Flynndie Reviews - Blog #25: Catfish and the Bottlemen - The Beautiful Decay EP/Broken Army single

Written 16th May 2012:

Catfish and the Bottlemen – The Beautiful Decay EP and Broken Army single

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

So it’s been a while since my last Indie review on here, but I’ve decided to review an EP of a very much up and coming band I’ve recently stumbled across on Twitter and have really being getting into lately Catfish and the Bottlemen. Originally hailing from Llandudno, these four, young Welsh lads are intent on making it big with their explosive, full-on rock ‘n’ roll Indie style, so I’ve decided today to cover their ‘The Beautiful Decay EP’ in today’s review in particular, as from what I’ve heard from the band so far, this EP really encapsulates the sound that they are all about. Also as an added bonus I’ve also decided to review their most recent single ‘Broken Army’.  So let’s get this show on the road then.

The Beautiful Decay EP:

1. Sidewinder
2. Bodies
3. Harlot
4. Collide
5. Tyrants
6. Trippin'

So the EP gets underway with previous early single ‘Sidewinder’, gentling starting with light-guitar strumming, before an early trademark rock ‘n’ roll guitar solo assaults the listener’s ear and sets the pace for the track, and the EP, as a whole. Van’s distinct vocals, paint the picture of a young couple’s relationship with great lines such as “Give me some/Assumptions I/Can make of you/Cause you’re getting lazy/You used to frustrate me” setting the tone of images for the style of songs that the band tend to produce. The infectious guitar solo from the start swaggers in again halfway through the track nicely and on the whole this opening track gets this EP off to a good start.

‘Bodies’ follows up next and steps-up the early pace set by opening track ‘Sidewinder’ by another gear or two, with guitars frantically duelling for supremacy while opening the track before lyrics hint at a couple’s relationship being strained by outside interference of other people. The track has a nice desperate, unwinding instrumental bridge in the middle of it before the powerful lines “Please get me/Away from him/As he’s starting to do my head right in”, and the final part of the track sees the band rocking out nicely, and the song as a whole has a nice pace about it and flows along effortlessly. Third track ‘Harlot’ follows up next and really has a bouncy rhythm to it throughout, yet still retaining the jagged guitar sound that the band achieves throughout the EP. Layered with catchy guitar riffs and solos over it, the track maintains the flow of the record again nicely, and we see some of the more powerful vocals on display on the EP from Van in particular on this track.

Next up ‘Collide’ continues to maintain the momentum of the EP again with duelling guitars throughout it, but this time with some emphasis on distortion backing the fast and furious paced verses, the band effortlessly get the balance between the two just right, probably due to their dedicated, commitment of playing ‘live’ shows. Penultimate track ‘Tyrants’ follows and slows the pace of the EP arguably for the first time but in a good way naturally. Somewhat of a light rock-ballad, the track features guitar with a slight echo effect initially as the track, slowly burns and builds itself through its opening verse, before unleashing bursts of guitar heavy rock. The 2nd half of the track features an excellent Indie riff, again slowly building and closing this excellent track, before blending smoothly into final track ‘Trippin’, an instrumental which sees the band close the EP, in their now familiar style of fast, frenetic guitar-rock.

I’ve been listening to this EP for a few weeks now and I must say it has been on heavy rotation on my playlist of late, simply due to the manner in which the band have effortlessly created their own, unique, catchy rock ‘n’ roll sound, with simple but engrossing tales summing up the parts of their songs.  You can tell that this band really care and believe in the songs they write and prove this with their dedication to constant touring and ‘live’ shows. I would happily award this EP 8 'Tyrants' out of 10, as I’m very much into the band’s big, explosive rock ‘n’ roll sound and I’m really looking forward to an album from Catfish and the Bottlemen, which I’m hoping they may put out later this year. However, for the time being this ‘The Beautiful Decay EP’ is a great introduction to an up-and-coming band that show so much promise, so feel free to check the EP out on the band’s website www.catfishandthebottlemen.com.

But, woooah, hold on, because as I promised earlier I was also going to cover the band’s most recent single ‘Broken Army’ which was actually the first track I heard by the band and was released last month and is also still available from the band’s website. With an initial aggressive, rock riff ‘Broken Army’ is another catchy Indie rock track, but somewhat more at a controlled pace, layered with a nice balance of duelling guitars and distortion, before the track’s infectious chorus bursts through and teases the listener “Keep Breathing/Keep Breathing/Settle down you’re home and I guess you got what you came for” being belted out by Van. It’s an excellent single and I’d advise you to go check it out. The single is backed with b-side ‘Ayatollah’ and is possibly the most alluring track by the band to date, again suggesting and hinting at a young couple’s relationship, the smooth guitar’s throughout gently take the hand of the listener and runs off into the night with the listener being entwined in the tangle of the tale being told by the band here.

So as you can no doubt tell, I’m really liking what I’ve heard so far from Catfish and the Bottlemen, we’re talking good fun, rock ‘n’ roll tracks, that have an air of confidence and a swagger about them but never taking themselves too seriously which in all adds up to a nice, distinct sound for the band and certainly one to keep an eye out for in the future, which I very much plan to do so.

