earlier Kasabian albums the self-titled ‘Kasabian’ or ‘Empire’ and I’m going to give this one 7 out of 10; it’s a direct and familiar Kasabian sound for me, not really any more or any less but it’s good to have them back and I’m looking forward to their headline set at Glastonbury this summer.

eez-eh

flynny

Track 2 ‘bumblebee’ – Live on Later… with Jools Holland

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMAd4bYF0kU

Track 11 ‘eez-eh’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ST6nEvIEY4s 

Band Website:

www.kasabian.co.uk - Note you can stream the new album early this week from the band’s website

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