Simply Decaying ‘Flynny’

Single ‘Broken Army’ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-GM6z2EqPA

Track 1 ‘Sidewinder’ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqR19NYRwXU

Track 2 ‘Bodies’ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVi-oaZ6Xm0

Flynndie Reviews - Blog #24: The Twilight Sad - No One Can Ever Know

Written 6th February 2012:

The Twilight Sad – No One Can Ever Know

The Band: James Graham (vocals), Andy MacFarlane (guitar, accordian) Mark Devine (Drums), Johnny Doherty (bass), Martin Doherty (Keyboards, Backing Vocals, Guitar)

Now I’ve been looking forward to writing this review for some time now because excitingly this means the return of The Twilight Sad with the release of their 3rd album ‘No One Can Ever Know’. Hailing from Kilsyth, Scotland I first really discovered the band after they were offered to support fellow Scottish-Indie Rockers (and one of my all-time favourite bands) Idlewild on a UK Tour. I was blown away by how powerful and intense a sound the band could create live, yet the band’s tracks still at heart were lyrically deep and poignant and I found myself, like many other Idlewild fans, had discovered another great band from ‘North of the Border’ that once you had heard their music or seen them live you had a new found dedication for. The band released their full-debut album ‘Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters’ to critical-acclaim in 2007 and this debut did an excellent job of catching the band’s intense live sound while lined with the distinct Scottish tones and cryptic lyrics from James throughout.

However, if their debut album had set the bar high, then for me their 2009 follow-up ‘Forget the Night Ahead’ knocked the bar flying! An album built around Andy’s layered, brooding guitar tracks and extravagant over-use of distortion, accompanied by highly-accomplished, almost military style, thunderous drumming from Mark throughout the record, this record for me is somewhat of a modern classic, that I found myself listening to at least twice a month for nearly 2 years! Yes really! Again littered with Graham’s distinct vocals and even more cryptic, somewhat downbeat lyrics, ‘Forget the Night Ahead’ was a much darker, brooding beast of a record than ‘Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters’ and all the better for it in my opinion!

I managed to catch the band live at the London Borderline last November and we got an early preview of some of the new material from this latest effort by the band and today’s review focus ‘No One Can Ever Know’. Early indications on the new tracks were that the band had still captured their cavernous live sound but with somewhat more of a nod to synths and electronics used on the tracks so let’s see how the record fairs overall.

No One Can Ever Know

1. Alphabet
2. Dead City
3. Sick
4. Don’t Move
5. Nil
6. Don’t Look At Me
7. Not Sleeping
8. Another Bed
9. Kill It In The Morning

So opening with recent live favourite ‘Alphabet’ we get early indications of the synth sounding direction this record takes in my opinion, with a slow, brooding verse laced with a repeating synth-tone and the familiar ‘military’ drumming from Mark returning. James’ lyrics here suggests an individual’s attempts to woo back a former-lover but as always with his style, his lyrics are cryptic and open to interpretation while Andy helps close the track with a snarling guitar riff. This is a decent opening track in my opinion that helps retain the band’s sound from their previous albums, while subtly showing an early indication of the band’s progression in sound for this particular record. Under a cover of distortion and an aggressive drum-rhythm ‘Dead City’ follows and here James’ vocals are initially more softly-sung as the track steadily builds itself up and gains momentum throughout being one of the more faster tracks on the album, before really peaking halfway through at a power chorus with James belting out vocals like there is no tomorrow! It’s quite an instant track for the record and closes with the album title being repeated to a closing crescendo.

Slowing things down a little more initially with a catchy, guitar melody, previous 7” single ‘Sick’ appears next and is another track that really highlight’s James clear, crisp vocals while Andy lays down a nice electric-guitar repeating melody that partners the story of the track very well. With more synths appearing halfway through and accompanying the 2nd verse, this track has a real individual feel to it and teases the listener with its slowly unfolding story, yet never giving too much away, this is a prime example of the more poignant, heartfelt type of track the band are capable of that I referred to earlier. ‘Don’t Move’ is the most synth-led track so far on the album and is doubled-up with a backing accordion here, to create a hazy, swaying sound while upbeat percussion and backing-guitar still retain a real sense of urgency about the track. It’s a much layered track indeed and demands the listener’s attention to fully take in all of the instruments that help this track cruise along comfortably. ‘Nil’ is initially the most subtle of all the tracks on the album with minimal keys at the start and a real focus on James’ ‘distant’ vocals highlighting the track. Again another track that slowly burns and builds, industrial drums tender the track mid-way through, but this is primarily a soft-track that seems to reflect upon a bad incident among a group of friends with the repeated line of “We all know whose fault it was!” appearing throughout and provoking more thought from the listener, this is quite a standout track on the record and bridges the first and second half of the album cleverly.

Over halfway through the record ‘Don’t Look at Me’ ups the tempo of the LP again with a punchy one-two drum rhythm and floaty keyboards and synths here pushing us further along on our journey through the album. This would be the perfect track to listen to on a long overnight drive in the manner that it comfortably pulls the listen along for the ride; it’s another very subtle but effective track on the record. Opting for a piano led opening, ‘Not Sleeping’ is the slow-burner on the album with particular focus again on the story being masterfully told through it, before slow, dramatic drumming and synths draw this track out. I actually have really no idea what this track is about but bizarrely find that a part of the charm about it. With a vibe that smacks of Joy Division to me, ‘Another Bed’ has in my opinion quite a retro feel to it, with the pace of the high-pitched synths used on it certainly not being out of place from a late night club in the 80’s in my opinion. One of the more upbeat tracks, it’s quite an instant track to get into and really highlights the much more ‘electronic-vibe’ the band have opted for with this 3rd record.

However, the band possibly saves the best to last on this intriguingly told tale, with its many twists and turns, with closing track ‘Kill It In the Morning’. Another up-tempo electronic, synth led track it fully encapsulates the album as a whole and is driven by a dynamic bass groove throughout it, and in my opinion should be somewhat of a cult anthem across Indie Clubs over the country! This is probably the stand-out track on the album for me and will surely be a single at some point, to say it’s an excellent track to close the album would be an understatement, so check it out! Overall I think this album shows that the band have really made an attempt to up the boundaries of their already quite unique sound and take it to another level. I certainly think with this album they do it with quite a degree of success and I find myself completely engrossed with this record upon each listen and still discovering little facets of noise and instruments I may have missed upon earlier listens, which is a real credit to the care and effort you can tell that has been put into this record. For me personally I don’t think it quite tops ‘Forget the Night Ahead’ but I don’t think that was the band’s intention anyway but rather progress their sound and re-invent their style here something I thing they certainly achieve successfully. I think fans of the recent Editors album, and particular of the more old-school dark, electronic sounds of Depeche Mode and particularly Joy Division will find plenty here to please them. I’m very much into this album already and am going to award it 8 Untold Secrets out of 10 and can see me having this on my playlist for quite a while yet in the foreseeable future. However, if you’ve not heard the band’s previous two albums, I’d recommend them both as well, in particular ‘Forget the Night Ahead’ as it’s an amazing record from the last few years!

Unknowing ‘Flynny’

Track 1 ‘Alphabet’
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DX-k191OoDI

Track 3 ‘Sick’
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRhkFDhLLMw

Track 9 ‘Kill It In The Morning’
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nn8jcPXYc1g

Flynndie Reviews - Blog #23: The Low Suns - Never Gonna Care EP

Written 23rd January 2012:

The Low Suns – Never Gonna Care EP

The Band: Jack Berkeley (vocals), Ali Boyd-Brent (guitar), Si Clark (guitar/bass) James Durrant (keyboards/bass), Jarrod Pizzata (drums)

Today’s review comes from a new band I’ve only just recently come across via Twitter, The Low Suns, and the release of their debut EP the download only ‘Never Gonna Care EP’. Now at present, to be honest, I don’t know a great deal about the band but I will try and cover what I do know about them so far and of course try and do their debut EP some justice with this here review. Originally from LA, this five-piece band formed after a fire destroyed the recording studio used by childhood friends James and Ali, before moving back to London and subsequently meeting lead-singer Jack Berkeley through their shared passion for folk music. The band have moved on to big things quickly having previously supported Coldplay on tour and have now followed this up with the release of their debut EP, so let’s dip into it and discover what the band’s sound is all about then.

Track Listing

1. Never Gonna Care
2. Carnival
3. So Tired
4. Cyber Gospel

Opening with an upbeat electronic melody and the distinct, almost falsetto-like vocals here from Jack on opening title track ‘Never Gonna Care’, it’s quite clear from the start that the band aims to create a large and unique sound, something I feel their certainly achieve with this track. The electronic melody carries this track along nicely, before reaching the catchy, guitar-backed chorus with Jack’s high-pitched voice repeating the track’s song title throughout. It’s actually quiet an easy-listening track and even features almost ‘gospel-like’ vocals from the band towards the end of the track and overall gets the EP off to a good start.

‘Carnival’ follows next and starts with another electronic beat to it, albeit, a little less distinct than the electronic melody used on the opening title-track and Jack shows how much range he has to his vocals here, initially sounding a bit like Bono at the start of the first verse in my opinion, but certainly coming more into his own unique style by the time we reach the track’s loud, anthem-like chorus it’s certainly catchy to say the least. Getting started with a repeated light-synth jingle, ‘So Tired’ is the 3rd track on the EP and probably the most easy-listening track so far. With synths and percussion flowing smoothly from James and Jarrod on this track, Jack gives another master-class in crisp, clean, powerful vocals as the band capture yet another big sound here; this track could easily be a single in itself.

Final track ‘Cyber Gospel’ is a bit of a slowed-down burner to close the EP, again with gentle guitar and percussion steadily carrying the track’s cryptic lyrics, softly sung here by Jack, before the crescendo of another epic, catchy guitar chorus and vocals that tend to be a feature of this EP overall. It’s a suitable closing track to what is an impressive debut EP, one that certainly hints that there could be great things yet to come from this London-based quintet who obviously put a great deal of care and passion into their music and I going to rate this EP 8 Sunrises out of 10. So certainly worth downloading and checking them out at some point, it will be interesting to hear what grand sound the band builds around Jack’s very distinct and impressive vocals in my opinion upon a release of a full debut album later this year at some point.

Sunrise, Sunset ‘Flynny’

Track 1 ‘Never Gonna Care’
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHJsUUgiwdM

Track 2 ‘Carnival’
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Df4AxmAIQQ

Flynndie Reviews - Blog #22: Howler - America Give Up

Written 16th January 2012:

Howler – America Give Up

The Band: Jordan Gatesmith (vocals, guitar), Max Petrek (keyboards), Brent Mayes (drums), Ian Nygaard (guitar).

So for today’s review, regular readers may notice I previously gave a taster of today’s band, Howler, recently when I previously reviewed their debut release the ‘This One’s Different EP’ back in mid-November in Blog #19. As I stated in that piece I very much fell for the band’s garage-rock, surfer-style EP instantly and have regularly been giving the EP a spin since its release last August and in doing so had built myself up high-expectations for the release of their full-debut album and today’s review subject ‘America Give Up’. I won’t cover too much on the band’s background as I previously did this in the Blog #19 for the ‘This One’s Different EP’, so let’s dive right-in and see how ‘America Give Up’ sounds:

Running Order

1. Beach Sluts
2. Back To The Grave
3. This One's Different
4. America
5. Too Much Blood
6. Wailing (Making Out)
7. Pythagorean Fearem
8. Told You Once
9. Back Of Your Neck
10. Free Drunk
11. Black Lagoon

Kicking off with a nice ‘beach-party’ guitar-riff, one that those that have heard ‘This One’s Different’ will be initially surprised that things are off to a slow start here, however, that soon quickly changes 30 seconds into the track, as the fast, frantic garage-rock that appeared on their debut EP crashes in on the album at 100mph, like a 20ft wave on the beaches of California with opening track ‘Beach Sluts’. The track is an early indication of the ‘surfer-type-vibe' that the band creates with their sound throughout the record. ‘Back to the Grave’ slows things down after the frantic opener, but has a very, deep bellowing sound to it courtesy of thunderous drumming from Brent Mayes and Jordan singing in a more deep voice on this track in particular. The track features a nice rocky-riff after each verse and overall complements the opening track very well on the album. Track 3 ‘This One’s Different’ as previously mentioned was the title track of the band’s debut EP, and quite rightly so in my opinion, as it’s one of the standout tracks on the album with its fast, catchy garage-rock sound, one of which I previously compared to sounding like early material by The Strokes but only if they had been up taking illicit substances through the night! This is probably the first most ‘instant’ track on the album for me and certainly a type of sound the band captures so well.

Next up we have ‘America’ and much like 2nd-track ‘Back to the Grave’ the band opt for another more ‘relaxed’ rock track here while still maintaining a very unique sound for it with the type of echo effect used on Jordan’s voice here and the simple, relaxed backing guitar riff used throughout the song to nice effect. ‘Too Much Blood’ casually turns up next on the record, with a slowed down electric guitar hand-holding Jordan’s vocals on this track and haunting-like guitars turning up in the middle of the song too, this is probably the most ‘menacing’ sounding track on album, which is generally fast-paced and upbeat throughout, though it’s reassuring to know that the band has these type of tracks in their locker also.

Things get a lot more upbeat and bouncy with the track ‘Wailing (Making Out)’, which was previously titled the excellent ‘You like White Women I like Cigarettes’ on their debut EP, though I’m guessing the band may have been requested to change this title for the album’s release hence new title ‘Wailing (Making Out)’. With a melody throughout the track that smacks of college students having a blast at a beach-party, this is again another more instant track on the record and really lives up to the surfer-vibe of the record as previously mentioned earlier. I can understand more why the title of the track was changed as lead-singed Jordon belts out towards the end of the track “I’m so tired of making out!” and this is another real standout track on the record for me. Track 7 ‘Pythagorean Fearem’ one of the more unusually titled tracks on the album, alludes more to the darker, menacing sound the band are capable of creating, with early parts of the verse reminding my very much of the sound the band ‘80’s Matchbox B-Line Disaster’ were famed for, which is by no means a bad thing at all.

‘Told You Once’ is the 3rd and final track, that originally appeared on the bands debut EP and is another excellent track, with a more mellow feel to it and a backing acoustic guitar throughout. The band re-creates a sound that is usually found in movies of an easy-going 60’s Diner in my opinion despite somewhat downbeat lyrics “I wish there was something that I could do/Cause I hate myself more than I hate you” suggesting that the song implies a strain on couple’s relationship but this song has anything but a downbeat vibe about it and it is more likely you would just get caught up in the easy-flowing rhythm and sound of the track. Again it features, like many tracks on the album, simple yet catchy lyrics that you will soon find yourself singing along to without realising it (or maybe that is just me!)

‘Back of your Neck’ swoons along into the latter part of the album, with a nice opening guitar riff, and is possibly the most ‘surfer-vibe’ sounding and laidback track on the album overall and although I’ve used that comparison a lot throughout this review, it is more of a complement to the band’s unique sound on this record rather than a criticism. ‘Free Drunk’ starts with the screech of guitar distortion, before jugging away as a guitar track that coasts along and fills the album nicely but is arguably perhaps the ‘weaker’ track of an overall strong album. And so our fast-paced, fun journey through the band’s debut album brings us to closing track ‘Black Lagoon’ and in my opinion it’s a cracker! Another, frantic guitar track played at rip-roaring pace, with a really catchy bridge and a proper 60’s guitar-riff throughout the 2nd verse of the track, it’s a great fun track to close what is overall a fun and enjoyable debut album from these 4 young lads from Minneapolis that should be enjoyed for the light-hearted romp of a record that it is!

So, overall I think this album is a great a debut effort from Howler. I had really high hopes for the record after the obscenely, excessive amount of plays I had previously given their debut EP ‘This One’s Different’. The album overall lives up to my high expectations, although I felt it was a shame that they left off the opening track ‘For All Concern’ from their debut EP, as I always thought it was an amazing opening track. I also personally preferred the vocals used on the EP version of ‘This One’s Different’ however the vocals used here still don’t stop the track itself from being anything other than great and both of these points are minor criticisms. I think this is a great album for the band to introduce themselves to the UK Indie scene and I’m sure fans of bands like The Strokes, The Vaccines and even to an extent The Libertines will really like the record that Howler have brought to the table here and I’m going to award this album a very strong 8 Howls out of 10. Even if you didn’t hear the debut EP I’d still recommend give this album a go and would certainly recommend trying to catch the band play ‘live’ in the UK over the next few months while they are still playing smaller venues as I can only see bigger things coming up for Howler going forward into 2012!

Never Giving Up ‘Flynny’

Track 3 ‘This One’s Different’
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7b7SlJfgpnM

Track 8 I Told You Once’
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKkcBb4EFQs

Flynndie Reviews - Blog #21: Top 8 Albums of 2011 - Part 2

Written 8th December 2011:

Top 8 Albums of 2011 – Part 2

So following on from my last Blog today sees me countdown my favourite Indie albums of 2011 for the inaugural and undisputed crown of ‘Flynndie Album of the Year!’ If you missed the first part of this Blog containing my album choices from #8 to #5, simply scroll down this page a bit further and you can read about these choices in Part 1. So let’s move on to today’s Top 4 albums, starting with the return of The Chief and his much-anticipated debut solo album:

#4. Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds (Previously Un-reviewed)

So some 18 months after the fall-out of leaving Oasis and keeping a low-profile while Beady-Eye released their debut album, the main song-writer behind Oasis finally got round to releasing his own solo debut effort. Now I mainly previously didn’t review this album as I suspected most people would go out and buy this anyway and I like to try and highlight and promote some lesser known Indie bands on this Blog, but if the truth be told even during the days of Oasis, I secretly much-longed for a Noel solo album and now that it finally arrived, it didn’t disappoint in my opinion and in fact exceeded my high expectations. Even upon first few listens to this record, Noel’s songs have that re-assuring familiar sound about them, as if they were songs that you knew and loved already but refreshingly in my opinion not just sounding like another Oasis album. Take ‘AKA… What a Life’ as a prime example of this, having a much more dance-vibe to it than anything Oasis would have released in recent years.

This for me is another reason why I much prefer this album to recent Oasis releases, as by going solo Noel is allowed to express his songs in a more creative manner as is shown in tracks ‘Everybody’s on the Run’ with its backing violins and (I wanna live a Dream in my) Record Machine featuring a full-choir backing, allowing these tracks to have somewhat more added depth to them. Then there are tracks such as ‘If I had a Gun’ and ‘AKA…Broken Arrow’ which are familiar sounding Noel tracks, but tracks written when he is at his song-writing best and, dare I say it, even on a par with some early Oasis B-sides which is high praise indeed. So if you’ve avoided the album so far due to a somewhat ‘loss of faith’ in recent Oasis albums, then I’d recommend you give this debut-solo effort a listen and see what one of the generations top song-writers is capable of without the responsibility of ‘being Oasis’!

Recommended Songs: ‘Everybody’s on the Run’, ‘If I had a Gun’, ‘AKA…What a Life’
Personal Favourite Track(s): ‘Soldier Boys and Jesus Freaks’ and ‘AKA…Broken Arrow’

#3. Arctic Monkeys – Suck It and See (Reviewed in Flynndie Reviews Blog #13 – 8/10)

Back with their 4th album this year were, arguably one of the most followed bands in the Country right now, Sheffield’s own Arctic Monkey’s with their latest offering ‘Suck It and See’. A bit like the forthcoming 4th album by Kasabian this year, after the Monkey’s 3rd album 'Humbug', I was a little bit unsure what to expect from their latest offering. What we got was another well-written, self-assured record with familiar big sing-a-long tracks and another batch of great Indie-rock tracks the Arctics can add to their ever-expanding hits-list! The band have effortlessly created swooning-Indie tracks such as ‘She’s Thunderstorms’ and ‘The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala’, to catchy guitar-pop on ‘Brick by Brick’ and ‘Don’t sit down cause I’ve moved your chair’, to the old-school, more fast-and-furious Arctic Monkey’s track such as ‘Library Pictures’.

I very much enjoyed this record upon its release and am still very much enjoying it upon regular listens, although I’m still slightly of the opinion that the clearly laid back approach the band took to this album, gets a little bit too laid back for my liking on one or two tracks towards the end of the album, therefore not quite putting it on as high a par as the first two Arctic Monkey’s records. However, this is still certainly another great album by these young Sheffield lads and certainly one I’m still enjoying very much hence it’s high-position on this end of year list, but then I’m guessing most of you already reading this know this.

Recommended Songs: ‘Brick by Brick’, ‘The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala’, ‘Don’t sit down cause I’ve moved your chair’
Personal Favourite Track: ‘Library Pictures’

#2. Bombay Bicycle Club – A Different Kind of Fix (reviewed in Flynndie Reviews Blog #17 – 9/10)

Back with their 3rd album in as many years, Bombay Bicycle Club returned with their latest offering ‘A Different Kind of Fix’. As I’ve previously said with a couple of other albums on this list, I really wasn’t sure what to expect from the band’s latest record, as was such a contrast between their 1st electric-rock Indie album ‘I had the blues and shook them loose’ and their follow-up, the stripped-down, lo-fi acoustic ‘Flaws’ I genuinely was not sure what type of sound the band would come back with next. What we got this year with ‘A Different Kind of Fix’ was a great blend of the sounds on Bombay Bicycle Club’s 1st two albums in my opinion and arguably their best to date! The first we heard from this new record was early single ‘Shuffle’ which, if truth be told, was actually different still to anything the band had done previously on their first 2 albums, featuring, as what I described in my review at the time, a hip-hop based piano loop throughout it and having a very distinct, yet brilliant, sound for the band to it indeed.

Throw into the mix, the rocky and slightly more edgy guitar tracks the band featured more on their debut album on tracks here such as ‘Bad Timing’ and ‘What you Want’, to the simply, brilliant flowing acoustic tracks ‘How can you swallow so much sleep’, ‘Lights Out, Words Gone’ and my personal favourite track, the epic ‘Beggars’, the band on this record really define their own sound here more so than their first two albums in my opinion. As a whole, this is a very well written record, full of rhythm and some brilliantly written tracks, that flow effortlessly and surely now is the time for the band to take a well-earned break?!

Recommended Songs: ‘Bad Timing’, ‘Your Eyes’, ‘Shuffle’, ‘What you want’
Personal Favourite Track: ‘Beggars’

#1. The Strokes – Angles (reviewed in Flynndie Reviews Blog #12 – 9/10)

So here it is, my #1 favourite Indie album of 2011, ‘Angles’, the 4th album from New York’s own The Strokes. If you believe some music reviews about The Strokes, you may be under the impression that they have only released one record, their exceptionally brilliant debut album ‘Is This It?’ but for me their 2nd and 3rd albums ‘Room on Fire’ and ‘First Impressions of Earth’ respectively were both fine guitar records and although I would be the first to admit that it will always be difficult for the band to make a better album than their excellent debut record, this 4th effort ‘Angles’ is the closest they have come so far to anywhere near matching it. One of the criticisms the band so unfairly receive in my opinion is that people want to hear similar tracks on a par with those such as ‘Last Nite’ or ‘New York City Cops’ from ‘Is This It?’ but this is one of my fascinations about The Strokes is that they are prepared to try something a bit different on a guitar record and this album is an excellent example of the band trying to capture ‘new’ guitar sounds.

Possibly their most experimental album to date, I feel the band really try and push the boundaries of what a modern-Indie guitar record can sound like, from the opening and simply brilliant track ‘Machu Picchu’ (possibly my favourite opening track on an album for a few years!), to early single ‘Under Cover of Darkness’, another brilliant track in my opinion, right up to closing track ‘Life is Simple in the Moonlight’ which actually does sound like a typical, old-school Strokes track that some fan’s still crave for. For me though, this album is full of stand-out tracks such as the menacingly, dark ‘You’re so Right’ to the incredibly catchy ’Taken for a Fool’ every track on this album is very distinct but seem to have so much depth to them. Upon my first few listens of this album, I admit I struggled with it a little initially, yet it’s testament to how well written and how much depth this album has, that it continued to grow on me and get better and better with each listen. As I said in the 2nd paragraph of Part 1 of this list, I’ve tried to rate albums on this list based on how much I found myself listening to them throughout the course of the year and for me ‘Angles’ has to be my most listened to album in this case and hence my favourite Indie album of 2011!

Recommended Songs: ‘Under Cover of Darkness’, ‘You’re So Right’, ‘Taken for a Fool’, ‘Life is Simple in the Moonlight’
Personal Favourite Track: ‘Machu Picchu’

So that concludes my Top 8 albums of 2011 list. Other worthy mentions on records that narrowly fell short of this list include The Vaccines ‘What did you expect from The Vaccines?’, Miles Kane ‘Colour of the Trap’, The Rifles ‘Freedom Run’, Chapel Club 'Palace', Roddy Woomble’s ‘The Impossible Song + Other Songs’ and Dutch Uncles 'Cadenza' all albums I would recommend to check out at some point.

Looking forward to 2012 I’m already looking forward to new album releases from some of the following bands, Howler, The Twilight Sad, Maxïmo Park and Muse, keeping my fingers cross to hear some new material from hopefully Bloc Party and Idlewild and of course looking forward to any new up-and-coming bands that 2012 brings with it.

Rocking into 2012
‘Flynny’

Flynndie Reviews - Blog #20: Top 8 Albums of 2011 - Part 1

Written 1st December 2011:

Top 8 Albums of 2011 – Part 1

So today rather than write an album review, I’ve decided to pick and reflect back on my top 8 favourite albums of the year for 2011. I plan to give a bit of an overview of each album (most of which I have previously reviewed on here during the course of the year) so I’ve decided to split this into two parts, first counting down from #8 to #5 in part 1 and then of course #4 to the inaugural #1 ‘Flynndie Album of the Year’!

Now of course these choices are just my personal preferences and I have no special criteria in picking which album I’ve rated higher than another, after all this list is purely for fun and are my own choices, other than which albums I’ve genuinely enjoyed listening to the most, yet it has still taken me some time to decide on my Top 8 albums this year and even more difficult to decide on their order but this 2-part Blog will reveal my overall choices.

However, if you do disagree or feel I’ve missed an album out on this list, I would be more than happy to view and listen to other reader’s favourite albums of the year, so feel free to post any comments or recommendations at the end of this Blog. You may also notice that I’ve rated some albums higher than others, despite me awarding a higher-score on my initial reviews, but this is due to my marks being given in my reviews on my initial first impressions of the album and over the course of the year, I’ve at times found myself listening to a high-rated album more hence it’s higher position on this list.

So let’s get this show on the road then and weighing in at #8 pop-pickers is………

#8. Kaiser Chiefs – The Future is Medieval (Reviewed in Flynndie Reviews Blog #14 – 8/10)

So the Kaiser Chiefs who had been on the quiet side the past couple of years suddenly popped back on the scene again, with a previously unannounced album and an excellent promotion of their new album whereby they let fans compile their own choice of 10-tracks from an available selection of 20 from their website. After this, demand led to a full CD release containing 13-tracks, one previously unheard, and to be fair I thought it was a real return to form for them and back on a par with their decent 1st two albums ‘Employment’ and ‘Yours truly, Angry Mob’. The album very much goes back to the sound of some of their early material with songs such as ‘Little Shocks’, ‘Dead or in Serious Trouble’ and ‘When all is quiet’ but as I said previously in my review I felt their new songs, such as ‘Child of the Jago’ and ‘If you will have me’, now showed a more mature side of the band than some of their earlier material yet still retaining the light-hearted, cheeky, charm the band are known to bring to their music. I think this album as a whole really does contain a good range of songs that collectively sum up what the band’s music to date is all about.

Recommended Songs: ‘Little Shocks’, ‘Child of the Jago’, ‘If you will have me’
Personal Favourite Track: ‘Heard it Break’

#7. Ben Howard – Every Kingdom (Previously un-reviewed)

So a lot of readers first thought’s here maybe “Who’s Ben Howard?” To be honest it was quite by luck that I came across his music having heard early single ‘The Wolves’ used on the amazing short-film ‘Industrial Revolutions’ featuring free-style cyclists Danny Macaskill (which you can view here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShbC5yVqOdI). I instantly fell in love with this track and upon hearing a couple of other tracks from the forthcoming album ‘Every Kingdom’ I started to develop high hopes for this debut album and fortunately it didn’t disappoint. With a very acoustic, rural and folk feel throughout the record, I often feel an album as stripped down as this need to have songs and guitar playing to the highest quality and Ben happily delivers just such in this debut effort. You can really tell how much thought and care has been put into each note on every song on this record and for me this is a fine debut, acoustic effort.

Recommended Songs: ‘Old Pine’, ‘Only Love’, ‘The Fear’, ‘Keep your head up’
Personal Favourite Track: ‘The Wolves’

#6. R.E.M. – Collapse into Now (Reviewed in Flynndie Reviews Blog #10 – 9/10)

In at #6 on the list turned out to be the swansong album from a band that had by now seemed to be around forever (or at least the past 25 years!) Some R.E.M. albums can be a little bit hit and miss for me and personally I find myself mostly more into their earlier material, with their last truly great album being ‘Up’ in my opinion. However, refreshingly for a change I think R.E.M. finally delivered an album that lives up to their great legacy and have made an album where I don’t find myself skipping the odd occasional track. Admittedly, upon listening to this album I found myself comparing tracks similar in sound to previous R.E.M. tracks (for example ‘Oh My Heart’ sounding like a follow-up to ‘Houston’ from the album ‘Accelerate’ and last track ‘Blue’ having a very similar style to ‘E-Bow the Letter’ from ‘New Adventures in Hi-Fi’) but when the tracks sound as good as those it’s hardly a criticism of the album. Whether the band were already conscious that this would be the last R.E.M. album or not, I think they certainly made a worthy record to encompass the band’s legacy and a fitting album for their send off and in my opinion their best for some 10 years!

Recommended Songs: ‘Oh My Heart’, ‘Mine Smells like Honey’, ‘Me, Marlon Brando, Marlon Brando and I’
Personal Favourite Track: ‘ÜBerlin’

#5. Kasabian – Velociraptor! (Reviewed in Flynndie Reviews Blog #18 – 8/10)

Now we’re starting to reach this year’s ‘big-hitters’ and in at #5 for me are Kasabian with their latest effort named after, of all things, a dinosaur ‘Velociraptor!’ I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from the latest offering from Kasabian, however, the band have delivered their 4th successive, solid album while encompassing a fair range of sounds from different genres yet all the time retaining a trademark Kasabian feel about them on this album. The album itself features the band dabbling with retro guitar-fused-jazz with opening track ‘Let’s roll just like we used too’, from the typical guitar anthems we all know and love from Kasabian on tracks such as ‘Days are Forgotten’ and ‘Rewired’ to the more electronic, Indie-club style tracks of ‘I hear Voices’ and ‘Switchblade Smiles’. For me though personally, the standout track on the album is ‘Turkish Acid Bath (Shelter from the Storm)’. It’s actually quite a different track from anything Kasabian have done in the past, featuring verses backed with sounds associated with a Turkish folk-market used on films, but featuring deliciously dark lyrics and snarls throughout, this is certainly a brooding track and my personal favourite. Suffice to say Kasabian have returned again with another album to add proudly to their ever-developing legacy.

Recommended Songs: ‘Let’s roll just like we used to’, ‘Days are Forgotten’, ‘Switchblade Smiles’
Personal Favourite Track: ‘Turkish Acid Bath (Shelter from the Storm)’

So that covers my first four selections in my ‘Top 8 albums of 2011’ list, needless to say in the 2nd part of this Blog, I shall reveal my #4 to 1 albums, mention a few other albums I liked that just fell short of my Top 8 and list a few band’s whose records I’m already looking forward to into 2012!

Still Rocking in 2011 ‘Flynny’

Flynndie Reviews - Blog #19: Howler - This One's Different EP

Written 18th November 2011:

Howler – This One’s Different EP

The Band: Jordan Gatesmith (vocals, guitar), Max Petrek (keyboards), Brent Mayes (drums), Ian Nygaard (guitar).

So today’s review, much like the record in question, is a little bit different as rather than reviewing a full album, I’m going to review a recent EP of an up-and-coming band, Howler, hailing from Minneapolis in the States with their ‘This One’s Different’ EP which was released at the start of August. The band are currently on tour in the UK with ‘Frankie and the Heartstrings’ and ‘The Vaccines’ so now seems an ideal time to take a look back at this early EP from them, as I suspect songs from this will feature on the tour, and I’ve been listening to this record for a good few months now.

Running Order

1. For All Concern
2. I Told You Once
3. This One’s Different
4. You like White Women I like Cigarettes
5. 14 Days

Right so things get away with a buzzing, garage-rock-like riff kicking-in for opening track ‘For All Concern’. This won’t be the last time I say this in this review, but as the track steadily flows along you instantly pick up the ‘Surfer-vibe’ type sound the band intentionally re-create throughout this record. As an opening-track I think this is a great way to start the record with a catchy main guitar-riff throughout and simple but effective lines “I’m easy to love/But easy to hate” and through the chorus as lead singer, Jordan Gatesmith, croons “I can’t be you’re only one/It’s not me that’s on the run” holding the song together nicely and is a great way to start to the EP.

‘I Told You Once’ follows which initially has a much more acoustic vibe than the frantic pace and rhythm of the EP’s opener while still retaining a big-sound for the band. As the track gets into full-swing, the band re-creates the sound of an easy-going, beach-party in my opinion despite lyrics “I wish there was something that I could do/Cause I hate myself more than I hate you” suggesting that the song implies a strain on couple’s relationship but this song has anything but a downbeat vibe about it and it is more likely you would get caught up in the easy-flowing rhythm and sound of the track.

Title-track ‘This One’s Different’ is probably the stand-out track on the EP. Again with a very much garage-rock feel to it, this returns to a fast and furious pace of opening track ‘For All Concern’. Possibly the biggest complement I can pay this track is that it sounds very much like The Strokes if they had been up all-night taking Speed and features some excellently-timed guitar solos that pulse through the veins of this song and ultimately the EP overall!

Next up with have the excellently titled ‘You like White Women I like Cigarettes’ and this track features the biggest ‘Surfer’ feel about it yet on the EP! The song has a real ‘Beach Boys’ feel about it in my opinion and certainly wouldn’t be out of place on ‘The Happy Days’ Jukebox (Ask your parent’s kids!) Flying past quickly at just 2 minutes, the song manages to cram in yet another catchy guitar track, with some backing-keys thrown in for good measure on this one too.

The EP closes with ’14 Days’ and we go back to the garage-roots-rock from earlier, but this time certainly at a more leisurely tempo than ‘For All Concern’ and ‘This One’s Different’. The track literally coasts along nicely and cleverly towards the end of the track, the band slowly start to reverse back through the sound of the first two choruses of the song and most likely reverse back into a garage where it’s clear the band have rehearsed so hard to nail their unique but accomplished sound throughout this EP.

I think fans of the early Strokes records and the recent Vaccines album will take to this EP like a surfboard-to-water (see what I did there?!) The band clearly had a defined sound that they wanted to create for this EP and through all 5 tracks I feel they nail it to a high standard each time! As I said early in this review I’ve had the EP for a few months now but I still find this EP refreshing to listen to with each listen and 20 minutes just fly-by when I put this on in the background. I’m very keen to see how many of these tracks, if they decide to use any, make it on to the band’s first full debut album but bearing in mind how young a band they are too I’m hoping to see them go on to big things in the future and for the EP for the time-being I’m going to award it 8 Howls out of 10! The EP is currently available from ‘Rough Trade’ records on 12” vinyl (nice!) or as a download so feel free to check it out some time (http://store.roughtraderecords.com/Store/HowlerThisOnesDifferent.html), as this is one band I’m keeping a close eye on for the future!

Always the Same ‘Flynny’

Track 1 ‘For All Concern’
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dpv8ZrDBWa0

Track 4 ‘You like White Women I like Cigarettes’
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hitsueThUk4c